January 10, 2019

Job Update: 4 Months In

Stephanie Kamp Blog: Job Update: 4 Months In
Hey guys,

I thought it would be a fun idea to give you another update on where I am with my job. I'll probably do a couple more of these, like once I hit 6 months and am no longer on probation and also when I hit a year. Which will be February 30th and then August 30th, consecutively. Just to give you a reminder, I am a customer service specialist in our building department for our local county. So basically I deal with our online permits. I take them in and make sure that our contractors gave us all the necessary documents before we send them on their way to get reviewed. Then once they've been reviewed they are sent back our way so we can issue them and give back to our customers. 

So I am still very much in love with my job. It is absolutely amazing! I work with some of the most wonderful people I have ever met in my entire life. Everyone genuinely cares about each other. We all ask personal questions and give advice on certain things that are going on in our lives. We also discuss vacations and tips about places to go and things to see. We don't really get in trouble for talking too much sometimes they encourage it because they know that it makes for a better work environment.

I do have to say though that I know the stereotype for government employees is that we get paid to not work but this is so not true. We definitely work our butts off and we also get yelled at by all of our customers and then Christmas comes around and we get lunches purchased for by companies that we work with and other random treats as a way to thanks for what you do and sorry for being a pain all year. It's very nice and funny all the same time. We also get emails thanking us for all of our hard work.

One of our main problems at work is that our system constantly goes down when we're trying to issue and work on peoples permits. It is very frustrating. We are currently dealing with one of our largest glitches since I started working there and it has been causing all of our work to get super backed up. We're really hoping that this issue will be resolved soon but we're not entirely sure when. We've been told that our system needs an update and that it will hopefully fix our problem, so fingers crossed!

Another thing I love about my job is that things are always changing. Rules are being created and taken away. We get new responsibilities added to our list and other ones taken away. It makes it very nice because then our jobs are never mundane or the same. It makes every day a new adventure. We also learn new things almost everyday. It's crazy how much there is to learn on a daily basis whether you've been there 4 months or 15 years! 

All right that's it for now! Talk to when I've reached 6 months!

Talk to you soon!
XO, Steph

January 03, 2019

My Hair Transformation

Hey guys,

So I thought this would be a fun post to do because I've slowly been trying to grow out my hair. I have been dying my hair since 7th grade which is a really long time because I'm 25 now. So a little over a year ago I decided to stop. I did it mostly because I have no idea what my actual hair color really is and I am definitely saving some money as well which is an added bonus. 

So here's a few photos over the last or so to show you how much my hair has changed. I went from being super blonde to not so much! I still have a lot of blonde left in my hair though. My hair grows super fast but not fast enough in my opinion! I wish all of the color would be gone already. I surprisingly don't get many comments on my hair thanks the Balayage being a trend. Some people just think that's what I've done to my hair even though I haven't.

October 2017, last time I had cut my hair for over a year!
December 2017
January 2018
March 2018
April 2018
May 2018
June 2018
August 2018 
October 2018
November 2018
December 2018

As you can see from all of the pictures, I also grew my hair out and then chopped it all back off. Unfortunately, I did not donate my hair because it was not long enough. I've also been told that they won't take dyed hair. I love having long hair but I just have so much of it that I tend to get headaches almost every day so I prefer my hair to be on the shorter side. My favorite length is usually when it's right at my shoulders. It's super easy to maintain and it also feels so much lighter. I hope you guys enjoyed seeing my hair transformation I will keep you post on how it's going. I plan on continuing to let it grow out I think until all of the lighter blonde is completely gone. But we'll see! I'm always changing my mind.

Talk to you soon!
XO, Steph

January 02, 2019

New Years Resolutions and Goals

Stephanie Kamp Blog: New Years Resolutions and Goals
Hey guys,

So I don't really like the term resolutions, I prefer goals because I think goals just sounds better. Also people make goals all year round whereas resolutions seem to only be made whenever we start a new year. I personally think that goals are more attainable and resolutions have the tendency to be forgotten. Whenever we are starting a new year, I think that people should make a list of goals or just a few different lists consisting of different things. I personally made two different lists this year, a list of things I want to learn and a list of things I want to work on in 2019.

Things to Learn:
German
French
Italian
Knit/Crochet
Photography
How to play cards
Piano
Guitar

Things to Work On:
Scrapbooking
Whiter teeth
Straighter teeth
Flexibility
Strength

I currently know some French but not enough to carry on a conversation with anyone. I took 4 years of French in high school and 2 semesters in college and I still can't hold a conversation to save my life! The thing about taking a foreign language in school these days, is that teachers don't really make you speak it very often and I think that would have helped a lot more if I had been told that I had to speak it in class. My sophomore year of college though, the professor only spoke French from day 1 but she never required us to actually speak it. So understanding what someone else is saying in a foreign language is a whole different story than actually speaking it yourself. Anyways, my goal is to slowly start teaching myself more French and I also want to learn some German and Italian. One of the places we plan to travel to this year is Italy! So it would definitely be nice to what some of the words mean.

I used to play piano growing up, I took lessons for about 6 months but I kind of quit and gave up because I found it to be very boring but now that I'm older I would love to pick it up again just so I can say I know how to play the piano and if we're ever somewhere there's a piano maybe I could play it and impress some people. A girl can dream!

I've also always wanted to learn how to play the guitar. This is an instrument that I think is really good to know how to play if you're really into music. The only instrument I really learned how to play was the clarinet when I was in middle school and that was only for two years. But if someone asked me to play it now, I would have absolutely no idea how to play it at all! I can't remember any of the notes.

I also wanted to learn how to knit or crochet or both, I'm not really sure what the difference is between all of them if I'm being honest! I also really want to work on my photography skills. I enjoy photography and I have a nice DSLR camera, I just never seem to go out and take photos anymore. I also need to learn how to actually take photos like a professional. It's a fun skill to know and it also makes your pictures turn out sooo much better. I also want to learn how to play cards. I kind of know how to play 21 but I always need to be reminded. I want to learn well enough that I can walk into a casino and sit down at a table and start playing. Granted this is something I will probably never do but I might be going on a cruise this year and last time I went on cruise we spent a lot of time in the casino and it was fun (but I didn't actually play anything, I just watched other people play)!

I have a lot of scrapbooks and scrapbooking materials and it's something I've always been interested in, mostly just because I have always have a thing for stickers and collecting them. I also think that it's a fun way to bring more to a picture. With scrapbooking you can add stickers or other details too and around the photo. You can also add notes to go along with the picture and talk about what exactly is going on in the photo. It helps to keep memories alive and more realistic in your head.

I also really need to start working on my teeth, I was whitening them at home for a little bit but I got lazy! I brush my teeth very well and I floss once a day usually so health wise they're usually pretty good but when I was in high school I gave up on my retainer and my teeth shifted a little so I've been thinking about doing one of those at home things where they send you the kit and you send back your molds and they send you retainers to help straighten out your teeth but I don't know, we will see! They aren't bad at all, like no one can notice but I personally know that they shifted because my retainer no longer fits!

So one of my goals for this year is to start working out which I know is super stereotypical and I probably won't do it but I think it would be nice to at least go for a bike ride at least once a week or take our dogs for a long walk a couple nights a week. Nothing too serious in the beginning and then maybe I can work my way up to working out for real. I don't really want to go to the gym or anything. Maybe just do some random workouts here and there at the house. Like push-ups, sit-ups or lifting small weights.

Another goal is to start working on going back to school. My plan was to get my doctorate before I turned 30 but that definitely won't be happening so maybe if I am able to get my masters before I'm 30 then that would be nice! But I have to buy a study book for the GMAT and then actually study it and take the test. Then I have to apply for some schools which the thought of going back to school is kind of scary but it's something I've always wanted to do so I might as well go for it!

I'm sure that as the year goes on I will be adding more to the list and hopefully checking some things off of it! 

Talk to you soon!
XO, Steph

January 01, 2019

January 2019 Life Update

Stephanie Kamp Blog:January 2019 Life Update
Hey guys,

Long time no posts! First off, I just wanted to say Happy New Year! I can't believe it's already a new year and how quickly 2018 just flew by. I pretty much say that every year because it seems like every year just flies by so quickly but I am super excited for the new year and I can't wait to see what will happen. I have so many goals I want to accomplish, things I want to do, and places I want to travel to. The list just keeps growing longer and longer!

So I know it's been a while and I'm sorry about that. I have been super busy basically ever since my birthday month we have been non-stop go in my family. We went out of town almost every weekend from the start of my birthday weekend up until December 17th! The last few months of the year were absolutely crazy. We went to Disney, we went to St. Augustine for our friends kids 1st birthday, then we went out of town for Thanksgiving, then we went to Europe for almost 2 weeks and then right after we landed back in Florida, my sister and I drove up to Tallahassee to celebrate our other friends kids 2nd birthday! We were so busy but honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way. Traveling and experiencing new things with the ones I love the most is something I am passionate about and it's what life is all about. You'll sleep and relax when you're dead, am I right? But my current state of mind, is don't leave town ever again. I am all vacationed out! However, we are currently planning our next Disney trip for the 3rd weekend of January and we already have two other trips to Disney Planned so obviously we will be going out of town again.

Anyways, this post totally started out as a December Life Update but then it moved to be a January life update. I have been very slow about writing. I have basically this huge long list of things I want to write about but I seem to have writers block or something or am just lacking the motivation to sit down and write everything out. It's been very frustrating for me to be honest. I want write but whenever I sit down to actually write, it lasts for about 5-10 minutes before I give up.

I didn't really do much for New Years. It's not really my favorite holiday. In the past I have fallen asleep before midnight many times. I mean don't get me wrong, starting a new year is super exciting but at the same time, you really could pick any day at any time during the year to be the "New You." I think we just lack the motivation to actually make changes or start a new diet or workout plan. I also think that a lot of us are scared and so the new year is just an excuse to start over fresh. But it's still another day, the number just changed.

So here's my life update: Life is good, family is good, and work is good! MY family and I have a long list of places we want to travel to this year. We also plan on renewing our Disney passes, because why not? It's an easy fun weekend getaway when you just need a break from the world. I have a lot of things that I want to work on for our house. Our office and garage both really need to be cleaned up and organized. We have slowly been working in each little by little. Sometimes it has the tendency to be a little overwhelming though. We just have so much stuff and sometimes I just don't really know what to do with it all!

Like I said earlier, I have a long list of things I want to write about and some of them are going to be back-dated and I'm going to be talk about some stuff from the past but oh well. It's stuff I want to write about, right? I will also be blogging about my recent trip to Europe and hopefully be doing my typically daily posts on all of the things we did each day we were there. I might not be able to remember some of the stuff though because I kind of forgot to take notes! Well not kind of, I chose to not take notes because I wanted to make sure that I was paying attention and soaking everything up while we were there. The trip was absolutely amazing and breathtaking. I already miss Germany and I seriously would consider moving there if I could convince the rest of my family to move there too!

I think that's pretty much all I have to say so with that being said, I hope everyone has a wonderful year filled with love and new memories and so many fun adventures! Don't forget to check for new posts! I am not entirely sure how often I plan on blogging or if it will just be random posts here and there. The travel posts always take me forever write so I probably won't be posting those until I have all of them written so I can just hit publish and then they will be scheduled to post because I don't want to write one and then accidentally forget to write the next one for two weeks. But hopefully those will be going up sometime this month.

Talk to you soon!
XO, Steph