It's Decided

We're not taking a vacation at all. We had decided on Germany and Brandon even put in his leave request but in the end I couldn't see myself staying at my job for another two months just to pay for this vacation. It would have cost about $4,500 and that's just a lot of money right now, money I would rather spend on other things like increasing our match budget or putting toward retirement.

Speaking of work, it's really starting to get to me. There have been lots of changes lately, some I don't agree with and some I could care less about but the transition with those changes have been so rocky due to lack of planning that it's aggravating. Some days I wonder why I come in at all. The morale in our department is zero, everyone is looking for a new job, even the permanent employees. My co-workers tell me to just focus on my job and not worry about things that aren't my problem, but it's hard to just....not care. It's gotten so bad that a permanent job opened up in the department I work for and I have no intention of applying. The benefits would include a (small) raise, vacation time, a 401K match and even a $10,000 adoption reimbursement. But I simply can't see myself staying in this job much longer, especially when I've been treated so poorly in the past as a contractor (I wrote about this on my private blog but the summary of the story is that I was told I can't come back to work after we adopt. I can't take 6 weeks of leave, I can't apply for another job within the company for a year, I can't work from home. But the permanent employees are entitled to take up to 6 months off. I believe 12 weeks are paid if you adopt, 6 weeks are paid if you give birth.) I told my temp agency that I'm looking for another position, preferably for a travel agency. I'm even willing to take a pay cut just to be happier. But if that doesn't work out then I'll tough it out for a few more months and then quit.

On a more positive note, Brandon and I planned a small weekend getaway the weekend before Valentine's Day at the Mount Washington Resort in New Hampshire. I'm really looking forward to it because though we've been married for over 4 years, we have never ever celebrated Valentine's Day together. Since we're pretty sure we won't have another chance to do this for a looong time, why not now?

Well that's about all for now. I'm going to try a new pulled pork receipt today and settle in to watch the football games to see who makes it to the Super Bowl!