On Friday when we were broadsided at the end of the night it was bad times but over the weekend we did much discussing, brainstorming and networking. It’s not “all coming up roses” around here but it not “doom and gloom” either.

Things are uncertain and we don’t have much time to get another gig going but there are several good things that have already come out of all this.

Remember that vacation we were bummed to skip out on when I served up a whopping shitcake to you all? Well now we are enjoying unemployment an extended staycation. Yep, all three of us are home and free to do whatever the heck we want, for the next two months or until new employment comes along.

Remember that life’s priorities talk I shared with ya? Well N’s number one priority was to find a job that makes him happy. When we made the priorities lists we were thinking the job hunt would begin in a year or more… That meant sticking it out in the meantime and dreaming of the future possibilities… Funny how life works huh? Now he gets to go right to the possibilities and skip the dreaming and sticking it out. That is good right?

Other good things include me getting some help and backup in my parenting and homemaking duties. Shoot, I might even have more time and focus for writing on here now! Also, Everly will be getting more time with both her parents and not just her exhausted mommy.

We were joking about another one of our priorities on those lists we drafted. N’s work buddies jokingly call it “OTG” (off the grid), we’ll get to put our sustainable and frugal living to the real test. Can we really sustain ourselves using what resources we already have? You know the giant garden, the stockpiled pantry goods and all that…

On my priority list I was also questioning whether or not I would be able to lead a healthy, sustainable lifestyle when convenience and finances made it difficult. This is our test…

It’s like two weeks ago we drafted this list of life tests that not only related to everything we desired but now it ties those desires with the path we must take to achieve those things. Is that magical or what?

So now we focus on the immediate tasks ahead. Brainstorming job possibilities, keeping a open, positive frame of mind, putting ourselves out there in search of leads, enjoying the beauty of the days ahead, marveling in the apparent destiny of it all and trusting that things will work out just the way they are meant to.

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It is true. Contract is terminated. Moved all the way out here for a contract and an opportunity that was essentially “gone back on” for one reason or another. One head honcho moved on (the one that initiated the agreement), the new head honcho drafted a signed letter and had his minion present it Friday.

No meeting with HR, no face to face with the big man and no regard for anything but the company’s bottom line. Insulting? Yep but not really that shocking because we already had a read on the people involved, we knew they weren’t particularly goodhearted. And it is a cut-throat business…

So, we have one less thing to deal with. Crappy job situation is settled! New job (or unemployment) here we come. We do know we can’t leave here for a few years. Since we bought a house and got the home buyers tax money…

So, Evansville isn’t rid of us just yet.  Bet that chaps some asses huh? Hope nobody got their hopes up about us leaving, though I am sure the thought crossed their minds…

Too bad, so sad…

Funny thing is our daughter is very intuitive. Last night before the news was broken to us she was messing around with these letters…

Kind of sums it all up doesn’t it?

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We were barely making end meet, were financially frustrated, itching to start a family, had no chance of buying a home and were ready for a little more job security. Too bad my lady doctor said I was not fertile because of my low weight and N’s job told him they really valued him but could not increase his salary from here on out. That was 5 months ago…

Can you believe how much has happen in 5 months? Holly crap! N got the job in Evansville, IN so we started planing our cross country move. We got engaged 7 days before we were scheduled to move. We made the week long cross country move with minimal drama. We were in our new home for 3 weeks, were planning our wedding for July 2009 then we found out we conceived our first child! I just did the bills and we actually have several hundred dollars left over after everything was paid oh and houses are damn cheap here!

That really is a ton of stuff that fell in to place all at once for us. I guess it makes up for the 3 years we spend in limbo land huh? I almost can’t believe all has worked out for us in such a freaking short amount of time.

Now I just need to master taking photos of water already (I didn’t forget Wordless Wednesday, just a bit late) Lotus says anyone can do it and my camera has a freaking macro setting but my water photos suck big time. I guess you can’t have it all huh? Here are my crappy attempts and a funny video!

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We are obviously happy and excited for our new opportunities despite the inevitable sadness of leaving the past behind. We are also counting our lucky stars that we were ready for this fallout. It’s been quite the journey that is for sure! Many lessons have been learned and we are totally ready for the next door to open for us.

I am planning to go watch the taping of the last broadcast over at the station tonight. Then N and I will be attending the sign-off party the station is hosting for all the staff and key community members. Tonight will be a night of drinks, appetizers and saying goodbye to all we have met over the years.

It will be nice to get out of the house and get our minds off the packing and moving preparation I hate goodbyes though…

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4:42pm – Update

As I am straightening my hair N calls me and says we are under a tornado watch here in Flagstaff, AZ till 5pm. I guess we are getting some preparation for Midwest living huh?

At least in the Midwest they have tornado sirins, we don’t have those here in Arizona. Myself and all the pets will be hanging in the master bedroom together till the storm passes.

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After we stressed out and had anxiety, my cycle got all jacked up with the stress, N’s was just walking around with his “poopy pants on”, we felt angry and unprepared, we sent out about 15 resume tapes, applied to 6 jobs online and the very next day we get the long awaited job offer.

It is exactly what we asked for in negotiations, we are thrilled and very relieved! It is for $55,000-$60,000 over three years, plus grooming perks, benefits after 30 days, $1500 in moving expenses oh and the cost of living is 10% lower there than it is here. Livable houses start in the $50,000 and go all the way up to $200,000 so we will totally be able to find something in our price range.

This pretty much sets the course for our lives this summer, we’re moving somewhere for sure! Now we just wait to see if any better offers come from other places as a result of the massive amounts of tapes we sent already.

We are open to any offer better than the one we are already sitting on but if we don’t see it in the next two weeks we’ll still have Evansville to fall back on, it is a totally acceptable offer to us!

Now I really have to get busy with packing and moving research! We were thinking of using a “you pack we drive” moving company, have one you would recommend? We are also thinking of trading the broke down Nissan for a running old beater motor home, or we will sell the Nissan and use the money to buy a used motor home…

Ugh, there is so much to do over the next 2 months but I am just so glad to know we will be doing this (for sure). Some direction is better than no direction, you know? So, life is about to get exciting for us again… I just know it is going to be a wild ride but I can’t wait.

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I am feeling a bit better today! We are once again waiting to hear from Indiana, I wonder how many posts I have written about waiting for them to call… I found one here, here, here and here…

Anyway, N got a quick email response this weekend from Evansville about how they are putting together another offer for him. They said it was not 100% what he was expecting and that we could expect it on Monday (today). Now don’t hold your breath we have heard that before!

Over the weekend we were job searching/ applying machines! We burned over 10 resume DVD’s, labeled them, addressed padded envelopes to those hiring and today I am busting out cover letters for them so we can have them in the mail by tomorrow! N also submitted about 5 e-applications this morning linking to his online resume reel.

All in all we have applied for about 20 different stations all over the USA this week, that way if the Evansville thing doesn’t pan out we have our butts covered, plus we may get an even better offer from someone… I had a positive dream about the job search saga last night so I think my hope and positive attitude is back today.

We saw Sex and the City yesterday for fun, it was a good movie and we kind of related to it as we are still not married/ engaged but are long term committed. Speaking of engagement we were ring browsing (again) on Saturday and we both found a ring that was just perfect… It was a bit more expensive but N doesn’t seem to care about that…

I just want something unique and dainty, I am not all about the status of an engagement ring. Granted someday I will want a ring upgrade and perhaps a carat diamond, eventually, but I don’t think it is a requirement for engagement. He has different views.

Also, I just got word from a coworker that my presence is requested this summer at a Colorguard clinic I have taught at before. In previous years funds have been tight with the organization so they could not pay me to teach, I am not sure what is different this year but I am happy to get my mind off the job stresses and do something I love.

So, yeah… That is the weekend update in a nutshell! How did your weekend go? Oh, if you haven’t already could your vote for my mom in the lifetime tv photo contest? Thanks!

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Here are the rules for the book meme:

Step One – pull out a book on the book shelf.

Step Two – go to page 123.

Step Three – read and write out the 5^th sentence.

Step Four – tag 5 more people.

I am currently reading Snow Blind by P.J. Tracy… Here is my sentence:

“The four-wheel-drive light.”

Well, that was not as good as I thought it would be. Boo… Ah well, I tag frogpondsrock, Mrs. Who, Shamelessly Sassy, Memarie Lane and Life on The Ranch.

Oh and for those of you following the Evansville job saga here is an update, for those of you who are sick of hearing about it you can stop reading here.

The flooding is still an issue out there… We were emailed yesterday @ 10am stating “if you don’t hear from me today you will most defiantly hear from me tomorrow”. Well, we didn’t hear from anyone today, it has been almost a week since the first low-ball job offer and I am just getting sick and tired of waiting.

Are we out of line for being peeved about this? I mean I know the weather is a big deal right now but Evansville is not under water and all we want is a quick email or call with a second offer/ dollar amount. Last weekend we were told the second offer would be sent over on Monday, we waited patiently and sent a follow up email late Tuesday evening. Wednesday we were promised an answer no later than Thursday, now Thursday has come and gone… Still no offer!

I am irritable and am having trouble staying positive about it all, mainly becasue the clock is ticking and we don’t have time to wait. We halted the job searching after they were flying him out there, this was like a month ago so if this doesn’t work out we lost a month of searching time and only have another month and a half to get it figured out and find a new place to live.

Ugh, I am just sick of waitin’… Okay, rant over! Thanks for bearing through it, I feel a bit better now.

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We are still waiting on the job offer before we make a decision about the car repair. If he gets a decent offer that we can accept we will just sell the car or something. Towing one less car out of state is fine by us, in the meantime the broken car is sitting on my moms land, a waitin’…

We are so looking forward to having this weekend at home. Maybe we will go see a movie or something and enjoy a low key weekend, if N gets to come home from his “on assignment” crap for work… I can’t wait for the weekend, I am just a waitin’ for the time to pass…

What are your plans this weekend, are you doing anything special? Want to plurk?

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In the east people are experiencing a heat wave as temperatures reach triple digits and earthquakes are devastating many in places such as Nevada, California and Greece. I was left thinking “Holy cow, what is going on with the weather” after learning of all the chaos.

Add the weather stress to the economic stress of fast rising gas prices, home foreclosures, layoffs and financial uncertainty and you can pretty much guarantee you know someone who is having a tough time right now. All this craziness is sad and it makes for a hard time for many, thinking about it makes me sick to my stomach and it is surreal.

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N called Evansville and asked if there was some miscommunication over the posted salary. He explained that when he applied it was listed as 70-80 thousand and that the actual job offer was for exactly what he is making right now. Turns out the station manager didn’t know the job was listed at such a high salary and he had no idea what N was already making. The HR person in Evansville who listed the job apparently was mistaken over what job she was listing.

N explained that at the offered salary the move was not justifiable and that he couldn’t accept the current contract. Evansville said they would need to talk the situation over with the GM and HR and that they would present another offer Monday after they did some budget crunching. We are pleased (and relieved) that they are willing to come back with a higher offer, that is a good sign.

At least N was offered the job and Evansville wants him enough to come back with another offer after the miscommunication. Now we are just keeping our finger crossed and trying to relax. Let me just say I am looking forward to booze and friends this weekend at the wedding! I may get trashed after all this stress.

Also, I went bra shopping this morning and last weekend we splurged and bought ourselves some new shoes. My goals were to obtain shoes and a strapless bra to go with the super cute dress I am wearing to the wedding tomorrow. We went to the department store and none of the bras fit/ were how I wanted, then we went by Target to grab some things from the wedding registry and I found the perfect bra! Funny that the cheaper store had exactly what I was looking for as opposed to the department store.

Oh and our neighbor just came over today and offered us this antique desk and dresser that are from the same era as the dresser I already have. He was just trying to get rid of stuff so he had more room in his workshop (He is a carpenter here in northern Arizona). His gesture was very thoughtful and it brought us a smile today.

So there are my updates, hopefully everyone is doing great! I am off to make the blog rounds now.

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