Random Picture

I didn't take very many pictures when we were up in Connecticut for Thanksgiving, but here is a picture of John, Alisa, Bill and I that came out pretty well.

So...what are you going to do now?

That's all I have been hearing lately: what are you going to do now? Since we lost the election I am out of a job for the first time since college. I was so blessed to land in this office, I started here only a few weeks after graduation and only 2 days after my honeymoon ended. It is hard for me to think of starting the process over--a new office, new boss, new coworkers, etc. It will certainly be a hard adjustment. There are a lot of different options I have been weighing in my mind, discussing with people, and praying about. Do I stay on the hill, try to find something closer to home, does this change the timing of our leaving Washington, DC? Part of me wants to just be in denial and not even think about it!

I have been getting some great suggestions from friends and coworkers, and am certainly open to more ideas!

But for now...the answer is I don't know!

Twenty-six

Happy birthday to me! I am excited about the year ahead--the changes, the challenges, the adventures.

Celebration plans: Hubby is making me dinner tonight, then we are going to the outlets (b-day gift money burning a hole in my pocket--hehe) then to Baltimore to the Art Museum and out to dinner.

I guess 26 isn't too old to be excited about a birthday--I know someday soon I will feel "old" and not want to acknowledge a birthday, but until then: time to party!

Oh, and p.s. happy blog birthday too--it is a year old tomorrow.

Stress is....

your job depending on a "coming from behind" election just two weeks away...

40 billion different options when it comes to refinancing one's house...

one job that makes you take a week off the same week that your spouse is absolutely not allowed to take off...

a school that changes one's schedule (and therefore causing a later graduation date) multiple times with no apologies for messing it up...

I love Fall

It has been a long time since my last update--life has been pretty intense lately. Only 25 more days until the election and we are inundated with political ads, volunteering, poll numbers, and pundits predictions. I am very hopeful for the outcome of the election, I haven't lost total faith in the voters of the U.S. yet! It is sad how selfish and short sighted many people seem to be with their satisfaction of the current administration going up and down with gas prices rather than based on issues like the fact that we haven't had a terrorist attack in the U.S. since Sept. 11th.

In Ronald Reagan's words: "We need more Democrats in the Senate--like Custer needed more arrows."

Bill has been working so hard lately--he has been doing two jobs worth of work load at the office and has a really demanding MBA class. This burden rests on him, but I am trying to help out in any way that I can. We just have to keep the countdown going--five more classes until the degree.

Spoiled

As I sit here at my desk with my lunch of a Mango Apricot yogurt and a blueberry Trader Joes cereal bar staring at me I realize I have no appetite. And I know why. It is all my mom's fault. We visited them over the weekend and she spoiled my stomach with lots of yummy homemade foods. Thanks, Mom, now I have to retrain my stomach back to my normal diet.

Fall Cleaning?

My cleaning style is somewhat haphazard. I get a few minutes here and there and I do whatever is most urgent--clean the bathrooms, wash the underwear, scrub the dishes. It seems like what gets left behind is the general organization and straightening that goes along with having a large chunk of time to devote to cleaning. Cupboards get jumbled, closets get full, whatever isn't urgent (ie, visible to guests, haha) doesn't get done. I really need to devote a day or even a whole weekend to cleaning, organizing, and fall decorating. It will be much less stressful to not have all that hanging over my head, but a lot of tiring hard work to accomplish. Maybe I can do it the last weekend in September, but it might have to wait until Columbus day weekend.

Here's the plan:

Throw away clutter!
Clean high traffic areas of carpet
Empty, clean and reorganize all cupboards in kitchen.
Pack away summer clothes and get out fall/winter clothes.
Wash windows.
Empty and repack downstairs closet
Empty and repack guest bedroom closet
Donate unused clothes to church

Bottom line: don't leave a nook or cranny un-disturbed. Now we will see if I actually follow through....