Good News, Kids!

(karen)

As many of you know, Steve and I have been waiting, pacing, and chewing our fingernails in dreaded anticipation of NASA's announcement to award the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) contract. Click here for more information about this historic project that will be our next vehicle to the moon. We spent hours late at night scouring chat rooms for rumors of who would be victorious: the Northrop/Boeing team, or Lockheed Martin team? Steve even had a job offer in hand for Lockheed that was contingent upon contract win. Which brings us to Thursday, where we sat in front of our computer and watched the streaming NASA channel which, after an agonizing 15 minute overview of the project and explanation of their decision process, finally proclaimed the joyful news: Dewey...I mean, Lockheed wins!


This is NASA's official logo for the CEV project, now dubbed Orion. I think it's pretty snazzy.


So Steve has a job offer, a fantastic turn of events, however yours truly is still waiting for that special phone call where an HR rep whispers in my ear, "We'd love for you to come in for an interview..." Apparently within hours of the announcement the Lockheed Martin offices were flooded with resumes from people all over the country wanting to join the winning team. Doesn't it count that my resume has been in the system for weeks already? Apparently not. Next week will be crucial to see if my qualifications warrant a second look from the hiring managers. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.

In other news, to celebrate the Lockheed win we decided to buy a new car! We intended to buy a used Outback, but there was such a deal with the 2006 models that it ended up making sense to buy one new. The fantastic sales rep at the Flatirons dealership even negotiated for us a lower price than we asked for. How's that for customer service?


This is going to be our official winter and mountain car since it is AWD, handles great in the snow, and has extra 7" ground clearance. I can't quote for you all the under the hood trivia like my buddy Russell, but since every third car in Colorado is a Subaru Outback, we can't be too far off the mark.

One last bit of news! My sister convinced me to join a cooking contest, so I entered two original recipes to the Mise En Place cooking school. For the entree I made Chorizo Apricot Sauce with Kale and Couscous, and for an appetizer I made Sweet Potato Purses with Romesco Sauce. Part of me wants to be chosen for the next round of competition because there are cool prizes, but part of me hopes I don't get it so I don't have to be judged by strangers. Anyway, I'll let you know if either Christine or I, or both, get chosen for the next round.

That's pretty much it for now. I have no idea if anyone still bothers to check this blog since we're not technically "fergs down under" anymore, but I figured we'd keep it going until we get jobs and a house and truly settle down from our trip. For now though we'll keep on living out of a suitcase and mooching free rent off my mother. Ciao, kids.