Monday, March 30, 2009

Love this Little Man (& His Beautiful Mama!)




A few weeks ago we took a much overdue trip to Helena to see Tree & Caleb. What can I say? We fell in love! Unfortunately, Luke had a business meeting in Bozeman so we didn't get to stay as long as we wanted (we'd still be there), but we got to love on Caleb and visit with Tree long enough to get the baby clock ticking. I swear, that girl is gorgeous! Even when she is wearing sweats and has just gotten up. Sigh. Caleb is sooo adorable. Luke just loved holding him. He did NOT want to share (only child syndrome - I blame his mother! j/k). Caleb has great facial expressions. I am a total Flickr stalker for new pics of him!

Making Things...


Here's a pie from Valentines day (yes, homemade crust. Its actually surprisingly easy...I just use the Betty Crocker recipe)


A burpie/buttie combo. This was for Christel's shower. The fabric is baseball themed for the little guy. Sorry the picture is a little bit sideways...you get the picture.

Friday, March 27, 2009

Workin' from Home

Luke's office just moved from 3 blocks from our house to 4 Corners, which is roughly 7 miles. So guess what? Now he can work from home! We got a new desk and he has that all set up in the "office" with internet access and everything so he is just good to go. Its nice. When he used to work out of town he spent a lot of time driving back and forth, so its nice that that extra time is cut out. He's a lot more productive, too, because he doesn't have as many distractions (i.e. his bosses, friends dropping by, the smell of hot dogs and onions from the 1st floor)... All is Good!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Reasons to Love Lynchburg #1: Weather

Its 25 degrees in Bozeman. When I came to work this morning it was 14 degrees and there was a fresh coat of snow.

In Lynchburg, its 43 degrees. The average for late March is 49 degrees.

By comparison, the average for late March in Bozeman is 37.5. 37.5 is still quite close to snow termperature & weather. 50 is like a spring day. Imagine that, spring weather during spring!

Kudos to Kirsten for writing a bill that got passed by the Legislature!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

good intentions

I have had really good intentions on blogging in the last few days. At lunch today I even got out the computer. However, I have pictures I want to post of babies and sewing projects and I couldn't find my little memory card reader. aahhh. Right before I came back to work I remember the one place I didn't look that would be the logical place it might be.

In other news, can you believe I actually have readers?? Amazing!! I thought I was the only person who read my blog. And my husband, and my mom when I tell her about a particular post. (My parents were quite impressed with my work essay, btw)

Lots of crafts and sewing projects swimming around my head these days. I wish I actually had time for it.

Lukes office is officially moved to 4 corners. Boo! I liked it when he worked 3 blocks from our house and could run home at lunch and bring me things I forgot and stuff like that. Oh well, $Free is a much better price that $A Lot!

And the move is still in the works...We found a new RE agent who is WONDERFUL! Im so excited. And I found another lady through etsy that happens to be an agent as well. So random.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Top O' the Mornin to Ya!

Happy St. Paddy's Day!!!


Here's our outfits for the day. Both of us had to change after we got dressed. I managed to remember that it was my brother's birthday, but not that I should be wearing green until I started watching the news and they were all greened out.


Speaking of, Happy 22nd Birthday Marker!!! We love you! This picture is of my brothers, Scott & Mark, in Ireland at McCarthy's pub/cafe/grocery store/etc.


This is the Cliffs of Moher.


Here's a typical Irish landscape - I made sure to include some sheep :) It was taken at my Grandma's cousin's house. He has a gorgeous house that overlooks the ocean and he owns a ton of land plus sheep and a few crumbling houses.


This is just a street in a small town in Ireland. I thought it looked really cool.

Happy Birthday Mark, Auntie Bonnie, and Kelly!

Happy 90th (yesterday) Gram!

Monday, March 16, 2009

Blogs are Sew Fun!!

I've been on a total sewing kick lately. I think because a) we ditched the cable to save money, and b) I keep finding sewing blogs. I love it! Its so inspiring to see what other people are doing, whether its quilts or bags or whatever. I keep downloading free bag & purse patterns. I have a binder that I put all my downloaded patterns into. I downloaded one last week and two this week already. Maybe one of these days I'll actually sew some and maybe I'll open an etsy account and sell my stuff. Etsy is a website where people can post their handmade objects for sale - i.e. purses, hats, jewelry, etc etc. I want to post some of my earrings. Maybe I can make some money off my hobbies.

This weekend for "quilting for orphans" we went on a field trip instead of quilting. We went downtown to the fabric store and picked out 26 different fabrics for quilts. There was some super cute stuff! I love fabric. Its really a disease.

I also made a skirt this weekend. Sewing clothes for myself is not always a success. I bought the pattern a few weeks ago and was using fabric that I've had for eons. I measured myself and chose the size based on the back of the pattern...After I finished the skirt I tried it on and it was horrible!! It was too big and hung down too long which made me look awkward since I'm so short. So now I am going to basically take it apart and start over. We decided the pockets weren't cute so I'll axe those and just take in the seams on the skirt panels. I'll have to fix the waistband too, and redo the zipper. yuck. I despise sewing zippers. I'd much rather do snaps. You get to hammer! Anyways, I'll post a picture of the skirt now and then after I finish it. Sigh.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Another View...


Check this picture out... As B. Cavanugh says a " Ground Zero" Experience.

Bozexplode: New Updates & Pics

Hey for all of you following the Explosion in Bozeman... What we know is that business owners will be able to see their business tonight with BPD. The Gas leak should be contained by 4:30 by NWE. Anyone needing shelter or help can contact Grace Bible Church for shelter or City of Bozeman for assistance.

You can keep up to date on Twitter #bozexplod... Thanks to the twitter community for keeping us updated and being the first on the story...

Here are some new pictures:



Updated... Pictures


Gas Explosion in Bozeman

Hey All... For those who don't know we had a large Gas Explosion in Downtown Bozeman this morning. It was felt all the way to mid-town which our Snowload building is. Here is a picture from Bridget Cavanaugh of the Explosion.

Monday, March 2, 2009

On Being Replaced...

Even though I am super excited to move to Virginia, it will be really sad to leave Bozeman. It will be hard to leave my job as well. I have been at Intermountain Financial Group - Montana for 3 years. Thats a record in Kelsieland. The only place I've worked longer than that is for my parents and Im not sure if that counts. (I'll probably never work anywhere for longer than I worked for my parents.) Anyways, I gave Elizabeth and Jurgen like 6 months notice because I figured I owed it to them and I couldn't keep a secret any longer. That was Friday, February 6th. By Monday, Elizabeth had spoken to someone about my job. Fast forward one month: They've already pre-interviewed two people, had a group interview with one girl, and posted my job with LC Staffing. She received another resume today and will interview that candidate soon. Its so weird to be replaced while Im still here. The goal is that the new Kelsie will start on June 1 and I will train them for two solid months. So that gets us to August 1. What am I supposed to do then? I suppose the move will be quite near at that point and I will be packing like crazy, so maybe it will be okay. I just want to make sure that the person who replaces me will take good care of Elizabeth. Its like Im leaving a family. I can't really describe how I feel about being replaced. Its so weird. Its sad and exciting and worrisome and just hard to explain.

On Friday, before our big interview, Elizabeth decided that she wanted the candidate to write an essay on the five most important aspects of teamwork. I made the mistake of mentioning that immediately my mind starts thinking of what I would write. So guess what? I got to write an essay too. Elizabeth was like okay, it's ten o'clock, you have until 10:20. Go!

Here is what I wrote:
Being a Team Player: Remembering there’s no “I” in TEAM

One could argue that being a team player is one of the most sought after characteristics of a good employee. Unless you are a sole proprietor, you will have to interface with others in your job environment. This can make or break an employee and a business. Here are five characteristics that will ensure a great team player.

1) The ability to pull your own weight. In any recipe, each ingredient has a specific purpose or flavor into creating the finished product. A team is the same way. Every person must be responsible for their task, and doing the best they possibly can, in order to make the team’s finished product the best it can be. Just like leaving the flour out of a batch of cookies can ruin it, a person’s lack of responsibility and follow through can have the same effect on their team’s production.
2) Having a vested interest in the finished product: Each person must not only be responsible for their “ingredient” but they must care about their ingredient and the finished product. If a recipe contains all organic, high end ingredients and one item is dollar store quality, the finished product will not be the same as if all ingredients were high quality. The more a person cares for their finished product and their place of employment, the more that care will shine through unto the finished product.
3) Having a vested interest in the other members on the team: The more you care about your team members both professionally and personally, the better your relationship will be, and that caring will show through on the final product. Just like members on a basketball team’s incoherence would severely inhibit their chance of winning a game, if individuals on a team do not respect and care about each other they will decrease the team’s unity and performance. This will also show through on the final project, especially when another member may need help.
4) Having a common goal: The vision of a common goal will have a giant impact on a team’s performance. If one team member is only interested in getting the project done, and one person wants the project to be the best project ever, the project will be of varying degrees of quality or success and that will reflect negatively on the whole team. However, if all team members want the project to be of utmost quality, it most surely will be.
5) Walking the talk: A person may say they are interested in a coherent team and their team members and the finished product, but if their behavior and actions are contrary to that verbage, it will have an effect on the team and its product. You must be willing to put your money where your mouth is and be true to your words and yourself and your team. You must be sincerely interested in all of the team qualities and members and let that sincerity show through in your behaviors.

The true following of these five characteristics will have a large impact on your success as a team and as a team member. Be a team player, and remember, there’s no “I” in team.

She probably shouldn't have made me do it, because now she said she has perfection and everything in comparison will be not as good. She sent my essay to Jurgen and he wrote back "Quick! Hire her!" Maybe I could get a job writing essays...