Two Strikes, Good Friends, and Snow

Well, I found out on Thursday and Friday that I did not get the two jobs I was hoping for. I have been waiting since October to hear about the National Speakers Bureau job. On Thursday I decided to check the staff page on their webpage to see if anything new was up. The position I applied for was up on the site with someone else's name. Late Friday afternoon I checked the mail to find a letter from Lake County Forest Preserves, Discovery Museum. I knew as soon as I saw that envelope it was not good news. The letter thanked me for my interview, but they hired someone else. This was a bigger blow for me because this was my realm; I was very qualified for that job. Needless to say Friday night was a little tough for me, but thankfully I had my wonderful husband who knew exactly what to say, even if at times it was nothing, and what to do, even if it meant just holding me. He especially understood the trip to the grocery store for emergency chocolate and Diet Coke :) So now I am back at square one. I am continously searching for jobs and applying to anything and everything. I also am searching for seasonal/holiday work to bring in some income.

Our friend Kim flies in on Thursday for Thanksgiving and will stay with us through Monday. We are planning to have a potluck Thanksgiving dinner with her and a couple of Travis's classmates. A couple of weeks ago we received a wonderful gift from Travis's parents. They are flying us home to Texas for Christmas and New Years. We will be in Texas from December 20th through January 3rd. We plan to visit Abilene (20-25), College Station (26-28), and Lufkin (29-3). We are so excited!

Last Thursday I traveled down to Evanston to attended an art show Katrina put on with some other local artists. And while there I was able to see Daniel Stinson (aka DanX) who was spending a week with Mark and Katrina. It was so much fun to hang out with some of the old crew. And the art show was fantastic! I wish I was in a place where I could buy some of the art. There were quite a few Katrina originals that I wanted. On Sunday we had lunch with Kelly, Sarah, and Lisa Davidson who were in the area for a wedding. Kelly was the one who performed our wedding. It was so wonderful to catch up with them. Seeing them made me feel like we were back in Texas.

Today at 7:30 Travis gingerly woke me up and asked me to look out the window. It was snowing! The ground and the cars all had a light layer of snow and more was falling lightly from the sky. It stopped by 8:30 and by now is almost all melted but it still was fun to wake up to!

Interview

I had my interview yesterday at the Discovery Museum. I feel that it went well, but I always think afterward that I didn't do as well as a should. I think back on what I said and wonder if I could/should have said more. I felt very at ease and enjoy the people I interviewed with. They are finishing up interviews today and said I should hear something by the end of the month. Before the interview I visited the museum and spent about 2 1/2 hours looking and reading. The museum is very well put together. One section is a permanent exhibit on the history of Lake County; there is another permanent exhibit on postcards which is really fascinating. Then there are two spaces available for traveling exhibits. The museum is located within a forest preserve and right next to a lake. It is beautiful. Over the past week and a half, aside from visiting the museum, I rented a couple books on Lake County history and studied up on some very interesting facts about the county.

I am very hopeful and will let everyone know as soon as I hear something.

"It's For a Good Cause"

Travis has entered himself into a "contest" in which he is the only participant and the proceeds will go to a worthy cause. Before I explain the contest I need to prelude with another contest. Three weeks ago, at the start of the crazy tests for Travis and his classmates, some of the guys in Travis's class decided they would go without shaving their moustaches until the tests were over. Travis was not one of the ones who participated. Last week while discussing the contest with a fellow classmate, Travis mentioned that a real contest would be to go without shaving a moustache until Histology class is over, which would be the beginning of February. Travis's classmate said that if Travis did it he would donate $100 to the American Diabetes Association. There is the possibility that other will donate money to the organization if Travis makes it. He is not allowed to trim the moustache; the only thing he can do is trim the area on his upper lip.

Even though it is for a wonderful cause...I am somewhat looking forward to February :)

I plan to take pictures of the stache's growth over the next 3 months. Here it is on day one: