Quick Takes #17 (Updates)

Number 17: Some Updates

1. Chris lost his job. I guess that would be the biggest update here. We'd known it was coming for awhile (another program being closed because of budget issues), but we didn't know exactly when it would happen until last Tuesday (day after Labor Day). His last day was that Friday, September 6. 

2. He is interviewing--a lot. The same day Chris found out about his last day, he was contacted for an interview at a similar type of company (albeit bigger and more secure), for two different positions, both with more responsibility and a higher salary. The first interview went extremely well, and he was invited back for a second interview with some of the "higher-ups," which occurred yesterday. Please keep him in your prayers, and maybe this will be a quick, painless transition. One thing that boosted his spirits: the guy he met with in his first interview told him that Chris already had some of the upper level experience that he'd get in these two jobs, and was obviously not being compensated for it. He'd already been on several interviews since he found out about his program's closure; proactive is good!

3. I'm back to being the breadwinner. Yes, at least for the near future, with a part time job...right. Oddly enough, I'm not as stressed or worried as I was in the past. Upset? Sad? Depressed? OH YES. I'd been in a horrible funk for the past month or so, but I think it was knowing the inevitable was coming, just not WHEN it would happen. After I had a date, it was as if life could then move on, and I've been in a much better mood. Not going to lie: I had been trying to wean myself off of the antidepressant I'd been on for years because I felt I was doing really well, especially with being out of my previously awful job, but I couldn't shake how I was feeling, so after waiting, exercising more, eating better, and talking with my doctors, I ended up increasing it a little bit. I feel a lot better, even though I have a love-hate relationship with this medication.

4. School is over! For now, at least. I've taken too many credits as a non-matriculated student, so I really need to hustle and get accepted. First I must take the GRE (scheduled for the end of this month!), get 2 letters of recommendation (one is being written, the other I have to write FOR the person...okayyy), write a personal statement (not done), and send the school my resume (I'll print that out when I'm ready to send in the other materials). My hope is that I'll be accepted soon and can start full time in the spring. I miss taking classes, but I do not miss the awful summer class I had. It will be good to have more structured busy-ness, which I think I really need.

5. I'm planning on running a 5K in October. Yes, me. I'm training for it now, and it's hard. Here's a confession though: I'm starting to LIKE running. In the past month, I've lost 10 more pounds, and I'm guessing it's from the extra cardio I've been doing? My time for the mile has decreased, but I'm still around 14:30, and I need to work on distance now, too.

6. Good health news for me. About a month ago, I was able to go off of my blood pressure medication!!!!!!! My nurse practitioner feels that I'm healthy enough to stop it, as long as I submit blood pressure readings to her every few weeks. (Yes, I'm the old person with the monitor in her bathroom, who takes it a few times a day.) She also thinks that I'm OK to get pregnant, as long as my midwife agrees. Of course, I found this news out while we were in limbo about Chris' job, so reluctantly we need to put our family plans on hold. Again. I worry a bit that we're playing with time to much, but my charting looks good, like my body is working the way it should.

7. SIX YEARS. Our sixth anniversary is at the end of the month. While we haven't been newlyweds in a long time, haha, things between us have improved a lot in the past year, so sometimes, it's like we're newlyweds all over again. I mean that in the "we're enjoying life and doing things and having fun" way, not in other ways. Even with my job loss in November and Chris' recently job loss, we're in much better places mentally, spiritually, and physically, than we were in 2007.

Don't forget to visit Jen over at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!