I Quit!

Don't let the title of this post fool you...it wasn't quite that dramatic...at least there was no exclamation point at the end. Well, after almost 11 years with KBIC, I have officially hung up my recruiting hat. Yep...finished...done...no more! We always hear the grass is always greener and I hope I haven't made a huge mistake, but I really feel in my heart that I made a good decision for me and my family. In 1998, when I first joined my company, I truly loved it. I really enjoyed talking to candidates and the whole recruiting business. I was driven by the desire to succeed and since it's a sales environment, I wanted to always be at the top of the rankings. I was blessed enough to join a team that was #1 in the company and who cared about my success as much as did...Team Kittelson ;) was a great place for me to start my career in commercial construction recruiting. I focused my efforts in the southeastern US and was blessed to work with some of the best construction companies in the Atlanta and south Florida markets. I made such good friends with my clients and hopefully impacted all the candidates I placed in a positive way. As time went on, I worked my way up the ranks and achieved Partner status and bought into the company about 5 years ago. Professionally, I achieved more than I thought possible but in the last few years, professional recognition became not so important anymore and the money I made didn't really make me "like" what I was doing either. You can make a lot of money in executive recruiting but there is a lot of mental anguish involved in that career choice. I am pretty tough...at least in my opinion...but the highs of my job are really high and the lows are REALLY low. You can do everything "right"...you can find a great client who will pay your fee and interview people on time, provide feedback, solicit your input in negotiating offers, have a candidate whose resume is perfect, who calls you after their interviews, who has impeccable references, who lets you help them negotiate their offer and at the last minute a wife can put the kabosh on the job change, their house won't sell, their kids decide they can't leave their friends and school, they take a counter-offer to stay with their current company...etc, etc. Like magic...the whole deal is gone! That $25K fee...gone....your next paycheck...gone! Yep, full commission is awesome and impacting people's lives in a positive way is a great feeling, but having someone else in control of whether you will get a paycheck is maddening! I just couldn't do it anymore. Perhaps if the economy wasn't so bad and I could have continued working in commercial construction, things might be different but that wasn't the case. My choice to go into healthcare was a good one because it allowed me to come to the place where I finally acted on my thoughts of the past few years...life's too short...go do something you enjoy...money and "things" aren't everything. I came to the realization that I was going to work every day, having hospital HR people be mean to me...negotiate EVERYTHING on my contract, beat me down on my fee, not return my calls, tell me they were working with other firms or don't use firms at all to fill positions, and the worst part is I was doing it for FREE. Yep, my paychecks were ZERO. As I said, commission can be great and it can be not so great. I realized I can make ZERO by staying home, concentrating on my family and figuring out what my next step is. So, that being said, I resigned on Tuesday. I mentioned in my Cancun post how blessed I have been to work with such a generous CEO and I truly am. My resignation meeting could not have gone any better in my opinion. My plan is to work on an "as I want to basis" which means I can still work with my clients and do searches when I want to...and keep my information on the website...my email, etc. How great is that? In the meantime, I am concentrating on my family and working on my next step....but again, more details on that later! I am excited about the next phase of my life and truly happy and blessed. Mike has been so supportive of this and I couldn't ask for a better partner. I am grateful for the opportunity I was given the last 10+ years and believe I did work for the best search firm in the country and I am proud to have been a Partner there.

Cancun with Friends

Of course, I will start off by apologizing for my lack of posts lately, but I now have the time to get back to my regular blogging...more on that later. Here's what we've been up to...the last weekend of March, Mike and I and several of our friends were able to head south of the border to Cancun. Normally, I am not a fan of Mexico and ESPECIALLY of all-inclusive hotels, but this place was great! The trip was actually a gift from our CEO and his wife. Jeff and Tracy surprised us, along with Joey and Karen, Jeff and Holly, and Nick and Lauren with an all expense paid trip to Cancun. It was a reward for a job well done in 2008 for Karen, Jeff and Nick. But for us, it was an early 40th birthday present for Mike. Lauren got sick at the last minute so she and Nick weren't able to make it so the rest of us had to have enough fun for both of them! Funds are tight this year so having a free trip like this was so great and the fact that we were with our closest friends made it even better. We stayed at a luxury all-inclusive, adults only resort and it was fabulous...so fabulous that we never left the resort for 3 days! That's right, I never even walked down the street in Cancun. We spent the day lounging by the pool and having fun dinners together at night. It was the ultimate relaxation vacation. Jeff even went a step further and had couples massages and body scrubs for everyone...how great is that???? I am so blessed to have such great friends and work with such a generous person. If you and your significant other decide to do a quick get-away, check out this resort. You will love it! http://www.leblancsparesort.com/

Spring has Sprung with Addison Jane!

Mike and I took off work last Friday afternoon and spent the day at the Arboretum. We decided last year to make this a tradition with Addison and our family. It was such a beautiful day! The kids were so blessed with beautiful weather for the entire Spring Break week...ahhh, the days of Spring Break. I remember laying out by the pool with my friend Lisa and trying to get a tan all the while having extreme goose bumps because it wasn't warm enough just yet...but darn it, we wanted to get tan! Those were the days...but, enough about that...we had a fantastic time. Last year, we packed a picnic lunch, but this year we decided to take nothing, enjoy the flowers and take some great pics of Addie and then head off to get ice cream afterwards. I must say, it was quite fun. Watching the kids run around with their shoes off, being so carefree and enjoying the day made me remember what life is really about. The funniest and cutest part of the day was when Addison saw some kids rolling down a grassy hill and decided she wanted to try it. She ran as fast as she could up the hill and tried her absolute best to roll down...but instead of going down, she went sideways and basically tripped up all the other kids who were going down. PePaw did his best to get her back on track but I don't think she is quite coordinated enough just yet. We saw lots of beautiful flowers and plants...all of which reminded me that God made ALL of that just for us to look at and enjoy. Truly amazing! I so love this time of year and want to spend as much of my time outside as I can. We had a fun time with Micah and Addison and even enjoyed a little "banilla" ice cream on the ride home.

Look Who's Back!

Gosh, I feel like I start every new post with apologizing for not keeping up. The truth is there is just not enough time in the day for me!! It's so frustrating. But, I must take responsibility for my actions because I guess there is always enough time to do the things you WANT to do. Right? Let's see...in the past month not much has changed on the work front. Mike and I are both still working hard, trying to make something happen in this terrible economy. Things are ok, but definitely not as they have been in past years. We are really slow and what Mike has been able to do in the first quarter of this year is what he normally would do in one week at work. All of that being said, it could be much worse. In fact, I get calls from lots of people where it is definitely much worse. So thanks to God that He is watching over us and continuing to bless us. I believe this year will be a year of struggle financially and also a year of great learning opportunity for me and for lots of other people. Now I'm the first one to say...learning hurts and I am cool...don't need to learn anymore...I got it! However, life doesn't work that way and sometimes God puts things in front of us so we can learn to rely on Him. If things were great all the time, when would God get an opportunity to show us what He can do? I continually repeat this to myself...remain faithful to my tithing and watch for the everyday blessings He puts in my life.

Here's what's gone on in the past month in the Kittelson house.

-we have a roommate! Our friend Shawn moved in with us for two months and is our new family member and "renter". He just went through a divorce with another of our good friends and is staying with us until his place is ready...sometime in mid-May.

-Mike got his nose broken boxing. Yep, Mike takes a boxing class at our gym and it's supposed to be a cardio type of workout but the coach decided he wanted to spar with Mike and guess who won the match? So, last Wednesday Mike had surgery to repair his broken nose. I could go on and on about how the trainer is a complete idiot and WHO hits someone in the FACE when you are TRAINING???? Especially when the client is an OWNER IN THE GYM! Seriously! Mike had a lot of nose surgery done last year to repair a deviated septum so undergoing this type of operation again was not something he looked forward to. However, Dr. Bassichis did a great job and his nose looks great...not at all like Michael Jackson. :)

-We had a shower for Mike's mom and his soon to be stepdad, Terry. The happy couple is getting married next month and we had a wedding shower for them. Wow are they giddy!! Like a couple of teenagers!

-My step-parenting skills have been put to the ultimate test. Micah is in the dreaded 13-15 age range where girls decide parents are stupid, they have NO idea how things are done in school these days, they know pretty much everything and parents know absolutely nothing, parents are not cool...not at all, and they think they can lie and we won't be able to figure out they are not telling the truth. Whatever Micah...your stepmom must have been a CIA agent in another life because when it comes to lying you don't stand a chance. I just hope she knows I am hard on her because I love her and want her to be a responsible young woman. It can definitely be tough sometimes! Being a stepmom is the hardest and most thankless job there is. My prayers go out to those in this role...stick to your guns and always do what's right, even if it doesn't make you very popular.

-I thought I had an ovarian cyst but thankfully, all is good and my reproductive organs are humming away. I have had a pain in my lower abdomen on the right side and after much internet researching, I had convinced myself I had a cyst, cancer, or endometriosis. I also figured out diagnosing yourself does nothing but freak you out and being the crazy person I am, I had already come to terms with a hysterectomy, chemotherapy, etc. I tell you...I can be crazy! However, I had a sonogram today and all is good. The ovaries look good, the uterus is great and I might have had a cyst that ruptured, but there is nothing there now. So thank God I am healthy. Now...if only I had a baby to put in this healthy womb...but more on that another time!

Well, that's the update from around here. Not too much to report. I have been keeping up with everyone else's blog so please be patient with me...I really do promise to do a better job. Even sitting here typing I realize how therapeutic this is! See you soon!

The Miracle of Life...Welcome Lillian Kate

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity for our family! What was supposed to be mine and Mike's weekend "off" (meaning, Micah is at her mom's) where we act like a married couple with no kids and do whatever we want to do turned out to be a very busy few days. It started on Friday night with a call from Ashley around 8:30 saying she was having some pretty significant labor pains and she and Mark were going to go to the hospital to check things out. By 10:30, they decided it was best to keep her there, so I went to the hospital to pick up Addison so she could stay with us for the night. At 12:40am, Ashley called to let me know that she was dialated to a 4 and they were going to give her an epidural and Lillian would make her debut on Valentine's Day...no doubt about it! Now the thing is, I was supposed to be there during the delivery, but with it being the middle of the night and Addison staying with us, I just figured I would miss out on my one and only chance to actually be in the delivery room so I was definitely disappointed. However, around 5am, Addison woke up screaming from a bad dream so I thought I would check on Ash. It turned out, she hadn't had the baby yet...YAY!!! I jumped in my car and headed to the hospital as they had started her Petocin at 6am...luckily most doctors don't like to get out of bed to deliver babies in the middle of the night so her doctor didn't want to "help" her labor along any sooner than he had to. At 10:38am, little Lillian Kate Swallow made her debut weighing 7lbs 3oz and having just a little bit of sandy blond peach fuzz on her head. I have to say witnessing the birth of this little girl is one of the highlights of my life. I am so thankful to Ashley and Mark for allowing me to be in the room. It says so much for mine and Ashley's relationship and how far it's come and how much it's grown in the past 5 or so years. Watching this reminded me of how awesome God is...that a woman's body just takes over and this little tiny baby finds it way out of the womb is truly incredible. It was such a great weekend and being a part of this was just amazing. We also got to keep Addison Friday and Saturday night and that is ALWAYS fun...she is loving being a big sister to "Silly Lilly". So...now I am KK to two granddaughters...what a blessing. Congratulations to Ashley and Mark and welcome to the world Lilly...your KK loves you already and can't wait to hang out with you!

I Just Need More Time...

I continually feel like a bad blogger and I KNOW I am! It's just I don't have enough hours in the day to get everything done. I am up at 5:30am and try to be out the door no later than 7am and in the office by 7:30am. By the time I get home around 6pm, I am making dinner, maybe doing some laundry, planning for the next day's work calls and then it's time for bed. I know, I know, it's the same thing with MANY working moms and wives, but it's just so overwhelming sometimes. One thing I WILL NOT sacrifice is my "family time". I think there is nothing more important than the three of us having dinner together...even if tonight it was scrambled eggs and biscuits...definitely not on the diet...but hey, it was cheap and home cooked! So in order to make it all happen and achieve my commitment at work, I have to be in my chair by 7:30am. I figure if I can do that and get done what I need to get done, still have time to work out at lunch and I can leave by 5:30'ish and no one suffers...except me and my tired self. This will definitely be a tough year for us at work and if we can just put all our efforts into surviving this rough economy then I believe 2010 will be much better...and I know the Lord will bless us always. I just think we will have to make some sacrifices in order to make it all work. That being said, I know I'm not blogging as often as I was but I will continue to get to it when I can...it's very therapeutic and I so love reading my friend's blogs so I need to do my part!

Happy Anniversary

Today is my second wedding anniversary. Yep, on this day two years ago, Mike and I said our i-do's on the beach in Nevis. What a wonderful, wonderful day it was. It was intimate and special and so so beautiful. We had four guests in attendance...Bob and Sandy Bassman who flew all the way there just to stand on the beach and be with us on that special day...and trust me, getting to Nevis is pretty much an all day affair. We also had another couple whom we met on the plane show up as well. They were so sweet to come and watch the ceremony and congratulate us. I think the best part of the whole experience was getting to take a week long cruise on aboard one of the Seadream ships and spend our honeymoon with our best friends. What a great time we had! So, in honor of our anniversary Mike and I both played hookey from work and slept until about 10:30...I NEVER do that...and we went to see the movie "Taken". We had a relaxing day and just hung out together...which is probably my favorite thing to do with him. No gifts this year...just cards and quality time. I am so blessed to have Mike as my husband.

Colorado Pics

As promised, here are a couple of pics from our recent ski trip to Colorado. We had a lot of fun and I think we all improved our skills on the slopes. Micah did great and even went down a blue/black trail! Cody and Mike snowboarded and I think they did great...Mike looked very much like the young teenager skating down the hills! I did much better too...I think this was my fourth time skiing and I spent the majority of the time on the blue trails and only fell one time (stupid snowboarders!). Did I mention we went ahead and purchased a time share? Yep! Even more time in that great state is coming our way...I can't wait!