Well, as you can see from my lack of posting, life has become a bit fuller and busier since I've joined the working world. Not as much time to sit and reminisce about my day as I am busy with the doing. Work is still going very well. It is so exciting to take a process that I am already familiar with and apply it in a new way. It feels great to be learning new things and be challenged again. My days go by quickly as I am constantly busy and always have something to do.

I also love being back on the work week schedule. I love routine and it feels good to have evening and weekends again. My social life has been pretty full too with gaming nights, dinner at Camille's, a weeknight screener, and last night Don's graduation from his Dale Carnegie Sales Class in which he took home the Sales Champion Award -- Congratulations honey! Later on this week we will be attending a Rock Opera at the House of Blues. I do miss the pups though. However, we get lots of snuggle time on the weekends.

And finally, with being back on a new routine, it has made it easier to incorporate more healthy eating choices and exercise back into my life. I am actually down two whole pounds! Yay me!

Speaking of Poker...

Don is on his way to Vegas right now with Jeremy for a huge trade show dealing with his main industry now that he supplies to - the movie special effects industry. It should be an awesome opportunity to make some strong new contacts, pull in some new business, and learn more about the industry. I'm sure he will have a wonderful time.

It's been a while since I've had a couple of overnights in the house to myself and I'm starting to think about what I want to accomplish with my time so I don't end up playing online poker all weekend. So here is my to do list.

1. Get the house picked up.
2. Make a meal plan for this week and pick up groceries.
3. Make an exercise plan for the week that includes walking the dogs.
4. Get the office into shape so that Don will give me my dining room table back!!!!

Wish me luck!

Week 1

Well, I've finished my first full week of work and I'm still happy to be there! I can tell it's going to be a place where I can both succeed and be challenged. I already have learned a few new things this week. Some parts of the training process are a little bit frustrating as training processes can be. I know a lot and I'm eager to run but of course they have me crawling to begin with. So for the moment I am being way underutilized and have to deal with some periods of boredom throughout my day. But I have a great team and it will only get better from here. They understand the process and can get things done. From an operations standpoint things seem a little disorganized and a bit chaotic. I'm sure there is a method to the madness but just not easy to pick up on for someone new coming in. Still, type A person that I am, I'd like to see about things becoming a little more streamlined and systematic down the road. I think that is part of the vision also for the company as people transition into their new roles. Things should become a lot more defined and it will be much clearer whose responsibility is what. Also, hopefully there will be more checks and balances which will help again with the quality and consistency of the work being produced.

In exciting news, I got my first paycheck yesterday! It feels soooo good to be earning an income again. Though I was thankful for my unemployment insurance while I needed it, it is very nice to not need it anymore. We celebrated my first paycheck together by picking up the tab at Mexicali's for a night out on the town with Jeremy and Katy, and Rian B who showed up unannounced in the area last night for an unknown length of time. He is on call for a possible show they are doing this week in the Valley. They ended up being cheap dates anyway as we got a very good deal on our food and drinks. Then I got them back by coming home and playing poker where I won all of their fake money and cleaned Rian, Don, Jeremy, and Katy out of all of their chips tournament style. It may have helped that I was the only one not drinking excessively. Although I do have to mention that Katy (who was the most inebriated) and I were the last ones standing at the table. Who says poker is a man's game?

Also, we finally paid off Cordy's $1000 vet bill from when she got Pancreatitus last year right before we moved. So stay tuned to hear updates on the dogs' health. They usually like to get violently ill or poison themselves for a trip to the Animal ER whenever our balance actually gets down to zero.

First Day Part 2

It was great! I do like my coworkers! It is a very nice office and I have a nice desk - corner space with a window. Everybody is pretty relaxed and flexible. The office equipment is all very good quality and up to date - huge flat screen monitors, wireless mouse, and very comfortable desk chairs, etc. It is nice to be working with people again in a team environment as opposed to all by myself at my previous job. We all went out to lunch today to a nice Chinese place in Burbank. The commute is not bad at all - about 15 - 20 minutes with no freeways. Sounds like I can leave the house closer to 8 am since I don't really need to be there until closer to 8:30. Which means maybe we can sleep in a little later or walk the dogs a little longer. Ideally I'd like to walk the dogs in the morning and again first thing in the evening when I get home. I think they are having a hard time adjusting to Mommy being back at work. They missed me today and are sticking to me like magnets. I was starving when I got home from work today and glad we had some leftover pizza that I could just heat up instead of having to take the time to cook anything. I need to readjust to the 40 hour work week and a fixed eating schedule, and also bring in some snack bars or something to keep at work. I also had a chance to check out the HUGE Ralph's grocery store on the corner this morning since I arrived early to work. It is a very nice facility and will probably be the place I get the majority of my groceries especially for quick weeknight meals. All in all I'm quite happy!

First Day

I'm getting ready to head off for my first day of work. Don got up with me this morning at 6 am and we walked the dogs together which was a great way to start the day. It feels really good to be in professional clothes again with hair and makeup done. It's been a while! Now I'm sipping coffee with my husband and working on our laptops until I leave the house. I'm sure this nostalgia and excitement about getting up early and going to work will wear off soon. But right now I'm enjoying every minute of it.

I hope it goes well today....
I hope I like my coworkers and they like me...
I hope I have a nice desk/workspace...
I hope I get to have instant messenger at work...
I hope they have a cool breakroom or at least an adequate kitchen space for bringing my lunch and/or preparing food...

I'll let you know how it goes tonight. Have a good day everyone. :)

I Caved

Everybody check out Don's blog for pics of his new Mini Cooper S.

http://donsearlylight.blogspot.com/

Bonus!

Well, it's only 38 days late (long story) but Don's end of year bonus check FINALLY arrived. It was a more than respectable amount considering he only put in 6 months last year - way to go honey! - though not quite enough to fulfill all of the financial priorities that we set before Don gets into his Mini. That would have been too easy. We still have a bit more work to do. After playing with the numbers, calculating, budgeting, and strategizing how to make it stretch the furthest, we were able to kill the Big Credit Card, pay our 2008 taxes, along with a good chunk of this months' bills. We still have a little ways to go on our Less Big Credit Card but with both of us back up to our full time salaries we should be able to kill that one too in the next couple of months. After the last three months of being unemployed, I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to be back on top of our finances again. And the one and only nice thing about Don's bonus being late is that at least his next quarterly bonus is not far behind.

In other news, Don woke up this morning and told me he had bad dreams again last night. When I asked him what they were about he said that he had lost Seumas in a poker bet. A nightmare indeed! Far worse than the one the previous night where he had Great-Dane-Sized Tarantulas chasing him!

5 Things That Have Made Me Happy Today

1. My dogs' wagging tails and affectionate tongues when I woke them up this morning.
2. A gorgeous sunny sky and a crisp cool breeze during Don's and my new morning routine of walking the dogs together. I love starting the day this way and hope we stick too it.
3. No doggie business to pick up after on our entire walk -- they actually took care of business in our own yard before we left.
4. Vanilla Hazelnut Creamer for my coffee.
5. Fancy weekday breakfast of Applewood Smoked Bacon and Scrambled Omelet with swiss cheese, fresh basil, and fresh tomato salsa.

And it's not even 8:00 a.m. yet. It's the little things in life that count. Sometimes happiness can pass you by if you forget to pay attention to it. What gave you happiness today?

Bed Time Stories

What an exciting day. My first ever trip to Ikea. What a cool place! My mission to get new bedding today was mostly successful except for the most crucial element. The down comforter that I wanted (the awesome version that was really cheap) was out of stock. However, they have ordered more and it is in transit so I will have to go back and pick it up in a day or two. I did however pick out my awesome new duvet cover (also from Ikea and super cheap) and after two trips to Linens and Things decided to make a significant investment in all of the crucial elements of bedding...

1. A new Mattress pad/liner to protect the mattress and replace ours that is very old and practically shredded.
2. A new extra blanket to go in between the sheets and the Comforter - today we learned these are called coverlets. The one we have been using for the last five years, while it is homemade, super comfortable, and has great sentimental value, unfortunately over the years it has become too stretched out and hangs way over the edges of the bed. So it will be graduating to the spare bed and now we have a nice cream colored one to go on our new bed.
3. A new dust ruffle bedskirt - cream colored to match the coverlet - since our old bedskirt no longer matches our new bedding.
4. A set of new 18" deep fitted sheets to fit our HUGE pillowtop mattress. The color is called Seaglass, a very light seafoam green. 650 threadcount - I think I am in heaven.
5. And finally a gorgeous duvet. Very simple design - deep dark rich purple color. Soft cottony texture but with a satiny sheen that shimmers in the light.

It is torture that I have all of this exciting new bedding and I still have to wait a few days to pick up the comforter. This time I went 100% for comfort buying the softest fabrics I could find and easiest to wash. I can't wait to get everything and put it all together and see how much the room changes with the contrast in colors. Needless to say the maroon and gold we had before didn't exactly mesh with the periwinkle blue wall paper - wall paper which I should stress came with the house, we did not pick it out.

So given how much needed to be updated on the bedding it was a little more spendy than I had planned despite getting an awesome deal on the comforter and duvet. So it looks like that will be it for now. We'll have to save new dish shopping until after the paychecks start actually coming in.

Celebrate Good Times

Well, we are still on a bit of a high here at our household. Today I'm celebrating the new job and a bit of a belated anniversary gift (4 years two weeks ago) by going out and buying some new bedding for our bed. I have never been fond of the comforter set we picked out for our wedding registry. It was pretty but the material is scratchy and not even comfortable. Still Don really wanted it and that was one of my first concessions during the early stages of learning how to compromise in a marriage. Four years later I am still sick of it and it is now in bad enough shape that we can justify throwing it out and getting a new set. So I'm picking up Katy in a bit and we are going to hit the big bedding stores - Linens and Things, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Ikea too for a cheap synthetic down comforter if I decide to go the duvet route. Also on the list of possible splurge items today are a new dog bed for the pups and a set of new dishes since many of our original wedding set have broken and so now we have a missmatch of plastic and ceramic and it's about time to start over. Just like I didn't like the bedding that Don picked out he has never been fond of the dishes that I picked out. So we should both make out quite well on this year's anniversary splurges. I can't wait to get my new household items back to the house. Then I can play housewife for the my last week and get this place sparkling and beautiful with my fun new accents. It's like playing the Simms only real life!

Employed! Gainfully!

I landed an awesome job today with a top rated leasing company in Burbank. Awesome team. Very down to earth owners. I think we are really going to get a long. I don't know my official title yet but I will basically be a senior processor and a team leader for their credit department. It's a fantastic opportunity with a lot of responsibility and unlimited growth potential. Salary is great and benefits are sufficient. I'm so excited! I start on Monday. Now we just need Don's bonus check to get here so we can go down to the mini dealership and order his new car.

Quickies

A few brief updates to report on.

I recently kicked up the job search a little more aggressively. Am putting a lot more energy and focus out there and expanding my search to include related fields and a little bit further commutes. I also recently realized that the Red Line is an easy 30 minute commute from North Hollywood straight into downtown so that has opened me up to a lot of opportunities out there in the financial district which also usually involve better pay as well. I have been getting some good responses to my applications. So far I have one interview scheduled for next Tuesday and am hoping to hear back on some others.

I have been recently introduced to the game of poker and I really enjoy it. I don't even know what the version is called that we play -- I think it might be Texas Hold Em. We played tonight for the first time using actual money instead of just pretend chips and I walked away with $33 of the $45 pot! Pretty good beginners' luck!

I had a nice visit with the pastor of our church this week. Told her I was bored out of my mind from being unemployed and needed some volunteer work to do. So she hooked me up with a member of the church who is going through some medical procedures and needs help getting too and from appointments and errands and such. So I met with her today and we had a very nice visit and got a few things done together. I'm going to try to help her out a couple of days a week until I get a job. It's a nice opportunity for me to get out of the house and do something productive and hopefully the good karma will come back my way. She also seems to be a really nice person and I'm looking forward to getting to know her more.

I've started downloading audiobooks onto my Ipod to listen to when I'm out exercising or doing chores around the house and I love it! (Which is another reason I love the idea of commuting by subway - more chances to listen to my Ipod.) Currently I have been going through the book "Into the Wild," true story that was recently made into a major motion picture about a boy who goes into the Alaskan wild to try to live out his dream of living off the land and communing with nature and ends up dying alone. It is an amazing read and I definitely recommend it - part tragic and part inspiring; part wise and part foolish; the kind of essentially human story that everyone has an opinion about. I'm on the final chapter right now. If you've read it or are familiar with the story I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Diet and exercise are going well. Let the blood sugar get a little too low tonight and ended up splurging on Pizza. Still haven't caved to the soda cravings. I've realized that my will power is strong enough to get me through the Lenten discipline but as soon as it's over I'm going back to drinking pop. It just brings me too much pleasure to live without.

Stop that Cart!

Even though we have been living here for 7+ months now, every time we have a new "LA experience" it still tickles me. Today, I had one of those in the most unexpected of circumstances. I had a few errands to run this morning which included cashing some checks and doing a bit of grocery shopping. Luckily, my bank, the Trader Joes, and our local produce mart are all in the same parking lot so I could accomplish all of my errands with one stop. However, given the popularity of the shopping center, the parking lot is sometimes a bit of a zoo. I took one trip through the parking lot and seeing no empty spaces decided to circle around the block and park a ways away on street parking. No problem, I can stretch my legs a bit and the exercise isn't going to hurt me. Grocery shopping was a complete success. I stocked up on lots of regular items as well as have a weeks worth of dinners and lunches - 6 bags of groceries -- all for around $100. Gotta love Trader Joes. Well, I started the trek back to my car figuring I would just bring the shopping cart back to the parking lot when I was finished. Well, there I am pushing my cart along and I start getting close to the street and all of a sudden the front wheel jams and I practically fall head long into my basket. So I try to pull the cart back and reposition the wheel but it appears to be stuck. I look down at the wheel to see what it is caught on and nothing. It appears to be locked up for no reason. For the life of me, I can't seem to get the cart to move. Then I look up a few feet in front of me near the parking lot entrance and see a sign that says: "Shoppers Beware: Shopping carts are programmed to lock if you try to remove them from the Parking Lot." Wow! Who knew shopping cart technology could be so sophisticated! Ha ha ha. Well, it was a little bit of a challenge juggling all six of my grocery bags down the street to my car but we made it. And not without a funny story for my blog.

Dos Peros

This is why two wiener dogs are better than one.

Happy Tummies

Don and I have been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to see a lot of friends and loved ones in the last two weeks. Starting with our trip to Tacoma. And then as soon as we got back home Ben came for a trip out. And to top it off Don's sister Angie and her lovely boyfriend Mike were in the region on a golfing trip with his parents and went out of their way to make a quick trip out to see us and spend a little time with us before they had to fly back to Boise. They arrived early Friday evening. A little weary from traveling we had a low key evening, a nice dinner and some games at our house. But before they left the next morning we decided to give them a little taste of the good life in LA and drove them out to The Grove to have breakfast at our favorite breakfast place called The Farm. With market/farm fresh quality ingredients with the pictures and descriptions of the food below, you will quickly see why it is our favorite place. Here is what we ordered... Which one would you pick?

CINDY: Stuffed Crepe - Crepe stuffed with Scrambled Egg, Wild Mushrooms, Gruyere Cheese, and topped with a Champaigne Hollandaise Sauce.

DON: Eggs Benedict - Poached Eggs seved over Sauteed Spinach and Honey Roasted Ham on Toasted Farm Brioche with Hollandaise Sauce.

ANGIE: Buttermilk Pancakes - Three Pancakes served with Vermont Maple Syrup & Sweet Butter, Blueberry, Granola, or Banana-Macademia Nut

MIKE: Fried Egg Sandwich - Fried Eggs, Applewood Smoked Bacon, Shallot Aioli & Jack Cheese on a Toasted Croissant

Here we are at the end of our meal with happy tummies.

2 Miles

One of the reasons I have loved living in California is how inviting our neighborhood is for getting outside and walking the dogs in the lovely sunshine and seeing all the cute California homes. There is a wonderful loop that the dogs like to take through our residential neighborhood and I have been curious for some time about the length of the walk so this morning I finally decided pace it out with my car. What do you know, the loop comes out to be one mile exactly! Well, that couldn't be any more perfect. Since I am a person that likes to see and measure progress, I'm going to print out some kind of table that measures out 100 miles or so so that I can mark them off each time the dogs and I take a loop. I figure I will give myself some kind of reward everytime I get to a certain mark. This afternoon the dogs and I just took TWO LOOPS! Cordy was really not excited when we got back to the house and kept on going for a second time around! Oh well, she needs to get in shape just like Mommy does. I'll let you know when I hit my first 25 mile mark!

Cravings

I want a Coke sooooooooooooooooooo badly!

Snowball Effect

Contrary to the blog title, no it is definitely not snowing here. In fact, Don and I came back from our cold and rainy trip to Tacoma to three stunningly gorgeous days up to 80 degrees and we are loving it. The dogs and I have had some really nice pleasant walks this week.

No the snowball effect that I'm referring to is the figurative one. I've never been good about watching what I eat, or more I should say I've never really tried to. But it's something I've started lately as I'm sure you've read in my previous blogs. Well, my biggest area of weakness has to be in eating out and we have been doing a lot of it lately due to our traveling. Well, tonight we had a lovely meal out at the Hamburger Hamlet treated by Ben. Thank you Ben! We were quite hungry when we got there so I know a dinner salad would be out of the picture as it would not come close to filling me up. And after all, it is the Hamburger Hamlet and those burgers were sounding really good. Plus, big juicy burgers go really well with high calorie sodas which I had just given up for Lent. So with water to drink, I started noticing going through the menu that you could order a turkey patty in place of beef for any of their gourmet burgers without any additional cost. Now, a turkey burger goes pretty well with water! So I ended up selecting a turkey burger with light goat cheese and pesto, tomato and arugula. The hardest step was now what to do with their sides as I am a huge addict of their mesquite fries. But since I had already made the decision to go healthy on the drink and the main, I didn't want to undo all that good work and cancel it all out with the calories and saturated fats from the fries. So in the end I was good and ordered the side salad instead. I am really excited at the moment about seeing how just committing to one healthy choice can snowball and lead to so many other healthy choices. And most exciting of all, was that by the time we were finished with our meal and ready to go, even though I had cleaned my plate I still felt very light and pleasantly full as opposed to everyone else who was felt heavy and sluggish from their high calorie meals. So I am very proud of myself and feeling empowered. Cheers.

Ashes to Ashes

With the event of Ash Wednesday a week ago, thus begins one of Don's and My favorite church season -- the season of Lent. I had been planning to try and make it to PLU chapel for the service, but Tuesday night I came down with the traveling cold and so spent most of the day resting in my hotel. However, luckily Stevie invited us out to dinner and then we joined him and Jenn along with Matt and Emily at First Lutheran for a nice traditional evening Ash Wednesday worship. It was a wonderful service and it really spoke to Don and I both in a very meaningful way - thank you Holy Spirit. The Pastor was very direct and engaging in his sermon. He didn't try to fancy it up with bells and whistles or fire and brimstone and thus it allowed us time to digest and meditate on the meaning of his very simple truthful heartfelt message.

The reason we love Lent so much is because of the very real way it allows you to focus on your faith and your spiritual life. I've always been deeply and romantically attached to monasticism -- the fasting, the studying, the praying, the self giving service. Perhaps, now ourselves being in the desert, we will find ever new meanings this year in our Lenten Journeys through these 40 days and nights. For our disciplines I have decided to give up soda and Don has given up alcohol. There have already been a few moments where I have realized that, wow, this is not going to be easy, but I guess that's the point of a discipline isn't it? But it is such a refreshing and rewarding experience to get away from excessive indulgences which our culture so very much perpetuates -- all of those meaningless things that get in the way of our true purposes, self-sustaining wholeness, and the recognition of God's divine grace in the world around us.

Also, just the opportunity to worship with close friends again made us aware of just how much we missed having those close spiritual connections and relationships and realized that for all of the good things that we really like about the church we have been going to off and on since we moved down here, that the hospitality is not amazing, and we really don't feel any more connected to the congregation now than we did our first Sunday there. So we may begin to start exploring some other churches in our neighborhood to see if there might be some place that we connect more with.

So there is a little bit of where we are at this Lent. I hope that your own Lenten Journeys are filled with glimpses of God's grace and meaning for your own life.

Super Bowl

Superbowl Sunday, otherwise known as the least attended church day of the year, actually turned out to be a rather exciting game. Despite not having any specific team to root for, with the numerous exchanges of possessions and leads in the fourth quarter, it definitely kept us on our toes to see who would come out on top. Also, got to see several great friends including Steve S. and Katherine who hosted, Steve W. and Jenn, Steve C., Jesse, Ben, Milton and Laurie, Jenny and Kevin and their adorable boy Patrick, and Kelly and Dave. So it really didn't matter whether the game turned out to be a flop or not, we still would have had a great time. Earlier in the day we also got to catch up with Emily and Michael and see their new turn of the century home and all of the exciting renovations they have planned.

Don's workweek starts tomorrow. I have a few things on my agenda to do this week while he is working including some Tacoma stores I want to visit, some more job hunting and interview prep to do, and a few friends to see who have daytime slots available. I just hope the week doesn't go by too quickly.

T-Town

We made it to Tacoma safe and sound and are already enjoying our time in the Pacific Northwest catching up with friends. It was an interesting feeling getting off the plane and stepping back out into the Northwest Culture. The sights... the sounds... the way people dress. It was definitely a feeling of relaxation like coming home after a long trip. I'm definitely a product of this culture. It has left it's mark on me in a major way and although our move to California is the best thing that's ever happened to us I still think that this is the place I will return to at some stage in our lives even if it be a couple of decades for now. Of course, we always dream of retiring in Bellingham - the most beautiful city in the world but the place with no jobs :)

We have been enjoying the fresh clean air (thankfully no Tacoma aroma), the lack of traffic congestion, and the awesome selection of fresh seafood and microbrews. Of course the best part though has been seeing friends we miss dearly. When we arrived Friday night, Nathan, Christian, Matt and Jessica all answered the last minute call to meet us at Stanley and Seaforts for a night cap before calling it a day. Yesterday, after driving all over Federal Way to all of the Starbucks trying to track down the elusive Emily, we finally gave up and decided to go and crash on Nathan and Hannah's privacy and gave them a 12:00 p.m. unannounced wakeup call. We visited with them for the afternoon which included lunch at Duke's Chowder House where I had the Northwest Seafood Chowder in a Sourdough Bread Bowl and Don had Snowcap Beer Battered Fish and Chips. It was awesome and probably not the last time we will eat there this week.

Then for the evening Brian and Tiffany invited us over to their place for an evening of games. They are now living with Cameron so we got to see the adorable baby Devlin who is talking now and miraculously continues to get cuter every day. We played with my camera and then she had to go to bed but not before I got her in a cute ladybug costume. Apparently she is very big on the dress up. We also got to meet Cameron's new beau, Dan, who is a fabulous cook and made us an amazing spread of gourmet appetizers including baked brie with caremelized onions, wine and shallot glazed steamed clams, and cajun fried catfish. Wow, we infinitely approve Cameron! As the night wore on our party grew and Michael, Nathan, Hannah and Matt S joined us and all had a great time.

Later this morning Don and I will be headed to a Superbowl gathering where we will get to see even more friends that we haven't seen in a while. We are all about maximizing our time here to see as many people as possible and as often as possible. It's kind of hard for us to make the plans ourselves since we are laid up in a hotel so we are kind of at the whim of others to invite us out and host us. If you find yourself with some free time in the next week give us a call and we will come on over or make a plan to meet somewhere. Group activities are highly encouraged. Starting tomorrow Don will be working days at Revchem through the end of the week but we will be catching dinner every night so if you want to have us over or go out with us let us know what night you will be free. I will have the days free for the most part for anyone who has an irregular work schedule and wants to get together. I know I'm planning on trying to make it to PLU chapel this Wednesday for Ash Wednesday service if anyone is free. Friday night we are going to see Nathan's play along with Matt S. and Emily R. if anyone can make that. It sounds like it's supposed to be really good. Next Saturday afternoon from about 11 to 5 there is going to be a brief period of Epic Arena gaming if anyone wants to roll up a character and join us. So far Saturday evening is free and then we leave Sunday morning the 10th.

Warming Up

After crawling out of bed from a short nap this evening and complaining once again about how cold our house was and how lame our heater was, Don decided to get the ladder out and give our heating vents a closer inspection. What he discovered has us feeling rather foolish. We have been freezing all winter long because there is a second grate inside the first grate in all of our vents which were closed all around the house! Well that explains why my gas bill was $260 last month and yet I still couldn't heat the house over 60. Dumb! Once he opened up all the vents, we were warmed up within about 15 minutes.

Additionally, we had some severe windstorms today and lost power for a few hours. Not only am I bored from being unemployed and being home by myself all day, but on top of that take away my power. I couldn't watch t.v., couldn't call anyone, had no computer or internet, couldn't do laundry and brrrrrrrrr no heat. So the dogs got to have a nice afternoon nap with Mommy in the big bed while she read her book and snuggled to keep warm.

With all of the distratctions out of the way, it did give me a little time for self reflection and got me motivated and thinking about some personal goals. Let's just say I have a new exercise and fitness plan to try out in the next couple of weeks. On top of structured exercise I want to try to incorporate more fun physical activities in my life like our hike to Paramount Ranch the other week. Tomorrow, weather permitting, Katy and I are going to try out the off leash dog park in our neighborhood. I hear it's supposed to be pretty nice and I'm looking forward to getting out of the house and getting some fresh air.

Tacoma Bound

Don and I just booked a flight for Tacoma next week. He will be covering for his former boss while he is on vacation and since I am still not working I'm going to come along. We arrive Friday evening and don't leave until the following Sunday afternoon - a whole ten days. We will be staying at the La Quinta hotel. Anyone want to get together????

Drenched

If you are paying attention to the news we are having incredible rain showers in California. We received 2-3 inches in the Valley last night alone and it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Cordy and Seumas are not happy about this. Don and I plan to spend a nice Sunday indoors drinking coffee and making epic level gaming characters. Hope everyone is having a nice day and staying dry. I have an interview on Monday morning and am very glad that it is here in Van Nuys. I wouldn't want to have to negotiate freeway traffic in this weather.

Cloverfield

Don, Jeremy and I just got back from seeing the movie Cloverfield in the theaters - the new thriller by J.J. Abrams (director of the T.V. series Lost). Don't worry, I won't give any spoilers away but I do have to say a brief word on the style of the movie and encourage everyone to go and see it. The consensus from all of us was that the movie was great. It was a high budget Godzilla type creature feature filmed similar to The Blair Witch project, a first person hand held camera documentary of the accounts taking place. I'm not really into monster movies but I loved this take on it.

The problem with monster movies is that you know they are not real. No matter how much you suspend disbelief, you are constantly aware that this is all make believe and you are watching a fictional story unfold. Because of the first person perspective from which this is shot, you never have time to think about the unreality of it all. You are too busy feeling like you are actually running for your life through the streets of Manhattan with the characters on the screen and thinking what your next move is going to be and how you are going to get away to have any time whatsoever to think about the fact that this is not real and could never happen. And even more amusing, we spent more time on the car ride home talking about what our strategy for escape would have been and how we would have reacted similarly or differently than the actual characters did than we did critiquing the movie itself. Well done J.J. Abrams.

I am really picky these days about what movies I will actually go to a theater to see and what I will wait for to come out on DVD. This movie is definitely best experienced in a theater. So go and see it and let me know what you think.

Forecast

I'm trying to figure out how I ever got used to spending the majority of my days being rained on. We have definitely entered a wet season. Don't get me wrong, I am not so self absorbed to be ungrateful for the rain. We definitely need it. And we are getting plenty of it. It has been raining this entire week and is supposed to go right on through this weekend. But man is it inconvenient. The dogs are going crazy from being cooped up but won't even go outside to go to the bathroom despite the fact that I have had Cordy's rain coat on her the entire week. I don't own a hooded raincoat anymore and I refuse to buy one to use a couple of weeks out of the year. Not to mention that my house with zero insulation is freezing. With highs in the fifties (currently 47 degrees) my heater is working nonstop to maintain a temperature somewhere in the sixties. I actually had to wear a stocking cap to bed the other night.

So as not to be an entire blog of spoiled California Girl rants, I will end on a positive note. All of this rain has at least inspired me to do a complete overhaul of the Gaming Room and unbury my treadmill. Dog walking and hiking are definitely out for the time being but at least I can still get some cardio in at home. So last night from 9:00 to Midnight, I spent tidying up, putting away leftover dishes and snack items, reshelving all of the games and books, designating new spaces for gaming supplies, and making the exercise equipment more accessible. It's been many a month since I've seen that room looking in this good a shape. Now I just need to run over everything with a dust rag and broom and it will actually be a space I feel like spending time in outside of just gaming.

Tickhead

Warning: this post contains gross details about nasty bugs but is important information for dog owners. Camille recently updated her blog with a lovely post about our exciting weekend hike at Paramount Ranch with the dogs. She also did a good job explaining about how Katy and I managed to not freak out when we discovered that all of the pooches were crawling with ticks on the ride home. We got the majority off before they latched on but Cordy and Max each had a stubborn hitch-hiker that was not about to exit on it's own accord. After doing a little research we tried oil, matches, and finally plucked them out with tweezers - making sure to get the whole head in the process. Today, however, I discovered that one sneaky bastard had gone undetected by latching himself on to Seumas' inner ear. Gross! They are much easier to detect on a black dog once they are all swelled up with a fresh belly full of pink blood. So I ran him by the animal doctor which luckily is only a couple of blocks from our house. The technician took him in the back, got the tick out and and we were in and out in 5 minutes with no charge. I love my vet! I only wish I could find some medical doctors that were as good as the animal doctors around here.

I also got some really good advice while I was there for what to do should we encounter future tick incidents. For preventative measures the vet recommended Advantix which is the next step up from Advantage but covers both fleas and ticks. You can also get a tick collar which is more effective but also more toxic. And if the dogs should still manage to get ticks the best course of action for removing them is to rub the tick counterclockwise in a circular motion and it will exit on it's own accord. And we actually got to test this theory out not an hour later when we got home and found another tick inside Cordy's inner ear this time. Note to self -- check dog's ears next time as this seems to be a sweet spot for the nasty buggers. Well, it definitely didn't come out immediately but with some persistent counterclockwise rubbing eventually it popped itself out and was given an immediate disposal with the big flush (that's the toilet, not poker.) So now we know for future reference how to disengage a tick that's already attached itself. I just have one more question resounding in my head at this point.... Why counterclockwise????

Jogcast

So I've heard a couple people mention of late about how they use podcasts as a source of entertainment/inspiration to help them in their exercise. I decided to check this phenomenon out myself. After doing a little research on Itunes, I've selected a couple of programs that I can't wait to try - Podrunner and JogTunesIndie Podcast. Both are podcasts of a collection of songs organized by beats per minute for your running/high intensity workout. The first I believe is more of a collection of techno-inspired music while the other is lyrical songs by Indie artists. I subscribed to both and I can't wait to try them out on a walk/run.

I also discovered after doing a bit more searching that you can download entire yoga workouts also. One that I might be interested in trying is Elsie's Yoga class which features over 60 separate classes. Right now I'm still really excited about my Rodney Yee Yoga DVD for flexibility. But when I get bored and want to incorporate a little more variety I can't wait to try some of these out. And the best part about all of these podcasts...? They're FREE! Considering most Yoga classes/clubs in LA will run you upwards of $100 a month, I would say that's a pretty good deal.

Does anybody else have any good podcasts that you subscribe to that I should try?

A Year of Cooking Light

It's an impressive blog title. I know. I'll get to that in a minute.

So, I have to say that I had an awesome day. I am still continuing along aggressively with the job hunting. It's so much work I have to say not just in terms of actual labor but also in the enormous amount of energy it takes to remain focused and positive. I still feel pretty good about where I'm at. It's not that employers don't want me. It's that I'm still searching for what I want. And eventually the two will match up. O.K. so there may have been a couple of opportunities out there that I did want that didn't swing my way, yet at least. Let's just hope they keep swinging. So, if that gives you an idea of the mantras that I go through on a daily basis you can imagine my response when Katy called me up this afternoon and said, "I want to get out of the house. Would you like to join me?" My response of course was, "YES! God, Yes!"

The only important thing on the agenda was to get some lunch as it was about that time and we were both getting hungry. So we decided at first that we wanted to try this restaurant that I had been to before called Tapas. It is a place where they serve appetizer sized dishes and you order a few different things and split them amongst each other. However, when we got there, we discovered that it was locked and that they are only open for dinner. Dumb! So on to plan B. Drive down Ventura and see what we find. Well, we only got a block before we saw a sign that said Pinot Bistro and we veered sharply just in time to make it into the parking lot. And what an exciting find this place was. Everything on the menu looked exquisite. Katy ordered the French Onion Soup and a Roast Beef Sandwich. I had the Fish and Chips with a Raspberry Lemonade. It was all top notch and we can't wait to go back again sometime and sample other things from the menu.

Afterwards, we took advantage of the location and decided to drive by Katy's community garden plot which was only a few blocks away. So I got to see all of the things she has planted and am getting excited now about trying another herb garden out soon with my planters in the back yard again. Then, I took her by the Produce Mart that is by my house where I get all my fruits and veggies. Since we both read the book Animal, Vegetable, Mineral together, we have both been making a concerted effort to buy as much locally grown foods as possible. Luckily, this is much easier to do in California than it is many other places. So that was the basic extent of our Girls' afternoon outing. While everything we did I thoroughly enjoyed, I don't think it would have mattered how we spent our time as much as I loved the opportunity to just get away from the pressures of job hunting for a little while, treat myself with some very fine company, and not be sitting around the house waiting for the phone to ring. It was awesome.

But the day does not end at 4:00 p.m. and by the time we finished the afternoon Jeremy was ready for some socialization as well. So the four of us this time met up for dinner and after dropping Don off back at home for an early bed time, we headed down the street to the Courtyard Marriott where our friend Rian is staying while he is in town filming an episode of Super Nanny. This is the exact same hotel that Don and I stayed at when we were down here interviewing for his job and it is a really nice place. Katy and I were both eager to get a swim in at their heated outdoor pool and it was so awesome. So there we are, 9:00 at night doing the backstroke on top of a four story building and looking up at the moon and the stars shining bright over our heads and I had one of those moments where it hit me again -- this time last year, never in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought that I would be living in a place where I could swim outside at night in January. And since Katy and I had the pool all to ourselves there we were swimming along for a good while doing leisurely laps along side each other deep in chatting and storytelling mode.

Eventually, however, we decided to take advantage of not only the fun and relaxing aspect of the pool but the physical benefits as well and we pushed ourselves to do a couple more challenging laps (i.e., full aggressive breast strokes as opposed to back strokes and doggy paddling during conversation). And as we did so we both became painfully aware that we are sorely out of shape. Not that we didn't know this before, but there's nothing like slapping a bikini on a woman and putting her to an aerobic test to really come face to face with the state of things. There's just not much room for denial about anything in a bikini.

One of the things that most people who know me well know about me is that I am an extremely positive thinker. I tend to always cast the best light on everything including past memories. If somebody remembers the glass being half empty, I remember it being half full. Well, we all have certain lights that we cast on things and they are not always reality. What this means for me is that I usually tend to think I am a healthy person because I have a concept of myself as an athlete and exercise is important to me. Whether or not I carry out a plan to completion I always come back to it. The problem is I never carry it out. I am always getting back on the horse but not staying on the horse and over time my aerobic health and strength has deteriorated to a condition of being winded during light activity. I am starting to feel the effects of a body that is never going to get younger and only going to get older. I have to choose my exercises more carefully like things that aren't too high impact or stressful on the joints.

Likewise, I tend to think that I have a healthy diet because Don and I enjoy mostly healthy foods. When we cook at home, we stay away from processed foods, use lots of fresh meat and produce and primarily prepare low fat, low salt, and low cholesterol foods. The problem is, when we don't cook at home, we almost always turn to high fat, high salt, and high cholesterol foods for the quick fix. Thus they cancel each other out. And that doesn't even factor in snacks and drinks.

So I guess here I am admitting to myself that I am not actually living up to the healthy self-image that I have of myself. It's great to have a positive self-image, but I think that the real thing must be even better. And while the ultimate goal is not necessarily to look smoking hot in a bikini (although that is certainly a bonus!) you can't exactly lie to yourself and tell yourself that you look smoking hot when it's staring you back in the mirror. All this leads to the obvious conclusion that it's time for some improvements.

Which brings me back to the blog title. A little more long winded than I planned but I guess that's what happens when you use social networking sights like these as your own journaling tool for self-revelation. So when I got back home and was lying awake in bed thinking about what kind of changes I was going to make, I decided instead of lying awake and thinking about them, I would actually get up and start working on them. I had already started a project, primarily to give myself something productive to do with all of this time I have at home by myself, of doing a full year's worth of meal plans. I am a person who does best when I have a concrete plan and stick to it. And while it takes a lot of energy to cook every night, it takes even more energy sometimes to plan it and do the grocery shopping. So I decided to get myself one step ahead by planning out the entire year.

Now this is dinners only mind you. But still an enormous task nonetheless. And to stay on track healthwise, I decided to select all of my recipes from Cooking Light. Not only do I have a couple of their annual cookbooks to start with but for Christmas I got a sordid collection of used issues from my sister as well as a new subscription from my grandparents. I'm keeping track of the recipes and actual meal plan in my Master Cook software program which is perfect for this kind of thing. And I recently finished the entire meal plan. I have 4-5 recipes planned out for each week. That accounts for a couple of nights a week when we may not be home, go out to eat, or eat up leftovers. By no means do I expect that I will ever stick to this plan 100%, but at least I have a plan now. I may want to change things or modify them here or there, try new recipes from other sources or whatnot. But at least I have a plan in place to fall back on when I don't have the time to take the extra steps.

So tonight, I decided to get up and take the extra step to not just have the recipes picked out but to print them out and start filing them in a notebook divided up in one week blocks. That way as each week comes I can just go to the notebook, pull out that week's recipes, and make my grocery list. Also, this makes it much easier for Don to get involved with the cooking as he can see what the plan is also and doesn't have to be so dependent on me to tell him what we are having for dinner and where to find the recipe, etc. So at this exact moment, I have 14 weeks worth of recipes, planned, printed and filed. And I am feeling pretty darn good about that. So there is a good start and a solid plan for healthful eating. Maybe tomorrow I'll start thinking about exercise.

R.I.P.

Last night at 7:58 p.m. Drucilla the Elven Cleric was laid to rest after getting caught in a giant explosion which included an unintentional cremation (64 points of damage). Drucilla was my gaming character for the last six months who I grew from first level to 8th level. Her main attributes were her utter devotion to the destruction of all undead creatures, her ability to bring healing and divine favor on her party members, and her eternal gratitude to her close knit team which taught her that the culmination of life is not about personal glory but about personal sacrifice as the gods see fit. Before Drucilla died, she had a chance to practice this new found philosophy by risking her own life to stop the evil Lord of Blades in a maneuver that had little chance of working but was almost certain to get her killed. Still the gods found favor on her and she succeeded in her attack, which tipped the balance of the scales in favor of her team and allowed them to defeat him. As a reward for her ultimate sacrifice, the gods allowed her to live a few minutes longer to accomplish their mission and see her friends to safety. Drucilla died knowing that her friends were safe, the schema had been destroyed, and the balance to their world had been restored. May she rest in peace.

Another Day

Still the same old thing here. Getting tired of being home all day. Working really hard on the job hunting thing. I've surfed all the sights, researched all the employers in my field, sent out applications for all of the appropriate positions. Now I have to wait a few days to see if I hear back from anyone or for new positions to open up and post to start the application cycle all over again. The job search takes up so much time that I am having trouble keeping up with the rest of my life. So I am taking a break today from actively job hunting and doing a few other things around the house like: laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, and preparing dinner for our gaming group tonight.

Also, Don and I watched a new movie last night called "Fido". It didn't get a lot of press which is why I wanted to spread the word. It is a zombie comedy set in 50's era about people who have tamed zombies and now keep them as household pets/servants. Also, the lead zombie in the movie is played by Billy Connelly. While it was not drop you on the floor hilarious, it still was very amusing and quite clever. I recommend seeing it if you get a chance. And if you do, let me know what you think. It is available on Netflix. Maybe if I had my own Zombie I could get more done around here.

Cut

I'm sure it has to be related to the unemployment status, but I have been having the stupidest re-occuring dream lately. It is my senior year of high school and I have been cut from the basketball team. Seriously, I have had three separate dreams now and they each seem to be picking up where the other left off like a serial show or something. In the first dream, I got usurped by the rising freshman star. In the second dream I found out I actually didn't make the team. Then finally, last night in episode three, my high school coach actually sat down with me on the bench while the other girls were practicing and asked me what my intentions were now that I had been cut from the team but was still showing up for practices? I told him that I was committed to the team whether he put me on the floor or not and that I intended to keep on practicing with them and would sit the bench during the games to rally the team.

I have to give my subconscious a little credit on this one. Getting cut from the basketball team - something I loved so passionately and that represented a major portion of my childhood identity - my senior year after having been committed to that team for so many years... I can't think of a better archetypal representation for my ultimate fear of failure and humiliation. Even so, I am proud of the fact that even in dreamland, that despite circumstances that are beyond my control I still know deep down inside that I am the best player for the job, that my coach is making a huge mistake, and that NO ONE can take care of my team the way I can. Spoken like a true Point Guard. Take that Sandman.

Traffic

After a two day sales meeting, including an overnight stay across town, Don is finally on his way back home to begin the weekend - On his way back home at 4:30 on Friday afternoon mind you. Traffic is lovely. So to make the time go by, through the magic of technology we are communicating via mobile phone while co-producing this blog post via laptop.

So, it's probably a good time to officially announce, that while I am still an unemployed vagabond, Don has already in 6 months of his huge promotion received another huge promotion. He is now a technical sales representative for the company which comes with lots of exciting perks like his own fancy pants laptop, lots of bonus potential, an expense account, and the really exciting part ... a car allowance and paid gas card! Woohoo. The lead sales agent for the company, and Don's mentor of sorts, told him that it won't take long before he never knows what the price of gas is anymore. Oh, and also, though he may put in a 12 hour day here and there depending on how aggressive he wants to be, he will get to do that out of the basis of his home office rather than a 4:30 a.m. wake up call across town.

My job search is moving along a little more agressively now. I was kind of in tread water mode while waiting to hear back on the bank position and the leasing position that I blogged about earlier. I finally did hear back from the bank and they said that they still have not made a decision and probably won't for a couple more weeks. Blah. But then talked to the leasing company and they offered the current position to someone else but said that she is "definitely keeping my resume on hand and will be giving me a call as soon as something opens up for someone with my experience." So that is promising but doesn't do me a whole lot of good right now. So I've been doing a lot of researching for positions of interests and sending out applications. I'm getting the most responses right now through staffing agencies and have a couple of potential interviews lined up for next week for leasing and loan documentation positions. The nice thing about the positions through the staffing agencies is that they move a lot quicker with the middle man trying to match you up and close the deal. The one position needs a Lease Administrator who can start next Monday or Tuesday while the other needs people who only have experience with a certain documentation software that I have used in the past so that eliminates a lot of the competition on both accounts. So we will see what comes of those.

After Don's overnight trip and two days of unemployed isolation around my house I am in desperate need of some socialization so Jeremy and Katy are on there way over and we are headed to an exciting dinner at Red Lobster. I'm so hungry I could eat my arm but I think I will exercise some will power and hold off for some awesome cheesy bread.

Wrapping Up 2007

There wasn't much time to post during the holidays with traveling, company, gatherings and whatnot so here is a catch up pictorial from our end of year adventures. To start, here we are at the Caprice Cafe in downtown Boise having Christmas Eve breakfast with good friends Adam and Julia.

We had a wonderful time in Idaho with Don's family and are always sad to say goodbye, but we had a couple of things to look forward to when we returned home. First, our puppies whom we missed terribly were sooooo happy to see us! They got to spend a few days at Wiener Wonderland - an all dachshund day care in our neighborhood - while we were away. As you can see by the picture, they stuck to us like magnets for the first couple days we were home trying to make sure we didn't run away and leave them again. We did discover though that you can bring little dogs on the airplane with you now so next time we go somewhere we might try to take them with us. We will probably have to sedate Seumas though so that he doesn't cry all the way.

Also, the other thing to look forward too when we got home was that my sister Kristy was in town on a trip with some friends. Kristy's friends had to fly back on Friday the 28th but Kristy stayed with us through New Years and made me get up at 5:00 a.m. on New Years day to take her to the airport! So we got in a couple of fun touristy things while she was here. Our first full day together we went to Universal Studios. Don was pretty bummed that we had to work but I got the deal for SoCal Residents where I buy one day and get the whole year of 2008 free so Don and I can go back together again sometime.

One of the highlights of the Universal Trip was that Kristy knows an old family friend who is an animal trainer at Universal Studios so through her connections we got to meet some of the trainers and animal actors. This cute little guy right here is Archie. How many people in their lives can say that they have ever gotten to hold an Orangutang? I don't even know how to SPELL Orangatang! He was so cute! They even gave us some front of the line passes which made the rest of the day at the park quite a luxury. Instead of having to wait in lines all day we were able to go straight to the front and get the most out of our experience.

After meeting the animal actors we took the guided tour to see the park. During the tour you get to see a lot of different common outdoor sets used in Universal pictures such as the town square from back to the future, as well as some other special effects like this flash flood that left Kristy a little, shall we say, damp?

Other recognizable sets from the tour included the Creepy Bates Motel from the Movie Psycho which I have to say just looks a little less frightening with the set from Dr. Seusses Grinch behind it! And we even took a trip down Wisteria Lane and saw all the homes from Desperate Housewives.

After just narrowly missing being eaten by Jaws, we managed to finish the tour in one piece and saw a couple other attractions before it started getting really windy and I decided to call it a day. Besides Universal Studios, Kristy and I also ended up taking a trip to the Los Angeles Zoo which was a lot of fun also. However, I lamely left my camera at home so you will have to watch Kristy's blog and hopefully she will post some fun pictures of the animals we saw.

Besides Christmas and New Years, we also celebrated my 30th Birthday last week! Wow, a whole new decade. I feel pretty good about being 30. I'm ready to be there. Although I don't have a job at the moment, I still feel good about where I'm at in my career and where we are at in life. I have a wonderful husband, a supportive family, great friends, and two adorable puppies. My needs are taken care of, my life is moving forward, I have good goals for myself, and I am continuing to grow as a human being. And I am happy and Don is happy which makes me happy too. I didn't feel the need to mark my birthday with a huge celebration. Dinner and games with my friends is how I chose to spend the day and I loved every minute of it.

But instead of a huge celebration I did ask Don if I could mark my 30th in a different way - with a wardrobe makeover and he lovingly obliged my wish. So Kristy came with me to a mall all the way down in Redondo Beach to visit a couple of stores that they didn't have closer and was my personal shopper for the morning. I got a few new pairs of exercise pants, a new pair of boots, some new work suits, a new pair of jeans, new bras that fit and aren't all stretched out, some new shirts. But I think even more awesome than buying the new clothes was the very liberating feeling of going through my closet and drawers when I got home and getting rid of everything that didn't fit right, had lost it's shape or faded, was out of season or no longer age appropriate. I definitely have less clothes than I started out with but it is awesome to be able to look in my closet and dresser and know that everything in there fits and I feel comfortable and even attractive wearing. Thank you honey!

So that just leaves New Years Eve which we spent how we spend most of our special occassions these days - at our house with good food, good company, and good times. Don't forget good drinks! Here are Katy and I playing Guitar Hero. If you look closely you can see Seumas trying to get in on the action. I am wearing one of my new outfits - Sweater top with new jeans and boots which you can't see but they are really cute and I got such a good deal! No Katy is not Indian, but she did go to a Bali party right before coming over to our place and so is wearing her gorgeous pink and yellow sari and looking smoking hot! While we girls warmed up on Guitar Hero, the boys closed the year with some stinky cigars on the back porch and then came back in to join us for the countdown. After midnight we decided to play our new Catch Phrase Game - boys against girls of course - which turned out to be a huge hit! We were laughing so hard that before we knew it we had been playing for two hours and realizing that I had to take Kristy to the airport in just a few hours decided we better call it a night. For some H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S video on how Cordy spent her New Year's, you HAVE to check out Camille's New Year's Post on her Blog. Seriously, you don't want to miss this. Happy New Year everyone.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone. We arrived in Boise on Friday night after a relatively painless flight - far less painless than actually getting to the Los Angeles Airport at 4:30 p.m. during rush hour on a Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend. The trip has gone by fast but we feel pretty accomplished in all we have managed to do since we got here. Saturday morning we finished up the last of our Christmas shopping, ate lunch at the Noodle Dump (endearing term for Don's family's favorite Chinese Restaurant), and had a fun one night gaming session at Angie's place (Don's sister) with her boyfriend and some friends. They were a great bunch and we had a lot of fun despite keeping some of us up slightly passed our bed time to finish the session.

Sunday was our official unofficial Christmas day. After sleeping in, we all got ready and headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to open presents and enjoy a fabulous turkey dinner which had been roasting in the oven since midnight. The evening's events also included a couple of rounds of the game Apples to Apples until the Boise State Football game which started off terrible, came all the way back to tie with one minute to go, only to get beat by a winning field goal in the final seconds of the game.

Sunday morning we met up with Don's good friend Adam from high school and his VERY pregnant wife Julia. They are due in the next couple of weeks and very excited for the big change their life is about to take with the birth of their first child. We wish them all the best and are very excited for them. We had a very nice breakfast at a place called Capri's and then were off to rescue Mom from boredom and get her out of the house. We actually decided to brave the mall because Don wanted to get his ring sized. I got him a wedding ring for Christmas and his mom also gave him her old band which works well as a men's ring too. So now instead of having no wedding rings (since he lost his first one) he has two! He is REALLY married now.

Monday night was Christmas eve and time for the annual holiday gathering of extended family. It's my fourth time now attending one of these holiday gatherings and I finally have all of the names and family tree connections down. There have been some difficult times of late with some major injuries and illness in the family so it was a very low key evening. But it was nice to be able to just get together and focus on being together rather than somebody having to organize a major dinner party or big gift exchange. Everybody brought what they could, an appetizer or some sweets, a friend of the family helped out with the main dish and we all had some food and drinks and caught up on each other's lives. And there was good news too. Don's cousin announced that she is newly pregnant and expecting their second child in about 7-8 months. Congratulations! Which of course lead to us getting inundated with questions about when we were going to produce offspring so we got to make our own announcement that we are NOT pregnant and NOT trying and that everyone better just take care of their health so they will be around to enjoy it when we are good and ready to get around to it.

It's Tuesday morning now and we are getting ready to leave to the airport in a little bit. When we get home Kristy will pick us up from the airport and we will get to spend the rest of the week with her until New Years when she flies back. So the holiday will continue and apparently I have been on the computer longer than I thought and now have to rush to get ready in time to catch our flight. Merry Christmas everyone.

Baby Cordy

We pulled this old archived footage off of Grandma Bunch's computer today of Cordy as a puppy. Here she is at 6 months old playing with Saucey - Don's Grandpa's Nephew's Wiener Dog. These were the days before Seumas existed and Cordy was desperate for a playmate. At 6 years old and carrying the typical doxie weight, Cordy had Saucey worn out in about 20 minutes.

Seumas Heaven

Doggie heaven is very simple. It consists of your favorite dog toy and a pile of clean warm blankets fresh from the dryer. Here is Seumas enjoying his seven minutes in heaven.

He Works Hard for the Money

Couldn't resist this picture worth a thousand words of Don Monday evening at the end of a long hard day at work. I think it's the beer in the crotch that really sells it.

99 Blogs on the Wall

Yep, this is blog number 99. I'm about to hit triple digits. Took me a while to get here since my last post but with the ups and downs of the unemployment ride one never feels like blogging during the downs so I had to wait for some good ups when I would have something interesting to report on rather than just silence. And the downs are all about the silence - waiting for the phone to ring and being stuck all alone with the thoughts in your own head: "This job is perfect! I'm so qualified! I can do this in my sleep. They'll love me. Is there something wrong with my phone? Maybe my applications aren't getting through. Did I really say that in the interview? Why didn't I just quit while I was ahead? I'm going to be unemployed for the rest of my life!!!!!!!!!" Actually, the application and interview process is going well. However, thanks to the wonderful timing of the holiday season no one is in a hurry to get on to the actual hiring process. Everybody would rather take vacations and stuff. Dummies.

So of the applications that I sent out, three have already resulted in an interview. I'm averaging one a week so far which isn't bad. The first one, thumbs down. Not interested. I don't think they could afford me anyway. However, the next two are both very exciting prospects. One in Commercial Lending for a major bank and the other a credit position with a very successful Leasing Company. The interview with the bank was last Tuesday and it was a slam dunk. I was exactly what they were looking for and they were exactly what I was looking for. I emailed the HR rep today to tell her that I would be out of town for the holidays and let her know when and where I could be reached. She emailed me back and said they plan to make a decision next week and would be in touch as soon as she had more information. Two hours later I heard from both of my former bosses that she had just called and they had both given her glowing reviews. So it sounds like that one is in the bag but you never know until it's all said and done. The other one I interviewed with just yesterday. The interview went very well and the credit manager and I hit it off immediately. I don't have as strong a read on that one but I am certainly qualified and there is a strong chance that they may make me an offer as well. They also intend to make a decision by the end of next week.

Now, on the superficial side, the bank has way better benefits but a longer commute, while the leasing company is much closer and includes a variety of other incentives. Both of them have excellent opportunities for professional growth that will continue to make me even more marketable and advance my career in the direction I want to go. If offered both, I do not know at this point which one I would choose. It does not come down to money. Both are competitive salaries and I have no intention of holding out for the highest bidder. But I have already passed through the entry level and even mid level stages of my career and established myself at the advanced level in my industry which to this point has been a combination of equipment financing and banking. These two positions will allow me to now start focusing in the longer term toward the management level with the specialized knowledge that each industry offers and could define my career from this point forward. Basically, the decision that I have to make at this point is whether I want to be a Banker or a Lessor. They probably sound like the same thing to most people but they are actually some considerable differences and I'm not going to make the effort to try to explain it to you so you will just have to take my word for it.

Wow, and when I put in those terms - whether I am a Banker or Lessor at heart - I actually know now which I would chose if both offers presented themselves. This blog has actually been really productive for helping me straighten out my feelings toward this. However, since I know that the unemployment cycle includes ups and downs and revolving feelings and cycles of thought that can change on a whim, and since I haven't been given an official offer from either one yet, I will refrain from publishing it on the internet and keep you all in suspense until the actual miraculous event of being hired actually occurs.

Let it Rain, Let it Rain, Let it Rain

I know it would be way too much to wish for snow this Christmas in California. But in the last couple of days we actually have had a few rain showers. It is amazing how clear and beautiful the sky is and how clean the air is. When Don and I were driving to church and to Burbank this morning for an errand, we couldn't get over how gorgeous all of the mountains are when you are not admiring them through a lense of haze.

Company Christmas Party

Last night was Don's Company Christmas party. We had a really good time. They held it at the same venue they always do but it was interesting to be able to drive there for the first time instead of flying from Washington. It was our fourth Christmas party with Revchem so it's definitely starting to have that feeling of family. Anyway, there was good food, drinks, music, dancing, and games in which Don and another coworker won themselves each a nice gift card to Starbucks. You couldn't ask for a better prize than that for Don. I was really excited to be there with my handsome husband. I'm so proud of everything he has done and accomplished in his position since we have moved here and it was nice to be at a function where I could publicly support him and get to know all of his employees and coworkers.

Today we have church and a couple of errands to run. Then it will be back to the grindstone of getting ready to start the job hunting for the week again and prepping for my upcoming interview.

Cricket, Cricket, Ring

You would think that being unemployed and staying home would be a treat. There's just so much liesure time to walk the dogs, read Harry Potter, get some exercise, and do errands during the day when the stores aren't crowded. Actually, in the words of the controversial character Borat ... NOT!!!! Not true at all.

Job hunting takes a lot of time -- searching all the websites for current openings in my field; writing, and rewriting, and modifying my resume and cover letter for each position; calling industry contacts to see if they have heard of any openings or know of anyone whose looking for help. At this point, if I'm even unemployed long enough to collect on my unemployment claim, I will feel like I've definitely earned that money. I'm not saying that I've been productive every minute of every day, but it amazes me that after one whole entire week of being home, I have not been able to get to a single load of laundry done, haven't walked the dogs once (poor puppies) or exercised at all for that matter, and haven't had the time to put together a meal plan that lasts longer than what's for dinner tonight? And forget doing errands during the day. I'm tied to the house during normal business hours for fear of leaving and missing a phone call from a potential employer. So, surprising to say, after my first full week of unemployment, I'm actually glad it's the weekend so I can have a bit of a break!

To sum up the search so far, I had one interview on Monday with a colleague of my previous' boss. Went well, is a possibility, but I'm kind of hoping to get away from Broker Leasing and see if I can steer more toward Commercial Banking since that will offer a lot more stability and opportunities for advancement, not to mention better benefits. In the last week I have found and applied for 5 such jobs in the immediate vicinity that I am highly qualified for and am excited about.

I have found in the past when job hunting, that it takes a week or two from when I start sending out applications to start getting calls back. And usually when I get a call that almost always leads to an interview which almost always leads to an offer. But still, there is that initial week of silence that is always a little bit deafening and makes you start to doubt yourself, start to panic a little about the job market, start to waffle on your salary. At the end of the first week, even after carrying the cordless phone all over the house with me so that I wouldn't miss hearing a phone call, 5pm on Friday rolled around and still had not heard from anyone. Now don't get me wrong, I got plenty of phone calls. It's amazing how many calls you get from people when they know you are home during the day, and lots of support too from people who had just heard the news. Just no calls from any of the potential employers I was looking forward to hearing from.

So last night Don and I settled into our chairs to watch the finale of Supernatural Season Two. And what do you know, 6:00 p.m. rolls around and the phone rings. Don and I both sighed, not in the mood for personal calls and annoyed by the interruption to our nice relaxing evening. When I went to pick up the phone, I noticed that I did not recognize the local phone number on the caller ID. When I answered it, a nice lady introduced herself as an HR recruiter for a bank that I recently submitted my resume to! She was working a little bit late on this Friday evening and had just received my resume and thought it was worth trying to catch me before she went home.

We had a very nice chat about the position. It sounds like I am exactly what they are looking for and they are exactly what I am looking for. It is a Commercial Loan Administrative Assistant position in my salary range with the opportunity to grow into some Underwriting responsibilities. Perfect! The only bummer about the position, and this is a pretty big bummer, is that though their offices are in Sherman Oaks right now, they are going to be moving to Glendale soon. Doh! Well, that is farther than I wanted to go but the farthest that I am willing to go. Too bad they are not staying here though! Anyway, I will be interviewing with them next week. There are still a couple of similar positions in the direct vicinity. If they offer the same salary and the same opportunities those would obviously be preferable. And it always helps for salary negotiations when you already have an offer on the table. So it looks like things are moving in the right direction. And I'm going to enjoy a nice, well deserved weekend.

The Job Hunt

Thanks everyone for all the support! It's nice. Really. :)

Couple of positives on the job front. Looks like there are two positions of interest in my immediate vicinity (a.k.a. less than two miles). One with a bank, the other with a successful credit union. I have applied for both. My sister helped me upgrade my resume from awesome to awesometastic so I'm feeling pretty positive that I should at least get a call or an interview out of them.

Also, I submitted my resume to a leasing recruiting agency and got a call from a recruiter this morning so it is possible something could come from that.

And finally submitted my claim for unemployment insurance. Weekly benefits are about 30% of my normal take home pay. Ouch! Good thing I have a Sugar Daddy for a husband.

Big News

It's funny how you can post one thing in the morning and then something big happens later that day and you go back and read your last post and think, wow, I can't believe that was my frame of mind only a few hours ago. So much has changed since then!

Anyway, for those of you who haven't heard the news yet, I was laid off from my job on Friday afternoon. No notice, just handed me a check for wages-to-date and said Merry Christmas. The owner of the company went over my boss' head to let me go. We were doing pretty well on the finance side of things but unfortunately the second company was dragging both companies down. Luckily, I was aware enough to notice the signs so it wasn't a complete surprise and had already started keeping an eye out for other opportunities.

Honestly, the working environment was becoming more and more unpleasant anyway so Don and I are both feeling pretty positive about this opportunity/nudge to get out there and look for something better. And it could not have come at a better time financially. Luckily, I did our Christmas shopping early so that was mostly taken care of and had just paid our rent and all of our bills for the month. We were getting set up for a nice month to pay off some debt, but easy come easy go I guess. Still, there have been enough positive signs in this to keep us feeling like God is watching out for us and we are on the right path. Sunday was the first week of Advent, which is the first week of the new Church year. It just really felt like we were in the right place and right time to be beginning a new path for something as big as starting a new job.

I have already had one interview with a friend of my boss. He has more interviews to complete but if he offers me the position, it would be similar work with the same salary range. It's more than he wanted to spend but I put my foot down. He is a small company too and no guarantees like my last job. There are some positions I would be willing to take a pay cut for (within reason) but mostly they involve a greater amount of stability and opportunities for upward mobility. Speaking of such jobs, there is an opening for a commercial loan administrator (similar to what I do) that is less than two miles from my house for a major bank that I really have my fingers crossed for. They just posted the position last week and banks can take a while to get through their interview processes so I am kind of spinning my wheels this week hoping to hear back from them before I start really getting out there and doing the mass resume thing.

Although we are feeling overwhelmingly positive about the situation all things considered, there are still the obvious anxieties, insecurities, and depression that come with being unemployed to battle. So far I'm doing pretty well but would certainly welcome any and all prayers for a quick resolution. In the meantime, in between job searching on the internet and making calls, I am having fun being a stay at home mom for the pups and playing housewife. Don has already offered for me to come to his office and help him with his filing but he says he will have to pay me in other ways than cash. I'd be happy with dish duty for a week or scrubbing the kitchen floor, but I have the feeling he was thinking other things. . .