A Shift

Well, we are 2 days into Shell's new position and have already learned a lot. Yesterday morning was a big fat fail, but what went wrong was highlighted and those things went 100% smoother this morning. She's struggling with sleeping at night, but that is something we both saw coming because it's a problem she has always had on the weekends too. I figure it'll take a couple of weeks to become her new sleeping pattern. I had to work at Pet*Mart the last two nights and didn't get home until after 10, so I only got to enjoy having her there for a short time before we fell asleep, but I'm hoping that we'll have some *quality* time either tonight or tomorrow.

Speaking of Pet*Mart, I've decided not to continue working there after the end of this month. It was quite a challenge to juggle two jobs, 4 classes and my family for the last two semesters and I always felt like I was just making it work. I need to be more present for my family and in my schoolwork, so something needed to give. I think that my full-time job probably suffered too and I can't let that happen either. Especially since it looks like I'm going to get a promotion which will mean that I'll be packing more into my 8-hour days and I need to be at the top of my game for that. So, bye-bye part-time job....at least through the next school year. I hope that they'll be willing to hire me back next summer if we need some extra money.

As for the promotion, I'm meeting with our Vice-President next week to discuss the new position and what it would mean in terms of a salary increase. It would be fantastic if it could make up for the shift differential that Shell lost along with the money that I won't be making by working part-time, but that may be wishful thinking. I'm hoping without expecting...

My kids will be 13 years old in 3 weeks... Still processing this one.

My nieces are coming next week for a two week visit. This makes me thrilled and wary. I miss them a ton and really enjoy them when they come, but events during their visit last summer caused the argument and resulting 4 month silence between my mother and I that I'm hoping will not be repeated again. I've already talked to my mom about some things that I think will help prevent the same issues from popping up and I was very happy that she agreed with me. I really just want to enjoy them while they are here. My oldest niece will turn 17 next month and will graduate high school in the spring, so I don't anticipate that she'll be coming out to visit next summer. We are planning to go to California for her graduation and then make it our vacation as well, but I don't think I'll have much time with just her. I'm looking forward to some good long talks and simply happy moments with her and her sister.

The Fall semester starts in 6 weeks and I'm trying very hard to read as much as I can before I jump back into textbook reading. There are so many books that I want to read, but I decided to do something a little different this summer. I've stuck to reading only memoirs or autobiographical books and am really enjoying myself. I started the summer with a fiction one before deciding to limit myself and really enjoyed Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult. I am a big fan of hers and this one didn't disappoint me. I hardly ever buy books anymore and usually just get them at the library, but Shell bought it for my birthday after I had mentioned wanting to read it. Since then, I've read True You by Janet Jackson, Brady, Brady, Brady by Sherwood and Lloyd Schwartz, Foxy by Pam Grier, and Getting the Pretty Back by Molly Ringwald. I'm currently reading Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond (The Pioneer Woman) and am reading One From the Hart by Stefanie Powers with Shell. I just got a notice from the library that my next book is ready for me to pick up, so I'll probably start The Way I See It by Melissa Anderson tomorrow. There are still too many on my to-read list, but I'm doing the best I can. I do miss it though.