Weekend Recap!

Hi friends! 

As some of you may have heard through various other social media sites (can't keep anything on the DL these days obviously) I've finally landed a job! If you've been keeping up with my posts, you should know that this has been an ongoing worry of mine and this job offer is nothing short of amazing. And lucky for anyone that reads this blog because now I have one less thing to rant about. Hurray!

After getting the great news yesterday night, the hubs and I celebrated by going out to the new local pizza joint, Flippin' Pizza. It was perfect. And delicious.

Did I mention they also serve wine with their pizza? LOVE.

In other news: This past weekend, as promised, Mr. C and Roland took me out to see the gorgeous, and might I add, very plush Orange County. Unfortunately, I didn't get a chance to take any pictures. Honestly, I was too busy window shopping and drooling over all the fancy-shmancy stores. Keyword being "window"... haven't started that job yet people.

But I did come to some sort of realization while having a mild anxiety attack in the middle of a ridiculously expensive boutique that I should have never walked into in the first place.

Shopping is fun in that it's fun to see what sort of styles are out there and get an idea of things you want to buy in the future (clothes, home decor, accessories, etc). But it's also quite depressing in that you realize how much of it you don't have and probably wouldn't be able to afford it all anyways. It's overwhelming.

Which leads me to my realization: I love shopping, but I hate it.

It's like my love, hate relationship with pinterest. I mean, I'm obsessed with it. But really, when will I ever be able to afford a lavish home with an entrance like this:

Source: Uploaded by user via Kirsten on Pinterest

Or a phenomenal kitchen like this:

Source: houzz.com via Kirsten on Pinterest

The correct answer is: Probably never.
But hot damn do I fantasize about it. It's just depressing when I put it into a realistic perspective. Oh well gotta get back to daydreaming about walk-in closets...

Until next time!

For Employment and Epiphanies,

Oh Happy Day!

Let me just preface this post with a warning: If you are a debbie downer and/or are easily annoyed by upbeat people, you should probably close out of this blog right now. Today, I am in the BEST mood and I will not refrain myself to try to seem cool and collected.

There are two reasons why this day has put me in such a splendid mood:

The first being that I have another job interview tomorrow!

Can I get a Hallelujah?

Not to sound like a broken record or to repeat the obvious to anyone else thats been on the job hunt 24/7, but it's a dead out there (not to mention SUPER depressing).

Whoever said "it's all about who you know" was seriously spot on. Literally the only positions where I have even made human contact are from those jobs where I had a friend, (or friend-of-a-friend, etc.) vouch for my credibility to someone in the company. Without mentions like that, I feel like one could be on the job hunt for years. It's torture.

Needless to say, this interview is wonderful news (and a much needed self-esteem booster). So props to me on that feat.

The second reason is that Mr. C has semi-surprised me with a trip to Orange County/L.A. this weekend!

Yes, it is partially because there is a gun show going on this saturday in those whereabouts, but I'll take what I can get! I've been dying to make a trip up that way and this weekend is it!

Source: socialmediatoseo.com via Kirsten on Pinterest

I've already started planning out every moment of our trip and found the most fabulous shopping area. Fashion Island! And of course, I will be bringing my handy-dandy camera with me for any and all photo-ops!

That's it for now! Have a fabulous day and pass on these good vibes!

For Interviews and Road Trips,

Rainy Day Blues

Happy Tuesday all! 

For the past couple days I've been in an odd funk and I'm quite certain it has something to do with all the rain we've been having. The fact that San Diego has seen this much rain is, in itself, completely bizarre.

I know, I know... poor me, blah blah. I'm not shooting for sympathy here just stating truths.

Regardless, I am now reminded how much the weather can affect my mood. Maybe it's Seasonal Affective Disorder, or more likely, the rainy day blues. Either way, I plan to pull myself out of this state by reliving all of my sunny adventures through my photography. Also it will give me a chance to upload all of the photos I've taken yet have procrastinated posting.

Boom! Thats called multitasking people!

Enjoy! :)

Carlsbad Beach

Hiking Trail at Lake Dixon

Pacific Beach

San Marcos Trail

Check out the rest of shots on my photo page here. That's it for now!

For Procrastination and Photos,

An Ode to Mommies Everywhere

Earlier this past week, I was able to meet up with an old co-worker downtown for drinks. She had come in from Virginia for a work conference in San Diego and I was ecstatic when I heard the news! It's nearly been five months since seeing her and I'm always excited to see a friendly face! (She is also the reason I got my last promotion when she continually pushed for me and sang my praises throughout the office. SO, yes, she's a favorite of mine for sure!)

As one would expect, we got straight to catching up. We talked about our families, shared a little bit of gossip (Hey, I'm only human) and she filled me in on how the office was these days. Among our catching up she asked me something that seems simple, a legitimate question, but I couldn't give her an answer. 

"So what do you do now?"

Welp. That's a good question. What the hell do I do all day. There's still a few hours a day being spent on telework, but other than that.... (???) So I thought and thought, and without trying to bore the conversation into my daily play by play, I simply told her we got a dog and quickly changed the subject. Pretty easy to do, considering... I mean, just look at this face. 

But back to the issue: What do I do all day? Without a steady full-time job it would seem like I have TONS of free time to lounge and relax. (Clarification: I rarely do either of those things. The latter being obvious to anyone that knows me. Not stressing is not one of my strong points) 

But I digress... I don't feel overly relaxed or bored with my days like an unemployed-stay-at-home-wife might seem. Quite the opposite, actually. Between teleworking, applying for roughly 450,687 jobs, and taking Roland out to play every two hours, there's always something else I need to do, something else I need to clean, or organize, or file, or pick up... I can keep going. 

My point is not to be a dramatic whine or to suggest that I don't love every second of my life. I'm so blessed and so grateful for all of it, and it's possible that I'm stressed because I am a stressed out freak. My point that I am trying to make is that if I'm constantly going and I'm technically, unemployed, and without children... what does that say about the mothers out there?

To be blunt: How the hell did our mothers do it? And for those of you just catching on, by "it" I'm referring to "everything", obviously. I've always known that my mother is wonderful, I just never understood fully or could relate to it all. 

My Momma with me and my sister

So get off your tush, and if you're near the woman that brought you into this world, give her a hug and tell her you love her. Hopefully, I'll be able to do this myself soon!

Until next time...

For Gossip and Mommies,

Adventures before April: Part 1

Recently, Mr. C and I found out that he will be going on his first deployment this April, as in, less-than-three-months-away, April. And with that countdown quickly approaching, we've tried to make every single moment together count. So for every weekend, we plan some sort of adventure to go on. Lucky for us, California has pretty much every variety of outdoor climate you could ask for: the beach, the mountains, and even deserts, making awesome adventures, super easy to plan and readily available.

This past weekend, Mr. C and I were dog-sitting for one of his marine buddies, so any adventure we'd go on would have to include Roland and his new BFF, Lucy (below).

Side-note: Lucy, supposedly a mastiff pitbull mix, is an adorable and very calm pup who gets along great with our little Roland. However, she is NOT house trained. A little bit of info I would have appreciated to know prior to her visit...but that is a completely different story which I'll get to another time.

On Saturday, we took the pups to the Del Mar dog beach. We'd never been to this dog beach, but we knew how much Roland loved the Ocean Beach one so we had pretty high hopes. Let's just say it did not disappoint! All the dogs are so playful and happy, and their owners are pretty nice, too. And BONUS: The entire area is surrounded by scenic cliffs. Perfect photo-op's everywhere which I had to take advantage of, obviously. (See even more pictures on my Photo page)

Dogs everywhere

Roland and Lucy

My little baby

Cliffs behind them

With all the excitement of sniffing and attacking everything/everyone, the little nuggets had completely worn themselves out. They were both fighting to stay awake on the drive home but completely passed out within minutes.

Sleepy Pups

PERFECT! Peace and quiet at last.....

Fast-forward to Sunday. After church, we decided to take a hike on the Mount Woodson trail where we could also do some rock climbing. First of all, let me clarify this sentence before anyone gets the wrong impression. Although, my dear husband would like to think I'm as much of a badass as him, I am not. In fact, I'm actually scared shitless of heights. With that being said, I've learned to "get over it" somewhat and have been on plenty of rock climbing adventures with him before. More frequently though, we get our climbing practice on at a nearby indoor gym. With each climb, my fear subsides a bit and, to my surprise, I'm actually pretty good at it. I'm quite flexible from many years of dance and because of that I can usually maneuver myself up a climb with natural momentum. There's definitely a thrill with each climb to the top and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment and pride. However, very often my husband, ever my biggest supporter god bless him, seems to have more faith in me than I do; this being one of those instances. I knew that with the cold and the lack of recent practice I was a no-go for this climb, instead opting to stay at the bottom to belay for Mr. C while trying to keep warm.

Unfortunately, since I knew this would be a more intense hike and I didn't want to chance ruining my new camera, it was up to to iPhone to capture these magical moments. They're definitely not as crisp as my beloved Sony SLR, but they'll have to do!

On the way up!

Setting up to climb that sucker

Just like a spider-monkey

Keeping warm!!

Thats's it for now! More adventure posts to come!

For Beaches and Climbing,

First Post: Vows and Puppies

SO I'm going to be honest...I'm a little bit nervous to start one of these things. I'm not particularly tech savvy (I've got my hubs for that) and normally I shy away from things that confuse the bejeezus out of me, for example all the elements it takes to create a blog. But not this time. I fully intend to see this "blog" thing through. Maybe it's all that new years resolution motivation lingering in me or maybe its because of all the extra time on my hands between job searching and taking care of my schizophrenic adorable puppy, Roland. Regardless, this blog is happening. Starting now...


This past September, Mr. C and I were married in a quaint little town in Virginia. It was, without a doubt, the happiest weekend of my life (a cliche but, nonetheless, accurate). He is my best friend, my voice of reason, my all-time biggest supporter, and I am truly blessed to have him as my husband. He is the one part of my life that doesn't worry me (and worrying is like, my thing...been doing it FOREVER. Ask my momma).

September 17, 2011

Ever since the wedding and the move to Cali, nearly every aspect of my life has changed. For the good and bad. I went from being recently promoted at my job to teleworking part time, and soon, even that will be ending. Meanwhile, the job market is in the crapper horrible and the impending doom of unemployment makes me queasy with anxiety. So what does nearly every newly married couple do once they've gotten settled? GET A (insert pet of your preference)!!! Sure enough, we jumped on that bandwagon. Thanks to my awesome sister-in-law we got the cutest darn puppy, a black lab we named Roland (Secret: The name comes from the main character in a Steven King novel that Mr. C loved. He thought the guy was a badass, so it was the only appropriate name choice for our little boy pup).

Little Roland when we first got him

Hiya Dad!!!

ATTACK

King Roland

Now, Roland is nearly 5 months and has such a strong personality that it amazes and cracks me up at the same time. Unfortunately for Mr. C, Roland has replaced him as the recipient of all my spoiling tendencies. I can't help it if there was a sale on doggy treats when I stopped by wally world, now can I? He's also the subject in nearly all the pictures I've taken on my new Digital SLR camera. (See my photos page for some)

And that's where I am right now in my life, more or less. And that should do it for the blog today. See ya later alligators!

For Vows and Puppies,