Every Day It's Getting Better

Work yesterday wasn't quite so bad. Lorry came in for almost five hours, so I didn't have to do everything all by myself. I ended up only having to work about seven hours and it wasn't nearly as stressful as a regular Friday. Can you see why I ended up working nine to eleven hours every Friday? I don't know how Christopher works twelve hour shifts. I would be a zombie.

Right now, I'm debating going to Yoga Class at the fitness center or working on my MS Office Class. Decisions, decisions. Actually, I'm avoiding both by blogging, aren't I?

I'm taking an MS Office class online because I need to know MS Office better if I'm going to get an Administrative Assistant job at SLCC. I feel like that's the next step in my career. My long, weird, meandering career.

I'm hoping that as an Admin Assistant I'll get to design things, like brochures and charts and presentations. That would be cool. And much more artistic than my current job. Plus, the insurance and other benefits are great. I'd get to take SLCC classes for free! How awesome is that? Especially since I can't get government grants anymore since I have a Bachelor's Degree. Apparently the government thinks that once you've earned a Bachelor's Degree, you've got it made.

I don't think working at SLCC would be as stressful as the inevitable ups and downs of home health. Either we have so many patients we don't know how to fit them all in or so few patients Joe is fretting over having to lay people off. Hopefully they won't expect me to cram a totally unreasonable amount of work into my alloted time (unlike my current job!). I think it would be less stressful to work full time and know I can get my work done, rather than never being able to catch up. I hate having tons of loose ends hanging out at the end of the work day.

Cameron and Jarom are over at Meagan and Zac's at the moment. They probably stayed up all night playing Zombies. Meagan invited Amber, too, but Amber decided not to go. Maybe because Meagan is working this morning? Maybe because Amber wants to play basketball with the Young Women this morning?

Want to know something great? We almost have all of the Primary teacher positions filled. With teachers who actually show up every week or are responsible enough to get subs if they won't be there. And seem to be happy to be in Primary. It's been a struggle getting two teachers for each class. We're almost there - we just need one more Sunbeam teacher and two or three Nursery workers. Oh, and I need another counselor. Tomorrow is Ward Conference, so we'll see how that goes. At least I don't have to do Sharing Time by myself this Ward Conference. Carol (my one and only counselor at the moment) is helping with that.

Hmmm...let's run through the family roster, shall we?

David - has taken up oil painting again. He's on his second or third painting since he started painting a few weeks ago. He's doing a winter scene at the moment.

David's locksmithing skillz saved us $50 on getting our van door fixed. The driver's door kept making a popping noise every time we opened or closed it. Gine's said we'd need to take it to a body shop, since they don't have a spot welder. We took it to K&S Automotive, which is about a block from the library. They told us it would cost $400-$500 to fix it because they'd have to take the door off and take it apart. It ended up costing only $200, and then they gave us an extra $50 off because David fixed the sticky knob on their front door. In the end, it only set us back $150. How awesome is that? And the door works perfectly now.

David wants a bowling ball that smells like birthday cake. Can you believe they make such a thing? When we went bowling on MLK Jr. Day, David spent half his time in the Pro Shop at the bowling alley. Maybe he doesn't really want a bowling ball that smells like birthday cake, but he does want a shiny purple one that fits his arthritic fingers better. I think we'd have to go bowling more often than once every year or two for that investment to be worthwhile.

Meagan - Since Meagan didn't pass Anatomy the first two times around, her grant wouldn't pay for it a third time. She was only going to take a Drawing class, but I reminded her that she has to take at least six credit hours or her grant won't pay for anything. Luckily, she still had enough time to add a Psychology class.

She seems to be enjoying school a lot more this semester. No tough math or science classes. And she's also not training full time for a new job, putting together a wedding, or moving. That may make a difference, too. Through it all, Meagan is still crocheting amazing things. She certainly didn't get that skill from me. Must be from her Great Grandma Baran and her Aunt Tammie.

Zac - is going back to school in March. He's going to ITT Tech and working on an Associate's Degree in - what was it? - Internet Security, I believe. That sounds like a good field to go in to. Zac likes technology and the internet certainly needs security. I hope he likes it.

Cameron - is taking Java 2, Calculus and Drawing. In fact, he's taking the same Drawing class as Meagan, just at a different time, with a different teacher, since they work opposite shifts. They're doing some similar things and some very different things. Every time they see each other, they compare what they're doing in drawing. They are both good artists and it's interesting to see what they end up drawing.

Cameron's Calculus class starts at 7:00 am Monday thru Thursday. He gets himself up every morning around 5:30 and has made it to the bus on time almost every day since class started. I'm impressed. Cameron seems to really like computer programming. I think it's a good field for him. He's planning on transferring to the U eventually and majoring in computer programming with an art emphasis.

Jarom - has been better at getting up in the wee hours of the morning for Jazz Band. He's been pretty much on time since December, when I threatened to pull him out of Jazz Band if he didn't start getting up in the morning. I'm impressed and excited that he's been doing so much better.

Jarom's scheduled to take the ACT Test in February and we need to get him signed up for Engineering Week at USU. Jarom's leaning toward Chemical Engineering, but he's not sure yet. During Engineering Week, high school students live on campus and get to try out experiments in several different kinds of engineering. I think Jarom will enjoy that. Jarom is good at chemistry. Last year when he was taking high school chemistry, he helped Meagan pass college chemistry. I was impressed.

Jarom's art teacher thinks he should major in Graphic Design or Illustration. She's impressed with Jarom's drawings and sensitivity to line and color. His dragon drawings are amazing. He keeps getting better and better. Even Jarom's Physics teacher is impressed with his drawing skills. He had the kids do comic strips about Physics principles and was blown away by Jarom's comic strip.

Amber - goes to Anime Club at the library every month. This week they drew comics and got a free comic book. My, the comics in the book they got were silly.

Amber has been working on improving her grades. She somehow managed to pull 3 D's & F's up to C's, just before the end of the semester. With much urging from David and me. This semester, we're going to keep on top of that better. So far, that's involved sitting at the kitchen table after dinner, doing homework. I usually help Amber with her math. One night Meagan even helped Amber with her math. It was a nice break for me. :)

Amber is taking a Communications class this semester. She finished writing some movie reviews and previews. Next, she gets to record them and add sound effects. I think Communications, Art and French are Amber's favorite classes.

Jetta - poor Jetta is getting old. She's having more trouble getting up and down and she's developed cataracts. The vet told us last summer that Jetta needs her teeth cleaned desperately, and while she's knocked out, he'll remove a couple of tumors (benign, fortunately) she's developed on her chest. I think he told us it’d cost about $400-$500. Somehow, we keep having other expenses/things come up and we haven't taken her in. Maybe when we get our income tax refund?

Thor - is so grouchy, but still so cute. Sometimes he stays out all night in the freezing weather and sometimes he snuggles up in bed with us. He's unpredictable and stealthy and oh so fun to bug. I'm not sure where he is right now, but I'm sure he'll turn up somewhere. Just so he isn't stuck in a bedroom with the door shut...

Well, I guess I’m not going to Yoga Class today…it started fifteen minutes ago. I guess I’ll get back to work on MS Word, figuring out how to do Macros and Mail Merges. Exciting!

My Last Three Posts Have Been Drafts

'Cuz as I wrote them over the past few weeks, I decided it would be better if I didn't "publish" them.

*SIGH* Not liking my job right now. At least I can get a different one if I want, right? I'm pretty sure I'll have a different job within the next few months. A much, much better job with benefits and paid time off and work I can actually get caught up on. I can't handle my current job much longer. I like Joe and Lorry, but the job is horrible.

So...that's what I've been up to. Writing blog posts that will never see the light of day.

Here's something happy, though: I'm taking Monday off of work. Yay! I think we're going to go bowling for MLK day. Should be fun, huh? I NEED some fun right now.

Speaking of fun, it was nice to go to Bountiful and see Mom and Dad and Sheri on Wednesday. I like visiting them. And I found out stuff I never knew before - like that Grandpa Gambles trained to be a barber when he was younger. Who knew?