Somethin' from Nothin'

Secondary title: One more time with feeling(s)!

I'm in New Mexico this year for Thanksgiving which is a far cry from Disneyland-my usual stop for this time of year. And while I wanted to be in Disneyland this year (like all the years before) I'm so glad I'm not. Since I got here I've been showered with praise from some of my very best good friends and I needed it oh-so-much! Although, I didn't realize just how badly I was in need of a boost.

Since losing the job I've had for the past 3 years, I've decided to stop trying to work for someone else. At some point it's not going to work out. Either they will let me go, because the economy will shift and people will stop advertising or I will once again long to be my own boss. In fact, I find that to be the reason more often than Scenario A. I love being my own boss so much that I end up scrutinizing how my bosses runs their businesses and how it can be done better.

So, when one more part of my life seemed to crumble away this month all I had to look forward to was a few projects from my own clients and one last adventure in the southwest. And let me tell you a little something about the southwest: it's the most visually barren and depressing place I've ever visited. It's also the only place I visited this year where I've laughed and felt so much joy and thankfulness every single day. Ironically, as my friend pointed out while I was here, I just traveled to a whole lotta nothin' to get a whole bunch of somethin'.

Christmas(mustache)time is here!

I absolutely, hands down, love Christmastime! And just because the funds will be a tad lower than last year is no reason why people can't still get awesome presents from lil 'ol me! So, here's what is on the menu this year: mustaches.

I sort of went crazy with a mustache theme this year. No reason for it. I just think mustaches are really funny and sometimes cool. The kiddos of the family are getting some awesome temporary fingerstache tattoos which you might think is an odd gift for kids, but not in this family. My brother (their dad) has a real fingerstache tattoo that he got to entertain the kids. And now it's their turn to entertain the dad! Whoopie!

Speaking of the brother...he and the wife just moved to a new house this year that has an AWESOME indoor bar and pool table area. (Pool table didn't come with the house. We just figured it was where the pool table should go.) So, what better to go with an indoor bar (aptly named The Funky Knuckle) than these kitschy, hand painted mustache shot glasses! Oh yeah!

The Coolest Sister of the Year award goes to...

And for everybody else, there will be a plethora of chocolate lollipops in the shape of a good old fashioned mustache! (The parents and grandparents will be enjoying a different variety of temporary tattoos, but that's a post for another time!)

So, while this "out of a job" thing may have cut back on the cost of fun I can afford it doesn't cut back on the amount of fun I can still have! Merry Almost Christmas, everybody!

I'd like to thank etsy.com, amazon.com and spoonsisters.com for their undying affection toward the mustache and ridiculously cool gift ideas.

The winds of change.

The last couple of weeks have been crazy. And by crazy I mean it feels like I've been tossed around inside one of those rickety carnival rides....like the zipper. I hate that ride.

I went up to Portland last week to fully check it out and make a decision about whether or not I wanted to live there. I do. Yippee, right? Yes, yippee indeed. Not only did everything seem to line up perfectly and the city sweetly welcomed me with open arms, but contacts were made and the beginning of a new time in my life seems to be happening. And to mark that beginning I was laid off from a job I've had with an agency back at The Beach for almost 3 years.

Wait. What?!

So, what was supposed to be my means for moving just got yanked out from under me. And rather abruptly, I might add. Although, if I'm supposed to officially be an Oregonian (with their overly colorful-some might say dorky-license plates and all) then maybe it's time I become fully employed by the state that I will call my residence. So, instead of feigning a panic attack for theatrical purposes which will accomplish nothing but an accelerated heart rate, I've decided to reinvent the wheel of my career. The moment I hung up the phone with the CEO of my former company I began to brainstorm wildly about all the things I could do while unemployed and how to put myself heads above the rest in the job hunt. It was crazy-carnival crazy-how I didn't feel that horrible sinking/stomach-dropping-out-of-butt feeling when my British accented boss swung the ax, so to speak. I felt relieved. Almost as if a weight had been lifted. I felt peaceful.