A few more before and after shots....

Seeing these before and after pictures keeps me thinking of how far I've come and to not lose the momentum.

What a fun weekend!

Well it's back to reality unfortunately! Dad and I went up to Steph's this past weekend and had a great time. It seemed like all we did was eat and yes, the scale proved this. Uh-oh, it's all veggies for the next few days before "weigh-in" on Wed am.

I'm still on the job hunt and it's a little frustrating for me. I really do dislike doing interviews! I sure hope that it gets easier and less frightening. I need to relax more and just be confident in the fact that I can do these jobs with my eyes shut! I have more than 18 yrs. experience and I'm nervous going on interviews. Something is wrong with this picture.

Today I've been going through more and more boxes, trying to sort out the garage sale items and the things I want to keep. The problem with the latter is where to put it. This will be my life for the next several weeks I think, so I should be greatful that I have time to do it.

Thanks again Steph, Todd & the kiddies for such a wonderful time. It is always fun and relaxing at the same time. I really needed it!! Have a great week everyone.

Job hunting has begun....ugh!

This will be short and sweet, but I wanted to get everyone up-to-date on things here in SB.

Sunday was my first day at my new ward and it happened to be Stake Conference. Our building is the stake center for the Long Beach East Stake. There are about 10 wards that make up our stake. Our building only has 2 wards that meet - Los Alamitos and Seal Beach wards. We meet at 9am, so Jim will be happy about that. He can't wait for me to get back and spend the day home with him. I've told him that he could be sitting with me almost all morning, but that still hasn't been "flying" hahaha. I'll keep trying.

They had a wonderful stake choir that sang about 4 numbers and they sounded sooooo great. The volume and quality of the sound was enormous. I got there at 9am and sat and listened to the choir practice before the meeting started. A lady sitting in front of me was commenting on how they sounded and I agreed with her and said that I'd love to be up there singing right with them. She said I should go up and I quickly informed her that I had just moved into the area and didn't know anyone. She took down my name and number and said she would give it to the director (who was a close friend of hers). I ended up going up after the meeting and introducing myself to the director to let her know of my interest in singing in the choir. Our stake has a special temple day in LA to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the LA temple. Our stake will hold a special meeting in the assembly hall on the 3rd floor and the stake choir will be singing. Yeah!!!! I will be right there with them!! I can't wait.

This afternoon I met with a lady at the employment agency who I was referred to by a woman at Jim's work. The lady at the agency was so nice and it really turned out to be a great experience except for the numerous tests she gave me. I hadn't worked with Word or Excel in such a long time, but I scored in the high 80's on both (a little higher on Word). I was shocked! The test kept saying incorrect a lot and giving another shot because you can do the same thing different ways on those programs. I was happy and she said she'd be calling some of her clients to schedule interviews for me. I feel relieved that this initial meeting today is over. I hate taking those tests on the computer that they give you.

Well I thought this would be short and sweet, but I guess my fingers are typing faster after that test this afternoon. hahaha

Have a great week everyone and I'm looking forward to Thurs. to go up and see Steph. Dad is coming too!!!

Still unpacking...

Hello Peeps!! I'm back online as of this morning. It sure feels great to be back able to communicate with everyone.

It is especially nice that the temp outside seems to have raised slightly. It was 62 at lunch today and I didn't need to wear my scarf and jacket until I walked into the Albertsons. It was like a meat locker in there. I almost lost my rings! haha

Jim has a meeting tonight so he'll be home late (10:30) so we met for lunch at Hof's Hut on Bellflower near Clark. Do you remember that place Mom? We have been trying to meet outside of downtown LB because of how costly the parking is. Crazy.

I tried out the Gold's in Huntington Beach yesterday which was just ok, but the best part of the trip was the drive home up PCH. We're going to be canceling our Gold's membership because the one across from Jim's office is old/rundown and it's in a scary part of town for me to go to at night. I'm looking into trying out LA Fitness on Valley View in Garden Grove (8 min drive) or the 24 hour fitness on Katella in Cypress (10 min). I need to try out the classes especially and make sure they have the elyptical? machines.

In the front of my mind is the issue of finding a job and getting my resume updated and printed. It is on the other computer that needs to be set up. I'm dreading having to do an interview with this appliance in my mouth making me sound like a person that never even got near a school EVER. haha It is a little disconcerting at best. Jim just tells me I shouldn't worry about things I have no control over. I told him that if I did that I wouldn't be ME. We had a good laugh over that one. Of course I'm a worry wart - I've had the example and training of someone who is better at this than me. Her ability in this area is unparalleled!!! I love you Mom and everyone else. Thanks for your love and support of me.

I need to give a special thanks to my Mom & Dad and Danny & Chad for the great help they were to us over this past weekend! I will keep trying to repay you all for your efforts - we could NOT have done it without them!

Still moving.....ugh!!

Hi everyone, well I'm still moving....ugh!! This is the pits! I am excited about being near the beach again. Just yesterday while going from store to store to try and get operational, I walked out of one store and had that ocean salt breeze hit me and it really brought a smile to my face. I'm feeling a little lost going back and forth to the desert (to get my car worked on - long story) and will look forward to just being in one spot.

To make a long story short, the u-haul truck did not hold absolutely everything so we have another trip (or two) to make to get everything moved. What a drag, huh?! On a better note, the piano will be moved tomorrow morning from the garage into the house and installed properly. That will be nice and will free up the space in the garage to organize the storage of boxes that we have. The best news is that a brand new washer & dryer will be delivered on Friday!!! I've never been so excited about a washer and dryer before until you don't have one and the piles of laundry just keep getting bigger and bigger everyday.

On Monday evening my baby dogs got their first walk in their new neighborhood. They were so excited of course and kept jumping up and down from the raised lawns that everyone put in. The homes in the neighborhood were built by S&S (same as 391 Jennifer) and to look at the front doors and those long door handles takes me back to 391 instantly. It's kind of a nice reminder of those days long ago.

I could be out of email reach for a few days so bare with me folks. Looking forward to blogging more often. Love you all!