Back to work...

After nearly a month of unemployment, I'm back to work tomorrow. Its bittersweet. I've enjoyed this "vacation", but we're desperately in need of the money! I've been hired by Wal Mart to be a seasonal cashier. If I do a stellar job, and they have the hours available, it may become a permanent position. Unfortunately, there's no guarantee that I'll have 30-40 hours a week. Oh well. I took about a $4 pay cut. But right now, any money is good money! =] My stepmom played a huge part in helping me get this job. I've applied everywhere, and I just wasn't getting any calls back. It was really frustrating. Shar hassled her manager and he finally called me. Within two days, I had the job. Yesterday, I put a LOT of applications in all over: grocery stores, retail stores, etc. Hopefully, something with better pay and closer to home will come along. Right now, I'll be travelling about 15-20 miles for work. Its gonna be a lot of money in gas. The bottom line is: Thank Goodness for work! We're incredibly blessed that this came along for me. I hadn't seen any money from the state. Last week, 36,000 people in the state applied for unemployment benefits. Yikes. What used to be a 7-10 day process, is now a 4-6 week process. So, I'm back to work tomorrow. No doubt I'll be exhausted =P

Random Christmas Survey...

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Paper! I'm such a dork, I love to wrap gifts. I like to use ribbons and fancy tags to make the gift extra special. =P

2. Real tree or Artificial? I prefer real ones, but they're so expensive!! My parents finally broke down years ago and bought an artificial one. My stepmom goes to home depot though and asks if she could have some of the branches from the trees that they have trimmed. she puts them behind the artificial christmas tree so that we still have the great smell! =]

3. When do you put up the tree? sometime after thanksgiving, usually

4. When do you take the tree down? after New Year's, I want to make the season last as long as possable! :)

5. Do you like eggnog? LOVE it! BUT you can't have it until Thanksgiving night with ice cold pumpkin pie. =] Its a little tradition that my family has to kick off the season. I cannot drink it before...its just not the same.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? oh wow. IDK! um...this is so horrible. because i know there was plenty, i just can't really think of one right now!!

7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad, and Clint!!

8. Easiest person to buy for? my neice and nephew. They're so young that they love anything you give them! =]

9. Do you have a nativity scene? my family does.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I guess mail?? I don't send them out though, and I rarely receive any.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Barbies!! ugh!!! i hated the stupid things. I used to steal my brother's tonka trucks and run over my barbies. hahahaha! =P

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story =]

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I always say that I'm going to start "early". and I have bought a few things here and there as I've come across them, but not nearly like I'd wanted. I usually wait till just a couple weeks before LOL

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? its this really yummy raisin bread. its a christmas bread from Denmark, I think. I'm not even going to try to type the name, because I'll just get made fun of =P My dad makes it every year though-homemade! no bread machines here!

16. Lights on the tree? on my last tree, it was red and white =]

17. Favorite Christmas song? don't really have just one

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? dasher, dancer, prancer, vixen, comet, cupid, donner, blitzen, rudolph

20. Angel on the tree-top or a star? star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve, or on Christmas morning? Christmas morning. Clint's mom always gets us all pajama pants though, and we open those on Christmas Eve =] and on the Jensen side (my dad's family), everyone draws a name on Thanksgiving day. you buy an inexpensive gift for that person, and we all open them on Christmas Eve. They're referred to as "Dollar Gifts"

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The fact that people lose sight of the real reason for the holiday

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? My tree when I lived on my own (before marriage) was red and gold. Oh, how I loved that tree! it was beautiful!! =]

24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? its always ham and scalloped potatoes! i love it! =]

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? IDK. I haven't really thought about it. I'd like to be employed, that's for sure! =]

I tag:: Whomever wants to have a little fun and do the survey!! =]

Life Lately...

Has been a little difficult. Clint and are doing well--all things considering. A little over a week ago, Clint's wallet went missing. There was no activity on any of the cards, so we kind of assumed that it was somewhere in our house or at his moms. On Monday (last week) we discovered that someone had charged up his credit card. Suddenly we were scrambling to cancel the credit card, his debit card, ordering new id's...it was kind of a nightmare. There was less than $200 of fraudulent activity, total. But still-not something we wanted to deal with. On tuesday, I somehow threw my back out and seriously considered going to the ER. It hurt to move, to breathe...it was just really hard to function. Thank goodness for Icy Hot!!! =P Wednesday, I was sure that life couldn't get much harder. Sounds silly, but true! Well, I lost my job wednesday afternoon. Its one of the worst feelings I've ever experienced. It was even worse to call Clint and tell him. Now I understand how he felt when he called me with the same news the week of our wedding. Anyway, I've got applications in all over the place, with all sorts of different companies. Hopefully, I'll hear something and be working again soon. In the meantime, we're packing up our condo and moving in with his mom. Thank goodness for her! She's welcoming us back into her home. I don't know what we'd do, otherwise. No way can we afford this place on just one income. So...that's how we've been. We're alive and relatively well! =] Thanks to everyone for your prayers!! =]

Another Random Survey....

Thanks to Dany for this random lil survey =]


A is for age: 23...24 in 27 days!!
B is for Breakfast: I hardly ever eat breakfast. But I'm a BIG fan of French Toast =]
C is for Career: unemployed right now =[
D is for my Dog's name: No dog =[
E is for Essential Item I Use Everyday: cell phone & chapstick!
F is for Favorite T.V. Show: House, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, Ace of Cakes!
G is for Favorite Game: Tetris? lol
H is for Hometown: San Francisco, CA
I is for Instruments I play: do funny noises count?
J is for Favorite Juice: Apple! and Cranberry. Sometimes together!
K is for Kitchen: in boxes. preparing to move =[
L is for Last Place I Ate out: um...Filibertos
M is for Marriage: Fantastic! Almost 6 months!
N is for Nickname: Beaker (LOL ask Clint!)
O is for Overnight Hospital Stays: none
P is for People I was With Today: Clint
Q is for Quote: “I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it"
R is for Biggest Regret: I have one...but its in the past.
S is for Sport: FOOTBALL!!!
T is for time I Woke Up Today: 7 am. then i went back to bed around 9 and slept for a few hours with Clint =]
U is for Favorite Piece of Undergarment: um....???
V is for Last Vacation you Took: weekend to Big Lake!! =]
W is for Worst Habbit: being stubborn and argumentative
X is for X-Rays I Have Had: left hand, left foot, right foot
Y is for Yummy Food You Ate Today: ritz crackers LOL
Z is for Zodiac: Scorpio

Random Lil' Survery--Thanks Dany!

I am: amazing =]
I know: the Church is true!
I want: to be sealed in the Temple to Clint
I have: an amazing family!
I wish: I had a career...
I miss: Clint, when he's not around
I fear: losing anyone in my family. I would be devestated
I feel: sick! =[
I hear: pre-game show for Alabama-LSU football game
I smell: hash browns
I crave: about 18 hours of sleep!
I search: for a job that I love, rather than one that just happens to pay the bills.
I wonder: why the power just went out...and now our cable isn't working....
I regret: very few things
I am not: a very good housewife. I hate to clean.
I believe: that Christ lives and is our Savior!
I dance: every chance I get. I'm not very good at it, but I love to do it!!!
I sing: in the car. loudly. but only if i'm by myself =P
I don’t always: eat like I should
I fight: as little as possible.
I write: in my online blog. but that's about it. i'm not much of a writer.
I lose: my mind at the beginning of every month. my job gets INSANE!
I win: not very often!
I never: sleep well during thunderstorms
I listen: carefully.
I am scared: of not finding my one true calling on earth. terrified of not having a career, and being stuck repoing cars the rest of my life
I need: my loved ones around me. I'm happiest surrounded by family and/or friends.
I am happy about: every day =] Life is good =]

So Tired....

Ever since Clint started working nights, I seem to have developed some major insomnia problems LOL! I can sleep just fine with him here, but when he's gone-its very difficult. Random, I know. =P Right now, I'm completely exhausted and I can hardly seem to keep my eyes open as I type. But the second I crawl into bed, I'm wide awake. I think that I would sleep much, much better if we had one of those handy security doors on the front door. Right now, its a bunch of glass paines that anyone could easily break and gain access to the house. The likelihood of this happening is slim to none--but these are the silly scenarios that I build up in my mind. And I think that deep down, its thoughts like these that keep me awake at night. I'm keenly aware of every tiny little sound. And its always nothing. The house just naturally settling as they all do. I've considered trying to find a job working nights as well, just so that I can actually get some sleep hahaha.

Speaking of jobs, I'm still searching for a new one. I had a great interview, and I thought for sure I'd landed the job--but didn't get it. Everything happens for a reason, so I just kind of got over it. It seems like everyone else though is going and and finding a job so easily. I've been looking for months, and I'm getting nothing. Well, I did get an email from Express Scripts, but their pay is only $11.25 an hour. We really can't afford to go down on the pay scale. They do offer a pay differential of about $1.25 an hour, if you work the super early shift (starts at 5 am), and I've considered doing that. It'd be a bit more than I'm making now. The thing is that I know that something will drop into my lap when I least expect it. So I keep looking and applying online. The worst they can do is not call me. Or call me, and then say thanks, but no thanks.

Our cousins Dusty and Leslie blessed their new baby boy, Dallas, today. He's a stud. =]


I've written recently that our friends Mike and Natalie are relocating. Mike leaves on September 1st. This past month has flown by. Its hard to believe that this is our last week with him. I'm gonna be a sobbing mess when it comes to say goodbye =P My emotions lately are twice as bad as normal. I cry easily anyway-its just the way I am. But good grief- I cry at EVERYTHING lately. Its horrible. I don't know what on earth is wrong with me. I was driving to the grocery store last weekend and Tim McGraws "Live like you were dying" came on the radio. No joke: I had to pull over because I started sobbing for no reason. Yeah, I'm a mess LOL!

Such a Klutz

Well, I'm officially part of the McLaws family. I'm sure some of you are reading this and thinking, "well--DUH Alicia!" But yes, I have become a McLaws. In order to be a McLaws, its pretty much required to do some personal damage to yourself, resulting in something broken, at least twice a year. Well, last saturday-I did it. Clint had just left the house for work. I sat down on the couch, with a pillow behind my back and my laptop on my lap. I decided the pillow was uncomfortable, so I leaned forward to reposition it. Suddenly my laptop slid off of my lap and onto my right foot. I don't think I've ever jumped so high, so fast. It HURT! and badly!! It started to bruise almost right away. and swell. I called Clint, sobbing in pain. First words out of his mouth were "Is the laptop ok?!?!" (its ok--i know he loves me LOL!) then told me to wrap some ice in a towel and keep in on my foot. By monday, I was still limping around. So I made an appointment with my podiatrist. On tuesday, I was told that I cracked my "pinky" toe, and bruised the rest pretty badly. I'm supposed to be in a huge walking boot for at least a week--longer if it still hurts to walk. Don't wear it much, but I do try to keep off of my foot as much as possible. I generally wear the boot at work, because I'm running around on my feet a lot. So yes, I'm officially a part of the McLaws family (greatest family EVER, mind you!). :)

Clint started working nights this week, at Wal Mart. He works 10 pm to 7 am. Kinda sucky, but he gets $1 more an hour--which really adds up. It kinda works out as far as the car situation too, since we share a car. When he gets home, I leave for work. and I don't have to stay up late to take him to work :p

Clint, Kyler and David recently decided on their Christmas Talent for the family Christmas party. I won't ruin the surprise...lets just say that I REALLY can't wait for Christmas this year LOL!

We've also recently learned that a couple of our best friends are moving to Hawaii. we're kinda bummed, and we'll miss Mike and Natalie very much. But now we have somewhere nice to vacation. :) As long as Matt and Dany don't move away, I think we'll be ok :p :)