I figured I should make an appearance before Christmas comes. Once again, I did NOT do a Christmas card, and I feel terribly guilty. Maybe I can somehow manage to mail out a New Year's letter. Oh, who am kidding?
Things are wrapping up for us gift wise. The girls are excited for Santa to come. We went to the mall and picked names off the tree to buy gifts for the needy. I was explaining to the girls how fortunate they are and that the gifts we were buying for our "angel" might be the only gifts those children receive. Alisa corrected me that the kids would receive gifts from Santa. Hmm, I had no response for that. It made me wonder how less fortunate families explain that Santa doesn't bring their kids the same Playstation 3, motorized scooters and designer clothes that he brings other families. It made me sad, and very thankful for what we have.
The weather has finally cooled off and we can start to wear sweaters. It is nice to have the cool crisp air to keep the smell of pollution to a minimum. The kids go off to school bundled in mittens and scarves and at the end of the day they ride their bike home with everything stuffed in their backpacks because by late afternoon the weather has reached warm temperatures. At this point their backpacks are only used for transporting coats and scarves.
2008 will mark a turning point for me. I have been offered a new job as a Human Factors Engineering Intern at Boeing. This is a great opportunity because I will finally be able to utilize my exact undergraduate (and graduate) degree. The internship is for the duration of my Master's program and then I hope to be hired as a regular employee. I have been with the Air Force Research Lab for 5 years now and will be sad to go, but it is definitely time for a change. I have decided to use this opportunity to focus on school, and work solely part time. The sooner I finish my Master's the sooner I will be hired on as a regular employee so it is in my best interest to focus on school. At the same time I hope to be around the house with the girls more, which is something that I haven't been doing in the last year or two. I am very excited for this turn of events!
So far that is all that is newsworthy. I'll write more after the holidays...Thanks for checking in.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Tis the Season
Hello,
I noticed that I last posted on 11/5, so I guess I am keeping up with my once a month promise so far. Not bad.
We had a great Thanksgiving, just my mom, dad, brother and sister were in attendance. Lots of leftover turkey since I made a total of 26 lbs for just the 6 adults. For the first time I tried a 12-hour brine solution, and the turkey turned out very juicy. I will definitely do a brine solution every year from now on. I must say it smelled pretty disgusting and I almost lost my appetite when I was rinsing the turkey the next morning, but I managed to control my gag reflex. Felipe actually enjoyed the smell and thought it smelled like a solution that needed some gin or vodka. And people wonder why I don't enjoy alcohol. Adding alcohol to a "s0lution" that smells like some combination of vomit and mold to make a tasty cocktail just doesn't do it for me.
The next day my sister and I decided to brave Black Friday. I wonder if it is called Black Friday because you are waiting foolishly in line in the pitch black of night to save a couple dollars on some crazy toy. I thought the girls were old enough that I didn't need to do Toys R Us, but I saw something in the ad that looked promising. Since Toys R Us opened at 5 AM we decided to get there at 6 AM in hopes of passing the departing crazies while we entered. No such luck. At 6 AM the line was wrapped all the way around the building. Once we got in line we felt we couldn't leave, so we were stuck waiting outside for about an hour to save about $20 total. Hmmm, needless to say, I doubt I will be doing that again (I say this every couple years). The Mesa High School orchestra and choir had a great fundraiser though. They sold donuts, coffee and hot chocolate to everyone waiting in line. The prices were cheap for those of us waiting ($1), and I bet they made some good money. What a great fundraising effort!
Today I am by myself at home while the girls are out with my sister buying gifts for the disadvantaged and Felipe is off buying my gift. Supposedly. I say supposedly because we don't usually exchange gifts. Very unromantic, I know. I strongly hinted that I would like some upgraded diamond earrings, but I doubt that Santa or Hubby will bring those this year. Sigh.
Our 2 year old Dell computer completely crashed a couple weeks ago. According to Dell, our motherboard and memory needed to be replaced. The good thing was that Felipe managed to salvage our hard drive (it had all our pictures). Then Dell did something really surprising and just sent us an entirely brand new computer. It is the latest and greatest and we are so excited! I will definitely buy a Dell computer again. We bought the computer at Costco.com and it automatically came with an extended manufacturer's warranty for 3 years. Dell sent a technician out to us when it initially crashed and eventually they determined to replace the entire unit. It's nice to have a technician come out and work on it because even though Felipe could have done it, it would have taken him several hours on the phone with tech support while they ask him questions like, "Are you sure the computer is plugged in?". Here's a question for you computer/itunes geeks out there (you know who you are). Do any of you know how to "unauthorize" a computer that no longer exists?
The weather today is beautifully cloudy, windy and rainy. We have been desperate for some rain, so it is a good thirst quencher for our state. The bad thing is that since the dogs have been getting wet our bedroom smells like a bunch of dirty gym socks. So romantic. On that note, I think I will go and make some hot chocolate and curl up with a good book. Thanks for checking in.
Love to all,
Christy
I noticed that I last posted on 11/5, so I guess I am keeping up with my once a month promise so far. Not bad.
We had a great Thanksgiving, just my mom, dad, brother and sister were in attendance. Lots of leftover turkey since I made a total of 26 lbs for just the 6 adults. For the first time I tried a 12-hour brine solution, and the turkey turned out very juicy. I will definitely do a brine solution every year from now on. I must say it smelled pretty disgusting and I almost lost my appetite when I was rinsing the turkey the next morning, but I managed to control my gag reflex. Felipe actually enjoyed the smell and thought it smelled like a solution that needed some gin or vodka. And people wonder why I don't enjoy alcohol. Adding alcohol to a "s0lution" that smells like some combination of vomit and mold to make a tasty cocktail just doesn't do it for me.
The next day my sister and I decided to brave Black Friday. I wonder if it is called Black Friday because you are waiting foolishly in line in the pitch black of night to save a couple dollars on some crazy toy. I thought the girls were old enough that I didn't need to do Toys R Us, but I saw something in the ad that looked promising. Since Toys R Us opened at 5 AM we decided to get there at 6 AM in hopes of passing the departing crazies while we entered. No such luck. At 6 AM the line was wrapped all the way around the building. Once we got in line we felt we couldn't leave, so we were stuck waiting outside for about an hour to save about $20 total. Hmmm, needless to say, I doubt I will be doing that again (I say this every couple years). The Mesa High School orchestra and choir had a great fundraiser though. They sold donuts, coffee and hot chocolate to everyone waiting in line. The prices were cheap for those of us waiting ($1), and I bet they made some good money. What a great fundraising effort!
Today I am by myself at home while the girls are out with my sister buying gifts for the disadvantaged and Felipe is off buying my gift. Supposedly. I say supposedly because we don't usually exchange gifts. Very unromantic, I know. I strongly hinted that I would like some upgraded diamond earrings, but I doubt that Santa or Hubby will bring those this year. Sigh.
Our 2 year old Dell computer completely crashed a couple weeks ago. According to Dell, our motherboard and memory needed to be replaced. The good thing was that Felipe managed to salvage our hard drive (it had all our pictures). Then Dell did something really surprising and just sent us an entirely brand new computer. It is the latest and greatest and we are so excited! I will definitely buy a Dell computer again. We bought the computer at Costco.com and it automatically came with an extended manufacturer's warranty for 3 years. Dell sent a technician out to us when it initially crashed and eventually they determined to replace the entire unit. It's nice to have a technician come out and work on it because even though Felipe could have done it, it would have taken him several hours on the phone with tech support while they ask him questions like, "Are you sure the computer is plugged in?". Here's a question for you computer/itunes geeks out there (you know who you are). Do any of you know how to "unauthorize" a computer that no longer exists?
The weather today is beautifully cloudy, windy and rainy. We have been desperate for some rain, so it is a good thirst quencher for our state. The bad thing is that since the dogs have been getting wet our bedroom smells like a bunch of dirty gym socks. So romantic. On that note, I think I will go and make some hot chocolate and curl up with a good book. Thanks for checking in.
Love to all,
Christy
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