Just tickled pink...

Over the summer we've been doing some work on our home.  New paint, new carpet, new bathroom fixtures.  We're getting ready to try and list our home for sale.

We've been so busy, it seems like we haven't had a free moment this summer.  Between all the work, cleaning up and de-cluttering we've snuck in weekend days at the pool and time with friends.

This Labor Day weekend however, we decided was a time to get away.  A time for us to spend some time relaxing together.  A few weeks prior we planned a trip for the weekend down to Sanibel Island, FL.  It was a place I've wanted to go for a while and a place Mr. Potts spent his summers shelling on the beaches there.

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We spent days in the sun strolling the beaches and finding all sorts of shells.  We lounged under umbrellas and listened to the crash of the waves.  Our evenings were spent in little seaside restaurants enjoying our time together and each other.

Our first day there was spent talking about our future and what it holds for us.

Our first evening was kicked off by a walk on the beach where we paused for some time and then opened an envelope which had traveled down from Charlotte with us.  Inside this envelope we found the following message:

Congratulations!  It's a GIRL!!!

 

We were both so excited, thrilled, over the moon....tickled pink.

That's right.  We've been talking and planning and speculating about our future and our growing family.  A family of two which will become a family of three (5 if you count Hayden & Pepe Cat - which we do) March 6, 2013.

We couldn't imagine a better way to celebrate our Labor Day.

I hope yours was magical as well.

Strolling Back In

Funny how life seems to take over sometimes, isn't it?

Family, fun, vacations, summer....summer gets me every time.  Does it seem like that for anyone else?

So what have I been up to? 

We went to Cabo and fell in love with it.

 We went with a group of friends to the beach.

We spent a night rocking to Tim and Kenny (swoon, right, MCW?)

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We took the munchkins to the beach.  They LOVED it, of course!

We went to a wedding which obviously gave me a good excuse for a new dress!

What else has been going on?  Work has been busy but otherwise good.

I think we've just enjoyed the summer.  How about you?  Have you enjoyed the summer?  Done anything special?

Cold weather & a bit of random thrown in

I'm in Indianapolis for the day & leaving to head home tomorrow evening. We've been enjoying seasonable winter weather in Charlotte (but honestly, who hasn't been?) so to step off the plane & feel the bite of winter cold was a bit of a shock.

I'm not sure what the highs will be here. This is one of the first times I've ever traveled for work and not checked the weather report. I most likely will be going from hotel to conference room so I don't expect to be outside much. Anyone else check weather.com before they travel?

On to the random...mostly travel & airport related.

Anyone ever people watched in an airport? It really is one of the more interesting parts of traveling. Different nationalities, different accents, fashion choices....oh my!

I've seen jeans that my mom would have worn 10 years ago on women barely older than me. Faded & maybe with a hint of acid wash.

I know we all want to be comfortable when we travel (at least I do) but I have what I call travel clothes that wear well out in public without looking sloppy. Typically a looser fitting black pant in a light material, a soft knit sweater & usually comfortable shoes that I can slip on & off. But I always have a pair of socks so I don't have to walk through the screening area barefoot! Do any of you also travel like this?

Little girls and boys with their parents in awe of the hugeness of the airport and almost overwhelmed with the excitement of flying on an airplane. That is a sight to behold. I also wonder how parents do it with a small child. I appreciate those whose children are quiet & excited on planes, not screaming & kicking my backseat.

I tend to tear up a bit when I see the young men in uniform boarding a plane. I try to thank them for their service when I see them. I also feel a tug on my heart because so many of them look so young. They're practically babies yet here they are defending our freedom.

Enough randomness for a morning. Hope you're all having a wonderful week! I can't wait until Friday!!

Fabulous Friday

Why hello! So good to see you my dear friend.

I'm back to my perky happy self. Why is that, you may ask? I have finally recovered from a very nasty cold. I can talk without getting out of breath. I can laugh without coughing for 5 minutes after. Hayden & I can go for a walk outside without me feeling like someone took to me with a baseball bat after.

Fabulous Friday indeed!

The other part that makes this day so fabulous?

One of my best girlfriends who lost her little one a little over a year ago had a precious, perfect baby boy on Wednesday. He's perfect and he's all theirs.

I'll admit, I burst into spontaneous tears of joy when my girlfriend called me to tell me they were going to have a baby that day. I cried when I saw her, I cried when I held him and I'm crying now. But happy tears, only happy ones.

When I met him I told him how loved he already was and how many prayers went into his arrival. Love surrounds us this month; I like to think this little baby boy has been born into an expanded family that will love and support him his entire journey into adulthood.

Plus, he's absolutely gorgeous!

When I saw him I thought, "This is exactly what a baby Potts would look like."

Fabulous Friday for sure!

The other week I asked you to share how you spread the positive in your life; the first three to share were Sarah Lang, Tracy & Neha. Ladies, if you'll send me an email with your mailing address, you'll have something coming your way in the next few days.

Happy Friday, y'all!!

PS: LOVE that b.e.g. has continued this on even while I stepped back for a while! If you aren't reading her already, please go over & say hello!

A little meme to break up the monotany

A break from the usual. MCW tagged me in the meme going around and I have to admit, I sighed a little sigh of relief. Who doesn't sometimes need a little prompt to get things going?

The rules:
1. Post the rules.
2. Write 11 fun facts about yourself.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you and then create 11 new quesitons to ask people you tag.
4. Tag 11 people and link them to your post.
5. Let them know you've tagged them!


1. I'm going to Cabo with Mr. Potts and another couple in April. Exactly 73 days from now I will be here.


2. I would rather eat fruit than chocolate. Apple pie, blueberry cobbler....you get the idea.

3. I believe that peanut butter should be it's own food group.

4. There are very few foods I choose not to eat. Cabbage, mushrooms and liver are the only three. Cabbage because I can't stand the smell of it cooking, mushrooms are a texture thing and liver is just disgusting. Bleh.

5. In the last 5 or 6 years I've developed an intolerance for shellfish & it makes me very, very sad. I used to LOVE oysters & crab & lobster. Sigh

6. I follow old school punctuation rules, i.e. 2 spaces after a period.

7. Mr. Potts' Dad & Stepmom have offered to pay for me to go back to school and obtain my masters degree. I cried. It is something I've wanted for a while & didn't think I'd have the opportunity to do.

8. I love the Real Housewives series, but ONLY Beverly Hills, OC & NJ.

9. I will sometimes go for a spell without purchasing clothes. But when I decide I need some new things I totally go for it.

10. My favorite nail color lately has been OPI's Wocka Wocka from the Muppets line.

11. One of my previous life stances has changed dramatically in the last year. This will result in a major life change in the next few years. To be discussed at a later date.

Now on to the questions that MCW posted!

1. How do you eat your burger?
I like mine either one of two ways. With peanut butter (see #3 above), bacon & cheddar OR on a toasted english muffin with bacon & pimento cheese.

2. What's your favorite characteristic about yourself?
I'm sincerely optimistic and find the positive in anything and usually anyone!

3. What time period from the past would you like to live in?
I like the period I'm in now, but I wouldn't mind the "Little House on the Prairie" type of period where things were simpler.

4. What actress would be cast to play you?
Reese Witherspoon. I seriously believe we'd be BFF in real life.

5. What was your first car?
A Honda Civic

6. What's one product you hope is never discontinued?
Aquaphor Advanced Therapy hand cream

7. What was high school like for you?
Nothing mind-blowing. I was there, I did well in classes, I had bad hair (but who didn't then?) & then I went to college.

8. Do you believe in ghosts?
Not especially

9. What would your dream house look like?
It has a huge porch, a large living area outside, a master kitchen that opens up into a dining/living area & lots of room.

10. When did you have your first beer? Did you have more than one?
Umm....I don't remember. Probably sometime in high school & I'm sure I had more than one.

11. What is your least favorite word?
One that has to do with women's underwear. Rhymes with SHANTY. Makes me shudder.

Now, I'm breaking from the rules & opening this up to anyone. If you want to play along, use the same questions MCW asked. Because thinking up 11 new ones is just making my brain hurt!

The Positives

Thank you so much for the encouragement you shared with me last Friday when I wrote about the unhappiness I've been feeling in the new job. I know that I'm not alone feeling that way & that other people have been in the same position. I'm working to stay positive about it & I truly appreciate your support.

On that note, this week I've had the chance to spend time with a co-worker who is not my boss. I feel like if I can continue to focus on the positive, this will be a great experience for me. While I've been with this co-worker I was told several times that I have one of the most positive outlooks of anyone. It made me smile knowing that people see this in me.

You see, I truly believe that the small, everyday actions you take can make a positive impact on people you may not know.

I strive to focus on the positive and lift other people up.

I think that the more frequently we can lift others up the better place our world can be.

When people need encouragement, I encourage. When I have an opportunity, I praise people's accomplishments.

What you did last week was turn that around for me & help me keep focused on the positives that are in my work life. Thank you so much.

As a special thank you the first three people to comment with how they spread the positive will receive a special gift from me.

So tell me, how do you spread the positive in your everyday life?

The Grass is Always Greener and all that jazz

Happy Friday everyone!

I can't begin to tell you how much I look forward to Friday each week. Is everyone else like this? I don't know that I ever dreaded Mondays coming around though as much as I do now.

You may remember that I was facing the possibility of layoffs at my prior job. Knowing this I was proactive and searching for new opportunities. One came my way, quite by accident, when a recruiter came across my resume online.

We spoke, I telephone interviewed with the hiring manager as well as a VP and learned that I'd be going to their home office for a day of interviews.

Y'all

I was so excited. Here I was facing a potential loss of job and income and I had been singled out for a new position.

The interviews in the office went swimmingly well...except for the in person with the hiring manager. I walked out of there wondering if he was a modern day Jekyll & Hyde. It didn't go well, in my opinion. He was totally different in person than over the phone.

I walked out feeling that it was wrong and probably, based on him, wouldn't be a good fit for me. I didn't expect to be offered the position.

And then the recruiter called and offered me the job.

With some trepidation I accepted. Based on everything I knew, both with my prior company and the current economy, I felt like it was a no-brainer. I couldn't not have a job. Sure, I thought about dog walking to supplement the loss of income. It wouldn't have been the same though and would have placed a strain on Mr. Potts' & my marriage.

We would have made it through, but it would have been tough.

Interesting side note - I would have been laid off less than a month later.

So, all was well.

And then I started.

And I'm not complaining (well, trying not to) but I quickly realized this was not going to be a long-term job for me.

Very quickly. As in, "I haven't quit applying for new jobs and probably won't until I find one."

One piece of this is that the travel portion has escalated from 50% - 70% to almost 100%. I like my home, I like my bed, I love my pets, I love my friends, I love my family and I love Mr. Potts. Trying to squeeze all of this into 2 days is pretty rough.

Yet there is more.

Because, you see, I've learned that my new boss genuinely dislikes people. He is quite the elitist and has no problem letting people know he is looking down his nose at them. Y'all.

He manages a team of people and feels like it is ok to keep them in a "constant state of heightened discomfort and fear for their job as a way to highly develop them."

True statement out of his mouth.

Last week though had me almost in tears. I learned that he, a manager of people (who doesn't like people), a manager part of an HR organization, has had several (numbering 4-5) HR complaints in less than 6 months.

So, I've been digesting this information and my thoughts/feelings about this new job. Much like a few months ago, I feel like this is not a good position to be in.

What a sad post for a Friday, right?

But what I'm focused on is this:

• I am employed

• We have health insurance

• We are continuing to save for our future

• I'm still learning in my professional life

• I still have regular Fridays.

Fridays make me smile, so today, my wish for you is that you smile!

What makes you smile on Friday?