No job, sick dog.....

Brodie as a puppy...

Watta week.  My second week of job loss, trying to maneuver through the unemployment system (not easy), and on top of it, Brodie becomes very ill...running a temp of 105 (a dog's normal temp is 101 to 102) and no energy.  A trip to the vet on Monday concludes with a diagnosis of pancreatitis.  The vet kept asking me if he had gotten into anything (food wise), but he really doesn't has access to pet food, or any food that is within his reach (one benefit of a short legged dog I guess), and we finally concluded that the dog food Romeo bought most recently was for "sporting" dogs, so probably had too much fat in it.  Hence the pancreatitis.  We put him on a bland diet, which for dogs is boiled chicken, or baby food, and he went in for temperature checks every day this week except yesterday and today (since they are closed).  Thankfully he is improving every day, and is doing much better.  So, I am very thankful for that.  The vet was very understanding about the issue with my job loss, and didn't send us over to the clinic for an ultrasound ~ which probably would have been very expensive....as it was, the vet bill was $300.  

All grown up & looking good!

Otherwise, I had a productive meeting with a professor at UNM, who will help me pay for his class in the spring semester.  It is on Chaco energetics, which basically is food resources, diet, calorie consumption, etc.  Sounds very complicated.  But I am excited to take it, because this guy is sooo smart and truly likes to teach & help students achieve their goals.  He wasn't even surprised to notice that I am not the usual 20 something student.  I suppose in his years of teaching, he seen every type of student there is.  His enthusiasm for the subject was great to see.

I sent my resume to my current professor, but I'm not really sure if there is anything that he can do.  A racquetball friend of mine suggested that I go to the scholarship office to see if there is anything that might help.  She said there are many scholarships that go unused just because students are lazy.  But I think it's that finding scholarships is so complicated that students just give up.  Uh, 'cause that's what I did.  :-)

What a great Thanksgiving we had yesterday.  The turkey was fabulous, the fresh green beans, the dressing, the home made rolls were all great.  I did buy the turkey gravy base from Williams-Sonoma, but we didn't like it.  It tasted.....funny.  I wondered when the directions said to add 1 part gravy base & one part -milk???  Ugh.  I was right too, it just didn't cut it.  We had two kinds of pie too, pecan and pumpkin, both of which were so good.  

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family & friends & good food.  

Love, 365

It's another Sunday morning....

Santa Fe farmer's market, summer 2014

Here I am again, on a cloudy, windy morning in Albuquerque.  Winter is tightening her grip, and the leaves on the wisteria look wrinkled and dry ~ I'm sure I will hear a slight "thump" that will signal that all of the leaves dropped off in one go.  

Next week is Thanksgiving.  I have most of my supplies.  I still haven't decided if I want to brine my turkey the usual way (wet) or try the dry brine.  I guess I'll check it out and decide.  It's just that last year I spilled the brine all over the kitchen, and I still find areas on my cabinetry that have a salty spot.  Ugh.  I don't want to have that happen again!

While at the nail salon before the wedding, I was convinced to try a gel manicure.  I liked it...what I really liked was that even I couldn't mess it up.  Usually I wreck a manicure before I even get into my car!  I've read all the reports, and the salon I go to uses the led lights, so it's safer than the other method.  So, when I went 3 weeks ago, I decided I would keep it going through the holidays.  Now, I'm wrestling with myself on whether I should give it one more go, or give it up for now.  Although $24 doesn't seem like much, I have to keep in mind that $24 here and $24 there and pretty soon, it's over $100, which I really need for our food budget.  Ok, I've talked myself out of doing it again, but it will cost around $5 to have it removed.  :-)

Next week will be the first week that I will need to notify the fine state of New Mexico that I am making an effort to find work.  I have already had problems with their web site, so I'm figuring it will test my already beleaguered patience.  Hey, maybe I'll be surprised at how easy it is!!!  I'll see!

Google Images

My favorite holiday....Thanksgiving. 

Family & food

Football & pie

Friends come by and crowd my house

But I love the feeling

Of having all my family & friends near

So we can be thankful

And then start complaining 

about Christmas........

Love, 365

Temporarily Retired.....ahhhhhhhh

My "new" coworkers....

Well, it's Friday.  Normally a day I look forward to, because it signals the end of the work week.  This has been a very interesting week for me....I turned off my alarms, but I find myself waking up at 5:30 anyway, but instead of driving to work, I make a pot of coffee & get started on the tasks I need to accomplish for the day.  I thought I would be getting my homework done early, but here it is, Friday, and I haven't even written the posting that is due today.  Part of my excuse (& there are many, lol) is that for some reason my professor hasn't provided the link for the post yet, which has never happened before.  Perhaps he is as tired of the semester as the rest of us....I still need to start my 5 page paper due by the second week of December.  I just find that I have trouble focusing my attention on anything for longer than the time it takes to write this post.  20-30 minutes into it, and I find myself washing dishes, or doing a load of laundry, paying bills, etc.  I hope this "side effect" passes soon, or I'm going to be a basket case.

I am looking forward to playing racquetball with my group that always gets together (well, almost always) and plays at noon on Fridays.  I was only rarely able to join them on a rare Friday off.  I made a point to go to the gym yesterday to work out, in an attempt to burn off nervous energy in hopes I would be able to focus on the readings for class (because they are so freakingly technical).  

Well, because my alloted focus for this task has now expired, I shall return to my homework.  :-)

Love, 365

Holy cow.....

Courtesy New York Times ~ South Buffalo, NY

What the???  This incredible snow storm, of which you have most likely already seen/heard of has buried Buffalo in a huge blanket of snow.  When I look at this photo, the first thing I notice is that their front door is basically covered by snow.  I can't imagine how long it will take to dig out! Looks like none of these folks will be going to work today!  Looks very pretty, if all you have to do is look at the photo, and not deal with the snow blower/shovel.  Makes me quite thankful to live here in Albuquerque, when not much else is!

I am trying to concentrate on my class work, but I keep getting distracted.  So much to think about & do.  I texted my x-coworker about some things I forgot to take with me (hair spray, contact lens cleaner, yogurt in fridge), and I'm trying not to freak out that I haven't heard back from her yet...although I'm sure she is scrambling to keep up with work.  

Well, back to reading Developmental Origins of Adult Function & Health: Evolutionary Hypotheses. Doesn't that sound like exciting material?  

Love, 365

And so it goes......

Cloud Godzilla! 

I filed for unemployment benefits today.  How humiliating is that?  I'm grateful and all, but wow, I wasn't expecting it.  I had a little trouble creating a login, because it took me awhile to notice that it has to be ALL numbers or letters, and of course any other login is a collection of numbers & letters, right?  Well, you have to remember this is a government thing, and they have to do things differently.

I saw my hairdresser today, who is sadly going through a painful & difficult divorce, and we were sharing stories....all in all a pretty weird day so far.  I called the bank and made arrangements for my 401k to be transferred, since my x-boss said they would call me today ~ so far, nothin.  I'm not worried about that though, because I know I will hear from them this week.

Today is registration day for next semester, and I think, for me, this is the part that gets me down, as I won't be able to afford to go until I'm employed again.  Another delay....sigh. I still need to e-mail my current professor and inquire about employment, although I'm sure he isn't in charge, I thought it couldn't hurt.

If you have any suggestions that might help, please feel free!  It's been a very long time since I've applied for work, and interviewed (shudder).

Love, 365

Just a little of everything......

It's time.....for the annual Thanksgiving comes first campaign.  If you have Facebook, check out their page, where they are keeping us appraised of which stores are honoring this important day for families to get together.  They also allow you to sign petitions (if you wanna).  The fight continues!

This semester is going well, somehow I am managing to write 2 one to two page pieces each week and currently have an A, and recently the professor asked me if I was planning on graduate school, and that he would support me if I decided to apply.  I replied that because I'm currently working full time, it's taking me forever to finish my bachelor's degree & that if he's still working at UNM when I graduate, I'll take him up on his offer.  It really made my week :-)

I love fall here in New Mexico.  This one has met all my expectations so far ~ sunny skies, temp's from 65 to 75.  Haven't begun to plan for Thanksgiving yet, although turkey is on the menu.  Yesterday I made Louisiana gumbo, and tried out Red Lobster biscuit mix, which was a big hit.  Must be the butter you drizzle on em' when they come out of the oven, lol.  Something about fall makes me want to cook and bake.  Later I'm making an apple pie, which should make the house smell lovely....

I am already sick of Christmas.  The decor is everywhere.  I went to Lowe's a week ago to look at bathroom sinks, and was overwhelmed by plastic prelit trees, inflatable Santas and Snowmen, and every type of decoration you can imagine.  Ugh.

Well, gotta go.....have a wonderful week!
Love, 365