Ended Up Being a Great Weekend

Steve somehow got Friday off from both jobs. I had to work at the YWCA until noon, then when I went to Sears to work my normal 1 to 7 shift, I found out I had the day off.  So we both ended up having almost the whole day off.

I helped Steve finish fixing our shed roof and cleaned up the back yard.  Then it was family time when my parents, Grammie, sister and her boyfriend came over for dessert.

Saturday, we both had to work and we finally got some much needed rain.  Then we worked on planning our presentation at church on Sunday.  Sunday, we met with a different Sunday School and shared our journey to Cameroon. I think we did really well and it was fun to meet some new people. Even though we go to small church, I don't know everybody yet.

After church and work, my sister, mom and Grammie had some girls night out fun shopping for clothes. Of course, we went to Sears for their Friends and Family event. I love discounts.  The picture is one of the new outfits that I'm wearing today. I have a cute black skirt and some new white sandles on too.

One Week Left! Please Help if You Can!

The Big Red Shoes Are Back

The YWCA Staff Team needs some help to reach our goal.  There is one more week left to reach our goal!  Go to www.ywcancin.org and click on the red shoe or click on the link.

Join us in my efforts to support YWCA - North Central Indiana

Thank you for supporting YWCA - North Central. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.

Team Fundraising Goal:	$1,000.00
Total Raised:	$400.00

Can you walk a mile in her shoes! Join men throughout Michiana in the effort to raise awareness & money for the YWCA's Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault programs.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

9 am check in begins

10 am walk begins

Coveleski Stadium

South Bend, IN

Our Crazy Week

It looks like we have survived our crazy work week so far.  Steve and I both worked almost 60 hours this week between our two jobs.  I didn't think we would make it through.  I am so tired today.  I can't remember the last day I had off from both jobs.  Steve actually had the day off today from both jobs.  I hope he had a great and relaxing day.  He really needed a day off.  He was getting pretty tired.  He actually worked more than I did because a kid at Sears decided on Saturday that he didn't want to come in to work, so Steve picked up some unscheduled hours.  If we had the extra money, I would say we needed to take a vacation, but maybe someday soon we will take a "stay-cation." 
I am definitely thankful that Steve and I both have great jobs.  There are so many people out there that don't have any jobs.  God has certaintly been providing for us with all the budget cuts at the YWCA.  The upside of all the work is we have the money we need to house repairs and we can throw the extra towards paying off Steve's student loan.   The downside is that I'm so tired all the time and we don't get the spend very much time with friends or family or each other.  I do love getting together with my family every Tuesday for Trivia Night at Mancino's and we did have some much needed time with friends on Labor Day.  I even made ribs for the first time all by myself because Steve was at work.  We really need to do that more often.

Our Crazy Summer

This has been a really busy summer so far in the Pitney household.   We just went entered the new Fiscal year at work.  That means that not only am I am working to finish up the prior Fiscal Year, but I also have get everything started for the new one.  I finished the Annual Data report last week.  I kill a few good trees everything I have to complete that.  It's between 60 and 70 pages long and I need to print 9 final copies of it and I have to do it at the end of every Quarter.   It is interesting to look at the finished report and see what we have done all the year and how many clients we have served.  It tells a fun picture of what we do. 
Due to budget cuts, I am still only working 36 hours a week, plus the hours I'm working at Sears.  We are working to get some new funding to replace what we lost.  We also just finished a big event and we another have one coming up in October.  Walk A Mile: Mens March Against Domestic Violence --> Steve is participating in this and could use your support.

Steve has been working really hard too.  His hours were cut back to 32 hours a week at the YWCA, so that means he will have one day off every week.  That will give him so four day weekends, so he is happy about that.  He is picking up whatever hours he can at Sears to make up the difference.  I really do have a great husband.  He has a really tiring job some weeks, but he still willing to work sometimes up to 24 hours a week at Sears.
With both of us working on average 50 or so hours a week, it makes it interesting to find time to spend together.  God has been providing for us in amazing ways this summer and I trust that He will continue to do so.  There are a few goals that may have to slowed down a little for us, but the important things are still in tact.  This post made me really tired to read. I think I'm going to take a nap...after I make dinner, exercise on the Wii Fit a little, and do some house cleaning.  I have to admit life is pretty good right now.

Sears Hometown Store Grand Opening Weekend

This weekend was a great weekend.  Saturday was the South Bend Sears Hometown Store's Grand Opening.  I worked from 9am to almost 6:30pm.  We were really busy, which is great.  I loved watching all the people supporting the new store.  I was surprised that I didn't see anyone from the other Sears come and support the new.  It's privately owned family business, so when you shop at the Hometown Store you are supporting a local family and the couple that owns the store is super-nice.  Anything that is available at the mall Sears can be ordered into the Hometown Store, so instead of going to the mall you should come to the Hometown Store on South Michigan. :o)  I was pretty exhausted when I got off work.  I thought the day went really smoothly.  After work on Saturday, I had to babysit for the girls.  Saturday was also my dad's birthday, so I picked up the girls and brought them to my parent's house and we had some dinner and birthday brownie. 

Sunday was another busy work day for me.  We got up and went to small group before church.  Then Steve stayed at church, but I had to go to work at Sears.  Steve decided on Saturday night that he wanted to have a cookout on Sunday for his birthday, so while I was at work he had to invite people and get things set up.  We had to babysit again on Sunday and since I had to work till 4 and Shere has to leave for work at 2, Steve volunteered to watch the girls for a few hours all by himself until I got off work.  He survived the craziness of two little girls just fine.  When I got home, I took the girls and we did some cookout shopping while Steve went to go pick up Damian from the airport.  The girls and I bought some chicken, hot dogs, and chips.  We even got some cake and ice cream.  I think were excited to help pick out what we were going to eat.  We got home and I cleaned up the house and got it ready for the cookout and girls played outside in the front yard.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day yesterday.  It was a perfect day for a cookout. 

Today is Steve's birthday!  Happy Birthday to my amazing husband!

My New Job Starts Tomorrow

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I get to start my new part time job tomorrow.  Who knew that I could be unfairly fired from the Sears in the mall, then go work for the Sears Homestore in South Bend?  I'm excited about it though.  I already have some knowledge about the stuff I will be selling and it's a family-owned business.  They close at 7pm during the weeks, so I will only be working on the Friday and Saturdays, and possibly some Sundays but not many. It's a pretty new store and they don't feel like the have the business yet for me to be on commission like I was at the mall, so I will be hourly instead.  I don't know yet what the hourly amount will be, but I trust it will be fair.  The new location is on Michigan St, just north of Ireland.  The Grand Opening is April 9th, so I hope all my friends and family can make it to support me and the new store.

I have a second interview next Tuesday for a part time job that would be Monday-Thursday evenings and Saturdays for 20 hours a week.  It's for 4-C's in South Bend and it's a data entry job that feels like it will be very similar to what I'm doing at the YWCA now and they even said I could work some from home.  My mom used to have an at-home day care with 4-C's and the lady I had my first interview with actually remembered my mom.  I feel a little overwhelmed at the thought of potentially working three jobs.  I will definitely have to get my time organized, so I don't work myself to death. 

Am I crazy? Possibly, but I don't see it as my life forever.  I figure if I work like a crazy person now when Steve and I start a family, I won't have to work as much.  I really want to be able to stay home for as long as I can after the child is born.  I also really want to pay off our debt.
I was so stressed and angry when I lost my job at Sears, but it seems like things are really coming together.  It's been a long few weeks, but I'm ready for the next adventure.

I Feel Productive Today

I feel really productive today.  The past month has been so busy at work with all the monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, and annual grant reports that have to be done by January 15th.  Since I've spent the last month working mainly on those reports, there are other projects and other work that has had to be put on the back burner.  I also have to do the semi-annual data report about all the services and clients we have served in the last 6 months.  That report is about 50 pages long.  I actually enjoy working with data and statistics though, so it's kind of fun.  I think it's interesting to see how many clients we have served and from what walks of life they are coming from.  It makes me feel like even though I don't actually meet personally with the clients that my work is making a difference in their lives.

Today, I have spent the morning trying to catch up on everything that I have been putting on the back burner for the last month.  I'm very happy to see my big pile getting smaller.  Hopefully the rest of the day will be just as productive and hopefully this productive feeling will continue when I get home.  I have a bunch of housework, ie laundry and dishes, that need to be done.  The laundry is actually all clean.  It just needs to be folded and put away.

• Wise words bring many benefits, and hard work brings rewards. Proverbs 12:14
• He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done. Proverbs 19:1

Hope Deferred Makes the Heart Sick

I feel a little better than I did yesterday.  I just felt so overwhelmed and stressed yesterday it was making my stomach hurt.  Work has gotten really busy and things just seem so out of control.  I know they aren't but I can't help but feel so disorganized.  I find myself getting angry at the really small stuff that shouldn't matter.  I am so thankful that Steve and I have two jobs, so we are able to make some good headway on our debt, but I'm tired.  I really don't like weeks like this week when I work Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights and Steve works Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights.  We won't see much of eachother this week, except for the at YWCA, in the morning, and at bedtime.
On top of that, Steve and I are trying to get our house organized.  We have lived in the house for two years now and there are projects that were started that aren't done and we still can't use our garage.  The house seems to messy and cluttered.  I know I need to get more discipline to get everything done, especially if we plan to have kids someday.   "How do you eat an Elephant?"  One bite at a time, right.
I know that I have no reason to complain.  I have an amazing husband that is such a hard worker.  I have so many blessings.  I have a job that I love, amazing friends, a great supportive family, and so much more.  I am really looking forward to the Pitney Christmas get together this weekend.  It should be a much needed break with family.  Steve's brother and family are going to be staying us over the weekend.   This means we have to kid-proof the house and do some de-cluttering.  I'm exciting that they are coming though.

Lately everytime I feel overwhelmed and just want to quit and take a break from the two jobs, I just focus on this verse.  We are so close.
"Owe nothing to anyone--except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God's law." Romans 13:8

"Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life." Proverbs 13:12

Summer 2010

For the past few weeks, I have been working about 60 hours a week.  I know for some that seems like way to much and for others sounds easy, but I'm starting to feel a little tired.  I love my jobs though, so I guess that's a plus.  I'm trying to make as much as I can with the second job, because it's going to be a busy and expensive summer. 

Steve and I taking a vacation during the first week of June down to Dallas, TX.  The Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics is where Steve wants to do his Graduate work to enter Wycliffe.  We are visiting to attend a Total It Up week long workshop.

"This five-day course includes introductory classes on phonetics and phonology, grammar, language and culture learning, translation and semantics, as well as field reports, videos, and personal testimonies. Learn in a relaxed, informal setting with experienced translators from many different countries and language projects. Devotions, prayer time and group living build meaningful relationships between staff and students."

It should be a very stretching experience for me.  We also get to see one of my best friends, Lizzy, and her family while we are down there, so I excited about that too.
 
On top of that my cousin Joe is getting married in an amazing girl named Carrie in June and my brother is getting married in August.  My parents 30th Wedding Anniversary is also this summer.  Not to mention, we have 2 sister-in-laws that are expecting (one of them due very soon), one of my best friends, Tabby, is expecting in October, Steve's cousin had twins last month, my friend Esther is also expecting in the fall, our chef at work is pregnant (also due in October)...This summer/fall is apparently the time for babies.

And...Steve wants to do some work on the house this summer.  He wants to build a porch on the front, so we can sit out there when it's nice.

Part Time Job

I got a Part-Time job yesterday. I will be working part time at the Sears on Ireland a few nights a week. I'll be working in the Hardware section. They were originally going to put me in the Appliance section but I guess they changed their mind.

I start the job on Friday. So if you are in the area and need to go shopping, you should stop by and visit.

Steve is mostly excited about the Sears discount that we will now get. Hopefully this will be eliviate a little bit of our money stress. We are sticking to our budget pretty good, but it is getting kinda tight lately.

Steve donated Plasma last Saturday in South Bend and got $35 and he wants to to go again this weekend and he should get $50 the second time. That should help us too.

If you want to go too, you can go to Biomat on Western. The first time you go though, you might want to have someone else drive you. I had to pick Steve up on Saturday because they wouldn't let him drive home because he passed out twice afterwards.