Yes I know, it's been waaaaay to long since I last posted. I've been doing the Facebook thing, not that I'm blogging there or spending a ton of time there, it's just been really convenient. But I do like this blog and I need to get back into updating it on a regular basis.
So I started my new job at UAF a couple of months ago and it's going very well. It seems to be a good fit. The people there cool and it's a pretty easy going atmosphere. It's not a typical stuff HR office. One of my co-workers and I have really clicked and that makes it so much better. Neither of us fit the "mold" so we've got that in common. Plus she's just a cool chic! haha
The house is stalled. I have a floor and the plumbing roughed in and that's it. I'm soooooo frustrated. I've had basically no communication from the builder and I'm about ready to walk out. Sparing your the drama details, he's got a ton of stuff going on (don't we all?) and it's taking longer to get the funding lined up and such. I get that. But at least keep me in the loop! He is just starting out building and wants this house to be his crowning glory and is relying on word of mouth. Well, word of mouth is not looking good at the moment. Hopefully he'll get his crap together and get moving. If I had other options I would walk away but I'm not exactly in a power position here.
That said....I actually bought all the appliances for the house Thanksgiving weekend. There were some amazing sales going on. I didn't have to do the 5am thing to get the sales either. I just had to buy them by Sunday evening. Do you think I was able to get a hold of my real estate agent or builder? Ha! Not! So I bought them myself. I ended up saving over $1300 on everything. The washer and dryer were only $898 for the pair! And they are Samsung front loaders!! Amazing deals I'm telling you.
I was able to spend Christmas with my family in AZ. I'm so thankful that I was able to go. Luckily the trip down and back were drama free and uneventful, just long. I left on the 1am flight and didn't get to AZ until 3pm AZ time, which was exactly 12 hours after I started the journey. And needless to say I didn't get any sleep during the trip. I was so exhausted after I got there. But I had a GREAT time with my family. My niece and nephew are sooooooo amazingly cute!! And they are soooooo amazingly devilish at the same time! Especially my niece but I'm so in love with here. The way she says "Untle Mike" just makes my heart melt! My poor nephew was the airport with my folks when they picked me up. He ran to the door when I walked through and I didn't see him and I walked right on by. I was looking for my folks, didn't even begin to think he would be there. And my line of vision as at the adult level, not that of a 5 year old. The hurt look on his face when I walked by almost made me cry! When I realized what I did I ran over to him and picked him up in a huge hug and made a big deal of him being there to meet me. I think I was able to recover from my mis-deed! Other than that incident everything else was good. Good quality time with everyone.
One thing I did while home was get some recipes of my mom's. I already have her pumpkin bread recipe (which is heaven on earth I think!) and a few others. But she makes the best rolls for dinner and I watched and learned from her how to make them. I'm anxious to try it. I also watched her for the umpteenth time making pie crust. I've tried and have failed miserably to make crust. She's showed me time and again how to do it. I'm fine when she's next to me but on my own, I fail miserably. So I'll try it yet again...We'll see how I do.
Speaking of baking and such, I'm now part of a gourmet dinner group. It's a group of several couples (and me and Missy) who get together once a month and make dinner. The hosts chose the theme and then everyone finds something to make. The idea is to try something new and something on the nicer side, kind of gourmet-ish. The group has been going for a while but I finally joined a few months ago. Since I've been going we've done German, Ethiopian and Belgian. I LOVED the Ethiopian. It ROCKED!! Super spicy. Who knew Ethiopian was so spicy?! I made a traditional Ethiopian wine called Tej. It's a very sweet honey wine. As we were eating the appetizers, which were super spicy, we were looking for something to drink. We started drinking the Tej and the sweetness was perfect to the cut the effects of the super spicy food. It was awesome! The dinner group has been a fun thing to do.
All else is status quo. Now that winter is here I've been doing the hockey thing again. There are games pretty much every weekend, be it the UAF Nanooks or the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. I love this time of year and going to the games.
Not sure what all else. I know this doesn't even begin to scratch the surface but it's something. The pics are of my niece and nephew and a few of me that Mom had hanging on her wall at home. They are pics of the pics so the quality is bad but you get the general idea.
As the year comes to an end, I hope that 2010 is all that you want and more. I have my plans for 2010 and I'm going to dedicate myself to seeing them through. I wish you the best...
