Monday

It's funny how when you aren't working that you sort of lose track of the days....my last day at Medtronic was March 9th, sometimes it feels like yesterday and other times it feels like a lifetime ago.
Haven't done too much today, was in a bit of a funk this morning but am feeling better now. Was supposed to have dinner tonight with my friend Trenton at Cafe Veloce in Kirkland (one of my favorite restaurants, Italian of course!) but he hurt his back yesterday doing too much yard work...we've rescheduled for Thursday evening. Trenton rocks, I worked with him for almost 2 years and for the last year at Medtronic he helped keep me sane. Him & I are part of the HK Kids club....if you don't know what it is, then you aren't a member. ha ha :)
It's funny how things come at times when you need them the most....example, I checked the mail today and got a card from my best friend, Amy....it has a big smiley face on the front and inside it reads "Just thought you could use a smile". What perfect timing!! I love when people do things that seem so little but end up making such a huge difference....I hope that makes sense. I love Amy, her & I have been friends since we were in the 7th grade.....we still are unclear as to how the friendship started....something about a note being passed, I'm not sure. Either way, here we are 20+ years later and still the best of friends. Amy lives in Iowa and we are going to stop at her place on the way back to NY, Matt has never seen where she lives and due to things being so amicable between him & I, we thought it would be nice to stop for a little visit. It'll also be nice to take a nice shower and sleep in a bed, ha ha ha! Thank you ahead of time, Amy! One more thing I'd like to say about Amy is that she inspires me, Amy went through hell two years ago and never once lost her sense of humor....I think about all that she went through and survived and it makes me feel like I can get through anything too. :)

Another good thing that happened today, I got the most wonderful e-mail from my friend Keno at Medtronic, he is such a wonderful guy....his e-mail really brightened my day. That's the thing about Medtronic, the company itself may have some large issues and those that work there know what I'm talking about....but it's the people there that make the company. If it hadn't been for all my wonderful friends there, I honestly don't know how I would have survived.

As you can see I'm on a "friends" kick....I've just realized once again how awesome it is to have wonderful friends in your corner....it makes such a huge difference in life to have people that you know you can count on and that care for you. :)

Jason (my brother) is closing on his first home on May 31st!! I couldn't be more proud of him, my 'little' brother is buying his first home! Awesome! I went to Florida back in March and stayed with him, we had an amazing time. Jason & I have become such wonderful friends, our mother would be so shocked considering how we got along when we were little. I take full responsibility for that one, I was an awful sister.....my mom used to call me "Sybil", that should explain what living with me was like. Ha ha. It's so funny because it's like the day that we found out that our mother had passed away, Jason & I instantly became the best of friends and knew that we had to stick together. I'm so happy for our relationship. We also spent some time with our dad when we were there and that was great too. Our dad is an amazing cook, he made buffalo wings for us and they were to die for. I wish I had inherited his love of cooking, I love listening to him talk about recipes or what he is going to make for dinner....he reminds me of Kaelee because they both just love to cook. Wanna give me some lessons? Someone? ha ha

I never did finish my book last night, had more left than I had thought and only got through about 80 pages until I couldn't keep my eyes open. Hopefully I'll finish it tonight. I've got a bunch of paperback books to bring on our road trip....two new authors that I've begun reading is Lisa Gardner and Tess Gerritsen, their books are awesome. My all-time favorite authors are James Patterson, Patricia Cornwell, David Baldacci....that's all I can think of right now. I love to sit down with a good book.

Well I think I've rambled enough for now. I still am trying to learn how to do some fancy stuff on this blog, it took me forever just to get my picture on here. I'm a work in progress. :)

Sunday

So I have been playing around with this and tried to add a few things to make things a little more interesting. I feel like a kid with a new toy!
Today was an okay day, we did some more packing and went to PetCo and bought a carrier for Winnie & Sydney. We put it in the living room so they could get used to it. They've done the drive before so they're 'seasoned veterans' at cross country moves. >^..^<
I took a 2 hour nap which felt wonderful and then Matt made dinner, pasta & sauce. Speaking of pasta, the restaurant that Kaelee, Kari & I went to last night in Issaquah was so nice! It's called Nicolino's and it was so cozy & quaint, the food was delicious, our waiter was great...I only wish I had discovered this place sooner. I honestly could eat Italian food every single day and never tire of it. I should have been Italian.
Tomorrow I don't have anything scheduled which is a bit of a relief. The last two weeks have been filled with dental appointments which led to having 3 teeth pulled (ouch!!), I've also been getting all 'tuned up' with my regular doctors. I decided to extend by health insurance through COBRA until I find a new job in New York, I figured with some of my medical issues...especially my back...I cannot have a lapse in insurance.
Here's a lesson I've learned lately.....there are always times in your life when you find out who the people are in your life that truly care about you, that are true friends. I've had this happen before when I lost a loved one and it has happened again between leaving my job at Medtronic, planning to get a divorce and move back to NY....it's always an eye-opening experience to discover who is really there for you. It's sometimes surprising to see that some people you may have thought were you friends really aren't....not that they're bad people, just not the kind of people that will be there for you no matter what. I have never been the type of person to want 100's of friends....I consider myself to be a very loyal friend and I will do anything, absolutely anything for my friends and I expect the same. Long story short, I have discovered once again who my true friends are....they know who they are....all I can say is that I'm very fortunate to have such wonderful people in my life. :)

I'm going to try and finish my book tonight..."Hide" by Lisa Gardner, it is awesome!!

Goodnight!

My first blog!

So this is my first time 'blogging'....should be interesting. As you can see by the name of my blog "New Beginnings", I am entering a new phase of my life. After almost 15 years of marriage Matt & I have decided to go our separate ways....it's very sad and aside from the death of my mother, the hardest thing I've had to go through....but we tried, we really did, we gave it our best and we decided that although we love each other and always will, we aren't meant to be married. There is no drama (thank god) and I couldn't ask for a healthier or more mature divorce, kind of sounds like an oxymoron but it's true. He's a wonderful person and I respect and love him very much and wish nothing but happiness for him....I know that we will always be friends and that makes things a little bit easier....just a little bit.

So, on Sunday May 6th I am hitting the road and moving back "home" to my hometown of Lockport, NY. Believe it or not, Matt is driving with me...this is how wonderful of a friend he is. I will be staying at my Grandpa Miller's house....it's empty as my Grandpa passed away this past November and my family has it up for sale and offered to let me stay there until I get on my feet, find a job and my own apartment. I'm taking very little with me, my personal stuff, knick-knacky things, etc, so it really will be a new beginning for me in almost every possible way. I'm kind of excited about that, scared but excited.

It's sad to leave though. I truly love living out here in Washington and I will miss it. I will miss my friends too. I have finally made TRUE friends and am sad to leave them but I know that we will stay in touch.

Tonight I went out to dinner with two wonderful friends, Kari & Kaelee....had a delicious dinner and wonderful conversation. It's kind of ironic that after all these years of living out here, I've finally made friends that I "click" with, feel part of the group, things like that and now I'm leaving. Sigh.

Well I am going to go read and then get some sleep. Goodnight!