New Job

For those of you who haven't heard yet, I got a job.

Brief moment of celebration for myself.

Okay, I'm good to go.

I had been really worried about finding a job, what with the unemployment rate and all, and I really wanted to work for the State. Way back in early September I went to the Accounting & Auditing Student Conference at the University of Minnesota. While there I saw my old accounting professor from CSS, which was kind of funny. We chatted for a while and he recommended I go and talk to the Office of the State Auditor (OSA). So I did. I gave them my resume and they gave me an offer.

Well, it wasn't quite that simple. There was an interview (during which I was sweating bullets--note to self, wear cotton in the future) and about 6 weeks of waiting, but about two weeks ago they made me an offer, which I accepted. The pay is better than I anticipated and the benefits...oh, the benefits. I'm very, very excited.

I emailed Darren since he was at school and that night he came home late (he has class until about 8:30 on Tuesday nights) with a celebratory ice cream cake.

Here I am holding it. Obviously. Please ignore my nastiness. I had gone to the gym after school and showered and was just lounging around in my PJs, makeup-less, celebrating my good fortune.

Or something like that.

My aunt and uncle came upstairs and ate some with us. It was yummy. There's still some left in the freezer, and since Darren doesn't like ice cream cake that means I've eaten about 97% of the cake myself. Lovely.

and so it begins

Update: The Christmas music has started.

Yes, I repeat, the Christmas music has started. And I have started listening to it.

If you are outside the cities but need your fix, you can listen online here. You know I will be.

Well, until my husband comes home and turns it off.

it all started with rudolph

He sure is a cute little thing. Growing up I used to watch Rudolph on TV every Christmas. I love the elves too, but not as much as I love poor little Rudolph. He is the beginning of my Christmas movie traditions.

Last year I missed Rudolph on TV because I had to meet with a study group for Corporate Strategies. We were working on a case study and presentation of Dollar General.

I hate Dollar General to this day because it made me miss Rudolph.

I also always watched Frosty the Snowman. I'm not particularly crazy about him, but I watch it for the sake of tradition.
Next came White Christmas. An oldie but goodie. I love White Christmas. I can sing all the songs after a couple years of watching it. Last year I made Darren watch it with me. I thought he would hate it but he said it wasn't that bad. Probably I'll never get him to watch it with me again.

The latest addition to my yearly Christmas movies. The Nativity Story came out to theaters a couple years ago. I love, love, love it. Almost as much as Rudolph.

Nothing can hold a candle to Rudolph.

Why I Love...

Rice pudding.

I made rice pudding last night.

I love rice pudding. It's so delicious.

Let me tell you how to make it so you can enjoy its wonderful tastiness yourself.

First, you need rice. Shocker, I know. And a double-boiler. Here's mine.

Wash 1 cup of rice and put it in the top of a double-boiler with two cups boiling water. I got the bottom of my double-boiler going while I was waiting for my teapot to boil so I could put boiling water in the top, too. Although I could have just heated up all the water in the teapot and then poured what was left in the bottom of my boiler. Didn't think that one through very well...

Put 1/2 teaspoon salt in with the rice and water. Cook until the water is absorbed, making sure you don't boil the bottom dry.

When the water is absorbed add 2 cups milk and 1 cup sugar to the rice. Stir it up and let it cook. When it looks like the milk is getting low, add a bit more and keep cooking. Overall you'll add about 1 additional cup of milk (so 3 total) and cook the rice until the milk is mostly absorbed, or until you reach the desired consistency. I like mine a little runny.

Just to give you a head's up, this is a long process. Like a couple hours long. But so definitely worth it.

It's not quite done in this picture.

You can add raisins for about the last 10 minutes if you'd like. I don't like raisins in mine, so I didn't add them.

When it's done scoop some into a bowl. Add half-and-half and cinnamon to desired taste. I added about 4 times the amount of cinnamon you see here.

I like cinnamon.

Almost as much as I like rice pudding. So delicious.

Enjoy!

my favorite pictures:part 4

Those would be my feet.

And that would be my husband.

And it doesn't get any better than this.

Amen.

Why I Love...

CSS.

For Alexandra Lyn. My secret twin sister separated at birth.

(For all ya'll who don't know Alli, we have the same birthday...and middle names...and my dad wanted to nickname me Alli but my mom wouldn't let him. So yeah, we're practically the same person, right on down to our obsession with M&Ms.)

This is a way old picture. Remember how I was talking about black & white film??

You got it.

I actually lived in Duluth for nine months while I went to school at The College of St. Scholastica, lovingly called CSS by students. This is Tower Hall, where I had all my classes. Most on the third or fourth floors, lucky me.

Speaking of classes on the third and fourth floors...

I had a class my freshman year called Dance, Gender, and Culture. It was a legitimate class requiring class attendance, homework, papers, and final projects. It was 3 credits.

I also had a class my freshman year called Introduction to Symphony, where all I had to do was show up to class and listen to music. And I didn't even have to listen. I was allowed to do homework, read a magazine, pretty much whatever I wanted as long as I wasn't disruptive. At the end of the semester I had to write a paragraph on what I got out of the class. The class was also three credits.

Guess which three credits got accepted by Northwestern when I transferred, and guess which ones didn't count. Let's just say I should have also taken Introduction to Classical Music.

This is why people should never, ever, transfer colleges.

Also so that they don't have to take Principles of Accounting 1 two different times. Accounting principles don't change, people. They don't change.

Back to the third and fourth floors...

Man, was it a haul up those stairs.

Even still, I miss CSS and Duluth. Sometimes I wish I would have finished out my degree there, but everything worked out in the end, I suppose. I have so many great memories of my freshman year. All in all, it was probably my favorite year of college. I came away from so many wonderful stories, and one terrific friend.

As I'm winding up my last semester of college I find myself often thinking about my first. So thanks, Alli, for a memorable freshman year. I wouldn't have survived without you!

And you know exactly what I'm talking about.

my favorite pictures:part 3

Arches National Park, Utah. August 2006.

I love the colors. The rocks and sand were so red, and the sky was so blue, and those weird bushes had that sage-green look going on. Those colors don't even need Photoshop (although if I could afford it I probably would have used it). But my absolute favorite thing about this picture is the jet trail. It adds an interesting element.

This picture was a labor of love. It was so hot that day I thought I was going to die. Pushing 100 with the sun beating down and not a breeze in sight, surrounded by red earth and no trees for shade. I suppose I could have huddled up under one of those bushes. And did I mention we were hiking? It was brutal.

So you had darn well better enjoy it.