Blessings

So this week (and it's only Tuesday!) has been such a blessing! Now I could make these stories really long but instead I will keep it short and sweet...

For the last 8 months I had been driving an 08 Jeep Wrangler and loved it but it was time to send it back to it's owner (I was sort of renting it from someone that was leasing it). Needless to say, I needed to get another vehicle! I decided some time ago that when the time came I would like another SUV for the space and to transport our kids (our doggies). So after some research and visiting a ton of dealerships around the area I bought a 2005 Mercury Mountaineer.



I'm truly loving it and have every intention to drive it until it dies. It has every available option including a sunroof and heated seats. =)

The next and probably most exciting news is that I have a new job!!! I am now a Project Specialist at American Tower Corporation.



American Tower is a leading owner and operator of communications sites for the wireless and broadcast industries.
As a Project Specialist my duties will include:

* Responsible for financial tracking, billing, and purchase order creation.
* Responsible for managing, and assisting with multiple internal and external processes, procedures and clients including sales, environmental, structural engineering, regulatory, zoning permitting, construction, finance and integration.
* Orders and tracks environmental services such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Phase I and (SHPO) studies and approvals.
* Orders and performs basic overview of titles and easements.
* Orders title updates and tracks expiration periods.
* Tracks ground lease option renewal dates.
* Maintains accurate project files and ensures that construction jobs are documented and re-integrated to the American Tower Corporation system via Woburn integration.
* Assists with Return on Investment creation, budget preparation, preparation of cost estimates and management of budget.
* Maintains the financial and public project tracker.
* Ensures that all company and departmental guidelines are being followed.
* Reviews Construction in Progress report analysis and projects financial reporting for accuracy.
* Collects jurisdictional zoning requirements and update zoning database.
* Reviews and verifies information Universal Forms.
* Completes site candidate information packages for external customers.
* Reviews external customer search rings and identifies best candidates.
* Coordinates construction walks between contractors and American Tower Corporation operations personnel through Job Dispatch ticketing system.

So I will be a very busy corporate girl!! I get to work with my best friend too! Julia Muench is a project manager and really helped me get my position, and I am so thankful. Also, ATC offers amazing benefits so I will have health insurance again and they give tuition assistance as well so I will be able to get a masters!

With all that said, I have many things to be thankful for and I am counting my blessings!

Pursuing Photography

For years I have loved taking pictures. It was world travel that first sparked my interest. While I traveled I wanted to capture as many moments as I could to look back on. I began scrap booking, making photo books, and gifting my favorite shots. Since 2005, that interest grown into an all-out love for photography. I finally decided that I wanted to pursue it on the side and help capture precious memories for others. And in December of last year my amazing boyfriend gave me a professional digital SLR camera (Nikon D60) as an early birthday gift. I was so overjoyed and the camera consumed ALL of my time for the next few months. I'm getting more comfortable with it everyday and love taking it just about anywhere.

Recently I was asked by a friend to take some headshots for him (he's an actor). I'd not done this before but knew I could. So we did a photo shoot in my house and the photos turned out great! There were actually several "money" shots and he was very happy.


This photo has not been retouched.

Since I'm a beginner, I'd like to start building a portfolio. I don't charge a dime but I want to take photos for family and friends and friends friends. If you or someone you know could benefit from some pro bono photography services, send them my way. I don't plan to start a large business of this, I'm simply looking to share something I love with others as a hobby. Let's see what happens. I'd like a variety of events to shoot. Examples are engagement photos, baby pics, headshots, homes for sale, animals, family photos, fashion portraits, etc.

I've also thought about doing something like a "photoshoot party" where a group of girls and/or guys get together and bring several favorite outfits, and we'll shoot with several backgrounds to create some very fun and cool professional photos for everyone to cherish. The target age group for this is probably teens to 20 somethings.

Let me know what you all think.

(Below is my favorite pic to date of my Java on our way to the dog park.)

I'm a Georgia State Panther!

A couple of days ago I got an acceptance email from Georgia State! It told me the official letter through snail mail would arrive shortly. I got into the Master's in Teaching Secondary Social Studies Education program. That's a lot of words but basically I will get a master's degree and be certified to teach high school social studies subjects like history, economics, psychology, etc.

The most desirable aspect of the program is that it's accelerated so it only takes 13 months to complete. So I start this June and graduate in July 2010. I'm so excited that I got in. I don't know how many applied but the program acceptance rate is about 52% so I was nervous. But I did it, yay! =)

It's Official: We're Moving To Georgia!

Dean and I were in Georgia last week scouring the Atlanta area to find a new place to call home. We didn't actually plan to find the house, only the area but low and behold we found a home we fell in love with in an amazing neighborhood. It's in Douglasville which is about 20 miles west of downtown Atlanta where Dean and I will commute daily.

Besides the fact that the home has everything we were looking for, the community sealed the deal. It's called Tributary At New Manchester. It's 1500 acres and is right next to the 2500 acre Sweetwater Creek State Park. The features we love about Tributary are: there are several dog parks and recreation parks all within no more than a 5 min walk from any home, all parks have WiFi, the pools, the gym, extra wide sidewalks, full-time activities director, hiking and mountain biking trails, and my personal fav, all homes are EarthCraft meaning they are built to be energy efficient and reduce energy consumption by about 30%. And these just name a few. Feel free to check out the website at www.tributaryga.com

The house has 3 bed, 2.5 bath, 2 levels, hardwood floors on the main level, fenced backyard, large bedrooms, walk-in closets, garden tub, kitchen island, and a large front porch.

Our move day is May 15, 66 days from today! I'm so excited to be moving back home!


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