Whirlwind

Our lives have been crazy the last month or so.  It seemed like everything happened all at the same time: I got a new job, Zak lost his job, we decided to move, my aunt passed away, my brother came to visit, I went home for a few days, Zak got unemployment benefits, Zak got a new job, we moved, finals week for Zak....It's hard to believe that it's May, and we are in our new place that we just love.  April absolutely flew by and we are still trying to maintain any semblance of normalcy and structure in our lives.

Let's see, I've already talked about my new job, which is still going well.  I've mostly got the hang of things, but I'm constantly learning something new every day.  But I enjoy it for the most part, and it's a good job, so can't really complain.

Zak was told he was let go from his job about two days after I got the final word about my job.  I was pretty shocked, and so were all our friends.  We initially suspected it was because of Zak's numbers lately, and he had been pretty apathetic for the past few months while he was focusing on finding a job more related to his field and school.  I was pretty annoyed, because the company is run so poorly that if it was because of his numbers, why wouldn't they have given him a months' notice or something?  Surely, a man who has spent 2 years at the company, got certified in diamonds and gemstones and has been a foundation to the store is worth the company's time.  But, nope.  And what even angered me further is that Zak's boss, and our ex-friend Mat seemed not to even care or have fought for Zak at all.  And Zak was always supporting Mat, defending him when other co-workers complained.  Zak was a great friend who always had Mat's back.  But it seems like Mat didn't feel the same way.

Well, after a week or so, Zak was contacted by one of the Department of Labor workers, who notified him of the real reason he was let go: Harry Ritchie's claimed he stole about 5 - 6 books of stamps.  Ridiculous.  True, Zak has used stamps in the past for personal letters, but it wasn't a big deal--even Mat and the former manager were fine with that practice, everyone has used company supplies for personal reasons at one time or the other.  It turns out that a few days before Zak was let go, Mat accused him of taking the books of stamps, he said there should be 5 or 6 books and that there were only 2.  Zak was closing that night and took a picture of all the 6 books of stamps, and a piece of paper with the date and his signature, and asked the new girl to witness the picture.  He sent it to Mat and it wasn't brought up again.  So, having found out the real reason Zak was let go, the agent told him if he could get some letters from former co-workers verifying the use of stamps for personal use now and then, he would do his best to get Zak his unemployment benefits.  Luckily, we have awesome friends who wrote some great letters backing up Zak, saying he would never steal from the company, and all of that.  Two days later unemployment was granted, BOOM.  What we think happened is that the branch manager and Mat conspired to get Zak fired, which is actually something they would do.  Mat has no back bone and has completely changed in the two years we've known him.  Obviously, we are no longer friends with him or Erika, as I am still in rage mode whenever I think about this.  They have been crappy friends for the past year and we don't need them.  The friends we do have would never betray us and in short are awesome.

So then the day after Zak got unemployment benefits he got the word that he got a job!  It is at a seedling nursery that is an extension of the U of I, and will be great for his future career.  He'll be growing and taking care of trees and doing forestry-related things.  I'm really excited for him.  The nursery is about 2 miles out of town, but he will be able to ride his bike there, in normal clothes, so that is good news.  They will also be able to work with his school schedule for the fall so he can work part-time.  His first day is the 14th and we are really excited!

This past week we moved (I will expand on a different post) so it was another week of craziness for us.  We were able to move a day before, so we actually slept at our new place a night before our lease started.  We mostly spent the next day cleaning our old place.  It's funny how this move has affected me and Zak differently, he was much more relaxed and for some reason, I was really stressed.  I think it was because I couldn't control a lot of the packing and cleaning since I was gone all day, but I knew he would do a good job.  He did do a good job and I was so glad he took care of most everything.  It's like releasing a big breath, unpacking and setting up our home.  I can actually go through boxes and get something.  I'm still adjusting to everything, mostly the kitchen and bathroom, but I love it here.  We both do.  I think I did like, 5 loads of laundry our first night, I am so stoked to have the washer and dryer!  Pictures and further elaboration will come later this week.

In short, we are in a happy and good place right now.  Things have started looking up and it's a good feeling to not have so many things hanging over our heads.  Things to look forward include: actual spring weather (beautiful skies, but with wind and 50 degrees simply doesn't cut it in May), bbq with our friends this weekend, Zak starting work and ending school, and planting things in our backyard!  Hope this update helped fill the gap in your hearts for information about our lives!

Spring is Almost Here!

Spring is more or less here, which means the birds are singing, the sun is shining and the neighborhood kids are yelling as they play all day long. It's a magical time, the weather is fairly stable and some of our plants are starting to come alive again. Even as I sit here, the windows and back door are open to allow the soft wind creep into the house. It's nice.

What have we been up to? Oh, a little of this, little of that. I have been looking for work, sending our resumes and e-mails. I even had an interview for a nanny position that would have totally rocked, but they ended up going with someone who had previous teaching and nanny experience. Oh well. I've been communicating with the local art gallery director about volunteering there, doing docent tours with the K-12 kids that come through. So I'll hopefully be starting that up soon in the next little bit. But other than that, I've been doing my best to keep busy during the days, especially when Zak's at work. Sometimes the hours pass soooo slowly and I am so unmotivated that I end up watching t.v. longer than I probably should. I have been doing yoga and watching what I eat (it's certainly hard being home all day and not eating everything, so this is kind of a big deal), and so far it's been going well.

Zak has been working and will be working for like, 10 days straight or something silly. They finally got a fourth person at work, so he won't be working as much, but the scheduling is still getting hammered out. I try not to complain, because he's bringing home more than I am (but may I add, the unemployment kind of rules? I don't mind getting paid for baking cookies or reading, but I am mindful that one day it'll end). The new C.E.O. (who likes Zak, so that's great) came by yesterday on a visit (he's visiting all the stores, it seems). Zak's district supervisor told Zak that she's secretly been getting every store to make the C.E.O. Sean's favorite cookie, milk chocolate chip cookies. Zak volunteered to make them with me, because he knows how great a cookie baker I am. So on Wednesday, we made cookies together and boy, did they turn out perfect. Zak texted me after Sean left to tell me he loved the cookies and was really impressed. Maybe I'll start my own cookie shop, since I apparently rule.

the most perfect cookies I have ever made

We also found out yesterday that Zak's new position not only comes with a bonus for the shows he does, but also a pay raise. We were expecting one or the other, but we are pretty happy that he'll be getting both! We don't know how much yet, but hey, more money is more money. He signed up to do his diamond certification class this week. The way it works is, he pays initially to do the program, and, upon completion, the company pays him like 75% or so back. And he'll be Diamond Certified and everything, so his resume will be superior. He's also thinking about becoming gem certified, which he plans on doing after the diamond course. So he will just be all kinds of fancy soon.

We finally got some new fish. Unfortunately, we grew a bit neglectful of the fish tank. We started out with a bunch of guppies, all different ages. And we went through a few generations of fish and then, slowly, just down to one, lonely pretty guppy. And about 3 dozen snails. Zak bought something like 10 snails for a buck or whatever to get something to clean off the algae on the tank glass. Well, those 10 turned into a lot of snails. So we had a ton of snails and one fish. And we decided that needed to change. So down to the local pet store (Pets R People Too) to get some fish. We ended up getting a pretty black platy (I think), a red male platy, a female orange/white platy (hopefully they'll mate), a funny orange fish, and a 'red-finned shark'. And some fake plants (the snails were eating the live ones/I hated them) and a background. So now our tank is pretty again and I tried to get some pictures of the fish. Please excuse the blurriness, they are kind of fast. Next month we're planning on getting some more. Or next week.

the fish, more or less
Zak loves this one, he calls it 'trumpet face'

well, the guppy is on the far left, the shark is the one most clear, the red one is somewhat visible

I have been pretty pumped for baseball season. I grew up surrounded by baseball and I've really come to miss it. For awhile I just didn't really have access to watch games, and this week I finally broke down and got the official MLB app for my iPad. So at least I'll have something, because our cable is basic and probably won't feature the A's a lot. I also really hoped to go to a game when we go home to CA, but of course they're out of town the weekend we arrive and then it's the All-Stars week. Just my luck! I guess I'll have to wait until next year's trip to CA...

Oh yeah, we finally got our plane tickets for California! We will be there for a week, and will be in time for Kenny's arrival home from Sweden. I am so excited I can hardly wait. I am pretty bummed we won't be able to go to L.A. this year, but at least we'll be home in the Bay Area. We talked it out and the main points for the Bay Area included: less sunburns, San Francisco, my brother's homecoming. I am dying to go to the City, and Zak is, too. He loved being in L.A., but he is just not a beach-y person. So I've decided the day my family is in Disneyland, I'm listening to the soundtrack and watching the movies to keep my spirits up. But anyways, we are excited for our trip.

We are also excited for Jenna's visit at the end of the month. Already I wish she could stay one day longer, but we'll have to survive. Zak may have his additional training that week, but we'll make it work. I am so excited to have my sister here! I don't know what we'll do first, or rather, eat first. Moscow has so many great local places that we have come to love and I want to share it all with her. It's something like 24 days until her visit!

This year we are going to make a garden. Seriously. The tulips bulbs are already coming up, so we are for sure keeping those, but the rest is fair game. The lady before us had a nice place, but we want to make it ours. We have just been waiting for a day off for Zak without rain and cold and it looks like his next one'll work. I better start planning what I want...

this is what it looks like now, so prepare yourself for when it looks better

Sorry this is a bit of a long post, but I just felt like writing today. I know it's been awhile since I updated, so I thought I'd give as much information as you could handle. Now here are some pictures with some captions.

a cute hamster

we finally got a full-size ironing board and Zak was so excited, he ironed all of his work clothes in one night while we watched t.v.

one of my tassels fell off my slippers, of course this happened

...and then this...