Not really the type of anniversary to get excited about

Today I have officially been unemployed for one year. At the moment I don't have any real leads. I have a lot of resumes out to various positions and I am signed up at a temp agency but I have no interviews coming up. I am very diligent about looking every morning at certain sites: Craigslist, Indeed, Workforce, LinkedIn and different companies job boards. I get up, feed the cats, make my coffee and start looking through the ads. Any site that I'm missing?

Well, you learn something new every day

I tend to have mini food obsessions ...where I will be so infatuated with an ingredient or a recipe that I will eat it practically every day for a month or months. Then, I will grow tired of it and move on to something else. My latest is yams. I have been baking them daily since Thanksgiving. At first I was making candied yams but now I'm just foiling the whole yam, putting it in a 425 oven for about 45 mins....awesome. So, the other day when I was at Costco I picked up a big box of sweet potatoes. I baked two of them last night; after I started chowing down, I realized that sweet potatoes are not the same as yams. I always thought they were, I just assumed the names were interchangeable in the same way that garbanzo beans are also called ceci beans or chickpeas. The yam is syrupy sweet, orange in color and has a fluffier, potato like texture where I found the sweet potato to look a little paler, have the taste and the texture a little bit like cross between a butternut and an acorn squash. They are both good but not the same thing.

Do you doodle?

I am a doodler, an unconscious doodler. Half the time I don't realize I'm doing it and am not sure why I drew what I drew. Here are a few that I have done lately that made me laugh:

Mad Bag

Houseman & Son

Scrubby Bubble

My year so far

New Years Eve was a bit uneventful. I fell asleep while my husband was watching the Three Stooges marathon. I was awakened at midnight by my neighbors lighting off fireworks in the street. It was an impressive display, possibly since this year the burn ban was not in affect and the better fireworks could be purchased this year. When it was over, I fell asleep again...weeee, I really know how to party.

My husband has four days off in a row, which is rare. We decided to go to Hollywood video yesterday and pick a few movies since my two a month plan from Netflix doesn't kick in again for another week. I cannot remember the last time I got a movie from the video store, maybe 4 years ago I am guessing, Holy friggin Cow it is expensive. It was $5 per movie; we spent $15 dollars for three videos! Maybe I have gotten so used to Netflix and renting older movies from the library free that I have been spoiled but geez that seemed high.

It is another nice day today in Austin, cool but the sun is out and it is not too windy. I think we are going to do some errands in town, maybe get my tire on my bike fixed so we can take a bike ride later.

(Cue list music....)

I really like FB because I have been able to reconnect with old friends that I am largely responsible for not keeping in contact. I am not a phone caller, but some things on fb are annoying:

1. when people that I supposedly know from high school or even as far back as elementary school send me a friend request but don't send a message with it to remind me who they are and just assume I remember them from third grade.
2. the games and how when other people play them they clutter the live feed
3. heart, hugs, etc. requests - I won't accept them, I don't want to allow access
4. allowing access - what are they doing behind the scenes with my information?
5. poking - it's not acceptable in my real life, don't do it in my cyber life

Job opportunities and Resolutions

I had another interview today, it went well. The thing that concerns me is that it is commission only in a brand new territory, and no benefits. Taking this job would be a huge leap of faith. I have two weeks to think it over and I do have a lot to think about. It is not very secure but could be a good opportunity.

In other job news: I sent my resume out to another company that I really hope calls me. Positive vibes into the universe for this one.....

I created another list (surprise surprise). It is the end of the year and time for resolutions. I've been in Austin for about 5 years now but there are plenty of sites that I have yet to see.

Stuff I want to do, places I want to go in 2010:

Throw my first dinner party.
Try new recipes for blog.
Crochet a blanket - I always quit too soon and just make a big scarf.
Umlauf garden
Eeyores b-day party
Spamarama - It is not vegan but I still feel like I need to see this in person.
Kerrville
Cool house tour
Gardens on tour
Black and White Years
Lemurs
Maker Faire
Enchanted rock - We drove out to it but never got out of the car.
Austin Playhouse/The City Theatre
Go to a veggie potluck/join a group/take a class.
Canyon Lake
Toobing - We tried to go this year but there just wasn't enough water in the river to make it worth it.
Drink more water

A very vegan CA Christmas vacation

When I arrived, my mom had made me a vegan meal: marinara over whole-wheat spaghetti with garlic bread. I washed it down with home brew brown ale that my dad made. It was a very simple meal but super fresh and delicious.

At Christmas, I had Tofurkey peppered slices with mashed potatoes, a baked yam, stuffing that my mom made special in the crock-pot and gravy. I had picked up Dandies vegan marshmallows from Wheatsville before I left. I was going to make candied yams, but I ran out of time and just tossed them on top of the baked yams. Later, I made hot cocoa and added the marshmallows; I ate the rest right out of the bag. For dessert, I had vegan cookies by Eat Pastry. My SIL found pre-made vegan cookie dough in a jar at the Laguna Hills Mother's and cooked a bunch for me. They were so soft and chewy. I thought they could be a little sweeter but I loved them. I will have to check our local Whole Foods to see if they have the other flavors.

The next day we went to The Stand in Laguna Beach. I met an old friend from high school there that I reconnected with through Facebook. Afterwards we went to Whole Foods because I read that they had Go Max Go candy bars. I tried all four since they are not available in Texas yet (I called the company in Oregon and they told me that they will soon be selling them at the Whole Foods in Austin). Jokerz is my favorite, it was similar to a Snickers although the nougat is more sugary and less whipped. I wanted to get more but this unemployed girl has to have some control. Later that day we went to Del Taco (we ate there the next night as well) and got one red burrito, one green burrito with no cheese and french fries.

The next day for lunch we went to a pure vegan restaurant, Native Foods. I should have tried something new but I got what I always get. I got the Chicken Run Ranch burger special with a choice of a free side (I opted for the french fries, of course). I was very well fed on this trip, if Austin wasn't such a vegan friendly city it would be hard to come back but I have a lot of choices here as well.

What do I know?

I had an interview today, it was crappy and humiliating. On to the next one......
This is my cute cat, he is neither crappy nor humiliating.