another no.

first of all, thanks all of you for the well wishes, prayers, and internet luck sent my way!

my boss called me in early today, to tell me i didn't get selected. she was very supportive, and told me not to get discouraged. i was submitted in the top three, so that's good news, at least. the lady selected has about 10 more years of experience than me, so it's cool. my boss told me i did great, and she really thought i might get the nod this time. but alas, no.

man, i was already spending my bigger paychecks in my head, too. growr.

oh well. there are still a lot of people moving around, retiring, new positions opening up here and there. so in the next few months, there will be other opportunities, and the right one will come along.

we had a great weekend though - party for the kids' birthdays and a new swingset! don't have time to post about it now, but stay tuned....

happy monday, and all that rot.

agian, eeh.

well when i got out of the interview, i felt like i did great. but all day i kept thinking of more and more things i should have said. the interviewers were my boss and another lady i used to work with, who i'm friends with. so it was comfortable, but sort of wierd. and they are both very good at the "nod and smile" that i really couldn't tell what they thought of my answers. it's funny, because i do the same thing when i'm interviewing someone, and it felt funny to be on the recieving end of it.

so i asked my boss this morning when i came in "so how did your screening go yesterday? any qualified candidates?" she just laughed and said "is that what you really want to ask, or is there something else?" at this point it's not up to her, the scores have been given to the deputy of institutions, and he'll choose from the top 4 people. i've decided i'm not going to peek in the system and find out if i'm in the top 4. i'll find out when everyone else does. which, i'm guessing, should be by the end of the week. sigh. i don't have a really good feeling about it, but hey, i'll chalk it up to experience, and i know that after the announcement, my boss will definitely have some constructive criticism for me. she's pretty cool about that. she'll tell me all the good things i said, and make suggestions for future interviews.

so. that's that. i'll keep everyone posted. and i'm too busy today to do a thursday 13, so i'll catch you on the flip side for friday flicks with kelli!

i'm at it again

so i'm interviewing again for another promotional position. this time it's a casework supervisor position in the female offender placement program. basically, it's supervising a team of probation officers who are assigned to the girl's facility that we operate. it's right up my alley! i've had six years of experience dealing with girls in placement facilities, and doing placement after-care services. i know this stuff! plus the assistant superintendant is a friend of mine... it could help!

i'm ready to get back into casework, (it's what i went to school for, after all) and lord knows we could use the extra money.

so anyway, my interview is wednesday at 9:30 am. say a quick prayer for me around then, if you think about it!

quick and fun iq test

i did this here, and scored a 23. what do you score? are you smart or stoopid?

ode to ice cream

This post is devoted to the perfect food, ice cream. oh, the variety of flavors! the versatility! the ubiquitousness! ice cream transcends age and social barriers, and brings us all together! ok, maybe not, but it sure does taste good.

that being said, let me show you this, which i'm pretty psyched about. you know the fam and i will be participating:


go here for more details. Right on!

and now, without further ado, here is my thursday thirteen......

Thirteen favorite ice cream flavors! Note: i must admit these are in no particular order. i couldn't be forced to narrow this down to one absolute favorite! 1. Blue Bell Blueberry cheesecake 2. Blue Bell King Cake - cinnamon ice cream with bits of pastry and swirls of icing - yum!! 3. Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey - banana ice cream with chocolate chunks and macademia nuts. oh.my.god. it is good. 4. Ben and Jerry's pumpkin cheesecake. do you sense a cake theme here? 5. Blue Bell Cookies 'n Cream. the original and still the best. 6. Breyer's Double Churned Vanilla. just your basic vanilla, but it is the thickest creamiest ever. like buttah. 7. Kroger brand Dreamsicle. i know! it's a store brand, but the mix of vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet is to die for. 8. Bomb pops. you know, the ones we got from the ice cream trucks, with layers of chocolate, banana, and chocolate. ah, nostalgia. 9. Ben and Jerry's chocolate chip cookie dough. again, the original (as far as i know) and the best. 10. Blue Bell Pecan pralines 'n Cream. vanilla ice cream with gooey sugary pecan goodness swirled in. 11. We made some homemade ice cream a few years ago, that was vanilla cinnamon, made with butter and heavy cream. oh, it was good. i credit alec with the idea for the flavor. 12. Blue Bell Peaches 'n Homemade Vanilla. tastes like summertime. 13. Blue Bell Peppermint. peppermint flavored ice cream with red and green bits of peppermint candy. perfect minty-ness. i could go on and on, and i probably missed some favorites, but these popped into my head first. What are your favorites? Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


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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3 things meme

It's been too long since i posted last, and i feel like i either have too much to say or not enough. so i'll take the easy way out and do this meme that i've seen at aimee's place and other blogs....

Three Things That Scare Me:
1. horror flicks. all of them. i can't even watch the commercials for them on tv.
2. clowns. ever since poltergiest.
3. roaches

Three People Who Make Me Laugh:
1. my husband and kids. that's a given, i think.
2. brian regan
3. pets doing funny things. i love "the planet's funniest animals" ok, so it's not people, but they still make me laugh.

Three Things I Love:
1. my God and my faith
2. my family
3. sleeping in.

Three Things I Hate:
1. stupidity
2. condescending people
3. unappreciativeness (is that a word?)

Three Things I Don't Understand:
1. why the goth look is still around
2. how someone can consider abortion a viable form of birth control
3. why dogs eat their own poop

Three Things On My Desk:
1. stacks of applications and resumes
2. a broken cd player. (now i listen to mystation on launchcast!)
3. slimfast chocolate royal

Three Things I am Doing Right Now (well, not right this second, but more of a general "right now")
1. procrastinating
2. screening potential candidates for various open positions
3. listening to REM "what's the frequency kenneth"

Three Things To Do Before I Die:
1. see my kids graduate from college
2. learn to play the guitar
3. meet my great-grandchildren

Three Things I Can Do:
1. cook a meal my family loves, and that will make my guests feel special
2. read people's faces, body language and non-verbal communication
3. whistle pretty well

Three Things I Can't Do:
1. drink like i used to
2. make mexican rice "just right" like my mother in law
3. get motivated enough to lost that last 15 pounds

Three Things I Think You Should Listen To:
1. Anything by Scott Hahn, if you're interested in or questioning the Catholic faith.
2. your conscience
3. your parents when they tell you (as a kid) that nothing good ever happens after midnight

Three Things You Should Never Listen To:
1. marilyn manson
2. negative people who would complain that their ice cream is too cold
3. in laws telling you how to raise your kids

Three Things I Would Like To Learn:
1. to speak spanish fluently
2. excel and powerpoint
3. how to crochet

Three Favorite Foods (Only 3? well, i'll just give you the first 3 that come to mind)
1. root beer floats
2. tiramisu
3. a thick juicy steak, so rare it's still mooing

Three Shows I Watched As A Kid:
1. scooby doo
2. electric company
3. sesame street

Three Things I Regret:
1. things i did and said in my first marriage
2. not going to the vatican on all saint's day while in rome
3. not going to get a master's or law degree right after my bachelor's

I'm supposed to tag three people, but I'm going to open it up to whoever wants to do it - just let me know in the comments so I can stop by and read up on all your "things".

Thursday 13 #15

wowee wow wow - thursday already!!!

13 things I believe (or don't believe)

1. I believe that God created the earth and all inhabitants, and that we are not here out of pure big-bang coincidence.

2. I don't believe that humans are fully responsible for global warming. but for an interesting and well thought out foundation for discussion of this topic, go visit aimee. she made me think.

3. I believe it's impossible to spoil an infant by holding him/her too much.

4. I believe that in general, and eventually, people get what they deserve, and what goes around comes around.

5. I do not believe that police officers arrest people "for no reason."

6. I do not believe that there is intelligent life on mars.

7. I do believe that God could have and maybe did create other life forms in other worlds or other times.

8. I believe that "political correctness" is ruining our country.

9. I believe that phil garner (finally!) made the right decision to take brad lidge out of the closer role.

10. I believe that mark mcguire and barry bonds knowingly used steroids.

11. I believe OJ did it.

12. I believe that marriage is a vocation equally as holy and important as priesthood or religious life.

13. I believe that life begins at conception, and that a woman's "right to choose" ends with choosing whether or not to have sex, not with whether or not to abort a fetus.

How that for opinionated!!?? What do y'all think?

b day update

so many people have asked about how the b-day reunioun dinner went - i guess because i was so excited, and blabbed about it to everyone i know. it was so hard, because i tell jerry everything, and trying to keep this from him was really difficult. but it was great!!!

we played 20 questions on the way there. he didn't want to wear the blindfold, so i made him promise to close his eyes. and he did. if we had had more time, i might have driven around in circles a while to try to throw him off, but as it was, we were just going to make it at 7pm, so i didn't. I did give him a box of chocolates (wrapped so he couldn't tell what it was) in the car to shake and pretended it was his gift. they were actually a hostess gift for karen....

He was very surprised when we pulled up at a house, and not a restaurant. we walked up to the door, and she was standing in the foyer, grinning and waving. she and her husband met us at the door, and were both so excited and hugged us both. jerry was grinning ear to ear too, and we were all just instantly comfortable together. like the four of us hang out all the time. it was great. their son was taking a nap when we got there, so aidan and sadie played with his toys for a while while the grownups talked. mike was making dinner, so we just congregated in the kitchen. they are really cool people. when their son woke up, he and aidan played really well together too. he is 4, and aidan is almost 3. their son has had speech delays also, and i think that kind of makes them more compatible, since neither one was intimidating the other by jabbering away. they were sooo cute together, and by the end of the evening, they were saying each other's names, and thier son was saying "that boy stay at my house?" and when we told him no, he had to go home, he was very upset. (i darn near cried!) so we've promised to get together again soon so they can play. jerry said that was probably his favorite part of the night, watching aidan and their son play together so well.

jerry had a great time, and i know i scored big. i had fun too - we all just got along great. and they live so close to our house. awesome.

of course i forgot to bring the camera. but i don't know how she feels about her or her kid on the internet, so i guess it's just as well.

as far as the rest of jerry's birth-weekend, it all went well. i also got him a digital picture frame that displays photos loaded off the memory card - he loved it. aidan loves to watch the pictures scroll through on the screen, and he just stands there and names everyone he sees. it's pretty cute. jerry also got a year's subscription to the Magnificat, which is a catholic monthly publication of daily readings and reflections. he has been trying to start each day off with prayer, and this is a good addition/reminder for that. or maybe we can even do it together in the mornings before we get moving. then we went to dinner with his mom and brother and nieces/nephew. all in all, it was a good birthday, he said.

and he does pass on a bit thank you to all of you who wished him happy bday in comments!!! :-)

i'll sign off for now, and post about easter later. hope you all had a wonderful and blessed easter weekend.

the one where i lobby for a nomination for wife of the year

ok, so hubby's birthday is friday, and i won't tell you how old he is, but it's a big one. somewhere between 30 and 50. and in spanish, it's cuarenta.

so here is what i did. he has an old old friend from high school, who is female, who was one of his best friends. never dated, just were great friends. they were close even through college, but when he got married, his exwife was very jealous and wouldn't let him see her anymore. then she got married too, and they moved away to ohio i think. so they lost touch, and he didn't even know what her married name was. this was eight years ago. he always says how he misses her, and is sure that she and i would be great friends, and how he regrets that they lost touch.

fast forward to two weeks ago: i am a sneaky sneak. i work in HR, so i do criminal records checks for applicants. so i looked her up by maiden name and birthday (the only thing hubby could remember) and found that she had a very old speeding ticket. from the warrant info, i got her driver license number, and found that she's living in texas again, and amazingly, they live about 15 minutes from our house. cool! so from the address on the driver license, i did a reverse lookup for phone number, and called her up. she was a little freaked out by me, i think, but i told her who i was and who i was married to, and that i wanted to surprise him by getting them together again. she is such a cool chick, and was very glad i called, and we talked for about half an hour before we started to plan this get together thing. so long story short, we are going to her house for dinner tomorrow night! she's married and has a four year old, so it will be fun to meet her hubby and get the kids together. i can't wait to see the look on his face.

i told my hairstylist about this on saturday, and she just gushed and told me how wonderful that is, and that she was impressed with how secure i am in my relationship with him. and that is true. i know this is not an old flame i'm fanning.

as i talked with his friend (or, i can call her our friend now) she commented on how great it is to have old friends in particular. you know, the ones you've known forever, through thick and thin. you just feel comfortable and safe with them. they know all your demons and secrets and failings and they like to hang out with you anyway.

jerry has had a few friends like this, but not many, and as you all know, as we go through life, it's harder and harder to keep track of everyone you're close to. so that is my gift to him this year - renewal of an old friendship.

plus, she's cool, and i want to hang out with her too!