I know you didn't know (because I wasn't telling anyone)

Outside of my immediate family, I have not shared all that has been going on with us. I'm ready now to tell all.
(Heads up: this is not baby news.)

First, just days before our Puerto Vallarta vacation, I was laid off from my job. They want to take the office in a new direction, so I got a "thank you" for my efforts and a month's severance.

What a way to start a vacation, right?

While being unemployed is stressful, I was actually grateful to be let go! I hated doing reception work and missed being a paralegal. But since Monico was likewise unemployed (without a teaching contract for the fall), and the employment climate is rough, I didn't know how I could leave. But, by being laid off, I qualified for unemployment! Plus, a month's severance would help us make it through August (until Monico found a job and/or we got an influx of financial aid).

In the time following our very relaxing vacation, I didn't really put much effort into looking for a job, because I had a secret...

I had time to think while on vacation about what I was going to do now that I was unemployed. The more I thought about it, the more I questioned what I was doing with my life and understood how many opportunities were passing me by. So, after we got back from Mexico, without Monico's knowledge, I enrolled with Highline Community College.

Using my prior BYU credits, I should be able to get my AA in 1 year, finishing it up around the same time Monico finishes his second Master's Degree. I can then tranfer/continue on to get my bachelor's degree at a 4 year university.

I don't know how to make this sound more WOW, but my going to school is kinda a big deal. I quit BYU nearly 12 years ago, I have been repeatedly told that I should go back since then. Finally, after spending the last 8+ years focused on Monico's education, I'm ready to do school work for my own benefit again. But, having left BYU with rather dismal grades, I need to prove any future university I attend that I can be serious about school, so my goal is to achieve an A in every class at Highline.

In addition, because I am enrolled in school, I felt I owed it to myself to not work full time. Gratefully -- using a mutual contact -- I procured employment with another firm, where I will have flexibility in my schedule and can work around my classes (which I can take during the day, at night, or via online), and where I will once again be a paralegal, being paid a paralegal wage (aka 25% more than my last job!) to do the work I love in guardianships, estate planning, and probates. It is a small firm, with only ONE attorney. I am working at home for now, because there isn't an office available for me. (Lexi is very happy about that.)

I'M SO EXCITED! I love drafting and revising original documents and meeting with clients, all for the purpose of enriching their lives. (I'm soooo over litigation cases!) I'm extremely grateful to my friend who helped me get the job, as I was hired based on "I trust her judgement, so you're hired!"

My office (aka, home).

My work/files (and my view!).

When the occasion arises that I have to commute to work, it is a mere 2 miles away in downtown Renton. (My old commute to downtown took 45-60 minutes each way.) Because we only have one car, we located and cash-purchased a low-miles scooter. It gets roughly 100 miles to the gallon, costs $120 a year for full coverage insurance, and doesn't require a motorcycle license to operate. In other words, it is pretty darn economical. And, it is pretty darn cute too! Not so much fun in the rain, of course, but since it is only 2 miles, it really isn't a big deal.


Not wanting to leave out Monico's accomplishments: in late August, he obtained new employment in the Seattle School District as a EBD (Emotional Behavior Disorder) Special Education teacher at Garfield High School, just down the street (literally 11 blocks) from Seattle University. So, on nights when he has class, he has a super-sweet commute from work to school. The position is 1.0 FTE, which is 100% full time and allows him to receive 100% of his union-monitored salary and benefits. Hooray for medical coverage - his first in almost 4 years!

Garfield High School

Monico also started his football coaching career by volunteering with the team. Their game against Seattle Prep last week was his first as "coach." (That's him below with his team.) He is working with his bread-n-butter: defensive line. He is already learning so much from the other coaches and is eager to continue volunteering with Basketball in the winter as well. And that's what we've been up to.

My classes started just this week; I'm jumping right back in by taking 11 credits. I have about 40 credits available for transfer from BYU (stupid religion classes don't even register as an elective!), and need 90 for my AA, so I need to get crack-a-lackin' if I'm gonna be done in a year. So enough blogging... I need read about the Progessive Era in the US and write a short essay about the impact of advertising on society before I go to work!

Don't chuck your muck in my backyard...

...because my backyard has berries!


I couldn't believe it when I heard some people were picking
wild blackberries ,
but sure enough, they have already started to turn!
Fortunate for me, we have a blackberry bush on our property.
(They are like a weed in Seattle... just try to stop them from growing.)
This was all I grabbed tonight, but I will get more tomorrow.

Oh, and apparently we have a wild strawberry bush as well.
This was the only one ripe and ready to be eaten.
I shared it with my sister in law, and
we both agree it was De-licious!

Close call

This is a photo taken from the front steps of our rented house. The SUV is my sister in law, Monica's, and the red truck is my neighbors.

Our little white car is usually parked between these two vehicles but today we parked it farther down our driveway near the garage.

My neighbor has a lot of cars. Usually at least 4 at any given time. Typically there is a car or truck parked in front of the red pickup truck, just off the street.



These are the police that showed up in front our our house last night.



...because this white car was driving too fast and couldn't maneuver fast enough and PLOWED into my neighbors car (the Ford Focus now on its side).
Yeah. This car WAS parked in front of the red pickup truck.



This is how far the car had to be hit over to not only move 20 or so feet from where it was parked, but to also get pushed up and over our neighbors' wall/fence.

If you are interested in more details about this story:
Monico was in our backyard prepping the BBQ grill. I was in the house prepping stuff in the kitchen and Monica was in the living room watching TV.
Monica saw the white car through the window speeding. Monico heard the screech and looked up the driveway just in time to see the white car plow into the Ford Focus. (We ALL heard the boom of the cars hitting.) I looked out the front window but couldn't see the accident.
Monico came running in "did you see that?"
With his help to know what happened, I then looked over into my neighbors' yard and saw the car on it's side and smoke coming up.
Then my neighbor (the wife) came running passed our front window, through our yard, shooting a gun and chasing down the driver of the white car.
So. We all dropped to the floor to avoid gun fire.
Yep. On the floor of my house. With my dog's collar in my hand. Because there was a gun being fired in my front yard.
And all I could think of was "crap. are the hamburgers burning on the bbq?"
Monica called 911.
The police arrived.
We came out to see what the damage was.

The good news was our cars and/or property was not damaged.
No one was injured. (My neighbor had been unloading groceries from her bronco parked next to the truck. Had she been out there, she would have been standing in the path of the cars. Also, they have golden retriever which was not in the way or in the front yard.)
They caught the guy.
Our dinner was ok. :)