big city snow

I have tried to be a big girl about the frigid temps here in Chicago, and so far I'm doing okay with it! We've gotten a decent bit of snow and the temperatures have hardly gone past freezing (if even close to it), so this is the standard view out of our apartment.

I love it! There is snow everywhere, always. I thought the cold weather would be more depressing than it has been thus far, but the snow is so beautiful that even on cloudy days, it still feels sort of bright outside. However, I've been volunteering at a theater nearby and walking to work can be a little tricky.

And I guess it's not all pretty. Unfortunately, when you walk into your house, this is the stuff that follows you in...

But in general, I love love love the snow. This picture doesn't do it justice, but you can see how much of it there is! I feel like a kid on Christmas walking around in this...it's so peaceful.

An unexpected benefit to life in a meat locker is that you're a short drive away from ski resorts! And because the mountains aren't all that steep, i.e. right up my alley, they're super cheap. Double score.

Last weekend when Brian and I and our friend Jackson were skiing three hours north in Wisconsin, it dumped almost a foot of snow on us! I saw the biggest fattest flakes I'd ever seen in my life (roughly the size of a quarter). It made for some great powder during night skiing....

...and gave Brian a bitchin' ice beard:

Digging the car out the next morning was less than fun, although I wasn't all that annoyed because it was still a novel experience for me. (Either that or I've started to suck it up more. Too soon to tell.)

Mostly I just continuously marvel about how swiftly life goes on in the face of a near-blizzard. It's worth noting that the slightest appearance of snow in Texas literally shut the schools down when I was growing up (can I get an Amen), so to me, a fully functioning city is nothing short of a miracle.

More snow on its way on Monday!

the wheel

You guys, I think I might be living with a prodigy. Can you solve this in under 30 seconds, which is how long the puzzle had been up before Brian solved it?

I'll put the answer in the comments so you don't accidentally see :)

The Dungeon, Finale

Well guys, I didn't get the job with Deb.

I'm not crushed, though. I'm actually not really disappointed at all, other than thinking it would've been nice to at least get the offer for self-esteem's sake, right? But if I had been offered it, I probably would've taken it for lack of a better option, and that is definitely no way to start off any job. Hopefully this rejection will allow me to get one step closer to my "dream job," if you will. Although I hear no one's hiring people to personal shop in Target and then test out masseuses all afternoon, so...

At the end of the day, I'm glad that I at least finished out the interview process, because I think it will make me a stronger interviewer in the future...mostly because I'm not interested in peeing my pants if I ever meet another Deb in a dark alley/office.

The search continues!

lucky #50

Today I applied for a job at my 50th company in Chicago. In light of this milestone, I reviewed some stats on my job hunt. For your entertainment:

59: jobs I've applied for at those 50 companies

8: employee referrals

6: rejection letters

2: companies I've interviewed with, positions still pending

0: job offers

As Christmas approaches, I am a little nervous about companies closing down their shops for the holidays. I've been dreading this lull for a while, and nothing makes it worse than knowing it will be 2011 when everyone starts focusing on hiring again! However, I have heard that January is the best month to get a job, and that's a statistic I can get behind.

Oh, and I'd like to give a shout-out to my friends Keely and Katie, who I mentioned before were also enduring hellacious job hunts themselves. Both recently got great news - Katie got a highly coveted nursing job in the PICU at Tulane Hospital and begins training this week, and Keely has a legal job lined up for post-graduation in Fort Worth! Considering Keely's professors told her that only 10% of law students will be able to find jobs after graduation this year, and Katie was among a few hundred applicants for her job, these are huge feats! Congrats friends!

what happens in vegas...

...funds our little family for the next two weeks.

Wait, is that not how it goes?

I debated posting about this because I know for a fact that it's distasteful to go HEY LOOK AT THIS MONEY I WON and I sort of wonder if it's bad karma too, but since I'm unemployed and thus would consider this a major windfall, I'm going to push my luck: Hey! I won a bunch of money in Vegas!

Why is an unemployed person going to Vegas in the first place, good question. When I originally booked my ticket (Southwest free ticket, incidentally...God I love that airline), I was pretty certain I'd have a job by this point so I didn't feel bad about joining 10 of my closest friends in Vegas for Sally's bachelorette party! The Austin crew (+ Rebecca, Amy, and Erica) have been great about planning girls' trips for the past few years, and so this epic weekend acted as our trip replacement for this year.

Isn't this the most absurd sign you've ever seen?

Without boring you with specifics, it was everything it should have been and more. Sally had a great time (I think, right?!); all the girls got along; no one was stressed out by the large group (18 in total); and we honored the Vegas Trifecta of clubbing, gambling, and going to a strip club. But no one seems to want to know about that.

They all want to know:

How to Win a Grand in 2 Days

Step 1: Be willing to put some money down

You can't win anything with $20.

Amendment: McAdams proved me wrong on the first night by starting with $15 in craps and walking out with around $100. Amy proved me wrong on the second night by walking up with $0 and walking away with $550 - COUNT IT. But in general, I think this step is pretty critical.

Step 2: Don't play something stupid

Roulette, slots, etc. Come on now.

Step 3: Play at night

Daytime gambling sucks. You're more conservative because you're relatively sober, and the energy just isn't the same. Losing is inevitable.

Step 4: Know the rules

I won both nights from playing craps, which Brian and I learned how to play this summer while in Laughlin, NV. Knowing where to put bets to get your best odds is crucial! A few basics can go a long way.

Step 5: No fun then run

If the table sucks and no one's yelling and clapping, then you'll probably lose money and hate yourself while doing it. At least if people are excited then you can write it off as a good time, right?

Step 6: Find a benefactor (Amy, can I get an amen?)

I would never prey upon anyone, but after this weekend, I might let's say choose who I stand next to more carefully. I did Friday night all by myself, but Saturday night's earnings were supplemented by one elderly Asian man named Elvin, who decided to reward me with a fancy chip that I didn't recognize whenever I rolled a 5. Which, incidentally, he was betting $1,000 per roll, and I rolled it three or four times. Good rolls = good tolls :) Elvin was also Amy's benefactor and gave her a $100 chip starter while she was loitering by me, and then handed out a little more as the night went on. Oh, and Big Tex on the other end gave $200 to our friend Katie because she rolled well. Most likely your benefactor will be over the age of 50 and will look like a complete joke (embroidered shirt, wearing sunglasses inside, etc.). Go with it.

Step 7: Roll well

Yeah okay so we have no control over this. But if things go well, you'll win money and it can help you with Step 6. So a little positive thinking can't hurt!

Step 8: Get out at the right time

Signs that it's time to get out include hyperventilating, almost peeing yourself, and not being able to count your chips because there are too many. Or because you're too drunk. Either way.

In all seriousness, I am of course no expert. But people keep asking how, so that's how! Also, I think God must've felt sorry for me. And a little divine sympathy never hurt anyone.

Jump if you love Vegas!

red bull gives you wings

Okay blog readers, it's time for you to put yourself to use and do a little cyber-clicking for my husband!

Red Bull is sponsoring a contest to find the best ad, and the winner gets chosen by a panel. We're pretty sure the winner gets a job, but it's vaguely worded (I'm sure for legal reasons). Either way, the stakes are high! They'll definitely focus on the ads with the most attention - comments, Facebook "likes," Tweets, etc.

Go here to see the little gem that Brian came up with! His idea was even clever enough to lure in a few copycat submissions. The top contenders have hundreds of likes and a lot of comments, so we've got some catching up to do!

Just make up a name for yourself and write anything under comment. To FB like it, you just click the little button. SO EASY.

Some of the most popular ones are actually really stupid (and clearly they took no time at all to put the idea together), but they might just end up winning if the better ones can't get their time in the limelight. So, go, comment, now, go Red Bull!

and a turkey for the win

Surprisingly, this was Brian's and my fourth Thanksgiving together, and not our first one alone either. So we've gotten pretty good at the cooking spiel by this point. But since it was our first technical holiday together as a married couple, Brian decided to start a little tradition by designing our first annual game-a-thon. Two competitive game-hogs started a game-a-thon? WEIRD RIGHT. And you better believe that the Rule Captain showed up in full force with a laundry list of specifics. Do not underestimate this man.

The structure was as follows: the Best of 7 separate games wins. The games are determined mutually, with the exception that each person gets to veto one game, and each person gets to suggest one un-veto-able game.

Since it was 34 degrees outside, Brian naturally chose a set of tennis. Of course he came up with this when I was already 2 nogs down, curled up on the couch in pajamas, and blissfully comfortable. But an un-veto-able game is an un-veto-able game, people. Let the games begin!

All in all, we played tennis, Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Wii Fitness Test, and Scrabble. Our last games were Contact and Phase 10, which we didn't get to because Brian had already beaten me 4-1. Ugh...consider me officially seeking revenge.

I tried so hard!

Now seems like an appropriate time to mention Brian's uncanny ability to solve Wheel of Fortune puzzles. Can anyone figure out what this is going to be, because Brian did. When you give up, scroll to the bottom for the answer.

Aside from his ass-whooping, the rest of the day + day after were fairly standard. Cooked a lot, drank a lot, ate too much, watched football, and ended with a little Christmas decorating - SCORE.

the spread

these little guys made an appearance too - hoot hoot!

YAY for our 4th Turkey Day!

Wheel of Fortune answer: A second helping of turkey and stuffing.

And now you understand why I lost.