365 Pictures Day 41 through day 64

 In the midst of all of the craziness of the holidays and the turmoil in regards to the loss of my job, one may think that I have given up on the picture a day project.  But, in fact; I am still going strong.  I have taken the pictures, but I just hadn't saved them into the the proper file. And obviously, I had not uploaded them to here!  So here we go!   This may have to be in two or three different posts because, well......I am way behind in sharing!  But I give to you.....the end of December 2024 in picture.  (December 7th through the 31rst)  you can check out the first part of December in pictures here.

Day 41 

Yes, the dog will definitely be playing a large role as subject matter for my pictures. 

Day 42  Jason and I went to the Lincoln Cemetery.  The weather was nice (this was in December) and graveyards are great places to walk.  I also picked up a few pictures that I posted on Find a Grave. (People had asked for pictures of gravestones...so I volunteered to grab them).

Day 43   That single little wee droplet of water just caught my eye!

Day 44  My nephew and I went to visit Fort Duncan, the ruins of a Civil War Fort that was built to defend Maryland against attack. (Built in response to the Battle of Antietam.).    This is how I spent the morning of my birthday!

Day 45   I was off work and had one important errand to run.  I had to go to Hickory Farms to pick up a beef stick for our Christmas Eve snack tray. 

Day 46  I was messing around on Ancestry.Com and found this article where my grandfather had been charged with transporting and distributing liquor during the prohibition!

Day 47  Good old fashioned applesauce cake!  I made a sheet cake versus the tube cakes that my grandmother always made.  I also did NOT wrap it in a rum soaked towel!

Day 48   My traditional birthday cookies were delayed.  I had planed to make them on my actual birthday, but well......we know what happened that day.  (You can read about it here.)  But no fear, I did have my cookies!

Day 49   We had a wee bit of snow.  The dog enjoyed playing in it....but she didn't like her feet to get crusty with snow!

Day 50   There is just something gorgeous about a fir tree covered with snow!

Day 51 Outside with the dog.....every day.  And boy is it cold some days!

Day 52  This is one of my all time favorite meals, Baked Ziti, roasted broccoli and garlic bread!

Day 53  It as only December 19th, but I started to put gifts into the stockings!   I do it because I know it drives Jason nuts to know there are gifts in his stocking but he can't open them.  It is amusing to see him slyly squeeze and shake as curiosity gets the best of him!

Day 54   I had a pre-scheduled day off of work so I ran a few errands while Jason was at work!  We were blessed with some snow flurries.

Day 55  Jason loves chocolate covered cherries, but this year discovered chocolate covered blueberries which he has declared even better than the cherries.

Day 56  This dog is so lazy!  And yes, when she decides to lay on the couch she takes up pretty much the whole couch!

Day 57   Another pre-scheduled day off of work and Jason sent me to the store to get soap and beard wash while he was at work.

Day 58  Christmas Eve was finally here!  The dog loved her gifts, but she had the MOST fun ripping them open because yes, she does unwrap her own gifts!

Day 58  Jason had fun playing with his new accessory that he got for his drone.

Day 59   It might have been back to work for me (for a few more days) but it was all play for Zoey

Day 60  This is the handiwork of Zoey.  That is a huge pot of dirt that held some prickly pear cacti that I was rooting!            

                                           

Day 61  This dog was making me feel guilty about making her come inside!

Day 62 I failed to mindfully take a picture.  However, I somehow mindlessly snapped this selfie of my head while visiting my in laws.

Days 63 and 64 I totally failed to take pictures.  They were tough days.  They were emotional.  They were heart breaking.  They were scary as I navigated the last two days of employment.

The emotions reared their ugly Head

 What a day!   I thought that I was doing good with this unemployment thing.  I was handling it like a pro and just doing amazing!   That is until this morning!

The last two and a half weeks of unemployment have been busy.  I've worked on my youtube channel, I have done some stuff around my house, I've spent a few days at my mom's house working to paint and get that ready for sale, amongst other things.  I've stayed busy because I know that if I settle in for a 'do nothing day' I will most likely end up feeling sluggish, depressed and just downright bad.  So I have stayed busy, with a few exceptions (I did read all afternoon the other day...and that felt glorious!).  It's been an easy adjustment and emotionally I've been great!    

This morning I sat down at the computer ready to do a few things.  Number one I had to look at my final paycheck from my job.  That paycheck was for the last few days I worked and for the unused PTO time that they paid me.  I saw the amount and was feeling good.   It was about, if not more than I expected.  I logged online to look at my paystub.  All was going well.  I saw that they had taken out my 401K loan payment, which was a good thing.  I downloaded it and moved on to my next task, which was calling the 401K company.  I had to set up a payment per what HR had told us (in writing) and what was understood when I took the loan out when we bought our house.    The terms of my loan were 'upon termination if your plan allows you will be able to set up a payment plan".  I had checked with them at that time and they had said exactly what the HR department had indicated that I would just have to set up an auto withdraw from my checking account and no issues.  BUT, just last month they transferred all of our 401K's to a new company (My company was sold last year so everything was changing.....right in the midst of this layoff. And just for the record, so much of what they told us...about our paystubs and where to access them, the return of the equipment...which is still in my house, and their refusal to answer any inquiries has been atrocious!)  I called the new company and was told that my loan is due 60 days from my termination date.....no repayment allowed.  Dude, I can't make an 8K payment right now. (Well, I have severance so I guess I could...but severance to live off of until I get a job!)     The GOOD news is that if I can't make the payments they will just deduct the payment from my 401k and consider it a withdrawal.    The bad news is that since I'm not over 59 1/2 it will be considered an early withdrawal and I will be taxed to smithereens and pay any early withdrawal penalties.  

I hung up the phone and it all just hit me.  I laid my head down on the table and just sobbed.    It's ok.  I'll deal with the taxes.  And I'm trying to tell myself that this may be a good thing.  I won't have that payment each month.  It wasn't a lot...$102 dollars a month ($52 a paycheck)...but if I have to take a lower paying job, that may be the difference between having my back against the wall or being comfortable.    Still the emotions are flowing. 

So, in the wonderful wisdom that I was displaying, I decided to go check on my car title.  What is up with the car title?  Well,I paid my car off in July of last year.  In the state of PA they hold your title until it's paid off.  So I waited and waited for my title to arrive.  Nothing.  In November I started to make noise.  It took them a week (and one visit and two phone calls) before they advised that they had my paperwork and that they were taking care of it.  A week later I got a letter in the mail with a document releasing my MARYLAND state title.  UHHHH wrong state!  I moved from Maryland in 2022!    I checked with the PA state anyway....and was told definitely can't use that paper work and that the lien is an electronic lien and it wasn't removed.  I went back to the loan originator...a visit and a phone call later and they said they got it fixed.  In early December I got a letter saying that they had released the lien electronically.  The paperwork was janky though.  One document had my old address while the other document had my incorrect name.  I waited...but no title arrived.   So early this month I went back to the PA office....nope, the lien has not been removed.  Another phone call...then another and they say "our title clerk has called Maryland and Pennsylvania to verify it's been released"   I couldn't help but laugh because my car isn't titled in Maryland any longer.  But I took them at their word (what else could I do).   I waited a few days and that brings me to today.  In the midst of the turmoil of the 401K I decided to tackle the car title.  I figured a win would be a good thing.  Although I said to myself "this could be a bad decision."   Ohhh it was a bad decision.  The electronic lien has STILL not been removed!  And yes, I just spent another hour on the phone with them....and they have vowed to get to the bottom of it.  SO meanwhile, I have a car that I technically own outright, but legally do not own!  OH the joys!

My morning was so much fun that I decided to FINALLY clean off my desk and set up the office for my laptop and my personal use.  When I was first laid off I had said that I wanted to spend my computer time in the office.  I figured it would be a good routine for me to go in there every day to look for jobs and whatnot and I knew it would be good for Zoey to continue with that routine in case I do obtain another work from home position.   The last day or two at home with Zoey has been nuts.  She barks at the littlest noise.  She roams the house.  She demands to be let out constantly and I was starting to get worried about taking a WFH job because my dog had turned into a lunatic while I was home during the day.  I figured I better start working to 'retrain' her in the ways of the behavior while I work.  So I came into the office to clean.   And what do you know, she immediately trotted over to the gate and let out a huge sigh.....almost of relief that her wold was all right again.  She has been sleeping most of the afternoon by my office door.  I have been cleaning and when I make a loud noise she does wake up and check on me, but then goes right back to sleep.   Seeing her settle in so happily to the routine kinda makes me sad, thinking about how confused she must have been.     I am not going to spend all my day in the office.  I will still be working to get her used to me being gone during the day....but a little office routine will be good. 

The only bad side to my emotional day is the fact that I just gave in and ate horribly today.  I feel ashamed.  I feel disgusted. I feel sad.  NOW.  But when in the heat of the moment that food was good!  I'm not letting it get to me.  All is not lost just because I lost control for a few hours (two meals.....breakfast and lunch).  I just need to tighten it up and get back to the basics!

Jason will be home in a few hours and our weekend will begin.  Not sure what we will get into.  It's winter and we have gotten soft in our old age.  Was a day we would have hiked in the cold...but not lately.  hahaha.  But, it will be a weekend together no matter what we do, so that is what counts!

Yeah, that didn't happen.

 I had grand plans for how I was going to spend my days here in the new year. I had goals and I was going to slay each and every one of those goals!   We are now two weeks into the new year and I can say.....Yeah not doing so good on those goals!

Yes, I have had some wins in terms of my goals.  I have had two wins  The wins you ask?   Well let me tell you!   I had a goal to finish digitizing all of the pictures from my parents house.   I am happy to announce that I have completely digitized those pictures.  I do have to finish filing the pictures away in the storage boxes I got, but the pictures are digitized!   The second win is my weight.  The first week brought a loss of 1 pound and my second week of the year brought about a loss of 2 pounds.  Thus, I have lost 3 pounds thus far in 2025.   I am constantly fighting the urge to say (or in this case type) that my three pounds is paltry and weak.   I want big numbers.  (Don't we all?) Three just seems lame ,but I am tickled to have pieced together two weeks of weight loss.  And three pounds is still three pounds GONE.  It could have been worse.  I could have gained three! 

As for most of the other goals....the stuff like ten thousands steps a day, exercising three times a week, 64 ounces of water, tracking my food?   Yeah, they haven't happened.   Not yet.  I have actually exercised about 3 times.  I have gotten my water to a consistent 30-40 ounces.   I have tracked a few times.  And my steps have been higher than average, but still not to the 10k mark.  So not a total failure, because I can see progress.  But not quite where I want to be.  But that's ok, i'm moving in the right direction.  I'm building up!

Unemployment has been busier than I expected.  Two weeks have flown by!  It feels like just yesterday that I was finishing up my last day of that job.   In fairness, we had a holiday (New Years Day) and a snow day where Jason was off work..so they felt like weekends which made it go by faster. 

 I have gone down to my mom's house for 4 days now.  There I have met up with my brother and we have worked on cleaning and panting her house to ready it to sell.  I am not a good painter.  I know it.  Painting is also not my favorite thing in the world to do.  But that's ok, it needs to be done and we are getting it done. 

I have spent a fair amount of time on my computer looking for jobs.  I am only two weeks into this serious job hunt and it's disheartening!  I have a submitted a fair amount of applications.  I have also received a fair amount of rejections.  I will admit that some of the jobs that I have applied to are a stretch for me, but they sound so interesting.   I am applying to anything that is in my pay range that looks interesting.  I have applied to both remote jobs and on site jobs.  I am torn with the location.  I do love working at home.  It is so handy to be able to flip a load of laundry on a break or let the dog out at lunch.   However, I know that some face to face interaction with people is something good.   I was actually getting ready to start going to a zumba class in the evenings when my job situation exploded.  Literally, I had gone to the site and was looking into it on the day before I got the notification.  So I do have that still in the cards if I get a remote position.  But it's a 50-50 dealio.   I do think that the dog is voting for another remote position!   Although, she has done amazing on these days that I have been at my mom's for 8 plus hours (including travel time).

Most of my time I have been busy doing something.  Be it working on my computer, editing youtube videos, painting, cleaning, cooking.  I did spend one day, my first true day off (one where I was home and Jason was working) and spent the afternoon watching a movie.  I had started the day so strong...but then kinda fell apart and lounged from lunchtime onward.  But that is ok also.   Truth be told, this afternoon may be one of those days as I just picked up two books.  One an author that I have really enjoyed, Fiona Davis.  And the second book one that came recommended to me by my niece,  Bear Town.  The biggest problem is which to read first!!!

Unemployment and the new year have been kind to me thus far.  While I am frustrated at the low numbers in my weight loss and the futile job hunt, I am happy with my progress toward making my goals a reality.  I am happy with my steps forward.  I know that the best is yet to come and I"m going to do what I can to make it come!
 

19 years.....Really?

 Somehow in the hustle and bustle of life I missed a very big milestone.  It wasn't the dogs 'adopted' anniversary on January 6th, although we did celebrate that with her.   No, I am talking about January 5th.  What big milestone am I talking about?  Why I am talking about my 19th anniversary of starting this blog.  My blogiversary.  One one hand it seems like yesterday but on the other hand it seems like 12 lifetimes ago!  But January 5th of 2006 that is exactly what I did....I started a little 'online journal'.

In past years I have gone all out, some years were just funny.  Other years were kinda...well..... they were their own unique creations.  Some years I even did repeat anniversary posts!   But hey, lets go through the anniversary posts together.

2013 I didn't acknowledge my anniversary until I was 6 years into maintaining this blog. There were two really funny things about that post.  The first is that I had the date wrong.  Clearly when I look back, my first post was on January 5th....yet on January 6th of my sixth year I wrote a happy birthday/anniversary post.    The other thing that made me chuckle is that I spoke about how it seemed like such a short time but how in terms of the blogging community 6 years was a long time!   Boy, I had no clue that 19 years later I would still be around! 

2016  I didn't mention my blogiversary/birthday/anniversary again until 2016!   Once again, I got the date totally wrong and celebrated it on January 3rd.  (Seriously, was I mental or something?)   Hadn't been writing a whole lot of posts,  I talked about how 10 years didn't seem possible...and how I had written over 1800 posts.  But I used the anniversary post as a means to walk through my journey from highest to lowest.  From success to failure.  I held nothing back. I lost the weight in pictures and I regained the weight in pictures.  I talked about my failed marriage, my new love, running and just about everything in between.  It was a pretty descriptive post if I do say so myself!

2017  Well what do you know, I actually got the date right in 2017!   It was a post similar to this, just looking back over the years and looking forward to the future.   I was still proud of that 10  year anniversary post and referred back to it!

 2018 Look at that, another year where I celebrated on the correct day! This was actually a really interesting post.  I actually wrote a post about things I learned along the way!   Very good stuff.  I also included some stats about my blog...stuff like how many posts, etc.   

2019  Well, I got it wrong again.   This year I posted my blogiversary on January 4th.  In this post I was honest with my success followed by failure.  But I also blatantly stole the post from the 2017, ten year anniversary post and just updated it a wee little bit.  (I'm so lame!)

2020  Hey hey hey, will you look at that, I actually got the date...WRONG again! Yup, I celebrated on January 6th! Even more lame?  I literally copied the previous years post pretty much word for word!   Shame on me!

2021 I got the date right and it wasn't a blatant copy! (Watch out, it's gonna snow!!)   It was a similar post though where I just catch up on life and all of lifes changes and happenings....and more of my history.  I actually talked about how my blog came into existence!

2023   I missed celebrating in 2022 but I came in strong in 2023 with a post that talked about what this blog means to me. (On the correct day to boot!)  And yes, I still agree.....this blog was my salvation when I needed a place to put my thoughts down.  

2024 I started to laugh when I read the opening paragraph of this post.  I actually talked about my misconceptions about when this anniversary really was!   But, I got it right and posted it on the correct day!  The post was another one that was so heartfelt.  It was my thank you to the readers over the years who have supported me!   

2025 is here and I missed the date and I"m celebrating on the wrong day....AGAIN!   But it doesn't mater because 19 years is an amazing accomplishment.  I remain thankful to each and everyone that reads this.  I appreciate your support. I don't plan on stopping....so 20 here we come!

The Stats

Years that I celebrated my anniversary - 10

Years that I celebrated my anniversary on the correct day - 5

Number of posts  2647

Year with the most posts 2008   (334)

Year with the least posts 2022 (41)