I can't believe how fast this last week and a half has gone by. It was birthday week here at my house last week. One roommate had a birthday on Monday the 22nd, mine was the 23rd, and my other roommate's was Friday the 26th! We decided to go out once to celebrate, which actually ended up being on my birthday. It took forever to agree on a restaurant that would suit all three of the birthday girls, but we finally decided on Dave & Busters which can get pricy, but we all love it. If you've never been to Dave & Busters, it's like a grown-up Chuck-E-Cheese's, and they have more than just pizza. They have Chili's-style (really good--in fact better than Chili's) food, and a really large gaming area with all sorts of games that big kids like to play. It's really fun and you could spend a fortune there. You put money on a card in the form of points and then you go around and swipe it to play each game which costs a certain amount of points. I'm sure that if you actually knew how much you were spending on the games you would never play half of them. Oh well, ignorance is bliss I guess.
My mom was in town the weekend before last. We had so much fun hanging out with Austin and Jonathan and the kids! I think one of my favorite things that we did was go to the Babyland Cabbage Patch hospital where you can see a Cabbage Patch baby being born. Scooter had such a fun time and it was so cute to watch him! We also went to Helen which was fun and difficult because there were so many people and the shops were so small that it was hard to find places to take the kids. We had a blast anyway though, and it was just so much fun to spend time with my family. There is nothing in this world that I love more!
I took my big test yesterday, the one I have been studying 2 months for. Some of it I felt very unprepared for, a lot of it I recalled perfectly, and some questions I had to think very hard. I felt completely unprepared for one of the essay questions and had to really dig back into my memory about 8 years to college inorganic chemisty. I doubt I got full credit on it, but with any luck I didn't miss too many points. Altogether I think I passed it. I would be very surprised and disappointed if I didn't. Well, we shall see!
I was sick as a dog on Friday ... so unbelievably sick. I don't know if I got food poisoning or what, but it was horrible! It was so awful that at one point, I didn't have the energy to even sit down for more than 5 minutes. I had to go and lay down for several minutes and I didn't have the energy to talk much either. We had a huge branch activity on Friday night that I had to let someone else take over because I just couldn't do it. I received a blessing that afternoon because I knew had that test on Saturday that I couldn't miss. I was promised that I would be able to take the test and that my illness would only minimally affect me. At the current moment I still have a partial headache that won't go away, but other than that I feel pretty well. And I was able to take my test on Saturday, which I was so grateful for!
I had received several letters from Joe so far. He is doing really well. He actually sent me a picture with him in it yesterday. I was shocked but grateful! His hair looks so funny cut so short. Hee hee! His birthday is a week from tomorrow, the 5th of November. He is requesting more letters from anyone and everyone so here is his address until the 28th of November.
Elder Joseph Michael Norris
California Los Angeles Mission
MTC Box #261 11/28
2005 N. 900 E.
Provo, UT 84604
Have a fabulous day!
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The best picture
My Uncle Bob took this picture in August when Joe and I drove to NY and went camping with my family. It's my favorite picture of Joe and I. Enjoy!
Sunday, October 14, 2007
What a quiet, peaceful, beautiful morning
Fall is here. The weather is getting so cool and crisp! I don't love cold weather, but there is something so relieving about each season as it arrives: the coolness of the fall, the cold of the winter, the spring breezes, and the summer heat; each one bringing with its new climate new opportunity for adventure!
These last few days have been very interesting and wonderful. I registered with another temp agency which seems like it may have some more possibilities than the other one I registered with. They called me on Friday with an offer for a job, but it was $12/hour working in downtown Atlanta, 25 miles from my house--in rush hour traffic?? I don't think so! I'd spend so much of that in gas! And an hour and a half commute? Never again. I'd rather go work at Sam's Club!
Friday I went to work at the Pre-School where my roommate works. Her teaching assistant was out of town, and they were desperate for someone to come so they hired me for a day. It was SOOOO much fun! They kids were so cute and so smart! I taught one girl named Stephanie how to catch a ball. She was so excited that she could do it! The kids all had to be my friend and were telling me how much they loved me after only a couple of hours. Kids are so much fun, aren't they?
Friday night some friends and I went camping. It wasn't actually last minute, we planned several days in advance!! When we arrived at the planned destination however, they told us they had no available campsites!! But they did tell us about another campground which had availability and it ended up being cheaper. All 5 of us got onto one campsite which was right on Lake Lanier, and it had a small bluff where we pitched our tents. They had small tent pads, but we didn't want to be so squished. When we got there the sun was setting and it was so beautiful that we decided to set up the tents later in the dark and go take a walk on the beach and enjoy the sunset.
The sunset was so pretty over the lake!! We also decided to see if we could get a good group picture. After several tries, this is what we ended up with:
The next morning I was able to get a picture of the lovely setup of our campsite:
We had so much fun! It was such a nice break to go camping, even for one night. It got cold, but we all managed to stay warm in our beds. I love camping. I just love being in the outdoors! Some of my fondest memories are of camping.
And last piece of news, but certainly not least, I got a letter from Joe yesterday! He is doing very well. He LOVES the MTC. He says he doesn't have a lot of people writing him so I'm supposed to keep it up! I felt a little bad then since I didn't write him at all this week as I was taking a break. I can't believe he's already been gone for 2 1/2 weeks! It's such a short amount of time, but it feels like he's been gone forever. I love him so much, and of course I miss him, but he is exactly where he needs to be right now, and so am I.
These last few days have been very interesting and wonderful. I registered with another temp agency which seems like it may have some more possibilities than the other one I registered with. They called me on Friday with an offer for a job, but it was $12/hour working in downtown Atlanta, 25 miles from my house--in rush hour traffic?? I don't think so! I'd spend so much of that in gas! And an hour and a half commute? Never again. I'd rather go work at Sam's Club!
Friday I went to work at the Pre-School where my roommate works. Her teaching assistant was out of town, and they were desperate for someone to come so they hired me for a day. It was SOOOO much fun! They kids were so cute and so smart! I taught one girl named Stephanie how to catch a ball. She was so excited that she could do it! The kids all had to be my friend and were telling me how much they loved me after only a couple of hours. Kids are so much fun, aren't they?
Friday night some friends and I went camping. It wasn't actually last minute, we planned several days in advance!! When we arrived at the planned destination however, they told us they had no available campsites!! But they did tell us about another campground which had availability and it ended up being cheaper. All 5 of us got onto one campsite which was right on Lake Lanier, and it had a small bluff where we pitched our tents. They had small tent pads, but we didn't want to be so squished. When we got there the sun was setting and it was so beautiful that we decided to set up the tents later in the dark and go take a walk on the beach and enjoy the sunset.
The sunset was so pretty over the lake!! We also decided to see if we could get a good group picture. After several tries, this is what we ended up with:
The next morning I was able to get a picture of the lovely setup of our campsite:
We had so much fun! It was such a nice break to go camping, even for one night. It got cold, but we all managed to stay warm in our beds. I love camping. I just love being in the outdoors! Some of my fondest memories are of camping.
And last piece of news, but certainly not least, I got a letter from Joe yesterday! He is doing very well. He LOVES the MTC. He says he doesn't have a lot of people writing him so I'm supposed to keep it up! I felt a little bad then since I didn't write him at all this week as I was taking a break. I can't believe he's already been gone for 2 1/2 weeks! It's such a short amount of time, but it feels like he's been gone forever. I love him so much, and of course I miss him, but he is exactly where he needs to be right now, and so am I.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
My cat is crazy
I was downstairs earlier this evening and suddenly I heard the frantic scratching of claws. I looked up and saw the cat dangling from the landing at the top of the winding staircase. I don't know what she had been doing, but she had grossly miscalculated of the distance between here and there. If it weren't for some quick claw-work, she might have taken a nasty fall onto the railing which wouldn't have been pretty.
I've been working a little bit lately. I worked Friday, Monday, and today all day. It was the same job I worked 3 days at last month as well. Pay is dismal, but it kept me busy. I received my Pampered Chef kit last week so I'm getting started with that soon.
Joe still hasn't written to me. I'm sure he'll write eventually. I've written him 3 letters already, but it's just too much to keep writing when he doesn't respond so I think I'll take a break for a while. I want to be supportive, but I can't give him all of my energy. I need to take care of myself first. I have a lot I'm trying to accomplish in my life right now.
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Whew!
A whole week gone by nearly since my last post. I can't believe how busy I've been this last week, even though I don't have a job! I need a job, but things just aren't coming together like I had hoped. I'm thinking I may have to reevaluate my strategy.
We have a new roommate moving in next week! One of our good friends, Marisha, is moving in to the other room downstairs. My other roommate had put a bunch of her stuff into that room for storage, so we cleaned it out a few days ago. There was a large table in there which we moved up to my room. I've had the space in my room for a desk ever since the very beginning, but I never was able to get a desk. So, I decided to improvise and use this big table. I'm doing some work from home for a lady who runs an electrolysis clinic; just some marketing and general office help. It helps having a desk so that I can go in my room and not be distracted. I'm also working on studying for this exam that I'm taking on October 27th. I'm going through the book that I bought and I think I'll be ready for the test! I think the scores get reported around the end of November, so after that my certification requirements will be fulfilled and my teaching application will be complete! Then, I can apply for a job should one come up! I'm so excited to be a teacher! I've wanted this for a very long time.
I haven't heard from Joe yet, so I don't know how he's doing. I still miss him, of course, but it's getting easier. I'm getting a package together to send to him. I hope I'll hear from him this week!
Well, I'd better sign off for now. I have a lot to do today!
We have a new roommate moving in next week! One of our good friends, Marisha, is moving in to the other room downstairs. My other roommate had put a bunch of her stuff into that room for storage, so we cleaned it out a few days ago. There was a large table in there which we moved up to my room. I've had the space in my room for a desk ever since the very beginning, but I never was able to get a desk. So, I decided to improvise and use this big table. I'm doing some work from home for a lady who runs an electrolysis clinic; just some marketing and general office help. It helps having a desk so that I can go in my room and not be distracted. I'm also working on studying for this exam that I'm taking on October 27th. I'm going through the book that I bought and I think I'll be ready for the test! I think the scores get reported around the end of November, so after that my certification requirements will be fulfilled and my teaching application will be complete! Then, I can apply for a job should one come up! I'm so excited to be a teacher! I've wanted this for a very long time.
I haven't heard from Joe yet, so I don't know how he's doing. I still miss him, of course, but it's getting easier. I'm getting a package together to send to him. I hope I'll hear from him this week!
Well, I'd better sign off for now. I have a lot to do today!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)