So, I neglected to write a letter to go along with our Christmas cards this year. When I sat down to do it, I just didn't know what to say and wasn't really in the writing spirit so I skipped it. The day I mailed the cards out, I received a card from some friends of ours updating us on their lives and instantly wished that I had written a letter (or that I mailed the cards out a day later so I could have re-opened them and put a letter inside). Oh well. Here is my Christmas letter - or rather a run-down of the past year.
We started off the year with Craig getting a new job in Irvine. He quit his previous job of 2+ years doing IT support and some programming for a construction supply company to move on to the new job doing mostly programming at a higher pay, but at the cost of a longer drive (to and from Menifee to Irvine 5 days a week yielded about 3+ hours a day sitting in traffic.) Needless to say it was difficult for both of us - I missed him and he would often times come home and go directly to bed. After three months at the new job, Craig's friend mentioned a job opportunity in Oregon - he basically told Craig that if he was willing to move to Portland he would most likely have the position. The opportunity to advance Craig's career was an amazing one and although it took some convincing, I couldn't take this away from him. After a few weeks of phone interviews, emails and waiting - we finally got the news that Craig had the job. He left for Oregon the first week of June and started his new career while looking for a place for us to live. I stayed behind to pack and get us ready for the move.
I was fortunate enough to have been called back to my previous job (with a pay raise) last December and worked there until the end of June at which point I joined Craig in Oregon. The weekend of the 4th of July, Craig flew back to So Cal and we loaded up the moving truck and headed out on our drive to our new home in Portland! Fortunately Craig's Dad and Uncle helped us immensely, by driving the truck while Craig and I took my little car with the dogs. Overall the move took us a weekend and we somehow had the energy to unload the truck the day we arrived at our new place (after about a 9 hour or so drive). I know to most of our friends and family the news of our move was rather sudden - hey it was sudden for us too! We wished that we had been able to say our goodbyes (or rather, see ya later's) to everyone before we left but it just wasn't feasible.
So far we have been in Portland for five months and the time has flown by. We very rarely drive our cars and Craig takes the bus every day to and from work. The transit center is only a 10 minute walk from our front door and Craig's company pays for a monthly bus pass. Our monthly gas bill has dropped from $400 a month down to about an average of $30 a month for BOTH of our cars. It's great!! Craig enjoys his job (especially the commute) and I have been looking for a job to no avail. Because I have not had much luck in finding a job here I am going to take some classes this coming winter semester at the community college. Starting in January I will be taking a photography class, sewing class, and two classes toward a certificate in sustainable building (intro to building systems and environmental ethics). I am excited to get out of the house more often and am hopeful that it will keep me busy enough during the days! I also recently received an email from my previous employer about doing some contract drafting for them, so far I don't have enough details to confirm having the work yet but I am hopeful!
The summer weather here is amazing and just doesn't compare to a San Diego summer. There are a few days where the weather went over ninety during the summer and since most homes in Portland don't have air conditioning (there isn't much of a need) it was a less than pleasant experience but overall the summer weather was perfect! The fall weather was definitely much cooler but still bearable and once we got into the winter weather we actually got some snow flurries (just one day) which I had never seen before so I really got a kick out of it (actually Craig was laughing at me running in and out of the house to check on the status of snow in our front yard)!! So far I would have to say that it doesn't rain here as much as I expected it to. Sure the sky's are gray and cloudy, there is moisture in the air and you'll get rained on at random times but it's not that bad. I have been warned that February is brutal though.
We spent our fourth wedding anniversary in Seattle, which was really fun! Seattle is only a three hour drive away so now that we've walked the city it is great for little weekend trips in the future. This year was the first year we missed having Thanksgiving with any of our families - we made the best of it though and I cooked my
first turkey dinner, complete with my Mom's cran-jello goodness (I don't
know what to call it, so that's it's name now). We made sure to call our families and wished them a happy Thanksgiving. It was weird being on this end of those phone calls though. We have; however, made a few new friends up here and are having a "New Year with New Friends" party for New Years Eve at our house. I am excited to have people over for the first time (and if you know me you know I love to entertain). Our new local friends have invited us to several outings which has helped us to combat missing everyone in So Cal.
Our dog's are loving it here too! Both Ginger and Bender have lots of room to run around in the backyard and they are loving all of the time they get to spend indoors with us because of the cold and wet weather. Portland is a huge dog-friendly city and practically every park and hiking trail allows dogs (some leashed and some off-leash). We have found a few great hiking areas to take the dogs to and Bender has gotten noticeably exhausted after just a few miles. Ginger could keep running forever though!!
We are looking forward to the next year and are hoping to take a long vacation to Ireland, England and Scotland in October. We are still working out the kinks in our travel plans but are staying really hopeful (and we'll keep you posted on our plans)!
We hope you all are doing well. We love and miss you all and hope to see you when we are in So Cal for Christmas!!
Love,
Craig & Josie Gardner
(Ginger and Bender, too!)
Friday, December 10, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
An Update!
I've been avoiding my blog lately. I don't know why, I just have. My days are pretty boring so there isn't much to write on a regular basis - I guess that may be the why. I have checked some things off of my list and have done little updates in relation to my list but I feel the need to write some blurbs about it. I am having fun checking things off and it's keeping the momentum (and me) going. So here goes some rambling about my list items (and in numerical order).
1. Complete Design Portfolio:
Well I have full on avoided this item. I really MUST do this though so that I don't have any more excuses for looking for a job. Yes, I'll admit to being extremely lazy about it - it's nice to not work AND not be stressed over money every day but I know it's irritating to my hubby. It would also make traveling MUCH easier and saving for our future MUCH easier. I am just lacking even the slightest bit of motivation though, which I don't know how to get back. More on a few things I am going to try in the following blurbs...
8. Take a Photography Class:
I am suuuuuper excited about the photography class I am enrolled in for the Winter 2011 semester at Portland Community College. It's called Photography Manual and it basically is geared toward learning how to use your digital camera's manual functions. I have tried on my own to figure out all of the manual functions on my camera but am easily frustrated and end up switching to automatic and end up getting a decent picture - but not the one I was trying to get! I figured with the amount of money I spent on my new fancy camera I MUST learn how to use it properly! I also want to figure it out in detail before purchasing a new lens for it (#53), as that is bound to cost me upwards of $600 or more.
17. Cook 50 New Recipes:
As of right now I have cooked nine new things that I've never cooked before. I am enjoying looking for new things to try (especially ones that are easy enough to make on a regular dinner basis) and I think my hubby is liking the new dishes we've been having.
32. Update my social security card:
Well, silly me. I was planning on mailing in all of the documents I need to, to get the typo on my card fixed but it requires I mail off my drivers license. If I don't have my drivers license I can't get into bars, drive, get a drink at a restaurant, or hop on a plane. So I have been waiting for a time where I won't need my license to mail it off - hopefully in early January.
34. Acquire a sewing machine & 35. Learn to sew:
Well, much thanks to hubby's Aunt I now own a sewing machine. I need to take it in to get serviced before my sewing class at PCC begins in January. It's a basic sewing class and I think we'll be making an apron, robe and pajamas or something. I'm not really interested in what I'll be making but I am excited to learn MY machine! Hopefully after the class is over I'll feel more confident to take on my own little projects (36, 37, & 38).
51. Get a Wii again & 52. Get Wii Fit:
If you haven't notices by now, I have changed these to an xbox 360 and the kinect. I did this because it's a more advanced technology and there are a few games that look fun!
55. Get entertainment unit/ storage for living room:
Well hubby finally caved and we bought a stand for our TV. It's from the Hemnes collection at Ikea and it's stage one of the entire unit we plan on getting. Thank goodness for Ikea allowing us to buy the entire thing in parts. We have 3 more pieces to get to complete the whole unit, which will give us more storage!
69. Visit SoCal for Christmas:
This is our first year that we missed Thanksgiving with ANY of our families. It was a tough one, but we made the best of it. I never want to miss a Christmas in So Cal though so we booked our flights back in September. We'll only have a week in town and I wish we could do more but Craig doesn't get paid vacation, so it's what we had to do. I am excited though, very excited.
73. Visit Ireland:
Well - I started to plan this trip to be in March of 2011, but it just isn't feasible so I pushed it into late September/early October 2011. We also have added Scotland and England to the itinerary - hopefully we can manage to actually do everything we'd like to do. Nothing is booked yet and the research continues, but here's hoping all goes well. (another reason why I could really use a job).
84. Become pen pals with niece and nephews:
Well I have been sending my niece and nephews pictures of everything Craig and I have been up to here in Oregon. I try to include a little note with the pack of pictures. Its fun to hear what they think of what we've sent them! Now to get their parents to help them send me something back (although, my nephews sent us some hand drawn Halloween cards, which was really cute!).
100. Send my Grandma fall leaves:
My Grandma LOVES all of the different colors fall brings, I remember growing up she'd always pick up leaves and flowers. When we moved to Oregon I told her I'd send her some fall leaves from here. I picked some up a few weeks back and dried them out in books and will be compiling an album with pictures of us. It will be her Christmas present this year. Now - to finish it before we fly out there!!
So there you have it. My little update to my list (and my life). I also want to note that along with the Photography and Sewing classes I am taking two classes toward a certificate in Sustainable Building. The first is more of a refresh course of something I have taken in the past : Intro to Building Systems. The second is a bit more interesting and I hope I can keep up with the material, as it sounds exciting to me: Intro to Environmental Ethics. The certificate is supposed to take less than a year of full-time student status but I think with my past education I can get the certificate in less time, while only going to school part time (in hopes I find a job of any sort).
1. Complete Design Portfolio:
Well I have full on avoided this item. I really MUST do this though so that I don't have any more excuses for looking for a job. Yes, I'll admit to being extremely lazy about it - it's nice to not work AND not be stressed over money every day but I know it's irritating to my hubby. It would also make traveling MUCH easier and saving for our future MUCH easier. I am just lacking even the slightest bit of motivation though, which I don't know how to get back. More on a few things I am going to try in the following blurbs...
8. Take a Photography Class:
I am suuuuuper excited about the photography class I am enrolled in for the Winter 2011 semester at Portland Community College. It's called Photography Manual and it basically is geared toward learning how to use your digital camera's manual functions. I have tried on my own to figure out all of the manual functions on my camera but am easily frustrated and end up switching to automatic and end up getting a decent picture - but not the one I was trying to get! I figured with the amount of money I spent on my new fancy camera I MUST learn how to use it properly! I also want to figure it out in detail before purchasing a new lens for it (#53), as that is bound to cost me upwards of $600 or more.
17. Cook 50 New Recipes:
As of right now I have cooked nine new things that I've never cooked before. I am enjoying looking for new things to try (especially ones that are easy enough to make on a regular dinner basis) and I think my hubby is liking the new dishes we've been having.
32. Update my social security card:
Well, silly me. I was planning on mailing in all of the documents I need to, to get the typo on my card fixed but it requires I mail off my drivers license. If I don't have my drivers license I can't get into bars, drive, get a drink at a restaurant, or hop on a plane. So I have been waiting for a time where I won't need my license to mail it off - hopefully in early January.
34. Acquire a sewing machine & 35. Learn to sew:
Well, much thanks to hubby's Aunt I now own a sewing machine. I need to take it in to get serviced before my sewing class at PCC begins in January. It's a basic sewing class and I think we'll be making an apron, robe and pajamas or something. I'm not really interested in what I'll be making but I am excited to learn MY machine! Hopefully after the class is over I'll feel more confident to take on my own little projects (36, 37, & 38).
51. Get a Wii again & 52. Get Wii Fit:
If you haven't notices by now, I have changed these to an xbox 360 and the kinect. I did this because it's a more advanced technology and there are a few games that look fun!
55. Get entertainment unit/ storage for living room:
Well hubby finally caved and we bought a stand for our TV. It's from the Hemnes collection at Ikea and it's stage one of the entire unit we plan on getting. Thank goodness for Ikea allowing us to buy the entire thing in parts. We have 3 more pieces to get to complete the whole unit, which will give us more storage!
69. Visit SoCal for Christmas:
This is our first year that we missed Thanksgiving with ANY of our families. It was a tough one, but we made the best of it. I never want to miss a Christmas in So Cal though so we booked our flights back in September. We'll only have a week in town and I wish we could do more but Craig doesn't get paid vacation, so it's what we had to do. I am excited though, very excited.
73. Visit Ireland:
Well - I started to plan this trip to be in March of 2011, but it just isn't feasible so I pushed it into late September/early October 2011. We also have added Scotland and England to the itinerary - hopefully we can manage to actually do everything we'd like to do. Nothing is booked yet and the research continues, but here's hoping all goes well. (another reason why I could really use a job).
84. Become pen pals with niece and nephews:
Well I have been sending my niece and nephews pictures of everything Craig and I have been up to here in Oregon. I try to include a little note with the pack of pictures. Its fun to hear what they think of what we've sent them! Now to get their parents to help them send me something back (although, my nephews sent us some hand drawn Halloween cards, which was really cute!).
100. Send my Grandma fall leaves:
My Grandma LOVES all of the different colors fall brings, I remember growing up she'd always pick up leaves and flowers. When we moved to Oregon I told her I'd send her some fall leaves from here. I picked some up a few weeks back and dried them out in books and will be compiling an album with pictures of us. It will be her Christmas present this year. Now - to finish it before we fly out there!!
So there you have it. My little update to my list (and my life). I also want to note that along with the Photography and Sewing classes I am taking two classes toward a certificate in Sustainable Building. The first is more of a refresh course of something I have taken in the past : Intro to Building Systems. The second is a bit more interesting and I hope I can keep up with the material, as it sounds exciting to me: Intro to Environmental Ethics. The certificate is supposed to take less than a year of full-time student status but I think with my past education I can get the certificate in less time, while only going to school part time (in hopes I find a job of any sort).
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