Hormones and Holidays

What a crappy week to get PMS! I have something going on every single night for the past few weeks and I am getting so worn out. Babysitting my favorite munchkins, buying Christmas gifts for our kids and family, and gifts for the boss. My apartment is a mess, laundry is piling up.. AH!!!!!

I am stretching myself thin helping everyone else that it's beginning to take it's toll on me. I just want to sit down at night and do NOTHING! Instead, I will go to a friend's house to watch her cats while they are gone, put dinner in the oven, buy the last of the gifts for the boss, babysit until 9pm, come home, wrap gifts, and crash in bed. Thank goodness for a husband that helps out! I'm leaving him with gift wrapping for our "End of the World" party tomorrow night.

Looking forward to Christmas being over, the New Year to be here and a change in the crazy.

First resolution for 2013- ME FIRST!!!

Miller Christmas Time

Last week I attended a Christmas party at church. The topic of traditions came up and I realized that I was stumped. I couldn't think of traditions we had when I was a child.

After we got home, I was talking with my husband about it and realized I may not remember the traditions when we were a kid too well, but I do remember as we got older. Here they are:

Christmas Eve:

- Read Luke 2 (we would act out the story when we were little)
- Open one present (usually the biggest and as we got older, it turned into new jammies for Christmas Morning)
- Drive around and see Christmas lights while listening to carols in the car

Christmas Morning:
- My job to sort out the stockings into everyone's "spot"
- We were allowed to ONLY open our stockings and in them were candy, an orange and a small box of cereal. As we got older, they included scratch tickets and a toothbrush.
- We had to wait until mom and dad were awake, but meanwhile I would sort out all the presents into people's "spots" for them to open
- Once everyone is up and presentable, we start with everyone opening one present and going in a circle. This lasts until someone runs out (usually my mom or dad) and then it was a free for all.
- After gifts are open, we would start a fire and burn all the wrapping paper. This was the one time a year the fire place was ever used.

I really, really look forward to Christmas every year but with family spread out (sister going to Africa, us in Oregon, another sibling in Arizona, etc) it's not feeling too much like Christmas. We don't have kids to wake up with or see all happy in the morning. It's kind of depressing really.

We will keep up some of the traditions to a point. I still like to go see lights on Christmas Eve and pick out one gift to open. There are always new jammies under the tree to wear Christmas morning.

In the knick of time...

Yesterday we both got home around 4. I went to open the freezer to get stuff out for dinner and saw red liquid all over the bottom shelf. I looked and saw all my meat was slightly thawed.

I realized it was the popsicles that were in the door and they were completely liquid. I opened the refridgerator and everything was slightly warm, but still cold. I called our front office and all I got was the run around. I chatted with my husband and then called back. This time I got ahold of someone new. I was told that maintenance was going to be leaving at 4:30 and a work order needed to be signed. So, as the good wife I am, I made B put on his shoes and RUN to the front office.

We were able to get someone over right away. It ended up that a clip was out. Just a quick snap and we were back in business!!

Hooray for a nagging wife to get things done!

Coincidence? I think Not! (part 2)

So there I was in shock. My baby was in an accident? What hospital? Where? It had to be close!

So I said, "I just saw Kira 30 minutes ago at Wal-Mart. Nonny had parked next to us and she was in the car."

Step-mom just fell apart. She had been calling Nonny over and over and over. Voicemail always picked up and she wasn't answering. Within 5 minutes of learning that my daughter was ok, she walked through the door. My ex stepped outside and had a "talk" with his mom about all the things she did wrong.

It all started because my lovely daughter lied. She had told Nonny that she had asked her step-mom for permission to go when she hadn't.

The simple fact that they had parked in the parking spot next to us wasn't coincidence. It was again proof that God does have a plan for us. I hate to get all preachy, but it's true.

Coincidence? I think not!

This past weekend I took a little road trip with the husband and pooch to Kennewick, WA for a visit with my daughter and a friend's wedding reception.

Every time I go there in the fall, I stop by the Wal-Mart on the way out and see if they have any shirts from my high school (GO BRAVES!). On Saturday, I happened to stop after lunch. It was to be a quick trip- grab shirts and go. I ended up kind of wandering around and then we headed out.

When we got back to the car, I heard a little girl say, "Hi." I didn't react at first and then I turned around.. it was my daughter! She was out running errands with her grandma and was staying in the car with the dog. What a small world! I was gonig to go see her at her house just after that, so we kept it short, gave kisses and hugs and "I love you"s and I took off.

Fast forward 30 minutes.

I walk into her house, seeing her step mom in tears and hear her say, "I'm wondering if anyone has been brought into the ER from an car accident. It would be an older woman named {Grandma} and a 10 year-old girl."

My jaw dropped.. I had just seen my baby 30 minutes before!! What was going on?!



(to be continued...)

Thanks, Pinterest!

If you haven't heard or used Pinterest- you are in the dark. It's an amazing site full of ideas and tips and all kinds of other stuff.

The one thing I have wanted to to is refinish an UGLY old dresser that we've had since we got here. When we bought our new bedroom set, it was put into the guest room to hide.

I had the paint and had a plan. I was going to fix the drawers, sand it, paint it, varnish it and make it pretty. Here's what's been done so far:

BEFORE:

PAINTING IT:

 

FINISHED- JUST NEEDS HANDLES:

 

More Geocaching Adventures!

Over the last year, our hobby of Geocaching has become an amazing adventure. I has led us to some amazing friendships as well as taken us to so many new places here in the Northwest. Here are a few photos from our latest adventure. They were taken while walking through the Tualatin Nature Park in Beaverton, OR.

I have been to this park one other time, but never like this. Placed in the park are 8 new letterboxes which were placed by a friend that volunteers there. Amazing views and sights on a crisp, autumn day. We even found a "money tree" (see above). Yes, we kept it. Who says a hobby doesn't pay you back!?

We even saw our first frog! 

My Little Tree

Last year when we were staying at a house, I was out doing some yard work and noticed a little sapling. I put it in a pot and prayed. Last fall, after the leaves fell off I thought it was just a stick in some dirt. The leaves started changing  I got this photo (see below).

I checked my little stick many, many times throughout the winter to make sure that it was still alive. It was still bending, so I knew it would be ok. It was my first time with a plant, so what was I to know? But this last spring some little leaves started to sprout!

I was so happy to see my little tree had made it! By June, the first 5 leaves were big and full- but the little tree was still growing!

 

Look at it now!! This was taken 11-4-12. I noticed the leaves were starting to change fall colors! Notice that there is now a second tier of leaves?! I don't have a photo from the previous photo until now (downside of moving in July). There are a whopping 10 leaves this fall! I'm excited to see how much more this little tree will grow next year.

I'm THANKful for (Part 2)

It's that time of year! Here are my THANKfuls for 2012:

November 1: I am thankful for a wonderful family who loves and tries their best to support me and my husband through all of our crazy decisions!!

November 2: I am thankful for a husband who supports, loves and protects me. He has sincerely been placed on this Earth just for me when I needed him to be there most. I can't wait to be sealed to him for Eternity.

November 3: Today I am thankful for an amazing, kind, beautiful, smart daughter. Having secondary infertility and dealing with that the last 4 years is making me appreciate Heavenly Father's gift to me. I love looking at the picture of her on my desk every day and being reminded of just how blessed I am to be her mom. I may not see her every single day, but I wil forever and ever be her MOM! She is the sunshine in my very grey and cloudy life. I love her more than I will ever, ever be able to tell her.

November 4: Today I am thankful to be a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am thankful for all the friends I have gained throughout the years because of this amazing church. I am thankful for the testimony of Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father.

November 5: Today I am thankful for my amazing job. It may be boring at times (I'm an expert and counting to 50!), but it pays the bills, keeps food in our mouths, and football on the TV.

November 6: (Election Day) Today I am thankful to live in a country where I can speak my opinion and not be shot for standing for what I believe in. Team Obama 2012.

November 7: I am thankful for technology. Having family live 1500 miles away isn't always easy. Also having a daughter live 4 hours away makes it hard to just go see her whenever I want. I cherish the phone calls every week and the Skype phone calls with my sister and family.

November 8: I am thankful for amazing friends that have been there with me throughout the years. For the friends that laugh at me and with me. For the friends that lifted me up when I was down and kept life real. I love you all and am so proud to call you a friend!

November 9: I am thankful for a fantastic Mother-in-law! I can't imagine how we would have gotten through the last 2 years without her help!!

November 10: I am thankful for all the little ones in my life. I love all the hugs and the kisses and the, "I missed you SO much! It's been FOREVER since I saw you!" that I get from them.

November 11: (Veteran's Day) I am more than thankful for all service men and women serving in all branches of the military.

November 12: I am thankful to live in Portland, OR!! I am thankful for the green and beauty around me all year long. I'm thankful for the stupid drivers that can't seem to go above the speed limit and make me feel like I'm going super fast (doing 60 in a 55.. wheeee)!

November 13: (stealing this from a friend) I am thankful for a FREE Tri-Met pass. I am not a fan of riding the bus every morning except for the fact that it is free and I get to read a book, check email or check facebook in those 20 minutes before and after work.

November 14: I am thankful for a reliable vehicle (that we can afford). I am hearing all day today about coworkers who can't trust their vehicles and so on. I know ours is due for some work, like the 30,000 check up, but its an amazing little car!

Insert foot in mouth

I may have spoken out of turn in terms of my parents and sister. It was what I was feeling at the time and I upset them.

My sister knows what she is doing and I give her my blessing. My parents.. I'll never understand them.

That's the end of that. My opinion and view on life seems to upset people- maybe because I'm right??

VACATION TIME!!!!

This weekend will be the FIRST official vacation for us (more than one night) since our honeymoon in 2009! We aren't counting the 3 moving trips, since those weren't much fun.

We are heading up to Seattle for two big reasons- (1) to go to Geocaching headquarters in Seattle and (2) to FINALLY have photos taken of us! We never did engagement photos (since we were "engaged" for a week) and my wedding photos were from my neice-in-law and were... ok.

SO EXCITED!! Elizabeth Madsen Photograophy (www.elizabethmadsenphotography.com) is doing our shoot. She is doing a "mini" session. Pretty much 30 minutes and a few prints and viola! I'm over the moon and so happy! It's a small chunk of change, but I passed up the chance last time.

That's all the big excitement going on here.

What a Thought (or two.. or more)!

I was going to title this "What an Ass" but there are more thoughts than that bugging me.

Last night was my weekly call with my daughter. We chatted about her playing this weekend, the usual. I told her about a dream that I had where I thought of the name "Jezebella" for the newest addition of their family since kid #5 hadn't had a name yet. Then my daughter says, "She already has a name."

EXCUSE ME?!! WHAT?!! Appearantly, step-mom had the baby on Thursday (10-11-12)!! I didn't get an email, text, nothing! I'm pretty sure that my daughter's life was afftected BIG time by this and I didn't know! UGH! I don't understand why this information doesn't get shared with me. Moving cross country, birth of children.. I don't get it. The baby's name is Sadie Jayne. Sadie is a nickname for Sarah (mom's sister) and Jayne has "Jay" in it because my ex has an ego and wants a little boy to name after him. Jay is his nickname, and so the two younger (since #4 was supposed to be the last) both have "Jay" in their names.

I was talking to my husband about the name thing and I love his reaction, "I will never name a child after me." YAY!!

As for babies for us... I started my LAST pack of bith control this month (well, for next month). Time to start getting serious on baby making! Which also means getting serious on eating better and excercising more! I even went and paid a lot of money (for me) on fancy work out shoes and made a goal to walk home from work -3.1 miles- at least 2 times a week. I did it once and that was it. Now the rainy season is here and I haven't the motivation to do it.. until now. Baby #5's announcement and the announcement of a few other pregnancies from friends REALLY has me on baby overload. I think I am going at it in a selfish way though. I want the pregnancy since my one with Kira wasn't too.. wow. It was a secret for as long as my ex would keep it one (though of course I told my sister!). I missed my wedding/baby shower. I never got to decorate a nursery. I never got all of the praise and photos and all that jazz that comes with a pregnancy. I want to be celebrated too! We have wanted a child together for a few years now. I took this past year to take a break and just enjoy us. I have some severe depression issues to deal with, and those will get taken care of at a Dr appointment I have coming up (first one in YEARS!).

So, that's my thoughts while on my break... time to focus back on work!

NOT me.

Life is a circle, I understand that part. I don't agree and like this circle, but it happens.

Example: When I was my sister's age I was in her same spot. Desperate to be loved, clinging to every guy that paid attention and doing whatever crazy idea they had (though mine didn't involve moving to Africa, just back to Kennewick). I can't voice my opinion outloud about this to her, because I'm supposed to be supportive and loving and not scared at all for her future.

This has been hard though. I KNOW this isn't the man my sister is supposed to marry, but that's what she is saying is going to happen- in Africa! I can't play the "you can't know right away who you are supposed to marry" because that happened with me and my husband. I KNEW the day I met him I wanted to be with him. Life has been up and down since then (mostly me up and down), but I have had that one support and I love it.

My dad was offered a job in CA working with the same company, but as a contractor. One of the first questions to my mom was, "When do you move.?" Well, she isn't moving! Just my dad will stay down there a few weeks out of the month and then travel back and forth. This is ideal for my mom. They have always had one of those together but not together marriages. I don't remember the last time they were ever affectionate with each other. I don't remember them saying "I love you" to each other. I recently learned from my dad that they only got married because it was convenient. Which explains a lot. I understand individuality in a marriage, but this is different. It's been bugging me and I had to say something about it.

This marriage is what my sister, the one going to Africa, wants. She wants the convenience of a husband but be able to be her own person. That doesn't work. I know that you don't have to be with your spouse 24/7, but you also can't be dependant on them. Does that make sense?

I like what I have. A balance. If I need a night just for me, I get it. This would have NEVER happened in my last marriage, but works for us. This Saturday I have errands to run and know that my husband doesn't want to go with me to the fabric store. So, I will send him off with some guy friends and I will go do my thing. My ex would have wanted to be next to me 24/7 for EVERYTHING. I wasn't able to be me and so I sank into depression and exploded and left.

I don't see this happening with my sister.*sigh*

Joys of being the big sister....

Next Chapter...

On Saturday we FINALLY move. I know that it seems we move all of the time, but like I stated before- this one is a needed! We went to our new church group on Sunday and were welcomed so openly! We even have someone coming to bring us dinner Saturday night after we are settled in! That has NEVER happened before. People were sincerely wanting to get to know us and more about us. It was so lving and sincere!

We put down the neede money and just have to sign one more paper and we are in! We have so many friends volunteering to come help us! It is wonderful to know that in our time of need, there really are people out there to come and help. HUGE kudos to those helping us move out! Our place now is up on the 3rd floor and the new place is ground level. Thank goodness we don't own a lot and most of the boxes used to pack are pretty small and therefore pretty light.

We are pretty sure this is our last move to an apartment. Our goal is to enjoy this place and save, save, save for a HOUSE. Here it goes!

Facebook IS NOT REAL LIFE!

For those that don't know already, not everyone on Facebook takes it seriously.

I will never, ever say and post what I am feeling 24 hours a day. This does have it's reprocussions, but I'm ok with that. Example: I am not a negative person, or at least I try not to be. My sister-in-law is and all, if not most, of her posts on Facebook reflect this. I decided that I had enough of the negative and "unfriended" her. HOLY HECK! I knew that there was going to be cross fire from this, so I also blocked her. This started a whirlwind of conversations and texts with my husband and his other sister. Bottom line, she is mad, her daughter is mad, husband was "unfriended" from her. Seriously?

I remove people from my friend list on Facebook at least once a week. It doesn't mean I'm not wanting to be a part of your life, I have just moved on in my life. I'm also VERY picky on whom I chose to see my personal information. I have personal information, personal photos and more.

So here I am blogging my sighs and grumbles.

Time for a happy blog post....

Organized Mess.

We have 20 days until we move into our more permanent place. I'm using that as my newest excuse to not clean as much as I normally would, but it's starting to show.

I strongly believe that a person's home is a reflection of what is going on inside. Example: clean home, clean mind, messy home, messy mind.

I must have a messy mind because my home that is normally neat and tidy is a mess.


Enough venting. Off to church.

7 Years of Waiting... worth it!

I just got the BEST news!

Just over seven years ago, on April 26, 2005, I decided I was done with my horrible marriage and moved out and got a divorce. Part of that divorce we agreeing to leave my ex and daughter alone and live my own life. Well, that lasted all of a few months before I got my head out of the clouds.

Here we are seven looong years and the moment I have been waiting for has FINALLY come- I was invited to come to their house for a visit!! This may not seem like a big deal to most, but this is an amazing leap in our chain of events since the divorce. A big part of it is thanks to his new wife- a saint! She has been an amazing addition to this chaos and is proving to the ex that I really mean the best for the kid and am not going to come over and steal her (I attempted to get out of our marriage once and I took my daughter to get out of the emotional abuse... I ended up flying back that next day). That instance was when my daughter was 18 months old and on Monday, she will be turning 10!

I just had to share my excitement. Usually when I come to visit, we meet up at the mall, hang out, go shopping and then part ways. The last time I saw her was back in November with my sister in town. We had lunch and then went to a park and the step-mom took some photos of us. So, that's what we will be doing on Saturday! I can't believe my little ladybug is turning 10!!!


Time for another... (wink)

Bucket List Item- Check!

Looks like I started the blog and never finished.

I got the amazing opportunity to sing the national anthem at a professional sport! As part of the Portland Engisn Choir, I was invited (as well as 119 other people) to sing the National Anthem for the Portland Trailblazers!! Here is a video my husband shot of us singing (blurry, sorry):

 

What a fantastic night! Even the family I used to nanny came out to support me. They had better seats then us, so we eventually went and sat by them. What a great night!

Life is Good... no, GREAT!

I said on my last blog that I would put some photos up (since most reading don't have access to my Facebook). Life in Oregon and in the Pacific Northwest has been amazing over this past year. It's taken almost 2 years to get to the point where life is starting to normalize. Proof is that at the end of this month, both of us will be going on VACATION!! Moving to and from Denver did NOT count as a vacation. I will be flying back home to see family over Memorial Day weekend (thanks to my mommy for giving me some cash on my birthday to help pay for it), and Ben will be going back to New Mexico to go see his son (first time since we saw him on the original move to WA/OR two years ago). We haven't had a chance to fly anywhere in 5 years, (well, Ben hasn't) so we are finally doing it!

I haven't seen my parents since we moved last January, and I am very excited to see them! I have been feeling a little homesick, and this will hopefully cure it. I did hear from my family that they will be coming up to Portland for a few days. I'm So excited to have my dad up most of all (sorry mom and sisters). My dad is a lot like me- we both love museums, nature and learning. My dad will be here Thursday night and I plan on picking him up and then going to the Japanese Gardens (free passes through our library) and the International Rose Test Garden (free to the public and over looks Portland skyline). There are a million other places I'd love to show him, so I am making Friday a short work day and going to show him downtown. I own lots of books of "tourist" things to do in Portland that is either free or cheap that I have been wanting to do.


Actually, I was going to go and do a few of them this weekend since the sun is out, but the husband got really sick Thursday. We went to urgent care and they said it was "bronchitis with wheezing". We got home, drugged him up and now here I am blogging! That's been our most excitement in a while. Most weekends we take road trips all over the area as part of our new hobby- geocaching (www.geocaching.com for more). It gets us out of the house, we've made many friends from it and it keeps us busy! It's also one of the things I want to introduce my dad to when they come (another reason I am STOKED to have him here before the rest of the family gets here).

Here are a few photos from the last few months. First hockey game (Portland WinterHawks), home grown eggs from a co-worker (I didn't like them very much), my adorable cubicle (gotta personalize, right?), the capitol building in Salem and a photo of the "Welcome to Dallas" sign. It's the closest Dallas that I'll get to visit!

Who Knew?!

Hello! I haven't been on here on a while.. and not too sure a lot of excitement has really happened. Not sure if the last post mentions this, but I got my dream job. I work for an insurance company here in Portland (we take up 5% of the national market!) and have amazing coworkers. Monday was my birthday and they showered me with fun little gifts.

Not too much else really happens in my life.

I was chatting with my daughter's step-mom and she mentioned that my daughter has been in trouble for being too "chatty". Her response, "I can't help it.. I just have to talk!" Totally my kid! I'll put up some pictures when I get home..

First Week... done!

I survived my first week at the new job- and I LOVE my job! It's in the boring learning phase, but what I am learning about it I am loving! I can see why people have been doing this for 12 years or more! And, when I get crossed trained later for the data entry side I'll be in heaven!

I work with some fun people. My trainer is a little Vietnamese lady, whom I can barely understand. Lan is her name, and she is a ball of laughs! I also work with Brian, my sensitive gay coworker who loves to sing silly songs with me and have fun with. They both make learning my job fun and easy. After only doing it for 4 days, I'm doing pretty well!

Nothing new in life otherwise. The last couple of weeks we've had some friends come over for dinner and game night. We met them through our church and they are a blast!! It's nice to finally have Ben home every night and weekend, so I can invite friends over and just have fun again!

New and Done!

So on another note..

My hair is now about 2" shorter than that last picture (see below):Also going on is last Thursday, to take a break from being horribly bored (can't wait to have cable back!) I decided to text my old boss and ask if I could take the girls I nannied out for one last fun trip before I got too busy. I had a wooden nickel good for a "free cookie" at Bob's Red Mill in Milwaukie, OR so we went to visit (since none of us have been there). Grabbed our cookies and a smoothie and sat and "chatted". We talked about how the bread was made and about the founder, Bob.

Here's a photo of them outside of the big wooden mill wheel. Grass was a little damp, so the oldest on has her pants hiked up:It was fun to see all the products, but the tour is up the street so we skipped that. Instead, I let the 4 year-old pick our next stop- OMSI! We only had about 45 to spend, so I let them just wander and have a fun time. I will sure miss them, but I know that bigger and better things are set for me. I will always be available for their parents to go on date nights, and next weekend is the oldest's 5th birthday (can't miss bowling!).

Learn from life and then move to the next phase...

Done and Ready!

After a week of stress and worry, my background check came back cleared on Thursday morning and on Friday morning I did my "health screen". I ended up getting two shots- flu vaccine and DTap. My goodness does that DTap hurt! My muscle is still sore the next day!

I got a call from my new boss, Laura, and confirmed orientation on Monday! I even get to pick my own schedule, and since doggy daycare doesn't open until 7am I went with starting at 7:30 (plus I can sleep in a little more).

I feel so very blessed to have this amazing opportunity and I feel I have really learned from my past on what expectations come in the next few months as I adjust.

Scanning = Awesome

Maybe this is all a practice for my new job as a document scanner/data entry but having to find all of my old W-2s, scan them in and email them has not been fun! It started last week when I got a call from HireRight, the company doing my background check. I have had to find, scan and email 5 w-2s so far, one dating back to 2006! I am finding that there are several companies that I used to work for that are no longer in service! I'm happy to know that the company I will be with now will not be out of business in less than 5 years (since they have been around for over 100 years).

On another note, Ben and I went and did a little apartment shopping. I came to the realization that we spend $80-100 a month on doing laundry outside of our apartment/at laundromats (since our apartment does not have a washer/dryer in it). For that same amount of money (cost of rent + $80-100) we can be living in a 2 bedroom apartment WITH a full-size washer/dryer in it on the light rail and closer to work! So, that's what we did. There is such a wide variety of apartments too! I am realizing I like apartments that have been "updated". I like stainless steel and hardwood floors. I like it to look modern on the inside, even if the outside isn't so pretty. We both agreed that we need a place with a hot tub. Our apartment now has just a very, very cold pool.

So, it's been decided. We will for sure move (again) in July when our lease is up. This time, to a bigger, more efficient place. And we will stay there until we can afford a house. So... 10 years? lol

Speaking of a house, I am pretty sure I mentioned this in my last blog. We have started to read Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover". We listened to a pod cast of the show last night, and I was amazed at how many people got rid of over $100,000 of debt in under 5 years! I'm not saying we have that much (or do we?), but it showed me that with some hard work that we have the opportunity to live debt free! I haven't done that since my divorce in 2005 (where I walked away debt free, but started with bad decisions since I was on my own).

So onto our next adventure!

Shorter and Shorter...

Life has been full of changes over the past few weeks, so when I saw one of those sign flippers stating that Great Clips was doing haircuts for $7.99, I knew it was time for a change personally. I was going to just go in for a trim, and thought, "If I'm going to cut my hair, I might as well cut it!" So, I ask for 5 inches to be cut off! It's short! And as cheesy as this sounds, not short enough. I am going to go in later this afternoon and ask for another inch off. Like I said, if I'm going to cut it, I might as well make a statement! I realized, while looking through old pictures, my hair is the same length as it was when I first met my husband 4 years ago (awwe moment). I've cut it off twice and it's grown back, but this time I think I'll keep it short.

Yesterday morning I had an amazing opportunity come up. Well, I guess the opportunity was back last Wednesday. I have been putting in applications at hospitals and clinics trying to get back into the medical billing field. I was out geocaching with a friend when I got back to the car and noticed I had a missed call. I listened to the voicemail and I just lit up. It was a call from the Providence Operations Center (where they do the insurance we have through Ben's work). I guess I had applied for a job there, and she was asking if we could set up an interview! SCORE! My interview was yesterday morning, and I felt it went very well! I felt very calm and was excited to see all of the Providence insignia (since been has worked for that company for over a year). The interview went well, I thought. They will make their decision by the end of the week. I could have a new job on Monday!

I'm trying not to get over excited, but this is a job that I have wanted for years! I won't say what it is, but the potential to get into my dream job within 5 years is a reality if I get this position. Scratch that... WHEN I get this position! The location of the building/office is perfect as well!

I know that I have a lot of friends and family praying that the right job is out there and I will find it (or rather it will find me). We shall see. I had a phone interview last night for another nanny position, but when I came to the realization that it would not only be temporary (only through Sep), but that it was for another first time mom I sent an email saying that I was appreciative of them taking their time to talk with me, but that I would have to turn down the job if offered. I have my reasons, and due to past horrible job experience, I will never ever ever ever (ever) work for another first time mother.

So that is a sum of life over the last few weeks, the exciting part anyway. Not a lot goes on. Make a few crafts to keep busy (see picture of newest wreath- made for Valentine's Day), keep looking for full-time employment and pray that bills will be paid and everything will be ok.

Off to do laundry (I can't wait to have a washer/dryer IN my apartment) and fix this haircut (downside of only paying $7.99 for a haircut).

Happy February!!

Salty Brownies.

Salty brownies sums up life right now. Last night I got a call from my boss, informing me that they can no longer keep me since her husband lost his job. I was told that if I am still available, and he starts working that they'd love to have me back.

So, this morning I am in a funk. I decided to take a break from job searching and make a batch of brownies (because nothing goes better with vanilla ice cream than warm brownies). Well, when I went to make them I had our salt grinder set too high and it wasn't as fine of a grind as needed. So, my brownies turned out salty.

I'm feeling kind of stuck, mentally. I've been wanting to find a new job, but am now being pushed to decide. Medical billing (which I love), or continue to nanny (which I love too)?? Ugh...

Gonna go watch the water level continue to rise and flood out the parking lot...

Happy 2012!

Just thought I'd take a second and say HAPPY NEW YEAR! It's only day 3 and it's going great so far. I'm really starting to see what steps are going to be taken to make sure that 2012 is a more successful year both financially and emotionally than 2011 was. So, here's to hoping!