So this stay-catin is a bust! Sadly things do not always work out as you envisioned in your life...sometimes this is for the good (a blind date leading to an amazing partnership) & sometimes for the bad...
I was notified that I would not be returning to my job once my vacation ended. It was a shock, and honestly earth shattering. I am a person who has always prided myself on working hard & losing your job just doesn't happen to people who work hard.....right?!!? Oy, life is a bitch sometimes. Goddamn economy & the real world.
The first day of knowledge was tough. I have spend 5 years of my life living & breathing my job, not only my employment but it became part of my soul, the fight for the companies' vision became my own sole passion in life. I was 21 year old when first hired and honestly it was a perfect fit at the time. I cannot even begin to count all the lessons I have learned not only professionally but personally in that time. My life evolved around one thing, and I identified myself based on my job...so losing it felt like I had lost myself.
My identity.
My worth.
The second day of knowledge is much different than the first.
I realize that for too long I have become complacent and comfortable in the company I worked for. Even though the vision of the company was no longer my goal in life I still pretended that it was. I was no longer being challenged or continuing on my path of knowledge instead I was resting on my laurels & the feeling of comfort/familiarity. And to be honest it no longer fit. I was living in the memory of what once was.
I am not going to say that I am not having random moments where I think I am gonna have a panic attack....I am a person who has always had at least 2-3 jobs at a time so being losing my main one is a big deal. I could wallow and say "why me??!" but instead I am going to do my best to buck up to the challenge. I am going to stop and ask myself what I want in my life...to stop for a minute & create a vision for myself. No more am I going to adopt someone else's... I get the awesome opportunity to create a new one.
I am going to look around the old interweb to see what is out there, I am also going to take some moments and figure out what I want. Where do I want to be in 10 years...hmmmm....the sky is the limit.....I feel some big changes coming.
Lacy
Stay-Cation
So as homeownership is becoming more and more real to me (and less & less glamorous) I have realized that if you spend all your vacation days doing fun/vacation stuff your house ends up looking like total trash. The hall closet has to be closed really quickly & only opened very slowly for fear of crap avalanche all over spewing out. The curtains bought at least 6 months ago gather dust as they still wait to be hung up...and don't even get me started on the garage...oy. How do people find the time to do it all???!!! So the Mister and I took the week off to get our crap in gear. This means making a list of all the little projects we keep putting off and a general deep clean of the entire home is in order. We will donate everything that is collecting dust/got multiples of via the holidays.
So My To-Do List:
1. Create a craft space in the basement (already started! very exciting!)
2. Organize under the stairs closet
3. DE-CLUTTER EVERYTHING (if you don't love it give it away!)
4. Hang Curtains
5. Hang Bathroom mirrors
6. Dispose of Xmas tree (it was still decorated & in the house until this weekend...oy)
7. Organize food pantry
8. Clean out car!
9. Frame more pics (and hang them....)
10. Garage...blah.
11. Sell old chicken coop & expand new one.
12. Go through book case and purge old books.
I think that shall keep us busy.......hopefully I actually do these things when all I really want to do is look over (and drool) the seed catalogs that keep coming in the mail!
Wish me luck!
Lacy
So My To-Do List:
1. Create a craft space in the basement (already started! very exciting!)
2. Organize under the stairs closet
3. DE-CLUTTER EVERYTHING (if you don't love it give it away!)
4. Hang Curtains
5. Hang Bathroom mirrors
6. Dispose of Xmas tree (it was still decorated & in the house until this weekend...oy)
7. Organize food pantry
8. Clean out car!
9. Frame more pics (and hang them....)
10. Garage...blah.
11. Sell old chicken coop & expand new one.
12. Go through book case and purge old books.
I think that shall keep us busy.......hopefully I actually do these things when all I really want to do is look over (and drool) the seed catalogs that keep coming in the mail!
Wish me luck!
Lacy
Cutting Ties?
I come from a very conservative family....not like super-duper-have-their-own-tv show conservative or make our own matching dress/bonnet conservative but very you get the point...... I am the only "left" winger...and live my life VERY on that side of the fence. Most of the time this is not really an issue
(besides the fact that I have a family only email so I can never see their anti-Obama forwards and such)....
yet there are moments that I find myself asking how deep blood goes...
I am fine with individuals having different ideals than me, different value systems. What I am not okay with is people who you cannot talk to, those people who hear it once and with no research on their own think it must be. (Thanks Fox News for 99% of my families' ideas) And those that spew hate/racism.
I am lucky to have parents who might not always agree with me, or my lifestyle BUT whom I can converse with, have dialogue with. And honestly at the end of the day we might never meet in the middle but we respect & love one another. We both come from open places and with the goal to learn. The rest of my family sadly does not have the same attitude.
I am not one to "bite my tongue" yet when it is 12 against 1 and I already know the outcome (me leaving) sometimes the fight seems not worth it....yet there are days like today where I realize that it is.
The longer I allow bigotry and hate to be "okay" with me the longer it will survive. I have too many friends who are muslim, gay, whatever to EVER allow such jokes/comments slide. It is not going to be an easy road and honestly I am slightly afraid of what the other side of this journey will look like.
I believe hate only breeds hate so instead of shouting and yelling I am going to show love. I am going to not allow racist/derogatory/homophobic comments or people to invade my life yet I am going to model for those people. No longer will I make excuses for my family or leave another gathering angry & hurt....not from their words/ideas but from my own cowardly actions. I realize that some people won't get it....and will probably have to be removed from my life...though the sacrifice is worth it to me. I don't want a world like that for my kids. I don't want to have to explain to my son what a "dirty muslim" is...or why we don't talk to a certain 2nd cousin because she looks like a boy.....I know its unrealistic but damn-it I can control my actions and those who I surround myself with.
At the end of the day I know who I love and blood will not mean family to me.....family=love in my book and that is gonna be the 1st criteria.
Lacy
(besides the fact that I have a family only email so I can never see their anti-Obama forwards and such)....
yet there are moments that I find myself asking how deep blood goes...
I am fine with individuals having different ideals than me, different value systems. What I am not okay with is people who you cannot talk to, those people who hear it once and with no research on their own think it must be. (Thanks Fox News for 99% of my families' ideas) And those that spew hate/racism.
I am lucky to have parents who might not always agree with me, or my lifestyle BUT whom I can converse with, have dialogue with. And honestly at the end of the day we might never meet in the middle but we respect & love one another. We both come from open places and with the goal to learn. The rest of my family sadly does not have the same attitude.
I am not one to "bite my tongue" yet when it is 12 against 1 and I already know the outcome (me leaving) sometimes the fight seems not worth it....yet there are days like today where I realize that it is.
The longer I allow bigotry and hate to be "okay" with me the longer it will survive. I have too many friends who are muslim, gay, whatever to EVER allow such jokes/comments slide. It is not going to be an easy road and honestly I am slightly afraid of what the other side of this journey will look like.
I believe hate only breeds hate so instead of shouting and yelling I am going to show love. I am going to not allow racist/derogatory/homophobic comments or people to invade my life yet I am going to model for those people. No longer will I make excuses for my family or leave another gathering angry & hurt....not from their words/ideas but from my own cowardly actions. I realize that some people won't get it....and will probably have to be removed from my life...though the sacrifice is worth it to me. I don't want a world like that for my kids. I don't want to have to explain to my son what a "dirty muslim" is...or why we don't talk to a certain 2nd cousin because she looks like a boy.....I know its unrealistic but damn-it I can control my actions and those who I surround myself with.
At the end of the day I know who I love and blood will not mean family to me.....family=love in my book and that is gonna be the 1st criteria.
Lacy
Cheap Meat.
So this might be the lamest post I have ever done...BUT I thought if there was anyone out there who was also broke & slightly empty freezer from the holidays I would pass this along.
IF you got a sunday Oregonian (or the free insert they litter our porch with) there is a $10.00 off $50 spent. If you have neither RUN to get one right now, tonight (they stop selling the sunday paper on Wednesday).
Use this coupon to buy some of their buy one get one free (Bogo) meat specials until next tuesday. Mostly roasts but also some bagged chicken breasts. It is their Rancher's preserve and the special (without the 10 dollars off) makes it under $2.30 a pound! I love roasts because you can crock-pot them....I love using pork roasts for pulled pork..not only can you make them in the slow cooker BUT it also freezes perfectly. I usually make two roasts at once and then freeze whatever we don't eat after two dinners...I have even been known to staple the buns to the meat. Dinner, done.
I know I sound like a hundred year old BUT as someone who doesn't get home until 7pm every night and refuses to eat after 8pm the only thing that keeps us from eating out every night is pre-planning. I also have this weird psychological thing that I only feel good when my freezer is full...gotta be prepared for zombies!!
Last tip I have is friday ONLY Safeway will have pork tenderloins and Huge Shrimp both for $5.00 a pound.
Ok so I am going to pick up some more $10 off coupons and stock up.
Lacy
IF you got a sunday Oregonian (or the free insert they litter our porch with) there is a $10.00 off $50 spent. If you have neither RUN to get one right now, tonight (they stop selling the sunday paper on Wednesday).
Use this coupon to buy some of their buy one get one free (Bogo) meat specials until next tuesday. Mostly roasts but also some bagged chicken breasts. It is their Rancher's preserve and the special (without the 10 dollars off) makes it under $2.30 a pound! I love roasts because you can crock-pot them....I love using pork roasts for pulled pork..not only can you make them in the slow cooker BUT it also freezes perfectly. I usually make two roasts at once and then freeze whatever we don't eat after two dinners...I have even been known to staple the buns to the meat. Dinner, done.
I know I sound like a hundred year old BUT as someone who doesn't get home until 7pm every night and refuses to eat after 8pm the only thing that keeps us from eating out every night is pre-planning. I also have this weird psychological thing that I only feel good when my freezer is full...gotta be prepared for zombies!!
Last tip I have is friday ONLY Safeway will have pork tenderloins and Huge Shrimp both for $5.00 a pound.
Ok so I am going to pick up some more $10 off coupons and stock up.
Lacy
