Hey friends!  I'm squeezing in an update here on this restful Sunday off!  I can't remember exactly where I left off last (and am too lazy to go check) but I survived my first week at the new job.  It was sort of chaotic as first weeks on the job usually are, but I'm learning quickly so that's a relief.  I've managed to score a few extra days on the schedule at my other job so I'll be working Thanksgiving and Christmass (boo!) and a few more days over the weekends as well.  It's definitely A LOT on my plate but it keeps me super busy and the extra money to buy a house will be sooooo nice!  Let's just hope I don't burn out quickly but for the time being, it will be manageable.

I saw a Naturopath for the first time a couple of weeks ago.  We went over a ton of things, mainly this persisting lack of energy/moodiness feeling over the past few months and she suspects that I may have a thyroid problem to some degree.  So, she loaded me up with some vitamins and supplements to take, as well as a shot of B-12 which supposedly helps with energy and mood stability.  I was sent off with a test kit which will test my hormones.  It uses saliva samples instead of blood.  The samples are collected 4 times during the course of a day (since hormone levels fluctuate throughout the day) and then when all 4 are collected, I seal up the kit and mail it to the lab.  Pretty cool stuff!  Anyway, the results take about 2 weeks and they will call me to go over the results and we'll go from there.

In the world of school, I got an e-mail about a week ago with the next test date for the oral comprehensive exam.  As luck would have it, it's December 12th, right in between the crazy holidays!  Needless to say, I wasn't too thrilled to have to coordinate the Holidays, a new job, an old job and the biggest test of my life all during the same time, so I blew off the e-mail until I could reach a decision.  After going back and forth with it, I've decided to tell them I will not be able to make the December 12th date and will wait until next year for a new test date.  I agonized over that decision but it's just the best decision for me at this point.  I need to save myself from insanity and adding more to my plate at this moment just isn't a wise thing to do.  Not to mention, I don't want to make the same mistake twice and fail this thing a second time because of lack of preparedness/time to study.  I have to say I feel like the weight has been lifted.  I can focus on work for the time being and maybe even have some time to actually look forward to the Holidays! 

Oh, this weekend marks the one year anniversary of me being back in California.  I just can't believe how much time flies.  It's just crazy to think about...

Have a Happy Thanksgiving friends!

Bumbling Updates - OMG it's November!

Hello, friends!  I cannot believe it's November already!  Every year goes by faster and faster as you age but this was ridiculously fast.  I've been living back in California now for nearly a year to the day and things are finally looking up for me.

Starting next Monday, November 14th, I'll have a new job at a local Country Club!  It's ironic because it's with the same Country Club I interviewed with back in July but got turned down when they chose someone else.  Well, yesterday they called me out of the blue and explained how a brand new position has just opened up and they remembered me and thought I would be a perfect fit.  It's nice to know that there are some decent, thoughtful people out there because let me tell you, I've been through the ringer numerous times this year with sketchy interviews/companies.  Anyhow, they offered the position to me on the spot so I start next week!

I plan to keep my other job at the hospital and tell them I will only be available on weekends.  I make a decent enough salary there to justify not leaving.  Plus, I need to earn and save everything I can if I want to make it to my house-buying goal next year.  So, this should work out *fingers crossed*.  I'll likely have little free time and working weekends will interfere with a social life (or current lack-thereof anyway) but I'm the type that works better with more on my plate.

In other news, I took it upon myself to find a Naturopath who specializes in hormone therapy and treatments.  Lately, I have been so up and down hormonal that I just feel like something is wrong that is just exacerbating this PCOS condition.  So, I have that initial 90 minute consultation tomorrow which I suspect will be very similar to the initial consult with the Reproductive Endocrinologist last year.  At this point, I'm just looking to be healthier, feel less hormonal, and perhaps even find ways to regulate cycles that have always plagued me one way or another.

I'll update again when I can.  Although, I expect the next few weeks to be hectic with work and the upcoming Holidays - yikes!  Hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to the Holiday season!

I'll add a little photo that I took this morning just to give you an idea of where I live.  In the background are the San Jacinto mountains which are just about a 25 minute drive to the base of the mountains.  Below that is Palm Springs.  One of the things I missed about living in the South was the lack of mountains/hills.  Makes for a really tough sense of direction!  Anyway, this is where I live and it can be so beautiful :)