Kittens

Every time I see a cat, I want one more. I think I've almost got Eric convinced. Last week we were at a friend's house and he was friendly to their cats. He even played with them! I'm pretty sure if I brought one home he would be fine with it. However, I'm trying to get him to actually help pick one out, and he's not quite there yet.

On Friday I decided to go look at some kittens at a shelter called "Love at First Sight." They were so precious and playful! This shelter requires that you pay for the animal's immunizations, but nothing else. I thought that was do-able. WRONG! They use one of the best veterinarians in town, so the whole ordeal was nearly $400!

Until I can afford to feed myself, I probably can't afford to feed a cat. Eric told me to find one for free. I'll be looking for a job first, and then a cat :)

Church

As I've been saying lately, "I have good news, and I have bad news."

Good News: I have a part-time job!
Bad News: I'm still looking for a full-time job.

Let's focus on the good...
Eric and I have a new church to call home. We're pretty excited to be a part of this growing and down-to-earth church. We're still getting to know people, but we have felt very welcomed and loved thus far. Even better than having a church to call home is that I have been given the absolute privilege of working with the children! I get so excited when thinking about the endless possibilities of teaching kids and all of the cool things we can do. It keeps me awake at night pondering how I can live a real yet inspiring life. I want these kids to know Jesus so badly, yet all of my wonder and excitement inevitably boils down to the same thing. I need to have a right relationship with the Lord, and through that growing relationship the kids will meet Jesus.

All that to say... we have a new church :)

The Orchard

Eric and I went to an Apple Orchard today. It was great to be outside and away from the house for a little while. We picked about 10 lbs of apples, bought a fried pie, and drank an apple slushy. The fried pie thing was new. When Eric asked "What's a fried pie?" the woman replied, "Are you from the North?" Turned out to be very similar to McDonald's apple pies, except better!

So I spent some of the afternoon peeling, slicing and freezing apples. I'm super excited about this new food to work with. Not that apples are new, but I have so many now! I made apple bread today (along with zucchini bread, my favorite). I sliced and froze enough for a pie, and I have PLENTY left! I've thought about apple crisp and apple muffins. If you have any other apple ideas, send them my way. I'm trying to freeze them as I would need them for a specific recipe (sliced, chopped, whole).

Also went to a Vandy game tonight... Vandy won 38-21 over Rice.

Nasty Thought

I'm at the library...

I just looked down at the keyboard and had this awful thought of all the people that use this keyboard every day. Then I itched my face with my hands that have now typed on this keyboard that dozens of people use every day.

Who cleans these things?

Now that I'm totally grossed out, I think I'll pack disinfectant wipes tomorrow.

Football Update

I mentioned in my previous post that we do not get ESPN. I need to clarify.

ESPN is not in the channel line-up we're paying for. However, if you go to that channel you can vaguely see a picture through "fuzz." I'm not sure what it's really called, but I grew up calling it a fuzzy channel. It's black and white, sounds awful, and you can barely make out a human figure.

Last night was the first "Monday Night Football," aired on ESPN. Well we definitely watched it, on a fuzzy screen, and muted. We honestly couldn't tell if the receivers were even catching the ball... but changing the channel was never an option.

On a more serious note, I know I poke fun at Eric and his love of football... but it is exciting to see how happy he gets when watching and participating in this sport that he loves. I hope everyone has a love like this... Something that makes you smile when everything else is going poorly... that you can talk about until you're out of breath, and then talk some more!

Musings of a "stay-at-home wife"

I saw a commercial on TV... "Test drive a new or used car and receive a $100 gas gift card." I clearly have nothing better to do, so I tried it. It was NOT a $100 gas gift card. Instead, for every $100 YOU SPEND on gas, you get a $25 rebate (up to $100). It was still worth it, but why do companies insist on false advertising? SCAMS!

One of the perks of Eric being a student is that we get season tickets to Vandy football/basketball games. We had our first football experience last week and we had a great time! The first 500 people to the game got free t-shirts. We are 1.) New to Vandy, 2.) Poor, and 3.) Have nothing else to do... so we decided to try to get the t-shirts. We met up with some friends for dinner and got to the stadium a good hour and half before game time. And... no shirts! I think we must have been fans 501-504 because the stadium was EMPTY. The best part of our night: Vandy won 24-17!!!

And for the weekends when Vandy is away... we have football on TV. For those who are unaware, yesterday was the opening day of pro-football. For the next 6 months I will be second-rate, as football (of course) takes precedence in our household. For those of you who think this is just one day a week... IT IS NOT! Oh no, we (read: Eric) watch every game that is broadcast, participate in Fantasy Football, and follow the player updates on a daily basis. What if someone on "your team" gets injured? Then you have to maintain your team and switch starters, and put together the best game plan according to who you are playing this week... the world of Fantasy has just begun. Unfortunately for Eric, we do not get ESPN, which means no Monday Night Football... or so I thought. He invited himself to a friend's house this week to watch the game!

I am highly anticipating employment :)

I'm not using my words!

This has become one of my favorite new phrases... "Eric, I haven't used my words today." I'm sure you've seen the studies about how many words women use in a day verses how many words men use in a day. There seems to be some discrepancy over the difference between men and women, but most would agree that the average adult is using approx. 20,000 words per day. In my desperate plea to have engaging adult conversation I now embrace Eric with "I haven't used my words yet... can I please, please talk?!" He loves coming home to me :)

I have found a whole new motivation for the job search. I'm determined. I NEED adult interaction, and the income would be a huge bonus. In the last 24 hours I have sent my resume to 24 different employers and I have 2 more to call. I will continue with this tenacity and determination until I am employed.

Ooh... one more thing. My husband made a great comment this week. "Joy, I really appreciate you stepping it up and cooking dinners now." WHAT? What is that? As if I couldn't before? He just offered and so I let him! Anyway, yes I am cooking now. Eric is working and attending classes, it's really the least I can do.

The Long-Awaited Update

I have been getting lots of "So... do you have a job?" Here's my response: NO!

In an effort to save time and energy, here's the short story. I have been interviewing with a church for the past few months. It started with a few written interviews and a personality test, then proceeded on to a phone interview, in person interview, and a family interview. Not joking, longest interview process of my life. As you can imagine, I had gotten to know this church and it's people pretty well. I was excited about the community, the potential, the ministry, the job, the unknowns, the friends, etc. Eric and I both felt comfortable there, which is quite an accomplishment for us! Normally one of us has a "small issue" of some sort.

So this past week I was fully expecting the final offer. We had been through all salary/benefit negotiations and I was more or less waiting on a start date. Then it came... the fateful realization that we had doctrinal disagreements. After a few days of discussions, and 4 long days of processing (as I call it), I withdrew my name today. It was a difficult decision. I was sold out for that church. As I recently told a friend, I feel like I'm now grieving the loss of that church/job.

For the record, I still think it's a great church. I believe in the ministry they are doing. However, I need to be able to support 100% the work of the church, and I'm just not there. After that dreaded conversation (umm... I'm actually calling to withdraw my name...) I do feel better. I know it was the right decision.

On to other topics: THANK YOU to those who have "submitted" recipes! We love them! I have not tried them all, but we're getting there:) Also, Eric started classes and it's going well... he's excited every day to go to school!!

And so the job search for me continues...