Yesterday I picked up my new dog!  His name is Bruce and he's a rescue - originally from Animal Control and I adopted him from a foster-owner who works with a local no-kill shelter.

The first night went pretty well.  Bruce's foster owner kept him in a kennel at night and while they were at work so I bought one as well and put his blanket from his foster-owner in there.  He went in there but wasn't happy when I turned out the light and walked away to go to bed.  He barked somewhat but calmed down when he learned I wasn't coming back then. He did wake me up at 3 a.m. and I let him out, thinking he had to potty, but he just wanted to play. I did get him to go back in after 10 minutes or so and he let me sleep til morning. 
Right now he's laying down on the rug by my feet. I can't get him to use his dog bed yet, but I'm optimistic he'll get used to it.

I'm excited to report I got a job offer today for a job I really want! Quick overview:

• It's virtual health coaching; what I did at my last job.
• It's with a health insurance company; my manger is located in MN
• My first day is April 23rd and they're flying me to their Texas office for training at that time.
• The pay is several thousand per year more than I made at my last job and it has full benefits.

All of this is pending a drug test. I HATE those because I can't pee on command & it's always embarrassing to have to "try" several times.  I don't do drugs but someone I know missed a whole rotation on her medical-residency from a false positive for a TB test.  So I don't take anything for granted until I actually have the job/get a paycheck.

The awesome part is that I applied for this job before being laid off. So my old company ended up paying me a severance to take a few weeks off & take a job I would have taken anyway! HA!

Kohls is very clever with their Kohls cash to lure you back! I'd had my eye on the handbag below for a few months but was waiting for it go below $70.  Last weekend, it was $60 and I had a 30% off coupon.  But then they gave me Kohls cash so today I used it to buy the dress below. I ordered the dress online (free shipping promo code!) so I don't know yet how it will fit.

Behind the cut is an article from this month's Hour Detroit magazine which I found super interesting. Have you ever wondered why people aren't buried "naked" - free of caskets and vaults - so that we decay naturally into the ground? I mean, caskets and vaults take up a lot of space on this Earth and it's not natural to be drained of fluid and filled with formaldehyde when we die, and then preserved forever - underground where no one will see us anyway.

Scans of the article are behind the cut.
( Going Green to the End )

If anyone gets one of those Google Adwords coupons you're not going to use, would you be willing to pass it on to me? My mom can use it for her site. ... thanks!

I heard the Irish poet John O'Donohue interviewed on On Being (a Public Radio show about faith) and was very moved by his poetry, writings, and blessings. Here's one in particular that struck a chord.
From the book Benedictus.

When you lose someone you love,
Your life becomes strange,
The ground beneath you becomes fragile,
Your thoughts make your eyes unsure;
And some dead echo drags your voice down
Where words have no confidence
Your heart has grown heavy with loss;
And though this loss has wounded others too,
No one knows what has been taken from you
When the silence of absence deepens.

Flickers of guilt kindle regret
For all that was left unsaid or undone.

There are days when you wake up happy;
Again inside the fullness of life,
Until the moment breaks
And you are thrown back
Onto the black tide of loss.
Days when you have your heart back,
You are able to function well
Until in the middle of work or encounter,
Suddenly with no warning,
You are ambushed by grief.

It becomes hard to trust yourself.
All you can depend on now is that
Sorrow will remain faithful to itself.
More than you, it knows its way
And will find the right time
To pull and pull the rope of grief
Until that coiled hill of tears
Has reduced to its last drop.

Gradually, you will learn acquaintance
With the invisible form of your departed;
And when the work of grief is done,
The wound of loss will heal
And you will have learned
To wean your eyes
From that gap in the air
And be able to enter the hearth
In your soul where your loved one
Has awaited your return
All the time.

Link from Legend of Zelda; because I imagine he looks like Orlando Bloom's Legolas from the LOTR movies.

I can't believe it took me twenty-mumble  years to get around to learning to make this, but here you go.  This is a bean sauce Puerto Ricans traditionally serve over rice.  Like most traditional dishes, there are multiple ways to make it.  Here's the way my brother makes it - a combination of what he learned from my step-mom (a native Puertoricaña) and the several years he worked at Seattle's best Puerto Rican restaurant, La Isla. 
The ingredients can be bought at Mexican grocery stores. Goya and La Preferida are two good brands to look for.



( Recipe behind cut! )

I didn't watch last night's Bones when it was on because I went out for some Ethiopian food with a friend, and then I was watching The Red Wings (they lost, sadly). The Ethiopian food was really yummy - I recommend trying it if you haven't. It's kind of spicy like Indian food, but without curry. Unfortunately, there are only a few places in Michigan that have Ethiopian food. In Portland, they were all over.

Anyway, Bones was amazing.


This weekend is ass-busy: tomorrow morning, my mom is coming down and we're going to look at apartments (I have a list of about 5 places). It's hard finding a place to live, as it turns out! There are too many choices, especially since I can live anywhere. Saturday night, the New Boy is coming overand Sunday, I'm getting Mexican food and seeing Bridesmaids with my BFF.

I'm not a big fan of Olivia Wilde's character on House (13) but after reading this quote from her, regarding her recent divorce, I developed a lot more respect for her.  This strikes me as sound advice.

“The mark of a good marriage is partnership and continuing to feel inspired by your spouse. I had that with Tao. But the end is not necessarily the tragedy. Staying in a relationship that is no longer working is the tragedy. Living unhappily—that’s the tragedy.”

I'm reading Sweet Valley Confidential, which takes place 10 years after the Sweet Valley High books (and includes some references to the SVU series).  It's nice to see Jessica is still a total sociopath:
"When someone knows a terrible secret about you, and you can't in good conscience kill them, you get them out of your life."
So... apparently there are some scenarios when someone knows a terrible secret about you and you totally can in good conscience kill them.

"Nothing's ever really over. Just over there." -Carrie Fisher

Happy spring, everyone! Here's an adorable bunny:
My cold is almost gone (after experiencing a wicked resurgence and condemning me to a weekend in bed).  In Oregon, you can't buy psuedoephederine (classic Sudafed nasal decongestant) without a doctor's prescription. COME ON.  People took the stuff for years and it didn't make us all into meth heads.  It's bad enough in Michigan you have big brother tracking your every purchase by scanning your drivers license each time you buy it.  But now I'm expected to pay an office visit copay each time I have nasal congestion? Give me a break.  And the over-the-counter substitute just isn't as good.

I think I'm moving back to Michigan in late April or early May. I have my current sublet til April 19. While I love Portland, it's just getting too expensive.  And I miss my stuff! For example, the only coat/jacket I have here is super casual, so I'd like one a little nicer.  I could buy one, but I have like 5 cute jackets at home, plus it's cheaper to just pay to have my roommate mail mine from MI. But then I have to ask her to go to the trouble.  Repeat the same scenario for shoes, pants, etc.  Basically, I miss my stuff!

Plus I'm kind of excited to get back to MI and find a new place there! I'll be moving out of my current place in MI by late June. I want to have money saved up to buy new furniture and decor.   I still intend to live in the same general area in Michigan, but it will depend on where my friend can find a job (she's graduating in July and looking for a job in MI). If she finds a job somewhere I'd like to live, we'll be roommates.  If not, I have to go it on my own.  You save so much $ by having a roommate! On the other hand, I've never had my very own place, so that's a tempting possibility as well.