New GEICO Commercial - Piggy

This is my favorite commercial ever. It seriously makes me laugh so hard every single time that I watch it. Thank you, genius marketing team at Geico's ad agency.

Update

We went to Boston for multiple interviews and to look for a place to live.

Jackson got a great job offer today. They unexpectedly offered him a signing bonus of the exact amount that I am out for my ungrateful boss letting me go early. God is so good. Jackson has until Tuesday to accept the offer. He is due to hear from his #1 job pick on Monday afternoon and then will make his decision.

I interviewed at two firms while I was in Boston. One firm, KPMG, I loved and would like to work there. The other firm was a regional firm where the partner who interviewed me was one of my least favorite people that I've ever spoken with- ever. When I got home (on our way home from the airport after getting stuck in Atlanta overnight), I got a call from another Big 4 accounting firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC). They are flying me back to Boston on Wednesday for interviews all day on Thursday. The whole thing is crazy. I honestly did not think that any firms paid for people to come out to interviews anymore. I get to fly first class! I am very interested in working for them, too. We will see which one thinks I am a good fit for their organization.

We did not find a perfect place to live quite yet. We intend to stay in an extended stay for about a month while we get to know the city and figure out where we'd like to be.

I am leaving for Indiana for a few weeks next Monday after I return from my Boston interviews. I am going to drive from Denver to Indianapolis by going through Nebraska and Iowa so that I can mark them off of my list of states to visit. I'm going to just enjoy my time off and hang out. I'm going to also roadtrip down to the Evansville area to see my sister, Baby Alex, Grace and Kathi. Woo hoo!

V-E-T

MacKenzie had to go to the vet today for a heart worm test. She got to ride with her seatbelt on in the front seat of the convertible. I love the little wind-blown look she is rocking here. She is the cutest dog ever. :) She did very well at the vet. She met another little schnauzer, got some treats and was on her way.

Let go...

As most of you know, I gave my boss 6 weeks' notice of our impending departure. She took it well at first and I thought it was going to go well. I knew that it was the right thing to do- giving her ample notice. I got burned. I told her 2 weeks ago and today she came into my office at 3:30 p.m. and told me to get lost. I don't think I've ever been so angry in my life. I was shaking, I was so mad. Anyway, she's a jerk. I pretty much hate her guts for it.

I'm just so frustrated to be punished for doing the right thing.

Anyway, onward and upward.

Busy

We've been super busy, but I hope to post about the rest of our Eastern adventure tomorrow!

Our trip to Maine

Today we saw a few possible places to live here in Boston and then headed up to York, Maine. I love Maine.
It was a really gorgeous day and we walked on the beach for about an hour before getting "linner."
A self-portrait of the Petefish family (excuse my hair in my face-the wind was blowing).
I'm not sure, but since Jackson was making face at me when I was trying to document our day I decided to post his shenanigans on here.
I love the Nubble Lighthouse!
We stopped in at the gift shop and got a little book about lobsters for Baby Alex.
This car reminded me a roadster. (Heidi- kind of like you wedding get-away car!)
We had our "linner" at Fox's. It is so good!
Eating outside makes it just a little bit cheaper so that's what we did.
Jackson, of course, had the lobster.
He was so excited. We had a really nice day hanging out in Maine. It is so nice that the beaches are within driving distance of the city. LOVE IT!

Rev Run

Each morning I get an email from Rev Run, a minister who used to be a rapper in Run DMC, that has encouraging words. This is what it was this morning:

Good morning.

Get it out of your head and put it in God's hands!

God is Love

Rev Run

How fitting based on today's big day of interviews and thoughts of moving. I love it when God speaks to our situation.

Matthew 25:40

I'll start by saying that Jackson thinks it is funny how sometimes I blog about things that irritate me, sometimes I blog politically, sometimes I blog Petefish events and sometimes I blog as if this was my journal. I figure it is my blog, I'll do what I want to with it. But I will apologize for being all over the place, dear reader, and not letting you now what to expect every time you catch up on the Petefish Post.

Today, I will delivering a "sermon." I call it this because I don't know what else to call it. I know full well that I'm not a minister, pastor and even a great public speaker. I can write quite well and that's what I intend to do.

This morning Jackson and I rode into Boston from the suburbs for our job interviews. I was filling out Jackson's paperwork for him on the train (typical.) and my mind was just full of thinking about how important the next few hours were to me. I got off of the train before Jackson and said goodbye as I wished him luck. I came out of the subway thinking how I felt like a little kid playing dress up. Surely this wasn't my life. I cannot already have a Masters degree and be headed for a "big girl" job interview. But I was. My thoughts of dress up were interrupted by the sound of change jingling. I looked up to see a homeless man asking is anyone could spare some change. (Time out. I wanted to give a quick reminder of where I was: the financial district in downtown Boston. This means that everyone wizzing by in their expensive clothing all had good jobs and surely had some money to spare. Time in.) I stopped and got a $1 bill out of my wallet and put it in his cup. He gave me the biggest smile and thanked me. I wished him a good day and told him to take care. Just then a guy in suit behind me says, "you're a sucker. He doesn't need your help."

Really, sir? Really? He just wants to be out begging? He needed to be humbled? I immediately thought of the verse in the Bible where Jesus tells us that what we do to the least of these we do to Jesus. I also found this verse: One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the LORD, And He will repay him for his good deed. Proverbs 19:17.

I wanted to tell that man what I thought of his attitude. I refrained. There was no reason to fight hate with hate. Instead I closed my mouth, smiled at him and wished him a good day, too. I hope that mean man knows that wealth is fleeting.

I also saw a man in the train station's food court digging through the trash and eating leftover food. I'm certain he just did that for fun, sir. He probably likes a trash taste on his food. Ugh.

I ate my McDonald's breakfast with a huge amount of gratitude this morning. Thankful that I had the means to eat when I was hungry and thankful that I lived in a place with food available to me whenever. I tried to find the guy that I had seen eating from the trash without luck. I wanted to buy him his very own breakfast. Maybe this job will work out and I'll have another chance. Maybe not. We'll see. I did tell myself that if the job does work out I will buy a $10 McDonald's gift-card each week and hand it out to someone that I see in need. That way no one can assume they'll buy alcohol with it and they'll be forced to eat. (I don't really doubt homeless people's intentions. I am not, however, oblivious to the fact that some have real addictions.) If I end up at another place of employment I will find a way to give back there, too. I felt very convicted this morning about doing more for others and less for me.

Ok, end of "sermon." Thanks for reading!

No sleep.

We have not slept. Seriously. It has been a long time since we've gone to sleep. We caught the red eye flight today at 1:10 a.m. MST and haven't slept since. I'm looking forward to bed here in a few minutes.

We made it to Boston without incident. We explored the city on foot today as we took the subway into the city from out suburban hotel.

This is where my interview is tomorrow. I liked to building and the location is top-notch. Let's hope they think I'm good stuff!
We wandered through Boston Commons on our way to see Jackson's interview locations. If you've never been to Boston Commons YOU NEED TO SEE IT. I love it more than I love Central Park (N.Y.C) or Washington Park (Denver) and that's HUGE.
I thought this was such a gorgeous picture of what Boston Commons looked like today. LOVELY.
This is Fanuiel Hall. It is so cute. I love it. I know that in its day it was a large structure, but compared to the skyscrapers surrounding it, it looks tiny. It has been converting into a flea market style center and is pretty fun.

I had to take a video of where Jackson's first interview is tomorrow as it was so huge that I couldn't get it all in one picture! I would have a cow if someone asked me to work up there everyday, but he is excited.

We were supposed to look at apartments today, but the guy flaked out on us. Bummer. Luckily, we have a lot of appointments set for Saturday so we'll be busy then, too. What's new?!

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers tomorrow as we interview. Thank you!

Whew

The Petefish family has had a lot going on in recent weeks. We're in move-to-Boston-mode and have been quite busy with those preparations. We've got multiple interviews on Friday and Monday. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we interview.

We're also going to be selecting a place to live. We have quite a few appointments to see different places. I hope that we can find something that we love that doesn't break the bank. We just want a decent-sized place with laundry in the unit. That honestly seems to be a lot to ask of Boston. Jeesh.

We head out to Boston on Thursday morning at 1 a.m. on the red eye. MacKenzie will be at Camp Bow Wow for some of the time and some of it she will spend with Bri and Marla.

Finally, we will be spending some time in Maine (my #1 favorite state- this fact came as a shock to Jackson. He assumed Indiana- home of Madison Duckwall- was #1, but alas it is #2.) at the beach. We'll have fresh lobster and fun in the sun. Woo hoo! :)

Dr. Seuss

A new, updated, Dr. Seuss book

I do not like this Uncle Sam,

I do not like his health care scam.

I do not like these dirty crooks,

or how they lie and cook the books.

I do not like when Congress steals,

I do not like their secret deals.

I do not like this speaker, Nan ,

I do not like this 'YES WE CAN.'

I do not like this spending spree,

I'm smart, I know that nothing's free.

I do not like your smug replies,

when I complain about your lies.

I do not like this kind of hope.

I do not like it, nope, nope, nope!

Alex's photo shoot

http://www.capturedbydebrapoe.com/apps/photos/album?albumid=9510019

Check out our friend Debra Poe's website for some really cute pictures of Baby Alex and his family.

Why we love Susie

I sent this photo to Susie along with a note reading, "We saw this card and thought of you. We laughed for hours!"

She later responded with, "Very true but it is the attic. "

Classic.

Explanation: We have a TON of our stuff stored at Susie's from moving to Colorado. We're going to sort through all of our stuff on our way to Boston and purge. She's pretty excited to no longer be our storage unit! :)

Random Photos

There are a few things that we will miss about Colorado- the sunsets over the mountains being at or very near the top of our list. This photo attempts to capture, but it doesn't.

I thought this picture of MacKenzie was so cute. She LOVES to be outside on our balcony. She likes to bark at the mailman, other dogs and the occasional rabbit. She also takes her toys out there just in case anyone wants to swing by to play with her. She's just so cute! :)

Boston, Baby!

We have been busy, busy working on this move to Boston. I have had about 30,000 interviews (ok- 4) and so has Jackson (ok-3). We've been moved on to the next step in 2 jobs each. We are going to travel out there on Friday the 23rd- Monday the 26th to do interviews, try to find a place to live and hopefully hop up to Maine for a day at the beach.

Things are really starting to firm up and that has been exciting. In bad news, the admin lady at my office quit today without any notice. Then, my pregnant boss was in a car accident. She was just having a bad day. I felt bad that I'll be leaving soon too, but such is life. (In case you're wondering, yes, the accident was her fault. No, they do not think that the baby was hurt in the accident, but she still had to go to the ER for observation.)

That's all that is going on here in our day-to-day lives. It has been busy and exciting, but we're ready to sign employment contracts and be on our way!

Watermelon

I bought a watermelon at the grocery store today and when we cut it open we discovered it was not ripe at all. It was sour and gross. Naturally, Jackson thought to give it to MacKenzie. After inspecting it for a minute, she dug right in!
I love that she even has her little paw on it. She was really into that piece of melon. Yes, I will be mopping my floors in the morning now. That's ok- as long as the little dog enjoyed herself. :) Jackson kept telling her to wait until we got some watermelon that was actually good and she'd be blown away. Classic.

Sunday Fun-day

I got to go to breakfast with some of my favorite ladies to one of my favorite spots: The Original Pancake House. I had french toast without cinnamon and it rocked. Then I headed to Grace Community Church. I LOVE that church. LOVE it. LOOOOOOVE it.

I got to spend more time with Heidi and Jax in the afternoon. Christina came down to join us and we had some girl time. I also learned more about having a baby and being a mother than I will ever put into everyday use, but that's ok. Heidi is such a natural at being a mother and I'm so proud of her! (Andrew is a great dad, too!!)

I actually sat down for a few minutes on Sunday to try to keep plowing through the book "Eat, Pray, Love." I couldn't do it. I fell asleep. I loathe this book and just want it to end already. Seriously. I met up with Shannon for some girl talk at McAlister's. I love their sweet tea. :)

That night Indianapolis had a serious storm that kept me awake. How rude. I am just not used to storms anymore. What a weenie. I had to be up at 4:15 Eastern time to catch my flight back to Denver. My flight was full and totally uncomfortable. Whine. I got some fitful sleep- just enough to make my neck hurt. I worked all day on Monday and by the time the evening arrived I was exhausted.

I had a great time in Indiana, as always. I am so blessed to have an awesome family and wonderful friends. Thanks to everyone for making time to play!

Saturday in Indiana

My brother, Aaron, and my nephew, Justin. Aren't they handsome!?

Aaron holding Baby Alex.

My sister, brother and nephew (what a good looking bunch!).

I got up on Saturday and headed for Upland. I stopped and got the dogs (there were 6 dogs at my parent's house at one point- whoa) a cake at Three Dogs Bakery so they could celebrate with us. When I got to Upland the place was packed! My brother, his girlfriend Alisha, my nephew Justin and Alex, Kylie, Nick, my Mom, Grandma and all 6 of the dogs. WHOA! It was nice to have some many people that I love in one room. (It was also nice to finally meet the girl who has stolen my big brother's heart!)

I brought Alex a "Baby Einstein" DVD that he LOVED. He watched it so intently. I was so happy that he liked them so much. He was just a precious little guy. I just love that little face!He showed us how he can sit up in his Bumbo chair. He was such a big boy!
His Aunt Ninny sent him his cute little onesies that says "Mommy's Greatest Catch."

My phone takes videos now so I shot a quick one of him "talking" to me. He made me remember why I love being an Aunt and NOT a Mom. :)

I headed back to Indianapolis and had dinner with my dear friend, Shaya. I always love to catch up with her and her boyfriend Bates. They're the best couple. Someone really intelligent must have set them up. Oh wait, that was me. ;) :)

I had a great day!

Friday in Indiana

Thursday night I hopped on a flight headed for Indianapolis. I got in around 12:30 a.m., rented a car and headed for Susie's house (aka the Petefish B&B). Gracie and our cousin DeDe were also staying at the B&B. It was a full house!

I was so happy to see a few members of the Petefish extended family on Friday morning. I also got to see Boomer, MacKenzie's boyfriend. He looked for MacKenzie to no avail. Then I headed to Anderson for my dear Aunt Phyllis' funeral. I'm the world's worst funeral goer and I was a mess. I know that she was ready to go. She had planned the whole day, but I was still so sad. It was nice, however, to see some of the family that I had not seen in a long time.

I headed back to Indianapolis and had lunch with Heidi and her 5 month old baby boy, Jax.

I just love this little face. Isn't he just an absolute doll?!
He got to eat some cereal and taste water for the first time. I know, right, water for the first time? I guess he had always had milk or formula. He loved the water! :) It was so nice to see a baby right after a funeral. The whole circle of life thing made me misty.

I got to go visit my hairdresser, Kylee, who just moved back to Indianapolis- just for me, I'm certain. I always love to catch up with her. I got to go to dinner with Susie and Gracie at my favorite place, Mitchell's Fish Market, in Carmel's Clay Terrace. That place is just so good. Seriously. Go. I also got Gracie the shirt shown below- let's go IU! I cannot believe how big my favorite little girl is getting! :/ We all came home and baked brownies for my Mom's birthday party the next day. Grace was a great little helper!

Happy birthday, Grandma Duck

We would all like to wish my Mom a very happy birthday today! I'm excited to celebrate with you this weekend, Mom. We love you- have a wonderful day!!! :)

Kathi in Haiti

Jackson's older sister is in Haiti this week volunteering her skills as a physical therapist at a hospital down there. She was able to post a photo of herself with the most adorable little guy, David (seen above), in order to let us know that she had made it to her destination. We're so glad that she made it safely and was willing to sacrifice her time to go down there. We're proud of you, Kathi. Have a great trip! :)

Alex's first swim

Is this not the cutest photo you have ever seen? I get to hold this little guy on SATURDAY! I cannot wait. Too bad there is not a pool at the house in Upland, I hear that Alex was in love with the water! :)

Chief Mountain

We both had the day off today so we decided to go for a hike. We went up to Chief Mountain which is about an hour drive from our place. We passed this little prairie on the way and I just loved it. It looked so peaceful and pristine.
This is the view from the top. It was a bit windy and chilly up there, but the view was spectacular.
I was really entertained by these tiny little trees that were no bigger than MacKenzie. If it had been December one of those little guys would have come home and been her own Christmas tree! ;)
I love this photo of MacKenzie because it looks like she is having a conversation with me- I'm just outside of the camera's view. She is looking so intently at me. It cracks me up.
It was a nice, clear day and we could see for miles. It was awesome.

After the hike, we headed home to clean up. We were nasty, sweaty messes after that climb. This evening we hit up a sale at Express (thanks again for the gift card, Susie!) and went to dinner. We played ball with MacKenzie and the other neighborhood dogs before heading to the driving range. I had not been hitting balls when we went to the driving range because when I was in school I needed to focus on my studies and not golf. Now that I'm free, I will spending a lot more time on my game. For being extremely rusty, I hit a few great shots. Other than that...well, we will not go there.

Finally, in honor of my Aunt Phyllis who passed away today (you read about her in the "I'll have a hot fudge sundae" post), I had a hot fudge sundae. I know that you're in a better place, Aunt Phyllis so I only allowed myself about 30 minutes of tears. I am actually going to be in Indiana for Aunt Phyllis' funeral so I will get to pay my respects in person. Please keep her family and friends in your prayers. I know that her passing was expected, but it is still never easy.

Happy Independence Day!

Last night we went down to Parker to a cookout at our friend Meg's house. We had a great time and then headed down to see the town's fireworks. They did not let us down! We got a great parking spot and were able to watch from the comfort of the convertible and then hop out before we got stuck in traffic. Perfect! Thanks for hosting us, Meg! :)

Little firecracker

Is Alex not so cute in his little firecracker outfit?!
He is just so cute! I think he is really starting to look like Kylie.
I think he looks like he's saying, "what's up?!" to the camera.

Take me out to the ball game

One of Jackson's co-workers has season tickets to the Colorado Rockies' games and was not able to make it to the game tonight so we took his tickets and had a date night. (We technically have date night nearly every night, but still.) We rode the light rail downtown, stopped for pizza and took in a baseball game. It was a very American summer evening. We had a great time.
Jackson watching the game.
The view of the mountains was really pretty from our seats. Of course pictures never do our mountains justice, but you get the idea.
LET'S GO DEXTER!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is my new favorite player for 2 reasons:

1. I had a dog named Dexter and he was the awesome

2. Dexter hit a triple tonight and it was actually exciting!
The view from our seats.
We were in love with the way the grass was cut. I guess we're easy to please.
I thought it was funny to see these fine policeman working so hard. Right.
The ballpark was hopping this evening. It was a lot of fun to be there!

Excuse my video quality as we were singing and trying to take in the atmosphere. You'll also hear my commentary at the end. Keep in mind that baseball is one of my least favorite games due to the lack of action. Jackson insisted that I still post the video as he thought the comments were funny. I really was a good sport about going to the game, though. :)