Sittin' here restin' my bones....

There are two things going on in today's IM-Conversation-Turned-Blog Entry:

1. Is a really great memory
2. Is a really funny description of a very common and simple term I forgot for a moment.

Bryan T: listening to Mr. Mayer
caroline.blackwood: I'm on to Ms. Bareilles
LOVE her
wish I had seen her at the Fillmore
her version of (Sittin on) The Dock of the Bay is probably my fave
but I have such a love for that song
Bryan T: i'll have to hear that
caroline.blackwood: when I was a little girl I found my mom's old records in this old green vinyl case with this really cool latch
and she had that record, the small kind that required one of those plastic adapters that goes in the middle of records
I listened to that song over and over and over imagining my mom listening to it
Bryan T: 45
caroline.blackwood: weird memory I know, but I love it
yes, a 45!
thanks
lol
duh
Bryan Taketa: that's a wonderful memory

The Silver Lining

So the silver lining is I HAVE A JOB!

The rain cloud is the fact that I miss the manager I had 2 jobs ago. There's such comfort in knowing where I stand with people. I've become very self conscious of that in the last few years. I strive to stay in good graces in EVERYONE and have a hard time when I am not sure where I stand. My manager at TiVo was phenomenally great at making sure we all knew what was expected of us and how we were doing. Maybe this isn't a commonplace in corporate America, but then I've never been one to fit any mold much less that of the "Old Boys' Club".

My new job doesn't allow me to really "produce" anything and finding a way to track my efforts is all part of the new gig. I am happy to be contributing my efforts but have a hard time finding my voice of confidence here. Granted it's been three months and I should feel some stability, but I don't. Not really. Not yet.

What's also foreign to me is why I care so much. Don't get me wrong, it's important to feel fulfilled with our work, especially since we are at for eight sometimes ten hours a day. But for me work has always served it's purpose to bring me a paycheck so that I can do the things I love; I don't find myself driven by what I do or have a desire to climb the corporate ladder of success.

Being out of work for nine months taught me how important it is to be busy and have a place where I can add my ideas to make something better. I just need a reminder once in a while, and I guess that's just going to have to come from me for now on.

Pennies from Heaven

For the last year we have been planning to spend this past week in Minnesota celebrating Grandpa Sugar's 90th birthday. Shawn and I got up at 4AM on Friday to make our 6:30 flight. On our way to the airport we picked up Bubba who was recovering from a bad bout with the flu. I had been praying all week he'd be well enough to travel.
We made it to the airport in JUST enough time to rush from terminal A back to terminal C and get my bag checked. Shawn of course would carry his on. When we got to the Northwest ticket terminal there were 2 agents and no customers. We walked up to have our boarding passes printed when the Gentleman agent snapped at us to use the Kiosk. Wow. Okay.
I walked up to the kiosk next to Shawn:

Use your confirmation number to start
Who would you like to check in? I selected my name and offered to get Shawn checked in but he was nearly finished at that point.
Do you have any bags to check? Yes.
0 bags-$0
1 bag-$20
blink
blink
blink

We were already late at that point so I just stuck my credit card in and ate the fee under mumbled curse words and heavy sighs. I walked my bag over to the counter and asked very sweetly if she could seat me next to my husband.
I'm sorry but the flight is full and I can't help you with that. Here's your ID and boarding pass.

Huffing and puffing Shawn and I headed out to the gate. When it was my turn to pass through the initial screening I politely handed the TSA agent my boarding pass and ID. He looked at my ID then asked me if I had anything else. I naively looked at my purse and then my laptop bag and said, "Well, yes, these I suppose."
No, I need your boarding pass.
Um, I just handed you my boarding pass.
No ma'am this is a receipt. I need your boarding pass.
WHO SENDS YOU AWAY FROM A CHECK IN COUNTER WITHOUT A BOARDING PASS? More importantly who sends you away from a check in counter without a boarding pass WHEN YOU ARE THE ONLY CUSTOMER AROUND???
I furiously stomped back to the the check in counter slammed my "receipts" to the agent and sarcastically asked for a boarding pass. It was all I could to do to bite my tongue and not freak out all over the place, but I was late.
We got to the gate and went right through the doors to board the plane. We were seated in row 8, he in 8e and I in 8b. Of course there were no overhead compartments available until row 30. As I took my seat I hinted "Have a great flight babe..see you in a few hours" loudly enough hoping someone would give up a seat so we could be together. Maybe saying this now defeats the purpose, but I can count on one hand how many times I've done this for fellow passengers. Not because I expect anything back, but because I can imagine what that would feel like. Well now I know first hand. I hope it doesn't stop me in the future.
I've been accused of many things, and being bipolar is sometimes one of these things. The MINUTE we landed I felt a rush come over me and suddenly I was filled with this overwhelming sense of excitement. I knew in one hour my dad would be landing and in another hour we'd be greeted with hugs and kisses from Grandma and Grandpa Sugar. And shortly after that going back to the airport to pick up Bubba. Shawn is very used to this side of me and just shook his head as I skipped down the terminal chatting with strangers and kissing babies. The cup of coffee from my favorite Caribou kiosk probably didn't help.
I couldn't help but jog to the front door of Grandpa and Grandma Sugar's facility and nothing could get the sappy grin off my face. Dad led us to their apartment and opened the door.
"WE'RE HERE!!!" I shouted.
Since it was nearly cocktail hour hugs, kisses and champagne abounded. One of my favorite traits about myself is not one I can claim. I am definitely my Grandmother's Granddaughter and will never turn down champagne. We visited and discussed my frustration of the airline policies of today as Grandma Sugar reminisced about the United flights she used to take which included a cart of roast beef rolling down the aisle, stopping at your seat and you choosing your cut to be placed on a real plate of China.
Grandma and Grandpa Sugar looked great. Grandpa was getting around very well with the help of his cane, and Grandma's rumaki was as good as I remember.
Slowly our family trickled in as we made our way to the lounge. Grandma and Grandpa Sugar's facility is new and very lovely. There is a lounge the tenants can sign up to use with a wide screen plasma TV, chairs, high top tables, and lockers. Grandpa had 4 stocked with all our favorite cocktail fixings. We caught up with one another, and anticipated the big party taking place the following evening. Leo and Lillian, the two newest members of our family stole the spotlight with Leo's charming blue introspective eyes and Lillian's outgoing, happy giggles.

By the time Saturday came we were all ready to celebrate Grandpa. We were only missing 2 grandchildren and were accompanied by a group of friends long known and those who had just entered our lives. Every so often I caught myself sitting back watching Grandpa as he told stories, exchanged laughs and visited with his family and friends. He was absolutely glowing. A smile never left his face and his blue eyes were filled with pride. I felt incredibly honored to have such an amazing, influential man at the head of my family. We toasted to his life and his example and passed the microphone to share memories. I don't think I stopped tearing up. My cousin Stephie said it best when she said his life riches is not defined by his wallet but his heart. I loved every second of this weekend and wish it could have gone on and on.

Happy 90th Grandpa. Here's to you. OPA and Happy Days.

Happy Birthday Bubba! (Rerun)

And just for fun a video starring our favorite pug:

Sigh

I found out yesterday that a wonderful woman I work with lost her 16-year-old son on Friday night. You can read about his slaying here: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_13598870
I can't even begin to imagine her pain and grief.

She could use our prayers.

Love,

Cares

Where the Wild Things Are....

This title could be about two things:

1. A place that depicts my home with two dogs and a husband

or

2. My obsession with the movie version of a classic childrens book.

I can't wait to see the movie; I've seen every trailer, teaser, interview they've created. I am even listening to the soundtrack online. I promise to provide a full review once I've seen it. Any of you think I can get Shawn to go with me to the midnight showing Thursday night? Stranger things HAVE been known to happen. :-)

XXOO

Cares

And we're back....

Is this thing on?

Well for those of you who have given up on me ever posting something new, I hope your faith can be renewed. :-) There's been a lot going on in the last however long it's been; and it would take me forever to catch you all up. I'll sum it up with the story of my new job and how I figured out how powerful faith can be.

Back in May I randomly received an email through a social website from a recruiter offering information on an open position for a technical writer and eLearning content developer. Of course I responded immediately but heard nothing back. I forgot about this inquiry and moved on with my ELL course I was required to take in order to apply for my teaching credential. One month later I received an email from the recruiter with a message that she had been out of the country, but that she'd love to talk to me more about the position. If I recall correctly the email came in at 4 on a Friday so I told myself I'd call back on Monday.

First thing Monday morning she called. I was impressed with the quickness of her efforts. She told me a little bit about the company; a big high tech company located in Sunnyvale (an hour at best from my house...sigh...) who creates proxy servers for blah blah blah blah. I didn't really care...I was getting antsy to get out of the house and start making money again.

I was asked for writing samples to provide for a phone interview but everything I'd done in my previous jobs were internal and therefore under non-disclosure agreement. To that Tess the recruiter offered up some advice: "Okay, well why don't you just mock up an eLearning module on one of our proxy servers, Okay?!"

Uh what...?Okay what else do I have to do? I downloaded a free trial of Captivate and went on my way. I showed it to a couple people and sent it on its way.

Tess the recruiter loved my mock up and set up a phone interview with the hiring manager who had a degree in engineering but went back for her certificate in technical writing. Great. My experience as a tech writer is quite conservative; My experience is less technical and more marketing, training, non-technical aspects. She asked me what I knew about the company blah blah blah.

I thought I bombed it. I didn't feel like we connected, even on the phone. But instead Tess the recruiter called me back and set up an in person interview.

That one I bombed.

I have never been as ill prepared in my life. The first 45 minutes of the hour long interview went beautifully. I even killed it when the Director (what would be my manager's manager) asked me to give an example of a dangling participle. (He cheated and brought his laptop in the meeting. English is his second language and he wanted to make sure I was capable of writing to a global audience.) Then he asked me if I knew what an IP address is. I said well, I know I need it to get online. This sent a chuckle through the room. Then he asked me to discuss a DNS server.

Blink
Blink
Blink blink blink blink

Finally I smiled and said: "It's fairly obvious by looking at my resume that I do not have a strong background in highly technical writing, but what I lack in that area I more than make up for in my ability to learn...quickly. I'm not going to pretend I know what a DNS server is or try to describe it to you. "

Blink
Blink
GULP

He smiled and with his big personality said that he appreciated my honesty. Tess the recruiter piped in and said it's often more important to be able to know what you don't know and not try to fake it.

I guess I hadn't completely bombed it.

Everyone had been impressed with the initiative I took to download a free trial, attend an hour long online training and mock up a module based on their proxy server.

I was not out of the woods yet.

The team was sold, but not completely. Tess the recruiter sent me a powerpoint 4 slides long with various networking images and asked me to write the documentation that went with them.

Sigh
Groan

Me: I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS THIS IS RIDICULOUS JUST GIVE ME THE JOB ALREADY!
Shawn: Caroline. They can do this to you, it's a horrible market right now.
ME: THANKS THAT HELPS A BUNCH
Shawn: Well, it's just a hard time to find work, there are a lot of people in your position right now.
Me: AGAIN, THANKS THAT HELPS A BUNCH
Silence
Me: Well do you think you can come home and help me?
Shawn: Sure, I'd love to.

I received this the day before Mom's birthday and I had planned to spend the day with her and make a lovely surf and turf dinner. Shawn looked over the powerpoint with me and we concurred it would take me at least 2 days to mock something up. I kept asking myself the question: how badly do I even WANT this? I wrestled and wrestled with that question because there are obvious pros AND cons.

This company has a much different mentality than companies I've worked for. Their motto is "work hard, work hard" when I've grown accustomed to "work hard, play hard". But it was an income and another outlet for growth. But there was no way I could finish what was given to me in the time frame.

I decided to make the call to the recruiter knowing I wouldn't get the job at this point. She thanked me and said she'd be in touch.

Relief washed over me just seconds before the pangs of guilt and frustration caught my breath.

I made dinner, relaxed with my family and heard my phone ring.

Tess the recruiter.

She had not given up on me and told me that if I could explain to the manager's manager how a DNS server worked I was still in.

I had to follow this through now, right? RIGHT??

She called the next day as Shawn and I drove out of town wanting to know when a good time was....today at 4?

I put the phone interview off until Monday when I'd have some time to prepare.

I killed it. He cut me off telling me I was TOO descriptive. Awesome. Then he asked me why I had ended my sentence with a preposition. UGH come ON guy this is where I'm knowledgeable. I sweetly told him that I had ended the sentence with a prepositional PHRASE, not the preposition itself. It took me about 10 minutes to explain this and I was frustrated. We thanked each other and hung up the phone.

Tess the recruiter set up one more round of phone interviews the following day with 2 tech writers from the team.

Sigh

The phone interview went well and then I confirmed my suspicions.

The question I love to ask when applying for a tech writing job is how well the engineers work with the tech writers. I ask potential co-workers to describe two experiences they've had: one positive and one negative. Turns out the engineers at this company expect you to be the subject matter expert before even going to them.

Just as I suspected. This would be a GIANT learning curve for me; and usually I'm not afraid of those, but this one just didn't FEEL right. Then again, it's a job.

Tess the recruiter called me back the next day and verbally offered me the position at 10K less than the lowest point on the range I had given. I accepted and she must have noticed my apprehension because she kept asking me if I was excited. I reassured her I was and thanked her. I immediately called Lisa and Ben and let them know that Shawn and I would indeed be able to go on vacation with them the next month since I now had a job.

I spoke too soon. Tess the recruiter called the next day.

Tess the recruiter: Hi there, I just want to keep the lines of communication very clear. This position isn't in the bag yet, but I will keep you informed.

WHHHHAAAAATTTTT???!!!!

Me: But you've already given me a verbal offer. What does that mean? You're waiting for my background check to clear?

Tess the recruiter: We are waiting on the CEO to approve the position.

I was sick to my stomach, but what could I do?

Two weeks later Tess the recruiter called saying the position was not yet approved and I should go about my job search. So I did.

My credential was months from being finalized so I applied for a tech writing position here IN SANTA CRUZ COUNTY! That meant no more commuting!

Two weeks after my conversation with Tess the recruiter, I had my first phone interview with the Santa Cruz company. As I'm in the middle of the call my other line rings. Guess who!!!

Tess the recruiter.

She called to tell me the job had been approved and it was all mine. Now what?!

Well I put her off as long as I could. 2 weeks to be exact. In that time I had my first round of in-person interviews and was on my way for a second and final round.

I went around and around trying to figure out what to do. I had to create more mock documentation and sell myself for a position with a job description that outlined skills I had minimal experience doing. But I decided I would just have some faith: Faith that if I turned down Tess the recruiter's position and I didn't get this other one that I'd be where I needed to be soon. Faith that I would get an offer for the position or be better off in the long run. Faith that Shawn and I would be okay. It was an amazing release to tell Tess the recruiter that I was going with another offer. (One I hadn't received yet.)

One week later I was offered the project management position here in SC County and they came in OVER my salary range.

That's what faith can do, and that's how fast it can work.

I still have my goal to teach, and I will get there. My credential has been issued but I still have to become ELL certified and go through a county orientation.

For now, I'm a happy girl right where I am.

Slow Blogging and Slow Pitching

Yes Mom, it HAS been a while since I've posted anything. :-) Sorry about that. I will TRY to get better at this. 

I've been playing in a slow pitch softball league on Tuesday nights. I couldn't find my old ball bag and had to get all new gear. The only way I can describe being placed in the outfield is how I tried to explain it to my mom: I feel like the kids who try out for high school ball with sneakers and no mitt. The translation is this: If you don't have cleats, a mitt, and the skill to slide head first while you steal second by the age of 12 then you need not apply for a position on the high school team. It's too competitive folks. So maybe I'm being dramatic, but yes it is a culture shock for me. I almost told a player to put on her helmet as she walked up to the plate. (For the record slow pitch softball doesn't require the use of helmets.) 

My favorite story so far was an at-bat I had 2 weeks ago. I get up to the plate and take a swing at the first pitch that looked great but the gust of wind must have felt my pride and swooped that ball out of reach faster than I had a chance to stop swinging. It FELT like I was swinging for the moon and I can only imagine what it must have LOOKED like! "STRIKE" the umpire shouted. The next pitch hit the plate within inches of my big toe. (In slow pitch anything is considered a strike if it hits the plate no matter how un-hittable it might be.) "STEEERRRIIKKE" the umpire yells.  

I say to myself: "Man I better get this together."

Umpire: "That was strike three; you're out."

Me to the umpire: "S*#!" 

All hitters in slow pitch start off with one ball and one strike. 

Do I know how to humiliate myself or what?! 

It looks like I may move from the outfield to second base which is really great for two reasons:

1. I really stink at outfield

2. I bought an infielder's mitt (which plays a BIG part for reason #1)

XXOO

Cares

A Walk on the Beach

Sometimes being laid off can have its advantages. Today my Mom and AL came over with Lulu and we took a 2 hour walk on the beach. As we reached Hidden Beach and I pointed out the benches where Shawn proposed. Mom got a little ahead of us and started talking to a fisherman. When we caught up with her she excitedly told us she thinks she saw a whale. Sure enough as we looked out we all saw the arch of the whale's back about 400 yards out. Initially we were delighted but scared that it was too close to the shore. As we continued walking we kept seeing its blowhole as it made its way further and further out into the Pacific. I've seen dolphins and otters and seals in SC but never a whale. It was incredible and I was thankful I got to share it with two of my favorite women. 

Oscar was stoked because it was the first time I'd ever taken him off leash at the beach. He bounded and smelled all the way down to Rio Del Mar and back making sure he didn't go past the edge of the ocean where the water reaches the sand. He after all was not born with webbed feet or any desire to swim. 

Although I am thankful everyday for all I have there are somedays I'm actually thankful I was laid off.

I know, I know...

It's been much too long since my last post. Sorry! Here are some updated pictures of the puppy though, so hopefully that will gain your forgiveness! The photos below show Winston at 3 weeks and the most recent at 9 weeks.

     

When we got Winston on January 30, he weighed 5 pounds. As of today he weighs 18! He's gonna be big people! Oscar doesn't want much to do with him though he's very slowly warming up to the idea of a puppy. Oscar just got home from spending a week with Grandma where he chases squirrels and gets special treatment. I'll continue to take pictures of the two so you can see his growth progress. He weighs the same as Oscar now, but is definitely taller. 

Here is a link to the rest of the photographs: http://picasaweb.google.com/carolineangleson/NewPuppy#

We'll be working with Winston on going down the stairs and I hope to get a good video of that!

P.S.

The image up top came from an unexpected trip to the West Side of Santa Cruz when my fellow "retired" friend Cindy and I went for a drive and stumbled on a youth surfing competition! Did I mention this was in the middle of January?

Ahhh I love living in California. 

Did I mention we have a master guest room and I make trips to the airport for free. XXOO

January Recap

Hold on tight readers. This is going to be a long one! 

Just about every person I know has bid 2008 goodbye and couldn't see it gone fast enough. We packed up all of our Christmas decorations (though the tree is still in the back yard.) and did the same. 

Being laid off, I have been able to spend January thinking about my future goals and what I would like to accomplish both short and long term. Luckily for me I am blessed with the most giving women a girl could ask for and was kidnapped by my Mom, AL, and Grandma and taken to Ojai for a health spa trip. It was an amazing start to the new year. The Oaks happened to be running a Mother/Daughter special so there were moms and daughters everywhere. We tried every class offered: yoga, pilates, salsa dance, cardio, stretch, and muscle building. AL and I even took 2 morning hikes, both of which humbled me. I've been running quite a bit, but nothing prepared me for those hikes. Beautiful as they were at sunrise, they were HARD. :-) We all got a head start on a healthy 2009 and I've finally started fitting into my pre-wedding jeans again. :-) PHEW!

I've decided to get back into teaching. This was a thoughtful decision made after a lot of soul searching and late night conversations with Shawn. I have one course to take to get my teaching credential current and in the mean time I plan to substitute. I've even got a prospective Charter school in Watsonville in mind thanks to a wonderful friend at the School District administration office. I promise to keep you all posted! 

I signed up for my ELL (English Language Learners) course and began yesterday. It's an online course and I'm thrilled. I'm thankful that I took spanish in high school and college and plan to draw on my experiences to create lesson plans and research how I will supplement my teaching style when I come across ELL students. I am a lifetime learner and am excited to be back in the classroom learning again. I'm sure my studies will come out in my blog from time to time. 

Last week Shawn had a birthday. I always spend a lot of time and thought on Shawn's gifts because he is incredibly hard to shop for. If he needs something, he just buys it, and he doesn't really need much. We had been talking about adding a puppy to our family for a while. Last

 spring we were given the opportunity to adopt a friend's adult pug and were excited about the prospect, but he just wasn't a fit for us. Well when I was laid off we started conversation up again knowing it would be a good time to train a new puppy since I was home for a while. Shawn researched and found that the Bull Mastiff is not only a large dog, but a calm and low maintenance breed. He's always wanted a big dog, and I've always liked mellow ones. He of course has been looking for one since Christmas and found out that the local breeders would not have any litters for a while. I kept looking and Megan suggested I look at the Fresno/Central Valley area. I stuck my nose in the air at the mention of Fresno, but typed it in anyway. There was 1 prospect in Bakersfield. 

We called and made arrangements to go out 2 days later. I begged Megan to take the day off to go with me since this would be a surprise for Shawn, but she just couldn't do it. Mom had to work and my fellow "retired" friend as we call it was out of town. I would have to make the drive all on my own. Shawn had NO idea and I was so nervous. I asked Oscar if he wanted a puppy, prayed, and talked myself into it. I don't think Shawn's ever had a gift so special and I remember how truly amazing it was to get Oscar; I just had to do it. Shawn's been coming home from work pretty tuckered out and dare I say grumpy. Shawn's grumpy is not the norm, but he just hasn't been himself. He needed something big to get him out of his funk. 

The morning I was to pick up the darling pup greeted me with a phone call. I knew exactly who it was and what she was going to say. Sure enough it was mom telling me she took the day off to help me. I have to tell you readers that I did not know how much I needed her to go until we got there! 

The breeder lived in Taft not Bakersfield. Taft is 3 and a half hours out in the middle of nowhere and folks I thought Bakersfield was in the middle of nowhere! Mom and I hit starbucks and made our way out. On the way down I expressed my concern about not "connecting" with one of the pups or not finding exactly what we wanted. Mom of course reassured me that I didn't have to get one unless I loved it and we'd just chalk it up to a long drive and a mother-daughter bonding trip. 

We finally get to Taft and drive up to the house. It was a pretty run down home and I became pretty nervous. We meet the breeders, the mom and dad dogs and were led inside to meet the puppies. Those poor puppies! The mother was only a puppy when she had them and had abandoned her litter. There were 7 of them all piled up laying on a blanket and let me just say I was nauseous the entire ride home from the smell. :-( Not ideal my gentle reader, but I knew that Shawn, Oscar, and I would love a pup that much more with a beginning like that. 

We knew we wanted a male so she pulled out the 3 males. One, the biggest one mind you, came tromping up to me and started licking me. He didn't leave my side as the other 2 headed back to their nap amongst the litter. I looked at mom who was clearly as nervous as I was and handed her the pup. He immediately put his puppy head in the cr

ook of her neck and stayed there. I was fairly certain that Mom would not think this an ideal situation for adopting a puppy and would tell me to think about it. Instead she told me it was definitely a match. 

A quick and panicked phone call to my animal expert Megan and we rescued the little guy. Mom held him for about an hour and then let him spread out on the floor. He slept the entire way home. 

Did I mention we had to bottle feed him homemade formula because he'd been abandoned? Poor little guy. 

We stopped by Bubba's and introduced him to his new nephew. Johnny seemed to like the pup and the pup took his time smelling every inch of the house. 

He stayed with Mom, Grandma, and Oscar at Grandma's since Shawn's birthday wasn't for 2 more days. Oscar seemed to fall in love with the pup and played with the 3 week old little guy. It was pretty cute. 

I picked up Oscar and the pup the next day and prepared myself to surprise Shawn. Would he be happy, annoyed, surprised, a little of all of these feelings? It was a looooong day for me. I don't do well as the giver or recipient of surprises so I had a knot in my stomach all day. 

We had plans to have dinner with Paul and Megan to celebrate Paul and Shawn's joint birthdays so I sent Shawn upstairs to get ready. The puppy was sleeping soundly and I wanted reinforcements and a S

heriff there in case Shawn got mad!

Shawn came downstairs, Megan put down the dog and I hid behind Paul. 

"You've got to be kidding?!"is all I heard. I peeked over Paul's shoulder and saw Shawn beaming from ear to ear. "Babe! You got me a puppy!" He proceeded to get on the floor and let the puppy sniff, lick, and climb on him. 

PHEW!!!!

We hung out for about an hour until Mom got there to babysit. There was no way Shawn would have been okay going out with a 3 week old pup at home! 

It was the best gift I've ever given and I hope Bubba felt half as happy as I did when he gave me Oscar. 

I haven't seen my husband this happy in a long time. He just loves that pup! We don't have a name yet, Shawn is debating between a few but I will post as soon as he chooses. 

I know this was a long one folks, and I promise to do better! In the meantime here is a picture of the little guy.

Oh Yeah...

...I nearly forgot! It was my first holiday as a wife! Here's our first official Holiday Family Photo!

Love to you all!

xxoo

Cares

Happy New Year!

So my December went a little something like this:

Lay-off of Cares resulting in her "laying off" her trainer and esthetician and weekly skinny lattes. BOO! I won't go into the details as hopefully you all know by now. If not, call me and I'd be happy to discuss it for the 85th time. :-) 

I'm a fairly positive person but I'm not going to lie by saying being laid off wasn't one of my most humiliating experiences to date, but I have found the silver lining and am looking into getting back into teaching and seriously writing some drafts for my Children's book. Hopefully this entry will help hold me accountable. ;-) I have some amazing friends and family who of course think I'm nuts for feeling humiliated, but understand just the same. I've been enjoying the holidays off; though I think the only person TRULY happy with my lay-off is Oscar who's had me home all day for the past few weeks! 

I go in on Monday to sign up for substitute teaching while I get my resume and teaching credential in order. 

Now that we're past all that, the rest of December and January (so far) have been very busy.

Christmas eve was spent at UD and AL's. It was low key yet nice to be around the family. We were missing 2 aunts and their families, but a lovely time was had visiting with Colleen,  Austin, and Jessica's family who we don't get to see all of the time. 

Dad and Lupe were here nearly a week and we spent Christmas morning with the two of them and Johnny who stayed 2 nights with us! It was such a treat for me to host guests especially during the holidays. We made a beautiful prime rib and Lupe got Grandma Sugar's recipe for Yorkshire Pudding which might have given G. Sugar a run for her money!!! ;-) We topped off their visit with a day of golfing and a short trip to Monterey. I didn't take a single picture so I'm hoping Dad and Lupe send me what they've got. 

On the eve of New Year's Eve we met for dinner and cocktails with a few of Shawn's friends. I announced that I'd love to have lip injections to which Matt B. proudly interjected "That's fine Care, I'll just call you platypus!" Of course I was teasing, as I think the mantra is once is never enough with lip injections and I'm pretty sure I'd be disgusted with what was actually injected. The next day I was shopping with Megan and Melissa and Mel found some "Very Voluptuous" lip plumper. We all put some on, and looked indeed like a flock (?) of platypus. We later asked Matt B. and Shawn "Do our lips look bigger?" to which we received disgusted looks followed by "You DIDN'T, tell ME you DIDN'T!!!" Hee hee, guess that stuff really works! It's not even April  but we sure had them going!

I spent New Year's Eve with Kimmie, and our Aptos friends and we all bid 2008 GOOD BYE! Maybe it should have been a BAD BYE. I know our wedding was the highlight of our year, but there are many who had an incredibly trying 2008. I am thinking of you all and hoping and praying you find the peace and happiness you deserve in 2009. 2008 was a year of great loss, bad breakups, and job loss but I know in my heart we are all going to move on from those moments that almost broke us down and live fuller lives. Here's to a fantastic 2009.

xxoo

Cares