The life of a Job Lady

I'm done being politically correct

2005-12-04T18:31:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas. It is truly my favorite time of the year. I'm one of those hard core Christmas people who, the day after Thanksgiving, go shopping, decorate the house, pull out the music and don the pins and earrings. I always send out Christmas cards, try to watch as many Christmas specials on TV that I can, and NEVER use the abbreviation "X-mas". Christmas to me is not just about family, friends, and presents. It a day that represents Love. God's love for us. It's the day where I celebrate the birth of my Savior. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

However, this year I find my favorite time of the year under attack. I feel as though the politically correct are taking Christ out of Christmas and turning this time into a day of Christian persecution. How sad has our world become when children don't sing Silent Night at school concerts, when retail workers can't wish you "Merry Christmas", and when cities advertise the lighting of the "holiday tree". Come on now!!!!

Now, don't get me wrong. I truly appreciate all peoples and all cultures. Bring on the Menorah. Bring on the tenants of Kwanza. Bring on the dancing Lion. But let me have my Christmas. Let me pull out the Nativity scene, let me wear my pin with the lion and the lamb, allow me to wish my students Merry Christmas!

For the past three years, I have been in charge of the special events calendar at school. I design it with a simple publishing program and distribute it to all of the classrooms. I also, a few years ago, started a "Holiday Cultural Awareness Week" in order for all of the different holidays that are celebrated in this time to be discussed. Last year, however, I was told that even though we are having this week, we will not be able to use a scene of the wise men following the star on the calendar to signify that week. I fought back saying that the menorah is on the calendar and you don't have a problem with that. I was then told that no one would take offense to the menorah, but I might offend someone with the wisemen scene. I got angry, and ended up taking both the menorah and the wise men off the calendar and substituting them with a dreidle and a candy cane. Neither one, in my opinion truly iconisizes the true celebrations they were to represent. This year I ended up just using the Happy Hanukkah and Merry Christmas phrases to appease the masses.

It really angered me last year. So this year I decided that in protest, all of my Christmas cards will have a religious tone to them, I will play my Christmas music, especially the traditional Christmas hymns, in my office as loud as allowed, and I will wish EVERYONE a very Merry Christmas. And those who find me offensive can kiss my butt.....I'll just make sure that they do it under the mistletoe.

Happy Holidays, Ya'll

2005-11-26T09:08:00.000-08:00

Well, it's the Saturday after Thanksgiving and it already feels like Christmas is just around the corner. Yesterday my Mom and Sister and I were one of the crazies and headed out to shop at 5am. We hit Mervyns, Target, Michaels, Kohls, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond. And I am pleased to say that I stayed within my budget. Even though things are tighter than we expected, I'm bound and determined not to let that get me down right now. After our shopping extravaganza, I went back to my Mom's to crash for the afternoon. Had to rest up for the concert at the Block in Orange. Our church headed out to the Block to kick off the holiday season with some Christmas songs. This is my third year participating in the concert. It's always such a fun time. Our church passes out free CDs and we sing. It's lots of fun, and this year was no exception.

So, as far as things are going with the job hunt, here's where we are....Rich continues to work at the temp job and continues to interview. No offers have come his way yet, however, I am confident that this week we will have a better idea of where we are going to land. And Rich's car should be done being fixed TODAY!!! We were so blessed to have Carl and Emily's car, but I'll feel so much better knowing that our cars belong to us. My one request is that you continue to pray for Rich and I as we seek God's wisdom in all of this.

I pray that all is well with you and yours. Have a great week!
ENJOY!!!!

Bet you thought I was dead....huh?!?!?

2005-11-21T20:18:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I'm just not as good as some of the rest of you about keeping this thing posted. Not to mention that my school changed its web filter and I can't post while at work (Bastards!!!). But hey, I'm alive and doing ok....for the time being.

Let's catch you all up to date.....No, I did not get the job. After two weeks of Maria hemming and hawing she gave it to a new secretary we hired this September. She had a whole lot of office manager experience and was very quick to pick things up. She's become a great new member of the crazy admin team and fits in quite well. So I am still at my Job Coach/Voc. Ed. Director position, which I'm fine with. Rich, on the other hand, has been dealt a couple of blows recently. First off, on Tuesday of last week he was let go from his new job. He hadn't hit the end of the probationary period and the company decided that it just wasn't working out. I tell ya, Rich and I were in quite the tail spin on Tuesday, but by Wednesday morning, Rich had already set up with a temp agency and they were sending him out on a job by 1:00 Wednesday afternoon. Not making as much as he was at his other job, but at least bringing in something. This week he interviewed with one company today, has an interview tomorrow, and continues to field calls about people sending them his resume. We are certain that God will take care of us and that this is just a small set back in our lives. However, on Friday, things got a little bleaker. As Rich was driving home from work, his car died. We had it towed to Goodyear, but on Saturday was told that it needed a whole new engine. WHAT A BLOW! But God provides, the car is now at Rich's family's mechanic who is giving us a great deal on a new engine and in the mean time, one of the members of our church has loan us a car for as long as we need it. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanksgiving will be with the whole family this year, Rich's mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, and brood are coming over to my mom's to celebrate the great day of Turkey. It'll be the first time our families have been together since we returned from our honeymoon. I can honestly say that I'm really looking forward to it! Because of the whole FlyLady thing that I had share with you all, I had already bought all of the stuff for the casseroles I was planning on taking, so I'm still set to bring two different green bean casseroles (the traditional kind AND a kicked up version with cheese, jalepenos, & bacon) and a yam & butternut squash mash (yummy).

So that's what's going on in my neck of the woods these days. I pray that your Thanksgiving is a blessing for you this week. I know I have many, many things to be thankful for. Have a good one.

A new position in the horizon

2005-10-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, last year my job was no picnic. We had crazy staffing issues, we were sold to a different company, and we had a new HR/Office Manager who seemed to mess everything up. Life at Rossier was not all happiness and roses. In fact, it SUCKED!!!! This year has been better, but the attitude of the staff still seems to be really negative. And a lot of it comes from some of the HR/Office manager issues we've had. We have three copiers on campus, on most days, you're lucky if you can find ONE of them working. We started the year without any internet access. And this new company can't seem to get their act together when it comes to insurance and 401k benefits. BUT, one good thing does seem to be headed our way. The HR/Office Manager has quit. His last day is on Friday. And I have decided that I'm going to apply for the position.

It's so strange......Last year, when the position was up, I had thought about applying at that time, however, at that point, I still didn't feel like I had my director's respect and we really hadn't formed a relationship. But over the course of the year, she and I began to share a mutual respect for each other. My overall relationship with her grew in leaps and bounds last year, and I now feel like I will be able to work with her both professionally and personally. And as far as the other staff go, I have been told numerous times that they had wished that I had initially applied for the position.

I'm hoping to be interviewed tomorrow, Monday, but if I don't, the interview will be put off until Friday since I'll be at a conference in Arrowhead Tuesday - Thursday. I'll be sure to keep you all updated!!!

Have a great week!
ENJOY!!!

It's Saturday night and I'm at home

2005-10-08T18:29:00.000-07:00

With the holidays just around the corner (only 77 shopping days left), I find myself at home on a Saturday night. Very strange for me :-) But I'm happy to just be here and know that the only thing left on the list of things to do this weekend is to watch Million Dollar Baby. I missed it last year, and rented it last night. I've been told that it's amazing.....we'll see.

I was also home last night as well. Rich got together with a couple of his buddies for cards and I stayed home. I rented and watched "Born into Brothels", last year's Oscar winner for Best Documentary. Great film, very uplifting. And the extras were great!!! Check out the link and when you get a chance, rent it. Very moving.

I'm going to be better this year about getting to the theater to see all of the award winning films this season. For years, it has been my families tradition to try to see all of the Academy Nominated Best Picture nominated films. Most years I'm really good. But last year, I was horrible. I think I honestly only saw one of the nominated Best Picture films. This year will be better.

It's been quite the experience seeing all the movies that I have because of the Academy. I can honestly say that I have not enjoyed all of them, however, I understand why all of them have been nominated. A few movies that come to mind that I saw because of the Academy (that I enjoyed, but would have not seen otherwise) have been "In the Bedroom," "A Simple Plan,"Gangs of New York," and "Frida". I could list more, but I think you get the idea. I enjoy movies A LOT. And I'll be sure to let anyone who still reads this blog know what I've seen and if it's any good. In fact, my sister and I are going to try to see "In Her Shoes" some time this week.

So I think that's it. I hope everyone has a great week and finds some time to appreciate all of the blessings God placed in your life.

Enjoy!

GO ANGELS!!!!!!!

Trying to catch up

2005-09-21T22:25:00.000-07:00

Ok....so I've been away for a while. It's so funny.....I got back to work and suddenly I don't have time to blog anymore. And it doesn't help that our internet is down at work, so I can't blog there either. Not that I would or anything......my boss doesn't know about this site....do you Maria? But it's funny....I don't use my computer at work for a whole lot of personal use, but I will occasionaly check email or bank statements. But now that I can't do those things, I find that I have to do all of my computer stuff at home, and I just don't want to!!!!! I love being on the computer and I love bloging, but forcing myself to do it at home SUCKS!!! Is that weird of me????

So what have I been up to? Really, when I think about it, not a whole heck of a lot. Mostly it's just work, home, watch too much tv, and get ready for the next day. My house is looking a lot better these days. I have taken up my "FlyLady" routines again. For those of you going "What the hell is Fly Lady"? In a nutshell, it's this lady who has put together ways to keep up with life without it falling apart around you. Check out the website. If my routines are in order (which they have been in the last few weeks) I feel much more settled and relaxed. And my house looks so much better than it did all summer!!! It's a great tool if you really absorb her "babystep" approach. I love it.

I'm all caught up on my reality tv fix. I was very sad that Marty did not win on Rock Star INXS, but I do think the band made the best decision for them. I'm excited to see how the final 5 end up doing once they're back out on their own. I go caught up into So You ThinkYou Can Dance and we were down to the final six tonight. I really thought that Melody and her partner (I can't think of his name right now) really stole the show. I'm interested to watch next week to see the outcome. Survivor: Guatamala was FANTASIC last week!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! That was rough! And I even caught the second half of America's Next Top Model tonight. I'm glad to see that Tyra got a couple new judges.

As for the real TV: Monday was the season premire of Arrested Developement. SO FUNNY!!! That show is BRILLIANT! I just pray that enough people watch it this season. House has started off fantasticly; last week's episode w/ LL Cool J was incredible. The first scene really freaked me out! I checked out "How I met Your Mother" on CBS (COME ON.....Alyson Hannigan AND Neil Patrick Harris...I had to) It was cute, I'll probably give it couple more looks before making a true decision. I haven't watched Lost yet. Rich went to a hockey game tonight so I told him I wouldn't watch it witout him.....but it's KILLING ME!!!!

So I think that's it. I hope all is well with you! Thanks for checking in!
ENJOY!!!

Where society is headed....

2005-09-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

I don't quite know where to start when it comes to Katrina and her wrath. Being on vacation this week, I have been surrounded by the pictures of the damage and destruction. I feel extremely sad, not only for the people directly hit, but for the US as a whole. I see all of the houses underwater, or the lack of houses in the gulf bay, and I well up with compassion. I shake my head in wonderment as to where all these people are going to go. This is a battle beyond anything we have every dealt with here in the US.

Yet I find myself frustrated and angered as well. The violence, looting, raping and such is completely unacceptable. What makes a society, at it's lowest point, rape, shoot at rescuers, loot homes and retail businesses? I simply don't understand it. When the sunami hit last year, there was no reports of the civil unrest we are experiencing here. What part of the US culture makes people think that these acts are OK? Is it our belief that we are "entitled"? The belief that can have what we want, whatever the means? I just don't understand....and unfortunately, I think these beliefs are growing.

If you talk with the average teenager these days, they all believe that the world owes them. They can wear the shoes, watch the movies, listen to the music, eat the food they want, and all of this regardless of the consequences of their actions. How can we stop this attitude? The acts of servanthood, selflessness, and charity seem to be foreign to us. I hope that the majority of people are willing to give and serve in this desperate time of need, but what can we do about those who don't or won't during these times? It is my fear that we are heading closer and closer to a closed society, looking out only for Number 1 and never looking back. Am I wrong?

My prayers, money, and any other help I can give goes out to these people stricken by this terrible disaster.....but even more, my heart goes out to the next generation in hope that they begin to see beyond their small worlds.

Life, Love, and Adventure in So. Cal.

2005-08-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

As most of you know, I've been on vacation for the last two weeks. School was finally out for summer and I have three weeks off. The first week was pretty quiet. I really didn't do anything terribly exciting. I went out to lunch with my sis, that was nice. I got a pedicure, which I desperately needed. I explored the new Asian supermarket down the street, interesting. And I played with our new DVR. Other than that, really quiet.

This week, however, has been much more busy. On Monday, my mom and I headed over to the Anaheim Convention Center and took in the Home and Gardens show. I tell ya, I love that thing. It's so much fun to see all the gadgets and such for the home. And if it weren't for one specific draw back, I'd be SO ok with manufactured homes (can you say "trailer park!!!") Mom and I left the show with a case of wine, some really good hummus, and a canister of the new Oxy foam. Good times!!!! On Wednesday, I went over to one of my co-worker's home to do some scrapbooking....I'm still working on my wedding album.

But the best was Thursday and Friday. As, I hope, most of you know, Rich starts his new job on Monday, so he decided to take Thursday and Friday off (from his old job) to hang out with his wife. So since we had those two days together, we decided to take a couple of day trips. We had so much fun!!!! On Thursday, we headed up to LA. First on our list....Pioneer Chicken. Why you ask? Well, on the night that Rich proposed to me, while driving down Sunset Blvd., Rich noticed that there was a Pioneer Chicken still in operation. It had been his desire to go and eat chicken there ever since. So after a great meal of heart-attack chicken and biscuits, we headed over to the LA Museum of contemporary Art. Very interesting!!! The permanent exhibit was really amazing. They had some strange items (i.e. a huge floating ball of foil with music being played around it), so beautiful things (i.e. a rainbow crescent moon made from found objects) and some things that made you really think(i.e. a short film titled Pink Constellation that was essentially a pink young girls room that revolved while the camera stayed still, kind of like the old Lionel Richie video "Dancing on the Ceiling", but SO MUCH BETTER!!!!!). From there, Rich and I headed over to 3rd street promenade in Santa Monica. We went because we were out of our Lush supply. Lush is a company Rich and I found while honeymooning in Vancouver. They make great soaps and skin care products. Fortunately, we no longer have to go up to Vancouver or order on line to get products, but unfortunately, the two stores that are in CA are in Santa Monica and Pasadena. While we were there, we also walked around, checked out some stuff at Z gallery and Pottery Barn. We also checked out all the street performers. I actually ended up picking up a CD from this band called Fear Mia. Very cool quartet made up of acoustic guitar, violin, cello, and percussion; the sound they were putting out was AWESOME! We also went into the mall. It was there that I found out that Rich had NEVER had a "Hot Dog on a Stick"!!!! I was shocked! I made him have one for dinner. I also made him have a cheese-on-a-stick as well (highly recommend those!). I was also fortunate enough to have found a "California Crisp" as well. Anybody remember this from the Brea or Main Place malls? Great salads, made to order. I was so happy!!! All was good. However, here's where the adventure comes in. Rich and I walk out to the parking garage to get to the car.....Unfortunately, the car is NOT THERE!!!! We start to freak out, certain that the car was stolen. I was so upset, I almost started to hyper ventilate. Fortunately, however, I suddenly realized that the cars were parked the wrong way. We were on the wrong level. So we ran up the flight of stairs and found our car, right where we left it. Boy, were we relieved!!!!

Then yesterday, Rich and I headed out to check out Julian. For those of you who have not been, Julian is this small town about 30 miles east of Escandido. They're know for their apples. Rich had never been, and it had been years since I had gone, so we figured this would be a fun trip. So we're driving down the 5 and suddenly we here a flapping sound coming from the car. I immediately pull over and find that the tread on one of my tires has a piece that has fallen off. We can't go up the mountain with a bad tire, so we pull off in Oceanside to find a tire place. Fortunately for us, there's a tire shop not more than a half mile off the exit, unfortunately, we're told that all four tires are so old that they're all going to fall apart like this one did, so we ended up replacing all four tires. They guy was great, however, and got us back on the road within 30 minutes!!!! So up the mountain we climbed. It was good to get out of the city. When we finally reached the town, we were both so happy. We had lunch at this really cute cafe (complete with a piece of pie) and then walked up and down Main Street. There were lots of stores to peruse, a museum to check out, and a great winery to taste some really decent wines. We're really looking forward to going back and maybe next time, staying at a B&B for the night!!! Once we headed down the mountain, we decided that Mexican food was sounding real good for dinner. Found a great restaurant in Oceanside called "Anita's"! Right off Coast Hwy. The food was REALLY GOOD, the service was great, and the price could not have been better. Rich and I shared a seafood cocktail appetizer, we both had our dinners (I highly recommend the Pancho's surprise), he had a soda, I had a margarita and our dinner was less than $40. SO GOOD!!!!!

So that was my excitement this week. Rich and I are planning on keeping it quiet for the rest of the weekend. Hope all is good with everyone!!!! Have a great weekend!
ENJOY!!!!!

Spam-Be-Gone

2005-08-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

OK....so I found out that if I use this "word verification" setting on my blog, I should not be hit with spam. So just a warning. If you make any comments, and I'd love to hear them all, don't freak out about having to type a word to do so. This just means you are an actual person commenting and not some spambot trying to get thier word out.

THANKS!

Quite refreshing

2005-08-21T12:59:00.000-07:00

OK, so really I'm posting this primarily for my lady friends who read this, but guys, if you like the idea let me know....

So I was at this baby shower yesterday and along with serving the typical lemonade, the hostess served water flavored with lemons, limes, and cucumbers. It was SO GOOD!!!! I recommend it to anyone who's trying to get in their allotted 8 glasses of water a day and are tired of "just water". Highly refreshing, rather tasty, and all around a great idea. I'm already on my second jug today.

Be sure to let me know if you give it try

My name is Heather...and I'm a Reality TV whore

2005-08-17T07:42:00.000-07:00

I admit it....I love reality TV. There is very few reality TV shows that I have not, at some point, sat down to watch. Honestly, it started with The Real World. I remember being enthralled with the very first season. I loved the "drama" that came from just putting strangers together. Julie, Eric, Kevin, Rebecca, Heather, Andre, and Norman became my friends and I tuned in every night to see what they were up to. I thought this was brilliant. I couldn't wait for the new season.

I then also got involved with Road Rules. A little different than Real World, but still there was "real life drama" to be watched. From there, the whole genre becomes a blur. I have watched Survivor, The Apprentice, The Amazing Race, Big Brother, America's Next Top Model, American Idol, Mr. Personality, BlowOut, just to name a few. My husband, God bless him, DISDAINS reality TV, but allows me my stupid shows, and for this I am truly grateful.

However, Rich has a dirty little secret.....there was one "reality" TV show he'll admit to loving.....Battle of the Network Stars. Do you remember? While on summer hiatus, network stars would get together to compete. They did the canoe, the tandem bike, the obstacle course, and it all ended with the dreaded TUG OF WAR. It was quite the drama. But I bet you don't remember this bit of trivia......they actually competed for cash! The money they won, went straight to their pockets!!! And as much as we loved the show, I knew in my heart that it would never come back, network stars have become too celebratized, and even for all of the money in the world, I don't think they'd lower themselves to that sort of humiliation these days.

But reality TV "stars", now, that's a different story!!! Yes, that's correct.....tonight on Bravo the first episode of the "Battle of the Network Reality Stars" comes on. Here's a link if you wish to know more: Battle of the Network Reality Stars. I certainly plan on tuning in to see the drama unfold. And I'm hoping to get a glimpse of too tight speedos or too thin bathing suits as well. My fingers are crossed!

I'm kicking myself

2005-08-10T21:37:00.000-07:00

Can I tell you all right now how much I'm kicking myself!!!

Let me explain:

In July, the school I work for was bought by a new company. Since the buy out, the new company has had issues getting their stuff together. We don't have insurance card, our 401k is not set up, and our poor director has been busting her butt to get the budget done, but they fail to give her any support, let alone a bottom line. It's been difficult.

So, because of this buy out, last pay period I did not get my regular pay. I usually get my salaried pay from the company, and then I also receive a stipend from the grant that we receive for the WorkAbility program I supervise. They did not have my stipend on the books, so I only got paid my regular salary. Fortunately, due to other problems (as mentioned above), I still got paid enough to cover the bills and was told that my stipend on the next pay period would just be doubled.

Well, I got paid this Monday. Because of all the changes (they're still not taking out for 401k or insurance) I really wasn't sure if my paycheck was correct. But it was a whole lot more than I usually get, so I didn't complain. I did, however, wonder if my stipend was correct. So tonight, I took out an old pay stub to compare it. Here's the part where I'm kicking myself.....They over paid me!!! And not just a couple buck.......they paid me $115 more per stipend on my check!!! I got over paid by $230. And now that I know this, I will forever feel guilty if I do not say something. Who knows, maybe because everything is so screwy right now, they'll just shrug it off. Yeah right. I'll let you know what they say tomorrow, but for now my back side hurts!!!

What a Weekend

2005-08-09T21:43:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Rich and I headed out to Vegas to see a college friend of Rich's get married. We had a great time. I think I can honestly say that it was the best Vegas trip I've been on. It started off a little slow; we got out late and traffic on the 15 was TERRIBLE, but we made it to the wedding almost on time. So imagine this, 6 people (all over 30) changing in the parking lot of a church in order to make ourselves more presentable. We don't think anyone from the wedding saw us, but who knows what neighbor was looking out their window.

The wedding was sweet. Dave married a co-worker of his whom he had met at the beginning of the past school year. He was certainly smittened with his new bride. She was beautiful, wearing her grandmother's wedding gown. After the wedding we headed over to the parish hall for cake and red punch (very Lutheran, I've been told). From there we waited over an hour to head to the reception.

The reception was, to put it into one word, HOT! It was in a lovely atrium hall, complete with plants and such, however, the air was not working and we were slightly miserable. But we made the most of it. We drank, ate, danced, and laughed. Good times were had by most, but when we got up to do the Chicken Dance, my hubby headed for the hills. One day I'll get him to cave in.

Once we were done at the reception, it was all about gambling. The night started out good for me. I hit the nickel slots and at one point, was able to take $20 and turn it into over $40. Rich, on the other hand, did not start out so well. He went to a 21 table and somehow managed to run through $40 in about 10 min. NOT GOOD! But he then found himself at a "Crapless Craps" table, and the magic began. He was amazing and managed to take his $20 and turn it into $150. With Heather and Mark playing next to us, it was great! Around 2:30am we almost made it a night, but stopped to get a late night breakfast. I think we crawled into bed around 3:45. Good times, good times.

You'd think we all would have slept in, seeing that the dogs and kids were not with us, but our internal clocks thought otherwise. All four of us were up by 9am and gambling. This is when my trip turned for the good. While the boys were deciding what the wanted to play, I headed over to the Penny Slots. (I know what your thinking, "I never knew Heather was such a gambler") I sat down at one machine and put my $8.00 ticket in. A couple of pulls, and suddenly my machine was giving me over 15 free spins. When it was all said and done (almost 3 min. worth of spinning on its own) I had turned my measly $8 into over $42!! It was CRAZY!!!

We then headed over to get a typical Vegas buffet and check out of the hotel. But we had one more stop to make.....SLOTS A'FUN!!! for some more cheap gambling. It was there that luck struck again for me. I was playing on a nickel Monopoly slot, I had put in $20 and was down to $5. I actually said out loud "ok, last pull", little did I know that I would hit the bonus on this machine as well. When the bonus round was done, I had $52 to my name. With Rich's craps playing and my luck with the slots, we managed to spend a total of $32 (room included) on our Vegas trip. HOW COOL IS THAT!!!!????!!!!

What's New Pussy Cat?

2005-07-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

So last night, around 5 am I start dreaming about one of our dogs, and for some reason, she has a bell on her collar. The bell is making a whole lot of noise.....it weird. And I know it's a dream because we let our pups run naked when in the house (no collar). The next thing I know, however, is that Lint, the other pup, is up by our head and has just barked. His bark startled Rich and I...What are you barking out. At the same time I hear the bells head out of our bedroom. Being still slightly in a dream state.....my next thought is "What does Pocket have that's making that noise?" Then it suddenly hits me......POCKET IS SLEEPING RIGHT NEXT TO ME!!! It's at that point that every thing becomes much more clear. WE HAVE A VISITOR IN OUR APARTMENT!!!! I decide to investigate and head out to the livingroom. I realize that the cat came up to our balcony last night and came into the house through the broken screen door. Who knows how long thecat was in the house, if he/she helped herself to any puppy food, or if it'll ever come back again. Regardless, it made me a bit less secure about our pups being watch dogs.....I hope they make much more noise if we're ever visited again.

"Run, Lola, Run"

2005-07-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

Last night Rich and I sat down and checked out "Run, Lola, Run" on IFC. If you haven't seen it yet, put it on your Netflix list. It's a great movie. The plot appears to be pretty simple: A young woman in Germany has twenty minutes to find and bring 100,000 Deutschmarks to her boyfriend before he robs a grocery store. But before you know it, the real plot begins to unravel in front of you, and you know that you've been given a gift to rethink the choices you have made. (And please don't let the subtitles keep you away, it's worth the read)

If you want to see the movie without knowing what happens, don't read on!!!!

I loved how Lola was able to apparently see the outcome of all of the choices she makes in order to save her boyfriend's life. I also loved how it showed that all of her choices, consequently, made a difference in how the people's future around her was also changed. (I hope that sentence makes sense :-)

It made me think about the choices I made over my short life, and what would have happened if I had done something different. How would my life have changed. I constantly think about how my life would have been different if I had attended college with Rich. Would we have fallen in love and gotten married earlier in our lives? Would I have found him to be a geek and not married him? Would I still have the same job, or would my degree changed, and I would be doing something completely different? It really makes you think.

If you like the premise of Run, Lola, Run, then you might want to check out "Sliding Doors" with Gweyneth Paltrow. It takes the idea of making a choice and gives you the two scenarios simutantiously. Very interesting.

So the question now is......How did you reading this blog entry change the course of your life???

Have you see the new Dove Ads?

2005-07-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

Here's the best example I could find of one on line. Dove has recently opened this new campagin for their soap line. You can find out more at www.campaginforrealbeauty.com.

Essentially it's a hand up to the women of the world who are not the media's idea of "perfect". Personally, I found it amazingly fresh and beautiful. I was pleased that there were women, happy with who they were, standing around in their underwear, showing the world what a normal woman looks like. Such a change in pace was so nice to see. My hubby was very surprise and pleased with the ad. As most of you know, he's very attracted to curves, something I am very grateful for. My curves are something I work on daily, attempting to get them under control, refining them, making them, attempting to bring myself back into a healthy lifestyle.....again.

What I found interesting, however, was the backlash that was all over the web about these ads. I wanted to post a pic of the girls, so I went searching for one. When I found it, it was in this terrible blog about how all of these women were fat, and disgusting, and such. As I searched on, I found that there were two different agendas when people were blogging about the ads. All of the mens blogs said that the ad was wrong, full of fat women, and Dove was crazy for using this campaign. All of the women that blogged about it found the ads to be beautiful. So what's your take?

Hey look she has a blog!!!!

2005-07-25T13:02:00.000-07:00

Alrighty...so I finally did it. I created my own blog. I plan on using this thing like I did my journal I had for a while. A place to share thoughts, get opinions, and in general talk about the craziness that is my life. The title comes from the fact that I have no name at my work (according to the students)....I'm simply the Job Lady. So here's my life.

Welcome to it!!!!!