Just as I figured. . . .

After my email last Thursday I didn't hear anything from the church until after I left a message with the head pastor on Monday. I received an email back from one of the personnel committee on Monday. Here is what it said.

Hi Jaime. I'm sorry I missed you when you visited our Church. Bob Agnew asked me, as Chair of the Joint Personnel Committee, to respond to your e-mail. The next step is for you to return the Application for Employment and for us to check references and schedule another interview for you with some of the interested committee members and youth. That will probably be after you move here. We will keep you posted. We really appreciate your interest in us. Bob Rich

Since I had already turned in my Application I was a bit concerned that they didn't get my application (and that they thought we were moving without a job) so I emailed him back. He called this afternoon and left a message on my phone because I had been in meetings all day. He explained that they had not taken any action on my application yet but they were planning on meeting on Thursday evening to discuss my interview and to divide up the reference calls. He said after that they would do a background check (hmm, I wonder if they will find my ONE speeding ticket from four years ago) and then I will have a final interview. I figured that this was the case. The church is in no hurry to fill the position because of their interim and it takes time to pass these things through committees and we are in no hurry to move so we will just have to keep waiting and be patient until they decide. Thank you all for your support. This is all I know for now but I will keep you all posted as soon as I hear anything further.

Job Advice?

Yes, I am ASKING for advice. How often does that happen? With this church thing . . . how long should I wait before calling them? I don't want to press them or make them feel rushed. This is a Presbyterian church so they probably have to pass any decision through several committees. Carol (I think you still read my blog), how long after your interview with your CE lady did it take you all to offer her the job?

I definitely feel more patient now and feel like I could wait a bit before calling them if necessary but I want to appear interested in the job but not desperate or pushy. I feel as if they didn't like my interview that they would have just told me right away that I didn't get the job. But also waiting this long may mean that they have been considering me for the job but I may or may not have gotten it. Ok enough about the job. I would appreciate any advice! Thanks.

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

Well, at least I am not napping for 3 hours like I did last Sunday! My brother and his roommate are over here doing laundry this afternoon and are watching a movie. Andrew is at an NFL draft pick thingy (I have no idea really) and I am just hanging out.

Dewey did very well in his new habitat. The only thing that he did was to start pulling on the carpet and tearing at it. We think that we can find a way to pin that down so he can't pull it up. All of his destructive behavior generally comes from separation anxiety and we really can't do anything more for that than we are already doing. We think he liked his new little place!

No word from the church yet. I sent an email to them on Thursday just simply asking when I might excpect to hear from him. I think that they are probably waiting to pass it or not through a session meeting and those don't just happen all the time. If I haven't heard from them by the end of next week then I will be calling them just to find out when I might be able to find out. The hardest part of waiting is at work when I just have to act like I will be there another year yet. For example I volunteered to take a supervisor call night every few weeks. I hate doing stuff like that because I don't want to volunteer for stuff and then just leave people hanging if we happen to move. I hope to find out soon so I can either just volunteer and actually do that or start to make other plans!

Dewey's New Home and Carriage Crossing Adventures

Well, after many months of training and deliberation we have decided to move Dewey to a new home on our back porch for much of the day. I feel that he is pretty close to being house trained (except when he is sick) and so we thought a little more freedom might do him good. For those of you who haven't been to our house, the back porch is pretty much part of the house. It even has some outdoorish carpet in it. Well, I spend some time last night cleaning up everything on the floor and trying to puppy-proof it. I even got down on my hands and knees to see what I could find to chew on! :) We left him there this morning! When we pulled out of the carport and driveway we could see his little cute beagle head peeking out from the window of the back screen door. I hope he likes his new home today. He still has his crate in there but he is free to roam around the porch area. I think that I may go and check on him this morning just to be sure he hasn't gotten into anything bad!

Andrew and I decided to go to Yoder Kansas last night to try the Carriage Crossing restaurant. They were having a special since it is "Yoder days" there. The restaurant was serving their dinners at the price they charged when the place opened! I had grilled ham with fries and green beans. Andrew had a chicken fried chicken with mashed potatos and corn. We had their homemade bread and of course we had apple pie ala mode for dessert. They have a very cute little gift shop attached to the restaurant. I saw some very cute bags and so since the price was right (only $6) I convinced (didn't take much convincing) Andrew to buy me one. He did and it is so cute. It has a green background with blue, pink, yellow, and orange flowers. The hardest thing to decide was which kind I should get. They also had a cherry pattern I liked and a pattern with shoes! I didn't like some of the shoes, though so I went with the flowers! :) I have now increased my purse collection to two purses! I must get to work!

No News

No news from the chuch. Thought I would keep you all updated. My first step will be to send an email tomorrow inquiring about the process of the job and then if I don't hear back from that I will call next Monday. That is the plan. I will keep my blog updated. Believe me, I will post when I find out anything!

This is Torture!

Still no word from the church. Every day I wake up and wonder if I will hear from them today. I want to wait and be patient but it is so very hard. Sometimes I wish I could just call them up but I want to give them plenty of time. I'm sure they aren't rushing because they do have an interim person in the position now. Anyway, enough about that. I have done all I can do. I have sent a thank you note and a follow up email.

Another note: Teeth are very expensive! Did you know that? Well, we have just gotten done paying for some fillings and now we just got the bill for my root canal. The endodontist did take a percentage off of the price (which we are VERY thankful for) but thing like that are still so expensive. I think I am in the wrong profession. Since I have gotten the pain relieved in my mouth from the root canal, I think I will hold off just a bit on my wisdom teeth, for one; to see if I get the job in Ohio (if so maybe they have dental or a better plan for surgeries), and two; just to space out my dental treatments! I can't take much more! I won't wait too long though.

Still Waiting

I thought if I waited long enough to post that I would be able to post about some sort of job news, either positive or negative. But no such luck. It has been one week since my second interview with the church in Wyoming Ohio. In reality, that probably isn't very long. I don't think they are in a hurry to hire since they have an interim in the position. Plus, I just mailed my formal application on Wednesday so they probably haven't had a chance to get it yet, let alone check out my references. Still, I wish I would have pointed them down on a time that I would hear from them. That way, at least I would know when the news was coming. This waiting is making me very unmotivated. If I get the job then I will have some sort of a deadline to get stuff done here, at work and at home. If I don't get the job then there will be several things (packing the entire house) that I can cross off my list and get to some other things.

The weekend was a good one here. I went to a women's conference on Saturday at church and it was very good. I will have to post some of the great things that I learned sometime when I have the book in front of me. I was exhausted from the activities and from our Ohio trip (still) so I slept about 3 1/2 hours Sunday afternoon! I still slept fairly well last night anyway! Well, I should get to work. See, I'm unmotivated.

Friday's Post

We are just waiting, and waiting, and waiting to hear back from the church. We have been busy recovering from our trip. Tuesday night - voice lessons, Wednesday's night - went to St. John for Brett's birthday (can you believe he is 20?), last night - I spent three hours painting the trim in the living room and I probably have another three to go before I am done. It is a project that needs to be done, whether we are moving or not. Seemed like a good choice of activity for the evening but I probably should have gotten a bit more rest. Tonight my sister and her friend will be in Sterling. Tomorrow I have a women's conference at church and Sunday my brother moves into the dorms. Then we start all over again with the week on Monday. I have a bit of a sore throat this morning so I may need to take a day off or at least a 1/2 day to just recover. I am pretty sure my sore throat is just pain being displaced from my tooth, since it is just below where I had the root canal. I just want to be out of pain, skinny, and healthy. Is that too much to ask?!

Back in Kansas

We arrived back in Kansas last night at about 5:30 p.m. It was a very nice trip. I want to comment on my last post. To be quite honest, I barely remember typing it and I'm not sure why I felt it was necessary to post at 3:00 a.m. when I wasn't feeling well. Oh well, I am leaving it up because it is quite humerous how incredibly out of it I was. Most of it doesn't even make sense.

I haven't heard back from the church yet. I sent in my formal application yesterday so I would imagine they are waiting on that, since references and such are on there. I will post as soon as I know anything. I am excited about the prospect of doing what I went to school to do but I am nervous at the same time to experience not living close to my family.

I also must say that there is quite a bit of slacking going on around here today. I realize that I had removed an earlier post that vented some job frustrations but today I just want to add it again, but I won't. Maybe in the future. I just wish we each had little workomeders and we were only paid for the work we did (at home and at work). I have a feeling I would be fairly wealthy, although I can think of some others who do work harder than me. Well, we are back in Kansas and just waiting to see what the future holds.

3 a.m.

Here I am and I am awake at 3:00 a.m. I am sitting in swimmingly dealing with my prescription pain meds for my teeth. However, it wasn't my teeth that woke me up with was that gall darn gallbladder. If I am extremely hungry I still have phantom gallbladder pains. Non have been this bad so far. I thought I would have to have Andrew take me to the hospital but no, I am feeling better after a few small crackers. Good night everyone.

Church Job

My interview went very well this morning at the Presbyerian Church in Wyoming, Ohio. For those of who you don't know, we flew to Ohio to surprise Andrew's dad for his birthday. I happened to be able to get a job interview (and a root canal) while I am out here. Anyway, the church was very friendly and the job would be exactly what I want to do. The salary was just a bit lower than I would have wanted but it is possible that I could negotiate that. The church also had new facilities which are very nice. They haven't officially offered me the job but they sounded positive. I guess that is the newest update. Who knows, we may be moving in a few weeks time!

In Ohio

Well, I couldn't blog about this before now since we were flying to Ohio to surprise Andrew's dad for his birthday. I won't say which birthday it is. Anyway, we arrived safe and sound last evening. We flew out of Kansas City in a bit of a thunderstorm but it was entertaining. I have a "second" job interview tomorrow at the church here. Really, I think that I am just going to see a service, see their education program and having lunch with them. Not really an interview. I am fairly nervous. I have no idea what to do. Do I really want to move 850 miles away from everything I have ever known? I like the area and I want the adventure but am I really ready for this? As I always say to Andrew, "I am feeling something." He usually asks what it is and we are able to get to the bottom of the issue. The problem is, this time, I'm not exactly sure what I am feeling. On the way to the airport Andrew was saying how it helped him to look up at the night sky when he first went to Sterling and realize really how close everything was. I started joking with him and singing, "somewhere out there." But after a while it made me quite upset and I started to cry and sort of laugh at the same time. Funny moment. Anyway, sorry this is all sort of random, that is how I am feeling right now.

What, what, what?!

Well, I had an interview with the church in Wyoming last night. I felt that it went very well. They are supposed to call me back this morning to tell me if they wanted a second interview. It is now 10:00 a.m. and no call. I am paranoid, I know. Another recent development. Just a few moments ago the Academic Dean walked into my office and offered me the position of Private Voice Adjunct professor here. I can hear people in my life asking me if I am qualified for this, how would it fit in my schedule, etc, etc. The answer is, I don't know, so don't ask me those questions yet. I just need time for this to sink in. I would, obviously, only be temporary until they find a replacement. This throws a whole new light on the situation of our lives. I already dislike making difficult decisions and here I am faced with several of them of once. I would appreciate advice and prayers.

Interview Tonight!

Well, I have a job interview tonight with the Wyoming Presbyterian Church in Wyoming Ohio (USA). They are looking for a Christian Education/Youth Director position. If I understood the pastor on the phone correctly, the job is a newly formed position and they don't expect me to do it all myself. I would primarily be the administrator in the positon and I would be able to hire an assistant to take care of the part of the job that I desired to delegate out. Anyway, the interview is at 7:30 tonight (Ohio time).

I had a great conversation this morning with former pastor of mine. He is very knowledge able of the Presbyerian Church and of the Cincinnati area, since he grew up there. It was great to talk to him and get his advice about the whole thing. He also taught one of my classes at Sterling College so I am also going to use him for a reference, which will be great.

The church is on the outskirts of Cincinnati in a fairly wealthy community. I will find out more about the job and the church tonight during my interview. I will probably post again after it is all over! Life is stressful, isn't it?!

Old Houses

I can not tell you how tired I am of old houses. I never thought that I would love drywall or new carpeting but it really does make a difference. I am tired of old plumbing that leaks, dark wood panelled walls, crooked floors, lead paint chips, dropped ceilings, spiders (which I know those are in every house) and no doors in the house, except to the bathroom and one in the bedroom! We have made lots of progress on our house, thanks to family who helped, but wouldn't it be nice just to have something new or at least newer?! I shouldn't be so negative and I should appreciate the nice things about our house, the bathroom and office! :)

Scrapbooking Weekend

Well, I have spent most of the weekend scrapbooking. I am trying to get all of last year done. Since I finished Europe, the rest of the year should be fairly easy. Believe it or not, I am having Andrew do a page for me right this minute. He is seeing how some of my equipment isn't the best (maybe he will buy me some). Well, it has been a fun weekend. I am hoping to have last year done before I have lessons tomorrow night so I can take down my table. We'll see. I am working on labor day next!

Good advice? Going once, going twice!

Well, I just want to put a disclaimer on this blog. I am writing this with a smile on my face and I am not mad.

I am taking the day off of work tomorrow to work on my scrapbooks. I haven't really scrapbooked since we got the puppy in March and since I started teaching voice lessons in the evenings. Andrew was very excited that I was doing this since he thinks that I never do anything fun for myself. So, I proceded to get ready for this by printing out some pictures from our digital camera of the events I needed to scrapbook. After I had used up the ten page pack of glossy paper that Andrew purchased for me (only 40 pictures, surely people get more prints with a film camera), he proceeded to comment on how I shouldn't print all the pictures we have (which I don't even get close) and that a lot of my pictures are of the same thing, which could be cut down. This went on for a few minutes. Ok, so I thought, good advice. I'll try to remember to do that in the future.

Well, this morning my dear hubby walks into my office and I ask him if he is going to Walmart anytime soon because I need more paper. He launches into another lecture to rehash how I print to many pictures and I should really only have one page per day of our Europe trip (not nearly enough, right my fellow scrapbookers?). So by then I am thinking . . . were't you the one that wanted me to take this day and scrapbook the way that I wanted and so something relaxing that I like. Well, after I threatened to switch back to a non-digital (shocking thought to Andrew) camera, we parted our separate ways. I am about ready to just tell my boss forget it, and come to work tomorrow instead of scrapbooking!

Lesson learned: Good advice is good once but not twice (or more)! (I need to remember that as much as anybody!)