One Door Closes.....

...and it sucks for an hour. That one, small, hall closet-size door that was my job at St. Catherine University.

The theater budget got cut in half for the upcoming school year, so they plan on repurposing and reusing costumes from the last couple of years. But not my costumes, the other designer's costumes. So, she's the one that got hired back. Good for her. Not so good for me.

UPDATE: I had a coffee date with my dear director friend, so he could dump me. One hour after I was "made redundant" by St. Kate's, I was dumped, because he wanted to be monogamous. With somebody else. For no other reason than he didn't want to hurt her feelings. I guess my feelings didn't, and don't, matter.

But, once I got home, and went online, I found a great big, double front door, just waiting for me to open. Norcostco is hiring a full time sales floor person. The company that I worked at for eight years, where I'm known, where I have experience, is hiring. So wrote a new cover letter, sent off my resume, and within an hour heard back from my former boss (not my immediate supervisor, but the big boss of the whole costume/make up/sales division)! She was very excited to see my resume, and we set up an interview, in two weeks' time. She has to go to the Atlanta office, but wants to see me as soon as she gets back. I'm thinking positively, hoping for some good things to happen.

That's one of the biggest differences between Jeff and I. He can only see the bad things, the cloudy skies, that life is one giant "Kick Me" sign on his back. Me, I tend to find the silver lining, the bright side of life, the positive things that could happen. And that's why things usually work out for me. I don't see failure; I accept that plans change, that there are unexpected twists and turns in the road, that we can't predict where we'll end up. And that's okay.

"Everything will be all right in the end. If it's not all right, then it isn't the end yet."

The Halfway Mark

Halfway through the year; halfway through my year. It's my half-birthday today, and I'm going to celebrate.

Everybody thinks December 31 is a great day for a birthday. Everybody celebrates, right? Yeah, at new year's eve parties. And my birthday gets lost in all the year-end hoopla. Also, my husband hates new year's eve; he was never able to separate that holiday from my day, so he never wanted to plan anything, he didn't want to do anything. He's a bit of party-pooper anyway, or I should say he's introverted, doesn't socialize much. I, on the other hand, love a good party, whether I'm the host or a guest. This was one of the ongoing differences we had over the years - I was invited to a lot of parties, I wanted to go to the parties, he wasn't comfortable with people he didn't know, so I went alone to some of them - and skipped a lot of them over the years, just to avoid an argument.

I'm also going to reboot here on my yearlong project; I've been creating and working on projects with my kids and around the yard, and cooking quite a bit lately, but I haven't documented most of these things. I'm just going to make a list of what I can remember, and start anew on Sunday, July 1.

1) I did build a new compost bin; but I still have to move most of the old pile to the new location.

"found" pallets 

the set-up

ready to make gardener's black gold

2) My older daughter R. made a hobo bag for herself; I helped with the sewing part. She did a good job on her own little creation. She's also trimming a dress for CONvergence next week. I'm helping her and my son C. get costumes together for the four-day event.

3) I made raspberry-almond crisp earlier this week; my raspberry crop is thriving this year! Lots of rain last month, and lots of heat this month - that's the key, I guess. I even took pictures as I mixed the ingredients; I'll post them later.

ready for the oven

4) I gathered supplies for a couple of projects that I haven't gotten to yet - an arbor made of branches; and wine bottles. Lots of wine bottles. I'm hoping to turn the bottles into hanging planters or candle holders, for the Etsy shop. Don't copy!

5) I'm sewing trim on a coat for C., for one of his CONvergence costumes.

6) I froze leftover coffee in ice cube trays (one of those "what to do with leftover coffee" suggestions that I do periodically), mixed the cubes and some coconut milk in the blender, and made my own icy coffee drink.

7) Some recent food creations: potato pancakes (using Simply Potato hash brown shreds! So simple!); garlicky shrimp and bacon pasta salad; homemade pizzas (yeah, a repeat, but different crusts/ingredients); banana oatmeal muffins with coconut milk; white gravy and mashed potatoes. There are more, I'll have to ask the kids what meals they remember.

8) I have to redo my resume. There's a job opening at Children's Theatre Company that I'm quite qualified for, which would make my life a whole lot easier, at least for the next few years - if I get it.

UPDATE: I just got a confirmation email, they have my resume and will start scheduling interviews by the end of the month. Fingers crossed!

So, there's my little recap. Like I said earlier, I'm taking a mulligan for June. But I need to get back on track, with my blog and with my life. Time to move forward, and keep the little grey cells involved and active. Time to celebrate a half-year, and prepare for the next stage in my life.

Happy Saturday!