Falling Down Stairs

If I haven't mentioned it before, I will now. I hate stairs. I know this is a bit hilarious seeing as we live in a 3-story home and have stairs galore. But yesterday's incident clenched the deal for me for sure! As we were packing up the Fall Decorations and getting ready to decorate for Christmas, the stairs decided to reach out and bite me. Yes I said bite me! When it comes to stairs I don't have a lot of confidence when it comes to walking down the stairs anyway and I always try to do it without having to carry much with me. (Maybe this comes from the fact that I have fallen down stairs three times before and each time was due to me carrying something and missing a step!) However there are times when one is trying not to fall that maybe they overcompensate and feet just slide out from underneath you. This was apparently the case yesterday afternoon. I was carrying a very small box, the last of the Fall Decor and next thing you know I was all twisted up with feet and legs going every which direction and broken glass. My poor husband was on the third floor when this happened and came rushing down the stairs to check on me. After I got past the pain and nausea, I was able to limp over to my chair. My left foot is the one that took most of the punishment and it was the one that immediately began to swell. So I iced it on and off throughout the rest of the day and promptly downed 4 advil.

Today it is very sore and I am pretty certain that at the very least one of my little toes is broken (ironically the one I broke in Jr High). The rest of the foot is just badly bruised and I have some very sore muscles in both legs. I am praying when the time comes for Matthew and I to actually own our own home it will not have stairs of any kind! I nice ranch style will do just fine for me!

Happy Thanksgiving

It has taken a little bit of thinking this year to come up with some things that I am thankful for given recent events.  I decided that in addition to the normal list of family, friends, health etc that I would add on surrogate families.  See this year our Thanksgiving Day adventures were very different from the norm.  It is usually at this time of year we would have packed up the car filled to the brim with clothes, food and now cats and travel to one of our families homes.  We love to spend time with our families, whether it is my family in Colorado or his family up north.  However given our circumstances with my unemployment we felt it was best to not spend the money it would take travel to these destinations.  It was a very difficult decision and one that we did not enter into lightly.  It hasn't been the easiest decision and I am truly Thankful for how well my Mother handled the news.  

So towards the end of my weekly catch-up sessions, a couple of weeks ago, with a former co-worker, he inquired about our plans for Thanksgiving and I explained that we would not be traveling anywhere.  He was sad for us but thought we had probably made a wise decision.  The very next day there was an email invitation from him and his wife to join them for Thanksgiving.  I was very touched at the invite and we accepted on the condition we could contribute towards the meal.  

Before we left with our green bean casserole and apple pie in hand, I had the opportunity to talk with my mom before we left and she wanted me to make sure that I expressed her gratitude that Mike and Lenore had opened their home to Matthew and I and were taking such good care of her daughter!  The Reilly family has definitely over the last couple of years become a surrogate family for me.  When I worked with Mike at my last job it was very much like working with my Dad.  He was also good about dispensing good sound advice and wasn't afraid to tell it to me straight.  It is also nice because Matthew and I am about the same ages as their children and we have met them all except for one daughter.  

Our dinner was awesome, with plenty of food to go around several times.  There were many laughs mostly at their granddaughter's expense and lots of good wine!   How could you go wrong.  Granted it was exactly the same for Matthew and I but it sure comes in a good second when you can be with your own family!  So Thank You to our surrogate family "The Reillys"!!

No News is Good News?

I have waited this last week hoping to hear back from one or both of the companies I interviewed for and alas nothing. I even followed up via the telephone, on the one I really wanted and still no response. So I began to wonder about the saying "no news is good news" and came to the conclusion I guess that depends on whose perspective you are looking at. The no news on my end really isn't good news as I am sitting here waiting to know if I got the job or not. However, on the other hand the no news could mean that they have indeed selected another candidate and I have been saved from a job or company that was not the right fit for me. Either way it would be nice to know.

The no news for the companies could be that management has taken longer to review the final list of candidates for second round interviews or that management has actually placed the job position "on hold" temporarily. (Which is in fact the case at one of the companies and only learned about this afternoon)

Why Me?

So last week I struggled quite a bit with the question, "Why me?". I understand it is a fairly normal question to ask in my situation and I had been doing pretty good at the moving forward part. However as I still look back on it, the decision to let me go just doesn't make sense and it doesn't help to have people tell me that my boss isn't doing well or it wasn't his decision. Well then whose decision was it? Who is going to stand up and take the responsibility. Who ultimately is to blame? Aside from this I am really struggling with where is my friend. I thought we had a friendship outside of work and he hasn't even once asked how I was. So what does that mean. So I decided to have a talk with one of my former co-workers and a mutual friend. During our conversation I told him that I missed my friend but more than that I wanted to the truth about my lay off. I wasn't interest in hearing about how I wouldn't get the truth and that I needed to let it go. That was Tuesday!

So Saturday, during our Career in Transition seminar this was the topic of discussion. "Why do Bad things happen to me?" Ironic? I think so and also that God has a very funny sense of humor. I came away from the seminar more encouraged and was also able to hear the words that my co-worker was trying to tell me on Tuesday. It is normal to ask the question "Why" the bottom line is that you really won't get the answers you seek. Instead it just leads to more questions, which in turn will cause one to build self-doubt and further damage their self-esteem. Interesting, very interesting....

Will I ever have that friendship again? Maybe and maybe not. Right now I just need to move forward and go down the path that God has laid for me. Some days will be easy and some days will be hard. Some days I will good job leads or interviews and others days I won't. In the end I will eventually end up where God wants me and I just need to be patient during the process.

Interviews

This week begins the interview process. I received two different calls regarding positions I have applied for! Yeah! However can I just say that I have always hated the interview process. I feel as if I sound like the biggest idiot in the world and that I won't make a good impression. I haven't really had to do this in the past, because each job I was asked to apply for and I walked into the situation knowing that the job was already mine. Weird I know. Besides the dilemma of "What do I say to make the right impression?", I am also plagued with "What do I wear?" Most of the companies I have worked for in the past are fairly casual in their dress code and I don't want to come in to the interview overdoing it! In some ways I guess it was much like when I use to travel to see customers and give the good ol' sales pitch. I was always stressing over what to wear, what to say, etc. The difference was that at least going into most of those meetings I had the opportunity to establish a report with customer beforehand, because I had been talking with them via phone and email for a number of years prior to my first visit. However, I fear it is very different walking into an interview cold. So I have decided to wear my black slacks and a turquoise twinset, dressy enough without overdoing it! At least that is what I hope to achieve. Now to go and practice my answers to interview questions!!!

Thanks Hulu!

My husband and I have had a role reversal which is also a little strange for me. See I am the night owl now and he is the one going to bed early. It is really a strange situation because ever since I have known Matt he has always been the night owl. I can stay up late on the weekends but when it comes to the work week I had to be in bed no later than 10:30 p.m. or I wasn't worth much the next day, while Matthew could stay up until 12:30 or 1:00 every night.

Most of the time in the late evening I spend playing on Facebook or watching shows. Lately the shows I have been hooked on are the reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Thank you Hulu.com. The only reason I sought out these shows again was due to a conversation I was having with some college friends who had discovered NBC's summer show Merlin and realized that Anthony Stewart Head was playing Merlin's father in the show. This got them started talking about the crush they had on this actor when he played Giles on BtVS. Well I was hooked on the show when it first aired and in fact it was something that Matthew and I use to watch together when we were "just friends!" So I decided, heck I have time I will watch these shows again! A little corny I know but who doesn't love a little David Boreanaz now and then!

My all time favorite episode of BtVS is the musical episode that takes place in season 6. Thanks to Hulu I was able to watch the first 3 seasons of BtVS and season 1 of Angel. But it didn't satisfy my need to see my favorite episode. So I went on the big search to find free rerun showings of the rest of the seasons. Luckily TNT is replaying every episode of Angel from the beginning and it is on the DVR schedule. This just left finding the rest of BtVS, which proved a little more difficult. I eventually found a couple of sites online and I am happily plugging along! The replay quality isn't as good as Hulu's and I have some glitches but it is free and is something to do while my body and eyes decide they are tired enough to go to bed. So for tonight, I finally get to watch my favorite episode again! Hopefully I won't be too loud for Matthew, I do have the tendency to sign along to this one and I may have watch it over and over again before I move on with the rest of the season!

Daily Life

A few days ago I had the opportunity to meet with a dear friend and pastor. We spent our lunch time together discussing my current life challenge: unemployment. One of the things he is always good about is leaving me with some sound advice. Through our discussion he asked me how I was getting through each day. What was the thing I was doing to keep my attitude positive. I really didn't have a good answer for him. He had suggested that maybe I should journal my thoughts and feelings. It would be one way of letting the emotions out instead of internalizing them. He also wanted me to think outside of the box regarding my job hunting and discover what was it that God wanted me to do. Now that is a Good question; however it is one that I believe requires some more pondering.



This is what I firmly believe unemployment stinks! Bottomline I need a job just to keep me sane, on a schedule and my life in better balance. Now that I don't have a job most days I feel as if I am spiraling out of control. During the first week of unemployment I really didn't do anything other than rest, watch a lot of movies and think. Actually this was something that everyone had recommended to me. Don't do anything. Just take the time to relax and regroup. The second week I worked on organizing our paperwork and putting it away in file folders. I revised our budget and made plans to see a financial advisor from our church. I think I also began to consider putting together my resume. Week three I finished my resume, signed up for Monster, Careerbuilder and officially started the "job hunt". As each week progressed I tried to create a route to keep me in balance but actually threw that idea out the window after just a few days. Instead my day consists of watch television or shows online, spending a few hours looking for a job and then playing on Facebook. At some point in the day I will eat a lunch and I will think about what I am going to make for dinner. However there is only so much TV, reading, Facebooking, cooking and some cleaning one can do before they get completely bored. Lately, I find that I am becoming more of a night owl, which in turns means I sleep in later in the next morning. When I finally do get up I really don't want to do anything. Sad I know!

Getting out and about is good in that it is a change of scenary but I really don't go anywhere because the simple act of going somewhere means spends money. A resource that we must now conserve even more than before just to make sure we have a roof over our heads and food on the table.

Each week of job hunting is frankly depressing. Some days I find good leads and jobs that I know I am qualified for and other days not so much. The ones I apply for though are not very good about getting back to you. Most I never hear back from and that is probably the most discouraging thing about job hunting. Right now I wish life was giving me some lemons! At least I would know what to do with those!

Loving Life

I wish I could honestly say that I was loving life. However since I am currently struggling with that concept it is now going to be my new mantra for the next little while. I haven't been enjoying anything that life is throwing at me since the end of August. The dreaded day was another "Black Thursday" for me. In this case I was laid off from what I thought was my dream job after 11 years. This is a first for me. Each time I have left a job it has been on my own terms and usually I had another job lined up immediately after my last day. It's weird too because in some ways I knew it might be coming but honestly really never thought it would be me. I have experienced all sorts of emotions in the last seven weeks as I have been grieving for my old job. Working at PPP was like my second family and it is strange to now be in this identity crisis of "who am I?". Getting laid off or fired when you are a bad employee is one thing but when you are a great employee who has received nice reviews, gifts and has brought in $ 2 million contracts is another thing all together. In a nutshell it is the biggest blow to one's ego. Now I have to sit down and re-examine my life, re-assess my skills and decide what is it that I really one to do? Thus the new mantra! Loving Life.....

Do you… VooDoo?

While on a trip this week to Portland Oregon for a friends wedding, we decided to hit a hot spot for an after dinner treat. Anyone who has watched The Amazing Race, may recognize VooDoo Donuts. They have two locations but the one to go to is the original on S.W. 3rd Ave. Let me tell you that it is quite the experience. This isn’t your Winchell’s or Duncan Donuts and quite frankly, it’s about as far from Krispy Kream’s as you can get. Their best known donut is the Maple Bacon Bar. Quite simply, it’s your typical Maple Bar Donut but with crispy bacon on top. Breakfast on a donut! I just had to try it, and I’m here to tell you it was great. I know… it sounds a little outrageous but if you break it down, you’re having a waffle covered in Maple Syrup with a side of bacon. That isn’t the only out of the ordinary donut they have. You can also have a Tang Donut, and from what I understand, tastes just like the Tang we use to drink. Now, I’ll have to tell you that if you go to the website, or the store for that matter, you will have to take your imagination with you but not your kids. Some of their product names are definitely not G or PG rated. The little hole in the wall store and their colorfully named concoctions are not the only thing that makes this place interesting. Now I don’t know about the second location in the city but this one is nestled in between a movie theater and a bar. Not that bad you say. Well, under normal circumstances, no, but like I said, this place is interesting. The movie theater is an Adult Picture Show Theater featuring “Full Length Movies” & “Japanese Anime” which is nothing like your old school RoboTech, Dragonball Z or Samurai Champloo. The bar liked to advertise using words like “Nude” and “Girls” a lot. Ok… so is that interesting enough for you? Well, let me kick it up just another notch. Also on the street, and right were we parked, is the Union Gospel Mission/LifeChange Facility. And it so happens it was feeding time at the Zoo. Ok, so that may sound a little callous, but when you are a people watcher like myself, it a pretty apt description of things. Don’t get me wrong! I happen to think there is no better place to have a faith based establishment do their thing. As with most metropolitan areas, there is “that” side of town. You know… the one no one wants to think about let alone go to. In this case it wasn’t an area that just creeps up on you. In fact we all got a surprise when 2 blocks away was a Ruth Chris Steakhouse. As one of the passengers in the car commented, either things have changed in this area or Ruth Chris needs to fire their location scout. As it would happen, on of the people with us, and the driver of one of the cars, had an important phone call to deal with and wisely wanted to do so while in a stationary location instead of behind the wheel. Because of this, we were available to be entertained by the goings on of the Mission. The girls of the group opted to get in the car and lock themselves in. Us guys on the other hand had to stay out for the show. I don’t know the circumstances that lead to many of these people having to live life on the streets but it was apparent that they are not recent residents. Many of them seemed to know each other, from the 2 penny hooker (named so by me as she was wearing 3 pairs of underwear ON TOP of a pair of hip hugging low ride pants that were riding a wee bit too low, a wife beater tank top and white lace corset rounding out the ensemble) to Crocodile Dunndee ( just because that’s how he was dressed. And no… I didn’t get in a conversation about knives with him either!) And then there was the gentleman who liked to tell everyone what he was thinking, predominately about you and with as many cuss words, and variants, as he could get out as quickly and as loudly as he possibly could. Out of all this, though, one thing stood out the most. One person showed up after the mission had stopped serving dinner. He knocked on the door and rang the bell and was denied. I did notice on the door the posted times for when meals are served and it was clearly after the posted time. I’m not going to criticize the mission. They have to establish rules and, once established, they need to follow them just as they require those seeking their help have rules they need to follow. Now, as I was saying, one thing stood out to me. When it was clear that this person was not going to get any food, many of those who did gave up a portion of their food so that the late comer had a meal. So I have to ask myself, is this a testament to the work the mission is doing or is it a case of misery loves company? Either way, it was not what I expected. The same thing can be said about the evening as well. Like I said, quite the interesting ending to a fun evening with friends, but let me assure you, never once did I feel any sense of danger. Rest assured, I would have been the first to say it was time to get the heck outta Dodge if that had been the case.

Life of Chaos

As many of you know I have "A" type personality ( I know shocker!) I am very rigid in all areas of my life except for one! Keeping my house clean! I absolutely hate and dread housework! Some people find it therapeutic but I find it a roadblock to the rest of my life. I know that when the day comes I can have a maid then I will be in heaven! I love a clean house however sometimes I just find it hard to keep it that way and let's be honest my dear husband isn't much of a help in this area! However, I have discovered that the more disorganized and dirty my house is the more I feel my life is spinning into a world of chaos! When this happens, all I can say is "Look out" because Hurricane Melissa is not a pretty sight and anything or anyone in my path is in trouble! Most of the time the person who gets the brunt of this is my husband! God love him!


I had every intention of spending part of my vacation straightening...ahem I mean cleaning the house. The plan was to start in one room and work my way from one room to the next and eventually cleaning, organizing and purging all rooms, closets and nooks/crannies. However in the end, I was not very productive or successful in my endeavor as I had hoped! I only got my closet and dresser organized! So for the next month this is the plan to work on each room and get it done! Maybe I will be even ahead of schedule for the whole "Spring Cleaning" thing!

A Day of Wine in Temecula Valley

Today, Matthew and I embarked a day of wine tasting in Temecula with our good friends the Nobletts. Truth be told, this was suppose to be our activity for New Year's Day; however, all of the wineries were closed. So, we rescheduled and hit the road today at 10:00 a.m. We had an absolutely wonderful day, even if the weather showed it would be a dreary day. By the time we arrived in Temecula, the clouds had disappeared and the sun was shining. We stopped at 5 wineries and tasted and bought wine at 4 of them. Matthew and Richard even joined a wine club at one of the wineries. Thanks to Jodie, who was our designated driver, we arrived at each vineyard ready to go.

First stop on the list was Callaway Winery. We had a 2 for 1 special for the tasting and we were able to choose 5 wines each and keep a souvenir logo glass. What was great is that between the four of us we actually picked 10 different wines and shared them. If gave us an opportunity to sample some additional wines without the extra cost. Matt had insisted that we had to go to Callaway's because his former boss had begrudgingly gave us a bottle from their vineyard which we absolutely loved. So, Matthew's plan was to buy another bottle and give it to his boss, that is until we tried the Muscat. Sorry Joe maybe next time!!!

The next stop on our tour was to Baily's. A smaller winery but one with a lot of character and ultimately had the best deal of the day! 1 whole case of the Muscat for only $36, which we decided to share. Again had a 2 for 1 deal and we sampled 10 different wines.

Our third stop was Mount Palomar and unfortunately was the only winery who wouldn't let us use our coupon because they were actually expired. So instead, we enjoyed a light snack of bread, cheeses and salami. We have also definitely decided that when come down next time we will pack our own lunch to snack on in between stops.

Our fourth stop was to Faulkner Winery was again had a lot of character, if you can get passed the small wine tasting room and the server who was sick and coughing all over everything. The only think we walked out of there with was an idea of how we could make our own mulled wine!

Our fifth and final stop for the day was to an unknown winery (at least by the tour guide list) called Long Shadow Winery. I had seen a sign that advertised 2 for 1 tasting and it was literally down the road from Faulkner, so we figured it was worth a try. From our first looks and impressions, we all believed that it was a start-up winery. Boy were we wrong, they are one of the oldest wineries in Temecula and aren't part of the wine tour listing because they do not belong to the Temecula Valley Wine Growers Association. They like to do things there own way and it definitely showed during our visit. I will even say that they were by far the best winery we went to and our host was awesome on top of it! This was also the winery in which Matthew and Richard joined the wine club. Which made the host all the more generous with the samplings and honestly there wasn't a wine on the list that we didn't like.

We ended our day in Temecula with a nice lunch in Old Town Murrieta and made the decision that we will go back soon to visit the other wineries both on and off the list! There were even discussions about a Napa Valley wine tour sometime this spring! All I can say is that we had so much fun today that we can hardly wait to go back again! Hopefully in the spring when everything is blooming.

A Little Disney Fun!

10 Year Review and New Beginnings

Recently, I have had a couple of major events that have taken place that are focused around 10 year anniversaries. In November, I officially had been with my company for 10-years and in December, Matthew and I have been together for 10 years as a couple. So, I got to thinking about everything that has happened to me in the last ten years and found that it is quite a lot. I re-met, dated and married my husband. I celebrated my 25th, 30th and 35th Birthdays. I adopted my first kitten (now a full-grown cat), I graduated with my MBA, went to my 10-year High School class reunion and moved twice once into an apartment and second into a house. I have changed job titles 3 times. I have read countless books, watched as many movies and started 4 new hobbies (crochet, quilting, digital scrapbooking and blogging!) I have developed an appreciation for wine (both white and red). I have made many great new friends and have lost a few old friends along the way! I have had long hair, short hair and back to long hair. I have traveled to Mexico (honeymoon), Brazil (business trip and first passport/visa) and Hawaii (vacation). Attended and participated in good friends weddings! I have experienced some deaths within my circle of family and friends but have also seen the beauty of new life begin within that same circle. Life has been very full with many ups and downs! It is simply amazing to realize how quickly the the time has passed. It almost doesn't seem like it is possible that it has been 10 years.

As a celebration of my ten years with the company, which was recognized in December the owner and president of the company presented me with a 4 day, 5 night Mexican cruise to Baja. (And yes to answer your question my jaw did drop on the floor!) I can honestly say I was very surprised by the lavish gift and never expected anything like it!

As I head into this New Year of 2009 I am not say much as making a resolution but making a commitment to live a better and healthier life! I have put into place a 10 week walking plan that begins today. The plan begins with 20 minutes a day and eventually works up to 60 minutes a day. I am going to increase my water intake and cut down on the Starbucks from everyday (or almost everyday) to once a week. These are my first little steps into a healthier me and my new beginning! I have not set a certain goal of weight loss but rather want to increase my overall energy level and enjoy life to fullest in the new year. (It also helps to know that I have a bridesmaid dress I need to fit into for a May wedding!)

May the New Year and the next 10 years be a fulfilling as the last 10 years!