Yin Yang

Lately, I continue to find myself in moments of utter happiness. I will describe it as a feeling where I suddenly realize that in this specific moment I am very happy. It is like a light switch going on, realizing that everything is fine, good and feels right in my world.

I contribute part of this state of mind and being to new employment which naturally has taken a certain amount of burden off my shoulders. I also contribute some other factors, like that I'm finally living a larger portion of my days free from "drama" which I will contribute to living Rumi's saying, "Be with those who help your being".

This adage has been a favorite of mine for years and years, but it is finally becoming the main stay, the philosophy of which I wish to live my life.

We all know that life has its ups and downs, and it can be really difficult to find happiness during the down times. However, the older I get I find that going through those down times seems to make those up times all the sweeter. From there, I guess I could also say that I am finding some lessons in how I want to live my life.
To me it's all Yin Yang. Wikipedia says, “Yin yang constantly interacts, never existing in absolute stasis.” How very true.

Hotter Than Blazes

This picture popped up on my screen saver today and it looked so nice, cool and refreshing on this 117 degree day here in Phoenix.  Yes, it feels just like an oven.  The picture was taken at Boyce Thompson Arboretum. 

I can't wait for the Fall when the temps get low enough so that I can start going to BTA once again.  Until then, I guess I will just be content to look at my pictures.

Have a great day everyone!!

But wait, there's more...

In doing some cleanup of my pictures, I came across some additional garden pictures which I meant to post last week.  Oh well, they are posted now. 

I love the variegation of this Geranium

Look on the leaf that is sitting just over the top of the hose.  It's a baby Pray Mantis.

I believe that seeing a Pray Mantis brings good fortune.  This is the second one I spotted so far this summer.  Good fortune is coming my way!!

The new job is going great...

There is so much stuff I am learning that my head swims most of the time, but we have been assured and reassured that this is normal and that it can take a few months before it all really clicks.  In the meantime, everyone is very patient.  I am truly amazed by how nice everyone is at this place and I feel extremely lucky and blessed to be there.

I could almost cry by what a relief it is to be working at this company.

Little Summer Flowers

It's been a while since I posted anything from my garden so I took the camera and shot some new pictures.  

These are Moss Roses.  These flowers are maybe the size of a quarter so I shot them with the micro setting on my camera and then cropped them.  They are pretty little things.

My hanging baskets are doing great with Moss Roses and Vincas.

I wasn't sure how a Coleus would handle the summer heat, but it's doing great here under the porch in the pot below.  Thanks Cathy for helping me pick it out.

A couple of my Sunflowers are already developing heads.  I can't wait to see how they look when they open.

The potted plant below is a Cyclamen left over from last winter.  I am amazed that this plant is thriving in the heat.  It continues to leaf out.  I doubt it will bloom until winter but we'll see.  For now it is an experiment to see if it will continue to develop until next winter.

Wishing everyone a fantastically rosey weekend!!

Life is but a journey

My reflections lately seem to come back to one thing and that is we are all on a journey when we live our lives. At times we are on the journey together and at times we are on the journey by ourselves. It is the journey that brings people together and forms either general acquaintances or friendships. It is while we are on the journey that forms and tests our character.

Here are some quotes that reflect my thoughts on what “Journey” means to me at this point in my life.

“Journeys, like artists, are born and not made. A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them, few of them willed or determined by the will-whatever we may think.” Lawrence Durrell

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same. Yet our lessons come from the journey, not the destination.” Don Williams Jr.

“A journey is best measured in friends rather than miles” Tim Cahill

“Journeys end in lovers' meeting; every wise man's son doth know.” William Shakespeare

“Success is not a place at which one arrives but rather the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey.” Alex Noble

“To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping.” Chinese Proverb

Dear Diary

Today was the first day at my new job and I think I'm really going to like it…

On our first day, we sat with experienced Quoting Specialists during the morning so we could observe how they perform their job. Then due to off site manager meetings, our new Manager's opted to have us work a partial day. Since they are paying us for a full day and I didn’t sleep at all last night (I guess I was keyed up) it worked out well for me so that I could go home and take a nap.

We will be working 7 hour days for the remainder of this week and all of next week while we are going through training. We were all warned that tomorrow through Thursday the training will be jammed packed and our brains will be thoroughly expanded. They are providing us lunch over these 3 days which is really nice of them.

The Quoting Specialist that I sat with this morning has worked at this company for 5 months. She told me that this group is really nice to work with and she is very happy at this job. Considering how much import they placed on finding the right person for this team was in all 3 interviews, I truly felt that the atmosphere would not be something to worry about. Having said that, I guess I was still worrying a bit so I couldn’t be more thrilled to hear this first hand from someone else in my position.

So, even though I only worked a partial day on my first day, I can already tell that there is so much to learn and that there will be challenges which they forewarned me about. Boredom will not be part of my daily routine whatsoever and that is terrific.

It is refreshing to be on this side of a job where people love working for their employer and the employer treats their people well. It’s a wonderful place to find myself at this next stage of my work life.

Martha Stewart Dutch Oven

I have to show off my latest kitchen purchase. It’s a Martha Stewart 5.5 quart enamel cast iron round casserole. I would say that it’s more like a Dutch oven, but who am I to argue with the Queen herself.

The other day at Macy’s, I was on my way to the down escalator when I came face to face with a 50% sale on these babies. That is a mega deal because they are really expensive cookware. I have wanted one of these probably ever since I began watching Martha Stewart years ago. I could never justify the expense because as most of you know, I don’t spend a lot of time cooking. But with 50% off, I figured I could go ahead and get what I wanted. Now I can cook my roasts in a pan with a lid that fits.

Pictured here is a roast with onion and bell peppers slow cooking over low heat for approximately 3 - 4 hours. The recipe: Season any boneless roast (not prime rib) with pepper and Mrs. Dash. Add chopped bell peppers (1 green and 2 red), a chopped white onion, add enough water to reach the top of the roast and cook over low heat. Check periodically to be sure the roast does not dry out. Typically, after a few hours, the water will begin to cook off fast, add more water as needed to keep from drying out. I usually add 1 cup and let that cook down, adding more as necessary until the meat, onion and pepper mix begins to caramelize on the bottom. The meat should also be shredding fairly well. Serve with potatoes and salad or your favorite sides.

Simple and bursting with flavor.

Shoe crazed

Look at my fun new summer work shoes.

Aren't they cute?

I hit a fantastic sale at Macy's this weekend. Every pair of these shoes was on sale and if I bought 3 or more pairs, I got an additional 30% off. Yippie!!

Good thing I shaved this morning.

Okay, this last pair are just for fun, not for work.  I will have 'blingy' feet when I do my grocery shopping.

Yeah, I know, if you click on this picture, you can see some dust on the shoe.  That's cause I wore these out of the store and then to do some other shopping.  What can I say, they were so much fun to wear.

Happy days are here again...

...The skies above are clear again. So let's sing a song of cheer again. Happy days are here again!!!

“Praise be, praise be”, I got a job. I am thrilled, ecstatic, elated, jumping up and down, uh….howling at the sun, uh….just really, really, really happy!!! Oh and Chicago won the Stanley Cup!!

I have some stuff I need to do for this job in the morning and I will be starting next week. After I’m done, I think I will have a little celebratory shopping trip over to Chandler Mall so I have more than 3 professional outfits to wear to work.

There is something else that I would like to share about this job because it is amazing to me how things work out. The employers were stressing to me, throughout several interviews, how important it is to them that they hire someone who wants to be part of their team, who contributes to the team and who can think of them as family. It dawned on me that these are the characteristics of what I wanted in a job that I put out into the universe over and over again well before my last job ended. Pushing aside my reasons, this was a really big deal to me for probably the last 2 years. So now it appears that I am getting what I wanted. I am hopeful that I found my place, my work home, my positive and nurturing environment.

Have you put something out into the universe lately? If not, here is your opportunity to share what you want; as a job, in life, in relationships, etc.

Breakin from Bloggin

Just wanting to let all my blog readers and fellow bloggers know that I am really concentrating on finding gainful employment so my posts are likely to be sporadic at best.  I wish I had more time in a day to blog about stuff but then I think if I did, it would likely be filled with too much negative chatter and let's face it, that would be in conflict with the sunnier happier side of myself that I share on my blog.  However, I will sum it up as a painfully slow process. 

Since I am devoting my full time and attention to job searching, I decided that I should have a new job title, Unemployed Job Searcher.  Whatcha think??  What other title can you think of?

Oh and just so you know where I'll be, hunting during the week and in the pool on the weekends. 

May this summer bless us with finding jobs, wonderful opportunities and many other good things!!!

Toodles!