Last Day...

Today was my last day at Hartmann & Forbes.

It was with mixed feelings that I said good-bye to those that I worked closely with for the past 3 months.

My first two months at H&F were a bit rocky, but when our receptionist left last month, and I got a few more responsibilites handed to me, I began to really enjoy my job. I felt a lot better about my job! Now the past week, I spent training others to take over all those responsibilites and more!

I learned a few things about myself while working at H&F:
1) I really dislike working in HR. This was at least my 3rd HR position, and I've never been satisfied working in this field.
2) I do not enjoy open-ended tasks.
3) I love maintaining systems, but am not so good at creating new ones.
4) I love working with Excel and learning new functions using that software.

I'm sure there are more things that I learned, but that's it for now.

H&F turned out to be a great learning experience for you. I'm grateful for the things I learned and the people I was able to work with.

A New Reputation...

I've got a new reputation at work!

At AFP, I was always known to never turn down food--chocolate, donuts, pizza...you name it. If it was offered, I ate it. I would even make special trips to HR, where I knew there was a jar of candy--usually chocolate--just waiting for consumption.

At H&F, I'm now known as the girl trying to be good. It's been kind of good for me. It makes the temptation for snagging a free donut so much easier to resist. :-)

I'm currently in Week 3 of the ChangeOne (R) diet--snacks. Snacking has always been my downfall, but I've been very good this week. Each day so far, I've only had my 2 (100-calorie) snacks.

If you don't know what ChangeOne is, check out this website: www.changeone.com. Basically it's a 12-week program that focuses not only on weight loss, but on making healthier choices. You start off tackling Breakfast, then lunch, then snacks, then dinner. I've never made it past Week 4, so I don't know exactly what the focus is of each of the following weeks. I know there is one on eating out, one on exercise, one on keeping off the weight (I think). I know that so far, I've really learned a lot about how much I should be eating.

I haven't lost any weight yet, but I think it will come in time. Hopefully by the end of the 12-week program...

Winter in Oregon

Winter in Oregon is unlike winter anywhere else (at least in my experiences).

Growing up in Minnesota (and living in Missouri and New York), I am used to cold weather, snow, and underneath the snow...dead grass.

Here the winter is the beginning of the rainy season, so the grass is a very vibrant green! It is so beautiful! Sometimes I just can't get over it, and I stare out the window at the rich colors of winter. The green grass is complemented by all the evergreen trees. It is truly a sight to see. I should really take some pictures.

Of course it does get cold here and it does snow as well.

I think it has snowed twice this winter so far. It is kind of funny, because it might snow over night and a little in the morning--possibly accumulating 1-inch (tops), and the schools will shut down. By the afternoon, almost all of the snow will have melted, and we'll be left with the brilliant grass peaking through. Gorgeous!!

This is usually accompanied by a cold spell where the temperatures might dip down to the teens--usually just the 20s.

All is all the cold and snow don't seem to last very long (knock on wood as I type, and hopefully as you read, this), which is perfect for me because I only like the cold and snow in small doses.

I have to admit...so far this winter has been quite enjoyable--with the brilliant colors (rainbows, grass, trees, etc) and relatively mild temperatures (remember I'm a MN girl).

Brilliant Rainbows

Yesterday, driving home from the grocery store, I got to behold one of the most brilliant rainbows! After several days of one downpour after another, there was a break in the rains yesterday afternoon. It was so beautiful, I longed to have a camera as part of my phone--or a camera of some sort. Of course a digital pic probably wouldn't have done it the justice it deserved.

Since moved out to the rainy Pacific Northwest, I have seen several rainbows. I guess that is one of the perks of living in an area that rains 8 months out of the year! Growing up in MN, its not like I've never seen a rainbow before, but they're different out here. I can pick out every single color in the ROY G BIV spectrum. They are big and brilliant--and frequent!

Unfortunately, I usually see them while I'm driving. This could cause a problem because I am so drawn to them that I'm not paying as close attention to the road. :-(