First day on the job

I'm baaaaaacccckkk!!  I've been away far too long!  So, for my journal (since I probably have one reader) I'm writing again. 

Today marks six years at my current job. It was a very memorable first day. The boss and I were remembering today and I wanted to post my memories. 

 Back up a few weeks. Uphill, where I worked before, was on the verge of going out of business. I was told I should probably see about finding a new job. I started the hunt. My grandpa was in the hospital dying from cancer. My mom was spending every last minute she could with him. It was a highly emotional time. I applied to so many places. A few weeks later I had an interview with Wize. It went well and I felt optimistic about it. A few days later they said they wanted to do a second interview with the owner of the company who lived in the Dominican Republic. My mom was with Grandpa, so Dave's mom came over to watch Conni while I did a phone interview. I went downstairs and had a great interview. I came up when it was over and Conni was laying in the middle of the kitchen counter watching Sesame Street on our under cabinet DVD player. Daves mom just smiled and said, "well she's quiet!"  

While I waited to hear if I got the job at Wize, I received another job offer at SLCC. It didn't feel right and so we agonizingly turned down the job. Grandpa passed away. Then I received my job offer at Wize and we knew it was right. So a few days after Grandpas funeral I started my new job. 

So hoping life had settled down, we started a new week with a new job. My mom had Conni while I went to work. Just a normal day. Then I get a call on my cell from mom. I knew immediately something was wrong - mom wouldn't call on my very first day unless that was the case. Conni had fallen and cut her eye on a toy. It wouldn't stop bleeding. She didn't know if it needed stitches or anything. I told her if it had happened at home we would go ask her opinion in stitches. (See the post about the original injury here).  My dad said he thought it was ok. I decided to stay at work because I was confident my parents had everything under control, Conni wasn't upset, and I was so worried about making a good impression as a reliable worker. Now I know I can leave at a call if Conni needs me and my boss wouldn't think twice. 

Meanwhile, what I didn't know was that my boss was unprepared for me and he would have preferred one more day to get ready. He had a list of things to train me on (they were creating a new position for me in a very young company). His list was lost somewhere with his luggage on his return flight from the DR. 

Long story way too long,Conni was fine and my boss thinks I'm the greatest employee. Conni has a tiny little scar, but it's in the crease of her eye and I hardly notice it anymore. My mom still cries that Conni got hurt at her house. Conni doesn't hardly remember it. It was definitely my most memorable first day on the job!  

Pics of the original injury can be seen at the link above. Here's Conni's eye today. 

Haunted Gingerbread House

We got "boo-ed" last week with a fun Haunted Gingerbread House kit.  We put it together for Family Home Evening this week.  We had a lot of fun - and took lots of pictures!

We are all saying "oooohhhhh - scary!"

Our finished product!

So thanks to whoever shared our "Boo" treat with us - we had a blast building our house!

Mad Lego Skills

 We recently purchased a new Wii U game for our family - Yoshi's Wooly World.  We love it!  The entire game is made of yarn - the characters, the worlds - everything.  We have so much yarn in our lives these days we knew we had to play this all together.  We were able to also get the knit Amibo Yoshis in pink, green, and blue - our family's favorite colors.  

The day we bought it, Dave and I needed to finish up a project in the garage.  Conni chose to play legos while we worked.  She said she made a surprise for us.  This is what we found when we were all finished:

Conni worked super hard to spell "Yoshi" out of legos.  She was stuck on the 's' for a bit, but figured it out.  Then she set it up like this to show off to Mom and Dad.  

I love that her little brain is figuring out how to do all of this!  She loves legos, she loves video games, and she loves cute knit critters.  And we love her!  

Grandpa's Keys - Key #9

Key #9: Everey problem can be solved, sometimes you just have to look at it a little differently. 

My grandpa loved logic puzzles and brain teasers. He would challenge us and we would do our best to stump him. I would get frustrated and give up and try to get him to just give me the answer or show me how to do it. Instead of just giving me the answers, Grandpa would always show me some different perspective on the problem, or work through it with me and make sure the logic was sound. He wouldn't let my sisters just show me what to do. When something broke around the house and there wasn't money to replace it, Grandpa would work at it until he solved the problem or found a way to work around it. He never gave up!  

Grandpa's Keys - Key #8

Key #8: Remember to laugh. 

When I hear all the stories, I think my grandpa sure had a hard life. He was in the Navy for WWII and the Korean War. He lived through the Great Depression, and all sorts of other challenges.  He never liked to talk about those times.   But my grandpa was a happy man. He loved to tell jokes - even if I wasn't always old enough to hear them. And he loved to make us all laugh. Such an important lesson in such a rough world!

Grandpa's Keys - Key #7

Key #7: Schooling is important. Education is more important. 

My grandpa’s formal education ended after the fourth grade. It was the Depression and he was needed to help at home. However, my grandpa was one of the smartest people I knew. He could do complex math problems in his head like nobody's business. He was super good with mechanics and engineering. He ran his own successful business and handled all the paperwork, taxes, and finances himself. He could sew, cook, and clean just fine. I never heard him say he didn't know how to do that. He loved to learn and always tried new things. I remember how excited he was with his first computer. He would sit there and tinker until he figured out what he was trying to do. He loved a challenge.  He encouraged us to all do our best at school, and he was so proud of each of us when we were able to graduate high school and college.  I understood the value of education from Grandpa.

Grandpa's Keys - Key #6

Key #6: Everyone is capable of doing something, even if it's just holding the flashlight.

As I've mentioned above, Grandpa was a hard worker. He was so patient when he was working on a project and the grandkids showed up and wanted to help. Well, there's only so much a five year old can do when Grandpa's installing or fixing something. But, he always would say, "I'm so glad you are here. I really need more light here. Will you hold the flashlight for me?" And you can imagine the pride we each felt when we were "helping" Grandpa. I remember one time when I was in high school we were watching out the picture window and we saw the widow across the street trying to figure out how to change her taillight. Grandpa headed over to help while we watched. It was broad daylight out and we knew it would take Grandpa about two minutes to fix the light. Well, two minutes in, we suddenly see the neighbor standing by her car holding a flashlight! We all knew how important her job was! I love that my grandpa chose to spend time with us and incorporate us into his work and always made us feel important.  Shortly after Grandpa died, Dave was fixing something in the garage and Conni wanted to help.  I handed her a flashlight and wished I could call Grandpa to share. 

But, I know Grandpa saw and he was so happy.  I love that now my husband knows to ask Conni to hold the flashlight so she can still be involved with him too. 

Grandpa's Keys - Key #5

Key #5: Have some chocolate for the road. 

Grandpa always had a candy jar, and it was always full of the good candy - 3 Musketeers, Reese's Cups, Butterfingers - you get the idea. We just had to give Grandpa a hug and a kiss to get one. My mom would always say we could only have just one piece. But every time we told Grandpa goodbye, he'd give us one for the goodbye kiss, then he'd shove more in our hands for the road. There was always room for one more for the road. He spoiled us like crazy and loved to do what my mom (his daughter) had just told us not to do. I guess that's the prerogative of a grandpa, right?  It made me feel special that Grandpa “broke” mom’s rules and said yes when she said no.  Just as grandpas should do!