California Dreamin'....

Lately, I've been homesick for Cali. Could it be the freaking 30 degree weather we are having???!!!??? It's funny.... when I first moved to San Diego, I really didn't like it there either. I thought everything looked brown.. and everything was so crowded... lots of traffic, etc. Of course, after being there for 5 years, I grew to enjoy it and of course, now that I've left, I can truly appreciate what we had out there. I miss the warmth, the ocean being 10 minutes away. I miss the convenience of a bigger city -- of having everything very close. I really miss the action. I miss the diversity and I miss the liberal thinking. I miss the children's pool and the bay. I miss the gaslamp quarter. And now I miss the traditions we used to do there every Christmas...

My mother and my mother-in-law are coming for Christmas. I've been trying painstakingly hard to figure out things for us to do while they are here and I've come up with very little. Sad. I knew moving here wasn't going to be like San Diego but one appeal was that I thought Raleigh had enough to do without big city drama. Um... come to find out... there really isn't a whole lot to do here. This fact bums me out. I realize they are coming to visit us, not the town in which we live. But one advantage of moving to a new place is being able to show off your new town. I hope when they arrive, its not one big bore-fest.

I don't miss the high cost of living, the traffic, the crowds, the lack of greenery. But I'm not really falling in love with anything here. I know I need to give it time... but I guess now I'm wondering if one day I'll grow to love Raleigh as much as I love SD? If not.. what do we do then?

My Nemisis: The Grocery Store

I'm writing today to procrastinate doing the errand I detest the most: Grocery Shopping. I don't really know why I hate grocery shopping -- I just do. It seems there are much better things I could be doing with my time. Its not like other types of shopping where you can come home with a shiny new exciting item to use or show off. Nope. You come home have to unpack everything and then a few days/weeks later its all gone and you have to start the whole process again. Bleh. And now that we're on a VERY tight budget I find myself standing in the aisle debating between two brands of products... so the peas A are 20 cents per ounce but peas B are 18 cents per ounce. I bust out my cell phone for the calculator and figure which product is the better buy. Which offers more value for the size... if I get the family size, is it worth the price? Ohhh and If I have a coupon what would that price be ... oohhh and even better if its double coupon time! Double bleh... I sound like an old lady trolling for the best price. I'm sure I'm quite a sight to see at the store. Of course all this calculating takes up even more time. In the end, its worth it for us right now as we have to save every dime we can. And it can be a little fun to see how much money I save but getting myself to get to the store definitely requires motivation!

On a related note, I've been cooking a lot more which if fun. I find the more I cook, the better I have become. Some of the new recipes I've tried have turned out quite well and all I can think is... my Nana would be proud.

As far as other news - Thanksgiving was good. Greg and I volunteered in the morning and delivered meals to people. That was fun and the recipients were so nice. One lady told us she loved us!! Then I made a small dinner... I say small but in reality it fed us for more than one meal! Over Thanksgiving weekend we hung out and went and saw a movie. It was different for us since normally we are around a lot of family for the holiday but it was kind of nice to have a quiet Thanksgiving just the two of us.

Job Front: Greg is still working. He's still battling with adjusting. I am still hunting (sad!). I've had two more phone interviews but with no result. I think I'm a bad phone interviewer. I know that sounds weird but I find myself almost more nervous before I get the call than I do walking into an office to meet someone. I think I might just be psyching myself out. I'm trying to keep the spirits up. However, if something (anything!) doesn't come up soon.. I will go into panic mode!!

I've joined a book club which is nice to have some social interaction outside of Greg. I've been enjoying reading a lot since I've had extra time off. I've been trying to think of other ways for Greg and I to meet some people. I think having the interaction really helps keep our spirits up.

Alright... I'm pulling myself away to brave the craziness we call Kroger....