March 27 marked my first anniversary at my job! Kinda exciting, because it also marked my first year in Chicago (okay, Oak Park). Dale didn’t join me until June so this time last year was very stressful but also exciting.

My mom was in the hospital fighting for her life, I was starting a new job in a new city without my husband or kitties, and Dale was scrambling to pack up our lives back home and driving back and forth every weekend to scout for places to live! Remind me not to repeat that this spring!

Every employee gets a little “thank you” on his or her anniversary date! I got a little bag of M&M’s branded with the company logo and colors! I also got a pen (maybe because I’m an editor? I didn’t ask!) and a little card with my name on it! Cute!

In honor of my first anniversary I took a snapshot of my desk! This is where the magic happens! Ha! And also, a lot of caffeine is ingested–you can even see the watered-down Starbucks Iced Chai next to my phone! Now this is real life! And my old school headphones that block out noise from nearby coworkers! And, no, that’s not a manuscript on my screen. I’m clearly checking my gmail AND using the gmail chat function. I am nothing if not an exceptional employee!

I keep a bamboo plant my mom sent me when I was going through a rough patch when I worked for a magazine aka The Evil Empire! Also, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Kim Possible–crime-fighting, kick-ass girls who save the world!–protect my dear husband in a velvet frame. He’s delicate, that Dale!

This is my reference shelf! Things editors need: Merriam-Webster’s, Chicago Manual of Style, Elements of Style, Woe Is I, and The Dictionary of Modern American Usage (my favorite). Also on the shelf: Pride and Prejudice (we publish “sequels” and I have to look stuff up sometimes), all of the company’s catalogs, Getting in Touch with Your Inner Bitch (another one we publish), some wedding planners for research (I had a hand in developing our new wedding planner), and scads of sex and love coupons (we are the #1 publisher of those wacky things).

This is my “book” shelf. It’s filled with “books” that are not bound and are on their way to your local bookseller. One day I will make a post with the books I’ve worked on in the last few months! Lots of fun titles.

I wish I had taken pictures of my “art” work which includes paint-by-numbers I did myself and a cool photo of a castle Dale took in Scotland! Maybe on my second anniverary?