How Interesting

I got in to see my doctor today, and they apparently did see something in the CAT scan from last week - but nothing completely convincing. So for now I've been instructed to make an appointment with a urologist, and keep drinking a ton of fluids in order to try to completely flush my system. At the same time he'd like me to test our suspicion that it might be my gallbladder. How do you do that you ask? Well my "prescription" is to eat fatty foods... I'm to test things like cheese, ice cream, butter, fried foods, and pizza to see if they cause the pain to start within an hour after eating them. If I can isolate the pain to those foods - then I am to call him and we'll start checking out my gallbladder. Otherwise - we'll treat it like a kidney stone.

In terms of my ears, I'm going to finish the antibiotics that I got last Monday and if things haven't cleared up by the time I'm through with them - then I'm going to go see an ear nose and throat specialist.

I do at least have some peace of mind that my regular doctor (that I trust completely!) thinks that this is the best course to get things back on track... so I'll rest a little easier now. Just don't sneak up on me because I still can't hear a darn thing!

On the job front - a little good news... or at least promising news. I've probably said before that a wonderful lady from our old church is a principal at an elementary school in our area... and she's the one that allowed me to come in last spring and observe some of the classes in her school. Well, I hadn't talked (emailed) with her since I observed so I thought it might be a good time to just check in and see how she's doing. She emailed back that she'll be out of the office until late July... but that I should email her back then. (What date do ya'll think that would be? 17th? 20th? later?) I really hope that when we get in contact again that there is an interview for an opening at her school... because my impatience is getting the best of me!

In an act to beat this fatigue and sickness that is still holding on - I gave my dogs baths and one of them a haircut today... and shaving a 70 pound dog can be a chore... I wanted desperately to give up about 1/4 of the way into the haircut, but I didn't think she'd look good with just her back done... so I stuck with it, and finished. I've been exhausted ever since though - so I'm ready for bed at 7:30... hopefully I can hold out at least another hour and a half so that I can go to bed at a more respectable hour. (even though I have friends that wouldn't think 9 is respectable... try getting up at 5!!)

Useless Knowledge

I ripped this off of SignGurl, and I thought that since my back pain is rearing it's ugly head again today - it gives me some content to post for my readers that at least for the moment doesn't talk about my ailments. (Hopefully some of you have stuck around to this point and my boring whiny redundant posts about being sick haven't bored you to death.)

What is your idea of perfect happiness?
Being a healthy and happy wife, mother, daughter, sister, cousin, friend for all of those that I love.

What is your current state of mind?
Spiritual - praying for divine intervention on this pain and illness.

What is your greatest fear?
Death of a loved one

What is your favorite way of spending time?
With family or friends - usually in a low key environment - eating, playing games, boating... whatever - just enjoying the company of those that you love.

Which living person do you most admire?
This is a tough one, because I admire lots of people for lots of different reasons... but of course my parents for various reasons. Right now I'd also say my mentor Lisa, and my friend Sarah because their faith is so apparent in their daily lives and in their children. Finally, Meghan because she truly is a Rock Star patient living after weight loss surgery... and I wish I could be just like her! (I did say there are others... so cut me some slack!)

Which historical figure do you most identify with?
I don't know... I have some that interest me - but I don't know that I identify with any of them.

Who are your favorite fictional heroes?
Lindsay Boxer, Jack McCoy, and probably others that I can't think of right now.

Who are your heroes in real life?
Didn't I just answer that a couple of questions ago?

Who are your favorite writers?
James Patterson, Judy Blume, Beverly Cleary, Mary Higgins Clark, Nora Roberts, Danielle Steele

Who are your favorite musicians?
There are so many... it's not worth it - but I guess if I had to choose one... Garth Brooks would probably top the list. It was the one concert that I wanted to go to in my life, and my wonderful Dad made that happen for me before Garth retired...

Who are your favorite filmmakers?
Steven Spielberg would be one... and honestly - I'm not sure that I know of any others off the top of my head... but I do love movies!

Who are your favorite actors?
Anthony Hopkins, Denzel Washington, Harrison Ford, Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey (even if he is a t-sip), Patrick Dempsey, and I'm sure there are others...

Who are your favorite actresses?
Meg Ryan, Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Garner, Kate Hudson, Katie Holmes, Julia Roberts, Angie Harmon, Katherine Heigl, Kate Walsh, and I'm sure there are others as well...

What was the last book you read?
"7th Heaven" by James Patterson

What book are you reading now?
I'm not, but I could start "Friday Night Knitting Club" if I joined my church's reading group

What is your most treasured possession?
A special knick-knack from each of my grandfathers that have passed away, and a pair of gold earrings from my grandmother that passed away.

Who or what is the greatest love of your life?
John - duh?!

What are your most marked characteristics?
Hard working, sense of humor, reliable, low self esteem

What are the traits you most deplore in yourself?
Low self esteem and shyness

What are the traits you most dislike in others?
Lying, being judgemental, and condescension

When and where were you happiest?
Probably my last two years of college... greatest time of my life - if only I'd appreciated it as much then as I do now.

What are your drugs of choice?
I guess sugar and flour... because I can't say caffeine anymore...

What is your favorite journey?
I guess marriage - because we haven't started the journey through parenthood yet.

What are your greatest extravagances?
Getting my nails done, and eating out

What do you most dislike about your appearance?
My weight

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
I don't think any are bad... maybe tactfulness or assertiveness - if they are to the excess.

On what occasion do you lie?
When I don't want to hurt some one's feelings (I know - it's no excuse!)

What is your greatest regret?
Not getting my teacher certification in college and not having weight loss surgery sooner (like when our insurance covered it!)

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
Seriously? (I don't know of any others...)

What is your favorite swear word?
I try my best not to use them

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
My weight - but since I've used that before... my ability to start and keep up with healthy habits like reading my Bible daily, exercising, drinking all my water, and eating better.

If you could change one thing about your family, what would it be?
Have children already...

What do you consider your greatest achievement so far?
I don't know - I don't feel like I've achieved much at this point - or nothing completed enough to call it an achievement, but I'm working on a good weight loss achievement... one more pound and I'll have lost 75 pounds in 7 months.

What would you regard as the lowest depths of misery?
Being trapped in a body with Alzheimer's or being paralyzed

Where would you like to live?
If we stayed in Texas - College Station, but if we moved outside of Texas - I'd say somewhere with a nice fairly even climate... maybe with a little bit more of a winter - like say a couple of snow days once in a while.

What are the qualities you most admire in a man?
Humor, intelligence, integrity, honesty, and loyalty

What are the qualities you most admire in a woman?
Sincerity, trustworthiness, dependability, and loyalty

What is it you most dislike?
Lying and meanness

What living person do you most despise?
That's really not a Christian way of looking at people, but there are a couple of politicians - but I'm not saying on which side... those who know me really well know that answer.

What is your biggest everyday pet peeve?
Bad parenting... or really - taking your kids shopping with you, but ignoring their bad behavior in the process.

What do you value most in your friends?
Trustworthiness and loyalty

How would you like to die?
Old, happy, and loved - oh and in my sleep would be nice.

If you could choose what to come back as, what would it be?
A philanthropist

Who have been the greatest influences on you?
My family and a few close friends

What is your motto?
I'm trying the "What Would Jesus Do?" motto for right now...

What talent would you most like to have?
Singing, painting, drawing, sculpting, and a GREAT metabolism?!

Whew - this was a long one... I hope that you learned at least one new thing about me in this process. I had a hard time answering some of them, and probably could come up with better answers if I didn't have this wicked pain in my side... I had stopped taking the pain pills and haven't had one since Friday morning - but we might be reconsidering that tonight when I go to bed.

No News is Semi-Good

We've had no changes or developments with any of my current afflictions - which is good and bad. It's good that nothing else has fallen apart, but bad because I don't really feel any better. Seriously - when I get sick - I do it well, right?!

I've got conflicting opinions as to what friends think this mess might be, and I appreciate all the love and support - but for now - I'm choosing to enjoy my weekend and not worry about it until Monday.

I'd stepped on the scale yesterday morning, and realized that I'd gained 6 pounds since going into the ER - I guess we can say that I was severely dehydrated... I checked again and things are leveling off - I lost 4 of the pounds over the course of last night... I guess ya'll can guess that I was UP ALL NIGHT!! (Darn water!!)

Today has been relaxing and productive at the same time - we slept in, and when I got up - John had made our menu for the next week and the grocery list. I asked him to come with me because A) I can't hear a thing... and B) I felt like it would be best in the event that I got overly tired or something. So we went to the store together, and we saved like $40 on price matches at Wal-Mart! John was so cute - it was like he'd been hunting and shot the biggest buck on the planet. I guess I lucked out with a domesticated husband, but sometimes it makes me laugh and think that he spent WAY to much time with his Mom growing up. Only the two of them get that excited about saving money... I mean honestly... his chest was all puffed up and everything!

Right now, he's watching The Bourne Ultimatum, yes I'm in the same room - but have NO clue what is happening - so I decided to write a post instead. It's funny because I'm pretty sure we got that movie at Christmastime, but somehow it has escaped being watched until this weekend. I guess we haven't been as big of movie freaks as we were in the past. I still have 2 that I bought a month or so ago that we haven't watched.

So, nothing really exciting happening around here - just hanging out not being able to hear... and getting ready to grill some steaks. Tomorrow - I will attempt going to church - at least I normally think everything there is a bit loud... so it will probably be just right for me in the morning. I'll be happy if I make it and can hear the message!

The Plot Thickens

If any of you read the comments for my original post again, you'll find some interesting information from a blog friend of mine. (Donna, who also happens to be in my hospital support group) Apparently, she had a similar episode and was diagnosed with kidney stones from the ER as well, but it turned out being her gallbladder needing to be removed. I've decided to take her advice and see Dr. W before calling the urologist that I was referred to by the emergency doctor. There is a special scan that they can do to look at my gallbladder specifically and see if the problem in fact lies there.

I'm being worked in on Monday at 1:45 and it's actually a time when the doctor's office is actually closed... so they are going to have to ask permission for me to come in then when he gets back to the office on Monday. (Have I mentioned that I'm never allowing him vacation again!?) The nurse will call if I can't go in, but with this new problem and my ears still having no change or relief... I'm hopeful that he'll feel sorry for me and make the time to see me.

If nothing else - I've always been pretty happy with the specialists that he's sent me to - so I'll be more confident in the urologist if that is the route we need to take to get this figured out. I trust him completely and will do whatever we need to do on his advice.

I must be of the old school when it comes to medical problems because I tend to not look them up online or anything until we get a confirmed diagnosis... because I've been down that road before and been convinced that I had everything in the book... and even sometimes have found myself reading into things and finding symptoms that just really aren't connected or present at all. The only exception to this was with Weight Loss Surgery - where I researched it quite a bit before I went down that road. I don't know if it was because of it being considered an elective procedure or if it was just because I didn't know much about it at the beginning... but I'm choosing to not do too much research on gallbladders or kidney stones at this point.

I do know that gallbladders will act up with fatty foods, and the interesting thing is that the night that the pain was the most intense - I didn't eat anything that I'd consider to be all that bad. I had pork chops, mac & cheese and a few green peas.... nothing too terrible. I mean it would make total sense if I'd had a corn dog or something that evening... I guess I need to learn that my body is a complete anomaly and will always go in the opposite direction than the typical path.

The deal with my ears while being generally annoying... is a little troubling because with my newly rearranged plumbing in my digestive system... I wonder if the antibiotic pills are actually being absorbed at the moment... and if not -it's no wonder that there hasn't been any improvement in the condition - because I have the absolute worst immune system on the planet!

So it looks like a few more days of not doing much - I'm going to try to venture out to the store with John tomorrow for groceries, and go to church on Sunday... but I think that'll be about it for me. It's just not easy when I can't hear... I mean literally - half the time I sit here and the most I can hear is my heart beat swoosh... especially when it's quiet... and I spend a lot of time asking John what he just said or what happened on the television - so I hate the idea of being out in the world to much and not being able to hear!

Stone Goes Unturned

Ok, it's getting harder to see the humor in the whole kidney stone thing... but I'm trying. There hasn't been any change in my condition, although I'm starting to feel some more pain in my right side - so either it's been to long since I've had a pain pill or something is moving around in there. (or both.)

I've had my full 64 ounces of liquid today in the form of 32 oz Gatorade G2 (the low calorie kind) and 32 oz of water... and I'm beginning to wonder how long it's going to take for this to resolve itself. Sarah told me that it usually took her a couple of days to feel better... but since I'm already down with the ear thing - who knows?!

I haven't been able to do much lately - but today I got another of my writing assignments sent off for my writing course, it was an interesting assignment - as I typically like to just get in there and write something... you know let my brilliance take it's own course. (HA!) This particular assignment though had two parts - 1) was to write a physically descriptive story about a child, and 2) was to write a mentally descriptive story. The mental one was tough because it's really hard to be 30 years old and try to think, talk, and act like a 5 year old.

Anyway - I got that sent off, and other than that just did some house work... oh and watched a few Lifetime movies to entertain myself. Have I mentioned that this is getting boring? I mean - I love Lifetime as much as anyone that loves a good chick-flick, but after a while they all seem the same. Or at the very least - they pick a theme and show all the movies they have for that theme. At any rate - it did break up my marathons of ER and Law & Order that I'm used to... so it was a little variety.

We've also FINALLY gotten some rain at my house - I was beginning to think we were in some sort of black whole and everyone else in the Houston area was getting rain, but our neighborhood was just getting missed. It's still not enough to prevent us from having to water with the sprinklers, but there's always hope for another shower or two. If we could get a good tropical depression (a very minor storm in hurricane season) we'd be doing well... we need a good 2 inches or so to save me a few dollars on the water bill. (Lord knows I need to catch up somewhere from all this doctor/prescription mess!)

Does anyone else enjoy the Bill Engvall Show? It's on TBS on Thursday nights... and it's funny stuff. Of course I've always been a fan of his "Here's Your Sign" jokes... but the show isn't about that. It's just good family humor... and we get a kick out of it.

This too Shall Pass

Or Lord - I hope so!! Well, in addition to my ears/crud that has been ongoing now for about 10 days... we had some new mess start up last night. Let me start by telling a funny story...

I guess at about 4 this morning I woke up to go use the restroom, and John must have not known that I'd gotten out of bed. Well, a few minutes later he came in the bathroom, and of course - we all know that I can't hear a thing... well I'm minding my own business and all of a sudden I hear him scream my name... he was trying to get my attention and I hadn't even noticed he was there! It scared the mud out of me...

We both went back to bed, but I started noticing a sharp pain in my lower right back... I thought at first that I had slept on it wrong and tried to stretch and see if it would go away. No luck... so I layed there for a little longer, and the pain wouldn't stop... then as the pain intensified - I got nauseated... and when the nausea hit - I got the cold sweats. The kind that in a matter of 10 seconds - I was covered head to toe in sweat... I layed on the bathroom floor for a little bit and waited for the moment to pass.

I then went and woke up John, and started getting ready to go to the hospital... another round of pain, nausea and sweats slowed us down a little, but by 4:30 we were headed out the door to the hospital.

Of course nothing in an ER is quick... so it took us some time to get all the paperwork filled out, and then two people to get my IV hooked up... I have tiny veins, and apparently have gotten somewhat dehydrated over the course of the time I've been on all these antibiotics... so they finally got it hooked up in my left wrist... OUCH!! (it was horrible...John had to hold my hand because it hurt so bad)

They did all their tests, gave me some good drugs and a bag of fluid... and now I'm home waiting for a kidney stone to pass! Unbelievable!! My friend, Sarah, has had this problem 3 different times and suggested that on top of the pain meds, and additional antibiotics - that I take something called Slippery Elm... it's an herb that will coat the linings of my insides and help make it easier for the stone to pass, and sometimes helps to the point that you don't feel it pass. (Boy - that would be nice... because the thought of giving birth to a kidney stone isn't a pleasant one!)

So, here I sit - well - I'm exhausted so I'm about to fall over... but here I am with two ear infections, and a kidney stone... seriously? Does it get any better?!

Finding Energy

I'm still doing the best I can to get over this crud that has taken over my life. I talked to a friend of mine last night - who happens to teach deaf children - and found out more about the bell curve test and what it means... apparently - when you do the test and your reading shows a bell curve (like normal) it would indicate that here is not fluid around your ear drum. Mine printed in a flat line - so that indicates that I do have fluid around mine right now which indicates that I have an infection. So, basically this leaves me with my trusty penicillin... and we're getting along just fine. It hasn't made any huge strides in making me better yet, but I'm still having faith that the old trusty drugs made from mold will do the trick.

John and the worship team are having their weekly practice at our house tonight - so I'm doing everything I can to find the energy to get my house picked up, dinner cooked, and cookies baked before they meet at 7:30. Sick or not, I'll be darned if they're coming over here and me not have a special treat ready... so I made some lemonade earlier that is chilling in the fridge, and my plan is to get dinner made and cleaned up so that I can disappear into my bedroom before they show up.

A dear friend of ours got laid off today - he was working in the gas industry which I find puzzling, but he didn't work for any of the big boys. His company serviced smaller "Mom & Pop" type places that weren't paying their bills regularly. So we're praying for a job for him, as well as one for me... and that we'll all come through this in a better situation than before.

I'm off to finish my cleaning and baking before John gets home for dinner. Have a great night everyone!

What did you say?

Well, another trip to the doctors office to confirm what I've been telling you guys for days now... I can't hear, and I feel like crud. My regular doctor is out of the office this week - so I had to see his Dad today. The experience was very similar though, and I was happy with him... but they tested my ears with two different machines - 1) told them that I have significant hearing loss in both ears right now and 2) told them that my ear drums aren't responding to sound. The second machine was the most puzzling to me - it was sort of like an EKG machine where it prints out the readings right as they are testing... and it is supposed to print in a bell shaped curve, but on both of my ears it was a flat line... Does that mean my ears are dead?

John says that I should have asked him what it meant, but I couldn't hear him much anyway - so I didn't see much point. I'm now on my second round of antibiotics, and hopefully this will do the trick...

Two other things happened while I was there - 1) the nurse doesn't know my name... now don't get me wrong - she knows exactly who I am, but she always calls me Mrs. Hopkins... and after letting it go on for a year... I guess it's to late to say anything. John wants me to tell her it's Hawk like a bird not Hop like a bunny...

The other thing was that my blood pressure was really high... now I'd understand it if on the first reading it was like that, but they try to hook me up to this machine at first that is to take your reading 5 times and give them an average of those numbers. It never works on me though - it always ends up giving an error at least 4 of the 5 times - so then they take it manually. I don't know about you guys, but the more times they take it - the more anxious I get - and the higher the numbers. I don't honestly believe that the number was 160/120... I can feel when my blood pressure gets high now, and I'd have a serious headache and dizziness if it were truly that high. Not to mention that I'm taking the medicine that I'm supposed to - so I think it was a fluke of me not feeling well, and it being taken 6 times in a short amount of time. I'm not going to panic... I'll check it at home tomorrow and see what happens.

Lastly, I somehow lost 3 pounds between last Wednesday and now... of course it was a different scale, but I told my nurse that we need to steal that scale while Dr. W is out of town and put it in the room that I'm normally in... I liked its results better!! HA!

So, here I am in day 8 of this mess... $85 in prescriptions, and $30 in doctors visits... and I still feel lousy... I really wish that we would have tried the $10 penicillin that I'm on now before we went to the $45 one dose antibiotic from last week that didn't do squat! The $30 cough medicine with codeine in it is working great though and it helps me sleep... so at least that one was worth the cost!

Finally - I am getting SO bored! If I don't start getting better soon - I'm going to have cabin fever to the point of hurting someone!! I miss living in the world... where I can entertain myself with Target, Hobby Lobby, or just about anywhere outside of my living room/bedroom!

Baptism Video

Here it is - I know... some of you are thinking "finally", but cut me some slack - this has been a rough week that just keeps on getting better. My technical department (aka John) has been busy playing nursemaid this week, and hasn't had a chance to get upstairs to make video magic happen.

I will post pictures in another post soon...

Baptism Pictures

Here are the photos, if you'd like to see more - go here.

Missy's Debut

I'm just testing how the video thing works from our camera... so just a little fun to get us started. She loves playing with empty plastic bottles, so when my Dad left - he left us this bottle because he couldn't take it with him on the plane... so after we drank it - we let Missy have a little fun.

Incredibly Frustrating

Here I am again - still feeling like death warmed over... and I'm so frustrated!! I'm tired of feeling like dirt, and I'm ready to get out of the house and rejoin the land of the living again... but my ears are still bothering me, and the sore throat is coming back. It's beginning to look like I'll be repeating my visit to Dr. W tomorrow - or at least calling in for more drugs!

The only benefit is that I'm finally back down those pounds that I'd regained, and I'm down an extra pound this week - I'll probably find it again once I get better, but maybe not since I'm going to plan on hitting the healthy eating and exercise hard... we'll just have to see what happens. On another good note - John's Aunt gave me some lovely PJ's for my birthday (that's what I'm living in these days) that are a size 1X - I never thought I'd get in to them now, but they FIT!! They fit and they're cute on me... so at least it's a small victory!

Poor John has gone on to church by himself this morning and he's going to the grocery store for me on his way home - he's such a great helper... I don't know what I'd do without him! He took care of me yesterday and even braved his way through a full day of Lifetime Movie Network... I think he spent a good amount of the day on his computer, but he didn't retreat from the room - so he gets points for that. He must have asked me hundreds of times if I needed anything - so he's really being such a good sport for me.

The dogs are digging it a little though because I don't move around much - so they can snuggle in and just sleep right along with me... normally I'm moving around a lot and they have to wake up to follow me from room to room...

I'm going to try to sweet talk him into uploading the baptism video this afternoon if he's up to it, and I'll post it as soon as he gets it done.

On the Mend?

I am feeling slightly better today, but still can't hear... which is a strange sensation for me... my appetite hasn't come back yet, but I haven't been napping as much today - so I'm taking that as a sign for the better. I've been laying around for like the 6th day in a row, and I'm getting really bored with it at this point... I wish that I would have been able to make it out to our service project, but I guess that wasn't in the plans for me today. I hope that this mess goes away soon and I can get back to enjoying life again... and get started on my workout/eating challenge!!

Seriously?

This is starting to get ridiculous... I'm still sick... and the fever is higher now than ever. Yesterday it was my left ear, and today the right one has decided to play catch up - so now neither of them really hurts, but they're full of fluid and I can't hear... this must be what it feels like to need a hearing aide. Everything is really muffled...

I'm getting really tired of all this mess, and now I probably am going to have to miss out on a big service project day for our church - not that I'm very handy anyway, but I wanted to go out and show my support - and at the very least take some pictures... but now I'm scared that it would set me back more on this illness, and I can't take anymore of it!

I literally have been awake for a total of 3 hours or so today - which is not normal, but earlier when I'd wake up - I could only stay awake for about 30 to 45 minutes without nodding off again... so I guess I needed the rest. I'm praying that it will help me finally turn the corner in this mess toward getting well again. I'm ready to be able to post about more exciting things!! I decided to make my own list of things that I'd like to do when I get this weight off like the other Kim did, but I haven't felt well enough to get started on that... so look for it in the coming week when I get it written.

Bad to Worse

Ok, in the interest of saving you guys from my whiny sickly mess of a self... I'm going to keep this REALLY short. It seems that my body has decided to get much worse before it gets better, so I've had to call to get a cough medicine with codine in it... and then this afternoon my left ear feels like it's going to EXPLODE!

I bought some over the counter stuff for my ear, but the only thing that seems to be helping is a heated wet wash cloth... weird - I know... but right now, I'll try anything. (seriously, tears and begging God to take the pain away went on less than an hour ago.)

I've also bargained with John to order out for dinner... so I'm off to bed again.

Hanging in There

I saw the doctor this morning (thank God he went ahead and saw me during John's appointment!) - when he looked in my throat - he said it wasn't pretty. He gave me an oral antibiotic that is a one time dose... so I'm supposed to call him if I don't feel better by Friday morning. The medicine cost me $45, (Is it wrong that my first thought is that the meds cost me a half of a tank of gas?!) and I had to go to two different pharmacies to get it - but I will hang in there another day or so and hope that I'll feel good as new.

We talked about my weight some too, and the fact that in 5 weeks - according to his scale - I've only lost 4 pounds... but kicked up my workouts quite a bit. He of course calmed me down and reminded me that this is a long term marathon - not a sprint. (I hate that!! I was ready for a good old fashioned sprint!) The second part of our conversation went something like this:

Me: "I know, but when I think about the goal that Dr. Ferrari set for me - I start freaking out a little."
Dr. W: "What goal did he set?"
Me: "To lose 60 more pounds."
Dr. W: "In addition to the ones you've already lost?!"
Me: "Umm, yes"

GREEEEEEEEEEEAT! Apparently this is going to be a MAJOR uphill battle... he was glad to hear that I'll be doing a 7 day challenge to see how I can improve things... little does he know that I have no track record for keeping a good habit going for more than a week or two... but if someone can play the Rocky theme for me on a daily basis - maybe I can get in there and change that.

Honestly, I'm more than a little scared at this point - because I'm not where I want to be... but I'm desperately trying to keep a positive attitude and hope that I'll see some movement on the scale at Dr. W's office when I go back on July 10th.

In the meantime for at least today - I'm still on the mend and trying to recover from this nasty (and I mean NASTY) summer mess... while still trying to take care of my husband and find a job!

Lake Pics/Recap

We are still working on the Baptism video issues, but in the meantime - I'll share some of my favorite pictures from the lake.

This is my favorite - it's John's Mom reading a story to the girls before breakfast one of the two mornings we were there. Taylor (the oldest) is in a summer reading program where she tracks all the books she reads and the time for prizes at the local library.

Taylor is getting ready to get in the tube with her Mom, and she's showing off her Hannah Montana life jacket - she must have Hannah Montana EVERYTHING!


Susan and Taylor in the tube... looking cute, and ready for some summer fun!

I love this one because if you look behind them there is a flock of ducks! They were looking for snacks, but I just thought they were cute. It was also funny because Susan freaked out about them!

Brooklyn is not amused by the life jacket situation... but enjoyed a the afternoon out on the boat anyway.

It didn't take long before she passed out - there must be something about the gentle rocking of the boat that lulls her to sleep.

A great time was had by all. Taylor and Susan had some friends over to ride in the tube as well, and everyone enjoyed themselves - I didn't get any pictures of the friends, but trust me - they had a GREAT time!

Saving Money

Since our budget has been tightened up as much as possible - I've embraced the opportunities to save money... and I found a way to help myself do that while also helping my readers. You'll notice that I've added a new widget on this blog - a coupon printer... you can click on the top of the icon and look through the various coupons for the day, and print any of them that you might be able to use. Happy printing!!

You know - it's amazing that I'm not a coupon fanatic... when I was younger and I'd go visit my Dad - we had a deal. If I clipped coupons, and we actually used them... he'd give me the money that was saved from the grocery bill. (Dad - if ya'll print coupons now... can I get the same deal?!)

Too Sick to Function

Well, it's official...my functionality is impaired! I just heated some water in the microwave to boil a tea bag... and somehow just dumped the boiling water all over my hand. No blisters yet, but I'm trying to put the aloe jell on there before that happens. Unbelievable! I'm taking it as a sign... no more tasks with heat until I'm well...

Infected

Well, a good nights sleep was not the answer - apparently that was just what this bug needed to truly make my life miserable. I've got the major crud:

• Stuffy/Drainy nose
• Head pain
• Body Aches
• Chills
• Sore throat
• Ear ache
• Sore Eyes - whenever I have to move them anywhere other than straight-forward
• ZERO appetite

So needless to say - I'm pretty much down for the count right now. I made the first appointment with my doctor that I could, but I'll have to wait until 2 on Wednesday to see him... so this could go from bad to worse between now and then, or maybe I'll get lucky for the first time in my life and get better before seeing a doctor!

Either way, I'll be in bed for the evening... so I'm sending blog post love now, and we'll see what happens from here.

The Big 300!

This is my 300th post... wow! I'm a big loser and am having trouble getting myself together this evening. I actually feel like I'm coming down with something - and it's weird. I felt fine until my Dad left at about 6 this evening... from there I've gone downhill very quickly.

The baptism went really well, but we're having a small technical difficulty trying to get the video off the camera - so give me a day or two to get my technical department (aka - John) to get the problem solved, and I promise that I'll post it for everyone as soon as I can. I will tell you all that it was an amazingly special day for me - being that my Dad has been working on getting me to be baptized for years now, and he was able to be here to see it on Father's Day... does it get much better than that? It was a perfect day, even despite my nerves - I hate being the center of attention!! Still it was great, and I was so thrilled that my Dad, John's parents, his sister, her fiancee, Brooklyn, and my church friends could be there with me. The only thing that would have made it more perfect would be if my sisters, their families, my Mom, and John's sister's other daughter could have been there as well. (I know they were there in spirit though!)

I've got lots of pictures of the two days at the lake, and the baptism as well - so expect some of that soon too. I'm cutting it short again today because I really don't feel well, and I want to take some Nyquil and head off to bed. This tends to happen when my body wears out from doing too much too quickly... which I would have thought that after losing 70 pounds - I'd be able to weather a little more than I could before... but I guess for the most part - I was going strong all week last week, and then again through this weekend. So I'm going to take it easy and try to ward off a cold/sinus infection.

I will do my best to get caught up on life, emails, posts, and health tomorrow... I miss everyone, and I appreciate your patience while my life has been spinning out of control over the last few days!! We'll be returning to our regularly scheduled posting soon!!

One for the Road

Today has been a great day - relaxing and entertaining at the same time. Dad got here this morning, and spent most of the day with us - we just hung out and talked for a while, then we went for a drive. My Dad is in the homebuilding industry, and for most of my life - we've driven neighborhoods and checked out either what his people were working on, or what others in the industry are working on... so today we drove around a new master planned community that is being built in my area.


When we got back - John showed him how to play sports on Wii, and I showed him all about the Wii Fit... which got even more entertaining when my sister's family arrived, and my neices took over and played for hours. They loved it, and we were entertained watching them play the balance games... which neither of them are very balanced. (I'm not either though!)

John and I cooked dinner for everyone, and we watched the end of the US Open Golf Tournament... now Dad is on his way to the hotel for the night... and I'm about to head off to bed. I still haven't found the time to catch up on my reading and stuff - and oddly enough - I have 51 emails to read, and 51 blog posts to read! I'll be busy catching up tomorrow evening and Monday... it just depends on how long it takes me to get the video of the baptism uploaded... see ya'll on the other side!

Water Logged

Oh my gosh... I'm even more tired than I can put into words. My early evening turned into being even later than last night... John and his Dad spent a good part of the day repairing the boat trailer, and that caused our day to be a lot longer than expected. He had to miss his game night at church with the other men, but I think he did have a good time at the lake - he came out of it with one heck of a sunburn though!! Even the hole from his hat is permanently imprinted on his head now... it's funny.

No fishing was done, but a lot of pulling people in the tube did get done... so I think a good time was had by all. As I said yesterday though - my brain is practically mush - and it's taking everything I have right now to get my fingers to move to the correct keys to type this message. So I'm going to call it a night...I've got to rest up some in order to hang out with my Dad tomorrow and Sunday. My sister, Cathi, and her family will be here tomorrow for the afternoon too - so I'm going to need some energy - or they're going to think I've lost it completely!

To all of you out there that have emailed me in the last couple of days - I'm not ignoring you... I just haven't had the energy or time to read my emails. Same thing with blog posts - there are quite a few that I adore reading and commenting on, and I will get caught up on all of those by Monday! I'm so glad that I have nothing to do on Monday, other than wait for the exterminator to come back and finish a couple of things that didn't get completed. I might have to sleep the rest of the day!! (Only kidding!) I'm going to try to gear myself up to start my own 7 day challenge of logging all my food intake and exercise to see how I'm doing. (It could get interesting with the Wii Fit though - as I don't know how to log that and it doesn't track calories burned or anything like that.)

Day on the Water

So, we got up at 5 this morning to head to the lake, and are just now getting home for the night... only to do it again in the morning. Needless to say, I'm exhausted and have two dogs that are ready to play... so for as long as I can hold my head up - I'll play with them for a bit, but then I'm crashing.

I hope that I can crash for a little while with Taylor at the travel trailer in the morning while John and his Dad go fishing... seriously - this fishing thing is over-rated, but they sure love it... if you could do it at a normal hour (like between 10 and 6) I'd be okay with it... but of course in order for them to have any luck - you have to rise before the sun and get out on the water as soon as possible. I guess that means no beauty sleep for those of us weary wives that are drug along for kicks...

Until tomorrow... lets hope that by the time I get home tomorrow (around 5), I'll be able to type and put words together - otherwise - my brain is mush... so just humor me with whatever gets posted tomorrow! (At the very least a delirious post would be entertaining, right?!)

Domestic Bliss

Just another day in paradise today - I spent most of the day cleaning and dealing with various workmen. The exterminator came to get us all set up for our termite ports, and regular pest control service... so sometime within the next couple of weeks - we'll be completely pest free!!

We also had some men come and replace John's windshield today as well... it was so great - we called our insurance company, and they set the whole thing up... they even did the service in our driveway - it doesn't get much easier than that!

I've spent the rest of the day preparing to be very busy for the rest of the weekend... 2 days at the lake, my Dad coming in on Saturday, my baptism on Sunday morning (I will do my best to post video on Sunday), and a small group meeting on Sunday evening.... so I got all the laundry and cleaning done today to get us through until Monday.

I finally made the Greek Stuffed Chicken Breasts that I posted about a week or so ago, and we really liked them. Not as much as the Rachel Ray chicken recipe that I made on Saturday, but still a new twist on the traditional chicken meal. If only I could figure out a side dish to go with it besides Greek Salad - then we'd be doing really well.

We're watching The Perfect Storm on TV right now, which in retrospect - we're going to be on a boat tomorrow... so probably not the best choice for someone like me with an over-active imagination. I'll more than likely have some sort of a nightmare about us being in some bad storm, but it's to late now... I'm halfway into the movie...

Tomorrow's post might possibly be really short - it just depends on what time we get home, and what time I have to turn around and go back the next morning... but I promise by Friday - I'll catch up with a good blog post full of pictures! John will be at a men's game night at the church - so I'll be here relaxing and uploading pictures.

Day at the Museum

Today, I spent the day with my in-laws. They have rented a space not to far from their house to pull the travel trailer and boat to for a mini-vacation. Basically - gas prices and other factors have forced us all to get creative with our summer plans.

They typically have taken Taylor on some sort of a vacation ever since she was born, and this year we all get to join in on the fun - as they brought her to the Natural Science Museum here in town today, and I met them there for a fun day of family and learning. We started with a 3-D Imax movie about dinosaurs, then moved to the exhibits, and finally ended our day with a movie/presentation at the planetarium.

We ended the day by picking John up from work, and heading to Benihana's for dinner. I conquered one of my biggest food demons tonight, and I WON! I went, I ordered my own meal, and I didn't make myself sick... I brought a lot home, but I am extremely happy with how things went.

Here are some pictures of the day:

A new camera warrants taking the first pictures of the puppies... this is Maggie.

And here is one of Missy...

Taylor, our niece, enjoying lunch at the museum.

Brooklyn, Taylor's sister, enjoying lunch too!

Brooklyn and her Mommy, Susan, enjoying the Indian exhibit.

Taylor and Susan being silly outside the museum.

A picture from dinner, and again - did I tell you that I came, I saw, I ate, and I conquered!

Ultimate Act of Maturity

I'm adding a special post because this morning I found out something that I found both sad and funny at the same time. I'm going to leave the details vague, but I'm pretty sure that the person in question doesn't read this blog anyway... and if she does... she'll know how I feel now...

I've had a certain "friend" for a very long time, but due to circumstances beyond my control - we've drifted farther and farther apart every year as we've gotten older. As I've grown and matured, in a lot of ways she has stayed exactly the same.

She doesn't believe in the same things that I do, doesn't know what it means to earn her own money, makes very bad judgements about people and most importantly people she chooses to date... and I have been struggling for a long time about what to do about our friendship. The most important thing to me has been understanding what God would command me to do in this situation - minister to her, or walk away?

I sought out the advice of my mentor, Lisa, and while she told me that God might allow us the opportunity to walk away when we've done all we can... she doesn't believe that he'd give us the out to completely close the door on the friendship. So, basically - I've been nothing but nice to this person, but at the same time have not sought out time with her lately. I have left the door open for anytime that she might need me, but also have guarded myself and surrounded myself with people that are from a completely different mindset.

I enjoy relationships where I can nurture them, support them, learn, and grow from them... not ones that feel like they are sucking the life out of me. It's sad but true that some of my relationship with blog readers that I've never met meet those criteria in more ways than this particular friendship has in a long time.

So this morning, I had a reason to check one of the social networking sites out there - and this person had removed me from their friend list... which I found funny at the time, but sad too that she thought that the best way to handle things would be to just delete and ignore them. I guess that truly shows the measure of her depth. Believe me - I'm not taking it personally and really am not that worried about it, but it just seems sad that at 30 years old... more maturity and tact can't be used.

I consider myself a good person and a good friend, but this person just couldn't be helped. It's sad and I mourn for the loss of life that she is resigning herself into - because only more misery comes from the path that she is choosing... but as always - I'll continue to be right here following the path for my life that is glorifying to God, and should he put me in her life again at some point in the future - I hope that I can honestly accomplish whatever he feels is my duty in her life - because this time around I seem to have failed. Or maybe I have accomplished what I needed to, and just don't know it? Either way - I wish her nothing but happiness and joy... and I truly from the bottom of my heart, hope that she finds whatever it is that she is looking for in life.

Job Fair News

What a long and incredibly stressful day... It was just like Danielle said it would be - you walk into an arena and are looking down on tables and tables of job possibilities... and they give you about an hour to sit there and stew about it.

At 9 o'clock - they opened the flood gates and the cattle drive began. I tried to hold my own, and talked to about 9 districts, and two charter school programs. I did two short interviews - as most of my top choices were not interviewing on the spot. I talked to people, handed out my resume, got some impressed looks over my CD (one guy asked if I sang or danced on the video - uhh...no - that would harm my chances of getting a job!), and pretty much am right back where I started. I've applied at three more districts than I originally did, but no real promise of anything permanent yet.

I heard and saw a lot of people very frustrated with how things were going at the fair, but I tried to remain positive - at least as positive as I could. I've got several friends telling me that it is a little too early for them to make any true hiring decisions, but I wonder if they are just sparing my feelings - as this is my second year to be down to the wire with no teaching job. I guess part of it could be that - and part of it could just be my fear because I've never dealt with processes like these.

In most job application processes that I've dealt with in my last 8 years of working - if you haven't heard back within about a month - kiss it goodbye... they hired someone else. So it's hard for me to sit back and just wait without knowing anything, and without anyone that I can call and pester for updates.

It's a very tough process, but I am glad that I went even if it wasn't quite like I expected. It was very surreal though - I mean an entire arena filled with people all looking for teaching positions - and it was really hard for me to comprehend that there were enough children, school districts, or classrooms in the city to apply all of us... and maybe there aren't, but I'm sure that more of them will get jobs than I could possibly understand.

Almost There

Whew... I've spent most of the afternoon getting my documents collated, CD's burned, CD's printed and stuffed... for the job fair tomorrow. Literally - I think I started working on all of this stuff at 2:30 or so this afternoon, and it's now 15 minutes until 9... so I'm beat! I still have to get directions to the venue, and make sure that my suit is ready for the morning's festivities.

Anyone out there reading this - please make sure to send up a prayer that God be with me tomorrow and give me the right words in order to get a job. I have been dreaming of teaching since I was 5 years old (maybe earlier) and I would love nothing more than the opportunity to change the lives of some special kids this fall.

I feel like tomorrow is my one shot to prove myself to the various school districts in the area, and with only 2 minutes or so to make that impression - I'm going to need some Divine intervention. I've never been accused of being the most outgoing in the world - in fact - I'm very quiet and shy... at least with people my own age or older. Somehow my personality changes when I'm around kids to some degree - I've never felt the need to second guess myself around kids, and I don't ever feel like they're judging me like my own peers would. I know in some ways that's probably not accurate, but I have a way of treating kids with respect - and therefore earning some respect in return.

ANYWAY - please send up prayers for me and my job situation... and I'll report in as soon as I get home tomorrow afternoon.

Leg Up

The craft night went well - it ended up being only two of us there, but we got some scrapping done. I think I completed 5 pages in the 2 and a half hours that we were there - so at least it's progress. I worked mainly on my weight loss surgery book - and got at least my first three months of progress pages completed... and one of pictures of the night before my surgery... finally the one of my reward system - which I hadn't looked at in a while.

We started out the day today by getting up at 5:30 - yes - 5:30 on a Saturday. We drove an hour to Conroe so that John could get his hair cut, and we could have breakfast with his parents. We went to IHOP which was an interesting experience - we had the single strangest (and possibly funniest) waiter that I've ever had. We got John's Dad to order my meal so that I could get a small senior citizen's meal - but man - I'm not kidding whenever I eat breakfast foods - I get ill. I think that breakfast foods in general (other than cereal or fruit) tend to be greasy or sweet - which neither of them are good for me that early in the morning... I tend to be able to handle more later in the day when I've had as much protein as I can get - but anyway - I spent the entire hour drive home feeling yucky!

We stopped off at an electronics store to get some supplies for a project that John thought of for me. He found a website (www.wowresume.com) where I can make a flash version of my resume and give out at the job fair along with my copies of all my information. We're going to put a picture of me on the label of the CD so that hopefully, I will stand out and they'll remember to hire me. So we'll, be working on getting lots of copies of that made tomorrow.

We made a Rachel Ray meal for dinner tonight - called Lazy Chicken, which I think is funny because it took quite a bit of prep work to make it... but whatever. Basically, I took two chicken breasts and pounded them thin... topped with salt, pepper, and garlic powder...then coated in balsamic vinegar. You cook the chicken for 2-3 minutes in olive oil... and then set it aside. Next you add thinly sliced white potatoes and onions - you sprinkle them with Montreal seasoning and let them cook for a while. You add a couple of "glugs" of chicken broth to the pan and let it cook a little longer, and turn the contents of the pan a couple of times in the process. Next you'll add thinly sliced zucchini to the pan and sprinkle it with some Montreal seasoning as well... let that cook for a couple of minutes, and we added a little more of the chicken broth too. When the zucchini has had a minute or two to cook, place the chicken on top of all the vegetables. You'll cover everything with a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, and I sprinkled some more Montreal seasoning on top of everything - you cover it and cook it all together for 10-12 minutes. Finally, you cover everything with a combination of Italian cheeses - I used Mozzarella, Provolone, and Parmesan... and broil it until the cheese is golden and bubbly.

We LOVED IT! (I tried to find the recipe online for you guys, but had no luck) I even thought about taking some pictures to show you how amazing it came out, but John liked it so much - we ate it instead. He loved it enough to eat a plate full of it and then a second of just the veggies. (He's NEVER done that before!!) So basically - he ate two helpings, I had my portion, and I've got 4 more portions waiting for me to munch on later in the week.

I also made some homemade cookies & cream ice cream today too - I felt like doing something special for John because of all his help getting me ready for the job fair... he's come up with my cool CD resume to hand out, but also made all my copies for my packets to give to the school districts - the packets are about 20 pages a piece... so he's been really great.

Continuation

I more or less repeated my workout from yesterday - I did 26 minutes of boxing, 30 minutes of step, and 3 minutes of hula hooping. I found that there is some sort of mental block for me when I see 30 minutes on the screen in front of me... I didn't have any problems yesterday doing two sets of 20 minutes, but today my mind kept trying to get me to quit. Isn't that strange? I don't know what the deal is, but in the future - I might have to do a 20 minute set and then a 10... just to keep my mental-ness in check.

My interview with the private school was interesting... to say the least - I'm not entirely sure that it was worth the gas... as I was only there for 15 minutes. So, my guess is that I either did REALLY well or REALLY badly. We'll just have to see if they call me. I was sort of hoping for a tour of the school or something, but that wasn't part of the plan for today... but the people I met were nice, and I hope that I left them with a good impression.

I've spent the rest of the day trying to get my scrapbooking stuff organized so that I can transport it to church tonight - I hope that I can get it all together by the time I need to leave... but I've got to cook dinner for John too... so I'd better wrap this up for today.

Tomorrow we're off to get John a haircut and to have breakfast with his parents. My silly husband drives an hour to get his hair cut because he's so particular about his appearance... and he wants to make sure that his hair looks good for my baptism a week from Sunday. So I'm along for the ride...

Workout Queen

Today - I chose to believe that I am a rockstar with my workouts. I did a 43 minute step routine, a ten minute boxing routine, 2 minutes of jogging, and 5 minutes of hula hooping. For the step routine, I tried something new - well new to me while doing Wii Fit - I strapped on my Ipod and went to town.


Can I just say that the set list on my Ipod cracks me up... I started out listening to Young MC (Busta Move), then moved to some Brad Paisley (Celebrity), David Crowder Band (Come Thou Fount), Ann Murray (Could I Have this Dance), Chris LeDoux (County Fair), New Kids (Cover Girl), and finished up with Gnarls Barkley (Crazy) - so basically I covered old school hip hop, old school pop, old country, christian, and finally new hip hop. Hysterical! But it got me through 5,000 steps in 40 minutes!!

I think I'm about to spring a chick flick on John for tonight - I've watched to many sporting events lately, and still haven't gotten to watch any of my movies that I bought. So... tonight is my night... I'm watching 27 Dresses if I have to stay up and watch it after he's gone to bed! Ok, not really because I've got to get my act together in the morning. I've got to workout, prepare for my interview, and get all my stuff together for craft night at church. I want to get my stuff at least semi-prepared so that I will be productive while I'm there with the other crafty ladies!

I did hear back from the people that I interviewed with on Tuesday, and the telecommuting thing was a no-go for them. That's cool though - at least I gave it my all and I think God really didn't think that should be my fit for right now. The experience of meeting them was enough for me at this point, and I'll continue to be faithful and pray for God to show me where I need to be to serve him best.

I'm so irritated with my body right now - even with all this working out and everything - I seem to be packing on the pounds. Now, rationally - I know that it's not humanly possible to gain 5 pounds in two days when you can't eat more than 1/2 to 3/4 of a cup of food in one sitting... but it's still frustrating. I'm going to try to continue to be faithful in this as well, but I can certainly say that it's taking more of a toll on my emotions than the job mess is at this point. (Maybe because I know that John is worried enough for the both of us on the job front.)

I did some sewing today - I had to sew a button on a shirt for John, but while I was at it - I played hospital to a lot of the dog's toys... it was hysterical... I had them all lined up and at one point my Lab, Maggie, got so frustrated waiting on me - she stole one of the toys out of my lap while I was threading my needle! Silly girl! My little one, Missy, just sat there staring at me and whining... I worked for about an hour, but I got the shirt and 4 of the girls' favorite toys fixed up.

The ants are still hanging out trying to take over the house - I can't wait until next Wednesday when they will meet their maker... I know that might be wrong, but seriously - poor John was sitting in the chair just a little while ago and saw one crawling across his chest... I suspect that it was in his shorts that he wears when he's just lounging around the house - because they tend to be thrown on the floor when he gets dressed in the morning... but still it stinks to almost be bitten by an ant when you're trying to play Mario Cart on Wii. HA!

Bonus

Hysterical - anyone else remember that show?

The Good & Bad

So much has happened today... we had a death in the family this morning - our pet frog, Kermit or FatA$$ as he was sometimes called, died... and had to be dealt with. We've had him for about 4 years or so, and all the little kids in our life have enjoyed watching him when they would come over to visit. He was a HUGE albino frog in our aquarium, and he really loved eating - so much so that he developed all these weird lumps on his body where he'd store food... because I had to resort to feeding him once a week. Anyway - we're in discussions about getting another frog, but we'll see what happens. It's not the same now that the aquarium is in the entry way of the house because we never see it... so I guess I figure what's the point?

After that fun chaos... I watched a little ER, and then did my workout. Today (for a little variety) I decided to try doing straight aerobics with no yoga or strength training... and I did about 45 minutes before I started getting bleary-eyed. The thing that put me over the edge was the jogging - which is harder than it might seem. It's basically jogging in place, which is very boring - so I jogged around my living room... with my dogs at my heals. I was feeling really good when I started so I tried the advanced set, which was 4 minutes of jogging... and I was soooo winded... I hung in there and completed it, but MAN! It's a good thing I gave myself all summer (and fall - it's Texas after all... it doesn't get cool until November) to get myself ready to take my jogging to the streets, and I'm going to need it!!

I got a call early this afternoon for another interview. This one is for a 3rd or 4th grade teaching position at a private school in the area. My blog friend, Jil, told me about the openings as she used to work at this school. The program looks amazing, and I'm thrilled to go hear what they have to say! I don't think that I'll be able to afford to work there, but if it's in God's plan - he'll make it happen for me. And like Jil told me, with a private school - you are able to be open about your faith and not have to work around in in lot of ways like you'd have to do in public school. In all the fun - I actually got to talk to Jil on the phone today, and it was really great talking to her!! (Hi Jil!!) Like I told Jil, if nothing else - it will give me some interview experience with a school before Monday's big marathon interview (job fair). I know the experience meeting with them will be great no matter what - and I absolutely love visiting school environments - they just get me that much more excited about the prospect of having my own classroom in the fall.

A little later in the afternoon, my friend Danielle, called to give me some tips for the job fair on Monday. Danielle's husband, Seth, and John used to work together - and we always enjoyed hanging out with them... but we lived about an hour apart and never got to hang out much. Now they are in the process of moving to San Antonio, and while it's a great opportunity for them - we'll miss them terribly!! The company Christmas party won't ever be the same! (Hi Danielle!!)

Anyway, Danielle called to give me the lay of the land for what I'll experience on Monday and possibly Tuesday. She told me that I'll wait in line for any length of time (she waited an hour for some of the tables at hers) and then you'll get about two minutes to sell yourself to the district or principal. They'll ask a lot of questions like "Tell me about yourself" or "Why should we hire you?" Which means I need to work on an elevator speech before Monday. An elevator speech is a 2 minute speech where you'd assume that you'd only have enough time to convince someone of what you want them to do before you reach the bottom floor and the person gets off the elevator. She also said that the buzz words that they want to hear are that you want to work in an environment that is kid-centered, and works toward the best interests of the students - not the adults. The other biggie is to make sure to tell them that failure is not an option for your students - that I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that my students pass - and that will depend on the individual child's needs. It was a great pep-talk, and gave me lots of things to say and think about before the main event.

Other than that - I made up a new recipe tonight, I made Kim's Special Fettuchini Alfredo for dinner. Basically though - I made some low carb pasta. I sauteed some chicken in a pan until it was cooked through, took it out and set it aside. Then I sauteed some onions and mushrooms together until they were done, and mixed the chicken back in. When I was satisfied that the chicken was warm again, I mixed everything with a jar of Classico Four Cheese Alfredo Sauce. When I served it - I sprinkled a tiny bit of Parmesan on top. To complete the meal I served a small tossed salad. It was really good! I made enough to feed us both tonight, lunch for John tomorrow, and two additional meals for me.... I'd say it was successful.

I got a pedicure with my friend, Sarah, yesterday. We sat in these amazing spa chairs with the massaging motion... and it felt great yesterday, but today it feels like I just had a deep tissue massage! You know that deep bruise like pain that you tend to get after they work out a knot or something... I guess I had something in there that needed to be worked out, and it must have gotten that way!! OUCH!

I never did hear back from the people I interviewed with yesterday - so I guess that door is closed for good now... but I'll let you know if I do hear back from them.

Heart Breaking

Well, our Lady Aggies lost the national title tonight - but they did it with class... so that's all anyone can ask for. I felt so bad for them - after watching them for around 2-3 weeks... it was really gut wrenching to watch them so overwhelmed with emotion at their loss. It's also always hard knowing that there are so many seniors on the team that won't ever have another opportunity to "give it their all" again.

My interview today was great... was offered the job on the spot, but the monetary portion of the offer was about $15,000 less than what I was making at my old position - and for a non-teaching job, I can't afford to take that big of a hit in salary. What's the difference? You might ask... well, public school teachers don't pay social security and there is the whole issue of commuting right now.

I did go back and offer them the option of thinking of a deal with telecommuting - so we'll see if I hear anything back tomorrow or later in the week. I think it would be a total God thing if this worked out because there are incredible odds that would have to be worked out on both sides to make it happen - but through Him all things are possible.

The man that conducted the interview was amazing! How many times have you ever been interviewed where scripture was quoted, and a prayer was offered at the end? Even though it was a sort of let down for both of us... being that we couldn't make a deal on the spot - he was incredibly gracious and prayed that I would find the right fit in order to glorify God.

The other cool part was that he was ready to build his department around me and my skills, and told me that any "shop" would be lucky to have me. I wanted to give him my old boss's phone number and ask him to call and let them know, but I didn't. It was just refreshing to be reminded that there are people out there in leadership positions that you can respect, and are kind. It's been so long since I'd seen or experienced a person in that role having those values that it was almost shocking.

I guess it is true what they say about hitting an animal... if you do it often enough - they'll shy away from you every time you raise your hand... and in the 3 years at my old job - I believe that I became that animal... and I'm honestly glad to know that God is out there guiding me in a new path - as this is the first time in my life that He has been a part of this process... and I'm SO much better for that!

Monday Monday

I thought this was cute, and I used to have a dog just like this - a Pembroke Welsh Corgi...so cute!!

Now this just made me laugh...

Well, I think we've lost our battle with the ants... we have called for professional artillery - so they'll be gone soon and their eight-legged friends too. (I am thrilled that this has pushed John over the edge... I've been dealing with spiders for 8 months now!)

I took another day off from working out - I decided that I'd ramp up to 5 workouts this week, and go for a full 6 next week. I just thought that I'd get more out of it if I gave those muscles a second day of rest.

I didn't write about it yesterday because I needed a day to get over it, but as you can tell from the ticker - I didn't lose any weight last week... in fact I gained a pound... which I refuse to register on my ticker. It's extremely frustrating, but all I can do is keep at it and know that somewhere down the line my hard work will show and pay off.

I'm missing a women's movie night right now with the ladies from our church, but I thought it best to stay in and go to bed as early as I can tonight... in preparation for my interview in the morning. I got my nails done today so that if by some weird chance - my hands have an effect on their perception of my ability to manage their database - I'd be ready. (I also got them done for the same reason for next Monday - in the event that my hands have an effect on my perceived ability to teach elementary students.)

Other than that - I spent a good part of the day getting things ready for a craft night at church on Friday. I had to get some pictures printed at Walgreens, and am starting to organize my stuff into layouts so that I can take it all with me on Friday. I've never been to a craft night like this - in fact I've only been to one at my friend Jenn's house and it was fun!

We're watching a little more softball tonight as our ladies are playing the first game of the finals tonight, and we hope that they'll pull out these first two games out of the three - so that this madness will be over.

I'll leave you with a picture from our going away "Girls Night Out" for Staci last week - as she left for Canada this morning... Texas is going to miss her family, but we'll be here to welcome them home in a year or two. (Staci is fourth from the left in the back row)

WHOOP!

Ok, so anyone reading this that didn't go to Texas A&M won't get the title of the post... but I'm sorry - my Lady Aggies just made it to the finals of the College World Series - and that was after losing this morning... and going into 3 extra innings!

Obviously a good portion of my day has been spent watching two college softball games, but strangely - I find myself interested and caring if they win... so I'm letting John enjoy that small glimpse of hope that I might someday care about sports.

Other than that, we've been seeing some ants around our house lately - and our suspicion was that it might be because I hadn't swept or mopped since the birthday bash... so I did all of that today in hopes that we can get rid of the pests...

And John did finally get the lawn mowed, and is now continuing to water it as it is looking very wilted and dry. It's strange that they're not reporting a drought for our area, but it certainly feels like it at our house! So I guess we'll be making our own rain for a while as there isn't any rain in our forcast for like 10 days.

On the one hand, I know we need the rain, but on the other - I am sort of happy to keep all the storms out in the ocean... Hurricane season starts today, and there is already something out in the Cancun area... I hate hurricane season so much - so I'm praying that we all stay safe this year even though they are predicting another record year.

Its about bedtime now, and I've got to get John ready for work - or at least make sure that there is something for me to pack up for him to take for lunch...