Good-bye November...

Hello December, California, Christmas, and my birthday! (and yes, in that order!)

I don't have a lot to update about, I just wanted to say I hadn't forgotten you! They sent out an email about my new position on Monday, so a lot of people have been calling and emailing to tell me congratulations. Apparently this was a highly-sought-after position, so I'm sure not everyone is overjoyed that I got it. Oh well now! And if we end up having kids within the next couple of years, they wouldn't have to wait too long before they could apply for it again! So anyway.

It was about 20 degrees outside when I woke up this morning. And we only keep the house around 50 at night, so it was quite chilly at 7 AM! Here comes winter... wake me when it's over!

Thanks(giving)

First of all, I just wanted to say thanks to anyone who read this and was praying for me (or for anyone who didn't read it and prayed for me anyway!),  because I appreciate it.

Second of all, I wanted to say that I GOT THE JOB!!!!!!!!

I got the phone call and verbal job offer this morning, which I accepted, and a written job offer will follow. I won't start until basically the beginning of next year (Jan 2 or thereabouts) to help cover vacations at our branch. But YAY yay yay I got the job! I'm so excited!!! (I know that comes as a real shock!) I think, to celebrate, I am going to buy some new work shoes soon (I needed some anyway, but now I'll do it celebratorily), and maybe go out to dinner with my wonderful husband. Not tonight or anything, since we're going to get more than enough food tomorrow, but possibly soon.

So, thanks once again, and yay!!

Second Interview Update

Second interview went well. I have a good feeling. Three people in on the interview this time, interviewers A and B from the first interview, as well as one other person (the one I would be assisting). I think they liked me, and from the way they were talking it sounded like they want to offer me the position. They said I would know in the "near future," so hopefully that means soon! I will of course keep you posted.

Here's a difference between Wisconsin and Southern California - in CA, the weekend before Thanksgiving is just another weekend, getting us closer to the holidays. In WI, the weekend before Thanksgiving means open season for deer hunting! Church was 2/3 empty, and I only had three kids in my Sunday School class! Opening weekend is a big deal out here. I told Adam before we got married, I'm never going to protest him hunting, but I'm also never going to go hunting out there with him in the cold, so we have an understanding :) I'm working on finishing Adam's hunting scarf, so he can use it when he goes out Thanksgiving after we eat.

Well, that's about it for now. I will let you know when I know about the position! :-)

Post-Interview... Post :)

So! The interview went well, I think. There were two people interviewing me, and I felt like interviewer B would hire me, but interviewer A (the one asking most of the questions) was a little harder to read. I think I gave intelligent, pertinent answers to their questions, and after I asked my questions, interviewer A said "Good questions!" So I think that's a good sign, too. Also, I found out this afternoon that apparently I have a second/follow-up interview probably Monday. I think that's a really good sign!! So just keep praying, and I should know more within the next couple of weeks.

Well, I'll leave it there for now. Maybe more later.

The Pros/Cons of Groupon

So I love Groupons. I don't buy as many as I want to, but I went through a spurt where I bought a lot. Trouble is, they are in Madison, which is about 35ish minutes away from where I live, and closer to 45ish minutes from where I work. So even though they are good deals, I have to factor in the drive time and scheduling problems. I had one Groupon I had to use by the end of the month, so a little while ago I called to make an appointment (for a mani-pedi, yay!) and they only had ONE appointment that fit my schedule. Really? Come on. So I took it, even though it was a Tuesday night appointment. At least the salon was really nice, and I love my manicure and pedicure! The color I got on my toes is probably my new favorite -
it's called "Wocka Wocka" by OPI (the new Muppets Collection!) :-) Those aren't my fingers (or toes!! haha) in the picture, I found it online, but the bottle picture does NOT do this amazing color justice! Anyway, I love it. And I got a gray for my manicure. I've been wanting a gray polish, and I even had a dream where I had gray polish on my nails, so I figure now my dream has come true :) I like it ok, I'm not sure if I would do it again. I mean, I like it, but maybe it's just because it takes some getting used to. Considering the fact that I always have hot pink or bright red on my nails (or nothing at all), this is quite a transition for me!

I'm getting a little nervous about my interview. I got my resume printed last night so I can take a couple of copies with me. Remember to pray! I actually had an epiphany-type moment last night about the job - I was letting one friend know I could babysit for her, and another family from church wanted to know if I could babysit for them, and I let them know I could, and it made me feel so happy that I could help and be useful, and that I can am (for lack of a better word) "needed." I don't know if I can really explain it, but I just felt full and I realized that it doesn't matter what I do for my job, because I have friends (friends! Out here in Wisconsin! Who knew!) that I can help, friends in my life. I'm not sure if I'm really communicating it well, but it was a great feeling.

All right. That's enough for now. And look at that - my first picture! Even though it's not me (or my husband, or my dog, etc), it's still a picture! Can you believe it? :-o I told you they'd arrive eventually!!

Interview

So I have an interview! I was searching internal job postings, and I saw a position that I think I would really enjoy. I applied, and although I have similar experience, it is in an area that I have not really worked in before, so I wasn't really thinking anything would come of it. But I got an email last Friday saying they wanted to schedule an interview! So this Friday I have an interview in the morning for this new position! It encompasses a lot of aspects I already like about my current job, without other certain things I would rather not do anyway. And it'd be at a branch closer to home, cutting my commute time nearly in half! (from twenty minutes currently to more like twelve minutes, haha). Anyway, I'd appreciate prayers regarding this: that I'd be confident during my interview, not too nervous beforehand, and that I'll get the job unless God has something better planned for me! Thanks in advance, and I'll definitely keep you posted.

What's missing?

Pictures! Of course! I need to get some pictures up here. It will help illustrate the story of my everyday life.

oh, you wanted some right now? Yeah.. um I don't think I'm prepared for that at this moment.

But stay tuned! I will hopefully be jazzing up my future posts with some pictures :)

Not so great

Last night, I started to get a headache. At first, it was just annoying, but not that bad. Then, it got progressively worse, and I also started to feel nauseous if I stood up. So I made a fire in the wood stove (which Adam was very, very proud of - odd, because I thought I had done it all wrong) and made Adam snuggle with me while I had a hot compress on my head. When I got up this morning, the nausea was gone, but the headache remained. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm going to try to leave work a little early to get some rest.

Also, here's another difference between WI and Southern CA - when it rains in WI, people can still drive. When it rains in Southern CA, everything slows down by at least 15 MPH and it's like we're on severe weather alert... for rain! Come on, Californians, I know it doesn't rain very often, but that doesn't mean you have to ride the brakes to work!

All that to say - it's raining here. Which isn't good. Well, I mean, it's good because it means it's not snowing. However, it's not a good thing because it means snow is on the way :-( I could handle the cold much better if we didn't also have to deal with snow. C'est la vie!

Good news!

First good news - my brother and sister-in-law, who are expecting, found out the gender of their baby - it's a boy! (I decided not to use "it's a boy" as the post title for fear some people would misinterpret it... no baby news for me and Adam yet!!) I thought it was going to be a boy - and I already made them a boy blanket, so it works out nicely! Whenever Adam and I do have kids, I would like our first baby to be a boy, because I like the idea of our kids having a big brother. Of course, I would be totally happy if our first baby was a girl, too! As far as that goes, I would like to have at least one of each gender - beyond that I'll be happy with whatever the Lord decides to give us! Again - no personal news on that front yet - but yay for my on-the-way nephew!!

Speaking of babies, Friday night, my church offered free babysitting (for an optional donation) for the evening for anyone (people who attend our church) who wanted to have an evening free. Adam and I went to help, and one mom and dad brought their three kids, who are about 6, 4, and maybe 4 months! So, since it was three high school boys, Adam, and myself who were there to watch the kids, I was the default "baby" watcher. And let me saw, that little boy was a great baby! He didn't fuss or cry, he was just hanging out, taking in the world, and dozing occasionally. I felt bad that he didn't really sleep, but I certainly didn't mind baby time! He was a real sweetie.

Second good news - we caught the mouse!! I checked this morning and saw that one mouse was caught near the fridge (so I'm figuring it's the culprit who startled me the other night). Of course it grosses me out too much to touch it, so I texted Adam to see if he'd get rid of it when he gets home. He's the best husband ever (and I told him so)!

My mom is coming out to visit this weekend. I'll try to update again before she gets out. She is going to (try to!!) teach me how to quilt! So wish me God-luck!

Late night and a quirk

So last night, Adam and I fell asleep on the LoveSac. I woke up a couple of hours later and got up to brush my teeth, etc. When I came out in the kitchen, I thought I saw something, but it was dark and I had taken my contacts out, so I convinced myself it was nothing. Then, I really did see something - a dark blur dashed out from under our toaster oven, ran down the cupboards, and went under the fridge, fast as a flash! I gasped loudly, and Jasp came in from the living room to see if he could help! Well, he came in to check on me, at least! Meanwhile, Adam was still passed out on the LoveSac. I can only assume it was a mouse! Yuck! Now we have another mouse to catch :-( Oh man that really freaked me out, though. I was glad Jasper wanted to protect me, though :-) He's the best dog ever!

Also, I have this windshield wiper quirk. Whenever it's raining/snowing, I never want my wipers to be going faster than other people's. I'm actually a lot better than I used to be - I used to always check other cars to see how fast their wipers were going, and slow mine down if I was going too fast. I don't know why it bothers me - I guess I don't like the idea of someone driving past me and thinking "what's with the fast wipers?" Even though I know it doesn't matter at all. I mean, if I want to have my wipers on all the way, I can do whatever I want! And like I said, I'm better now - I only occasionally peek to see the wiper status quo, and even when I do, I usually just keep it at whatever speed I have it on. Weird, I know!