Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

The updates have been running thin lately and we've been hearing a lot about it. Things have been fairly slow for us other than all of the holiday office parties. However, we did see snow in Austin! Apparently this is not a frequent occurrence, it didn't last very long, but it was fun to see snow once again. It hasn't rained much yet this winter, which is good for my walk to the bus, not as good for the farms and vegetation around Austin. It has been very cold though, much colder than we would have ever imagined. With the wind chill it's been getting into the twenty's, which I haven't seen since I moved from Sonora, and I don't know that Sarah has ever seen consistently. Sarah keeps exclaiming that no one warned her that it would get cold in Texas. I suppose the lone star state conjurers images of cacti, the desert, and tumbleweeds. Not the sub-freezing temperatures we've encountered thus far.

December did bring good news for Sarah at work. She had her three month review and made FTR. What the accronym stands for exactly I do not know, but it does mean that she is no longer on contract, and is a full employee with benefits. She has really been excelling at work. Sarah has consistently been one of the top performers at work, between the Austin and Irvine offices.

Just before Christmas we also found out a way that Sarah can work out of the Irvine office in California for about a week. Everything fell into place, with a desk being available in Irvine, for the week of January 5th. So she'll be making her way out to California for a short time, working during the day and hanging out with all of our family and friends at night. I'm jealous, but I did get about two weeks off from work for Christmas and New Years, and she has only received those two days off. This is one of the busiest times of the year for her company, and all of those kids need her support to play their brand spanking new video games. In the meantime I've been hanging out at my parents house sick, so much for being productive.

The end of November also brought Sarah's huge 80's themed birthday bash. Some of Sarah's coworkers were kind enough to let us use their home for a night of 80's themed crazyness. There was plenty of 80's music, Tang, Twister, and movies to keep everyone celebrating all night long.

We hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and end to 2008. We're excited to see what blessings 2009 brings to all of our friends and family.

- Jason

Trick Or Treat?

Mostly Treat! Hi everyone! Ok I know it's been forever and we've all but fallen off the face of the planet. I'm going to post a ton of pics and hopefully have time to explain them all. Basically... life is crazy and fun and full of craziness. I'll be posting more pictures from Halloween soon.

YAY! This was the "Rock Band" band! We had a blast! I would say we came in at an unofficial 3rd place - crowd favorite

This is most of "the crew." We decided to have blue shirt day! Our team is really close... can you tell??


This is Jason Josh and Jason at Josh's bday party. The other Jason is Victoria's Hubby.

Dave and Rene's Wedding Reception - Our long lost family in Texas!

Jason and I at an early Halloween party my friend Mario from starbucks threw.
And this is me and Mario! Had to show you the boots! I rented them for the Rock Band competition... and then decided to keep them... so glad I did!



Between the days when I dressed up like a Pirate... I ended up doing a photo shoot as a Marine... from Halo 3. The armor we're all wearing is custom made... these guys are amazing.

Josh and I on Ninja Vs Pirate Day! He won 1st place in the costume contest! You've got to love a job where they have you dress up as ninjas or pirates on October 30th... so you can dress up again as something else on Halloween!

And me and Victoria... how you like the new hair?

X amount of things that make Austin great.

A) I can see the sky, and it's blue.

B) It's green here and there are trees everywhere.

C) There's a disc golf course any direction you go.

D) Riding a bike to work is hip.

E) Cupcakes are huge here.

F) It's really Gotham City. Austin has the largest population of bats in North America, and the city power plant looks like a shady hideout for the Joker's goons.

G) Young hip kids say things like "Howdy" and "Partner"

H) There is live music everywhere, every night of the week.

I) It's rare to see a BMW, and I'm yet to see a Lamborghini or Lotus.

J) There are snow cone stands all over the city.

Jason

--- Jason's Written a Post---
Hey everyone, I guess it's about time that I took on the duties of updating the blog. Things are going well. The last two weeks have been really crazy with work. I've been working a lot but am finally getting around to doing my own levels start to finish, which is going well. The game I'm working on is starting to really shape up, it's getting exciting to see all of my work in game. Sarah's doing really well with work as well.

Yesterday was the beginning of the greatest competition known to man, Beardtober! At work a whole bunch of us are competing in olympic beard growing over the course of October. It'll be a tough competition, but I think my years of training growing facial hair have really paid off. The winner gets a video game of their choice and the title of Best Fizz Factor Beard.

I've been riding my bike to work for a few weeks now and it's nice to actually get out get some fresh air. I've been racing my bus and can actually make the ride faster than it takes me on the bus. It's crazy how many people in Austin ride bikes. They're everywhere. At my studio alone about ten or so of the 45 employees ride in. I hear road bikes are so big here due to Lance Armstrong being from Austin. I ended up going with a Trek mountain bike, which I'm really glad I did. The "sidewalks" can be a bit rough and I'd rather be safe staying off of the street as much as possible. A good portion of my ride takes me along the hike and bike trail along the river, which isn't exactly a tough ride, but a road bike wouldn't fair well.

So the new seasons of Heroes and Office just started last week... and as of yesterday our local NBC station is no longer on air on Time Warner Cable. =( The cable company and KNAX are both blaming each other so who know if we'll get our favorite shows back. Bleh. I guess we're going to end up watching everything online.

Hope everyone is doing well.

Jason

Work Work Work

Hey everyone! Just wanted to throw out a quick update on my break here. We're missing you all immensely!! Apparently we need to get a web cam so we can see the mamacita!! Give Aubrie kisses from us!!

I'm having a great time at my job. I will be really glad when my benefits kick in here though because working at Starbucks can be really draining some days.

Jason is doing GREAT at his job, and still loving it.

We watched the season premiers of The Office and Heroes this week!!! WOOO HOOO!
So much fun, if you don't watch either of those... you should! Alright, well back to work. Like I said we miss you all... it's starting to set in that we actually live here and this is not a vacation, I wish I could come out and see you all, but it's going to be a while. Talk to you soon!

Love,
Sarah and Jason

Seconds between jobs....

Seriously can one of you send me a time stoppermechanithingy??? There's too much going on to fit in 24 hrs. Ok sooo, I've been bugging Jason to do a blog... but that's obviously not happening so with the few seconds I have between starbucks (this morning) and Blizzard (carpool leaves in 5 min) I will update you lol!

Let's see. Jason is doing an outstanding job at work. In fact during a team meeting he was singled out by the guy that runs the company because of how great his work looks! YAY JASON!! He's also turning into a toothpick with huge legs because of all the bike riding he's been doing lately, he really enjoys it.

My job (the new one) is pretty great. I'm getting better at I'm at the point where I'm taking the number of calls per day I should be. I really love my coworkers, turns out one of them lives 5 minutes away from me so we carpool now! Oh! our "Rock Band" video game band, made it to the finals, which are next wednesday! We'll be playing "Are you gonna be my girl" By Jet... which will be fun since I'm singing it (AND YES.... I will be wearing BIG BLACK BOOTS!!) I'll be sure to get some one to take tons of pics.

Also... who knew geeks like to party?? The people in my department seriously go out 3 times a week, either to 6th st. or to a little pub that's closer to work. It's really been fun getting to know everyone and hanging out with them outside of work (I can haz friendz??)

Also, met one of the other PMS clan girls that lives out here and finally got to hang out with Amber (PMS clan founder who lives in San Antonio) OHHHH ANNND... you're all going to laugh, I went to a casting call for the some show about the Nation's top gamers, and I actually got called to be a finalist to be on the show! BUT with the new job and all I had to turn it down, they want to film in LA for about 3 weeks, and I can't take that kind of time off. SO you can say you almost know someone who would have been on TV???

OK here's some pictures then I gotta run!!! LOVE YOU ALL SOOOooooooOoOO Much.


6th Street on a THURSDAY night!! They close off the street because there's so many people.


Josh and I playing DDR (he's the guy I carpool with)


The girl closest to me is Aundie (PMS UT Princess) and next to her is Amber... www.pmsclan.com YAY for women video gamers!

Where am I and what day is it?

Wellll hello thar!

As you can probably tell from the lack of posting, we've been quite busy out here! So lets see... I started the new job last monday, the 25th. We trained all last week and most of this week. I should be "on my own" starting tomorrow. So far, I love everything about where I'm working and the job is pretty cool.

For example... an email went out to everyone that there would be a "Rock Band" competition. "Rock Band" is a video game where you basically play fake instruments that are connected to the video game system. Needless to say, I LOVE this game. So I signed up, and ended up on a team with 3 other guys in my department. We did the "audition" yesterday, and should be competing in the finals on the 24th of this month....
THIS is where I work.... YAY!
And because I know Melissa wants to know, we played Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria.
Not sure which song we'll do on the finals... and yes i'm singing on expert! WOOT.

This last weekend we spent out in Dallas with mom and dad Gourley and Jessica! We had a great time, went to see an art show at a museum out there. We also spent a lot of time watching movies and doing nothing... which was fantastic and sooooo needed. Jessica will be leaving for Africa next monday so keep her in your prayers as she embarks on this amazing adventure!

Let's see... OH I almost forgot about the day of EPIC LOOT! (or for those of you who don't play video games, the day of "All the cool stuff we got.")

Just happened to be that all in the same day, I received a bunch of cool stuff from work related to the company (video games, t-shirt) THEN Jason called to tell me he bought his bike on the way home ! (and just in time too, the bus drivers have been threatening to strike!) AND THENNN, I went to open my mailbox and there was a package sent from my dad's friends in the Netherlands!!! NOW some one HAS to come cheese and wine with me!!! What am I to do with all this cheese!!!??


Other than that things are alright. I've been pretty tired this week, but I had a lot going on, so it won't be so bad next week. Well time to get ready for job #2, I leave you with this...

It is finally time...

The past 2 weeks have been a real struggle. I finally had to admit to myself that I was really, really depressed and that it wasn't going to go away overnight. So, I cried and I slept and I rested and I cried some more. I have gone through so much in the past 4 years, and life has been moving so fast that I don't think I had a chance to breathe, and let it all out.

I am glad to say that taking the time to breathe and rest and really grieve the end of a chapter in my life has been, great. And I'm not saying that I'm not going to still miss california and everyone I love there, but I'm ok with the fact that I live in Texas. I will be here indefinitely and I can't just pop over to play Rock Band with Melissa or see Aubrie or wine and cheese and vent.
With all that said, tomorrow is a new day!

I'll be starting my first full time job in about 2 years, and although the hours are late (1pm to 10pm) I'm looking forward to sleeping in! I don't know how I ended up working opening shifts at Starbucks, I really am more of a night owl, so this will be a welcome change. Also starting monday I'm going to be starting a program called Kinetix . Here's the website:
http://www.kinetixliving.com/home.php

It's a really cool opportunity I got through starbucks. I have my own coach and I got a journal to keep track of things and I will be working out 6 days a week, for 1/2 an hour at a time. Totally doable for me, especially now that I have a more set schedule. And they have great resources on what to eat, with tons of veggie options. And it's all free because of starbucks! Woo hoo. I will be working at Starbucks still, 2 days a week for 4 hours before I go into my other job.

Getting fit has been a real struggle for me, so pray that this sticks! I really want to make it a routine part of my life, and this program is so easy to do that since I have my own weights and elliptical machine. And I won't really be dieting (which I can't handle... I love food) I'll just be eating more balanced meals.

Ok one more thing, then enough about poor Sarah time: I saw a chiropractor for the first time in years last week. Apparently, the lowest disc in my spine, is nearly non existent. So as soon as the paychecks start coming in for this new job I'll be going in a couple times a week (which is covered by my insurance except for the copay thankfully) Hopefully this will help relieve some of the pressure, and also with the new work out routine getting in shape will do great things for my back.

Alright sooooo other than that... we went to a picnic for Jason's company a little over a week ago! It was really fun, Jason played kickball... and there was a dunk tank


and I decided against all common sense to go down a water slide... in my jeans.


Also, for the masses who are demanding updated photos of the baby, here she is LOL style...

So that's that! I'll probably update tomorrow or Tuesday about the new job. Love you guys.

YAAAAAAAAAAY!

Hi everyone!

Sorry I didn't post sooner, I've been pretty busy. Great news, I got the job! I will be starting on Monday the 25th of this month, which is sooner than I thought, which is great. The only kind of bummer part is the hours. I'll be working 1pm-10pm! So Jason and I will just have to make the most of our mornings and weekends together. I'm very very excited about this job and the potential at this company. Thanks again for all your prayers! Oh also good news, my manager at starbucks isn't willing to let me go, so she's working with me. I'll be working 2 days a week still at starbucks, short shifts like 8am to 12, so that I have time to go home before heading out to the new job.

Other fun news, we spent some time at the capitol building this past weekend.






It was neat to see, I don't think I had ever been somewhere like that. This coming weekend, we should be up in Dallas visiting with Mom, Dad and Jessica! Looking forward to that! And I will leave you with photos from the gardens we visited last time...



Love you!

Interview...

Hi everyone,
I'm really, really tired so as much as I like to write forever I can't. The interview went really well. I have a good feeling about getting the job. They said that they have to do a background check and once that's done they'll contact me. Should be about a week. If given the position I would start on Monday Sept. 8th. Pray that it works out, my schedule at Starbucks is killer. I have to be there at 4:45 am M-F, pretty much. And some of those are 8 hour days which wouldn't be a problem but... waking up that early just starts to take a toll near the end of the week. Thanks again for reading, it helps us feel like you're not all so far away. We love you!

-Sarah and Jason

4th Anniversary!

On Friday we had dinner at our favorite vegetarian restaurant Kirby Lane Cafe. Then we went to see Beauty and the Beast at the park!


On Saturday we started the day off by going to the botanical gardens at Zilker park. I think the water lily is my favorite flower.


Then we ate a picnic Lunch in the Park


Dinner at Uchi! So Fancy! This first photo is a dish where you get raw scallops and then cook them to your liking on a hot rock... it was amazing. The second photo was some crazy baby octopus dish! So yummy.


------------------News Flash------------------------
Interview this wednesday at 2:30 pm! I'm really excited. :)
Miss you guys.

Funny how things happen...

TOMORROW (Friday August 1st) 1:30 PM, prayer time!
Random quick update. I applied to 3 different video game companies over the past few days. I figured, if I'm going to apply to 1 full time job, why not just apply to the placed I'm actually interested in working at. WELLLLL I recieved and email back from Blizzard Entertainment!!!
If you don't know much about video games, I'll give you a couple insights as to why working for blizzard is a good thing.
#1. There are currently 8.5 MILLION people all over the world that play their game entitled "World of Warcraft."
#2 In terms of gaming companies, they have a great reputation when it comes to how they treat their employees.
#3 For me personally, I feel that I have better chances of moving up within a company like this considering all their success and how long they've been around.

In case you haven't seen it before (which most of you have since Jason was trying to get a job here) this is their website. http://www.blizzard.com/us/

Lucky for me, I don't have to be a crazy talented artist for the job I'm applying for. I would be working in their customer call center (for billing). Which, would be a great "get my foot in the door" kinda job. And I've done TONS of customer service stuff, so I really hope it works out.

SOooooOOOo Ya. Phone interview tomorrow at 1:30pm Texas time! I'll keep you posted!

Love,
Sarah

... and there YOU were...

So there I was, Sunday night... in QUITE the mood. I'd had a bad couple of days emotionally and I knew I had to be up for work at 4am the next day, and I couldn't sleep. I got no rest and this morning work came and went, then I got home and started working on stuff for my job search. I was just, burnt out. AND THEN I GOT THESE IN THE MAIL...


You guys totally made my little gray cloud go away! Thank you mom and my lighthouse girls LOVE YOU SO MUCH. Of course it just makes me miss you more, but now I can look at my cards and smile.

In other happy like news... we had CUPCAKES! But not just ANY cupcakes... for these, people wait in lines... in the HOT HOT sun... in front of an old 1950's-ish silver trailer which, yes that's right, has a SPINNING pink cupcake on top!

So these cupcakes are amazing, not just because of where they come from.. but they are INFUSED with whip cream!!! /drooool


I applied for a new job today, at a small gaming studio. The pay is better than what I make now, and it's full time. Just pray that we figure all this out. If I get a full time job, we'll have to pay for our own benefits for a few months, if I leave starbucks that is. I will keep you posted, I will probably also apply to Blizzard (gaming studio) for a customer service position, so we'll see what happens.

Lastly a HUGE thank you to Melissa and Mom Gourley for helping me out with my resume the past few days. You are wonderful!

Miss you all!

On the left: I Love the way the clouds look here! So fluffly. In the middle is a photo of our apartment complex, and the last photo is one I took at a nearby park.


Yes, That is Texas Shaped CHEESE! Only in Tx. do you find so many Texas shaped items. I even saw a cake pan! The other 2 photos are of some of the downtown buildings, the one on the bottom is the Capitol building.




We actually have been doing some things! On the left is a photo of Video Games Live, a fully orchestrated video game music concert (yes we're that geeky). In the middle is a photo of Jason
playing some "disc golf" we went to a course at Zilker park, it was lots of fun, and quite a workout! The last photo is a fort... on the property of Richard Garriott's home in Austin. He is the creator of a couple big name video games (Ultima Series and more recently Tabula Rasa)

---
In other Gourley news... we really like the Mosaic church. The worship is really cool, different and really heartfelt and genuine. This last week the sermon was on consumerism and how that ties into our daily lives as Christians. If you have a minute here's a little trailer for the video we watched... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jc4yko5WMEc all the facts here are backed up and true and they state all their sources. You can see the full video here: http://www.storyofstuff.com/

In other random news, I (Sarah) may have to get a second job. Just pray for wisdom... and guidance. I'm not getting many hours at my starbucks and although the cost of living is less here, things still add up... and my pay was cut because the rates in Texas are different. So, to be honest I don't really want to have to go around to other (starbucks) stores looking for hours because I most likely won't be there after Jason gets his benefits (5 more months.) In the meantime tho, it would be great to get some kind of part time job where I don't have to stand up... which sounds funny, but after being on my feet all morning at starbucks I don't want to have to work another 6-8 hours somewhere on my feet.
I don't even know where to begin... I'll be working on my resume this week and looking at postings. After the 5 months I'd love to be in maybe HR, PR or if I have to in order to get my foot in the door, QA... at a video game studio. I love people and I love gaming, so if I can find something where the 2 meet, I'll be set. Ok that's all for now I think. Thanks again, you guys have NO idea how much seeing your posts make us smile. We miss you sooooo much.