Monday, August 23, 2010

Volunteering Adventure

On my last post I forgot to mention that I am now volunteering with my local Child Abuse and Neglect Council. What a worthy cause. I used to volunteer full-time with American Cancer Society and loved it but had to quit when finances got tough and I needed to get a job. I gained a lot of experience with ACS and I have a background in business since I worked in offices most of my life. The people at the CAN Council are so excited to have me. They say I am exactly what they need. Recently the Council lost their Executive Director and Patsy (who basically runs the place) thinks I should interview for with all the experience I have. It is actually a paid position,(not much of course but paid nonetheless). My only real concern is taking that on and trying to go to college at the same time.

I am hoping to get into Western University and I am a little worried I won't be able to handle everything but I guess I'll never know unless I try. The Executive Director position is only about 15 hours per week so I think I can handle that. I'm not sure what I am going to do yet but as I get more involved and learn the ropes of CAN Council I will be able to make a better informed decision on the matter.

I am very flattered that they are so happy to have me on board. Right now the ladies trying to handle everything are much older, some retired or still working full time and they all want to be able to back off on duties and truly enjoy the retired life. At least I know that is how Patsy feels. She wants me to learn what she does, and by the way, she already thinks I will be better at it than she is. I am really looking forward to all of this.

Next Tuesday, the 31st, I am meeting Linda, Patsy and Carla at the office and will meeting Linda and Carla for the first time. Patsy told me she told them all about me and they can't wait to meet me. I'm flattered by their vote of confidence in my abilities. Patsy already likes my vision and take on things and is confident that I will be great. Do great things and bring so much to the table to benefit the Council. I can't wait to get started. This will give my life the meaning and purpose I so desperately need. I am the kind of person that needs to do worthwhile things in order to feel fulfilled so I am very grateful for this opportunity.

I will let you know more as the week goes on and hope to have more good news and excitement in store for you.

Saturday, August 21, 2010

College Update

Well, I will not be returning to University of Phoenix for my Bachelor's in English. Turns out that UofP is double the cost of a traditional college. I have decided on Western Michigan University which has a great English department. I think I will major in creative writing with a minor in practical writing. I will probably start in the Spring and can't wait. When I went to community college I really enjoyed the on campus life. I never was really excited going to class online. I was much happier when I was in a traditional college and had that face to face learning experience.

Tonight I am going with my friend to see some fireworks in Mendon. Last fireworks of the year. The kids are really excited about going and it will give me something to do tonight since Tim has to work.

Well that's all for now, so until next time..

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Birthday Bash 2010

Well my birthday was good. At least I think so since there are parts I don't remember. I had enough fun for a two day hangover. It will definitely be a while before I drink again.

For my birthday, I wanted paint. I have one more room in the house to remodel which is the closed-in front porch. My plan is to make it look like the outdoors. The ceiling will be Serene Sky blue, the walls will be Summer Harvest yellow, and the wicker furniture will be green to symbolize grass. Tim didn't think this was a very good birthday present but it's what I wanted. Remodeling gives me something to do and the front porch will definitely be a project. It needs to be cleaned and cleaned out in order for me to even start painting. Also, the drywall ceiling may need to come down and I'm not sure of the condition of the wood underneath. Whether or not the drywall needs to be replaced or not is a mystery. I may be able to just paint over the wood rafters but worst case scenario I'll need to replace the drywall. It sure will be a project.

Monday I am going to try and make it to Battle Creek to visit my friend Henrietta. We might go to a ceramics class so that should be fun. I have a wood burning plaque to make for Henrietta that she wants as a gift to a friend, so I have to get that done which shouldn't be a problem. I can usually finish a project in a night. Henrietta thinks I should start selling my wood burning work and I'm seriously considering it but for now I just want to have fun with it.

Anyway, that's all for now. Until next time.....

Thursday, August 5, 2010

What a Day, What a Day

Well, it's official, I am not going to meet the deadline for the short story. I am supposed to have it done tomorrow and I can't even come up with a plot or characters. I must confess though that I haven't even tried to really think about it.

I got 3 hours of sleep last night and then spent 4 hours baking goodies for Ari and Justin to have a bake sale which Ari no longer wants to work on because she is fighting with her brother. This pisses me off since I worked so hard even though I was exhausted and still am. She'd better get her little butt back over there and try to sell some stuff because if I did all that work for nothing that might make me a little irritable. Ahh, the things we do for our children. None of which they appreciate. I imagine that they won't appreciate what we as parents do for them until they have children of their own. I just made Ari go back to her sale and unfortunately they have only had 3 customers 2 1/2 - 3 hours. Another thing that is making me irritable.

Oh, and by the way, this Sunday August 8th is my birthday. We are going out tomorrow night in celebration of my being born. I'm not sure if I'll be able to walk in a straight line by the end of the night but I sure hope I have fun. Who needs to walk in a straight line anyway?

I may go back to that Church this Sunday. I'm actually kind of looking forward to it.

So that's all for now. I'll let you know how my birthday turns out.