Day 5....

Today marks Mike's 5th day as a Real Estate Appraiser. He really likes it a lot. He mentioned the other evening how nice it was to work where his co-workers are happy. Mike says that everyone at the office is friendly, courteous, and helpful.

He's finally back working with Sean. He and Sean get a long really well and have been close friends for the last few years. In fact, if it weren't for Sean, Mike never would have gone back to school or have the job he just started.

Mike's been putting in some long(er) days than we are used to. He's usually home around 5:30 or so, but leaves the house by 7:20am every morning. Fortunately, the office is about a 3 minute drive from our house.

Everything seems to be falling into place fairly close if not exactly how we planned, which is always nice. If everything continues to go at this pace we are hoping to start shopping around for a new house in June or July. The goal is to be in a new house by the time the next school year starts.

Meanwhile... back at the ranch...

Maggie has turned into quite the little monster! She's addicted to her Baby Einstein videos and I think I've listened to more Beethoven and Mozart in the last month then in the last 5 years combined! LOL She's still not very interested in walking, but she'll take a step or two if we bribe her with something.

The Latest Breaking Doran News...

Friday was Mike's last day at his old job!

And, right up to the very last minute the company stayed true to their less than honorable colors. Oh, where to begin? Suffice it to say, after giving two weeks written notice... Mike inquired as to whether or not his final check was ready and was surprised to hear the HR person say, "Is today your last day?" In her confused and less than informed state she proceeded to explain that they had three days to give him his last check.

This was her final mistake... she ended up on the phone with yours truly.

After (in my nicest voice possible) explaining to her (and I'll restate it here just in case it comes in handy for anyone else reading...)

California Labor Code (Section 202) states that when an employee gives an employer more than three days notice - that the employees final check MUST be ready on his last day. Obviously if you quit on the spot - they get three days. If you are fired they have to have your check ready right then.

She was quick to realize her mistake (although she refrained from admitting it) and Mike picked up his check later that day. Unfortunately, the HR person was holed up in her office behind closed doors and wasn't able to give it to him personally or wish him the best of luck.

Geez... I sort of expected more after FIVE FREAKING YEARS. But, no biggie. Mike's co-workers took him out for a last hoo-rah and they seemed to have a great time. Until 11pm last night. So it wasn't all bad.

Winter Vacation...

is almost over.

We've had such a nice vacation too. Mike has been off since Christmas Eve. We had a really great Christmas and tonight we celebrated Maggie's first birthday. (I'll add pictures of Maggie's first Christmas and her first birthday to her webpage soon!).

But, now it's almost over. Tomorrow is Sunday and I'm sure the "End of Winter Break" blues will set in anytime now. I don't think anyone is looking forward to getting back into the grind just yet.

Back to Maggie's birthday. She had a very nice birthday and seemed to really enjoy herself. She stuck her finger into her cake frosting and then realized that it was pretty good stuff. Maggie's cake was adorable with little pink roses that were quickly smeared all over her face. She even had cake in one of her ears!

We watched the "Rose Parade" this morning. Always a tradition, although we plan to convince Maggie that they put this thing on EVERY year for her. She really liked the marching bands and the horses - although she kept growling at the horses... Mike says that Maggie must think that they are big dogs. LOL