Layoffs.

Scary word right? Last week every department in Pebble Beach Company was read a letter from the CEO. Basically the just of it was…
-The economy is tough right now and businesses are hurting
-A company wide reduction in hours worked (which results in one day off every two weeks for me!)
-29 people were laid off from the company
-two stores would be closing indefinitely
-one hotel would be closed for an entire month

What a somber day here. Most people knew that something was going to be done to combat the situation, but I did not expect drastic measures so soon. I still think Pebble Beach is a good company to work for, but I still am not 100% confident I will have my job past March. I mean I have been pretty busy lately but still hope the sales managers can really step it up a notch. It can happen because staying at Pebble Beach Resorts and playing the courses is truly a once in a lifetime event. If you know anyone who wants to play, send them my way. We are offering some great rates.

Elections

Elections,
Yesterday I was invited to a prayer meeting for the elections. I thought it would be a great idea to go, until I saw this video of John Piper talking about the election. It reminded me that although I do need to pray, God is still sovereign.

Check it out.

5 whole minutes

I am running a marathon.

Not any time soon. Actually April 25th. I think I might be a little over my head. Not because I am just not sure about this whole 26.2 miles, but because of which marathon I am running. According to many reviews that I have read The Big Sur International marathon one of the more difficult courses. The famed Heartbreak Hill has 80 feet of incline, but Big Sur has a 400 foot incline. But running along the most "greatest meeting of land and sea" sounds pretty amazing.

Although at this stage in my blogging life, I am sure I have few followers, but it really was an internal struggle to write about this. According to my training book The Non-Runners Marathon Guide I should tell all of my friends and family my new goal. What if I fail? What if I lack the discipline to make myself get off the couch and lace up my tennies and hit the pavement. Thinking of a marathon is a little overwhelming.

Before I can focus on 26.2 miles, I am concentrating on 3. I am ashamed to say that these past few runs have been much more difficult than I would have imagined. At the beginning I was so frustrated. I have been exercising regularly for at least 9 months, and doing a spin class for about 5 months. But when it comes to running, I got nothing. The first week I was to run for 2 minutes, and walk for 4 repeat 4 times (30 minutes total). This was a struggle for me. My throat was burning and my heart was pounding. Each new week and additional minutes of running has been so encouraging for me. Yesterday Josh and I ran for 5 minutes x4, and it felt good. My throat was not on fire, and I never once thought "I'm not going to make it"

I did a few calculations and between now and April 25th I will have ran about 500 miles. My knees hurt just thinking about that.

Oh Sushi!

Last week Josh and I were at the end of our budget period and I realized that we had just enough money in our eating out envelope to have a nice dinner. Friday in the Monterey Herald there was a coupon for 10% off a new sushi place in town. Now I have had a love for sushi since Josh's uncle made me my first roll over two years ago and I am a sucker for a deal. As I was explaining to Josh where this new restaurant is, he said "the old bbq place in the travelodge?" Um yes! The Travellodge in Monterey is a little run down. I know what you are thinking "you work for Pebble Beach Resorts, of course the Travellodge doesn't compare" If I had to stay there, I would probably take my own sheets (Josh was not impressed the first time I did this). Needless to stay we had pretty low expectations.

As we walked in the door it was nice and clean but almost had a cafeteria feel. We ordered, waited in anticipation, and then it came. The BEST sushi I have ever had! I cannot tell you exactly why it was so good, but it is now my new favorite dining establishment in Monterey.

There is a group of girls that I work with that love sushi and will from time to time go out for dinner. When I told them about Oh Sushi they all gave me a look of disbelief and almost disgust. It doesn't matter to me. I am still a fan.

return of the blog

I'm back. It has been about a year, but I have decided that I am going to start blogging again.

This past weekend Josh and I went camping with another couple from church. Of course we did not plan anything until Thursday night, and because of the wind no camp sites would allow fires. "No big deal" we thought. It was so cold! Both nights it got down to the 40s.

Besides that, the redwoods were so beautiful. These trees are huge. At the state park headquarters there is a cross section of one of the bigger trees that is about seven feet in diameter. Some poor soul counted all of the rings and found that the tree sprouted in 579 AD. There are little markers for major events in history two inches from the bark is the marker for 1776 (singing of the Declaration of Independence).

Because it was so cold I decided against washing my hair, therefore no pictures.

Farmer's Market

Every Tuesday from 4pm-8pm is the Monterey Peninsula Farmer's Market. Josh and I became very fond of farmer's markets in Auburn, so we were very excited to check out the local shin dig. As we were leaving last week for downtown Monterey, it was a bit cloudy and slightly sprinkling. By the time we reached our destination, it was pouring. I was blessed that Josh had an extra jacket in the car. By the time we reached the street, a lot of the vendors had already left. Quite frankly, most of the people were gone also. We had a good time exploring all that they had.

I really wanted to go again this week to see what it was really like. On the off ramp from Hwy 1 to downtown Monterey, Josh and I realized neither of us had our cell phones. "Not a big deal" we both thought. We finally found a parking spot, and walked to Calle Principle. The street is packed with people. It is truely amazing the variety of vendors that show up every week. Car banks, learn to sail, orchids, Indian food, many many scarves, fabrics, blinking buttons, and any and all produce. It is the most amazing Farmer's Market ever. Josh decided to stand in line for some BBQ (not quite KC style), and I went to by some produce. By the grace of God, we found each other without much time, but as I walked away, I thought "will I ever see him again?" One thing I learned from the Farmer's Market is that grapes taste so much better when they are picked from the vine the day they enter my mouth. Yummy.

West Coast Living

Last week Josh and I put a deposit on a duplex that we will be moving into in the middle of November. It is amazing how short of time houses are in the paper before they are rented. There was an ad on Craigslist on Wednesday morning, and I e-mailed the poster, went to look at the place, and filled out the rental application on the same day. Thursday the rental agency called me to let me know we got the place. That afternoon we took them the deposit and signed the lease. I think that's pretty crazy. I am so glad that I can stop thinking about where we are going to live. Now I can concentrate on how to decorate the place.