Surprise for Andrew!

I can write about this now since the surprise is over. For Andrew's birthday, his mom decided to fly out here and surprise him. I wanted to be able to get him to the airport without him suspecting anything so he could be total surprised. So, Friday morning I told him that I had heard him saying he wanted the day off on Friday so I took it off for him, as a surprise. That way we could go to Wichita and catch some movies. I told him the only catch was that my boss had overheard me talking about going to Wichita and had asked me to pick up a prospective student at the airport. I wondered how this would go over with Andrew. So, I decided to also tell Andrew that all we had to do was to pick up this student and take him over to his relatives house and that he would visit on Monday. I also threw in that this student was a boy and I was nervous picking him up by myself! :) Anyway, so I got Andrew to the airport successfully on Friday and he even was asking me what the guy looked like and if I saw him. We sat down to wait in the baggage claim area and Andrew said, "Hey, that sort of looks like my mom." I decided to drag it out as long as possible so I said, "Oh really? Where? Oh, I don't think that looks like her." But Andrew caught on and was VERY surprised! It was hard to keep the secret from him but it was very fun to surprise him! We have had a very fun weekend filled with movies, shopping, and a birthday party with my family. I am so glad that it worked out!

Birthday Explosion!

Well, I have been slacking on sending birthday cards. When Andrew and I were first married, I got calendars from all sides of the family (Myers, Schechter, Walter and Fairchild). I put all the birthdays and anniversaries in my Yahoo calendar and I was going to stock up on birthday cards and never miss one. A good idea but I haven't done very well at keeping up. Now, with both of our familys combined there has been a large amount of birthdays in the past two weeks so I will just concentrate on those. So Happy Birthday (late in most cases) to:

Bella Myers - 3rd of October

Aunt Ronda Walter - Her birthday was on the 4th of October. Ok, my sister wrote a wonderful, loving blog about my Aunt Ronda and I just don't feel that I can do justice to what Aunt Ronda has meant in my life in comparison to what my sister wrote so here is the address for her blog http://www.xanga.com/jen_fair02. So please take the time to read her post about our aunt.

Lindsey Schechter - 5th of October. I hope that she looks into coming to Sterling College so that she can come and visit us! :)

Reid Myers - 7th of October.

Caroline Setters - 12th of October.

Linda Myers - Her birthday is today, October 13th. She is Andrew's aunt. I know Linda a bit better than others because of her visits to Sterling and our emailing. I enjoy visiting with Linda because we usually end up on some deep topic and she really makes me think. I enjoy sharing book lists, movie ideas, etc, with Linda.

Susan Schechter - Her birthday is today, October 13th. She is my mother-in-law. Many of my girlfriends are married and also have mother-in-law's and I vote mine the best (from hearing all their stories). She is always fun to be around and isn't judgmental (I guess that is what other MIL's do, I wouldn't know). I really was blessed with my in-law's because they are all the best. They all care about me and love me and that is evident in all they do.

Andrew Schechter - His birthday is tomorrow, October 14th. Yea, yea for Andrew! I think you all know how I feel about him so I won't go into much detail. He is turning 25 tomorrow and I hope that I can help to make his day special.

Happy Birthday to everyone! I know there are other birthday's in October. Maybe I will actually remember to send all of them a real card!

Good Predicament

Well, getting dressed in the mornings is becoming somewhat of a struggle. No, I haven't lost the use of my arms or legs. I have lost a strange amount of weight in strange places. I am not necessarily losing weight in the same way that I gained it (gut, but, and well else where) and therefore I am having a difficult time finding things to wear. Last Fall, in a desperate attempt to find clothes that fit, I bought a pair of pants that was to big and too long. I like relaxed fit looks and so I thought it would work. Well, those pants are now out of commission. I can pull them off without undoing anything and since they have no belt loops I am out of luck. I bought a second pair of pants just about two months ago. Andrew and I had just eaten a HUGE meal at Chili's with an appetizer, full meal, and dessert (long gone are those days), and then we decided to do some pant shopping. Bad idea. Those pants are now almost to loose to wear. They look a bit baggy are are strangely uncomfortable. However, since I haven't lost enough weight to fit into my pre-sophomore-in-college weight gain pants which I saved, I am stuck with only one pair of pants that actually look good. I have several tight ones and one pair that fits but was stained by an unfortunate incedent in the grocery story with a bottle of Cascade! :) So, any one that would like to donate to help remedy this wonderful wonderful problem, please make checks out to me. I accept cash as well. :) :) :)

My Monday Evening

So, I remembered today at work that it was my night to fill in for the counselors. Meaning, I am back at work for three hours supervising our student callers since ALL of the counselors are out on the road. I really don't mind doing this every so often. It seems as if three hours is a bit long for calling for the students so we'll see how long they stay. I actually have to be home by 8:30 p.m. for a voice lesson. I asked Andrew to wash the dishes tonight since I had to work. Any bets on whether it will or will not get done? I won't tell you what I bet! :)

So, I am working on mailings here in the office, and do I meaning mailings! We send out over 30,000 pieces of mail each year. We are just a bit behind this year due to some procrastination on certain office workers parts. I won't say who, so I will see if I can catch us up on some things. It is still fairly slow in the office but should pick up again as counselors begin to arrive back from their traveling season. Two of them are currently being snowed in in Colorado! Always, exciting. Have a good evening!

Life goes on

The shift in my thinking and attitude has been quite amazing since finding out the Wyoming church was not going to recommend me for the job to their session. I have started to enjoy more things. Like the wonderful neighborhood we live in, etc. I cleaned the house like a mad woman on Friday night and we have both started to rethink things we might want or need to do to the house. The first thing is to replace our dishwasher. We have tried all sorts of things to get that thing to run properly. We have tried cleaning it out, rinsing it with CLR, using different levels of soap, running it with different settings. Nothing works. The dishes normally come out dirtier than then they went in and I'm not kidding. So, I have been handwashing dishes for the past few days. I will probably have to keep this up until we can afford to get a new dishwasher. That probably won't be until we pay the rest of our enourmous dental bills for my ONE tooth! Probably only several months. Anyway, life is good. We had a wonderful relaxing weekend!

News from the Church

I received an email from the Wyoming church yesterday afternoon stating that the session of the church had yet to meet but the personnel committee was recommending another guy for the CE position. So therefore, not me. I spent last night being sort of disappointed because it would have been a great opportunity for me but I know that there is a very good reason that I didn't get the job. I do have my moments of enjoying working and living in Sterling. I enjoy being able to go to the college activities such as football, theatre, music and I enjoy being friends with many of the students who I used to go to school with. I also have some great friends that are faculty and staff here. I just have a desire to get out and experience more of the world (United States) than just central Kansas. I'm sure some of you can identify. But I am content with the decision of the church. I emailed them back and asked them if they could let me know the reasons for their decision. Andrew jokingly said they didn't hire me because of him but I am sure that the other candidate was older and had more experience. That is another frustration of mine. How am I supposed to get experience if I can't get a job? Anyway, I am relieved to say that I can finally put this post up. It has been a long time coming and I finally feel relieved that I don't have to wait anymore (for now). I will begin to look around at other places now.

A cold snap has come to Sterling. It went from 90 degrees a few days ago to the 50's and 60's today. Brrr! It seems a bit cruel like we didn't have a chance to get used to the cold weather. Ah, well. I enjoyed a cup of warm tea for breakfast so that is always a nice perk of the cold season. I hope you all are warm and cozy.

Random Post for Tuesday!

Hello All! Been a while since I posted so I decided just to write a little something this morning. We have just been doing the same ole thing around here. Several of my voice students have dropped their lessons for several months while they are in theatre shows (hmm, I had the lead in a show and never quit voice but maybe my teacher offered more lesson times, I don't remember) so anyway I have quite a bit more time than I used to in the evenings.

Dewey and I enjoy playing chase and we are now trying to train him to bow on command. He sings, speaks, sits, lays down, rolls over, waves, shakes, and "goes to bed" now. His waving is so cute. He is now in his "teenage" stage and so he is definitely testing his limits like pushing on our door "barriers" just to see how far he can get. He also has a tendency to run off when we let him out to use the bathroom so it is best to have him on the leash or have a treat in your hand.

We have been having a big golden retriever dog pooping in our backyard. I have now caught him twice back there. It is very weird, especially in the dark when I flip on the light and see a big dog back there. I'm not sure what we can do about it though. The only problem is that we have to clean up the poop!!

I am still on the South Beach Diet. It isn't too bad as far as diets go. I think Andrew has probably lost more weight on my diet than I have but I feel good and it seems to have cured several of my previous ailments so I will stick with it. Well, it's time to get back to work. I'll post again soon!

Well . . . hmmm

I decided to give a quick post update. No call yet, maybe later today or tomorrow. I will post an update when I hear anything. Thanks!

I have my doubts!

I have really been having my doubts lately. I don't think that I got the job. First of all, I don't have much experience (besides a few summers and volunteer) for the position at that church. Second of all, I will have to move to take the job. These are two things they will probably consider. Third of all, I only have my Bachelor's degree. Many churches these days are looking for someone with their Master's degree. Also, I don't know anyone in the church. Usually those things really play a big part in getting a job somewhere. Anyway, it doesn't help that I had a dream last night that I got an email from them saying those exact things. Oh well, what will be will be. I am prepared for either answer but like I said, I am beginning to have my doubts about actually getting the job.

Note from the Wyoming Church!

Hello all you doubters, family and friends. Just joking. I have been doing ok (I think) at being content in this situation and just having patience except when I answer (or don't) other people's questions (a bit fault of mine, being annoyed at unanswerable questions), so I am glad to finally have an answer for you. I don't know if I got the job or not (you'll see the email from the church below) but I am content whatever happens (staying, going, changing jobs, or not, etc). I have learned a lot about that lately. Anyway, I will share with you all the recent email that I got from the church.
---------------------------------------------
Hi Jaime, We checked all your references and you are indeed a
great person in everyone's estimation. We don't have the background
check back yet, but I'm sure its clean. We are interviewing a second
candidate at Church on Sunday and should have an answer for you Monday
or at least by Thursday next week. Thank you for your patience.
--------------------------------------------
Please continue to be patient with me. I will email, post on my blog, call, instant message, hand write a letter (just kidding), the moment I find out anything, even if it is that I didn't get the job. Thanks for all your support throughout this whole process.

Dewey is a singing dog!

Please go to our website www.theschechters.com if you would like to be entertained by a new video of our puppy, Dewey, singing along with me as I warm up for voice lessons. The link is on our homepage. Enjoy!

P.S. I finished phase 1 of my diet yesterday with less cravings and some weight loss! Hmm, maybe this does really work. I'm still causiously optimistic.

Skinny Cookie Suckers

Ok, I have been TRYING to hold off writing this blog because I am trying to have a good attitude about things. But because of the area in which I work (ok, so my desk is in the office lounge so I can actually SEE the cookies, right now) I have seen person after person march in here and snarf down a cookie. That's fine. If they want to eat a cookie, more power to them. However, if they are eating cookies and I'm not then shouldn't they be FATTER than me??! Well, they are not. I have watched after a dozen or more people, who are skinnier than I, march in here and gobble cookie after cookie. Life is NOT fair. Why do the short people with the slow metabolism not get to enjoy the good tasting cookies in life. Not fair, no not fair, at all! And don't try to tell me they exercise more because some of them, I know, don't exercise at all. Life is hard and I want a cookie but, woe is me, I gain at least five pounds per one cookie!

** Good news. I can have oatmeal again this Wednesday. There will be celebration in the Schechter household when I eat my oatmeal and my whole wheat piece of toast.

Salad Sharing

Since starting this south beach diet, it has been somewhat of a challenge to find things to keep my taste buds happy. But in my quest for delicious healthy foods, I have come across a new love. Let me explain. Two Friday's ago we were eatting supper at our friend Melanie's house. We each brought something to share. Melanie made this salad and well . . . to tell you the truth I have always eaten salads but I have never LOVED a salad but . . . I found a salad to love now! I just want to share with you this fantastic salad. She had a recipe for it but didn't follow it exactly (left out some sugar, etc) and so mine is also a modification of hers but also delicious. The measurements below are just guesses to what I throw in there. I usually just make this in individual sized bowls so we don't waste any precious veggies but I will post the recipe below if you were to make it for a family gathering. Here it goes. . . in my opinion the best salad in the world!

1/2 bag of Romaine Lettuce
1/2 bag Fresh Spinach (usually Baby spinach is what I use)
1 large tomato, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2/3 cup of sunflower nuts
sprinkled with Feta Cheese (plain or flavored is fine)

Dressing
3 Tablespoons EV Olive Oil
3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
3 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar

I mix and match the vegetables but don't ever forget the Feta cheese. It gives the salad wonderful flavor with the Red Wine Vinegar. As my friend Melanie says, "Feta makes it betta." Enjoy!

What's in a name?

I have been thinking about names lately, of course. Names are very important. You are stuck with them generally all your life. I want to send out a plea to anyone who may be deciding on what to name a baby girl. If you have any reason to suspect that your daughter may grow up to be a "princess" and not a tom boy then please please please name her a VERY gender specific name. I remember the first time I knew that "Jaime" could be a boys name I was very devestated in my little princess heart. No way would a real princess have a boy's name. :( I could not, however, fall back on my middle name, as some do, to be a princess name, because, of course, it could also be a boys name. Dawn is the girl spelling but I wanted to be Elizabeth, Sarah, Michelle, or something of that girly nature. I have been trying to get Andrew to call me Barbie for a very long time since Barbie is the ultimate girly name to make up for the years with my boy name . . . but alas :) he just won't do it! Ok, I guess I am stuck with Jaime for the time being! :)

South Beach Crazies!

Ok, for those of you who don't know, I am on the South Beach Diet. The plan has three phases. The first phase, the strict phase, is two weeks long. You have to read the book to get the whole explaination but in a nut shell it is NO sugar or bread, no carbs at all, for two weeks. I am on day four of this phase. In phase two you start adding good carbs, such as fruits and whole grain bread. You stay in this phase until you have reached your ideal weight and then you have a little more freedom on the Phase 3 which is the maintenance phase. Ok, all that explained . . .

Someone brought cinnamon rolls into my office this morning, grrrrrr, two huge trays, and left them all day for me to smell. I have been such a good girl and not eaten even a nibble! Yeah! I still have an hour and a half until we leave work but I will and can do it!! I will go have a snack of low-fat string cheese instead.

A Bad Poem about my husband!

Ok, so I am no poet. Our software program is down at work and I have accomplished everything else I can in the last two days without the program, so I thought I would write Andrew a little poem. It is very unlike me to put things like this in a public place because of this guilt complex I have (more on that later, maybe) but I just decided that I don't want to hide the fact that I love my husband very much and appreciate him. If you have a problem with that well. . . I hope you don't. So here is my poem dedicated to my husband. Sorry it is so poorly written. Jenny was always the poet in the family! This has been posted with the permission of Andrew.

My dear husband is so sweet.
When I ask him to, he always rubs my feet.
He helps me take care of the dishes
And always encourages me to eat fishes.

My husband always takes care of the money
And puts up with me when I am funny.
My husband does a great job mowing the lawn
And enjoys playing on the computer with that little pawn. (Online chess)

My husband loves to watch Science Fiction
And can correct me nicely on my diction. (especially pronouncing movie star's names)
My husband bought me a wonderful dog
And he also helps me write on my blog.

My husband gives me sweet little kisses
A Birthday or Anniversary he never misses.
Every morning (almost) my husband makes the bed
He is also very good at keeping me fed. (Too good!) :)

My husband works very hard on our house.
He always protects me from the mouse.
My husband loves computers a whole bunch.
I always love it when he comes home for lunch.

My husband is good at making roast.
But he has been known to boast.
At least he admits this boastful sin
And always stays away from anything relating to gin.

My husband always drives the car so I can read.
He is so tall that he looks like a Swede.
My husband helps me with my diet.
He even loves me when I am not quiet.

My husband says I'm beautiful so I know
That he will love me even though my thighs may grow.
I always love to spend time with my husband, do you know why?
Because he is the most wonderful, caring, sensitive guy!

So Many Blessings!

I need to blog about so many things that I can't fit them all in so I will just give you an update. There is no word yet from the Wyoming Church. I appreciate everyone's concern about the situation. I have been very encouraged lately by these verses so I will share. I have read these over and over in my life but it is amazing how different verses will mean different thing to you at different points in your life.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 - Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 4:8 - I lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

And my favorite verse ever:
Zephaniah 3:17 - The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.

I love this verse because the verse contains promises of: salvation (he is mighty), delight, quietness, love, and rejoicing with singing. Of course my favorite part is the singing part. I hope you all have a great day.

Dewey is such a smart dog!

I just have to brag a moment on my very smart beagle who just learned to shake and wave. Two new tricks. We are now searching for more ideas of things to teach him. Maybe more behavior things are in order. He is so cute now when he puts his little paw in the air and waves. Any ideas for the next trick?!

For Real!

Well, my day was a bit crazy. So crazy, in fact, that I will only blog about it in small bits. So here is the first story that lead me to the craziest part. I answer the phone this afternoon and someone asks for my boss. I informed the person that he was in a meeting. Then the person proceeded to ask if my name was Jaime Schechter. I said yes. He identified himself as the person from the Wyoming Church. He asked if it was alright if he spoke with my boss. I told him that I did put my boss on the "No Call" list because I hadn't told him about the interview or even the position yet. The caller apologized and said that now that he looked closely he could see that. I gave him an alternate phone call for another reference of mine and we hung up. I was in a bit of a shock over this. I decided that it was probably time for me to tell my boss about the interview and let him know that there was at least a possibility that I could be taking another job. So at 4:30 p.m. I headed into his office. I was very nervous about telling him because I was unsure of how he would react. I'm not sure why I was so nervous. Things went very well. He understood that the job would be a good opportunity for me to do something that I went to school for. It has been a nice and quiet evening at home with supper from Haldon's and a movie!

Homeschool prejudice!

I can't tell you how sick and tired I am people bashing homeschoolers, especially when one is in the room. I am not sure why homeschoolers have gotten such a bad reputation. They are just the same as any other person. I know many other kids who went to a public high school who are weirdos and I know many homeschoolers who are very "normal" whatever that means.

I am sick and tired of people thinking that all homeschoolers do is wake up in the morning, put on their loose jumpers (with colored socks and sandals) with big flowery prints, go downstairs for school, read a few lessons, learn to knit, study some more and generally only socialize with each other and never see the light of day. The things that people don't get to see are the wonderful field trips you can take every where, the ability for homeschoolers to learn a job trade and how to work hard since they aren't stuck in school all day, the ability to interact with other kids at church, family, life in general, etc, and the ability to teach your kids whatever they want (and many more things, I'm sure).

When I came to college I realized with extreme disappointment the failings of my public education. I really didn't know much before coming to college, except how to read and write. I am not even going to count any arithmetic since I can't even do my times tables beyond an embarrassingly low number. Sure, I could have studied harder but I got fairly good grades in High School (Honor Roll at least) and so therefore, why should I? I learned from my husband and sister-in-law that they actually knew HOW to learn. Something that I was severely lacking. I am going to say that I do think my husband is smarter than me. Yes I will admit that. (However, as a side note I have always been a hard worker, thanks to my farm upbringing, and therefore was able to do a little better in school (so much talent, so little motivation). Actually, he was motivated in the areas that he wanted to be! :) )

Now, you may be thinking, obviously she will probably homeschool her children. To tell you the truth I haven't decided yet. We have plenty of time for that decision. The main point of this blog is that I am just very tired of people making fun of or assuming homeschool people are weird when they don't know anything about it. It is like people don't think homeschoolers can make a positive contribution to the community. Well, I STAND here on my soap box to tell you that they can and they do. Who do you think all the little old ladies and young as well come to in Sterling when their poor old computer is broken? Andrew!! Who do you think the city asked to be on the Main Street Committee here? Wasn't public schooled little me! Andrew! And who is a huge supporter of the new downtown development in this town. Andrew! He makes significant contributions in society and to family. We must be aware of ALL prejudices we have but especially against HOMESCHOOLERS!!!!!!!!!!