Friday, October 31, 2008

I really did it!

Yep... I really did... I decided to do NaBloPoMo for the month of November. That's a big commitment... but I thought I would try it. I know that it's alot to take on... being that I just started a new job that requires a hefty commute. But I also have the support of my DH... (he did the dishes for me while I rested and then got online!) He's the best! So, I'm going to try and post everyday for a month~ 30 days in a row!

So... today was my first day at work. I love when you start a new job and they forget to tell you important stuff... like when you come in at 8:30 instead of 8 (per THEIR request) that you have to work an extra 1/2 hour. It would have helped me plan my day better. And they know that you are coming in... and they don't bother to get you your own log-in for the timecard system. And they require that you read all their manuals and policies, but that you have to take it home and read it on your own time. Not the best way to start off... but I did get some real work done today and I even had a slight headache when I left, which tells me that I worked hard!

Anyway... the facility is small... you could fit the entire office inside the cafeteria at VZW/Hanover. But it is nice, clean and modern, well kept and you don't have to wear a badge to go to the bathroom! It's fairly lowkey, altho no cell phones allowed at your desk and no music at your desk. It seems that only small personalization is allowed, but slowly, I will add some things to my desk area that shows it's my area. So... I am back in an office, working a regular 5 day work week, doing what I did at Geo. Allen... the only thing that would make it perfect would be if I had Nita sitting behind me. I miss her! It's funny... I took this position, and tonight when I got home, I had another message on the machine for another company looking to interview me! When it rains, it pours.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Never Underestimate the Power of Prayer...

Over here at Sugarloaf Cottage... we've been vacillating back and forth between my staying at home and doing an etsy shop... or my going back to work on the economy. We've also prayed about over time and night calls to help make ends meet and pay for some of the extra stuff. Well... this last 2 weeks, we've had many answers to our prayers. DH has had overtime last week and this week, he's also had one night call as well. I went on a job interview almost 2 weeks ago. I got hired this morning. I also received calls from recruiters this week as well. God is good and we are feeling very blessed. We will be able to finish furnishing our house, pay for a full tank of oil for our furnace and put money away in to savings.

I did ask everyone is our little circle to pray for me as I deal with commuting and fatigue. I have a 50 mile drive (one way) but only a 7 1/2 hour day. Having that extra half hour will really help with the drive home. I know that I won't have to do this job for ever, but it does build out my resume that much more and gives me more training so that I may be able to find a position like this closer to home. All in God's plan and timing. For now... we will continue to save for the day that we can purchase both cottages here at Sugarloaf and make this our home forever.

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

It's a Crazy Wednesday!

I have to admit....some days I am soooo Happy to be Home! It was so cold this morning... the furnace kept coming on. And I crawled back into bed around 8 because I was so cold. (Altho, I am always cold without my thyroid! It could be 77 degrees outside and I would be cold.) I snoozed off and on for about an hour or so. I woke up and it was still cold, but made myself get out of bed. It was very overcast. I went to computer to do email... and an hour later, I looked up, and it was snowing to be all heck! I went and got myself dressed in warmer clothes thinking it was going to be one of those "stay in days." Here it is... another hour later... and the sun is shining and all the snow is gone. That's life down here in the valley!

It's also crazy because I sent an email to my friend Liz.... the one who came and stood up with me when I married my sweet man this past spring. Her email bounced back! She hasn't answered any of my text messages or voice mails recently, and now I am getting concerned. I just sent another text message to her, asking if she is okay... we shall see if I get an answer. Lizzy and I have been friends for over 20 years... sheesh, it's almost 30 years! We don't always stay in constant touch, but she will usually give me an answer. She has gone thru some tough stuff recently and I am concerned about how she is handling all the stress of starting a new college career and working full time with the break up of her marriage and the loss of her "friend" as he chose his wife and kids over her. She is hurting so badly... and I try to be as loving and non-judgemental as I can be... and I know that it is hard for her that I finally got married to a fabulous man. I just worry that she is going to shut me out of her life and she won't know how much I love and care about her.

My dear friend "N" shared with me this past week that a former co-worker was fired along with my replacement. My former employer has not made good choices in who they let go... over the years, I have heard of several people that had been fired for no reason and they have kept other people that should have been let go a long time ago. No rhyme or reason to it... just office politics and who doesn't like who. When it happened to me... I know it was nothing more than a certain 2 people who didn't like the fact that I was willing to protect company assets and they knew I had the goods on them. It was easier to fire me than have their little secret get out. And I know that many people within the company were shocked and saddened about what happened to me. (But there is a silver lining, I know that God took me out of there, he gave me a better paying job with fabulous benefits and it allowed me to finally meet DH!) I miss working with "N" and our drives in to work everyday. It's nice to be able to email her during the day.

Well... on with the day! Dinner tonight will be glazed pork chops and garlic mashed potatoes and some yummy fall veggies. I might even get it together to make some fresh dinner rolls... we had the last of what I had stashed in the freezer with some Harvest Soup on Monday. Sweet DH just called to say that he is going to have more overtime today! Isn't God good? I hate that he has to work so hard... but God provides for us as I look for work!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Down in the Valley...

Wow... it's hard to believe that the pics in the previous post were taken just a little over a week ago. We are in the midst of our FIRST Winter Storm! I feel lucky to live in the valley right now. Up in Lackawanna County at Moosic Lake, they got 10 inches of snow. And up in Freeland.... which is only 10 miles away.... straight across the valley and up on the hill... they also got 10 inches of snow! We have just had heavy rain/snow mix. It was coming down for awhile with those big featherbed-pillow fight sized flakes. Poor DH is out in this stuff.... and having to go between work sites today. Luckily, schools are closed today, so the roads shouldn't have too many people on them!

They said we could have at least an inch or two tonite... but it will all be gone by Thursday and Friday should be good for the kids for trick-or-treating! Time to go and get my stuff done for today and start sauce for dinner... Spaghetti always sounds good when it snows.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Fall in the Poconos






















We went out for a drive a week ago when the fall colors were just at peak viewing. These pictures were taken just outside the village where we live.

The countryside is so beautiful at this time of year. This was my first fall here in the Poconos and I can't wait for next year!

It's Monday Already?

My, how this weekend flew by! We always have so much fun together that weekends should be much longer than they are! We had a great day yesterday... being at home and taking our time with projects. DH got the final pieces of his desk in the guestroom put together and he put my rolling clothes rack together. Now the real fun comes as I start to unpack garments and hang and steam them. I've got to get the summer clothes put away and get out the winter things.

Healthwise, I have been fighting fatigue still! This morning I woke up with my chest very tight and wonderful palpitations. I took my medicine and some baby aspirin, got DH out the door and went back to bed. I slept hard until almost 10. I don't know why I am needing 10-12 hours of sleep lately. I just can't get enough rest. When we went shopping on Saturday, normally I would have canvased most of the stores at the center we were at... nope, too tired to do it. I think, also, I didn't want to be tempted to make any more purchases and have to dip into savings to do it. It was much better to buy just what we needed and not what I wanted!

Anyway, I am staying in today. Not going to the post office, not picking up the few things we need at the store... I am staying put! I've decided to pull out some soup and rolls that I made a few weeks ago from the freezer... so it will be an easy dinner for tonite! I hope that my energy returns soon and I get a creative streak going as soon as possible!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Out of the fog...

Okay... I have emerged from my morning fog and actually went and fixed the erring post. I feel better that at least I can read it and have it make some sense. It's gonna take me some getting use to, this code and format stuff on blogging. DH informed that he has unearthed some great software that should help me begin to do what I want on here. We shall see!

Oh.... we did something this weekend that we haven't done since we moved here, really! We ate all of our meals at home this weekend. We did our usual Friday night Pizza thing, cause we have a special server that we like and she only works Wednesday and Friday nights now. We like her because she is so caring, takes her time to get everything right and is very attentive. She knows our order when we walk thru the door, and she appreciates that we make it so easy for her. She always gives us a good discount, which we give back to her as a tip. She's worth every bit of the 20-25% that we give her. One of these days, she won't be there anymore.... but we won't think about that for now and enjoy the best service we've found since we moved here. Anyway, it's rare for us to have all our meals at home on the weekend. We are usually running off to do something, or we've been engrossed in a project and I am tired, so we have two to three meals "out on the economy" on the weekend. That didn't happen this weekend. Wow!

Still fighting the fatigue stuff again. I know that is because my meds are so screwed up and I am requiring a huge amount of sleep. I fell asleep last night after 10pm and slept until 8:30 this morning. I did make us a nice brunch... and while DH was doing the dishes, I climbed into bed to get warm (another side effect) and I was soon fast asleep. I missed almost the entire movie I had planned on watching. Once awake... I had to really pull it together to get our dinner done and get the kitchen cleaned again for tomorrow. I am worried at if I get the job that is 50 miles away from here, just how I will handle working and driving with the fatigue.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Whew! Moving is stressful!

Okay... Here I am! I did a huge cut and paste on the all the posts on my other page. It's really new, so there wasn't too much to move. It still stressed me a little as I did it. So... all the posts under this look like I was a lunatic and sat here all day. Believe me when I say... no way would I sit in front of a computer all day on a Saturday if I wasn't getting paid. (That would have been at my last job... ummm. hi everyone at Verizon Wireless... I do miss my old team! I always have stuff to do with DH!)

Speaking of doing stuff... we took off today on a little jaunt eastward. We weren't too far from NYC, up in the Pocono's. Our original plan didn't pan out... so we stopped at Crossroads Outlets. This was a ton of fun for both of us... and we snagged some good stuff for the house. It's always an adventure to go and find something new in our area and neither of us had been that far east on I-80 to know what was up there. We came home... ate leftovers from dinner last night, and snuggled into bed to watch afternoon tv... because it was pouring down rain and so windy, you just didn't want to be out it anymore. Poor Nolli got a real shower when he went out for his potty break. He's still damp in a couple of spots, 4 hours later!

So... it's been a busy day here at Sugarloaf Cottage. I bought a new skillet, new flatware and a garlic press at Pfaltzgraft, and a great magnetic knife board to hang up on the cabinet from a gourmet shop. We also picked up a few other little things we have been wanting... all kitcheny things. We were sad to see that Pfaltzgraft stores are going out of the outlet business and will be online order only! Boooo! Hoooo! to that, as I have loved their shops for years and years. (At least 19 of them!) Anyway.... here's to life in my new spot... I plan on being around here alot!

Posts and Politics

I have read several different blogs for a few years now. (Just because I just started this blog, doesn't mean I haven't blogged before or used a different site.) Anyway... most of the time, when I see something posted that is political in nature, I will read it and give license to freedom of speech and everyone has a right to speak their own voice. But today, one of my favorite blogs went off on a tangent that makes me feel insulted. The blogger in question, states that "anyone who is still undecided in the upcoming election is either apathetic, ignorant, un-American, or living under a rock." ( Well.... isn't that nice, real nice!)

At my house, and in my own neighborhood... the flower shop, and my next door neighbors, we are still kinda on the fence. There are issues we like and don't like about each candidate. There are things like, being a heartbeat away... or not enough experience... and healthcare planks, and tax increases, and worrying about the future of money in trustfunds). We go round and round, trying to make sense of what is the right thing to do in such an important election that is going to change the face of this nation and how we will be living our lives in the next few years. I voted for Ross Perot... and felt that my vote made me powerless for 8 years under the smarm of the Clinton Administration. I felt good about my first vote for "W." but not about the second one. I did vote along party lines... and felt that I had been handed my a$$ on a plate afterward.

It just gets me, that someone who professes to be a liberal democrat... and has made their declaration well before the DNC was held... has very little or no TOLERANCE as other people struggle to decide to vote with party lines or vote with the 3rd party and throw their vote away. After all... are they not the ones that profess to be tolerant of other people and lifestyle choices? I've been raised as a conservative all my life... and I have had to work with some very, very liberal people though out my career, and I have been nothing but tolerant and gracious about the choices they have or haven't made. And to read insults about making a decision about how to cast my ballot in this upcoming election angers me and saddens me... because I take the right to vote very seriously and know that it will affect more than just me, but the future of my aging parent along with the future of our kids and how we will cope with being the sandwich generation.

We live a simple life here.... we don't have a lot of credit card debt, and we don't have home equity as we are renting right now. We have a tiny.... very tiny cushion. I am not working right now and there are not many positions right now for what I do. My DH works for a company that relys on contracts... and when those contracts get pulled... nobody works. That is very scary! So.... yes, we are still weighing how to vote, because it affects so much. Just don't call me ignorant, and don't call me un-American. My DH is a veteran, and I am also a former navy wife. And I have 5 members of my family who are currently serving this country along side the children of several of my friends. Be gracious enough to let me struggle with my decision without having to face ridicule while doing so.

Okay.... I'm stepping off the soapbox now.

And just to lighten it up a bit:
There are 2 "Southern" women sitting outside the veranda of the country club...
The first one says to the second one: Oh, Honey... my husband loves me so much... when I birthed my first baby, my husband gave me this BEEYOUUUUTIFUL Diamond Ring!
The second woman said: Well, that's nice, real nice.
The first woman went on: When I birthed my 2nd baby, my husband gave that Wonderful car sitting over there... pointing to her Mercedes.
The second woman replied: Well, that's nice, real nice.
The first woman continued: And you see that big, BEEYOUUUTIFUL House up there on that hill over there... well, He gave that to me for our third baby! - Oh, Honey! You have 6 babies!!! What did your husband get for you????
The second woman replied: Etiquette lessons.
The first woman said: Etiquette lessons? Why on earth for???
The second woman replied: So I could reply, "That's nice, real nice...
instead of F*#k You, B!tch.

Again... that was nice, real nice. :)
Posted by Suzanne at 9:10 AM

1 comments:
Stephanie said...
Nice post, Suzanne. I hear you :)Stephhttp://www.xanga.com/subarcticsuburbia

Busy With Mundane Things...

Yesterday was the L-word for me. Not That "L-word".... it was Laundry day. It is not an easy chore for me. We still don't have our washer fixed, so instead of hauling it all to the basement, I haul it all to the laundry mat. I kinda put it off for a couple of days... so it seemed like there was a ton of it. Actually, there was a bit more than I usually do, 2 2bushel baskets, 1 1 1/2bushel basket and a 1 bushel sized basket full of towels, bedding, jeans, DH's work t-shirts and some of my fall and winter clothing. What normally takes me about 2 hours, took me almost 4! Thank Goodness, I only have to carry it down to the car and in and out of the laundry mat... DH has the duty of unloading and carrying it up the stairs. Whew... I was pretty wiped out at the end of it.

After getting it all put away, I so wanted to crawl into bed and sleep. (I'm fighting fatigue again, darn it... I miss my thyroid.) DH was kind and realized how tired I was and suggested that we go out for dinner. We ended up at a little chinese restaurant near our mall and it was fabulous! We had egg drop soup that was thick and rich and flavorful, spring rolls, cashew chicken, sweet and sour chicken, and some of the best pork fried rice ever! The portions were very generous. the rice had huge chunks of roast pork and my cashew chicken had large pieces of chicken, huge chunks of water chesnuts and veggies and tons of nuts. It was so good. DH had the sweet and sour chicken, and the tempura was perfect and the chicken pieces were yummy, sauce was good and even had pineapple in it! We feel like we finally hit a home run with this restaurant. The server was an older lady, with a good sense of humor and was very attentive. We left her a very good tip and we are looking forward to going back again. It made a mundane day end on a good note!

DH got a call at 8pm last night for a night call. He finally made it back home at 1:30 this morning. Needless to say, I had a rough nights sleep as I awoke when he came in, when he came to bed, when I realized that he left lights on, and when I got up to turn stuff off... decided to sit at the computer for about an hour. 6:30 came way too soon for me this morning and I will again, fight fatigue all day. There are things I need to do today... I need to go to Wal-Mart, CVS, and stop at the furniture store to see if that little lamp I love is still there. (And maybe go upstairs and look for a little pin-up lamp to go over my sewing machine, and maybe a little shelf too.)

Oh... While we were out for dinner, we got a call about a Craigslist ad about some chairs, I think they will be a good match to our table and are only $125 for 4 chairs with leather seats! I showed the picture to DH and he liked them as well... so Saturday, we are off to East Stroudsberg in the Pocono's to pick them up. I am so excited about that!Off to go and start my day... I so want to get back into bed! Gotta continue on thru the fatigue!
Posted by Suzanne at 7:55 AM
Labels: ,

0 comments:
Post a Comment
Newer Post Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Baby, it's cold outside!

Brrr.... , my poor DH is outside in this cold, blustery stuff all day today. At least he took his winter tewk with him to keep his ears warm. He was moving slow after yesterday... he didn't get home until almost 7:30! That's one long day when you leave the house at 6am!I'm moving slow myself. I need to be a laundry goddess today, but I just can't seem to wrap my brain around that idea. I will finish getting it all sorted and have DH carry it down for me. We still don't have the laundry area set up in the basement yet... which means having to go to laundromat... which I hate... but it also gets everything done in a little over 2 hours. I have it down to a science anymore... Use 1 huge washer for all the whites, towels and sheets. 1 washer for John's work stuff, 1 washer for colors, and 1 washer for jeans. Everything gets done fairly close to together and it's a matter of folding it all. Just can't seem to get it together tho. I also need to go to the grocery store to get some items to finish making dinner tonight.Time go and get myself motivated!
Posted by Suzanne at 1:07 PM

0 comments:

Sunday Lazy's For Me

Here I sit... and I have been on and off the computer all day. I did the necessary edits to my (long) resume and redid the application for my interview for tomorrow. I have my outfit ready and I have changed my bag to my business bag instead of my little summer cotton bag. (I guess it's time to put that one away.) We were being pretty lazy for most of the day, watching tv. All of sudden we heard band music, as in marching band music! We raced downstairs and realized that there was a harvest parade going on over on main street! We raced down as fast as we could to catch the tail end of it. I later discovered when I went to the post office that it started at 2 today. Had I known, I would have been there for the entire thing. I need to get better at reading the bulletin board when I go to the post office from now on!

I made a fabulous dinner tonight, using the produce and staple items we picked up yesterday. I made stuffed green peppers for DH, as he requested them. They turned out so very yummy and there is enough for another whole meal! Yay for me! I still need to go through all my boxes of clothes. When we moved here, it was summer and I wasn't planning on looking for work right away. I only ever unpacked just my suitcase and what I had in hanging garment boxes. I never went through all the other stuff, like my skirts and sweaters for fall and winter, and clothes that I need to decide to keep or give to Salvation Army. (There is a lot of stuff I just need to let go of and clean house! It makes me miss my Mommy, as she is good at doing that very thing.)

I also had a training session with Nolli. Little dog took off running this morning after a walker and her dog. DH had to chase him down in his pj's and was not a happy man about it. So, for this upcoming week, I am going to be walking the driveways with Nolli to get him back to leash walking and working on sit/stay and heel. He gets the sit/stay for the most part, but when you call him to come, he runs so hard and fast that he feels out of control and I want him to come directly to me. I think he will get it eventually. I need to remember to take the little training treats down with me! Al tho he's happy with praise and pets.

That's what life in the village was about today... we didn't go anywhere or spend any money!
Posted by Suzanne at 7:22 PM

0 comments:

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Yesterday and even part of today have been extremely hard for both my husband and I. I have been... ummmn.... Anxious, Obnoxious, and a regular Crank. I have had extreme mood swings, to say the least. Most of this is because of 2 things... I don't have my required meds and I have an important interview for a really good job that is a 50 mile commute one way.

The lack of meds means that I am only on a low dose of Synthroid at the moment. And it means that I am currently not on any blood pressure medication or Actose. All because we got new insurance thru DH's company and the owner made a huge mistake in having prescrition medication coverage start after the $1500 deductible has been met. Currently, the cost of 3 of my medications is going to cost me over$325 per month. (Not exactly in the budget, as I am not working yet.)

We did drive up to the interview site today... I used MapQuest to get the directions and it ended up taking us off of I-81 and onto US-11 and routing us thru parts of Northern Scrantons residential district. Once we got to the destination... we discovered that we were only about a mile from where we had lunch 2 weeks ago driving back from Elk Mountain. That made a huge difference in the route, I can go straight up I-81 and take the exit I need and go south on Rt.11. A few more miles longer, but a more direct route. We ended up having lunch at the same place and then we drove up to an Antique store out in the country. We had a fabulous time there. And we stopped at the Farmers Market as we did last time. We ended up with some fabulous produce that is locally grown.... Good little red skinned potatoes, some yukon golds for Thanksgiving, some pretty little bell peppers for dinner tomorrow, some of the last of the fresh picked roma tomatoes and some beautiful falr leaf parsley. I am very happy about our purchase from the farmers market.

After returning to town, we stopped at Staples for some supplies and then dropped in to the grocery store to pick up some meat for dinner. While going in... we got a waft of what was cooking over at Applebees... it smelled so good. It was still in the air as we came out of the store so we decided it would be faster and easier if we just ate there tonight. It was good and satisfying. We had a good server who was attentive. We enjoyed our meal and enjoyed people watching as well. There was a very young girl who was seated in the booth just down and across from us... she looked to be maybe 15. She was very pretty and very heavy.... she could have out weighed me by a good 100 pounds. She kept staring at me and would scowl at me if I caught her. I decided to just ignore her and really engage with DH and let her see that it was okay to enjoy life with a man who loved me for who I was and not what I looked like. I had a very fun evening.

We are now home and snuggled in.... Nolli has had his dinner and a treat. DH is crashed in front of the tv and I had a small nap and am now wide awake. It's finally turned cold here... no more gentle breezes thru open windows. The air conditioner has to come out for the winter. The fall colors have peaked this week and most of what is left is turning yellow. The bright reds and oranges are mostly gone and many trees are now barren for the winter. We are in the midst of our first fall here and there is still much to be done. We still need to address the drainage issue and also the leak in foundation at the side of the house that floods the basement. I know that the gutters need to be cleaned out as well... we shall see what Mr. Stewart will address... my gut feeling is that it will be nothing.I am feeling happy and blessed and loved tonight and I hope and pray that I get this job. If so, it will allow for several things to happen... I will be able to finish the living room, get new chairs for the dining room and order heating oil. Also, I will be able to help give us a great first Christmas together. What a difference a day makes.
Posted by Suzanne at 10:32 PM

0 comments:

Anxiously Rough Day

Wow... I don't know if I would want to be married to me today. My poor husband has been working a very long day and came home to one snippy, impatient woman. I haven't been sleeping for almost a week now... and the outcome is not very pretty by the end of the day. And when you add technology in the mix, I can become unglued reaaallllllly fast. And when the husbands lead service tech keeps calling during dinner and keeps changing the service calls and the hours... I get really annoyed. Again, not pretty. Thankfully, my DH has the patience of a saint and deep forgiveness. I am a lucky woman.
Posted by Suzanne at 8:51 PM
Labels:

I just jumped in to the mix!

Yep.... I did it. Went ahead and decided to finally start a blog. I have been blogging on the old standard "myspace" blog, but I've decided to go ahead and really blog like everyone else. So... here goes!

Of course, I am going to be basic to start with, until I get the hang of this. It's all trial and error anyway. Let me introduce myself: I'm 49 and about to turn 50! (That is always a surprise to me, as I am the youngest of 4.) I recently remarried after almost 20 years of being a single woman. Along with getting married came a transfer for my husband and we have just moved to northeastern Pennsylvania. We had lived just outside of Baltimore and we love the slower, quiet life here. I am a 2 time cancer survivor and I have the most wonderful companion pet ever... my sweet pound puppy, a cross between a Jack Russell terrier and a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Cannoli... we call him Nolli for short.

I have had the luxury of staying home since we have moved. I use to work in the telecommunications industry and it was a very stressful job. I don't miss the stress, but do miss my friends from work. I learning to be domestic again and pulling out my cookbooks to refresh my repertoire... my husband had no idea that I really knew how to cook and bake. I did some cooking while we were dating... but he had no idea about all the things I knew how to make and do. He loves that I can bake and loves my home made bread. Thank God for Kitchen Aide stand mixers! That's all I've got for my first post. See ya around!
Posted by Suzanne at 11:27 AM 0 comments