When things in life get a little crazy, even the good kind of crazy, I clean. With David's job being up in the air and not knowing if I am coming or going, things could definitely be classified as crazy right now. So, I cleaned. It started in the dining room where I took down all the Coke memorabilia I had decorating the walls. I proceeded to clean out the china cabinet and move it. From there I washed blankets and tablecloths, shampooed floors, cleaned out cabinets, and organized closets. I've been cleaning and organizing since 8 a.m. yesterday with a few brief stops to blog, eat, and sleep. David says I am a machine. He laughs because even when he thinks I couldn't possibly find another thing to clean, I do. The good part is that my house is sparkling and I filled three bags with clothes and 3 boxes with miscellaneous things to give to Goodwill. There is still the issue of the jumble of cords behind the television and the mess of movies in the movie closet, but both of those are David's spaces so I will nag him until he takes care of them.

He is amazing. He had an interview today and got an offer right away. On his way home from the interview he got a phone call from Porsche. The interview is Monday. Our hopes are high.

For the past month there has been a bag of barbie dolls and barbie doll things sitting in our hallway. She put it there with an announcement that
ten is too old to play with barbies. I wanted to talk her out of it, but didn't. I just let the bag sit there waiting for her to change her mind or for me to gain the strength to let go. Recently I was talking to a friend about ten being the year girls are banished from barbiedom and she told me her grandaughter who is still years away from banishment loves all things barbie and that she would be interested in buying the bag of goodies from Erin. I mentioned it to Erin and told her to go through and seperate everything out and name a reasonable price for me to give to my friend.
Yesterday I walked into a bedroom covered in barbies. Erin had set up and entire barbie kingdom on her bedroom floor. I asked her which barbies she was planning on selling and she said "Mom, when you've played with barbies as long as I have, it's really hard to stop."

I love having David home with us in the evenings now, but it's thrown our entire routine off. It's also been awful for my diet. It's going to take a little while to get things running smoothly again. It's totally worth it! David has a job interview tomorrow morning. He wanted to take a break before starting a new job, but I told him there is no harm in putting his resume out there and going to interviews. He's under no obligation to take the job. I would hate for him to miss out on a job that he would really love because he was taking a break. It will also be a great way for him to practice his interview skills since he hasn't interviewed in almost five years! If this turns out to be a job he wants to take it could mean big change for me. I'll have to tell my new job that I can't work there and I'll take over working for P.S. No other solution to our living situation makes sense. One of us needs to work there in order to keep our apartment with free rent and utilities. Even if we both found jobs that paid the equivalent of our wages and the cost of our apartment which is about $1700, the hassle of moving just to pay that much in rent wouldn't be worth it. Part of me wants him to find a job now so that we can be done with it and not have to worry about making the change months down the road, but the biggest part of me is really excited about this new job and will be disappointed if I have to quit before I even start. Originally I didn't want to think about going to the new job because of all that could happen. David told me I can't base my choices on what may or may not happen. I have to decide to do what's best now and if that changes in a month or a year I'll make that decision when it comes. All of that leaves me in a state of transition.

Now that I have officially given my two-week notice, I feel more comfortable blogging about my new job. I'll be working for Footwear Etc. in their on-line store division. I'll be providing over the phone customer service and processing orders. It seems like a fairly simple job. Of course, I'll have to spend time getting to know the product. I've already done some reading on their website.

I gave notice at my current job today. It was a lot less dramatic than I expected. I'm not sure what I thought would happen, but nothing did happen. I can feel myself getting emotional about leaving. I'm not attached to the job part of my work, but I have become very attached to many of the members. I feel like I have learned a great deal about being a woman/wife/mother from them. For the past two years many of these women have been a huge part of the pool of wisdom I draw from. I will miss sharing with them and gaining their perspective on life. I hope to keep in touch with them.

Beyond embarrassed

Last night marks the most humiliating night of my life including the day I slipped down a flight of stairs while walking on stage to receive an award. After a hot day on the lake and the general ickiness that goes along with that time of the month, I was very tired last night. I feel asleep on the couch around 9, and moved to my nice comfy bed around 9:30. After several minutes of tossing and turning in the heat, I took my night shirt off thinking to myself "It's my house. I can go all natural if I want to." Sometime after I went to sleep David let the dog in our room and closed the door. Around 11 the dog started barking like crazy. It woke me up, but I was very disoriented. I thought that it was time to go to work. I stumbled to the door to let the dog out and walked into the hallway. I heard David talking and assumed he was on the phone. I walked out into our dining area which is open to the living room and kitchen to try and figure out what was going on that would cause the dog to bark and why my husband was up at what I thought was 5 in the morning. As I walked through the dining room, I said "What the heck is going on?" At that moment my husbands friend turned around and looked at me from the couch. I covered the ladies with my arms and ran to the bedroom. Thank God I left my pajama bottoms on! I have never been more embarrassed in my entire life! I'm not sure I can even look at this guy again without shrinking away in humiliation. What would you ladies do? David said that his friend didn't even say anything about it. Of course he didn't. What's he going to say? "Hey Dave, I saw your wife naked." Oh my gosh, the more I think about this the more embarrassed I get. I'm going to go find a corner to hide in.

I got the job! The interview was so comfortable and all of the people I met were so friendly! I think it's going to be a great place to work! The atmosphere was very relaxed and inviting. I start in two weeks.
Now, I have to give notice. I'm dreading it a little. I'll miss all the ladies at Curves. They are so nice and I've really become close with some of them. I hope I am able to keep in touch with them.
It's 4 o'clock and we haven't made it out with the boat yet. My best guess is that it will have to wait until tomorrow. Tomorrow will be good enough. I'm very tired and hot. In fact, I think I'll go take a nap.

A New Chapter

Tonight is Davids last night of school. Finally things can return to something like normal for us. I am so proud of him and excited for all of the possibilities that are now open to him.
I have an interview at 2:15 today. It's an office job within walking distance from our home. The job just fell into my lap. While I dread the thought of change in any form, I'm excited about this job. It offers great hours, pay, and benefits. It's just an interview so I'm not guaranteed the position. If it is meant to be it will be.
My amazing husband fixed a boat that was given to us months ago. It's not pretty, but it floats (we hope) and has a motor. What more does a boat need to be? We are taking it out this weekend. If you don't hear from me, the boat sunk.

Everything but the kitchen sink.

I ordered tickets for my mom to come visit yesterday. She'll be visiting the second week of September, and we are all going to Disney Land together. I'm excited. It will be nice to see her. I haven't seen her in almost four years which is a rediculous amount of time for someone to go without seeing their mother.
Erin is flying to Seatle by herself in August. I was very uncertain about letting her do it, but once I read the policies and procedures, I felt better. She is going to visit a friend who moved up there. We know the family very well. We connected with them through Girl Scouts. Erin is very close to their daughter who is also adopted. I felt like not letting her go would be cheating her out of a very memorable trip. She is very excited. Every day we talk about safety and what to do in every situation. I am going to get her a FireFly phone to take with her on the trip.
We are forgoing the canoe trip this weekend. Fifty eight dollars for a canoe rental just seems like too much to me. I used to rent one at my dads for $10. There is a small chance that we will go tubing instead, but who knows.
Last Saturday Gina and I made sushi and plum jelly. I have some pictures to post of the sushi rolls. It was so much fun!

My sister-in-law told us yesterday that she is pregnant again. She lost her last two pregnancies at 7 weeks. She is now 6 weeks along and in her words "not getting excited yet". Please pray for her and for the pregnancy.
We went to a birthday party for a friends grandmother who is 99. Now 27 seems small.
My mother-in-law and sister-in-law gave me a huge gift basket full of everything I need to make my own sushi. I'm very excited!
I start Body For Life tomorrow, and I've decided that the most important thing at this point is to have a plan. So, I've printed out the daily food/workout journals, and I've made a meal plan. I'm going to force myself outside of my comfort zone! I will be writing more specific goals over at Finding Skinny.

My 27th birthday was a beautiful disaster. After an emotional day of crying and screaming and confusing my dear husband we went up on the roof to watch fireworks and drink sparkling cider. He made me a cake that he baked in two caserole dishes. It was lopsided and funny looking, but all I could see when I looked at it was his efforts to make it a good day for me, and it worked. I'm not sure I'll ever be okay with my birthday at least not while we are here away from my family and twin sister, but he managed to make me laugh while I cried and for that gift, I will always be gratefull.

I should tell you that I made him wear the apron under protest. :)