Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Two Peas in a Pod
The Pod
Thursday I applied for a position at the Town Hall Tax office. Friday I applied to a position at a local town's community service doing manual labor (I told you I was desperate!). Friday I heard back from the Tax office that I got the job (wahoo!) and then it was taken away from me before I knew it when I informed the lady that I would need to come in a few hours late on the first day or so (back to square 1). Saturday I had an interview with Stop and Shop Peapod (they deliver your grocheries right to your kitchen counter). Sunday I was hired by Stop and Shop Peapod - and this time they didn't take the job away from me. Monday and tonight I worked. Oh how it feels good to be a working lady once again! It's a pretty laid back job and I think I'm going to enjoy it - although, if I didn't enjoy it I'd be telling myself "Self, Tough Luck! This is all your gonna get!" So screw Target and their two month training - I got a job and I am good at it!
The Two Peas
Sarah and I leave for Laura's (and Michael's) wedding on Thursday after I am finished with classes. We bought the wedding gift and we got a gift bag for it (I think she'll love it!). I bought my tummy tucker for my dress - and let me tell you that was quite an interesting shopping experience! Tomorrow Mom and I are going to get manicures and then I have to buy some grocheries for the ride down, pack: my clothes, the camera, a book, and of course my knitting project (Mom's already late birthday present). We will be back Sunday where I will then attend my "little cousin's" graduation party. I can't believe he's out of high school already! I can remember when I held him in my lap.
*I realized I don't have pictures of the happily married-to be couple or of my graduating cousin or even of my new work place. I apologize for a Picture-less entry.*
Thursday, June 22, 2006
I'm a Toys R US Kid!
I've been searching for a summer job. I've had no luck because it is nearly the end of June (although it was the start of June when I began this darn search) and no one wants to hire me because I'm going back to school in 2 months (YAY, can't wait!). This is a problem since I have to pay for Purl and for her food. I also need a job for my own sanity. No offense Mom, but I need to get out of the house every once in a while. I love you guys, but I need a change of scenery - a change of enviornment.
I've applied everywhere (even though Mom says otherwise) - even Target. They turned me down. But I'm glad they turned me down because if they really need TWO months to train me how to use the cash register, then I don't want to know - really. I got a card in the mail today from them. It was red on the outside (big surprise?) with their target symbol in the bottom right hand corner. Inside it said this:
Hello, thanks for taking the time to apply with us.
While we're unable to offer you a position at this
time, we do appreciate your interest in Target.
Thank You,
Human Resources
No, I'm not bitter. Really, I'm not. Instead I'm focusing on my future - my future as a librarian. I requested a catalog and application from the University that I plan to get my masters at tonight. I discovered that yes, I will have to take the GREs in order to be considered for admissions. I realized that I am growing up, and to be quite honest, that's scary.
I am not ready to hold my own job, have my own income and my own massive bills to pay. I have a minor credit card bill that I'm paying off now, but grown-ups have more than one bill to pay. They have the car to pay off, and the cell phone bill to pay, and insurance, and electricity, and food to buy, etc., etc. No Thank You! I will happily live off of my parents - feeding the dog and doing the dishes without complaint. I will keep my newly finished room clean. I will make my bed every day just as long as I don't have to grow up.
My friend Laura is getting married in eight days. She just turned 20. And while she is 100% sure that this is the man for her I am wondering how in the world she is able to do this. The idea of marriage scares me. I can barely take care of myself let alone another person. My mom married when she was 20. I'm almost 22 and marriage is no where in sight. I think that's a good thing.
*Now I've gone and done what I just told my cousin I don't do in my blog - complain and rant about my life. Oh well, guess it has to happen every once in a while.*
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
How Will You Remember?


Sunday, June 18, 2006
Two Loves
I finished the Petal Bib that I mentioned starting yesterday. It was a great project to knit especially since it gave me some instant satisfaction in my knitting - which was much needed.

Puppies
About two weeks before I got out of school I got a phone call early in the morning - about 8:30 - from my mom. It was unusal for my mom to call this early and so I was concerned as to what was happening. She was in tears. She told me that they were at the Vet and they needed to put Chester down.
Chester was our 10 year old Spring Spaniel.

It was really hard saying goodbye to Chester. The house got much quiter without him (even though when he was here he was sleeping). The house was much more empty without him and it was obvious. I found myself still going into Mom's room to check on him before I went out for the day. I found myself wanting to call for him. I thought about him a lot. All my life growing up we had a dog. Camie came before Chester. She came before me. My parents bought her in 1983. I was born in 1984. We bought Chester in 1995 when we thought Camie wasn't going to be around much longer. But she wasn't gonna be booted outta the house by a new dog and she stuck around for another 4 years. When we put Camie down we still had another dog to come home to, but when Chester was put down all we had to come home to was an empty home.
We started looking for another dog. The lady that Chester went to for grooming and for a place to stay when we went on vacation gets rescue dogs and finds homes for them. So when we told her that we had to put Chester down, she offered us Cedric - who actually is one of her dogs. She also shows dogs, but Cedric was too tiny and already having 7 dogs or so she couldn't keep him anymore. We went to look at him last Sunday. He was adorable. We fell in love with him, and I think he fell in love with him. We said we'd take him.

Saturday, June 17, 2006
Drum Roll Please...
There were some great entries for names for the Name My Car contest. We had Silver Bullit, Purl, Stanley, and Subtle Rufus Nosal. And the winner is PURL. Thanks Joyce for your creative suggestion. I loved it (as did the rest of the family). I will send you an email with more details on your prize.
Moving Ahead 7 Hours
So you probably want to hear more about my trip to Israel... or atleast I hope you do - cause I'm going to tell you more whether you like it or not!





Thursday, June 15, 2006
In the Beginning...
We left yesterday for 3 weeks in Israel - the trip I've been waiting for sicne October. It is strange knowing it is finally here and that it's no longer just an "idea". When we got to Newark (we flew from Logan airport to Newark to Tel Aviv) we went to the waiting room that had been reserved for our group - one of those rooms that you can't see into from the outside, the kind one always wishes they could go into (or at least I always had).

I love flying. I love looking out the window when I fly - reminds me of Grandpa Lebo.




* The Car Naming "Contest" will be closed to entries on June 17th, so get your suggestions in before its too late! So far the choices are: Silver Bullit, Purl, or Stanley. Think your name is better? Let me know! *
Monday, June 12, 2006
The Wheels on the Bus Go Round
I don't know if you can remember this far back, but in a post back in April I went home for Easter with a speech all ready to tell my parents why I should have a car for the approaching fall semester. I came home (this speech and I) to be pleasantly surprised that I had no need for this pre-made speech, that instead my mom thought I should have a car for the fall semester too. We looked at a few cars at that time, but with no real intention to buy right then - and we didn't. The plan, instead, was to casually look over the summer and hopefully we would have found one by the time school rolled around. This was fine with me - as long as we were proactive about looking for a new ride for me.
I got home from Israel a week ago to find out that they had a deposit on a car. They wanted me to take a look at it and then maybe we'd buy it. This was much sooner than I had excpected to be having a car. We went and looked and while it was a car with four wheels and a working enginee it just didn't seem like it was the right car for me. Instead we found a better fit - a better car for a better deal. Drum roll please....
A 2002 Metallic Mercury Sable:

I think she (or he) is beautiful. I bought a air freshner for the car the other day and I am slowly making it my own.
There is only one problem! The car needs a NAME.
I haven't decided yet if its a male or a female. I'd really love for you all to decide the name for me. I will make a felted change purse for the person with the best suggestion that is left in my comments. I am open to all suggestions - male or female, unique or normal - and the one I like best will get a change purse. I will look at what feltable yarn I have in my stash and give you a choice of colors.
On your mark...Get set... GO!
Friday, June 09, 2006
Chocolate and Clean Teeth
The T.V. was on the Food Network and it was all about chocolate. It isn't unusual for the Food Network to be having a special on chocolate, because they probably do this at least once a week. What was odd that the dentist office had this playing on their television. Aren't they supposed to discouraging one from eating sweet food like chocolate for fear that one day your teeth will rot away? Shouldn't they have had the gardening channel on? 101 Fruits and Vegetables to Grow in Your Backyard would probably have been more appropriate. I left the dentist's office only craving a Hershey's chocolate bar.
A while back I mentioned that I had signed up for the One Skein Secret Pal Exchange. It begins this month and I will need to send my pal a skein of yarn and a little note before the month is over. I have just begun to think about it. In the mean time, my secret pal is right on top of things. I received my first package today!



Thursday, June 08, 2006
O Jerusalem
I am back in the United States and let me tell you it is nothing like Israel. Israel is beautiful (that's not to say that the US isn't beautiful - it's just different). The special thing about Israel is the topography of the land. It is almost as if God used Israel to be the guinea pig (or the testing ground) for trying out all sorts of ideas on the land to see how it would work in the rest of the world. Israel is about the size of New Jersey. It isn't huge. And yet, there is green grass and the wilderness; hills and flat ground. The lowest place on earth is in Israel and yet there are some very big mountains as well. They have snow, and rain, and lots of heat. It is humid there and it is dry. And one only needs to travel a few miles to see a huge variety of these changes.
There is so much I want to tell you about the trip - and eventually I will get there, but let me start with the knitting news. First the bad news: I did not buy any yarn while I was over there. I did not see any yarn for sale. I asked the campus director if she knew of a place to buy yarn and she replied by asking "Just regular yarn?" And I replied yes, because as a non-knitter, she didn't know any better. She knew of a place, but I never got over to the store. But I did see lots of goats and sheep and other fiber-filled animals.
These ones were at Gezer, an ancient site near the coast of Israel. They were just wandering through the excavated site.
Those tiny little dots you see are sheep. The shepherd is leading them across the wilderness.
I have more yarn-related pictures, but we will save those for another day. For now I think I might just go to sleep and dream sweet dreams of Jersualem.
"If I forget thee O Jerusalem..." (Ps. 137:5)