Where You Been?

I am sure you are all wondering where the hell I have been for the past few weeks. Sometimes I have wondered that myself. With that in mind, here is an update.

- I have been unemployed since 3/20/09. It was a decision we made based on the really shitty working environment (Boss swearing and yelling at employees, belittling, demoralizing, asking me to things that are illegal. Good times.) We are doing fine, fortunately for this fool hardy Libra I married someone who is excellent with money, so that really helped.

- I have LOVED the time off. I feel blessed and so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend the time with my youngest, and now the oldest is out of school tomorrow which only adds to the blessings. I have watched my youngest go from crawling to walking to running. She is now babbling constantly in her adorable language and I cannot describe the joy I feel in being a part of it. (There are days tho when the whining and having her attached to me all the time is quite annoying...no doubt about that). With my oldest she has been learning Irish dance and is doing very well and she had a narrator part in the Christian Education Sunday at our church so had to memorize and speak in front of the congregation. Before I left work, I would never get to see her dance at practice each week and watch her grow, or have enough time to help her memorize parts. The blessings abound!

- I have walked everyday, well almost everyday. I am up to between 4 -7.5 miles depending on the time I have available. I mostly take the baby with me, as she loves to be outside. I set a goal to exercise everyday, which I have achieved and as a result I have lost 14 pounds and feel great.

- Next week I am starting belly dance lessons.

- We went to the zoo. That was a great experience as we took my oldest out of school on a Wednesday - which was a surprise for her. We got to see the new Madagascar exhibit, kind of lame, but mostly enjoyed it as the weather was perfect, the animals were more active than I have seen in a long time, and it was not crowded at all. We decided to do it because she had done so well in school, with dance, and helping out with her sister. For her grades she had all "O's" for Outstanding, won an award for reading the most books in her entire charter school - both the elementary and middle (there is no high school yet), won an award for the best Dible score 233 with the average being 90, and took 2nd place in the school spelling bee. I am always amazed and in awe of her, she inspires me on so many levels.

- I have finished 12 books while I have been off. Most of them fiction, but I did manage to read "Art of War" again, which I love.

- I have applied for 27 jobs, been called to 9 interviews, no offers yet. I am not worrying about it yet as I know of many others who are not even having interviews.

- I had lunch with two great friends, had a day out with one of my oldest friends, and have talked on the phone with another overseas.

- I have reorganized all the closets and cupboards, I pulled all the weeds (today), helped my oldest clean her room donating 2 boxes to charity - now we need to rearrange it, and finally updated my iPod. The photo organizing is still on my to do list and I WILL get it done before I find a job.

- I finished out the regular season of TV shows and had some real cliffhangers (Criminal Minds, CSI NY, and Castle), some disappointments (Amazing Race and Dancing With The Stars - I would say American Idol, but I actually did not watch the whole season and think Adam is better off having not won). Now I am into my summer shows - Psych and Monk starting soon, the Bachelorette, Deadliest Warrior, and for my oldest "Wipeout". Yes, I watch too much TV...but would you believe me if I told you it is on merely for background noise most of the time?

So that is what I have been up to. Later this month I will be helping out with Vacation Bible School, attending the Irish Dance competition, ferrying kids to playdates and swim lessons, and holding down the fort while D goes to the WSOP tournament in Vegas. In July we are going on Vacation to Sun River, Oregon..I am really looking forward to that.

Hopefully I will have pictures up soon.

Oh, and that swing set my husband started last summer? It is finally finished as of today and it is awesome! He may be slow, but he is damn good and thorough.