A funny thing happend on the way to the ...

Today we went out thrift store hopping, looking for treasures. Whenever we go to thrift stores or Walmart for that matter, we happen across parents who have lost all patience with their children, but today was especially filled with odd parental discipline.

During one instance I couldn't get away fast enough before I started to giggle. A mother must have finally found her daughter in the store after searching for her for a while and was telling her daughter very calmly that the daughter can't leave the mother's side and that she had to stay with her at all times and then the mother says, "You can't wander around the store like a (bleeping) monkey." I looked at Brian and he looked at me and we both started laughing right away. That was very strange for the women to say to her young daughter and not exactly what I thought was appropriate.

The next instance a boy was trying to show him mom something he picked up from a shelf, but she wouldn't respond. He kept saying Mom, Mom, Mom and finally he tugged on her coat. She yelled as loud as she could, "Don't pull on my jacket, that is so rude!" I think I probably jumped a foot in the air and my eyes bugged out of my head it was so loud. I wanted to tell the lady, No, what is rude is that you are a grown woman screaming at your child in a public store.

I don't have kids, so I haven't fully experienced the exhaustion of shopping with children yet, but I hope that one day when I do have kids of my own, I can keep the obscenities out of conversation and leave the tantrums to the kids.

~ Nicole

Missing My Sheltons

Today we decided to get out of the house and enjoy the gorgeous weather, it has been about 70 degrees and sunny for the past week.

We loaded up the dogs in the car and took off for Boulder to do some hiking at a place we noticed when we were out exploring a month or so ago.

The hike reminded me of hikes we took at Mt. Charleston in Nevada. They start out a little desert-dusty and as you hike up higher it starts to get more rocky and tree covered.

The view from the top

At the top of the hike there were a lot of colorful birds, but Bandit wouldn't stop howling at every thing and everyone that moved, so this was the best shot I could get of one of the birds before they all flew away.

As we were driving home I told Brian, I miss the Sheltons. Something about the drive, the weather and the hike reminded me of our adventures with the Sheltons in Vegas.

(At Death Valley in January 2007 with the Sheltons)

Some of my favorite memories of Las Vegas include the Sheltons:
- Watching documentaries
- Hiking and walks with the dogs
- Discussing Politics
- Slurpee runs
- American Dreams!
- Going to the Movies
- The Dog Park

(Visiting the Sheltons in Texas - August 2008)

I wish we lived closer and we could come visit more often!

~ Nicole

Choices

I recently went to Las Vegas to work for a week. An old boss of mine called and asked if I would come to Vegas and help out with transportation for a large convention that was in town. I jumped at the chance to go back to Vegas. I must admit that I still miss Las Vegas more than I miss Vermont. I think I had a love/hate relationship with Vermont, but that is a whole other post. I worked just over 75 hours in 5 days. I was exhausted but I found time to also see some old friends. That was by far the best part of the trip, although I did win 40 bucks with only a dollar in the penny slots. Yes, I cashed out right away - I took my money and ran.

I have also been working about 5-10 hours per week for VLS, mostly answering questions for my replacement and doing some web editing. I have to say that I feel really blessed to be able to have some work although we chose to move to Colorado.

This is not the first time that I have been unemployed. In fact this is the 4th time I have had to job hunt since I graduated from college only a couple years ago. There was the first time when I graduated and had to find a full time job to replace my part time/college job. I was laid off by my next job and then I quit a job to move to Vermont so that Brian could get more education. Each time the job hunt is a roller coaster ride of emotions the whole time. Some days I feel really confident and I know that I will find something and then some days I don't want to get out of bed and I feel doomed to be unemployed forever! (I know, it can be very dramatic when sad).

This time on the job hunt is no different - still a roller coaster, but there are a few things that are different. One, the economy is much worse than before, so I expected that my normal 3 month period to find a job would grow longer - I prepared myself for that. But what I didn't expect or prepare myself for was the constant pity and disappointment from family and friends. Despite what people may think, I did not chose to move to Colorado because I wanted to live here or that I just picked a place on a map. Do I want to live here, Yes. But there was an educated decision made, whether to stay in Vermont or should we move, where should we move to or what exactly should we do once Brian graduated. This was not an easy decision, like deciding what to eat for dinner. We thought we had the decision made many times before we came to our final decision. There were many Pro and Con lists made, fasting and praying, going to the temple, crying and listening to everyone's advice, but ultimately it was OUR decision, we had to make it. Would we have made this decision if we had children or owned a home, probably not, but we don't have any of those things. There is nothing more crushing than getting a phone call/email/letter from family or friends laced with negativity.

We are finding many jobs to apply for, some here in Colorado and some other places, we are not limiting ourselves. We are applying for jobs and getting interviews.

We are making progress, so please don't pity us.

~ Nicole