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...."

ER Visits and Fried Fair Food!!

Hello Hello. I know its been a while since my last post. A lot has occurred!! Where do I start?

On 10/13/09... I went to the ER because my chest pains still hadn't gone away. 3 hours, a few tests and over $1000 later... the doctor basically confirmed what the urgent care doctor had told me... I strained the cartilage in my chest wall. Oh joy :) he gave me some stronger anti -inflammatory drugs and stated it could be 3 or 4 weeks before I'm healed! 3 or 4 weeks... seriously? Bleh....

Last weekend we took a trip to SC to see friends. We went to the SC fair which was fun.. tried the chocolate covered bacon... DISGUSTING. Greg's thought process was "chocolate is good, bacon is great.. why wouldn't it work together?" So in theory I understand where this crazy concoction arose from.... however, the reality of the chocolate covered bacon is foul. I would not recommend it to anyone!

Tuesday Greg signed paperwork for his job so it is now official: he starts Nov. 2nd! Yippee. I'm waiting to hear back from the place I really want to work at but the amount of time that has passed makes me painfully aware that I probably did not get the job :( Which of course depresses me and makes me upset. I really hate looking for work. The looking, the waiting, the interviews. More waiting.... the whole process sucks. I realize that I brought this on myself by moving without having a job secured first which of course just makes me feel even worse. I don't know how long we can go without two incomes. Greg's job will obviously take a huge burden off. I just hope that I can get work soon so that we will still have some sort of savings and prevent ourselves from going into massive debt (although $1000 ER bills don't help - price you pay for no insurance)!

Yesterday Greg and I went to the NC Fair ( I know, two fairs in less than a week - I'm shocked my stomach could handle all the terrible deliciousness). It was awesome. I hate to say it but... way better than the SC Fair! It was much larger and the food options were abundant. I had corn nuggets, corn dog, philly cheesteak, fried cheese nuggets, chocolate covered banana, fried cookie dough and took some kettle corn home :) :) We saw HUGE produce (see pics above)- yes the watermelon is 211 lbs!!!). We saw pig races (and goat and geese races) and rode some rides! Needless to say it was a nice distraction from the job drama.

Tonight we are going to the UNC vs. FSU game (GO NOLES!). I'm excited Greg gets to experience college football the way its meant to be experienced (sorry, san diego state, you do not tailgate the way big teams do in the south!).

Next week we are going to try and get into the Halloween spirit by going out to a pumpkin patch and watch scary movies!

Learning to Disc Golf

Alright.... so the good news is Greg got two job offers!!! He accepted one and is scheduled to start work on Nov. 2nd if all goes well with the background check and all. Yippee!!! I have had a few interviews and two different places. However, both places have stated it might be a while before I hear anything so the great wait continues. I'm super glad things are picking up though - I really didn't want to spend Thanksgiving in a cardboard box because we didn't have any money!!

So... we are still figuring out things in Raleigh and trying to figure out how to pass the time (cheaply, that is!). So... one way we did that was disc golf. I have never disc golfed in my life so needless to say I won't be joining any championship series just yet. Greg of course is excellent and is a very patient teacher so we had fun last week out at the course. Over the weekend, we cleaned and I decorated for Halloween (yippee!). I've been in good spirits since fall has started to come around. I love seeing the leaves change, the weather get just a little cooler and Halloween scenes everywhere. I'm also glad that Greg gets to experience it too since in San Diego, things really didn't change much during the fall.

One bad note... on Saturday I started to have some chest pains and when I tried to pick something up it got very painful for me. I waited it out of course but Tuesday we went to urgent care. The Doc said he thought I strained my chest wall (probably from being a crazy person on the disc golf course). He stated I should feel better in 3-5 days. However, as of yet... there has been no improvement. Lets hope this weekend I start to fell better or back to the doctor I go! I really can't go on with this pain and not being able to pick things up or bend over. So lets keep the healthy thoughts flowing my way.

Overall, lately I feel Greg and I have been in more cheerful mood ... could be the weather but more likely its the good news of the jobs... its definitely starting to look up. Which takes a lot of pressure off of us allowing us to enjoy our time together rather than stress out. Hope everyone out there is doing good :) Thanks for the payers and well wishes :)