new house. new job. new moon.

Greetings Bloggees.

I have been wanting to write a new blog post for over a month now, but have just kept pushing it back and pushing it back.  I think most of my procrastination can be attributed to the fact that there is just too much to share!  But I finally said to myself, "Self, enough is enough."  So here are some tidbits.

New House

On June 7, Tim and I signed a bunch of papers and officially became homeowners.  Our realtor, Gail, took us out for lunch to celebrate, but to be honest it was difficult to feel like we had done much worth celebrating.

However, on July 9, we began ripping apart the house we just asked the IUCU to loan us a ton of money for....and now we realize that owning a home is a pretty big deal.  We feel so lucky to have lots of friends and family to help us out with the never-ending renovation projects!

New Job

Also, I start a new job on Monday!  I am leaving the Owen County office at which I have worked for the past two years, and will be working in Monroe County.  I am still working at the same agency, the South Central Community Action Program, but with a new title (not to mention a pay increase - booyah!).  On Monday, I will be the Circles Coach, which may not mean a whole lot to you, but let me just say that I am extremely excited about the position.

New Moon

And the most important update is that I have finally seen the first two teen-vampire-werewolf movies, and let me tell you they are AMAZING!  I mean, they are just as terrible as I expected, and just as awesome.  Edward is mysterious and dreamy, and Jacob is a real pro at taking his shirt off...  Add some bad acting, cheesy lines, and some cartoonish CG werewooves and you've got the makings of a perfect teen drama....Oh yeah, and Dakota Fanning is in New Moon - BONUS!  Tim and I can't wait to see ECLIPSE!

Well, that is all for now, I will post some sweet pics of the house soon!

lovecare.

maritals...

Hey tobloggans,

This is a blog post about maritals in two parts.

Part I

One time, Tim, Josh and I were in the kitchen discussing what we would do that evening.  Somehow tension began to grow between Tim and me.  I don't remember why, he probably wanted me to go do something that I didn't want to do....anyway, Tim eventually walked upstairs.  Sensing his frustration, I followed him to talk about it.  Figuring we could use some time alone, Josh cut his losses and retired for the evening.  After Tim and I resolved our issues, we came downstairs to find that Josh had already gone to bed, so we watched an episode of TV and did the same.

The next morning, I attempted to apologize to Josh for having left so abruptly:

"Hey Josh, sorry about last night.  Tim and I were having a marital - " I paused to search for the appropriate noun, and just as I had settled on the word "issue," Josh interjected.

"You were having a marital?"

"Haha, yes, we were having a marital"

"Wait, what kind of marital?  The good kind or the bad kind?"

"Not the good kind...."

"Well, I guess one could lead to the other."

"This is true...but it didn't last night."

It was funny.  So, you can have a marital or you can have a marital.  It sounds confusing, but that's why it is funny. 

Part II

Last weekend Tim and my mutual best friend, Brett Thompson, married the girl of his dreams, Jenny Hirsch.  They are two of the most loyal, passionate, and generous people we know.  I am so proud of Brett and how he has grown into a strong and sensitive man and so glad such a wonderful woman fell in love with him.

Even though the ceremony was outside in the blazing hot sun, it was still beautiful.  Our good friend, Jeff Mahrt performed the ceremony and said some great things about LOVE and Jenny was gorgeous and Bretty teared up as she walked down the aisle!

Plus, there were so many people from different parts of their lives there.  High school friends, college friends, and family friends all together at one sweet party.  Tony Gosner flew in from CO, Yoga master Keith Godfrey was lookin' totally fine, Dave and Kenny brought some ERS, Riggsman vs. the YLs, Pankake and friends put it in a cone, and the artist formerly known as Bruggs showed up for groomsman duty, and so many more.  There were even some new friends from NOLA! 

Also, thanks to Jessica and her fashion blogs, I was lookin' pretty classy.  She lent me a dress and some sweet accessories for the rehearsal dinner and the wedding.  I don't have any sweet pics of my outfit because I was too busy cutting a major rug, but maybe someone somewhere snapped one....

Anyway, not that Brett or Jenny will ever read this blog, but I just wanted to proclaim to all the webs that I love them both and wish them lots of love, not too many maritals, and LOTS of maritals....

lovecare.

minus the husband

Hey blogspots.

As you probably know, my husband, Tim, is a super rock legend in the band husband&wife. No, I am not in the band, it is just called that....yeah, I know, it's kind of a dumb name, but that's not the point. The point is that Tim and his bandmates were on tour for 10 days in May followed by 6 days of all day recording. This left the wives to savor the beginnings of summer with each other and friends. We used to get really sad and lonely every time they left for tour, but I think Jess and Colleen would agree that we now embrace the opportunity to spend time with our friends without spousal distractions! Plus, it's a great time to get things done around the house (not that I have done this, but I think Jess and Colleen do...)

Here are some highlights from my time husbandless (in stream of consciousness, no capitalization, list form):

upland ard ri, hipstamatic pics, the orrs, party van, running, tortilla casserole, michael jackson, Jared Cheek's stretches, haircuts, making pants into shorts, kaylakitty & jessballs, weeding the garden, young life meetings, aver's pizza, youtubes, hey dixroid, fishing tips from mike johnson, vanilla gelato, blueberry ginger ice, b-carl, nick's, a million sports channels and no reds game, bucket o fries, beer, lung cancer, settlers, dc talk, more youtubes, jam session, pianica, bible study fail, the simpsons, beach body insanity, super stuffed tortillas, scholar's inn martinis, fasone, girls night, gone with the wind, rockit's intermission, getting lost on 465, oberon mini-keg, blockus, late night talks, chicken korma, sophia, constance, chocolate cookies, bible study success, baby badger, barrettes, catholic workers, potluck, sushi, twilight, yard sales....

Phew.  Friends are so important in making time away from your husband fun and not terrible.  Thank you to all my favorite chill buds.  (Wish I had more pics, but I was too busy having fun to adequately document it all)

 

Sorry if you found this post a little boring.  I have more fun things to share in the future...

lovecare.

How to Cope With Job Rejection...for real people...

Hey all the single Blog-yoncés out there,

Today I am writing about a very serious matter: REJECTION.  More specifically, rejection from that job you always wanted, the job you desperately needed to pay your rent and buy your food, or that job that was supposed to be your gateway out of your current life-draining employment situation....

Now, a good friend of mine recently experienced the crushing blow of rejection and so, out of curiosity and obsession with the interwebs, I googled "how to cope with job rejection."  I am not sure what I expected to find, but what I found was a plethora of career counselors and executive coaches eager to lift you out of your post-rejection depression with inspiring proverbs and sympathetic stories of personal triumph.

For example, in an article boasting 10 ways to cope with job rejection, the personal career coach expounds upon the following suggestions:

#1 Don't take it personally
#8 Accept responsibility:Don't blame others
#10 Stretch yourself!

Okay #1, even if you know you shouldn't take something personally, sometimes a bruised ego just can't be prevented, and no amount of self-talk is going to shield you from the blow.  #8 is simply incorrect because it is absolutely and completely the hiring committee's fault for not hiring you.  Period.  And #10 is just dumb.  She actually suggests literally going to the gym and stretching your interview-weary muscles.  She then tells you to find a place in your life where you can "go to the edge" and be extreme.  I personally don't think that base-jumping off the nearest high-rise is going to lift you from the throes of dejection (although hang-gliding might...)

Another blog post starts off with, "much like love, getting a job is about making a good match."  So...he is basically saying that being rejected by this employer is just like being rejected by that guy or girl you had a crush on all your life (Bryce Hunt, I still love you).  Thanks, now you can bask in the memory of that rejection too.....encouragement FAIL.

The main problem with the articles I found on the internet is that they all include some sort of story about how they eventually found the job that they wanted.  That is GREAT...for them, but what about you?  You are still unemployed, stuck at that dead end job, or left dumbfounded that they choose her over you!!!!  They are writing from a place that is far removed from the rejection, but in those first few hours after being rejected, you've got to have a different coping strategy.

So if you just found out that your potential new employer is going in a different direction, try these simple steps:

1.  Curse and swear like you've never done before.  Make sure small children and your grandmother are out of earshot, then let 'er rip.  If it doesn't help at first, try out those really nasty swear words that you aren't really sure the meaning of, but you've heard on movies and HBO original series.

2.  Next, you've got to have a physical outlet.  If you have to drive home after receiving the call, take a moment before you start the car to pound on the steering wheel with both fists.  If you accidentally hit the horn and it beeps very loudly, don't even worry about it.  I mean, you don't give a *?#! you just got rejected.  Hit the wheel once very hard out of rage, then several more times out of exasperation until you collapse.

3.  Bawl your eyes out.  I sometimes start this step during step #2.

4.  Vent to your friends.  The best of friends will repeat steps 1 and 2 with you, and the worst of friends will tell you not to take it personally.

5.  Secretly fantasize about all the ways the newly hired candidate could possibly screw up really badly at their new job, sending their employer into a fit of regret and remorse for not having hired you.  When you are finished, remind yourself that you are better than that and stop.

6.  When you are good and ready, get back on the horse and apply for another job.  If you just can't muster up the energy to compose another self aggrandizing cover letter, than pick up an application to subway and fill it out.  Sometimes it helps to feel like you are moving on.  Even if you aren't, you really are.  Oh yeah, and always carry a HUGE binder with you at interviews...it's super impressive.

Okay, so....hopefully this was somewhat helpful to those of you who were recently rejected from a job and are looking for a break from all those career blogs written by people who get paid to write blogs in their pajamas.

I'll share a more uplifting post soon.

lovecare.

getchasef uptadate...

Sorry you haven't heard from me in awhile, blogosphere.  I hope you can forgive me.  Since my last post there were some happenings that kept me busy. 

Here's the summary:

made an offer on a house that was not for sale
applied for new job
husband left for tour
SPRING BREAK 2010!!!
interviewed for new job
turned 27 years old and received my first "you're getting old" joke from a stranger
halfway completed several household projects
husband returned
got rejected for new job
owners accepted our offer to purchase the house that was not for sale
a volcano in iceland erupted spewing clouds of ash above europe
told volcano to "shut up"
went to italy for two weeks to spite said volcano
gained 5 lbs
returned safely (take that, volcano)
wrestled with gelato withdrawal
gave up on working out
husband left for another tour
decided to update my blog

and the best is yet to come!

More posts coming up!

lovecare.

take luck.

Here is my St. Patrick's Day blog post.  First you should know that I have decided to call it St. Patty's Day because I think it sounds more Irish.  Second, I have a few suggestions for how you might celebrate St. Patty's special day. 

You could dress up like a leprechaun.  Don't tell me you've never thought about it.  You could bleach your hair, carry around a cute little pot o' gold and wear undies that said "KISS ME I'M IRISH" across on the butt.  See...

I really think you would look really good in this.

But if you're not into slutwear, you could try commemorating St. Patty by eating tons of Lucky Charms.

I just found this sweet retro box design on the webs.  Notice it features the four original "marshbits" as General Mills calls them: pink hearts, orange stars, yellow moons, and green clovers.  Over the years they threw in some different marshbit shapes like horseshoes, shooting stars, leprechaun hats.  At some point they added whales...does anyone else think that's weird?  Oh I just thought of something, you know what would be really good, Lucky Charms Treats!  I bet someone else has thought of that.  Hold on, let me Google it.....

Cha ching!  Those is some tasty-lookin' sweet treats.

If you aren't into super-sugary over-processed food products, you might try celebrating this St. Patty's Day by watching one of Hollywood's finest holiday films.  No, I am not referring to the 1993 movie Leprechaun - that movie was terrible!  No, I am talking about the highly superior 2000 movie, Leprechaun In The Hood. 

A few things you will see in this film: Ice T, marijuana laced with 4-leaf clovers, an "afro pick" used as a weapon, a magical brainwashing flute, and a rap performance by the undead leprechaun and his zombie fly girls.

But if you really want to celebrate right, you gotta remember what ol' Patty himself used to say...

Did you know that Guinness was St. Patty's favorite beverage?  Okay maybe that was some other dude named Patty, but either way, it tastes good.  And it is especially festive when you can make a perfect clover in the foamy head.

Mmm...

Happy St. Patty's Day!

wifeblog

I joked for awhile that I should name this blog "wifeblog" because so many of my blog posts are about my husband.  I just can't help it, he is such a weird dude, I have to share it with the world.

So here are a few more tidbits about Tim.

He has this sort of OCD thing about having a glass of water on the bedside table when he goes to sleep at night.  Each night he fills a glass, carries it upstairs, takes a drink, then sets it on the bedside table.  The next night, he does the same.  He insists on filling his glass full of water and refuses to drink from the glass he got the night before ("because of floaties").  The other night I took a picture of his bedside table.

(Have you ever seen the movie, Signs?)

A few weeks ago I turned on my camera and this was the first picture I saw:

Apparently, Tim woke up one morning, looked in the mirror and thought "Whoa, I am looking pretty scrubbly.  I better capture this moment digitally."  I think this was the day he was getting his haircut, so maybe part of him was a little sad and wanted a memento of his time as a teen wolf...

Last week Tim turned 27 years old.  Tim didn't want a big group party thing for his birthday so we just went out to eat with a small group of friends.  After dinner, James, Tim and I came back home for some cookie cake.  Even though it was just Jimmy and me, we still lit up the candles and sang "Happy Birthday" (actually, James sang a solo Happy Birthday while I pretty much just giggled).

That's all for now from the wifeblog.

lovecare.