Wanted (Employment Ad)

Ok, so I had to laugh and then post this. This was on themercury.com (our local newspaper online) today:

EMPLOYMENT Opportunity: Rapidly expanding health care clinic looking for front desk receptionist with six arms, six legs and the ability to do 12 things at once. No experience necessary, we will train. Computer skills a plus. Send Resumes to: (address and phone number were listed).

Having worked at a doctor's office I know how true this is.

Friday Syndrome/Feed the Hungry

Ok, so maybe I'm not being as busy as I should be today at work. I checked a friend's blog this morning. He works here on campus and lives in Wamego with his family. They were part of our church ward (congregation) but then we grew too big and they gave Wamego their own branch (smaller congregation). So, I check Rik's blog once in a while to see what his family is up to. Like me, he loves photography and does lots of fun stuff with it. He's better than me, and obviously has more time to play. I'm jealous of that.

Anyway, today I'm alone at work and not working as hard as I should be and looked at his blog. There I found this: http://www.freerice.com/ It's a fun vocabulary game. When you get a vocab word correct they (supposedly, we hope for real) dontate 20 grains of rice. Now, I'm sure it's not donated 20 grains at a time since it adds up so fast. Yesterday they donated 285.5 million grains of rice. So, have fun building your vocab and feeding the hungry. Short attention spans won't feed many! :) I got 4,000 grains of rice today, which did take quite a while. I did it between work projects for a break. It did take a while, but gave me an incentive to get stuff done here at the office.

Let me know how you do!

Shift Happens-Updated

The Things They Say

Dinner Part 1: I don't know why but we were talking about cheating and how you're not suppose to and then...

Logan: Mom, I cheated today.
Mom (flaberghasted): What? What did you cheat on?
Logan: I was playing a game (Halloween party at school) and I couldn't get the ball in the cup and I kept missing. So, when the teacher wasn't looking I put the ball in the cup.

The next day...

Logan: We cheated again.
Mom: What? How?
Logan: On the longhorns. You colored all the longhorns in but we didn't read that many books.
Mom: We've read books, and magazines, and scriptures, and I'm sure a lot of other things. It's ok. We've done it.
Logan: No, we didn't. You/I cheated.
Mom: Fine, we'll catch up. (I just wanted him to get his free pizza. Geeez! We do read, I just don't always mark it down, and we don't read as regularly as we should.)
Shane: Don't worry Logan. We all cheat sometimes.
Mom: What? When did you cheat?
Shane (backtracking): Um, we all cheat when we're younger. I haven't cheated. I don't think I have.
Mom: You'd better not cheat at school!

Dinner Part 2 (I think the same day/dinner):

During dinner a couple nights ago, Logan, who is almost always tired by then (and yes, he still occasionally falls asleep while eating, or at least while sitting at the table) was being very cranky. He was about half asleep and we told him that if he wanted to go Trick or Treating then he'd have to eat his dinner first. Of course he wanted to go, but he was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. Aunt Betsy had made a fun meal and he wasn't too pleased with it. He was complaining about being tired, and about the wierd drink she had made. She had mixed sprite, green koolaid, and merachino cherries together. It really wasn't as bad as it sounds. She also made pigs in a blanket, which was called something with "mummies," maybe mummy dogs, I don't remember, and bloody fingers (french fries with some baked on ketchup). There insued a bit of a conversation about the food and then (probably not in their words):

Logan: This is yucky! What's in it?
Betsy: I made this special Halloween meal just for you...tells about the food and the drink.
Me: Logan, that wasn't nice. Be nice to your Aunt Betsy. She wanted to make this special for you.
Logan: (while half crying and with his eyes closed.)I am trying to be nice.

He really was, but it was really funny at the time.

I've got it!

Wow! I don't know how more than a month got by without my even reading my own blog.

I finally figured out a name for my not so booming photography business. Now if I could only find the time to do it... Let me know what you think of Outdoor Portraits, Inc. Very simple, and it doesn't seem to be taken online. In the little time I've had recently, I've worked on some pictures I took earlier this summer. I'm finding new ways to edit my digital pictures, and am very pleased to say that the darker indoor pictures that I've taken are looking much better.

I'm planning to take Golda and Jeremy's engagement pictures over Thanksgiving weekend. Other than that, if we can find time, my schedule is open. :)

It's Up to You

So, on and off I consider developing a photography company of my own. At some point I should get together a business plan to see how feasible this is. Any takers? I'm now trying to come up with a good name for this make-believe, possibly future, company. I want your ideas. But, before you give me all your ideas, please Google them. As you will find, all the good names are taken. Someday (hopefully within the next year if I can screw my head on straight) I will have a website and a booming business- hopefully not just the make-believe one that I often dream of.

Oh, and my website will include the senior pictures I took last year, several family portraits I've taken over the past few years (not our family), pics of my kids (without names of course), and pictures from Golda and Jeremy's wedding. Um, I need to get moving on this so that I have a website to put the wedding pics on. Did I mention that besides my future brother-in-law who is wonderful at geeky web-related stuff, I also have a good friend who has developed many, many sites? Yes, I've gotten him a good new site to do too, and a free site setup is my payment. I can maintain it once it's up. :)

Don't forget: I want your ideas!

Bad Day Blues

Yesterday I had a pretty awful day:

Shaun called me at 8:30 am with the news that he was leaving a day early for Colorado- this time bringing furniture out- on one of the busiest days I was to have for a while;

My morning was swamped with work, as usual;

A lunch date was canceled, but I ended up having lunch with Betsy so that was great;

Logan got sick on the school playground- found this out as Betsy was bringing me back to work after lunch, she dropped me off at my car;

My car wouldn't start, so I had to call Betsy to come back and get me after she'd been gone for several minutes, then had to drop her off for a work orientation and then go pick up Logan and then an hour after getting home had to go back to get Betsy, then go back to my car to call AAA- but my car finally started (!- no idea what happened and why it didn't start before but I'm bringing it in tomorrow- that's if I can get it started);

Missed class due to being at home with Logan, but my teacher is great and didn't have a problem with me missing my second day of class;

Rescheduled a chiropractic appointment (that I really need) due to an unreliable car and not wanting to use Betsy's because she needed it too;

Had a meeting at 7 pm for the Rocky Ford Preservation Committee Meeting, having to leave the boys with Betsy who was already watching three daughters of one of Shaun's coworkers because he is with Shaun and his wife works nights;

Finally had some quiet time after the meeting- Pam (my neighbor) and I went out for dessert- and garlicy mushrooms- after the meeting;

Came home and the kids were all asleep, except for Shane who loves to read too late- it was 9:30- YAY Betsy!

Now, I thought my day was bad until I read this, this morning: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130144061675 It's an ebay auction for pokemon cards- but it's absolutely hilarious. She has another item on ebay, both of which sold for lots of money even though the items cost her less than $20 each. Then I found her blog: http://mom2my6pack.blogspot.com/ I suggest starting on the bottom and reading from there up.

Sooooo, I'm no longer feeling like yesterday was the worst day ever. Logan is feeling a little better, on and off when the fever is down due to meds, and he's not have a vomiting episode. He's apparently caught a virus that's going around pretty good here. My teacher said that several of her students didn't make it to their first classes with her because of this virus. I also ordered dinner tonight which Betsy was picking up on her way home from Ft. Riley- have I mentioned how great she is? I'm ready for bed...it's only 6:04 pm.

Home and Family Life

We're really enjoying having my sister, Betsy, living with us. She's been such a great help. The boys are enjoying their "real summer" and I'm enjoying being less stressed. It's helped me so much to know that she is there for them when I can't be. I'd love to be a stay-at-home mom, but since that's not feasible for us, Betsy is the next best thing. As a stay-at-home Auntie, she's been able to bring the boys to the library, to play group, helped them get their chores done early in the day, brought them to fun places (like the museum on Ft. Riley yesterday), done crafts with them, and I'm sure many more things which I'm forgetting. She also likes to plan dinner, which is always wonderful!

Betsy was afraid I'd be jealous of her spending the time with my boys while I'm at work, but I'm not. Yes, of course I'd love to be there too, but she's getting some great bonding time with them. And they are loving it, too! Overall, her being here has been a wonderful experience for us all. No one could possibly know how much it's helped. Soon school will start- Logan's first day of kindergarten!- karate classes will resume, my classes will resume, and life will be back to normal. I'm happy to say that Betsy will be right there with us in this. She's going to be working and taking classes. The evenings and weekends will always be too short, and we'll never have enough time together as a family, but that's how life is. No matter how busy we are or are not, there's never enough time for fun and love.

Ok, so I know I'm painting a pretty picture here and it's not always so happy and pretty, but I hope Betsy is enjoying it just as much as we are. We really do appreciate her, and she needs to know it. I should also mention that Betsy and the boys picked me up for lunch today, and that's something else that we'd never get to do if she wasn't here.

Update

So, after all my anxiousness, I didn't get the job. In fact, I'm pretty sure a friend of mine will be getting it as she had a second interview late yesterday. I was never called for an interview. I'm very happy for her, although I'm also a little surprised. She needed the position more than I did, so for that reason I'm happy. God works in mysterious ways. Maybe there's going to be something better in my future.

On a good note, after talking to my boss last Wednesday and yesterday, I'm feeling much better about my current situation. I've always liked this job and wasn't really looking to leave it. My boss is going to phase her retirement and the Provost will probably be hiring someone in the next few months to do her position, or may even reorganize his administration. It seems that even if there is reorganization, it may work out in my favor. There is a chance that the Director position could be turned into an Associate Provost position. This may very likely give my position the boost that it needs to go to an unclassified position of Project Manager, Admininstrative Assistant, or the like. In order to become a higher classified position, or an unclassifed position, my job duties must change. I'm already doing the work of at least two people and am very overwhelmed. If they are able to reclassify me there may be a chance that I can get another person to help, or at least more student hours. My hopes are really high for this! If something doesn't change for the better I'll be burnt out on this job VERY soon.

Hoping for the Best

Arghhhhhh!

I applied for a job a couple weeks ago. To see the job description go here: BRI Office Manager. This position seems to be perfect for me. It would be a wonderful career move and would provide us some extra income to pay more on our house, put money into savings, and provide educational accounts for our boys. These are things that we've been wanting to do for a while but money has been tight.

The job itself seems to be right on track for me. Since starting classes here at K-State, by goal has been to get into the area of Employee Relations and Training. I have really enjoyed the Conflict Resolution courses that I've taken, and I will continue to work toward a Certificate in Conflict Resolution (I'm half way there). The position of Office Manager, in this level 3 biosecurity research center, is more than I could have dreamed of. My boss thinks that I am more than qualified and says that I need to make sure not to sell myself short. My experience in the University Attorney's office and especially my experience in my current position in the Office of Academic Services, has prepared me in the areas of policy, accounting, and training, among others. I annually prepare the Department Head's Manual, the University Handbook, and the Committee Handbook. My current job duties are too many to expand upon on this blog. Just know that I'm very busy and have a very important job. It's also fun- at least in my opinion. I've met many people in meetings that I would have never met otherwise. I also have learned and grown so much in the past few years. It's both amazing and humbling.

So, at the beginning of the month I applied for the BRI Office Manager position. This position is a very highly sought after position, partially because of the pay. Personally, although the pay is definitely an incentive, I am most interested in the position because of what the BRI is doing and because this is the type of job that I've always kept my eye out for. I really do think I'd be good at it. Anyway, the position description says that applicants will be reviewed starting July 9th. I sent my cover letter and resume a week before this date, to be sure that it made it there before a rush of applicants, in hopes that it would be reviewed and remembered. Since there is a search committee reviewing the applicants, I know that the process will not be a quick one. This morning I called the BRI in hopes of finding out their timeline. According to their plans, they hoped to hire someone by August 1. Well, they must have had a wave of applicants because they are still reviewing them, which does not surprise me. As I anxiously await word on whether or not I will even receive an interview, I'm getting more and more nervous and excited about it. I at least hope to be interviewed. I'm trying not to get my hopes up and not knowing what my chances are makes this hard.

I should also mention that while I have not been actively pursuing other jobs, I now must keep my options open. My boss has decided to go on Phased Retirement this coming January. This means that my office could be part of a reorganization effort by the administration. It is not yet clear if this office will be merged with another, left how it is, or wiped off the organizational chart altogether. For this reason I am being very cautious. Currently a classified employee, I have job security which means, by policy, that I will be placed somewhere if my office was to be closed for good. However, where that would be, or who I would work for, is all up in the air at this time. No plans have been made, to our knowledge, to do anything about this. It worries me that my job could be eliminated.

That's My Boy!

This was taken this morning while Logan was at swim lessons. Aunt Betsy was there with him. She didn't know who the photographer worked for; now we know! I'm the proud mama! (This was taken by a photographer for our local newspaper.) Go here to see it on the online paper: http://www.themercury.com/ I'll get his permission to use this on my blog...

Update: for archived photos go here.

Photo Fun

After a fun morning with Logan going to Walmart, the farmer's market, and then brunch I had the chance to take pictures of my friends Trudy and Max. Trudy and I have been friends since the first day of high school, almost 16 years ago. Our mothers met first through officers' wives club shortly after we moved to Manhattan. Trudy and I had heard each other's names a few times but didn't meet until about nine months later, after at least one near miss in a stairway during our eight grade year at the middle school (I heard a friend of hers calling for her in the stairway but didn't actually see them). We met in Mrs. Hoyt's social studies/ governmental studies course. Either we introduced ourselves to the class or the teacher took role, I don't remember which. Right after that we introduced ourselves to each other. Our moms had asked if we'd met enough times that we knew each other's names.

Since that first day, we have been good friends. We each hung out with the same group of friends as well as other groups. We had classes together including choir and did the high school musicals together. After high school we lost touch for about a year and a half and then found each other again (I showed up at her parent's house to ask her mom where she was and how to get a hold of her and she was there too!). Since then, we've stayed in touch on and off, living through lots of life's trials together. She was also in the room when I gave birth to Logan. Now Trudy is married, with two stepsons, and one baby on the way. She's due on July 2 but will most likely have the baby early... and boy are they ready! So, after her baby shower Thursday evening I offered to take pictures of her, Max, and the "baby belly." Here's a few of my favorites...

Cub Scouting

Shane has been a cub scout since he turned eight. We have had lots of fun with it. I was looking at the pack website today online and decided that I should share it with all. The photo albums are fun to browse through when you have a little time. There you'll see lots of pictures of Shane, from 2004 to now. You'll also see a few bad pics of me, lots of the back of Shaun's head (Blue and Gold Banquet this year) and even a few of Logan fishing each year. It's really fun to see older pictures of my boys!~ At least I think so. :)

http://www.pack77cubscouts.com/index.cfm

Wow! So, I guess it's been over a month since my last post... Here's a quick update.

I got an A in my Core Conflict Resolution course! I thought I would but a couple of the homework assignments had me worried. Those, and the fact that the final paper had to be based on a personal conflict and was 40% of the grade had me a litte worked up toward the end. I did my paper on basic conflicts Shaun and I have with raising the boys with our different values and religious beliefs. I concluded that our personal values is where we conflict the most, as Shaun is not active in his church, other than attending a short mass once a week. No, noone will be reading that paper! -I've promised him. I'll be taking a Divorce and Child Custody Mediation course every weekday of June. This also counts toward the Conflict Resolution Certificate and Mediation requirements for state approved mediator lists.

Logan had surgery earlier this month (um, or late last month- I can't remember exactly when at the moment- it's late). He had a meatotomy and is almost totally healed now. He had preschool graduation a week prior to the surgery and is looking forward to a summer of fun at preschool (including swimming lessons) and kindergarden starting mid-August.

Shane has finished his soccer season and is just starting summer baseball through the city. He's got a busy two months ahead of him. He'll also be going to Texas to visit for a week! We still have to practice chilli making at home!

Shaun just got back from a trip to Colorado. He and a coworker painted half of the duplex that they are building. This half has now been sold to a local contractor to help with the overall cost of the building. We can't wait to be able to go to Colorado just for fun when all is done later this year. After two years of the building process, we're ready!

Shift Happens

Another interesting web video...

glumbert.com - Shift Happens

This is full of all kinds of amazing statistics! It was linked to K-State's weekly IT newsletter. Have fun watching!

Our Foundation

I've recieved the below story as an email a couple times. It's worth blogging! As I often do, I've changed the title.

Our Foundation - A father wanted to read a magazine but was being bothered by his little girl, Shelby. She wanted to know what the United States looked like. Finally, he tore a sheet out of his new magazine on which was printed the map of the country. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Shelby and said, "Go into the other room and see if you can put this together. This will show you our whole country today." After a few minutes, Shelby returned and handed him the map, correctly fitted and taped together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly. "Oh," she said, "on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got all of Jesus back where He belonged, then our country just came together."

Isn't it amazing how easily things fit together when our priorities are in the right order?

Let's Converse

For some time now I've wanted to put together a book of my favorite, or other thought provoking, quotes (scapbook style). Since that probably won't happen I've decided to share them on my blog instead. I see the bottom two of these quotes quiet often, in email signatures of coworkers, and the top one just came through in an email signature a couple days ago. I always enjoy taking a moment to think about them. I hope you do too, and please share your thoughts. Thanks!

"Think of these things: whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account."--Benjamin Franklin

“Opportunity is missed by most because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” --Thomas Alva Edison

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail." --Ralph Waldo Emerson

Before and After

Before.....

After....

It's much fluffier than it looks! EVERYONE in that I know, and even many that I don't know, have complimented me on my new do. It's a good style for my face, or so I've been told numerous times! Shaun is the only person who doesn't like it. He REALLY liked my long hair. I did to, but I think I can get use to this, at least for the summer.

Web 2.0

Watch this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE

Then read this! Feb 6 article: http://www.k-state.edu/infotech/news/tuesday/archive/2007/02-06.html#spotlight

And then this: Today's article: http://www.k-state.edu/infotech/news/tuesday/

A K-State professor (assistant professor of anthropology) made this video and it's getting LOTS of hits. It's really neat to watch and only five minutes. Have fun watching!

Presidential Pick?

http://www.mittromney.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney

I've read about several of the Presidential candidates and was really impressed by this one. Yes, my curiosity was first due to the fact that he's Mormon, but I was determined that this not be a deciding factor for me. I'll vote for whomever I think will be the best U.S. President, no matter what their religion. This is a decision that I consider to be very important, and very personal to each and every one of us.

Since he is Mormon, I'm sure there will be people who will strongly oppose Mitt Romney as President. Hopefully people will consider his credentials and not put so much weight on religion. Most people have met Mormons and have a preconceived impression of us. Hopefully those people have had good impressions and consider us good neighbors, friends, and business people.

Whatever your first thought about a Mormon for the U.S. President, I hope that you read his site, and also read the Wikipedia site regarding Mitt Romney. I consider both to be very informative, as well as impressive. As for me, I'll continue to look at all of the candidates and will make my decision based on whom I think will be best for our country. I look forward to this Presidential race. It is a very vital one for our country's future.