Juice Fast day 3

Well I had another set back last night. My dinner juice was disastrous. I drank as much of it as I could. I used way too much onion. I made the VGR8. I threw the rest out because I knew I wouldn't be able to save it. I ate one wheat cracker I was so upset.

I also made orange and pineapple juice for breakfast. There was a lot of it so I haven't made my lunch juice yet. I plan on putting some basil in my lunch juice. Not sure what I am gonna do for dinner. I might just make the mean green again with spinach.


Ok well I tried a new recipe for dinner juice. I made it at lunch. It had carrots, beets, lemon, and ginger. I didn't end up eating it though. I decided to fall off the wagon. After all it is Christmas. David and I had salad with Balsamic dressing and mac and cheese. I am going to try to continue my juice fast for breakfast and lunch and eat a sensible dinner.

I feel bad for falling off the wagon but I missed eating food. I was also getting sick of cleaning the juicer at least twice a day.

Enough with the excuses though. I am going to work out tom. I think I am going to attempt the couch 2 5K again. Nothing big I am planning for but I need to do it.

Juice Fast for better health

After watching "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" on Netflix a couple of weeks ago I was inspired to get a juicer. I thought about starting a 60 day juice fast but it seems like a long time to drink only juice. I have decided only to do a juice fast for 10 days.

I am thinking about following the Reboot program of 5-5-5. It is 5 days of eating raw foods and juicing, 5 days of juicing, and finished by 5 days of eating raw foods and juicing. After my 10 days of juicing ends I will start the Reboot program. I might do this until I reach 60 days and see how much weight I have lost.

I am on day 2 right now. I had a carrot juice blend this morning that was pretty good. I had added a little too much ginger.

Recap of day 1.
Breakfast was Apple Pie juice. It was yummy had lots of energy after eating it.
Lunch was Mean Green juice. It grew on me as I drank it.
Dinner was Miss Scarlet juice. This juice had beets in it and peppers. The tomatoes were not big enough and did not give enough flavor. The flavor was a little over whelming. I am supposed to make it again 2 more times for this week. Not sure if I will or if I will try and alter the recipe so it isn't so strong.

I am thinking about adding basil to my Mean green lunch juice. I might try that tom.!

Rest of the day will be spent vegging out on the couch watching old shows and maybe a Christmas movie!

Our Wedding!

 Mr. & Mrs. Gerdeman

Our Fabulous wedding Party (minus one :( 

At the winery! One of my favorites

Wedding party again!

More details to follow. I go back to work tomorrow and have been working on getting the house organized before I go back.

doggy deeds

Coda was lying on the table(my dumpster dive) next to my computer. Knowing he was in trouble this was all I caught before he got down. I think he needs to go to doggy day care. He needs to learn to be left without us and to deal with other dogs in an appropriate way. We may go check out a place tonight or tomorrow that is across the street. It has pretty good reviews so I am not too worried.

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Career Woes

With a new week starts new opportunities. 

Last week I had my tour. It went well but it was only a tour. No job offer there unfortunately. 

The CPR and first aid class was ok. It was just another CPR/First Aid class and is something I can put on my resume. 

I had a nanny interview on Sat. at the clients house. The interview went ok.  I am not sure if I will get chosen for the job.

I also had a phone interview for a customer service job. I really wanted the job. The screener said he would get back to me in the next few days if I was chosen for an in house interview. I haven't heard anything and it has been two working days (three if you include Saturday which they are open). 

I have an interview tom. for another nanny position. I also have an interview for a sales job. I am not excited about the sales interview and might cancel it. The nanny job is with a little girl that I am actually excited about. The pay isn't great but I think it will be good to work with a little girl. It will also give me flexibility in my schedule to do things around the house. I could potentially get another part-time job. 

I am looking for customer service positions. I think that is a better fit. I also still want to pursue the teaching opportunity. If I take the nanny job I will be able to pursue teaching  too.

Today's chocolate- Chocolate covered cherries because we are having cherry pies tonight.

Which direction to go

Well I have interesting developments in the job department. 

I have interviewed with a family for a nanny position on Friday. I am not too hopeful about the outcome because they may not have anyone to cover the time in May I need off for the wedding.

I also got in touch with Susan's brother-in-law about taking a tour of his place of work on Mon. David insists it is an interview. I kind of agree since he keeps making it sounds like I should be dressed up but not have open toed shoes on. I have to go get a shirt that fits under my suit tom.

I also am signed up for CPR and First aid classes on Fri. for my MBF registration. 

I have a few options in the career department but I am not sure what will happen as of right now. 

I have to say I am hoping for the nanny job. I would not be adverse to a job at my friends brother-in-laws company either depending on what I would be doing. I will see if the nanny jobs comes through on Sun. If not I will head off to the interview/tour on Mon. If nothing comes of that I will take my CPR/First Aid on Fri. 

I hope I have some work soon.

Today's chocolate-Yummy oreo truffles! wish I had some.

Unemployed Bliss

Well, I am back home again!
It was a short trip.
I got a call to go to work about one week ago. I left on Mon. because my boss said I needed to be to work the next night I had to travel 10 hours to the Pan-handle. I got there to find I did not have to work. I was pretty upset as I didn't get to say goodbye to David. I then worked on Wednesday night. The working conditions were not good. The equipment to be used was awful. I was using a computer with Windows 2000 and computers mounted to a wall. There were problems with equipment that lasted four days. Then the managers were a pain about us telling the client things were not working. I believe in honesty. If you sell a client on a certain product and then give them old crap, which doesn't work, I think the client should know why.
Well after all the drama I then had to work on a rig when it was -7 wind chill. It was awful. I was dressed as warmly as possible. I weather proofed the trailer and then went about my job. I was catching samples less often then required. I did not feel I was doing a good job. I can't stand not doing a job when I know I can do better. I decided to 'twist off' as was said to me by an old co-worker. I left with about 19 hours notice. I had already given my two weeks notice but I didn't feel I could continue in the conditions present.

I then had to drive home through the STORM. The worst of my travel was around the Fort Worth Area. Luckily I went around on a back highway, it took a little longer but I got around. I did get flipped off by a Texas because I was following too closely. Apparently people in Texas are scared of snow and ice and don't know how to drive on it. So I was an anomaly driving relatively fast on the ice and snow.

I finally got home and am really happy to be back. I am still pursuing job opportunities. Hopefully, one of those will come through soon. I need to go get my CPR class done to be ready for the nanny job.
I will start working out more and doing ChaCha while I am in my down time. I have bought some more wedding stuff and need to pay for them, or help pay for them.
I am still thinking about what I want to do in the future. I still like the idea of being a teacher.
I may do the interactive part of What color is your umbrella? to see what I come up with.

Coda on the arm of the chair.

Today's chocolate-homemade chocolate covered fried ice cream Yumo!

The choice of chocolate

Well, what a difference a day makes. I got a call yesterday to go to work. I knew that if I really thought about it too much before I left I wouldn't go. I called David and kind of made the decision to go. I didn't actually even have all of the details. I had an idea of where to go and how long it would take to get there. 

The drive out of Houston was fine. I got just outside of the city and I started to feel weird. I am not sure if it was something I ate or drank or if I was just stressed out. I couldn't really focus on anything. My vision wasn't blurry but I couldn't focus on one thing. I tried to keep calm and keep going. 

I got to the hotel around 1am. I was super tired and turned in for the night. I had a hard time sleeping because I was regretting my decision to come also my roommate was snoring pretty loudly. 

Today I wake up and my roommate is heading out to go pick up her car. I sleep until about 9:30 and decide to get up. Not really knowing where to go or what to do I head out on the town. There is nothing around, it is 40 miles to anything I would call civilized (Walmart, McDonalds). I drove around for a while. I then talked to my friend Jenna, and she gave me some advice, advice I had pretty much given her when she was in my situation last year. I appreciate it a lot. 

Then I went back to the hotel. My roommate arrived and we bitched and fussed about work a bit. We figured out where the site was and headed out to find it. We met the company man and the rig up team and were told we would be working on Wednesday. I was a little less than happy! I had another whole day in a strange town 10 hrs from my fiancée with no pay and nothing to do. I got back ate a muffin and surfed. I am becoming a surfing pro(the internet that is).

I talked to my sister twice too. The first time was explaining my situation and hearing about her job woes. The second time we were trying to figure out what I should do about my job dilemma and what career would be a better fit for me. 

Honestly, I know there are a lot of things I could do, but there are not a lot of things I want to do. I want to be a mom. I want to help kids. I want to teach them cool and exciting things about math and science and things they can create. I want them to use that creativity to challenge themselves to create new and better technologies for the world. I want to inspire them to find their true calling in life, Whatever that may be. Not what someone else wants but what they want. 

I talked to my cousin Amy as well. She is planning on coming to stay with David and I in the fall next year while she completes an internship. We are really excited. I mentioned my dilemma with work. She said if D makes enough to support us then it would be hard for her to stay too. 

I just keep thinking how I would like to spend the time at home. How I have done this for a year and shouldn't that be enough. When do I get to enjoy my life? Haven't I suffered enough? 

I have come to this conclusion. I will stay, even though it will be one of the hardest things I have had to do. The only way I am quiting is if another offer comes along in the Houston area and I can make most of the money to cover my bills. I will know that I will quit after this job if I can not do this any longer. It might turn out this is not what I signed up for and I will quit and go home tomorrow (depends on the equipment and how my shift goes). It may end up I will make it to the end of the well. 

I will take it one day at a time and see which chocolate I choose from the box of life.

Today I got a coconut filled chocolate-yuck, it doesn't leave a very good taste in my mouth but it still is chocolate.

Interviews

The next logical step in the job search process is getting called for the interview. 

 I am happy to report I got called for a few of these. I have already turned down an insurance agent position. I am not a sales person. I do not want to become one. I like to work with people but I do not want to try and sell people a product. A life of sales does not have any appeal to me. 

I also got interviewed for a few nanny positions. I am still waiting to hear back about those and I am trying to be patient. I did get my certification for CPR and first aid. I am hoping this will help me in my future nanny applications. 


I also went to an informational meeting for an admissions position at a small college. It relates to sales that I will be on the phone all of the time calling people to try and see if they are actually interested in attending the school. I will then have to access the interested person and see if they are serious about completing a degree with the school. I think I could do ok in this position. It would be high stress but I think it would be very rewarding to see a student I helped start school graduate college. I hope I hear back about this position next week.


I have been sending out Thank You notes after each of these interviews. I already received one response about the thank you. I think it is important to let the potential employer know how much you appreciate their time.


I don't plan to hear much more this weekend about jobs but hopefully we will do something fun this weekend. 


I got groceries today, and went to the library.
I also made pizza and plan on making roast tom. or on Sun.
Money is starting to come in from refunds from insurance checks and other sources. Finally!
I am still using Varolo.com, hits4pay, swagbucks, and recently added mypoints. It will probably take some time to build up to a gift card but better to start now then later when we really need it!

Job in an internet haystack

Being out of work stinks.

Just thought I would get that off my chest.

Anyway. I have been moved into the apartment and supposed to be back to work for a week now. That would be four weeks without work to the day. Now I don't know if I am being unreasonable but I planned to go back to work when I wanted. Yes, I do have a job that is variable. I planned to be off work for the month of Jan. so I have those bills paid. I did not figure that I would be off work into Feb. and wondering how I will pay those bills.

This leads to the question doesn't David make enough you don't have to work? Well hypothetically yes. Realistically we have a wedding to pay for in May. This fact makes me very nervous. I would usually be ok with the fact I am off for a month. But the fact that I have a wedding to pay for is freaking me out a bit.

I have been anxiously searching for jobs all week. I have tried a lot of places. I think part of my problem may have been my resume so I revamped it. Now it is streamlined, bulleted and airy. I am not sure if I like the new resume but if employers do well that is all that matters.
I never thought it would be so hard to find a good job. I can do so many things. I am a hard worker, great multi-tasker and fast!

Ah, well.

We finally went out and did something fun tonight. We tried a Mediterranean restaurant. It was cafeteria style but really good. I wish I had taken a picture!

Tom. we are going out with friends from Ohio for Texas BBQ. I will try and remember to take pics!

Goal next week is to get a new job and go to the library.

Natural Family Planning

Today was a great day! David and I relaxed at home for a while. I got to exercise. We had some maintenance issues taken care of and headed out to run some errands. Then we got home and I did some chores and David got dinner around. He made BBQ chicken pizza with pineapple, onions, and banana peppers. It was delicious! I am very grateful my future husband is such a good cook. BUT this means I get to do dishes most of the time (YUCK!!!) After the below events of the evening (sensitive info) I made doggy treats for Coda.

Coda in bedrom

 David made granola bars for his breakfast every morning. I can't wait to try them! I will post pics of the bars tom! All in all it was a pretty good day! I received the Night Star (Immortals) today in the mail and can't wait to read it tonight. 

NOTE: Subject matter below deals with religious and sexual issues.

  NFP or Natural Family Planning is the Catholic Practice (Couple to Couple League) of tracking a woman's menstrual cycle in order to determine fertile and infertile times for the purpose of family planning (based on Theology of the body). David and I are currently reading & learning the home study course while I am at home. I will continue tracking my cycle while at work. Thus far it is going well. Nothing too graphic or embarrassing has come up for us. Don't get me wrong though, if you haven't discussed bodily issues such as this in your relationship it may be uncomfortable to say the least.

Why NFP you ask? Well David and I have decided not to have children right away. I do not believe in taking the pill as it is an abortive. I do not like the idea of having sex and creating a child and not providing the right environment for the child, as a woman, and the child dying because of my choices (the pill does not allow attachment of the embryo). Also condoms are not an option because they also prevent the will of God. If God so chooses to bless David and I with a child we have decided we will accept his gift. Right now we are not financially stable and do not feel we have the resources to provide for a child. Therefore we will practice NFP to aid in preventing pregnancy. If we happen to conceive we will accept the child as a blessing from God and raise him or her the best we can with what we have.

Moving into the New Year

Welcome to 2011!
Changes are a comin' this year. I will be getting married. I have moved to Texas with my wonderful fiancée and dog Coda. Lets begin with moving.
First a recap of the end of 2010:
 My whirlwind adventure at home began after getting off work in mid-Dec. I then drove home through all sorts of weather.  I didn't hit bad weather until Illinois where it was freezing rain. I saw an accident happen behind me and then was stopped in traffic 3 times after that for accidents (Luckily I wasn't stopped for too long). I finally made it to Indiana where it was snowing! I continued my journey and after a brief stop (1 hour power nap) arrived at home and attempted to sleep. My family loves me so much they kept me up.
 My best friend from High School got married the weekend I got home. I was busy Friday night and Saturday with wedding events. I was so honored to be a part of her and her husbands special day. I got to experience a new culture and receive an awesome cultural item!
 Christmas came and went with lots of good food and good times with family and friends (see last post). David and I hope to make it home as much as we can but we do have financial limitations just as everyone does.
 New Years Eve 2010 was a whirlwind of adventure! David and I went so many places. First we went to the Fuersts  house for dinner (Mexican YUM!). Then we headed to Rimer to see my best friend from high school Greg and his family. Next was Ottawa to see my sister and David's friends. Then we headed to my parents to say Hi! Finally we ended the night at another one of David's friends house. I really enjoyed seeing all of David's friends (they were mine too) and spending time with them. Luckily we can keep in touch through Facebook and being Techies as they are will never be too far away really!

New Year
Here are my goals for the New Year
Personal:
Continue to lose weight! (Healthy eating & Portion control)
Read more books
Volunteer
Save money

Couple:
Save money
Buy a couch, filing cabinet, hammock swing.

Here are a few pics of our new digs! I am not much of a decorator but here is what I have come up with. Somehow  I was able to pull together a color scheme of blues and browns and my pictures etc I have received over the years all match! Crazy!

Bathroom

 Bathroom

Bedroom

Closet

Wine needed after unpacking!

Kitchen

David's Lair

The living room is a little bare but we will add to it in time!