I'm back!

So my "plan" to blog everyday while I was away didn't quite happen. However, I remember very well what happened and am going to add posts below documenting my month away. My time away was GREAT and I am very relaxed and ready to start my 5th year at work. I have some new challenges ahead of me and am very EXCITED for them to start. So check out below for what has been going on with me for the last 4 weeks!

Hiatus - Day 28

I get to sleep in my own bed tonight - yesssssssss!

I didn't know when this "hiatus" started that I would look forward to this day so much. Of course, it didn't go nearly as quickly as I wanted it to. I woke up for this final day of training feeling like I had been hit by a Mac truck...and I didn't even drink the night before! Must have been a sympathy hangover for all of my fellow tablemates. Training started promptly at 8am and finished at 3pm (no getting out early for us). We made our way to the train station in Newark at the same time the others made their way to Newark Airport.

Today, the new thing I learned is that there are 2 Penn Stations - Newark Penn Station and New York Penn Station.

Got to the train station with plenty of time to spare only to find that the bar was closed (not my idea but an ice cold water sounded great at this point). Got onto the train headed home, keeping tabs on the progress of the flight that we could have taken. We made it home first. I later found out that they sat on the tarmac for over an hour with no air conditioning - I love the train.

Made it home to a big pile of mail - I love getting mail. The majority was junk but it was mail to sort through none the less. My bed looks fabulous and I can't wait to jump in!

Hiatus - Day 27

Training Day 4 - One more night in a foreign bed and then I get to sleep in my own!

After a long day of training we have "hospitality" tonight. They advertise Wii and Guitar Hero - my thought is sweet I have never played either one. Little do I realize that Guitar Hero is played on the Wii. So after a few rounds of pool and foosball, Guitar Hero opens up. I watch a few rounds before I take a shot. Let me just say I didn't finish with a goose egg for a score, but the score wasn't that great. Definitely need more practice.

This leads me to something else, does anyone who reads this blog own a Wii and have the Wii fitness? I am contemplating getting one (only because it's subsidized by work - the fitness part, not the entire console). Let me know your thoughts!

Hiatus - Day 26

Training Day 3

My thoughts for today:

• Only 2 more nights in a foreign bed
• Only 5 more meals at this place (the foods not bad but I am ready to cook for myself)
• Yay for Grams she gets out of rehab on Friday

Hiatus - Day 25

Training Day 2

Hmmm....it's hard to focus at training when what is taught is not specific to my industry, in fact I deal with very little of what we are discussing. I find myself thinking about what the next few weeks at work will look like, how Grams is doing and counting down the nights until I get to sleep in my own bed again. I find myself (with work applications open in the background) getting up to date on the most recent celebrity gossip instead of paying attention to what is being taught. One thing I do like about this place (that is in dirty Jersey), is the iced tea they serve outside of our classrooms. The thing that sucks is that I can't seem to find it at the grocery stores around here.

Haitus - Day 24

Oh training, you are so fun. We start bright and early at 8am (and this means we have to have made it to the dining hall for breakfast before then). I go to our big group session and then haul back to the break-out rooms to get a decent seat (read as a seat towards the back in a spot where no one can see my computer screen). I sit at a table with my fellow Bostonians and we promptly name ourselves "Dirty Water" (thank-you Charles River). However, we could end up being too much for our fellow classmates and facilitators.

The rooms are nice, but I am very much looking forward to getting back to Boston and sleeping in my own bed.

Hiatus - Day 15

Bye bye to the Hamel's, hello quiet house...too quiet. I kind of liked the little voice of Miss S, running around in her squeeky shoes, saying "Ra Ra", "Pee", "EE", "My", "Bubbles", "Dada" and "Mama". Thank goodness I do live close enough to be able to hop on a plane to go and visit her on the occasional weekend.

Mom, Pete and I spent the day getting stuff for Grams so she would be comfortable in rehab with a few of "her" things and getting myself packed for my work trip to Tacoma.

When we took Grams her good, Pete and I helped her get all prettied up...

**Grams does not like having her picture taken, but we did it anyways.