Everyone has been blogging lately... I feel like a slacker! I guess I shall update everyone on what's going on here in Portland... and the POD situation. Random pictures, and my first video, will be posted inbetween updates! Yippee!!
If you remember, last summer, my parents boxed up all of the stuff in my bedroom in CA and shipped it to Portland in a POD. Well, I never really got around to going through those boxes... until last week. Last Monday, my friend Whitney was kind enough to help me go through some boxes in the garage (I bribed her with Oreo cookies... hehe). We bagged up 5 bags of garbage and about 5 bags to donate to the ARC (Value Village)... in one afternoon. The following Thursday, I went back into the garage and cleaned all day, getting through the rest of the boxes, except for what was labeled, "Partylite" or "Candles." I put several things on Craigslist, both for free and for sale, and got rid of everything I posted. What didn't disappear... went to The Goodwill. I donated a LOT of shoes, clothes, and old toys that I didn't want or could replace in the future if needed.
Unfortunately, I found SEVERAL ITEMS that were NOT mine within the boxes. That made me very upset... I know I had a lot of stuff in my old bedroom, but come on. That's just ridiculous. There was also broken items sent to me. It's BROKEN. Throw it away! Sheesh. I found a lot of things that were meant for children... I don't know who was having a girl, but I found a 3-pack of onesies among baby toys, Hot Wheels, Spiderman toys, and Play-Doh. /sigh. I found things that probably belonged to my sister and mom while going through all the boxes. So annoying. What am I supposed to do? Mail it back to them? How lame is that? Also... how petty are my parents that they mailed me stuff that wasn't mine, was broken, or was simply trash in the first place?! Irritating.
Now that all the boxes have been gone through, I just need to rearrange what's left so there's room to walk in the garage. Sam wants to build shelves in the garage for added storage space, as well as make it easier to access boxes within the garage. He also wants to make it more of a "shop" type garage, with a Warhammer 40k table on the side. Great. The only good thing about organizing the garage: I get a planter's bench for all my gardening needs. I am excited about that! Now I just need to get Sam to build it! HA! That'll be a while...
With the start of May, I started a QuickBooks class at Mt. Hood Community College near Gresham, Oregon. It's about 25 miles from my house, but unemployment is paying for me to go, in hopes that it will help me find a job! It's a 5 week course, designed to teach me the basics of QuickBooks... but so far, the teacher is driving me insane! There is NO book and NO student copy of QuickBooks (for home use). The teacher uses handouts for everything, I'm getting an in-depth lesson on accounting (which is mind boggling to me), and whenever someone slow in the class needs help, we ALL have to wait for the teacher to help him/her! It's SOOOOOOOOOO annoying! I can't wait for this class to be over and done with. Two more weeks. Thank goodness!
The cats are good. Grimm (on the arm on the couch) is continuing to play peek-a-boo in the bathroom, in hopes that someone will give him fresh water from the sink. Odin (on the blue blanket) is still obsessed with the lizard. Logan (on the black blanket) is still in and out of the house, but he stays in about 8-9 hours during the day, passed out on the back of the couch. The lizard, however, is a different story. She's trying to lay eggs. I've never had a female bearded dragon before; I know nothing about the females and their egg laying habits. Her tank is a MESS (omg... seriously) and she's only laid about 7 eggs... but we can feel more in her belly! The eggs look like yellow jellybeans, which to me says the eggs are unshelled, which means there's more of a chance to be impacted inside of her, unable to get out, which could cause an infection... and a $200 vet bill. Ugh. And if you're thinking, "Wait, how can she lay eggs if she hasn't been around a male bearded dragon?" The answer is: A female bearded dragon lays eggs, fertile or not. Yup... so we have this to look forward to every year... Yippee. It almost makes me want to raise a male bearded dragon, so we can at least make a small profit every time she lays eggs...! HA! But she does like her worms... superworms, to be exact. Look at this: (forgive the taking in the background.. I can't figure out how to edit it).
My good friend, Malia, is coming up in August to visit and I AM EXCITED! This will be the second friend from CA to visit me since moving to Portland. However, she will be my first CA friend to see, and stay at, my house! :) My friend, Jenny, is trying to convince her hubby to come to Portland for their 10 year anniversary... I completely support this idea. <3 Before August, there are a few things that need to be done around the house. For starters, the lizard needs to be relocated... I know Malia doesn't want to spend the night with the lizard. :) Then, our "master" bathroom needs to be fixed up a bit so we're not all three sharing the hall bathroom. I'd love to fix up the hallway bathroom a bit, too, but I'm not going to get my hopes up. If it happens, it happens... I am trying to be more realistic about our "home improvements."
My good friend, Tevys, *might* be moving in with us in June. I am also looking forward to this possibility. I think it would be a good place for her. However, I know her life is ever-changing and it may not actually happen, but if it does and she moves in with us next month, I will be a very happy Dot. :)
The job situation has been very... well... not promising. I've been on several interviews, but only a few second interviews and no job offers. I have sent out several hundred resumes, e-mails, and cover letters, but I only hear back from about 10% of what I send out. I've applied with two temp agencies now and they haven't even called me! I am just getting frustrated and tired of this whole process. Eventually, I will get a job... I know I will... it's just going to take some time.
On a healthier note... Sam and I have been going to THE GYM! We've been going almost everyday for the past two weeks. It's a good thing. We renewed my membership for $100 for an entire year! Instead of $19 a month, it comes out to about $8 a month! That's a huge savings! :)
The garden is looking GREAT! The peas and tomatoes are growing, the flowers are blooming, and there are a few green blueberries on the bush! I am excited for this year's edible harvest! I'll have to wait until the fall to eat the garlic, but it is worth waiting for. My cilantro is also growing, which means I'll be making lots of salsa this summer!
Oh, and we saw Iron Man 2 at midnight on opening day. It was fun... and a good birthday gift for Sam's friend (and best man), Eric. Eric and his wife are amazing people. I wish we lived closer... I know they're just in Vancouver, but that's still in another state! hehe...
And with that... you're caught up.
Well, except for our fun trip to the zoo earlier this month. I'll post pictures from the zoo on another blog. Promise.
