And so it ends....

Well, we ran, we hid, we ignored. And it still caught up with us. The Economy.

Tomorrow, Luke has an "organizational update" meeting. Code for "we're doing layoffs." It doesn't look good right now. Word on the street is that the entire department is getting laid off, and then they will have to reapply for a certain amount of jobs that are left. I suppose this is better than cutting based on seniority, because it means he still has a fighting chance to continue working for his company. But still, we never thought we'd be on the verge of this predicament.

And yet, there's a bright spot. My boss just announced our 5pm producer is leaving to take a job in Sacramento. I couldn't reply that I was interested fast enough. Granted, I've got a lot of competition for this position. This is one of the only normal shifts you'll find in the newsroom. You're in at 8:30 and you leave right after the 5pm is done. I have a feeling most, if not all, the AM overnight producers are gunning for this one, as well as some of the late shift people. Frankly, I don't care what I get, I'll take a show vacated by another producer who's being moved to the 5pm. It would just be nice to get back into news!

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my show. I love that I get to be creative, rather than just reporting the news. I get to have more of an agenda than the other shows, and book talent that I think is important for our viewers. This also carries some headaches: guests cancelling at the last minute, constantly racking your brain for fresh material, and intricate, detailed, well organized planning to make sure people are here on the right days, at the right times, and that the crew has all the information they need to get set up for the show. It would be so nice to just put commands into a rundown and be done with it.

On some happier news, the weekend was great! It was actually one of the most eventful weekends we've had in a long time. We spent the evening of Pioneer Day at Luke's cousin Dave's house, which is a block from Liberty Park. We ate yummy ribs, tried to stay cool, and watched the fireworks from his backyard. Saturday we took the dogs up Millcreek Canyon and had a picnic at Dog Lake. A few things: first, never put your sandwiches in the back pocket of the backpack...they will squish and get super soggy; next, Charlotte can swim! Though she prefers just to stand and lollop in the water; finally, just because the internet says there's only an altitude gain of 900 feet over 2 miles means nothing. Needless to say, my butt still hurts from the steep trek back down the mountain, while Luke's calves are killing him. No exercise for us until those heal a bit.

Saturday night Dave invited us to see one of my all-time favorite movies at the Tower Theater: The Godfather. I've seen this movie dozens of times, but never on the big screen. And never at midnight after a day of hiking. Even with a latte, it still took a lot to stay awake through 3 hours of family dynamics and the inner workings of the powerful Corleone crime family. It was so much fun though, there's a lot of things you miss in the movie when you watch it on the small screen. But I can't remember the last time I was up at 3am when I wasn't at work. I'm gradually accepting that I'm turning into an old fogey who can't handle late nights anymore.

Sunday was nice. Just trying to stay cool, reading, a little laundry, a lot of relaxing. I love Sundays, and I love them even more when the weather isn't 100 degrees so I can do some of the things I like without dying of heat stroke. I'm so ready for my favorite season: Fall! So long as Luke has a job, we're off to Yellowstone in October, right before they start closing roads. I'm so excited! It's my most favorite place on earth, I can't get enough. And this time....we're staying at the Old Faithful Inn, just him and me :) I can't wait! Let's just hope and pray everything career-wise will turn out OK for us.

Hooray for Slurpees

Luke and I bought a house without air conditioning. It hasn't been a bad thing...until now. Most of the evening, I want to sit outside, because it's cooler on the deck than it is in the house, despite the fact we have fans going and every window is open.

Now, the house did come with a swamp cooler. Yesterday, Luke took the day off, and he said he would look into why it wasn't turning on. So when the house reached 90 yesterday afternoon, I asked, "did you look at the swamp cooler?" Of course, he hadn't. So I go over to the thing, and there's a switch on the wall as well as on the cooler. I switch both of them on, and cool relief wafts through the house. AHHHH! Apparently he didn't see the switch on the wall.

When it's this hot, the only thing that really satisfies (other than a dunk under the hose) is a Slurpee. Conveniently, there's one just down the street! That cool slurpee goodness is definitely getting us through these hot summer days. I miss the pool we had at the condo. I might have to get a kiddie pool out in the yard.

We went to Pueblo for the holiday weekend and had a great time. It was good to see some family, as I haven't seen any of my relations since December. I'm really hoping John decides to move out here, not only for his sake, but for mine. After a while, it really sucks to be so far away from the people you love. As I get older, the more important family becomes to me and the more I want us all to be in the same town again. It's a bit heartbreaking to see the Shirley compound, because even though we're family, you can't help but feel like an outsider. They've spent their whole lives together, and we've only been down during the summers and for some holidays. The atmosphere is also different than it used to be. Between losing Grandpa two years ago and Gramma's stroke, a lot of the laughter has dissipated. Perhaps one day it will be the same again. We do have reason to celebrate though, as my cousin is about to have her second child! It's those times I wish I was a lot closer. Luke and I have talked and moving to Denver may seriously be in the 5 year plan. We'll see what happens.

Sad to come back to work, but I do like my job. Just wish I had more time on vacation and less time driving to vacation!