...sigh...My vacation is over. I had a great time in Chicago with my mom and wish I could have stayed a little longer. We went downtown and did some shopping on the Mag Mile and looked at the holiday window displays at Marshall Field's and had lunch at the restaurant where my brother works. It's a really snazzy place and I had a yummy pot roast sandwich with horseradish and a baked to order strawberry shortcake that we shared. I wanted to go to Navy Pier but they didn't have anything interesting at this time of year and it's too cold to run the big ferris wheel. Daley's big freakin' money pit, I mean Milleneum Park, looked like it was just about finished. They had this big snowglobe thing that I think you could walk thru...hm...still not sure what I think about that. Even X-mas day with the family was normal and relatively non-dysfunctional. All in all, a very nice holiday and a nice weekend spent with friends when I returned. I loved that we *smudged* the fast approaching New Year! I hope it helps;>

Time for some naughty blogger fun. I should be working but I think I need a break from all the stress. Hee! At least the work keeps me from stressing over waiting to hear if I got this internship or not. I will feel like the world's biggest idiot if I get rejected. I mean, here I am with a college education and *some* post-undergrad work experience and it's still not enough. It's hard to keep hearing that "we hired someone who had a little more experience in XYZ area but we really liked you and we will keep you in mind for future openings." Crap, crap, crap. Being second best does NOT get you a consistent paycheck or real health insurance. Whatever. Trying to stay positive and not wish to hurry up and be *thirty* already. 30 seems to be the magic age, I think. Your 20's are behind you and you (hopefully) have a job you like in the career of your choice (or one of the many that you will have in your lifetime) and you have a little freakin' stability. So, that's that. Hmmm. I think I feel a little better. Yay blog! I knew you had a purpose.

...sigh...Just taking a break from data entry. It's just so stimulating that I can hardly tear myself away from it. Aren't you just so jealous? Hee hee hee. I went out and cut down my first X-mas tree this weekend. For the first 10+ years of my life, we had an artificial tree and when it finally kicked the bucket, we started buying fresh ones, but I've never gone to a tree farm and cut it down myself before. It was fun but then when I got home, I started to feel guilty for cutting down a tree just so I could put lights on it and present beneath it and then turn it into mulch in 4 weeks. But it is a very nice tree and it smells very pine-y and fresh. Well, must get back to the data entry. Wish me luck on Thursday--I'll be having THE interview in the afternoon:>

Hope everyone had a nice Turkey Day...I think this is the first year that I hardly ate any leftovers since Shana swiped our turkey 7 years ago. Anyway, I had a nice holiday with all of my favorite people present at some point or another. Good to see all of you!!! Can't wait to see you again in a month:> I finally got my drivers license/license plate thing taken care of and now I am good to go. Of course, I find out AFTER election day that I am still elegible to vote in PA at my usual polling place. Jeez. And now that I've switched everything over, I just know that I will end up taking a job that requires that I move out of PA. I have one interview scheduled for tomorrow and expect to have another one scheduled within a week or so and HOPE to schedule THE interview very soon. They are all social services positions and I hope that at least one of them makes an offer. The job thing is all that's happening at the moment. I'm starting to feel a little ambivalent about visiting my mom at the end of the month. Actually, it's not my mom but rather her family. It's only for a week so I'm sure I can deal. I can't believe that I am leaving my baby girl with my dad while I fly out to see my mom. It won't be the same on X-mas morning without her always trying to take off with wads of wrapping paper in her mouth or putting her nose on all the gifts and leaving little snot marks on everything. Dear goddess, I am a crazy dog lady! Better to be crazy about dogs than kids, if you ask me. All in due time, I suppose...