Something Sad...Something Amazing....

I took this picture a couple weeks ago, when I went to my dad's...I was pretty happy to see it again this past Wednesday,  I will probably cry when I see the "sold" sticker on the sign.  That is very selfish of me, but there are very few things that are constant in life.  For me they are, the sun rises and sets and the Bellerud's have lived across the street!  My parents bought their house a couple years before I was born (I just turned 47, you do the math)..so did the Bellerud's.  They had teenagers and my mom and dad just had our basset hound Maypo, and mom's cat Tricia when they moved in.  They watched our home when we lived in California and reported anything odd back to mom and dad.  They were there when we moved back in the summer of 1983, their kids all grown and out of the house with their own families, and Mike and I were teens.  Mel and Eunice were/are like extended family.  I have great memories of Eunice, she was Norwegian...and that woman loved a sweet treat!!!  She made incredible cookies and doughnuts I still dream of.  I loved sitting in her kitchen with my mom.  When I was pregnant, she tried to bribe me with her amazing doughnuts to name Mason, anything but Mason...she said it was not a good name!  It still makes me laugh.  We lost Eunice a few years ago, I take solace that my mom did not have to go through losing her.  Eunice never knew my mom had cancer,  disease had stolen her memories.  I think it would have broken their hearts to lose each other.

Back to that sign, it makes me sad to see the house for sale.  Mel is over 90 years old now and his daughters and son want them closer to where they live. So, he has found a small home around the corner from his youngest daughter. I don't think he wants to leave, but he understands the reasoning behind it.   It is the same reason (even though they make him and me a little crazy) that I am glad Mike and Brett live with my dad.  I feel like when he moves, we may not get to see him anymore..and that will be they end of a very long era.  

As for the something amazing...well, that was just a tease.  Because, I am not ready to share it yet.  Stay tuned!!!

Pieces of the puzzle...

I can honestly say that the knot in my stomach is finally releasing...slowly, but hopefully surely!!

I try so hard to see the positive...and always point it out for others, but sometimes I do not follow my own advice...ok, a lot of the time I don't!!

Lee sent off his first...and only, application and resume in late September. The next week, they called for an interview.  The description of this job was written like they knew Lee was out there.  He did great at the interview, even spent a chunk of time BSing with the ladies that interviewed him, about government contracts, budgets and reconciling government credit cards...I honestly think he was more excited to talk shop again with someone, than he was about the interview.  They said they would know what they were gonna do the next week....my stomach clinched in anticipation, we all know I hate the unknown.  Two days later, they called for Lee's references...stomach clinches again...tighter!  Lee emailed his list, and then the people on his reference list began calling him, saying they got a call....I can't take the pressure...so I have lunch with a friend and then join Arrielle for some grocery shopping.  While I am trying to distract MJ so Arrielle can finish, my cell phone rings.  Lee chats away, asking about MJ...and then drops the bomb, they called him...HE GOT THE JOB!!!!  He even asked for the higher rate of pay...a trick we learned a couple years ago at a Coast Guard retirement preparation class.  I truly did the happy dance in Fred Meyer!!!  Woo-hoo!!  He will be working for the Navy's Fleet and Family office, as a contracting officer.  His dream title, and what he has studied for the last few years!  He is not working at the shipyard or submarine base, his office is at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, in Keyport...about six miles from our home.  It's right next to the museum we visited last year...interesting!

Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport WA

Lee's building is closer to the pier at the top right.

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As for me, I had a crazy group interview at JcPenney...and got a call a couple days later offering a part time seasonal sales associate job.  I took it, because I felt I was having a really hard time finding a job at a prime time of the year for retail jobs!  I have never been so unexcited about a job...JcPenney pushes their credit card and pushes it hard, and I am not very good at selling like that.  You are also judged by how many you get a customer to open...I was very nervous.  In the meantime, I got a call from the Navy Exchange, asking to interview me, and another from Fred Meyer (where Arrielle works).  I went to the NEX (Navy Exchange) interview yesterday, and was hired at the end of my interview (it would have been a huge blow if I wasn't, due to the fact I have almost 4 years of experience at a Coast Guard Exchange).  This is a job, I am totally comfortable with, and the pay is very close to JcP, and the hours are better (the same amount, just better timing).  So I called JcP and let them know, I had found something that would work better for me and my family.  I have my interview at Fred Meyer today...at least I know I already have a position...so whatever happens I am ok!

Elliott, has done all of his part of getting his GI Bill stuff started and the school has done their part...now we just wait and hope everything gets paid for!  

The pieces to our puzzle are starting to fit together...it is exciting and nerve wracking at the same time...as we ease into a civilian life.  The CG is all I have known for 24 years....it is kinda like taking off your favorite jacket, funny thing is...most all of our jackets say Coast Guard on them.

It is gonna be ok....I really think it will!

Saturday Night Special...

I thought I would share some cuteness...but I am gonna make you wait a moment for it.

Lee sent out his first application and résumé last week, for a job he is totally qualified for...more about that in a minute.    Then on Saturday the 28th, he attended a veterans only job fair, armed with freshly printed resumes and dressed in slacks and a shirt and tie!  He gave out a few resumes and there are two places (in the naval shipyard) quite interested in Lee's skills....then the government shut down, so he cannot even call those people to follow up.  But..he has an interview on Tuesday for the résumé he sent away! Woohoo! They called him on Wednesday (the day after the shutdown) so I am hoping the government shutdown won't change the interview.  His appointment to start his VA claim was cancelled, so we have to put that off until things get back to normal.  Thankfully, Mason was one of the exempted government employee, and he is still working....although he has no idea when he will get paid again.  Arrielle's union may strike soon too...it's been kinda crazy around here!

I had an interview this week, it went pretty well, but you never know.  I filled out a few more applications this weekend , I don't want to jinx myself.  Hopefully soon something will happen!!

And now the cuteness.  Mahoney is crazy for my glasses and if for some reason I don't have them on she looks at me funny...like she is not sure if I am Grammy or not!  Tonight, I put them on her, and of course she could not be much cuter!!!