My week of Unemployment

Don't be fooled by the title of this post, the previous post is still legit. I do have a new job, I just have this entire week off before my adult life starts again.

I will say, I don't know how stay-at-home moms do it. I don't even have kids, and I have found things to occupy my time everyday this week. I took Barkley to get her annual immunizations today, just like any good mom, and I could barely handle getting her in the car and into the vet. How do moms do it with children? I do not know, but props to all you out there.

My week so far has been filled with cleaning (lots of cleaning), gardening, hanging out with Barkley in the backyard while eating a bowl of cherries, pedicures with my mom, going to the vet, getting my hair did, nap time, redoing a dresser, and making breakfast, lunch and dinner (all at home, that is a record). It's only been 2 days, and I still have a million things on my To-Do list, but it sure feels good to actually get some stuff done around the house.

So, this one is to unemployment, just for a week. I think that my wallet will be much happier when I go back to work. (Does anyone else notice how much more money you spend when you are off work doing craft projects around the house? geesh.)

Another chapter closed

Friday was my last day at Hewlett Packard. I hadn't publically posted that on the blog yet, because I wanted to wait until my 2 weeks was up. I got a new job at Sandia Labs that I am SUPER excited about. I will be working approximately 4 minutes from home (compared to my previous 45 minute commute to and from my previous job), working in the same building as my dad and sister (can you say free lunch multiple times per week??), and doing something I will really enjoy (more business/marketing). Needless to say, I'm excited. I've been looking for a new job for months now, and with the economy we are in, it seemed almost impossible. I can't explain how blessed I've been in my whole job search. I've had multiple interviews at other companies, but nothing else seemed like it was right. I didn't want to leave one job for another job that I'd hate in a few months. So, I waited. I was patient, way more patient than I ever thought I could be, and then this job just kind of happened.

I put my 2 weeks in at HP, and couldn't wait for my last day there. Once you are checked out of a job, it's really hard to go to work. But, on Friday, I almost didn't want my last day to end there. HP was my first professional job after college. It was the job that allowed Dylan and I to make real adult purchases like fun vacations, lots of clothes, and even a car. It was the job that made my resume more than just a "recent college grad". I have met some of my closest friends there, and if you work in an office, you understand just how close you can be to the people you work with. One in particular, my BFF Amanda (AKA Manders Martin-ez). Amanda and I started on the same day, and we have been together every minute at work since. Amanda and I are complete opposites. I'm married, Mormon, vanilla (Mander's nickname for people of the Caucasian classification). Amanda has a healthy dating life, Catholic, and Mocha.

Over the past year and a half, I have spent more time with Amanda during the week than I've spent with my own husband. I knew it was going to be hard leaving, but as we stood at her desk on my last few minutes in the building, I never imagined myself crying. Yes, crying, like a little baby. Amanda and I stood there, in the middle of a building with 1,200 workers, hugging and crying. It was a bittersweet moment as I closed this chapter in my life. I have loved the people I've met in this job, and though I've decided another path will be better career-wise for me, I am glad to have had the experience I had there. Not to be sappy, but everything we go through changes us in some way.

I am excited to start my new chapter, but sad to be leaving all the good friends and memories I have made. If you watch The Office, you kind of get what it's like to work where I work. It's crazy, super stereotypical, boring, borderline HR issues non-stop, and more entertaining than the actual show itself.

I have the next week off work before I start my new job, so I will be relaxing, cleaning, and of course shopping. Love my life :)

Food Poison

Not literally, but Dylan and I have a big problem when it comes to food. It is impossible for us to eat at home. I go to the store, buy groceries, and then we eat out. We are so lame. I don't think we've gone an entire week of not eating out the entire time we've lived in Albuquerque. I love the grocery store, and especially COSTCO!!! I could name at least 10 things I love about Costco off the top of my head, yet I buy the food and then don't' eat it. We throw away a lot of groceries too, which makes me realize even more that we have a serious problem. We're wasters.

So, this is my pledge. In May (give me the rest of the week to ween ourselves) we will try to eat at home for 5 days in a row, M-F of every week. I'm not going to like it, but my wallet and belt will thank me for it.

Night with Nat (and Russ and Dylan)

The highlight of the month of April lasted for only 12 hours. I got to have Natalie and her brother Russ stay at our house when they were driving through Albuquerque. I'm so glad the Albuquerque is in the middle of 2 major highways, then people HAVE to stay at my house.

We started the night off with Dions pizza, of course. Then finished the night off with some Dunkin Donuts. It was the perfect night.

Natalie loved Barkley, so I hope she comes back to visit soon. It is so fun to catch up with old friends, and it's the best when it feels like you didn't even miss a beat. Natters is one of my dearest friends, and I love haging out with her. We started our love (or more like hate) for running together, love weight watchers, and love any and everything with desserts. I wish I lived closer to my BFF's, but then I probably would never want to hang out with my husband (no hard feelings Dylster).

The Lewis family is seriously one of the best families. I'm so lucky to have been an Eastsida with them (inside joke). And, I get to see more of the Lewis family in a few weeks when Russ and Camille drive through. I love having a guest bedroom.... hint hint (anyone, please come visit).

You've had a birthday, shout Ruff Ruff

It was Barkley's 2nd Birthday a few weeks ago. She's getting so big. We can't believe she is already 2 years old. She's hardly a toddler anymore. She's almost an adult dog which we can feed adult dog food too (there are all kinds of dog foods, it's ridiculous).

For her birthday we got her a birthday cake from this adorable dog bakery called 3 Dog Bakery. I got a groupon (holla) to spend $15 there for only $7. (love groupon). We got her a birthday cake, an eclair, and a cupcake. She was in doggy heaven. We had a little birthday party with her friend Sadie.

I'm the Baby, gotta love ME!!

(For Katie, this is our little townhome. 3 bedroom, 2 bath, way too much space for spoiled newlyweds)

Aren’t parents the best? Seriously. My parents live up to this reputation at all times, and so do their parents. This weekend was wonderful. We went to lunch at this super tasty burger joint, 5 Star Burgers, complementary of my Grandpa Lew, to find some wonderful news. Remember my dilemma below? Well, my parents are going to take over my sister’s house for her for the next few years until she is done with her PhD and let Dylan and I continue to live there for super cheap. Can you even believe these words are for real? My parents spoil me too much. We get to stay in the same house, with the same ward, and pay the same amount in rent J We are so lucky. Seriously. I was really stressing about finding a new place to live, and it’s amazing how things just always work out. We’ve been really lucky to be back in New Mexico close to our families. We love it here, and we love our families (yes, I’m cheesy). Now that we have the living situation figured out, I just need a job closer to home to save on gas money. That will be our new dilemma, any suggestions?

This makes it all worth it....

Now, there are days when I say that I want a new job. And, that's fair. In the adult world, I can't think of anyone who actually would rather go to work than sleep in and play all day. (If that is you, then you are a sick sick person). But, there are some days that make waking up at the ungodly hour of 5 AM, driving 45 minutes to and from work, putting 400 miles a week on my brand new car, and all the other blah, blah, blahs of having a job actually worth it. Friday was one of those days. Take a look at the picture above. That's me with my brand new camera that I got for FREE from work. That's right FREE. A very expensive camera for free. I don't know anything about SLR cameras or mega pixels or anything really, but I have a way sweet camera now for when we do decide to have kids (that is not a hint at ALL!!!). It's a Nikon 3100 (I got to choose between the D500 and this one, but all the reviews said this one was better with video stuff and higher mega pixel. Again, I have no idea what these things really do). Love my life, and lots of pictures to follow.

Our Dilemma

If you don't want to hear me complain/rant, then you should stop reading this now.

Here's our situation: We LOOOVE our house that we live in. It was such a wonderful upgrade from an apartment, and quite honestly, I don't think I could ever move back into a little apartment where you can hear your neighbors do everything. And, I don't want to. We've been so spolied in this house, and even more spoiled because we're renting from family. Basically, we pay the same for rent as we would for an apartment. (and some of the apartments I've looked at, we pay less!!!). It's honestly the best sitauation. We pay apartment-like rent for a house... and did I mention how nice it is to park in a garage?

But now, we must come to a decision. My sister is moving to Texas in the fall to get her PhD, so we can't rent from her anymore. She's selling her house, and we are not in a place to buy right now (we have no idea where we will be in the next year, so we don't want to buy now and then have to rent/sell in a year). I do not want to move out of the area we are living in, but I also don't want to rent an apartment in the area. So, we're stuck. Do we buy? Do we rent an overpiced house that makes you sick thinking about writing your rent check? Do we rent a little creepy apartment in a super ghetto area (not that our house is in a better area, but it's way diferent in a house than an apartment complex). We have found some houses to rent that are for a decent price, but we'd have to move, and that seriously depresses me. It's not that I love the area so much, we've just really gotten used to it. Dylan's family claims the West side, my parents have the East Side, and this was our own little area. The main reason is we love our ward so much, and don't want to start all over in a new one. So, for now, we're homeless (well atleast in the near future).

If anyone wants us to live with them, just let me know. We are great roomates, and we'll even go halfers on the rent with you.

Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh you guys

If any of you have seen the musical Legally Blonde, you get the title. I saw Legally Blonde last weekend with my mom. She has season tickets to Popejoy (UNM’s theatre) and my sisters and I each get to pick a play we want to see with her every year. We all got to see Wicked, which was AMAZING, but Legally Blonde was right up my ally, so I chose that one for the Mom/Daughter date of the year. I LOOOOOOOVED it. I can’t even tell you how entertained I was. Maybe because I’m blonde, maybe because I love chick-flick stories. I was loving my life the whole time.

And, I’m going to say it, I even liked it more than Wicked. ( I can hear a huge GASP that so many of you are letting out). But it’s true. I guess I’m a true air-head, or maybe I’m legally blonde too.

I've come to the conclusion....

That blog-stalking is bad for your health.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good blog-stalking session where I can click and creep into other people's lives. BUT- it can really bring out the envious factor in one's life. I get jealous looking at all my friends that have had babies and are already soooo skinny, way skinnier than me and I haven't carried a fetus in my belly. Then I look at all my friends who have husbands that are done with school and working and all the nice fun things they have and get to do. I would never think of these things or have doubts in myself if I didn't read these blogs.

So, people, please post more of the bad things in your life. Thanks :)