Here We Go

Well, tomorrow is the big day...

the first day at my new job. My third job of the year, in fact. EEEK. 

I'm freaking out a bit. I hope it goes well, I hope this job is a good fit for me. 

I'm also trying to figure out what to do with my last free day! I'm doing laundry now from being at Bug's house but here are some of my ideas...what's your vote (or something totally different...)

- read

- catch up on tv shows

- clean up my room & organize papers

- go shopping for fall clothes

- blog post about California

- take myself out to eat

- go the park and relax, when it gets warmer (hopefully?)

- go to the park and bike

???

Keep me in your prayers the next few days!

Sunday Night Party

Picture from here

I've been back from a week and have yet to post about California...sad, I know! The pictures are coming, I promise. I've just been a little busy celebrating!! (Thank you for all the congratulations, by the way!) I am in no way done celebrating yet, as I have plans for dinner with an old coworker and the piano bar coming up, but still, I’m enjoying the beginning of the celebrating!

After Bug’s parents came home last night, I headed east towards my parents house. My parents and three youngest siblings weren’t home so I ended up at the home of two of my younger sisters. Amata got a call from one of her roommates who said a group of people were getting together at Applebee’s and wanted me to go along. I’m not much of a partier, aside from how many times I’ve posted about the piano bar. ;-) Plus, it was already after 10 p.m.! Usually, I’d not even think about going out so late, but I figured why not…I had nothing else to do and wasn’t ready for bed!

So, I ended up with a bunch of random people at Applebee’s and actually had a great time. It was one of those evenings when I was able to just relax and enjoy the company, even though I didn’t know most of the people. We had a bunch of crazy laughter moments, like when my sister’s roommate fed my brother some food (completely random and they weren’t really paying attention) and then when it happened again with my sister and her future brother-in-law. My brother drank out of the pitcher of water and I felt like I was hanging out with high schoolers…since all of them are 20ish, that’s not too far away. I didn’t get home until around 12:30…I think I’m still recovering today!

And that was my Sunday night party…so random, but a blast! (And how cute is the penguin below? Yes I know he’s random, lol!)

Picture from here 

Big News...

Now that my family (at least most of them, I think?) and the majority of my real-life close friends have heard, I can announce it here :)

I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!

:)

I will be nannying full time, live out, for a family with three kids. I don't have blog nicknames for them, although I'm sure that will happen soon. They have a girl who is 5 and boys who are 3 and 5 mos. I'll be working 4 10hr. days...

anyway, I'm excited! I'm sure we'll be going on lots of grand adventures together, so stay tuned and have a fabulous weekend!!

Sleepin' On The Job

Yea, don't do it. 

Not that I do! But here's a funny story from this morning, although mostly it's still just embarrassing to me. 

Like I mentioned yesterday, I am watching Bug at his new house. His family's new place is located in a (to me) very, very nice area. The houses are big, it's along a golf course, there are walking paths through the neighborhoods connecting to each other, and there are ALWAYS people around working on the houses- cutting down trees, painting inside/outside, landscapers, construction workers, housekeepers, etc. 

I did not grow up in a neighborhood like this, so yesterday while Bug was at daycare I was sitting on the couch watching a movie and felt bad watching the workers outside while I bummed around, although during the workweek I guess that's what house sitting is...

Anyway, cut to this morning. Bug was up around 6:30, so we got up, cuddled for a while, got him breakfast and dressed, and headed off to his "school" (he's 2 so I consider it more of a daycare?). When I got back to the house, none of the back porch construction guys were here and I was tired so I laid down on the couch and ended up falling asleep for about 45 minutes until, 

"Hellllllooo....Hellllooo???" 

Whooops! LOL! Turns out the painters were here, they came through the open garage door and (maybe? hopefully!) knocked, but I guess I didn't hear them. I was dressed from bringing Bug, but I couldn't see anything for a minute until I grabbed my glasses, and I'm sure my hair was a wreck!

And that's my embarrassing story for the day. Let's not sleep on the job, okay people!?

I'm Back!

Hope you've all had a good week so far :) I got back from California on Monday evening. I had a GREAT time...so many pictures to share with you all, I just have to go through them! 

I'm housesitting/babysitting until Sunday-- Bug and I will probably hit up an ice cream shop, maybe carve a pumpkin, go to a fair...I'm not sure what all else! If it's nice out maybe the park or water fountain bunnies...

Anyway, I'll be back later this week with pictures & stories! Just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive, although most of you follow me through Twitter anyway so you know that!! ;)

The Park & Fall Happiness

**This is a scheduled post because I have flown far, far away for a little break. Although for some of you, I'm actually closer than normal, but that's irrelevant. If for some reason the post looks weird, blame it on the strange internet cloud in the sky that still knows to post when I'm gone.**

Photo from here

After I fell asleep one time in the park, I’ve stopped taking naps there. It’s not the actual napping I mind doing at the park, but rather when the dogs not on leashes get all in my face and slobber and wake me up. Argh!

Now that the shadows are longer each evening and I’ve needed my sweatshirt and blankets to keep warm in the fall evenings, I’m trying to remind myself that this time of year isn’t soo bad. It’s not fall I mind and I do love a lot of things about fall:

- the smell of crunchy leaves falling around me

- pumpkin bread!

- Halloween

- warm chai tea

- cool breezes coming through the window while I am wrapped in a blanket

- football season (I don’t mind the football, it gives me babysitting jobs though!)

- beautiful sunsets

- apple cider

-hayrides

- fall festivals

- apple picking

- the smell of burning leaves

- caramel apples

- jeans and a long sleeve t, still paired with flip flops of course!

- bright fall colors

- pumpkin carving

So, I finally admit I’m accepting fall. It’s okay, I guess. What are your favorite fall things?

My Best Friend

**This is a scheduled post because I have flown far, far away for a little break. Although for some of you, I'm actually closer than normal, but that's irrelevant. If for some reason the post looks weird, blame it on the strange internet cloud in the sky that still knows to post when I'm gone.**

Stevie is my best friend…really the only friend from back “home” in PA that I keep in touch with regularly. It just so happens that she’s decided to start writing in her blog once again, so check it out and support one of the newest bloggers who just happens to know me personally!

Way back when…one of my birthdays!

The story about how we met is still up in the air. I do believe Stevie has a completely different version, only because she cannot remember my version. Haha! I was about 10 years old, maybe 11, and my parents had decided to start homeschooling. Stevie’s parents had started homeschooling the year before and somehow my mom was connected with her mom and they began talking. One day, my family was at a Catholic church function and I had heard that my mom’s new friend had a daughter close in age to me and that her name was Stevie and I should meet her.

 

  Oh yea! Look at the blue streaked hair!!

I saw said Stevie and her younger sister Marie walking across the street and decided to introduce myself. But not even just that, as a baby name fanatic, I felt it was my duty to quiz Stevie about her name and its origin so I walked up to her and said something to the tune of, “So, your name is Stevie? Is that short for Stephanie?” trying to make conversation. Instead, I heard a huff from both Stevie and Marie and Stevie muttered, “My name is STEVIE it is not short for ANYTHING!” and then they walked away.

Blue beach babes…

That was our first meeting (in my mind). A short time later my mom invited Stevie’s family over and I was not the least bit thrilled, imagining a replay of the previous meet. Thankfully, we must have clicked a bit better during the second meetup and the rest is history! We actually didn’t live in the same area for long as my family moved 5 hours away when I was 12 years old but throughout the years, Stevie and I have managed to stay in touch through letters, phone calls and visits whenever possible! We stay up late talking and chatting about life whenever we’re together and I always come home exhausted, but in a fun exhausted way!

We’re Crazaaaay!

Now, head on over to Stevie’s blog and meet her adorable girls. Tell her I sent you!

    

The Twitter

**This is a scheduled post because I have flown far, far away for a little break. Although for some of you, I'm actually closer than normal, but that's irrelevant. If for some reason the post looks weird, blame it on the strange internet cloud in the sky that still knows to post when I'm gone.**

Have you seen the ad for some movie where Betty White announces that she’s on Facebook “and the Twitter”? I don’t know why but it cracks me up!

So, here’s what you’re missing if you’re not following me on the Twitter! Join up, won’t you!?

A month or so in the life of me, via Twitter.

- I think I might drive around and see what huge mansions are for sale...just for fun :) That was LOTS of fun! I found these houses. Sooo huge, you’d need a housekeeper full time and a gardener and a nanny like me…

(Later that day) - Went on a Bethany Parade of Homes today. Some of the houses are CRAZYYYYYY No, really?!?!

- Forgot to bring my Id into first apt place. Off to a great start! Haha They were NOT happy with me.

- Got into a little accident today. Thank goodness I didn't have Care Bear. Oh yea, that was a lot of fun. Now my car looks like this.

- Have called no less than 40 places about my car. I might have this all fixed tomorrow! Blog post when I have time to sit and tell the story. Who knew there were 40+ auto parts places in the metro area???

- While watching Wife Swap- Watching Wife Swap...family thinks 2012 is the end of the world as we know it. Craazzzy epi and And now an episode where the mom has 14 doll "babies" as well as 3 real kids.Ew. Freaky is right. And now watching an epi where the mom has her makeup tattooed on. Seriously. What is wrong with people????

- I'm not sure why but like half my family and a bunch of other people I know are all going to Florida. No one invited me. Hence why I didn’t tell any of them when I’m going to Cali. Take that.

- Bachelor pad = such a high school joke. These people are mostly older than me...crazy. Those people are living in a strange dream world.

- Eye dilation = soooo weird. Eww.

- Watching a street performer climb a light pole to escape a police officer.

- I can see Gander Mountain from my car. I called said store from my car. I'm too lazy to walk in and ask about bikes. They don't have any. I’m a lazy butt. What else is there to say. 

- I am so bad at flirting it's not even funny. Don't know how I will ever find a boyfriend haha. Oh yea..hah I forgot about that experience!

- Haha my roommate thought I was still asleep. It's 11 am. My family has a reputation. Yep. We are Irish and like sleeping in.

- Holy crap. My eye candy guy at the piano bar is cousins with a girl I went to college with. NO WAY. Yesss and he is CUTE

- Electric bug zappers hurt. Just FYI. Yes, I’m the idiot who just *had* to touch it…

- Not every day that you see a dog ordering from the drive thru...hehe  http://yfrog.com/5cfdvrj

- My roommate last night- "So, are we going to get a Christmas tree??" Dude, H, it's AUGUST! And then tonight, she started singing Christmas songs. I want to throw her out…oh wait, it’s her house.

- I am so used to the sbux people saying "have a nice day" that I said "you too"...he actually said, "see you later!" me= bumbling idiot

The Job Hunt

**This is a scheduled post because I have flown far, far away for a little break. Although for some of you, I'm actually closer than normal, but that's irrelevant. If for some reason the post looks weird, blame it on the strange internet cloud in the sky that still knows to post when I'm gone.**

Image from here

I completely understand now why professionals giving advice on job hunting suggest keeping to a schedule while out of work.

Yep, I get it now!

I’ve been babysitting every night this week, so I haven’t gotten home and in bed until midnight, at the earliest. I find that if I get up around 8, go for an early morning bike ride (even though it’s definitely cooler nowadays than in the summer, it’s still a nice ride!) and then buckle down to job search, I am more focused and am more “into it” (if that is possible). I can hunt for new jobs, call people, leave a million messages, return emails and phone calls, and sometimes still have the afternoons free to clean (ahem, I cleaned the inside of our fridge the other day. I found bacon that expired in March of 2008. Don’t blame me, I didn’t even move in here until this past May!). 

This morning though, I discovered what I really dislike about job hunting. After posting my job on Craigslist, returning three emails, leaving three voicemails, writing four more emails, applying to three jobs from monster and then going through an online application test that took 45 minutes, I was so done with all the repetitiveness of it all. It was the same questions on all the applications over and over and eventually just got tiring!

So, while I get that it’s good to get up and going in the morning so job seekers don’t sit in bed literally all day (because we could..) I definitely can’t do it for 8 hours a day. No. Flippin. Way. Any job searching tips for me? I really wish there was just a huge universal job seeking/application filling program for us to use!

 
Image from here

Football Saturdays

Photo from here

I love football season.

Growing up, we never watched any sports on television and I really still don’t to this day. I do think that tailgating sounds fun and I would probably enjoy at least one football game in person. I’m sure the food at football parties is delicious…but the real reason I enjoy these days is that my babysitting calendar fills up so fast! Last week there was a night game during the week, so I got to babysit three of my old students. We had an evening full of bicycle tire pumping classes, bike riding, pizza & ice cream before they had to go to bed. Today, I’m hanging out with Bug, who just turned two yesterday! I got here about 4 hours ago but the game just started and is still in the 1st quarter. I’m not sure if his parents are actually at the game or just tailgating but either way I’m sure they are having a good time! We went for a walk while his parents got ready and left and then we took a short drive to the zoo to see the elephants, monkeys, penguins…I have a membership so we go a lot but don’t necessarily spend a lot of time there each visit. There was also a guy carving this HUGE pumpkin…

I think that says 1056.5 lbs!! Wowza…

Welcome, football Saturdays! I’m glad you’ve arrived. You’re wonderful to my babysitting pile o’cash, sympathizing with me not having an actual job these days!

 

  
Photo from here

Are you a fan of football Saturdays? How do you celebrate? ;-)

I'm Out

I feel like I have nothing to say, nothing to blog about. 

I'll be going on a trip soon, so after that I'll have some fun posts (um, at least I BETTER!!!) and awesome pictures. 

But right now, I'm just stuck. Job hunt is still going on. I'm getting our condo really clean because I'm home all day, babysitting nights. I fear if I leave the house I'll be tempted to buy something, ya know? Haha. 

So...do you have any questions for me? Anything you want to know? Anything at ALL?! I need writing material ladies (and gents?..PB anyway). Even the most boring, general questions I'll be glad to answer at this point. Hopefully a few of my close friends (ahem, Stevie, Sharon...) will have some GRAND ideas for me!!!!

Shoot!

Wowza

I came across this picture of me (or rather, my hair) taken in Oregon just about a year ago. I hadn’t dyed my hair back then and it was blonder from the summer sun.

Last year

 

I don’t know though, I am still liking the redder color I’m rockin’ now. What do you think??

 
This year…

Last Year

Last year on this Tuesday night, I was introducing myself to new students and greeting my old students.

This year, I’m talking to parents of old students trying to get babysitting jobs, and to see the kids I am already missing.

Last year on this night, I was joking with my cowokers, excited about the upcoming school year.

This year, I haven’t seen half of my coworkers since school ended in May and have no idea what’s to come this school year.

Last year at this time, I was living with a girl whose only spoken language was to grunt. At me, my family, my friends.

This year, my new roommate and I are working through the seasons of Felicity together. We hang out most nights if both of us are home.

Last year, I was up early on the first Wednesday of school.

This year, I can do whatever I wish with my open day. (Although fun, I’m hopeful these endless open days will actually end at some point...)

Truly a new adventure…where is the road leading??

 
Picture taken on my way to my parents’ house last weekend. It was such a gorgeous day!

Debbie Downer

Sorry this blog has become a bit of a downer lately. No wonder no one is commenting, lol! Nah, it just reminds me that the reason to write is for me...not others :)

 I hope you're all having a great Labor Day weekend. Mine was spent in bridal shops (don't ask) and was incredibly long. I'm back in Big City now and thankful to be. 

All that my family seems to be able to talk about is an upcoming family wedding. It's not until next June. It's going to be a very, very long winter and spring. It is not that I'm not happy for my sibling who is marrying...I am, and I like the person they are marrying. However...I am having a hard time with it all. I'm the oldest sibling and to have a younger one taking this big step, well let's just say I'm struggling. Plus, every time I speak around my family these days I just get myself in trouble. In addition, I had to give the same speech about my job and that yes, I'm still unemployed and no, I haven't found anything yet and technically, it's only been since Friday so I'm hoping to find something and yes, I'm still keeping busy to no less than ten (well meaning, I'm sure) people over the last 24 hours. 

Oh, and one of them asked about my "romantic life" and how it's going. I told him it's not. What I should have told him is that the guy I was seeing in the spring who dropped off the face of the earth suddenly re-appeared, via text message, claiming to have lost my number and his phone...all this while I was in a bridal shop. Augh!!

I think I need to go here, alone, and reflect for like a year. 

Or crawl into a cave. 

Another Last

Yesterday was my last official day with Care Bear, the baby born in late January that I've been watching since June. She's so adorable- a very good baby who is just now cutting her first tooth. 

For our last day, I knew we had to stay busy so that I wouldn't be thinking about the fact that it was our last day. My roommate Hope, old co-worker/friend Cara and Cara's friend Aurelia had a day full of ice cream, shopping, and fun planned so we tagged along. By the time we got home from that adventure, it was a mere 10-15 minutes until Care Bear's mom walked in the door. She was also sad about it being my "last day" but we both consoled ourselves with the fact that it doesn't mean we won't see each other. I have Care Bear for an evening next week and possibly a day as well...it was just the fact that it was the last scheduled day/full week...

I really am grateful to Cara for setting us up (Care Bear's parents are best friends of Cara). Really, Care Bear and I had a great summer together- we went to parks to take walks, went to a fountain park, the zoo, the science center, the library, took countless walks to get ice cream or hit up a coffee shop with or without friends, and she got to meet most of my old co-workers since we'd meet for lunch to catch up. 

It was a wonderful summer, Care Bear. I hope I have the opportunity to watch you grow even more!

Still...last days are sad.

Just Thinking

So, here we are at the beginning of September. When I left my job in May, I thought I’d have something new lined up by now, to be honest.

I am almost positive that it was God’s plan for me to leave the school in the spring…it had to be, right? It was a decision that felt right at still does…but even though I’m not really worried about the whole situation, parts of me at times think, “What if I made a huge mistake?!” There is a tiny shred of doubt as my coworkers begin school next week. I’m excited for them to meet the new kids, to hear about the former kids’ summers.

But still, what if?

- What if I was wrong? (Even with everyone telling me then, and now, that the decision was right?)
- What if I don’t find anything, then what?
- What if I’ve just lost my drive to love another job. Is that why I’m hesitant about accepting any job, school, nannying, or otherwise?
- What if I lose touch with my old coworkers? The summer has been great staying in touch with them, but with school starting? I’m sad for the inevitable break.

So…I’m struggling some today. It’s going to get easier, I know. I’m glad to have plans the night of their first day of school though, I have to admit.

On the upside, I’m babysitting three former students tonight- something I wouldn’t have been able to do if I was still working at the school. I just need to focus on the positive aspects of leaving. Maybe I’ll work on a list and post it later…that might be a good idea!