I woke up

Just in case anyone was worried about me sleeping in on the first couple days of my job - I didn't. And my awesome, amazing, wonderful, husband Ben even got up and rode the bus with me so I wouldn't stay in bed sleeping and so I'd know exactly where to go when I got off the bus. (For those of you who don't understand, he didn't have class until 12:30 today but he was up at 7 and yesterday he was up at 6:30 and he didn't have class until 9:30). I so win!

Also, although I may have been to work on time, I am definitely struggling with the staying awake at work after about 2pm. Maybe someday my brain will get the hang of this waking up early thing. Any ideas on what I can do to keep me going the last few hours since, unlike my co-workers, coffee is not an option?

A New Job

After a phone interview and then an in-person interview I was offered a job as a Temporary Office Assistant 3 with the Physics department at the University of Washington. I'm pretty excited about it. If our plans work out this temporary job is absolutely perfect.

While at the in-person interview she told me she had about 370 applicants for the job and that HR didn't do a very good job at narrowing it down for her which is why she had to do phone interviews before hand. I'll be honest, I'm glad HR didn't do a good job. I tend to think they are lacking in judgment because they only forwarded my resume to the department 1 out of 10 times I applied for a job - it got annoying. (When you apply for a job on the UW system HR reviews your application before sending it on to the people who actually make hiring decisions.)

Since it is a temporary position I will be done around the beginning of July. At that point they are planning on turning the position into a permanent position so I could reapply for that or if I don't want to, I won't - we'll see.

While I am very happy to be bringing some money into our bank account with all the money we are spending on tuition and food and rent, I am very much going to miss my sleep. I really love sleep. Oh well. I'll have to get up at 6am so I can hop on a bus at 7am and be to work by 8am. Maybe if they are flexible and don't mind me coming in 10 minutes late I'll be able to push everything back by a half hour. But at least the first little bit, I'll be very tired come midday.

Anyway, tomorrow is day number one. Let's hope my alarm goes off and I actually pay attention to it. Thanks for all your prayers and support you gave during my job searching process.

Not much

Just thought I'd let everyone know we are still alive. There isn't a lot going on but I guess I'll talk a little bit more about my month of no sweets because it's almost over.

Guess what - it's working. Who woulda thought that not eating sugar would help you lose weight? Well, probably everyone. But it's awesome. I don't know that not eating sugar is the exact reason I have lost more weight but because I'm trying to avoid sugar I'm paying more attention to stuff I buy at the store and when I'm craving sugar I slice up an orange or an apple and I'm good to go for the rest of the night. Ben even said, "I think it's good you aren't making cookies all the time." For those of you that know Ben at all,that's huge. I am not saying I haven't wanted to break down and eat a bowl of cookie dough but I've been strong and it's had some great benefits.

So, anyway, the month ends tomorrow but I'm pretty content at continuing on this course. I think most importantly this month told me that I can do it. I can say no to sweats. I can find other things to snack on. And in the future, when I do eat them, I can eat one and then be done (or not and maybe I should just stay away from them in general). :)

American History Regret

Overall, I have always enjoyed US History class but I never really took it in. I didn't realize this fact until recently. I remember the events that occurred in our history but I seem to have completely forgotten, or I just never paid attention in the first place, in regards to what years these events occurred.

I think if I would have been thinking clearly in history class I would have realized that the Civil Rights Movement, which occurred in 1964, wasn't that long ago. My mom was born that year. I'm only 20 years younger than my mom. I would have realized how recently it was that people were given equal rights but that it still took several more years for the prejudices to be removed - that these prejudices are still in the process of being removed.

The same goes for a lot of other major US events such as The moon landing, The Kennedy Assassination, Pearl Harbor, WWII, the great depression, even WWI. It was in the past, but it wasn't as long ago as I used to think. I think I have a living parent, grandparent, or great-grandparent who has lived through all of these events. And while they are older than me, they aren't THAT old.

Mostly, I am mad at myself that I am interested in American history AND when it happened now instead of when I could have really learned about it from great teachers. Life is funny like that.

*sigh*

A Happy Heart

At church yesterday we learned a lot about service, in fact I think the quote on my shirt was actually used. Little did our Sunday School teacher know, we were already all over that.

A few weeks ago Ben signed us up to go help out at a local food bank warehouse (Northwest Harvest) on MLK day since he would have the day off from classes. As the day got closer I think we both sort of wished we would have had the day to just lounge around and relax but then we got there and I was glad we were doing something for the community around us.

We (our group) were able to go through about 30,000 lbs of food. We were sorting food, getting rid of bad food, and making smaller 24 lb. boxes of a variety of foods to distribute to local food banks where people in need can go and find a bit of relief from whatever hardships they face.

We boxed up 14,050 lbs of food in the first 3 hours and then we went to lunch. After lunch we boxed up another 9,000+ lbs. in 2 hours. Talk about a lot of work!

Now that we've been through this process I think I am more aware of things that I can donate in the future when we have a food drive. First, I am going to make sure the food I give isn't expired (Yes, I eat a lot of stuff that some people might think twice about, in terms of expiration, but I don't need to subject other people to my bad eating habits). Second, while vegetables are definitely important ... they really like to put a thing of peanut butter and a couple cans of tuna in each box. So, think a little out of the box before I donate - they really like the unusual items because it makes things more fun. And lastly, even if we can't give much we should definitely try to give a little.

Today was actually really fun and it was definitely better than sitting home all day. It feels good to do good.

Hope you all had a great Martin Luther King Day.

Our 2009

Lots of people have been doing a sum up of 2009. I know this is a little late but I got to thinking about our 2009 and here is what I came up with (Ben would probably have a very different list but he doesn't blog much so you are stuck with mine).

January - A year ago we rang in the New Year without any voices and colds. Mine happened to keep me away from work for a week longer than I had expected. I used up all my saved sick days (which in retrospect was awesome cause you can't take them with you when you quit). Later in the month I went skiing for the first time in several years. I'm not as good as I used to be.

February - Ben and I went on our awesome road trip over Valentine's weekend. We drove 1,843 miles in 3 days from SLC to Beaver Dam, AZ to Santa Barbara, CA to San Francisco, CA and back home. It was a very entertaining drive. Ben even let me take his picture a few times.

March - We headed up to Provo for their annual hunger banquet. We were lucky enough to share our food (chips and a bean dip thing) with 4 other strangers and enjoy a lot of different cultural entertainment.



April - I turned 24 and Ben gave me an awesome surprise getaway to the Anniversary Inn in Logan. That trip was filled with hotel robes, river walks, movies, and an awesomely decorated room.

May - I gave away over a dozen pair of shoes to the DI! That was a huge accomplishment. This was also the month we had a lunch at the park on 11th AVE with Ben's family and I burned my arms so bad that I now have about 1000 freckles on each arm as a constant reminder. I am also pretty sure that it was in May we decided we'd be leaving behind our comfortable life in Salt Lake and would relocate to the Emerald City, Seattle.

June - It seems like it was raining constantly in June but we managed to go hiking a lot that month as well as attend the rained on Chalk Art Festival at the Gateway. It was also the month that my dad got remarried, my mom got in her gruesome bike accident and Ben turned 27! I officially became married to an old man.

July - We watched lots of fireworks, went camping, saw family, became completely anxious for our move to Seattle and as a result we were basically worthless at work (or at least I was). We visited Seattle in an attempt to find our future residence and were met with success. We also got to site see and enjoy the 13 hour drive each way.

August - Ben and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary and I am pretty sure it was in August that I got an MRI and officially found out that I am NOT dying of an enormous brain tumor (yes, I have been worried about that since I started getting headaches in 5th grade) or a stroke (which is the actual reason I got the MRI in the first place). And the biggest event of the year: this is the month we packed up our apartment into a UHAUL and started our 4 day journey from SLC to Seattle.

September - We arrived in Seattle, moved in, unpacked, and got situated. We also got the chance to spend the month playing tourist. This was probably my favorite month of the year. It was like being on vacation for 29 days. Also, Ben had his white coat ceremony in September and officially entered the profession of Pharmacy!

October - We went hiking a lot in October. Trying to get our fill of nature before cold weather set in. I would also say this was when we really started to feel a part of the ward and started making a lot of friends.

November - I burned my arm really bad and now I have a 1 1/2 inch by a 1 inch scar on my arm (boo!). But the bad was definitely out-weighed by the good. We got to have Ben's parents and my Mom and Brinley here with us for Thanksgiving. And I am pretty sure I can say Thanksgiving dinner was quite tasty for a first time Thanksgiving cook.

December - The weather wasn't too horrible so we did some more exploring of the city parks. We also celebrated Christmas here in Seattle and really enjoyed the season and the day and each others company. We have already put all our Christmas gifts to good use.

Well, that was a bit longer than I thought it would be but it's been a great year for us and I had a lot to be grateful for and to "boast" about. I'm counting on 2010 being just as good - probably can't get much better.

What's in your cookie jar?

I think most of the people who read this blog already know my little personal goal of going a month without sweets. The "no sweets" thing is hard to define though. Does that mean no hot chocolate? No rootbeer?

Well, Ben helped me decide that rootbeer is a definite no and the hot chocolate thing ... I'm still deciding. I do have sugar free apple cider so I guess if I need a warm drink I could always go to that.

Anyway, since I started this Ben has been a sweet husband and has taken the lead to make sure and eat any possible leftover holiday temptations. We no longer have any chocolate, cookies, brownies, or candy lying around our apartment. I filled up our cookie jar today with 3 boxes of granola/fruit bars and I'm still not craving any sugary things - unless you count hot chocolate. (I really think the holidays did me in for awhile).

So I am now on day 5 and going strong! Like I said on Facebook, my only weakness is my boredom. When I am bored I go seeking out sweets or I make cookies. When I get bored now I'll have to channel my energy into something less sugary.

Anyway, mostly I'm glad I am doing this because I realize that sweets are something that are so easily lived without (yes, I'm only 5 days in) at least at this time of year. However, had I done this little goal a month ago I would have surely failed. So maybe next year my goal will be around the holidays and not to go completely without but to limit myself. Ha, I don't even know if that's possible. It's all or nothing when it comes to candy and cookies for Ben and me.

Anyway, that's all my thoughts on the subject for now. Only 26 days to go.