Future

It's fun to dream about the future, and look in the possible immediate futures. Alex may be getting his Masters, and even his doctorate if we can find a way to make it affordable. Since the MHC has tuition assistance, Alex suggested maybe I look into getting my Masters as well. So we'll see. We're not in a hurry to start having kids, so maybe we will pursue further education while we still have plenty of free time on our hands. I think we would do well studying while we weren't working.

All is still unsure and full of prayers, but fun to plan.

Also, we cancelled our Wow (World of Warcraft) accounts because we weren't playing together anymore.

For now, I'm going to keep studying for my diver's knowledge test. Then probably grocery shopping. I'm so excited the high is 60 today!

IMG00245-20101215-1231.jpg

Some earrings that I made for family recently. Bits of creativity...
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Geting the job done

TWO updates in ONE day??

I got the call that is changing my life. Well, sort of. I have been offered the position as Adult Case Manager with the Mental Health Coop. I am getting a packet of information in the mail, and I am going to the Nashville office for paperwork and training February 7th. YES! First real Social Work job! Yay for finishing school and working hard!

Goodbye working nights and Saturdays (and one Sunday). Hello Monday thru Friday! Hello to consistent hours! Hello to getting paid to communicate with and help people!

Also, hello piles of laundry from yesterday which have yet to be folded. Today, I will conquer you!

taking off

Although I am still technically employed with Hobby Lobby, I have been taken off the schedule until business improves. My manager has assured me that it is nothing I have done; the snow is killing business right now, so she has to take people off. I'm not the first one, and she said I'm not the last either. I guess that's comforting. She does know that I have applied for another job, and she told me how to get employment verification if I need it. I have not yet heard back from the Mental Health Coop since finishing my paperwork, but I hope to hear soon!

This may turn into an easy transition-at least I hope that is the case. I was wondering (if everything with the new job works out) how to say that I cannot work at Hobby Lobby anymore. I just don't enjoy saying that I quit. This way I have no set schedule, so I can start a new job at any time. This is my prayer.

Alex has had the flu the past five days, but he is back at work today. He still feels weak, but he is much improved. After spending the majority of those days in the house, I am ready to get out! I'm going grocery shopping with my sweet sister-in-law this afternoon.

Also, we haven't had coffee while Alex was sick. It's just not fun making coffee for one. But today just feels like a coffee day. So I might run by the golden arches and get a cup for a buck. The chicken that I'm making for tonight (Sesame chicken! I would post a link if this dumb blog would let me) has to marinate, so I may make a short trip now and another "official" trip with the sis-in-law later. I'm excited to be more social again.

All for now!

food happenings

Since I can't seem to post pictures, I thought I'd just share what food I made recently in words on this blog:

Alex wanted salad, but only if we had croutons and bacon bits. They were on my list to buy, but then I realized that we have bread that is getting old, and the wrong brand of bacon that we don't like. So, I cooked up the bacon and crushed it into bits. I also turned my oven to 225. I tore the bread into lots of small pieces. added olive oil, a lot of Italian seasoning, and stirred it all together. I put the seasoned bread onto cookie sheets and baked for about 40 minutes. Yum! I let them sit for a bit, and they toasted wonderfully. Yay for perusing "how to make croutons" on various websites.

Also I whipped up some pancake batter for this morning. I like it better when the batter sits overnight. I also cut up the ham I bought for sandwich meat. Alex REALLY like the honey ham on his sandwiches. I portioned it so that he can have it for the next three weeks! I put enough for one week in a bag, and froze two of them. I put the meat into sandwich bags so that all I have to do is put the bag in his lunch :) Easy lunches this week! I've been eating my almond butter and jelly on sandwiches, or leftovers for lunch. Or Kashi cereal. I had to throw away part of an opened box because the ants found it :( but I still have plenty left :)

Anyways, I also put dinner in the crock pot because I used the ham bone and what meat was left on the bone. I added two different cans of beans and a small can of mushrooms. Since the ham already has seasoning, I didn't add any. I refrigerated it and started the cooking process this morning. What a yummy dinner! AND Alex loves it! I think it's a happy thing that we both enjoy eating beans, because they're cheap and yummy and easy.

I'm going grocery shopping tomorrow, and I will probably be frequenting Wally World again. I am an Aldi die hard, but some things like coffee and bacon just taste better when they are name brand. Also, we are still eating leftovers this week, so I don't have to buy a lot. So my Wal-Mart challenge is to stick to my list because it's so easy to say "oh yeah! I want/need/will use/might never need but I'm still buying this item.

I also used a "magic eraser" cleaning pad today for cleaning walls and floors at Hobby Lobby. I'm amazed that I've never used one before. Those things are incredible.

All for now!

Silence

This morning I spend some time sipping coffee and watching the snow fall outside my living room window. It was peaceful. I felt the stresses of this new week falling away with the snowflakes as they danced to the ground. I remembered that my relationship with God is what really matters; that He cares about even the little details of my life. He knows what is best for me, and I need not worry.

Philippians 4:6-7
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Yet again I need the reminder that I don't have to control everything. Sometimes my plans don't work out, but God's ways are not my ways-they're better! How many times am I going to need this reminder? Probably many.


Still no pictures. Maybe thoughts will just have to stay here, and pictures will be for facebook.

Creativity

Reading other blogs today has been both inspiring and discouraging. Some people are so creative! It started with looking at my friend Logan's blog, and she makes such creative cards, cupcakes, etc! She had links to other blogs, which I've started to peruse this morning. So many great ideas. I feel very "non-creative" at this moment, as I've hardly attempted anything of this sort. I think that I would enjoy doing these kinds of things, but I haven't put my mind to it. I have kept our house organized and food on the table, and I already feel accomplished just doing that and part time job. I'm not sure how people have full time jobs and still find time to do everything else. I hope to attempt this feat sometime soon....but I'll say more on that when I know things for sure.

So next time I go into work I may buy a hot glue gun, some modge podge, and some clearance scrapbook paper. Thanks to some friends, I have a few Christmas pictures, although I wish I had taken more! One step at a time, seeing as I STILL don't have our wedding pictures printed. Thanks to my mom, we do have a book, so I can print fewer pictures than I'd originally thought.


Still can't post pictures on this blog *sigh* so feeling more and more unmotivated to post....

First week of the new year

What a great week. Fun times grocery shopping and hanging out with family. So excited to see what God's bringing into my life. He has blessed our family so so much.

I have started/set up a blog for my food adventure, but I dont' know why I can't put up pictures. I'm gonna play with it for a few minutes. Feel free to check my profile to see if I figured it out.