I think I need to find a part-time job. I have been thinking about it ever since I got here, but since the new year is fastly approaching, I am getting more serious about it. At first it was mainly to have a little bit of a social life, but now I am really interested in paying some stuff off. I know if I earned a little extra for our household it would really help Clint. He manages to make ends meet, but I want to ease some of his financial load. We don't have much, but we are making a mortgage payment back home with all of the extras that come along with that, including land taxes and homeowners ins. plus all of our living expenses here such as rent and such. It gets tight sometimes. Lord knows our military does not get paid what they should!!! Anyways, I am applying at a local pool hall. I can only work nights and weekends and I think it will be easy to find those hours at a place like that.
I am excited as well as a little scared. It's been a while since I have been in the workforce. I am considering trying to do substituting back home at CJ's school when he starts kindergarten. That would be PERFECT!!!!!
***UPDATE***
I got the job at the pool hall that I applied at. WOOHOO! I am really excited. I have to get all the stuff for my uniform--Black Dickies shorty shorts, white tux shirt w/red bow tie, tan hose, black shoes. I met a friend of Allison's (of course any friend of her's is a friend of mine). Anyways, she used to work for the same place and told me that she would round up all of the stuff she can find from when she worked there. Hopefully I can use some of it.
I also have to get TABC certified. (Texas Alcohol somethin' er another). In Texas you have to have this certification in order to work at a place that sells alcohol. There is an online site that I have to go to, pay 25 bucks, and take a 5 hr. course. I took the demo course today and it doesn't seem too bad. It is VERY boring though. The audio instructing is spoken v...e...r...y s...l...o...w...l...y! Once I pass the test I can print out a temporary copy until my official copy arrives in the mail. So really, as soon as I get that done I can start working! YAH!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Adiós Papá Noel
Christmas has come and gone. It was a pretty good time considering that I am almost 1,000 miles away from home. We had a good time with Tops and them on Christmas eve. The truck decided that it wanted to give us some problems on the way there. It kept running hot and on the way home that night the water pump went kaput. We turned around and parked it at Top's house and Willie brought us home....sweeet Willie. Their mechanic is going to take a look at it and hopefully get 'er up and runnin' again. ****UPDATE**** They called and told us that it's gonna' be all of about $150 to get the 'ole danger ranger back on the road. YIPEE!!!
Once we were home we did the Santa thing and was getting ready for bed when we heard this loud explosion. It wasn't a firework kind of boom, it was more muffled, as if it exploded in an enclosed area. Clint immediately went into "war mode". He said, "What in the HELL was that? That sounded like freakin' incoming." We jumped up and went out onto the patio and immediately could see and smell smoke and heard car alarms in our parking lot going off. So it was obvious that it was close by. We came back inside and then "BOOM" heard it again. So yeah, that really got Clint's attention. He put on some clothes, grabbed his cell, and rushed outside. He hopped on his motorcycle and did a quick run around the neighborhood, and came back still clueless as to what it was. He could see smoke and stuff, but there was no sign of anything else. I can only imagine that it was a bunch of kids who thought it would be a good idea to throw a firework in a garbage bin or something of the sorts. Who knows. So that was our drama for the night. It was definitely a time for me to count my blessings that my husband was home for the holidays. For him, noises like that have been life or death situations. I'm just so glad he's home!
On a lighter note, CJ got lots of good stuff from good 'old Santa. His new Hot Wheels bicycle is definitely his most prized possession. We gave his Harley Davidson bike to Noah because CJ was outgrowing it and we knew Santa would be bringing him one. We told CJ that if he didn't get rid of it that Santa would see that he already had a bike and might not get him a new one. That was convincing enough. Tops and Willie got him the neatest gift. It came with roller blades, a small skateboard, knee and elbow pads, hand guards, and a helmet. The roller blades are so tiny! They fit CJ perfectly and have let out room so he can use them for a while to come. Mama and Greg got him a hand made wooden log truck. We are going to buy some paints and him and his daddy can have them a "boy project". His Gma and Gpa Parks got him some Lincoln logs and a shave/hygeine kit. It was sooooo ironic b/c those are the EXACT things that Clint and I looked and looked for to get him but couldn't find it. Good thing!
As for Kiley Bug... she seemed to have gotten all she wanted this year. I sent her an "IClops". It's a cool hand held microscope of sorts. Also some clothes and hair accessories. Unfortunately her father told her that Santa Claus did not exsist. Well, not that he didn't EXSIST, but that he isn't a big old hairy guy with a sleigh and reindeer. He told her that Santa is everyone who loves her and buys her gifts. Apparently she was heartbroken at the fact that it appeared as though he didn't get her any presents but he got his g-friend something. I guess he had to let her know that he indeed got her things.... which happen to be what "Santa" left. I guess it was more or less poor planning on his part. He should have wrapped a few things and put them from him. This is his first year with her and doing the whole "SANTA" thing....urgh. I'm not ready for her to know these kinds of things!!! Of course she asked me about it and I didn't have the heart to lie to her, but I did say that Santa comes to our house and as long as she believes he will always exsist. Then I quickly changed the subject. LOL
I posted a couple short clips of CJ doing tricks and "skid outs" on his new bike. (He's been riding without training wheels since he was 3 yrs. old so he's pretty impressive for just turning 5.)
Once we were home we did the Santa thing and was getting ready for bed when we heard this loud explosion. It wasn't a firework kind of boom, it was more muffled, as if it exploded in an enclosed area. Clint immediately went into "war mode". He said, "What in the HELL was that? That sounded like freakin' incoming." We jumped up and went out onto the patio and immediately could see and smell smoke and heard car alarms in our parking lot going off. So it was obvious that it was close by. We came back inside and then "BOOM" heard it again. So yeah, that really got Clint's attention. He put on some clothes, grabbed his cell, and rushed outside. He hopped on his motorcycle and did a quick run around the neighborhood, and came back still clueless as to what it was. He could see smoke and stuff, but there was no sign of anything else. I can only imagine that it was a bunch of kids who thought it would be a good idea to throw a firework in a garbage bin or something of the sorts. Who knows. So that was our drama for the night. It was definitely a time for me to count my blessings that my husband was home for the holidays. For him, noises like that have been life or death situations. I'm just so glad he's home!
On a lighter note, CJ got lots of good stuff from good 'old Santa. His new Hot Wheels bicycle is definitely his most prized possession. We gave his Harley Davidson bike to Noah because CJ was outgrowing it and we knew Santa would be bringing him one. We told CJ that if he didn't get rid of it that Santa would see that he already had a bike and might not get him a new one. That was convincing enough. Tops and Willie got him the neatest gift. It came with roller blades, a small skateboard, knee and elbow pads, hand guards, and a helmet. The roller blades are so tiny! They fit CJ perfectly and have let out room so he can use them for a while to come. Mama and Greg got him a hand made wooden log truck. We are going to buy some paints and him and his daddy can have them a "boy project". His Gma and Gpa Parks got him some Lincoln logs and a shave/hygeine kit. It was sooooo ironic b/c those are the EXACT things that Clint and I looked and looked for to get him but couldn't find it. Good thing!
As for Kiley Bug... she seemed to have gotten all she wanted this year. I sent her an "IClops". It's a cool hand held microscope of sorts. Also some clothes and hair accessories. Unfortunately her father told her that Santa Claus did not exsist. Well, not that he didn't EXSIST, but that he isn't a big old hairy guy with a sleigh and reindeer. He told her that Santa is everyone who loves her and buys her gifts. Apparently she was heartbroken at the fact that it appeared as though he didn't get her any presents but he got his g-friend something. I guess he had to let her know that he indeed got her things.... which happen to be what "Santa" left. I guess it was more or less poor planning on his part. He should have wrapped a few things and put them from him. This is his first year with her and doing the whole "SANTA" thing....urgh. I'm not ready for her to know these kinds of things!!! Of course she asked me about it and I didn't have the heart to lie to her, but I did say that Santa comes to our house and as long as she believes he will always exsist. Then I quickly changed the subject. LOL
I posted a couple short clips of CJ doing tricks and "skid outs" on his new bike. (He's been riding without training wheels since he was 3 yrs. old so he's pretty impressive for just turning 5.)
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Holiday cooking
I spent most of the day today cooking for our dinner tomorrow at Topsanna and Willie's. We all had a good time preparing the feast :) .
CJ made a pecan pie YUMMY!!! Bless his heart, he worked SO hard!
CJ made a pecan pie YUMMY!!! Bless his heart, he worked SO hard!
And Clint did chocolate covered pretzels. Bless his heart AND mine! He is a disaster in the kitchen.
Anyways, I hope you all are enjoying your holiday season so far!
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Word to your mother
Today was yet another uneventful day. I slept in late with my hubby (which is ALWAYS nice). We laid around and eventually got up and got ready for a little last minute shopping. We are going to our friend's, Topsana and Willie (love them), for Christmas eve dinner and I needed to buy all the ingredients for the stuff I am taking. I am making stuffed manicotti, a pecan pie, rolls, choc. covered pretzels, and creme puffs. YUM! I did a trial run for the creme puffs tonight and I think they turned out pretty good. I have made them once before but it was under the supervision of my ex father-in-law, who happens to be the one who gave me the recipe. I think I did him proud tonight.
Clint and I played Boggle again tonight. CJ was so cute trying to join in by writing his own words. Most of the time it was jumbled letters that formed nothing more than a language yet to be discovered, but after a while he decided to change his tactic and would think of a few words that he wanted to sound out and write on his own before the timer ran out. He spelled fast, book, bean, and took a stab at piranha (p-u-r-n-u was his final product-lol). I had to give him an "A" for effort that's for sure.
He is doing really well with his reading. I noticed early this summer that he caught on really quickly to letters and their sounds so I made a goal for him to be reading before Kindergarten. So far he is doing well at sounding out 3 and 4 letter words. I don't know how I lucked up and got two very smart children! OH! Let's not forget his new interest in the Presidents of the United States. I don't want to overload his little brain, but he is so inquisitive about things I never thought a 5 year old would ever think to wonder about. Which leads me to a very funny story!!!
One day a few weeks ago he was singing some songs that his pre-k class was practicing for their class Christmas program. When he sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer we got to the end where you say "You'll go down in history. Like George Washington." I asked him if he knew who George Washington was and he said "No". I gave him the very generic answer that he was the first president of the U.S. He asked me if he was dead and I said "Yes". Well, then he wanted to know how old he was when he died and HOW he died. I didn't know the answer to that and told him that he would have to ask his daddy. Clint, being the history buff that he is, would surely know the answer to that. So CJ asked his daddy and Clint proceeded to explain that he died from what they think was strep throat blah blah blah and he showed CJ a picture of him on the internet. CJ has seen G.W. everywhere now that he knows what he looks like. On the dollar bill and while watching T.V. he spotted him on Mt. Rushmore. We gathered together a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter and showed him all the different presidents on each coin and of course explained the monetary value of each one. Clint asked CJ if he could spot the difference between all of the presidents on each coin. One was very different than all the others. CJ pointed out that the president on the penny was facing a different way from the rest. We explained to him that he was Abraham Lincoln and that he was the president that freed the slaves. Of course we had to explain to CJ what a slave was at that point. Anyways Clint told him that it is said to believe that the reason why he is facing the opposite direction is because of his efforts to free the slaves. And without skipping a beat CJ pipes in, "OOOOOOOH! So THAT'S why the penny is brown!!!" I thought I was going to fall out of my chair!!!! I think he may be the one to squash the old stereotype that all jocks are dumb.
Clint and I played Boggle again tonight. CJ was so cute trying to join in by writing his own words. Most of the time it was jumbled letters that formed nothing more than a language yet to be discovered, but after a while he decided to change his tactic and would think of a few words that he wanted to sound out and write on his own before the timer ran out. He spelled fast, book, bean, and took a stab at piranha (p-u-r-n-u was his final product-lol). I had to give him an "A" for effort that's for sure.
He is doing really well with his reading. I noticed early this summer that he caught on really quickly to letters and their sounds so I made a goal for him to be reading before Kindergarten. So far he is doing well at sounding out 3 and 4 letter words. I don't know how I lucked up and got two very smart children! OH! Let's not forget his new interest in the Presidents of the United States. I don't want to overload his little brain, but he is so inquisitive about things I never thought a 5 year old would ever think to wonder about. Which leads me to a very funny story!!!
One day a few weeks ago he was singing some songs that his pre-k class was practicing for their class Christmas program. When he sang Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer we got to the end where you say "You'll go down in history. Like George Washington." I asked him if he knew who George Washington was and he said "No". I gave him the very generic answer that he was the first president of the U.S. He asked me if he was dead and I said "Yes". Well, then he wanted to know how old he was when he died and HOW he died. I didn't know the answer to that and told him that he would have to ask his daddy. Clint, being the history buff that he is, would surely know the answer to that. So CJ asked his daddy and Clint proceeded to explain that he died from what they think was strep throat blah blah blah and he showed CJ a picture of him on the internet. CJ has seen G.W. everywhere now that he knows what he looks like. On the dollar bill and while watching T.V. he spotted him on Mt. Rushmore. We gathered together a penny, nickel, dime, and quarter and showed him all the different presidents on each coin and of course explained the monetary value of each one. Clint asked CJ if he could spot the difference between all of the presidents on each coin. One was very different than all the others. CJ pointed out that the president on the penny was facing a different way from the rest. We explained to him that he was Abraham Lincoln and that he was the president that freed the slaves. Of course we had to explain to CJ what a slave was at that point. Anyways Clint told him that it is said to believe that the reason why he is facing the opposite direction is because of his efforts to free the slaves. And without skipping a beat CJ pipes in, "OOOOOOOH! So THAT'S why the penny is brown!!!" I thought I was going to fall out of my chair!!!! I think he may be the one to squash the old stereotype that all jocks are dumb.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Here I am...
...here...I...freakin'...am!
So, my friend Allison turned me on to blogger. I have been procrastinating my first entry. Not so much because I was dreading it. Just mainly because I was spending so much time hanging out with my friend...FINALLY A FRIEND!!!!!!! (a local one anyway)But since Allison and her family has just PSC'd to GA [insert a big slap in the face here] I am now stuck in San Antonio, heartbroken and friendless, alas I compose my first blog entry.
Where shall I begin?
Today was CJ's Christmas program at his Pre-K class. They sang about 8 songs including "Feniz Lavidad" (CJ's version of Feliz Navidad). It was sooo cute!!! Clint missed it b/c he was running an errand and thanks to good 'ole S.A. traffic he ran too late.
So, my friend Allison turned me on to blogger. I have been procrastinating my first entry. Not so much because I was dreading it. Just mainly because I was spending so much time hanging out with my friend...FINALLY A FRIEND!!!!!!! (a local one anyway)But since Allison and her family has just PSC'd to GA [insert a big slap in the face here] I am now stuck in San Antonio, heartbroken and friendless, alas I compose my first blog entry.
Where shall I begin?
Today was CJ's Christmas program at his Pre-K class. They sang about 8 songs including "Feniz Lavidad" (CJ's version of Feliz Navidad). It was sooo cute!!! Clint missed it b/c he was running an errand and thanks to good 'ole S.A. traffic he ran too late.
The night is still young and I plan to go to Chili's to hang out with some girls from my Cafemom group. I have the mind to just stay at home and put my new Boggle game to use. Thanks Allison for the great present! Also, as you can see my memory card picture thingy you got me works WONDERFULLY!!!!
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