Introduction Assignment

For this one we’re supposed to introduce ourselves, provide some personal background info, and provide our favorite links.

Introduction
Hi this is Clare Schmitt. I have worked for a company for the past 8 years as director of one division, but I am currently auditioning for the Assistant Director of Marketing position with the same company, and I will find out in December whether I have the job. I’m back in school studying Professional Communication. I’m raising my 17 year old brother and our two kids, Vivian and Schmitty, with my wonderful soul-mate Carl, in Virginia. My philosophy of life is that it is a roller coaster, and together we will enjoy the ride! Also my main mottoes are “Attitude is Everything!” and “Let go, and Let God.” Oh and I guess I should mention that my husband is former military, hence the CONUS reference below. Marine Corps. Semper Fi!
Personal Information
I love to read especially current, relevant to my life and profession, books, the classics, the bible, and any crime/legal thriller or drama fiction/non-fiction. Television, red wine, coffee, and an occasional cigarette are my guilty pleasures. I am a sucker for any cop/law show, and occasionally a completely mindless soap opera like show, such as DH or Grey’s. Now that I’m in school again, I have much less time for TV though. I love the job that I am doing right now in marketing. I am making it up as I go a long because the department consists of one person and the administration does not see the benefit of or need for marketing. I love challenges and problem solving, and I’m fairly good at it, if I do say so myself. I would rather solve problems at work than problems between my 3 and 5 year old though. I am not too proud to admit that my husband is much better at that. 🙂 And that is pretty much the abridged version of what I share with the stranger sitting next to me on a plane during my work travels, and they say “tell me about yourself.”
Favorite Links
Yahoo
My source for news, mail, movies, etc. My go to search engine, although it’s starting to shift to Google.
Google
My second go-to search engine. I also use it for mail, online documents (which I love), Google calendar (which keeps me sane and organized), and pretty much anything else I need I go to Google first.
Amazon
As a busy mom, with family spread across the US, I shop Amazon for anything I possibly can. I will even pay a few extra bucks for the convenience/ reliability that Amazon affords. I use Amazon Prime, which is free 2 day shipping to anywhere in CONUS.

Are You Crazy?

Hi there Folks, it’s been over 18 months since my last post, and I’m trying to get back into it. Regularly. We’ll see how it goes. The reason for the title of this post is that it is what my husband said to me when I told him I was going to visit my sister in Alaska with our 5 and 3 year old kids. That was before I told him that I would be working from there while on “vacation” and that my classes started back the second week I would be there. Well here it is, the second week in Alaska. Ironically, the part that I thought would be the hardest, the 14 hour flight from Virginia, was in a way, the easiest.

The good news is that all these classes have made me realize I need to get back into regularly writing for myself, and well, I might as well let you read it to. Practice makes perfect, so I figure that if I ramble enough, eventually I’ll be…well…perfect.

Some other good news is that when I left you last, I was freaking out about Christmas vacation and spending two weeks with my kids. I think I’ve overcome that fear considering that I got on a plane with them, traveled to Alaska for two weeks with them, then flying to Denver to visit the grandparents for five days, then home. 19 whole days with my kids! Well I admit I do have a prescription for Clonazepam :).

I said to a friend of mine as I am on this trip, “could I just once go on a vacation that is not a learning experience?” Note to self: “vacationing” while working and attending video streaming and online classes with only a netbook, and wireless mouse/keyboard, not the most efficient use of time. Also, my sister doesn’t have a printer, which means any time I want to print class notes, I have to go to the library, which by the way, charges .10 a copy and only lets you use the internet for 15 minutes at a time! Another note to self: don’t visit Alaska right as their temperatures start to drop for the onset of their fall/winter! Especially when you have seasonal affective disorder (sad). Yes, folks, it’s real. Although, seeing my sisters and my niece has been wonderful. And, I’ve learned some discipline strategies that will most likely make future vacations more successful.

Anyway, I digress. I am going to chronicle my journey as a full time student, full time mom, and full time working professional. Sometimes all that makes me a part time wife, but I strive for full time. In the next few hours/days/weeks, I will be posting my assignments. Sometimes I’ll share my completed assignments, sometimes I’ll share what is making me tear my hair out , I mean working on. Stay tuned for my “Introduction” in one of my interdisciplinary studies classes. What is that even anyway? More on that later.

Sanity

It is the last day before Christmas break. I am so looking forward to it, but also feeling like I have so much to do, will it really be a break? Even though I usually have all my Christmas shopping finished by Halloween, I still seem to have a million things to do the week before Christmas. Go to therapy tonight, go to Costco to sign Fili up for her membership tomorrow, pack everybody for our trip, pick up some groceries, get creamer… Continue reading “Sanity”

Holidays

Well, I have two more days left of work before the big Christmas break. I have been looking forward to this break for the entire month of December, and yet, as it approaches,  I have this sinking feeling that the anticipatory relief I feel right now, will be gone by Tuesday. You see, my big Christmas break coincides with the kids break from school. Today, I found myself packing work into my brief case,  just in case… Continue reading “Holidays”