Argh. Ordered shoes at Nordstrom, after trying a pair on and liking them but not in the color they had available. ...just got the shipping confirmation and realized the dude ordered me a pair in the same color I tried on. Dude, if I wanted that I would've walked out the store with them! Called up Nordies and they're going to see if the can get the shipper to just return the package without delivering. Harrumph.

Our new couch, love seat and rug arrived this week while the DH was away in Tokyo. He got back last night and this afternoon we spent an hour or so figuring out a furniture arrangement that will work in our living room. Since the room has a tile floor (kind of a beige terrazzo), I was worried about it being cold-feeling, but the new rug really cozies it up. [link]

I am so happy to have a living room again after six weeks!

Severance is a good thing. Obviously, I am in favor of leaving sure things that are making you miserable for uncertain things that are likely to make you happier. Midlife is a perfectly cromulent time to have a crisis, and the severance gives you a reasonable financial footing in which to have it. You might check out some books like Simon Sinek's "Start With Why" to see if you can't suss out a path you might like to explore.

Yay for new furniture and rug! I loved our tile floors in the end, and they were very handy for the pup. The new house is all hardwood, and then tile in the kitchen and bathroom.

Hope that works out, meara. Silly salesperson.

Pretty, Scrappy! I'm sure it will really tie the room together. (I can't help it, it's a sickness)

-t, that's just what we said about it. :)

I think severance and making the best choice for your health and family is a good thing.

Although I'm 44 and returning to work in retail so there is that.

I do like my job and I'm glad I took this job. I got my first survey compliment!

Also the Ritilan seems to be making a difference.

Glad to hear that, askye!

That's great, askye!

Nice living room, Scrappy!

Jessica, the restaurant is really a viable thing if you can find investors. But, speaking as someone who has worked in a small private eatery for the last almost three years, you would really need to identify why the restaurant is failing now, and how you would change that.

Plus, what everyone else said about crazy hours, etc. That said, there's a lot of joy to be had in creating a space where people love to come and eat, and you develop a lot of really awesome relationships with regular customers.

Jessica, the restaurant is really a viable thing if you can find investors. But, speaking as someone who has worked in a small private eatery for the last almost three years, you would really need to identify why the restaurant is failing now, and how you would change that.

So Much this. The restaurant I'm at right now is losing money because it's big (like a city block long), and it's set up to be a dinner house. The current dining trend is away from old-school white tablecloth, especially for lunches, and so our business is suffering. There's not much that can be done about it except trimming shifts to the bone.

Jess, take the severance package. You won't get any happier by waiting it out.

I'm in the same boat, including the need to figure out what I would do besides what I do now.

I'm going to buck the trend, and tell you if one of your goals is to spend time with your kids, stay the hell away from owning a restaurant. My father was never around--he woke up after we went to school and came home long after we were in bed. We got Sunday mornings with him, because the pizza shop didn't open up until 4. When we got our liquor license, we started opening at 11 on Sundays and that was the end of that. He was late or absent for games, dance recitals, doctors' appointments, and anything else that you could think of. It has given us a great life and in January we'll have been in business for 37 years, but it has also taken away a lot. My dad is still up there every day at age 78, my sister is physically falling apart and doesn't get a day off now because we can't find people who want to work, and even though I managed to avoid getting sucked in full-time, I still get the call to help when employees don't show. I run the social media and handle the website because I'm the only one that has time to do it (I really don't, but what am I going to do?), and I fear making weekend plans in case I have to cancel. Instead of handing out candy tomorrow night, I'll be working at the shop. We get slammed on trick or treat night, no matter what.

If we want to eat together as a family, we have to eat at the restaurant. My sister is constantly crunching numbers because the price of ingredients is skyrocketing, but we can't raise the prices too high or we'll lose business. We've been robbed five times, twice at gunpoint.

On the good side, we've made some wonderful friends and our customers are usually awesome. We're into our second generation (and a few third) generation of customers from the same family. We've been part of the lucky few that have made a successful go of it. For a long time, it was truly a family affair because all four of us helped out. Even when we were at odds, it was fun. We could never leave work at work though, and it has made for tense moments outside of the restaurant that frayed family ties.