Life as it is...lots of fun!

It's almost February, but this month has been really full of fun stuff.

After getting back to town, getting back into work was pretty hard-- and I had some big ups and downs with my job. But I'm trying to take on a new outlook. Work is work, and it doesn't have to be who I am or affect how I feel about things. Lately the tensions at work have been difficult for me to see past, and all of the issues just come up over and over again. So I've decided to realize that my life is more than all of the mess at work. I am going to work like crazy to do my best there, but after doing my best I need to leave all the work stuff behind. If people decide to get in an uproar over the latest situation, I should calmly face it head on and then forget about the stress and go home. (Easier said than done, huh?)

Let's see...um, last weekend was one of my favorite weekends. Friday night we went to a see a Bluegrass band. (Which, by the way, isn't something I would normally choose.) I love live music, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. We went to a gathering event with our church on Thursday and met some new people who invited us. Then we went to a movie on Saturday. Then Sunday a bunch of us went to a live taping at the Grand Ole' Opry House, called "How Great Thou Art." It was a collection of gospel hymns sang by popular country music stars, like Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Ronnie Milsap, Trace Atkins, Sara Evans, Loretta Lynn, and Vince Gill. It was a great show, and really cool to see all of those people live. Vince Gill sang a song I love called "Give me Jesus" and Charlie Daniels sang "I'll fly away"-- another song I love.

This weekend has been a lot of fun, since Ash's birthday was Thursday, we've been celebrating all week. Thursday we went to the Ringling Bros. Circus at the Sommet Center. (Which was WAY cool! ) Last night we had a ton of our friends over for a wild (just kidding) party at our apartment. We played fun games like "Psychiatrist," "The Question game," and a new one called "Wise or Otherwise" that is like Balderdash, but you use half of a famous/funny quote instead of a word and it's definition. We had Mexican sodas in a tub of ice, corn dogs, french fries, and cupcakes and other fun foods.

I'm learning to love busy weekends just as much as the quiet and relaxing ones! Ha, ha, the girls used to complain about not having stuff to do and I just wanted to stay in and hang out and watch movies-- but now I see what we were missing.

Happy New Year!

I've been to Michigan and back since last time I wrote. Christmas was great. It was relaxing and snowy and fun. I am so grateful that I got to take a few days off. I left for home on Saturday the 22nd and came home Sunday the 30th. The best part about being home having everyone in my family home. It's hard to take that for granted after not having it for a long time. I also got to see my beautiful Michigan girls, who I haven't seen in forever! Then Candlelight service at Church on Christmas Eve, after Steak and Shake and seeing National Treasure-2. Christmas day was relaxing and casual. I got some amazing gifts. For instance:

I didn't do anything big for New Year's Eve. I had to work all day and then it was kinda nice to just go home make dinner and hang out. Then yesterday, Amanda and Ashley and I took a road trip to......Chattanooga. : ) Here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Happy December!

I've been neglecting y'all (catch that?), so I thought I'd better hurry up and say something before you decide I'm never coming back ever again! : )

Things are going great here in the land of 20 degree nights and 60 degree days. They (you know...the weather forecasters) say that there's a cold front coming in from the crazy weather up north, but I'll believe it when I see it. It's been pretty mild here, it's easy to get used to.

I've been having lots of fun getting ready for Christmas-- only 2 more people to buy for! (Don't you wish you knew what I got for you?) I have to keep myself from telling my roommates what I bought for them... I just can't wait.

I've been going to a small group from church. They call them community groups. My groups is young single girls. It's been great getting to know people at church. We meet on Sunday nights and usually try and get together on Thursday nights before Church. That's a night when all the young adults at church get together for praise and worship and listen to someone speak. In a couple of weeks we're going to help throw a Christmas Party for some inner city women. It's a dessert get-together for about 50 women. We're also having a party with one of the guys groups for games and white elephant gifts before Christmas. Should be lots of fun.

Work... well, I'm learning that work is work. I tend to be pretty open about who I am and what is going on in my life, but what if it's better not to be so open at work? Honestly, my biggest motivation for being there is to make money to live on. It's turned out that my job is a lot different than I first pictured, and some is good and some not so good. Like the gossiping and the corporate politics. Some of my co-workers are very nice on the surface, but they can be awful when you're not looking. Fortunately, being the youngest, I am left out of some of that because they see me as just a sweet kid. It's been interesting seeing things unravel as they are. Today marked my 3rd month. What I was excited about? Getting vision and dental insurance!

So I promised, and here they are:

Pictures of my apartment!

--Kitchen/Eating Area--Living Room (with Grandma visiting)--My Bedroon--

Settling in...

My days are starting to fall into a regular pattern. It seems fitting for this time of year. I love the smell of the fall air as I'm driving to work. It's still so warm (even in the morning), but it feels like fall. I always dreaded the nervous feeling of starting a new school year, but I do remember the nostalgic feeling of starting fresh. You know-- new pens and notebooks, catching up with friends, wearing new clothes...

Work changes every day. It's been a little bit overwhelming in the last couple of weeks. For awhile, I was learning another big part of my job every day and I felt like I didn't have enough time to try and accomplish anything because each time I turned around someone was telling me it was time to train for a new task. It took some time for me to feel comfortable enough to ask for a little time to catch up. I have a lot of responsibilities and I'm really enjoying taking ownership of some of them.

So on to the less dry parts about my job... haha. One of the best parts about each day is what goes on around the office. Just the jokes and the fun and the Southern phrases. My co-workers think it's fun to teach me every "Southern" phrase they know.
Here are some of my favorites:
1. Y'all (the classic)
2. fix'n (I always get a good laugh when I hear "I'm fix'n to fix that problem...")
3. drew up (means shrink, as in "My pants done drew up in the dryer.")
4. Bless your heart! (means one of two things: "WHAT are you thinking?" or "I feel bad for you..." but both are always accompanied by a slow shake of the head.)
5. Hootie-Who! (hollered with a celebratory shake of a fist)

There isn't a day that goes by that we aren't laughing about a YouTube video or how worked up our boss gets. One of their favorite jokes is on me. They like to talk about how some of them started working at this company before I was even born. I have to admit, that is pretty cool. (Just between you and me, I like their teasing- it makes me think they've accepted me.)

So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. But I'll have to post some pictures of my beautiful room some other time. I finally have things hanging on the walls and such. It's been so fun to decorate. I almost wish I could start all over just because it's so fun. : )

Big news!

I haven't been updating very often, but now I have big news! I have a job!! I start tomorrow at at a local food manufacturing company. I'll be working in the Supply Chain department as the logistics analyst.

Besides that, we moved into our apartment!! I'll post more pictures soon, but here's one of the view from our balcony during a rain storm.

Monday Morning

I found out that I didn't get the job at Samaritan's Purse. I was really dissapointed to get the letter in the mail. I felt a little defeated too. I thought the job was going to be what I was looking for and such a great fit... but they must not have thought so. In fact, today I noticed the job was re-posted as available. I'm having a hard time dealing with why they wouldn't have wanted me for the job. I know there could be a million different reasons, but I feel a little hurt by it all. After 3 interviews for one job I got my hopes up I guess.

So I'm looking for more opportunities. I search online every day for companies in the area to apply to, for job openings, and I've called both staffing agencies I'm working with to let them know I'm still looking for something permanant. So now I'm doing more waiting and praying for patience.

This weekend was nice. just filled with normal weekend stuff. Garage sale-ing, laundry, grilled chicken and hanging out.

I bought a cool cookware pan at a garage sale. It's my favorite color. : )

It matches my set of dishes.

I'm at work right now, but there isn't anything going on. I finished my stack of things to do, and I have a little while until the attorney's will be back from court. So far, today's been a pretty good day for a Monday.

Last Week

Last week went by so fast. I've been getting more and more things to do at work lately. For awhile, I didn't have anything to do-- until the attorney discovered that I can do some of the work she needs. So now I'm busy, but it does make the days go by faster.

Monday night was the Fray concert, it was so cool. I like small shows, but this one was such a production that it seemed epic. This weekend we went garage sale-ing and furniture shopping. We bought a really cool dining table for our apartment and I got a paper towel holder... but that's it. : )

AND I had my 3rd and final interview at Samaritan's Purse. I'm really anxious to hear back from them. They said they would know in the next week and a half. I'm just praying that as they make the decision, they will remember the finer points of my interview and the things I said about why I really want to work there.

Tomorrow is Monday, groan... I don't feel rested from the weekend. I'm ready to have another weekend already. Well, it's good to be earning money!

Happy 4th!

It's wonderful to have a day off, I've been looking forward to this for 2 weeks! : ) I am glad to have a job, but I don't really enjoy it.

So here's the big news, I had an interview on Tuesday with Samaritan's Purse. It went really well I think. Looking back on it, I think I said all the right things, and did everything they say you're supposed to do during an interview. AND, I have a follow-up interview with the regional director's boss next week. So I guess it's a good sign that they asked me back for another interview, they must have liked me.

I still really want the job, and feel like it would be a great fit for me. But I'm feeling some doubts and I'm anxious about it all. I shouldn't be having doubts, I should be happy. It might be a long week waiting for the interview to come.

I have an interview tomorrow that I'm really excited about...

...because I think I really want the job. I've realized that it's important to me to find a job where I'm excited to be, I actually want to go to work, and I can learn a lot and contribute more as time goes on.

This interview is for a job with an organization I knew about before I moved here, and the office is really close to where we're going to live. I think my skills and personality will really fit the job, and I feel like it's what I'm looking for. I'm nervous and excited--I really hope I get this job... : )

Monday

This is the second week for my temp job at the law department at the city. They are interviewing for a paralegal, so hopefully they won't need me for much longer. I'm really glad that I'm working, but I don't enjoy working there. The attorney's are nice, however they can be a little intense (which comes with their job I guess). I just can't really do the work they need me to do, and it's frustrating to sit and do nothing all day. I actually don't mind not having anything to do, except when the attorney's there. She is always walking by my desk and I feel like she is giving me shrewd looks judging me because I'm not busy with work. But I've organized the whole office, washed all of the shelves and desk surfaces, alphabetized the binders, straitened the filing cabinets. After doing all of that I can't come up with anything else I can do on my own. And when I ask them if they'd like me to do anything, they get impatient with me. But I've realized it's not my fault the phone never rings or that I don't have outlook so I can't keep their schedules, or that they don't give me work to do.

So today the attorney left the office for the afternoon and the assistant attorney told me to surf the internet or something! lol. I must have played solitaire at least 25 times. It was nice. : ) luckily I also had a book with me today so I read and did internet stuff too. I feel guilty for sitting there and doing nothing, but they want me there to answer the phones and take messages for them when they're not there--- so I need to just relax...