today at work, i ... had to re-do everything

Today at work, I was very busy re-doing a bunch of stuff that had already been done. For the last month or so, I've been working on this giant project that had to do with updating our data entry/inventory management system.

We make hundreds of plastic parts. Hundreds. Every single part has something called a Bill of Material and a routing. The Bill of Material basically keeps track of how much it costs in material and labor to make one part. A routing keeps track of how many parts are made per hour. All the routings for all the parts we make were wrong, so I had to figure out what the routings actually were, and enter them.

We are talking a ton of time here, people.


That is in the past. Today my desk looks like this because we realized now that all the routings are fixed, we still can't run diagnostics to see our costs because the orders that were already entered have old routings.



So I had to go back and re-enter every single open order we had. Which was a lot.

Everything I do at Atlantis needs to be noted, initialed and dated. So as I was going through and putting the new order numbers on everything, I was writing the same thing over and over.



I got smart and made labels. Win.



The confusing part was that after this was done, every single open order had 2 order numbers - the old and the new. I had to get all paperwork from the shipping department and write the new order numbers on them. See above.



It was really not the most fun day at work I've ever had. But towards the end of the day, Incubus came on my Pandora. And the song was, Dig. I love that song.

Remind me that we'll always have each other
when everything else is gone

Thank you for that encouraging message, Brandon Boyd.

Oh, and I also keep a stash of individually wrapped Dove Dark Chocolates in my desk. It is seriously the best chocolate ever. At 30 something calories a piece, I can eat as many of these as I want... at least in my head that's okay.

This day ended with hugs from my boyfriend.

the breadwinner

I love watching my man at work. It has happened more often lately since his promotion and his new 55-hour work weeks... not my favorite. But I am proud of him for working so hard. One random day this week, I stopped by Miller Metal after I got off from my job. I found him in his office lost in paperwork.


He's so cute. Oh yes, this post is totally devoted to pictures of Michael at work. It could be a lot worse.


I like how much of a techie he is, like - what is on his screen right there?



I love his hands. I always said I wanted to marry a guy with manly hands. I think it's because my dad has really rough, calloused hands. He used to work in construction and one time he drilled through his hand and didn't even go to the hospital. I guess he was like, oh whatever! Throw some band aids on it! Tough.

Michael has those kind of hands - I'm talking blue collar, working class hands. Who doesn't like those? It's hands that make you feel safe and secure. Not only can he fix a leaky faucet or change your oil, he can also defend you from monsters in the night.


And he's still a bit of a nerd. Win/win.

full time job #2

When I first moved back to Delaware in March of 2010, I worked part time for a real estate office at the beach. It required working around a lot of people and working a lot of weekends. Not my favorite. It was really nice to work 3 or 4 days a week though, especially after my hectic move home. It gave me a few fun summer months just to get myself back together, back on schedule, and used to living with my parents again. A couple months later, Ashley got me a job working in the customer service department of a plastic injection molding facility. We make stuff! It's pretty cool.

You know that smell when a tupperware lid hits the coils on the bottom of your dishwasher? That horrible, melted plastic smell? Sometimes I walk into work and wonder who put tupperware in the dishwasher. Then I remember I work at a plastic manufacturing company.

Is it as exciting and fast paced as real estate? No. It is a lot of paperwork?


Yes. I have to know stuff like what high density polyethylene is. And what a 1+1+1+1 cavity family mold is. And I have to staple tons of paper, remove tons of staples, crunch a ton of numbers, answer a ton of emails and still sound happy on the phone.

There are things I like about my job. I love my desk and my sweet computer monitors. I am always using the smaller one to move something over so I can reference it easily.


I also love the picture frames I have. Notice this frame doesn't match the first picture of my desk... fail. I took that picture awhile ago, and all the rest are new. The picture of all the girls faces in the back, are some of the best people you'll ever meet.


Oh and cool side note, we made that cup that my pens are in! Yep. Just one of the many many plastic parts we mold. Restaurants and hotels buy those cups by the case.

I also love my post-it note wall. I had so many post-its that were unorganized all around my desk, so I purposed one whole wall behind my desk to put them neatly. They are all important reminders. Especially the smiley face, which is a note from Ashley.

Michael and I dream about starting our own photography business. That topic deserves it's own post... But really, we do. The idea of getting up every day to do something we both love, is incredible. Plus we would get to be together all the time.


When work gets to be too much, I look at this picture I have of us framed on my desk. It's a reminder of a lot of things. This picture was taken during a fun weekend trip to New York City. We were there visiting friends, going to a really awesome co-workers wedding, and witnessing the engagement of my best friend Lauren. We "left" Lauren's house that Sunday morning, pretending to go home... but we really went to the city to be there for her engagement, which was later that day. We had about 6 hours to kill, so Michael and I went on a boat tour around Manhattan. It left from West 37th Street and went South down the Hudson, around Manhattan, up the East River and back. We got to go under the Brooklyn Bridge and around the Statue of Liberty. I had never actually seen the Statue of Liberty up close until that day, even after living in the city for 5 years. It was so touristy and awesome.


The weather during the boat ride was cool and crisp. We settled into a bench right by the railing, close enough to prop our feet up and feel some mist on our faces from the water. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. I loved snuggling up to M and sharing my city with him.

I look at this picture often, and smile when I remember the great time we had together and all the things we celebrated that weekend.

how it started

I never thought I would be one of those people. You know the blogger type. I blame this blog on her for making her website so freaking addictive and beautiful. I thought about it over a couple weeks and decided I wanted to start one. I love love love taking pictures of pretty much everything around me. I figured this would be an excellent way to organize and document them - plus it gives me the opportunity to tell the story behind the pictures.

The next few posts will be introductions to various people and places, so you understand the characters in this story. Of course whoever is reading this probably knows all this already...


This is a view of Lewes Beach, Delaware. The first state, suckas. I grew up here. My life from 0 to 17 took place where you can breathe in fresh, salty sea air anytime you want to. You can drive down the road and not pass a single car for miles. There is always parking. Some people don't lock their front doors at night. There is no sales tax anywhere in the state. I went to school with the same group of people until I graduated high school. You understand - it's safe and quiet and peaceful. But I wanted more than anything to get out.


So I did! I moved here - to New York City. I went to college in the Empire State Building. It's true. I majored in business management and took classes like Operations Management and Corporate Finance. I lived in midtown for like the most epic 4 years ever. I met the best friends I've ever had. I experienced everything the city has to offer and then some. It was beyond awesome. Then... I graduated. I decided I was not ready for the quiet yet, so I moved again.


I took a job in Hoboken, New Jersey. Right across the Husdon River and as close as I could get to the city without actually being in it. My drive to work was along River Road, which winded it's way beside the Hudson... so I could see the city skyline every morning and every evening. My job was great, especially for my first job out of college. I experienced 9 to 5 for the first time. I lived in a third floor walk-up, a cute 2-bedroom apartment with my awesome roommate. My favorite memory there involves having 2 feet of snow dump all over North Jersey and being snowed in with her for days. We made a snowman which was destroyed within minutes by a plow. That state is good at plowing snow off the roads. Delaware has like 4 plows for the whole state.

My 5 years in the city was incredible. To say I learned a lot is a severe understatement. I will always be sincerely thankful that I had those experiences. But when the traffic and the crowds finally got to me, I started to miss the quiet. And my family. Then Michael happened.