Oh, Happy Day!

Tuesday, August 26th was a wonderful day. Why, you ask? Because I finally got a job!!! I had given up on finding a nursing office job, and had started to look at the new stores going up in town (Lowes, Target, Micheal's crafts) and then a week ago Monday I got a call for an interview for a job that I had applied for back in April! A week ago Weds was my interview, and I found out that the job is exactly what I've been looking for, and even better! The hours are Days no later than 6pm, no major holidays, and No Weekends whatsoever!!! So, Tuesday I got the call to offer me the job, and I was ecstatic to say the very least, and yesterday was my pre-job paperwork with the HR dept. The office is part of the hospital network here in town, so I get some great benefits like tuition assistance after one year, and I am simply so very, very happy!! And Ben is very happy too... :) So, today we have to go up to the city and do some uniform shopping since I can't wear any of my old scrubs due to a color policy- LPNs have to wear white, maroon, or a combination of the two. Now I just have to get my wisdom teeth out in the next couple of months, by Dec 31st to be specific, and then... Let the babymaking commence!! :D

And on a different subject, I've got some more seriously cute pictures of the cats. Sam is really growing fast, she's over 4 lbs now, and the Thunderkitty won't tolerate her "antics" so much anymore. Not that I blame her, especially when the kitten dive-bombs her from above...
So here the kittys were being good and snuggled in my lap while I was knitting, no doubt hoping to catch the yarn while I wasn't paying attention...The peace and tranquility only lasted about 60 seconds after the picture was taken, though, then the kitten decided she needed a kitty ear-chew toy...
And these pictures were the cats taking a nap together in Ben's computer chair while I was surfing and checking email... They are so good sometimes! I went downstairs shortly after this and the kitten followed me a few minutes later.
So, that's all the news right now. Maybe I'll post a picture of me and the uniform when I get it. And Penny has requested to see what our house looks like, so that'll be coming soon...

Happy Birthday Ben!

Not a whole lot interesting has been going on over here...except for Ben turning 30!! Happy Birthday to Ben!! Since we had already celebrated with the family 2 weeks before, Ben and I just had a quiet meal with just the two of us...and the cats, of course. :D I made Ben chicken enchiladas and apple pie for desert. As you can see, I personalized it... I didn't think a big 3-0 would be very nice to memorialize, so I just put his name on it. It's a great recipe, too, I got it from the Joy of Cooking. :) And Ben went to Target and bought a new game. :D The cats have been their usual hilarious selves, and while this next picture is a little gross, it was more than a little funny! Of course, the cats are sometimes just plain cute, at least when the kitten isn't pretending that the Thunderkitty is her personal plaything... Here's their latest "how sweet" moment... And on the brighter side, the very bright side that is, Ben had his six month "anniversary" of his aneurysm rupture- Aug. 9th, the day after he turned 30. I know it's an awful thing to have an anniversary about, and it's not like we celebrated him practically dying- well, there's actually not practically about it since he was in cardiac and respiratory arrest for several minutes- but it is a very important milestone, and we celebrate Ben for making such a wonderful recovery, and for how proud we are of his acheivements. I could go on in this vein for some time, but I'll spare everyone reading this (including my husband who is reading over my shoulder as I type) the long paragraphs that I could write about how very happy I am that so many wonderful things and so much love has come out of a nearly tragic situation. I'll say it again- Ben is a miracle! Happy Birthday Mr. Miracle!! (I originally put a bunch of hearts and kisses in this space, but the Html won't let me, so you can just pretend... :)

Scrapbook Mania...

Well- I've done it, I've created a monster... A scrapbooking monster, that is! It is really quite fun, and sometimes quite frustrating, too. Especially when doing page titles and getting the year wrong (see one of the pictures below, I think you all know that I wasn't in Washington DC this last April...) and then having to go back and pry off stickers... grr... But I've had a lot of fun with these pages, and it seems (to me anyways) that each one gets better and better. WooHoo! So, my album so far:
So, these are my first two attempts one afternoon- they're of my nursing graduation in Aug 06. I keep telling myself that they're not bad pages for a first attempt... especially before researching ideas and techniques online. :D
These next pages are of Ben and I's niece, Mallory. This, of course, was her First birthday...And it was loads of fun!

And then there is Mallory's Second Birthday, again, loads of fun! It was a Dora party, and Ben and I (being the evil uncle and aunt we are) got her a music set! It had a tambourine, bells to shake, and a triangle! She had fun with it until she opened her veterinary set ... :)

These next pictures are from when my Grandma and I went to the March for Women's Rights in Washington DC in April 2004- not 2008, which of course I didn't notice until I was taking a picture of the page. We had a lot of fun with the other million or so people there, and "Voiced our Choice." It was truly a great experience.
These last two pages are pictures of my dad. First of all is a page for when he was sent overseas to Iraq in 2003 at the start of the Iraqi war. He was there from late spring until December when he was sent back stateside on Medical disability. The military managed to get him home to Gaylord just in time for Christmas (and his birthday:). The parade pictures are when his unit returned to Midland in May 2004.
This page is devoted to my dad. He's been a pretty good dad to me, and I wanted to put a few of my favorite pictures together so I can look at them and smile- then laugh, alot. :D
And this last picture is what my table looked like after 4.5 hours of scrapbooking... It didn't help that the kitten had to add her two cents in and jump up and scatter everything... :D
Hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed making them, sorry you can't see more detail- I'm not that good at taking pictures of the pages. I've got other crafts to work on for the rest of this week, but I'll post more when I'm scrapping again!