Must...come...up...for air...

Boy. I just can't seem to get into a routine with blogging again. It's seriously not a lack of desire; I'm aching to get back into it and have made sure to keep tabs on friends and family who share their blogs so faithfully. I've allowed myself to be daunted by the volume of news and happenings and the scarcity of time and resources I have right now to blog. So, until things calm down...until we have a computer at home (for which I'm keeping my fingers crossed)...I figured the Reader's Digest version is better than nothing. So, in 1000 words or less:

*We're finally moved into our new apartment. We love living with Melissa and her menagerie of beasts! The location is beautiful...on the eastern outskirts of Davis, right on a wheat field, with the Sacramento skyline in the distance. We are still living out of boxes, but we'll find our way out of the cardboard fort we've built once work calms down.

*Work...my job is going well. It's keeping me occupied 50 hours a week, but the work is fun, the people are easy to work with, and I already have a publication that we'll be sending out this winter. Whew! However, working my buns off, walking nearly 4 miles and climbing 20 flights of stairs a day, has given me a raging case of plantar fasciitis. I'm hobbling around like an old lady, but Paul is taking great care of me and keeping me rolling to work at the wee hours and rubbing me to sleep when I drag myself home. I couldn't have asked for a better husband and mate!

*Paul is still working in the library, but we're trying to get him out of there. He had an interview this past week at the Vet Med Teaching Hospital here at UCD. He interviewed for the position of Farm Animal Technician in the patient in-take area. They wanted someone who could lead, restrain, and control cows, swine, goats, etc. Paul got a ton of valuable experience working at the dairy, so we're hoping these folks see the light and give him a chance.

*With all of the changes and upheaval, I've decided to postpone pharmacy school applications this year. Too much was going on at once for me to really give it my all this fall. So, next spring and summer, I'll be an application wizard and put my pharmacy school applications in with University of the Pacific, U.C. San Diego, University of Wisconsin at Madison, and (Paul's favorite and mine...the one we're holding out for...the adventure for which we're both been waiting) University of Georgia!!! So, Sarah, we'll be knocking on your door the fall of 2010...for sure! Until then, I have one class to take and a Pharmacy College Admissions Test (PCAT) to pass. I'm taking the PCAT next weekend at U.C. Berkeley as a practice run. UGA doesn't penalize you for taking it more than once, so I decided not to cancel this test and take it anyway...cold turkey...we'll see how I do!

*We've not been hiking or camping in quite some time, and I think we both can feel it! Paul and I both need nature, fresh air, and green to put our heads right. This weekend, we're visiting Paul's folks in Marin. I'm sure we'll have a chance to steal over to the Marin Headlands, Samuel P. Taylor State Park, or somewhere equally crammed with redwood trees, ferns, and moss. I love Marin (can't way the same for the Marin-ites!).

Well...I think that's about all the time I have for today. I apologize for the brief nature of the blog. Like I said, I figured that it's better to be brief than to be absent. Thanks, Sarah and Kristen, for your support and sweet comments. Boy, I wish I lived near you ladies!!!

Thanks for your patience...I promise we'll get back into the swing of things soon!

We're still alive...I swear!

Hello, all! Things have been crazy the last few weeks in the Domer household. I've been settling into my new job (workin' more than 45 hours a week...whew!), Paul's been looking feverishly for a new job, we're moving to Davis on Labor Day, and I just started a class at Woodland Community College to get me eligible for University of Georgia School of Pharmacy admission next year. So, needless to say, we've been pretty busy. I really miss blogging and hope that I haven't lost the faithful friends and family who have been tuning in for our updates. As soon as we move to Davis and get settled, Paul and I are buying a new computer. This way, the blogs will come with a bit more regularity...I have so many pictures to post and stories to tell!!!

Until then, think good thoughts for us as we move our pack-rat household from the three bedroom house on the tomato field to our two bedroom apartment on a wheat field in Davis, accompanied by my sister and her wonderful menagerie of beasts!

I'll be in touch soon!

Back in the saddle again

Well, all of the good thoughts paid off, Uncle Phil! I got a new job, everyone!!!

Starting Thursday, I am the new laboratory manager for a new investigator in the UCD School of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Molecular Biosciences. The lab's focus is on the link between energy utilization and its effects upon aging. They're are looking specifically at mitochondria and how the body metabolizes food. There will be some work with animals but nothing compared to what I used to do at the medical school. I won't be working with any infectious diseases, nothing that can cause cancer, and no public policy or human life rests on the results of my work. Whew! I'll be doing research part of the time as well as supervising some undergraduate students and being responsible for safety, training, and compliance issues.

I'm really looking forward to getting back into the lab. I've truly enjoyed being home, but I've also realized that I like using my scientific knowledge, making new discoveries, and being part of a team working towards a common goal. I also see this opportunity as a brand new start. These past few months have taught me an awful lot, about myself and the way I want to fit into the world. I'm looking forward to testing some of my new perspectives as well as being able to further use the gifts that God has bestowed upon me.

Wish me luck, and I'll update you all as the adventure unfolds!

When is it a weed?

Weed -noun

1.	a valueless plant growing wild, esp. one that grows on cultivated ground to the exclusion or injury of the desired crop.

I'm not exactly sure that I agree with that definition. I find many things have "grown upon" or horded in on those things that I've cultivated. Despite how the dictionary may define them or how I may initially view the changes in plan, many "weeds" have brought great beauty and purpose to my "crop."

Paul and I found this one in our backyard the other day. The blooms only last about 24 hours, but they are sweet and they make us smile. We've both been a bit too busy and wrapped in life to do much beautification around the house lately, so Mother Nature stepped in and did a little for us.

The simple stuff is best, don't you think?

To the beach!

Paul and I couldn't ignore the call of nature this past weekend and, after a full Friday and Saturday of visitation with a good friend from Monterey and adventures at the farmer's market in Roseville, we decided that we needed to get away from the people and cars and asphalt. So, we made our way to one of our favorite beaches, Dillon Beach, just west of Tomales, CA.

Paul used to camp and hang out at this beach and the neighboring Lawson's Landing during his high school days in Marin. I was introduced to the locale much later but have taken almost everyone I know on the hour and a half drive through the dairies and farms of Petaluma to this little private beach. The drive is relaxing and scenic and, often times, as enjoyable as hanging out at the beach itself!

Sunday we awakened before the rooster, jumped in the VW, grabbed a cup of coffee from our favorite joint in town, and made our way to the coast. We got to Dillon's Beach before the gates were even opened; it was just us and the fishermen heading for Lawson's Landing. So we turned around and drove back to Tomales for another cup of coffee. As we sipped our brew we began to smell the fire about which the gathered locals were chatting. Napa and a great portion of Solano County were burning (and still are, even as I type), and fire engines from Sonoma, Petaluma, and Tomales screamed past us, north to the burning wine country. After a bit more absorption of local gossip and happenings, Paul and I drove back out to Dillon Beach to find the gate open and the ocean waiting for us.

While our visit to the beach was seemingly random, it was timed beautifully. The recent full moon had given way to one of the lowest tides I had ever seen. As we walked down the beach, we were greeted by rock after boulder covered in sea stars in brilliants hues of red, orange, and purple. The regular tide line, at least eight feet above our heads, was made evident by the dense thicket of mussels and barnacles that clung to the exposed rocks. We saw snails of every size and color and crabs that poked their tiny, purple heads out of the barnacled rock crevaces. Paul even revisited his childhood days of crabbing at China Camp and gently over-turned rocks in an attempt to find the little, purple crustaceans.

It was a very good day! We retired to our car, wind beaten and freezing (oh, the cold sea air!), and headed for our little house on the tomato field (oh, the hot valley air!). One day, way down the road, when we win the lottery (keepin' the dream alive, Sarah), Paul and I would love to have a home on the coast of California or Washington. I spent a lot of time as a kid sitting on the granite beaches of California. The sea air sets my head right, and I find all of life's trials easier to deal with after a visit to the edge of our continent.

Here are a few pictures from our adventures:

He'll always be MY cowboy...

Well, we got the call from the dairy and things didn't go our way. In true university fashion, they selected a candidate that was half as qualified, one quarter as dedicated, and 100% undeserving of the position. We've been going through a lot of frustration and heartache over this, so I'm going to keep it brief here. A candidate showed up half-way through the quarter and was allowed to shadow a milker without ever enrolling in the class. They were never taught how to set up the parlor, clean the parlor, or to sanitize the milking equipment. They showed up a few hours every week (Paul pulled 14 hours every weekend and wound up working 7 days a week for two months). And, in the end, because someone owed someone else a favor within the department, this joker got hired over Paul. So, once again, the university (the animal science department in particular) has proven itself to be one giant, inbred cluster-_______ (thanks, Dad, for the terminology).

We're upset because we didn't solicit this job; we didn't seek it out. We shelled out a lot of money for the class, money we didn't have while I remain unemployed. And we were under false pretenses (and hope, I guess) that this was going to be a fair process conducted by fair and upstanding people. So, I guess we're disappointed in people as much as we're disappointed in Paul not being able to fulfill his desire to become a laborer and to get out of that library.

So, after a few days of crying and anger and frustration and resentment, we're done. We've known all along that this wasn't guaranteed, and we've always known that we were getting a lot out of the process without the job coming to fruition. For starters, Paul's stronger than he's ever been and he's lost quite a bit of weight. He now knows that he likes manual labor, so we're trying to find him a job within that realm. And, the biggest reward of the entire experience, Melissa and Paul are now not only in-laws...they're good friends! I love that two of my favorite people in the whole world are now buddies! It's cool to see Melissa and Paul driving off together to get coffee while I'm donating platelets or to see them "talk shop" while we're visiting the folks for dinner. We are all so very fortunate to have had this opportunity. And, once again, as hard as it may be to remember, someone else knows what's best. We're not in control...we're just along for the ride.

The good Lord has something in store for us.

We're ready!

P.S. Thank you to all of our wonderful family and friends for the prayers and well-wishes. In the end, it all worked out for the best!

Cowboy Paul got an interview

We got a phone call yesterday from the dairy manager at UCD, and Paul has an interview this Friday at 2:15PM for the milker position. Paul has spent the last few months milking and performing management duties at the dairy for 14 hours every weekend. He's also attended a weekly class that taught the practicalities and economics of dairy management. While the 2:30AM weekend wake-up calls have been difficult, he's really enjoyed the physical labor of the job. He's lost quite a bit of weight, gained quite a bit of muscle, and has found some well-deserved self-confidence along the way. We sure are hoping that his interview goes well and that, if it's in the Lord's plan for us, that he get this job and the wonderful opportunity to further the changes he's already made. If he gets the job, he'll be working Monday through Thursday, from 3:30AM-8:30AM and then again from 3:30PM-8:30PM (mmm, split shifts!). He'll have three-day weekends every week, and he'll finally find the change and challenge that he's needed for quite some time.

If our dear friends and family would be so kind as to remember Paul in their prayers this week, we would be so very appreciative. We are so very blessed to have so many wonderful people pulling for us! I promise to update you all when we hear the final verdict.

Thanks!!!