hey, it's ok (tuesday) 10.16

hey, it's ok

...to look forward to your trips to whole foods. hello my happy place.
...to use your lunch hour to go buy soap at target. hey, sometimes it helps to just get out of the building.
...to be grateful for God's timing and divine appointments
...to light candles in the dining and living rooms when your husband is getting ready to have a houseful of guys over to play poker. like they cared.
...to be somewhat amused by the debates (and more than a somewhat annoyed at the facebook/twitter/even freaking pinterest feeds of one-sided responses).
...to not really understand the purpose of gender reveal parties. i mean, fun i suppose. but what's wrong with the good 'ol facebook or group text of "it's a boy!"? 
(if i ever have one, you have my permission to remind me of this post)
...to still not understand the tennessee licensing system. in indiana you got your driver's license and car license plates at the same place. it was even called the license branch. here you have to figure out which to do first if you're a new resident and then go to three different locations: emissions testing, county clerk and ...i still don't know what the place is called to get your driver's license. but you can also register to vote at one of those places. and one of those places you go to every four years and the other two yearly.
...to realize that your job is one part baby fever and one part birth control. snuggling a precious cooing 6 month old and then dealing with a full-blown 3 year old fit in the space of 20 minutes will make you one confused woman. 

please to visit amber and her wonderful blog :-) she hosts this fun link-up every week!

thursday's ten or so: the fall 2012 sickly edition

the funny thing about working with children is that you pick up more bugs than you would normally. and even though i've worked with children in some capacity since about 2000 (at daycare while i was in college)...somehow the children at my new preschool are giving me a whole new "welcome basket" worth of stuff. 

in the last 4 weeks, here's what's happened (this also should explain why i haven't blogged much recently, ha)

1. i got the stomach bug that had ripped through the school. no surprise since i had cuddled sick babies 3 days before.
2. anthony got the stomach bug, only his lasted approximately 3 times as long as mine did. sorry, babe.
3. my back was in the process of going out. while pushing a child's wheelchair one beautiful friday afternoon, it gave up. turning around to stop a child from ingesting paint while pushing wheelchair...not a good plan
4. anthony got a sinus infection*
5. my back continued to be awful, and my hip joined in on the fun. approximate age: 148
6. i started getting a sinus infection*
7. my back finally started getting better with chiropractic visits and lots of ice packs...yay. (and as of tonight it's ALMOST back to normal)
8. i ran a low-grade fever off and on for several days
9. today i went to the doctor with a suspicion. sure enough, i have pinkeye. oh joy.

there's no telling what's next. but you know what? i still love my job :-) bless those sweet little germ carriers.

*obviously we can't blame the preschool for the sinus infections...but there have definitely been some plagues on this house! 


on another note: today my friend natasha and i got tickets to the P!NK concert that's happening in nashville in march. she pointed out later the irony that the day i get pinkeye we got pink tickets. ha. 

thursday's ten or so: to make me laugh

i have a quirky sense of humor.
meaning you may not find any of this funny.
but i'm laughing a lot these days thanks to several sources. so the least i can do is share :-)
here's a very few of the things making me laugh.


i can't help but laugh when i see this. until i'm at work, and then it seems like every child in the building is lining up behind this one!

this one cracks.me.up. anthony also laugh-approved it. 

i don't use pinterest just for recipes and home organization tips (but i'm always trying something off my boards!)


it has other uses too. one of my bff's natasha and i constantly send each other gems we find that we would never post publicly...but there are a few exceptions that i'll share here.

 (the next one pretty much sums us up)

(oh and this one too)

the amazing amanda shared this with me when she was at our house for dinner the other night. we laughed our butts off, so i HAVE to share it with you.



all those "hey girl" memes make me giggle a lot. but THIS one is just extra-special.

replace "men" with "everyone"...

natasha sent this one to me too. if you work with children (your own or someone else's) you'll relate to this at least a few times!

this one makes me laugh and cry simultaneously

and finally...

which leads right into this. you HAVE to watch this. and just know that i WILL instagram it.





***photo/video credits...all of these have been found on facebook, twitter, youtube or pinterest. :-)

hey, it's ok (tuesday...er, wednesday)

hey, it's ok


...to be absolutely LOVING my new job and at the same time be absolutely EXHAUSTED at the end of some days.
...to be just now completing my list of 31 things to do while i'm 31 for the blog. yeah, i've been 31 for over 3 months now. one of the things should be completing the list i suppose.
...to have begun this list a week plus ago. did i mention i was exhausted?
...to be both thankful that i like the 4.99 whole bean coffee i found at whole foods and annoyed that i didn't try it a year ago. several pounds of 11.99 coffee from starbucks later, i would have saved a lot!
...to be grateful that it's finally raining again.  we went over a month in drought. our yard is finally not crunching as much when you walk in it
...to be swagbucks-earning like CRAZY these days.  so far i have $150 earned for the year in amazon credit, just by spending a couple of hours a day earning SB.  by the end of the year i'll have at minimm $300 to spend on christmas shopping for our family. that combined with black friday shopping means our spending out of pocket should be VERY small.  plus, i have enough extra to get a large starbucks or maggianos gift card for us! (you should join swagbucks if you haven't! please use my referral name of msmsctchr if you do, or click on this link!)
...to be seriously needing an eyebrow wax. there's a beauty school about 1/4 mile from work...i'm considering seeing if they'll do a decent job. because i hate tweezing. a lot.


join in the fun of being OK at amber's blog. or just visit her because she rocks.

thursday's ten: in transition (again)

if you follow me on twitter or pinterest, you may have clued in that my job title is switching...again.
after 5 years of nannying full or part time (the last 3.5 being for AMAZING and wonderful families who have loved me and i have adored right back) i'm entering a full-time role in a school setting.


it's SO not what i would have ever seen myself doing.
but it's exciting and just...so unexpected!


so in the form of a list, here's a little bit about what i will (and will not) be doing


i will be working FULL-TIME in one place, while teaching lessons on the side. no more waking up each day and reminding myself which "work" i'm driving to!


i will be following a schedule more true to my body clock (for the first time since...ever).  no more 6:30 am start times...my day will begin at 11:30.


i will not be spending one on one (or two) time with children of just one family. that part makes me quite sad, as i'm quite attached to said families!


but i will be able to invest in the lives of multiple children and families.


i will be a bit out of my comfort zone...my job will be supervisory and i'll be second in command which feels like a huge promotion (that i didn't seek out at ALL)


i will be able to complete grocery shopping, lawn & garden work, and other errands/tasks (including pool time!) before i even go in to work most days.


and i will be able to do all those things and still "sleep in" until 8 am or so (most days)


i will be spending more time at home simply going from 45/50 hours weekly (better than the 60 i was working a couple of months ago!) to 32.


because of the above, i will be able to invest more in my friends and actually visit my girlfriends more often :-)


i will earn paid time off, which means that my husband and i can actually take a vacation and not have to worry about lost income 


so, what am i going to be doing?
well...a few weeks ago i interviewed (after being contacted by them initially) with a preschool that is full-inclusion to "just be a sub a couple of days a week".
a week or so after that interview (in which i was told that i would definitely be hired) they called me and asked me to stop by to "discuss my schedule"
when i went in the next day, i was told about this position and tentatively offered it (with the potential starting of it starting in august)
the next day, i contacted them and told them if they offer was extended it would be accepted
and the next day, i was called and formally offered the job (with the new starting time of JUNE)


i'll be the "afternoon coordinator" at this school, which is why i come it at 11:30 and leave at 6(:05).  i'll be making sure staff is supported and on target, troubleshooting anything that comes up, structuring activities to be learning play time, and popping in classrooms every once in awhile myself to interact with the kids. 


i'm totally excited, quite nervous about the responsibility, and quite overwhelmed that my Papa has once again just handed me a job without me looking for it at.all.


the families i am currently working for are thrilled for me, sad to see me go, but completely blessing this in my life. that has been SUCH a gift. i plan to babysit often and even just visit...clients who have become friends are so precious.


there is so much more to the story, regarding connections from a previous unhealthy work environment that i was placed in for a reason and all sorts of other things...but in the interest of remaining professional and honoring even those who i haven't felt honored by...those stories are just not for this blog.


let me encourage you if you are not in this place of "good news" on the job front or anywhere else...He is still faithful. my story isn't all neat, perfect and pretty (as anyone who has read this blog for any length of time knows well)...but it is Glorious, because He has been the author of every page. this current page that looks so polished is a result of the smudges and dark blots on preceding ones...and i'm not naive enough to think that this page will remain as pretty as it is now :-) life is messy because humans are messy. and God chooses to work through us anyway? what an incredible honor, what lavish love He has for us.

monday's memory: april 366

366 project
my life in pictures, april

hey, it's ok (2.28)

hey, it's ok


...to be totally excited that it's in the 70s this week
...to race your husband home from work.  (hey, i left at 6.30 am and he started his day a few minutes before 9. i just wanted to walk in the door first!)
...to have eaten a proper full dinner and STILL indulged in the free pancakes at ihop. my cell group meets there every 2 weeks on tuesdays, and our meeting coincided with free pancake day. i couldn't turn down the free stack (and i only ate 2...gave the other away)
...to really need to catch up with blogging. one of these days.
...to be thrilled beyond belief that my hardworking husband got offered (and accepted) a full-time position where he's been working temporarily for 6 months (at UBS). he does some sort of tax financial client portfolio stuff. he likes it because he gets to solve problems and figure out more efficient ways to do things all day. i like it because he's happy at work and we have insurance now (hey, just being real).
...to have cried a bit at the series finale of parenthood. if you watch, you know why (and you cried too, admit it)
...to roll your eyes every time you see the commercial with people whining talking about their cell phone battery dying. ever heard of charging your phone?!


visit amber no matter what, but especially if you have a list to share!

hey, it's ok (2.21)

hey, it's ok


...to take a day off when it's handed to you (rather than going into the office of your other job even for just a couple of hours)
...to alternate bouts of productivity with moments of rest 
...to keep the kleenex box next to you at all times (today that's not just ok it's necessary!)
...to reorganize a kitchen cabinet 3 times in one afternoon
...to be likely to organize said cabinet again in the near future
...to not have blogged in a long time (oops)
...to have discovered that we really like annie's boxed mac and cheese on occasion
...to be sort of addicted to juicing
...to wonder if the laundry will completely overtake us one of these days


(go visit amber's amazing blog and join up with your own list!)

monday's memory: the one with january's photos

this is pretty much a photo dump post, but i said i was going to post my daily photos here, so i'm following through :-)


i have discovered a couple of things through taking these
1- i take a lot of pictures of food
2 - looking back through my photos makes me hungry.  because of #1.


so.  here ya go.  january 2012 in photos

thursday's ten: the oops, i forgot editio

well, the time change happened, much to my dismay.

i have been a little off-kilter since sunday. we will blame it on the time change at least ;-)

so at approximately 8.29 am, i realized that i forgot to write today's thursdays ten.

oops.

so today is easy :-) please join me and catch me up on your lives! today is ten things that are going on for you right now, ten things you've done this week, or ten upcoming things that you're excited about :-)

i am choosing the first topic: ten things about my life at this moment. in complete and total randomness!



(1) we have been married over a month! in some ways that doesn't seem possible...but in other ways i think i feel more "right" than i ever have in my life. :-)
(2) we are finishing up this week cleaning out grandpas house (where i lived the months between foreclosure and marriage). there's really not that much left to do, which is why we've been putting it off. ha!
(3) i got back from the honeymoon to find out that the office i had been working 10 hours/week in was asking me to work more hours. this was a huge blessing and gift from God...fulfilling my hearts desire. i now have 24 in-office hours and 5 at home hours per week. yep, my hours tripled!
(4) if i haven't mentioned what i actually DO there, the basic rundown is that it's a non-profit online university that literally gives away (to international students and prisoners in the US) a religious studies degree to those who wouldnt ordinarily be able to afford it. i work in student services/registrar most of those hours, but i also get the privilege of grading prisoners work.
(much more about that in another post!)
(5) i hate colder weather, but i do so love dressing in layers and wearing cute scarves and boots. i guess that keeps me sane this time of year?
(6) if i never have to hear the handy manny toolbox toy that baby g plays with again i will be so happy.
(7) next weeks list will be ten things from pinterest i have actually completed! i would LOVE to see lists from those of you who are similarly addicted... :-)
(8) i love children's books and definitely want to get a couple for the kids i nanny for as part of their christmas. do you have any recommendations? (they are 3 and 1)
(9) we have found a church that we LOVE. it's nearly an hour from our house. i have lots of time to apply my makeup and clip each weeks coupons though...
(10) about a month ago, i told A that i was taking him on an "adventure" this saturday--a one day trip out of state. he finally decided this past sunday night that he wanted to know what it was. so we played a (very long) guessing game until he got it. he's really excited about it, and i can't wait to share with you what it is! it's small...but it's one of those little things i can do for him that'll make him happy :-)

(look for a post on it saturday...and i will post pictures next week)

that's not all that's going on, but it covers some serious ground! what about you??

what i'm loving wednesday (11.2)

i'm loving that today is national *deviled egg* day!  naturally i made my favorite recipe last night :-)  i'm bringing some of them in to share with my office at lunch.  so what if they don't go with my tabouli and spanakopita?  ;-)

i'm loving this handsome guy.  among other things, it's so lovely to know that at the end of each day we end up in the same bed.

(photo taken at rock city on our honeymoon)

i'm loving all our wedding photos!  we're going to have a lot to choose from.  if you're interested in watching, there's a slideshow here.  i can direct you to the purchasing site if you want to see all 460+!  ;-)

i'm loving that my jobs are varied but wonderful.  one day i get snuggles from a sniffly baby girl, the next i'm invited to a wedding in rwanda.  and there are so many other wonderful moments in between!

speaking of work, i'm loving that i'm working more than full time now.  steady and secure.  that was one of the best wedding presents--finding out that my hours were first doubled, then tripled!

and on that note, i'm loving that God has so amazingly proven His faithfulness in our lives time and time again.  He's good, so good.  so many testimonies to that!

i'm loving that emi has (a) finally figured out that anthony lives here now and (b) prefers to be in the same room as us when we get home in the evening.

 (and don't you DARE close her out when you're taking a nap.  she opened the door right after this photo was taken!)

i'm loving all the new recipes i've found and tried the last few weeks.  i'll be posting one on friday.

i'm loving that i finally have time to blog more regularly.  maybe i'll churn out 30 posts in november after all!

i'm loving my amazing friends both locally and at more of a distance than i'd like.  you're all amazing!!

it's a great day to learn to dance

or, at least learn how to dance better ;-)

our friend brittany is coming for lunch and to show us a few moves other than swaying and shuffling our feet.  which is good.  maybe we'll actually retain some of the knowledge for a week.

(holycrapaweek)

besides that both anthony and i are logging in extra hours at our respective offices, i'm babysitting for sweet finn, and hopefully i'll have time to do a bit of cleaning and straightening up around the house.

hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

what i'm loving wednesday (9.21)

i'm loving that i got to spend last friday night with some of my best girlfriends.  my maid of honor and bridesmaids threw my bachelorette/lingerie shower and it.was.a.blast!  truly, i was just happy to spend time with some of my favorite people...the rest was a nice bonus!
i'm loving that my future husband makes a mean lasagna, and that we have leftovers to last us quite awhile!  can we say comfort food?
i'm loving that baby g's favorite thing right now is to grab the nearest soft blanket or stuffed animal and call for "snuggles?"
i'm loving the flex hours with my office job.  i get to take babysitting jobs, which means more income, and work from home, and pretty much waltz into the office when i feel like it.  i try to the majority of my hours in AT the office, but it does mean that most of the time i can go into work at 10 am and miss the craaaazy traffic.  and feeling professional 3 out of 5 workdays a week is A-MAZING.
i'm loving that pumpkin delights are back.  ahhh, and that the stores near me carry them! (last year i only found them in one store!)
i'm loving fitting comfortably into (most of) my size 6 wardrobe.  there are some outfits that just won't work yet, but i'm so happy to say hello again to some of my professional clothes...
i'm loving thrift store finds.  i have bought a gazillion glass pieces for the reception for less than $50.  bonus is that i don't have any sentimental "hold" if something gets damaged or lost!

hey, it's ok (tuesday)

hey, it's ok

...to really not like yogurt. like, at all.
...to sometimes wish that all the batteries would disappear out of the noisy and annoying toys
...to reaaaaallllly be ready for the new iPhone to be released already.
...to totally lay down on the couch and take the shortest catnap* ever while the baby is strapped in her chair eating breakfast. it was an early morning and it's the only time she's contained! ha.
...to be excited about the gifts for my bridesmaids. i'd get detailed, but a few of them read this blog...
...to have found it a total blessing that the second family i was working for switched childcare options on me. it has made my mwf schedule completely flex, and i can now babysit those days as well as working in the office. frankly, i'd rather work for clients i know and adore than the people who "broke up" with me via a text message!
...to be really looking forward to my lingerie shower/bachelorette party this friday. mainly because it means most of my best girlfriends will be in the same place as me for several hours! the other stuff is just gravy :-)
...to have hung out in the room with all the guys instead of the girls this past sunday afternoon. hey, football was on. just because my trams both lost doesn't mean i don't watch!
...to still be getting used to the new look for blogger dashboard.  but i like it?
...to be ready for naptime. for baby g. and who am i kidding...for me too :-)

*by "catnap" i mean i laid on the couch with one eye kind of closed and relaxed for 10 minutes while she ate the healthy and nutritious breakfast i'd made for her.  i just needed to rest! :-)


go here and see the original "hey, it's ok!" (and to read some pretty awesome other posts...)