Appreciated

In my job, I oversee over 65 contractors. I make sure they get paid correctly and on time, and also answer any HR questions that they may have. There are some contractors that I only talk to if there is an issue (i.e. their timecard is late or written incorrectly)but then there are others that I consider my friends. There is one contractor that has worked here under a few different assignments. She is such a sweetheart and is hilarious to talk to. I bring her paycheck to her every Thursday. Sometimes, though, I do not have time to take it to her. Today was one of those days. I told her I was going to lunch at 11:30 and would leave her paycheck in a certain spot. When I returned from lunch, roses and some candy were sitting on my chair. There wasn't a note, but I asked Kellie if it was her who brouhgt those to me. She said she did. She also said "Thank you for all that you do. You are a complete asset to this organization and I'm so happy to have met you." It is sure nice to be appreciated by contractors (simply because I have never gotten any presents from the contractors). Today is a good day.

Weekend with the family

This weekend was my cousin Brittany's wedding. What a perfect time to pamper ourselves. On Thursday, my mom and I went to get pedicures together. It was really relaxing. The lady who did my pedicure must have been really scared because I haven't gotten a pedicure in 5 years!! The end result was beautiful. I'll spare you pictures of the pre-pedicure... Here is the after results...

On Friday, Rachel and I went to go get body wraps. Basically, they wrap us up REALLY tightly in a gigantic ace bandage lookin-thing then squirt ("baste") us with detoxing minerals. Then, we proceed to work out on either an elliptical machine or a small trampoline. After 45 minutes, they unwrap us. Overall, I lost 13 3/8 of an inch. Rachel lost more than me, but I shan't conceal that personal number. Rachel and I could not stop laughing. Good times!

On Saturday, Nick and I took care of Rachel's kids. It was really fun having them up at our house. Nick and Brenden played Madden 2007 on the XBOX360. Izzie, Lexi, Betsy, and I walked Bailey. We also made cookies. As the day went on, the kids noticed that Nick had done all the paintings in the house. The kids wanted to do some paintings on their own. Nick and the kids painted some pictures. Brenden painted a rainbow and leprechauns. Izzie painted Mulan. Lexi painted... abstract art.
Overall, this weekend was a blast! I sure love spending time with my favoritest sister and all the rest of the family!

Camping at Big Basin

Nick and I went camping last weekend with some friends. We went to Big Basin and stayed at an RV site (with no RV). It was really fun. We got there Friday afternoon around 3. After setting up the tents and exploring around a bit, we had some dinner. We had excellent BBQ. After eating, we sat around and talked while playing some instruments. Not quite sure how the time passed, but it was so nice sitting around having nothing to do! The weather was beautiful and warm. We chose an excellent weekend to go camping because it was 100 degrees in the city. After having a night of interrupted sleep (due to the hard ground), we all got up and made some breakfast. Shannon made some eggs and sausage while Kelly made a vegetarian egg dish (with tofurky)!! The above video is Nick trying to open a can of black beans with pliers!!! After we were all full from breakfast, we went walking in the river.
It was a perfect way to stay cool during the hot day. We all splashed around and had fun trying not to fall. After a few hours, we all had bruises on our tailbones from falling in the water. I went through a few pairs of pants. Here is the result of one fall...
For the rest of the day, we sat around and ate a fantastic dinner and had s'mores. YUMMY! When we left on Sunday, we were all dirty but happy to have had such a great weekend with great friends!

San Diego

Greetings from San Diego. On April 17-19, Nick and I ventured down to San Diego, CA. It was great to get away from every day routine. On Thursday, we flew via Southwest Airlines to Sunny San Diego. It was gorgeous weather when we got there. We got a rental car that was a dinky little car. It was a Chevy Aveo. It literally went 0-60 in 45 seconds. It was a great commuter car, though. Being the penny pincher that I am, I got us reservations at the cheapest budget motel. We stayed at the Travelodge in La Mesa, CA. It was kind of ghetto! Ha ha. It was a good place to sleep, though. We took a trip out to Coronado. The hotel and beach were gorgeous. We took lots of pictures.

On Friday, we went to the San Diego Zoo. It was a gorgeous 80 something degrees. We both got a little sunburnt, but it was awesome to see all the different animals. I took pictures of both the sign and the animals. We saw hippos, camels, elephants, jaguars, etc. A lot of zoo's are only somewhat interesting, but this zoo had everything we could ever want in a zoo! The new/main exhibit was the panda exhibit. There was actually a line to go into the exhibit. There were signs everywhere telling everyone to be quiet. It was interesting to watch it eat bamboo, though.
When we got back on Saturday, we were ready to be home. As fun as San Deigo was, it is always good to be home.

Spring has Sprung

This weekend, it has been in the 80's. Down the hill, the heat has almost been unbearable. At our house, we have the heat, but the shade of the trees. The flowers have been BLOOMING! The lilacs have fully bloomed. Their smell is intoxicating. Betsy has done an amazing job with planting all over the property! We were joking today about charging people $5 to take a tour of the property. They all laughed, but if you looked at the property, you would start taking out your wallet immediately. We had two BBQ's today because the weather was amazing. I am so lucky to live up here.

Another day at the office

Monday through Friday from 7:15 AM until 5 PM, I am in my cubicle at Gilead Sciences. When my boss went on vacation a few weeks ago for a week, he left me in charge. His job is so complicated. It isn't the exact duties, but rather the manager's demands. They act like if something isn't approved automatically, it is life and death. Long story short, I made it through the week!! My manager took me to an appreciation lunch at a nice Italian restaurant. I thought that was a good way to show that he appreciated me. The real surprise came today. My manager's manager, the Director of Business Operations, forwarded me an email that my manager (Kevin) had written him. In it, Kevin said "Emily is the one who impacted me last week. Emily continues to impress me with her motivation to learn. The thing that impressed me most about her work while I was out was that she knew when to take control of the situation and make a decision but she also knew when to ask for help. She went to the right people and kept things moving right along. Good help is hard to find and I am so happy to have her by my side." I cried when I read it. I am so thankful for a manager like him. He is so great to work with/for. He is one of the main reason's I love my job. Well, he is out of town again for the next 3 days. I started the day with my "dirty Chai" so that I would have energy for the busy tasks ahead....

My New hair cut

This morning at 9 AM, I drove to Santa Clara to get my hair cut by a woman named Lindsey Harman. She has cut my hair once before, back in October. I loved it so much, that it is worth the hour drive to get my hair done. She does it in the privacy of her own home. I am so glad my sister-in-law, Wendy, referred me to her. The haircut she did is an "A" line cut. The back, bottom layer is a deep chocolate brown. The highlights are an auburn color. She left in the blonde highlights that I had from my past hair cut. It took about 3 hours, but with the end results, it was well worth it. I will definitely recommend her to everyone. I feel sassy yet older with my haircut! Let me know what you think.