Noteworthy things

Oh my, so much to say and so little space to say it in (I know you all, if this is too long you'll never read all the way through...), so I think a list is in order. I put in as many links as I could so you could all enjoy the things I did.

25 Highlights From This Weekend:
Steve got a job (This was the most important, so I put it first)
A red-eye flight to NYC
A subway ride through Manhattan, complete with me in sweats and lugging a suitcase
Shopping at FAO Schwartz
Chocolate dipped croissants
Fifth Avenue, in all it's glory
The Tiffany Diamond
Tiffany's in general!
Discovering H&M
The American Girl Store, that place is stuff little girls' dreams are made of
Stromboli from Ray's Pizza
An 8 hour van tour of Manhattan
Staten Island Ferry
Haggling over a purse I didn't buy
Central Park
A session in the Manhattan temple
Cupcakes at Crumbs bakery on Broadway
Prayer in the Square
Getting all glammed up and going out with the girls to Wicked (We all looked amazing!)
Defying Gravity
Discovering Cuban food
Bagels
A spontaneous decision to see Lion King (Do it, you won't regret it!)
Conway's lack of dressing rooms
Achmed (Not the dead terrorist) and the drive back to JFK

You can check out pictures of the whole grand adventure here.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I think it's time for a little good news/bad news update:

The good news is: I've applied for multiple jobs and I've heard back from several.
The bad news is: They're telling me they've filled the position.

The good news is: I have a steady, good paying job, no matter what the economy.
The bad news is: I'm burned out with my floor.

The good news is: Our Utah football tickets and my trip to New York are already paid for.
The bad news is: We won't be having any more "extra" things like these for awhile.

The good news is: Steve's car is paid for.
The bad news is: Mine isn't.

The good news is: I know we can make it on just my income.
The bad news is: Because we've had to do it before.

The good news is: Steve went on a job interview yesterday.
The bad news is: He was laid off, again, from South Valley this morning.

The good news is: Now he'll be forced to find something new instead of stagnating.
The bad news is: I have to be the one to push him to do that.

The good news is: We've got great friend and family support.
The bad news is: Well, there really isn't any bad side to this.

Thank you all for your continued love and support through our trials. Please keep us in your prayers as we, yet again, explore the world of unemployment.

Change is in the Air

Change is in the air... in a big kind of way. So, there's a bit of a problem with job burn-out going on in our house right now. Steve and I have both hit the point where we've just sort of had it with our jobs. Consequently, the job hunt has been on for both of us.

I've put in applications for 5 different jobs within IHC. I've already heard back "no" on 2 of them, which I expected but figured it wouldn't hurt to get my name out there. I got a call to interview for one but haven't heard back yet on setting a date for the interview. I'm still waiting to hear on two more. They're all day jobs, in either an OR setting or a clinic setting. I'm excited for a change and ready to explore more avenues in my career.

As for Steve, things are getting scary at South Valley again. The shop has been so slow that I'm afraid come winter there are going to be more layoffs. We can't go through that again, so I've been encouraging him to start looking and interviewing for other options now. He went on an interview this morning at A to Z Produce. We're a little iffy on whether that's the right job for him or not, but it seems like a good option. He'd start out making less than where he's at now, but they give raises often. The hours are a little screwy ( 2 am to 10 am, 5 days a week), but they might work out well if he decides to go back to school. We'll see what happens.

As far as other changes, there's a possibility that we'll be moving around the start of the new year. A good friend of mine at work may be moving overseas for two years and asked us if we'd rent their house while they're gone. It'd be for two years, and we'd be in a house twice the size of our apartment for the same amount of money. It made me feel good that she'd trust us with caring for her home. She'll know in October whether or not they're going for sure, so I'll keep you posted.

Other than that, life is pretty much the same. I'm excited for fall, and I hope our summer doesn't extend too far into it. I hope everyone else is doing well.

Monday Motorcycle Mania

So, last night was a nice evening and Steve and I thought we'd take a little drive on the motorcycle. We opted for Parley's because we haven't done many canyon runs together, and that one isn't too twisty. We decided we'd go up Parley's head out past Jordanelle, drive around Kamas a little, and head home. If only things had gone that smoothly...

The ride up Parley's was uneventful, if you don't count the huge cold pockets at the summit. We headed down the other side and made our way past Park City. All of a sudden, I saw Steve shake his head and pull off to the shoulder. Not knowing what was going on, and thinking something was wrong with the bike I got off and noticed that there was a Highway Patrol officer behind us. One speeding ticket later, we were back on the road to continue our journey.

We, uneventfully, made it the rest of the way, stopped for a break in Kamas for some water, and headed back for home. By this time it was dark and starting to get pretty cold. Not to mention we were both a little saddle sore from a fairly long ride. As we were going home things were going fairly smoothly. We went back past Park City, Jeremy Ranch, and headed back up Parley's. We'd just gone over the summit when the bike started to sputter. And then it died. We coasted our way to the side of the road, just at the top of the Lamb's Canyon on-ramp.

Steve attempted to restart the bike several times, to no avail. He flipped it over to the reserve tank... still nothing. We stood there for a bit, hoping someone would stop, and knowing no one would. We were right around a bend, and most people couldn't see us until they'd passed. Steve had just decided we'd have to coast down the shoulder until we got to the bottom of the canyon (not something I wanted to do, a little too dangerous for my taste), when I noticed 2 sets of headlights on parked cars at the bottom of the on-ramp.

After making a quick decision that serial killers wouldn't be hanging out there, we walked down and asked for help. The first car drove away without even an, "I'm sorry." The second car, however, happened to have 2 empty seats and the willingness to help us out. They drove us clear back to the Jeremy Ranch gas station, took us back to our bike, hung out to make sure we got the tank filled and the bike started, and then offered to drive the gas can back to the store and meet us there.

Needless to say, we were extremely grateful. Who new that our rescue crew would be 3 barely legal, foul-mouthed, chain smokers from Park City. Nevertheless, we were grateful that anyone was willing to help at all... especially as much as they did. So, a big "thank you" to Walker, Carson, and black tank top kid for taking pity on two stranded people.

I think it's time that Steve fixes the gas gauge on the bike, how about you?