Changes

A lot has changed over the last few months.  I don't want to get into it all and will just highlight a couple of things:

- In December, I completed my BA in Sociology with a minor in Psychology at Central WA University.

- Around that same time, I was accepted into the MSW Virtual Program at USC.  I am so excited to start this 4 semester program and become a part of the Trojan family.  If everything goes as planned, I will graduate May 2013.  Maybe this will be me in a year and a half??

- I am still working at Line-X NW, but things may be changing when I find out what, when and where my internship will be.

- I have registered for a CPR/First Aid class as well as the other pre-training class required to get licensed as a foster parent.  I am hoping to complete my licensing soon and be able to be a foster parent for children in need.  I know school will be keeping me busy, but also have a strong calling to be a parent and am not going to resist that urge for much longer.

Those are the main points in my life right now.  Things between Andrew and I are weird.  We aren't together, but we aren't apart either.  We are still trying to work things out, but a lot has to change for that to happen and right now, we both have a lot going on.  I am focusing on school, getting licensed as a foster partent, and then will worry about the rest like where I will be living and working.  There is a good chance I will be moving to get closer to where my internship will be once that is announced, and that will have to occur before I can commit to being a foster parent.  Right now, it's first things first.  Classes start on January 9 and I am extremely excited, nervous and apprehensive about starting.  Here goes nothing!

Day Off

Today was my only day off this week, so I figured I better make the most of it.  First, I hopped on my bike, met up with Andrew and took a nice ride towards Mt. Rainier.  We stopped at a little place that looked cute and had a yummy lunch.  He had homework to finish so we had to head home after lunch.  It was a really pretty ride and I hope when I have more time I can take my bike up and do the loop around Mt Rainier since it has been a while since I have been up there.

When I got home, I didn't want to stay inside and not enjoy the sunny weather so grabbed Zeus and headed to the Ruston Way waterfront in Tacoma.  We went on a little walk there which we both enjoyed.  I am still trying to kick a nasty cough I acquired a few weeks ago when I was sick, so didn't want to go too far.  It's also hard with him since he doesn't get along well with others.  I guess I should just take him out more so he gets used to other dogs and maybe he won't try to attack everyone that he meets.

Now, I am home and feeling tired from a long week and a busy day.  I have plans to make baked rigatoni for dinner and finish up some homework before calling it a day.  It's amazing how fast today went by and I am glad I was able to spend it outside since I am cooped up indoors all day at work.

Survivor Mud Run

Here is a write up courtesy of my dad of how we spent the Saturday before Father's Day:


Date:  Saturday, June 18, 2011  (Fathers Day Weekend)
Destination: Survivor Mud Run, Remlinger Farms, Carnation Washington

Amy came up Friday night after work. Debbie, Amy, Devon, Jackie and I registered to run in the Seattle Survivor Mud Run. It was raining and a mild 50 degrees out. We loaded up the motor-home and picked up Devon & Jackie around 8:00am and drove to Carnation. We arrived in time to pick up our packets and made the 11:15am corral start.  The race consisted of 14 obstacles to challenge us on the 3.3 hellish mile course. We had to run through tires hoping over 4’ walls, crawled under webbing, climbed over two 12’ walls, waded through a couple deep mud pits, traverse the river, crawled through deep mud, climbed over a 20’ net wall, & slid down steep mud ravines. One of the teams was the owner of Carlile Transportation (Ice Road Truckers TV series). It was amazing how many people were running this event. This was one of the funniest events yet. Bringing the motor home was perfect. We all rinsed the clumps of mud off using the outside shower, and then all took hot showers inside to remove the little chunks of mud. Check out the before and after photos…  On the way home we stopped in Duvall and had lunch/dinner. We arrived home around 7:00pm. We all had a great time playing in the mud….

And here are a couple of before and after pictures:

It was a great day and I hope that we do it again next year!

Quick Update

I know, I have been bad and haven't posted for over a month.  I will try and give a quick update on all that has happened:

* My house sold!

* I moved into a two bedroom apartment

* I finished another quarter of school (only summer and fall, then have to decide where to go for MSW...UWT or many USC???)

* I got to go to Vegas with my mom and grandma for Tricia's wedding

* I'm taking Belly Dancing classes once a week (I LOVE THEM!!)


Um, I guess, that is all for now.  Work is keeping me busy during the day and I am actually hoping to get an evening/weekend job to earn a little extra during the summer since I am only taking two classes online.

Getting out to enjoy the sun!

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! The Easter bunny found me even when I went out.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Un-unemployed

I have been horrible at updating my blog lately and part of that is due to the fact that I am working again.  I got a job about 2 weeks ago and have been trying to get used to working full time and being a full time student.  My lazy days are now gone and I seem to spend all my time either at work, at school, or doing  homework.  I have managed to have some fun on Thursday nights when I take a belly dancing class that I love.  But, besides work and school, all other aspects of my life are getting less and less time.

So, I now am a sales consultant at Line-X NW.  So far, I am enjoying it.  I do a little of everything from inside sales, outside sales, picking up and dropping off trucks plus whatever else needs to happen to make the shop run smoothly.  I get along good with the guys I work with and it is a fun work environment.  My first official day on the job I managed  to get a rock chip in a brand new 2011 Toyota Tundra that only had 23 miles on it.  We all still joke about my luck.  I hope this job works out as I ramp up so I can hit some of the commission goals they set for me.  It's nice to be out and about during the day and meeting new people.  I hope that things keep going the way they are....And I promise, I will try and blog more often.

Happy St Patrick's Day!

Something new...

I think that everyday we learn something new.  Whether we realize it or not, people are dynamic and most of us are constantly learning, even if what we are learning doesn't seem important at the time.

Today I learned that not all cats sleep like this:

Some sleep like this:

Another thing I have learned is that some cats like to sleep snuggled up next to you under the covers.  I swear, I learn something new everyday!

Me

I often times wonder if I will ever learn to accept myself.  I wish I could wake up in the morning and not hate the person looking back at me.  I have been trying to be aware of what I want.  For so long, I think that I made choices based on what other people wanted for me, or what I felt like I was expected to do.  I think I am so scared of letting people down and being a failure that I am confused about who I truly am.  I am trying to learn to live for myself and not for other people so I can figure out who I am.  I hope that with this insight, I will be able to accept myself better.

So, what is it that I like and what I want?  I don't know and that is the hard thing.  I just want to be happy so that is my focus.  Everyday, I am trying to make the most of my time and be happy.  But, that is still hard.  Now, I am trying to scrapbook more which I enjoy and I am stopping all my excuses for lack of motivation so I can go to the gym daily.  I know when I work out, I am happy.  I enjoy exercise and it makes me feel good so I should do it more.  That is my goals for now.  I just want to learn to accept myself and not depend on other people to make me happy.  I  know that there is a long journey in front of me, but at least there is some hope that one day things will be better than they are today.