NEW JOB!!!

*****Jason and I will be starting a new job the same week!!! *****

That's right, I got a new job!!! Most of you who read my blog know how sad, irritated, disappointed, frustrated and just plain old MAD I am with my job. Our company got bought out a year ago in June and it has been going down-hill since. We have had many, and I do mean many lay-offs recently. Our company just isn't stable. I have been putting out my resume to different companies over the past few months just like everyone else I work with. We finally had a meeting with our new owner and he says we are "stable" but we are not doing the kind of work that we market. I am not satisfied with many things and I knew it would just be a matter of time. I had sent my resume to Unity Healthcare, Clarian and Purdue University. With PU, they send you daily matches and I pretty much applied all that sounded like something I would want to do. Well..............last Friday afternoon, I got a call from Mike at the International Student and Scholars Admissions Department. We talked for a while and we set up an interview for this past Wednesday. One of my good friends, Cinnamon, used to work with Mike and she did give me a good reference. **THANK YOU CINNAMON*** I went in there with a positive attitude, and I think I just really impressed him!! I also met with one of the counselors as well. She was so sweet and I really liked both of them and I just knew this had to be the job for me. I was told I was in the top three position for this job and that I would know something early next week. I left there feeling quite satisfied and happy with myself. I tried not to get my hopes up though. I wasn't totally sure that I wanted to get out of the medical field but thought this may be a great switch for me. Mike called me yesterday and asked if I could come in today to meet the rest of the staff so I agreed. I walked in and we went to a conference room and I had to sit at the head of the table! I am not generally a shy person but talk about being put on the spot!! I kept thinking to myself that I have to sell myself to these people as I thought its up to them if I get the job! After I answered all their questions, I met with Mike and he told me had had already interviewed the other two candidates and we discussed when I might start if I got the job. He said he was going to talk with the staff and he may have an answer as soon as TODAY!! My heart was pounding and I was so excited!! It felt so right but yet I had to WAIT. So, I went back to work and was just gleaming. The girls at work knew how excited I was. One hour later, yes, just one hour, I got a call from Mike and he offered me the position!!! I was thrilled!!! Of course I told him I would have to talk it over with Eric and that I would get back with him soon. I called Eric and we discussed the pros and cons(not that there were many at all!) and decided I would take it! I called Mike back and we set a date for me to start--August 6th!!! I was a little sad and even got a little teary eyed when I told my boss and my former boss. They both understand this is a great opportunity for me and wish me the best of luck! I have four more days at ICM and I am sure I will shed a tear on Thursday even though I am going to start a new adventure!! Thanks to all of you reading this who said a prayer for me!!!! Everything is falling right into place.....................new home, new job and next on the list is a baby!!! Everything happens for a reason, right??

Weekend Recap...............

Well I decided to take the day off on Friday. With the way our company is heading, any vacation time I have, I am going to take it. Kennady wanted to stay with me so she spent the night Thursday. My friend, Kristi, called and we decided to go pick blueberries at Pre-Lock Blueberry Farm. We got an early start but it was still VERY HOT!! Each of us got a bucket with a bag in it to start picking. They assigned us a row and away we went! The kids did good in the beginning and as time went on, they got tired and were really hot. Pictured below is from L-->R:
Kristi, Nina, Sophie, Aaron and Kennady.

The longer we went along our row, the hotter it was and the kids decided they would go see the horses that were by where we came in. They got to feed them and pet them and here are some pics of that.................Nina, Sophie, Mia...............

Nina, Sophie, Kennady and Mia
Nina, Sophie, Aaron, Mia and Kennady

After the blueberry farm, we went to Arnis and ate lunch and then hit the pool. Below are pics of the kids at the pool.......................................






It was so hot out and I got a lot of sun. The kids were worn out and they enjoyed their day picking blueberries and swimming.

Friday night, Eric and I went out to dinner with some friends, Rich and Cinnamon. We love going to Asahi and so that is where we went. "Monkey Boy" cooked our food and he was on a roll that night! He even let Eric balance an egg on a spatula! It was so much fun and the food was great!!!

Here is the group with "Monkey Boy" after a great meal....................................

Here is "Monkey Boy" himself, showing off!!!

After dinner, we all decided to go see the new Batman movie. It was excellent and we had a great time. Thanks again Rich and Cinnamon for a fun evening!!!

SATURDAY.........................

We didnt do a whole lot considering it was so hot out. I did a little cleaning and then we did go to Wal-Mart with Mom and Megan to get the girls' school supplies. Every school year, my mom buys my nieces their school supplies. This year, we had a little race and we teamed up to see who could get everything on their list the quickest. I was with Madison, Eric and Megan were with Riley and Mom was with Kennady. It was really busy in there as I think everyone in town was getting an early start on school supplies. We had to try to hurry so our team could win and at the same time, we had to dodge people in the aisles! It was fun and the winner was Riley and Eric! We were all so close so we said that everyone was a winner though!!!

After Wal-Mart, we went to dinner at Jason and Jen's. We had a really good dinner and then we headed home. When we got home, Amber and Jay called for us to come over for a while. We went over there and had a few drinks and visited with them. Before we knew it, it was almost 2am so we headed home!!!

SUNDAY.......................

Eric went to see Batman with his family today and I went to Indy with my Mom and Barb. Eric said he was glad to see it more than once as he probably missed a few things from Friday night. Mom, Barb and I went to eat at Cheesecake Factory for lunch before we began shopping. I am sad to say that we had the worst service ever!! We sat there for 45 mins before we even got any bread!! We never got refills on our drinks w/o asking and our server was really really slow. The food was not good at all but we did share a piece of cheesecake and that was awesome!!! So, after lunch, we went shopping at several places including JoAnns, TJMaxx, Shoe Carnival, Keystone Mall and Archivers. I am so excited b/c we are going to take a class at Archivers to make an acrylic photo album. I guess acrylic is the new thing? I am hoping to start purchasing the clear stamps to make many things. If you have not heard of Archivers, go to their website at www.archiversonline.com. It is an amazing store! I wish we had one here in Lafayette. After shopping all day and with the crappy lunch we had, we were hungry so we headed to Olive Garden where we knew the food would be great. We had wonderful service and our food was awesome! We headed home and now I am getting ready to go to bed for a full week ahead of us!!

Tomorrow I have to go to the dentist so he can finish my root canal. We have to finish getting our house ready for our home inspection which is Tuesday. Tuesday is our home inspection to be foster parents. Also, our niece, Camryn is having tubes put in her ears so please keep her in your prayers. We would like to try to go to our county fair on Wednesday night. Gotta get an elephant ear! ha! I also have an interview on Wednesday so please say a prayer for me! Thursday I am going to bunco at my friends. Friday we have a wedding. Saturday I think we may go to Indiana Beach for the day and Sunday my friend from high school will be here and we have my father-in-laws birthday! Its going to be a busy weeks so I will keep everyone up to date on things as i can! Have a great week!

CONGRATS, JASON!!!!

So my brother, Jason, has not really been happy with his job. His current job is not his ideal job and he has to work every Saturday, with only one day off a week--Sunday. His employer was not that family friendly and that was just not the right job for him. For those of us who know Jason, he is a die-hard BOILERMAKER fan and with the football season coming up, working Saturdays is not in his plans. So, he received a job offer from a different company and it was a perfect match for him. It a job that is more what he is interested in and the bonus----no working on SATURDAYS and they are a family oriented company!! Jason found out for sure today that he has been hired and can't wait to start. So Jen wanted to surprise Jason and she sent all of us an email to see if we could meet for dinner tonight to celebrate his new job! We all met at Logans Roadhouse and Jason was quite surprised!!!!
Jason at dinner tonight.......................SMILE dude, you just got a new job!!!
Kennady and Madison.................

Pat and Don-----Jen's mom and step-dad...............
Eric and Donnie-----Jen's brother
Megan and I................

Jason and Riley...................
Jason and Mom.............

Jason and Kennady.................
Jason Jr. and Jason.....................
Kennady and Riley..............
Eric and Madison..............

Megan...............
Jen and Riley...............
Donnie..........................

Me!....................................
Mom and Kennady............

***********Funny Story************

Ok, so Kennady stays with her step-sister during the day. She goes to the pool just about everyday and loves it. Well today, Megan asked Lisa(her step-Mom) if she could take Kennady to her work as we were going out to dinner for Jason's new job. Lisa said sure and she took Kennady to Megan's law firm, downtown. So Megan meets them outside and Kennady steps out of the car in her bikini top and bottoms with these little shorts over the bottoms! Her hair was all down and frizzy! Megan was a little embarrased to say the least! Of course Kennady looked adorable, but not suitable for a prestige law firm!! Oh the things kids do!! ha! Megan called me and I went and got her as I was off work. We got her clothes and Kennady wanted me to do a french pedicure. So, Bubba(me) gave her the french pedicure once we got back to our house. Here are some pics of the pedicure.........................(I wish I had a pic of her before she changed!!)

**********************BOILER DAY CAMP***********************
Madison and Riley are going to Boiler Kid Camp at Purdue this week. It's a day camp and they get to do all sorts of things from swimming to archery to volleyball. The keep the kids busy all week and poor Riley really looked tired tonight. I bet they sleep well this week! ha! Its good for them to meet new kids and experience new things.........................awwww, to be a kid again!

Tomorrow is WEDNESDAY....................YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Well, I guess I have to be smarter than the cake! ha! Sunday was my Mom's birthday. We decided since Megan is back in our lives and our family is complete once again that we would do a family picture for mom. So, we all headed to Target to get our picutres taken. I have to say, they did turn out rather well. We get the pics back in a few weeks so I will post them once we get them. Eric and I got some by ourselves as well and they are pretty good if I do say so myself! I dont think of myself as being photogenic but I do like the way they turned out. So, as I said above, you have to be smarter than the cake! I downloaded the pics from the bday party and it downloaded the cake sideways. So, I rotated it and it STILL is showing up sideways!! So, I give up!!! This is Moms cake from Dairy Queen. She had requested an oreo ice cream cake so thats what we got the bday girl!!!! It was delicious!!! BTY, it says "Happy Birthday Turbo". For those of you who don't know my mom, she has a PT Cruiser and its a Turbo so that is her nickname since she likes to cruise around town in her Turbo! ha!~ The birthday girl holding her cake..........
Birthday girl with the two oldest grandkids. I think they are the only ones who would sit on her lap long enough for a picture! The other two had their share of pics for the day! ha!

Nice PJ's Mom.................

This is my brother's friend, Lavelle and his girlfriend, Amanda. Jason and Lavelle used to work together and they are still good friends. Mom just adores Lavelle and so Jason invited them to the party. They have a 1 1/2 year old boy named Tyson, who is just ADORABLE!!!!!

Kennady hanging out with Tyson......................Tyson looking very frazzled,scared, numb!
Riley in the big ol' comfy recliner, just chillin out. Isnt she so cute!

Emme thought Tyson was pretty fun to play with. I think she thought he was a "baby" and she could carry him around! Tyson was a pretty good sport with 4 girls!!!

Emme, Riley and Tyson......................
Emme and Riley............They look like they are up to no good, don't they???
Tyson and Lavelle.................

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM, WE LOVE YOU AND HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!