Monthly Archives: January 2010

On The Job Search

Posted on by
2

So. Have you been wondering, what is this (non)Working Girl doing with her time? Is she searching for a job at all? Or is she just making yogurt and and watching bad movies?

The answer is yes, I have been looking, and I have been looking pretty hard. Unfortunately, I haven’t had any success. I’ve found a couple of jobs that I have really really wanted. And that I would have been good at. Neigh, GREAT at. Because I am awesome, and I know this. My mom knows this. She tells me all the time. But alas, I cannot use my mom as a reference.

Point is – I feel like I’m getting close. I’ve made it to the final rounds in a number of interviews, but for some reason I just can’t seem to close the deal. I’ve wondered if it’s the gap in my resume from the time I spent in Singapore and the time I’ve spent not working (looking for a job), but I had a coffee with a fantastic pro in my field this morning and she said she didn’t think that was the issue. So now I’m left wondering, what is the issue? If I can make it to the second or third or fourth round of interviews, I must be doing something right. I think the problem is, there are just a ton of great people out there in my field, and for one reason or another, someone else is always a better fit for the positions I’ve interviewed for.

So what am I going to do now? I’m going to make myself the best fit, however I can. I’m working on networking more. I’m reaching out and opening myself up for more freelance gigs. I’m thinking about continuing education. I’m stepping up my game in the volunteering department.

I was defeated, to be honest. I was sad. I was having a hard time accepting the fact that I wasn’t getting positions I’d interviewed for, because for this Type A personality, rejection has been a new and somewhat awful experience. But I feel a renewed sense of optimism. The economy is tough, and the there are tons of people out there without jobs. But I’m going to find something. I just know it. And whoever hires me is going to be damn lucky!

Sick Day

Posted on by
2

I am sick. I hate being sick. It’s just a cold, but man has it knocked me on my ass. I’m stuffed up, coughing, tired, headache-y and just all around miserable. I do not do well with sick. In fact, I’ve been trying to write this post for about four hours now but I can’t seem to focus on anything. Anyway, here are some of the things I’ve been trying to do to make myself feel a little better.

  • Tea. Lots and lots of tea. I enjoy tea almost every afternoon, but I think I’ve had about four cups already today. The heat of the liquid, the steam, the lovely aroma. Tea is the perfect drink for my sick head.
  • Movies – I’m watching P.S. I Love You right now. I have a sneaking suspicion it’s not a great movie. Or maybe it is.  I’m watching it regardless.
  • All supplies at arm’s length. I’m camped out on the couch with a cozy blanket, and I’ve got water, a cup of tea, kleenex, my laptop, my phone, and a dog to pet all within a couple of feet.
  • Snacks. You’ve heard the old saying “feed a cold, starve a fever,” right? Well me too. I have popcorn. And my trusty no good very bad day chocolate covered almonds. And crackers. And hummus. All the things I love just to make me feel a little better.
  • Sleep. Let’s face it, there isn’t anything much better than succumbing to the sweet black nothingness that a bottle of NyQuil provides. And sleep will help me recover better anyway right?

What else should I be doing to recover? Shots of tequila?

Homemade Yogurt

Posted on by
4

Yeah, you read that right. I’m getting seriously crunchy and making my own yogurt. And it is AWESOME.

It all started in Mexico, when my cousin Emily and I started talking about our love of yogurt. I know, riveting conversation right? Well I am 30 now, so I guess this is what it’s come to. She was telling me about how she makes her own yogurt, and I was fascinated. I mean, I already grow my own vegetables (well I try at least) and I compost, so I had visions of myself taking my bongo drums down to the farmer’s market and selling my homemade yogurt. I mean, it’s the logical next step right? I could even stop shaving my legs!

ANYWAY.

The only problem was, you need this little machine to do it, otherwise you have to keep your oven heated at 110 degrees all day and that’s not really feasible for me. I couldn’t really see myself buying this machine, because it’s what John refers to as a “uni-tasker,” meaning it’s only useful for doing one thing. And John is not a fan of the uni-tasker. And of course I would never go against my husband’s wishes, right? 😉

BUT, when it showed up on my doorstep as a 30th birthday gift from Emily and her husband, I could hardly contain my excitement. I mean, who was I to defy the universe? The stars had aligned and I was destined to make yogurt. So make yogurt I did.

Check it out. So easy.

yogurtmaker

Assemble all the ingredients. Some yogurt for the starter (you have to get all those bacteria from somewhere), the milk, and the yogurt maker. That’s it!

ingredients

First, take your milk (2 cups) and heat on medium low until the edges are bubbling and steam rises from the top. Then, you take it off of the heat and let it cool until it reaches the “add starter” point on the nifty thermometer they’ve included with the kit.

add starter

Next, mix some of the milk with a heaping tablespoon or two of store-bought yogurt. This is where the bacteria are introduced. Next time, you can use the yogurt you’ve already made. Once you’ve mixed everything together, fill the little yogurt jars evenly.

fillerup

Now all you have to do is plug her in and wait, in this case I went with the standard ten hours. Next time, I’ll probably go a little longer for a thicker yogurt.

timing

Now I did this on a Saturday and we went out on Saturday night. But of course I had to be home by 10:30 to take care of my yogurt because if you leave it sitting too long after the timer goes off without moving to the frig, the whey will separate and the yogurt will be ruined. As you’d expect, I did get some grief from my friends for going home early to attend to my precious yogurt. But I’ll be getting the last laugh when I’m known as the yogurt queen round the world.

After the time’s up, refrigerate.

refrigerate

I may need to work on pouring these more evenly. Next time.

In the morning, enjoy with some frozen blueberries and granola. Delicious.

final

breakfast

Goals for 2010

Posted on by
2

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a fantastic December. I know I did. Our trip to Mexico was lovely, as was visiting my family in Texas for Christmas. I’ve been back in Denver for a week now, and that time has been filled with celebration as well, including my 30th birthday and of course ringing in 2010. I love the holidays, I love the laughter, the fun, the craziness of it all, but I have to admit, I’m also quite happy things will be settling down a bit.

As many do during the new year, I’m taking some time to think about what I want for myself. I find this to be especially important now that I’ve turned 30(!). I realize I still have so much of my life ahead of me, and I want to make sure that each day has a meaning and a purpose. So in that vein, here are some of my goals for 2010.

goals

  1. Focus on the positive and enjoy my life. I’m a worrier. I fret. About everything. Ridiculous things. And at times, it can have an incredibly negative impact on my life. I lose sleep, I get stressed, and I let things get me down. This year, I’m going to try to reverse that trend. I’m going to do my best to stop worrying about things I can’t control, and focus on the positive. I have a great life, and I need to embrace that.
  2. Find work. I mentioned I had two potential opportunities before I left for Mexico, and although I feel I gave them both my best effort, unfortunately neither worked out. I am putting everything I have in to remaining positive about the situation (see above), even though rejection is definitely not something I deal with well. I know I will find something that is right for me soon.
  3. Stick to our budget without getting crazy about money. I really want to find a happy medium when it comes to our finances. We’ve created a budget using Mint’s online software, and so far it is going fairly well. What I really want to do is focus on saving in the right places (eating out) and spending in the right places (for us, it’s traveling).
  4. Get creative in the kitchen. I have a tendency to stick to the same types of recipes, and even though I like trying new things, they are almost always in a category that I’m already comfortable with. Since I don’t eat pork or red meat, dinners are typically vegetarian or based around chicken or turkey, which the occasional piece of salmon thrown in for good measure. This year I want to try new things with fish, eat vegetables I’ve never heard of, and attempt to cook a dessert that seems totally out of my league.
  5. Reduce my alcohol and sugar intake. These things are serious vices for me. I love wine. I love sugar. But I know they cause my arthritis to flare up, they interfere with my sleep, and they are catalysts for other negative behaviors. I know I’ll never eliminate either from my diet completely, I just want to become more aware of how much I consume.

So there you have it, my major goals for 2010. I also have several personal goals that I’ve recorded privately, but you know those are none of your damn business! 😉

So what are your goals?