good news

still no job, but i think this bit of news is almost as sweet!

background: on monday, several newspapers ran press releases about the county having laid off 76 employees, and that they had received 6 months' severance. i had not seen the articles because they were in the salisbury post & the independent tribune (kannapolis). the gist was, besides the significant county-wide reduction (including an additional 4-5 from my department), that the county knew 4 years ago that there would be a gap in the budget and that the plan was to raise taxes to cover the gap. but, with the recession and gloomy economy, the commissioners decided not to raise taxes and instead do reduction in force layoffs. (knowing this new bit of information, the fact that the county was still hiring even just 6 months ago continues to baffle me!) well, long story short, i got a call monday. although i was not part of monday's mass reduction, and was only going to receive 2 months' severance, the county has now extended the additional four months' of severance to me, to make a total of six months. i feel very appreciative and blessed, because the county certainly wasn't required to extend that offer to me..but i certainly won't turn it down! the only catch, is that if i were to be rehired by the county, i would be required to pay back the pro-rated amount of the four months' pay. but, that is not in my immediate plan, so i should be good to go.

i'm planning to pay off the "black cloud" of debt and save the rest...once again, i feel very fortunate and blessed with this tidbit of gold that's been offered to me. :)

wordless wednesday

Cheese Ravioli with Grape Tomatoes and Wine

from Real Simple; Total Time: 25 minutes, Serves 4

16-18 oz cheese ravioli, fresh or frozen

2 shallots, chopped*

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 cup white wine

olive oil

salt

pepper

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

*i used 2 bunches of green onions b/c LF didn't have shallots

1. Cook ravioli according to package directions.

2. In a large skillet, cook shallots in olive oil over medium heat until tender, 3-5 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes and wine.

4. Season with salt & pepper.

5. Cook until the tomatoes soften, 4-5 minutes.

6. Mix in ravioli, butter and parsley.

I let it simmer a few minutes while I heated some buttered french bread in the oven, about 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

67 Years' Celebration

here are some pictures from my dad's birthday party from earlier in the month. :)

my mom made him a cake version of his favorite: boston creme pie. she glazed & then put it in the fridge so that's why it looks kinda flat..but it sure was tasty. btw, cake and beer go great together. ;) he was really surprised to get the wii, but sadly, i think it was more of a present for my mom than my dad...i haven't heard about him playing it much..... ;)

snowy friday

well, it's friday evening and snow is falling AGAIN outside my window. :) gotta love global warming and a southern snowstorm. whatcha say mr. gore? ;) we're only supposed to get a few inches (thankfully) because video from atlanta looks much worse! somehow, even with my weird sleeping patterns this week (i stayed up until 5am on wednesday night/thursday morning and 3 am last night/this morning--what's up with that?!), i've made it to friday.

i ended up staying in raleigh until tuesday afternoon (had to get back in time to pay my car insurance) and it was wonderful being home, even if it was only for a few days. bella and i drove in saturday afternoon..raleigh drivers are horrible! it made me miss the "madness" of charlotte! the four of us went to dinner in downtown wake forest, backfins or something like that. it was pretty good, although i must say the company--not so much. our table backed up to a HUGE group of...loudness. our order got mixed in with theirs so it took FOREVER to get our food. but, the guy comped half our order, which kinda made up for it. i hadn't really been in wake forest since a few years ago..it's amazing how much has changed in the years since always being there when my sister was cheering at wfhs. oh, planning. :)

after dinner and a quick drive down main street, we went back to the house for cake and presents. my dad was super surprised to unwrap the wii. we bowled a game before paige left. then, my mom and i played a few games of tennis. that's pretty much how my time went at home..sleeping, walking bella, church and wii. monday afternoon, when i was originally planning on leaving, i put together the nightstand and 3-drawer dresser my mom and i had bought from ikea. i also rearranged the grandma room aka my mom's dressing room, to make room for my little dresser to go back in. she liked it, i think. since they rarely have anyone stay the night, moving the bed made the most sense to give her more floor space. i may draw up a before and after floor plan, scan and add in so you can see my improvements in 2D. :)

hope everyone has a great weekend..enjoying the snow if you get some, or enjoying the fact that you don't! :)

**job update: i did get an e-mail from knightdale saying that if i was selected for an interview, i would be contacted within two weeks. nothing heard this week, so i guess by next week i'll know whether that opportunity has passed or not.**

67 years

today is my dad's birthday...he was born 67 years ago today!

a late night and rainy weather deterred me from heading to raleigh today, but that's where we're headed tomorrow, through monday (or tuesday?), to celebrate. shh! my mom got him a wii. :) i'm excited. i got him one of those squishy neck roll pillows, burgundy with the vt logo of course. :) hope everyone has a great weekend.

by the way, did the groundhog see his shadow on tuesday??

wordless wednesday

before the day gets away from me, here are a couple photos of bella. she's such a ham and always sits when i turn on the camera; she seems to like the scarf alright but seems to be giving me the evil eye once i put on the ear warmer. ;)

february 1

goals for february

1. my new job is to find a job.

2. continue to sort/purge/organize (especially since moving next month seems eminent).

3. massage (i had a swedish last month that was a-mazing!).

4. church (i did go last month, to hc main. this month, i want to get back to the north campus at least once).

5. pray more (God is good).

6. read more and watch tv less (it's two, but i have so many books that i've been "waiting" to read).

7. see "the lovely bones"; i read the book a few years ago and am looking forward to a trip to the movies.

8. paint?

9. quit.

10. start working out again. i have no excuse now that i don't work during the day......

so, it snowed friday night here in charlotte. it started around 4pm, with very small flakes and continued until about midnight. i went to sleep with the grass barely covered only to wake up to a blanket of white. it's beautiful but the way southerners freak out, always makes me laugh. yes, you should be cautious, but it's SNOW not an alien invasion for pete's sake. yesterday, i had to get out of the house (especially since i've been spending a great deal of time here)..cleared off my car for a quick trip to the gas station for sunkist and a newspaper (gotta get those coupons & the target ad!).

the remainder of the afternoon and evening will be spent working on applications and printing cover letters and my resume for two new jobs: planning tech (knightdale, nc) and regional planner (csra rc, augusta, ga); so that i can go to the usps tomorrow morning to send them off, along with some bills. my sister has also requested i make a trip to anthropolgie to get her a headband so she can wear it to their super bowl party on sunday.

hope everyone's monday hasn't been too bad.....