Jobs ... (Take DONE!)

I start Monday morning.

40 hours a week. Monday - Friday. 8-5.

I am SO pumped.

I'm the newest Consultant Care Specialist for South Main Designs.

YAY!

Okay. I'm exhausted and have one heck of a week to get everything done around here and ready for me to be gone full-time next week. Have a good night.

Jobs ... (Take Three)

Okay. I've been to 4 interviews and 1 second interview in the last week. I hope something comes through ...

If not - I do have an offer on the table from the place that second interviewed me. It's not anywhere near ideal, but it would be income.

I should know whatever it'll be by the end of the week.

Jars

"It seems too easy to call you Savior,
Not close enough to call you God."

Line from Jars' song "Love Song for a Savior". Tyler and I were talking about it tonight. Is that the statement that best describes the American Church today? Everyone looking for and willing to have a Savior, but unable to make the commitment to having a God ... What's the difference in committing to a Savior and committing to a God?

Just things I've been pondering. Discuss amongst yourselves now. Share please ...

Baby

So Tyler and I were chatting about baby names earlier today. He suggested (as he says) "the completely Biblically based name" Gomer Dorcitha for our little girl. Yeah. That's his vote for the baby.

ahh well ...

I still have some time to talk him out of that ...

Jobs ... (Take Two)

Well that went okay this morning. She said that she thinks I'd be great. She also said, with a tish of surprise, that I did "really well" on the grammar and editing test. Umm ... yeah ... I speak the English good and occasionally I can spell two. :P Yeah - I know - it's not everyone's forte ... but I've had so many grammar books and vocab classes in my life. I had at least three books for every English class I had all the way up through high school: grammar, vocab, and the "literature" book that went with that grade. 99% of the time I had novels too. Okay. That was a nice little tangent. Sorry about that. Thanks for sticking with me this far. Moving on.

So she thinks she'll be calling me back in the next couple of days to schedule a second round interview for sometime maybe next week. We'll see. I could work there.

Many thanks to Andrea for letting me borrow the necklace this morning. I'll bring it back to you tonight at Bible discussion. Thanks also for your compliment on my attire. :) I really attribute the wonderfulness of the look to the necklace. (PS I also agree that honesty is the best policy too. But we'll see how the situations present themselves tomorrow night.) Now ... umm ... can I borrow a different necklace for tomorrow? ... :D ... How can you ignore that cheesy grin? ... especially when I already know which one I'd like to borrow ... :D

Okay. So one down. Two to go. Here's still hoping that tomorrow night is fantastically rocktacular! (I like that word ... I think I'll keep it.)

Jobs ...

Okay. So I have a couple of busy days ahead. I have an interview today at 1, tomorrow at 10:30, and a meet-and-greet kind of party thing tomorrow night at 6. Hopefully I'll come out with something. (Secretly though I'm hoping the one tomorrow night goes the best:P)

Other jobs ... I have about 7 hours worth of sewing work for my mom. I'm making her new curtains for her family room and downstairs bathroom. I'm also recovering a pad for her window seat in her bedroom. I already did the pillows for that window seat. I think I'll also end up with her upstairs bathroom and bedroom curtains because I'd bet that she just won't get to them and then will be tired of not having them finished ... ahh well. I like doing the work for her - the only part that's weird is figuring out how much my time is worth. It's strange for me to charge family and friends for some things ...

I worked my tooshie off yesterday. I did 8 loads of laundry. Ironed everything. Put it all away. Cleaned the entire house. (Okay. So I need to vacuum today ... I was too tired to do it after FPU last night.) I was cleaning the bathroom yesterday and noticed that the baseboards in the bathroom were dirtier than I have ever let them get. So I started to look around and realized that I couldn't remember the last time I dusted the baseboards, corners, ceilings, and woodwork. Hmm ... let's just say that it had been awhile - a while too long. So I did that too. And the bathtub is all sparkley clean. It's a good day around here.

Okay. I need to vacuum before I get ready for the el interview today. Wish me luck over the next two days.

Trivia

So Jenette posted a new trivia game on her blog. I tried today. Now, granted my head hurts and I can't really read all that well right now - but I am truly ashamed of how poorly I did. Grr. I really thought I knew my music trivia better. Also, I should know better than to accidentally skip a question. (That painful lesson I learned at ONU, when I skipped a question and therefore set my bubble answer sheet off by one. The B I got in that class because of that test cost me my honor cords ... but I'm not still bitter or anything. :P) Also, I need to stop second guessing myself.

Ahh well. Perhaps I will do better tomorrow.

Back to my oh-so-difficult decision of what to watch on tv - the 100 Best Songs of the 80s on VH1 or the Law and Order mini-marathon on TNT.

I think I'll flip back and forth. In the meantime - I need to lie down again, my head is starting to pound harder.

Job Fair

So I went to a job fair this morning. It was just a single company holding a fair to fill some positions within their various departments. Now, call me crazy ... but if I were running a large corporation and was holding a job fair, I think I would have more than FOUR job openings available. I must have seen 150 people there applying, and I wasn't there the whole time this morning. They're having another session of this fair tonight too. I'm not saying that I'm not holding out hope ... but with the way my luck has been lately, I wouldn't be surprised if there were four people for three jobs and I didn't get a job. (Tyler agrees with me on this one too :P).

Yesterday did hold some uplifting job news possibilities though. I found out from two different friends that both of their offices are hiring right now. They're both supposed to be checking on that for me today. Hopefully I'll get some good news back from them.

Okay ... I'm going to go lie back down. My head is pounding and I'm running a little fever. I guess I can forget about all that cleaning that I wanted to get done today.

A bit of not much

I'm mad at my Pennsylvania Dutch. I REALLY am not happy with how the last book ended. I was so angry that I was crying as I read the end. However, I'm willing to look past that to find out how the series continues to unfold. (It's a 5 book series revolving around the same family. I've just finished the 2nd book.) I need to move on from there for a while.

So ...

I really enjoyed Bible discussion group tonight. (See other blog for a highlight.) I needed to laugh like that. On a similar note, it's really good to have the Clements family back from vacation. I really like them. (Hola guys. I know you read my blog. :)) It was nice to have their input back in the discussion. It was also nice to have their senses of humor back in the discussion. It's been a while since we've had the majority of our regulars at discussion ... and tonight we did. (Lori we missed you!) It was nice.

I guess that's all I have to say. A whole lot of nothing ... ahh well ... seems to be a running theme lately.

This is a story all about how ...

There is something strangely comforting about the fact that The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is on at just about any hour of the day or night (mostly night ... Nick at Nite marathons ...)

And yet at the same time - it's strangely bothersome to me that it's on Nick at Nite. Wasn't that for old shows? ... Seriously. It was mostly black and white Donna Reeds and Dick Van Dyke shows when I was younger. Interesting ...

Ahh well ... off to bed ...

huh ...

I guess it's been a while since I've posted.

I've been busy ... just nothing really blog-worthy I guess.

Funny thing about that - I always make a mental note that something was funny or fun or blog-worthy ... but I never remember to come home and type about it.

Laundry is about half done right now. I'm taking a break to run the dishwasher.

Tyler's reading and listening to the Indians game on the radio right now. He's been really busy getting ready for the next STE officer meeting (in just about 3 weeks). I've been helping him work on some stuff for that ... but nothing of note really. I'm still reading a lot. I've had to take a bit of a break from the 1950s Pennsylvania Dutch to read Sex God. It's okay. I like Rob Bell's writing style ... but for some reason the book doesn't really resonate with me. Maybe it'll be better when I'm further in ... I'm only about 1/3 of the way through right now.

I've been busy working on Chrysalis stuff too. I think I have too many jobs with Chrysalis. Don't get me wrong ... I like working for them ... I enjoy serving the community that way - I'm just ... I don't know. Perhaps it's this complacency that's bothering me and not really the colossal amount of work I need to do.

I need to get my hairs cut again. They're getting too long.

...

I believe that concludes today's rambling. Thank you for joining me for that ...

I do believe I'll go iron some more now.

Gosh darnit if I didn't do it again.

But this time it was 1849 San Francisco. I haven't found an author in a long time who's writing I can get lost in so easily. It was a good day though. I worked. I did laundry. I went to Curves. I went to FPU. We had dinner with my mom while she was in town tonight. It's not like ALL I did today was read. I just did a lot of it.

Ahh ... sweet decadence of reading. What a wonderful past time.

And what a wonderful husband I have to allow me that guilty pleasure in life ...

(speaking of my wonderful husband - go read his blog from today. I laughed out loud. And I cried a little. It was sweet. And I swear I had no intention of "training" him ... there are just certain things that should be done during your daily routine ... but that's another blog all together. Off to make the bed with our freshly laundered sheets.)

I don't usually do this ... but how could I resist ...

an 80s Survey!!!!!!! (Okay ... I really don't do this ... like ever. But I just got such a kick out of reading it on another friend's blog, I felt the irrepressible desire to fill it out for myself.) So some of this pushes into the early 90s I think. But that's okay by me ... it was all that fabulous period of my life ... ahh ... memory lane ...

Did you listen to New Kids on the Block?
I had a pillow case with their faces on it ... I wore it thread bare ...

Did you ever own a slap bracelet?
Yes. Until my school outlawed them because we spent class time throwing them at each other and watching them snap and fly up into the air. It was great.

The Baby Sitter's Club or Sweet Valley High?
Baby Sitter's Club. I wanted to be Kristy.

Salute Your Shorts or Hey Dude?
Hey Dude. Hands down.

Kids Incorporated or The Mickey Mouse Club?
I remember watching both. But I think I preferred MMC

Did you want Dylan to end up w/ Brenda or Kelly?
So was not allowed to watch 90210.

Who was ALF?
Furry brown alien dude.

Do you remember the show Dinosaurs?
"I'm the baby. Gotta love me. Big purple eyes and I'm so cuddly!" I know I watched it. I can't remember any specifics though ...

Do/did you know the words to the Fresh Prince theme song?
"Iiiiiiiiinnnn west Philadelphia born and raised. On the playground was where I spent most of my days. Chillin out nights and relaxin all cool ..."
That would be a yes.

Kimmie Gibbler or Urkel?
Kimmie kind of annoyed me. I remember when both were on TGIF on ABC though. I think I'll go with Urkel.

Blossom or Clarissa Explains It All?
Clarissa. I tried so hard to convince my mom that I needed a baby pool with an alligator in it in my room. But I LOVED my Blossom hat. (Self made I might note. According to mom, I ruined a perfectly good church hat by pinning one side up with a sunflower pin I had.)

Did you have a crush on JTT?
Yeah.

Bobby Brown or Tevin Campbell?
neither

Step By Step or Full House?
Both. Though Full House has stood the test of time for me. Thank heavens for daytime reruns.

Did you listen to Milli Vanilli?
Sadly, yes I did. But I think it was because I was fascinated with a man's ability to sing like that.

Mr. Rogers or Reading Rainbow?
I watched both way longer than I should have. But I LOVED Reading Rainbow. "Butterfly in the sky. I can go twice as high. Take a look. It's in a book. A reading rainbow."

Did you own a Glo Worm?
I think I got my cousin's when she was done with it. I don't remember having one of my own though.

Paula Abdul: better now or then?
Then. How can you beat Scat Cat? Seriously.

Wild 'n' Crazy Kids or Double Dare?
Double Dare. I wanted to be on Family Double Dare so bad ... but there were only three people in my family, and my mom refused to get dirty ... :(

Remember Legends of the Hidden Temple?
I forgot about it until just now… I loved that show. Awesome.

The Mighty Ducks or The Little Giants?
Mighty Ducks. I had a crush on Emilio ... a major crush.

Did you watch Saved By The Bell?
Still do. And I'm not to proud to admit it.

Who was hotter: Zach or Slater
I'm a sucker for dimples ... but it was still Zach.

Camp Nowhere or House Arrest?
neither

Did you own a pair of Reebok Pumps?
oh yeah. The laces were pink and orange.

Care Bears or Smurfs?
I watched both of their cartoons. I loved the Care Bears' Movie, the one where they saved the boy who was a magician's assistant and his younger sister. Also, I had the most AWESOME Care-A-Lot playset.

Rainbow Brite or Strawberry Shortcake?
Strawberry Shortcake. Although, I had a couple of Rainbow Brite dolls that got their fair share of play time.

Did you watch Miami Vice?
no ... I feel like I missed out on something there ...

Did you own a pair of Jelly Shoes?
They were pink. Fuchsia really.

Did you own a Trapper Keeper?
Duh. Until we weren't allowed to have them at school because they took up too much space in the coat hook area. That was about the time they outlawed those backpacks that were on wheels.

Atari or Nintendo?
I've never owned a game system. Tyler has some, but I never have. My step-sisters and cousins had Nintendos. I enjoyed my fair share of Tetris and Duck Hunt. But that's about it.


So? It sparked memories for you too. I know it did. Share if you like ... :)

'Twas Sinfully Glorious

I got a new book this past weekend. We were in Columbus servicing my mom's computer. (She had an "emergency" and so felt the need to call in PC Geek - thing Geek Squad but slightly cheaper - instead of calling her daughter, and perhaps more importantly, her son-in-law. So we took off rather quickly to save her from those worthless charges.) Anywhoo ... as I've stated more than once, my mom likes to shop. And this weekend we added the bookstore to our list. More often than not, we go to Half Priced Books (ahh ... Heaven really must be a book store ... I'm sure of that.) but this time we were at Barnes & Noble. How wonderful book stores smell. How wonderful the colors and type on the covers of all the volumes. How wonderful the diversity of material. (Yes ... this truly must be Heaven ...)

I've grown up around books. I've always enjoyed reading. Even when I was sick and tired of reading for school, I always enjoyed my pleasure reading. I so enjoy the escape to another world that a well-written book provides. That being said, I also fear that, at least at some times, it can be sinfully glorious. Today was sinfully glorious.

I got a new book. It was a good book. I opened it this morning. It is finished. I did other work today, but none of it really mattered. I needed the escape. I needed the down time. I have done this once before in my life. I still remember that glorious, wonderful feeling of having lost an entire day to another world that is not my own. It is quite the rush for me. I was thinking about that first book ... and realized that this latest book is somewhat of a "grown up" version of that first book. Amazing how I haven't really changed all that much in the last 12 or so years.

At times I've wondered if I was born at the wrong point in history. Now, for all practical purposes I know I'm wrong. I enjoy my a/c, running water, indoor plumbing, and all of the 21st century conveniences. However, the hopeless romantic in me so easily gets lost in the majesty and mystery presented in tales of times gone by. I'm a junkie for historical fiction. It's just such a beautiful and carefree existence in the stories. I know better. But that doesn't change the little pangs in my gut for the simpler times portrayed in the books I truly enjoy.

And so, once I quiet my mind and return to today, to here and now, I'll go to bed and crawl in next to my peacefully sleeping husband. He went to bed several hours ago ... but I just couldn't put the book down. There was too much crucial action going on. And tomorrow, the "sinful" will sneak in on my glorious day. For tomorrow all the work that could have been accomplished today will still be there, piled on the work to be accomplished tomorrow. And I will have to function in reality, once again subject to the 21st century. But tonight I will just remember the glorious feeling. Tonight I will go to sleep with that cradling me. Tonight I will be in the 17th century. Tonight I will be on a Virginia tobacco farm. Tonight I will stay wrapped in the warmth of the love story I just finished reading.

Tomorrow I will iron ...

oops

I guess I let my blog go too long without an update. Sorry about that ...

We've been crazy busy. I went down in the middle of last week to see my mom. I needed the mommy time. I didn't realize it, but Tyler did and told me to go. I am super glad that he realized what was going on and that I needed to see mom. He's a good one ... definately a keeper. :)

We went to JT and Beth's wedding last weekend. It was really pretty. They had their reception at the Packard museum ... I was totally in love with the cars. I dig classics. It was beautiful there. Ahh ... cars ...

Sunday we went to the Columbus Arts Festival with mom. (We stayed with her on Saturday night after the wedding.) It was fun. She bought us a couple of really pretty Celtic harp cds. Good stuff. She also bought Tyler a painting of the Jake in Cleveland. It's really nice. I'm looking forward to finding a frame for it and getting it up on the wall.

I'm with Sophie 18 hours a week now. That's three 6 hour days. Today was good. we went to Curves, the bank, the library, the mall to spend some of her birthday gift cards, the post office ... I'm sure we went somewhere else. We were very productive. I'm there again on Thursday, she's with her dad tomorrow.

Okay ... time to down some dinner before Bible discussion group. Tyler cooked. It smells really good. Yeah ... he's definately a keeper. :P

babette ate oatmeal

(yes. I'm a Gilmore junkie. I admit it.)

So there's something that really frustrates me about Christianity and the Church. (Actually, there are a lot of things that frustrate me, but this post is only about one ... so on with the rant ...) There seems to be this line of thought or belief or theme or something that states when one prays, "God, use me." that God's use of you will be monumental. People say that they're scared to use that prayer because they're afraid of what will be asked of them. Why is it that the feeling is that being used by God means that He'll ask you to sell all of your belongings and move to a tiki hut in the middle of Africa to preach to the aborigines who only speak African clicking languages? Why must everything be newsworthy? Why do we assume that we'll be there to see and know that what we did was huge and a major impact in someone's life? Doesn't the Bible tell us that we're not always there to see the fruits of our labor? Why can't God using you look like you smiling at the cashier at Wal-Mart? Why can't it be feeding a friend dinner one night? Why can't it be sending an email or calling someone you're thinking about right then? How do we know that our small, seemingly insignificant actions don't mean the world to someone?

And so - this begs yet another question. Why must everything newsworthy be huge? We're the one's who define "newsworthy", so why not redefine it? I know that Tyler and I have been monumentally blessed and gifted by friends who thought they were doing nothing more than feeding us dinner. It was mundane to them - but monumental to us. We felt it was newsworthy. But did they ever realize that? Were they ever meant to? I don't know the answers to those questions. But, what I do know is that we too often overlook the mundane because it doesn't seem monumental to us. Perhaps we should shift our focus? Maybe that's the idea. Maybe the idea is to not be afraid of moving to Africa ...

God, use me.

Floods of Emotion

I am mad.

I am sad.

It is NOT fair.

And yet ... it's the cycle of life. I suppose that, at least for the foreseeable future it will be this way. My grief comes and goes ... that's to be expected. Yet, must it come on so ridiculously strong when it comes? Please don't read me wrong here - there's not a single day that I don't think about JZ. However, I really thought that I was to a point in time that most of the thoughts would be happy ones. I was enjoying thinking about him. Not so much anymore.

Perhaps that's what's going on ... perhaps not ...

Truth be told, I am happy to remember Z. I enjoy sharing those memories with friends. I believe I have moved on to mourning for Mandy. There isn't a single day that I don't think about her at least four times. I cry. I cry because Tyler waits on me to brush my teeth with him before we go to bed at night. I cry because Mandy goes to bed alone. I cry because I come home from work to find Tyler making dinner. I cry because Mandy comes home to no one making her dinner. I cry because I get frustrated with having to pick up Tyler's laundry that doesn't make it into the hamper, but instead lands on the floor beside the hamper. I cry because Mandy doesn't have anyone to pick up after but herself. I cry because I take Tyler for granted. I cry because Mandy doesn't have that luxury.

I cry because I am mad.

I cry because I am sad.

I cry because it is NOT fair.

I hate that my hands are tied. I am such an action person. I want to make it better. I know there's nothing I can do to make this any better. That doesn't matter to me. I feel worthless in this. I hate that. I pray. I think. I hope for the best. Yet I can't see the best. I can't even see good right now in this. I hate that. I am usually an optimist. Now I am not. I hate that.

I hate that I am mad.

I hate that I am sad.

I hate that it is NOT fair.

I LOVE Kids

So Sunday night after jOURney I went to the restroom. When I opened the door, I found two of our lovely little girls standing in their bare feet in the middle of the bathroom staring at the floor. Their both 4, but the older of the two (We'll call her E.) looked up at me and said that her shoes were soggy so she couldn't wear them.
Okay. Not a problem.

Me: "E, why are your shoes soggy?"
E: "I had to go to the bathroom but she (The other little girl, C.), was in there and I just couldn't wait anymore."
(It is important to note here that I knew the answer before I asked. I felt something wet on my toes as I walked into the bathroom ... and somehow I just knew.)
Me: "Okay E. That happens. C, are you finished here? Did you get to tinkle all that you had to?"
C: shakes her head
Me: "Okay. I'm going to pick you up and lift you out of the bathroom so that you don't accidentally step in anything on your way out. Go on and play with the boys ... E will be out soon." So I picked her up and got Tyler's attention from across the room. "I need E's mom to come here"
E's Mom: "What's up?"
Me: "She needed to tinkle but it was busy and she couldn't wait anymore." (We only have one toilet in the bathroom. It's small.) "So we need to clean up a little bit."
E's Mom: (to E) "You know that you can't wait that long. You need to go to the bathroom when you first have to go. You know that you can't hold it that long."
E: "I didn't think I had to go that bad. I'm sorry."

So we proceed to help E change. The bathroom isn't really big enough for three people to be in there at once - but yet, there we are. E is very concerned that she'll now have to wear her skirt without any panties. Her skirt is really a skort - but she's still very concerned that everyone will know that she's not wearing any panties. She's concerned about not having panties on - but she dropped her skirt with and panties to the floor without closing the bathroom door. The bathroom opens to directly to our worship and gathering space - which is also not huge. So we explain that if she doesn't tell anyone, no one will know and it will be our little secret. E's okay with that - after some coaxing. So by the time that E's mom and I have cleaned up the bathroom floor, and I've used the restroom, E has completely recovered and is running around like a banshee again - just as she usually is.

Man - I love kids ... I can't wait to have them around more often ... :)

Cincy in a Whirlwind

So we were in Cincy this past weekend - for less than 24 hours. I really enjoy traveling ... but I HATE having to do it in such a whirlwind. We really have too much on our plates ...

Tyler and I both had a good time, but thanks to the super shortness of the visit, most of our social time with friends had to be super late into the evening. I'm pretty sure that Tyler was out till 1 am or so on Sunday morning. Crazy. Shout out to the Aldridges. Thanks for letting us crash at your house. (On a side note here ... I hate descending on a house and using it just to sleep. Am I the only person who feels guilty for that, or does anyone else out there share my feelings?) Sunday morning we stayed long enough to go to Kara's dedication at church. It was nice. I like their church - it would have been nice to hear a sermon ... but it was also Graduates' Sunday. So the youth leader lady took over the microphone for what was supposed to be a short "Thanks for being you ... Good luck in the future ... etc ...", so 45 minutes later she stopped talking. So there wasn't a sermon.

jOURney, on the other hand was fantastic Sunday night. I'm going to sound like I'm stealing from Ryan here, but I too really felt like we were all on the same page and something bigger than us was going on there ... it was cool! :)

So - upcoming weekends:
June 2 - August 11 ... somewhere for something at least one of the days ...
August 18 - ? ... are we done with the marathon weekends? ... wow ... that would be FANTASTIC!!!!!! (On the downside - I thought that we were half way through our marathon - and it appears that we're not ... oh well ...

New Blog

Tyler and I have decided to record and publish for our entertainment and yours all of those thoughts and conversations that could cause us to be smited. We hope you enjoy reading ...

The Way, The Truth, and The Smite

Warning: It may not be for the faint of heart, the full of bladder, or those who can't laugh at themselves and their belief systems.

(There's also a link on the side of my blog)