Extreme Office Makeover 2K10

When I first walked into my then new-to-me office, I was faced with stark white walls, some really groovy blue/purple/green/salmon wallpaper,

and some shelves filled with a million binders, office manuals, and a shelf of cds for sale. You could suffice it to say that the office wasn't exactly in the running for "Hottest Office of 2009".

As you all know, a person spends a lot of time at his or her place of employment.... generally at least forty hours a week. So, as groovy and I'm sure as cool as it was in the 1970's, the wallpaper had to go. After working there a little over a month, my boss went out of the country for three weeks and left me to own demise. Okay, really, he gave me permission to repaint the office. A friend came, and with her help, that wallpaper didn't stand a chance. After scraping, spraying, pulling, and a few close encounters with a ladder, we experienced victory over that wallpaper, and painted the walls with a more neutral color that was easier on the eyes:

I know that picture is really random but you can see the wall color.

So, that was all fine and good, but I still had those blasted shelves. I was told I would need to reference those hideous binders, so I left them there, along with the cds for sale. Well, I've been in that office for almost a year and half, and hadn't cracked open those binders yet, so I decided they weren't really all that necessary. With a thumbs up from the big cheese, I cleaned some house.

In my zest for the makeover, I actually forgot to take "before" pictures. I realize that this completely takes away from my work and you don't really realize how much better everything is, but let me just say that I find myself staring at my shelves throughout the day. They are just that awesome.

So, here's the big reveal:

Pretty sweet, huh? Here's a close up of the right side. I have the bottom shelf with some of my books, and the middle shelf devoted to my alma mater, and the top shelf a combo. Oh, there's my pink construction hat that I bedazzled. (-:

And here's the left side. The middle shelf has our wedding invitation and wedding photos, and the other shelves have pictures of friends on them.

So. Are you impressed? You should be.

Do you make your office something that makes you feel at home? Mark keeps his office his office. Like I would want to never be there. Just business. But he likes that business/home separation. I have to have happy things to look at. (-:

Happy Friday!

~Kathryn

Has It Really Been A Year?

It was just over a year ago that I started a new job. I remember being really nervous when I started. I really wanted to like my new job, and I really wanted to be good at it. But I was nervous! I was leaving a good, comfortable job, and going into the unknown. Isn't that sometimes terrifying?

Even in my fear, I felt peace about my decision. So, I took the plunge.
I said goodbye to my old job, packed up my ridiculous amount of photos, put away my insurance certificates, and headed out into the unknown. Oh, and most importantly, I got a few new outfits. I mean, if you start a new job, you pretty much HAVE to get some new clothes. (-:

And now, here I am, a year later, and I love my job. I really can't believe it's been a year. Time has just flown by. We have a lot of fun at work, and I already have some great memories. I was trying to think of some highlights of my year that I could share. Here are ten of the most memorable moments:

1. There was the time my boss got some bug lodged in his eye and he asked me to pour water into his eyeball to try to flush it out. Picture my 6' 2" boss slouching in a chair, head back, and me, pouring a bottle of water into his bloodshot eye to try to wash out the bug. It was pretty comical... not for him necessarily, but definitely for me. Plus, his eye got better, so it's all good.

2. There was the time I put a couple of co-workers staplers in Jell-O for April Fool's Day, and they blamed lots of other people in the office until late in the afternoon when they finally realized it was me. Victory. That was awesome.

3. There was Boss's Day, which you can read about here. Let's just say it involved lots of balloons, streamers, and a lot of fun.

4. There was also the day that the choir threw Mark and I a wedding shower. That was so sweet, and they were all so generous. I felt very loved that day.

5. There were about three weeks when the people in my office were out of the country, so a friend and I took it upon ourselves to remove the wall-paper that was a little too groovy, and painted the office and redecorated it. Now we could win the hottest office award.

6. Then, one of my personal favorites, was the time when the three of us in my office all loaded up in my boss's car to go to Office Depot to get me a new calendar. Not to get everyone a new calendar, but to get me a new calendar. It was really funny because one of my co-workers really didn't care anything about calendars. He was just there for moral support. And then my boss was trying to help me pick one out. I mean, a calendar is a big deal. We definitely got the best calendar there by the time it was all said and done, AND it's super cute. Then, to make that day even more perfect, it happened to be between the hours of 2:00 and 4:00, so we got to go to Sonic for Happy Hour! YAY!!!!! Strawberry Limeade, anyone?

7. A recurring memory is snack time. Some afternoons, around 3:00pm, we have snack time where we mix fruit, yogurt, granola, and a nut mix together and we get healthy. (-: It's actually a pretty big deal. Recently, people from other offices have tried to join in. Everyone's jealous of snack time.

8. Oh the Snuggie. I love my Snuggie and wear it a lot at work. Other people think it's a little weird (it's their cover for their jealousy), but who cares? If it wasn't -20 degrees in the building I wouldn't have to wear it.

9. There was a day that my boss got last minute tickets to an OSU football game. With about an hour's notice, me, Mark, my boss, and his daughter all got to go to the game, and got to watch a Cowboy victory. It was so fun, and so exciting.

10. Then are all the little things. The encouraging people in the choir, the moments that are too funny and ridiculous to post, hanging out with the kids during youth choir, the times where you can tell you've made a difference for someone, and the times where I just sit there and feel blessed.

To keep it real, sure, there are days where I get frustrated, overwhelmed, and feel like a big fat failure. Who doesn't have days like that? But, they are thankfully small in number, and who wants to talk about those days?

Since this post is pretty short (HA!), I am posting pictures of my one year celebration lunch. The food was wonderful, so I had to take some pictures. Here is what Mark and I had (it was DELISH - a mediterranean style pizza and some soup.... mmmmmm):

And here is what Eric over at this blog had:

 

Doesn't that look awesome?

And here's my boss-diggity, Jeff. Don't let that smile fool you - he tried to hold up his plate for the photo and proceeded to burn the thumbprints off of his fingers. He is holding his hand up because he was in a lot of pain. But, his food was really good, too, so it made up for it.

So. There you have it. A year in review, and pictures. Does it get any better than this? I don't think so.

Whew! I think my caffeine burst is wearing off now. So I think it's time to sign out. Happy Monday!

~Kathryn