It's happening

It's been far too long since I've posted anything here. Sorry! As soon as Dave got his offer on 10/27, it's been non-stop work around the house, phone calls to realtors and relocation counselors. This morning I'm working from home while the carpet on the basement stairs gets installed. Tomorrow Dave and I will both be home because our new granite counter tops get installed at 8am, then we have to pick up the rental car at 9am and then get pictures taken in the house for the listing. After that's all done we'll pack up the rental car (we got an SUV) and head to Nashville for the weekend. We are spending Saturday morning looking for new houses. AHHH! It's all happening so fast. That's the short of it....

Dave got his official offer on my birthday. We were on the way to dinner and pulled over so we could listen intently to the woman from Mars. Dave put the phone on speaker so I could hear everything, too. He is getting a 22% increase in salary + 15% bonus + awesome relocation package. So we nullified my wimpy relo package so we could use his. His relo doesn't include a buyout of the house, but it includes a lot of other things such as 60 days temp housing in a furnished apartment, 8 weeks of groceries paid for ($100/wk) while we're in temp housing, 3% cash back on the sale of our Ohio home if we sell in the first 60 days, two house hunting trips, one trip back to Ohio every two weeks while our home is still on the market, paid closing costs and all realtor fees, and if we buy a new home in Tenn before the Ohio home is sold they will pay for the lower of the two mortgages for up to a year. Yes, you read that correctly. It's a great setup!

We visited our financial planner this week to get advice on how best to take advantage of everything. His advice: List our OH home VERY VERY aggressively and buy a new home in TN soon. In fact, we have about $248,000 into the home, we owe about $208,000 and we're probably going to list for $230,000. Does it give you a heart attack like it gave me?!?! There are 6 houses for sale on our street and our house makes #7. We will be the second lowest house on the street which makes us very competitive. The financial planner said any equity we can get out of this house will be good plus the 3% cash back will help - it will be approximately $6,500. All in all it is very stressful but we have a lot of "downside protection" as our planner would say. Our realtor is listing the house tomorrow and will host our first open house this Sunday. Let the offers start pouring in!!!

That's it for now. At some point I'll post pics of our finished basement and our now-staged new bedroom (finished attic).

Thanks for the support!

I got a job offer in Nashville!

I received an offer from The Nutro Company in Nashville! I talked with Brad, who will be my new boss, last Monday night and he asked me what I would want if they offered me the job. He told me they'd have a formal offer to me by Friday. On Friday he called and gave me a verbal offer and I received the formal letter today via email. So it's official! They salary is almost a 7% raise, 15% bonus, and a partial relocation package. The relo package is not as good as the one I got with Hostess Brands in Dallas; they were going to buy my house if I couldn't sell it after 90 days. This relo package includes packing and moving everything, 4 weeks of my salary in lump sum (to pay for closing costs or eating out or buying furniture), and 30 days temporary living in a furnished apartment. The only thing that really makes me nervous is the 30 days temporary living - that means I'll be homeless or having to move around Christmas. I'm not excited about that! Brad called me about something else today, and I told him in full transparency that I am nervous about only having 30 days in housing. He said they don't want me not accepting the offer because of that, so they will be flexible. For example, they may pay for me to rent an unfurnished apartment for 60 days instead. That would be fine with me.

I am very excited about the actual job. I will be Brand Manager (that's a promotion!) of design/upstream for Nutro Cat brands. I will launch a new brand and develop the masterplan of initiatives for Cat. Yes, this means I may have to overcome my fear of cats in order to do this job well. :) Thankfully people cannot bring cats to work, but everyone is welcome to bring their dogs to work. In fact, in my first interview of the day someone brought in her dog! Brad, my boss, just left P&G about 5 months ago. I love that he has the same background as I do and will be someone I can learn from. Everyone I met with I valued their backgrounds; that is very different than my experience with Hostess Brands. I actually didn't accept the Hostess Brands jobs for many reasons, but the main one being I didn't think I would learn anything from my boss there. I would have added a ton of value to that company, but not sure would've gotten any value from them. With Nutro Company, I will add some value but I will definitely learn a lot and grow my skill set which will make me much more marketable in the future. I am super excited and nervous at the same time!

Dave has his interview on Wednesday this week with Mars Petcare. Please, please, please think good thoughts about him from 1-5pm CST on Wednesday! It would be great if he gets this offer; that will make it much easier to move. We've decided to move to Nashville regardless, but having this offer in hand will make the decision easier and the move for me a ton easier.

Thank you all for being supportive through this entire process. We really appreciate it! I am excited about Nashville and the new job.

Love you all!

Parker and Riggins are so fun (and cute!)

Riggins loves poop. Seriously. He eats it, does it often, and apparently plays in it. The photo above is what he looked like when I picked him up from daycare recently. So proud!
This is Parker sleeping on the couch. So weird! And sorry, a little obscene, too.

Jobs Update

It's been a while since I've posted a job search update. The activity slowed down a little - especially since we weren't applying to new jobs. Both of us had interviewed with Mars Petcare (in different divisions) and were told to be patient.

Dave Update: Dave had an interview last Monday with Tractor Supply Company in Nashville. He said it went pretty well. So now we're just waiting for a response. Dave has had a call from Mars Petcare saying they want to bring him down for an interview - but not in brand management anymore. Apparently the strategic insights group got ahold of his resume and really want him to interview for a position with their group. Dave's waiting to hear back from HR on a specific date. He wants the Mars Petcare job more than TSC, so we just have to hope the timing works out and he's lucky enough to have a decision to make!

Merritt Update: I got a call two weeks ago from Mars Petcare (The Nutro Company) to schedule an onsite interview in Nashville for 9/27. I was already scheduled to present in two classes that day at Notre Dame, so I had to decline and reschedule. I finally touched base with someone live after days of phone tag and rescheduled the interview for Friday, 10/8. I am excited and nervous all at the same time. I feel like it's my last chance to get a job - and it's definitely my only chance to get a job in Nashville since there aren't other traditional CPG company's there. Please let me know if this is cheesy or not: Because they let dogs roam the halls at Mars Petcare I was going to make dog toys for everyone I interview with. What do you think? I know the dogs have toys there because the HR woman I spoke with told me a story about a certain dog that steals all the dog toys throughout the day.

Bark in the Park

Riggins really enjoyed play tug of war with the rope and tennis ball toy they handed out as we entered the stadium. Parker just enjoyed chewing the plastic part.

Mr. Parker before the game.

I couldn't twist this picture, but this is Parker just laying his head on my legs while I pet him. He liked the view - all the other dogs and people at the park.

Me and Parker - before he spilled my diet coke down my shirt (I had no idea he would try to drink from my cup while I was drinking from my cup!).

Dave and Riggins before the game started. That's the only time Riggins sat still all night.

Dave, Parker, Riggins and I had a great time at Bark in the Park last night. Eukanuba and Iams (P&G brands) sponsored the event at Great American Ballpark where the Cincinnati Reds play. It was a great night to be outside - 75 degrees and a slight breeze. Unfortunately the Reds lost but they are still at the top of their division.

Landscape Design

I almost forgot to post these pictures. Thanks to my Megan reminding me, here they are! I absolutely love it, and think it made a big difference. I don't even notice the ugly rocks anymore when I walk up to the house - just the beautiful flowers and plants! And the back is a completely different. I didn't even take before pictures, but just imagine a really ugly dirty space with no green.

Another Update

So, there hasn't been a ton of activity for me lately. I had a phone interview with Snapple two weeks ago and it didn't go well (from my perspective or theirs!). I officially only have one job in the works right now. It's a Brand Manager job at The Nutro Company (part of Mars Petcare) in Nashville. I have a phone interview/phone screen with HR tomorrow. I am excited about this one, although the sour experience with Snapple has me a little nervous.

Dave has had a ton of activity lately. He went to Nashville last Thursday night because he had a meeting with a Marketing Director from Mars Petcare at 7:30 am on Friday. It went very well and Dave really liked the guy. Dave got a call that afternoon from HR and he has a phone screen with Mars Petcare on Thursday this week. Dave also had a phone interview with Tractor Supply Company on Friday afternoon. It went very well and they want to bring him down for an onsite interview.

Anyway, that's it for now. Please send good vibes our way - even you Texas people!!! :)