Holiday Haze...

Wow... so its been way to long since my last post! I feel as though time has gone by freakishly fast the last couple of weeks.

We attended a wedding the weekend before Christmas. It was a lot of fun to hang out with everyone and have another wedding weekend under out belt! Two days later, my mother -arrived and the day after that, my mother-in-law arrived.... and then two more days later... it was Christmas!!! Phew... What a whirlwind. The week with the "moms" was fun. It was nice to have some family close and spend the holidays with them. It was also nice that they were able to see everything around here and see our new little niche in the world. We had a nice Christmas... nothing too fancy. I got Greg a waffle maker and he got me a full size ironing board and drying rack. I know, really exciting gifts. Ironically... its what we really wanted. Maybe this is part of growing up and getting married... you trade in luxuries for practicality. Is it sad that I was excited about an ironing board? As a side note... we did get a "gift" for ourselves... we have finally upgraded the ghetto 19" TV we'd been watching since the move to a fantastic 42" LG flat screen. It was such a change the first night I actually go dizzy watching it!!

We had a quiet new years by ourselves. We were gonna possibly go to a game or go downtown but it was pretty cold and kind of rainy so we decided to stay in and celebrate at home. After 5 years of watching a "pre-taped" ball drop, I was absolutely stoked that I got to see it live!!!!! And I was excited that Greg now has had the experience (although I'm pretty sure I made it out to be way more fun that it actually was).

On the job front: I have now taken a part-time job in a call center. Yeah and Boo! Yeah b/c I'm getting out of the house and starting to bring in a little bit of income. Boo b/c its a call center, bad hours and of course, part-time call center pay. However, I do feel that the tides are starting to turn b/c I got another social work job offer that I declined. I know I probably shouldn't be declining jobs but I'm holding out hope that I can get a job I love and will only have to do the part-time thing temporarily.

With a new year comes new years resolutions. While Greg and I have made some on our own... we made one together. We will be making a new meal every week (I got a new cookbook for Christmas, thus the inspiration)! As a new addition to the blog, I will be updating you with how that goes. Last week we made: Pork chops with apples. On a scale of 1-10, I'd give it a 5. It wasn't bad, but nothing really exceptional. This week we made.... Chicken in "Gravy" (a cream cheese gravy... yum, yum). This dish was actually pretty delicious. I'd give it a 8.

Well, to close my latest addition of the blog, I can say I've been feeling really good since the new year. Maybe because of the new job or the new prospects. Maybe its just the idea of wiping the slate clean and starting a new year fresh. I dunno. I love new beginnings and I can say for the time being, we are doing alright :) :)

P.S - Its supposed to snow tonight and actually stick!! Jackie -- :) :) Greg -- :( :( (hes not adjusting so well to the cold!)

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....

6 month mark!

Today is our 6 month anniversary! I know, not really a big deal, but still... it makes me happy. We aren't really 'celebrating' but we are acknowledging how much has gone on in the last six months! Sad that half of our 'newlywed' year is over but we are glad we are still going strong :)

Dreary Days...

I hadn't realized it had been so long since I posted! We had a nice quiet Halloween. My friend Stacy from CA came out to visit for the weekend which was nice. But we didn't get one single trick-or-treater... sad :( Oh well. We did carve pumpkins and I showed her some stuff around town.

Greg started work last week. What a roller coaster that has been. It seems as though one day he likes it, the next he hates it. I believe a lot of it has to do with the adjustment of going back to work in general. Probably doesn't help when he leaves and I'm still pleasantly asleep in bed. I'm sure a part of him wishes he was the one not working. I tell him to take it one day at a time. I also try to remind him that this job doesn't have to be permanent but its helping right now.

As far as I'm concerned... no job... still!!! I got on offer and turned it down in hopes that I would get another job I really wanted. Murphy's law: didn't get the job I wanted and too late to get the other job. Bleh. So I am still applying like crazy all over the place, not just to social work jobs either. I had an interview with JC Penney but they were hesitant to take me on b/c I have to take time off in Dec for a wedding and my mom coming into town so I still haven't heard back from them. Had a phone interview with a non-profit company earlier this week. I think I would like the job, the only thing is that I would be working from home with basically no face-to-face interaction with co-workers/supervisors/etc. This would be a big change, but I think I could adjust. We'll see what happens with that job. I am not trying to get excited about it - - as every time I have gotten excited it hasn't worked out. I am just gonna keep at it and keep praying for something to happen. What a toll job searching takes on your self-esteem. The longer you wait, the less worth you feel you have. And the worse jobs you are willing to take/do. Not that there's anything wrong with taking a low-paying job -- as long as it pays the bills right?

I guess we are getting what's left of Ida b/c its rained NONSTOP here for like 24 hours and its supposed to keep raining NONSTOP for another day or so. I guess its good for us b/c we are behind in our average rainfall but we are on a flood watch/warning. Times like this I'm glad I'm home and not braving the wet roadways. However, it makes for a depressing atmosphere. Guess it kind of matches our mood the last few days. Funny how that happens...I normally enjoy the sound of rain but I'm ready for it to stop. Also, the wind is slightly scary. I keep fearing the swaying trees might crash into our apartment. We don't need that kind of excitement, if you know what I mean! "Rain, Rain, go away...."