Travis and Erin's Northern Adventures

Weird Comment

2011-05-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

So today I spent an hour sitting at the front desk while our receptionist went to a meeting. On the desk, she has a picture frame with three pictures of her daughter who is in college. While I was sitting there, a director from a different department came to see our VP. As he was walking past the desk he noticed the pictures and asked, "is that your daughter?" Really? Yes, I was 7 when I had her--a medical miracle. Sheesh!

Travis will be coming home for the weekend on the 20th-22nd. He will then be back home for a month starting the 27th. From what I can tell he is enjoying his rotation in South Bend, Indiana. This is his first rotation to be staying by himself, and I can tell he is lonely.

It is finally beginning to warm up here. I think we reached the 70's today. I was talking with one of the men at church on Sunday who has lived here most of his life. He said this is the worst he can remember it being. Apparently, last year by this time we had 16 days above 70; this year we have only had 3. Maybe since this winter has lasted so long it means a very mild winter this year. One can hope!

New Business Venture

2011-05-02T19:38:00.000-07:00

Hello Blog Friends and Family,

I know what you are all thinking: two blogs in one week from Erin, are pigs flying? It's true this is not a common occurrence for me, but I am very excited to share a new project that I have taken on. I am now a Mary Kay Independent Consultant!

If you had told me 5 years ago that I would take this on, I would probably have not believed you. This was before I fully tried the products and realized how amazing they are. I have been using the skin care line for only 3 days and have seen positive results.

All this to say, I would love to help you or any of your friends out with their skin care or makeup needs. What's even more exciting is I have my own personal website with information about products and online ordering! Also check out one of my favorite features, the virtual makeover. I have already spent quite a bit of time playing with the different color combinations. Please feel free to visit:

www.marykay.com/erinbodeker

Feel free to contact me with any questions!

Spring...ish?

2011-04-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

Well, once again I have fallen off the blog wagon. I need to just set up an alarm that will remind me to update the blog.

The title of this blog refers to the lovely weather we are having up in North Chicago. I truly cannot believe it is almost May. True, it usually takes a little longer for it to warm up here, but this year has been pretty bad. April has been a month of 30-40 degree weather and rain--tons of rain. Believe me, I would have love to have sent it down to Texas to help with all of the fires. Two Mondays ago I woke up to a disgusting blanket of snow on the ground. It was somewhere around 1-2 inches. Needless to say, it put quite a damper on my day. Today I think we actually made it up to 60 with some sunshine...at least for a few hours. It's overcast again and probably in the low 50's. I am so ready to wear my flip-flops and skirts!

Last weekend I flew down to Texas to visit Travis. For the month of April he has been at a program in Kingwood. He and his classmate have been staying at one of the doctor's house (a family friend of his classmate). My first night there we had dinner with the doctor and his wife. We spent some time with Travis's parents on Saturday. We also were able to spend time with some good friends we knew back in College Station, who now live in Kingwood. They have already decided we are moving there. This was my first time visiting Kingwood, and I have to say I would not be opposed to living there. We went to our friends' church on Sunday. I thoroughly enjoy our church in Illinois, but I truly miss being apart of a larger congregation that has more opportunities to get involved. I also was excited to sing a few newer songs in worship. And the weather that weekend was wonderful!!! I told my co-workers that I was not coming back from the trip, and I really, really wanted to stay. I have to keep telling myself, "only one more year, only one more winter."

Travis is traveling this weekend to his next rotation in South Bend, Indiana. Apparently, South Bend is only about 3 hours away, so he will be able to come home on weekends which I am thoroughly excited about. (Hmmm...guess I need to start cleaning the apartment).

Washington DC

2011-03-21T16:08:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful time in DC this weekend. The weather could not have been more gorgeous! When I landed on Friday it was sunny and 79 degrees. Saturday was a little cooler in the low 60's. I'm not fully certain of the area my hotel was in, but I know I was close to the zoo. The recruiting event was not until 2:00 on Saturday, so I got up early that morning (at least early for me) to do some sight seeing. There was a Metro station not far from the hotel which would take me to the mall area to see the monuments. The Metro is located underground, much like the New York subway. The particular station I went to had the longest escalator I have ever seen! We just kept going down. This escalator will come into play again during my day's events.

I was able to spend about 2 hours at the mall area. I forgot how spread out the monuments are--I definitely got a good walk in. I was able to see the Washington Monument, the WWII Memorial (which was not there when I came in 8th grade), the Lincoln Memorial, the Korean War Memorial, and the Vietnam Memorial. I was also able to grab a couple of quick pictures of the White House and the Capitol Building.

By the time I had finished visiting each site, I realized I needed to get back to have time to eat and primp for the recruiter fair. When I got back to the station near my hotel (the gigantic, massive escalator), I realized there was only one up escalator working. There was quite a line waiting to get on. I also noticed there was a broken escalator that people were walking up. I decided to take the healthier option and walk--it's just a few stairs, right? Oh my word. I was half way up when my thighs started to burn and I was getting really tired. By the time I reached the top I was breathing as if I had just finished a five mile run. Never again.

The event went well. I was sitting next to a recruiter from the University of Chicago who I got to know very well. I also saw another recruiter from the University of Illinois that I had met at a previous event. Usually when I go to the events I don't know anyone. It was rather enjoyable to see a face I recognized.

Below are a few pictures I took of the monuments:

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone, especially all you Irish lads and lasses. Today was Match Day for the medical school. This is one of my favorite events at the University. This is the day when all medical students find out where there residency will be. Every medical school has Match Day on the same date and at the same time. At our school it is held in the main lobby. It is quite chaotic as staff members stand on the coffee tables, calling out names and handing out the envelopes. If you can't see the action, you definitely know when the students receive their envelopes by the screams of excitement. There are also tears on this day, of joy and of sadness, but the overall feeling is one of excitement. It's exciting for me because I know a handful of the fourth years due to their help interviewing applicants. I made sure to scout out as many of them as possible to congratulate them and find out where they would be headed for the rest of their education.

The month of March seems to be all about travel. Two weekends ago I traveled down to Texas to spend some time with Travis. It was so good to see him and talk in person instead of on the phone. It was such a thrill to step out of the airport into the 70 degree weather. It was not as pleasant on the return trip when I stepped out into 25 degree weather. I made sure to get some Texas food in while I was there. I had one of the best chicken fried steaks I have ever had at Saltgrass. We were also able to find a Freebirds which was so divine. It was so hard to come back, but it is remarkable how fast the time is flying by. I am planning to make another trip down to see him in April.

This weekend I am traveling to Washington, DC. I am going to a recruiting event for the medical school. I haven't been to DC since 8th grade; so I am very excited. Kristi, in case you read this, with this trip, I have been continuously thinking about how we got lost in the massive DC zoo! The event is from 2:00-6:00 on Saturday. I am thinking I will venture out in the morning to see a few sites. I would like to go to one of the museums, but I'm afraid I will be too tempted to skip the event and stay all day! My plan is to go instead to the mall area and visit the monuments. Hopefully, my next blog post will be pictures from my weekend.

Erin Go Bragh!

Happy Anniversary

2011-02-18T14:58:00.000-08:00

This past Wednesday was our 3rd anniversary. Because we knew we were going to be apart for this anniversary, we celebrated back in January. I was not expecting to have anything happen on the actual day. While I was in my office talking with one of our recruiters I happened to see our administrative assistant coming down the hallway with a vase of roses. I was completely shocked! Travis had ordered roses to be delivered at my office.

All the ladies in the office commented on how sweet it was. I know secretly they were jealous. :)

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T15:12:00.000-08:00

Just to catch everyone up, we all survived the Blizzard of 2011. We received between 18-20 inches of snow. By the next day the roads were plowed, sidewalks were shoveled and it was back to life as usual. I know all you Texas people can't believe that, especially those of you who were stuck at home for 4 days. The past two days the temperature has hit about 40 degrees. It is amazing what above freezing temps and a little sun will do to a whole lot of snow. In certain areas, I can see the grass. Come on Spring!

Travis and I are doing well. It's been two weeks since he left for the start of his 4 months of rotations. He is doing well in Colorado. He is not as busy as he was at his last rotation, but from what I can tell he is apart of more surgeries. We talk every evening before bed. It is a little weird that he is not here for Valentine's Day or our anniversary (Wednesday).

I have been doing my best to stay busy. It's a little hard with the cold and snow. I would like to get involved with some volunteering, but I need to wait until it is warmer. My co-workers have been helping me by inviting me out to different functions. Last week I went with one of my co-workers to watch her daughter's choir perform different Disney songs. This Friday I am going with another co-worker to a battle of the bands/coffee bar event. It should be interesting. In March I am going to Washington DC for a medical school recruiting event, which I am looking forward to.

To end today's post I will share with you one of the conversations I overheard on our interview day (these are both male faculty members):

Interviewer 1: "What is today's date?"
Interviewer 2: "February 14th, Valentine's Day!"
Interviewer 1: "Uh-oh I'm in trouble."

Happy Valentine's Day!

Still Snowing

2011-02-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe spring will come early this year when you are stuck in the middle of one of the worst snowstorms Chicago has seen in years. It is still snowing here and is scheduled to for most of the day. Last night my lights flickered once, and a little later the electricity went completely out for about 10 seconds. Other than that, everything has stayed in tact.

I took a few pictures of the "winter wonderland" outside. This is the most snow I have ever seen!

I don't think I will be going out on the back patio any time soon.

I'm glad our car is safe and warmish in a garage.

I took this picture because of the trees. I have never seen them completely covered in snow.

Hopefully you can see the mound of snow in this picture. This is one of the snow drifts near the apartment.

It will be interesting to see if I go to work tomorrow or not.

The Snow and Wind are Here!

2011-02-01T17:59:00.001-08:00

Thankfully the school closed at 2:00 today and will be closed tomorrow as well. When we left at 2:00 it wasn't too bad. The snow was lightly coming down and the wind was fairly normal, at least normal for up here. It has definitely picked up since then. The worst of the storm is suppose to hit after midnight tonight. One of Travis's classmates posted a picture of an entire stop light that blew down in the downtown Chicago area. Sheesh! I tried taking a video of the events outside for everyone to witness. The video doesn't do justice, but enjoy!

Snow Storm 2011?

2011-01-31T16:01:00.000-08:00

Travis made it to Greeley, Colorado safe and sound. And probably just in time. We are expecting a rather large system to pass through up here. The snow will start tomorrow afternoon and turn into blizzard conditions Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning. I believe they are anticipating 1 to 2 feet of snow.

We are suppose to have medical school interviews on Wednesday, but we made the decision to cancel those for the safety of the applicants and also because I wouldn't be able to find any faculty to interview them (it's hard enough to find them on a sunny day). I'm hoping the school is closed on Wednesday. Thankfully, I went to the store this weekend and stocked up on food. Now I need to locate the flashlights in case the electricity goes out.

Leaving

2011-01-28T15:09:00.001-08:00

Alright, so a catch up on the Bodekers. I promise to get better at updating the blog this year. I'm not one for making New Year's resolutions, but I think this should be one for me.

We had a very wonderful trip back to Texas for Christmas. Thankfully it was not as eventful as last year's trip. We made it there and back without any weather issues. We surprised both of Travis's grandmothers who did not know we would be making it. Travis's new nickname is "the scoundrel" as dictated to him by his grandma. Everyone should feel free to use this name at anytime. My family came up to Lancaster to see us on Christmas Eve day, and we had a great time eating, visiting and opening presents. Each day brought more family members, some of whom I had not meet yet. Here are a couple of pictures with the grandmothers, along side Travis's brother Cody and his wife, and a few of the cousins.

Travis started his first clinical externship this month. He was at the Westside VA in downtown Chicago. He had to be there at 7:00 each morning which meant he would wake up at 4:30 each morning. Luckily, there were 3 other classmates there with him; so they would carpool each day. He has had the opportunity to sit in and help out a little in a couple of surgeries. I believe he said he has seen over 100 patients at this one hospital. He has had a wonderful experience her and truly enjoyed everyone at the facility.

Tomorrow Travis leaves for his next 4 rotations and will be gone from February through May. We are both not looking forward to this time apart. Travis will be driving to Greeley, Colorado. I would ask that everyone please keep him in your prayers. I am hopefully planning to visit him in April while he is in Texas. I will be in the process of finding little hobbies to keep me busy throughout the next four months. It might be time to pick up my knitting and scrap booking again.

Baby, It's Cold Outside

2010-12-12T14:03:00.000-08:00

Once again I have fallen off the blog-wagon. I apologize to everyone who still reads this blog. I especially apologize to my friend, Kristi, who I told I would have a new post after Thanksgiving. So I have about 3 months of catching up to do. This might be a lengthy blog. And you know how much I love to use the bullet points for long update posts, so here goes...

* We had a very enjoyable Thanksgiving. We had a small group gather at our place. Chris (Travis's classmate who has been living with us since June) and his fiance, Jasia, and her little girl, Chloe, came up, as well as another classmate named Luke. Jasia made pumpkin pies from scratch! I was so impressed. All I've ever known is pumpkin from the can. Travis made a fabulous, melt-in-your mouth turkey. The day was filled with movies and Disney Scene-It, which Chloe really enjoyed.

* I have not pulled out all of the Christmas decorations this year. I have a few token items, mainly things my mom sent me in a care package. Our new apartment is set up in a way that our Christmas tree will not fit without causing major maneuvering issues. Because I could not stand the idea of tree-less living room, I made a make-shift Christmas tree:

* For the last few months the weather has been pretty mild, but all that changed a couple of weeks ago. We had our first snow last Saturday. You do not know the horrors of Christmas shopping until you have shopped while it is snowing. I called it quits after only a couple of hours. I don't know how people live daily lives in this stuff! Today it has been snowing pretty much all day with wind gusts of 40 mph. And because there was a nice layer of non-plowed snow Travis, Chris and I indulged in some much needed parking lot doughnuts. Here are a couple pictures from our patio. Sorry they are not very scenic...I was all about staying warm.

* Work has been rather intense lately. Fall is a very busy time. I have been dealing with applications coming in, coordinating the interview days, preparing committee meetings, sending out acceptances letters and everything else in between. December 1st was our deadline for applications. Deadline time is when we receive large amounts of mail. On one day alone we received over 250 applications. The past two weeks have been rather crazy around the office, but now that receiving applications are done, we can devout time to all the other tasks that need to be complete.

* Because we have been understaffed, a few of us have been helping out with the recruiting events. I helped out with 3 different events. In early October I went to an event at UIC (University of Illinois at Chicago). At the end of October I accompanied my boss to an event in Normal, IL at the Illinois State University campus. My final event was at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL. All three of these events were great opportunities. I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with all of the prospective applicants.

* Travis has been doing well. He really enjoys his third year, mainly for the fact that he has more down time. This week is his last week of his capstone classes. Since June he has been involved with 6 week classes on devoted to different medical fields. He has completed Radiology, Orthopedics, Surgery, and this week he will be done with General Medicine. He will have two weeks off and then he will begin his month long rotations. He has mandatory rotations in the Chicago Area and then he has 8 electives. The schedule is fairly ok with the exception of this spring when he will be gone from February to the end of May. Once we get past that hurtle, he will only be gone for periods of 1 or 2 months.

* Here is Travis's schedule for the next year and a half:

January--West Side VA in Chicago
February--Greenly, Colorado
March--Greenville, Texas
April--Houston, Texas
May--Southbend, Indiana
June--Chicago Area (internal medicine)
July--Temple, Texas (Scott and White)
August--San Antonio, Texas
September--Chicago Area (emergency medicine)
October--Chicago Area (Stoger Hospital of Cook County)
November--Ft. Worth, Texas (John Peter Smith)
December--Chicago Area (Stroger Hospital of Cook County)
January--CRIPS (CRIPS is the interview process for residency. He will be in Texas for this.)
February--Chicago Area (Mt. Sinai Hospital)
March--North Chicago VA
April--Vacation Month
May--Chicago Area
June 2012--Graduation!

Cubs Game

2010-09-11T07:42:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday, Travis and I went with some friends to our first Cubs game. We had been to Wrigleyville before and seen the outside of the stadium. But it's not official until you sit in the stands, heckle the players and eat a hot dog. The day we went was actually pretty cool. It was in the mid 60's and the wind was blowing. I had jeans and a jacket on, and I was still cold at times. We were able to get cheap tickets...probably because the Cubs have not been doing so well this season. (Go Rangers!)

Perhaps we brought along a little Texas luck because they won this game against the NY Mets. Here are a few pictures:

Wrigleyville is set up to where surrounding buildings have rooftop bleachers. In this picture the stadium is on the left.

From the stadium you could see Lake Michigan:

Here is our motley crew. Chris, Travis's classmate who lives with us on the weekdays; Jasia, Chris's fiance; Chloe, Jasia's daughter; and Kristen, another podiatry classmate.

Proof that he was actually there!

Cubs Win: 5-3! Apparently the Cubs have their own song for when they win. The words were flashed on the screen and almost everyone was singing along.

This is probably my favorite picture from the trip. Please note the "radioactive" relish on the hot dog. Chicago likes to add green food coloring to the relish.

3 sports events down (Bulls, Black Hawks, Cubs); One to go (Bears).

The New Apartment

2010-09-04T16:36:00.000-07:00

So I have had these pictures in my camera since last weekend and have been meaning to upload them to the blog. Work got a little busy this week and many evenings were spent completing some stuff to stay ahead. But still, no excuse. Here are some photos of each of the rooms. Perhaps soon I can put up a video of a tour of the apartment to help but everything in perspective.

Large, spacious kitchen

One view of the dining room/living room

This is our lovely patio that we have been taking full advantage of. The table, chairs and grill are on loan from a 4th year podiatry student. The tomato plant was given to us by another podiatry student.

This is the guest room/office and from now until January it is known as Chris's room, Travis's classmate who stays with us on the weekdays.

Our super, big room. The picture does not do it justice--it just keeps going!

The Official Letter

2010-08-21T09:56:00.000-07:00

Below is a picture of Travis's official letter about his board scores. Sorry it's a little fuzzy. I edited as best I could.

We are all moved into our new apartment. I should be able to put some pictures up soon. I am truly loving all the space we have in the kitchen. You don't realize how important a pantry is until you go two years without one. We have already grilled 3 times on our patio. Pictures to come soon along with updates on Travis's upcoming traveling schedule.

The Beginning of August

2010-08-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

As August begins, we are enjoying the 70's/80's weather, although we feel for all our friends and family in Texas who are melting in 100's. Here are a few things that have been going on:

* The big and most important news is that Travis passed the boards!!! He has not received his official letter yet, but his Dean informed him, as well as his other classmates, once she received the scores. This is a major weight lifted off of him.

* This Saturday we are moving...to the first floor of our same apartment building. It's not a big move, but it's still a move. The new apartment will be bigger, especially in the kitchen. We will actually get to use our kitchen table as a table instead of a counter top for appliances. No more eating on the floor! We will also have a nice patio area. The person who lived in the apartment before us, a podiatry student, is leaving us his grill and his tiki torches. Party at the Bodekers!

* Work is crazy right now! Next week is Orientation Week for the school and I am doing my best to keep the class at the projected numbers, although the students keep withdrawing. While doing this I am also working on keeping the applicant cycle rocking and rolling for the class of 2011. Also our receptionist's last day was today, so we have been training a temp. It's super busy, but I am still enjoying it. I can't wait to have the students on campus next week and see familiar faces.

Beard Til Boards

2010-07-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

Back in February I mentioned that Travis was growing a beard until his Boards test in July. We soon learned how fast his beard grows. Thankfully, he did trim the beard during those 5 months. I'm pretty sure if he had let it run wild he would look like an Irish ZZ Top member. The evening after the test Travis began the shaving process and I took pictures!

The crazy, thick beard.

I'm sure this style has a name, but I'm not up to par with my male facial hair lingo.

The Mutton Chops--kickin' it like it's 1836!

Baby Face--It had been so long I didn't recognize him!

Way, Way, Way Overdue

2010-07-06T15:10:00.001-07:00

I truly do not know where the time went. Has it really been since April since I last updated? Where the huey did May and June go? Well, to those of you who have not given up on this blog by switching over to Cake Wrecks or Awkward Family Photos, I thank you. (Although, in your spare time you should check these out.)

I will now try to update two months worth of life in a few bullet points:

* The big event this week, actually tomorrow, is Travis's board exam. The exam will be at noon tomorrow--I know he would appreciate prayers. He has been studying many months for this exam. Today he took the day off and went golfing.

* In May Travis completed his classwork portion of his program. His GPA is locked and the rest of his work is all pass/fail.

* Travis has begun his capstone class which are six week rotations with more hands on experience. He is in Radiology right now. His other rotations are General Medicine, Surgery, and Orthopedics. These classes will last until December, then come January he starts his other rotations.

* A lot of the podiatry students have moved down to the city, however they still have to be up at the school by 8:00 until December. Because of this, Travis's good friend Chris (also from Texas) will be living with us during the week. He has a place in Downer's Grove which is, on a good day without traffic, about 45 minutes away. The arrangement has been going well so far.

* Work for me is going well. It is a little busy as I am juggling two admissions cycles. We are continuing to complete the entering class for 2010 and we just started receiving applications for 2011. I am never bored!

* I have taken part in some recruitment events and will probably have more this fall. In May myself and another coworker went to Northwestern University in Evanston, IL to take part in an event called Lunch with Medical School Representatives. Today, I also gave a presentation to high school students on how to prepare for medical school. (Not going to lie--I had major flashbacks to my student teaching days in the high school classroom). I am also scheduled later this month to serve as a mediator for a student led panel.

* The weather has been bearable. Until just recently we were in the 70's-80's and we even had a few days in June when it was 60. But now the heat has really kicked in, although it still does not compare to Texas.

* We had a very enjoyable Fourth of July. We went to Downer's Grove to celebrate with a few friends. Here are a few pictures"

This is the nice picture...

Then he had his moment...

And I had mine.

Happy Birthday Travis Post #2

2010-04-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

Travis had a very nice, relaxing dinner on his birthday and he quietly began his 30th year of life. Wrong! Unknown to Travis, a party had been in the works for quite some time. Last Saturday we got him good--he didn't suspect anything. I had help from two of his classmates, my co-conspirators, in planning everything. Another one of his classmates offered up her and her husband's house for the party, since our apartment would be a little cramped. His classmates wanted to throw him an over the hill party because he is one of the oldest (but not the oldest) person in their class. I found lots of black decorations and let everyone know they could bring "old man" gag gifts.

The plan was that Travis and his friend Chris would go golfing Saturday afternoon. On the way home they would stop off at the Brown's house to pick up Chris's drum equipment. I was not excited (nor was Travis) when I woke up Saturday to a rainy, cold morning. Plan B had Chris taking Travis to another classmates house to play video game golf. They left at around lunchtime and were suppose to stay out until 6:15. I was a little worried about Chris being able to keep him busy for that long, but, being a girl, I forget that boys can spend all day with video games. Chris did tell me later that he had a few almost panic moments when Travis mentioned going back home to study.

While Chris kept Travis busy, we all congregated at the Brown's house, making sure to hide our cars so he wouldn't suspect. When he arrived we all hid in the kitchen and jumped out as he came into the living room. He was completely clueless. He later told me what a nice surprise it was. Travis's classmate, Jason, took on the responsibility of the cake. He found a bakery who made a fantastic, red velvet with cream cheese icing, over the hill cake for us.

It was a great night of food, music, and friends. Happy Birthday, Travis!

Surprise!

The fantastic cake which reads "It's all downhill from here"

This was my gag gift to Travis--an inflatable walker!

Travis opening his gag gifts which included the Hawaiian shirt, diabetic socks, malt o meal, fixodent, denture cleaning kit, and suspenders.

Happy Birthday, Travis! (Post #1)

2010-04-22T15:35:00.000-07:00

Other than the fact that he had his clinical exam today, Travis has been having a wonderful 30th birthday. He has received many Facebook shout outs, most with creative old man jokes. We are planning to go out to eat at his favorite restaurant tonight--Red Robin. One of the surprise gifts that he got was Blue Bell ice cream from Texas! My mom found out that Blue Bell will ship ice cream by using dry ice. So Wednesday morning the ice cream arrived and I rushed home to put it in the freezer. I found out the day before that Travis's classes were canceled that morning. When he doesn't have class he sometimes stays home to study and sometimes he goes to campus. Didn't like those odds, so I enlisted the help of his friend Chris to lure Travis to the campus library. I decided to wait for Travis to find the ice cream himself. He did not come home all day and actually ended up going out to dinner with a friend. My plan had been for him to see it when he was looking for something to eat, but when he got home he was completely full.

I soon figured out a new strategy. I was making Travis a lemon meringue pie for his birthday. To make this pie you have to continuously stir the ingredients. Since I couldn't move away from the stove I asked Travis if he could get me a glass of water with ice (I hardly ever use ice in my water). I happened to have my camera so I took a video of what happened. First, he didn't see the ice cream, then he commented on how much ice cream there was (he didn't see it was Blue Bell). Finally he caught on to the glory that was hiding in the freezer.

Here is what the freezer looked like:

Here is Travis fully taking in what he sees:

Spring Events...At Least I Think It's Spring

2010-04-19T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hello World!

We are still here, just slacking off in posting again. In regards to the title of this post we have been flip-flopping back and forth between comfortable 70's weather and "enough is enough" 40's/50's weather. The positive is that, no matter what the temperature, we have had beautiful sunny days. And as long as there is no more snow I am content (knocking on wood as we speak).

Here are a few of the things we have done over the past couple months:

* In March our friend Kim came to visit. It was great to see her and try out some new eating spots as well as tour the Chicago History Museum.

* Some of the new restaurants we have found include: Opas! which is a fantastic Greek restaurant. I had not had Greek food before and was a big fan. We also found a great sushi place. Once again this was my first time to have sushi and I loved it!

* A couple of months ago Travis and I were taught how to play canasta by two of his classmates and we are now hooked. Quite often we have men against women canasta competitions. We are getting pretty good at the game.

* Because the weather has been nice (and snowless) Travis has been breaking in his new golf clubs. It also serves as a great stress reliever from school...at least it does when he has a good game. :)

* We are contemplating moving from our apartment. We are either looking at a larger, first floor apartment in our complex (to get away from our loud and annoying upstairs and downstairs neighbors) or we may possible rent one of the military houses or duplexes. We will know more come the end of May/June.

* Travis has about a month of classes left and he is pushing through. He along with all of his classmates are struggling to find motivation after almost 2 years of grueling schoolwork. This Thursday he has his clinical exam in which he will work with a patient at the clinic and be graded on his skills. Once classes are done in May his GPA will be set. His capstone classes and rotations will be on a pass/fail scale. I am so proud of all he has accomplished so far!

* I recently bought a sewing machine and have been intrigued to learn more sewing projects. I made a small decorative pillow, but would really like to make clothes. I am looking into taking a few classes offered at Joanne's. So far I have been patching up Travis's clothes...as well as his friend, Chris's.

* The next big event is Travis's 30th birthday this Thursday! I have a few things planned, but I will wait to divulge the information, on the off chance that Travis reads this blog. I will have a special post all about the event...including pictures!

* Lastly, Travis has decided to grow his beard out until his Board exam in July (Beard til Boards is what he calls it). He started in February and already it is pretty thick. Last week a co-worker, who is a NASCAR fan, told me Travis looks like Dale Earnhardt Jr. I will let you be the judge:

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2010-04-02T07:34:00.000-07:00

I hope you have a wonderful birthday! I wish I could be there to help you celebrate.

Love,

Erin

P.S. Out of the pictures I have, I didn't have any front facing pictures of just you and me. Sorry!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T06:15:00.001-07:00

Top of the mornin to ya! We wish all of our friends and family back it Texas a very Happy St. Patrick's Day. Mom, Jennifer, and Traci just to let you know Travis is wearing his shirt to school today. I would wear mine to work if I could.

Erin Go Braugh!

Happy Texas Independence Day

2010-03-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

In honor of Texas Independence Day I decided to make Texas cookies. During my trip to Texas for Robin's wedding I bought a Texas shaped cookie cutter. I decided to go the easy way out and bought pre-made sugar cookie dough. I also bought red, white, and blue cookie icing to make the cookies look like the Texas flag. I was a little worried because I have has some major baking battles with our gas oven. I do not like gas ovens. In the past I tried to make snickerdoodles and they turned out hard as rock. I also tried to make oatmeal cookies that flattened out and crumbled in your hand. The worst by far was when I baked a bundt cake. When I checked on it, half of the cake was cooked and the other half was liquid. What the huey?

Thankfully the cookies turned out ok. Well, they turned out to be edible. For some reason the dough decided to grow exponentially while in the oven. I pulled out a tray of bloated Texas cookies. Perhaps I offended Illinois and it was taking out its revenge. We remedied the situation by cutting the cookies a second time with the cookie cutter. (Travis's idea). Below are some picture of the Great Texas Cookie Escapade.

Poor little bloated cookies. They are in desperate need of some Tums.

Iced and before the fix.

Final product!

Enjoying my cookie with some good ole fashioned Texas Pride!

Overrun with Cookies

2010-02-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

Delivery day was today. Travis is very happy. Travis does not have too much of a sweet tooth (well, in comparison to me). There are only a couple sweet items that truly tempt him. One of these would be Girl Scout Cookies, not just any cookie, thin mints. Two co-workers were selling cookies at my office. Once Travis got wind of the sign up sheets, we were in for it. Of course we had to buy from both people to make it even.

So now our freezer is filled with six (six!!) boxes of thin mints. He had to bring a back pack to carry them all. We shall see how long they last.

Happy Birthday, Cody!

2010-02-19T06:06:00.000-08:00

We wish Travis's brother, Cody, a very happy birthday! Hope your day is lots of fun. Wish we could be there to help you celebrate.

Love,

Travis and Erin

V-Day and 2nd Anniversary

2010-02-17T15:01:00.001-08:00

Travis and I had a wonderful long weekend. Because he does not have a test for three weeks, he is a little more relaxed. We spent Saturday running all kinds of errands, including grocery shopping. I was told about this grocery store in Kenosha, Wisconsin which has wide varieties of food. It reminds me a bit of HEBs in Texas. Another reason to venture to this grocery store was the fact that a Sonic lurked somewhere in the town. Unfortunately we were unsuccessful in the Sonic search. My dreams of a vanilla Diet Coke quickly slipped away. Other than that our Saturday was quite enjoyable.

For Valentine's day Travis bought me flowers which are pictured above (one of the roses being from my dad--a tradition since I was a little girl). Travis also bought me one of those Betty Crocker Warm Delight desserts--perfect. We then ventured to Outback for dinner. We started a tradition when we were dating of going to Outback and ordering two appetizers to split. We did have to wait about an hour and a half for a table, but it was worth it.

On Tuesday we celebrated our 2nd Anniversary. Instead of buying each other Christmas gifts, we saved the money to use on our anniversary dinner. We have started another tradition of going to very nice restaurants to celebrate our anniversary. This year we went to a restaurant called Lovell's of Lake Forest. This restaurant is owned by Jim Lovell from Apollo 13 fame. We were told that we occassionally drops by and talks with people in the restaurant. Unfortunately he did not come by the night we were there. The restaurant had valet parking. (I seem to thing of Ferris Bueller's Day Off when I go somewhere with valet parking, wondering if our car is being driven all over the town while we eat, but I digress.) The walls are decorated with all kinds of memorabilia from the mission as well as the movie. Our table was right next to a poster of the Apollo 13 movie which was personally addressed to Jim Lovell from Tom Hanks. We started off with fresh made bread that was so moist and warm. Travis ordered the rack of lamb with creamed spinach. I ordered the special of the night which was a lot more food than I realized. It was a filet and 2 tiger prawns. I've never had tiger prawns before and thought they were normal shrimp. They were massive, good, but massive. I was only able to eat half of my food. When Travis made the reservation he mentioned that it was our anniversary. As a gift, we received a free dessert that was amazing! It was a warm chocolate cake with chocolate sauce on top. On the side of the plate Happy 2nd Anniversary was written in chocolate. We spent 2 hours at the restaurant enjoying the food and the atmosphere. It was a wonderful anniversary!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2010-02-11T19:50:00.000-08:00

Wishing my dad a very happy birthday! Sorry we can't be there to celebrate. Just think of that recent snow fall as a gift from us. :)

Love you lots!

Erin and Travis

Where Did January Go?

2010-02-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

(So I started this post on Thursday, hoping to get it finished and posted--didn't happen. A main reason being that our desktop went on the fritz this week. Travis has had to order a few parts to fix it. This week I have been commandeering Travis's laptop to feel connected to the electronic world. Please enjoy the rest of the post!)

I think I blinked and the month was gone! Once again I have slacked on my blogging. I use to be so good at updating. I suppose a main reason would be that nothing huge or noteworthy has really happened--just the same daily routines.

Another possible reason for my lack of blogging is the fact that I was preoccupied for most of January. For Christmas I received the Harry Potter books and I devoured them during the last month. I had read the first 2 books about 3 years ago while visiting my family, but then stopped once I went back to College Station. Pretty much every evening for the past month, I was found, wrapped in my Snuggie (shout out to the in-laws for that Christmas gift)on the couch reading from early evening til time for bed. To any one who has not read these books I highly recommend them!

Travis has spent the last month doing his norm...studying. He and his classmates are so ready for this book work phase of medical school to be over. Four more months to go. Travis has been doing a phenomenal job on his tests. He found out that he made one of the highest grades on his clinical exam, in which he runs through an exam of a standardized patient--so proud! All of the students at the school have the last week in February off as a spring break. I know Travis can't wait to have a week without class, even if he will have to study.

The weather hasn't been too bad up here. Compared to last year this has been a mild winter. A couple of weeks ago we had a "heat wave" where the temperatures reached the mid 30's. Almost all of the snow was melted in a few days. I was thoroughly happy with this. But then it all came back this Tuesday--drat! Only 3 or so more months of winter.

We are possibly looking at moving out of our apartment this summer. The housing for the navy is also available to the medical students. Last summer Travis's friend Chris was put on a list as being interested in a house if it became available. His plans have since changed, but he still has his name on the list. If something does become available we would be able to take his spot. Travis has been inside one of these houses before and says they are huge! It would be 3 bedrooms, $50 more in rent than what we pay now, but the utilities are included, not something that is apart of our current lease. Of course I wouldn't be able to walk to work, but all of the housing is within a 5 minute drive (if that) from the school.

We have enjoyed our apartment, but it is very cramped. We also have some very annoying neighbors above and below us. The girls above have parties late at night and sound like elephants when they walk across the room. The guys below us play their piano (which they are not suppose to have) at 10:00 at night, play music, "unknowingly" loud, set up a trap to catch squirrels (don't even ask), and chunk snowballs as hard as they can at their car. We've decided not all the lights are on upstairs for these guys, or as our preacher said the other day, the wheel is turning but the hamster is dead.

Christmas Continued

2010-01-09T08:59:00.000-08:00

Once we safely arrived at our destination for Christmas everything was wonderful! We had a delicious Christmas meal with my family, including my two grandmothers, and a fun time opening gifts. It was very new for us to open gifts in the evening time. Usually it is the first thing in the morning, but you have to mix things up to keep it energized.

The next morning we drove to San Angelo to Travis's grandparents' house where his parents and Cody and Larissa were. We had planned to leave around 9:30 to give us a little extra sleeping time after our past few early mornings. We didn't realize how tired we were from all the past adventures. It was close to 9:30 when we finally woke up, but man, did we feel refreshed. We had a great time visiting, eating, and opening gifts. It was even more fun helping his grandparents move some furniture--the best part being watching Travis and Cody attack each other with inanimate objects as they carried pieces of furniture. We hated that the visit had to be so short, but at least we were able to get there. Hopefully next time we can have more time to spend with everyone.

Sunday and Monday were mainly spent resting and relaxing. On Monday we did go see Shrelock Holmes which was very entertaining. We were planning to have my mom and sister take us to Dallas early Tuesday to catch our flight. Then we started noticing the weather reports--another snow storm set for late Monday night/early Tuesday night. What in the world?? We decided to leave Monday night just in case and stayed with Travis's grandmother in Lancaster. This was a much better plan because it allowed us more time with his grandmother and his aunt.

We made it to our plane without any weather trouble. When we got in our seats I noticed the family in front of us had an adorable little 2 year old. That opinion soon changed drastically 10 minutes after with took off. She didn't exactly cry but made whiney noises and screamed occassionally the whole trip. Travis had his headphones which allowed him to drown out the noise easily. One of these days we will have a nice, pleasant plane trip. :)

Travis's feelings toward this Christmas are unleashed.

A Christmas We Will Never Forget

2010-01-01T07:42:00.000-08:00

This may end up being a rather long post due to the subject matter. Enough time has passed to allow bitterness and sarcasm to be drained from the underlying tone of this entry...maybe.

We had a wonderful time seeing both of our families in Texas. Our trip getting to our families was a little less desirable. As you may remember from my last post our Wednesday evening flight was canceled due to an ice storm in the Chicago area. We rescheduled a flight for 9:50 Thursday morning which connected in Cedar Rapids, IA. Not being sure what the road conditions, traffic, and lines at the airport would be like, we decided to leave the apartment at 6:00. Our preacher's son was nice enough to pick us up and take us to the airport. The roads were not icy at all and everyone else seemed to still be asleep. We have decided that Sean may become our token airport driver since he got us to the airport within 30 minutes. The ticket and security lines were short and easy to get through. No pat downs for either of us this time! We made it to our gate at a little after 7:00 which meant we had almost 3 hours to wait for our plane. As 9:50 drew near, the dreaded speaker turned on with the announcement that the flight was delayed until 10:15. Not too bad; I didn't mind waiting around 30 minutes. We still should get to Texas in the early afternoon. (Ha! Oops, a little of that sarcasm sneaking out). We finally took off from O'Hare at 10:45. Our plane in Cedar Rapids was scheduled to leave at 11:55. Thankfully the flight only took around 40 minutes.

When we exited the plane (at one of the most podunk airports ever) we soon found out that our plane to Dallas had been delayed until 12:45. A little frustrating, but still not a cancelation. While waiting we decided we should eat some lunch. The podunk airport only had one food venue which everyone and their mother seemed to be swarming to. We had no idea how long it would take to get a morsel of sustenance from this place so we went with the other option: the souvenir/newspaper stand. I got a cold semi-stale bagel and Travis got a bag of chips. We boarded on time and were seated on the last row right next to the bathroom. To top it off the lady across from us had a little dog in a carrier that had to be placed behind our seats. Could it get any worse? (Never ask this question). We started heading for the runway, but just before getting to that prime take-off spot, the dreaded overhead speaker came on. The pilot said he had bad news. Apparently the weather in Dallas was so bad only two runways were open for landings and departures. We were going to have to wait on the plane for at least an hour if not more. The mixture of past troubles and low blood sugar caused this news to be taken with a grain of gun powder instead of salt.

We waited for about an hour and then received the thumbs up to get underway. So we will get to Dallas around 4:00 instead of 2:00, we will still be in Abilene with the parents. (So naive). At the end of the trip the pilot came on to tell us we would be landing in just a few minutes. Somehow a few minutes turned into over 30 mintues with some turns and a lot of bumps. My cousin's husband later told us he was tracking our flight and he said we first made a left turn to Louisiana, then headed south down to Waxahachiem and back up to the airport. The landing was very bumpy with lots of turbulance. When we were finally on the ground the flight attendent told us she heard everything going on in the cockpit and she informed us it was a difficult landing. Yea, Texas! It's about time. Time to take in the beauty of the brown grass and bare trees...what is all of that white stuff doing in Texas?!?!

Once we made our way to the baggage claim I was able to check the many voice messages on my phone. Because of the freak blizzard my dad was unable to make it to the DFW airport. The furthest he made it was Cisco where he sat at a stand-still for over 2 hours. Because of the weather conditions I 20 was shut down and my dad had to turn around for Abilene. Thankfully my cousins live in Arlington, and all the family had come to visit them for Christmas. There was a message from my uncle letting me know they were on their way to pick us up. A trip which usually takes 20 minutes took an hour and a half due to the road conditions, traffic, and surprise road closures. While waiting we each ate a bag of chips to tide our massive hunger. Apparently we were not getting to Abilene this evening. The grain of gun powder grew to an overflowing cup.

When we reached my cousin's house my aunt hugged me saying, "I'm sorry I don't have red hair!" Thankfully pizza was waiting for us and we attacked. The next step was to figure out how to get to my parents. They had thought of flying us from Dallas to Abilene, but the soonest flight available was not until the next evening. The best choice was for us to rent a car and drive to Abilene. We were very, very thankful to my cousins for letting us crash for the night and then driving us on Christmas morning back to the airport to rent a car.

So now we had a mode of transportation. We started out on I 20. In the Dallas/Ft. Worth area the highway was perfectly fine. We were doing very well, until we came to a dead stop along with many other cars trying to get home for the holiday. Apparently an 18-wheeler went to fast and jack knived across the two lanes. We were stopped for about an hour until the police and firemen finally started directing traffice around the truck. During our drive my parents were keeping an eye on the traffic and road reports. I 20 was still closed from Ranger to Baird because of the 200 abandoned cars still on the road. We had to take a detour down to highway 36 which took a little more time. A trip that is usually around 2 1/2 hours took 5 1/2 hours. We made it to my parent's house after 2:00 on Christmas day. Over a day and a half of traveling. When we started our trip I kept thinking, just get us off the ground in Chicago and Iowa, we will be fine once we get to Texas. Perhaps I jinxed the trip. Or perhaps it was the 4 year old at my parents' church who asked Santa for a white Christmas. Either way it is a trip we will never forget.

I will soon post on the happy points of the Christmas vacation and the trip home.

Snow Fun

2009-12-23T17:39:00.000-08:00

Travis has been having fun with all the snow. So far his fun has been confined to our small porch.

The beginning of the snowman army.

The battle ensues. This is very reminiscent of Calvin and Hobbes.

Ice Storm

2009-12-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

This morning at 9:00 I received an automated phone call telling me that our flight for that evening had been canceled. Apparently there was an ice storm coming at that time and the airport decided to go ahead and start canceling flights. Our flight was bumped to Christmas Eve at 6:30 pm. We called to see if we could get out any earlier. We are now scheduled for a flight at 9:50 in the morning with a connecting flight in Iowa. We should be in Dallas at 2:00.

We both were pretty bummed about this turn of events.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-22T14:58:00.000-08:00

My mom sent this to me. Hilarious!

Tomorrow--Texas!

2009-12-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

Travis and I have been counting down the days until we leave for Christmas in Texas. We will be hitting up family in Abilene, San Angelo, and Dallas. We are both so ready for this!

Travis finished his round of tests last Thursday and has been enjoying his two weeks off so far. He did superbly well on his tests, as I knew he would. He has spent his time reading, playing computer games, catching up on ESPN sports, and studying. As Travis says, studying has become a dirty habit.

I work tomorrow but plan to leave a little early so we can make sure to catch our flight. The plane doesn't leave until 6:30, but there is no telling what the traffice will be like from North Chicago to O'hare. Our preacher's son has offered to take us and pick us up from the airport. We have been so blessed to get to know this wonderful, giving family!

For the past few days we have had a nice covering of snow on the ground. I woke up this morning to fresh layering and thousands of little snow flakes falling down. It snowed all last night and all of today. The forecast says it is suppose to snow more tonight and tomorrow. (Get me back to the brown grass of Texas!)

Here are a couple pictures of what I woke up to this morning:

November and Thus Far December

2009-12-08T17:29:00.001-08:00

And once again I have slacked off on the blogging. This whole job thing is cutting into my blogging time! I wouldn't go back to where I was a year ago for anything. I will just need to work harder at updating. Perhaps that will be my New Year's resolution.

The weekend before Thanksgiving I headed down to Texas to take part in Robin's wedding. For those of you who do not know Robin, she was my maid of honor and I was hers. It was a wonderful wedding! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing my college friends and meeting my friends' baby for the first time. I also was able to spend time with my mom and sisters. Dad was unable to make it--but don't worry,dad, we'll be there in about two weeks! Here are a few pictures from the wedding:

A true Texas toast--Dublin Dr. Peppers

The College Gang, at least those that were able to come.

We had a very wonderful Thanksgiving, even though we were not able to go home. Our preacher and his family had us over. They have really taken us in. They take us out to eat after Sunday service at least every other Sunday. We spent the entire evening at their place, eating, talking, and watching tv. Because we do not have cable we are unable to pick up any of the sports channels. Our preacher found the A&M vs. UT game on ESPN and Travis was in heaven!

Travis has this week and next week left of classes. Then he will start his two week vacation, though he will still have to study. Over the next two weeks he has 5 (dropped down from 7) tests. I'm doing my best to stay out of his way. This Thursday one of the college students we knew at A&M Church of Christ is coming to the podiatry school to interview. We will be going out with he and his parents tomorrow night for dinner. We plan to take them to Giordano's for some fantastic Chicago pizza.

And in case you're wondering...the snow has started. The past couple of days we have been getting "Texas snows" as I call them: a light covering on the ground in the morning and by mid-afternoon it's gone. Tonight I think we are in for a bit more. So far I can't make out where the parking lot meets the curb, and it's still coming down! I will try to post some pictures soon.

Travis and I are looking forward to spending Christmas in Texas with family and friends! Counting down the days...

Hockey

2009-11-15T16:05:00.000-08:00

Wednesday we went to a Blackhawks hockey game with 5 of Travis's classmates. I didn't realize the game would be in the United Center, the same place where the Bulls play. And apparently it can be switched very quickly--the Bulls had a game the night before the hockey game. I really enjoy watching hockey, probably because of the great possiblity of fights. This particually game had a fight within the first 5 minutes. The Blackhawks played against the Colorado Avalanche. They won after going into overtime and a shoot out. On the night we went Bobby Hull was there, a hall of fame Blackhawks player from the 50's or 60's. Personally, I had no idea who he was--I'm just quoting what I learned from the big screens. Also, Vince Vaughn was in the audience.

Here are a few pictures from the event:

And here is a short video of the action!

Week Off

2009-11-10T15:29:00.000-08:00

This past weekend Travis, along with all the students at Rosalind Franklin, began a week fall break. Travis has been counting down the days until this glorious time. Of course the staff and faculty do not get the week off. So I begrudgingly arise from bed each morning as Travis remains snuggled under the covers.

So far on his week off we have enjoyed some delicious Mexican food with his friend's parents. We also had a less than enjoyable lunch on Sunday after church. It started out endearing; Travis wanted to spend time with me by eating at a restaurant. We decided to try an Italian restaurant we had seen in the town of Libertyville. Now the drive from church to the restaurant took 15-20 minutes. Once we get to the restaurant we see the sign: Open at 4:00. Who opens at 4:00 on a Sunday? Sheesh. We then drive past another Italian restaurant with cars in the parking lot--a good sign. By this time we are pretty hungry and sick of driving around. We reach the front entrance and are greeted by a waiter who informs us they are only open to host a baby shower. Really? After trying our best to go to a local restaurant we opt out for Olive Garden. We will not be craving Italian food any time soon.

We also spent an enjoyable evening taking apart an Xbox. Travis's friend Chris brought his Xbox over last night to play video games. Because the game kept freezing the guys decided to use canned air to clean the Xbox out. Travis forgot to mention to Chris that the straw part of the can can easily come off if blown too hard. An important warning too late in discussion. Conversation which occurred:
Travis: Did you blow the straw into the xbox?
Chris: No. (sarcastically, as he shakes the xbox and we can hear the straw rattling around)
Thus began the "surgery" on the Xbox. I say surgery because podiatry scissors were used in the effort of extracting the straw from the gaming system.

Tomorrow night we are venturing out with some other podiatry students to see a Black Hawks hockey game. I'm pretty excited about this.

And even though he has been excited about this week off, Travis has already admitted that he is bored :)

House O' Sickness

2009-10-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

Apparently something other than cake was passed around at that wedding we went to weekend before last. One of the classmates in attendance, along with her husband, came down with the flu. Then the groom was down and out with an illness. Come Tuesday, Travis started to feel bad. We think it was just a virus of some form and not the flu. He was out of commission from Tuesday through Thursday. You have to love married life where you share EVERYTHING. On Saturday I started to get some congestion and a bit of a fever which lasted through Monday. Travis and I are both still battling congestion and a cough, but we are doing much better than we were.

(Happy 20th Birthday to my sisters, Jennifer and Traci!)

We're Still Here

2009-10-19T15:12:00.000-07:00

Once again I have fallen off the blog wagon. It's time to do some major catching up.

* Heather's wedding was wonderful and it was great to be back in Texas with good friends. I was able to meet Kristi's precious little boy and see Trish pregnant. It was a little hard not having Travis there with me. Because the wedding was in College Station I was able to surprise many people at A&M C of C with a Sunday morning visit. I also was able to make a trip down to the museum and visit with everyone which made my heart happy. I haven't seen my co-workers since we left for Chicago.

* I realized how accustomed I have become to the Illinois weather. It was in the 90's on Saturday in Texas, and I thought I was going to melt. When I left Chicago to go to Texas it was a balmy 70. I get back 2 days later and it's 40 something. Not a good prelude to the winter.

* Travis has been doing well in his classes, as always. He picked up a Radiology class a few weeks ago, and he will start a Surgery class next year. Of course these are tacked on without any of his other classes ending. He is very ready for the classwork to be over and the clinical work to start.

* Work is going well. So far we have had 5 successful interview days. On a couple of days it has been a little stressful trying to find faculty to come interview, but other than that we have been fully prepared. I am thoroughly enjoying my new position and the people I work with. For know I am still walking to work. We shall see what the next months are like.

* Besides work and school, Travis and I have been having our share of fun. A couple weeks ago we celebrated the birthday of one of Travis's classmates at a place called Gameworks. It was a two-story arcade. The best part about this arcade was at 9:00 they kicked anyone who was under 21 out--teenie bopper free zone. I can't tell you the last time I was at an arcade and we both had a blast. Travis stuck mainly to the shooting games, although he was quite the champ at ski ball. I decided to waste some points on one of those crane games. I actually won, not one prize but two in one pull! The prizes were these weird guys with four arms, but I still won. Last weekend we went to a classmates wedding in a small town near Springfield. We had a great time, but that is one boring drive--cornfield after cornfield.

2009-09-21T18:35:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of blogging. Well, I am on my 4th week of the new job and enjoying it so much more! My first day was rather boring because I went through orientation. The second day was my actual first in my office area. I found out that day that I was going to be sole person for the Chicago Medical Admissions. The girl I had met on my interview was switching to another department. (I am so thankful she is still in the building because I call her daily with questions). So the past few weeks have been all about digesting large amounts of information as well as keeping everything moving. As of right now we have a temp receptionist who helps me with the phones, filing, and mail. However, there is the possibility of her leaving at anytime which will not be good. Our department has gone through major changes and is looking to hire a couple more admissions people to help out.

The Chicago Medical School receives 8,000-10,000 applications a year. That is way too much for one person to handle! Right now I am learning how to manage what needs to get done each day and pass on jobs to others to help get it done. So far I have helped run an interviewer training session, a tour guide training session, a Q and A session with a prematriculation group at the school, and sat in on my first committee meeting. Next Tuesday is our first interview day which I am busy getting ready for. My Mondays and Tuesdays from next week until early May will, for the most part, be overrun by interviews. One of the good things about this job is there is always something that needs to be done...and the days just fly by!

This Friday I am headed to Texas for Heather's wedding. I am truly looking forward to coming home and spending time with some very dear friends.

Last Day

2009-08-29T06:51:00.000-07:00

The last day has come and gone, and I can feel that the stress and anxiety has completely drained from my body. The ending of the day was bittersweet. As much as I disliked the work, I really enjoyed my coworkers, the doctors, and clinical assistants. The other podiatry schedulers signed a card for me and got me a gift card to Bath and Body Works. One of the clinical assistants, who I talked to everyday, gave me her email address and asked me to keep in touch. My manager asked that I keep in touch with everyone to let them know how I am doing. Bittersweet, but glad to be out. I have new employee orientation on Monday at Rosalind Franklin...and will be walking over to my new job at 8:00!

Counting Down

2009-08-25T17:44:00.000-07:00

For the past two weeks we have been counting down the days. Each day I come home and Travis asks how the day was,then reminds me how many days I have left. The two weeks has gone very quickly which I am thankful for. I'm getting to that point where I know I'm almost out and really don't care anymore. But I'm forcing myself to continue to do my best work, especially if it means it will be less my coworkers will have to do once I'm gone. The other day, after continuous nagging to a facility to finalize a list (one of the many things I hate about this job), my boss said to me, "won't you miss this feeling of accomplishment?" I just laughed it off. No, I will not miss meeting deadlines at the expense of courtesy, professionalism and respect to others.

Travis's first week went well, although he was incredibly tired. He was in classes almost everyday from 8:00-4:00. He also is in charge of a couple organizations which equates to after class and sometimes evening meeting. This year is going to be different from his previous year, especially with his clinic time, which I believe he enjoys much more than sitting in class.

This Saturday Travis and I begin a new endeavor. Somehow or another one of Travis's classmates talked us into playing intramural flag football. I think the last time I played flag football was in 6th grade p.e. The teams have to be co-ed, and I know pretty much everyone on the team. Thankfully our group is not that big on winning but just having fun. My plan is to run around and make it look like I know what I'm doing. We'll see how it goes.

Update--Good News!

2009-08-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

I apologize for my lack of blogging, and I know some of you are interested to know about the job prospect. I finally have something to tell. For awhile I thought that the position had been filled without me knowing. I found out via Travis that the school was on a hiring freeze for awhile. This Wednesday I received a call from the lady I interviewed with back in July. She explained that the school had been going through some department changes, and she will no longer be over the admissions department. She had showed my resume to the lady who would be taking over and wanted to set up a time for her to meet me. I gave her some dates for next week and waited to hear back. Friday came and I hadn't heard anything. I needed to know before the day was out so I could put in a time off request.She called me later that day to report some good news. It hadn't worked it's way completely through all of the channels, but I was offered the job! She told me to act surprised when HR called with the offer. They need me to start as soon as possible, so I was more than happy to turn in my two week notice before leaving work today. I can make it two more weeks, knowing there is an out.

Travis finished his summer class and clinical work last week and had this week off, though he stayed very busy. He was an Orientation Administrator for the new podiatry class. He had a small group of students, around 8, who he led and gave advice to. He and his friend Chris also spent the week cleaning the anatomy lab and getting it ready for the new class. He told me stories about that which I will not share on this blog. Feel free to ask him about it. When I returned home from work each day this week he was incredibly tired. We decided he needed a week off from his week off. Monday he officially starts his second year of school--his last year in the classroom. I know he is very ready to get the classwork over and start his externships.

Dim Sum and Sharks

2009-07-19T15:44:00.000-07:00

Lately we have been pretty busy on the weekends. I think we are trying to do as much enjoyable events as possible while Travis has time...and while the weather is nice. This Saturday we went downtown with two of Travis's classmates, Jason and Raquel. We started off by having dim sum in Chinatown. I always thought that dim sum was a specific Chinese dish, but it is not. I looked it up and literally it means "a bit of heart". It is a meal of small dishes usually served as a brunch. The restaurant we went to had ladies pushing carts around with different food options. I was very glad we had Jason with us, who is Chinese, and could suggest what to try. I can't remember what everything was called that we ate, but all of it was fantastic! We also ate everything with chopsticks, which was a trick for me, but I believe by the end of the meal I reached intermediate level of chopstick use.

After our wonderful meal we head off to the Shedd Aquarium. We had to stand in line for about an hour waiting to purchase tickets, but it went by quick. We started off with the 4-D Planet Earth experience. It was one of those short movies where the chair vibrates, puffs of air come from the floor, etc. Our movie was mostly about penguins in the Artic. We had "arctic winds" blow through the theater and at least three squirts on water on our faces. The aquarium is huge, filled with fish and mammals from all over. Some of our favorites were the beluga whales, sea/river otters, penguins, and tank of sharks. Travis could have spent all day in front of the sharks. He really wants to swim with sharks. He also enjoyed the anaconda... me, not so much. We had a wonderful time and would recommend the aquarium to anyone visiting Chicago.

Finding Nemo didn't lie to us: Clown fish really do live in anemones!

These are shark eggs with baby sharks inside!

Here is a very short video of the Beluga whale. I tried to get pictures of the whales but they wouldn't stay still long enough. :)

I had my interview at Travis's school last Thursday. I felt it went very well. For the small amount of time that I was in the office I could feel such a difference in the attitude and overall ambiance from the job I am at now. Now I am just waiting to hear back.

4th of July Weekend

2009-07-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of blogs lately. We haven't had too many super exciting things happen. We had a very relaxing weekend without lots of plans made. I had Friday off which was very much appreciated. Friday morning we went out to breakfast at a fantastic place in Lake Forest. I almost always get pancakes at breakfast restaurants and proceed to rate the restaurant based on the taste of the pancakes. This place received five, if not 6 stars. We took it easy the rest of the day and went out for ice cream in the evening.

We did start a 1000-piece puzzle on Friday night and continued it throughout the weekend while watching episodes of X-Files (birthday present for me). I haven't put a puzzle together in quite a long time and forgot how enjoyable it can be. Travis is quite the puzzle master. We planned to go to one of the many fireworks shows on Saturday evening. Since all the towns up here are so close together you have a choice of which maddening crowd you want to mess with. We ended up not heading out to any of the parks, but instead hanging out with some of Travis's classmates at their apartment building on the other side of the school. The building has a large balcony where we sat and could see about three different fireworks shows in the distance. It was a perfect way to spend the 4th, and it was the first time I have had to wear a jacket while watching the fireworks! In the evening it got down into the 60's.

Sunday we had a barbeque with some of Travis's classmates. It was a bring your own meat and slap it on the grill type of function. There was so much food! We had hotdogs, brats, steaks, chicken, sausage, four different types of chips, corn on the cobb, potato salad, ice cream sandwhiches, popcorn cake, and a white sheet cake. We both were so full by the end of it.

After such a wonderful weekend it was hard to go back to work. Work has been pretty rough. This job is not what I expected it to be and does not fit with what I really aspire to be doing. Also our company is planning to move locations. We will be moving near O'Hare in February...the worst part of winter. Right now it takes me about 20 minutes to get to work. Without traffic (or snow) the drive to O'Hare takes 30-40 minutes. I have been looking and sending my resume out to other job opportunities. I'm trying to find something in the education field which is my background and my passion. I received a call last week about a job opportunity at Travis's school. I have an interview set up for this Thursday. The position is for an admissions officer. If I get this job I would be able to walk to work which would come in handy during those snowy months. We both would appreciate it if ya'll would keep this in your prayers.

Texas Weekend

2009-06-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

This weekend we traveled down to Texas for Cody, Travis's brother, and Larissa's Wedding. It was so nice to be back home with the brown/yellow/green grass, the open landscape, and the 90 degree weather. Travis decided to take the opportunity and stay a little longer. He left on Thursday and is staying through Wednesday. I was there just for the weekend due to work, but it was a very needed and appreciated time.

The wedding was wonderful, full of lots of stories, laughter, and a few happy tears. I know Travis and I really loved spending time with our families. I even got to spend some time with a dear, dear friend. Robin, my college roommate, came to the wedding as the photographer. Some of my favorite moments from the wedding include going with Grace to buy supplies for the newly wed car, Cody and Larissa's Star Wars themed slide show, and my sisters dancing in sync to YMCA.

I took a few pictures from the event, not as many as I should have. I tend to forget about having a camera and get to busy socializing.

The first dance to "At Last".

I think an appropriate title for this picture would be Welcome to the Bodeker Family, Larissa.

The Texas vacation continued as we stayed with some very good friends in College Station. We made sure to hit up some highly missed food joints. Saturday for lunch I got my Freebirds fix. After the wedding we went with a group of friends to Sonic; the closest Sonic to us in Illinois is around 40 miles away. I had been having diet vanilla coke withdrawals. Sunday we went to A&M church and it was absolutely wonderful. I do really like our church in Illinois, but I've truly missed the people and the worship at A&M.

My flight left at 3:45 on Sunday afternoon and I almost missed it! A couple of friends from church were going to Houston to drop something off and offered us a ride. We would have made it with plenty of time except for the closed highway. The north bound tollway which takes you to the Houston airport was closed, without any signs warning you ahead of time. We had to take a 15 minute detour just to get back on the correct highway. Thankfully our ride knew another way to get to the airport. When we arrived to the airport the terminal I was suppose to get off at was under construction without a drop off area or any signs for a detour. We ended up driving into the parking lot, where Travis and I jumped out and ran for it. We got there at 3:15, 30 minutes before my flight left. I was very glad Travis came with me, just in case I needed to find another flight. Luckily I already had my boarding pass and paid for my bag. There were hardely any lines at the luggage check-in and security. As soon as I was through security I ran for my gate which was only 4 down. Thankfully I made it onto my plane with time to spare.

Travis comes back tomorrow, and I can't wait to have him back!

Memorial Weekend

2009-05-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous Memorial Weekend. Travis began his week off and I was blessed to have Monday off. On Saturday we ventured out to the great city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Travis was excited because this was the first Saturday since August that he didn't have to study. The trip took about an hour, about the same time to get to downtown Chicago but without traffic. We fell in love with Milwaukee. It is clean, not overly crowded, and has plenty of attractions. Our first stop was the Milwaukee Public Museum. At the museum we began with an Imax film on sea monsters. The museum was wonderful. We really enjoyed the butterfly room, a glassed in area full of butterflies! My favorite area was created to look like an old village, and each house should a different culture. We also enjoyed the rainforest room which was created to look and feel like the real reainforest. My camera ran out of batteries while at the museum so I only have pictures of the rainforest room. After the museum we headed out to lunch. We weren't really sure where to go. I had planned where we would go to dinner, but not lunch. After driving around downtown for a little while we decided to try this italian place. It was a family owned restaurant and some of the best italian food that either of us have had. I had a fantastic lasagna dish and Travis had some dish with spicy sausage, ziti, and a special sauce, all served with hot, homemade bread. We found a park near the lake where some type of festival was happening. We stopped to check it out and found out it was a kite festival. Families were out there with their kites, as well as professional kite fliers with trick kites. Apparently kite flying is big up there. Here is a little video of the trick kite, as well as a picture of the biggest windsock I have ever seen!

We ended our trip with dinner at a place called The Brat House. We had some wonderful brats on pretzel buns. We were told later by someone at Travis's school that The Brat House is one of the best places for a good brat.

On Sunday afternoon we ventured out to south Chicago, not southside, south Chicago. We were educated on the difference. One of Travis's classmates invited us to a barbeque at her family's house. Their house was a historic house from the early 1900's. Her mother is a retired interior designer. Needless to say the inside of the house was amazing. We had a meal of smoked ribs, corn on the cob, and baked beans. It made both of us feel right at home.

Travis begins his summer work on Monday, but next weekend we head to Texas for Cody and Larissa's wedding!

First Year Finished

2009-05-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

As of today Travis finished his first year of podiatry school! He excelled in every single one of his classes. He is so excited to be finished. He has a week off and then he will begin his summer work. The summer will consist of one class and some clinic work which will be much lighter compared to past few months. Travis has big plans for his week off, mainly sleeping, playing golf, playing computer games and just relaxing. He deserves it for all of his hard work!

I have Memorial Day off and am extremely excited about the 3 day weekend. Travis and I are planning to spend Saturday seeing the sights in Milwaukee. It's only about an hour away and is cheaper than downtown Chicago. We've been told there are some great restaurants and fun places to see. Hopefully my next blog entry will have pictures.

It finally is getting warm here. This week it has been in the 70's and 80's, although today it was back in the low 60's. On one of the days when it was 80 my co-worker was complaining about how hot it was outside. If she only knew...

I Survived (and Conquered) Cinco de Mayo

2009-05-05T15:38:00.000-07:00

Work has been very busy lately. Kristi, you were right...I am longing for those days of boredom. At the beginning of last week 2 girls from our department were let go. So Nastasha and I took over their desks for the week which entails taking care of 3 doctors: checking in on their visits for the day, scheduling visits for the upcoming weeks, and revising lists. Last Friday the doctors were all switched up between the 5schedulers. So this week I started off with my 3 doctors.

Monday I was pretty stressed about everything I had to do to get caught up. At the end of the day we found out that 2 of the schedulers would be out tomorrow. So instead of taking care of the visits for 3 doctors, I would be taking care of 5 doctors. The extra fun came this morning when our manager informed Nastasha and I that the other scheduler called in sick. The two of us now made up the podiatry scheduling department, and each of us handled the visits for 8 doctors! Our training must have been superb because we ended up reaching an average that podiatry has not seen in quite awhile. Our manager was very, very impressed...so were we!

A White Coat and a Wonderful Visit

2009-04-27T15:26:00.000-07:00

Travis' white coat ceremony was very enjoyable event, and I know for him it was very rewarding. He is beginning to see his hard work pay off. Because I was a little rushed getting to the ceremony I did not grab my camera, but thanks to my dad we have documentation of the event:

We had such a wonderful visit with our parents and were glad to have them with us. We made sure to take them for deep dish stuffed pizza, a Chicago must. We mainly stayed around our area, visiting the huge outlet mall in Gurnee and scoping out the house used in Home Alone. The house is quite interesting. It's not like you expect. It is in anormal neighborhood with houses situated quite close on each side. The magic of Hollywood. The best part of the visit was the wonderful time of visiting. We were sad to see the weekend end, but we look forward to our seeing everyone again in June for Cody's (Travis' brother) wedding!

Oy!

2009-04-23T15:43:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of blogging; it wasn't intentianal. A week or so ago I was on the computer when a message popped up warning me that I had a virus on the computer. Well, fearing a viral infection I clicked to get it cleaned, knowing our computer security would zap it away. Apparently the message did not come from our security. It was actually one of those sneaky advertisements for some cheap virus scan. Because I clicked on it, it was downloaded to the computer. Even though we erased it from the computer, its ghost remained, blocking me from viewing certain sites, mainly my blog. It appears that today the computer has been exorcized, and I am able to catch people up on our lives.

* The big event this week is Travis' white coat celebration tomorrow afternoon! Both my parents and his parents are in town as we speak for the celebration. My manager and I worked it out so that I could get off early for the event--thank goodness.

* Work is going well. Each week I have a little more added on. This week I am sitting at another scheduler's desk and taking care of what needs to be done. For the first few days I sat in her spot and she told me what needed to be done. Today I sat in her spot and she moved to another area to work which allowed me to figure out for myself how and what to prioritize. Next week I will get my doctors and begin fully working as a scheduler.

Putting the Night Away

2009-04-11T06:20:00.000-07:00

Last night Travis and I had a little date night. With his studying and my working we realized we need to find times to spend time together. We went to dinner at the Lone Star Steakhouse and then played glow-in-the-dark miniature golf. For some odd reason I have been wanting to go play miniature golf. I haven't played in years...and believe me, it showed. The golf course was inside the huge mall in Gurnee. Thank goodness it was indoors because it was way too cold to play outside. We had a lot of fun and a good time just being together! Here are some pictures:

Here is a video from the night. I enjoy it because it was Travis's first time recording a video with my camera. This is my first time putting a video up, so I hope it works.

So Proud

2009-04-09T15:22:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of Travis for his amazing accomplishments in all of his classes. I also am very proud of his extra-curricular achievements. Travis is apart of the Honor Council which reviews education misconducts, such as cheating, and then makes decisions on what should happen. A couple of weeks ago he found out that he will be the co-chair for the Honor Council next year. During the orientation week in August Travis will serve as an orientation advisor, answering questions and showing new students around. Just this week he found out that he will be one of 9 Ambassadors for the school. He and the others will help out with recruitment.

With all he has to study I am truly amazed at his devotion to these other activities.

The Student and His Foot

2009-04-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

The school issued a plastic foot and leg to each student to use for study practices. It has become apart of his being. When he goes to class, the foot is tucked in the outer pocket of his bag for all to see. In the evening when he is studying and I am reading, I will look and he is scratching his head with the foot or doing some other hilarious gesture. Last night he staged this pose, and I couldn't pass it up. The poor, tired, malnurished podiatry student!

The First Week

2009-04-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the lack of blogging this week. I have felt very drained when I get home from work. My body is having to learn this schedule again. My first week has been a little boring, trying to take everything in. Another girl started the same day as me and is in the same position. The two of us have bonded pretty well. I knew my position title before I started, but I didn't know which field I would be in: Dentistry, Audiology, Podiatry, or Optometery. Ironically, I am a Podiatry Scheduler. Travis was excited about that!

My first three days were rather boring because I sat and observed one of the schedulers. The first day I was a little nervouse because of all that she was doing. I had no idea what was what or why she would do a certain task. On the second day I felt much better. I understood what was going on and could anticipate the next step. This job is quite different from what I am use to. A majority of time is spent working with a database system and there are many different reports which have to be filled in.

At the end of Wednesday we were taught how to do a couple of tasks and then spent the next two days completing these for the other four podiatry schedulers. Since there were two of us working on this we finished them quicker than one person and would then be stuck with nothing to do. We often times would walk to each other's cubicle to see if there was any work we could take.

We are learning the job bit by bit and then we will be given our own doctors to schedule and take care of. The people I have met so far are very nice and helpful. Hopeful they all remember what it was like on their first week.

Snow Storm in March

2009-03-29T08:24:00.000-07:00

Last night the snow started falling around 7:00 p.m. When we woke up Sunday morning there were inches of snow on the ground, and it was still coming down. We went about our normai routine and got ready for church. We left the apartment a little earlier than normal, in case we needed to go slower on the roads. When we entered the hallway outside our apartment we noticed the lights were out. Apparently part of our building lost power; luckily, our apartment did not.

I'm not sure how much snow we got, but it was quite a dropping. As we walked to our garage we had to bend under tree branches that were hanging much lower, due to the weight of snow. Some of the trees were actually leaning. When we reached our garage I pushed the garage door opener and nothing happened. I tried again and again. The light on the opener would come on, but nothing would happen. Travis ran back to the apartment to get the key which we have never tried before. Either we have the wrong key or it is not cut properly, because it would not turn. So we ended up not going to church because our car was locked in the garage! We are hoping this gets fixed before tomorrow...when I have to drive to my first day at a new job.

Here are a few pictures of the spring snow storm:

Winding Down

2009-03-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

This Thursday was my last day at tutoring. Over the past two weeks I have been administering a standardized test to the boys, just like the TAKS test. I've been breaking it up into one or two sections per meeting. So Thursday we finished the last two sections and then we had our pizza party! We ate pizza and cookies and I distributed their prizes. The tutoring company gave each kid a new packback and a t-shirt. I gave them a little bag of some goodies they could use at school. And then we played a game! The boys had asked me to bring Monopoly. So we spent the rest of the time playing Lord of the Rings Momopoly! I am going to miss seeing those little guys!

In my last post I mentioned getting up earlier this week to condition my body for when I start my job. Travis and I, both, were a little skeptic of this. I decided Monday would be my last day to get up at 8:00, but every day after that I got up at 7:00. I even cooked Travis and I breakfast on Tuesday. Today I got up and drove my route to work. I wanted to see how traffic was at that time, how long it would take me, and figure out where I was suppose to park. I am all set for Monday.

This Week's Events

2009-03-22T15:48:00.000-07:00

Well, I have one more week of freedom until my new job starts. After 7 months of waiting and searching it doesn't feel too much like freedom anymore. There are only so many times you can window shop at Target. The company sent me a large packet of paperwork to fill out and send back. My hours of work will be 7:30-4:00, although I may need to come in around 7:00. For a non-morning person this is going to be fun. I may have to learn to enjoy the taste of coffee. This week I will be practicing waking up early so the following week is not such a shock.

A couple of weeks ago Travis and I decided to get rid of our cable. We wanted to save money and stop unneeded watching. The majority of the shows I watch are reruns that I have seen before. We have signed up with Netflicks since we are quite behind in the movie watching, and it is a little awkward getting to our Blockbuster. Our first two movies, Prince Caspian and Kungfu Panda, should arrive tomorrow!

Tuesday we had an enjoyable dinner with Travis' dad who was in town for work. He took us out to eat at this fantastic seafood place called Bob Chin's. The place was huge and had some amazing food! Of course the more important part of the evening was catching up!

Today our church had a potluck lunch. We brought the traditional southern potluck dish: green bean casserole. We were shocked when ours was the only one on the tables. According to the preacher's son this church is known for its jello molds. He begged us not to bring one. Hilarious! One of the ladies at the church is polish and brought homemade stuffed cabbage and blintzes. Both were absolutely amazing! We ended up taking some plates of food home, so no cooking dinner tonight!

I Have a Job!

2009-03-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

I received some of the best news at 8:30 this morning. The company that I interviewed with a couple of weeks ago called to offer me a job! This is the scheduling position with PrimeSource Healthcare in which I will schedule physicians to visit nursing homes. The pay is more than the minimum I was hoping for and the benefits are wonderful. I will start on March 30th which works out perfectly with the tutoring job which ends on the 26th.

Travis and I are both so thankful and excited! We are going to have a celebratory lunch! Thanks to all of you for keeping us in your prayes.

Glimpse of Spring?

2009-03-11T11:11:00.000-07:00

I realise I haven't updated the blog in about two weeks. Not too much has happened to us during that time--just the same old routine. Here are a few tidbits:

* The weather has been teasing us lately. Last Thurday and Friday the high reached the 60's and it was fantastic! I went out with a very light jacket on, and Travis went without a jacket. I actually saw people in shorts! We were back in the 30's/40's for a few days. Then yesterday it got in the 60's again, which was not in the forecast. Then today we woke up to 20's, but with the wind it felt like the teens. I will take that 60 degree weather any day! We also are getting lots and lots of rain (which is better than snow).

* Travis has about 10 1/2 weeks left of his first year which is unbelievable. To me, it seems like he just started; to Travis it feels like it's been 2 years. He still is doing great in all of his classes! We are looking forward to his coat ceremony at the end of April...and a visit from both sets of parents!

* Tutoring is going well. I am getting close to the end though. I am now into the math section, which has gone much better than I thought. Math is not my forte. I am better with the liberal arts. Thankfully it is elementary math, and there are lots of manipulatives to use (play money, flash cards, etc.).

* I'm still waiting to hear about the Rotary position. A couple of weeks ago I had an interview with a medical company which schedules doctors to visit nursing homes. The position would be as a scheduler and it sounds rather stressful. I'm sure I can handle it, though I'm not sure if it's exactly what I'm interested in. Hopefully I will hear from them soon. I also was contacted this week for an interview with a job placement company as a recruiter. I will go to that interview next Wednesday. Though it has been a long struggle waiting on a job, I am thankful that I have been contacted by many companies. I know of others looking for jobs in this area who haven't received a single call for an interview.

Happenings

2009-02-25T14:45:00.000-08:00

First of all I must post this enjoyable picture:

This is a gag gift my sister sent to Travis. He loved it! I think he should wear it in his anatomy labs.

Travis is off from school this week, but not off from studying. As soon as he goes back he will begin 12 weeks of tests. His days are not completely filled with studying. We have been spending some time having fun. Our preacher and his wife gave us a giftcard to a restaurant for our anniversary. Last night we decided to take advantage of the gift and had a nice dinner at LoneStar Steakhouse. The restaurant is a Texas theme which was very enjoyable. It was a little weird to see all this Texas paraphernalia and then have a waitress with a thick Illinois accent.

I am having a wonderful time with my tutoring. The boys are so well-behaved and excited to learn. On Tuesday I was going to administer an assessment test to see how the tutoring had benefited the students. Before the test I wanted to review over some of the aspects they had learned. For most of the review I used items that were included in the tutoring binder. However, I felt that they needed something else to help them with the different paragraphs in an essay. So I found the "sandwich" technique online and quickly made visual aids for the review. Here is the paragraph sandwich:

On the test the students had to write a sentence about their class, using proper capitalization and punctuation. One of the boys wrote the sentence: My teacher Mrs. Bodeker is a good teacher. That just made my day!

The Chicago Bulls

2009-02-21T11:09:00.000-08:00

Last night Travis and I went to a Chicago Bulls game at the United Center. One of his classmates arranged for a group of the students to go with discounted tickets. We were pretty much at the very top, but still we were at a Bulls game! This was my first professional basketball game to go to. We watched the Bulls play the Denver Nuggets, and they won! Hopefully we can go to at least one game of all the professional Chicago teams. Travis received a compliment last night from a group of girls. I had to get up a few times during the game, and the best way out was to hop over our seats to the top and go down the stairs. Of course when I would come back Travis would get up and hold my hand to help me down. On my second time coming down this group of girls wanted to tell me how nice my husband was for always helping me down. Yes, he is a good one!

Here are some pictures from the game:

Here is the final score. We received a coupon for McDonalds which said if the Bulls scored 100 points and won you would get a free Big Mac. As soon as we hit the 100 points Travis and some others kept chanting "Big Mac, Big Mac!"

Tutor

2009-02-19T15:44:00.001-08:00

On Monday I received a call about a part-time position as a tutor which would start on Tuesday and run through mid-March. Since I am still waiting to hear from the Rotary and don't have anything else in the works I accepted the job. I did receive an email from Rotary last week letting me know that they have yet to make a decision--so I am still in the running.

On Tuesday I drove to Niles, IL to meet with the supervisor I would be in contact with and to learn exactly what the tutor position would be doing. I haven't tutored before so I wasn't sure what it entailed. The job is for Tuesday and Thursday from 3:00-4:30 at an elementary school in North Chicago. I have a group of three boys, one in fifth grade, one in fourth grade and one in third grade. On Tuesday the supervisor came with me to show me how it works and told me I could jump in at any time. I let her run the majority of the show so I could see the full routine. There is a binder with all of the lessons and all of the materials included. The lessons are over English/Language Arts and Math. On Tuesday the lesson was mainly over pronouns, nouns and verbs. I wanted to establish myself as a tutor with the boys before the session was over and before it was all on me next time, so I handled the very last session of the lesson. The boys are very sweet, attentive and eager to learn.

On Thursday it was just me going over a lesson on punctuation and the structure of paragraphs. I had received a call from the supervisor earlier letting me know that the old tutor might come by to say goodbye, but it wasn't for sure. In the middle of the lesson he showed up with a pizza and coke. So we had a pizza party break and I chatted with Mr. Quigley. He is the Reading Specialist for the district and because his schedule was busy he had to stop tutoring. The first lesson went well. We didn't make it all the way through, but we will pick up where we left off next time.

I am very excited about this temporary position. Even though it is very part-time, I enjoy having something to do and not just anything. I am making a difference in the education of three young boys.

The Anniversary

2009-02-18T09:57:00.000-08:00

Travis and I had a wonderful anniversary. I felt well enough by the time we left for dinner, though I did stuff a stash of napkins (I used up all the kleenex) in my purse. Again I had no idea where we were going to dinner. Travis picked a wonderful restaurant in Lake Forest, a very swanky, well-to-do town. We were greeted by the manager and taken upstairs to the Bank Lane Bistro. We were seated on the patio, which during the winter is glassed in with overhead heaters. We started out with an appetizer of calamari which was excellent. I had a salad which consisted of a mixture of greens encircled by thinly cut pieces of cucumber. Both Travis and I picked fish entrees. He had the Australian Baramundi and I had a fish that started with a k. I can't remember the name, probably because I had never heard of it before. Both dishes were excellent and were light enough to where we didn't feel overtly full. Since we still had some room we ordered dessert. Travis had the chocolate creme brulee and I had the warm melted center chocolate cake. Of course both desserts were delicious. How can you go wrong with chocolate?

As we were leaving we had our waiter take a picture of us to commemorate the event(see below). After the picture Travis was able to shake hands with the cook and complement him on the meal. He had never meet the cook at a restaurant before and was excited by this. We thoroughly enjoyed the meal and hope to sometime go back.

We ended up not going out to a movie but renting one instead. I liked this idea a lot better, one because I was running out of napkins, and two, there really wasn't much playing in the theater that I wanted to see. However, there are many movies that are out to rent which neither of us have seen. Travis picked the movie and chose wisely. We spent a wonderful evening watching the thriller Eagle Eye, a movie we both had been wanting to see.

Overall we had a very enjoyable anniversary.

Valentine's and Anniversary

2009-02-16T08:58:00.000-08:00

Travis and I had a wonderful Valentine's Day. Since our anniversary is only two days after V-day we didn't do too much. I did receive my traditional rose from my dad which is sitting nicely in a vase which hasn't had flowers in it for quite awhile. Travis got me a sweet card and a simple but wonderful gift: a package of those gourmet M&M's--triple chocolate! Those things are the best: milk chocolate, white chocolate, and dark chocolate all in one. Because he has two tests this coming week he spent most of the day studying, but later that evening we went to an ice cream place we had been told about. It is called Oberwise and they are big up in this area. I don't crave ice cream that much, but Travis loves it and misses Blue Bell. Oberwise had some pretty good stuff. We decided to splurge and get something more than just a scoop of ice cream. I got the hot fudge brownie sundae and Travis got the old fashioned sundae. Both were delicious and we have decided to visit this ice cream place again.

Today is our one year anniversary. It is amazing how fast this year has flown by! Travis and I have been a little sick with congestion gunk. Travis had it pretty bad last week right when he had two finals. And lucky me I started feeling the symptoms last night and woke up today feeling awful. With each passing hour I feel a little better, however my nose resembles Rudolph. I'm sure I will be much better by this evening. Some friends of ours gave us a generous amount of money at Christmas time to "play" with. We decided to keep it for our anniversary. All I know is that we are going to dinner and a movie. Travis is keeping it secret where we are eating. I little while ago he surprised me with flowers and a card. What a sweetie!

I will update later this week and let you know where we end up eating.

The Legend of the Stache

2009-02-03T09:41:00.000-08:00

As many of you may remember from an earlier post, Travis was growing a moustache for three months as part of a bet to raise money for a diabetic organization. Many of you were privileged to meet the stache during our trip to Texas. The cutoff date for the bet was February 1st. So Saturday night/Sunday morning at midnight Travis removed the hair that we both had become accustomed to. And because the power of the stache was broken...the Cardinals lost the Super Bowl.

Here are some pictures from the momentous night:

Update

2009-01-30T09:18:00.000-08:00

I apologize for the lack of blogging. The truth is nothing too exciting has happened lately. Thankfully it has been much warmer than in my past blog; warmer meaning above zero.

Here are the things that have been happening:

* I am still waiting to hear from the Rotary about the job. I called last week to check up and apparently the people I interviewed with were at a training conference all week. If I don't hear by today I plan to call again next week.

* Yesterday I received a call from the lady at the placement agency. She has a possible job opportunity with a financial company as a Service Representative. So I am waiting to see if they will want to interview me.

* Travis is as busy as can be. When he came back from Christmas vacation he picked up two new classes without finishing any of his other classes. He finished one class today and picks up another one next week. He is overwhelmed with tests. He had two this week, has two next week, and three the following week. He then gets a week break in which he can study for his next round of tests. Following the week off he has twelve weeks with at least one test per week. Please keep him in your prayers as he continues to do a wonderful job with his studies.

That's about all that has happened so far here. Hopefully my next post will have more action and drama.

Cold

2009-01-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

Today was the coldest day that we have experienced up here. At around 9:00 this morning the temperature was clocked at -11 degrees with a -30 wind chill. The high for the day did not make it out of the negatives. Needless to say I stayed inside all day. Whereas, poor Travis had to walk to school. Thankfully he is prepared with thermals he bought for pack backing trips and a balaclava mask. He says the only problem with his warm winter gear is that it's a little too warm when he's in the classroom.

We knew it was unbelievably cold outside when we noticed the ice forming on the inside of the windows! Here are some pictures:

I had some errands to run today, but I think I will wait until tomorrow when it warms up...to 8 degrees!

Snow, Snow and, You Guessed It, More Snow

2009-01-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

When we arrived back to North Chicago a week in a half ago, we had to do a double take. Is this really the icy tundra we left two weeks ago? As we drove home from the airport we saw miles and miles of grass, unadulterated by the snow that plagued us months before our trip. Apparently while we were gone there was a heat wave (temperatures reaching the 50's and 60's) which melted a vast majority of the snow, and even caused some flooding. It was nice to have some time without the hastle of the cold, wet substance.

The snowless days lasted until Monday night/Tuesday morning of last week. Of course it was the morning I had to drive to my interview in Evanston. Thankfully the roads I was driving on had been plowed. It then snowed some on Thursday, as well as Friday. Friday night we went with some of Travis's classmates to a pool hall. While we were there the snow was coming down at a fairly nice rate. When the pool playing was done, we drove our passengers back to the student apartments. But the night was not over yet. Travis's two classmates jumped into a Dodge truck and we joined them in our Toyota Matrix in the fairly empty parking lot. Both vehicles began the thrilling experience of snow doughnuts! The things we southerners miss out on. Next time I hope to have my camera so I can take pictures and videos.To end the night Travis and his two classmates climbed a large pile of snow, the snow that had been plowed off the parking lot. Of course to get down Travis had to roll down the mountain. I remained in the dry, substaintially heated car while the boys had their fun.

We are supposedly in a blizzard/winter warning for tonight and tomorrow. We had a little bit of snow last night. The forcast on the weather channel for the next few days is exactly the same: snow, temps in the teens and windy. According to the weather channel we have already met and exceeded our average snow fall and we still have only been through 40% of the snow season.

We continue to bundle ourselves up, snuggle with warm blankets/duvets, and drink lots of hot tea and hot chocolate!

We Are Home!

2009-01-03T12:19:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful two weeks visiting with friends and family. We were so glad to have the opportunity to go back to Texas for the holidays (thanks again to my in-laws for that)! Though the time we spent with everyone was wonderful, there is something equally wonderful about being home. We arrived home a little before noon today and immediately felt a sense of relaxation as we walked in the door. Both of our flights home went very well. We knew our first flight would go without a glitch because it was protected by a jedi--a little boy with his trusty lightsaber (it was 6:00 in the morning, we were laughing at any little joke).

Travis will be starting back, full-force, into his course load on Monday. He has only finished one class so far, but will pick up four new classes. On Tuesday I will have a second interview with Rotary International. We are very hopeful this job will come through.

Snow Storm

2008-12-19T10:01:00.000-08:00

The crazy snow started last night around midnight and didn't stop until around 10:00 this morning. I haven't heard the actual amount of snow we got, but we are estimating 8 inches. We were very lucky not to get ice. Travis's school decided to close because of the storm. Apparently this is very rare for Rosalind Franklin. Travis had a test scheduled for today, not a final (again, his schedule is very different from universities). The snow is perfect for snow balls and snow men...so I think we are going to go out this afternoon and build a big snow man!

This first picture was taken by Travis at around 7:00 in the morning:

I watched as many people used their snow shovels to dig their cars out. I'm so glad we have a garage:

Here is a path someone shoveled...look at all that snow!

And...Travis and his snowball.

Job Search Update

2008-12-17T13:37:00.001-08:00

I have aggressively been on the job prowl ever since I found out I did not receive the position at the museum. I have been applying to anything I am qualified for. I can't even tell you what all I have applied to. I probably should have kept a list. I figured since I was applying in late November/December I wouldn't hear anything until we got back from our two week trip to Texas. But all that changed last Friday...

I received an email from one of the places I applied, asking to set up an interview for next week (Dec. 15th-19th). The job is with Rotary International in Evanston, IL. This is the main headquarter for all the Rotary clubs, national and international. The job is for Coordinator of Central Pan America. I would coordinate information for 63 districts of clubs and also travel to training sessions.

Then on Monday I received a call from another job possibility, setting up an interview for later in the week. The job is a Quest Instructor at a place called Lambs Farm. It is an organization for adults with developmental disabilities. I would create classes and teach them to these individuals. The topics range from anything: history, life skills, computer programs, arts and crafts, etc.

I had both interviews today, the Rotary in the morning and Lambs Farm in the afternoon. I feel that both interviews went well, and hopefully one will come through. Both places told me I would hear something after the holidays.

I also received some applications for jobs at the naval base from a member of our church. So I plan to turn those in tomorrow.

If these jobs do not pan out, I plan to get registered for substitute teaching. Apparently North Chicago is a good area for this part-time employment.

We greatly appreciate all the prayers one this aspect of our new adventure!

2008-12-15T09:15:00.000-08:00

By request I am posting pictures of my snow boots as well as all the other outer wear I put on when it is unbelievably cold. An example of unbelievably cold would be today: this morning when I woke up it was 4 degrees but with the wind it was -15. It did warm up this afternoon to 11 degrees with a wind chill of -3.

Here are the snow boots:

It took me awhile to pick these out. I actually asked one of the store associates for help on picking out the boots. I pretty much wear these all the time. They are made to keep your feet warm for up to -10 degrees.

And now here is a picture of what I look like going out in "unbelievably cold" weather. I have on snow boots; a long, down coat; scarf; water-proof gloves; and wrap around the head ear warmers. My down coat is absolutely amazing! I wore it for the first time the other night when it was 11 degrees out, and it kept me so warm.

Snow Stories

2008-12-11T09:28:00.001-08:00

Here are a few incidents we have had with the snow:

* On Tuesday when Travis was walking to class he slipped on the ice. Apparently he hit a patch of "black ice" which is ice on the asphalt that is hard to see. He told me later it was a pretty bad slip. In his words, "I ate it hard." He is ok--no injuries. He did have to come back home and change clothes. I have yet to slip, though I have had a few "wobble moments." But I know my time is coming.

* Pretty much all day Tuesday it snowed. At times it was coming down thick--it was gorgeous! I was making cookies that afternoon for a cookie exchange with our church this Saturday. We didn't have enough eggs for me to do another batch. So I opted to drive to the store so I could finish and be done with them. The roads were covered with freshly fallen snow, and it was still coming down. I am very thankful to my dad for giving me snow driving lessons years ago in Abilene. I'm putting them to good use, dad! I was very careful driving. Everything was done in slow motion. And thankfully everyone around me did the same. It was really fun being all bundled up with snow boots, gloves, and ear muffs.

* Yesterday we took some pictures at the Clinic next to our apartment. There was a lot of undisturbed snow over there. Travis decided to jump in and make a snow angel. He thoroughly enjoyed it! However, a couple minutes after he started to feel the cold of the snow...he forgot his gloves. Here are some pictures of his fun:

* After the snow angel incident I was walking back to the apartment when my right leg disappeared! I stepped in a spot of uncompacted snow and my leg sunk in to about mid-calf. It also was stuck for a few moments. Thank goodness I had my snow boots on. My foot and leg were warm and dry--I love those things!

Northern Creatures

2008-12-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

Today while I was eating lunch Travis excitedly called for me to look out the window. Apparently I wasn't the only one eating. In the pine tree right outside our living room window was a squirrel carrying lunch in his mouth. What was his lunch? This little fellow had a mighty appetite: half a piece of pizza! Luckily, I was able to grab a quick picture.

It Feels Like Christmas

2008-12-05T14:11:00.000-08:00

On Monday/Tuesday I put up the Christmas tree and a few other select decorations. The living room is just a little cramped with the tree, but it's worth it. Living in North Chicago in December feels much more like Christmas than anywhere in Texas. As of right now it is 17 degrees, but with the 15 mph wind it feels more like 2 degrees. This morning around 9:00 the temperature was 8 degrees with a wind chill of around -4. Needless to say I stayed inside today. I had some errands to run but they weren't pressing. I think it is now time for the long, down coat.

One of the things that has been difficult to get use to (aside from the bitter cold)up here is when it gets dark. By 4:45 night has fallen. It has been like this since the time change and we are still not use to it. Quite often one of us will think it is 9:00 and come to find it's only 6:00! Sheesh...

Holiday Fun

2008-12-03T09:18:00.000-08:00

We had an absolutely fabulous Thanksgiving filled with friends, both new and old, and delicious food. Since it was our first turkey to cook by ourselves, we were a little nervous about how it would turn out. Travis did a fantastic job! With a little help from family members, he pulled out a succulent bird. I got a little caught up in all the festivities and forgot to take pictures. But take it from me everyone had a great time and made sure to go back for seconds.

Kim stayed with us through Monday which meant extra days of fun. Friday Kim and I went tooling around the Lake Forest area. They apparently were having their tree lighting celebration when we went. We watched a man create ice sculptures (once again I forgot my camera). We also got free samples of roasted chesnuts which neither of us had ever had. If you haven't tried them you are not missing out on anything. We both agreed they were not our favorite. I think it was the texture that got us. They look like a nut but are very soft, almost bread-like. That evening we went to see the movie The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Wow--all I have to say.

On Saturday the three of us ventured out to downtown. We hopped on the CTA (more commonly known as the "L"). It was our first time to be on the L. I felt like I was in the movie the Fugitive. I did remember my camera this time and took a lovely shot of Travis:

Our main objective downtown was to visit the special German Christmas Market. Before we made our way there we stumpled on Millinium Park and grabbed a few quick photos:

In the last photo I took a picture of our reflection in "the bean". If you look close you can see the three of us.

At the Christmas market we got some delicious bratwursts and hot chocolate. The market was fun but a little crowded. We also ended up finding the huge Macy's downtown. We were all overwhelmed by the size: nine floors full of merchandise. Here is a picture looking down from the 6th floor I think:

On Sunday night it began snowing. I think Kim and I both agreed that the best part about the snow was watching Travis. Every few minutes we would look out the window to see if it was still snowing. I wish I had taken a picture of it. By Monday morning there was a nice blanket of snow on the ground, and it was still falling. I never heard the actual amount but I would guess 2 inches, maybe 3. Here is a picture from our apartment:

The snow is almost all melted by now, but we are expected to get more today and on Saturday. It truly feels like it is Christmas!

Two Strikes, Good Friends, and Snow

2008-11-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

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

2008-11-12T10:10:00.001-08:00

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"

2008-11-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

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:

Monday's Snow Flurry

2008-10-28T17:47:00.000-07:00

At about 5:00 Monday evening I heard Travis in the guest room say, "Oh wow--look outside!" And there it was: little white pellets falling from the sky. We stood on our small balcony and watched the 2 minute (if that) "snow storm." It wasn't much, but it was pretty awesome to see any amount of snow in the month of October! Here are two pictures of the little white dots covering the ground:

Some Updates

2008-10-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Travis:
Travis is doing well with his studies. Last week started his crazy test schedule--6 tests in 3 weeks. He had one test last week (Biochemistry) and he did well on it. He has three tests this week: Monday-Structure and Function Histology Midterm, Wednesday-ECR (not sure what that stands for), and Friday-Structure and Function. Next week he will have two tests and these are the ones that are the killers. On Monday he will have his Anatomy written exam and Tuesday will be his Anatomy Lab exam in which he will have to identify body parts that have been labeled on cadavers. Among the study he has found time to spend with me and others. His cousin, Kyle, was in downtown with his wife for a few days. On Sunday he and Travis went to play disc golf. Travis is looking forward to the week of November 10-14; his much desired quarter break.

Erin:
As for me I am still waiting to hear about the job I interviewed for. But I have received another call from a job that I think I would like alot more. I received a call last week from the Lake Forest Preserve Discovery Museum. I applied for the position of Museum Educator which seems to be in line with what I did at my other museum positon: scheduling, conducting programs, etc. The first call was to see if I was still interested in the position, and I was called again today to set up the interview time. My interview will be November 11th at 2:00. The museum is about 15 miles away which is not bad and it is not in the direction of downtown. So hopefully the traffic will not be horrendous. I'm really excited about this opportunity. It would be a job I'm really interested in and have a passion for. The museum is about Lake County history. So my plan is to go check some books out on this subject and be as prepared as possible. Hopefully something good will come of this.

Weather:
The past couple days we have had some interesting weather and it will be continuing for the next few days. On Sunday the morning started out in the mid 50's which is what we have been seeing for the past week or so. By the afternoon the temperature dropped into the 40's and the winds started gusting. According to the weather channel the winds were up to 30 mph! Today the temperature has been in the 40's but with the wind it feels like the 30's. Needless to say I have stayed inside as much as possible. On his way back from classes, Travis said he saw some snow flurries which was forecasted. They were very small and very dispersed but still, snow flurries, though small, in October! The meterologists have been saying that this is unusual weather for this time of the year. By Thursday it is suppose to be back in the 60's, but for now we are staying bundled up.

Northern Holiday

2008-10-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while driving I heard the djs on the radio say, "Don't forget this Saturday is Sweetest Day. Buy your cards and candy." What the huey is Sweetest day? They continued to discuss this "holiday" as a smaller version of Valentine's Day. Once I returned home I googled this oddity to find out what they were talking about. Apparently it is celebrated on the third Saturday of October and mainly celebrated by the Great Lakes regions. It is described as a day to remember those who have showed kindness and helpfulness. To read more about this intriguing celebration click the following link:

Sweetest Day

Job Status

2008-10-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

I called the placement agency yesterday to check up on the status of the job. I've been getting a little anxious since it seems to be taking longer than I thought. I'm not sure but I think my contact lady told me something she wasn't suppose to. The company is wanting to hire two people for the position, me being one of them. My thought process is that instead of one person assisting two executives, each executive would have there own assistant. The company is running this idea past "the powers that be" and waiting for the o.k. It may happen that they can only hire one person and then I'm not sure if it will be me or the other person. So at least I know what is going on, and now I continue the waiting process.

Fall Pictures

2008-10-15T10:11:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of the trees around our apartment complex. It seems like each day a new color pops up!

This next tree is inside a cemetary near us. We noticed it on Sunday when we drove to church. So yesterday we did a quick drive by inside the cemetary and took the shot.

These next few shots are from a forest preserve down the road from us.

Waiting, Cooking, and Reading

2008-10-11T11:15:00.001-07:00

I am still waiting to hear the results of the second interview. The lady at the placement agency called me on Monday to let me know it would be a couple of days until the company decided. The main reason for the delay is the fact that they are needing a day when everyone is in the office to discuss the matter. Finding that day is rather difficult. I completely understand this predicament. At the museum when we were working on hiring someone for my position it was during summer when everyone was taking vacations. It is hard though being on the other end waiting and hoping for that call.

In the meantime I am trying to fill my time. I have found excitement and enjoyment in cooking. In the past I was never very enthralled with the idea of cooking an entree. I didn't find it all that fun--not like baking. I love to bake! My reasoning for this love would be the thrill of eating the product...and in some instances (actually most) the thrill of eating before the product is done, i.e. the delicious batter. Since we have been in North Chicago I have been scrounging through the wonderful cookbooks I received as wedding presents for new and somewhat easy recipes. This week I made two meals that were fairly easy and actually turned out to be edible. The first was called pan enchiladas--beef enchiladas turned into a casserole dish. They were really good, and since there are only two of us there were plenty of leftovers. A couple of nights later I made Sheperd's pie using sausage. Again it didn't catch on fire and actually tasted very good. One night this week Travis and I both had a craving for something sweet and since we didn't have anything premade in the house I decided to try out this interesting drink recipe I found. Using the blender (which I now love) I made these frosty orange drinks out of orange juice, milk, sugar, vanilla, and ice. Super easy and super good!

I also I have been spending my time reading. About a month ago I finished a book I was reading and needed something else to delve into. Travis mentioned his fantastic collect of John Grisham novels (18 books in all). I have seen a few of the movies but had never read any of his books. I am thoroughly enjoying the books: easy read and intense plots that keep you wanting more. I have read The Client and The Firm (both of which I have not seen the movies of but would like to now) and am currently reading The Testament.

Travis is also keeping busy...like I had to say that. Even though he has two weeks without a test, he remains devouted to studying. He knows that after these two weeks there will be three weeks of agony. He will have 6 tests within those three weeks. And each of these tests cover an unbelievable amount of material. One of these tests will be his Anatomy Lab in which he will have to name labeled parts on different cadavers. He does take his fair share of breaks which I think is healthy, (in fact right now he is watching the OU vs. UT game with some fellow classmates) but he knows the importance of his studies. I can't say enough how proud I am of him!

We can definately tell that fall is here. The weather is nice and cool and the trees are changing colors. I plan to take some pictures of the beautiful foliage and post them on the blog. Stay tuned...

Venture to Downtown

2008-10-05T14:26:00.000-07:00

This past Friday we took a trip to downtown, or rather we went to a spot in downtown called Wrigleyville. We had planned to go with a group of Travis's classmates to a place called Harry Caray's. The class president had arranged for busses to take everyone down there, but we decided to drive, mainly because the busses were coming back a little later than we wanted to stay up. The drive was not bad at all. It took about 40 minutes and the only trouble we had was finding the parking garage I had located online. We never found the garage, but we found a public parking lot even closer to where we were going, and it was right next to the Chicago Police Department which made us feel good about the security. Since we left while the others were just gather to get on the busses, we knew we had some time to kill. So we of course went to see Wrigley Field, located right down the street from where we were going. It was amazing to stand in front of this sports venue that we both had seen in movies, tv shows, and, of course, while watching televised baseball games. What was really neat was the very next day I was watching tv and a reporter was talking from right outside the stadium...where I had stood less than 24 hours ago! Hopefully the next time we see the field it will be on the inside, sitting in the bleachers, snacking on a hot dog, and routing for the Cubs...unless the Rangers or Astros are playing. (I don't know a whole lot about the specifics of major league baseball so if the Rangers and Astros never play the Cubs just humor me).

Here are a few pictures from Friday:

This is one of Travis's classmates, Jason who went to Baylor.

The Second Interview

2008-10-02T06:37:00.001-07:00

I have really enjoyed using this placement agency to find a job. The lady who is my contact is absolutely wonderful and she gives me tips on my resume and for my interview. The interview was set for 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon. She informed me that the interview would be behavioral questions: "tell me about a time when you had to..." This was how my first interview went but this time I was prepared. I went online and looked at samply questions and thought of examples from my past experiences. It was nice knowing what to expect and how to be prepared.

I left quite a bit earlier than needed just in case something should happen. And it's good I did. The road I took last time was closed at the railroad tracks. So I followed the detour which I knew would lead me to highway 94, the toll road. After quickly checking to make sure I had change to take this route (just barely enough) I hopped on the highway and tried to remember if there was an exit at the road I needed. There wasn't. Luckily, the last time I went for my interview I was super early so I drove around the area and happend to find a back road that emptied out right near highway 94. So I took this and made it to my interview with about 5 minutes to spare--cutting it close but still not late.

I met first with the president of the company who I had briefly met the first time. He discussed the company, the position, and what they were looking for in the position. The majority of my time was spent with the VP of sales. She asked me a few situational questions and through my answers other questions were spawned. She was very intrigued with my scheduling at the museum and how I kept track of almost 200 tours. The position I am applying for would involve alot of the same organizational skills. I then met with another account executive. He and the VP of sales would be the people I would be assisting. He asked a few of the same questions. He also showed me the database program they use on the computer to keep track of the speakers and clients. He also showed me some of the paper checklists they used to keep track of the different pieces involved with each event.

My interview lasted from 2:30 to 4:00! It didn't feel like it took an hour and a half. I was having an enjoyable time. All of the people I met with were very nice and seemed like excellent people to work with. As soon as I was done I called the lady at the placement agency to discuss how it went. She was suprised at how long my interview had gone--I'm thinking that's a good sign. She asked me some questions that she would pass on to the company. So know it is another waiting game to see what comes of this interview. I feel really good about it.

Random Tidbits

2008-09-28T18:47:00.001-07:00

* My temp job is coming to an end on Monday. We have pushed through and are almost on the last of 22 boxes. If I never see another staple in my life that will be fine and dandy. It really wasn't that bad of a job. It was quite easy, just monotonous. I did find it quite easy to get lost in my thoughts while making copies which was entertaining. I also would set small goals for myself, such as, I wanted to finish this box before I go to lunch, etc. And I enjoyed lunch. I had an hour off for lunch which is way too much for me. I was use to 30 minutes at the museum and sometimes that was too much. But I have been bringing a book with me and spent the time sitting at an outdoor table reading and eating. It has been quite delictable.

* My second interview at National Speakers Bureau will be Wednesday afternoon. I will find out Monday exactly what time and what to expect. Hopefully this will go really well and I will be offered the job.

* Travis made it through his two tests and did wonderfully! After his test on Wednesday, a group of classmates planned to meet at Buffalo Wild Wings to celebrate. It ended up being a rather large group--people just kept showing up and we kept adding tables. Most of the people I met at the barbeque, but there were also a few new faces. It was nice to get out and spend time with people. Travis has another test this Wednesday and then he has two weeks without tests. So to celebrate a group is getting together and going to downtown this Friday. Super fun!

* We are getting to know our church congregation more. The preacher and his family took us out to lunch for the second time. We have really enjoyed getting to know he, his wife, and sons better. We told him today that we would like to place membership. I met a really fun lady today: she introduced herself as Katherine with a "K". So I introduced myself as Erin with an "E".

* Texas moment: Saturday I went to get a few necessities at Wal-Mart while Travis studied. As I was loading the car with my purchases, there was a car stopped near me, waiting for someone to back out of a parking spot. I heard the man in the car ask, "Are you really from Texas?" I said yes and he commenced to ask me questions at the major cities: Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas. He also asked about places to eat. I gave rave reviews about all of the cities...it's Texas everything is great there! He thanked me and pulled into his parking spot. Perhaps I persuaded him to change his vacation plans from some back-packing trip across Europe to a more pleasurable Texas excursion. Maybe I need to set up a side business for Texas Tourism.

Interview

2008-09-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

My job interview on Thursday went really well. I left my temp job an hour early just to make sure I was there on time and to ensure time in case I got lost. I found the place easily and it only took me 20 minutes. So I drove around the area to kill time.

I met with the general manager who was very nice. We had the interview in the break room. Before we started the president of the company came in and I was introduced to him. He was very nice and had a wonderful, energetic personality. We started the interview of by discussing my ties to Texas and how I got up to Illinois. She told me about a time she went to Texas. She stayed in a ranch house in the Hill Country. The funny story she told me was about an eating experience. The waitress at a restaurant mentioned the specials, one of them being chicken fried steak. She told me that this blew her mind. She could not figure out what that was. Was it chicken? Was it chicken on top of steak? As a southerner I had never thought about someone not knowing what chicken fried steak was. I first filled out a little survey, to find out what my perspectives were on certain aspects of employment. We then discussed the company and the position. She then asked me questions in which I had to state an example from work experience. I always feel put on the spot. Some of the questions you are ready for, whereas others you have to rack your brain for an example. I feel I did fairly well in this section.

Next I had a small "assessment test." She took me to one of the computers and explained my assignment. I was given one of the sheets they use to keep track of the information for speakers at an event. Some of the information was missing, and I was to write an email to the client to obtain information about the speaker's attire, as well as to write an email to the speaker to obtain his travel information. I then was to use the internet to locate the hotel's contact information and email it to the general manager. I suppose they wanted to test my email etiquette and my ability to surf the web.

Once I finished the emails I was done. The general manager thanked me and told me there would be a round of second interviews with the Vice President of Sales and I would get a call if considered.

This afternoon I had a voicemail from the lady at the placement agency letting me know that the company is very interested in a second interview. The VP of Sales is out this week so I don't know yet when my interview will be. Hopefully on Friday they will know something more. I'm pretty excited!

Job Interview

2008-09-17T19:45:00.000-07:00

I have a job interview tomorrow at 3:00 with a company called National Speakers Bureau. I have an idea of what the job entails and it sounds very interesting. The position I am interviewing for is Customer Engagement Manager. The CEM supports the sales executives by researching speakers, updating the speaker database, preparing proposals, sending clients info about speakers, scheduling conference calls, etc. I should know alot more about the position after tomorrow.

I meet with the HR person tomorrow and also take some assessment skills tests. Then if I pass this interview I will be called for a second interview with the Vice President of Sales.

I will be going to my temp job tomorrow until about 2:00 and then I will head out to the interview. We shall see what happens.

Employment Venues

2008-09-10T15:57:00.000-07:00

This week I have had some employment opportunities. I am still waiting to hear about an interview with the job I talked about in my previous blog. But in the mean time I have been blessed with some other jobs to bring in some cash and keep me occupied during the week.

My first job was Monday afternoon--a modeling gig. Katrina had asked last week if I would like to pose while she painted my portrait. For family members and friends who do not know Katrina she is a fabulous artist and super fun. So for three hours I posed in a sitting position on a very comfortable ataman. I was welcome to as many breaks as needed and she did a great job! The picture isn't finished yet, but my face is there. When I first saw it I thought I was looking in a mirror. You can check this out at Katrina's website. Feel free to search the rest of her website and see her wonderful work. (Katrina, I'm giving you some great exposure!)

The other job opportunity came Monday as well. The lady I have been in contact with for the job interview had a temp job available for this week. It was for a printing company who needed help making copies of legal documents. I said I would be able to do that. I've been there for two days now and has been good--not like the other temp assignment. It is alot of work though; I don't think we will finish this week. I am almost finished with my second box of documents...the total number of boxes is 22. Another lady is working on the coping, but she is also helping customers who come in. She is almost finished with her first box. We have been told that some of the boxes are only half full. If so hopefully we can knock them out pretty quickly. The client called today asking about the progress and was wanting to pick them up on Satureday. HA! I don't think he realizes what all is involved. We have to take out the staples then put them back in to the originals and copies, as well as make sure the copies are organized with rubber bands. I'm enjoying the work--it reminds me alot of projects I did in the Provost Office during college.

Travis has his first test this Friday. He has been studying very hard. He also is running for honor council and he has to give a speech on Thursday. Needless to say the next two days will be very full for him.

The Ups and Downs of the Week

2008-09-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

The beginning of this week started out not so great. I've decided that I really do not enjoy the temp agency I interviewed with. They are not as professional or as altogether as I had thought in the beginning. Because of this I ran into a problem with them that put me in a major funk for all of Tuesday. I'm typically a very upbeat person who can handle lots of adverse situations. However, no one is perfect and I just felt the weight of not having a job on that day.

It is truly amazing to me how when we are in our weakest moments God comes to the rescue. The afternoon of my "down and out" day I received a call about a job I had applied for. The company that called was not the actual company of the job I applied for. In my mind I was really afraid that it was another temp agency and I didn't want to get messed up with that again. But I agreed to go to an interview the next day. The office was in Lincolnshire which is about 11 miles but takes 20 minutes to drive. I easily found the building and was about 5 minutes early. This building was so much more professional than the temp agency interview I went too. I took this as a good sign. The lady I met with was absolutely wonderful! I felt so at easy with her and she was truly interested in helping me. We looked over my resume and she made suggestions on changes to make it more alluring to employers. The company is actually a placement company. Instead of a company looking over 200 applications, they contract this place to send them a handful of qualified applicants. She told me that she wants to make sure I am in a good place that I really like. That being said she told me that she probably wouldn't call every day. It depended on what jobs came in that she felt matched my skills and experience.

The very next day, Thursday, I received a call from her with a job possibility. Because of confidentiality issues she could not tell me the name of the company (at least until they decide to have me interview) but she could tell me about what they do. The company is in charge of selecting speakers for different corporate events. They find out what the goal of the event is and then find a speaker for the company. Because of my background with public speaking she thought of me. The job would be Administrative Assistant to the VP of sales. In time the job would also entail supporting two other executives. I thought it sounded pretty interesting. Using the information I knew I searched the internet to try and deduce the company. I could be wrong about the company, but if it is who I think it is they are a very well-established business with some pretty famous names as speakers. Also if this is the place I think it is, it is only 4.5 miles from where we live.

Hopefully this next week I will find out my possibilities of interviewing with the company. I will keep everyone informed.

Labor Day

2008-09-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

Travis and I had a wonderful Labor Day spent with some wonderful friends. Travis was off from school on Monday. He started the day off by getting some morning study in--I truly am very proud of his good study habits. At around 12:30 Mark and Katrina came up and the four of us went out for a jolly bit of lunch. After our filling meal at Chili's and some good times coloring chili peppers, we made the great divide among the couples: the women went shopping and the men went to play disc golf.

Katrina and I headed to Michael's, Kohl's, and Bed, Bath, and Beyond, all of which are very dangerous. I can easily create major financial damage in all of these delectable shopping venues. I, however refrained from spending since it really wasn't in our budget. Although I did steal a glance at the beautiful scrapbooking materials at Michael's and heard the whispers from the sparkling jewelry (that was almost all on sale) at Kohl's. I also denied the beckonings of the comfortable bed sheet sets at Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I remained strong, however if I had stayed any longer I think I might have lost it.

After the shopping and the disc golf we all rendezvoused back at our apartment. We enjoyed some wonderful and pleasant conversation. Then to end the evening just right we headed out for coffee at Caribou Coffee. This was our second time to go to one of these coffee shops and they are really fun! I'm not sure if there are any of these in Texas. I haven't seen or heard of them. The inside is fixed up like a wooden cabin. It makes you feel like you just finished snow skiing in Colorado, minus the skis and the snow...well, at least for now.

All in all it was a wonderful day spent hanging out with dear friends.

Any Old Job Will Not Do

2008-08-30T15:54:00.000-07:00

This past Thursday I had a day of "bumness". I was feeling pretty blah about not having a job and not even receiving a call from anyone. Not even the joy of my ER reruns could pull me out of the feeling. To top it off I received an email from one of the jobs I applied to saying I didn't meet the qualifications--sigh.

I decided to check back with the temp agency I interviewed with the previous Monday. Apparently they only had one temp-to-hire position that I could start on Friday if I wanted. Out of my desperation I went ahead and said yes, even though the job paid extremely little and it was not what I was use to. The job was a receptionist at a company called Pizzey's. When I looked up the company's website I found out they are a distributor of flax seed. What did I get myself into? Though it was a job I still did not feel cheered up, probably because I already knew this job would not be worth it.

Friday morning I got dressed in my professional best: nice gray pants, white button up shirt, and red jacket. When I arrived at the office the first thing I noticed was the clothing of the girl I was replacing as well as the lady in charge of the business. They both were in a casual shirt, jeans, and flip flops! I've heard of casual Friday but I think this is taking it too far. I think that was my first clue at this job. There were about 5 other people who worked there. Everyone seemed very dry and not very happy. Nobody really talked to me much. The girl I was replacing showed me around and explained what I was to do but that was about the extent of our interaction.

The head of the office called me in to find out about my background. As I discussed my previous work at a college, student teaching, and working as an educator in a museum, I'm pretty sure I could see on her face that she knew this was not my type of employment...as did I. She explained to me about the company: how they just went through a merger and were growing quickly. She told me they were looking for someone for the receptionist position who would want to stay and possible move up in the company. She said my time there would allow me to evaluate them and vice versa. After my one day at the company I knew this was not me. I know that if I stayed there I would dread going to work and I know that would also effect the other areas of my life. And I feel it would be unfair to the company if I stayed.

During the course of the day I did some filing, answered the phones (and on almost every call I had to ask someone for help), and mailed some bills. One of the things I know I did not like was all the paper work. There were so many different papers that went to different places or I was suppose to do certain things with and it was confusing. I had a small list of instructions but it wasn't specific enough. I truly did not like it.

So I'm still in pursuit of a job. I did apply to a children's museum for the position of educator. It sounds a lot like my other job. It's a little farther away than the other jobs I have been looking at but I would be willing to drive if I will be happy in the employment. Please keep Travis and I in your prayers as I continue my job search.

Sign That You Live With a Podiatry Student...

2008-08-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

Relaxing at the Beach

2008-08-26T11:27:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Travis and I spent some time together by going to the beach! Last week while tulling around I found an area that looked like a good place to visit. I only did a "drive by" of the spot so all I could see from the car was the pure deep blue coloring of Lake Michigan peeking out among some trees. This beach is located in the town of Lake Forest which is absolutely gorgeous! It is easy to know when you have entered this area because the house exponentially grow in size. They are enormous. We have been told that some athletes and other high ranking officials have mansions in that area. If any of you come to visit us make sure we take to this area.

After a late breakfast we headed out to the beach. We were unsure if you could swim in the lake so we didn't bring swim suits. The area I found was special parking for Lake Forest residents only. So we drove around until we found the "foreigners" parking lot. The parking lot was much higher up than the beach so we walked down this beautiful wooden ramp which was covered with tall trees. We picked a really good spot to visit. This beach had a special area marked off for swimming, which many families were taking part in; a very nice playground; a dock for boats; an observation area; and even a snack bar for when that swimming hunger takes you in.

We mainly walked around checking everything out. We went to the observation area and looked through the binoculars and asked a man, who actually knew what College Station, TX is famous for, to take our picture. We wadded in the water and it felt wonderful. The water was so clear and cool. It felt like being in the ocean because of the many waves that washed against our legs. When I looked out at the water it was so hard to realize that this was a lake. I guess it's hard when all you have to compare it with is the lakes in Texas.

After visiting the beach, which we have decide we will be visiting again, we went to look around downtown Lake Forest. The main store we went in was Williams & Sonoma. I have heard about these kitchen stores but have never been in one. Let me just say it is a very dangerous place. There are so many fun cooking gadgets and food items that you know you really need, even if your kitchen is already jam packed to the gills with other fancy items. My favorite items in the store were a package of animal cookie mix and very small animal cookie cutters.

Below are some pictures from our trip to the beach:

School

2008-08-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

Travis' first week of school went very well. Things started off quickly and are picking up with each new day. During his first week he, along with his other schoolmates, created an image of their footprint, as seen on the left. I thought it was too cute not to share with everyone else! This image will be used later for one of his classes. Also last week he had a History of Present Illness Workshop in which he had to take someone's history. The school hired actors to come in and pretend to be patients while the students took turns asking the actor medical history questions. While Travis took his turn his partner was listening and taking notes on his presentation.

His schedule of classes is very different from undergrad in college. He doesn't have Mon/Wed/Fri and Tues/Thurs classes. Everyday the schedule is different. One day he will have Anatomy fro an hour, the next for two hours. Some afternoons he will have class or a lab and others he won't. Travis has been very studious. As soon as he is done with class for the day he heads to the library to study, usually right up to dinner time. Once dinner is done and he has had time for his food to settle, he will set up camp in the office and study until bedtime, with an occasional break.

Today in his Anatomy Lab he and his group are meeting their cadaver for the first time. And I believe on Wednesday he will have his first dissecting lab. I am really proud of all that he is doing and the dedication he is putting into his education!

The Job Hunt

2008-08-18T13:20:00.000-07:00

I'm still in the process of looking for a job. Everyday I search on the internet for new listings of anything I think I may be remotely qualified for. There is one job I have applied for that I would really like to get. It is the Mentor Program Coordinator for a college that is located about 6 miles from our apartment. The description sounds just perfect!

I received a call last Wednesday from someone who found my resume and wanted to talk to me about a job possibility. I called back to see what the job might be. The position was an individual sales representative for Books Are Fun. It's one of those companies who set up the book fairs at schools and other venues. That is not exactly my dream job. I'm a horrible sales person and the thought of working on commission makes me ill to my stomach. I need a stable job with a salary.

On Thursday I received another call from a company called Office Team. Apparently one of the jobs I applied for was through this temp agency. Since I am in need of a job I figured this would be a good route to go--let them help me find a job. So I set up an appointment for Monday at 10:30. When I arrived for my interview I first had to fill out some paper work. I then met with one of the managers and we went over my past jobs, skills, and what area I would like to work in. Then I had to take 4 skills tests: Microsoft Word, Excel, Database Alpha entry, and Database Numeric entry.

When I finished the test I met with someone else who went over the scores with me. My database numeric was my worst test--I didn't even score near the average. Truth be told I don't deal that much with numbers so this score wasn't too much of a shock. My database alph was just below average. My Word and Excel scores however were fantastic! I scored in the 80's on both tests and the averages were in the 60's and 70's. Hopefully in a few days I will hear about some job possibilities.