Okay. I am like the worst. . . I know!!! Don't hate me, I will explain why I have been gone so long. There has been a WHOLE heck of a lot going on in the life of Jen over the last few months.
First, I got a job for a local office of a chain tax prep service for the season. The week of my last blog was when I started the job and I am finishing tomorrow for the season! I made it!!! I have been working evenings most of the time while staying at home with Little Man and being a mommy. Also, I was exhausted. I don't know what is going on, just the fact that I think I spread myself a little too thin, honestly. Between the baking, the designing, the mommy time, the wifey time, and the professional time, I was pooped! So I had to cut something and unfortunately, y'all were on the lower end of the list. I know, I suck. . .
So, let me catch you up on all things in the life of Jen and then we can continue our love relationship with food rather than our hate relationship with this cold weather. Also, I know this is random, but would anyone out there be interested in an online book club of sorts? I will have some more time on my hands soon and I have been craving a "can't-put-it-down" kind of reading session lately.
January: I spent January freezing my buns off in this bipolar Texas weather most days and working the new tax job. I learned a lot and have validated what I always thought. I LOVE NUMBERS! This girl right here is weird, I swear. So, numbers, sick kids, and a new job preparing taxes for the locals. The job was busy for this part because of all of those that like to file early and get it done ASAP.
February: Honestly, I don't remember too much about this month. I know it was rough-feeling and I came out of it with a sour attitude. The husband and I were really starting to feel some struggle, or at least I was. Here's where I am going to walk a fine line between being honest with you as my readers while not getting into too much of my personal life so I don't upset people in my life. We have struggled with the same set of issues in our marriage for most of the last two years, and a large portion of our "dating" life.
We have tried talking, counseling, sweeping it under the rug and pretending it isn't there, etc. Nothing has made it better. I made a tough choice about these issues and our relationship and I went to my husband with my decision. We have talked a lot about it since that initial talk and we are in a better place, but things are still not working. We are now separated. We will keep things civil and amicable (sp?) for the kids' sake but we will have moved into separate homes and are seeing how this changes things.
March: Started working for a local car dealership as an insurance specialist and finishing up my job at the tax prep office, while trying to prepare for the separation.
April: Last two weeks of tax prep, getting settled into the new job. At the end of the month, I obtained a part-time job working at a sandwich shop overnights so I could have the evenings with my kids again instead of not barely seeing them like when I worked the tax prep office. I bought my first car on my own!!! I have never done it without anyone's help, so for me this was a huge deal.
May: Moved into my new-to-me apartment with the kids. Things get sketchy here as a mere 8 days after I moved, I was laid off from my full-time job at the dealership as they are down-sizing to cut back financially. I had absolutely no notice. This hit me hard, harder than almost anything I have gone through before. I had already moved out, taken a note on a car I couldn't afford without that job, and was doing my best to become an independent woman. I was already terrified of failing, so I felt like this was a slap in the face. About a week later, I was in contact with an old supervisor about getting re-hired and just need to wait for the training.
Now: June 1st is coming quickly and I am nervous to see how this next month plays out for the kids and I. I have a lot of free time on my hand as I am job-searching (kind of) and waiting to start the training for the re-hire job so I will be putting some focus into this website and getting more posts and projects published. I will be looking to take this a slightly new direction, trying to shed light on a more frugal lifestyle as well as the DIY fun still. I have a few projects coming up that I am working on, including the makeover of an old kitchen cabinet, re-doing my kitchen on a super tight budget, some small decor ideas, and also incorporating some tips I am taking from a good friend of mine who happens to have a wealth of knowledge in homemaking. With her permission, I will link up to her site so you check it out. She is awesome!
I hope you will continue to follow me as I have some great things coming up and I am excited to share them with all of you. One thing I ask is that you take a moment sometime to give me feedback or to share the page, maybe even give me suggestions on something you would like to see here on the blog...
<3 y'all!
So, let me catch you up on all things in the life of Jen and then we can continue our love relationship with food rather than our hate relationship with this cold weather. Also, I know this is random, but would anyone out there be interested in an online book club of sorts? I will have some more time on my hands soon and I have been craving a "can't-put-it-down" kind of reading session lately.
January: I spent January freezing my buns off in this bipolar Texas weather most days and working the new tax job. I learned a lot and have validated what I always thought. I LOVE NUMBERS! This girl right here is weird, I swear. So, numbers, sick kids, and a new job preparing taxes for the locals. The job was busy for this part because of all of those that like to file early and get it done ASAP.
February: Honestly, I don't remember too much about this month. I know it was rough-feeling and I came out of it with a sour attitude. The husband and I were really starting to feel some struggle, or at least I was. Here's where I am going to walk a fine line between being honest with you as my readers while not getting into too much of my personal life so I don't upset people in my life. We have struggled with the same set of issues in our marriage for most of the last two years, and a large portion of our "dating" life.
We have tried talking, counseling, sweeping it under the rug and pretending it isn't there, etc. Nothing has made it better. I made a tough choice about these issues and our relationship and I went to my husband with my decision. We have talked a lot about it since that initial talk and we are in a better place, but things are still not working. We are now separated. We will keep things civil and amicable (sp?) for the kids' sake but we will have moved into separate homes and are seeing how this changes things.
March: Started working for a local car dealership as an insurance specialist and finishing up my job at the tax prep office, while trying to prepare for the separation.
April: Last two weeks of tax prep, getting settled into the new job. At the end of the month, I obtained a part-time job working at a sandwich shop overnights so I could have the evenings with my kids again instead of not barely seeing them like when I worked the tax prep office. I bought my first car on my own!!! I have never done it without anyone's help, so for me this was a huge deal.
May: Moved into my new-to-me apartment with the kids. Things get sketchy here as a mere 8 days after I moved, I was laid off from my full-time job at the dealership as they are down-sizing to cut back financially. I had absolutely no notice. This hit me hard, harder than almost anything I have gone through before. I had already moved out, taken a note on a car I couldn't afford without that job, and was doing my best to become an independent woman. I was already terrified of failing, so I felt like this was a slap in the face. About a week later, I was in contact with an old supervisor about getting re-hired and just need to wait for the training.
Now: June 1st is coming quickly and I am nervous to see how this next month plays out for the kids and I. I have a lot of free time on my hand as I am job-searching (kind of) and waiting to start the training for the re-hire job so I will be putting some focus into this website and getting more posts and projects published. I will be looking to take this a slightly new direction, trying to shed light on a more frugal lifestyle as well as the DIY fun still. I have a few projects coming up that I am working on, including the makeover of an old kitchen cabinet, re-doing my kitchen on a super tight budget, some small decor ideas, and also incorporating some tips I am taking from a good friend of mine who happens to have a wealth of knowledge in homemaking. With her permission, I will link up to her site so you check it out. She is awesome!
I hope you will continue to follow me as I have some great things coming up and I am excited to share them with all of you. One thing I ask is that you take a moment sometime to give me feedback or to share the page, maybe even give me suggestions on something you would like to see here on the blog...
<3 y'all!