a little game I like to play called...

anyone care to finish that quote? i bet there are only two, probably the only two who read this, who could. that's cause you both rocks.

so it's just the beginning of vacation, but it's basically the end. tomorrow is my last real day of vacay, before I spend the next 6 days watching 4 kids. yikes. wish I could just stay over here and chill with kris. it's so close...i cannot wait for him to move over to the west side. it's almost unbearable at this point. I am SO sick of not seeing him for weeks. please, I'd like a real, normal relationship (no comments on that one, I know...there is no such thing...) where we both live in the same stinkin town. sheesh. not such a hard request. al-most. have to keep telling myself that. al-most.

found some super cute shoes today on sale at JC Penneys for $11. I was stoked. Also bought some granola bars. And helped Kris pick out his really fine interview outfit. He was supposed to model it for me tonight, but I forgot...drat! foiled again! I'll have to remind him tomorrow. i'm sure he'll be delighted.

today it was actually cooler over here. only 75. I wore jeans and a t-shirt and didn't die. how encouraging.

Ahh, I can taste vacation...

so close, yet so far away. actually, not really. tomorrow at 6 when I get off work I get to begin the trek. it's my favorite drive and most despised. favorite because at the end I get to see Kris. most despised because it's so long. and tomorrow it's going to be hot. i no like hot.

tonight outside it is actually cool. as in, not warm. chilly, almost. woohoo! chilly. I relish being cold. this morning on the way to work I rolled down my windows and about froze. and I had never been so happy to be cold. you know, cold is ok. cold, you can put on more clothes. wrap up in a blanket. turn on the heat. run around. but if you are hot, there is only so much you can do.

had a bit of a...humbling experience tonight. the lady I had been working for the last few weeks, with the intention of getting to know her kids before we for sure decided to work together e-mailed me to let me know they had changed their minds. Not just, you aren't a good fit. More like, you aren't a good fit and we've decided that we don't think you're worth the amount of money we agreed on. ouch. and frustrating, because I do believe I am worth the amount of money we both agreed upon. AND she took up my Sunday afternoons for two weekends. Thank goodness I had started looking again recently, or else I would have been pretty devastated. I know that obivously I wasn't meant to work for them and God had another plan. It's just always a little startling to find out that as much as we THINK we've got it together, we really haven't a clue.

this verse keep coming to mind today...one of my favorites:

"He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."

-Micah 6:8

so sleepy

did NOT want to get up and come to work this morning. And then I get here and the AC broke yesterday. darn darn double darn. And I have an errand list a mile long. triple darn!

in good news, I finally found a J-O-B! I met with two families on Sunday, and while I'd be happy to work for either, the one in Issaquah (about three minutes from my school) is the better option, and I feel more comfortable around them. So as soon as they check my references, I'm in business! They seem like a really nice family. The mom, Jessica, is a stay at home mommy, and the dad, Andrew, who is British, works for Microsoft. They have three munchkins, Ethan, who is two and will be my primary responsibility, and twins who are six months old, Sophie and Annabelle. They are adorable, as different as night and day (personality wise), identical twins. So cute. The job comes with two weeks paid vacation and a week paid sick leave, plus maybe a trip to Hawaii in the wintertime (probably January). My main job is to take Ethan out to do stuff-go on walks, to the park, the zoo, etc. and occasionally watch Annabelle if Sophie has a doctors appointment.

Saw "The Devil Wears Prada" last night in Redmond with Dionne and Luke. It was ok, (the ac was great!), but lacking some of the greatness from the book. Which happens. Always. Good, slightly disappointing.

Opened a bank account in SEATTLE yesterday before work. That was pretty awesome. Hopefully by time I move up (which is officially August 14th) I will have my checks and debit card.

Off to wrangle munchkins!

peace out.

wedding crazyNESS

oh my. what a night. we went to Becky and Brandon's wedding. the ceremony was pretty and fast and at the end when they did the first kiss the groomsmen held up signs that had scores on them, like 8.9, 10, 1, etc.

And then onto the reception. At first it was kinda lame. The DJ was LAME, but the punch was good and the people were funny and our table was funnay as always. High school drama crap. oh well. I just laugh at it.

So then the toasts were awesome. The grooms stepdad/best man gave him a little gift...a beanie that said "sleepless in seattle". we laughted SO hard. then dance party 06 started. at first they played the cheesy songs and I wasn't too into it, but then they started playing the good songs so I went out and danced and it was so much fun. And then when it was all said and done we went back and got Dionne's car and had a dance party the WHOLE way home.

good times had by all. so hot. too hot. need to sleep soon.

peace out.

oh oh oh

WHY can't I just know now? WHY can there be no...definite answer. I was all pumped to most likely be moving up to Seattle early, and now the 'maybe replacement' has turned into the 'unlikely replacement'. ugh. I'm not quite sure what her deal is. She seemed really stoked about the job, and then...is stalling at the moment. But Jan swears that we'll know by the end of the day. Because if Rebecca (a.k.a. the unlikely replacement) doesn't take the job Jan is giving in and calling the agency that found me, screaming 'emergency'. No, that's actually what she said to me on the phone today.

ugh. Why couldn't they have done that a month ago?

So today has been a Friday to top all Mondays. I feel as if I left my brain back somewhere the middle of last week. And my motivation. What I need is a vacation. The good news is that I get one, in 6 days. And this weekend should be some fun (and a lot of work), which is a relief. I just keep hoping that I walk into one of these interviews and God reaches down and taps me gently on the head and says 'THIS is the family'. Seriously. Because obivously I'm not getting it straight on my own.

Onto more trivial things...I need a pedicure. Lets hope my interview tomorrow isn't too long, cause I'm not wearing heels to Becky's wedding without one. My feet are trashed from last weekend.

The good news of the day:
1. It's Friday
2. It's payday
3. I'm escaping home and get to stay in Seattle all weekend
4. I get to go buy a new bra and underwear. Who doesn't love new underthings?
5. The kids have been really, exceptionally well behaved today.
6. I called my aunt today. And left her a message. That's a long story, better suited for a non-online post. But, we'll see if she responds. And yes, I did call during the day on purpose, hoping she wouldn't be home and I could just leave a message. Yes, I am a chicken. Like I said, it's a long story.

Anyhow, off to the bank and to get Max early from gym so I can get the heck out of here and start my trek to Seattle!

peace out.

if a sunburn isn't bad enough...

then it starts to peel. And thus, half of my face is peeling. Which causes me to have about six different shades of skin on my face: the normal color, where the sun didn't hit, the slightly tan shade on my lower right side of my face that only got a little burnt, uber tan on my forehead, which got a lot of sun and is just beginning to peel, still a little red on my nose, and then lobster again on the part of my nose that is peeling. It's ridiculous. And a strip of my chest is peeling, and I scratched it cause it itched...and now it's really mad at me. I just can't win! It's probably really bad, but tonight after work I'm going to get one of those face gel/masks that you put on and let dry and then peel off...cause maybe it'll do the peel job all at once. I don't want to look this stupid all weekend, especially for Becky's wedding.

I am exhausted. It's been go go go since 8 this morning. We got up, took Max to gym, picked up Daniel, went to the pool (I sat in the shade, thank you very much!), took Daniel home, came home to put Terri in her riding clothes, picked up Max, took Terri to riding, fed the boys at McD's, picked up Terri, took Max to Ilana's and came home...all in my no air condition car. The good news is that I just checked weather.com and tomorrow is supposed to be the peak of our heat wave...only 95. So maybe I will survive the wedding in black pants.

The work sitch is crazy. I have three interviews this weekend, and I'm pretty sure all would work financial and location wise. The good news is that Katie e-mailed to cancel for Sunday, so I'm off the hook as far as that goes. A few more hours to hang out instead of work.

I think it's nap time. peace out.

heat wave

So I hear on the news today that this weekend we're going to be getting a heat wave. As in 96 degrees in Seattle. oh my. word. Then I look up the 10 day forecast for E Washington because I'm headed over there late next week. Thank God I am not headed over there this weekend. It's supposed to be 104 Saturday and Sunday. I have no AC in my car. ish.

Today my maybe replacement came and I gave her the run-through. The only problem is that she thought the job started immediatley. Apparently they never discussed that when she interviewed. So...don't know what might happen. Told J&J that I'd be open to finishing July, taking my vacation, overlapping a week in August and then being done if I could find something to fill my time in Seattle for a few weeks. We'll see what happens. She was pretty cool though. Definitley a Greener, with a buzz cut. But still cool. I think she'd be great with the kids, wouldn't spoil them and would be able to handle Jeff.

I think my face keeps getting more red each day. It's hilarious to look at me. I'm going to have the most lopsided tan face ever. crazy. I'll just be happy when I can touch my face without intense pain again.

I am definitley not caught up on the sleep I lost over the weekend. I felt like crap when I woke up this morning, and feel like I could use a whole extra nights sleep right now. Definitley not normal, nor very fun.

peace out.

blackberries and peanut butter...

...two of the true delicious tastes I had today. the first was in a milkshake from Burgervile, accompanied by one single walla walla sweet onion ring (yes, you should be jealous) and the second was on a spoon, and it was the natural variety. really the best there is.

I spent the past weekend at the baseball field. As in, the entire weekend. Almost 30 hours total in two days, 17 of them yesterday. By the end of the weekend my feet were black from dirt, my face is red like a lobster and we were all baseballed out. The good news is that we placed second in the tournament, and we were the youngest team there. We had good reason to hold our heads high as we accepted our awards at midnight last night. Plus, my adorable little brother got MVP twice. He pretty much rocks. And I got to take 4 rolls of film of little league baseball, which is one of my top three things to photograph.

Today I had the opportunity to have lunch with a good friend from high school that I haven't seen since she got married last summer. It was good to catch up on her life, how everyone is doing and what married life is like. We both share a lot of the same opinion about things (like this town) and it's just fun to reconnect with good people from high school. I always tried to distance myself as much as possible, simply because most people I went to high school with were...well, in a sentence, destined to remain in Centralia. And we all know how great that life is.

Getting ready to work 4 long days straight. Then it's off to Seattle to work AND go to Becky's wedding, which should be fun. Last week I was so unsure about the work situation, and while that hasn't exactly changed, suddenly options are coming out of the woodwork. Thanks, God. But really, what I need most is some direction, which I may or may not have received. It's not that He doesn't speak loud enough, just that my ears must have selective hearing. Drat. Maybe I can work on that some this week, and get prayer on Sunday for it. Hope that will help.

Need to get back on track with reading my Bible. I lost it for a few days and found it again this morning. It needs to be read. Of course, there is a lot of stuff that lately has been getting ignored, but that is one that I should probably stop procrastinating about. I wish someone would just press the fast forward button and pack for me and the decision about work would be made. Don't imagine that will happen, however.

peace out.

ergh...too early to be up

early early early.

I hope today is a good one. Last night I talked to my mom. I don't think she is enjoying this LV trip too much. Both days she's found plenty to complain about. And no one is doing well at the slots. I keep hoping her luck will change, maybe just a little, and that the other couples they went with will stop being drunk idiots. They are so rude, you should hear some of the stuff they say to people at dinner.

In other news, Ali heads to Jackson Hole Wyoming today for her boyfriend's mom's wedding tomorrow. I hope that goes well. The weird thing is that Brandon (the bf) is not in the wedding. And he's her only son. weird weird. It's strange having everyone spread out all over the place. I'm sure in 3 or 4 more years that is what life will be like all of the time, but trying to adapt to it now is just odd. Stevie's at my grandma's, and I worry about him. Not that she wouldn't take good care of him, but like, does he need anything? Is he bored? I know he's not. I mean, it's Grandma Baker's house for crying out loud. It's just that....Jimmy offers no one to hang out with, and it's weird when you always have SOMEONE to hang out with when you are the oldest of 4. It's ok, tonight I get to scrapbook some more and Saturday and Sunday Stevie has a baseball tournament. Love those.

Speaking of scrapbooking...I went to the scrapbooking store yesterday just looking for Bazzill paper and found these chipboard letters that have been on backorder that I've wanted for a LONG time. So I bought them in raw (cardboard color) and brown. Very excited.

Time to go shower, find something to wear today, eat some breakfast and take my 'roid, and then start getting up the little darlin's.

peace out.

"ahh ahh...six syllable words hurt my brain!" -- jimmy neutron

at work. oh work. gotta love it, more or less cause it pays the bills. and cause it truly could be worse. we're watching a new Jimmy Neutron right now...one none of us has seen (that is saying a lot with this group!) ahh, the life of a nanny.

staying at work tonight because my dork brother won't stay at the house with me, and I'm a wimp. going to play around with Google pages while I have high speed and see if I can get something going that I like.

Things I am grateful for today:
1. Kris' patience and sense of humor, even in the tough moments.
2. the opportunity to move to Seattle soon and live with my best friend
3. Seattle rain. I do love the nice weather, but today was a nice refresher with the rain.
4. my pearl earrings. they just make me happy.
5. Terri. she manages to brighten my day no matter what has gone wrong.
6. my family. I miss them a lot more when they are suddenly out of state.
7. hand squeezing.

peace out.

Definitley think I like this better than xanga. better format.

I really like having a blog. I try to keep more embarrasing or emotional stuff in my real paper journal, but it's nice to look back upon the last few years and be able to read what I was thinking, say, when I lived in Jersey.

Today I am definitley being a bit of a bum before I have to go to work. My parents abandoned us and went to Vegas yesterday. So far Jimmy and I have managed to pretty much get along. Stevie is staying with Grandma, so he will have some consistency and so she won't have to be alone (cause Grandpa went also). Ali is in Wyoming, doing school orientation and because Brandon's mom is getting married.

44 days until I'm done with work (hopefully!) They have finally started to look earnestly. They posted an ad in the paper, and the last two days I've fielded 5-10 calls about the ad. Only two have sounded like they are a potential good fit. One was an older lady (50ish) and one was only 18, but had experience. We'll see what happens. I think (I keep saying this, but I just can't seem to commit yet) that I've found the family I am going to work for in Seattle/Issaquah. She is really nice, he is...well, I've only met him once and I'm trying not to form my opinion on him from that one interaction...and the boys are a handful, but cute. She is also due the end of October with another one, gender unknown. I am pretty excited about being able to work with a baby again (I loved working with Andrew). I do have a few reservations, but hopefully I and God can work through those and I can get to the place where I am trusting Him in this decision.

Love staying in Seattle on the weekends. It's a little weird that it's MY house too, and MY room too...doesn't yet seem real. I will be so glad when I get my wardrobe all put together and we get the stuff on the walls and I don't have to live out of a suitcase...44 days. 44 days.

BlueSky is awesome. I was hoping to do Step 2 next weekend, but now I have to work. Oh well. Maybe when Kris moves over he'll like BlueSky a lot also (he already likes what he's seen) and we can do the Steps together. I am looking forward be being there every weekend and being able to start serving again. Not serving in church the last 8 months has been like cutting out a part of who I am...I don't thrive in Christ without serving. It's like not worshipping or learning. It's...part of who God built me to be.

Well...I should probably go get ready for work so I can run a few errands before work that I have been putting off for a few days (lets hear it for procrastination!)

peace out.