back to work

Being at Hobby Lobby with new people actually makes me miss some of the people I used to work with. Some of them I knew already, and with some I developed great friendships. The job is still pretty much the same, I will just be adjusting to new people. So far, they are all very friendly and easy to get a long with.

Difference: I have a smock now instead of a vest. Actually, it's more like a "smess" because it looks kinda like a dress (it's really big on me).

I had forgotten how tired me feet get after walking around the store for hours at a time. Today I'm wearing an old pair of running shoes. They got me through the half-marathon, so surely they can get me through an 8-hour shift at Hobby Lobby.

returning to an occupation

Last summer I quit working at Hobby Lobby because I had a demanding senior year of college and I wanted to finish well. I never thought I would work there again, simply because I was going to graduate with a degree in Social Work.

Then I graduated, got married, and moved. I decided that I liked having time to plan, cook, spend time with my husband, and hang out with friends.

I also realized that I wanted to work outside the house. We have a bit of student debt to pay off, and my car needs to be replaced in the near future. I began to search for part time jobs around town. I had a few leads, but none came to fruition. I was to the point of working fast food, when some friends suggested I apply at Hobby Lobby. They knew someone who had recently had an interview, so they are hiring at this time.

I went to Hobby Lobby, grabbed the application and the sales paper (can't hurt to see what's on sale while I'm there), and returned home to fill out the application.

Upon completing my application, I drove back to Hobby Lobby to introduce myself to the manager and personally hand her my application. I then drove home.

I missed a call from the manager, returned the call, and she asked me to come in asap for an interview. I ate half my lunch and left immediately. I drove to Hobby Lobby for the third time today. I took a math test and talked basics. She said she could hire me seasonally for now, and that she might be able to keep me past January because of my past experience. I start tomorrow at 10am back in the crafts department.

Same store in a new city. I know that it will not be the same experience, because the staff not the same. The store manager has been at that store for EIGHT YEARS, which means they have a LOW turnover rate! YES! That was one of the most frustrating things about working for HL.

I am cooking tomorrow's lunch tonight so that we can just microwave it tomorrow. Pork loin marinated in Italian dressing and some frozen green beans all wrapped in aluminum and cooked for about an hour at 350.

I received a very touching text message from Alex saying he is going to miss me tomorrow. I love my husband, and I hope that this job doesn't keep us from seeing each other a lot.

Praise God for providing when and where I did not expect it.

80's fabulous

On the "short girl" season of America's Next Top Model, one of the girl's said she curled her hair with paper towels. Feeling inspired, I decided to try the same thing with napkins.

I did this around noon. I took them out around 6pm the same day, although I should have waited, because my hair was still a little damp.

I tried to salvage it a bit.

I like the on curl by my face. Although the back of my hair is hardly curly. I will definitely be washing, drying and straightening my hair tomorrow! I don't think my hair was made to be curly, no matter how many different things I try. I might try this again when my hair is longer and will therefore weigh it down a little. I will also wait overnight before taking it down.

easy-peasy pancakes

I recent found a recipe for super simple pancakes with only three ingredients:

1 egg

1 Tablespoon of Almond Butter (I used peanut butter though)

2 bananas

I mixed everything together with a fork. I melted some butter in a non-stick pan before pouring the pancake batter.

It was a little tough to tell when to flip the pancakes, as they don't get chicken pox like the regular ones. Also, bananas tend to look burnt when cooked....so does butter when it has been in the pan for a while.

I think I made twice this many....but ate some before I remembered to take a picture of them on a plate.

Tada! I thought they were delicious! They could be eaten plain, but I have tried them with peanut butter, jelly, and honey-all with tasty results! I will definitely be making these again! Plus, if I practice self-control by eating only one at a time, then they are a sweet way to get a healthy snack :)

Calista, Blessed among women

I am so blessed, and my whole day was a continual reminder of this. Farmer's market with mom, then the two of us dropping our stuff off at my house and driving together to a camp Bible study. This is a Bible study of "12 Extraordinary Women" in the Bible. It's such a refreshing time, spending time with ladies who love God and want to honor Him. I also spent some time catching up with one camp friend whom I haven't talked to in a long time. Good stuff.

My wonderful mom came back and helped me get the house ready for the girl's afternoon at my house. We prepped the house for the coffee/tea/smoothie afternoon, and waited for our guests. First came the Barberi ladies: Sarah, Belle, and Mrs. Allison showed up with more smoothie yummies, and nuts. Then Katie, Hannah, and Mrs. Linda Musgrove came with chocolate cake and peanut butter icing-sooooo yummy! All home made by Kaite. We all made smoothies, gathered a plateful of yummy snacks, and watched "Pride and Prejudice." I ate way more sugar than normal, but it was worth it. Such a fun time with people that I love so very much. My families are wonderful and I am incredibly blessed to have them.

WoW again

I'm not even sure how many hours we've dedicated to the World of Warcraft today. I've run four or five dungeons on my own...that was after Alex and I split so he could do the Ice Crown Citadel with his super toon. And you know what?? I actually had fun.

Sometimes I feel like I am playing only because I know it makes Alex happy and I like to spend time with him. However, we also just had fun playing separately, but yet together in the same room. This is a new way to learn to love my husband and spend time together, but it's a new adventure in a very new environment :) Bring on the diversity!

Tuesdays

So I'm watching "Better off Ted" and eating my oatmeal-less granola. It's a form of the sweet and salty primal trail mix. I didn't put as much salt in it, and I didn't have some of the ingredients, so it is more simple and sweeter. I also made about half the amount, just to see if I liked it. Well, I loved it! I wisely put it in separate, portioned bags, and then ate them all within a couple of hours...so the portioning didn't work.

market crazy

I think I doubled my amount bought at the farmer's market yesterday:
It's my kind of grocery shopping: people I can talk to and buy from. It's such a friendly place. I think I'll be sad when October comes and the farmer's market stops until Spring.

:)

Well, Alex and I grilled today, and I took pictures to commemorate the first time we've grilled on out own. However, iPhoto can't find them on my camera :(

Alex did most of it himself! AND we've found yet another way he enjoys eating squash! Marinated veggies are the best!

He also suggested we do this again sometime next week and make bbq steaks and chicken. YUM!

SO, if my pictures ever show up, then I will post them. If not, then at least this blog will keep a record of our new, little adventure.

marinating :)

Today I did a lot of marinating for the week :) I cut up my pretty white flower squash and some of the other squash and marinated them. I marinated all the meat for the week except the roast. I feel much more prepared, and plan to pull out the grill soon!

I attempted my first "meatza" today. It's a pizza with the crust made from ground beef. However, we didn't use cheese. I think it tasted ok, but I have to be careful with it sometimes because the grease can cause a queasy stomach.

food again

Tonight I had caramelized pork slices. I got it from lowcarbguy.com. It does have some sugar, but it's not a lot and it's super tasty. Actually dinner was lunch leftovers because this is one of my new favorite things to eat. I just had some baby carrots with it, but I fried up some green beans with a little soy sauce and some leftover pork sauce for our lunch. Yum :) It favors a Chinese flavor, which is one of my favorite things to eat, but is healthier because I made it at home. At least, I assume it's healthier. I also savored a diet coke, which really has no redeeming value. However, I did not feel like drinking water, so I didn't.

I also enjoyed yet another shake/healthier version of a frap today :)

The Farmer in the Dell

I FINALLY went to the farmer's market. It was set up around the 'historic downtown Columbia,' which was the perfect setting on this Saturday morning. I loved it! I bought squash and some peppers from on elderly man, who threw in a few spicy peppers for free!
From another stand I bought apples and green beans.

As I was driving out, I saw a newly arrived truck with a sign: "Farm Fresh Eggs" and I just couldn't resist. However, my only bill left was a $20, so I went to buy meat, got the correct change and then returned to retrieve my 3 dozen eggs. Yes, we go through more than two dozen in one week. The man who sold the eggs seemed a little surprised that I wanted that many. They were $2/dozen, but compared to the grocery store brown eggs, that is a good price. Plus, I just like the taste of the farmed ones better.
The Harris's family FoodLand is my token meat store. Lacey told me that they package it themselves, and so they can sell it for a cheaper price. Plus, it just looks more like meat than some other stores. I buy a lot, and I always worry that it will go bad, but so far it's been OK.

Also, I have been keeping track of grocerys and here is this weeks total: $82.66!! We have budgeted about $100/week. I still need to buy coffee creamer, and that's a little expensive, but definitely still under budget. I also had a few other "big" purchases like toilet paper and laundry detergent. Not super costly, but also not something I need to buy every week.



This is my adventure.

This has leftover cold coffee, cocoa powder, rice milk, a little sugar free french vanilla creamer, banana, and peanut butter. If I eat it with a spoon its like ice cream with out the hurting stomach. PLUS it tastes like chocolate :D

an interesting interview

So here's what happened:

I arrived at the YMCA with plenty of time. I found a small group of Senior Citizens to chat with while I waited for the interview.

Once I started the interview, I realized I was bit nervous. However, it seemed that my answers were well received, and none of it seemed very awkward.

Near the end of the interview, the woman suggested another faction of the YMCA that might suit my passions better than this particular position. She said "Not that this position wouldn't be good for you, but this place, called Fun Company, might fit you better because you get to connect with people even more. Plus the hours for this position are stuck at 20 hours, whereas the Fun Company, you could have 5 hours one week, and 30 hours the next."

I thought, "Well, I suppose it can't hurt to check it out"

From my understanding, it's a glorified day care at the schools, and after-school tutoring. I, however, would be a sub, and on an "on-call" only schedule. I went through with the interview, got the paperwork, and received instructions on when to return.

However, on my drive home, I realized that I didn't want to do any sort of sub position; I wanted consistent hours. That's why I applied to this particular position and not a sub position. I might apply for inconsistent hours as a last resort, but I already have the uncertain, but fun, work at camp.

I emailed the Fun Company and said that I wasn't interested. I emailed my original interviewer and asked that she still keep me in mind for the original position, and explained that I liked the consistent 20 hours.

So we'll see. It might have been that she was trying to find work for me while effectively eliminating me from the original position. She might have simply been trying to do my a favor and connect me with something I would enjoy.

I love having a consistent schedule. I don't really care if my happenings during work aren't exactly the same, but I like to know my hours. This makes planning much more efficient.

So for now I'm still working at camp as available, and praying and trusting God.

We're going to be more careful with our finances, as we spent more than we should have during the month of August. I really enjoy organizing and imputing information, so I'm putting all our receipts into an excel sheet Alex has organized.

takin care of business

Tomorrow I interview for a part time position at the YMCA. It seems like such a perfect opportunity for me, so I pray it all goes well.

I also analyzed all of our spending for the month of August, and I'm praying that I messed something up. If not, I'm seriously considering the envelope system.

I'm watching Pride and Prejudice :D