Gut Check

Have you ever thought you really wanted some kind of big change...then when it becomes a real possibility, you're not sure??? I'm going thru something like that now. I've had a range of emotions over the last two days from excited to nervous to just plain unsure about what I want. One thing I've learned in life is to trust my gut, so that's what I'm going to do once I know if it is really a possibility or not.

California Dreamin

I'm looking for ideas on how to make some extra cash. Does anyone have ideas for something as a side job? I've been lucky enough to keep my job, however raises and bonuses have been cut out. My husband and I really want to move back to California, but have become accustomed to living in a nice home in a nice neighborhood. We don't want our standard of living to decrease once we move so we would need to buy a more expensive home in California which requires a larger down payment than the money we would get out of our current home. To save up the cash we either need to make more or spend less. We just finished remodeling our kitchen and are considering doing the same for our master bathroom. I know this sounds like a contradiction since I'm looking to save cash, but given the current real estate market, I think these things need to be done in our house in order for it to sell. Anyway....if anyone has any ideas on what I could do (legal, of course) to make extra cash, please let me know! I've tried looking on craigslist and online, but everything seems like a scam. I'm not looking to get rich quick by sitting at home doing nothing. I'm considering the pet bakery again, but that would require a bit of start up money and who knows if I would make any money, or even recoup my investment.

Blah Blah Blah

I haven't been in the mood to write much lately. There are pictures of the kitchen on my Facebook page. We are waiting on a new counter depth fridge, but other than that it is done. Now we need bar stools and at a table and chairs. I keep meaning to post some pictures here but never get around to it. We are considering having the master bathroom done next. I need to find some inspiration though on the design. The place we used for the kitchen said if we sign a contract in May for the bathroom that they can start work in October...you'd never know we were in the middle of a recession based on their bookings. I think back in the boom time it was a 12 to 18 month wait. I have completely lost my motivation to lose weight and have gained back about 5 or 6 pounds. My head still hurts all the time. I finally got a referral to a neurologist and have an appointment next month. I call every day to see if they have any cancellations to get me in sooner. My cats keep peeing on the floor outside the litter box and my husband is getting really upset about it. I have no idea why they do this, even when the litter is brand new. My company is once again doing summer Fridays so I get to go home at 1pm on Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor Day...yay! That is assuming all the work is done. I'm excited for the Biggest Loser finale tonight. It's my favorite show. I love the finale where you get to see the before and afters. My husband got us great tickets to see the Dodgers while we are in CA next month. We will be right behind home plate. I'm bummed about the Manny suspension though since now I won't get to see him play and chant his name. It rained for something like 9 straight days here recently. Great for the plants, not great for my mood. I think it's sunny today. I find it amusing that Donald Trump makes the decision on if Miss California gets to keep her crown. I know he owns it and all, but that is just weird to me.

Eek! Fire!

One of the major fires burning in California right now is in the city that my husband's parents live in. They are ok though. They said it turned dark as night in the middle of the day and outside it was glowing orange! Scary!

Proposition 8

I am not one to talk to the masses, or even my co-workers, about my political views, but I feel like I need to speak up. I am greatly disappointed and saddened by California passing Proposition 8. I don't live there anymore, but plan on returning one day. I have always been proud to call California "home" and thought the people were more open in their thinking. Moving to Virginia has greatly opened my eyes to how closed minded some people are in this country. Someone very close to me is gay and I have met only 3 people in this state that I have felt comfortable enough to tell. I believe in equal rights and letting everyone live the life they want to live as long as they do not hurt anyone. I cannot believe the same people who voted for a minority president voted to ban gay marriage. Marriage gives two people certain rights that nothing else does. Telling a couple that because they are the same sex they cannot have these rights is discrimination. I expected the gay marriage ban to pass to other states, but not in California.

Goleta Fire

Growing up in southern California, brush fires are nothing new. The smell of smoke and ash on the cars in the driveway is nothing out of the ordinary. Other than in Malibu, the fires tend to stay inland and haven't threatened any areas near where I lived since I was near the coast. Now there is a fire in Goleta, which is home to UCSB where I went to college. Although I no longer live there and have not visited in years, hearing about the fire and that thousands of homes have been evacuated because they are in danger is heart wrenching. So far no homes have burned and my thoughts are with all the resident and firefighters in the area that the fire gets contained so they can return home soon.

Blame It on the Rain

It has been raining here the last few days. My attitude toward rain has changed over the years. It rarely rained when I was a kid growing up in southern California. When it did, it was exciting because it was something different and it meant we got to eat lunch inside at school and play heads up 7-up. The rain would be the top story on the evening news. It seemed normal at the time, but you would think a news station that covers Los Angeles and most of southern California would have something more important to report other than it is raining and people are running into each other with their cars. I had no idea that it actually rains in the summer in some places until we visited my mom’s side of the family in North Dakota and Minnesota. Not only did it rain in the summer while we were there, we experienced violent thunder storms (lighting hit a tree outside my window) and a twister. I started to like the rain less when I was in college because I did not like riding my bike in the rain to campus. Then it got worse during an El Nino year when we had torrential rain. I think it rained 12 inches in 12 hours are one point and school was even canceled. My street flooded not once, but twice and both times my car was parked on the street and was flooded as well. People at my school could make anything fun though. When my roommate and I got our cars to higher ground, some guys in a row boat picked us up and rowed us home. They even had beer in the boat so we had a drink on the way. My bad luck with floods did not end there. During another extreme weather event when I lived in the bay area, my street flooded due to the overflowing creeks and we were almost evacuated. I had a bag packed and was ready to go if the fire department came down our street. The house I lived in also had about an inch of water in it due to poor drainage in the yard. This was a very long night since my roommates and I stayed up trying to keep the water out of the house and moving things around to the drier parts of the house. This taught me to respect and somewhat fear the power of rain. I realized weather is powerful and uncontrollable. Now here I am living in Virginia where the average rainfall per year is about four times that of California. I really did not like all the rain when we first moved here, especially in the summer. The last couple of years have been quite dry which caused the grass, plants and trees to all dry out. This spring has been fairly wet and everything is green and growing, which has made me learn to appreciate the rain. This area is very green with lots of trees, which I like, but it takes quite a bit of rain to keep them green. Now the only things I do not like about rain are that it makes my hair big and I have to sit in traffic longer, but that is not so bad.