Is there pizza in my future?

Recently, I saw an “On this day” post on Facebook in which I excitedly announced that I FINALLY had a new writing gig. This after months of trying to find a new one. That made me feel sad all over again because that supposed “gig” turned out to be a scam. It was NOT a good thing because I was – and still am – desperate for work. For ANY kind of job, really. I have been trying to get a new job or gig for over 2 years (I think it’s 3 years now?) and I am growing increasingly frustrated with every single rejection. I have applied for jobs and gone to interviews – all for nothing. On Sunday, I applied for two jobs and, on Monday, got an email from HR at one of those jobs to call and arrange for an interview. Because I am deaf, I use Internet relay (through Sprint). So when I called using relay, they said they needed to speak with me directly. I explained that I am deaf and must use relay for phone calls. (Relay involves another person to relay messages back and forth.) They said they’d let the top HR person know and they’d get back to me. They haven’t yet. They probably won't. And last night, I told my husband about this (he is also deaf) and he said they probably won’t be contacting me. I HAD told them I am deaf when I applied for the job – did they miss that note? But he said I would be too much of a liability for them and they’d get sued if something went wrong only because of my being deaf.

So once again, my deafness was a problem for me getting a job. Oh, sure. We’d all like to promote the idea that a deaf person can still be anything they want to be and do anything they want to do despite being deaf, but the reality is that it is Very Hard to get a job in today’s world if you are deaf. I know this so well. One lady told me she would have hired me if I had been able to communicate over the phone.

Discrimination against the deaf is alive and well, people. Especially in the workplace.

And of course, I have always wondered if there were other factors that prevented me from getting a job. Was it because of my limited work experience? (I have spent most of my adult life working from home.) The third degree burn scars on my face and left arm? The limited physical use of my left hand? Or my lack of a college degree? Or because I am only available for part-time work? Or because I’m from California??

Whatever the reasons were, I have not given up in my attempt to get a job. But it has gotten to the point where I feel like I will be filling out job applications for all of eternity! It’s almost a joke now, really. And sometimes I feel like I’m wasting my time because I’ll just be told “no” again.

But I am too stubborn to quit. I may have obstacles in my path, but I’m the kind of person to work around obstacles. I don’t run away and cry and go “Boo-hoo! Poor me!” No, I keep going despite the obstacles and find another way to get things done.

But all of this struggling to get a job has made me sometimes wonder if I should just go into business for myself. I have read of other people facing these same exact struggles that I have faced and they found success striking out on their own.

So, maybe I should try doing that, too? Do something on my own? My own business?

I HAVE thought about this a lot for a long time. I have even had several ideas for different things to do. Different careers or different business ideas. Heck, I even thought about becoming an inventor! But all of those ideas eventually got shot down. I would spend time thinking about them, weighing the pros and cons and thinking long-term with these types of jobs and businesses. And nothing really seemed like a right fit.

This morning, though, an idea popped into my head, and the more I thought about it later in the day, the more I began to think maybe it could work.

As I drove my teen to work this morning, an idea for a pizza place popped into my head. That’s right: Pizza! But not just your average pizza. I had ideas for specialty pizzas. Of course, there’d be the standard pizzas: Pepperoni, supreme, and my kids’ favorite, cheese pizza. But I had ideas for different kinds of pizzas made with different kinds of ingredients. And by the time I arrived at my teen’s work, I had an entire menu in my head. As soon as I was parked, I grabbed my phone and started typing it all down. I got ideas for more things to add to that menu on the drive back. (The drive is an hour and fifteen minutes long!)

The thing of it is, though, I’m not much for making pizzas. I have only made one homemade pizza and it didn’t turn out very well. However, I have also made one of these specialty pizzas that I have on my menu, and it was really good.

What I liked about this idea is its uniqueness. If you want to stand out in a competitive market, you HAVE to be unique. You have to offer something new and something that is a personal style.

When I got home, I told my son about this idea and I showed him the menu I had typed up. He thought it was interesting.

At first, though, I thought, Nah, I don’t want to open my own pizza place. I am not good at making pizzas!

Well, maybe I can LEARN?? Maybe I can get training for it?? Maybe if I try making pizzas more often, then I’d get better at it? Especially these kinds of pizzas. Maybe.

Well, it’s something to think about. I really don’t have anything else going on for me work-wise. Maybe starting my own thing is the answer. Maybe that’s what I need to do. It’s something to think about.

At first, I wanted to throw away that menu. It’s probably too crazy of an idea. But now I’m thinking that maybe I should just hold onto it. Just in case. Maybe one day,  this will be the direction that I end up going in.

Funny things from today

Too often, a bunch of stuff that tries our patience can happen in one day. Then there are the days when a bunch of crazy stuff happens, or when it’s like nothing seems to be going right at all. Been there, on all counts!

But sometimes, funny stuff can happen every once in a while. Today, I had a few funny things come up, just in one day!

It started when I was picking Jesse up from the bus at the bus stop. After he and the other kids got off, they all stood on the corner, doing jumping jacks. I stared at them in confusion. What were they doing THAT for?? I noticed they were all looking at the bus driver and when I looked at her, she was smiling and giving them a thumbs up. When she was gone and they were done doing jumping jacks, I asked Jesse what that was about. He said that the bus driver had told them they could do jumping jacks after they got off the bus. I laughed and asked him, “Why did she say that? Were you guys trying to do jumping jacks on the bus?”

He said no, shrugged and shook his head as he ran off to the van.

The next funny thing that happened was at the store later on. Jesse was with me. I was getting some groceries for the weekend. After we were done  getting food, I stood in the lobby with Jesse as he was getting a gumball from a machine. Then I noticed there was a young boy standing behind me (he looked about 10 or 11). I observed that he was just standing there, staring down at a tablet that he was playing a game on. I thought, Why is this kid standing behind me? I thought to ask him if he wanted something but had a feeling not to say anything. I then realized I was standing in front of the claw machine for toys and I thought maybe he was waiting to use the machine so I moved up a little to give him room to use it. But he moved up a little right along with me! I was standing there, trying to figure this out, then noticed a man stood a ways off to my left, waving his arm in our direction and saying something. I watched the boy look up and realize who he was standing behind and run off to join the man. The man was wearing the same colored jacket and jeans that I was wearing.

Apparently, the kid must’ve thought he was still behind the person he was supposed to be behind! LOL Whoops!

Well, today Jesse received an invitation to a friend’s birthday party. I finally got around to texting them to let them know we would be there. Thing of it was, Jesse had entered their number on my phone, and I didn’t double-check the area code before I sent the text! When I realized my mistake, I laughed and wondered aloud, “Did I just text Japan?” I showed it to Jen and she laughingly grinned then nodded. I did send the text to the right number though, but I kept wondering who I had accidentally sent the text message to. (I just looked up the area code and, fortunately, it was not a Japan number! It’s actually a number in Ohio. Um….oops!)

Also today, while I was doing laundry, I was removing yet another load of clothes from the dryer when I noticed one of them kinda stuck. I shrugged it off, thinking a shirt sleeve was under the rotor, then more carefully removed the clothes, moving everything out from under the rotor. That worked fine until I noticed a long stretch of cloth hanging from a clothing that turned out to be a towel! Apparently, the washing machine tried to tear off a part of the towel. I stood there holding it, asking, “What the heck?” I think it might’ve gotten stuck in the rotor somehow and tore during the wash cycle. That was crazy! Our washing machine is tearing up laundry? Really??

Here is a pic of the top part of that towel (after it went through the dryer):

Well, after that excitement, I was busy putting away the folded beach towels in the closet when I noticed something off. I am very particular with how these towels are folded and put away. I want the lines on them to show and I want them in the same order. One towel didn't have the lines on it showing so of course I had to unfold the towel then refold it to where the lines were showing and I put it back in the correct order so that the lines were the same as the ones on the towel underneath it. And when I was putting it back on that towel, I joked, “Laces out!”

Also today: While I was writing one scene in my short story, Jesse was reading over my shoulder as I typed. (I had been working on the short story earlier in the day while he was at school but I wanted to finish it today so I was working on it again after he was home.) As he often does, he took over the writing and typed something funny in the story. Here is what he typed (his words start with “Olive fought the man”):

Finally, the day ended on a sad note. There was leftover biscuit dough from dinner this evening so I thought to make some biscuits with it so we could eat them tomorrow. But what I hadn’t planned on doing was putting them into the oven then going to the desk to get back to writing my short story. I got so caught up with the writing and finishing my short story that I forgot all about the biscuits! This is how they looked when I finally remembered them and got them out of the oven:

Sigh. You know you’re a writer when your food gets burned because you forgot all about it while you were busy writing.

The sandwich-less lunch

Some moms pack their kids’ lunches the night before the school day but I pack my kids’ lunches in the morning while they’re getting ready or eating breakfast. With Jesse, he usually wants the same thing for lunch: A peanut butter sandwich, chips or crackers, juice box and a cookie. But Jennifer likes a little more variety; she never eats the same lunch every single day. When Jennifer tells me what she wants in her lunch for the day, there is usually a sandwich included. That changed this week.

On Monday, she had a sandwich in her lunch, but later, she didn’t request a sandwich that time. She’d noted in the past that she didn’t want to keep taking a sandwich in her lunch so this week, she went sandwich-less. I have heard of other parents ditching sandwiches for their kids’ lunches. Some have had wraps or even the items needed to make “sandwich crackers.” I have come across many articles specifically talking about sandwich-free lunches. Until now, the only change my kids have had with sandwich lunches are cracker sandwiches (usually through a Lunchable). But now Jennifer was ready to go sandwich-less for lunch!

The first sandwich-free lunch looked more like a bunch of snacks rather than a lunch. I have asked Jennifer if she’d try a wrap instead of a sandwich but she wasn’t interested. Her “snack lunch” contained Goldfish crackers, Cheetos, a granola bar, Oreos and a juice box.

The second sandwich-free lunch is what I like to call the “breakfast lunch.” I have told my kids there’s nothing wrong with eating cereal for dinner. Why not for lunch, as well?

Her breakfast lunch included Life cereal and Honey Nut Chex. There were also potato chips, peanuts, and Nilla wafers. Along with a juice box!

Today, however, Jennifer decided to go back to having a sandwich in her lunch. It was a fun experience to try something different from the same old sandwich for lunch, though! I would definitely be willing to try this again and also give other sandwich-free lunch ideas a try should either of my kids want something different for lunch that day.

Our trip to the coast

Today we went out to visit the Oregon coast. I was very excited about the prospect of going there because I love seeing the coast. It’s such an awesome place! We have not been there for years. I would say it’s been about 6 or 7 years since we last went there. Jesse was only 2 years old! So I was glad to go.

When we went last time, we saw the Heceta Head lighthouse (we didn’t tour it) as well as the Sea Lion Caves. We didn’t see those things this times. It would have been nice to see the lighthouse, but maybe some other time.

But we still visited one spot where a picture was taken of me and the kids: A large steel anchor in Old Town Florence. Jen didn’t want to be in that picture this time so it was just Jesse.

My back had gone out on me last weekend and today it was still stiff and sore. Even so, I was NOT going to let this ruin our plans to go to the coast! I just took an extra Ibuprofen and slapped on the brace.

I had planned to bring a book along to read during the drive there and/or back, but the trip was so scenic, I never touched the book! I just enjoyed seeing everything! All the land, the mountains, the farms, the trees and the cliffs. We drove up a mountain to get there and it was just beautiful scenery. I looked at the towering trees on our route and told hubby I wished this was our view every day! (After seeing the coast, I wish that was our view, too!) It was also cool going through a lit tunnel.

When we finally got there, we had trouble finding a parking spot, so we had to park somewhere near the harbor. It was VERY windy!! I was glad that I brought Jesse and my jackets. It was rough terrain, though. It wasn’t so much the sand that was the problem but going up and down steep hills. My balance is not very good so I had to be careful with those. I was not looking forward to that, but my resolve was stronger than my fear. I thought ‘Challenge accepted!’ and tackled those hilly areas all the same. Sometimes I fell and sometimes I got back up okay or my husband had to help me back up. Even with a large walking stick he found for me, there were still times that I fell. But I always got back up. I made it okay. There was also sand blowing around us that it went into our mouths, eyes and ears!

We went to another, less hilly area and loved exploring there. Jen and Jesse grabbed sticks and wrote things in the sand. For a while, we were the only people there, so we had total freedom exploring the whole place ourselves. At one point, I noticed a rocky area in the far off distance, with the river behind it. I wanted to go check out that view! But it meant going over shallow areas of water and lots of mud. The ground was not very stable. I told my husband about it and he said it might not be a good idea. I’d have to go across the water, which was not very shallow, and all that mud and wet sand. My shoes would end up being pulled right off. It was dangerous. He left me there mulling over those thoughts. I REALLY wanted to go out there, but I didn’t want to fall in the water or mud. I didn’t mind getting my shoes wet and muddy – heck, been there with that rafting trip I went on with Jesse!! – but I was worried about the mud. Specifically, sinking in the mud. But then I noticed there were footprints leading that way. Footprints of other people who went across the water to that area. That did it! I decided, If they can do it, I can, too! So I gripped my walking stick and crossed the most smallest, shallowest area of the water. I had to be careful because the mud was slippery. And at one point, I really did start to sink in the mud! (Forget about sinking in quicksand, people. It’s sinking in mud you gotta worry about!) But I realized that if I kept moving, and moved quickly, I would not sink in the mud. Yes, it WAS like my shoes were being pulled off as I moved, but I kept moving, anyway! I was not going to stop. I was not going to be deterred.

And apparently, I was not going to be alone, either. I turned to see that Jesse had joined me. I looked past him to see that my husband was standing on dry land, watching us.

So Jesse and I worked together to make it across. But before we got to our destination, I noticed something in the sand and dropped my stick in astonishment. There were oyster shells all around! And clam shells, too! Wow! It was so cool! So Jesse and I gathered the oyster and clam shells that we liked best. Then we continued on our journey!

Further along the route, I was glad to be on sand again and off the mud. But … I was STILL sinking! This time in wet sand! I was astonished my feet went so deeply into the sand. I even slammed my walking stick down and it went quite a ways down into that sand! Again, I had to keep moving and going fast. I warned Jesse about the “sinking sand” and told him to keep going. Eventually, we got out of THAT and were on dry sand again. And I walked closer to where this area came to an end and met more water. We were a ways up. If I wanted to go all the way over to the wall of rocks to see the river, we would have to climb down and go over more water. That water did not look shallow, either. It looked pretty deep. So I decided we had gone far enough and would just enjoy this view. Jesse stayed on the sandy cliff to look out at the water and I took a picture of an area nearby that was circled with rocks.

Then we turned around and headed back. On the way back, Jesse fell in the water but we made it back across okay. We were not hurt. We were wet, muddy and covered with sand, but still smiling from our little adventure. It was so AWESOME! I am so glad I ignored fear and warnings and went through with it, anyway. I was stoked! I did it! I made it okay! That was just so cool.

After that, we went to Old Town Florence to walk around and visit shops. Our first stop was a bookstore called Books N Bears, and Jen went nuts over a book she found there. She actually bought two in that series. I wanted to buy a particular book but it was too pricey so I noted the title and author of the book to look for later. It was a really cool bookstore, though! When we were at one shop, the lights flickered then the power went out! We had to leave the store. All the other owners were outside of their places of business too and I figured this meant their power was out too. Jennifer listened in on what everybody was saying and she told us the whole block was without power. Still, we were able to buy saltwater taffy (something every visitor to Old Town Florence MUST get!!) and also a couple other things. I bought sea salt caramel (so good!!!) as well as some chocolate. I also wanted to buy chocolate covered bacon, but because the power was out, they could not sell it because they could not weigh the candy for pricing. Still, Jesse was able to buy himself a souvenir.

At that point, we wanted to get something to eat. We had a short lunch in the car when we arrived (Lunchables), but it was some time since then and we were hungry. But the problem was, we could not go to a restaurant there to eat at because we would be paying with our credit card, and we couldn’t do that if the power was out. So we decided to drive around and find some other place to eat. We ended up at a restaurant called Clawsons Wheelhouse. While there, I got to try oysters for the first time. That was an interesting taste! Jen tried clam chowder for the first time and loved it. I also had clam chowder. (They had really good clam chowder! When I tasted it, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this stuff is so good!!!’) I also had the salmon for dinner and it was delicious. The service there was excellent and we really enjoyed our dining experience there.

Our ride back to Eugene was just as enjoyable as it had been on our way there. I didn’t get any souvenirs but I DID have my treasures! (And the local newspaper!). That was good enough for me. Oh, and the taffy, too.

As I type this, I realize I have sand behind my ear. I had washed off when I got home but that sand is hard to get rid of. But you know what? I am okay with that. I will fall asleep tonight thinking of beachtime adventures, clashing waves, flying sand and views of a magnificent river.

Here are pictures I took from the trip (and also a couple my husband took).   

Gingerbread houses

Recently, on Facebook, I have noticed a lot of people posting anti-Christmas posts. Those posts are mainly about how we should not be decorating for Christmas, shopping for Christmas, or even THINKING about Christmas, until it’s actually December. While I understand the reason behind this sentiment, I also understand that everybody has their own thing set up for a reason. And, ya know, stuff’s gonna happen.

Like today, for example.

Yesterday, when I was driving the kids home from Springfield, I noticed a house that already had Christmas lights and decorations up. “What the heck! It’s still November!” I muttered. But, when my daughter told me that she wanted to make a gingerbread house this weekend, I decided, “Go for it!” Really, there’s no reason to put it off. And it’s not gonna hurt anybody, either.

One of her best friends spent the night last night and so the two of them each created a gingerbread house.

Here’s a picture of both houses:

Here is a pic of the house created by her friend:

And here is the house that Jen built:

Jesse also got in on the action. At first, he was making a gingerbread house. Unfortunately, the roof kept collapsing. Despite Jen’s help to try to fix his house and my assurances that he could do it, he deep-sixed the project.

Jesse ended up making a tower instead:

I am glad the kids did a fun project this weekend. They sure enjoyed eating their creations up! And I am looking forward to making gingerbread MEN, too, but when it’s more of December.