off to a great start!

I don't have a lot of time to post, but in case anyone is waiting in suspense, here's the recap:
My first day of work went very well. No trouble sleeping last night and no trouble waking up in time this morning. We pretty much did new-hire orientation type stuff all day, but should start actual training by the end of the week. I met my team leader and my manager, haven't had much time to feel them out, but they gave me a good first impression. Tomorrow we have a new-hire breakfast where I'll meet even more people. I'm still excited! I think that's a good sign. :)
Well, my dinner is ready. *GASP* I know...it's waaaaay past my grandma dinner time! :) So J and I are going to relax and watch some "Friends".

Unfortunately, we did not try out a new church today. J found out Friday that he was going to have to work this morning at 7:30. I really didn't feel like going to a new church alone. So instead I went running with a few of my friends from the gym. We did 8 miles, which is further than I've run before, but we were only running at about 6mph so it wasn't hard. I think it'll make me sleep very well tonight so hopefully I'll feel great tomorrow morning when I get up for my first day of work!
Yesterday we bought a UVB light and a heatlamp for Scooter and Shelby. The UVB rays are supposed to be good for their shells, so we're hoping it'll especially help Scooter. I can't tell that they are acting any differently, she still sits on the rock and he still swims most of the day. Hopefully she is enjoying the extra heat, though.
Other than that, we've had a pretty quiet weekend. Maybe I'll have something more interesting tomorrow.

scrub lightly with a soft bristle toothbrush

We are a little worried about Scooter. We cleaned the tank out on Monday, but that night we noticed that the little lines between the scutes on his shell are looking very black. I searched the internet for over an hour hoping to figure it out, but didn't determine anything definite.
However, I talked to my dad and he thinks the shell may just be getting mossy. Seems like a good possibility since Scooter is almost always in the water. If it's sunny today, he may get to play outside for a few minutes! I wish he would've come with instructions, but dad thinks cleaning his shell with a toothbrush might help. I know y'all want to comment about whether we will use my toothrush or J's, but that is absolutely *disgusting*. We will not make Scooter share. He gets his own toothbrush.

Sunday update

We attended ParkHills Baptist again this morning, but have decided we will be trying someplace different next week. It seems like a good church, but we don't feel that it is where God wants us now. I believe there is a church here where we will feel totally welcomed and at home. I'm just hoping we won't have to search for *too* long before we find it. :)

It's been a pretty dreary day outside, but the rain was definitely needed. I know our grass will appreciate it since we haven't watered in a while. We just got back from taking a walk around the growing neighborhood, it's only 50° out there!! It was nice to get some fresh air, even though I had to bundle up in a ski coat!

Oh, for anyone who I haven't told yet, we finally named our turtles. Scooter (Little Dude) and Shelby (The Girl). I tried to get new pictures, but Scooter doesn't like coming out of the water, so I just have this one of Shelby to share. We've been having fun taking her out and letting her run around the game room every few days. Contrary to the popular turtle stereotype, she's pretty fast!

I'm employed again!

As you know if you read my last post, I got a phone call last night regarding a job offer. The manager working with me from American Funds (Capital Group) was letting me know that they were ready to make an offer and could do so whenever it was convenient for me. Since we were in the middle of dinner (and time to pray about it/calm myself down seemed like a *really* good idea), I told her I could give her a call this morning. Shortly thereafter, J and I agreed that this seems like God's will and is a wonderful opportunity. Unless their offer was terrible, I would accept it.
I spoke to her this morning and she went through about 20 minutes of details including training, time-off, benefits, pay, etc. etc. It was even better than I had *hoped* for, let alone expected. I accepted the position and will start training on the 30th of this month.
I called USAA and let them know I am no longer interested in the position there. I am a little bit sad about not getting those hours, but I am confident that this is the right decision!
Oh! They have also agreed to give me 3 days off in April (for Elizabeth's wedding), so I don't have to worry about dealing with that later!
Thank you to everyone who has been praying with us about this for the past few months. I continue to pray that Crazy Uncle's interviews today are going well and God will reveal His plans for him also.

I wish it could always be like this...

God has been providing hints all week about an answer to our prayers. J and I both feel that tonight we got one very succinct answer. It looks as though I will be accepting a job offer tomorrow morning. I am very excited, but still a little nervous as well. Thanks for your prayers, and I will let y'all know the outcome tomorrow!!

Holy Cow.

I've never been a huge fan of ice cream. Not that I dislike it, I just didn't think it was that big of a deal. Until I met Blue Bell. Now, I'll never look at ice cream the same way again. This stuff is seriously unbelievably amazing. The only reason I'm not eating it right now is because we already ate the whole thing and haven't yet gone to the grocery store to buy more. I recommend each of you not currently living in Texas get here as soon as physically possible to enjoy a bowl or two or three with me. Just let me know you're coming, so I can buy enough.

Ah, the fine art of tagging.

Okay, maybe it's not exactly an "art", but I have trouble thinking of titles.
Anyway, I've been in the blogging world for over 6 months now and for the first time, I have been "tagged". (For anyone wondering, this means that a survey or set of questions is going around on blogs. Each person that completes it gets to "tag" other people, who (if they want to play along) will then complete it and "tag" someone else.) I've seen this happen on many blogs, but have never been a part of it before. This comes from Abby...

4 Jobs that I have had in my life:

Cashier at Holiday Quality Foods
Sales Associate at Redding Christian Supply
Server at St. Louis Coffee Roasters
HR Assistant at RAF Alconbury

6 Movies I could watch over and over:

Napoleon Dynamite
The Emperor's New Groove
Pirates of the Caribbean
Zoolander
Office Space
Anchorman

4 places I've lived:

England
California
Canada
Colorado

4 TV shows I love to watch:

King of Queens
King of the Hill
The try-outs for American Idol (always MUCH funnier than the actual show!)
The Contender (are they gonna do another season of that?!)

4 Places I have been on vacation:

Menorca, Spain
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (skiing for Thanksgiving 2004)
Rome, Italy (sight-seeing/getting lost a lot for Thanksgiving 2003)
Mt. Bachelor, Oregon

4 Websites I visit daily:

Homestarruner (funny cartoons, especially the sbemails!)
Early Light (daily devotionals from InTouch ministries)
TheOnion (hilarious fake news)
How do you be so short? (my little sister's blog)

4 of my favorite foods:

Fettuccini Alfredo from Olive Garden
Papa John's Pizza
Jamba Juice smoothies
Cereal

4 Places I would rather be right now:

Olive Garden
Skiing at Mt. Bachelor
Camping at the coast (in California...um...but since I'm wishing, I wish it was summer there)
On a $500,000 shopping spree!

7 People that I am tagging:

Jay
Marla
Eisel
Bob
Zachary
Kayla
Lindsay

same boring topics...

but now, with better news!!!

As I last posted, I had an assessment and interview with USAA on Thursday. It went very well, I think. The assessment was easy and the interview was only about 20 minutes. At the end of it, the chick asked me if I would be available to come back and interview with someone from management. WHOO-HOO! Of course I would! So I have a follow-up interview on Monday morning at 8:00. I found out a few more things about the job that make me want it even more than I did before. However, during the assessment, there was a short video I had to watch in which current employees talked about the training, the position etc. There was one thing that kinda scared me. They make it sound like you are sitting at your desk literally the ENTIRE day except for a 35 minute lunch and 2 short breaks. Maybe I'm taking it wrong, but don't most people get up at least a few times during the work day to go to the bathroom?!?! Some of you are probably thinking "maybe you wouldn't need to go so often if you didn't drink, like, 45 gallons of water every day!" Well, you are probably right, but the trouble is, if I am going to be talking that much, I'm going to need even more water than usual!! Hopefully these wonderful employees were exaggerating a little bit. I will have to broach this subject in Monday's interview.

On Wedneseday, I got a call from American Funds (aka: Capital Group) regarding the resume I had posted just 2 days earlier! We talked for about 30 minutes and at the end she asked if I had any other offers/interviews. I told her about USAA and WAMU and she asked if I could come in the following morning, before going to USAA. I really didn't want to skip my workout, so I asked her if we could do Friday instead. I think that worked to my advantage. I was there most of the afternoon yesterday, did some testing and interviewed with HR and then with management. It was an interesting turn of events. The first hour and some of interview time was spent with me trying to make a good impression so they would want me. The second half an hour or so was spent with the manager talking up their company and trying to convince me that I should choose American Funds over USAA. They are starting up the background check etc. now, and "hope to have something definite by the end of next week". However, the manager wants me to call her on Monday after my interview with USAA and let her know if I've made a decision or at least am still considering them.

I might have a job in less than a week! What an answer to months of prayer!!

I'm still going to the interview on Monday, so if that goes well, I may have a tough decision to make.

A three-fer

First off, Eisel wanted me to post a picture so she could see my cute new glasses. For anyone who doesn't know, I've had great eyesight all my life and now suddenly, it seems I may be getting old. Actually, I can still see fine, it's just that anything far away is really blurry. For instance, the overhead at church. J tried to tell me it isn't far away...what does he know? Anyway, these help me see perfectly again, and I really only have to wear them when I feel like it.
So this is for you, Eisel!

Second, I had a great run this morning and met some more people! I mentioned last week that I met a guy named Dennis who invited me to run a few times a week. I've been trying to let my knee rest, but the doctor said it was nothing serious and I'm tired of resting! Five of us ran, but one girl has asthma and the cold weather (yes, cold...it was 35 this morning!!) was hurting her, so she and Randy turned off part way. Dennis, another girl named Kim, and I ran 3 to 3 and 1/2 miles. Not sure exactly, since Kim's GPS had a dead battery. Anyway, it was so nice to run outdoors again. I haven't gotten to since the beginning of November in beautiful Pahrump! Then, when we finished, we did a spin class in the gym. What a great morning! Dennis is going to be gone, but I'm meeting Kim to run again on Friday! Unfortunately, my knee is hurting again, but I'll ice it later.

Now, I saved the best news for last! I got a call from USAA yesterday regarding a customer service position I applied for back in November! I'm going in tomorrow at 1:00 to complete a customer service assessment. If I pass, (which I better!) I will have an interview immediately following. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high, but I really want this job. There may be a bit of a timing issue, since the training will end the week before J and I are going to California for Elizabeth's wedding. We're praying that if this is God's will, there won't be a problem, and if it it's not His will, that I will accept that and move on with very minimal weeping and gnashing of teeth.

For anyone who doesn't know yet, Grandmom has a blog! Click here to check it out!

Check this out!

No really...if you are a Walker, were a Walker at one time, or are related to a Walker, you're gonna want to see this!

job search update

No, unfortunately I still haven't been called about any of the jobs I've applied for, but I did add 2 more to that growing list.
However, we have a new plan now. J is going to ask around at work and find out about the volunteer opportunities on base. Hopefully there will be something at least mildly interesting there to keep me busy until someone decides to pay me money while I work for them. Sooner would be better than later, but as Crazy Uncle said, "God has strategically placed you in your life's circumstances. He has a reason why you are where you are right now." I pray that I will find and accept that reason.

church

Today we went to Park Hills Baptist Church. It's one that J found on the internet and thought looked good. I guess it wasn't one that I immediately felt welcomed and at home with, but as the service progressed, we enjoyed it more and more. We met one couple during the "greet your neighbor" song. Unfortunately, the music and worship leader were SO loud, I felt like we had to yell in order to hear each other!!
Last week we were in Dallas and went to Valwood (my parents' old church and Nanny's current church). The pastor preached on Nehemiah. The fact that we need to be more like him in humbling ourselves before God in prayer when there is a problem. (There was a lot more to the message, but that is the gist of it).
Today's message was on the same passage, making a similar point. It was interesting to hear 2 messages on the same chapter. This pastor gave a lot more background on Nehemiah.
Anyway, we are thinking about checking out their Wednesday night service. Usually those are a smaller croud, maybe we can meet more people.

running.

I am so excited! Yesterday I met some more people at the gym and was invited to join them in running outside Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays!! I don't really know where to run around here, so I was just running on the treadmills.
One older guy invited me, but he said sometimes as many as 2 dozen people will be there. They meet at the gym and run in a neighborhood or something near there. I'm hoping to join them on Wednesday for a 3-miler...but it may depend on how my knee is feeling by then...I'm praying it will continue to heal QUICKLY!! :)

better than a dog...

As our final, and most exciting, Christmas present from my family, J and I got 2 red-eared slider turtles. We haven't been able to think of cute names for them yet. I call one this one Little Dude. I tried to catch him to come out for a picture, but he keeps diving into the water as soon as I get close to him. We aren't sure that he's really a dude, but supposedly the males have more detailed design on their shells and are normally smaller. They have both been really hyper the past couple of days.

This one doesn't even have a temporary name, I am still calling her The Girl One or Chica. She isn't so scared and will let me pick her up, but when I tried to set her down for a picture she started running like crazy. At least this way you can get an idea of how big they are. She's a little bit bigger and her shell is more blue-ish than Little Dude's. She likes to swim where the filter makes a little fountain/current in the water, but she's so small that it pushes her toward the bottom of the tank. It's so cute! I'll try to get some better pictures tonight. Maybe later they won't be so sketchy. If anyone has some great ideas for names, please post a comment!!

2006.

It did feel much more like Christmas once my family got here! I talked to Dad on Wednesday and he said they would leave Dallas at 5:00 Thursday morning to arrive here around 10. J and I got up early and went to the gym so we could be ready, but they showed up at about 9:30...we were almost ready!
Anyway, we opened presents that morning, it was a lot of fun. I got this awesome Napoleon Dynamite figure from Bob and Eisel. It says one of three phrases when you push the button: "Freakin' idoit!", "Gosh" or "This one gang kept wanting me to join 'cause I'm pretty good with a bow staff". It's great! As you can see, he is practing his dance moves. It even came with a teeny walkman, cassette tape and the little figurine from the first schoolbus scene. If anyone has not seen Napoleon Dynamite yet, I highly recommend you borrow it from someone as soon as possible. I'd say to rent it, but then you might be upset if you end up hating it. :)
Thursday afternoon we went downtown. We toured through the Alamo, walked part of the Riverwalk and then rode the boat on the river. It was beautiful weather and a very nice afternoon. For dinner, we went waaay across town and ate at Fuddruckers! I hope everyone would agree that it was worth the drive! :)
Friday Nanny, Mom, Eisel and I went shopping while the boys went geocaching. Mom bought me 4 plants for a housewarming gift. Then, we came home and she even put them in the pots for me. Thanks mom! So far they are all still healthy and alive. Hopefully they will remain that way.
After about 30 short hours at our house, we all headed back up to Dallas. Saturday was spent at Gary's house (mom's brother) and Saturday night they made me stay up till midnight! New Year's Eve is overrated!
Well, now we are back home and it's time to start job searching again. I had really hoped to have one by 2006, but apparently God thinks He has better plans. Anyway, stay tuned...tomorrow I will post pictures of our new friends!