I got a job!!!

I got a job! YAHOOOOOOOOOOO! I had my second interview today at 9. I felt pretty good going into it, and I felt pretty good coming out of it. 1 hour later, they called and gave me a conditional job offer, contingent on reference checks, drug screening, and a background check. I'm VERY excited.

I called Frontier on Christmas Day and two seats were finally released one day earlier, so we are actually leaving for Mexico tomorrow morning. I have been busy doing laundry and getting ready for the trip, but I'm very ready to do. We still come back New Years Day!

Merry Christmas!

A short post, just wanted to wish everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Eve

Nicole and Jones
Originally uploaded by grumpysnickles.

We invited Sola, Nizar and Heidi over for Christmas Eve dinner. In my family, it is tradition to do a Raclette Dinner, which is a swiss grill top. So we basically grill means and veggies at the table, it's a lot of fun. Heidi is leaving tomorrow morning early to visit her family and so she brought her adorable golden retriever Meagan so that she could drop her off at a friends house who will be looking after Meagan.

We were wondering how the cats would react, and George immediately disappeared, but Jones was VERY currious and kept wanting to look. He had a big fluffy tail and hissed a few times but I really think he just wanted to know what on earth the big dog was! Very cute. There are pictures listed on my flickr website, click here for the link. I thought this was a cute one of Jones and I, he didn't take his eyes off the dog!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58938245@N00/sets/72157594436884352/

WE ARE GOING TO MEXICO!!!

We are FINALLY going to Mexico! Last night, around midnight, I finally got put into the hold que at Frontier. After 4 1/2 hours, I finally got to speak to an agent (yes, if you do the math, that is 4:30 in the morning). I had fallen asleep but luckily woke up when the lady said something. We wanted to get out wednesday and return on new years day, but wednesday was all booked up so we are now flying out thursday and returning new years day. I have a job interview on tuesday so we could't leave then (and there was only one ticket available and I'm not sitting on Austins lap ha ha ha).

So yea, finally. I feel MUCH better now that I have gotten through. Bummed that our trip is a day shorter and bummed that I won't get to spend Christmas with my parents. But at least we get to see them!

OMG I finally got through to Frontier!

After two long days of trying repeatedly to get through to Frontier Airlines to reschedule our flight to Mexico, I have a mere 44 minutes before I can talk to an agent. YAHOOOOOOOOOOOOO. It's about fricken time. For the last two nights, I have woken up by my alarm every hour to try to get through, and no luck. But tonight is our night...it's 12:33 am.

I'm excited. AT this point we are hoping to go over New YEars and leave on Wednesday and return on NEw Years Day...but who knows if there will be availability. If not, we will have to go after January 5th becuase Austin has a big release at work that he has to be at work for.

Tonight we went to Bed Bath and Beyond...I bought new every day dishes. I have a set of dishes that were handed down to me from my favorite aunt who got it from her aunt...and I love them but they are so one of a kind and I don't want to damage or break them so we only use them for special occasions. I'll take a pic of what they look like. After that we went to a friends house to play a game and had a TON of fun. I enjoy hanging out and playing games!

Bah Humbug

So...I still can't through to Frontier Airlines. The airport is supposed to open around noon today, however only 2 of the 6 runways are operational so it will still be a huge clusterfuck at the airport. Nizar had a flight on United at 9 tonight and it was just cancelled, he manged to only hold for 40 minutes on the phone (why does he get through?) and his flight has been re-booked for tueseday. I just want to get through to Frontier already. SO frustrating. AND, for the past 2 nights, I have set my alarm every hour and woken up to try to call them thinking their call volume will be less and I might get through. No luck.

My 2nd interview was rescheduled to next thursday, but today I called and had it rescheduled to tuesday at 9 am so that gives us a bit more flexibility with our travel dates.

That's all. Oh, wait. We tried to go dig Austin's car out of the park and ride lot, and no go. It's still stuck until they plow.

So I'm very bah humbug today. We didn't put up any Christmas decorations this year because we would be gone. And now we will bed here, and have no christmas stuff up. And I don't feel like putting it up becuase I WANT TO BE IN MEXICO RIGHT NOW.

Vent over.

Snowed in...

We are officially snowed in! We went outside an hour ago and shovelled a bit, we have OVER two feet of snow, I'd say almost 3 feet of snow. Wowza. We threw the cats into the middle of the snow, they weren't to happy but it was cute to see. Pictures can be found here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58938245@N00/sets/72157594430083772/

Still can't get through to Frontier Airlines. My fear is we won't get out until later next week, so instead of Christmas in Mexico we might be doing New Years in Mexico. Sigh.

So frustrated...

Our flight tomorrow morning has been officially cancelled (I kinda figured that since a few hours ago the airport offocially closed and said it wasn't going to re-open until thursday evening. I have been trying to call Frontier Airlines for the last 6 hours and keep getting "all circuits busy". I have heard stories of people getting re-booked to leave on TUESDAY, and that is the earliest they could get. Yikes. I was SO looking forward to getting away tomorrow.

Austin finally made it home, it took him 6 hours. He takes the bus downtown from the park and ride and at 12:30 he went to the bus depot and it was packed. So he called his best friend who also works downtown and they drove back home together. They were stuck on US 36 forever. They went to the park and ride but Austins mini cooper was completely snowed in, all the way to the roof. So he left it in the parking lot and they drove home. Nizar had to drop Austin off at the corner of our street and Austin had to walk 1/2 mile home becuase Nizar's car couldn't clear all the snow in the street. The snow was up to his waist! Wowza.

Nizar called about an hour later, he finally got home (he lives a meer 3 blocks away, 1 minute max via car) and he got stuck 3 times trying to get into his street and had to be towed out by a guy with a truck. He never made it to his house, he had to park his car on the street and walk too. The amount of snow that we have here is INSANE. We are definately snowed in tomorrow too. They are saying the storm will continue until noon tomorrow and then it will clear out but they are forecasting cold temperatures all week so this snow will be around for awhile.

Holey snow!

DSC01653
Originally uploaded by grumpysnickles.

We have SO much snow. Even the shoppng malls are closing. We are officially snowed in. Austin is on his way back home, and I'll feel much better when he is back home safe and sound.

However, it's unlikely that we will be able to go to Mexico tomorrow. I am waiting to call the airline until Austin can talk to his boss and get an idea of when we can go visit my parents...perhaps over new years? I'll keep everyone posted.

My interview was cancelled :(

My interview has been cancelled today :( It has been rescheduled for next thursday when we come back.

Snow or rather BLIZZARD in Broomfield

Snow or rather BLIZZARD in Broomfield
Originally uploaded by grumpysnickles.

Crap. CRAP CRAP CRAP. I stayed home from work today, and it turns out they are sending everyone home early from work anyways so it was good I didn't attempt to try to drive in.

I'm concerned about our 9:30 am flight tomorrow morning to Mexico.

I GOT A SECOND INTERVIEW!!!!

Whoo hoo! I got a second interview with the city job I have been pursuing. It's on wednesday at 2:30, so I guess I'll take wednesday afternoon off and say that I have to get ready for our trip (we leave early thursday morning for Mexico). This is more of an informal meet and greet with the rest of the department to see how everyone hits it off personality wise. I think it's a pretty good idea. I guess they are bringing in two other candidates. I hope I get the job :)

Other than that, not much else new to report. I'm sitting on the couch and debating about whether or not to vacuum. Really, I'm just trying to motivate myself to get my big butt off the couch :) I'd rather do some chores tonight, tomorrow night, and wednesday night rather than leave it all to the last minute. I hate last minute. I like to plan ahead.

It's still pretty cold, we had a tiny bit of snow last night but nothing that really accumulated. They are forecasting a pretty big winter storm to come through the area wednesday but I don't believe (so far at least! things always change pretty quickly in Colorado) that Denver will get much accumulation. It looks like it will be pretty cold while we are in Mexico, so that is pretty exciting.

Is everyone ready for Christmas?

Brrr it's cold out

It's SUPER cold out tonight here in Denver (well Broomfield but same thing). A cold front was on it's way (actually the same one that was wreaking havoc in the Seattle/Washington/Oregon region a few days ago with tons of wind and snow and rain and weird weather. Anyways, it is snowing a bit (just a dusting) and man is it cold! That's going to make for a fun drive into work tomorrow morning. Had a good weekend, I was a bit on the grouchy side for no real particular reason. Austin bought me my Christmas present on friday night (a diamond necklace I love it!) and we headed to a Christmas party last night that friends of ours were holding. We stayed up pretty late (well late for me!) and played the game Catch Phrase and had a lot of fun. I even slept in today until 11 am! We leave on thursday for Mexico and I am really looking forward to the trip, it should be a lot of fun. Tonight we are watching the 3 hour! Survivor finale. I really hope that Yul wins, although to be honest I'd be ok with Ozzie winning too, I think they both deserve it. The Jury really seems to be quite bitter at the fact that they are on the jury and not able to win the million bucks...we are about to hit the question portion where the jury gets to ask the 3 finalists for a million bucks questions. Usually some people have some pretty pointed questions so curious to see how that goes! Have a great week!

Cookies cookies cookies

I baked two batches of cookies today, my famous soft chocolate chip cookies and ginger snaps. We are going to a friend's Christmas Party tonight and I always bring the soft Choc. Chip cookies with me, everyone loves them :) We ran by the house today, but we are waiting for the permit to be approved so they can put in the insulation and then put up the drywall. So this week there wasn't too much progress from last week. We think they will pour the driveways next week which is fun, and we might get painted as well!

We leave on thursday for Mexico to spend Christmas with my parents. I can't believe how time flies. Both of us are really looking forward to the break and spending some good relax time by the pool. I'm interested to see how Puerto Vallarta is. My parents really seem to be enjoying their time down there so I think it will be a lot of fun. I bought all of our sunscreen etc so Im ready, just need to pack!

I had an itnerview on friday for a city job. I think the job would be a good fit (although, I am overqualified big time for the position)l. I hope that they won't discount me becuase with the new house mortgage I could really use a stable job to help with the whole process. This job would be a lot closer to home than the 40 minute commute that I have right now. I might hear something next week. Searching for a job is no fun.

Finally, some progress on the house

Front of the house - porch has been built!
Originally uploaded by grumpysnickles.

We went to go by the house on saturday. I took a hiatus last week becuase I was pissed off from not seeing a lot of action happening over the last 3 weeks and the fact that our closing date was pushed back. They actually managed to work a LOT this week. All of the wiring is complete, along with plumbing and electrical. They installed our water heater and furnace and bath tubs. We have a walk through scheduled on tuesday at 7 am to give the ok on all of the electrical and wiring (we had them do some extra wiring for speakers etc and ethernet wiring through the house) and then they will go to the insulation phase. It's zooming along.

They have said they are aiming for mid february (which I'm sure will become end of february). My parents are scheduled to come to visit us at the end of february when they go back to Canada from Mexico so I hope they are able to see the house.

Other than that, had an ok weekend. Got the Christmas cards done and finished some gifts I made for my mother in law, mom, and aunt. Austin had to work a lot this weekend from home, so we stayed close to home for the most part. We did go and see The Holiday last night, it was ok but a little long.

didn't get the job :(

So bummed :( I didn't get the job. I had my hair cut last night and when I came home, Austin told me the Consulate called. He said he talked to them and they had good news and bad news. NOT what I wanted to hear.

Anyways, they said that they selected another candidate (actually, they selected the temp who was doing the job for the past 3 months) and really liked my interview but felt I was overqualified for the job. That's the bad news. The good news is that they thought they might have a position open up in January that might be a better fit for my skills and they would keep in contact.

So, I'm pretty sad. Things are just not great at my current temp job, I'm horribly bored, horribly underchallenged, and just don't make a lot of money. It'd almost be better if I didn't work becuase it's only slightly more money than my unemployment insurance checks. Sigh.

That's all I have.

Update from the Consulate

well, there actually ISNT an update at all. Their offices are closed for some reason unknown to me tuesday through thursday so I'd imagine I won't hear anything until at least friday.

sigh.

A bad case of the grumps

I've had a bad case of the grumps today :( The grumpy pants have been on since this morning when i got stuck in a bad traffic jam on the way to work, and continued at work. I haven't had much to do and honnestly I just go completely insane when I don't have a lot to do. Very frustrating. And all of this talk of a merger doesn't make me feel great either, becuase it's just a looming omen that the job most likely won't turn into a permanent job like I need it to be.

We are going to Mexico over Christmas for 6 days to visit my parents who are living down there for 4 months. It will be wierd not being around a tree and what have you during the holiday season. I've decided not to put up Christmas decorations this year, becuase the cats just go nuts with the tree and everything else and I'd rather just not deal with trying to constantly pick up ornaments and yell at them to get out of the middle of the tree. I ordered holiday cards from the US Humane Society this year and hope to get them this week so I can send them out. A portion of the card proceeds will go to benefit animals who are abandoned and abused so I feel good about that.

I'm ready for it to be the weekend! But sadly it's only tuesday.

Sunday night

Sadly, the weekend passed by MUCH too quickly and sunday night is upon us. Austin, Nizar and I went to dinner at Red Robins and I had what I always have, a peach iced tea and a BLTA Club Sandwich on a croissant - Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Avacado. Except I'm picky, so I ask for no mayo and my bacon crisp. It was delicious, as always.

We went to the Christmas Party last night in downtown Denver for the company that Austin works for. They served very frou frou food, but it was a lot of fun. We actually stayed 3 hours! Austin received a small gift and recognition for all his hard work, which was really nice. I was proud of him. It's nice to be recognized. We didn't do anything friday night except go out for mexican, and then we came back to watch a high definition DVD at home. It was nice to be home and relax and cuddle on the couch with it being so chilly outside.

I didn't hear from the Consulate on friday, which I'm not all that surprised about. My past experience wiht people asyig they will call you by such and such a time never actually happens and it turns out that they call the following week. So hopefully I hear something this week :) I HOPE I HOPE I HOPE!

I have been cheating on my own cats with a friend of mine's cats. Julie has been gallavanting out of town on vacation with her husband and I have been checking in on their cats Boo and Meatwad. They are incredible adorable, and each day it becomes harder and harder to leave them and go back to my own house without them. They are getting more and more cuddly and attention hungry as the days go by. Last night it took all I had not to scoop them up, put them in my car, and drive them home --- until I thought about how upset all 4 cat would be at that point. SO I sadly pet both Boo and Meatwad goodbye and they meow at me begging me not to leave and I close the door and try not to look at their sad kitty faces and tell them I will see them tomorrow. Luckily Jason and Julie will be home soon so they can get some loving more than 1/2 hour a day.

Have a great week everyone!