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My new Kindle June 23, 2009

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So I bought an ebook reader. I decided on the Kindle2 from Amazon. It arrived today. This is really cool and I could get in to a lot of trouble with it. lol. I put a couple of books on it already, and I have a list of books to add later. I am also waiting for a few books to be released that I will add when they come out. This will save me tons of space in my bags when I travel, it will pay for itself in the amount I will save on paper books, and I can carry it with me just like a paperback. The only downside is a lot of lesser known authors publish books for under a dollar. Great savings, but I can see myself spending lots of dollars a book at a time. lol

Not really thought provoking but…. June 17, 2009

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I am thinking of getting an Kindle or e-Reader. It would be an expensive purchase at first, but the books would be cheaper then what I currently spend, it would take up less room in my bags when I travel, and it would save me from impulse purchases at the book stores. It might be a worthwhile purchase.

Wow it is already June June 17, 2009

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So the remodel on the house is finished and it looks great. I will post a link to some before and after pictures once I get them uploaded.

Work is going well and I have an interview for a possible promotion scheduled for the second week of July. I am looking forward to that.

Other then that nothing new is going on. I just figured I would post something here since it has been awhile. Maybe later tonight I will think of something profound and thought provoking to write about.

Then again, maybe not.

More time has past… May 25, 2009

Posted by Staci in : Diet/Fitness, General Ramblings, Vacations, Work Stuff , add a comment   

and once again I collected a ton of things to write here, but never had the chance to post. So another bulk update.

House Stuff –
We did find a nice house when we went out. Actually a great house that just needs some cosmetic work. I made an offer, it was accepted, and we closed on the house on May 6th. The painting has begun and once that is finished new carpet will go down. The other minor things it needs are a light fixture in one of the bathrooms, ceiling fans though out to help with the electric bill, and new toilets. I have before pictures, and tomorrow if all goes well I will take some in progress pictures.

Diet stuff -
Well I have yet to shed any of the extra pounds I have been carrying, but it has been difficult to do. I have a girls weekend with my friends involving a few of my friends, a trip to Vegas, and this holiday weekend. I will be back on track on Tuesday with my diet though.

Fitness stuff –
I am still not running, but I am walking. My friend Ruth and I are still training for the Half Marathon in Rachel NV that will take place in August. We are going to walk it and we figure it will take a little over 4 hours to complete. We missed a few walks due to vacations and stuff, but are back on track now and have plans for a nice nine mile walk on Wednesday.

Work stuff -
They did another round of layoffs. Thankfully this time my department was not impacted but the stress level is still really high. With the expansion into India our staff has been reduced to less then half of what it was 2 years ago. So far my job is still save, and my annual performance review was great so I am trying to stay positive.

Girls weekend -
Was a blast as usual. Lots of fun times talking, laughing, and of course drinking.

Vegas trip –
Very fun. My sister and I went for 4 days to play in a Bingo event. We have not gone on a vacation that was just the two of us before so it was a new experience. We didn’t win any money, but we had a lot of fun and are already looking forward to doing it again next May.

Memorial Day weekend –
Well I am home alone all weekend. My mother took my nephew to the resort for the weekend, so it is just me and Sonic. It is nice having the house to myself and being able to watch whatever I want on tv. I have a bottle of wine that I am debating opening so I can toast to the fallen soldiers who gave their lives to defend my freedom.

Shopping –
I haven’t done much of it because everything makes me look fat. However a friend of mine has an online shop where she sells hand-crafted jewelry. The website is http://moonsea.etsy.com She has some very nice stuff.

Well that is all I have for the moment.

Buying a house update April 4, 2009

Posted by Staci in : General Ramblings , 1 comment so far   

Some people know I am buying a house. The market is perfect for it, and my retirement account is shrinking on a daily basis so this will be a good investment for my future.

We offered on a house a few weeks ago. A nice 4 bedroom 2 story house. The bank finally accepted out offer so we could do the offical house inspection. Well the house looks nice, and has a good foundation and over all structure, but it would need to be completly gutted and redone. Their are a lot of plumbing leaks, at least 2 roof leaks, and dry rot. We had a window of time from when the bank accepted in order to withdraw based on the inspection with no penalty so we pulled the offer because thee is more work needed then I can afford to have done.

We go out looking again tomorrow. I really hope we find something suitable soon. I know that we will have to put in money for repairs on pretty much any home we buy but I do have a budget to stick within to make it possible. I guess we shall see what tomorrow brings.

Seven Miles March 26, 2009

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So my friend R from work and I are going to walk in a half marathon in August. It is a race/walk that starts at 1230 am and goes along the ET Highway by Area 51. We have been walking to get prepared and today we set a goal of 7 miles. We did it. We averaged about 22 minutes per mile which isn’t as fast as we would like, but that included stopping for water and bathroom breaks. I feel pretty good about this. I know walking it isn’t the same as running it, but I am off the couch and moving. I am confident we can build the distance and then start getting a little bit faster each mile.

Tuesday the 10th. March 12, 2009

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So I had a phone interview for a permanent fraud coach today. My interview was susposed to be in person, but it was scheduled for this week when I am not in town. I was advised that they could not reschedule so if I did not do a phone interview, I would miss out on the opportunity for the job. I was sort of nervous about the process since I have never interviewed of the phone before, but yesterday while I was driving up to Laughlin I gave it a lot of thought. In person I tend to be really nervous with new people when I interview. I forget what I want to say, and don’t sound like I am sure of myself, and I stress myself out over it. However I worked on the phone for almost 10 years. I am confident on the phone. I am good at sounding like I know all the answers even if I am unsure if the answer is correct. I spent a long time doing it and I was really good at it. So I relaxed and waited for the phone to ring this morning.

Over all I think the interview went ok. I had a couple of stories on building and leveraging relationships ready, but they actually asked 5 around that so I had to come up with more on the spot. They also asked questions about actioning negative feedback when I had made a mistake. I had a good one for that. There was a question about driving results, and an open ended question about overall skills for coaching. They also asked a question about giving positive feedback. I didn’t have one for that ready so I had to come up with one. I had one, but it was from a few years ago. I used it because I couldn’t think of another, but after the call was over I thought of a great one that would have fit so much better. Then it was my turn to ask a question. I asked about what the role would entail between classes. I really liked the answer I got. The Learning Network is growing and changing in a way that looks really positive and I think I would enjoy being a part of that change. My skills would be used not only to help fraud, but to help the company as a whole. I also think that my prior skills in TSC and my experience in other areas of the business will make me an asset to the department.

I feel pretty good about this interview. I had none of the nervousness that I usually have and was relaxed and confident though the whole thing. Also the fact that I was willing to do this interview over the phone while on my vacation showed them how flexible I am and how much I am interested in the opportunity.

I am thinking positive and hopeful that they offer me the job, but if they don’t I have a couple of co-workers who applied that if they get the role instead of me, I won’t be upset. As long as the people they hire are as good as myself or better I am ok with that.

Watchmen March 8, 2009

Posted by Staci in : General Ramblings , 1 comment so far   

So I went to see this movie. I had read the graphic novel so I knew what it was supposed to be about and I must admit it was better then I thought it was. I will say do not take children to see this. It is rated R for a reason.

I won’t spoil the fun, but Rorschach was awesome. The actor did a great job of portraying him and the voice was perfect. The rest of the cast was good as well. They stayed fairly true to the story and the only thing I really wish was that they had done more with the back-stories of the characters. They did enough so that anyone who has never read the book can follow the motives of the characters, and I know that they really didn’t have the time to add anything else in so I am not disappointed. The “comic with-in a comic” was taken out, but it is being released on it’s own DVD later this month. Since it was not really essential to the main story I really didn’t miss it at all.

It’s been awhile….. February 28, 2009

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and a ton of things have been happening. So I am in training once again for a half marathon. It will be in August and will be a 1230 am run along the ET highway in Rachel, NV. A co-worker is joining me and we are training together. We are goal is to train to run the whole thing, but with the elevation change we might end up walking some of it. The air will be a lot thinner then I am used to and with my asthma we might have to go to a run/walk method. Training is going well and we have plenty of time to get ready so I am sure we will be successful. We have already booked our flights and hotel so everything is all planned for and there can be no backing out.

Next I bought a new car. I traded in my 2005 Hyundai Tiburon for a 2008 Hyundai Tiburon. It has a lot of nice upgrades and I love the way it looks.

Third I am looking at buying a house. We have been going out the last few weekends looking at bank owned houses in the are that are marked down a lot due to the market. We had offered on one 2 weeks ago, but that offer fell through. We just offered on 2 others today and hopefully will know soon if either offer was accepted.

Well that is it in a nutshell.

Goodbye 2008 Hello 2009 January 1, 2009

Posted by Staci in : General Ramblings , 1 comment so far   

So a new year is in front of us. I am hopeful that it will be a better year then the last, But I do know that the calender starting over does not mean a fresh start to everything.

I went out for New Years Eve and rang in the New Year with friends. I had fun and even though I wasn’t really sure I wanted to go, I am glad I went. It has been too long since Michelle and I hung out.

My resolution for this year is to once again hit my goal weight and this time stay there. I know that a lot of people make the same promise, but I feel I have to stick with it. I have a lot of clothes I spent good money on that don’t fit anymore.

As to the rest of my life, well work is fine, I enjoy the friends I have, I have a wonderful family and I am happy being single. I don’t know that I want any of that to change. But then again since I am female it is my prerogative to change my mind at anytime.