She Works Hard for the Money

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen my news that I got a job. I've been meaning to blog about it, but I'm just not getting around to it.

I mentioned before that my job search was frustrating me, as I'd applied to many jobs and had yet to be even called for an interview.  One day I was doing my daily checks of different job websites and happened upon a job listing on the Oklahoma Museum Association for an opening for the new Woody Guthrie Center that was opening up in Tulsa.  The job was for an administrative coordinator and I decided I'd go ahead and submit my resume. Imagine my surprise when I got an email from the executive director asking me if I'd like to do a phone interview with her.

To make a long story short, I interviewed with her, had one more interview with another individual and then received an email saying I got the job. I was so happy and relieved that I had finally gotten a job, not to mention a job that sounded amazing, that I might have let a few happy tears escape.

It's been a little crazy though since Sean still hasn't received his ratings from the VA yet and so we still have our home with all our stuff inside at Ft. Sill. I'm currently living with my family and commuting to work, which is about an hour and ten minute drive each way. We're currently looking for a house to rent until we can buy one, which is a huge headache too. Who knew finding a rent home that wasn't a crazy price, allowed pets and would let us do a short-term lease would be so difficult to find?

I officially started Tuesday of this week.  It's been interesting. Of the six full-time staff, I'm the only one working right now. Construction is still going on, which adds another interesting element.  So far, I really love my job. It's varied enough to keep me interested and I've always wanted to work in a museum, so this is really the perfect job for me. Plus the area of Tulsa I'm working in is really being redone and there are tons of great restaurants, park for concerts across from my work and my favorite thing, a chocolate shop down the street!

This next week is going to be really crazy because it's our opening weekend and we're going to be busy the entire week preparing for it.  After that, it should go back to normal and I'll be working a more normal schedule.

I'm really excited because I think this job is going to be a job I love going to everyday, gives me lots of good networking opportunities and is in a great section of Tulsa that I'm going to enjoy exploring.  Once we open and I'm able to take pictures of the center, I'll have to share them with you guys.

Giveaway Time!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned I was looking for fellow bloggers to help me get my Etsy shop some more traffic. Well, this week, Molly(a fellow milspouse) over at Carry Your Heart With Me, is giving away one of my 8x10 prints.  If you're interested in possibly winning it, head on over to her blog.

Don't forget to show her some love while you're there!

Things You Should Know

Just wanted to get out some "fun info" to you guys.

1. You may have read my review of my eshakti.com dress a few months ago, if not, here's the link. I'm actually doing another review of a second dress I just received from them in a few days, but I wanted to pass along this code they gave me just for my readers. The code is: NEWGRLNPST
and it's valid for 20% off your order from now until March 20th. I really recommend using eshakti, as they have been a delight to work with and I love the quality of the dresses they make. The best part is that you can customize your dress, which is a huge plus for me, as my measurements sometimes make dress shopping a royal pain.

2. In an effort to promote my Etsy shop, I've decided to try-out a monthly giveaway with fellow bloggers. I'm looking for about three bloggers per month to partner with, who will host a giveaway for an 8x10 (a $25 value) from my shop for the winner, as well as the blogger who hosts the giveaway. If you're interested, either comment or shoot me an email (link is at the top of the blog).

3. I haven't promoted Ebates in awhile, but I thought it was high time I did, especially since the spring clothes buying season is about to be in full force. If you haven't heard of Ebates, it's a program where you go to Ebates.com, look for the website that you plan on shopping at and then using Ebates to nagvigate to that site. It opens up a tracking ticket that records how much you spend and you get cash back just for shopping. Sounds easy, right? It is!  The best part is that Amazon and Ebay both participate in Ebates, although with Amazon there are certain catergories that offer cash back at different times.  Another added bonus is the fact that if you enjoy Ebates and invite friends who join and start using it as well, then you get cash back.  Click here to try out Ebates!

An Update on Life

Hey ya'll (did I just sound like Paula Deen there? If so, good) I swore I was going to stop neglecting my blog and actually get around to posting regularly, but it appears I've lost that battle again.

I wanted to pop in and give my readers an update on what has been going on these last few months.

1. Army- Sean still doesn't have ratings, which is fine because it gives us more time to job search and try to find a place to live once we're out. More on that later. His packet was turned in for a rating in November, so we think it'll be any day now that we get those ratings, but I'm in no hurry to find out. I'm really just hoping for at least 30% for him, as I think that will be best for him (and us) in the long run.  We're still enjoying Ft. Sill. I love it here and I still don't understand why people complain all the time about it. I recently found out that there is a supposed amazing Filipino place in town and I'm eager to try it. For Valentine's Day, Sean and I went to the new Greek place in town, which was delish. I was very impressed with it.

2. Jobs- I hate applying for jobs. HATE IT. I hate tweaking my resume and cover letter for every single job that I apply for. However, what I hate even more is not getting a single interview for any job that I've applied for. I really don't get it. Sean and I visited a career counselor for resume help, so I don't think it's my actual resume, but I'm wondering if it's my sketchy job history since I've been a military spouse. Sean is even more discouraged than I am, because he feels every business that claims they go out of their way to hire veterans is not upholding that promise. He had one interview, which we were really hoping he would get and he didn't, so it was back to square one.  I actually applied for what I consider my dream job about a month ago. It was a digital content writer for the Tourism and Recreation Board here in Oklahoma. I'd be editing guidebooks and other info about the State and I submitted my best example of my resume, cover letter and even a writing sample that went exactly with what I'd be doing in the actual job. Did I hear from them? Not even a peep! One thing that concerned me was the fact that the closing date for this job is not even until July, so I'm not sure what is up with that. The only downfall to the job is that I'd be based out of OKC instead of Tulsa, where Sean and I prefer to live, but it was something I didn't mind doing. If I don't find something soon, I'm going to be temping, which isn't the end of the world, but it wasn't what I thought I'd be doing at age 30.

3. Home- our grand plan was to find a house in the Tulsa area and close on it before Sean got out of the Army. We planned on getting a home loan through a VA agency and we actually were somewhat approved, but we can't truly be approved, because neither of us have a job outside the Army. The most ridiculous thing about all of this, is that the loan guy that Sean spoke with, told him that if he was ETSing, they would have pre-approved us, but because he is being medically discharged he can't. Umm....what sense does that make? Either way you are getting out of the Army! So now it appears we'll be finding a rental house or an apartment until we have jobs and can look for and close on a house. I'm hoping the time in a rental will be short, like six months.

4. Health- I've been having issues with fatigue off and on since I had mono in college, but it's been particularly bad since we moved back to Oklahoma. No matter my activity level, I often feel tired a couple of hours after I wake up and in the afternoon too. I've also gained 15 lbs since June, which is NOT normal for me and with various other symptoms I've been concerned I might have an issue with my thyroid. My grandmother actually had hers removed, so it wouldn't be out of left field to think something might be wrong with mine. I actually had a doctor's appointment about it today and will be going in Monday for blood work. I would just like to get to the bottom of it, because what I'm feeling isn't normal for me.

I think that's all for my update. I'm going to do my very best to post soon, as I have some fun info to share with you guys.

Things I Miss About Europe

Six months ago, when we moved back to the United States, after being in Europe for three and a half years, I thought, "Well, I don't miss it yet, so we'll see how I feel about missing Europe in six months."  Well, the six month mark is almost here (in three days) and I can say I feel a bit differently now then I did when we first got back.  Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to be back in the States. I love being so close to my friends and family and there are lots of things that I really do prefer about living in the US. However, there are a few things I also miss about living in Europe.

1. The travel opportunities. Honestly, this is what I miss the most. I miss planning our next adventure, researching the heck out of where we were going to go, getting food and hotel recommendations and just enjoying a new place.  There's nothing like saying, "Hey let's go to Slovenia for the weekend. Or hey, let's go to Spain over the next four day." I can't do that here. And yes, there are TONS of places I still want to see in the United States, but I really miss the ease of traveling to another country, whenever I want.  I'm a bit of a green-eyed monster when I see status updates/Instagram pics of friends' adventures.

2. The food.  Fillet of horse covered in a balsamic reduction, packets of pasta with pear inside covered with a cream sauce, warm, perfectly cooked risotto with fresh mushrooms, creamy pesto, deliciously cured meats with a bread basket and glass of white wine at my favorite vineyard. Ugh! The thought tortures me. I am grateful that I'm finally back in the land of delicious Tex-Mex though. Big plus for the US on that front.

3. The milk. Ok, that might sound weird, but Italy has the best, most convenient raw milk stands that cost next to nothing. The milk is so creamy, fattening and good. It makes my mouth water just thinking of it. Raw milk here is so expensive that I haven't even considered buying any.

4. The experiences. Carnevale in Venice, watching British Parliament in session, seeing a play at the Globe theater, watching opera in a Roman coliseum, eating Laduree macarons while strolling the Champs Elysees, watching flamenco in Seville. I could go on and on. There was a lot that I did get to experience, but there are so many other places and experiences that are on my list, that I'm a bit sad I haven't got to mark them off yet.

5. My friends. Granted two of them are in the States and one of them is temporarily in the States while her husband is deployed. So..all of my good friends from Italy are in the States. Minus my Italian friends, of course.  I was lucky to meet some of the girls that I did and hopefully we'll be friends from now on.

6. The purses. Oh how I miss Nicoli! That's where I got my purses while we were there and they were beautiful. Real leather in beautiful colors and well-made for a good price.  I stocked up before we left, I think I have about six purses, but I sure do miss going to the factory and picking out my next purchase.

Let me also say there's a lot I don't miss about living in Italy. I don't miss our apartment, I have a nice, big house with a yard here in Oklahoma and I love that. I don't miss outrageous gas prices, our post (although I do miss the library) and I don't miss our neighbors, who for the most part weren't very friendly to us.

Sean and I have actually discussed in the future, if we have the money that is, that we'd like to have a second home somewhere in Europe and then would split our time between a home in the US and a home in Europe. My ideal locations would be somewhere in Slovenia, somewhere near Salzburg, Austria or somewhere in France, maybe even somewhere in Spain near Seville.

Favorite Photos of 2012

Every year I like to post my favorite photos that I've taken throughout the year. This year instead of doing 10 photos, I'm doing 12. Simply because I couldn't decide what two photos to leave out.  This year it was a bit harder to choose, because I don't have as many travel photos as I normally do.  This year, instead of twelve months of travel photos to look through, I only had six.  Just another downfall of not living in Europe anymore!  Also, I apologize for the large watermark across the photos, but this past week I found out more people were stealing my photos and I believe some of them were obtained on my blog. So I'll be watermarking my photos on here from now on.

 

1.  This is one of my very faves and Sean's too. He actually has it hanging up in his office. It's from our trip to Dublin this spring. To me, nothing says Dublin like a photo of a pint in a pub.

2. I took photos at a small wedding of a friend of a friend last February. I ended up borrowing a camera and flash, as my camera and equipment weren't enough for a dark, inside wedding, but I got some good shots and this is one of my favorites.

3.  I took a second trip to Paris this May with a friend and her husband (which I still haven't blogged about) and I love this photo of cafe chairs. Paris has cafes all over. It's like that IS Paris. So, I love this shot very much because it does remind me so much of Paris. Plus, I love the bright colors of the chairs.

4. This is another Paris photo,although you'd never know just by looking at it. I love Vespas and try to get photos of them as much as I can. This yellow Vespa was so cute and cheery that I had to photograph it. I love this print so much, that it's actually hanging in my guest bedroom.

5.  This photo was taken at my parents' house last January, when I'd come home for Christmas.  I love silhouette shots and I wanted to get a shot of something that made me think of Oklahoma. It was just a bonus that the stars were so bright when I was taking this photo.

6. Poppies in the spring in Italy make for a great background. Unfortunately I never got my own photo taken in the poppies, but I did get to photograph a friend and her daughter in them.

7.  This is a photo from our trip to Seville last February. Seville was my favorite city in Spain. So beautiful and photogenic. I could not stop taking photos while we were there.  These oranges were all over Seville and to find a fountain full of them was a nice surprise.

8.  I've been to Carnevale for three of the four times I could have gone while we were in Italy. My favorite part was taking photos of all the costumes. In fact, I didn't do much else but take pictures of costumes. Well, except for eat, but that's to be expected anywhere I go.  This is one of my favorite costumes that I've photographed. Probably because I love the colors so much!

9.  I love peacocks. In fact, I'm kind of obsessed with them. The colors are gorgeous and the feathers are to die for. I don't even like the idea of getting a tattoo, but I would get some kind of peacock feather tattoo. They are that pretty!  This peacock was in Seville at the Real Alcazar. You could say I stalked this poor peacock to get a bunch of photos of him.

10.  When I went home for a visit this summer, after we'd moved back to Oklahoma, I took this photo near my parents' pond. It was someplace I used to walk to a lot when I was younger and I always find it very peaceful.

11.  This is a fountain in the Plaza de Americas in Seville. If you ever in Seville, go here! It's gorgeous at night, but even better by day when you can see all the different tiles and the canals.

12. Last, but not least, this photo is from my last trip to Venice before we moved. I've taken photos of the Rialto Bridge before, but this is by far my favorite. I timed the gondolier moving underneath it perfectly and to me it says "quintessential Venice".

Happy New Year's Eve to all! Here's hoping 2013 is even better than 2012!

Christmas Wrap-Up

I'm happy to say that the first Christmas in four years that Sean and I have spent together in the States was fantastic. I had such a great time with my family and although certain things about spending Christmas in Europe is fun, like different traditions and Christmas markets, I am all about Christmas in the States. Plus, it's ten times easier for me to shop for gifts living here. The Saturday before Christmas was my Mom's side of the families get-together. I always look forward to this so much, because this side of the family is much bigger and the more the merrier is what I always say! Here are a few photos from that night.

 

One of my favorite parts of our gathering is the fact we now do Dirty Santa/White Elephant Gift exchange instead of drawing names. Last year I got this huge pair of panties, so I re-gifted it. My cousin got it and was a great sport about wearing them.

I got a Camo hat as my present, this was after I stole a gift and then got it stolen from me.

My Dad ALWAYS hangs out under the mistletoe. I don't think it's intentional, it's just where he always is. This year, we put my cousin up to surprising him with a kiss. It was hilarious!

Our next big night was Christmas Eve. My immediate family has a snack night and we watch Christmas movies while we snack. Christmas Vacation is always one of the movies, but we also watched Elf and some claymation Christmas movies as well. We also open up one present, which is always our Christmas Pj's. This year, I got Sean and I matching shirts.

Snack night goodies. Bacon wrapped water chestnuts, Lil Smokies, Spinach dip, Mozzarella dip, Jalapeno Popper dip, shrimp cocktails and all sorts of other goodies.

This year for gift tags for Sean, I addressed them to correspond to what was inside the gift. For example: This was a Pulp Fiction print, so I addressed it to Vincent Vega, From Mia Wallace.

On Christmas Day morning, my immediate family always opens gifts. Sean and I were quite spoiled by my parents and brother.  A few things I got were:

A new office chair, Hungry Girl cookbook, Hallmark ornaments, Clarisonic Mia, Poster Art of the Disney Parks book, 2 season of Sex and the City, sander, blender and food dehydrator.

At noon, we go over to my Dad's side of the family to eat lunch and open presents with them. Although I had a good time with that side of the family and got more awesome presents, my favorite part of the day is when I stumbled upon an old photo of a group of soldiers. When I asked my grandma about it, she mentioned it had been her aunt's second husband's unit in WWII. Then she said, "Oh, I have his uniform as well hanging in the closet."  Sean and I had our mouths open. I've never heard about an uncle of my grandma's being in WWII and the fact she had his uniform was even more amazing. Turns out, his daughter had tried to throw it away after he died, so my grandma rescued it from that fate. She ended up giving the uniform (and photo) to Sean and I and refused to take money for it.  So far, we've determined he was in the 357th Infantry, attached to the 90th Infantry, which was part of the Third Army, which Patton was head of.  From the info about the 90th Infantry, he should have been at Normandy, Battle of the Bulge, etc..there was only one service ribbon on the uniform and I know there had to have been more at some point. I'm sending off a request for info from the National Archives, so I'm hoping we'll get some good info from that. We plan on putting the uniform in a shadow box to preserve it and it will end up hanging in Sean's office with the rest of his military items.

Although the original forecast for Christmas, was for us to get a couple inches of snow, it never happened. However, once we got back to Lawton a few days after Christmas, we were greeted with leftover snow. 

How was your Christmas? I'd love to hear about what you got and what you did.