Hello Hivewire!

Andrew started working for Henry Schein One in June of 2020. Since then, he has been working remotely in the basement which is a huge bonus. I get to see him every day for lunch! I can simply text Andrew when I arrive home with a trunk full of groceries and POOF, he graciously helps me unload them. I have also been known to leave sleeping Izzy home with Andrew (too bad she's no longer into the whole napping thing). I think Andrew sees the perks of being in the basement as well. He's enjoyed hot bread, muffins, cookies, smoothies, and more, all hand-delivered to his desk. Sadly, this working from home thing is coming to an end.

Andrew is starting a new job on March 1! This isn't something I thought would happen so soon. I've known that Andrew's job hasn't been his dream job from the get-go. He planned on staying for a couple of years though. Recently, Andrew's friend mentioned that his company was hiring a Quality Assurance Engineer. Andrew decided to interview. He has missed doing QA. He's done some QA work at his current job, but lately he spends most of his time doing other tasks which isn't his favorite. The initial interview lead to another interview and a job offer.

I'll be honest. Knowing that this new company, Hivewire is a startup worries me. Andrew has worked for a startup before and did end up getting laid off (along with 90 other employees). He had 3.5 good years at Canopy though and thrived. This new start-up, Hivewire is small. Andrew is only the 11th employee! He has worked with 3 of the other employees previously and jives well with their work pace and style. I'm sure that you, like me are wondering what Hivewire does. Here is Andrew's description: "Hivewire allows for customized workflows for businesses. Have you heard of Trello and JIRA? It does some of the same things."

Andrew was so excited the day he got the job offer that he couldn't sleep. I've decided to trust him on this one (and the Lord) and know he'll be happier doing what he loves. Andrew will now be working in an office in Lehi. I was feeling peaceful and calm about moving forward with Hivewire until Andrew gave 2 weeks notice at his current job. His boss was surprised and mentioned what a good worker Andrew is. He even brought up compensating Andrew more to see if that would get Andrew to stay. Reality set in for me. Andrew is leaving a solid job with a company that likes him. Why am I surprised? I shouldn't be. I'm married to a hard-working man. His "lunch breaks" typically last 10 minutes. On a good day 15. Andrew also gets to work at least 15 minutes early each day. (He said he learned that from me--a true Denning.) I'm sure Hivewire will see what an asset Andrew is to their company too.

Andrew will return to having unlimited PTO! (Apparently most tech companies offer this benefit.) This might be the perk I'm looking forward to most. We've been spoiled in the past and got used to Andrew having more time off. I'm proud of Andrew for excelling so well in his career. The kids are already talking about going to visit him at work. (Everything is an adventure to them!) I'll miss running downstairs to ask Andrew something and his ten second commute, but hopefully it will be worth a more satisfied husband. Oh and I doubt Andrew will miss working in the unfinished portion of the glacial basement. With time he's learned to adapt. He wears slippers, a coat, and constantly has a heater running. His unfinished basement background will no longer be a hot topic in video meetings either. 

Bedroom Makeover

When I think back to being a newlywed, it feels like a lifetime ago. After Andrew and I got married (over 8 years ago!) and moved into our first unfurnished apartment, we purchased some furniture. It wasn't hard to decide where to begin our search in small Rexburg, so we headed for the one furniture store we knew of. Pretty quickly, we found 2 matching black dressers and were happily on our way. Those black dressers have followed us over the years through multiple moves.

Andrew was quite proud of our new furniture, especially since we got a deal. For a while, it felt like Andrew told almost everyone who came over about the killer deal we got on the dressers. Eventually, I had to tell Andrew that I actually didn't love the style of the black furniture, so he would stop bringing it up and showing every guest that entered our house our bargain find.

Recently, I've been more bugged than ever by our cheap, poor-college-students purchase. These dressers didn't hold up super well over the years and some pieces have broken off. Andrew was completely on board with the new dresser idea and the hunt began. After consulting my sister and sending her some of the options I was considering, I felt confident with my choice.

But, like any project, you change one thing and then suddenly, -BOOM- you have to update everything else in the room immediately. What started out as a quest to find a replacement for our ugly, black dressers, turned into a bedroom makeover.

Suddenly, our $20 mismatched nightstands didn't seem so classy. (They weren't even picture worthy.) I purchased 2 nightstands that matched the new, sleek dresser. They even have drawers which is a luxury I'm unfamiliar with. Our room looks clutter-free because our remote and books have hiding places. We knew when ordering the nightstands that they might be too short next to our massive bed. We were right. This meant we got to spend more money! We bought a new bedframe/headboard that allowed us to get rid of our oversized box spring. You can't get a modern new bed and skip fresh bedding. Next purchase: a new white bedspread.

(From Wayfair)

(Also Wayfair, but was cheaper on Amazon. I promise the color matches. It's called Caramel.)

Target

We learned a hard lesson during this process. I wanted our dresser up STAT and Andrew went with it to please me. He put together most of the dresser while keeping track of 2 kids in the room since I was teaching piano. As a result, our kids made the mess of a century with Styrofoam. It was EVERYWHERE! I'm not exaggerating when I say it took longer to clean up the Styrofoam mess than to put the dresser together. After 2 full of hours of cleaning and vacuuming, the mess was mostly gone. (Just yesterday I found more Styrofoam!) Needless to say, when the nightstands arrived, our kids were eager to jump into the Styrofoam and we firmly put a stop to that before another disaster struck. Andrew says someday I'll laugh about this. That day has not come.

The new vibe in our bedroom was definitely worth it though! The space was transformed and feels chic and tranquil. Just when you think there isn't anything else we could possibly need in our bedroom, I'll prove you wrong. We may get another dresser because we don't have quite as much space as we used to. (We went from 10 drawers to 6.) Also, wouldn't cute throw pillows add something? Jess, my go-to interior designer, suggested adding a plant in the corner. Whew! I think we'll take a break for now.

Andrew keeps bringing up my birthday and asking what I want. My response is typically, "I got a new bedroom, I don't need anything else!" Aka-- don't spend a cent more! I'm thinking that our new furniture may last more than 8 years, so I'm glad we invested in something I love. And I actually kind of secretly hope that Andrew does show off our room to guests.