Update on my life....

It's been awhile since I've blogged, at least in terms of events. Here are the things that have happened:

1) I have a job! Irony of ironies, I'm working back where I used to work! I had been very depressed about not finding a job. While I trusted that God would take care of us, it was quite a blow to me that after three months of searching I still had not found a job. Then, out of the blue, my boss called and said they wanted me back! It was such a blessing, and worked in a way that it could only be God. There are so many good things about the job: I can work from home. This allows me to see Jon at least a little bit on the days he works nights; he comes home at lunch, so I can see him then. I already know what I'm doing--no wandering around trying to find the bathroom, or wondering who I report to or how they will respond. They already know how I work--no wasting time training and taking a gamble on a new employee. The job is full-time (whereas it had been part-time before), which means that I will be given more responsibilities and more challenges, which will be fun. The job pays what we need so we won't have to take out loans for school, and might be able to pay our existing loans faster. And when I go into town once a week, I can visit with my friends!

2) I have a cat! Many of you knew that when I got a job I would get a cat. Well, even I wasn't expecting to get one so soon, but that's the way God works. :) The Friday my boss called to confirm my position, a neighbor brought over a stray kitten. He was a pitiful little kitten, 5 weeks old full of worms and mites, but he's getting much better. His name is Friday, and he's absolutely adorable. He went to the vet today, and he weighs 1lb 6 oz. He gained 6 oz. in a week! He's learning how to jump, though not quite succeeding. He's also starting to explore the house. And best of all, Jon loves him like crazy! :)

3) Roomie Reunion was this past weekend! That was a whole lot of fun. My roommate Leanna, and her roommates Karen (sis-in-law) and Angela all got together for a weekend o' fun. It was great. Enchiladas, brownie cake, fondu, homemade cinnamon rolls...as Karen and I agreed, "A 5-pound weekend." Needless to say, I'm going running tonight. But the weekend was a great vacation and I loved spending time with friends!

4) My Mawmaw is home from the hospital after back surgery, and not only is she healing well, but she is walking, which she hasn't really done in four years!

5) Jon's started school! Lots of reading and papers, but he's very excited about his classes, and I love listening to all the things he's learning.

So I guess that's what's happened in the last 10 days. I wish you could all come see little Friday! Our parents have a grand-kitten, which is about as good as they're going to get for awhile! :) He's going on his first trip to visit grandparents over Labor Day, so we'll see how he does with travel (and with remembering where his litterbox is in a new house).

We've made it to the end of the Summer Without Jobs and God has provided. He's amazing beyond imagination.

Summer reading list

So I'm a little late in the game on summer reading lists, but I was wondering if anyone is reading anything good? I've read Garbo Laughs, which was kind of weird, but good, I decided. And now I'm reading Clara, about the composer Robert Shumann and his wife, Clara. Man, those composer people are messed up. Well, especially Shumann. He was known to have mental illnesses, evidently. Anyway, makes for an interesting story.

I'm also reading Christian Reflections by C. S. Lewis. It's a compilation of essays on what our Christian response should be to certain things. The first essay was called Christianity and Literature, and I really enjoyed it because I translated it over to being Christianity and Art, and it is very applicable in my field.

If you read this, can you list for me some exceptional books you've read, and maybe your favorite authors? Summer reading can commence!

Cool things I learned today

Today I have learned several (at least a couple) cool new things:


1) I have found a great way to hide those pesky bra straps when wearing a tank top. Simply slide a bobby pin onto your tank top strap and make sure the bra strap gets hooked in, too! I put the bobby pins about where my shoulder blades are, so they wouldn't be seen in the front. Worked like a charm. I think I'm going to start a trend. I wonder if I could market them in clear...The Bra Pin, The Strap Strapper, The Most Amazing Bobby Pin! Well, the name needs a little work, but I feel like a genius! :)



2) You can go to the front desk at the Student Center of Southwestern and they'll give you a little cup of fish food to feed the fish in the pond--for free! The only fish that ate were the little tiny ones, not the big koi that stayed down in the cooler water at the bottom. But there were tons of little fish. At one point, I had thrown food all over the pond, and there were bubbles everywhere from all the fish going for the food!




3) This one's still tentative; jury's out 'til suppertime. But I think I found a new way to cook chicken. I read a recipe and then thought I would sort of make a variation. I put hot water, butter, garlic, chicken buillion, and dill (left over from the pickles) in a casserole dish and then the chicken and I'm baking "at 350 until golden brown." :) Or at least until it's not pink in the middle. We'll see how it turns out in maybe another 20 or 30 minutes. I'm hoping the chicken buillion adds flavor and juiciness to the chicken, and the dill a little extra tang.

So those are my discoveries for today! Therefore, go ye out and change the world with what ye have learned herein! :)

Spontaneous Pancakes

Last night I waited up for Jon to talk to him about a job possibility. When he got home, he was hungry and so was I (neither of us had had much dinner). So we went to IHOP! At midnight! It was fun to be spontaneous.

Other than that, my job situation is looking up. I guess it's still not certain, but I may end up working out of my house, which would be great! I love working at home, although I'll have to find ways to get out and about so I don't get too tired of being inside and I won't feel cooped up. My career goal has been to work from home. Eventually I want to freelance completely, but if I can get someone to pay me a steady salary and benefits while I work at home, I won't complain! I hope I'll be working at home whenever we have kids, because I'd like to stay at home with them but also be able to bring in a paycheck. Thankfully, that is a possibility as a graphic designer.

On the other hand, I like people, and I won't get to be with many during the week. No food days for my birthday or people popping in to ask how to do something on their computer. My friends will be those I meet at church, and my bubble will be pretty small. During the week, my bubble will be just me while Jon's at school and work. Me...and a cat! :) And my music up loud while I get my work done. I think I'm going to like it.

The Sadness of Bruce Lee

Well, I fear that my little fishy's days are coming to an end. :( He quit eating before we went to Missouri, but picked back up by the time we got back (I guess not getting his daily portion of dried worms forced him to find all the food he'd been ignoring already in his bowl). But now he's quit swimming. He used to like to swim a lot, and now he just sits on the bottom, resting on the pebbles. :( It's very sad. Bruce Lee, the fighting fish, should now be called, Jabba the Hutt, the lazy fish who never moves (unless someone does that computer-generated stuff like in star wars, but I didn't think it was very believable).

So, if anyone has any parting words they'd like to say to little Brucie, I will convey them to him. He's been like this for a week, and may hold out longer, but I'd go ahead and get your words in soon, just in case.

:)

In a Pickle!

Today I made pickles!

Here they are resting in their new homes, waiting for 8 weeks to be up so I can eat them!

Pickles are not exactly easy to make, but not necessarily hard, either. They're just work. First of all, I had to sterilize all the jars. This makes me wonder: if I'm buying canning jars, wouldn't it seem to reason that I'm going to need them sterilized? If someone comes out with pre-sterilized canning jars, they'll make a killing. At least in the canning population, which I'm willing to bet is a small and dwindling minority.

Anyway, they're done now, after only a slight to medium ordeal. Jon kept asking me why in the world I was doing this. There are jars and jars of pickles at Wal-Mart, and at the low price of 97 cents a jar! So why all the work?

Well, for one, I had an abundance of cucumbers. My uncle has been growing a plethora of cucumbers, evidently, so when we visited my grandparents last weekend, they passed off a sackful to us. It was only after that that I thought, "I don't even like cucumbers!" So they sat in the fridge for awhile, and then I realized, "But I do like pickles!" And thus the idea was born. It's like my own version of lemons to lemonade! :)

The second reason is a little harder to explain. I like homemade things. I like working with my hands. I value hard work, and not just by passing the pickle jar from the shelf into the cart. I like being able to see results from my labor (maybe why I chose pickling instead of job-hunting today), and being proud of something. Usually, that comes in a painting or flyer that I made or whatever, but those aren't quite the same. Paintings aren't useful, and flyers, though useful, feel sterile because they were made on the computer. Pickling--with cucumbers sliced unevenly, brine crusting on the side of the jars, and water splashed all over the kitchen--is real. It's down and dirty. I got to use my hands and make something useful. 8 weeks from now, I have 8 jars of pickles to consume! And hopefully other people will take some off my hands. That's another nice thing. I've made something that can make other people happy! (Okay, at least pretend to be happy when I give you a jar of pickles.)

I think I'm meant to do something other than what I'm doing. How did a girl who loves to get dirty and make homemade things every get into a line of work that requires sitting in front of a computer all day? Well, it happened because I love doing all the other art things, and this one happens to fund my other loves. Well, at least it will eventually.

Someday, when I'm rich and don't have to worry about how we're going to pay bills or anything like that, I'm going to make pickles, grow a garden, learn how to make stained glass windows, and stay dirty all day long! It's gonna be great...

PS--Check out the links I put in the left-hand column. I think they're all fun. And man, that Alphabet Game has had me working for hours!