Missing My Blog...and other randomness

Hello bloggy friends...I've missed you!

I've been all sorts of wrapped up lately and haven't really had a great way to access the internet...or even time really.  I've missed blogging like crazy.  I didn't realize how much I was enjoying it until I didn't have time for it.  I'll work on fitting time it though...I'm still adjusting to being back to work and to being home only on the weekends.

I've really missed my Random Thoughts posts on Tuesdays so I thought I'd make today's post in a similar format.  Not the same...just similar.

I have been SO tired that I've literally been falling asleep on the couch with my daughter around 9:00 most nights.  On the weekends...I'm finding myself falling asleep on the couch in the middle of the day too.  Something is sucking the life out of me. LOL

I have really been enjoying all of the time I've been able to spend with my mother-in-law.  I love her to pieces and she's been more like a great friend to me over the years so all of this time with her has been great.  Plus she's making sure I've been eating all of this healthy fresh food and I'm feeling great because of it.

The other day, Bamma (Meadow's name for Grandma) gave Meadow a doll that she had bought because it looked like Meadow.  She was SO excited about it and loves her "baby".  When Bamma asked her what her baby's name was going to be she said "Antonet" (this is how she says my name).  I nearly melted.  It was so stinking sweet.

It's been really great to catch-up with some of my coworkers.  It's funny how the people that you work with can feel like part of your family after so long.  I've been there for 7+ years...over this time, I've developed quite the work family and I didn't realize how much I'd missed them.

Our goal is still to be able to have me stay home with Meadow...we're just trying to figure out how to accomplish this.  The real hurdle is the cost of healthcare through my husband's work if I quit my job.  Currently, Meadow and I are under my healthcare for a very reasonable $300 or so each month.  To add us to my husband's work would cost us $600/month.  We did realize that it was possible for us to live off his income while I was off...tight, but possible.  However, having to shell out an additional $600/month changes that.  So we're just trying to figure out how this would work.  We're really looking at me being back to work as a temporary thing for the time being...basically, I'm working for healthcare at the moment.

Before being forced back to work on such a short notice, I had made a goal of having 3 Etsy shops opened by the end of October.  Obviously, this isn't really going to happen.  I'm disappointed about that, but I'll deal with it.  I haven't had any time for my creative hobbies these days except a little for my card/invitation templates.  I still don't have enough to open a shop with yet though.  Maybe I'll work on that while I'm home this weekend.

One thing I've realized with being back to work is that once I'm off again with Meadow, I'll need more structure.  Planned activities and maybe even a bit of a schedule to follow.  I was a freaking lazy bones the entire 6 months I was off work and could have accomplished a million things in that time.

I spoke with my manager about getting a transfer to our other office or just doing my regular job from there.  So far, it doesn't look promising.  What really pisses me off is that before I left on my medical leave, I had arrangements made so that a couple days/week were spent working from home and the rest of the time was from our office in Livonia which is about 17 miles from my house.  I am now being forced to work from our other office 5 days/week, which is 50+ miles from our home.  On this 50+ mile drive, I pass the Livonia office, which just infuriates me.  My manager knows where I live. She knows that my circumstances have not changed since I went on leave.  Since the economy started going downhill, the company I work for started to really try to help their employees with gas money and such by offering to transfer people to offices closer to their home, offering 4 day work weeks, allowing more telecommuting, and other things that would help.  What the F?  Why am I being told I must drive past the Livonia office to drive an additional 33 miles to Troy?  And this is why I'm staying with my mother-in-law during the week.  She's within 12 miles of the Troy office.  If I was to drive from home to Livonia each day...because of traffic and construction, it would take about 1 1/2 hours one way.  Grrrrrrrrrrrr.

Enough about that.  It just angers me.  Anyway...I'm really happy to be home with my daughter and husband this weekend.  Meadow and I have missed Daddy like crazy and he's missed us.  Hopefully this whole ordeal will be over with sooner than later.

On a brighter note, while home this weekend, I've decided that my favorite feature in our home is not the loft, the open floor plan, or even the cathedral ceilings...but the bottle opener that the previous tenant mounted to the side of the kitchen cabinet.  It is so convenient.

Until next time...

♪♫♪ Currently listening to ♪♫♪

Paralyzer by Finger Eleven

I honestly can't get enough of this song lately.