A long, rambling catch up post.

Sorry for the sudden week-long silence. It's been a slightly trying time, and I've had to focus my energy on adapting and regrouping. But it's interesting to see how things are working out, not perhaps as I'd first wanted in my ever-so-cautious, always color inside the lines and take no risks way, but in a way that will most likely make me happier and better off in the end.

I've been job hunting for months, of course. I've had a couple of flat rejections, a couple of 2nd interviews, and last week I really thought I had a job in the bag after a second interview that felt like a love-fest, but got the Call of Doom from their HR person a couple of days later. That left me feeling a bit blue, and I needed a few days to lick my wounds. It wasn't that it was a great job, the job of my dreams, etc., blah-blah, it's that it was the same sort of boring safety net I was used to. I've found myself retreating to that sort of "...but, the hours are good!" job when I send my resume. Awful, isn't it? And of course the job market here is much smaller than "the big city," and options are few, and don't pay much either.

What about the real estate license, you ask? Well, real estate, as you know, is a commission sales, independent contractor life. And I was raised to never take risks, always pick the safe option, be the cautious little drudge and Do-Bee I was raised to be. I'm finally reaching the conclusion that the Universe ain't gonna let be be that anymore. So, after a couple of days of wound-licking after being rejected for a drudge-like document wonking job I could do in my sleep (but the hours were good!), I've decided to quit ignoring the inner voice telling me that this is MY TIME. I have the brains and the skills and the determination, and I am supposed to GET OUT THERE.

It's not just my inner voice telling me this, btw. Check out these timely tidbits:

Something else is happening this month that is extremely important and could change your view of your career forever. Uranus will enter your tenth house of career on March 11 to stay for seven years, until 2019. From now on, you can expect this planet of genius and surprise to bring all kinds of experiences to your professional life. You can expect breathtaking breakthroughs and exciting highs, but there will also be several setbacks that come out of nowhere. You will need to learn to manage this powerful energy, but you will, and in the process become quite adept at it. You'll certainly have enough time to spend with Uranus.

One thing is certain: You'll have a very strong urge to be independent and to work on your own. You will want to have your own business and to run your own show.

and this:

Uranus' entry into your house of professional success, from March 11 to stay seven years, until 2019, is a massive event sure to change the direction and nature of your career. If being self-employed is important to you, it will be possible, but so will other positions.

So, there you have it. :-)

In other news, Murphy had to go back to the vet last week. He'd begun vomiting hours after eating, sometimes in the middle of the night, and his runny poop had escalated. I took him to the new vet, who upped the dosage of his prednisolone and metronidizole to see if that stabilized things, gave him a B-12 shot and added an anti-emetic for the short term, to settle his tummy. He did better right away, but now, a week later, the runny poop is back, and he barfed a little last night. His weight is holding, though he's now a smidge under 7 lbs., and he is chipper and eager to go to the park, but I think we'll have to go ahead with a new round of blood work and see what we see. Sigh. I'll keep you all posted, of course. It's probably just another one of the swings and cycles we've seen in his disease, but every one is troubling.

In happier news - after trying for months and gaining and losing the same 3 pounds about half a million times, I broke down and joined Weight Watchers Online three weeks ago. I am a Weight Watchers dropout from way back - I remember trying it back when "points" were just a different way of counting calories, and a healthy breakfast was cereal and fat-free milk and fruit, and my stomach would be growling loudly and embarrassingly in 9 a.m. meetings. I used to say I could never do WW, I was hungry and headachy on their idea of a healthy diet. Their new Points Plus program is a totally different story - as my friend The Queen put it, it's "Weight South Beach Watchers." They've really changed the focus of the plan away from cereal for breakfast and "WW brand ice cream is 2 points!!" to fruits and veggies and lean protein.

You still count points, but fruits and veggies count as 0, and other things have been recalculated not by calories, but by their "proprietary formula" which sure looks like the glycemic load to me. Processed foods, even the ones that are labeled "low calorie," can have a surprising number of points when calculated according to their new guidelines. I used to think I ate a generally healthy diet, just too damn much of it, but now I have to say I'm eating cleaner than ever - much more fruit, much fewer things that come in a package.

Whatever you want to call it, it's easy, it works, and I truly do feel wonderful. I'm never hungry, I have tons of energy, and even my mood is more positive and confident. I've only lost about 5 pounds so far, but my face looks so much healthier and less puffy, it's crazy. I look at myself in my daughter's wedding pictures and want to cry - WHY didn't I do this this time LAST year? Sigh. At least I'll look much better in my Mother of the Groom pics this October.

Spring is coming early here. The sky is gloriously clear, and the sunbeams have returned to the living room.