finally christmas pics!

so after a week's hiatus from blogging, i'm back with pictures of christmas. would have done this sooner, but for some reason, kodak picture share doesn't want to work to download these....

anyway, we had a great time being lazy and living in a house that looks like a tornado hit it for a full week. i'm still home from work - won't go back until the 3rd. not getting as much done around here as i'd like, but i keep telling myself i have days and days ahead of me to get laundry, kitchen, trash picked up, etc. done before my life goes back to normal. instead of doing all those mundane things, i've been playing with the babies, which is waaay more important, i think!

so here are some highlights from the big day.










these were the kids' "big presents" - except that aidan also got the v-smile game from vtec. it's really cool. he is so excited that he now has games on the tv just like the big brothers. he hasn't quite gotten the hang of the game, with the learning aspect of it, but he will.

sadie was so darn excited about her little play yard. she is still enthralled with it, and it's nice to keep her entertained so mommy can get things done. but it's also very fun to play with her, and watch her get excited about all the features, like a squeaky phone, a peek a boo flap, and a door bell. soooo cute.

noah got an electric guitar, and alec got a pocket pc. both were psyched about these gifts, and have spent inordinate amounts of time trying them out. the pocket pc is pretty amazing. one feature we found is that it can be a remote control for any type of tv. just enter what brand the tv is, and presto, you can control it. so when we were in walmart the other day, alec had a great time turning all the tv's inside on and off. i think people thought there was a ghost. i had to get them out of there fast, even though i was laughing my butt off too. noah came into our room crying yesterday saying that he broke a string on his guitar already trying to tune it. poor kid. we told him it's ok, we'll get it restrung asap. he is just so excited. i hope he acutally sticks with it long enough to be able to play something. he'll have to practice, so wee'll see if he's willing to do that.

don't have a picture of it, but jerry bought me some bee-yoo-tee-ful earrings from our jeweler friend. they are very pretty and sparkly and diamond-y. very special, and i'm excited to wear them to our church dinner-dance in february.

so here' is the scoop on the 12 days of christmas thing for jerry. he's actually liking it. on christmas day i gave him a pack of 12 envelopes, all sealed, each with a note or a gift inside. he got to open the first one, (partridge/pear tree) which had a note to go look in the oven, which revealed a pear tart, all hot and bubbly. his eyes lit up, and he got the idea. after a few seconds, though he turned to me and said, hey, that means i gotta wait for all the other presents!! no fair! what a boy. on the second day, i had a chocolate/pecan/caramel "turtle" and a dove chocolate bar hidden in the pantry. he opened the note to look in there, and got his present. then he said, do i get another pear tart too, like in the song? i told him no, and he grinned and said, good, because if i did, i'd be big as a house by the end of this thing! the third day (french hens) was three $5 gift cards to chickfila, which he was very excited about. to quote jerry, chickfila is "so the shit!" yesterday (calling birds) i called him 4 times during his workday, just to talk. he always tells me he loves talking to me, and while i'm working i often have to cut him short, because i'm busy. but yesterday i made an effort to talk as long as he liked, and didn't get off the phone. he noticed, and appreciated that.

so today is 5 gold rings. i'm going to make onion rings for dinner, along with some homemade pizzas (golden crust in a ring....ok it's kind of a stretch, but it works.)

i'll keep the updates coming.

humbled by kindness

there are just some people in this world who overwhelm me with pure and sincere kindness and goodness.

one of them is my friend and coworker lisa. i wrote about her hardships in this post. she was so appreciative of the meager gift i could give her, and i wonder every day how she holds it all together.

the other day, we walked to the bank together on our lunch break. we were talking about her situation, about how her husband's medical leave checks had run out, and they were down to just her income. she was telling me about the money they recieved from a fundraiser we had done at the office that netted about the total of one of his paychecks. she was so happy. as we were about the leave the bank, she saw a jar with a picture of a sherrif's deputy, and a story about his illness, and a request for donations for his family. lisa, inspite of her own need, pulled out $3 and put it in the jar, remarking how difficult it must be for his family. i had to turn my head so she wouldn't see me tear up, and wouldn't see how ashamed i was that the only cash i had was a twenty that i wouldn't put in the jar.

and now today, she called me to her office, saying she had a gift for me for christmas. i didn't do office people gifts this year, having spent about $40 on prizes for the party... and i just expected her to have brought a little bag of goodies or something. she presented me with this big box. my heart was in my throat. i opened up a vaporizer (she had recalled a conversation we had a month or so ago when my kiddos were sick with colds, and she had asked if i had a vaporizer, which i didn't.) and a cookbook (she knows i love to cook). she told me merry christmas, and thank you again for the homemade meals i had given her. and there i stood with nothing to give this wonderful woman who thinks only of others even when she could be (justifiably) withdrawn into self-pity. all i could do was give her a teary hug and promise to bring her something homemade from my new cookbook! she is truly amazing.

i remember a homily given by one of our priests years back regarding giving out of need, not surplus. while giving from one's surplus is admirable, giving away the very resources that you need is HOLY.

i continue to pray for her and her family, and to pray that God grants me a generous heart, so that i will have the courage give out of my need, in this Christmas season, and beyond. i pray the same for you as well.

thursday 13 #7

Thirteen Things Carrie is excited about for Christmastime! 1. VA.CA.TION!!!!! it's only three days that i'm taking (i have christmas and the day after off anyway) but having all next week off to chill with the family will be heaven!!! i'm counting down the hours. 2. Honeybaked Ham for Christmas dinner!! Jerry got a gift certificate for $50 to the Honeybaked store from work (he actually works somewhere where the bosses give gifts!) so that will be christmas dinner. yum-o! 3. My family is out of town!!! Now, i know that sounds mean, but honest-to-God, it makes it so much easier. My sister and her hubby are going to oregon, and my mom is going to D.C. to see my other sis. i love to spend time with them, but for the holidays it's just so much easier to be at home, rather than driving all over creation to see mom, sister, and in laws, who live all over this huge city, and who are rarely willing to drive to OUR house. well, my sister is pretty good about it, but my mom really beleives it takes longer for her to drive to our house than it does for us to drive to her house. go figure. 4. 12 days of Christmas gift i'm doing for Jerry. i got this idea from Kelli in the Mirror. i'm going to give jerry one gift a day for the 12 days until epiphany, each one representing a part of the song - you know, partriges in pear trees, turtle doves, french hens, etc. because i'm his true love and all. so stay tuned as i give updates on how much he digs or does not dig this present! 5. gooey butter cake. i'm making one for christmas. it's paula deen's recipe. need i say more? i'll post the recipe later. did i mention that it calls for 2 sticks of butter? drool. 6. seeing the faces of my kiddos as they open gifts. sadie's too young, of course, to know what's going on, but aidan is really very excitable these days, as he learns and sees and remembers stuff. he went cuckoo over the tree and the lights already. he's going to flip when he sees the v-tec video games we got him. 7. mulled cider and/or wine. we've made this every year since jerry and i started dating. it's a tin of spices from williams-sonoma, and you basically just simmer your cider or red wine with them for 20 minutes or so. makes the house smell awesome, and it warms your body, mind and heart. defines the smell of christmas to me. 8. my last paycheck of the year will come right after christmas, but it will also reflect the raise i just got! it's a biannual merit raise, nothing too big. it amounts to about $40 per paycheck, but hey, it's $40 more than we had before. 9. i actually sent christmas cards this year!!! i've been planning on it for years, and even bought a bunch of wallet pics two years ago, but i never got around to sending them. i just put the last of them in the mail this morning. i rock!!! 10. did i mention that i get to stay home all next week? yes, i'll be cleaning up the house after all the eating and gift opening, and home with all four kiddos, but at least i won't be at work!! 11. going to mass at our churh, with just our family. historically, we have gone to my mother in law's parish for mass, together with her, and my brothers-in-law and their families, but noah is scheduled to alter serve on christmas eve, so we'll be going to our church, st. helen. i much prefer spending christmas in our parish, among our friends and community. plus st. lukes is more contemporary, and they play weird music. i'm just sayin'. 12. we actually have enough money this year so we don't have to skimp on the gifts for the kids. no, we're not rolling in dough, but we have been so blessed with jerry's new job this year, that we're finally able to see the light at the end of the debt tunnel. and christmas will not be all on credit this year. thank god! 13. finally, i'm excited to wish all my bloggy friends merry christmas! i've only been blogging for a few months, and i love this great way to gab and converse with freinds, new and old. peace be with you all, and have a blessed christmas!!!!!! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

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works for me #6

i'm late for wfmw, but here is my cool tip:

this website has so many awesome gift ideas for those hard to buy for people! it will personalize recommendations for the "giftee", by asking their sex and age and the occasion for the gift. it links to tons of great sites for unique gift giving.

so happy shopping, all! only 5 days left!

don't forget to visit shannon at rocks in my dryer, the hostess of works for me wednesday, for tons of christmastime tips!

proud of my little guy!

so aidan has been having speech therapy every week for the past 3 weeks or so. he was very resistant at first, and the two times i was there for the appointment i had to unplug the tv so he would even give the therapist the time of day...but yesterday i got the written progress notes that they left, and i was so pleased! she wrote that he said the full names of 4 of the animals in her animal puzzle - elephant, giraffe, puppy and bunny. and that when she arrive, instead of saying, "NONONO!" and closing himself in his room, like her first visit, he went directly to the spot on the living room floor where they usually sit while she is there, and waited for her to begin her activities. he also said "ready, set, go!" when they were playing with cars.

now, i am so proud of him, and happy that he is progressing in his speech!

however, not to sound cynical, but i don't think she was altogether truthful in her report. i know he says "fuh fuh" for elephant, and "raf" for giraffe. not the whole word. i also know he says "set, go" instead of ready, set go. my suspicious mind says she's falsifying his progress to make herself look good. i guess it's possible that he is performing better for her, but i doubt it. or maybe it's not an intenetional misrepresentation - maybe she thought he said the whole word or phrase. i don't know. i guess it really doesn't matter, because he is talking more than ever before. and that's the goal, right!?

at any rate, i'm glad he is having fun with her. he's growing up so fast. he'll be ready for school in no time. we do have him on a waiting list for daycare, so he'll probably go early next year. i have been so worried about that. cha cha really spoils him, and his whole world will be turned upside down. but knowing that he enjoys the learning and structured time he has had with the therapist makes me beleive that he'll enjoy daycare too.

weekend update

first, let me tell you about the office christmas party last week - i was in charge of games. so many whiners that i work with. i swear, you'd think i was asking them to get up and sing karaoke, when just a little participation in some very innocuous games is all we were asking.
game #1 was each person was to draw a reindeer on the provided paper. the best drawing wins, to be voted on by all participants. the catch is that you must draw it blindfolded. people, it was like pulling teeth to get these weenies to do it. i'm thinking to myself, are you so insecure that to produce a poorly done piece of art in front of your peers might embarrass you? we finally whipped almost everyone into participating, and it turned out to be fun. until i handed out the prize for the winning picture. it was a christmas carol cd, the classics like bing crosby, gene autry, frank sinatra, the platters, all the oldies but goodies you hear in the department stores and such. so i go to give it to this chick, and she says - bing crosby and frank sinatra? i don't listen to that crap!!

hello?! can you be any more rude!? i told her, well, i'm sorry, i didn't know in advance that you were going to win when i was buying this prize with my own money. and she actually gave it away to someone else. the nerve of some people. lucky my feelings don't get hurt easily.

anyway, by far the funniest game was the unwrap race. for this game, i wrapped up a box in three layers of paper. nice and tight. everyone sits in a circle. you give a pair of dice to the first person and they take turns rolling until someone gets double sixes. that person gets to be the first to start unwrapping the present. this time, the catch is that they have to do it with oven mitts on (christmas oven mitts, provided by your truly) the one who gets all the paper off and finally opens the box is the winner, and keeps the prize. as the first person starts in on the gift, the rest furiously take turns rolling the dice until someone else gets double sixes. then the first unwrapper relinquishes the gift and gloves to them, and it keeps going. i could not beleive how competitive they got. at one point, two guys were actually fighting over the box, because one did not believe that the other actaully rolled the sixes, and he wouldn't give up the gift. the best part was when that dude finally won, inside the box was just a note saying "you're the winner", and the prize was the oven mitts. he was pissed, and we all had a good laugh at him.

by the end of the party, everyone decided that the games were cool after all, and that i needed to find a job as a cruise director. yay!

anyway, on to party number two, on saturday night. i drank homebrew cider all night, that our hostess's brother in law brought. let me tell you, this was some very good, very potent stuff. i got pleasantly drunk, just enough so i started telling my friends i loved them, but still remember the whole evening. felt a little woozy in the morning, and i remember (again) why you just can't party til 1 am when you have babies. they don't understand that when mommy has a hangover, they need to not wake up at 6 am. but they were relatively mellow, so at least we could relax in bed and let them play in our room while we recuperated. man, i don't know how i did it in college. used to be, i could (and did frequently) go out for a night of heavy drinking and still be able to get up for class or work in the morning. now, i have to budget in a whole day's worth of lying around doing absolutely nothing if i plan on drinking at a party. this thirty-something stuff is killing me. oh, well.

oh, and i was able to find a cool black pants outfit with a big sparkly snowflake on the front on friday night for $50. what a bargain - i love marshalls.

so now i'm one of about 5 of us here in the office this week. sigh. oh well, at least i have next week off.

happy monday!

another meme....get to know me!

got this from mama d.

1.Explain what ended your last relationship. oh, lots of things. my ex and i got married for the wrong reasons (namely, to spite my mother, but that's a story for another time...) and he refused to attempt to meet my emotional needs. he even admitted that. and then i fell in love with someone else.
2.When was the last time you shaved?
this morning in the shower

3.What were you doing this morning at 8 a.m.?
just arrived at the park and ride lot.

4.What were you doing 15 minutes ago?
sending an email to my friend kelli

5.Are you any good at math?
i can do anything up to and including algebra. no trig, calculus, or geometry.

6.Your prom night?
sucked. my boyfriend and i had been broken up for about a month, but we went together anyway. i was still devastated and desperately in love with him, but he already was dating someone else (whom he eventually married...) he spent the whole evening hanging out with her, while i sat with my friends and watched him across the room.

7.Have you had to take a loan out for school?
yup. still paying on it, too.

8.Do you know the words to the song on your myspace profile?
I don't have one.

9.Last thing received in the mail.
christmas cards, bills, and credit card offers.

10.How many different beverages have you had today?
diet coke on the way to the p&r, and two bottles of water here at work.

11.Do you ever leave messages on people’s answering machine?
all the time.

12.Who did you lose your CONCERT virginity to?
erasure at astroworld in 1989! awesome concert!!! still have the t shirt!

13.Do you draw your name in the sand when you go to the beach?
sure.

14.What was the most painful dental procedure you have had?
had 4 wisdom teeth cut out of my head. i swelled up like a balloon. then the stitches didn't hold and they started bleeding again, so i had to go back to get them restitched. i was in bed for a week. i wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

15.What is out your back door?
backyard with 2 dogs.

16.Any plans for Friday night?
shop for clothes to wear to party on saturday, put up christmas lights outside

17.Do you like what the ocean does to your hair?
ick. no. makes it feel like straw.

18.Have you ever received one of those big tins of 3 different popcorns?
not me personally, but a guy who works with our office gave us two of them. butter, cheese and caramel corn. i only ate the caramel corn.

19.Have you ever been to a planetarium?
tons of times in school.

20.Do you re-use towels after you shower?
sure, i figure you're clean when you use them, right?!

21.Some things you are excited about?
aidan talking more, sadie sitting up and trying to feed herself

22.What is your favorite flavor of JELLO?
lime

23.Describe your keychain(s)?
My husband always teases me about all the crap I have on my keychain. tags from all the grocery stores, astros keychain, car alarm
24.Where do you keep your change? in my wallet coin purse

25.What kind of winter coat do you own?
over coat that's too small, a black leather jacket and a brown leather jacket, beige fake suede with faux wooly trim

26.What was the weather like on your graduation day?
don't recall at all. for either one.

27.Do you sleep with the door to your room open or closed?
open so aidan can come in when he wakes up in the middle of the night.

28.Tag three people:
It's a busy time of year. Do it if you have the time. but i also tag janeen and aimee, if they haven't done this yet!

thursday 13 #6

ok, so the funny thing is that yesterday i was so frazzled, that i thought it was thursday. so i did this post, and actually tried to link it too. then i realized, umm, yea, only wednesday. so now the cool thing is that some of these things have been done already!

update on the christmas party later.

Thirteen Things that i absolutely must get done asap!!! 1. i have got to do laundry. this morning, my hubby had to dry off after his shower with an old beach towel, because all of our towels are in a pile in the closet. sorry honey! 2. i have to figure out some games and prizes for our office christmas party that is tomorrow. i already got a gift card and a cd, and i'm planning to make hot chocolate jars too. gotta hit the dollar store tonight for the jars and ribbons. 3. need to go shopping again for an outfit to wear to a friends christmas party on saturday. these are some "fancy friends" of ours, so we decided we need to raise the bar a bit so we're not underdressed. last weekend was casual, but i think something sparkly and slinky is definitely in order for this party. (woo hoo! two shopping trips in a week!) 4. must get a haircut. seriously, all i need is a green shirt and brown pants, and a dog named scooby doo. like, jeepers! 5. we haven't decorated our house at all yet. got to get it done! i swear, when i get home, i'm just so tired, i just want to put it off until tomorrow. plus i'm dreading fighting with aidan over why he can't tear down everything we put up. did i mention he's in his terrible twos? 6. must send out christmas cards. finally got the stamps yesterday, now i'm trying to locate/organize all the addresses. 7. take off old polish/re-do my toenails. i don't have the i'm-pregnant-and-i-can't-reach-my-toes excuse anymore for how bad my feet look. right now my toes are half natural nail, and half maroon. i'm embarrased. i think i'll do them sparkly red for the party. 8. finish processing these two new hires i'm working on. instead of blogging at work. 9. buy aidan some chicken nuggets and string cheese. i always feel like a bad mommy when our nanny tells me that we're out of something and i need to go to the store. she asked me this morning to get some nuggets and cheese, because we are out, and they are some of the only things aidan will eat these days. and i even went to the store last night, but i totally forgot. sorry, kiddo. 10. pull out my mom's and sister's gifts to wrap and take to them on saturday. they're both going out of town for christmas, but we'll all be at my mom's this weekend for our annual cookie baking day. so i need to have their gifts ready. 11. get deodorant. i managed to scrape enough off the edges today so i don't smell (i have an emergency one in my desk drawer at work, so i used that when i got here, just to be sure...) but i need to buy more today, cause now it's really gone. 12. figure out which bills can wait until next paycheck, and budget for the rest of our christmas shopping. good thing is, we get paid three times this month, so mortgage can wait til next paycheck. cool. 13.get myself some chocolate or something,quick, because i'm starving! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. becky 2. mikala 3. chupie&j's mama 4. caylynn 5. carmen 6. phdatc

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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rowr.

just in case anyone was wondering, i didn't get the job. but i feel good about how i did. my friend got the job, and she really was the best choice, i guess, based on her experience. what will be fun to watch now is how the petty backstabber takes the news....oh, early fireworks this year!!

i didn't have a works for me wednesday contribution today. my brain is just...empty. i'm tired.

aidan has apparently decided that there is no bedtime for him. for the past week, jerry and i have taken turns trying to get him to go to sleep or at least stay in bed, to no avail. we start at 9:30 ish or so, and it's a struggle for an hour or two, then he will finally go to sleep. and usually it goes like this:

9:30 - tell aidan it's time for jammies and brush teeth. aidan replies, "NO!"
9:40 - after trying to convince aidan to follow me into the bathroom, pick up said child and bring him in. wailing ensues.
9:50 - pull up is changed, jammies are on, and teeth are brushed. mom has just had her workout for the evening, and aidan is released.
9:51 - tell aidan to give daddy kiss goodnight. aidan replies, "NO!"
9:52 - daddy kisses aidan anyway, and aidan appears to understand and comply, taking mommy's hand and going upstairs
9:54 - mommy reads a book, aidan sits contentedly in bed, listening and getting drowsy.
9:58 - aidan gets his second wind, and hops out of bed to play with toys. runs to the door and up and down the hall. plays peekaboo under the covers.
10:02 - mommy corrals aidan, gets him back in bed. sings his bedtime songs, and aidan appears to calm down and snuggle in to bed.
10:05 - as soon as songs are over, aidan pops back up and gets back out of bed to play.
10:07 - mommy asks aidan, do you want powpows? (pop on the butt. apparently this is common hispanic slang for spanking, that i was unaware of) aidan says, "NO!" and hops back into bed.
repeat the last three entries (with intermittent pops on butt included) until 11:00.

11:01 - mommy is draped over the side of aidan's bed, falling asleep sitting on the floor. still trying to sing, but so tired that i'm confusedly singing my to-do list for tomorrow instead of 'goodnight my angel' lullabye.
11:44 - mommy wakes up with a stiff neck and one arm totally asleep. aidan is snoring peacefully. at last. mommy stumbles downstairs and dives into bed without brushing teeth. ahh.


any suggestions on how this routine could be improved?

carrie is the most

i like these google memes. they make me laugh. so do your name, and see what you come up with. Just google ""yourname is the most ". oh, and i got this from jenn's site.

Carrie is the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen a lot of people.
Carrie is the most monogamous of the four women.
Carrie is the most persistent person. I have ever met.
Carrie is the most delightful and charming lady you could possibly want to meet
Carrie is the most competitive girl in the western world
Carrie is the most unpopular girl at school, who happens to possess telekinetic powers
Carrie is the most amazing person and her diverse legal experience and commitment to public service will make her a great judge
Carrie is the most hardcore rocker!
Carrie is the most improved player on the team
Carrie is the most neurotic!

wow, i sound like a force to be reckoned with! watch out for neurotic judges with telekinetic powers!

sneaky sneak

so maybe it's not fair, but oh well. since i'm in human resources, i have access to the hiring database, and well, you see where this is going.

i'm one of the top three! it's now between me and the two other women who have actually been assisting in court for the past few years. one is my friend, and the other is a silly unprofessional backstabber (which is why she doesn't already have the job).

so yay for me! i guess i did do better than i thought.

in other news, the christmas party was fun, and no, i did not get hypnotized this weekend. however, since jerry is new at the job, he was one of the hypno-tees! (how cool, i made up a new word!) now, anyone who knows my husband knows that he is outgoing and goofy, but a very strong willed/opinionated person. and i was so sure that they would not be able to 'get him'. in fact, the thought occurred to me that i might even lose a modicum of respect for him if he was, in fact, "weak" enough to be put under.

so the guy chose 10 people to be up on stage, then started his relaxation suggestion stuff, which took about 7 minutes. i think they take that many poeple just because they know that not everyone is willing or able to be put under. so as he went on, he kind of weeded out the ones who couldn't be done.

i was rooting for him all the way, the whole time in my head, "don't let'em get you babe!!" and sure enough, he was the first one asked to go sit down. he said he really wasn't fighting it, but he couldn't keep his mind from wandering and thinking and checking on itself, so he felt pretty much nothing. i told him how proud i was of him, which he also thought was funny. and he was happy that i would still respect him in the morning.

anyway, the ones they did get did some moderately silly things, like be in a strong man contest, and make ugly faces at a teacher they didn't like, and explain to a turkey what will be happening at the thanksgiving dinner. so it was pretty entertaining.

aidan and sadie spent the evening with my mom. aidan was crying already when we left. mom said he cried for about 1/2 hour, then calmed down, and was willing to play with her. sadie did fine until around 9 pm, then cried for about 1/2 hour also, but that's her fussy bedtime anyway. so i was mostly pleased with that.

anyway, that's the weekend update. now i'm just waiting on pins and needles for the job news! i'll keep you posted!

eeh...it was alright

i didn't feel like i knocked em dead, but it wasn't too bad. i feel like i managed to spit out what it was i wanted to say, but it didn't flow really well. and i got kind of flustered and felt my face heating up a little, but i kept my composure.

my boss was on the interview panel, and later on, she said i did great. so what happens is the panel submits their choices for the top three candidates, then the deputy director chooses the person from those top three. since i have access to the personnel database, i'll be covertly checking to see if i at least made the top three....if i did, i'll be happy, even if i'm not chosen. i'm friends with most of the people who interviewed, and a few of us were sitting in the waiting room before and after the interviews, talking about the job, being nervous, how we babble like idiots in our intervies, etc. i felt good about that, just knowing that we all are mature professional women who arent' catty about this job. i know a few who are catty and stupid about it though, and i'm glad they weren't in the room with me. i just feel good knowing that if i'm selected, the people whose opinions i respect will be genuinely happy for me, since they all know we're all very qualified. it's good to work with people who are cool like that.

anyway, jerry's company christmas party is tomorrow. filet mignon and shrimp for dinner!!! and they're having a hypnotist as the entertainment. no, faithful readers, i will not be hypnotised into doing all kinds of crazy things, so don't be loooking for that story from me on monday!!!

oh, and i did get two new suits from palais royal last night!! they were having a one day sale, so one was $50 and the other was $24!! and i got hose and accessories to go with - and only spent a total of $134. i was thrilled. AND jerry kept the babies at home with him for two hours while i shopped, just so i could have my sanity. what a great guy.

ok. 2 hours til the five o'clock whistle blows!!!!!

interviewing for promotion!! (tt#7)

Thirteen Things that I will say in my interview tomorrow! 1. My nine years of experience in various division of the department have prepared me for a supervisory role 2. I am adaptable, 3. professional, 4. dedicated, 5. and am able to work under any type of supervision. 6. I am functionally bilingual. 7. I understand the challenges of this position, and am eager to meet them. 8. I can offer knowlege of and experience with all aspects of the probation department, 9. which will support me in this role of representative and liason to the Court. 10.I work well with others, 11.I am creative, 12. and I look forward to using these traits as a leader, to improve the quality of work and morale in the Court unit. 13. I'm the best candidate for the job! and of course i will back up my claims with examples. so what do you say - would you hire me? unfair question i suppose, since you haven't met the other applicants..... here's the problem. i really do want this job, but i'd prefer it to be in one of the other courts. we work in three of them, three different judges. the judge in this court is pretty off the wall and rather snarly. so i think to myslef, i would love this job, but what if i actually get it? i'd have to work under judge s! but then the practical side of me kicks in - $6000 per year raise. hmm. gotta go for it. when it comes down to it, we're all pretty sure that the powers that be already know who they will promote, and the interviews are just a show. but i figure, if it's not me they choose, i should at least make the "chosen one" sweat it out and work for it. ;-) i'm going tonight to buy a new suit - the few i have either don't fit all that well anymore, or have buttons missing!!! going to hit the palais royal one day sale. wish me luck!!! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! my 2 cents chupie&j's mama carmen aimee gail

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works for me wednesday #5

banana bread tip!!

my family loves banana bread, and i have a few different recipes i use. you can use whichever one you want, but my secret to making very moist and yummy banana bread is to use baby food bananas instead of just mashed bananas. i discovered this once when i only had two bananas left, so i mashed them up, then threw in a gerber #3 size jar of baby food bananas. my hubby went nuts over the result, and from then on, i replace one banana with the gerber. i've also used the banana with mixed berries one, and put strawberries in the bread too, for bananaberry bread. it turned out great.

so try it!

don't forget to visit shannon at rocks in my dryer, the hostess of works for me wednesday, for more tips!

just for fun....

hey, why don't you head on over to jenn's blog to play monday at the movies?

a little monday trivia does everyone good.

happy monday!

i'm at home this morning - chacha has a dr. appointment, so she'll be here around noon. which works out well, because aidan has speech therapy again today, and last week when they came, he wouldn't play with her, and the only word he would say was "no." he's a little more comfortable when i'm here.

he has been improving, little by little. we had an appointment with the audiologist on thursday, just for a hearing screen. i knew there was nothing wrong with his hearing, since he can hear the train whistle blowing from a mile away while we're inside the house (he yells, choo choochoocho choo choo!! until we acknowlege that yes, i hear the train!) so we just went and spent $25 on a specialist copay to tell me something i already knew - no hearing problems. and he only was able to complete one test, because he freaked the hell out when they tried to put the things in his ears to test them separately. i had to sit in the chair with him and hold him with my arms and legs, just so the doctor could look in his ears and mouth. this kid haaaates doctors. and barbers. and pretty much anyone who isn't a family member touching him. oh well, we won't have to work too hard to teach him stranger danger....

anyway, so he is improving his speech though. he now says pupp-ee for puppy, instead of puh. and oww-ee, and uh-oh. they were concerned that he didn't say any two syllable words, without them being the same syllable repeated. oh, and he also said his first two word phrase too!!! he calls our dog, saying "dii! meer!" (translation: dixie, c'mere!) i was so proud of him. big step.

he also, apparantly has discovered some jewish roots, since his uh-oh has for some reason turned into "uh-oy!" cracks me up every time.

now on to the girl: sadie has cut her second tooth, and can sit up for about five minutes at a time without doing a face plant. she's awesome. she loves to sit in the high chair and play with colored plastic bowls. loves them, even more than whatever toy i put up there for her.

so that's the update on the kiddos.

now on to something completely different.

so i have two coworkers who are men, who really can't stand each other. why? one's an ex-military, very intense manly guy, and the other is a goofy, whiny kissass (for lack of a better term - sorry.) so i'm very excited because we're going to do a secret santa, and rig it so they have to buy each other gifts!! my two female coworkers are in on it too. i'll let you know how it turns out.

speaking of work, there's this supervisory position i've applied for. interviews should take place later this week. six thousand more per year! not that it's just about the money....it's a position in the courtroom, as a liason between the probation dept and the court. i've got all the experience necessary, and i really am ready to get back to working with our clients instead of hr. i mean, it's what i went to school for, it's the reason i've stayed with this department for all these years. so we'll see. wish me luck.

anyone got some good interview tips to share?