Did You Say PROMOTION?!?!

I work WAY too many hours...but it appears that some of that hard work is paying off.  I got a promotion!! HURRAY!

And....HAPPY DANCE!!!

OK, now that's out of the way... My super sweet mom had an Edible Arrangement sent to the office to celebrate my promotion.  Isn't she sweet?!  Sorry, but I need to use the photo from their website. We all started scarfing chocolate covered fruit as soon as it arrived and the fruit was pretty sad looking by the time I realized I should have taken a picture.  :-)

The funny thing about the whole promotion?  My title change showed up on our corporate intranet before my boss even got to talk to me!  At least HR is on the ball!!  Now let's hope that raise shows up in this week's paycheck....

I feel like I should do something to celebrate.  Mind you...just something small.  Any ideas?

They're HOME!

Sorry again for the delay, gang!  You've all been such good sports about waiting for my "they're home" post.  :-)

I said "good-bye" to the boys on Christmas night last year, fully expecting that Uncle Sam keep them in Afghanistan for the full 12-14 months.  I can not tell you how happy I am that they were returned early!!

Even more than a week later - I'm ecstatic!

Many of you lovely ladies have friends or family in the military, so you know how unpredictable Army life is.  Hurry up and WAIT... and that we did a whole lot.  Originally, the guys were supposed to be home "sometime the first week of December".  That didn't happen.  Then it was the 13th at 8 PM...then the 14th at 2 AM...then 1:30...then back to 2..and on, and on, and on. 

They touched down at 3 AM.  The ceremony was at 7 AM in Magrath Gym.  (BTW - I still claim that navigating military bases is a life skill!)  The fabulous staff in charge of the ceremony/abbreviated shin dig asked that we be there at least 2 hours early.  So, after almost no sleep; a shower in frigid water; and fighting with a hair dryer that didn't want to work - I had my keister in the gym at 4:45.

We were then treated to 2 hours of patriotic songs and slideshows while we waited.  I actually found people I knew in the slide show; SCORE!! I have tons of pictures, but here are my favorites.

Marching in...

It takes a few minutes to get 297 soldiers in place.

Precision saluting!

G is trying NOT to make eye contact with me. (He's the big guy in the second row)

JC is back row in the middle. :-)

My favorite part was at the end when they had to sing the 10th Mountain Division song.  It was horrible and fantastically hysterical.  What you should know is that this song is short.  And painted on the top of the wall.  All they had to do was read...and have some semblence of rhythym.  It would have been a whole lot less memorable if they all had sung the song together; and in tune!!

As soon as they broke formation - I got some of the best hugs and kisses of my life.  :-)

*Also of note: The roads of Watertown, NY are ghetto-rific after a snow storm and I am extremely thanful for 4 wheel drive.*

Whatcha Think?!?!

I got me a bloggy makeover!

Isn't it awesome?!?!  Well, I think so!

I love April.  She listened to exactly what my "vision" was and came up with this.  Every step of the way she showed me what she was doing and asked for feedback.  As a result of her great communication - I could not be more pleased with how my blog looks now!

Can you tell how excited I am?!?!

Are you in the market for a blog design (or re-design)?  Go visit April.  She's awesome to work with and immensely talented.  FYI...the holidays are coming up and based on her current waitlist, she won't be starting any new designs until January.  Don't let that stop you though.  Go check out her portfolio too!