Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Job Hunting S.............


Job hunting is really getting to be a drag. Where did all the jobs go and why can't I get one. The market is totally new now. You can no longer go into a business and apply for a job. All job applications are taken via the web. Then then are scanned by a machine and the machine picks who gets an interview. I'm surprised a machine doesn't do the interviews. You have to have key words or the scanner won't pick it up. So this means that every resume you send out has to practically be an original to that particular job because you have to include key words to that specific company. So yes I am continuing my search with new resumes going out every day.
Aren't these cute photos of Josh. He was having so much fun on the airplane. Love the layout and it is digital.
Just an ordinary Wednesday. Water aerobics in the morning, job hunting, scrap and dash, some grocery shopping and watching TV at night. Misty and I just got back from her run so it's time for bed. Have a great Thursday.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Moved Furniture around today





The first two layouts are from last week's Creative Cafe monthly class. We meet the third Thursday of every month. Fun to get out and get the creative juices flowing. The second two are layouts I did over the past week. Jack, Josh and Luke, Grandma loves you and misses you so much. Hope you are having a wonderful summer and getting to play outside. I love making scrapbook pages for you. Can't wait to show them to you. Love you guys.
Jackie and I moved my living room furniture around today. What a lot of work but it is really well worth the effort. My living room looks so much bigger. The hardest part was the TV. There are so many cords what with the Dish TV and the home theater system with six speakers. We were even able to hide most of the cords. I still have to tack down several of the cords. I washed the floor every time we cleared a wall so the floor is nice and clean now. The dining room is a mess because we put all the extra stuff there. Tomorrow I'll finish the clean sweep and take some pictures for the blog.
I had a few tough moments after the big change. Jim would have loved how the living room looks now. He would have had more room to lay on the floor and watch TV and oh how he loved that. I miss you honey.
Tonight was Bingo night. Mom and Jackie both were able to yell bingo but it was not in the cards for me. There was a huge lightening storm as we were driving home and Misty was going crazy. I was able to get her out before the rain started.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Laid Back Weekend


I had a very laid back weekend. Yesterday it rained most of the day so was in most of the day. In the morning Jackie and I went to breakfast and then to Habitat home improvement. This store has tons of used building parts. They have everything from nuts and bolts to windows and doors. Most of this stuff is used but they do have new things in boxes. I was looking for two cabinets for my scrapbook/craft room. I envision a Formica counter top sitting on two cabinets. Buying all of this stuff is expensive so I am looking for used. New cabinets cost $113 and up. I was able to find 2 really nice cabinets for $39. I will need to sand them and paint them. But in the end they will be perfect. Love that I can do this stuff myself and have it look great. At least that is what I am hoping for. Once I get the cabinets done I'll go back and look for a counter.
I made spaghetti last night for dinner and then we played Hands and Foot. Just a nice relaxing dinner. I made an orange cake with chocolate frosting to celebrate Jim's new home. This was his favorite. Honey I am always thinking about you.
Spent time at the pool today. What a glorious day it was after yesterday's rain. Then went to the early bird movie and saw Get Smart. Got to love the $5 movie. Have a great week. Wish me luck on my job search. There are a number of jobs in today's paper so I will follow up on these tomorrow.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Jim Is Home


Jim always told me, "Take me to Notre Dame." He loved this school. He cheered for the football team in good times and bad. It did not matter to him. He loved the girls basketball team and watched them on TV. He got the Blue and Gold every week and read it completely. I continued to read it to you in the hospital. This was home to him. He grew up in South Bend, Indiana, and for anyone that has ever been there you know that everyone in this town loves the big ND. Your ND things will always have a special place in our home.
I am so happy that he is home now and I know he is at peace. He has been taken very good care of by his sisters for the last two months. They tell him jokes and share their days with him. For this I am so grateful. I know he was happy with them because he loved them so much.
We all miss you so much Jim. My love, my dear husband, and my best friend. But I know you are happy now and this I share with you too. I will always love you. I'll dry my tears and wait for football season.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

It's All About Josh Today.




I guess my layouts today are all about Josh. The top one is from Scrap and Dash tonight. I was able to do the facing page with some of my stash I had at home. I had been looking for just the right colors for these adorable photos. They were so bright and colorful. The second one I did a while ago but it got stuck between some other papers. I just love grandma time and the best is snuggling with my grandchildren. I stuck a note to Josh in the pocket of this layout. He'll get a kick out of this note someday.
Went to K2 for Scrap and Dash tonight and was also able to do the two page art bar project. They are a Fourth of July spread so I have to wait until the fourth to get some photos for these pages.
Did mundane things the rest of the day. Grocery shopping and taking Misty out for her to run. Have to go tend her now because it is thundering outside and she just hates that.

Monday, June 16, 2008

A Rare Rainy Morning


Today we had a very rare rainey morning. When I woke up I thought it wasn't morning because it was so dark. To my surprise it was 8:30 am and the sun was not out. Think never happens. It rained most of the morning but when the sun did come out we are talking sauna bath. The driveway was steaming. Yuk.
Not much happened today. Did some job hunting and some sorting of my office. I am buried under a lot of paper so I decided to see if there really was a desk under all that paper.
Everyone have a great week.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Fathers Day


Happy Fathers Day to all you dads and grandfathers out there. Hope you were able to spend the day with you children and grandchildren and had the best day ever.
I lost my father over 22 years ago and I still miss him very much. So much has happened in my life that I have not been able to share with him and I have to believe that he knows that we still think about him and that we love him. We make sure his grandchildren know all about him so that he never is forgotten.
I thought a lot about Jim today and one moment tonight I just lost it. Last year there was a show on TV, Who wants to be Danny and Sandy. It was a reality show and the winners were going to get to star in the new Broadway Show Grease. Jim and I watched this show together because we love the show Grease. This was way before he was sick. At the finale when they announced the winners Jim turned to me and said I am going to take you to New York for our anniversary and we are going to see the play. At that moment in time we were so happy and we had so many plans. Jim was so excited about this trip and he was making these plans when he got sick. Tonight I was watching the Tony Awards and there was Grease. There was Danny and Sandy that we had watched. For me all I could remember was that moment in time that we were so happy.

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Reject Letters





I hate reject letters. Got one today on a job I really wanted and I really thought I aced the interview. Oh well I just have to keep trying. At least I got an interview. What is that 2 interviews out of over 100 applications I've filled out. This is not a good job market.


Did some more cleaning today. Had to work on the bathroom cabinet where they are going to tear out the wall. This is not going to be a fun project but it does need to be done. Jackie thinks all my sneezing is from the mold in the wall. Could be.
I went to the pool today and took Misty for a good run tonight. Mom, Jackie, Barb and I went to dinner at Red Lobster and I had the honey/citrus marinated grilled shrimp and scallops. It was really good. We then came back to my house and played cards. A normal Saturday night for us.
Three of these layouts use up my design team kit from April. That kit went a really long way. You may wonder why I used the same picture twice. It is because each boy gets a scrapbook and this picture needs to be in each scrapbook. Scrapbooking is really a release for me. Between the great people and the sense of purpose, it gives me so much. Thank you scrapbook buddies for being there for me this past year. You are great.

Friday, June 13, 2008

Thank You For Friday's





When you are looking for a job it is almost a full time job. This week I have spent so much time on the computer looking for a job. No one takes walk ins anymore. They tell you to go to their website. So that is what I have been doing. I've applied for about 15 jobs that I think I am qualified for. So wish me luck and now I have two days off before it starts again.
I didn't leave the house today and after my job search I just took it easy. More thunderstorms and Misty was just a barking. Tonight I worked on some scrapbook layouts. Here's what I came up with. Enjoy.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

My Turn to make Dinner





I made a really great pasta salad tonight. It had bow tie pasta, green, yellow and red peppers, onions, ham and salami, tomatoes and cheese. I topped it off with a strawberry wine vinaigrette. It tasted so good. In fact we're having it again tomorrow for lunch since it was so good and there is a lot left over.
We had some terrific thunderstorms today and it was all I could do to keep Misty calm. She does not like thunder. She was just trembling. I had to hold her the whole time and just try to calm her down. This has been a hard week for her with all of the storms. I don't know why they scare her so much but I keep working with her. I don't know what she'll do when I'm not home with her.
No luck on the job front so far. There was a tree climbing job in the paper today. I may be over qualified for that but it does sound like fun.
The first two layouts here are from my mother's quilt retreat last April. The red white and blue layout is for my June challenge page and the last page was a digital layout I did today. Still trying to sharpen my skills.

Happy Birthday Joshua


Happy Birthday Joshua!
Today is your birthday and Grandma just wanted to tell you how much she loves you. Since I live in Florida now I can't be with you on your birthday but just know I am sending you a great big grandma hug.
Have a really fantastic birthday.
Love Grandma

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Just When You Get the House Clean





Got up this morning full of energy and got right to cleaning the house. The floors are sparkling and the kitchen is clean. The bathrooms are clean and maybe no so much the bedroom. All of the dust is gone from my bookcases, china hutch and curio cabinet. What a good feeling it is when the house is clean. But then . . .
My guest bathroom window has been leaking and it's now time to have it fixed along with the soft floor in the master bathroom. President Bush says spend the money so I am getting these two things fixed. The first thing the insurance adjuster and contractor did was pull down part of the wall in my guest bathroom. No more sparkling clean. There is tile, dust and splinter wood everywhere. This is what you get when you actually put your mind to cleaning. They told me they would get back to me in a couple of days with the verdict on getting this fixed. Luckily much of this will be covered by my homeowners insurance so my out of pocket won't be as bad as I thought. There's nothing I can do about it anyway because if I don't get it fixed it is only going to get worse.
Did a little job hunting this afternoon on the net and then went to Scrap and Dash. So it was a pretty busy day. The two orange layouts I did in April and were part of my guest designer packet. They have been hanging at K2 since April. The other two layouts I have been working on for several weeks. Enjoy.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Back to Bingo





Last week and this week Jackie, Mom and I are back to playing bingo. Both weeks I won a bingo even though tonight I had to split my prize money with one other person. But who cares I just love to win. Jackie was close all night but just couldn't bring it home.
We didn't have any thunderstorms to day and I am thankful for that. Misty just goes crazy with the lightning and thunder. They said on the news last night that there were approximately 2000 lightening strikes. Misty just can't take this. Most of these photos were taken while I was in Chicago.
My day was spent job hunting, cleaning and running errands. No word on the job hunt yet but I can not give up on this. There is a job out there for me.
These four layouts are from Scrap and Dash that I go to on Wednesday's. They saved them for me while I was in Chicago and I caught up on them this past weekend.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Behind in blogging



Well I guess I really am behind in blogging. It has been a really busy two weeks. My main focus has been job hunting and it is not an easy task in today's economy. Everyone seems to be laying off or not hiring when a position comes vacant. I have sent out about 50 resumes and we know that 90 percent of these end up in the trash and you hope for the best with the other 10 percent. I have actually had one phone interview and one live interview. Not bad for the first two weeks. I would really like this one job so I have my fingers crossed and hoping I hear soon.
I have also been catching up on my health. I saw the doctor before I left for Chicago and they did a bunch of tests before I left. Results are in. One I have B12 Deficiency Anemia which is actually heriditery. Levels are supposed to be 600 and mine are 200. I kept complaining about being tired all of the time and having no energy. This is the reason. I have to have monthly B12 shots and it will take about 3 months to get back to normal. Also on the high side is my cholesteral, sugar and blood pressure. No surprise here since I am living and have been living a very stressful life. So my second focus is getting myself together and well again. I actually lost 17 pounds since May 1 so I guess I am forging ahead on this.
I have a wall falling apart in my house and today I took the first step to getting this repaired. I also have a soft floor in the bathroom so this needs to be repaired also. I have done a little sorting of some of Jim's things but this is very hard and people tell me that this process will take some time. There is no hurry so I am not going to stress over this part. I like having his things around me. It's comfortable and makes me happy.
I've been exercising at the pool and this is a good thing. I usually meet my sister there in the late afternoon but the past couple of days we've had thunderstorms so have gotten there. Jackie suggested today that we go at 7:00 am. I squashed that right away.
Saturday I went to an all day crop and that was really fun. I haven't done this for awhile so it is great to get back to my passion. These are two of the layouts I did. I did more and will share them this week.