Oh, dear.

Has it really been a month since I last updated? If you've decided to stop checking in on me, I understand. It's been nutso since I started my new job. No excuse, though. I'm sorry.

Yes, I started my new job on January 17th after a weekend in Chicago visiting with family and friends. We had a ball even though it was bleeping cold there. I feel truly Floridian now. I hate the cold. I realized while we were there that we talked about the weather A LOT. (I'm sorry.) And now I think I know why. See, in Chicago, people live there expressly for the city, the activities, etc. And so they talk about the city, activities, etc. But in Florida, people live here for the weather, so we talk about the weather. Not like, huh, I guess it's nice today. No, more like, Man! I LOVE this weather! It makes me so happy! We should be outside today! And on and on. I'm not ashamed anymore. I love this weather and it DOES make me happy.

Speaking of the weather, it rained last weekend. That was weird. We haven't seen rain for months, and then Saturday was a veritable monsoon. I really hated it. And we were driving over to the other coast (Fort Lauderdale) to check out a car for Brad. It turned out to be a dud but we bought one at Carmax that afternoon! It was a beautiful thing. Canyon Red Volkswagen Jetta, tan leather interior, just a beaut. But when we got it home we found it had a coolant leak and some other issues, so thanks to Carmax's nice 5-day return policy, back it went on Wednesday night. Hey, Brad, do I get extra Good Wife points for giving up date night to deal with cars?

While we were at Carmax the second time we looked at a gorgeous silver VW Golf. It was just really pretty (man, did I marry a car guy or what? Three years ago I would never have called a car gorgeous or really pretty. Pretty soon we'll start dressing alike.) Anyway, it was pretty on the outside, ran like a dream, and smelled like poop. Really. Have you seen the Seinfeld episode where Jerry gets his car back from the shop and it smells like the shop guy's body odor? Well, this would have been the opposite. We would have gotten b.o. from the car. No, thank you.

So we decided to continue our hunt on this coast. The next day Brad found a nice champagne-colored Honda Accord just up the street from my office. He drove it and it's great. I'm going to drive it tomorrow morning, and we might buy it. Beautiful inside and out, and runs nicely. A 2001 I think, with 34,000 miles (!); it was owned by an elderly couple and the guy died. But not before taking excellent care of the car.

Work has been good, thanks for asking. I absolutely love this job. I sit in a tiny closet with no windows and horrid circulation, alternately baking and shivering, going batty from the overhead fluorescent lights, but I love it. Robin, Glenn, and John are all really great people to be around. Robin is the bookkeeper and office manager and is teaching me the ropes of how the filing system works, etc. Glenn is the paperwork-man and is teaching me all there is to know about getting a house permitted for building. He is terribly patient and very pleasant to be around. I couldn't ask for a better boss. John is the superintendent, or field-man, so he's rarely around. When he is, he's great. I'm doing a lot of getting-systems-in-place. Like I've said, they usually build around 8 houses a year, and right now we have NINE being processed for permitting. I feel like I'm learning a ton, I like what I'm learning, and my work is appreciated. Meanwhile, my teaching replacement is struggling with kids and one nearly stabbed her with a pencil the second day she was there. I do NOT miss that job one bit.

I was on a blog today and came across this fun list to fill out. Write a comment and tell me your Fours, ok?

Four jobs I've had:
Counting checks at a bank
Inspecting road construction work
Being a houseparent to forty international high school girls
Teaching junior high

Four movies I can watch over and over:
Chocolat
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (seriously)
Father of the Bride
Mostly Martha

Four places I have lived:
Libertyville, Illinois
Baltimore, Maryland
Evanston, Illinois
Lehigh Acres, Florida

Four tv shows I love to watch:
That 70s Show
The Planet's Funniest Animals
Crossing Jordan
Anything HGTV

Four places I have been on holiday:
New York City
Boston
Chicago
Playa Del Carmen

Four of my favorite dishes:
Chicken Parmesan
Filet Mignon with Twice Baked Potatoes
Cashew Chicken
My Mom's Creole Pot Roast

Four websites I visit daily:
ask.metafilter.com
msnbc.com
notmartha.org
roominroppongi.blogspot.com

Four places I'd rather be:
In bed-- stayed up too late last night
At a show on Broadway
Exploring Charleston, SC
At Mimi's Cafe eating chicken pot pie