I'm all about the Wordplay

Check out my new blog!

2007-10-25T22:41:00.000-05:00

For all intents and purposes, I'm shutting down this blog.

Come to my new one at:

http://texasblairs.blogspot.com

Jeff and I are going to have a baby!!! I'm keeping record of my pregnancy over on my new blog. Come check it out!

Complaints

2007-05-25T10:56:00.000-05:00

Well, I've received a complaint that I haven't updated my blog, so this is for you Steve! Even though I really don't have much to say!

Earlier this week Jeff and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary. I can't believe it has been that long! That also means that this weekend will be our one year anniversary in Texas! In some ways I feel like we've been here forever, but in other ways I do feel like we just moved here.

We don't really have any plans for Memorial Day weekend, other than laying low and relaxing! We need to get some cleaning done, the house is a disaster. On Sunday we're going to a Texas Rangers game, and then on Monday we're going to hang out at our friends' parents pool.

I've been staying busy in my garden, with my hybridizing of daylilies. Check out my web page for all my babies! http://www.okblairs.com/2007Seedlings.htm

Not much to say...

2006-11-29T10:12:00.000-06:00

But I'll post anyway! Work has been really busy the last few weeks with a lot of end-of-the-year projects! As of Monday I had 7 open projects on my desk, but I just wanted to get them out of the way, and now I'm all caught up! I have a little time to breathe.

I still cannot believe that Texas A&M beat Texas last weekend! We were so excited. We decided to go to the Big 12 Championship! We found a good deal on a flight, and we can't wait to go. Our flight leaves early Saturday afternoon. It's definitely going to be cold though! That's the one thing I'm not really looking forward too, but it'll feel like good old Minnesota Football weather. I've become way too wimpy about the cold. The old me would be ashamed of the current me!

I had to buy Blaze a new winter blanket yesterday. I think I left her blanket in Oklahoma when we moved. Considering it was near 80 yesterday, and tonight's overnight low is 35, I think she'll appreciate a blanket. Her winter coat hasn't come in very thick yet. The craziest thing I learned about the great state of Texas yesterday is that anything I buy for my horse is not only tax exempt, but tax DEDUCTIBLE as well! Woohoo!

On a side note, I'm so happy more and more of my friends are joining blogspot! I love hearing from you, seeing pictures of you, and your kids!

Boston pictures posted!

2006-10-10T14:29:00.000-05:00

We made it home yesterday morning. We had such a fun time in Boston! The best part is, Jordan and Maureen hope to visit this winter! So much fun!

I've posted some pictures on Facebook, but the whole index of pictures can be seen here.

http://www.okblairs.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=Boston

Harvard and Boston Cream Pie

2006-10-07T19:24:00.000-05:00

Updating while I'm here in Boston.

Jeff and I are having a GREAT time, and it's so much fun to see our friends Jordan and Maureen! (And of course Baby Jack.)

We've done quite a bit while we've been here, on Friday we got up and went to a Marketing class at Harvard with Jordan. It was a lot of fun. For a split second, I thought it might be fun to try to aim for Harvard Business School, but then my better senses got the best of me. I probably couldn't get in anyway, but it was fun to sit in. It's a really fun atmosphere, and just seeing all the activities and events they have for these MBA students, it's awesome.

The Boston life, however, probably is NOT for me! We are way too used to our posh, suburban Texas life. This 1 floor flat, priced 2x our mortgage is just crazy.

After dinner we walked around Harvard Common for a while, and grabbed dinner at a hole-in-the-wall burger joint. It looked good... but we were wrong! Everyone else's burgers were good, but mine tasted like poop. For real. Jordan even tasted it, and he spit it out! I only ate one bite, but it was enough that I was sick for the rest of the night. Even much of the day today, I've been a little "off."

We went Downtown Boston today. Saw a lot of stuff! We started out at Cheers, but no one knew our name. (Dumb pun... Oh well.) Then we walked around for a bit. The richest neighborhood downtown wasn't too far away, so we walked up there, where John Kerry happens to live. He wasn't home, but we got pictures on his doorstep. Just up the street was Louisa May Alcott's childhood house. That was fun!

Then we headed up to the North End to see the "Old North Church" site of Paul Revere's famous signal that the Readcoats were coming by Land. It's amazing to be in that area knowing how OLD those buildings are, and just the significance of the history that happened right where we were walking.

We made it home in time to see the Sooners get stomped by Texas. Oh well, we'll get em next year.

I'm taking a lot of pictures, I'll have to get them posted when we get home!

BURGERS N BEER

2006-08-31T10:24:00.000-05:00

So there is a restaurant about 100 yards from the entry gate into my subdivision called "The Ranch House." No one knows it's real name though, because the only real identifying feature of this place is a HUGE sign on the roof that says "BURGERS N BEER."

Jeff and I have always been a little afraid to try it, because it looks like an old, run-down barn, and is just plain scary-looking. The parking lot is ALWAYS packed though!

My dad came over yesterday and played the golf course in our neighborhood. After he was done, we were going to go out to dinner. He suggested we give BURGERS N BEER a try, we reluctantly agreed. As we pulled into the un-paved parking lot (packed, as usual) I really think we were the only non-truck pulling into this place.

Once we got in, this place is really weird. It's like a pool hall/dance hall/bar/restaurant all in one. Figures. Ideal redneck hang-out. It really is just pretty much a barn- no walls or anything, just different groupings of items to segment the areas. So we sat down in the non-smoking section (boy let me tell you, their un-walled environment REALLY helps keep the smoke out....) and started looking at the menus. Our waitress suggested the fried pickles.. um, no thanks. She pressed us for like 5 minutes telling us how good they are, but we didn't give in. Dinner was un-eventful, but surprisingly pretty good.

On our way out, there was a couple eating the fried pickles. We thought "suckers, they gave in.." We asked how they were, and they said they're unbelievable. Huh. Maybe we'll give them a try next time. (if there is a next time) It was one of those things where you walk in and everyone knows you don't fit in, you don't belong there, and you're not a "regular.." But it'll do when we feel like getting in touch with our inner redneck.

Tonight, we're going to the Dallas Cowboys vs Minnesota Vikings game. I'm excited! It should be a lot of fun. It'll be my first pro football game! (Even though it IS pre-season... But I don't care!)

And then coming up on Saturday.. BOOMER SOONER!!!! College football season returns FINALLY! Now we have something to live for through the Fall. :)

GO SOONERS, BEAT TEXAS!!! (It's never too early to start.)

Now simulcasting...

2006-08-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my new Facebook readers! I am now simulcasting from my blogspot. I'm sure you'll be absolutely riveted to hear what I have to say. I have a lot going on in my life, you know.

I had one funny event happen last night... Around 7 pm it starts finally getting cool enough to go for a walk here in Texas. I also noticed the horizon darkening to the north. I checked radar, and sure enough, a weak gust front boundary was approaching. There wasn't much rain associated with it, and the rain that was, seemed to be pretty well to the East of me. So I decided to take Bailey for a walk as the gust front blew in. It was pretty scenic- you could see the nice rain curtain off to the east. To my shock and joy, it seemed to be coming closer. I had wandered pretty far from home at that point, so I decided we better head back, just in case the rain decided to come. Well, no sooner than I had turned for home, the rain began. This was no wimpy rain, we're talking like quarter-sized raindrops!

At that point, we started to run. Bailey was funny, I think she was actually enjoying it! We ran about the last 1/4 mile home, and she was tearing it up! She ran out ahead of me, I was surprised she had that much stamina! So anyway, we arrived home soaking wet, but it was worth it. It rained for about 20 minutes, we really needed it!

Update time

2006-08-18T13:00:00.000-05:00

I guess it's about time for an update. Not that I have all that much to report.

This morning I ran 1.75 miles and walked about 1 mile.

It's Friday, which means I'm SO ready for the weekend. 3.5 hours to go. Work is going well. I really enjoy my job, and LOVE the schedule. I got to go on a Property visit this week, so that was exciting. Hopefully my next property visit will be somewhere outside the state!

I had my first bad Dallas traffic day yesterday. My drive to work (usually about 30 min) took me 1 hour 10 minutes. There was a wreck with an armored car tilted halfway up on the median divider. I'd like to see how that happened.

I'm mainly posting this blog entry so I don't have to look at my face every time I log on. So I'm using up some space.

I've always been a Jim Cramer "Mad Money" fan, but here in the last week I've become a religious watcher. I love him, he is SO funny, and I block out 1 hour every night to spend in Cramerica! Check out his show, I guarantee you'll be entertained. Now, only if Jeff and I had enough money to play around in the stock market... Someday.

We booked our plane tickets to Boston yesterday. I was hoping the London terror scare would drive down ticket prices... And guess what, they did! Before all that happened, we were looking at about $350 each. I got a fare of $228! Yee Haw!!! We have to fly pretty early in the morning (7 am) but it's worth saving about $100 each. As an extra bonus, we've earned enough miles on our credit card that one of the tickets will be free! This will be a nice, inexpensive trip for us, where as a trip to Boston would NOT usually be cheap.

My brother in law moved into the dorms yesterday, and is now a Freshman at OU. I hope he has a great time! It's fun to think back to Freshman year and how new everything was- that first taste of freedom, meeting all kinds of new people, good times. I'm excited to go visit him for some OU FOOTBALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of football, only 12 days and counting until COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!!! I can't wait. Thursday night, August 31, I'll probably be watching South Carolina Gamecocks vs Mississippi State. I'll be cheering for USC! Then, that Saturday, it's OU vs UAB. Hopefully we'll be able to go to that game. Thankfully, it's a 6 pm game, so it shouldn't be TOO hot. We haven't worked out with the in-laws which games they're selling and which ones they're going to, so we'll see.

We don't really have any plans this weekend. I'd like to clean up the house a little, do some organizing, and what-not. We always go into the weekend with good intentions, but nothing ever happens. Maybe I'll be able to talk Jeff into going to the Galleria so we can get our G. Harvey painting framed finally. I'm ready to have this bad boy hanging on my wall!

Making progress and goals!

2006-07-17T14:00:00.000-05:00

This morning I ran 1.25 miles and walked 1.5 miles. Every week or so I add another 0.25 mile.

I defined a goal for myself yesterday. My mom being a survivor of breast cancer, the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure has a lot of meaning for me. My family has participated in several over the years. Well, in the past I've only walked the 5K.

I have decided that this Fall, on October 21, I am going to run the 5K in the Dallas Race for the Cure! Yay!

I think it's a great goal. I would love to make it to a place where I'm running 3 miles on a near-daily basis.

In the short term, can we please lose the heat, huh?

Oh yeah! I got a haircut! It was about 7 inches! Here's the before and after.

<---- Before

<------ After! yay!

Here's to better habits.

2006-06-26T10:03:00.000-05:00

I bought a treadmill on Saturday. And I joined SparkPeople, a really cool diet website. I'm going to try to do this on my own, before I go out and pay money for something like weight watchers. (The treadmill cost enough!) But anyway, on SparkPeople, I told them what I weigh now, and what I want to weigh. You fill in how often you intend to exercise, and then it gives you your weight loss goals. If I'm strict on myself, I could be near my goal weight by October! Wouldn't that be nice!

They gave me "goals" for every day in terms of calorie consumption, carbs, grams of fat, and protien. I enter in every food that I eat during the day, and their database already contains all of the nutrition information of all the food you eat- so it totals everything up for you, and you can compare that to your goals!

It also offers suggtested meals to help keep you on track, if you're not used to preparing healthy meals (like me!)

I'm really just sick of the way I look and feel, and I realize that if I don't lose weight and get used to exercising now, before we have kids, then it'll NEVER happen, so I better get going now!
My goal is to get up every morning early enough to run on the treadmill, and I started on the right foot today. Although I only ran 1/4 mile (pathetic!) I walked 1 mile. Gradually I will increase the running distance, and decrease the walking distance!

It really is eye-opening, however, to see all of the calories and grams of fat added up that you eat in one day... It makes you think twice before grabbing that cookie, or bowl of ice cream!

A lazy weekend in Tejas

2006-06-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

At this point, I have three different blogs. So now I'll just simulcast on all three.

Not much planned this weekend. My goal is to get a few more boxes unpacked, and maybe hang the cabinet pulls on the cabinets and drawers.
I subscribed to Blockbuster's netflix-type service this week. I haven't watched very many movies over the past few years, I'm looking forward to catching up a bit!
We are babysitting my parents' dogs for about the next 3 weeks while they go to Scotland. I'm so jealous! But oh well, that's why they're retired and I'm not. Maybe I'll go to Scotland when I'm retired. Bailey is ecstatic to have Morgan and Madison around, while they are less than enthused.
At some point, I need to take advantage of the fact that I'm in Dallas now, and take in some live Texas Country music. Maybe I'll go see who is playing this weekend.

Hair cut on the way!

2006-06-21T14:48:00.000-05:00

I made an appointment today to get my haircut on July 7, while I'm up in Minnesota. My friend Emily got her hair cut this week, and it looks SO cute! I made my appointment with her stylist, and I'm going to get close to the same thing. It'll be pretty short, for me, somewhere around chin-length! I've had long(er) hair for SO long, I can't even picture what it's going to look like! I hope I like it. But even if I don't, hair grows.

First Day on the New Job!

2006-06-06T11:13:00.000-05:00

My first day of work yesterday went really well! For about the first hour I met with Scott, my boss/owner of the company. Then he took me on a tour and introduced me to everyone, then turned me loose with the environmental crew.

I can tell I'm really going to love it here. There are so many other young people! I'd say over half of the people I was introduced to are within 5 years of my age, I think it'll be a really fun work environment. I'm was at a temporary cube for the day, while they set me up with my very own new laptop and docking station to plug into an LCD for when I'm in the office. Woohoo!!!!!! And a lap top bag and everything.. How cool!

I got to work yesterday morning in 31 minutes. Not bad at ALL! But, when I got here, it was an absolute ghost town. (It was a little after 7:30) So I sat in the car until 7:55, and there was still only 1 car in the parking lot! So then, I sat down in the lobby and waited a while. At 8:05 I figured I better go in, and my boss was in his office. So during my time with him, I asked him the hours he wants me to work. He told me the "technical" office hours are 8-5.. But he said most people show up around 8:30. He told me that, driving from Wylie, there will be days I'll get caught in traffic and it'll take me longer to get in. He wanted me to be sure that I don't fret over that. He said no big deal- he realizes it happens, and he doesn't sit and watch the clock wondering where people are. How nice! Of course I'll always aim to be here at 8, but it's so comforting knowing I wont be in trouble if there's a wreck and it takes me an hour to get to work.

My cubicle is so nice, it'll be fun to decorate! With the revolving shift work at Weathernews, I never got to decorate it as my own or anything, so it'll be fun to bring in some pictures and make it mine.

They give us an hour for lunch, but I'll usually only take about 30 min since I plan on bringing my lunch most of the time. So, most days, I should be able to leave around 4:30. I'll for sure be able to beat rush hour that way!

Feeling Nostalgic

2006-05-19T09:06:00.000-05:00

I went down to Duncan last night for my brother in-law's high school graduation. I just got to thinking about high school, graduating... I barely remember anything about my graduation! haha!
I'm missing those days lately. Care free, the biggest thing you have to worry about is a little teenage drama.. I miss hanging out with friends out in the boondocks all night, no work to go to the next morning. I wish high school reunions weren't so cliche. I'd love to get together with everyone again and hang out. You know, there are some people that you were acquaintances with, but you'd never call them up to hang out if you were in town. It's those kinds of people I'd love to see.
Today is also my last day at Weathernews. As I sit here in the office, it's so weird to think that this'll be the last time I sit here, see these people, go through this routine.
I'm excited to move, but it's definitely bittersweet.

SOLD!

2006-05-11T16:06:00.000-05:00

We sold our house on Wednesday!!!!!!

Now, the tragedy begins. The buyer wants to close before the end of the month. So that means... We have 19 days to visit houses, pick one, make an offer, negotiate, schedule a closing, close, move, and close on our house! Yikes. I don't really know how that's going to happen, but we really need God working with us on this one! He's been so faithful in timing everything else for us.. But I'm having a hard time trusting Him on this one...

Celebrate Good Times, Come On!

2006-05-08T16:31:00.000-05:00

I'm breaking the silence! Everything is finally official! Whew does that feel good.

After a grueling weekend of waiting, I finally have some great news to report! I was offered and accepted a job with Jones, Hill, McFarland, and Ellis this afternoon!!!!!!! I am SO excited. God is amazing in His provision of this opportunity, just at the right time! I will be an environmental consultant.

We have not yet worked out a start date, but I did put in my 2 weeks notice at my current job this afternoon. So, sometime around the end of May or beginning of June we plan to make our move.

Some possible good news on the house-selling front as well... We recieved an offer on our house yesterday, and we presented a counter offer. We are still waiting to hear back on that counter. The only thing that could make this day better is if our house sold on the same day! Wouldn't that be nice?

Thank you all for your love and prayers through this extended transition period of our lives. We have definitely felt it! We can't wait to be together as a family again.

UGH!

2006-05-05T10:50:00.000-05:00

I'm dying!!!!!!!!!! No call yet.

This is torture!

2006-05-04T12:54:00.000-05:00

Did you have a boyfriend in high school? I'm having a feeling today that I don't think I've had since high school. It's that "my boyfriend just told me 'we need to talk' but we can't talk for a few more days" feeling in my stomach. You don't know what's going to happen, what they're going to say...

So I'm feeling this about the Consulting Firm I'm hoping for a job with! My second interview on Tuesday went pretty well (from what I could tell!) They told me they'd let me know BY Friday. So me, I have this brilliant thought in my mind that "maybe they'll call today." Now I know they wont, but I can't get it off my mind. I have my phone sitting next to me, some scrap paper, and a pen so that the second my phone rings, I can run off to the conference room.

I want this job so badly. I know that I can fall back on going to school, but I'd really prefer the job. I'll be pretty let down if I don't get the job.. We'll just have to see!

So I'm a complete jumble of nerves. This day has been near torture! Just sitting here, wishing, hoping, WILLING my phone to ring. I don't know if they'll contact me via email or phone, and so every time I see my Inbox get a new email, my heart skips a beat. "Is it them?" Nope, Jeff again! hahahah!

I swear, this is worse than my interview! I don't get it. I guess it's just knowing that my future changes forever tomorrow. (or today if they call!)

Prayers, please!

2006-05-01T22:36:00.000-05:00

Please keep me in your prayers tomorrow morning! My big (2nd) interview will be tomorrow (Tuesday) at 9:00 am. Please pray that everything goes well, that I won't get too nervous, and that I will come across as calm and collected, rather than the nervous wreck I'll be! I'll just be glad to have it over with. Thanks for all your support!

Back to life, back to reality..

2006-04-28T07:10:00.000-05:00

Things could start getting very real within 4-5 days' time. My 2nd Interview with Jones, Hill, McFarland and Ellis is on Monday at 2:30 pm. Hopefully they will offer me a job on the spot, or shortly thereafter! And then, life will REALLY get crazy. We'll need to start house-hunting, but at the same time, we've gotta sell our house before we can put an offer IN on a house! God has a lot to line up for us, but I don't doubt Him. This whole situation has been amazing, and a testament of how my timing isn't necessarily God's timing, but that Jeremiah 29:11 is more true than ever. He will take care of us.

I'm also excited for everything to become "official." While a lot of my work friends know what's going on, it's been a huge part of my life for the last 6 months, the fact that my husband is in Dallas, and I'm here! I've had to guard everything I say, speak in whispers, etc etc! I also haven't updated my Xanga forever because some people at work know where that is, so I can't really say more there. So once everything is official, I'll probably be running the same blog on both sites since I have friends in both places.

When I get off work today, I'm headed down to Dallas yet again. I plan on staying up here next weekend.

Now, lets hurry up the rain.

Things keep happening!

2006-04-18T19:20:00.000-05:00

So, are you sick of my updates yet? After months and months of nothing happening, everything is happening at once!

I got an email today from a professor at SMU. He offered me a full tuition scholarship and Research Assistantship beginning this summer! Crazy!

The stipend it pays is pretty low, but it's definitely something to consider! I'm very comforted at least knowing that I have a "Plan B" if I end up not getting the job at the consulting firm!

Please continue to pray that God will lead us in the direction of His will!!

Report on my Interview!

2006-04-17T21:27:00.000-05:00

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers today! The interview went very well. He (the owner and founder of the firm) told me that he had a very good first impression of me!! My interview was about 1 1/2 hours long. He wants to bring me in for another interview, meet with 4 other people, and meet the people I'll be working with. So it all sounds very promising!! Our tentative date for the next interview is 2 weeks from today, but I'm trying to see if we can work out anything sooner than that.

So keep praying, we're pretty hopeful about this!!

Please pray for me on Monday!

2006-04-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

I woke up on Friday morning to a surprise- an email extending me the opportunity for an interview with an Environmental Consulting firm here in Dallas! (Well, Plano, actually) I had all but given up hope of any of these firms considering me (pre-Masters Degree), but now here I am with an interview!

Anyway, it's tomorrow (Monday) at 3:00 pm. Please pray for me! It's in a GREAT location, and would be absolutely perfect for us. Of course pray for God's will in the situation, but we sure would love this job!

Thanks for all your love and support.

Officially For Sale

2006-04-12T12:28:00.000-05:00

Well, our house is now officially for sale, we listed it with a Realtor. For some reason it feels so much more permanent... Like, no turning back now. The house looks so beautiful, I'm very sad to be leaving it. I wish we could pack it up and bring it with us!

I don't really have any other news. My Aunt and Uncle from Seattle as well as my Aunt and Uncle from Minneapolis are flying into Texas today to stay through Easter weekend. My brother called me this week and wants to surprise the family for the weekend by flying in, so I'm picking him up on Friday afternoon, then we're driving down to Dallas. It should be a lot of fun! I get to stay through Tuesday, so that's always a plus.

Then, the weekend after Easter, Jeff is coming back up here and we're holding a garage sale! Although, my realtor said she wanted to have an open house that day... Not sure how that will work. Anyway, it's the weekend of the Moore city-wide garage sale. Hopefully we'll be able to make a little side cash. It's going to take a lot of organization, though, which I usually lack!

Done with the GRE!

2006-04-04T13:53:00.000-05:00

Yee Haw!!!!!

It feels so good to be done with the GRE. What a relief! And I totally wasn't expecting this, but it turns out that when you take the computer-based version of the test, you get your scores immediately!

So, on the Math secion I got 710 out of 800. Yippee!!!! SMU requires a score of 650 for admission.
In English, I didn't do quite as well- 540 out of 800. Can you tell I didn't take ONE English class during college? hahaha! But all SMU requires is 400 so I'm still golden.

So now I'm working on my application, hopefully getting it in the mail today or tomorrow! I'm on my way!

Time for an update.

2006-03-30T15:36:00.000-06:00

I spent last week in Dallas while my parents were in Hawaii. I was babysittin the dogs. WHile there, contacted 3 Colleges in the area, requesting a meeting to learn more about their graduate school programs. 1 didn't respond at all, 1 responded by telling me "You can find the information on our web page." Thanks. And a third rolled out the red carpet for me! They scheduled an appointment, and I met with them on Monday.

My primary meeting was with the Grad Student "liason" or whatever for the Environmental department, and she was able to answer a lot of my questions.She also set up an appointment for me with the dean of admissions! (no pressure!) The meeting went very well, I think I impressed him. He said it would of course depend on my transcript and test scores, but he gave me an unofficial "you're in!" Woohoo!

The biggest change he brought about was that he strongly encouraged me to get my Masters in Environmental Engineering rather than Environmental Science. He said that not only will both degrees be considered for the same jobs, but the Engineers will also have a whole other pool of available jobs that "scientists" won't. He said on top of all that, Environmental Engineers will make about DOUBLE what an Environmental Scientist would.

So, after meeing with him, I met again with the liason lady. (She spent 3 1/2 hours with me!) We got to talking about money, and how I was deathly afraid of how to pay for this. (It's a private college, and tuition is $$$$!!!!) She told me how the school has a program that if you work for one year on campus, full time, then tuition is FREE beginning after you've completed one year! FREE! So then, she was like "lets just see what jobs are available right now.." She found a job that is the administrative assisant to the dean of Mechanical Engineering. It pays WHAT I MAKE NOW as a meteorologist (can you say wow?!) So if I could get this job, we wouldn't be taking a hit in pay, and after a year I'd get a FREE Masters! This liason lady is SO nice and has made it her personal goal to get my hired for this position! She ran around that day and talked to everyone in charge of hiring, telling them that "I'm the girl" and whatnot! Amazing!

The way this school (SMU) has treated me is incredible, and I really hope this all works out. Keep us in your prayers... Summer school starts on May 31. Between now and April 15, I need to take the GRE test, apply, and be admitted to grad school.... In order to start in the summer semester! Life will be crazy, but the end may be in sight for Jeff and me living apart! Woohoo!!!Please pray that if this job isn't the right one, that I will find another on-campus job that pays well so we won't have to take much of a hit in pay! It feels like God's will is beginning to become a bit clearer, and I hope He will continue to clear the path for us!

2006-03-06T12:18:00.000-06:00

Woot!

So, tomorrow could see Oklahoma's first tornadoes of the year! This morning looked iffy, but the 12z models that have come out look better!! about 2000 Cape, and LI's up to -8! Wow! Of course, the whole metr. community is experiencing our "first of the year" hysteria, so all should be taken with a grain of salt.

All I know is that if I weren't working tomorrow, I'd probably head up toward Weatherford/Enid! :)

In other funny news, I had to break into my own house yesterday.

With Jeff gone, I'm always paranoid about being home alone, etc etc. Normally when he's here we don't lock the door from the garage to the house. But with him gone, I always lock it. I try to remember to unlock it before I leave the house, so I can get in easily when I get home.

Now, when I carry my so-cute-and-trendy Coach purse, of course it's tiny and only meant to hold a tube of lipstick. I have both my regular keychain (including key to the house) as well as just a single key for the truck. So, I decided to use the single key to conserve room in my purse. (Can you see where this is going?)

So I get home from church, chinese takeout in hand. I'm walking through the garage, and get to the door. Turn the knob, it doesn't move. CRAP. I knew immediately I was locked out. Great.So I ran around the house, looking at every window. Thank GOD I had left one of the windows unlocked!! I had to pull out the screen (I bent the frame, oops) and then lift up the window. It was the window to our office and we have a TV and TV stand in front of that window... So I had to climb through, over the TV, over the stand, etc etc.. All in my Sunday church clothes.. I'm sure it looked hilarious. Jeff said he would have loved to see it. So moral of the story is that I PUT AWAY that single truck key, I'm not allowing myself to use it anymore. So that way I'll ALWAYS have my house keys on me! lol! dumb me.

Domo Arigato!

2006-03-02T13:26:00.000-06:00

Woohoo! This sure warrants a second update today!!

My boss pulled my group into a conference room for a meeting yesterday. They told us all to rush-order passports (I already have one, woohoo!) Because they're sending us all to JAPAN for a week!!! I'm SO excited. They said they'd take us sometime in April, details to follow.

I'm SO excited!!!!Then I asked him today about bringing Jeff along. He said Jeff is welcome to come (on our own money, of course.) However, my supervisor said he'd probably get bored. He said that our days over there will be long, and I'll be with the Weathernews people almost all day. He said just about the only time we'd see each other is when I went back to the hotel to sleep. He made it sound like we wouldn't really have time to do any of our own sight-seeing, because we'd be gone from morning until after dinner time every day. That's so sad, we wouldn't even get to have dinners together! But maybe I'm just imagining a worst case scenario, I guess I'll know more when I get an actual itinerary.

He did say that they try to give you 1 day off while you're over there, so we'd basically have 1 day to sight-see together.

So, I don't know what to do now!! I would LOVE to have him along. A 12 hour flight each way will get lonely! haha It just depends if he feels comfortable sight-seeing by himself while I work? I don't know if its worth it.

But I do know that if Jeff were going somewhere exciting on a business trip, I'd want to come along, even if I was going to have a lot of down time! But, we looked at flights and it looks like its about $1000 or so. That's a lot of money for him to spend 6 days sitting in a hotel room halfway across the world!! ha.

I feel like I have a future.

2006-03-02T07:52:00.000-06:00

It has taken me long enough, but I finally feel like I know what's going on, I have a plan and a future. :)

So? I'm going back to school!!!! GASP! I never thought those words would leave my mouth. Additional schooling was always the last thing I thought I wanted.

Maybe I'll get my masters degree, maybe not. Basically, I need to take some environmental engineering classes to become qualified to do environmental consulting. Some of the colleges in Dallas offer Environmental Certifications, as well as a full Masters. As of right now, it makes more sense to go ahead and get my Environmental Certification. That will only take hopefully 1 or 2 semesters, and then I can go ahead and get a job. Then, if I feel like completeing my masters, these colleges allow you to apply those certification classes/credits towards your full Masters. So that way, I can make my employer finish paying for my masters.

It just makes sense. The world is only becoming more and more environmentally aware and conscious. It will be a good and booming field to be in. Unfortunately, this means we're probably going to be dirt poor for the next year or two, and there's no way we're going to be able to buy a house. It's a big thing to swallow, the thought of moving from a house to an apartment. But, we're keeping our options open, maybe we can find a town house to rent or something.

Anyway, the field of environmental consulting is huge, and there are TONS of firms that offer it. I've been corresponding with a girl who currently works at one, and said they are really laid-back and willing to work with you. She said there are some moms who work part-time, and they let them do a bunch of work from home. That would be SO ideal. As much as I'd love to be a SAHM full time, I think the lifestyle we want to live just won't support living off Jeff's income alone. So the next best thing is part time work that I can do at home.... Then I also have advanced education once the kids are in school and I can take more hours at work again. It's going to mean some sacrifices in the next couple of years, and unfortunately will most likely push off babies for another year or two (boooo) I think it'll be worth it in the long run. At least I hope. So it feels good to finally feel like I know what I'm doing, and that I actually have a future! I'm in the process of contacting grad schools now. I hope it all works out!

American Idol This Week...

2006-02-24T03:31:00.000-06:00

My reflections on American Idol:

I'm not overly surprised about those voted off this week.

Stevie Scott: Good riddance! I couldn't believe how terrible her performance was. I'm sure she sings opera beautifully, but her talent simply didn't translate into pop music.

Becky O'Donohue: I guess I'm marginally surprised she's gone, especially at the slot of the LEAST votes? I honestly was expecting Heather Cox or Kinnik Sky to go. I wonder if it has anything to do with Becky and her sister's Maxim photo shoot. Not exactly the family image American Idol is looking for. I wonder if it was an easy way to get rid of her without making a big fuss about it? I heard they've been on Fear Factor too. I don't like people like this (ie Constantine last year) who are just looking for any avenue to make it on to reality TV.

Bobby Bennett: Was anyone surprised by this? Not me. No comment, really, other than he seems like a fun guy. Just doesn't cut it.

Patrick Hall: I'm not surprised he didn't make it to the final 12, but I guess I am surprised that he was gone so quickly. He's talented. I thought Bucky Covington should have gone last night.

Some other random comments:

Ace Young reminds me of Constantine, except with a few improvements! I wasn't feeling the "Constantine stare" at the end of his song though. Yes, Ace, you're hot. I just think he's getting more attention and will be carried further than his talent warrants, simply because of his looks. He's good, but there are more talented guys there.

That being said, my favorite guy at this time is Elliott Yamin. I hope he gets his teeth fixed though! haha! They're distracting. But I love his voice.

My favorite girl, and my pick for the winner, is Katharine McPhee. I looooooove her. I think she's great.

Watch for my weekly Idol picks and reviews! :) See ya next week.

Life in Full Throttle

2006-02-23T01:31:00.000-06:00

I finally found an energy drink that I like. I've tried several, Red Bull included, and just about puked with each sip of nasty energy soda. So which one is good? Full Throttle! It's made by Coca Cola, so I should have guessed that I'd like it. It tastes like gummy worms! Yum.

I'm a bit disappointed that I finally find an energy drink that I like, and then I get the announcement at work that as of next week, there are NO MORE OVERNIGHT SHIFTS!!!! WAHOO! So now I'll never need to buy another can. Oh well. I don't have to live like a crazy person anymore, bending my body to my will of deciding when and when not to sleep.

Jeff came home last weekend, and is coming home again this weekend! How lucky can I get? We are definitely feeling the effects of the old saying "Abscence makes the heart grow fonder." Jeff has always been sweet, but he has been even sweeter lately. Sending me nice emails about what a great weekend he had, how much he appreciates me, and so on.

Bailey is with me this week. She's funny. Last night, I left her in our bedroom around 9 pm while I went to work. There's no telling exactly what she did, but I have a feeling it didn't take her long to settle in and go to sleep. I got home around 7:30 am, and she was sound asleep on my bed. So cute! So there's a nice 10 1/2 hours of sleep for her. She was awake for 30 minutes while I got ready for bed, and we went back to bed at 8 am. We slept until 3:30 pm. That's another 7 1/2 hours of sleep! So Bailey got 18 hours of sleep yesterday. Now THAT's impressive.

I woke up this morning with Texas on my mind..

2006-02-16T13:16:00.000-06:00

I'm having trouble with blogspot. It just doesn't seem as user-friendly as Xanga. Oh well. Most of my friends are here now, so here I stay.

Originally Jeff and I were talking about how we set a goal for March 1 for me to officially move to Texas. The more we talked about it, as much as we'd love to be together again, it just doesn't make sense. We can't make a house and apartment payment on 1 salary. Just isn't going to work.

I hate living without my husband. I hate having communicate and maintain our relationship on the phone. I hate waking up alone. I hate becoming obsessive-compulsive, checking every lock in the house before I go to bed 3 times, then finally locking myself into my room. It's a fun little ritual I run through every night.

Bailey has been in Texas with Jeff since early January, but I brought her home with me yesterday. So that has been nice to have a little life in the house again! She makes it fun to go home again.

Please pray for us. Finding a job that I am qualified for, heck, even MARGINALLY qualified for has proven to be extremely difficult. I know God has to have something planned for us, but it is so hard to wait. Jeff looked for a job 15 months before he got this job. Am I going to be living here still this time next year?

Pray God will continue to make us content, and lean 100% on Him rather than our feeble plans. It would be nice if I could get one little piece of encouragement, however, by getting a call back on a job. :) I've been looking for 5 months already? Wow.