Decade in Review

I saw this on a message board I frequent, and thought it would be a good idea to do my own...

• 2000 - Became an assistant store manager at Starbucks in St. Louis.
• 2001 - Moved from St. Louis, back to my home town in WA
• 2002 - Began working at my former employer. Met some of my best friends through that job.
• 2003 - Began dating my now ex boyfriend, Mr. J. Which continued off and on (truth be told, more off than on) until I finally met the love of my life... Mr S. :)
• 2004 - After 2 years of blissfully living by myself in my old (small) hometown, I decided to try city living, and moved to Seattle and began living with a friend in a house in North Seattle.
• 2005 - Met & begun dating my now hubby, attended my 10 year high school class reunion
• 2006 - Got engaged while staying at the Hotel Bellwether in Bellingham, WA, Celebrated my 30th birthday with some of my closest friends & family.
• 2007 - Got married! Transferred departments (which included a nice raise) at the company I used to work for.
• 2008 - Went to Cali for Mr & Mrs G's wedding, went to Vegas for Mr. S's birthday (his first time there, despite growing up in the OC!)
• 2009 - Moved from Seattle to Phoenix, endured unemployment for Mr. S for 6 months, adopted 2 kitties, job hunted for the first time in 7 years, began new job.

Goals for 2010

• Be debt free by the end of the year
• Find a hobby for myself
• Adapt to a healthier living state of mind - eat better, exercise, join WW again. Ultimate goal to lose 60 pounds (or more) in 2010
• Become more involved in our church
• Begin TTC

I truly believe that this will be a great year for me & the Mr.

Happy New Year!

I've been a bad bad blogger

Wow. Has it really been 5 months since I updated this blog? Ay yi yi! Things are going well for us here, in Phoenix. It's definitely been a transition, and difficult at times. But Sam & I both agree that we made the right move.

I really like my job. I work with a bunch of great women, and that makes it so much nicer to come to work. My previous job was filled with a bunch of Negative Nellies, and I would hear complaining every single day. Now, granted, there's still complaining being done at the new job, but I think that's the norm with any job, right?

In August, we adopted two little kitties. They're litter mates. We adore them. Seriously--we ARE the crazy cat couple. :) Unfortunately, earlier this month, our little boy kitty got really sick. They were afraid he had an obstruction, and wanted to do a $4k surgery. Uh, that's not gonna happen. We took him to our regular vet, and she kept him overnight, and monitored him. It took awhile, but he pulled through. And now I'm super paranoid that he's going to get into something, or get sick again. Which, we really can't afford as we blew through the little savings we had accumulated with the first sickness.

We've finally started going to church again. I'm glad we found this church, I think we'll really like it. And hopefully it'll help us meet other people, and make friends. That has definitely been the hardest part of the move... I miss my friends & family terribly. I love my hubby, but there's no comparison to good old fashioned girl time. So I'm hoping that getting involved with the church will not only bring us closer to God, but it will bring good people into our lives. People that we can form long, lasting and meaningful friendships with.

We managed to get through the holiday season away from family. My friend H came and spent Thanksgiving with us, which was nice. Then, the following weekend, my bff, R, came and spent the weekend with us. Christmas was just Mr. S and I. We went to Christmas Eve service, and had a nice, quiet Christmas at home, just the two of us & the kitties. It was a nice change from having to go 2 different places, and deal with the ferry traffic we used to plan everything around.
2009 has been a difficult year for us. I'm definitely ready to see what 2010 has in store for us!

Can I get a woot woot?

I got a job!!

Woo hoo!! It's in Mesa, so about 20-30 minutes away. I'm so excited!

This week turned out to be the interview extravaganza week. Tuesday, I interviewed with a Diagnostic Imaging company. It went well, she asked me to come back for a 2nd interview before we finished the first. A good sign, right? Well, unfortunately for me, the morning of the 2nd interview, she called to tell me they've already filled the position. Really? Geesh. Didn't even give me a chance. I was pretty bummed. The job was literally minutes from Mr. S's job, and we'd be able to carpool easily. But... it wasn't meant to be.

Wednesday, I had an interview at another company. I went into it being a little unsure of the company, but figured I'd go check it out. The reason I was a little unsure is that I had been contacted by them prior to my move for an opening. They didn't want to wait for me to get to town, so they said to call when I got to town. I did, and she said that they filled that position, another position had come up, which they were in the final interviewing process for it, but she'd keep my resume on file if something else came up. So Tuesday I got a call from them that they had another opening, and asked me to come in for an interview. Are you counting along with me? That's 3 positions in one month's time. Not the best sign. But, I kept an open mind, and went in for the interview. Sure enough, the company is in a time of great transition. Things are highly stessful, and constantly changing. People are frustrated, blah blah blah. I'm all for a challenge, but I don't think I need that type of situation.

While I was at that interview, I got a call from the staffing agency saying the company wanted me to come in and interview. So I did that afternoon. It went pretty well, I really liked the two women who were interviewing me. Seemed like an environment I would like. The downfall? They wanted to start the new person on Monday. I'm out of town next week for a family reunion. I hoped that wouldn't count against me, but honestly... I just didn't know timing-wise if it'd work out for them.

Lucky for me, they're willing to wait, and I got the job! woo hoo!! I'm really excited to start working. I'm ready to once again become a 2 income household, and to start meeting people. Not to mention being able to get out and do things since we're not in the poor house! Yay for being gainfully employed! :)

And it goes on

Ugh. So, I never did hear back from that first company I interviewed with. Nice, huh? Especially since she specifically said she would let me know either way. Whatevs. Obviously not the right place for me. Since that interview, I've met with two different recruiters, and I have another interview scheduled for tomorrow. I'm hoping that something will come of all this! The recruiter I met with last week submitted me for two different positions at the same company. I'm crossing all crossables that I get one of those. The company sounds really good. They've been around for a long time (which in these times is a good thing), and they have good benefits. I'd be employed by the staffing company for the first 3-6 months, and then I would be employed by the company I'd be working at after that. The staffing company offers medical benefits after just 30 days. We definitely need insurance! As of right now, we're without. I know... It's irresponsible, but when we can't pay a good deal of our bills at the moment, paying an additional $300 a month for health insurance isn't exactly feasible. I have also applied at hubby's company for a customer service position. Not quite what I'm wanting to do, but... it's a pay check. At this point, I'm ready to apply at Wal*Mart.

So, that's an update on the job sitch. Nothing much going on other than that. We had a totally low-key weekend, as the hubby was sick. Our 4th of July celebration consisted of dinner at Sweet Tomatoes, a trip to Wal*Mart, and watching the NY fireworks on tv. I know, I know, you're all uber jealous, huh? Oh well, in all honesty, it's too darn hot to do much here during the day.

I have been trying to get some pool time in during the day, though. I go out for about an hour, around 11-12. The family reunion is next week, so I figured I should try to get some color. I do live in Phoenix after all!

Wish me luck in the job search! I really, really need it!

Interview #3 Coming Up!

We're finally getting settled into our new place. Things are pretty much unpacked. With the exception of hubby's "studio" room. Now we just need to tidy things up and finish up the decorative stuff.

I have another interview this afternoon. Hopefully this will be the one! Well, I do know it'll entail at least one more interview for the position, as the interview this afternoon is with a staffing agency. So, if that goes well, then I'll probably have to interview with the company. Ugh. Fingers crossed! We really need for me to bring in some moolah. It's not looking pretty!

My family reunion is in 2 1/2 weeks. Which means, if I get the above job, I'll be taking time off immediately. Probably not a great 1st impression, but this has been planned for over a year. Hopefully they'll understand. We'll see...

Nothing much else to report... just chugging along, trying to get settled in the new life & new diggs.

Frustrations

Ugh. Have I mentioned how much I hate looking for a job? Well, in case I haven't... I really, really do.

I had an interview last Friday. Did I mention that? It's a job that I'm certainly qualified for. I'd be a great match. I was told that they would let me know either way sometime this week if they would like me to come back in for a 2nd interview with the office manager. I know, it's only Tuesday, but I haven't heard anything. I'm bummed. I really thought I'd be a shoe in for this position. There's still the rest of the week to hear, right? In the meantime, I have another interview set up for tomorrow morning. It's with a medical staffing company. Basically they match up companies that have openings with qualified candidates. So, we'll see how that goes. I'm a little nervous. I don't know why, I just am. I feel like it's dating all over again. Good times.

I've been in a bit of a funk today. I think it's mostly because of the lack of employment, but I know the chaos of moving is getting to me as well. I feel like I'm just moving boxes from one spot to another, and not really accomplishing much. Thank goodness hubby has really been pitching in at night, and helping out. For some reason, when I get overwhelmed, I just shut down. Like I don't know where to start, so I don't. Okay... it's not really that bad, but more or less that's how I react. I'm hoping tomorrow is a new day, and I'll snap outta da funk, and get a lot accomplished. And maybe even snag another interview or job in the interim. :)

Big Changes

Wow. I honestly kind of forgot about this lil' blog. Not that big of a deal, as I don't think anyone in the cyberworld really knows it even exists, but I'm back... :)
So, my husband sought work for 6 months in the Seattle area. Six months of searching high and low, applying for hundreds of jobs, attending job fairs. That six months of searching got him exactly 3 interviews. Yup. Three. Two of which were with recruiters. On somewhat of a whim one night, we thought why not look somewhere else? So he contacted a few of his former coworkers from his days down in So Cal, and low and behold, his former employer was hiring for their Phoenix office. He submitted his resume to a friend that works in said Phoenix office late one Friday evening. By the following Tuesday, the hiring manager was in contact with him. Two days later, he had an offer letter from the company. I put in my notice at work, we gave notice to our landlord, packed up, and moved out to the Phoenix area. All less than a month from the initial phone calls inquiring on available positions.

Now, I'm job hunting. Scary, as I haven't looked for work for seven years. That's quite awhile. I'm hoping that my experience and longevity with my former employer will count towards something. I did have an interview last Friday. I should find out this week if they would like me to come in for a 2nd interview with the office manager. Fingers crossed that they will! I'm certainly qualified for this position, hopefully they'll see that as well.

So far life in the Phoenix area has been good. We've been here for a week now. I'm trying to dig us out from under all these darn boxes. Seriously, it's a little ridiculous. I feel like it's neverending. To say that I'm looking forward to being able to walk around without navigating through piles of boxes is a slight understatement. Ugh.

In other news, I decided to contact my bio dad. I sent him a short email, saying that C had told me that he (bio dad) wanted to be in contact with me, and that he could feel free to email me anytime. That was on 5/08/2009. It's over a month later, and I haven't received any response. That irritates me to no end. Seriously. He can't even be bothered to respond to an effing email? It's been 28 years--he hasn't made any contact with me. I take it upon myself to go ahead and open up the communication, and he can't be bothered. Sweet. Glad I worked myself up into a tizzy over that! Okay, well maybe not so much a "tizzy", but there was a lot of apprehension, and "soul-searching" that came before I decided to just take the plunge and do it. Unbelievable.

The boxes are certainly calling to me, so I suppose I should get busy. They aren't going to unpack themselves, now are they?

Toodles!