On October 15th I was laid off from my job with absolutely no clue that it was coming. I hadn't been happy for several months, and just earlier that week, Hubby told me I should start putting out feelers to look for something else. Then we had a connection group meeting at our house and I asked for friends to pray for some clarity regarding my job. That clarity came less than 12 hours later when I was laid off.
What to do? Sit around and wallow and feel like a victim? Worrying what we would do without my income and a new house? OR
Look at it as the opening for something even bigger and better that God is setting up for me. Spend more time getting involved in AJ's school. Rest and reflect on what I would really like to be doing.
Someone wise reminded me this weekend that I only have limited space in my life. The past and the future cannot occupy the same space. So you have to move the past out to make way for the future. So I'm putting the past behind me and waiting anxiously to find out the next step.
I have sent my resume out to lots of different places. But in my industry, this part of the year is very slow. I have sent out to other opportunities, but haven't had much luck yet.
I know there is something really good coming. I just have to work on my patience...But I must confess, my attitude and stress level have improved greatly.
Whatever is on the horizon?
BRING IT!
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Fannish Cookers
More evidence that my son shares most of his genes with his Daddy:
Last night we went out to eat at a local Mexican restaurant because the Hubby was craving tamales. When the waiter came to take our order, AJ said (loudly), "Mommy, why all those cookers (waiters) talking in Fannish (Spanish)?
I explained to him that we were in a Mexican restaurant. He replied (again pretty loudly), "Mexican?! They REALLY like tamales here!"
Once his food came, he came up with an idea..."Mommy! I got an idea! We should come here to eat every day 'cuz these tamales are really good!"
Yippee...now I have two people in the house who would eat Mexican food three meals a day, seven days a week...(sigh)
Last night we went out to eat at a local Mexican restaurant because the Hubby was craving tamales. When the waiter came to take our order, AJ said (loudly), "Mommy, why all those cookers (waiters) talking in Fannish (Spanish)?
I explained to him that we were in a Mexican restaurant. He replied (again pretty loudly), "Mexican?! They REALLY like tamales here!"
Once his food came, he came up with an idea..."Mommy! I got an idea! We should come here to eat every day 'cuz these tamales are really good!"
Yippee...now I have two people in the house who would eat Mexican food three meals a day, seven days a week...(sigh)
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Meat Eater
AJ has been learning a lot about dinosaurs at school recently and is fascinated by the subject. In fact, he announced to me earlier this week that he is going to be a paleontologist. (That's a mighty big word for a 4-year-old!)
On Monday night he watched a show with his Daddy on the History Channel. It was about volcanoes. By Tuesday, AJ announced that he was going to be a paleontologist and when the volcano 'rupted, he would save all the dinosaurs.
Tuesday's project at school was cutting out dinosaur pictures and sorting them as either plant-eaters or meat-eaters. (This will come back to haunt me later...)
When I picked him up Wednesday evening, I noticed that he had not eaten the peanut butter crackers that he wanted me to make for his lunch. When I asked him why he hadn't eaten his lunch, he declared:
"'cuz I'm a carnivore. If you put meat in my lunch I will eat it!"
Guess I need to stock up on the proteins...
On Monday night he watched a show with his Daddy on the History Channel. It was about volcanoes. By Tuesday, AJ announced that he was going to be a paleontologist and when the volcano 'rupted, he would save all the dinosaurs.
Tuesday's project at school was cutting out dinosaur pictures and sorting them as either plant-eaters or meat-eaters. (This will come back to haunt me later...)
When I picked him up Wednesday evening, I noticed that he had not eaten the peanut butter crackers that he wanted me to make for his lunch. When I asked him why he hadn't eaten his lunch, he declared:
"'cuz I'm a carnivore. If you put meat in my lunch I will eat it!"
Guess I need to stock up on the proteins...
Monday, September 14, 2009
I'm still lazy
There has been so much going on lately between the unpacking, getting AJ settled into his new routine and school, and illnesses that I just haven't had the energy to do much more that a quick status update on Facebook. It's become a crutch for the things that I normally would have blogged about, but it's much quicker than beginning a new blog post.
The house is coming along. We still have a few more pictures to hang and some bookshelves to buy. We bought a really nice couch on Labor Day. It's huge; I can't bend my knees over the front of the cushions if I am sitting against the back. I feel a bit like Lily Tomlin's character "Emily Ann".
AJ really seems to like his new school. We found out on our tour that they will have the pre-K kids doing research on the internet, so Hubby went out and bought AJ his own computer. He is really doing well with it; much better than I would have expected. He could sit there for hours if we let him; just playing games on the PBS and Dis.ney websites. We also bought him some kindergarten software that teaches some math and science principles as well as the pre-reading activities. Kid is just too smart for his own good.
We are gearing up to have AJ's 5th birthday party in our new backyard. It's hard to believe it's been five years already. I keep asking myself where this big kid came from who has grown about 3 inches taller just this summer.
But life is good and we are truly blessed right now. My sanity seems (somewhat) to be returning :)
The house is coming along. We still have a few more pictures to hang and some bookshelves to buy. We bought a really nice couch on Labor Day. It's huge; I can't bend my knees over the front of the cushions if I am sitting against the back. I feel a bit like Lily Tomlin's character "Emily Ann".
AJ really seems to like his new school. We found out on our tour that they will have the pre-K kids doing research on the internet, so Hubby went out and bought AJ his own computer. He is really doing well with it; much better than I would have expected. He could sit there for hours if we let him; just playing games on the PBS and Dis.ney websites. We also bought him some kindergarten software that teaches some math and science principles as well as the pre-reading activities. Kid is just too smart for his own good.
We are gearing up to have AJ's 5th birthday party in our new backyard. It's hard to believe it's been five years already. I keep asking myself where this big kid came from who has grown about 3 inches taller just this summer.
But life is good and we are truly blessed right now. My sanity seems (somewhat) to be returning :)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Casualty of the move
Considering that we were a bunch of amateurs moving the stuff to the new house, we didn't really sustain much breakage other than a couple of glasses, the electric ice cream maker, and a vase from our wedding.
The most important loss has got to be Fred, our pet Betta fish. Fred had quite the personality and would get excited and swim to see the Hubby when it was feeding time. He almost looked like he was waving his fin at you. Fred got depressed after the move and spent more and more time hiding in his little house. We finally took the little house out of the tank to keep an eye on him. But then he wouldn't come up of the bottom of the tank. Hubby read somewhere that Bettas will do that when they are upset and depressed.
On Saturday, we went to the store to buy some medicine for Fred's tank that is supposed to be a "stress reliever". While we were at the store, AJ was busily picking out replacement fish. His Daddy explained to him several times, "Fred's not dead yet. Give him a chance."
On Saturday evening, AJ asked me whether "it's time for Fred to go live in the toilet." HUH? We had no idea where he got such a notion...
During the rest of the weekend, Fred seemed to be getting worse. You could actually see him gasping to breathe.
I was at home sick on Monday. Early in the morning, Fred didn't look good at all. By lunch, I noticed that he was lying on his side and had quit breathing.
We broke the news to AJ after school. He got really excited and wanted to see the dead fish. He asked again about flushing Fred and wanted to watch.
Hubby took Fred out of the tank, let AJ pet him, and took Fred to the bathroom for a private "memorial service." He wouldn't let AJ go with him, because AJ wasn't grasping the somberness of the occasion.
AJ just told him..."It'll be okay, Daddy. It's just a fish."
He has apparently moved on...
RIP Fred.
The most important loss has got to be Fred, our pet Betta fish. Fred had quite the personality and would get excited and swim to see the Hubby when it was feeding time. He almost looked like he was waving his fin at you. Fred got depressed after the move and spent more and more time hiding in his little house. We finally took the little house out of the tank to keep an eye on him. But then he wouldn't come up of the bottom of the tank. Hubby read somewhere that Bettas will do that when they are upset and depressed.
On Saturday, we went to the store to buy some medicine for Fred's tank that is supposed to be a "stress reliever". While we were at the store, AJ was busily picking out replacement fish. His Daddy explained to him several times, "Fred's not dead yet. Give him a chance."
On Saturday evening, AJ asked me whether "it's time for Fred to go live in the toilet." HUH? We had no idea where he got such a notion...
During the rest of the weekend, Fred seemed to be getting worse. You could actually see him gasping to breathe.
I was at home sick on Monday. Early in the morning, Fred didn't look good at all. By lunch, I noticed that he was lying on his side and had quit breathing.
We broke the news to AJ after school. He got really excited and wanted to see the dead fish. He asked again about flushing Fred and wanted to watch.
Hubby took Fred out of the tank, let AJ pet him, and took Fred to the bathroom for a private "memorial service." He wouldn't let AJ go with him, because AJ wasn't grasping the somberness of the occasion.
AJ just told him..."It'll be okay, Daddy. It's just a fish."
He has apparently moved on...
RIP Fred.
Friday, July 31, 2009
A New Reality
Well, we did it!
Last Friday we closed on the sale of our house and on the purchase of our new home. The previous owners of our new house are just the most AWESOME people! They have been so accommodating through this entire process of cancelled contracts and extended option periods...and I think I mentioned that they threw in the fridge, desk, and guest bedroom furniture into the deal.
Well, they showed up at the closing with a housewarming gift for us! They also mentioned that they had left a "few other little things" around that they thought we might like. Right off the bat, I noticed the two huge beautifully framed pictures that were still hanging on the walls. And the sprinklers, hoses, and hose racks left in the yard. Then, when the refrigerator was being filled, we found three (3) bottles of chilled champagne waiting for us!
Their new house has a swimming pool. They said we should come over to visit and bring AJ to swim sometime. Seriously...they are just really cool people...
Closing went very smoothly. Moving, however, became another story. We rented a 26' truck to move everything in. We apparently own more crap than will fit on a 26' truck, so we had to fill up all of the vehicles of our helpers, also. We made a caravan to unload at the new house. Then Hubby and a couple of guys went back in the truck to pick up the straggling pieces. We got a phone call a few minutes later...the transmission on the 26' truck went out. So everyone headed out with pickup trucks to transfer the rest of our stuff. By the time my dad drove up in his pickup, the brakes were smoking...Saturday morning they had to find a repair shop. Several hours and almost $500 later, we were back on the road.
Unpacking is going pretty well. We have some final "organizational-type" items that we will purchase this weekend to help with the process. AJ has been rediscovering toys that have been packed for a while, and LOVES his new playroom and bedroom. He is settling well into his new school, too.
It's starting to feel like home.
Last Friday we closed on the sale of our house and on the purchase of our new home. The previous owners of our new house are just the most AWESOME people! They have been so accommodating through this entire process of cancelled contracts and extended option periods...and I think I mentioned that they threw in the fridge, desk, and guest bedroom furniture into the deal.
Well, they showed up at the closing with a housewarming gift for us! They also mentioned that they had left a "few other little things" around that they thought we might like. Right off the bat, I noticed the two huge beautifully framed pictures that were still hanging on the walls. And the sprinklers, hoses, and hose racks left in the yard. Then, when the refrigerator was being filled, we found three (3) bottles of chilled champagne waiting for us!
Their new house has a swimming pool. They said we should come over to visit and bring AJ to swim sometime. Seriously...they are just really cool people...
Closing went very smoothly. Moving, however, became another story. We rented a 26' truck to move everything in. We apparently own more crap than will fit on a 26' truck, so we had to fill up all of the vehicles of our helpers, also. We made a caravan to unload at the new house. Then Hubby and a couple of guys went back in the truck to pick up the straggling pieces. We got a phone call a few minutes later...the transmission on the 26' truck went out. So everyone headed out with pickup trucks to transfer the rest of our stuff. By the time my dad drove up in his pickup, the brakes were smoking...Saturday morning they had to find a repair shop. Several hours and almost $500 later, we were back on the road.
Unpacking is going pretty well. We have some final "organizational-type" items that we will purchase this weekend to help with the process. AJ has been rediscovering toys that have been packed for a while, and LOVES his new playroom and bedroom. He is settling well into his new school, too.
It's starting to feel like home.
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