Going Private

Happy almost new year, y'all...

Lord knows I am SO ready for a new year.

Thanks for the kind thoughts regarding the tough times we have been having. It is still not easy. The only thing going right is marriage - Matt and I are in this together. We are hopeful a new job for Matt in the coming month so we can move.

Christmas was REALLY hard. We were all alone, and did not get a single phone call all day. I cleaned the house all day while Matt worked on his final paper. Then, he had to work at 5:45am on the 26th, so I started working on the house again around 6:30 and worked until 8pm at night straightening, dusting, vacuuming, organizing, purging, cooking, re-arranging, etc.

Well I have finally decided to take this blog private so I can actually write stuff again. And, take photos. I am embarrassed to put up photos lately as I have no time or software to edit them with. I miss that creative outlet.

I have had a public blog since 2005 - I did not mind my life being an open book then. For some reason, I do now.

So, if you would like access to my blog after January 1st - please leave me a comment. I will then contact you for your email if I do not already have it, and add it to my email-name list.

I am sorry to all of the blurkers! I hope that you understand.

I hope you all are doing great! Am I the only one having to work today?

:)

Dust Yourself Off and Try Again

No sooner than I had published my last post we got a tidal wave of bad news.

1. Matt found out he cannot move with his work-from-home job. He has to stay local.

2. He has been on several interviews for better positions and did not get any of them.

3. We had to give up our little dream house we found because we could not commit to a moving date.

4. Did I mention our little dream house had water views?

5. Matt has to work on Christmas. Again. We will be all alone on Christmas, again. Family will be celebrating a four hour drive away.

6. I already put in notice at my work and cannot be guaranteed a job past January.

The silver lining from this week:

1. I went to the dentist yesterday and had no cavities and he said he could tell I floss everyday.

2. I found this picture of Matt on my memory card that I forgot I had:


3. I got a new phone and will be able to blog remotely from it now. My ancient flip-phone is now retired!

4. Today is Friday and I get to dance with my life partner at the company Christmas party tonight!

5. I won a Starbucks card at a gift exchange just went my coffee budget was running out. God provides!

So, there is the truth. Just keeping it real. I bought slipcovers for our new (used) furniture with the hope that we will get to use it in the coming year. We also decided to join a gym because since there is no room at Matt's folks living room to do a jumping jack, I will have to retire my beloved Shred DVD's for awhile. My treadmill is also not in a place where I can really use it either.

I could use a nice long run. Get some stress out and leave it on the pavement. As soon as it is above 30 degrees F out - we will hit the trails again.

Have a good weekend, all.

December

Okay, 11 days into the year, I need to write something here...

We put up a tree this weekend. Okay, I put it up while Matt sat near me working (work from home assignment right now, woot!) and it is adorable. About a foot and a half tall! We are moving soon so this tree is all we will do this year.

Moving...yes...soon! We are waiting on one more green light before we pick from two houses (rentals) we found last weekend. This move is highly anticipated, somewhat planned, and a bit of desperation. We miss family and the west side of the state so much. Since Matt can work from home right now, we decided to go for it while he continues to interview for other opportunities at corporate in Seattle.

Speaking of, Matt endured six hours of interviews last Tuesday. I took the day off to be with him (and so we could go house hunting!). It was a fun weekend together, making our plans for the future. Great family time with my mom and dad, too!

I am exhausted tonight. Between Matt working yesterday and having to write a grad paper all day today, I have used the time to tackle a lengthy to-do list. I feel great about all that I accomplished but my arms feel like spaghetti!

This Friday is my company's annual holiday party. I am wearing a dress I bought in 2002 and I got new shoes today to go with it. I am pretty excited about it :)

We have a thick layer of frost on everything here right now. It is beautiful. Everything is quiet and still outside. It has been too cold to even go running, so I unearthed my treadmill this weekend. Literally - when my in-laws moved back home they brought back a lot of exotic fabric from around the world and that was what was covering it. It is now set up again and ready to go!

I made fudge today, following a recipe. It turned out chewy...not quite right. Oh well - we will enjoy making another batch! (Don't worry mom, we will pace ourselves).

I know it is the busiest time of year for most folks but I am really enjoying not having a whole lot on my plate. We had to step down from doing a lot of church service this year, scale back on running after the marathon, and attend less events thanks to being a one-car family. I am finally feeling "quiet" enough that this season feels more solemn and holy. It is hard to not see family and friends as much right now, but that is okay. I don't feel lonely.

Things are one day at at time until we get our green light. Until then...