Bragging about my Sweetie

Yeah, we don’t post here a lot, but I’m going to try and get that to change.  In that effort, here is an email that Jamie received today at work:

 

Hi,

I am the web liaison for our bureau and as such am frequently submitting requests for web updates to the DIT team. Even though I’ve always found the entire team to be efficient in their response, one member, Jamie Howell, never ceases to amaze me. She’s always quick to respond, knowledgeable and willing to work with anyone to get the job done.

Here’s just one example of what I’m talking about:

I submitted a request this week for a new page to be added to our bureau site. I wanted the page to have a specific layout with links to 83 separate files. Jamie told me the layout I wanted wasn’t possible with standard templates available in the web software, but she should be able to manipulate the software to get close to the result I was looking for. She also said she was working on a high priority project and it might be a couple of days before she could get my page done. I confirmed that the couple of days would be fine and I was willing to accept whatever layout she could come up with to house the links to my 83 files. To my surprise and delight, she finished the new web page that same day and exactly in the layout I had requested … did I mention she’s amazing.

While shouting her praise to a co-worker, I was told I was “preaching to the choir” which shows I’m not the only one who notices and truly appreciates all of Jamie’s hard work. She cares for her customers and that always shows in the special attention she gives to each and every one.

Thank you Jamie for making our jobs a little easier, we truly appreciate you. You are one of the gems at Treasury. Please don’t ever leave us.

She’s a great worker and she cares so much about her quality of work; it’s great to see it being recognized!

Reading

So last night I decided to start reading to the baby. I wanted to spend some time trying to get her more used to my voice and to start spending some "quality time" with my child, even if she is still in the womb. Plus developing the habit of reading to her at night is something that I'd like to do. I have chosen to start with The Complete Wizard of Oz Collection on my kindle. It was only $.99 for 15 books, so it was a good economical choice. Also, my older brother Michael used to have quite a few of those books and when I took over his room I discovered them and read one or two of them. For those of you who haven't read them before, the story is different from that told in the movie (as most Hollywood remakes are). In the first chapter Dorthy, her aunt, and her uncle are basically described and then the tornado comes. There are no farm hands discussed, there is no evil neighbor who carts off Toto, and her aunt is not the over-emphasized matronly figure that she is in the begging of the movie. It has been my personal goal to read these and some other classic (such as Robin Hood, Winnie the Pooh, Robinson Crusoe, Tarzan, King Arthur, etc.) and I think that reading to my child is a perfect time to do this, at least until she starts voicing to me what she would like to be read.

However, what we did not expect is how much the baby would react to the reading. So, there we are laying down in bed, my head near Jamie's mid-torso and my hand on her belly and I start noticing Jamie jerking a bit about 5 minutes into the first chapter. She informs me that the baby is kicking up a storm and moves my hand down to where she is kicking and I immediately feel something move across my hand. It was pretty amazing. We continued reading and the baby continued to be very active.

I have to say that I am completely in love with my little girl and that it means so much to me that even now she responds to my voice the way that she did. I can't wait to have her arrive and hold her in my arms, and of course read to her in person.

Damn My Luck!

Dodge forgot to renew his license plate last year and we just never noticed it. He has 2007 tags on his plate all year and has been driving to Ann Arbor every day. It's almost time to renew his plates again so it's almost been a full year (his birthday is next month). He's also been driving us to work each day since he started working in Lansing. No problems.

Yesterday, he had his Weight Watchers meeting so we stopped at the baptist church on S. M-52 across from Baker College and he handed me the keys. I was to drive from the church to home. That's it. We're talking maybe 2 miles that I would be driving the car.

I got pulled over before even reaching M-21 and got a $75 ticket for expired plates. What the heck! How in the blazes didn't he get caught before now? Lucky son of a gun.

At least the insurance was up to date as I know for certain that's a driver responsibility fee. I'm hoping expired plates isn't considered for one.

Paper Love

So imagine my surprise today when I came into work and there was an oragami heart laying on my keyboard!  Now I know for a fact that this was a project that took my wife several days to learn how to make!  (It was a multiple part piece of the previously mentioned oragami calendar.)

Now I would like to say that it's been a very long time since I had someone been able to leave me something like this and keep it a secret from me.  It was so great to walk into my second day of work and find a little "I love you" in my cubicle.  

Thank you Jamie!

Promotion and a Raise!

I'm so very happy to report that today I got the email from HR saying my promotion to a level 12 has been processed and I'm also getting a $2 raise! It's taken quite a while (at least over a year) for this to happen. I know my boss also submitted the paperwork for me last year but was tossed out because of the executive directive that prohibited any hiring or any kind of movement of current workers (not even lateral moves). But this year it went through and I'm pretty stoked about it. And yesterday we got the 2% cost of living increase which will be calculated to my new salary. Cha-ching!

This really couldn't come at a better time. Dodge's car is in the shop and trust me you don't want me to go into that horrific tale (I'll just say that Ford mechanics are rip off artists). We've had to rent a car so he can get to work in the mean time and the totals for things are starting to pile up. It at least feels like a positive in this swirling pile of poo.

New Hair Color

I decided I would try a new hair color with my new age. I consulted my hair stylist sister and she suggested a color called Cherry Cola. I said I'd trust her judgement and oh my gosh I absolutely LOVE it. She also added some caramel highlights. I think my hair has never looked so good! I came home and told Dodge we had to go out to eat because I was looking too good to stay home.

The Plague!

I'm really starting to feel better after being pretty stinking sick last week. I stayed home on Wednesday because I was feeling a little poorly when I woke up. Mostly a sore throat and some sniffles. The next day it was very obvious that I had a bug. I was going through kleenex like it was no tomorrow. The doctor was closed so I stayed home on friday and by that time my voice was all froggy and I looked slightly like death warmed over. But doc hooked me up with some meds and I'm feeling a lot better now. Yay for medicine!

New Makeup!

Mom and I have been hooked on these YouTube videos showing how to apply MAC makeup. Our favorite to watch is panacea81, check her out if you have about 10 minutes. Today we went to the store and mom asked them to try some on me. I love it and we both left with a bunch of new products.

Christmas Exchange Curse

I've been cursed with holiday gift exchanges pretty much my entire life. This trend started in preschool when instead of a nice toy, I excited opened my gift of shoe strings. Mom always told me "Just say thank you and cry when you get home" so I'm really good at pretending I love the crappy gift I get.

This year's entry is a lovely assortment of items I got from the work gift exchange. First off, in the back is the jumbo universal remote. It's a real remote just it's huge. It's just slightly smaller than Oscar. Next on the list is a special pair of shocking office supplies. Yes, they are a fake pen and stapler and if you attempt to use them, they'll shock you. Hard too! It actually hurts. Lastly is the lovely pooping snowman. You press down on his head and a little piece of poop candy comes out his butt.

Other holiday gift horrors would include toilet paper (not even good toilet paper, the cheap rough stuff), a pooping santa (but I now have a set!), a singing motorcycle santa figurine, I could go on and on. Maybe I'll write a book someday of what not to bring to a gift exchange.

Christmas Cookie Update

Yesterday morning, I finished making the cookies and set them up nice and pretty. Snapped a picture of my handywork and proudly displayed the picture of my work on the blog. I made myself a cup of coffee and settled down to a cookie and coffee for breakfast. After tasting the new peanut butter cookies, it was very much decided that they were disgusting and went into the trash. It's really too bad as they came out looking perfect and I was so pleased with them. Guess I'm going to have to go back to making the full fat cookies and we'll just have to be responsible enough to not over-endulge.

Last night I made some Cream Cheese Finger cookies and they turned out very good. Dodge likened them to pecan sandies (which explains why I like them so much). I used the regular recipe, just substituted the cream cheese for fat-free variety. So I'm glad that all my experiments aren't such a horrible failure. That's a picture from the magazine I got the recipe from although mine do look just like them.

This morning I attempted to make Mom's Sugar Cookies. I made the dough last night and let it chill and this morning just broke off a hunk of dough to make up a quick dozen cookies. They turned out great and taste very good. I think I'm starting to get mom's recipe down! The kitchen aid mixer seems to be the tool that's really helped me. Mom doesn't use one but apparently I need it!

Only one more cookie I plan on making (besides a regular batch of peanut butter cookies for Dodge) and that's a rugelach for Mom's Christmas party this weekend. Hopefully they turn out!

Christmas Cookies!

Yes, we are still doing Weight Watchers but Christmas isn't Christmas without cookies if you ask me. To help us stay good, I researched lower fat cookies.

I found this peanut butter cookie recipe. We'll see if they pass the Dodge test when he gets home. They are his favorite. I also made some chocolate truffles. I just substituted fat-free sweetened condensed milk for the regular stuff.

Both are easy to fit into our diet as a snack so I'm excited. I plan on making two more types of cookies this weekend.

Surprise flowers

Dodge got out of work early yesterday and when I got home he was there with this beautiful bunch of roses on the table. They're a sort of orangy-pink color. Very pretty!

My personal challenge

Here it is! My 6000 piece puzzle I bought in Chicago. I do not have a time limit but I am challenging myself to complete this monster. Right now I'm just hoping the kitchen table is big enough for it!

Jamie 25 lbs Lost!

This week's Weight Watcher's meeting went really well. I have reached the 25 lb loss mark! As a reward I got this snazzy key chain charm. I wasn't expecting to do as well as I did this week (4.4lb loss) so reaching this goal was a very pleasant surprise.

Jamie Picture

Eric hooked me up with access to pictures from the house parties and I found a pretty nice picture of myself from the Halloween party at Paul's. Compared to me 20 lbs heavier (see wedding photo in title), I think I'm looking better! Oh and it was a good hair day which also helps.

Where's my bologna?

Dodge very lovingly takes the time each morning to prepare me a sammich for my lunch. I'm insane in that I love bologna sammiches. Apparently we were out of bologna this morning and I got a veggie turkey like sammich. Which is fine, its not bologna but I can eat it. Except that I didn't know it wasn't bologna, took a bite saw the sickly grey meat and promptly spit it out thinking it was rotten bologna.

Poor Dodge takes the time to make sure I get a good lunch and I'm not able to eat this sammich because of my initial reaction to it. I do appreciate you taking the time to prepare it for me, sweetie! It just caught me off guard.