Complainers

I am writing this blog about complainers. I will admit to being one as well, because I too complain but have tried my hardest not to (at least, I feel I've tried). Yes, I do see the irony in complaining about complainers.

I know everyone's lives have been of the sucky nature lately and don't think for one second that your life is worse than anyone else because you were or are unemployed or because you don't make enough or whatever other horribly awful reason you have...trust me that you're not the only one who has had something negative going on in your life at some point.

Work:
One of my reasons for writing this is because I am tired of people complaining about their work, the job they do, their coworkers or their boss...on facebook.. really?! You're complaining on the internet about your JOB. First off, be thankful that you have one...I was without work for nine months and even though everyday isn't perfect and not planned with my personal comfort in mind I am SO thankful to be working again, getting a paycheck and keeping myself busy and my mind active (not to mention utilizing the expensive skills I picked up in college). Stop making comments on how you can't wait for the end of your work day, that you're dreading tomorrow's, that you have a case of the Mondays, or that hump day is here. I know plenty of people who would LOVE to take your job if you're not happy or willing to do it (send me an email if that's the case and I'll work on getting you out of there).

Personal:
No one wants to know that your back hurts, that you're going to the doctor to check out that weird rash, about that oozing abscess on your back, or whats in your bank account. If you have a really cool story about breaking your leg by all means tell it, but don't sit and bitch about it hurting for weeks on end (hell-o, broken bones hurt...duh!). The world (ie: everyone on your facebook friends list) doesn't need to know about your DUI court case, how so-n-so is ruining your life because of xyz, your parents ruined you life or that you're thankful so-n-so died. Keep your personal life PERSONAL (they call it that for a reason, you know). Now, I am not saying to never ever talk about personal things to your family and close friends, but there isn't any need to post this all over facebook/internet (try using the phone, email or a text for a change).

I've learned something this past year from being unemployed, losing our house and losing some family members. LIFE GOES ON. It's not the end of the world. I've learned to be more positive no matter the situation, avoid telling the world all of your grudges and only talk about everything that's going good in your life - things will eventually get better. I don't assume everything will work out wonderfully and I'm not walking around with my hopes up in the air. Yes I want things to work out for me and my family but realistically they don't always go the way they are planned - but I'm not going to bitch and moan about it to the world.

I am not where I want to be right now, but I am not complaining about it everyday. I'd love to have a new house, not be living with my in-laws, have time and money to take fancy vacations, be in a position to have children soon, be able to get a new car, and be able see my friends and family more often (just like most of my friends). But that is not where my life has taken me right now...I'm still positive though - I have a husband who loves me like you wouldn't believe, I have in-laws who are allowing us to live with them until things get better (for both us and them), and I have dreams that I can hold on to that ONE DAY I will achieve.

No matter how many negative things happen, my life will still be positive. I wish others would think and act the same way.

New Year, New Update

I've been thinking a lot about some of the items I put on my 101 things in 1001 days list. I've noticed a lot of them are pidly things to do on a regular basis (such as bake something once a month, which I've noticed I would be doing regardless of the list). I will be changing those silly little things into more substantial things, as I think of them and updating my blog as necessary. It's a new year, filled with new ideas and adventures on my mind.

My monthly update (a little bit of a different format, cause the prior took much too long to organize):

1. I got a job. My old job, back. I posted about that here.

22. We didn't purchase Dexter, instead we purchased Netflix which I am absolutely loving. We've since gone through the entire first season of Dexter and plan on starting the next season this week. We've also added a ton of other shows to our instant q and bought a PS3 to stream through. BEST - INVESTMENT - EVER!!

38. I made soap for everyone for Christmas, I also made my Dads gift, which is awesome and I'm still not going to post about it cause I think I could make some money from patenting it (once I figure out how to do that). I made a gift for my in-laws too - it's called a swatchbook and it's about 20 pages (3x6) of all of their dogs with reasons why we they are so special.

79. Credit cards have been paid off, however this past week I needed new tires and some work done on my car, so we added $800 to our goodyear card that we have to pay off now (12 months same as cash). But I am keeping this one crossed off - we got them paid off, so paying them off from here on out is much easier (which was the entire point of paying them off in the first place).

I know it's not much but I've managed to cross off 8 complete items on my list in the last 3 months. This is why changing the on-going pidly stuff to something more substantial is a good idea to me.

The year that sucked.

2009.

Why this year sucked (for me)...

1. Unemployment:
During the first three months of the new year I knew I would be losing my job, eventually. Sure enough at the end of March two of us were let go. My Mom & Dad, Mom & Dad in law, Sister in law, best friend and several other people that I know were all let go as well (some in 2008) and most are still unemployed.

2. Foreclosure:
We decided to give up our house in June. First we tried a loan modification, which they wouldn't do because we were still current on our loan, with no late payments. Next we tried to short sell it, which they wouldn't do without us first signing a promissory note in the amount of $15,000 payable over 10 years - no thanks! And our last option was to foreclose, which will be effective January 2010. No biggie - we'll move on.

3. Hospitals and Losses:
Well, my Grandma Owens passed away at the beginning of 2009 and my Uncle Gary Owens during the middle of 2009. My Aunt Mildred fell, broke her leg and hip (this after having a hip replacement) and is still not doing so well at the hospital, my Grandpa Smith fell the day before Thanksgiving and had slight bleeding on his brain, he was released two days later and a weekend after that my Grandma Smith was at the ER for her eye - which she now has to have surgery on. My Dad has been having issues with his leg (which seems to be getting better) and my Mom had to have neurosurgery on her lower spine (which she is doing well from). Several other family members have been in and out of the hospital for various reasons as well. More so than usual.

On a more positive note...

Nine months after I was laid off I received an email that the company I used to work for needed some help, so I came back to work for them as a regular part-time employee with a 3% pay raise (started December 12th). Hopefully this will be more permanent an I can learn and grow more from the experience of being laid off. I have learned the value of having a job and will (hopefully) no longer complain about having to go to work, or do the things expected of me. I am grateful to be working again. We had a vacation in Cabo that was memorable, especially with the majority of those in attendance being unemployed at the time. This year has definately pointed out our financial flaws and we've learned how to improve upon them. I think we've been doing well. We've managed to pay off every one of our credit cards and our savings account is continually growing. I got to see my brother and his family from Arizona as well as my Aunt and Uncle and cousins from Colorado, aside from the incident with my Grandpa - this made for a great and memorable Thanksgiving - it was nice to have everyone together (with a cardboard cut-out makeshift Grandpa).

The way this year has ended is giving me hope that 2010 will be better for everyone.

Here's to ending 2009 on a positive note. *cheers*

Plans for 2010? (no not resolutions, I have my list for that).
--Vacation with just Craig and I (Brazil? Ireland? Tropical Getaway? Europe?)
--Moving out of the in-laws place (House? Apartment? Condo?..who knows!)

When it rains...

...it pours gumdrops and lolly-pops!!

I got a job!! Well, actually I got my old job, back! Apparently the lone designer they kept working when I was let go was getting overloaded with projects to work on. Nine months ago when I was let go there were only four projects on the project board and now the board is filled up. This is a good sign of things to come for the company as most people are not doing construction projects during the holidays. As my boss has said, if you don't have much going on at this time of the year, then your next year will have even less, but if you do have projects going on then you'll have a good year. At least that's the trend he's seen in his 25+ years of experience (so I think I'll take his word on it).

Based on the projects on the board they think that it should take us through the next four months. My boss is hoping longer and hoping that they won't have to cut-back again (as I would, again be the one they cut). Fortunately they put me on payroll instead of a contract position, so in the event they have to let me go again I can at least qualify for unemployment. Oh and the even better news is that I got about a 3% raise from my previous pay. I'll only be working three days a week for now, hopefully I can sneak a few days in here and there though.

Also at the same time my old company called me back I also set up an interview with Luxury Design. Its for a residential design assistant position in Rancho Santa Fe. I don't know what the pay is, what the hours would be or really too much about the company so it'll be an informational interview, three days before Christmas. I am doubtful that they'll pay me more than I am getting currently, but we'll see. I do know that I would get a minimum of 32 hours a week, which I am not getting at my current job (24) but it'll all depend on the pay rate as it's also an hour away from home (the pay would have to compensate for the travel). Another thing is that I don't have much experience in residential design. It is something I'd like to get into (professionally) at some point, but my confidence in that area is low. 

The funny part about all of this happening this past week was that I had JUST begun working on my portfolio so that I could include it with my resume on my job hunt. Oh the irony.

The negative this month: I have yet to get an unemployment check from the past month. I should have received two by now, so it's really affecting our bank account and ability to knock out the last credit card we have. I won't get paid for another two weeks so hopefully I'll get something before then and get caught back up on our bills.

If I am not offered the residential design position (or it's not what I want, if offered), I think I'll sign up for classes at cadteacher.com they offer online and onsight classes for Auto CAD (computer aided drafting). It's roughly a thousand bucks to take all of the classes needed to get certification in AutoCAD. Basically starting you in the introduction class, then intermediate, advanced, project management and finally the exam certification prep class. All of the classes are four hours each day, two days a week, for two to three weeks with the exception of the prep class which is only a few hours in one day. I would want to take the onsight classes as I am not a big fan of computer learning (what if I have a question??). The only drawback is that they are located in Pt. Loma - such a long drive to make for a lengthy class. I think if I could suck it up and deal, then it'll be worth it in the end. Plus I could always stay at my bestest's place (if not my parents)!!

As I posted on Twitter the other day "Things seem to be looking up, for me. Hopefully things will get better for others before 2009's end so we can start 2010 on the right foot!"

Day 62 of 1001

Day 62 of 1001 status update of the list.

1.Get a job, any job...and then what I really want when it becomes available!
Well I worked a total of six days over the course of four weeks (the third of which I was sick and didn't work) with my friend Laurel packing wine glasses. All of the money I earned for that was "under the table" and has since been put toward "79. Pay off credit cards" so it was very beneficial to get this small side gig. I am hoping in the future they have little odd jobs for me to do so I can get a little more extra cash!

9.Attend a meet up for digital scrap booking [11/6/09]
I finally ended up going to one of these meet-ups, read about that here. I also managed to finish the book that I had a credit for. It turned out pretty well but I learned that I need to be a bit more careful when I proof future projects, there are a few things that bother me about the book (but they only bother me it seems).


28.Bake a different cake, cookies, muffins or brownies once a month [2/32]
Made Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, which were very good. They were made with yogurt so it kept them really moist for days!

30.Paint my toe nails a new color each month [2/32]
I painted my toe nails a deep red shade this month. Not too fancy for a picture.

31.Wear my hair down at least once a week [in progress]
I actually went and had my hair cut and since then have worn my hair down more than once a week this past month, actually I think I've worn my hair down more than I have up!! It's had mostly good days but some bad ones in there too.

34.Get my art work/pieces framed [1 done, countless remaining]
I finally got my favorite flower that I drew my freshmen year of design school framed! It's done with pastels and very very chalky and when we moved I was afraid it'd get damaged. I've been babying it for over six years and it's been stuck to the walls with thumb tacks - it's about time I got it framed!! I still have several other things that need to be framed but they are currently packed and sitting in our storage unit. I may pull a few things at a time to get them framed though, I know of a few that we could actually hang up in our room.

38.Make everyone's gifts for one Christmas
I made soap (I also bought gifts, this was just for fun).

I also made my Dad's gift which I will post up after Christmas, although I may not cause I might just market the idea!!!

55.Have an outing/event with a minimum of two friends once a month [2/32]
Went to see New Moon with Krystle, Craig, Amber, & my brother the day after Thanksgiving.

62.Add friends and families birthdays and anniversaries to calendar (with years)
Horray for facebook and a big chunk of my family (and friends) for posting their birthdays publicly and sharing their anniversaries with me. I got a big chunk of this done just by hitting up the events page!!

79.Pay off credit cards [ONE left]
Huzzah... only one left between the two of us and it's below the $1k mark. Wahhooo!! I just made one payment on it today and hoping to make a second and final payment before December's end. Good way to kick off the new the year, don't ya think?!

83.See Michael Jackson's 'This is It' in theaters
Failed. The time line just didn't work out in my favor. If any theaters happen to be playing it still, I'll go soon.

84.See New Moon with at least 3 friends
We went and saw New Moon on 11/27 and it was much better than the first movie, but not great. The on screen chemistry is still NOT there for Edward and Bella. I think that's the part that bothers me the most because in the books you fall in love with their type of love and it's just not believable. And of course they cut parts of the book out and modified bits here and there, which is understandable to get it into a decent movie time. Although I wouldn't mind a 5 hour movie with an intermission.

89.Sell all of the items we currently have on craigslist [4/6 +Misc]
I managed to sell 4 items in one week. I still have 2 higher priced items up for sale on craigslist. Hoping to sell them soon. The money I got for the 4 items also went toward "79. Pay off credit cards".

91.Make a chore/errands schedule (and stick to it)
I have yet to make a chore/errands schedule because of where we're living now. It's difficult to plan when I am going to clean something because my in-laws don't have a set schedule of when they clean or do things, they just do (and tend to do, before I do).

92.Take 30 minutes everyday to do a chore/clean
I haven't done this either, but I have been keeping up with picking up after myself and my husband. I have yet to be overwhelmed with multiple cleaning tasks, so I feel good about where I am at on this one!

Not too much completed when I look at the entire list, but I have quite a while to get things checked off. Hopefully 2010 will be better to all of us and I can get cranking away on the list faster and easier.

Finishing the Cider

This is an update to my Hard Cider is Easy post.

We finally got around to bottling and kegging the hard cider. I think we waited longer than we should have to get to this point but we finally did it. This is what one of the one gallon jugs looked like after it fermented in the jug for about a month and a half (3 weeks would have sufficed). You can see that the yeast went crazy and bubbled out of the container (which is why an air-lock with a bubbler would have been better to use).

We started off by sanatizing everything we were going to use.


We then  boiled about 2 shot glasses of sugar with enough water to allow the sugar to dissolve, let it cool to room temperature and then poured the jug of cider into the pot.

Very carefully poured this mixture into the bottles.

And finally, we capped them and put them back into the temperature controlled freezer set to about 68*.


The reason we added sugar to the mixture was to allow the cider to get bubbly in the bottles. We tasted one of the bottles we did of the Raspberry Cider and I wasn't pleased with it yet, but it has potential. We'll let it sit a while. The regular apple cider that Craig did 5 gallons of, smelled WONDERFUL!! He kegged it and now we're letting it sit a while. I am sure we'll be enjoying it with company for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year!!

Cheeseburger Casserole

I am posting this recipe upon request. I had a facebook status saying that I was making this recipe because my Mom used to make it and I thought it was yummy so I wanted to try it. After making it I did have some thoughts so I'll post those too!

Cheeseburger Casserole (Serves 4-6)

6 Medium potatoes, cooked and cubed*
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
4 tablespoons A1 Steak Sauce (or equavalent)
1 lb. extra lean ground beef
6 slices processed American cheese

1. Spread cooked potatoes in buttered 8" x 12" shallow baking pan.
**The pan I used was not buttered, I don't see why you'd have to do this as nothing stuck to the pan I used (a glass pirex dish).
2. In 2-quart sauce pan, melt butter. Stir in flour. Cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add milk, seasonings, and 2 tablespoons of A1. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Pour sauce over potatoes.
**I mixed all of these ingredients except for the flour and cooked it until just before boiling then slowly sifted in the flour - worked out fine and seemed faster.
3. Mix beef with remaining 2 tables spoons of A1. Form 6 patties. Arrainge on top of sauce/potatoes.
**It's much easier to just crumble the ground beef on top. I would even suggest adding a little more A1 to it if you like the flavor of A1.
4. Bake in preheated 375* oven for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
**Or in the microwave until beef is cooked thoroughly, which for me took about 20 minutes.
5. Place cheese slices over meat patties. Continue baking for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Ok.. my overall notes (per the way my Mom made this) and my suggestions:
- When you're cooking the potatoes, do it as if you were going to make mashed potatoes (peel, cube into bite size pieces and boil) only not quite as long. You don't want the potatoes to be mushy, but if you can cut them with the side of your fork then that should be good. Roughly a 20 minute boil.
- Pre-cooking the ground beef before putting on top of the potato mixture. This would ensure that the beef is cooked throughly and evenly. When I was cooking this (per recipe) it seemed to take a while for it to be cooked all the way and the edges were over cooked. You could also pour off the grease and it'd be a healthier dish.
- I used way more than six slices of cheese, I used enough to cover the top of the entire mixture. Everyone seems to love the cheese/ground beef part the best too, so the more cheese the better, I think. I even thought of just using shredded cheese over the top too (cheddar and mozzarella mix).
- My father in law suggested adding sliced ortega chili's to the mix, which sounded really good. Both he and my husband put salsa on their plates too. I imagine this meal would be great with anything you'd put on a cheeseburger.

So there you have it. Let me know if you end up trying this. It's super simple and most people like it.