Well, let's see...I'll start by apologizing for being away so long. I hope some of you are still around but I wouldn't be surprised if everyone has moved on.

I feel like nothing and everything has been going on the last few days/weeks. I'll start with my "scare" the week of Thanksgiving.

So, I was asked by the people that are planning to offer me a job to come in and fill out some HR paper work. I didn't really ask what that meant and they didn't really offer any explanation. I was just anxious to get this rolling and I think they were too seeing as they want me to start working the first week of December (yes - next week) and I have yet to get my offer letter. That would help.

So, we were planning to leave for North Carolina on Tuesday so I agreed to come in on Monday morning and get this out of the way so things could get moving. I get to the office and the HR rep comes to get me. Hubby is waiting in the car for me because we really did have a lot of crap to do and I didn't expect things would take too long.

So, as we're heading up to the office I ask the rep, "what exactly am I filling out today by the way?". The rep says, oh, you are filling out your paperwork for your background check and your drug test............SCREEEEEECH!! Okay. I didn't really hear much of anything from that point on. Don't get me wrong, I'm no "druggie" but lets put it this way, a very mild substance which is unfortunately considered "illegal" in the United States may or may not have been inhaled the very night before.

I seriously thought I was going to die. I have never had to take a drug test for a job, and if you knew what industry I worked in you would probably question why I would they would even bother testing for drugs. It's not like I have any involvement with children nor do I drive a tractor so I'm baffled.

Well, on top of the fact that I'll probably have to take a test the HR rep informs me that I have to take it within 48 hours. Okay, now I'm dead. How on earth am I going to explain to everyone I know that I'm not getting this job that I was basically assured of. Holy shit. It was a nightmare. Long, long, long story short I was able to work it so that I could take the test this past Monday, as in yesterday. A whole week later. I really dodged a bullet and I am praying that the results do come out negative. If not, guess who's back on the job search?

Anyway, so we made it to North Carolina. The pooch did surprisingly well in the car - she has been getting car sick a lot lately and throwing up but she didn't this time, go figure. She slept a lot and we spoiled her by sharing our McDonald's breakfast with her. She really is a little princess.

The weather was incredible. In the 80's for the first few days and not even that cold by the day after Thanksgiving, I think it was in the low 60's, which was cold in comparison but still not too bad. We had lots of fun, ate a lot of good food, drank a lot and Lucy got to experience the beach for the first time. She loved it! We had so much fun with her and she even did great with all the family and kids that were in town for the holiday. She made her mama and daddy proud! I was over the hubby's family by the last day but that's bound to happen. I would have been over my family after spending that much time with them too but I've found that being with someone else's family always makes you appreciate yours just that much more.

I have vowed to finish my Christmas shopping by the end of this week and I'm on track to do it. If I start working next week I won't have time to go out shopping and avoiding the crowds on week days anymore so I'm on a mission.

That's about all I got. Lots of, well...nothing. I hope all of your lives are way more exciting than mine. I'm putting some pic's below. I'm going to go check in on all of you now. Cross your fingers, say prayers, send good vibes, whatever, to make sure I get this job. I need it!

www.flickr.com