Blogger Privacy!

I don't know what to do.

You see, I have a statcounter on this very site. Yes, yes, I do. I don't know specifically who you are, but I know where you are at and I know your IP address.

So, here is the thing. I checked my statcounter tonight to find that someone has been looking at each post, picture, EVERYTHING from back in 2006 when I started to today. They have gone to the now closed vox where I started, to wordpress where I was at the same time I started blogger. Is this person copying everything? What in the world is this person doing? This person is in Liverpool, Pennsylvania. See, I told you I knew where you were.

I don't mind people across the world reading the blog to gather information. I have readers from all over the world to look at Spiderman birthday party invitations (yes, I also know what they read on my blog and how long they spend on my blog), to read up on Turbo Fire and to find out if dryer sheets are necessary. But, to read up/copy (seriously, what is this person doing exactly???!!!) from 6:52pm until now and it is after 9pm now. I find this creepy.

Maybe I should go private. I have made my not updated and old wordpress private and not searchable. I sure do not want to see a bunch of cute images of my kiddos popping up on a billboard in Liverpool or worse.

Seriously, what's up?!

Okay, what is up with this????

So, after making my blog private over night, I will now watch my tracker very closely. If I continue to see this kind of activity, I will have to make my blog private. 

I have been blogging for 6 years with most of my readers being people all over the world. I would like to continue blogging, but at what cost? THIS IS MY BLOG!! Seriously!! ALL MINE!! NOW LEAVE ME ALONE!

So, if you want to keep reading The Austin Life, you will have to message me (either on Facebook or email or through this blog). If I see this happen again, I will close this blog to the public indefinitely.

Okay, what is up with this???? This is from my statcounter. Comments? Suggestions?

 Log: 12 days, upgrade to 4 months* from just $5/month

Visitor Analysis & System Spec
Referring URL:				ckaustin.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default
Host Name:				pa-67-234-13-120.dhcp.embarqhsd.net									Browser:				IE 8.0
IP Address:				67.234.13.120 — [Label IP Address]									Operating System:				Win7
Location:				Liverpool, Pennsylvania, United States									Resolution:				1600x900
Returning Visits:				0									Javascript:				Enabled
Visit Length:				2 hours 15 mins 1 sec									ISP:				Embarq Corporation

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Our Life in Limbo

Just when I thought we had everything kind of under control here, Chris tries to stir the pot, so to speak.

So Thursday we were staying put in Nebraska, at least for now. Friday, that sounded like the plan, too. Saturday we were leaning towards moving just because of the 50% travel. Really, Chris being gone all the time bites. I'm sorry, I like to have my husband at home more than half the time. Really, I am not good at being a single mom. I get lonely at night, sitting in this big, dark house, without cable TV and not always wanting to read. And, usually, by the end of the day, I would rather not keep cleaning and doing laundry, either. By the time I put the kids to bed, Chris in Florida is usually getting ready for bed, too, because of the time change and because he gets up so early to get to MacDill. The kids miss Chris too. To them, he is gone FOREVER. They start misbehaving more by the end of the 2 weeks away, too. There were other reasons for selecting the move on Saturday, but this was my main reason for supporting it. Chris had his own reasons, related to the job and career move, etc. Most of those factors were his concern and the decision in that regard had to come from him.

Sunday Chris was moving back to being uncertain. And, that brings us to today. Today he says we will wait until spring. There are so many factors into the job that there are too many unknowns. Many of the unknowns may be cleared up by spring. For one, we may or may not have a new President. If the existing President remains, there will probably be more defense cuts (as he has done every year since he took office), which means Chris may not have a job no matter where we live. There are other defense cuts, aka sequestration, in the making that may or may not happen FY13. Also, Chris wants to make sure that CENTCOM will continue to need him for the long term. By March or sooner, Chris will know more of these things so he can make a better decision, if his position is still available (as it has been posted over 6 months now).

I see this as a good decision (although I would have supported Chris either way). If we do have to move, listing the house in the spring is smarter. I would prefer to move the kids at the end of the school year so their school is not disrupted. It would give them the summer to get used to their new surroundings. I do know, if he does decision to take the relocation, Chris will move as soon as he says yes, leaving me alone at home to take care of the kids, the house, the house selling, the packing, and the moving nightmare. Although I am not completely excited about doing this, I know I can do it. Also, if Chris decides to take it, he will say he can start in 3 weeks, giving us 3 weeks to cram doing the stuff he needs to help me with. For the most part, I will have him do that stuff NOW just in case. I mean really, they need to be done anyway. This is just a good excuse to push us to get them done, right?

We know things happen for a reason (although I really hate that line), but sometimes things happen "because you're stupid and make bad decision." We do not want the latter to happen to us.

So, we will live in Limbo a bit longer. In the mean time, I will clean up and clear out JUST IN CASE a Florida move is in our future. If we stay, at least we will be living in a clean and organized house, right?

Found at Costco!

Asher and I did a little shopping this morning ending up at Costco. Every time we go to Costco we see something new. That can be good and bad. It is good to see variety and something that may not catch your eye in other stores, bad that there are more things that you can potentially buy (blowing the lid off of your budget!).

But, anyway....

Today we found several new things, and we purchased 2 of them. First, Real Sliced Fruit.

The product description:

• Kirkland Real Sliced Freeze-Dried Fruit Snacks Variety Pack
• No sugar added
• 1 1/2 servings of fruit per package
• Less than 45 calories per package
• Perfect for lunchboxes or for an on-the-go snack.

I purchased the other freeze dried fruit pouches Costco previous carried once. They were good not filling and were expensive. These are awesome, but they come at a high price of $14.99 for 20 snacks. There are dried banana and strawberries, dried apples and dried apples with cinnamon (I believe). I love the banana/strawberry ones. Mmmm! At such a high price point, this is probably a one time purchase (And after the week we have had, I was having many week "what the hell" moments, Seriously, I was in the wine aisle for at least 10 minutes and I usually do not drink!). All and all, they are yummy and a unique Costco find.

Next, we had a birthday gift to buy. I was certainly not looking at Costco for a gift, but they have two long aisles filled with Holiday toys (Already!). Asher and I had to look, right? (I had just watched a show on Costco while in Tampa that talked about the long process in selecting the perfect toys for the store. It was fun to see them now in the store!). We came across this unique wrist twists bracelet maker. It was more than I would typically spend on a present for a friend party at $18.99, but this is for a close friend of Alivia's (and I am friends with the little girl's Mommy). It is super fun looking. There is a twister machine, 14 colors and cord, enough for 14 twist bracelets and 12 braid bracelets! This little girls' mom is super crafty, so this should be perfect (I hope!).

You never know what you will find at Costco.

I'm Krista, and I am a Costco Addict. :)

Keeping the Kids Busy

While I was off in Florida with Chris, my parents took care of the kids at our home (while Pippa went to Chris' parents' home down the street). They stayed here a couple nights and stayed at the farm a couple nights.

The kids had a blast! The played, watched movies, watched Kota (my parent's lab) eat a bird from our tree, Alivia learned to drive the golf cart on the farm all by herself, and Addison learned to ride her bike without training wheels (Finally, that girl is so stubborn!). Grandma even went up to the school and read at Bell Story time in celebration of Grandparents Day.

I came home to a sleepy and confused Kota, exhausted grandparents, and 3 sleeping kids. My refrigerator never looked so clean, laundry clean and folded in the kids' rooms, Dad had fixed Addison's bookshelf and worked on our drywall project in the basement, and the house looked as I left it (if not cleaner and more repaired). My parents rock! Thank you!

This job issue has been upsetting to at least Alivia, who overheard Tuesday nights conversation with Chris. He was quite mad  and I had him on speaker as I was reviewing emails from him. Alivia walked in crying as she heard Chris say that we were moving. See, that is really what we did not want, to rush into the situation. Luckily, it turned out okay for the moment.

So our new normal is that Daddy has job but he travels a lot. We can handle that, for now, right?!

Look at Kota. She looks a little too comfortable!

The Decision

Oh the drama this week. I did not know a week could be so long! Seriously.

Anyway, Wednesday was a day of uncertainty. Nobody returned Chris' phone calls or emails, so he had no idea what his options really were. So, by Wednesday night, we were set on taking the relocation and Chris taking the permanent decision in Tampa.

Asher was in preschool this morning. So, I went to work. I mowed, organized and tried to start cleaning the utility room. I was hoping to have the house on the market by Tuesday, so time was of the essence. I was thinking we should try and get the house sold as quickly as possible before the snow started flying, and so the kids could start at their new schools in Florida at midterm. I did not get as far as to call the real estate agent (although I had already called our agent to just see how the market was moving), but I knew he was awaiting our call if necessary.

Low and behold, Chris calls this afternoon with news, unexpected news. The manager for the Florida job agreed to transfer him offer to her team (out of Pennsylvania), placing him temporary on the Florida position he has been filling for 6 months. In doing so, he can continue his monthly travels to Tampa working the other half of the time from his home office here in Nebraska. His new manager did not want to lose Chris on this up and coming project, so she saved him from the sharks in Bellevue.

So, for the time being, we are not moving to Tampa. Really, I found myself relieved of the news that he had a more stable job now, but disappointed that we would have to endure another winter in Nebraska. The possibility is still there that Chris will need to relocate come spring. And, after a year of spending 50% of his time in the Tampa Bay area, Chris may be more than ready to move there anyway!

Next week he will be bad to work as usual from his home office until his next travel date. I am guessing he is looking forward to cleaning out his abandoned desk at Bellevue over the weekend. After just over 14 years of employment there, I am sure he will be packing up memories of years gone by, too.

Let the new era begin.

Weekend Getaway

On Thursday I arrived to the sunshine and heat of Tampa Bay, Florida. This was my second trip in 6 months, but I'm not spoiled. The first trip was to help Chris celebrate his 40th birthday and this trip was to celebrate our anniversary.

Friday Chris had to work, which left me the day to venture out. I ran to the nearby beach again finding it so unbearably hot! I had a headache all day from my morning run. Seriously, I was soaked with sweat by the time I reached the end of the first block. Seriously, people in Tampa do not need to go on one of those detox diets, they just need to walk across the street! Detox, check! After my run and shower, I sweated it own down at the pool, mostly by myself, until I could not tolerate the heat anymore. That says something (it was HOT!).

I had researched a bit since my last trip on things to do in and around Tampa. So, when Chris arrived back from work on Friday, he changed his clothes (a little, he put on shorts) and we went to visit St. Pete's Beach. We paid a small parking fee (I believe it was $10 a day or $1.50 an hour) and set off. The beach was pretty quiet, especially compared to the spring breakers at Clearwater Beach, Florida, on my last trip in April. It was sunny, warm and pretty. This beach was not as nice as the beach in Clearwater, but I liked it none the less. It was gorgeous! There was a bit more seaweed and it was not as clean, but it was a beach. Chris and I walked a bit and talked (about his crazy work) before settling down in the sand. Oh, the beautiful, peaceful sounds of the ocean. LOVE IT! Really, Chris did not have to do much convincing to get me to move to Florida. The beach really speaks for itself (but the housing market is less than desirable). At night, Chris took me to a mall near his hotel with high end stores. I was thinking the entire time, "I do not fit in here. Really, there are not any stores that I would ever shop in. Where am I going to buy clothes. Oh yeah, online." They did have a really cool running store there that I could have shopped in forever. I made a note to myself to go there next time (see, I was already assuming I would return) and pick up a pair of their cool running shoes and glowing running gear.

Saturday we decided to take a little 1 hour road trip to Sarasota, Florida and visit 2011's Top US Beach, Siesta Key Beach. Wow...this beach is amazing! The sand is so soft it is like playing in powered sugar. Chris and I walked and walked and walked until I just did not think I could walk anymore. We selected some shells, splashed in the water, talked more work (ugh), before stopping for a water break and to lay on the beach. The sunscreen? Well, I forgot it back in the car. And, after all of that walking, I did not want to walk back and get it. BIG mistake...HUGE. But, I figured I would recover from a little burn. It was just so pretty and peaceful. We stayed nearly all day. If you ever visit, pack a cooler and a beach umbrella and plan to stay all day. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Upon our return, we visited New Tampa. I was not impressed. New Tampa was full of tract housing, questionable areas, and swampy roads (we did see deer and wild pigs, though). It was far from where Chris worked, too, ruling it out as a place we would potentially live in.  We had selected Best NY Pizza for dinner. It sounded good and had good reviews. It was dark and we could not find this place anywhere. We were starving after our long day in the sun. We finally found the place and their sign lights were not on. We would have never found it if we had not called. Frustrating! Oh, and the pizza was HORRIBLE! Bring on the Zios anytime. And, I have had NY pizza and that was not NY pizza!

Sunday brought rain, lots and lots of rain. When it rains in Florida, it really rains. We were fine with a little rain as we were spent from being out and frying in the sun the day before. It did eventually clear up, and Chris took me to the other mall. It is funny to see all the places Chris does venture out to. Funny to me, I guess, because he is such a homebody. Kinda nice to see him stepping out of his comfort zone (or WAY OUT in this case). This mall had more variety, but I still did not see myself ever shopping there. We had to end the day at the beach.

Monday, my day alone. Chris left before sunrise to work. Boo hoo. I went on another HOT HOT run to the beach, showered, went to the pool to sit in the shade (still babying my sunburned abdomen and shoulders), showered, and then finished my books series, depressed that I would have nothing to do on the flight home. Chris flew in the door just in time to drive me to the airport. I hate good byes. I think next time, if there ever is a next time, I will go home with Chris just so I don't have to say good bye.

It was a wonderful weekend, even if there was a bit of stressful tension in the air. At least the stress was not between us. I support Chris in whatever he decides to do. And, Tampa is not a bad place to be stuck working. I mean, there are worse places, right? After all, we got to spend a wonderful weekend together someplace that we would never have selected ourselves. For that, I am thankful.

St. Pete's Beach, St. Petersburg, FL

Siesta Beach, Sarasota, FL

Getting Fried!

We found a piece of Nebraska in Tampa Bay!

Beach near the hotel

The Offer

Finally.

Finally, I am sitting down to spill a few beans on this job offer process of Chris'. Can I just say, WHAT A TOTAL NIGHTMARE THAT NEVER ENDS?!

So, Chris was encouraged to apply for the position he has been doing out of Tampa, which he did in JULY (yes, 2 months ago). He waited and waited and waited to hear. Then, they finally called, and they offered him a lateral position. The job posted for his current job in Tampa mysteriously was removed and a new, lower paying job was posted. I was FURIOUS! Total game, right?

So, Chris interviewed. Yes, he interviewed for his own job. How stupid. Shocker, they offered him the job (as he was the only one to apply to the job which has been posted for 6 months!). It was pathetic with a tiny itty bitty relocation package that probably would not even cover the moving truck to Tampa Bay, Florida. Again, he was not happy. He counter offered, waited a couple more weeks, before they came back with about a penny more than they started with in salary. The new salary was basically consistent with his salary here but higher a bit for the cost of living increase in Florida. Um, really not worth it. He can work in Bellevue for that, right?

Oh, and there is Bellevue. His manager there started asking in August for a time when  Chris could come back to work in Bellevue. Chris was trying to find a stopping point in the Tampa project, assuming he would not be taking the position. He thought after this trip that he is on now, he could stop and return to Bellevue.

So, last week, Chris declined the Tampa Central Command position (yes, he works at Central Command at the air force base in Tampa. Nice and not stressful, right? Considering he is a civilian who worked in a little office by himself for 14 years before being thrown into Central Command....it is a huge transition to say the least). I arrived on Thursday (in another post) to find out that his Florida manager really wanted Chris to reconsider the Florida position. She believed they could negotiate something that all parties could agree on. She previously had been uninvolved, supposedly, in the negotiations.

Meanwhile, his Bellevue Manager IM'd Chris through their work chat and asked about Chris' return, stating they were short of staff and needed him back. She (Chris' Bellevue Manager) became aware that Chris was pondering the Tampa job and that he was to reconsider the offer.

So, over the weekend (you know, when we were to be relaxing), Chris pondered his next move, twitching, hyper analyzing, talking, talking to me about moving to Tampa, showing me neighborhoods and homes, etc, etc. He really thought they would agree to his terms and we would be relocating to Tampa. Suspiciously, we both thought, what if Bellevue decided to cut Chris so that he HAD to take this lowball salary presented for the Florida job? I could totally see them doing that as they had been less than cooperative and not really negotiating at all with him throughout this painstaking process.

Why did we not knock on wood?

Sunday night Chris submitted his counter offer. He thought they would laugh at him, but he still thought it was too low of a salary for the effort involved, the cost of living, the move, etc. Now, let's wait.

Tonight, Chris gets back to his hotel in Tampa and his work cell rings. It was his Bellevue manager's manager (yes, they have a ton of managers managing managers who manage managers), telling Chris to call HR in Bellevue (when did they get involved?! He had been working with some HR somewhere else? What happened to that girl?), and he encouraged Chris to accept the offer as he did not think he had anything for Chris to come back to. WHAT?? Chris' manager just said on Thursday that she needed him to return, and on Tuesday there is nothing? Did we not just predict this?!! The offer, the same. The HR guy was rude and blunt. I guess HR no longer means human resources, huh?!

Ever heard of getting railroaded  ("It means to be forced upon a railroad tie and carried out of town on a rail. (not a good thing")? Well, that is what this is. Chris was presented with no option but to take the pathetic offer where he would actually be losing thousands of dollars in relocation expenses (like the loss of money in selling our home, closing costs, etc).  They gave him until Friday to decide.

Decide what? WE ARE NOT STUPID! It is still all up in the air, clearly. Chris is not taking their measly little package, if you want to call it that. He needs to get a hold of his Bellevue Manager, who is currently not taking his calls (really, can this behavior get any more suspicious and unethical?), to see if she has any work for him, and for how long. If anything, it will buy him time, to work locally as long as they will have him (which clearly is not long as they must see him as expendable).

So, these last 6 months of 12 hour days, 50% of the time in Tampa, were for NOTHING. They will look wonderful on a resume I suppose. Lovely. Oh, I am SO LOVING his company. I am so loving it that I am about to go there to apply. Actually, I am about to go there to give them a piece of the tiny remaining piece of my mind that I have left after all of this! Seriously, where are the ethical companies??!! Are there any left anymore?! Chris wants to apply!

The drama continues. Oh, and you thought I took a trip to Florida on pleasure (really, it was supposed to be!). Every day there is something new. Just when we believe this will be the week we know if Chris will be staying here or moving, his company throws in another curve ball. Really, I thought this stuff only happened in the movies, people (companies) are not that bad. But, I was more than proved wrong here. They are that bad. What will Chris decide? Well, his decision changes from moment to moment. Can you see why I have not updated? My next update will be when this nightmare is over!

Options:
1. Go back to Bellevue where he will surely be cut.
2. Take the Florida job losing $$ in the process.
3. Possibly continue to travel/commute to Florida to work until a replacement can be found locally, where he will be cut.

Great options, huh?

The Hunger Games Trilogy Reviewed

Okay, so it is a little premature to review the entire series since I have not yet completed it. But hey, I like it so far!

Chris and I recently watched the Hunger Games movie. The premise...is disturbing. 24 tributes, ages 12-18, fight to the death annually in what is called the Hunger Games. I avoided the movie as I found the idea plain crazy. Now, having said that, although disturbing, I liked the story of the movie. I liked it so much, in fact, that Chris bought me the Trilogy to read on my iPad.

I started one week ago. I could be done. I am saving to finish the last book in the series on my airplane ride (to visit Chris in rainy Florida). The first 2 books I could not put down as I wanted to find out what happened next. Now, the third book, I do not like as well as the first two. Just saying. I am still quite intrigued and have to know how it ends. I do like the first one so much better than the movie, though.

Funny, this book is for young adults. Um, how young are we talking? I'm not sure it is appropriate for "young readers" to read about kids killing one another. Seriously, isn't there something better to read?

Again, I am off reading something I normally would not read, and I am liking it. I like the trilogies so far (Hunger Games, Fifty Shades). I guess I really do not want to read about Steve Jobs (his autobiography has been waiting and waiting in my que to read for months).

Any suggestions on what to read next?

August in Review

Funny, I never reviewed July, but I remembered to review August!

Wow...where did the month of August go? School has started for the kids, Alivia in 3rd Grade, Addison in 1st Grade and Asher in preschool. Chris took yet another trip to Florida where he continues to work. When not in school, we kept busy taking Safaris, going to the forest, hitting the zoo, and going to the park while the weather is still nice. What will September bring? Ready or not...

AUGUST PICTURES