Anybody out there?

I had to dig thru some paperwork for find my password for this blog. I can't believe it has been four years since I last wrote something here. Four years. Four years. My God, so much has happened in the last four years! I honestly don't even want to get into it all right now. I mean, I totally have to change my bio since I am no longer a "40-something." Ugh. 

I feel like blogging again would help me express myself. But does it count if no one else reads it? 

I am currently in a FB book club that introduced me to NetGalley. It's a site that gives you advanced copies of books online to read and review. They tend to give more books to people who have a blog. These are people who blog a lot about books. I love books. I love to read. I love free books. So, I totally feel like they should be giving me ALL the books. So far, I have received two. I take it personally when I get declined. So, I am thinking about blogging about books here. Maybe it'll be good practice for creative writing. Maybe I will just cut and paste the little reviews I do on GoodReads.com. I don't know yet. I need to figure it out.

In the meantime, is anybody out there?

Putting it Out There

What are your thoughts on Karma? I don't necessarily mean Good Karma comes to those who do Good Things and/or Karma is a Bitch. I'm asking about Putting "it" Out to the Universe. As in, if you want something good to happen, you put it out there: You let people know about your wants or you ask for prayers or hope that positive thinking brings about positive outcomes.

Here's what I'm getting at: Do you believe in what I ask above or are you of the "I don't want to jinx it" mentality?

I'm pretty much the "I don't want to jinx it" kinda girl. Granted it depends on what it is, but I usually do hold back on telling people about potential good news until it comes to be. Back when I was working, if I had a job interview, I would let friends (those outside of the current job) and my parents know and would say "wish me luck." When my husband and I put an offer on this house,  I told my mother and asked her to pray that it got accepted (granted, that was also after a horrible year of living in a corporate apartment while our stuff was in storage and we were suffering through the housing market crash of 2008-2009 and we could use all the help we could get).

These days, it seems that whenever anyone wants to put it out there or just simply to ask for prayers, luck and good wishes, they take it to Facebook. I'm all for Facebook and am always checking it. I just don't post a lot -- mostly I post pictures when I've taken a trip or have seen some old friends. But, I find that lots of people will ask for prayers or either tell you way too much private information or be totally vague but still be looking for prayers/good wishes/whatnot (I can't stand the "Pray for me today" or "Today is gonna be a hard day" type of posts that are so vague and warrant attention and then the poster never actually states what the problem is -- annoying attention seekers). I'm fine with people asking for prayers for sick relatives. I'm fine with people asking for luck when they are taking a test. I'm totally fine with people asking for strength when they are up to their eyeballs in calamity in times of strife.

I just wonder how far to go, when to put "it" out there.

So, I'm gonna put it out there now. My husband is looking for a new job. We both really want to move back East. Do you put it out there and say, "Wish him luck," "Say a prayer for us"? Or do we keep our mouths and keyboards quiet and hope for the best? You know, not jinx it.

Normally, I'd keep this information to myself, but he is of the mindset that positive thinking garners positive results. I'm all for that; I'm just not sure I want to share those positive thoughts.

For sure, I'm not putting it on Facebook. I'm FB friends with some of my husband's co-workers so that's a big no-no. Plus, it's such a really big thing, I don't think I could handle the pressure of status updates. I don't think I want people checking in with me periodically with "did he get the job" questions. It's kinda like when I was trying to get pregnant -- I didn't tell anyone because I didn't need the monthly reporting on whether I got my period or not.

I'm babbling. The gist is, what do you tell people about and what do you keep to yourself? I'm all for asking for a little help from above, but I just think right now I've got to try to just get those prayers answered on my own.

It's Always Something

Being a homeowner can really suck. Sure, being homeless would suck much more, but it's always something when you are a homeowner. Today, it's the motor on the water pump for the pool. Which is currently being replaced. For which I am going to have to write a check for $1350.00.

It's raining, FINALLY, in CA. So, after my workout, while I was drinking my coffee and relaxing, I heard a very loud noise. It was either the printer in the office doing its weird adjustment thing where it randomly turns on, cranks out a noise and goes off again, or it was pounding rain. I looked in the office first because it did sound like it was coming from that end of the house more so than on the roof from rain. Okay, not the printer, but hmmm, that noise is louder in the far corner of the office, near the window. Pull up the blind and OH MY GOD water is gushing -- GUSHING -- out of something in the pool pump area. GUSHING. Like a crazy woman, I dial my husband's cell phone scrambling to find my sneakers. I put on my sneakers while practically yelling into his voicemail, "Call me emergency pool pump." (Just like that, no commas, no pausing, no sense!). Then I dial his office number (which of course I have to look up because I never call him on that) and get the damn voicemail again. Same crazy-lady message. Then I text "Call me emergency." Thankfully he called right away as I was opening the back slider to try to figure out what to do. He calmly talked me through turning off some switches. Phew. Thank God that worked.

Not only was it raining, I was standing in water that was just about covering the tops of my sneakers and in order to turn the power off, I had to stand in front of where the water was coming out of the motor and basically got about as wet as I would have had I just jumped in the pool.

Because CA has been in a 100+ day drought, we are supposed to be rationing our water -- don't water your lawn so much, don't do too many loads of laundry. Thankfully they haven't asked us not to flush. Anyway, should the water company be keeping track in a future effort to fine offenders, well, oh boy, we are gonna be on their list after today! I can't even imagine how many gallons of water spewed out of our backyard today. And I kept thinking, what if I hadn't been home?? Wow, that would have been AWFUL. I guess it could have potentially flooded the house. Yikes.

(I'm thinking there's something to use here when I get attitude from the "What do you do all day?" haters that can't handle the fact that I don't work. I take care of things, bitches)

Well, the pool guy is here now, replacing the motor/pump whatever-it-is. I'm certainly glad he could take care of it right away and that the rain stopped so he could do it today. I'm just not looking forward to writing out that check. Bye bye tax return money that was going to go toward a vacation.

Dare I say that this "American Dream" of being a home owner is really a nightmare?

Sigh. It's always something….

Happy New Year

I'll be back in 2014. Until then . . .

A Friend in Need

I was inspired today by LoonySuse at Remote Appeal. I read her post about two of her friends who are moving and it got me thinking about making friends when you are a transplant. I have a lot of friends in my native Massachusetts. I went to high school and college there. I worked at several jobs there. I moved from Massachusetts to Florida when I was 36. I had to make new friends.

Then I moved from Florida to California when I was 40. And I had to start all over again.

Let me tell you a little bit about making friends when you are "the new kid on the block." I'll start with Florida.

Making friends in FL came fairly easy to us. We really clicked with our realtor and his wife -- she is my age and is originally from RI; we even had a friend in common (I was friendly in college with someone she was friends with in high school). Then came meeting folks in the neighborhood. Since the majority of our neighbors were also transplants, they were quick to come around and introduce themselves and to invite us to hang out. Our neighborhood was incredibly social, it turns out. Friday nights were "Happy Hour" nights, usually held in someone's driveway, involving beer and wine and bug spray when it got dark. It was fun and it was nice to be included. Technically it got to be too much after a while but that's another story.

Then, we made friends at work. My husband liked his co-workers and we would see one or two of them socially. I took a job right away that was a bad fit (nice co-workers, but ridiculous boss and lame job responsibilities) so I moved on from that about 9 months after our move. But, the next job was a home run. Great hours, good work and the most fun people. My friends from that job ranged in age (at the time) from 25 - 46. I enjoyed going to work every day. When my husband had to travel for his job, I'd go out for a beer after work with my co-workers. Fun stuff all around.

I miss my FL friends. But, thanks to texting, email and especially Facebook, I still can count many of them as friends. We have seen them a few times in the years that we have been in CA since we have family to visit in FL and we make the effort to see our friends there too.

I have been in CA for 5 years now. Know how many friends I have here? Two. Okay, three, if you count the couple (I'm counting them as one) that we are friendly with -- the husband works with my husband and they are transplants here from Massachusetts. We go out with them to dinner once every few months. We are going to their daughter's graduation party next month. That sort of thing. Yeah, other than a couple that my husband technically knew before moving here, I have two people I can count  as friends. They live across the street.

And, I really count one more as a friend than the other. She is an awesome 60-something Mom to grown children and hanging out with her is like hanging out with my MA and FL friends who are my age. We go to lunch and we go shopping and we laugh a lot. She's not originally from CA. She has moved a lot for her husband's job. So, we are kindred in that sense. I think that helps.

I've come to the conclusion that people who are FROM CA just don't want to make new friends. Well, they'll befriend you if you have kids. And if your kids go to school together. So, I get jipped in that department. Defeated before I even start.

And, since my husband is senior management at his office here, the people he sees every day work FOR him. He doesn't want to hang out after work with people who report to him. And they feel likewise. None of them ever offered to take us out or show us around when we moved here.

I know it's harder to make friends when you are older. And when you don't work (that's me) and when you don't have kids. But it seems crazy that after living here for 5 years (and in this particular house/neighborhood) for 4 years that we really don't have friends. No one has a spare key to our house in case of an emergency. If the alarm goes off and the alarm company can't reach my husband or me, there is no one else on the list for them to call.

We are used to it, I guess. But it does bum me out sometimes. And I hope so much that it doesn't put a strain on our marriage. We really enjoy hanging out with each other, and we know a bunch of other couples that could NEVER spend as much time together, just alone as spouses, as we do. Kudos to us for actually liking each other. But, like I said, I do worry that he'll get tired of me someday. ;)

So, as I seem to be long on chatter today, I'll go on. At the end of March, I started taking workout classes at The Bar Method in the next town over. I've become friendly with a couple of women that go to the same classes as I do. I am so eager to make friends with them, I worry that I come off as too needy. Our "friendship" doesn't extend outside the studio, but I'm hoping one day it will. I'm hoping I get the nerve up to say, "hey, wanna go to lunch after class?" one of these days. Funny thing is, one of the women is new to CA, having moved here from NY (and East Coaster - yay!!). You'd think, given my situation of the past 5 years, that I'd be inviting her to do things on a regular basis. I just don't want to pounce. I kinda want to take it slow. It's kinda like dating, I guess. Just feeling her out to see if she might be interested in going to lunch someday. Ha. Well, I'm hopeful. I mean, the last gym I belonged to here, well, I was the youngest member. All my "friends" there were in there 70s. At least now I see and chat with women my own age.

I'll keep you posted if I ever do ask my "friend" on that lunch date . . . .

Two Down(ton), One to Go

My latest obsession is Downton Abbey. Again, I'm late to this party, but I'm making the most of it. There was a glitch in my plans on Wednesday though. I had only Season two's finale to watch and the power went out! Arrrggggh! Usually when our power goes out, it's just a surge and it pops right back on. Um, yeah, not the case on Wednesday. The power went out at 4:50 p.m. . . . and didn't come back until 3:40 a.m.!!! Can you say FRUSTRATING and ANNOYING and ARRRGGGH. It was also a night when my husband had a work dinner scheduled so I was home alone in the dark.

When dusk started to roll in, I grabbed a flashlight out of the closet and started lighting candles. I'm thankful for my slight hoarding tendencies since I had about 7 Yankee Candles to light and put around the house. The only problem with that is the smell. One candle is nice. Seven scents is just too much. Can you say headache?

The power outage did make me think of Downton Abbey though. In the first episodes, they did a lot by candlelight (it was 1912). Man, their eyesight must have been strained. I read for a little bit, but I just didn't want to read by flashlight. Of course, my iPhone was low on battery. And how could I charge it? Can't plug it in. Can't even charge it in the car unless the car is running. And since I have an electric garage door opener, I wasn't going to sit in a running car in a closed garage! The iPad had battery life, so I played about 8 games of Scrabble before my husband finally came home from the work dinner.

Poor guy, I was a total crab when he got home. The boredom, the darkness, the candle smells -- it all got to be too much!

But, I was back on track with Downton Abbey yesterday. I finished up Season two and started Season 3 yesterday. Hoping to cram in a couple of episodes this afternoon. What am I going to do with myself when I'm finished with Season three???? ;)

Leibster Award

What a surprise and an honor: Suse at LoonySuse has nominated me for a Liebster award. 

"The Liebster Award is an award given to Bloggers by other Bloggers! That makes it even more special!"

Here are the Rules:

1. Each blogger should post 11 random facts about themselves.

2. Answer the questions the tagger has set for you, then create 11 new questions for the bloggers you pass the award to.

3. Choose 11 new bloggers (with less than 200 followers) to pass the award to and link them in your post.

4. Go back to their page and tell them about the award.

5. No tag backs.

Let's see. I can do numbers 1 and 2. But, I don't think I can do number 3. The blogs I follow tend to have lots of followers. That bums me out -- it's only fair to give back. Well, when I have more time, I'll go in search of some more blogs to follow and will pass along the award. Meantime, on to numbers 1 and 2 . . . . 

11 Random Facts about Moi

1. I'm a Scorpio. And I live up to all the good and bad descriptions of Scorpios.
2. I hate the taste and smell of Sausage. I just can't eat it.
3. I'm a HUGE fan of Coconut. Coconut flavored anything gets two thumbs up from me.
4. I am NOT a cat person. No fear of me ever being a crazy cat lady. Crazy's a possibility. Just without cats.
5. I love playing Scrabble on my iPad. I hate to lose and I make sure it rarely happens.
6. I do not play any instruments. Never have, probably never will.
7. I don't really enjoy talking on the telephone. I'll take email, texting and Facebook over phone chats.
8. I LOVE to read. I am always in the middle of a book -- I finish one and start a new one right away.
9. I can't stand to hear other people chew. Even if they aren't particularly loud eaters, I hate the sound of it.
10. I love to travel. I've been lucky to have been to some great places already and have lots more on my list.
11. I like to color. I prefer markers to crayons and I find it soothing. I don't do it often, but I admit to owning a couple of coloring books.

My 11 Questions to Answer:

1. Do you grind your teeth? No, thankfully.
2. If you could live in a different country, where would you live? Well, I've been to Italy twice and I love it, so I'll start with Italy. It would be easier to live in an English-speaking country, but I am quite fond of Italy.
3. What's your biggest pet peeve today? Hearing the neighbors that live behind me right now. They are new and they are annoying. I guess they will realize how close we live when I start opening my windows and they hear how many times I drop the F bomb a day!
4. If you could change your first name, what would you pick? I would pick a name that has more than one syllable. Ann is too close to "and" so I often think I hear my name when people are just saying "and". I don't mind my name, but it is a little plain. I guess for now, I'd say Bridget -- that was my grandmother's name and it's not particularly common.
5. In middle school, what were you like? I was still pretty shy in middle school (painfully so when I was younger), but I had a good group of friends. I think it's around that time that I realized I had a good sense of humor and could make people laugh. I was a good student.
6. Can you play an instrument? Nope, see above (didn't read my questions ahead of time!).
7. Favorite food? As a category, I have to go with Italian food. It's hard to be specific. In general, I love desserts, and (see above, again), I love, love, love coconut and caramel flavored anything.
8. Favorite outdoor temp? Mid-70s with sunshine, maybe a light breeze.
9. What makes you happy? My husband, music, dessert, my funny friends, pizza . . . . 
10. Favorite TV show? Since I'm in the midst of a Downton Abbey marathon right now, I'll start with that. I also love Cougar Town and Modern Family. The Good Wife is a good one too.
11. What's the most important quality in a significant other? Kindness. 

Again, I feel pretty lame about not passing the award along. I really do want to but I have one more episode of Season 2 of Downton Abbey to watch before dinner. Okay, so my priorities are a little skewed. But, when I have more time to spend online, I really will start reading more blogs! Thanks again, Suse!