Obama as President

Obama was sworn in yesterday as our country's 44th president and our first African American president.

I don't have many thoughts on the matter except that I am hopeful he will be the change this country needs.

Only time will tell.

I like to cook?!

As I stood in the kitchen after work today making homemade Chicken a la King I had a realization: I actually (sorta, kinda) like to cook!!!!

The big deal about this is that I usually don't enjoy cooking. But lately I've been making a lot of recipes and have realized how great it is to have some delicious food to eat for a meal - even if it isn't anything fancy. And the more recipes I try, the more I seem to enjoy cooking. Crazy!

Seriously, w/in the last week and a half or so I've made:

- Homemade Beef Stew
- Homemade Beef Stroganoff - Simply Amazing. Seriously.
- Whole Chicken in oven w/seasoning - came out perfectly moist!! :)
- Homemade Chicken a la King - SOOOO YUMMY!

And in the next several days I plan on making:

- Homemade Chicken Stock
- Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

I'm no Paula Dean, and my fiance will ALWAYS be a better cook than me (my skills are absolutely nothing compared to him, all I do is follow a recipe, he creates wonderful food), but this whole having good food to eat thing is pretty nice.

Clean = Relaxation

I am on day 5 of the FlyLady plan... and doing pretty good.

Today I went grocery shopping immediately after work and when I finally got home and stepped into my kitchen to put my groceries away, my immediate thought was, "Wow. My kitchen is really clean!"

I was quite amazed. Usually there are dishes in my sink or waiting on my VERY limited counter space to be washed. Now my counters are clean and my dirty dishes are hidden in a container under my sink, waiting there to be washed.

It's amazing how such a small amount of work each day really makes a HUGE difference in my kitchen. It's soooo relaxing!

Thank you FlyLady!

FlyLady - Day 2

Well, I did it - I survived day 1 and day 2!!!

My to-do list that I posted yesterday now looks like this:

- Do FlyLady Task - DONE!!
- Make sure my sinks are shiny & clean! - DONE!!
- Get up a little earlier so I'm not in a rush to go to work. - DONE!!
- Take out trash when I leave for work. - DONE!!
- Talk to Pastor about wedding ceremony. - Will call in 40 minutes.
- Think/e-mail/talk with fiance about where to have wedding reception dinner. - DONE!!

It feels so good to have accomplished all this. The FlyLady task for today was to get dressed from head to shoe, right when I get up. Since I work, this wasn't a problem for me. I took it a little further even, and after my shower today I got dressed in normal clothes, instead of just my P.J.'s like I so often do. The idea behind it is if you get dressed, do your hair, make-up, and even put your shoes on, then you will feel more confident about yourself and better able to tackle the things of life. I did cheat a little - I didn't put my shoes on. But I still feel ready to roll!

In addition to all of the above, I also completed a special challenge today in the FlyLady group - spend 15 minutes picking up any clothes on the ground. I had a small pile, so it only took about 2 minutes. And it makes such a huge difference in my apartment!

I ALSO set a timer for 15 minutes and did dishes. I have so many to do, it's horrible to even admit. But I got a good load done. My goal is to do dishes nightly, so they don't stack up. It is part of a new "before bedtime" routine of things to do each night that I set up today. This is another FlyLady trick - having a bedtime routine of certain things that gets done, so that you stay on top of things.

I'm getting somewhere - I can soooo totally do this!

FlyLady - Day 1

Today I joined flylady.net, a site which is geared to help a person conquer their messy home and keep it clean!!!

I love the idea of a clean, organized home - but never actually follow through enough to keep it clean and organized. Fly Lady is an e-mail group which sends out daily messages with tasks for you to do. The idea is that by completing their tasks/program you will make yourself fall into a routine, that eventually will be a habit you can't break!

Day one's goal is to shine your sink! That's it. She provides steps on how to do it, and says that all you have to do is clean your sink of dirty dishes/etc and make it shine. You don't have to wash the dishes or anything - just move them from your sink and shine it.

So, I shined my sink today. I also shined my bathroom sink, cleaned my bathroom mirror, and changed the litter box.

Goals for tomorrow:

- Do FlyLady Task
- Make sure my sinks are shiny & clean!
- Get up a little earlier so I'm not in a rush to go to work.
- Take out trash when I leave for work.
- Talk to Pastor about wedding ceremony.
- Think/e-mail/talk with fiance about where to have wedding reception dinner.

And that's it! If I can at least get those items done, then I'll be happy. I think it's a list I can accomplish. And now I'm off to relax and continue my journey in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.

My Life

Well. It certainly has been quite a long time since I've posted! There is so much to catch up on. But I'll use bullets to make it a faster read for you all. :)

* It didn't take long to get frustrated with people talking to me through my windows. So I kept them shut.

* It also didn't take long for me to get annoyed at not having any natural sunlight or fresh air available to my dungeon-like apartment. Nov 3rd I moved to a different apartment in the same building, which is on the outside portion! Now I get air and sunlight, and me and my kitty LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

* Downside to the new apartment: noisy neighbors. Parties all night long, music till all hours of the night. I finally called the police on them and reported them to my manager. Manager said they are getting evicted as soon as they can get to court. That was a couple weeks ago and I haven't seen or heard them since about the same time I talked to the manager! Now it is peaceful and wonderful here.

* I am working 6 days a week at my new job and loving it. I could have 2 days off a week, but choose to make the extra money each month to put towards our wedding in March and only have 1 day of rest. Since I excel when kept very busy, this is absolutely great for me!

* Our wedding planning is coming along nicely. We have found a reception site we love that is in our price range. All that is left to finalize the decision is for my parents to go eat there and snap some pictures for us to see. Then we will book it! :) It isn't a hugely popular place for wedding receptions (it's a restaurant) so there isn't a big rush - I highly doubt someone will book March 27th, 2009 at the restaurant this far in advance!

* I've also ordered my wedding dress! See it here: Adelaide. It is absolutely gorgeous. And I look and feel amazing in it. It should come in to the store here in Virginia in February!

* Guess what else is coming into Virginia in February!? My fiance!!! The first step of his visa process was approved and as we speak the application is in the mail going to the embassy in Germany. All that's left is a few more papers, some more government fees to pay, an interview to pass at the embassy and a medical exam. Sounds like a lot - but compared to the 5 month wait just to get the first approval - it's really nothing at all! Since his visa is going through smoothly, he should have no problem getting a flight to move here in the end of February 2009. Then we will drive up to MN for our wedding in the end of March. It's only 3 months away until he moves, 4 months until the wedding --> we're both sooooooo very excited!

That's really about it. I'll try to post up here a bit more often. I've been very big into saving money lately - spending as little as possible and adding as much as I can to my savings account for the wedding. I'm really trying to control my finances and am doing pretty good. The last 5 weeks I've managed to shave $60 a month off of my grocery bill alone! :) I'm thinking about posting more regularly on here about my various goals/challenges to myself in the area of my finances... we'll see.

Until then - have a good turkey day!

Found: Phone!

Well... color me blonde.. but I FOUND my cell phone.

It was in the stupidest place imagineable, and I swear I looked there a hundred thousand times.

But... apparantly not.

So... I will still be getting a new phone number, because I get no cell phone service in my apartment and would prefer to have a phone that I can use w/o walking to the parking lot. When I get the number, I will let you all know.

:-)

Virginia

So... it's been quite awhile since I've posted on here, and I apologize. In the hub-bub of everything, this blog often times gets neglected.

I did complete my move to Virginia, and all is well here. I have a nice apartment and the area is beautiful. My first day of work is Monday, and I'm nervous and excited for it... I hope it'll go well.

There have been 2 big problems here though, since arriving. The first is my cell phone.. or lack thereof. See, I lost my cell phone on Friday (9/12) and cannot find it ANYWHERE. That means that if you try to call me on it, I will not be reachable, and it will say "This person is not accepting calls at this time. Please try again later." If you try later, I still won't be accepting calls. I don't know where the phone is... we've looked all over to no avail.

With that said.. I will be getting a new phone and/or phone number within the next several days and as soon as I have it, I will let everyone know. Please though, if you know my e-mail address, e-mail me your phone number. Tomorrow I'm buying a paper address book to take the spot of my old address book on my cell phone... and I need everyone's number again because I lost all that info with the phone as well.

The second problem is electricity. I forgot to call the electric company before I came and they aren't able to come out to turn my electric on till Monday (9/15), even though I called Friday (9/12). So.. that means no lights, no refridgerator, no hot water, and no stove (it's an electric stove). I do have a power cord from another apartment and can run a light, a fan and my computer, so all is not lost. I've had neighbors offer me to use their shower as well, so that's good too...

And that brings me to my 3rd, and final point of the day.. the weirdest thing so far is that people talk to me through my windows. In my apartment complex, all the apartments open to the outside, with my apartment opening into a little walk way area between the two buildings. I've learned that if your windows are open and your curtains are open as well, people will just stop and talk to you through your windows. Yesterday it was the maintenance guy on several different occassions. Today it was a woman who I think must live down the way from me... she just stopped by and said, "Hey - do you want to shower?"

Lol... if I didn't know better I'd have fell to the floor right there in shock probably. I mean, honestly, who ever asks you that question? I think she was the fiancee of a guy who stopped by earlier though and introduced himself, then said that he & his fiancee had gone through the same problem recently when they moved in and if I need anything, even a shower, to just let them know. My guess is she was his fiancee.

But... seriously, how often in life does someone just stop and talk to you at your window? Weird. At least it's a nice ice breaker to make friendships, right?

JOB!

I have great news!!!!

About 3 weeks ago I applied for a job in Virginia. The position was full time and permanent..something my zookeeping career needed! So I applied and a week later called them up to make sure they got my application.

I left them a message that day, and a few hours later I got a call back from their curator. We set up a phone interview for the next day and it went wonderfully. So wonderfully that I got invited immediately to a personal interview at my earliest convienance.

So this week my parents (dad & step-mom) were already planning on coming to visit. We agreed to change our plans to a road-trip to Virginia for the interview (an 8 hour drive from where I live now). I had the interview on Tuesday afternoon...
and today they OFFERED ME THE JOB!!!!

Of course, I said yes.

The position is at a safari-themed drive thru park, much like the one I work at now. The pay is more (3 dollars more) per hour than I make now and the position requires a 2 year minimum commitment...EXACTLY what I need in my career. Not to mention the fact that I'll be living IN THE MOUNTAINS (it's gorgeous there) in a historic town that is only a few hours drive from other major attractions: four hours to the atlantic ocean, 3.5 to Washington D.C., 6.5 to New York, and within a few hours of other large cities. Plus..did I mention it's in the mountains? So there are tons of hiking trails, and it's surrounded by beautiful natural forest land and there's other tourist stuff as well....

I'm so excited!

Jobs

I know it's been a while since I've posted on here, but I thought I'd put up a link to a website I found recently - www.employmentcrossing.com.

Employmentcrossing.com is a website meant to help people on the job search! From my own experiences, I know how long and difficult the job search can be. This website is dedicated to helping job hunters come into contact with the right available jobs through a system of portals to individual industries! They even offer a free trial - so head on over and check them out.

Great 5th Anniversary Present!

Are you looking for something unique for an upcoming wedding, anniversary, or birthday? Do you have some other event in the near future and you want to get the person a truly special gift? Then let me suggest LifeOnRecord.

Let's conisder the following example to describe LifeOnRecord's services. Let's say Alyssa and Jacob are celebrating their 5th wedding anniversary. You want to give them something extra special but can't think of what. Then you stumble upon LifeOnRecord's website. You pay the fee and send a letter to all of the couple's family and friends. The letter includes a toll-free number and asks them to call in and leave a story about the couple or their well wishes. All of the stories are then collected by the company, and put onto a CD (or downloaded from your computer)! On their anniversary you present them with this special CD that is really one-of-a-kind.

If intersted, head on over to their site and check it out!

Fears

I came across this website that lists stories of real people. The story below is of someone's fear, in this case heights. I think this is somthing pretty common that we all fear. Just thought I'd share it with you all.

Fear of Heights

CheckMyPC - A Review

We are just full of reviews today. Another review I wanted to let you all know about is CheckMyPC.

CheckMyPC is a computer program that claims to check your computer to determine what it has been used to do. It specifically was created with parents in mind. Many parents try to protect their children from certain websites or programs, but children and teens sometimes (perhaps often) know how to get around these blocking programs to access the content.

If you buy and run CheckMyPC it will go through your computer and let you know what's really been going on. You'll find out what your family has really been up to and will be able to take action if needed.

While CheckMyPC sounds nice, it seems a little sketchy. The website is very basic and nonimpressive, which tells me that the software isn't good enough to spend time working a website for. It also seems to be just another program to help protect children online and ensure internet safety. In a market that is covered in these programs, yet another one might be a little much.

This is all from my point of view as an engaged female with no children. If I had kids, perhaps I would feel differently. Go to http://www.checkmypc.org/, and find out for yourself!

Crush or Flush: A Review

Though I am happily engaged and not looking for a replacement ever, I'd like to take a few moments to review a dating website that I found where you can meet people at your leisure.

The website, crushorflush.com, allows you to create a profile with a picture of yourself. Then you let them know what you are looking for (male, female, age, etc.) and they will give you a list of potential matches. If you are interested in someone, you click "crush" if not, you "flush" them. If a person is flushed, they never find out so you don't have to worry about hurting their feelings! If two people crush eachother, then they can chat. Exchanging e-mail addresses or phone numbers is only done by the people, never the website. It is a safe, easy way to meet people.

Just thought I'd let the world know about the website!

Life

Well, life here in P.C. is going well. My job is great. I like my coworkers, and I stay plenty busy! Right now I'm working 9-11 hour days, so it's pretty exhausting. Unfortunately, I can't say more due to confidentiality rules. Sorry guys.

In other news, that I CAN talk about, I've gotten a kitten! She's about 7 weeks old and full of all the energy and annoying habits of all kittens. Oh, but I love her! Her favorite game right now is "scratch-up-Mindy." How do you play? You hide behind boxes and squat down really low to the ground, then jump out and attack Mindy's bare skin with your claws! And let me tell you, it's great fun. In the case that Mindy's feet/legs/hands/arms/head/hair/etc. aren'te accessible, just jump and reach for them and eventually you'll scratch something!

No, in all honesty, she's great. She's going through you're typical kitten stuff. She treats me as a combination mom and litter-mate, and I've only had her for 6 days - so the bonding part is great. She's super happy to see me in the morning (she's not allowed in my bedroom) and in the evenings when I come home from work. Then she alternates playing (with some part of my body (right now she's OBSESSED with my feet) and sleeping curled up in my lap. I sit at the computer right now with a spray bottle of water in my lap, spraying her with it about every 5 seconds - when she plays with my feet. You'd think the concept is simple: Play with feet = sprayed with water. But, she keeps coming back and back and back... her backside is decently wet, but she doesn't give up. I think now it's a contest of wills....who'll give up first, her or me?

In a way, I'm flattered she loves to play with me so much. But on the other hand, I really wish she'd play with her toys instead of my feet!

Ahh..but I'm sure diligence will pay off in the end. At least that's what all the training books say. "Don't lose your temper, be patient, diligent, and consistant, and it'll pay off."

I'll let you know how it turns out.

p.s. Her name is "Lea" (as in "leh-ah"). It means "little lioness" in German.

OHIO!!!

Well, I'm finally here in Ohio. The weather is spectacular, Lake Erie is gorgeous, my apartment is...being painted lime green today, my new job is awesome, and my new bike is getting me into shape!

I got here Friday night at 11 pm Eastern Time, after my Greyhound was delayed 7 hours in Chicago! Thankfully I got to spend time with an old friend during a few of those hours, so that was great.

Upon arrival my new managers picked me up and brought me to my apartment, which my landlord had left unlocked. I crashed on the couch they had left for me and woke up the next day to sign my lease and find out that they are going to paint my apartment for me and replace the carpet! :)

Saturday and Sunday I just sort of lazed around. I went shopping Saturday and bought the necessities and my new purple mountain bike for getting around town. Sunday I explored Port Clinton downtown and found the best popcorn shop where you can buy lots of different flavors of popcorn! :) MMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

Monday I had my first day of work, and it was great. There's nothing like zookeeping, and I have missed it since I was at CARE several months ago. I get along really great with my coworkers and feel like they will help me to excel over these next 6 months and in wherever I go next.

I really love it out here. The only complaint so far is that I don't have many friends, a computer, a TV, or anything else to do yet besides read..so it can be a bit boring. But my computer and scrapbooking stuff is on its way and should be here next week at the latest, so then it'll be better.
I just thought I'd update everyone real quick..I'm using the library's internet now and may only be able to get in on it once a week or so... but I'll update as often as I can!

JOB!

* clears throat *

We interupt your regularly scheduled blog to bring you an important message.

Mindy has gotten a job.

We now return you to your usual blog. Thank you.

Yep, that's right. You are now "looking" at the proud owner of..a job! :) I got offered a seasonal zookeeper position at the African Safari Wildlife Park (africansafariwildlifepark.com) in Port Clinton, Ohio. The position sounds great and starts on May 5th, 2008.

That means I'll be moving to Ohio, not Chicago!!! This position is a step forward for my career and will open up doors in the future (and maybe could even lead to full time there after the season is over at the end of October!). Fabian and I have agreed that it's best to go there instead of Chicago. But perhaps Chicago will come at another time in our lives.

I'm excited for the position, even though I have to leave Minnesota in exactly 1 week, and there is a ton of things to do. I'll only be making minimum wage ($7.00/hour in Ohio), but will be getting a second job (the keeping one is full time) and I won't have gas/car insurance/car repairs to pay for, so that'll help. I will be buying a bike when I'm there, and that'll have to get me around. I'll be sooooo buff! :)

I'll be taking a Greyhound, so that'll be FUN....(note sarcasm)...last time I went it was a nightmare due to storms in Oklahoma and rerouting hassles. Let's hope this time goes better.
So, wish me luck. I'll keep you all updated.

P.S. Did I mention that Port Clinton is RIGHT ON LAKE ERIE!?!? WOO HOO!

Zoo Job - CO

Hey everyone. I just thought I’d update you all really fast and let you know that I did not get the job I interviewed for in Colorado. I didn’t ask why, but was told that my persistance has been appreciated and that my application will be kept on file for 4 months in case something else opens up.

I’m dissapointed, because I really wanted the position. I felt that it’d be as close to perfect as possible for Fabian and I to start out and that we’d really like living there.

I already had an inkling though that the position had been offered to another so I wasn’t too surprised when she said that someone else accepted the position.

But I’m looking forward. There’s still zoo jobs out there and I will get the position I’m supposed to get in due time. Obviously God has something else for me in store besides Colorado!! So...I’ll keep sending out applications and plugging away. Eventually, my dreams will come true.

p.s. I do have a full time job for the time being in the non-zoo world which pays pretty okay now! Knowing I have money coming in helps during this time of unknown with my career.

Interview Update

Hey everyone!

I’ve gotten a few questions regarding how my interview went, so I thought I’d quickly update everyone!

The interview went well. It was a phone interview with two people, the curator of the zoo and a zookeeper II (upper level zookeeper). They asked me a bunch of questions, most of which I was prepared for. Only one question caught me off guard but I still think I recovered well and answered it well.

I was told to call back the following Sunday to check on the process. When I called back she told me that they haven’t been able to come to any conclusions yet, and that since she’s going out of town for a conference for a week I should call back after the 25th of March.
So, on the bright side, I’m not out of the running yet! I’m not sure if they’ve eliminated some candidates after the interviews already or if they just haven’t had time to do anything... but the most important thing is I’m still in the running! Had I been horrible, I’m sure I would’ve been told then and there that they aren’t interested in me.

I’m super excited for this position still. I think it’d be a great place to continue my career and that Fabian and I could both be happy there. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. In the mean time I’m still working on resumes/applications and getting interviews at other places as well.

As I find out more information about jobs, I’ll keep you all posted! :) Hopefully I’ll be getting something soon!

Good News. Bad News.

Wow! I have good news and I have bad news tonight!!!

Let's start with the bad news:

The temp job I've been working for the past two weeks isn't working out nearly as I'd hoped. It's a call center job, asking people to donate money to various non-profit organizations. At first I thought it'd be easy and a great place to work, but it's not as easy as I thought. I've been on the phone by myself for four days now, and of the group that is calling for the same organization I'm calling for, I'm doing the worst! I feel that I'm slowly getting the hang of it, but they keep sending me home after only 1 or 2 hours on the phones, so I feel like I'm not getting much of a chance to prove myself. It's a bit frustrating. After being sent home for the THIRD day in a row, I asked if this would continue all week. The supervisor assured me it wouldn't... so I'm going to go back tomorrow. But if they send me home again tomorrow after only an hour or two, then I'm going to have to quit. Why? Because it's not worth driving 1 hour there and back in order to work 1 or 2 hours only. Gas is way too expensive for that, and I'm only getting paid $8/hour before taxes. So..that's a bummer.

The GREAT news is...drum roll please... I have a job interview for a zoo job!!!!!!! As you all know I've been applying for a while now for a permanent zoo position. A couple of weeks ago I sent in an application to the Pueblo Zoo in Pueblo, Colorado for an apprentice zoo keeper position. The pay is low, but it's an entry level position at a great facility in a beautiful area of the country.. so I applied. About a week after I sent in my application I called the curator (who is the contact for new jobs) and left her a nice message saying that I just wanted to check up on my application. That was Thursday of last week. On Friday, I called back a little later in the afternoon and said the same thing, in a really nice way. I was pleasant and said please and thank you.
Due to shopping with my mom I didn't get a chance to call today, but figured I'd call again tomorrow if I still hadn't heard from her. :) Well... after I got off of work early tonight, I checked my voice mail. And it was HER! :) She said that she was returning my call and that they're starting phone interviews and want me to be one of the interviews on Wednesday or Thursday this week!!!!! I'm soooooooooo excited and happy!!!!

I'm not sure if I've blogged about it, but I've been pretty bummed these last couple of weeks. I've been feeling sorry for myself and frustrated that even though I've been trying, no where wants to hire me. I was especially bummed due to this temporary job not working out so well for me. As some of you may remember, I really really hate applying to jobs and I've been applying to both zoo and non-zoo jobs daily for 3 weeks now. I had finally thought I was done at least with applying to non-zoo jobs, but this job I have now isn't working well, so I realized I needed to start applying again..and I was so unhappy yesterday and today. And now... I have an interview!
Okay....sooooo... I realize that an interview doesn't mean a job. But it DOES mean that I'm at least noticeable enough to get an interview. And THAT is a really great beginning! I'm going to spend the next couple of days brushing up on my interview skills and practice what to answer. I feel confident that I can do the job and that it would be an AWESOME place to continue my career. I also think that Fabian and I would both be really happy there.

YAY! I'm so happy!

P.S. Because I know an interview does not mean a job offer, I put in applications at Kohl's and Dairy Queen (both are hiring) for a position to pay my bills until I do get a zoo job somewhere. I'll let you all know how the interview goes!