So, I have some very exciting news. (No, I'm not pregnant).
I had a job interview Friday morning. It was supposed to be Tuesday, but they called on Monday to reschedule for Wednesday. Then called Tuesday to reschedule for Friday. It was for work at a landscape architecture company - something that I thought was completely out of reach at this point.
The interview went really well! They said they had talked to one other person, and would make a decision and let me know something Monday.
I got home and immediately started getting ready to go to Austin for Josh's company's golf tournament. About 45 minutes after I got home, my phone rings and the caller ID has the number of the company. I answer it and they tell me that they would like to offer me a job and want me to start Monday (meaning today!)!! Of course, I accept! Then immediately call Josh and tell him and it was loud enough for his whole office to hear! There was a very loud chorus of "Congratulations!" from his coworkers. I couldn't quit smiling!
They called back again a little while later, and when I saw the number, I almost had a panic attack thinking they were going to say that they had made a mistake! :)
The golf tournament was a lot of fun! I got to be a beer cart with some of Josh's coworkers, so we drove around all afternoon drinking and having random dance parties in the middle of the fairway (or tee box or cart path). It was a great way to spend the day!
Saturday and Sunday I had a to-do list for things around the house I needed to get done before starting a job. I know I should have just taken it easy, but I had been doing that for 6 months, and it was things that I really wanted to get out of the way like dusting, sweeping, and vacuuming. And I threw in a little clothes shopping as well! I had some birthday money burning a whole in my purse, so I headed out to JCP to get some new work clothes! They were having a sale and I stocked up on some cute tops!
And speaking of 6 months...tomorrow will be exactly 6 months that I had been laid off. For these last 6 months I have had some of the worst rollercoaster emotions so far in my life. I never was really "flying high," but I have definitely been lower than I ever have. Unless you have actually been unemployed, there is no way for you to understand it. It is so lonely, and isolating, and depressing. There were times when I could empathize with people who kill themselves in situations like being laid off. I never got to a point where I would do that to myself, but I can now understand how someone who doesn't have supportive friends and family could. It is the most helpless situation. You send out hundreds of applications to not hear anything at all. Even an email saying you were not hired is a million times better than nothing at all. There is usually not even a response that they received your information. And in today's world where everything is done online, you usually have no clue who to contact to even ask about it.
So this job has come at a great time! I think it is going to be a great experience! I'm having to relearn CAD because it's been almost a year since I've worked with it and the last time it was 2007 Light! This company just upgraded to 2010. I have a feeling it's going to be a long week!
I'll check back in on Friday to recap my first week back at work!
Here are my grandparents - Jim & Edith Kalina - outside the hospital in Shiner. How beautiful and handsome are they??
These two people are my great-grandparents, Frank & Mary Kalina. Her parents can be seen here. This picture was taken at Frank & Mary's 50th Wedding Anniversary in 1953.
There was a small patch of pale blue bluebonnets. In this picture it looks more white.
There were tons of Red Paintbrush. I was on the lookout for a yellow one, but it remained elusive this year.
Wild Hyacinth
Spiderwort
Rylie checking things out
This ladybug would not hold still for anything!
Buttercup. This is a true buttercup. The pink one's that everyone calls "Buttercup" are actually Showy Primrose.
Poppy - I love these flowers! So delicate and simple.
And the obligatory Texas Bluebonnet picture. Bayla is missing because he had finished rolling around in a huge pile of cow poop. He wasn't allowed anywhere near us!
I sure do miss sweet, snuggly puppies sometimes!
This one I can tell is going to be quite the mess when she gets older!
They had a nice case of puppy narcolepsy!
They fell asleep wherever they were last sitting.
Toes made great chew toys!
They were held a lot that night! And oh my goodness, the crying when we finally had to leave them! I do not miss that horrible crying!
My Shiner Beer advertisement
Dolores and her granddaughter, Jenna
Each year, mom & I make deviled eggs. Ross eats about half of them himself!
More puppy lovin' after dinner
And then we tried to get a pic with the dogs in the bluebonnets.
This is what most of the pics looked like!
Running away!
Lots of hand gnawing!
Finally a good one!
They ended the evening by having an all out fur-pulling, tail-chewing fight.
He served in the Army during WWII. I don't know much about his time in the service, at least not off the top of my head. The one thing I do know, is that he was shot in the leg, earning him a Purple Heart.
