Neglectful

My poor blog.  The only post this month.

Work has been going pretty well.  I enjoy my coworkers, two of whom are Christians.  The students have been nice, with a few exceptions (one refused to leave on Wednesday; my slightly scary boss convinced him).

Bob and Kristen Bruce, some friends from our OK church, invited us to spend Thanksgiving with their three little boys and extended family.  We had a great time, and the food was really good. :)

This weekend we are trying to get our house put together, mostly.  I unpacked several boxes of books last night, and it was like Christmas!  Books that we haven't seen for eight months, finally reappearing! :D

Cold front

The weather is about to turn cool cold, so I guess I'll get to experience fall.  I've never been one of those people to bemoan a lack of seasons.  Many of my friends and acquaintances in California complain that the state only sees two-three seasons: warm, hot, and, maybe, cool.

I never really felt the absence.  I love the orange, red, and gold leaves brought on by a cold snap, but my favorite season is late spring/early summer.  Bring on school breaks, summer camp, bright evenings outdoors, ice cream, and the Fourth of July!

It has been an unseasonably warm October here in OK, just like the summer was unseasonably cool.  It was 86 degrees on Monday and 75 today, but tomorrow we aren't going to break 60!

Oh dear...and I've already started wearing my leggings under my dress pants and jeans.

Odd, part 3

Continuing my series on weird Oklahoma, I have a few more observations to share with you.

Oil derricks. Oklahoma pumps a lot of oil, so oil derricks are everywhere.  I've seen derricks in grocery store parking lots, in the field surrounding our new church, and even at the State Capitol (the only state capitol with a functioning oil derrick; they are very proud of this).

Driving.  Oklahomans are very bad drivers.  People who say California has bad drivers have obviously never been to Oklahoma.

Tribal license plates.  Oklahoma is home to many different Indian tribes, each of which is actually a sovereign nation.  Each tribe has a unique license plate design.

Sidewalks.  Where are all the sidewalks?  Do they take them in during the day?!

Overalls.  Many men wear overalls here (though definitely not everyone).  When Amos and I go somewhere, I keep track of the overalled men I see; the highest score so far is three.  Amos says that we will be seeing more because the cool fall weather is coming.  (Amos and I went to the state fair back in September; I saw a grampa wearing overalls AND a fanny pack!)

Ma'am.  I work at a university now, so I get called ma'am several times a day.  It throws me off every time.

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Part 1
Part 2

Hi-ho, hi-ho

Time to dust off the Nalgene and the glass lunchware; I go back to work tomorrow!  It's been a nice seven months off.  Tomorrow I'll get up at 6:00 am, leave by 7:30, drop Amos off at 7:50, get to work by 8:05, start work at 9:00, get off work at 6:00, get Amos by 6:20, and get home by 6:30.  It is going to be a loooooong day.

This morning I made these pancakes (before church!).  For lunch I made quick enchilada bowls.  Tonight I'm making chicken piccata.

We have a few muffins and a box of waffles in our freezer, and leftover pancakes, some vanilla yogurt, and two dozen eggs in our fridge for breakfasts. We have windmill cookies, three kinds of pudding, and pumpkin pie for lunchtime desserts.  We have a few choices for snacks, and we have several dinner options ready be whipped up (hopefully quickly).

I think I'm ready as I'll ever be, at least in the food department, if the rice will just cook...

Cleaning

One thing I will not miss about this apartment is the cigarette smoke that wafts in periodically.  I also will not miss the "gargoyles," aka pigeons.  The little varmints can have our porch back in about three weeks, when we move to our new place!

Amos and I put down a deposit on a small townhouse only a few blocks away.  We would prefer to live in a little house in a small town to the west, but this will be fine for now. :)  The townhome has two stories and a little nook under the stairs; I'm hoping that we can get a papasan for the nook.  (I was going to get a papasan many months ago from Craigslist, but just as Amos and I were leaving to pick it up, the lady woman texted to say her husband wouldn't sell it to us after all!)

Anyway, I have started to clean our current apartment so that we will have less to do when we actually move.  So far I've bleached the bathtub and shower, wiped down the kitchen cabinets, cleaned the grease vent (might need to do that again later :P ), packed up our DVDs and books, scrubbed the oven, dusted the ceiling fan, and started on the refrigerator.  My latest audiobook, Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery, just finished, so now I need to find another good one in order to keep up steam!

Pistol Pete

Pistol Pete; via wikipedia

Two and a half weeks ago, I interviewed for a job at Oklahoma State University at Oklahoma City. I dressed up in my professional clothes, drove over to the small campus, and did a good job answering all my interviewers' questions, in spite of a cold.  By five o'clock that same day, I had a new job!  No more substitute teaching! Yea yea yea!!!

I'll soon be working at the school's testing center as a clerk, proctoring exams, recording results, working the front desk, etc., but for now, I am waiting on my background check!  The dumb thing was hung up on Los Angeles County, last I heard.  Oh well.  I am thankful that I have this job and that my supervisor is as anxious for me to start as I am!

Soon I'll be working at an extension campus of one of the top schools in Oklahoma (the main campus is in Stillwater).  OSU's colors are orange and black, their team name is the Cowboys (or the Pokes), and their mascot is an ugly little guy called Pistol Pete.

I am very thankful for the way that God provided this job for me...and I hope I like it! :)

New!

I added a new blog photo.  What do you think?  I used Photoshop (yes, the real Photoshop) to merge a picture of one of my watercolors, a map, and some text.  I like it!  I might need to change the blog's color scheme to match, but I'll leave everything as is for now.

Time may be in short supply soon (I interviewed for a full-time job today), but if any of my many friends across the globe would like a prayer card designed, I'd be happy to do it for you!

Out with the old...

in with the new!

In the library

Setting: The local library on a warm Saturday afternoon.  Patrons are using computers, perusing the stacks, sitting uncomfortably in too-small chairs.

Indistinct voice from stage right, indignant: Mumble mum mumble my shoes! Mum mumble!!

[Jennica's ears prick; she moves down the stacks to get a clear yet discreet view of the offended party.  She passes Amos and catches his eye with a delighted grin.]

Indignant: He took my shoes!

Librarian hurries up

Librarian, amazed: What?! He took your shoes?!

Indignant, rising above a stage whisper: Yes, he took my sneakers and left these flip flops!  I told him to stop messing with them.  I just thought he was bopping to his music or something, but he took my shoes!!!

[Jennica secretly wonders why she removed her tennis shoes in the first place]

Librarian, amazed: . . .

Helpful patron: Yeah, she told him.  I heard her.

Third patron brings up pictures of the suspect on a laptop or phone

Indignant: No, that wasn't him.  He looked nice.  He was dressed in bright colors, with pink.

Librarian: Pink!

Indignant: And he took my athletic shoes!  And they were women's shoes!

Librarian: Those aren't yours? [gestures at flip flops]

Indignant: No!  I'm from Arkansas, so I can leave barefoot [smoker laugh], but he took my shoes!

Librarian: This happened before, just a week or so ago!


Amos and Jennica are done picking out materials, so they reluctantly exit stage left.


Moral of the store: Never remove your shoes at the local library!

Quite a bit

I have quite a bit of time, yet WHY haven't I written a blog post in two weeks?!  Oh well, at least I'm writing one today!

Last week I worked every day at the Christian school connected to our Oklahoma church.  The classes are tiny and, substitute experience speaking, the students are very, very well behaved.  I'm not getting paid much, but that's okay.

Our apartment lease is about to go month-to-month, which is great.  We haven't found a place to live yet, but we will hopefully find one soon.

Danielle gave me the code for a free Shutterfly book, so I'm making an Aptartment 29 photo book!  I worked on it a lot yesterday, and I hope to finish it today.

I'm not a big animal person.  Animals are fun, but they take a lot of work and it is really sad when they die.  However, Amos and I have talked about getting a little mouse (I will name him Speedy).  We went to PetSmart on Sunday to look at them, but we only saw gerbils, rats, and hamsters.  I went to ask a checker about this.

Me: Do you have any mice?
Checker: Frozen.

I guess we'll have to look at Petco!

Labor Day

So far today...

Anne has refused to marry Gilbert.  (Oh, the horror!  I am listening to Anne of the Island.)

Amos has a headache...again. :(

I've made fried potatoes, eggs, and leftover chicken for breakfast; a new version of crustless quiche for breakfasts this week (zucchini, green onions, cilantro, and quinoa); and iced tea (currently brewing)

The September free audiobook is available at Christian Audio: How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer

We have finished off the cranberry-cherry juice.  It was okay; I thought it tasted kind of like Kool-Aid.


Did you know...

Francis with an I is the masculine version of the name; for example, Francis Schaeffer
Frances with an E is the feminine version of the name; for example, Frances the badger

I made cookies yesterday, and they actually worked, once I got the oven up to the correct temperature; it has problems.

Middle of the month

We are in the middle of August already!  Whoa!

School started yesterday in Santa Clarita, and if Amos and I still lived there, I would be in junior high right now, taking notes for Pinkie.  (I just typed Pinkie into my blog search bar, but I accidentally substituted an O for the P: Oinkie.  Oh dear!)  However, I am NOT in California, so I'm not in school yet, but I will be soon!  I'm signed up as a substitute teacher with three school districts and a Christian school.  I should start working in September; hmmmmm, I should probably find out where all the schools are...If you prayed for us, thank you very much!  The Lord showed us just in time 1) that I needed a job and 2) where to get one. :)


Today I am doing several things...

- reading this post from Mike Gaston about a mutual friend with a brain tumor (Our friend went back to work yesterday, teaching high school history!  Talk about a good recovery so far, thanks to the Lord!)

- making tapioca pudding using Amos' mom's recipe

- burning a nice pumpkin-somethingorother candle

- eating Aussie Bites!  I adapted this recipe a bit (vanilla, some chia seeds, a little regular flour), and the cookies/fiber muffins/whatever-they-are were really good. Amos likes them, too!

- listening to Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery (Anne was a nut!)

- cleaning vegetables out of the sink and washing dishes

- looking up books via Modern Mrs. Darcy's August twitterature post (check out her website; I like all her posts about books and reading)

- investigating new places to live.  Our lease is up in six weeks!

Books and snacks

When you have lots of books on your "currently reading" pile, sometimes you pick the one that lies the flattest so that you can read and have a snack with minimal effort.

Hint of Lime chips, guacamole, water, and
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom

I was reading The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy.  The title is great, and cute little pictures are sprinkled here and there in the book, but it was just ehhhhh.  The climax was anti-climactic, the characters were interesting but not inspiring, and the ending was cliche' (one of the characters basically says, "I'm going to write down all our adventures and turn them into a book!").  I picked it up to see if it was appropriate for Gio and Luke, and it's probably fine, but, ironically, The Hero's Guide definitely wouldn't spur them on to be better young men.  Oh well!  Better luck with...


The Good Spy: The Life and Death of Robert Ames by Kai Bird (biography of a CIA agent working in the Middle East)

One Vision Only by Carolyn L. Canfield (biography of Isobel Kuhn, including Isobel's abridged, unpublished Vistas; must get the unabridged version from Wheaton College)

Elisabeth Elliot: Joyful Surrender by Janet and Geoff Benge

My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'Homme