October updates

Our field trip out to Julian was a fun-filled family day- G really enjoyed herself, and Joy was very content the whole time. "Miss Gina" and "Rowdy Ryan" added a theatrical flair to the hands on activities the kids participated in- sluicing, sifting, panning for gold and stones; candle dipping, farm animal feeding and care, game playing, cider pressing and hay riding. Pictures to come as soon as I find the cord...

We were all covered in dust and so was our lunch!! I wore Joy in the sling for the first half of the day and nursed her freely amongst the happy homeschooling group we were with. Grace re-connected with a few friends but mostly enjoyed the experience with her daddy, sister and me.

My district manager called Friday, saying that I sufficiently impressed the DM I interviewed with and that they would be promoting me to ASM in 2 weeks- 2 months, depending on the needs of the stores in the district. I am so eager to find out where I will be and start settling into a bit of a regular routine. Although I do hope to get through the RMT training program as quickly as possible and get my own store in 6-8 months. We'll see what the universe has in store for me.

Shawn is still waiting to hear from WebVisible... he is very interested in this job. We pretty much ignored his birthday, poor guy. Things have just been rough and just like on my birthday it seemed better to just sorta get through it... sad, I know.

Joy is 9 months old today- boy is she getting big! Eating like a lumberjack and crawling all over the place. She loves her mama so much, and I wince every time she reaches for me as I crawl from the bed at 3:30 in the morning to go to work. I am just grateful that she has had this time with her daddy.

Grace's homeschool enrichment academy is having an open house on Sunday- I am excited to see what they have been learning, she had been enjoying it quite a bit and I am impressed with what I see her doing so far. She is in Spanish, guitar, wind ensemble, hip hop and tap- quite the little Rennaisance girl!!

It's here...

Tomorrow is the day I go for my "assessment"- I will be meeting with and hosting a coffee tasting for 2-3 upper level managers (store or district), I think. I have spent the last week preparing: memorizing the core purpose, mission statement and guiding principles; studying the "17 competencies"- a thorough list of the qualities expected of managers; creating a SARI (situation, action, result, interesting point) for the 9 that I was told to expect by my ASM. She ordered herself the interview book as soon as she became an assistant. It's cheating a bit, but I didn't ask for it- she pretty much pushed it on me- mostly it seems to show off her knowledge and position. She is quite proud of herself for becoming an ASM. Anyway at least we are getting along better now that I have chosen to just let her think she knows more than me about EVERYTHING.

The competencies are pretty much in line with the "soft skills" the development trainers (the team I was a part of at Option One Mortgage Corp's Training Department) focused on. Also they are remiscent of many of the "self-help" books I have read for sales skills- Carnegie, Robbins, Canfield, Covey, etc.

I feel pretty confident going into this- after having seen the performance level and general attitude of the ASM's at the stores I have worked at (did I mention I have now worked at 8 different stores?) I know that I am over-qualified for that position. I truly believe I am able and experienced enough to be a Store Manager- but the journey of "working my way up" is valuable and somewhat rewarding. If only it paid the bills...

I have seen many surprising things from the management partners at Starbucks and as hard as it is, I know that my ability to navigate the social stucture of this large organization is as important as my skills in serving customers.

"My popularity, my happiness and sense of worth depend to no small extent upon my skill in dealing with people." - Dale Carnegie

g is my little mermaid
Tiffany

Grace's 1st Grade Experience, etc

So far this year we have done a lot of in the moment, review, reading and math practice. She is still only 6 years old I keep reminding myself! She is enrolled in an enrichment program on Thursdays where she learns Spanish through play, guitar, clarinet, hip hop and tap. The kids bring a lunch and move between classes in the dance studio where the program is held. She loves it so far and is really learning a lot- she drew and labelled her guitar, made up her own song, tried out a flute, trumpet and recorder before settling on the clarinet and she is making friends!

I really want to get Joy in a baby signing class and both the girls in swim programs (Joy in a Mommy & Me so I can get in the water some too!) but I have been working 40 hours a week at Starbucks. I open the store at 4:30am 4 days a week and work a mid-shift on Saturdays. I got transferred to Fashion Island and have an interview planned for the end of the month for Assistant Manager... but... well I don't really want to get promoted! I want to cut back to 20 hours and be with my kids more!! Shawn has also been putting in a LOT of hours at OC Nissan and working really hard, doing well; making ok $, but it just isn't worth the hours if I still have to work towards management to provide that stable base.

Soooo... he talked them into allowing him to work less hours and we will see what happens- this week certainly went better. I was able to get more than 3-4 hours of sleep a day unlike the previous few weeks. Joy was sleeping well until we started this crazy schedule now she wakes up every couple of hours to nurse and she is teething so she can be quite a handful when you are barely conscious and trying to listen to a 6 year old with no front teeth sounding out letters.

Grace has been such a tremendous help, so thoughtful and considerate- making me sandwiches or warming me leftovers when I get home from work, so I can feed the baby. She often watches over Joy so I can do chores or even rest for a bit. I really like the little girl she is becoming. She has quite the fashion sense and she loves to design clothes for herself and Joy- maybe in the spring we'll put together a unit study around fashion design.

Life is back on TV. I like that.

baby in the bjorn

daddy's girl

This moment

"It was right then that I started thinking about Thomas Jefferson on the Declaration of Independence and the part about our right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And I remember thinking how did he know to put the pursuit part in there? That maybe happiness is something that we can only pursue and maybe we can actually never have it. No matter what. How did he know that?"

Today was a good day. I worked a full shift and boy was it FULL! For a moment in the afternoon it slowed down and I glanced out at the people who were in my Starbucks store. I watched as a woman about my age walked out clutching her beverages, hurrying past the elderly couple who come in most afternoons taking a table for two against the window, paper napkins spread out on the table under the sandwiches she makes at home, their Venti 1- tea bag Tazo Awake Hot Black Teas towering between them as they watch the world go by; a 10 year old-ish boy circled the display near them, his father perused the retail merchandise on a nearby shelf, and a young couple stood snuggling in the corner behind him waiting for their beverages to be crafted and called out by our fiery red-headed barista (the real red-head, not the "out of a box" one).

I felt empathetic - sensing a bit of what their visit to the little corner of the world I like to call work was for them. I remembered how much I enjoyed stopping into the SJC Starbucks on an almost daily basis for my favorite boss of all time, Leslie. I felt the importance of my "silly little job"- I felt a desire to provide an "experience" for them.

The man and his son reached the counter and set an orange traveller mug down on the counter. I asked if it was a gift for Mothers Day to which dad answered yes a little sheepishly, I could tell he would have liked to do more. as I poured his Tall Coffee I mentioned our pretty pink flowery gift cards and the new rewards program that went with them and asked if he'd like to get her one so she could fill up her new cup. He asked about registering it and I knowledgeably explained the process to him (having just done one for Grace so she can buy her own Frappucinos!) as we were talking I asked if he wanted it bagged with some tissue paper and managed to quickly whip out a presentable looking present and lent him my pen so he and his son could sign the gift sleeve of the lucky mom's new Starbucks Card. I felt like I was in a training video as he said goodbye and my next customer (a regular) stepped up and I greeted her by name, writing out a cup from memory as she commented on my haircut and how becoming it was (I have once again embraced the curl!)

Just moments later, as I transitioned onto "the bar" to "steam milk", "pull shots", and "blend Frappucinos", a darling little face popped up at the handoff counter. Grace and Shawn stopped in to pick up the milk that I had pumped on my break- a quick 30 minutes which I divided between the aforementioned labor of love and sitting on the patio with my MP3 player eating Daphne's pita & fire feta appetizer. After I finished making the lattes, a caramel macchiato and iced mocha that had lined up along the shiny stainless steel strip that runs in front of the Verismo 801- I grabbed the bottle from my purse, handed it to hubby and kissed my family before "sliding" back to my originally "deployed" position at the register. (Don't you love the lingo that goes with any large company?)

I survived the drama filled afternoon- the politics that go with the personalities that my paycheck provider attracts- and connected with a partner who was recently promoted, admiring his ability to be pleasant and professional under pressure.

After I got off I sat in the sun with my "partner beverage" (aka free drink!) an "upside down" iced caramel macchiato and blared Jason Mraz's Mr A- Z straight to my brain while completing a crossword puzzle, sitting cross-legged in the sun waiting for Shawn to pick me up. My knight arrived in our shining vehicle- almost completely clean, with barely any bundles of baby baggage or lingering litter from a little girl. We came "home" (where the heart is) and I sat out front nursing little Joy-Joy as G & Shawn finished vacuuming and polishing the car.

This part of my life... this part right here? This is called "happyness."

Barefoot in the Park

We finally made it back to the park today! It was a lovely afternoon, and Shawn decided to come too. The baby was happy to hang out in my lap and I snapped the following with my phone