Hello to my readers

I am not able to keep up with this blog much anymore, for obvious reasons, also due to a lack of interest. I will continue to keep this blog up and maybe contribute from time to time. My apologies!

Life has been very busy. I am still working full-time in a new department for my company, have been there for 7 months now and am enjoying it very much. My daughter just finished 3rd grade and is very excited that summer is finally here. We are now living in a house, which I have probably already mentioned, and are hoping that in the next year or two we will be able to finally purchase a home. We are ready to become home owners and are very hopeful that this dream will finally come true. It's been a long work in progress.

Now onto my kitchen, which is so big that I can fit a lot of people in it, I am working a very hectic schedule then I head straight to the gym after work, but on my days off (I work four 10 hour shifts, so I have a three day weekend) I am cooking and enjoying the ability to cook in a large kitchen. Needless to say it makes my family very happy when I am able to do so.

That's about it for now!

Wow it's been a while

I am very terrible at this. Things have been incredibly busy since November and things are finally slowing down (thank god!). First off, a shout out to paguy54- I am glad the recipe worked well for you! Thank you for stopping by my blog!

So there have been many changes to our household since I last blogged. No, I am not pregnant (hahahahhaha, that would be the day!), but we found a house we liked and moved, get this, on December 27th. December was a completely terrible month and due to unforeseen circumstances we had to get out of the apartment we were renting before the new year (long story short, the landlord upped the rent incredibly high and we did not have a lease so we said forget it, we'll find a new place). On top of this we had a lot of snow which made it impossible to get to work (eventually my hubby drove me in his 4wd SUV). We had so much snow it crippled a lot of stuff for everyone in our county, even in the entire state of Washington. It made moving a challenge but luckily by December 27th we started thawing out. We found a 2 bed, 1 bath house near where we were living. The owners are very nice and are interested in possibly selling this to us in the next 2-3 years, so we're going to take that into consideration. It has 1/4 acre of land (loving it!), a carport, a huge utility room with a washer and dryer, and a huge kitchen which you know I am absolutely in love with! There are a lot of quirks with this house though- a lot of work needs to be done to it- such as replacing all windows. They are singlepane and the house stays very cold. We also need to have the drywall replaced as it seems like it needs to be. We also need to update the kitchen, because it's very 70's Brady Bunch. We're talking orange countertops, brown linenoleum, and 70's appliances. That said, I absolutely love my kitchen. I do not have a dishwasher but I am fine with that. My oven is on the wall and that is something I've always wanted. It's very exciting to have a HOUSE!

After we moved in and the weather started cooperating (warming up and melting), we ended up with some flooding in our county. It was so bad in certain spots that the river actually crested and flooded some major areas. We were not affected and no one we knew was, but it was pretty scary to see the river so high. January is a month I'll never forget.

Work is going great- I just passed my 90 day probation period in the new department I am in and am doing great. I also celebrated my first year anniversary with my company.

My daughter is doing good in school, still has her moments of can't stop talking-itis (then again she is my daughter), but is doing well. She has adapted very well to the move, and has several friends in this area she can play with and ride bikes with. It makes me feel good to see she has a lot of different friends she can play with, and the neighborhood we live in is very nice.

Other than that, we are doing good- my husband is still employed, thank god, and work has picked up. I feel incredibly lucky to have survived the anxiety and craziness of the holiday season and the move. We are very blessed.

I'm freezing

It's really not that cold, but for some reason, I am freezing. It hasn't really been that cold up here in the Pacific Northwest to say the least. It's actually been quite mild, and we just turned our heaters on this week. Normally we turn them on during the last week of October. The cold I feel is settling in my bones, like arthritis. I have discussed it with my doctor who said because of the family history of arthritis, I might have the beginnings of it, so I'm doing all I can to stop the cold from setting in. My husband recommended taking a cheap pair of gloves and cutting the fingertips off, that way while I'm working on the computer at work, my knuckles are protected. So far it works, luckily.

What I am not looking forward to is ice- I am deathly afraid of it. Having grown up in California it's not something I am used to, and even though we have been here for 5 years now, I still cannot get used to the ice that we get. I just hope that it's not so bad this year. I worry about missing work due to inclement weather, and know it's inevitable, but the loss of wages is a real fear I live with (who doesn't?). My husband is still working at his job but who knows what the future has to hold with the way the economy has been lately? Luckily I'm in a pretty secure job, but at the same time, I worry about my husband, who is our main breadwinner. We'll see what happens. I've taken the steps necessary to try to prevent a huge problem down the road but again, what we need are savings. It's kind of hard to do with impending medical bills, insurance for vehicles, and everything else that goes along with providing to maintain a roof over our heads and food in our stomachs. I know we will make it though.

Speaking of work, my new position is going well, but it is very challenging, which I like, but I am mentally and even physically exhausted at the end of the day. I haven't delved into it deeper than what I have done already (still in the middle of training), but I am hopeful I will do a good job. It's a completely different field for me (same company, different department), which is why I chose it. We shall see what happens.

With that, I wish all Americans a very happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Random thoughts

-Is there a general stereotype that all plus sized people just wish to wear goth, renaissance or muu muu-like clothing? Herein lies my gripe: I go onto eBay to look for plus sized dresses and about 85% of the search is usually in those categories. Do we really all fit in that category? What about the working plus sized woman? Or the person who happens to be looking for a dress she can wear to a holiday party that doesn't look like it came from the Dark Ages (or that she can sleep in)? Seriously?

-Halloween was interesting. I went out last night to a local event, watched a costume contest and had a good time with some friends. Funniest part about it was I saw a lot of people dressed up as Sarah Palin! That seems to be a popular theme this year...anyhow...not going into politics, that is NOT my style, I just thought I'd mention it! Unfortunately it did not pan out for the child, who is coughing as I type this. We did not go trick or treating, but we took her to a local haunted house and to a friend's house for candy (asked to bring her by, so I obliged). Needless to say, my daughter was crushed, but this cough has been lingering for about 2 weeks now and it's not getting better. Work was fun, we had a costume contest and good food which was actually catered by the local Hilltop restaurant (shout-out!). They brought us some delicious breakfast burritos, trays of fresh fruit, coffee cake and sticky buns. It was a delicious feast and was very appreciated- thank you Hilltop!

-Work is going well on my end, unfortunately, my husband found out that his company is doing lay-offs and it's possible that he might be losing his job. He's been looking for a job in the meanwhile. He's always been interested in trucking, and while I'm not too keen on the idea of being a single mom for weeks at a time, unless he gets local routes, it is more money, I guess that is better, huh? Maybe we could finally be on our way to home ownership. *Sigh*. I'm a bit nervous about the possiblity of being the sole breadwinner, but we do not have credit card debt and are typically conservative with our money. We have not been eating out as much recently (with exception to this week because it's just been crazy), don't go out to do much, and typically only carry my student loans as debt which I am paying off (looking into putting them into forbearance once again if necessary). The only thing we lack, like most Americans, are savings. It's been impossible with my medical bills that have piled up, the cost of fuel and groceries that have gone up, not to mention all the other incidentals of daily life (like every other Average Joe out there), such as vehicle repairs. Don't get me started on my husband's Towncar. Our family vehicle might need a new transmission. Another *sigh*. Luckily he has his gas guzzler to get him to and from work, and I have my truck. And luckily gas prices have been coming down, but we're still trying to conserve where we can and combine all trips.

-In conclusion, after a few panicky moments on Wednesday and Thursday, I think the motto was "Life's a shit sandwich", but even if I stress out for a moment (or in my case, an entire DAY), I'll roll with whatever life throws at me. What's next? I gotta laugh...right?

Wow, where did October go?

We're already in the last week of October and I'm scratching my head. It has truly been a monumental month, needless to say. I turned 30 on the 11th, got a job in another (non-customer service) department and am transferring next week, soccer season just ended, and work has been incredibly busy lately.

With all of the craziness I decided I would start cooking again anyhow- I got into a mood to cook and pulled out this binder thing I am subscribing to (Great American Recipes or something) and made a few of their recipes. Of the few I made, Chicken Stroganoff and Spaghetti Lasagna were our favorites. The weirdest thing? I hate mushrooms. Now? I like them. It makes no sense at all, but I'm rolling with it. Miss Finicky (my daughter) even likes them, which surprised me as well. Now that it's getting colder, I'm getting in the mood to cook. It'll be no time before I pull out my good ole Crockpot Beef Stew recipe and make that again as well.

We're up in the Pacific Northwest, and I'm noticing that apples are more expensive this year (particularly my favorite- Honey Crisp) and that pumpkins are still green. It's very bizarre. We went to a local pumpkin patch a few weeks ago and we could not find a good pumpkin this year. We're probably going to pick up one at the grocery store. I read that it was just abnormally cold this year which is why the crops for pumpkins and apples are late bloomers this year. In any case, I cannot wait until Friday- and can I just reiterate how excited I am that Halloween happens to fall on a Friday night? How fun!