One thing about being unemployed is you lose track of what day it is!  My boot camp is helping me with that, although taking it four days a week tends to get a little muddled still!  The toughest part is having to think what day it is to cheer my first glass of wine!  LOL

Anyway, it is approaching a month since I parted ways with my last employer – y’all that know who that is, know who that is.  That’s a weird feeling, as I’ve never really been unemployed before!  I have been looking for a job, but I have to tell you, it’s been tough – way different than I am used to!  Either I am overqualified, they want to pay me too little, or I really don’t get a response!  So, there you go.  I refuse to be pitiful or give up because I know there is a great job out there for me!

Well, I began writing this BEFORE boot camp, and now it is AFTER boot camp and I am BEAT!  So I’m off to shower and nap!

…..but now have a new life!

Okay, let’s do a quick inventory of my addictions: Coffee, computer/internet, sunflower seeds, and Guitar Hero. Blah, worthless! Because there’s a new kid in town! Let me explain:

I was excited to find out that Sandy and Aaron would be visiting – they arrived last night around 10:30pm. EVERYONE was excited by this news, including Kenny and Josh. When Kirstie found out about the news, she and Elliot headed on over too! Their appearance was cause for great rejoicing in all areas! The world truly felt whole again!

But, wait, there is an important factor I am excluding! Aaron, who will probably be rewarded with non-stop “Aaron Days” **, brought his ROCK BAND game!!!!

For those of you who do not know what Rock Band is, it is similar to Guitar Hero, but adds to the guitar drums and a mic. All players form a band and rock out! Talk about ADDICTION! We were up until 2:30 am (including Josh, who was too excited to go to bed, although Kenny hit the hay at about 1 am)! I think we would have stayed up even longer if we weren’t so bone tired!

BTW – everyone did quite well on the game! Rona is the best bass player, I did alright singing, on the guitar, and the drums. Sandy does some mean singing! Aaron was not feeling well but still rocked the guitar and used his rough voice well. Kenny stuck to the drums and rocked. Kirstie kicked it on expert guitar, of course. Josh did surprisingly well on the drums and sang “Mississippi Queen” better than his mom! I think we should go on the road……

So, now my existing addictions pale in comparison! If you haven’t every played it, be warned that you will become addicted! And maybe that’s a good thing!

Okay, people are still sleeping here, but the gardener is outside making awful noise, so I hope to be able to play again soon! Woohoo!

Gina OUT

** I have been known to assign days to individuals, where they are “it” and get special treatment. Aka “Today is a Rona Day” (which, incidentally, she complains never occurs). Since Aaron did such a good job with the game, filling my heart with addiction, he will be treated special the entire time he is in SoCal. If you would like to know how YOU can be given your own day, let me know and I will advise you!

Most of you who actually know me, know that I LOVE LOVE LOVE massages! They are so wonderful and I miss having frequent ones by Ann at work. So it was with great jubilation that I got to get an hour swedish massage yesterday! Whoot whoot! It was SO relaxing, especially with all the drama in my life right now as well as my sore muscles from boot camp!

Oh, have I talked about boot camp yet? Hmmmm, I can’t remember! So forgive me if this is duplicate….

I started a four week boot camp program this past Monday; I go Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 5:30am to 6:30am. This is non-stop activity for the whole hour! The first day it was HARD and I sweat SO MUCH! I thought I was going to DIE! The second day was a bit better, but let me tell you – my legs hurt SO MUCH that it was almost impossible to walk (especially down the stairs)! Rona and Kenny would laugh so hard at me (and, don’t tell them, but I was saying bad words in my head!). But by Thursday I was feeling much better! This Friday we had a timed mile and I was concerned because I haven’t exercised in so freaking long! So, I set the goal of not trying to run too fast and trying my best to maintain my pace. I used a training technique that Cat taught me when she was helping me get ready for a 5k run – jog/run for a period of time and walk for a period of time. So I did that and here are the results of my 3 lap mile:

Lap 1 4:09, Lap 2 8:18 (4:09 lap), 12:21 (4:03 lap) so I reached my goal!

Okay, back on track – what other decadence have I been experiencing? Air conditioning, healthy food, time to meditate, time to relax and feel loved, laughter with friends, talking one-on-one with my kids, knowing God is in power and loves me unconditionally.

Wow, how decadent!

Oh wait, life is calling again – back to work!

So, do you think this post is going to talk about all the horrible things that have occurred? How I have been wronged, turned against, dealt with pain and loss? Of course! Have I dealt with the pain of family members is failing health, where I have no power? Have I hit my head against the wall over and over? Well, those things will have to be addressed in another post for another day!

Life is STILL absurd, however! The definition of absurd is as follows:

I was pointed to an amazing site – Church Sign Generator! It is so fun to mess with! I have been there for about three weeks, thinking of funny things to say, but coming up pretty short. So, suddenly, a quote attributed to my best friend hit me like a ton of bricks! Let’s see…..

I thought that was hilarious and chose to share it with Martin, who (at least in this case) shares my weird sense of humor regarding this quote! But alas, he raised the bar by sharing another person’s use of said site which has made me LAUGH OUT LOUD OVER AND OVER AGAIN! To see if you have a warped sense of humor as well, check out Church Sign Smackdown!

Have a great weekend, I know I will!

P.S.  I am very, very intrigued by the fact that I have a regular reader for FARGO, ND!!!  If you are comfortable, send me a comment – I won’t post it unless you say to, but I am curious how you found this site, what you enjoy about it, etc.  So no pressure……but yeah!

Back a few posts (Does this sound like me?), Martin commented with the following:

“But they left out: nerd; Justin-infatuated; and heavy metal iron maiden.”

He is so right! Why, well let’s break it down:

1. Yes, I am a nerd. Not the thick black glasses, pocket protector, and flood pants kind of nerd. But I DO love technology, different kind of humor, and evangelize the benefits of owning a Mac. So what that I enjoy Star Wars………I took an official nerd test, and they confirmed I am not DORKY, but a little nerdish…..

2. I am TOTALLY infatuated with Justin Timberlake! When he sings, and dances, I melt! He is GORGEOUS and I would marry him if given the chance. Yeah yeah yeah, I know, that would be non-existent, but a girl can dream, can’t she???? Shout out to Stephanie P who has similar, excellent taste! Whoot whoot!

3. Heavy metal, and especially Iron Maiden, are in high rotation on my iPod for sure! I have loved this genre and group since I was in high school – many moons ago! Martin and I would tease each other at work – I would offer to burn him a CD and he would be like…..”No…..”. (Although, admittedly, we DO share a love for Chicago, blues, and other music!). And for people like Rona, who rolls her eyes and says, “where’s the hook?”, I will just turn it up! LOL So yeah, I am one of those crazy metal head iron maiden girls!

Okay, that was a nice diversion – thanks Martin!

And on a side note, congrats to Martin who has been ordained in the Presbyterian (PCA) church and now has his own CHURCH that meets on Sundays mornings and evenings in La Habra……for more info check out his site here.

…..like how your friends dry up for no explainable reason.  Oh, I have my ideas for sure, but am still amazed.  I have been through hell and back, have been treated like crap, and where are my so called friends?  I am talking about the ones that I thought were supportive, not the ones that have been by my side from day one.  WHERE DID YOU ALL GO?

So you know what?  Tonight, as I sit here wondering what the hell happened, something amazing has occurred to me – maybe you weren’t my friends after all, huh?  So, if you see that email I wrote you and now feel guilty for not responding, don’t bother okay?  I don’t need you.

For those of you who HAVE checked up on me and showed love – you know who you are – thank you.

And that is the last pity post you will see from me, at least for this week!

Many of you won’t know what DWC means, and that’s okay.  Some of you will, though, and this post is for YOU.

I am sorry that I wasn’t able to say goodbye, to tell those of you who know me (and maybe love me) how much you have blessed me.  Know that the future provided is a win/win and that I am fine.  I have learned so much, have felt pain for sure, but look to the future with a strong spirit and excitement for what God has in store for me.  I know there will be bumps along the way and I may even have days when I think about you and wish things were different.  But mostly, I will remember the good times; the laughter we shared, the goofiness that seemed to be always present, and the ways our lives intertwined as we walked through life together.  And that, my friends, is better than anything else I could have hoped for.

My only request – SOMEONE needs to become the loudest phone talker, okay?  And keep the rubber bands flying, at all costs.

I hope you still come to this blog.  I hope you keep in touch.  And I hope you are blessed with each day!