I quit my job! Yay!

I won't go into the specifics but while I'm on a roll in sharing all the news... I quit my job! It just ended up being a really bad fit and was a very dramatic situation at the time. Now that I've had time to reflect on it and the anger, stress that came along with the situation, I realize it was just the wrong position for me. Along with Dan, I made the decision to quit and find something better. So, I'm home full time right now enjoying unemployment. Fortunately Dan and I are in a very good position to do this so the normal worries of not having a job don't necessarily apply to our situation. However, if I sit at home forever, my mind will go to mush. There's only so many days I can watch "The View" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" before I will start to go insane. My time off is not without great perks, however, since I really enjoy sleeping in. :)

More to come on my next career move but for now I think I'll just take a break... or a nap... whichever I feel like doing in the moment.

This also allows me to be a stay at home mom to the cat, Monroe. She doesn't seem to notice or care, though.

Sara & Justin's Shower

My step-brother, Justin, is getting married this October and recently had the wedding shower. One of the things we've noticed since returning back to Kansas City is that our social agenda is about 1000 times more busy than it was in NY. I never knew there was so much stuff to attend that we were missing. Sometimes its not such a good thing since it keeps us really busy and I do miss having Dan all to myself but overall we've got to do a lot of things that we would have normally missed. Hopefully things slow down just a little this fall... although I don't know how that will happen with the football schedule.

Anyway... here's the link to some cute pics from Sara & Justin's shower. They live in Chicago and are enjoying the life away from home similar to what Dan & I enjoyed in NY.

http://picasaweb.google.com/samantha.shepard/SaraJustinSShower#

Lobsterfest '08

I was invited to Lobsterfest over at the Jackman household this year. This was apparently the 6th year but my first since I've never been around before. I took Julie to be my partner in crime since the boys were at "guys weekend" down at the lake. Basically the deal was, for $25 you got unlimited beer & lobster etc. Some people chose steak instead but you get the idea. When the day came, the lobsters were flown in that morning for their inevitable death to serve as nourishment to many party goers. There were about 50 people there and overall it was a great party. Julie and I did not know how to approach breaking down the bodies of the lobsters so we offered them up to Chris Bix to finish them off. He ended up not figuring it out either...




Epitome of surf & turf...


Julie and Sam


I got to reconnect with some people from high school including these two, Mike Jacobi & Matt Kartsonis. They were hilarious. I particularly enjoyed geeking out with Jacobi over his new Blackberry.


Chris Jackman (host of Lobsterfest) and me


Sam, Bix & my newest friend Annette. We joked that we were all going to Facebook each other after the party... low & behold... Annette found me a few days later and 'friended' me.

Golfing with Matt & Lori in the country

I realized that I haven't been diligent in posting the goings ons of the Shepard Family lately. I'm going to try to catch up over the next few days.

Golfing with Matt & Lori Hill: Dan and I made a trip down to Clinton to visit Matt & Lori and go golfing a few weeks ago. We decided to go to this country golf course that is about an hour south of Clinton. Notice the tractor in the background and the gravel golf cart paths...

I had to get this pic with the tractor... priceless.

We only drink the best on the course... Busch Light (Lori says "Cheers!")

Matt & Dan pose like pros.

After golf, they tooks us to Lucas Oil Speedway for a Dirt Race. I've posted a video here but here is a pic. It was surprisingly awesome. I completed the evening with the requisite beer & corndog dinner.