Boise's Job Market Woes

Wow, this has been kind of a depressing week (well, last several months really) in terms of the job market here in Boise. It seems like every day I read in the news that another company is shutting their doors or doing massive layoffs. The latest news is that one of our largest employers, Micron, is cutting 500 jobs immediately, with another 1500 planned over the next several months. My heart truly goes out to those families, and all whose jobs have been affected by this recession. I also think about the trickle down affect... I'm sure there are companies in the Treasure Valley that were created solely as a support for some of these large struggling companies (i.e. packaging, lighting, supplier, etc.) who now won't be able to sustain their business models. Just sad times all the way around.

I consider myself lucky and blessed to have the job that I have. I think about the day 3 1/2 years ago when I was pretty sure I was going to get a job offer at Boise State, and I still had no idea if I wanted to take the job. I thank my Heavenly Father every single day for nudging me in this direction, as I know it truly was the right path for me to follow. I have been blessed with great coworkers, and have been given wonderful opportunities to grow professionally.

I think that it would take a lot to shut down the University! Not that my job is completely protected by any means, as we will likely be affected by some deep budget cuts this next fiscal year, but traditionally in a time of recession, people go back to school. I have sat in on a couple budget meetings, and I know my boss is doing everything she can to cut back without cutting jobs. We'll see what this next year brings for me. I'm hoping the worst thing will be that I may have to take a mandatory furlough (time off without pay), but if that can save someone else's job, then I'm happy to do it.

One last thing - for my friend Sally. I met Sally in graduate school, and we hit it off immediately. We became fast friends, and I was was excited for the classes that we had together. We really don't do a lot together socially now (although we should!!!), but I still feel a deep connection with her, as we journeyed through some interesting times together in our MBA program. Anyway, her husband works for Cypress, who will be closing their Boise office this August. Sally's husband was one of 5 people here in Boise to get a relocation offer. Sally and her family are still trying to decide what's best for them, but I wish them the best of luck as they consider their options, and pray for them every day. I do know that we have a loving Heavenly Father who is watching out for each of us, and is aware of our situations. Even though we all have to pass through hard times, we will be blessed in the end! I love you Sally!

Book Suggestions Needed

Let's pretend you were going on a Caribbean cruise. You know that you'll have a long flight to and from Miami, as well as some relaxing time on the cruise ship, and you want a good, fun, easy book to read. What book would you bring with you???

Welcome to Boise, Tucanos!

Tucanos was one of my favorite restaurants when I lived in Provo. It was always a treat when mom and dad came to visit and they would take us to dinner at Tucanos (we were too poor/cheap as college kids to go there on our own!). For those of you who don't know, Tucanos is a Brazilian Grill... there are meat servers who walk around from table to table and serve a fabulous array of 12-15 meats from pork tenderloin to bacon wrapped turkey to top sirloin. They also bring around skewers of sweet grilled pineapple, which happens to be one of my favorites. Well guess what! There is a new Tucanos in Boise. Hooray! Jen, David, and I enjoyed a dinner out last night, and I can't wait to go back next month to celebrate all the March birthdays in my family! The food is seriously delish, and is worth splurging on every once in a while. Oh, and as a side note, lunch is quite a bit cheaper than dinner. Dinner prices start at 4:00, so it's not a bad idea to show up at 3:45 :-)

It's About Time!

When I graduated with my Masters degree, I got a beautiful diploma frame as a graduation present from my work. My Bachelors diploma, however, continued to sit in storage in the diploma cover it came in. I decided 7 years was long enough for my diploma to just sit, so last month I ordered a frame, and I finally took time today to hang both my diplomas on my office wall over my desk :-)

Little Country Girl

I have wanted a pair of cowboy boots for years now. Every time that I go to a rodeo or a country concert or some other event where I dress country, I have been bummed that I haven't had authentic cowboy boots to go with my outfit. Well, this weekend I finally broke down and got myself a pair of Fatbabys... I love them! Why did I wait so long to buy these? It's not like my feet are still growing :-) They should last me forever, right? Plus, now I can ride horses with Jen this summer!

Buying these boots reminds me of growing up... my dad often wore cowboy boots when I was younger (and I guess he still does on casual Fridays!). I remember as a little girl when my dad would lay down on his bed in the evening, I would sometimes help him pull off his boots :-) It's funny how little things can spark memories of the past...

Movie Mania Update

Well, I've still been on a movie kick lately, and I've seen three movies in the theater since my last movie post. Here are my updates:

• He's Just Not That Into You - Cute and funny, but probably not worth the $9.50 to see it now... wait until it comes out in the cheap theaters and then get a group of girls to go see it.
• Coraline in 3D - This movie got great reviews. I thought the animation was good, and so was the storyline, but Tim Burton movies just aren't my thing. I do have to admit that it was better than Nightmare Before Christmas.
• Pink Panther 2 - Cheesy, funny, but I think I liked the first Pink Panther better. I got to see this one for free (my realtor had a client appreciation party), so it was definitely worth it... but I think in a normal circumstance I would wait for this one to come out on DVD.
  

Restaurant Review

I have heard excellent things about Gino's Italian restaurant, so I was excited to try it out tonight. The ambiance was fantastic, the food was delicious, but the service was horrendous. I seriously can't remember a time I had worse service. Let me elaborate...

We (a party of four) arrived at the restaurant around 7:30pm. It's a weekday, so the restaurant wasn't super crowded. We were seated immediately and were brought a basket of some of the best bread ever. Seriously, throughout the meal, we asked for three more baskets of bread. Good thing we had the bread to tie us over, because it was an hour before our food was brought to our table (not to mention that the people at the next table who got there after us were done eating before we even got our food). Additionally, our waiter hardly even acknowledged our table, and our water glasses sat empty most of the evening.

After we finished eating (which wasn't too long after we got the food seeing as we were famished by this point), we waited about 20 minutes before our waiter even acknowledged us so that we could ask for a check. We all had our coats on and our credit cards pulled out. We were obviously ready to go. Anyway, he left the check on our table and literally didn't come back for another 15-20 minutes. No joke! Not only that, but we were shocked when we saw on the bill that we had been charged $6.00 for the bread and one person had been charged an extra $2.00 for getting alfredo instead of marinara. Now, it's completely understandable that restaurants might charge for these things, but our waiter didn't even mention an extra charge.

When our waiter FINALLY came back to collect our payment, I VERY nicely said that we were happy to pay for the bread, but in the future it might be nice to let customers know up front that there is an extra charge for the bread. The waiter was pretty rude and came back with a comment on how much money it costs the restaurant when people order extra bread. Needless to say, two hours after we entered the restaurant, we finally left... and none of us will be back. The unfortunate thing is that I think the restaurant was actually really nice, but the waiter was so bad that he tainted my entire opinion of the restaurant.

Thanks for letting me rant!

Tear Saver

I have always been super sensitive to onions. Whenever a recipe calls for onions, I brace myself for streaming tears as I prepare to chop them. I'm not talking about just watery eyes, I'm talking about full on crying. In fact, there have been several times when I've had people ask why I was so upset when it was simply the onion causing me to cry. That's why I love my onion chopper. This thing has literally saved me from shedding thousands of tears. All I have to do now is cut the onion in quarters, and this handy chopper does the rest. No more tears for me!

Spin Around the Block

The temperature hit over 50 degrees today!!! What, you might ask, is so significant about that??? Well 50 degrees is the bottom of my motorcycle riding temperature threshold! So yep, as soon as I walked in the door from work, I had to take my baby for a spin. I was happy she started right up after a long winter of sitting idle. I just rode for about 20 minutes, and didn't leave the neighborhoods around my house, but it sure felt nice to be riding again. Here's to spring!

True Love

I just had to share this email I got from my mom! My mom had surgery last month and part of her thyroid was removed, so she now has to take medication daily to supplement. The title of her email was "Your Dad Loves Me". I really do have a great dad :-)

Hi Kids -

I want you to know how lucky I am that I am married to your father. He takes such good care of me.

Dad takes his prescription medication every morning as soon as he wakes up - before he even gets out of bed. He is in a routine, and he never forgets his medication.

I am now on thyroid medication and I am not in a routine yet - and Dad worries that I might forget to take it. SOOOOO, he tried to give me my pill when he takes his. BUT, I am still sleeping and I was grumpy that I had to wake up to take it. I have to take the thyroid medication on an empty stomach - 30 min before eating. SOOOOO, Dad wants to make sure I take it in the morning.

Well, I wake up about the time that Dad is shaving. Dad wants to be sure that I take my medication. SOOOO, he decided on a way that HE will remember to GIVE ME my medication each morning. The picture tells the rest of the story.
Love, Mom

PS He seriously shaves each morning with my thyroid medication attached to his razor. Talk about "true love".

It Doesn't Hurt to Ask

I can't wait for my Caribbean cruise. Yesterday it was 81 degrees in Grand Cayman and 78 degrees in Cozumel - wouldn't that be nice!?! So I had heard from a couple people that you can sometimes get an upgraded room on a cruise ship if you just ask. Well, last week I got online and noticed that cruise prices have dropped since I made my reservations a few months ago... So I contacted the cruise line, mentioned the price difference, and asked for an upgraded room. The next day, I got an email back from the cruise line and they upgraded me! All that means is that I have an exterior room with a small porthole, but I'm still excited. So lesson learned - it doesn't hurt to ask for an upgrade!