it may still be over 70 degrees outside...

but it is officially wintertime (yes, wintertime and not christmastime--christmas comes AFTER thanksgiving people)... because today i ordered my first "double tall peppermint twist mocha extra hot". we will not discuss the fact that there was no "non-fat" put in that order because it was simply amazing.

btw, if you're not a starbucks person, coffee mate makes a wonderful peppermint mocha creamer.

sidenote: i'm interviewing with perot again today (face-to-face), so we'll see how that goes. the new thing is "behavioral interviewing" which is basically when they say "tell me about a time you displayed such and such skill or solved such and such problem or dealt with such and such situation..." For somebody without a lot of experience, coming up with relevant answers without making something up isn't always easy

you can start praying now

as some of you know, i've been worrying about finding a job since i graduate in december and am currently unemployed with not a whole lot of "real" work experience (apparently always being employed doesn't count if it isn't applicable). anyway, i went to a job fair at the end of september and since then have interviewed with one company (HMS) twice- an introductory interview with the hiring manager and a follow up behavioral interview with the senior vice president- and had a phone interview today with another company (Perot) with a behavioral one scheduled for next week that will determine if i get a face-to-face interview. my problem is that if (and that is a big if) HMS offers me a job, i may want to work for Perot but won't be through the interviewing process. i want a job but i also want the right job. i don't want to give up an opportunity for something that doesn't pan out nor do i want to get stuck somewhere when i'd fit better somewhere else. as usually, i'm doing the whole over-analyze/freak-out before anything actually happens. i know God is in control and has a perfect plan (He always does) but please pray that things will work themselves out and i'll end up where i'm supposed to be and have a peace about it. in the meantime, i need to focus on getting through school. 60 days til graduation. which seems like a long time, but there is so much to get done before then.

quote of the week:
we took brock and brax to the football game on friday and grandpa random parked as usual to the embarrassment of all, but grandma and i didn't say anything, just kind of grumbled. instead, brock pipes up, "grandpa, there is something wrong with you." he paused and then added, "i need to disguise myself."
ahahaha... the kid is hilarious... not sure where he comes up with these things, but he has a way of saying what everyone else is thinking.

The mayonnaise jar and 2 cups of coffee

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty spaces between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things-- your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions-- and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter, like your job, your house, and your car.

The sand is everything else-- the small stuff. If you put the sand in the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first-- the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked."

"The coffee shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

funday friday

since my birthday (and thus megan and phil's) was on thursday and i had to be at school for 8 hours, i had my fun on friday. first, mom and i went to the state fair. i love the fair! we saw some attractions (by the way, no amount of money could ever get me to climb to the top of a sway pole and do a handstand), ate unhealthy food, and did pretty much whatever we wanted. however, there are no pictures since my camera is at ry's house and i keep forgetting to get it.



then, lindsey came into town from okc so maria/jayme had a little get together and we went and karaoked . tons of fun: i love my friends!! i stole a few pics from maria so this post wouldn't be totally boring.




i'm not sure why this picture is so small



some of the girls: lindsey, becky, kamini, maria, me



maria and me




maria and bill.. i promise there were boys than bill there

lindsey, jayme, me... we try to see how many faces we can squeeze in a picture

lindsey and me... luv her!

group shot minus boys

maria, becky, me cheesin'

yoda (the dog) likes to have fun too

someday...

someday when i have some guts, i want my hair to look like this:






however, i have a feeling it wouldn't look like this on me.

btw, i love her new song. if you haven't heard it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgJly74APRE

seriously??

i was teaching texas history on wednesday and had the following conversation with a seventh grader...

me: "just so you know, native americans are from america and indians are from india."
student: "then why did columbus name them indians?"
me: "because columbus thought he was in india."
student: "but columbus discovered america."
me: "yes, but columbus discovered america by accident. he was searching for the west indies when he got lost and landed in america."
student:"how did columbus get lost? he had a map"

ummmm....no.... i don't know who in elementary school failed you child, but columbus did not have a map

tri two

on sunday mom and i did the prairiman sprint triathlon. i took the camera in my transition bag but never got around to taking pictures, mostly because before the tri it was dark and afterwards i looked pretty nasty. i'm debating whether or not to put the link to the official race pictures on here because if i do you get to see all of them, not just the one that looks half-way athletic. anyway, i got first in my division and mom got third in hers. not too bad! i think my time was faster than the last tri i did, but i didn't write down my times last time so i don't know for sure.

this is the first time since high school that i haven't had a job and not only is my bank account rapidly shrinking, i think i may go out of my mind with boredom. i thought i could be one of those people who sits at home all day alternating between watching tv and reading, but come to find out, i'm not. i'm finally starting to fill up my calendar with some things so hopefullly time won't go so slow.