I am officially back from New Orleans! I got back yesterday (Friday) at 5pm. Antonio and Tatum were at the airport to pick me up when I got there and I was so glad to see them both. My 3 weeks of training FLEW by. On Friday, when I was getting ready to leave, I couldn't believe that I had really made it through three weeks of training. I made such great friends and it was kind of hard to leave them! However, we will all be together again at the end of June in Orlando for Phase II of training. And then in September I think we are going to Miami for a POA (Plan of Action = quarterly) meeting for the company.
When I got home last night, Antonio suprised me with a Nintendo Wii!! I asked for one for my birthday, but when I came home last weekend (on my birthday) I didn't get a present other than flowers because Antonio hadn't had time to go shopping. Well, the truth was he couldn't find anywhere that had one in stock, but Wednesday he finally found a store and went and got it. Anyway, we played it last night after Tatum went to bed and had so much fun! This morning I actually woke up a little sore from playing last night. Maybe I will have to play every night to burn some extra calories!
Today, Antonio, Tatum, and I got ready and went to Target and to lunch. It was good to do nothing really except spend time with the family. Tatum is growing so fast and I should have done a blog yesterday, but here it is a day late....
HAPPY 6 MONTHS TATUM!!!
Yesterday, Tatum had her 6 month birthday! WOW! 6 MONTHS?!?!? Where has the time gone? She is currently mastering sitting up and she has control of her little hands. She wants EVERYTHING in her mouth, but that is just part of it. She "talks" all the time and giggles when Antonio or I start acting crazy. She is rolling all over the place too. It is always so much fun to be able to get her out of her bed in the mornings because you never know what position she will be in or what end of the bed she will be at. Antonio said that one morning he went to get her up and she was holding on to the side of her bed trying to pull up on it. I think we are going to have to lower her bed some pretty soon. She is not crawling yet, but she has figured out how to roll and get closer to whatever she wants.
Tatum has not had her 6 month check up yet at the dr's office, but when she goes, I will post an update on her weight and length. Also, I don't have any new pics to post right now, but I will get some new ones up soon.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
So I Lied....
I know I said I wasn't going to be able to post any pictures until I got back home, but Antonio sent me some new pictures yesterday to brighten my day, so I thought I would share them. I don't think they need much explaining, so here they are....
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Fast Visit Home
Hey Everyone! Here are some pictures from my quick weekend home. Mckayla had her birthday party this weekend, so most pictures are from Saturday. The top 5 are from when I fed her this weekend. I am heading back to New Orleans today, so no more pics until next weekend!
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Sunday, April 15, 2007
Training Day # ?
Well, I have officially completed my first week of training. It has been fun, exciting, enlightening, challenging, frustrating, stressful, interesting, etc.
I have met some many great people and I my team of 5 from my district has gotten so close. I was worried that coming to training and not really knowing anyone would be intimidating, and it was, but only for a few hours. Everyone is so nice and helpful. We are all in the same boat and just really want to make friends. There is a group of us that have gone out together about 3 times this week and it is so much fun. Most of the people have never been to New Orleans or Bourbon Street, so it is great to see their reaction to things. I really wish I had my camera to take pics, but I left it at home so Antonio could send me pictures of Tatum. Anyway, we have seen the people that paint their entire bodies and stand on the milk cartons and stay still and look like statutes. We also saw a group of about 8-10 kids around the ages of 15-17 that were playing their tubas, trumpets, etc on the street. They were really great. We also saw the people on the street tap dancing and a few other people just doing tricks in the middle of the street. I am really falling in love with the culture down here. While most people love to go to the well known local restaurants down here, I love the "hole in the wall" restaurants that are almost hidden.
Classes seem long and are a major overload of information. About 80% of the people here have had previous pharma experience, so that means that my learning curve has to be even greater just to keep up. I have had 2 tests so far and i am proud to say that I still have a job. Studying is hard because it is hard to know what is NICE to know vs. what I NEED to know.
I am missing Tatum so much and I won't get to see her until next weekend! One of my new friends down here was lucky enough to have her husband and baby fly in for this weekend. I saw them in the lobby last night and I talked to them for a while. Her 8 month old little girl was just precious. When I walked away, I really thought I was going to cry for a minute, but I sucked it up and reminded myself that she is in great hands and I will see her soon!
I am in amazement about how everyone has shared pictures of their wives, husbands, fiances, kids, dogs, etc. which is great. There is one particular guy in my class that has a 3 week old and 4 yr old at home. He is just the sweetest husband and dad. He was sitting in class the other day and decided to send his wife something and he also send his little girl(the 4 yr old) a teddy bear. He talks about them all the time. Then there is another guy in my group that is a single dad. He has showed us the picture of his kids I think everyday. I will catch him from time to time pulling out the pictures to just look at them. And of course, there are several of us ladies that are just so quick to pull out our pictures too. I have a picture of Tatum and Antonio on the front of my binder so I can look at it all day.
I am not going to lie, training has been difficult, but I just have to remember that God has a plan for me and He is not going to put me in a position that I can't handle. I just need to stay focused and take it one day at a time. Thanks to everyone that has been praying for my family and please continue to do so.
6 days down and 12 more days to go....
I have met some many great people and I my team of 5 from my district has gotten so close. I was worried that coming to training and not really knowing anyone would be intimidating, and it was, but only for a few hours. Everyone is so nice and helpful. We are all in the same boat and just really want to make friends. There is a group of us that have gone out together about 3 times this week and it is so much fun. Most of the people have never been to New Orleans or Bourbon Street, so it is great to see their reaction to things. I really wish I had my camera to take pics, but I left it at home so Antonio could send me pictures of Tatum. Anyway, we have seen the people that paint their entire bodies and stand on the milk cartons and stay still and look like statutes. We also saw a group of about 8-10 kids around the ages of 15-17 that were playing their tubas, trumpets, etc on the street. They were really great. We also saw the people on the street tap dancing and a few other people just doing tricks in the middle of the street. I am really falling in love with the culture down here. While most people love to go to the well known local restaurants down here, I love the "hole in the wall" restaurants that are almost hidden.
Classes seem long and are a major overload of information. About 80% of the people here have had previous pharma experience, so that means that my learning curve has to be even greater just to keep up. I have had 2 tests so far and i am proud to say that I still have a job. Studying is hard because it is hard to know what is NICE to know vs. what I NEED to know.
I am missing Tatum so much and I won't get to see her until next weekend! One of my new friends down here was lucky enough to have her husband and baby fly in for this weekend. I saw them in the lobby last night and I talked to them for a while. Her 8 month old little girl was just precious. When I walked away, I really thought I was going to cry for a minute, but I sucked it up and reminded myself that she is in great hands and I will see her soon!
I am in amazement about how everyone has shared pictures of their wives, husbands, fiances, kids, dogs, etc. which is great. There is one particular guy in my class that has a 3 week old and 4 yr old at home. He is just the sweetest husband and dad. He was sitting in class the other day and decided to send his wife something and he also send his little girl(the 4 yr old) a teddy bear. He talks about them all the time. Then there is another guy in my group that is a single dad. He has showed us the picture of his kids I think everyday. I will catch him from time to time pulling out the pictures to just look at them. And of course, there are several of us ladies that are just so quick to pull out our pictures too. I have a picture of Tatum and Antonio on the front of my binder so I can look at it all day.
I am not going to lie, training has been difficult, but I just have to remember that God has a plan for me and He is not going to put me in a position that I can't handle. I just need to stay focused and take it one day at a time. Thanks to everyone that has been praying for my family and please continue to do so.
6 days down and 12 more days to go....
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Training Post 2
New Orleans Training Day 2 (April 10th)
Well, after a pretty good night of sleep, I got up about 5:30am to get a jump on the morning and because I couldn't really go back to sleep. I got ready and couldn't really decide when to leave my room. Part of me just wanted to crawl back in bed because I didn't think I was ready for the day. However, I left my room and got on the elevator. In the elevator, I kept thinking that I should just catch a plane home. I am missing Tatum like crazy and I didn't know what to expect. After getting off the elevator, I headed to the bus to catch a ride to the Convention Center. When I got there, I saw some other people that are on my team, so we all got together so we would know someone. I also met a lady from Pennsylvania and one from Waco, TX. Laura, the lady from TX, has the same birthday as I do!!! How crazy is that? Anyway, after breakfast, we headed to our General Session meetings. There sitting at our seats were more presents. We got a NN bag, pens, highlighters, note pads, etc. It was cool. They were playing some great music and it was loud. We were all singing along with Justin Timberlake and just waiting on the meeting to start. When everything started, I just kept having to pinch myself. The production of the meeting was amazing. They had lights coming in and cool entrance music and everything. It was just so weird! It almost felt like I was dreaming. I am so excited about everything. I am about to study, but it has been great. I have made lots of new friends and I have also met many VPs and even got to talk to the President of the company for a while. We talked about the usual when it comes to Memphis (great BBQ, Graceland, Memphis Tigers Basketball, etc).
The coolest thing about today was when the President was presenting his speech. He was showing projected #s from the past and telling how NN has met those goals for the past 5 yrs. Well, he said if we meet our #s for 2007 then at the end of 2008 they will rent out a cruise ship for the ENTIRE SALES FORCE(and family) to go on a cruise in the Virgin Islands!!! He was serious too and he said this would be on top of a trip for those that make Circle of Excellence!! WOW, I am excited and definitely motivated!! I want that cruise!
Anyway, I am off to study. Sorry, but you are going to be reading lots of blogs with no pics for a while. Antonio said he was going to send me some pics of Tatum tomorrow, so I may try to get some up. I also figured out how to get the internet for free in my room, so I will blog when I can. Take care and continue to keep me in your prayers. I have a big test tomorrow!!
Until next time....
Well, after a pretty good night of sleep, I got up about 5:30am to get a jump on the morning and because I couldn't really go back to sleep. I got ready and couldn't really decide when to leave my room. Part of me just wanted to crawl back in bed because I didn't think I was ready for the day. However, I left my room and got on the elevator. In the elevator, I kept thinking that I should just catch a plane home. I am missing Tatum like crazy and I didn't know what to expect. After getting off the elevator, I headed to the bus to catch a ride to the Convention Center. When I got there, I saw some other people that are on my team, so we all got together so we would know someone. I also met a lady from Pennsylvania and one from Waco, TX. Laura, the lady from TX, has the same birthday as I do!!! How crazy is that? Anyway, after breakfast, we headed to our General Session meetings. There sitting at our seats were more presents. We got a NN bag, pens, highlighters, note pads, etc. It was cool. They were playing some great music and it was loud. We were all singing along with Justin Timberlake and just waiting on the meeting to start. When everything started, I just kept having to pinch myself. The production of the meeting was amazing. They had lights coming in and cool entrance music and everything. It was just so weird! It almost felt like I was dreaming. I am so excited about everything. I am about to study, but it has been great. I have made lots of new friends and I have also met many VPs and even got to talk to the President of the company for a while. We talked about the usual when it comes to Memphis (great BBQ, Graceland, Memphis Tigers Basketball, etc).
The coolest thing about today was when the President was presenting his speech. He was showing projected #s from the past and telling how NN has met those goals for the past 5 yrs. Well, he said if we meet our #s for 2007 then at the end of 2008 they will rent out a cruise ship for the ENTIRE SALES FORCE(and family) to go on a cruise in the Virgin Islands!!! He was serious too and he said this would be on top of a trip for those that make Circle of Excellence!! WOW, I am excited and definitely motivated!! I want that cruise!
Anyway, I am off to study. Sorry, but you are going to be reading lots of blogs with no pics for a while. Antonio said he was going to send me some pics of Tatum tomorrow, so I may try to get some up. I also figured out how to get the internet for free in my room, so I will blog when I can. Take care and continue to keep me in your prayers. I have a big test tomorrow!!
Until next time....
Training Post
New Orleans Training Day 1 (April 9th)
Let me start by explaining that I am blogging in Microsoft Word in my hotel room and when we go to meetings I am planning to copy and paste it so that I can post quickly before meetings start and I don’t have to pay $12 per day to have internet access in my room.
That being said, I will try to write a few times a week and post when I get time. So let me begin with my departure from Memphis.
I got up early and got ready and took Tatum to daycare. She, of course, had no clue I was leaving, so it was easy for her, but I hung around a little longer than usual to say my goodbyes and give her LOTS of kisses. I left and felt okay, not great, but okay. Then I ran some errands and headed home. Antonio took me to the airport and he went in with me to help me get my bags in and I checked in. After all of that was done, he hung out for a bit before he had to leave. Once again, I was fine. I headed to security and experienced a little ordeal. This guy, an airport employee, was going through security and flashed his badge really quickly and kept walking. Well this big black lady doing security said, “HOLD UP SIR!” She wanted to look at his badge again and then she said it didn’t have an expiration date on it and everything was scratched out so she called her manager over to take a look at it. Well this guy got SO MAD at this lady for DOING HER JOB! I am sure it was a little bit inconvenient for him to wait, but my goodness, he should have been glad she was actually sticking to the policies of the airport! Anyway, after waiting on that to get over, I made it through security and I headed to my gate to wait for my flight. After a few minutes, one of my teammates came in and I went with him to get some food. While we were getting food, we noticed another guy that had all of his study material out. We approached him and ended up hanging with him for the trip to New Orleans. It was good getting to know two other NN employees before getting down here.
My only sad moment was on my flight from Atlanta to New Orleans. I sat by the window and this lady and man sat beside me. About 10 minutes into the flight this lady opens her book to the front and there is the most precious picture of her 3 boys. That was no big deal. She smiled and showed her husband. He then reaches down into a bag and gets two envelopes out. She opens the first one and it was a letter from her two youngest sons telling her how much they loved her and how great of a mom she was. They also put a necklace in the envelope for her to wear and think about them while she was gone. The second envelope was from her oldest son with another letter and a ring. It made me think about Tatum.
When I got to the airport in New Orleans, my dad was there to pick me up. We went to eat at Houston’s and then he showed me some of the damage from Hurricane Katrina. I was amazed by all of the houses that are still destroyed and empty after so long. After a mini tour, my dad took me to the hotel and dropped me off. I went in and checked in with the hotel and then with NN. They gave me a cute fleece pullover along with some other cool NN things. I came up to my room and unpacked everything. After unpacking, I went ahead and pressed all of my clothes that were wrinkled. I know, I know, what a good girl!
Well, I am a little overwhelmed by all of the people that are all going through training with me. I know everyone is going through the same thing, but EVERYONE I have met has previous pharma experience and it is a little (a LOT) intimidating!! Oh well, I will be ready for them all tomorrow, but for tonight I am going to get a good night’s sleep.
PLEASE keep me in your prayers! I know I can do this and be great, but I am already missing Tatum and Antonio so much.
Also, pray for Antonio that he will do great with Tatum. He is such a great Daddy and Tatum is such a Daddy’s girl, but I can only imagine that it might be a little hard on him without having me there to help.
Until next time….
Let me start by explaining that I am blogging in Microsoft Word in my hotel room and when we go to meetings I am planning to copy and paste it so that I can post quickly before meetings start and I don’t have to pay $12 per day to have internet access in my room.
That being said, I will try to write a few times a week and post when I get time. So let me begin with my departure from Memphis.
I got up early and got ready and took Tatum to daycare. She, of course, had no clue I was leaving, so it was easy for her, but I hung around a little longer than usual to say my goodbyes and give her LOTS of kisses. I left and felt okay, not great, but okay. Then I ran some errands and headed home. Antonio took me to the airport and he went in with me to help me get my bags in and I checked in. After all of that was done, he hung out for a bit before he had to leave. Once again, I was fine. I headed to security and experienced a little ordeal. This guy, an airport employee, was going through security and flashed his badge really quickly and kept walking. Well this big black lady doing security said, “HOLD UP SIR!” She wanted to look at his badge again and then she said it didn’t have an expiration date on it and everything was scratched out so she called her manager over to take a look at it. Well this guy got SO MAD at this lady for DOING HER JOB! I am sure it was a little bit inconvenient for him to wait, but my goodness, he should have been glad she was actually sticking to the policies of the airport! Anyway, after waiting on that to get over, I made it through security and I headed to my gate to wait for my flight. After a few minutes, one of my teammates came in and I went with him to get some food. While we were getting food, we noticed another guy that had all of his study material out. We approached him and ended up hanging with him for the trip to New Orleans. It was good getting to know two other NN employees before getting down here.
My only sad moment was on my flight from Atlanta to New Orleans. I sat by the window and this lady and man sat beside me. About 10 minutes into the flight this lady opens her book to the front and there is the most precious picture of her 3 boys. That was no big deal. She smiled and showed her husband. He then reaches down into a bag and gets two envelopes out. She opens the first one and it was a letter from her two youngest sons telling her how much they loved her and how great of a mom she was. They also put a necklace in the envelope for her to wear and think about them while she was gone. The second envelope was from her oldest son with another letter and a ring. It made me think about Tatum.
When I got to the airport in New Orleans, my dad was there to pick me up. We went to eat at Houston’s and then he showed me some of the damage from Hurricane Katrina. I was amazed by all of the houses that are still destroyed and empty after so long. After a mini tour, my dad took me to the hotel and dropped me off. I went in and checked in with the hotel and then with NN. They gave me a cute fleece pullover along with some other cool NN things. I came up to my room and unpacked everything. After unpacking, I went ahead and pressed all of my clothes that were wrinkled. I know, I know, what a good girl!
Well, I am a little overwhelmed by all of the people that are all going through training with me. I know everyone is going through the same thing, but EVERYONE I have met has previous pharma experience and it is a little (a LOT) intimidating!! Oh well, I will be ready for them all tomorrow, but for tonight I am going to get a good night’s sleep.
PLEASE keep me in your prayers! I know I can do this and be great, but I am already missing Tatum and Antonio so much.
Also, pray for Antonio that he will do great with Tatum. He is such a great Daddy and Tatum is such a Daddy’s girl, but I can only imagine that it might be a little hard on him without having me there to help.
Until next time….
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Weekend Update...
Well, due to the fact that I will be out of town for SO LONG, I am going to put lots of pictures up tonight for two reasons....1.) hopefully you all will get a picture fix of Tatum that will tie you over until I return, and 2.) so I will have lots of recent pictures to look at while I am down in New Orleans in my room all alone and missing my baby! So, let me try to tell what these pictures area all about...
These first pictures are of Tatum and her Daddy having fun on the couch last weekend when it was warm outside and she could wear her cute shorts.
We are not really sure why, but Tatum LOVES to be upside down. It is so funny, she will just throw herself backwards, so whoever is holding her better be paying attention!
Next are some pictures of Tatum in the bathtub with her new bathtub chair. I got it at the consignment sale this weekend for $1!!!! Great deal, she loves it!
The next pictures are more random ones of Tatum and Daddy.
The next picture is a picture of the new Leap Frog table I got at the consignment sale this weekend. Look.....Tatum is standing ALL BY HERSELF!! She LOVES this table too and it was a great buy! She stood alone for at least 3-5 minutes(holding on to the Leap Frog table of course)!
Against everyone's advice, we finally gave in and trimmed Tatum's hair this weekend. It was getting a little too crazy and the mullet look is just not welcome in our house. We trimmed the sides and the back. Look how much we cut off! It looks so much better now. This is the second time we have had to cut her hair, but the last time we just cut the back a little.
These next pictures are from Easter morning. They are a little backwards, but some are with her Easter basket (bucket) and some are after she got her toys out and she was loving on one of her toys.
The bucket on the left is from Antonio and me and the rabbitt on the right is from Grandmommy and Grandaddy (my parents). Laurie, Cyp, Mckayla, and Mya gave Tatum a big toy that goes outside when it gets warmer. We will get a picture of it when we play with it!
Well, this will be the last blog with any pictures for a while since I will be out of town. I am sure I will blog some to keep everyone updated on how training is going though. I know I will be reading at the very least. Take care everyone and I will be back soon! Call Antonio if you guys are thinking of him to check up on him and make sure everything is going well.
These first pictures are of Tatum and her Daddy having fun on the couch last weekend when it was warm outside and she could wear her cute shorts.
We are not really sure why, but Tatum LOVES to be upside down. It is so funny, she will just throw herself backwards, so whoever is holding her better be paying attention!
Next are some pictures of Tatum in the bathtub with her new bathtub chair. I got it at the consignment sale this weekend for $1!!!! Great deal, she loves it!
The next pictures are more random ones of Tatum and Daddy.
The next picture is a picture of the new Leap Frog table I got at the consignment sale this weekend. Look.....Tatum is standing ALL BY HERSELF!! She LOVES this table too and it was a great buy! She stood alone for at least 3-5 minutes(holding on to the Leap Frog table of course)!
Against everyone's advice, we finally gave in and trimmed Tatum's hair this weekend. It was getting a little too crazy and the mullet look is just not welcome in our house. We trimmed the sides and the back. Look how much we cut off! It looks so much better now. This is the second time we have had to cut her hair, but the last time we just cut the back a little.
These next pictures are from Easter morning. They are a little backwards, but some are with her Easter basket (bucket) and some are after she got her toys out and she was loving on one of her toys.
The bucket on the left is from Antonio and me and the rabbitt on the right is from Grandmommy and Grandaddy (my parents). Laurie, Cyp, Mckayla, and Mya gave Tatum a big toy that goes outside when it gets warmer. We will get a picture of it when we play with it!
Well, this will be the last blog with any pictures for a while since I will be out of town. I am sure I will blog some to keep everyone updated on how training is going though. I know I will be reading at the very least. Take care everyone and I will be back soon! Call Antonio if you guys are thinking of him to check up on him and make sure everything is going well.
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