very full Wednesday

Okay, want to know the reason I went so long without blogging?

Here’s the thing: Amy (who had been my immediate supervisor at work, the person who gave me all my training, the person who knew how to do everything, and also a cool person who ended up being my friend and whose travels through Europe- prior to heading to school to get an MBA- I am eagerly following) left. And I got her job. Whoo, promotion. Exceeeeeeeept… no one got my job. For three months.

So one me… one new job… plus one old job no one else was doing.

Plus participating for the first time in a new summer program which is generally really exciting- your tax dollars at work!- but a sh** ton of work in terms of administration, paperwork, training, site visits, etc., with a new leadership reorganization that makes me want to staple said paperwork to my face when I think about it too much.

Plus generally not knowing at all what to do with my life- more classes to move me towards my RD/MPH goal? Finally FINALLY move out of my childhood home and live as an independent adult? But with who? And gosh I’m stressed out so I think I’ll eat 100 cookies to help- etc. etc.

But… I’m dealing. My old job FINALLY got replaced with someone who is fantastic- sweet, conscientious, a quick learner. And everything else, I’m making it up as I go.

So here’s the day we had a work celebration saying farewell to Amy! Er, three months ago. I’ll also add that the director of our department just had a super awesome and cute baby last weekend. So we were celebrating that, a little, and also being all “Eesh, more stuff to do with Kendra gone!”

But hurray for working with good people, and hurray for deviled eggs.

 

In general work events, perhaps unsurprisingly when you remember I work at an organization with “Food” in its title, are kind of ridiculous.

Really surprisingly healthy too, minus the Doritos :) Mmm.

Kendra had a dope new patio, and her exceedingly nice husband grilled everything for us.

Mmm. 

More mmm.

Oooh, Michael’s cheesy thing just came out of the oven, mm!

Aww…

   

Lest you think I hadn’t had enough tables overflowing with food that day, I then had a family event! Two of my great aunts (who I may have never met?) were visiting my other beloved great aunt Rose, and she had a shindig to get the family together. It was in Silver Spring at night (an hour and a half during rush hour, eesh, but we love our family so!) held in the super nice clubhouse-type-space at the Leisure World where aunt Rose lives.

Sometimes Dena remembers she is a really good photographer and demands that we pose for family pictures at these events.

Aunt Rose looks great but the rest of us do kind of the Chandler Bing smile in front of cameras.

Anyway, the table was a tasty mix of stuff made by family and things catered by a great Greek restaurant nearby.

 

Legit Greek salad! No lettuce!

 

My oh-so-yummy plate. Freed from the tyranny of having to choose between spinach pie and squash pie.

So fun catching up with family. Also met new cousins who shared how their family had dealt with their first threat of a tornado after moving East from California (climbing into the bathtub wearing bike helmets… to me, this seems very practical).

Obligatory dessert. On the left was a Macedonian variation on Baklava that was somehow… wetter? Good stuff.

If your days are going to be crammed with huge amounts of work they might as well be crammed with huge amounts of food, eh?