Mary Kay Sale

If you are in need of any Mary Kay products, let me know! I'm having a HUGE sale this week!! Just email me for the full list (emenchhofer@yahoo.com).

Spring has Sprung!

And now the post you've all been waiting for...haha (yeah right) There has been a lot going on the past few days though, so here is the grand update.


My baby, Toby -
Thursday night Mom and I took Toby for his first professional haircut! My friend, Keli Hall, owns a grooming business in Vevay called Keli's Critter Care. I think Toby made her a little nervous because he's so small, but she did a great job with him! He was slightly squirmy at first. He finally settled down though and she was able to do more with the clippers, which of course is faster than scissors...tell Toby that!?! He ended up making a friend out of Keli and we'll definitely be back to see her! We are still getting used to how he looks without all his hair...ha...but he was so unbelievably wooly!




Birthdays -
Thursday was also my cousin Monica's birthday. She is 27! (and her husband totally flopped on her gift...she's had short spiky hair for years and he gave her a barrett!?) To celebrate her birthday a big group of us were going to go down to Vevay to Mo's Steakhouse & Oasis (our favorite watering hole) on Friday night; however, a lot of plans changed. Mom and I offered to take Monica out anyway and she said she'd be happy with going to The Grub Co. in Osgood, so that is where our adventure led us! Her sister, Sara, also joined us for a girl's night. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and had a great time!! We had a fantastic table location and saw everyone coming and going...which was also good because we saw LOTS of people we knew. We've decided that we may have to spend Friday evenings there a little more often! haha So I'm glad Monica enjoyed her birthday dinner!


March Madness -
I come from a very sports-loving family...to say the least! We've all played several sports at one time or another and still really enjoy watching football and basketball. My mom's work always does a pool, so we participate in that, which makes it more fun to watch all the games! I think you have to be vested in the games somehow or it is too much basketball for anyone to watch. haha My brackets are still faring pretty well! Good ol' Duke killed mom's bracket, which I think is hysterical! *smiling* I was bummed that Purdue lost yesterday, but it is a young team and we will seem them in the tournament the next 3 years. Plus, IU lost first round and that is always nice! ha (can you tell I grew up in a black & gold home?!?)


Easter -
Yesterday we trekked to Indy with Toby to see Jenna and celebrate Easter. She was just home last weekend and didn't wanna drive down here again, so we went north. Our day consisted of basketball games and a yummy dinner at Applebee's. Toby napped and played with his Aunt Nenners most of the day, which let his mommy (ME) take a nap on the couch! ha It was great!


Job status -
Things have finally been ironed out with work (for the most part), so I figured I would go ahead and share with all of you... I have decided to stay at home for now and continue working at the salon. I have also accepted a position as a clubhouse manager/receptionist/bartender at the local golf course that a family friend is leasing this year. So, if you know someone who likes to golf...please send them to Pine Hills Golf Course & Driving Range in Versailles, IN! haha It's only 9 holes, but if all goes well this year the course will grow. Jesse (the guy leasing the property) is doing a lot to fix it up and there are 9 other holes laid out, they just have to be constructed on the property! My schedule is about to become a lot busier because Jesse is pretty much letting me work whenever I want and then filling in the other times with some part-time help. Even if you don't golf, stop by in the evening and have a beer in the clubhouse! ha


Fun trips -
I'm really hoping that I get to go to Aruba with my cousins in June or July! (part of the group has been before, the others of us would be first timers) They are always taking these amazing trips and I really wanna go this time! ha So, I'm saving my money and also pushing for a June trip...I have the pageant in July and won't be able to get away as easily. A girl can dream, right?


Alright, well I believe that's all I know for now! Hope everyone is enjoying their Easter! It's sunny and not too cold, so that's a start...Happy Spring everyone!

Boiler Up!

I know I owe a better post than this...but it's March Madness!! AND...my beloved Boilermakers won, in high style might I add! Boiler Up!

I have plenty to tell about this week...but it will have to wait until Saturday or Sunday. haha

PS - Happy 27th Birthday to my cousin Monica! :o)

Indecisiveness

I had an epiphany today on my way home from breakfast! It's not so much that I don't know what I want to do concerning work and living location...it's that others can't make up their minds!! ha People are wishy-washy about what they expect for job forecasts, start/stop dates, dollar amounts... It is so frustrating! I know I should just "go with the flow" but those who know me, know that isn't me! haha I'm an organizer, planner, list maker. I don't do uncertainty well and that seems to be what the world is shoving down my throat at the minute. I pretty well have my mind made up about what I'm doing, but until I get a definite answer from all the "unknowns" I will just have to keep it as under control as I can.

Sorry for the vent session...not much irks me other than indecisive behavior and procrastination! ha

Hope everyone has a blessed Palm Sunday!

Fun in the Sun

Where do I even begin? Oh my...well, for starters...the spring break trip with my sister to the east coast was great!! We spent 6 days with our cousins, Jacob and E2 and their cute puppy Leo! I will try to recount our adventures with as much detail as possible and without boring you to tears! haha



Jen and I flew out of Indy last Friday morning at about 7:30am. We were surprised to learn we had to walk down the stairs out to the tarmac and up the actual plane stairs to board! Our wonderful little plane held only 72 people, but it was a short flight to Cincy without incident. As we landed, it was starting to snow and we were very eager to get in the air again so we could escape the winter storm bearing down on the tri-state area!! We board our next flight...once again walking out on the tarmac and this time finding our plane to be a bit smaller and only seating 50 people! We start to pull away from the boarding site and the captain informs us we will be delayed departure 30 minutes because they had to de-ice the plane...then he explained the process (while unnecessary, was still cool...) and since we were seated in the last row, we got to watch it all go down! Finally we get up in the air and after a somewhat turbulent flight, we arrived in Charleston, SC. We again trekked across the tarmac, through the rain this time, and made our way into the small airport to claim our luggage. ha Then we found our rental car counter and signed the paperwork, made our way outside in even more rain (by this time by lovely hair was crazy wavy and not lookin so cute...to my dismay since all 3 Enterprise guys were young and fairly good looking!?!) and found our car...a little red clown car, Chevy Aveo. *smiling* Seriously, it just keeps getting better!

Being the type C personality that I am (slightly obsessed with organization), I pull out our directions I had printed several days before the trip and let Jenna be my navigator. We make it to downtown Charleston without any problems...our plan: surprise E2 at work! ha Once we spot her office building and find a parking place (the only real problem in Chucktown), we decided that we better call to make sure she hadn't gone out for lunch...especially since we were later getting in than originally planned. Sure enough, E2 was working away in her cute lil green office, so we walked down to her building and found her in the hallway chatting with a coworker. She gave us the dime tour of the Clemson University Extension Office and introduced us to her coworkers! We decided we'd go for a bite to eat and began walking, in the rain mind you, not finding any place that wasn't packed...finally, I notice a small cafe type place across the street so we decide to give it a go. Tacone was a great place to eat!! It's a salad/wraps/grilled sandwich shop and it's delicious. Needless to say, it was a good find on my part! *smiling* After lunch, E2 went back to work and we decided we'd explore Charleston for awhile since Jacob was home sleeping (he has been on night duty for a few weeks and doesn't get home until about 8:30am). It stopped raining for the most part, so we drove straight down to the bay and walked around the park and took lots of pics. Charleston is a beautiful city, even in the rain! After getting Jenna hooked on the architecture and landscape of the area, we figured it would be a good idea to find our way to their house near Goosecreek and Moncks Corner. We did end up having to call E2 for directions at the very end...we were quite close to the house, but it's a new subdivision and not yet mapped! haha We pulled in front of their cute lil house and Leo was greeting us at the door! He is so much fun! He really took a liking to Jen...and he always tried to gain dominance over me...ha...but he's very good and we didn't mind being part of his "herd"! (Leo is an Australian Shepherd.) We watched tv and hung out at the house for awhile with Leo and Jacob, then after E2 got home we all went to Bubba Gump's for dinner! It was great food...and Jenna was a happy lil lark! (She has a strange affinity for the movie Forest Gump along with her friend Anna...no words describe that stupidity!)



Saturday was such a fun day! Kudos to Jacob for taking the day off to be with us girls! (He worked all night, showered and slept in the car amidst all our racket the whole ride to and from GA!) We drove 2 1/2 hours to Savannah, GA in hopes of eating at the famed Lady & Sons Restaurant, owned by food network star Paula Deen! Lucky us, we were able to get reservations for 2:15pm (the lady behind E2 in line got stuck with dinner reservations)!! Since we had a few hours to kill before lunch, we drove to Tybee Island to check out the sights. It was pretty cool to see signs on many business billboards welcoming the Indiana National Guard since they are down there for training before going to Iraq. Unfortunately we couldn't spend much time on the beach since there were 35 mph winds that day! ha We had some extra time when we made it back to Savannah, so we drove around for awhile checking everything out...they go nuts over St. Patty's day down there (all the fountains had green water!) and they even had some sort of Celtic festival going on that weekend. It was cool being able to go into Paula's store too! Lots of cool gadgets, every cookbook was signed by her, plates/linens, tshirts, etc...after doing a little shopping there, we waited for our names to be called so we could eat! We got seated on the third floor (yes, there is even an elevator in the restaurant) and all decided to have the buffet so we could sample lots of Paula's southern cooking! As you can see by the pic, the food was DELICIOUS!! The buffet consisted of salad, fried chicken, cheesy meatloaf, mac n cheese, collared greens, black eyed peas, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes (I think that was it, but I doubt it)...and at the end, they brought around dessert for us to pick from! Jenna and I had the Chocolate Chip Gooey Cake and Jacob and E2 had Peach Cobbler...it was served warm and it was soooo good it was sinful! ha We definitely gained a few un-needed pounds from that meal! We were stuffed to the gills on the way home...it was practically miserable to ride the 2 1/2 hours home...which we made longer by trying to stop and see the ocean at Hilton Head Island, but never could get to the water!?! We were all tired kids that night and sadly, Jacob and Leo stayed up and worked out in the garage while we slept! ha He put together some adirondack chairs they had bought and painted a milk can black and gold (Purdue colors of course!!). The chairs and milk can look good on their front porch.



Sunday we slept in...yay! I don't normally get to sleep in much because of my baby, Toby! ha After we did all manage to get up, E2 made a fantastic lunch...which I still need the recipe for... We all packed up then and put Leo in the back of the truck and headed off for the dog park! Talk about a fun time! Leo is a riot just playing in the house, but throw in a bunch of other dogs, a huge open place to run, a muddy pond...it's sure to be chaos! We had a blast laughing and watching all the dogs play, then headed back to the house for some down time. Our gracious hosts escorted us to the beach at Isle of Palms for sunset...it was gorgeous.



Monday Jenna and I were on our own and amazingly we survived! ha We got in the car and just started driving north with few directions from Jacob about how to get where we wanted to go. Our stops included: South Carolina - Pawley Beach, Myrtle Beach, Cherry Hill, Columbia and North Carolina - Sunset Beach, Calabash. The day can only be summed up by DRIVING! We spent many, many hours in our lil clown car driving up the coast, then southwest to Columbia to see the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, then back east to the Charleston area. We had a lot of fun and took tons of pictures! haha



Tuesday was another day of adventure for the two of us alone. We spent more time walking and viewing rather than driving since we stayed in the Charleston area, but our day included: Folly Beach on James Island, Morris Island Lighthouse, Patriot's Point, Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island. It was a crazy busy day driving from one point to another, but again we had so much fun. (I know my last 2 paragraphs don't do our adventures justice, but I'm sure I'm boring you to no end by this point!) In honor of our last night in South Carolina, we all went to dinner at California Dreamin' down on the water....not only was the food great, the service was wonderful AND we saw dolphins swimming! It was a great way to end our trip!!



Yesterday we flew back to Indy through Charlotte, NC. It was a great flight...not full, so we got to spread out! yay! ha We had the same plane the entire trip and it was so clear that we could see the ground the entire flight. It was neat to be able to see the Lucas Oil Stadium and RCA Dome when flying in! This time we had a 'real' plane, not a puddle jumper...and the worst part of the trip was waiting for the stupid parking lot bus to pick us up!! We had to wait for 30 minutes, it was beyond ridiculous...grrr! ha

Now it's home sweet home...back to reality...decisions to be made on life and career (although this is even more difficult with my cousin Zach now gone on vacation to Mexico and still no official word from his company!)...

All in all, the trip was amazing! We already have a list of places we want to go on our next trip there! A traveler is never done....haha

I'm so glad we got to spend time with E2, Jacob and Leo! It was a great break from life back in Indiana and it was definitely hard to break away from the sunny 70 degree weather! At least it has been in the 60's since we got back!



=>On a happy side note - Welcome Dallas Bergman! He is the cutest lil guy...Rajean and Doug have one handsome baby boy! Check out the pics Doug has been posting on Jean's page! *smiling*

South Carolina

Sorry for the lack of posts...I have much to tell when I'm finally able to sit down for an extended period of time!! haha I will be in South Carolina with my sister (visiting Jacob, E2 and Leo) until Wednesday!! *lots of smiles* Charleston was beautiful, despite the rain! Jen and I were lucky to get out of the midwest as the winter storm was bearing down...we even had to sit on the tarmac at Cincy an extra 30 minutes while they de-iced the plane!

PS - Never fly Delta unless you know it won't be puddle jumper planes! ha Funny stories to tell ya about our flights!

Dilemma, Dilemma

Argh! Do you ever just not know what to do? I have 2 options right now...and both have their ups and downs, neither of which outweighs the other! In my mom's words, "I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't!" Argh! Argh! Argh! *frazzled sigh*

So here's the situation...feel free to weigh in with your thoughts! Cause I'm stuck...BIG TIME!

I moved home in November. My contract was ended with the federal government office I was working for (I was a contract worker through an employment agency). I loved, no LOVED that job! Yes it was stressful and yes the hours were long...but the people made it better and so did the hefty paycheck. ha I worked night shift for awhile after that job ended, but it was going nowhere fast and was a horrible place to work. My lease ended in Indy and I found myself moving home to save on rent and utilities! When I moved home I was lucky enough to find myself employed by my cousin, Sara. She owns this fantastic salon, Odyssey! I've been going there long before she ever owned it!! (really, I'm not biased! *wink*) I am the receptionist, but it is an odds 'n ends kinda job. I spot clean, do the laundry, schedule appointments, take phone calls, send out mailings, receive packages, check inventory into the system, stock product shelves, run errands, assist the stylists, greet and handle check-out for the clients, create promotional flyers, change the outdoor sign, and send all the info to my other cousin (Sara's brother), Zach, to be uploaded to the website. I work three days a week at the salon and am SO very thankful that it has allowed me to pay the bills since November!

Now enter the problem...ha...God never gives us more than we can handle right? I just wish He didn't think I was so strong!

My aforementioned cousin, Zach, works for Lexmark via TCS (an Indian company - not pow wow Indians, but the ones from India! ha) in Seymour. They are relocating him to Lexington, KY. We thought the move wouldn't happen until May/June, but now it is bearing down on April 1st! Zach is like my brother...he is just 2 months older than my sister, Jenna...we all grew up together and we still are very close. He asked me to move to Lex with him and I really wanna go! The chance to be back in a city where there are a) more job opportunities and b) more people is exciting! (Let's face it...I'm not gonna find Mr. Right in O-so-good! I've been in and around here my whole life and the options are less than thrilling! *sticking my tongue out*) However, moving poses the same problems I had in Indy and the reasons I moved home in the first place...finding a job that will cover all my normal bills PLUS rent/utilities is not so easy, especially in our lovely economy. I applied for a few jobs last night in the Lex area, but I'm not holding my breath. I know the drill - "you're overqualified" "not qualified enough" "why don't you want to work in education?" - blah blah blah!

To make matters worse, the salon really can't afford to have two receptionists (me and the high school girl who works after school and on Saturdays). I was the most recent hire, so I will be the first to go. It's not that Sara doesn't want me there, because there are things I can and have handled much better than the high schooler, but with people spending less and less on frivolous extras (like coloring your hair), the money just isn't there for an extra employee. I have the opportunity to get hired on at a local golf course to run the club house April - October; however, what do I do once October is here? The bills will be slightly less by then since my car will be paid off (yay!), but that still leaves so many WHAT IFs. Argh!

Ugh....I'm so confused! Usually I'm a very no-nonsense, have-it-together type of person. I despise being unorganized and unsure of what I should be doing!?!

Recap:

1. Osgood - work at the salon as long as Sara keeps me around (probably April/May), add in the golf course until October, have my partner in crime move 2+ hours away; worry about money come October!?!
2. Lexington - move the 3rd time in 2 years, find a job to pay all my bills (still worry about money), be 2+ hours away from home, drive back and forth every few weeks for the summer's Queen pageant activities; move again in 18 months when my cousin gets relocated again!

I have been praying about this and will continue to do so...I have no clue what to do!

The Weekend

Okay, so this has been a fairly mundane weekend...but yet, oh so funny! Friday night my cousin Zach came over for Friday Night Chinese. It's a tradition we started back in November when I moved home...mom, Zach and I all have Chinese when I get home from work on Friday nights at our house. We usually end up chatting for several hours, watching tv and just goofing off. Add in Toby and it's become our "thing." ha Everyone at my work even knows about it and are shocked when we don't do it! Zach spent the night this weekend because of some scary stuff going on due to an old business connection his family had and we all felt it best if he wasn't home alone. (Please keep them in your prayers as it is a dangerous situation.)

Saturday, I tanned per usual (it's my relaxation time!) and then got ready for the day. Mom and I went to Kroger's after she got home from work. She put Toby in his crate and off we went. We returned home about two hours later, only for me to step in the door and step ON Toby! We were shocked and couldn't figure out why he was out of his crate!?! Luckily, I didn't hurt him when I stepped on him...although he did favor his one paw for a little while. Come to find out, his genius mamaw forgot to shut BOTH doors on the crate! haha I still don't know how she missed the wide open door, but by some grace of God...Toby didn't potty on the floor or make a mess! He had free roam of the house and the only thing he did was play with my cell phone charger cord, which he does a lot and always gets in trouble! ha

Today was another easy day...I love weekends like this! Mom and I slept in (sort of) and had breakfast at my favorite place, Crossroads Restaurant! Our family friends own the restaurant and the food is absolutely delicious! Breakfast is my favorite meal there too...and it's honestly for the toast! (laugh all you want) Toby took a loooooong morning nap with his mamaw while I kept myself busy. This afternoon he played hard for about 1.5 hours and I caught great footage of him on my camera! I posted one of the videos I created this afternoon on here.



Hope you all had a blessed and relaxing weekend! I only have to work two days this week and then I'm headed to South Carolina with my sister to stay with our cousins, Jacob and Erin for a few days! Can't wait! I miss Jacob & E2!! (Her name is also Erin M. Menchhofer now that they are married and everyone calls me E1 and her E2. ha)