HEY HEY HEY....what do you say

I have great news!  I GOT A JOB!!!  Woo HOO....I am going to be a phlebotomist for a large lab working at a family medicine clinic.  I can't believe that it happened. It happened so quick.  I was told by a friend/doctor at church on Sunday about a potential job. She took my name, email and phone number and told me that the girl would call me about the job.  On Wednesday (Oct. 17th) the lady called me about the job and told me to go online and fill out the application and then call her Supervisor and tell her that I was interested in the job and that I submitted my resume online. I did that and by Thursday morning the HR department called me and told me to take an assessment and that she would make sure to give my resume to the Supervisor. Thursday afternoon the Supervisor called me about an interview on Friday.  So Friday morning i had my interview, where I had to draw blood (on HER!!) ,which I haven't done in 4 years.  I was on point and drew it with NO PAIN!!  By Friday afternoon the HR department called me and told me that I was the top candidate!! YESSSS!!!!!   SO, I am driving down to Kansas City Sunday night for a one day training on Monday and then I start my job on Tuesday.  I'm so relieved and thankful!!  Praise GOD!!

Also this last week I joined CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) and have started my training.  I'm so excited to be during this.  I have wanted to be a child advocate for a long time and am glad that I have FINALLY taken the step to make a difference.


I went to the cooking club for the SAA with L and a girl named "K". Everyone that was there was LDS and that was a little uncomfortable to me, but I had a good time and for the most part they were nice to me.

Give me a job already!!

I have been waiting for two weeks now to hear about a job that i applied for.  I called last week and they said that they had not made a decision but should by the end of the week.  So I called again yesterday and was told that they still had not made a decision.  WTF!!! 

How am I supposed to take that?  Either I didn't get the job and you just don't have the balls to tell me OR you are hoping to find a better candidate by waiting which to be says "You're just not good enough"

I'm just sick to death of this waiting game.. I NEED A JOB!!!

Special Garments, Peanut Butter Cookies and Awkwardness

So last night was a very weird evening. The two ladies from the spouse group came over (they are both LDS).   They were terrified...LOL   It's not funny but it is totally funny.  So they came in and met NH and sat down and they were just talking small talk and I think waiting for me to bring up the subject about what happened, but I wasn't going to (insert evil laugh), so after about a half hour of idol chat and the two talking amongst themselves one of the ladies (L) finally approached the subject.


The whole thing was so awkward and just weird, but I believe (and I checked with NH) that they were sincere in their apology and wanting to make it right.  I think it shocked L the most to find out how much in common she had with me (reading, cooking, crafts, Halloween, etc).   And at one point she was crying and at other I had them laughing at my gay jokes!  Maybe they were laughing in terror idk.


Anyway,


  So they have asked that I come to some of the clubs and check them out so that I can meet some people and they will work on how to educate the group on the ways of gay (my words not theirs).  I made a joke about if they touched me they would leave their husbands for women and you should have seen the look on the other lady's face (A)... hahahah.... I thought she was going to pass out!  Then L hugged me and said she didn't care and so A I think felt she had too and gave me this really awkward hug.lol   ALL in all it was a good experience so we will see.... Maybe I will make friends with these Morons! oops I mean Mormons.

It's been a crazy month

There has been much going on since I posted last.  I still haven't gotten a job.  I feel like this is a no win situation. I always get asked in the interview why I came to Kirksville. I have one of two choices.  Either tell the truth, which tells the interviewer that I'm moving in 2 years or lie. So far I haven't found a good lie to tell. UGH....I am also very over qualified for every job and no one wants to give me a chance because  I will be bored or not want the pay. I'm so depressed about this. UGH

So there is a group here on campus for spouses, significant others and partners. It was one of the reason why we decided to come to Kirksville. It has different clubs for each spouse to join and most were things that I wanted to do. I was super excited to join this group and make friends and have stuff to do here since there isn't much to do.  Anyway, they had a general meeting to introduce the clubs and talk about the group.  When I got there no one would sit by me or talk to me and after the meeting I tried to go to the different club tables and talk to people and I actually had people turn their backs to me. I left went home and started crying.  I think I cried for about an hour. I wasn't going to do anything about it and NH joined the Diversity Committee at school in hopes to shed light to what happen.  Well turns out its not really what the group is about.  So I decided to write a letter to the faculty advisor and the spouse advisor about what happened and how I felt.  The faculty advisor emailed me and I met her for lunch....Well long story short the president of this group is coming over tomorrow to meet with me and I don't know what...........So we will see what happens..........Did I mention that she is LDS?  LOL

I have joined the book club and the Canterbury club at church.  It's still so strange to me to be going to church and actually enjoying it!! lol  Last weekend was the blessing of the animals and we took Daphne.  She had so much fun and was so well behaved.  It was a good time.

As for everything else, I am super depressed and my health is not great.  I think I have a gluten allergy but its really hard to limit my diet and eat only meat and veggies since we have no income coming in.  I also cant go to the doctor or a counselor for my depression.  I can't seem to get motivated to work out or do much of anything...UGH... I wish this was easier!!

Bread.....It's serious business!

I"m not sure if I mentioned before that the bread here is less than wonderful. I'm not sure if I just got spoiled by having so many awesome bread options living in Seattle or if the bread is just truly NOT GOOD here. I equate it to eating sawdust (yes I know what sawdust tastes like). So we were blessed to be sent a bread machine and I have started baking bread in the machine and by hand. Last week as you know I made French bread. It was French yummy!! We have also started making croûton (my fav!) with the older pieces of bread.

My First Loaves of French Bread!

Yummy Yummy Croutons!

Yay Yay things are on there way!!

So when I got home from the coffee shop guess what had been done? The carpet people showed up ten minutes after I left and then the cleaning people showed up too. So we FINALLY have new carpet. There have been several other things that have happened since then so on to that.

We have had several really great or bad thunderstorms since we have moved here. According to weather.com we are 14 inches over the predicted rainfall amount for the year. Can I just say that these are not rain storms they are flash floods. On minute everything is nice and the next minute BAM I am watching a river run through the front yard and yesterday everything that was on the back porch almost ended up in the neighbors yard. I enjoy them for the most part but we have lost power several times (since we live in rural NOWHERE) so we now have candles and lighter strategically placed around the house.

We have started to plan out our meals so we took the 3 hour drive to Costco in Des Moines, IA and stocked up on food for a month. We also went out and purchased a standing freezer for the food since everything rots so quickly here. NH was very proud of me because I have food issues and I have been doing well with them. What food issues do I have? Well first I have very sensitive taste buds and I can usually tell when something is about to go bad and so I have refused to eat ANYTHING past it's expiration date and secondly I have issues with eating leftovers. I just don't like them. But since we are now dirt poor I have eaten left overs and yesterday morning one of our bagels that we just bought at Costco had 3 tiny mold spores on it and I picked those off and still ate the bagel. NH was super proud! LOL

Anyway, when I woke up on Tuesday morning I noticed that the fridge was not working and the freezer had almost completely defrosted. I panicked since we bought so much food. Called the wonderful landlord (sarcasm inserted here) and they luckly sent someone over THE SAME DAY. Miraculously the fridge started working about an hour before he showed up but apparently there was something wrong with the hinges that he could not fix so on Thursday we got a NEW FRIDGE. I must say I was shocked! BUT NOW I"M SUPER HAPPY.

So what else has happened this week. I have started searching for a job and it's not been easy. I baked french bread (pics to come). NH parents found us a 200 dollar bread machine for 21 bucks and shipped it to us.

NH started medical school yesterday and have the white coat ceremony this morning. I'm officially a future Dr's (insert title here). LOL

School officially starts on monday and its going to be grueling. I hope that I can not be selfish and demanding (I know it would be totally out of character to be.. ;-) ) and be super supportive.

So far around the house I have seen 2 cardinals, a frog that hangs out on the kitchen window and a bunny in the front yard. Not bad I'd say.

Trek to Misery!!

So here is the update of how our move from Seattle to Portland to Missouri went.

First we had way more crap than we thought we had. I of course over reacted and was histerical! We picked up the 24 foot moving truck and the full car trailer on Monday morning. Took it to the house and unloaded the trailer. We then went to the storage unit where the majority of NH's stuff was and loaded the truck, no problem (expect it was ridiculously hot). While we were out we missed the comcast pick up! When we got back I proceeded to get one of the worst migraines I have had (in true fashion) and had to sleep the rest of the day and night while poor NH was stuck loading the truck. Only after another meltdown!

On Tuesday things were looking up. I felt better and we got started loading right away. I thought it would only take a couple of hours and we would be on our way to Portland to spend time with Mom and Mo and the girls. NOPE.... 12 hours later (9 hours of loading and 3 to clean) we finally hit the road and 9pm and rolled onto Mom's block at about midnight.

On Wednesday we loaded all the stuff from Mom's house (including the stuff I inherited from Carleen) and then I went with Mo and we got our Memorial Tattoo (which is really cool btw) then we went out to dinner and it was nice. Went home and I proceeded to try to finish all the school work i had (did I mention I"m still in school fulltime and it was FINALS week) only to have a few meltdowns in the process . What a tard I am... But with the help of Stephanie, I did it!!

We left on Thursday morning, a little later than expected (who would have thought that we were tired and needed to sleep). We stopped closed to Oregon City so that I could say goodbye to my only friend in Oregon. I had NH park the trailer in a church parking lot. After visting we proceeded to almost get stuck in this parking lot. Turns out its much harder to back up a trailer. So after I lost my mind, my temper and my will to live (slight over exageration) On the road we finally were!!

We had purchased Walkie talkies so that we could comunitcate and still drive and not break any laws. These worked out very nicely!

Thursday night we stayed in Twin Falls and slept like logs. I forgot to mention that I drove the Jeep which contained the two cats and Daphne the mini daschund and we trailered my car.

Friday morning we were off again. Top speed 55 mph unless we were going up hills then top speed was 35 mph... We were FLYING!! So the maps said that our journey for the day (goal was Laramie, WY) would only take 9 hours. During the drive, Huntress decided to visit me in the front seat and jumped down to where the pedals were and the car stalled on the highway while i was going 55 mph. It was ridiculously scary and after I figured out how to move to the side of the road and get the Jeep working again. The animals were not allowed up front. Thirteen hours later we rolled into the Super 8 were I apparently booked a smoking room (yay asthma). We snuck the dog into the room in our bag and again passed out!

Saturday morning our walkie talkies stopped working. UGH. We fueled up an intown gas station where we proceeded to get stuck!! I don't mean just pinned by cars. The turning radius was bad on the truck especially with that stupid trailer and we jack knifed the trailer on the island that blocks the fueling machines. So after about 30 mins of backing up and turning and screaming and almost crying (from both parties) we got the trailer free and vowed to ONLY stop at Semi fueling stations. Back on the road traveling through Wyoming, we stopped at Little America and got ice cream cones. And I think I only had one meltdown this day. Saturday night we stayed in Lincoln, NE.

Sunday morning NH took Daphne out to go to the bathroom and when we was putting the dog back into the car. Sinatra (the other cat) bolted out of the Jeep and Steph proceeded to chase her around for about 5 mins until she ran up under the Jeep and decided the safest place for her to be was in the ENGINE!! Steph ran up to the room and got me and after about 45 mins, 6 bottles of water and lot of poking and tugging I was able to dislodge the cat that had wedged herself completely into the engine. We were covered in grease and I of course was crying (ridiculous) and then we were off!! We drove until we got to Kirksville.

We got into Kirksville about 3pm central time, called the landlord to be able to get into our duplex and had to leave a message. No one called back so we rented a room and passed out again.

Monday morning we called (3 times) to the landlord before my temper exploded and I made NH drive us to their office. Once we got the keys the landlord proceeded to tell us that the previous tenants had destroyed the living room carpet (and it was destroyed, torn and dog feces and urine stains all over it) and that the earliest someone could come out and replace it would be Thursday! WONDERFUL!!!

The moving truck had to be back by Tuesday morning so we had no choice but to unload the truck. Turns out that it was 96 degrees outside with humidity of 78% (i.e. which makes the heat index about 106 degrees). So in true fashion, I got severe heat stroke and puked for most of the day (in between moving things in the house). So we put all the things that were in tubs on the back deck and most of the boxes that were meant for the downstairs in the kitchen. The furniture was not set up more like just tossed into the living room. Luckily the house is air conditioned and when we finally went to bed at 11pm we slept great.

So Wednesday morning we were supposed to get the internet set up so that I could still do school work (that didn't happen), now it's allegedly going to be set up tomorrow. So I have to go to the local coffee shop the use their internet and let's just say we have had massive computer problems and many many more meltdowns. Poor NH, i'm just a lunatic!

We called the landlord to find out what time the carpet people were coming so that we could move the furniture out of the living room and to find out if they were replacing the carpet in the whole house since there are pee spots up the stairs and in the hall way. The landlord said they were just replacing the carpet in the living room and they would now be there on Friday after 1pm and that they would have the carpet cleaning people come out on Monday. (WTF!!!)

So Thursday night we moved ALL the living room furniture into the Kitchen (2 couches, 2 chairs, entertainment center, bookshelve and T.V.). We made a path to the fridge and to the utensil drawer but otherwise the kitchen is non functionable. Friday came and I waited until 3:30 to call the landlord since the people hadn't shown up. I called to find out if there was a more accurate time frame of when these people are showing up and after calling EVERY single phone number we have for them all she could say to me was well they haven't told me they are not coming so I assume they will be there. We waited (up in our bedroom since that is the only functional room left) until 630 and when they didn't show. We called the landlord again, I should said I made NH call because I'm sure explatives would have come out of my mouth! She said that she would call them and find out what happened and that was it!!!...*&#(W@.... So we moved the 2 chairs, the entertainment center and the bookshelf and T.V. back into the living room for the weekend.

Saturday we went to the farmer's market(which I was super excited that they had). Turns out that a bunch of Amish people liver here and they brought there vegetable ( I should clarify vegetables). Tomatoes, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Small zuchini, tomatoes, and a couple of extra vegetables. We went to one table were the guy was pretty nice and then went to another table where we wanted to get green beans, mini potatoes, onions and green peppers and the people (3 men and 1 women) that were running the booth COMPLETELY ignored us and infact the women walked to the other side of the stand to talk to the 2 other gentlemen ( i use this word lightly) just so she wouldn't have to help us!. If you don't want my MONEY FINE!! *&@(*#@^$^

So I'm now not going to be nice next Saturday!!

Which brings us to today... I waited nicely until 10am to call the landlord (I was up at a quarter to 7) and she acted like she had no clue what I was calling about. So she called back while I was in the shower and talked to NH.... Apparently the carpet cleaning people did not have us on their list today for cleaning and they are currently cleaning the ENTIRE Super 8 Motel and will see if they can squeeze us in and she is not sure about the replacement people but thinks they are coming today.

So here I sit in the coffee shop, doing homework and writing emails. I LOVE THIS PLACE!!!

In a Mood.....

Well this weightloss journey is always sooo hard. It sucks!!

In fact everything pretty much sucks right now. I'm so stressed out it's ridiculous. If I didn't have to be responsible I would probably have a freakin meltdown and stay in pajamas for like a month watching tv.

Ok enough of the pity party!!

So I think NH and I have found a place to live. It's a duplex, 3 bed, 1.5 bath, fenced yard all the amenities including washer/dryer and dishwasher (thank you JESUS!!). It's approx. 1235 sq feet. and it's only 50 dollars more a month than I currently pay! YAY!!

As for jobs, no luck yet. I'm still trying not to pain. I applied for a private loan for 10,000 to help with finances, I just have to have a cosigner, so we will see about that.

I am officially telling my job that I'm leaving on Wednesday. I'm so scared to tell them and I have no idea why. But I am!

Tell you more later.....

Weightloss blog

Soo as I mentioned I have started a weightloss blog. If you are interested in reading that as well. It's at kirstysweightjourney.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

I suck at this

I knew there would come a time when I would fail at this blogging thing, but I think I am ready to get back on board and blog.

So let's see I have several months to update you on...

Well NH got into medical school!!! WOO HOO.... We are moving to Missouri or as I call it Misery at the end of July to a huge town called Kirksville. It has about 17,000 people. There is a grocery store called Hyvee and the ONLY place to buy anything besides groceries is the Super Walmart, Home Depot and the JC Penny's... I know you are all super jealous!! LOL

As of right now I don't have a job yet and I'm trying really hard not to panic. We have almost secured housing, into the house we really like so hopefully things will all work out.

Okay, so in May NH and I took a vacation. First we stopped in Vegas and I was able to meet up with one of my dear friends. It was so good to see her. We stayed at the Hilton and it was soo nice. I got a great deal on the room! Then NH and I went to Utah for a sibling graduation and spent time with family and then finally we drove to Anahiem and went to Disneyland with my mom and sister's family.

I cannot tell you how freaking fun Disneyland was!! I was like a little kid. We celebrated Ali turning 7 (man she makes me feel old). After Disneyland Mom, NH and I drove to San Francisco and then up the coast back to Oregon. It was so great! I could definitely travel and NOT work, so relaxing.

On the work front: I love my job, but things are starting to change alot. My manager is starting to lose it. He is super micro managing and makes very emotional decisions instead of managerial. I guess this is a good thing since I haven't told them yet that I'm leaving so it will make it easier. I guess

On a personal note.... I am starting a weight loss blog. I have a co-worker that is helping me to eat better and focus on my health and so i am going to have this blog to track what i'm eating and feeling. I haven't decided it I want that one private or public yet as it will probably contain embarrassing photos and stuff.

well that's enough for now

IMPORTANT!!!

I have to make this post private, so if you are still following this and would like to please email me with your email so that I can add you!

Thanks!! xoxoxox

VERY LONG POST!!!

Okay so clearly I didn't post "this weekend". I just can't seem to bring myself to post anything these days. It's just too much. I feel like I'm in a total fog lately. Sooooooo lets see... where did I leave off?

Oh Yes!! So I accepted the Medical Review Coordinator Position and started my "training" on Nov. 14th. I use the word training very losely as I am the first new person in this position in 5 YEARS!! and so much has changed that they don't have ANY type of training program. BIG SHOCKER!!! I know you can sense the sarcasm here... LOL So I have basically been thrown to the wolves (my group actually has that reputation) and so far I think I'm doing pretty well. There is alot of pressure that comes with this job, some of it I knew about and some of it I totally didn't expect. I knew that my group was tough by every standard of the word, however, they ALL do things differently and I'm supposed to remember each person's style. On top of that the higher ups are pushing to have me signed off sooner than later SIDE NOTE: which means 100 charts that I have reviewed.... let me break this down so you have a better understanding. One chart can have anywhere from 10-320 pages. I have to read every single one and make sure there is not anything infectious that could harm the receipiant, then i have to write up the story of what happened, complete a plasma dilution, and serologies. One chart can take anywhere from 1-4 hours to complete. END SIDE NOTE. so that they can higher one more person for our group, BUT they keep pulling me away from the job and having me do other things like my old job for 2weeks (which is completely different, btw) and then training as a technician and other random things. My new position takes alot of critical thinking and lets face it I COULD KILL TWO PEOPLE if I sign of tissue for transplant that is BAD!! UGH.... So that is the update on the job front.


As for the Holidays, Thanksgiving was great. Me and NH went down to my sister's house and had lunch there. It was fun and peaceful. We played games and did art projects. Everyone was there. Me, NH, Mom, Carleen, Sister and BIL, and of course my nieces!!

The day after Thanksgiving NH, Mom and I made Christmas cookies.. While we were doing that my Auntie K called and gave me the worse news of my LIFE. Carleen died!! I can't even begin to tell you how devistated I am. My world has come to a crashing halt. Sister and I had to go through all of Carleen's stuff and decide what we are keeping and what we were giving/selling. I was really hard, but also good. I am still struggling on a daily basis. I don't think there has been a day that has gone by since her death that I haven't cried. There is also so much drama and crap that has come with her death, it's kinda ridiculous. So she had her house that she was trying to short sale so that it would not be foreclosured on, the probate lawyer told us that everything was frozen at the time of her death and that it would take a couple of months to get stuff figured out. NOT TRUE.. So sister got a phone call last week from one of Carleen's neighbors who said some guy showed up and claims that he purchased the house at auction! WTF? Turns out that the bank, put her house up for auction and he DID buy it. So sister and BIL had to go and super quick clean out Carleen's house. I'm so thankful that I didn't have to because I guess the guy showed up every 10 mins to see if they were done. I probably would have punched him in the face!! (insert curse word).


So needless to say, Christmas was hard... still went good, but was really hard. It totally doesn't seem real. Even when the lawyer sent me her will in the mail and it says Carleen = DECEASED. HUH!!.... (tears streaming down my face)

On the school front. NH has an interview is Kirksville, MO on Jan. 27th!! I"M SO NERVOUS!! NH got the interview suit and haircut and now it's just a matter of time. I'm keep you posted on what the verdict is. I'm not totally siked to move to Misery (hehe), but if that mean Medical School then I'm game!! As for my school.. it started on Jan. 4th and I'm just not into it!!

Well I think that is enough for now!

I know I haven't posted in quite awhile and I"m sorry I will try to be better and will catch everyone up this weekend!!