Interview!!

Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!

High school #2 (see Job Apps) called me today...I have an interview next Thursday at 9am! ^_^ Hooray! (Oh, and this is only 2 days after I dropped off the application, just thought I should mention this. I hope that's a good thing!)

Again, lots of prayers!
(And any tips/coaching about interviews is welcome!! anyone?)

Out of town

So, I mentioned that Mari & I will not be in Bloomington for the holiday weekend. Instead, we're going to Iowa to visit his family.

We don't usually go out there this time of year, so this is an exception. Mari's last living grandparent has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Now, this isn't official, because the doctors aren't yet sure if that's what she has. (If it is, it's in its very early stages.) We're hoping it's not, but her memory has definately become noticeably worse in the last year or so. This is kind of a surprise for everyone, and Mari wants to visit again. I can't blame him: we have no idea what could happen in the near future.

Please pray for Sarah, and for the rest of the family. I'm sure we'll have fun this weekend, but I'm really hoping that we'll make some really good memories as well. I think her daughters will need them.

Thanks, everyone.

"What are they doing?"

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one who doesn't understand the city they live in! Click here to see what I mean.

(I wonder if the feeling is worse in bigger cities...?)

Job Apps

Well, if you've ever spent any amount of time in your life looking for a job, then pray for me!! There are two openings in the area for a French teacher, and I've applied to both now.

The first school: I've already submitted my application, but I can't seem to get ahold of the principal. Apparently she's had a lot of conferences and things since school let out. I guess if I can't get ahold of her, no one else is! lol (It's very annoying, but I'm not giving up thas easy!) The second: just heard about it Monday night, worked on it all day yesterday! I just dropped the file off today (yes, it is a file: cover letter, app, resume, references, photocopy of my license, and criminal history check). Now I just gotta wait until next week to hear from them...or maybe it'll be them hearing from me!! ^_^ Somehow, that seems most likely...

In other news...
Gwyn's back home! Gwyn's back home!! I'm so happy. Her plane got in late Monday night. However, between her being busy getting ready for her brother's wedding and my madness with applications, we haven't gotten to see each other yet! And then Mari & I are going out of town this weekend (more on that later)...so it'll take even longer. So sad!!

Love in many languages

This was on a friend's blog (she lives in France). Thought it was cool and wanted to share it. Merci beaucoup, Ophélie!

Pensive...

There's been a lot to think about today.

First of all, one of the teens that I work with (we'll call her A4) is having a lot of family problems. I really can't go into them all, but please pray for her. God is really doing some amazing things in her life, and I know that she's going to need a lot of love, strength, and faith to make it through this. But I really think she's going to make it, especially if she keeps as close to God as her heart desires now. I'm really proud of the steps she's taking and how she's growing as a Christian and as a young woman.

All this makes me think about my teen years. Going through them there was so much that I didn't understand. (For those of you who know what that was like for me, you can only imagine what A4 and some of the others are experiencing.) We all ask, "Why me?" at some point in our lives, but it's thrilling and truly a God thing to see that question answered - especially so early in my life. Only God could place me with these girls (and guys) with whom my own experiences mirror so closely that it allows me to minister to them and bond with them in a very special way. God is amazing!!

It also makes me again very thankful for my own family and my husband. I just couldn't help but think that today as Mari & I took a nap on the couch this afternoon. Knowing that I have him, my mother, my grandparents, my sisters, step-dad, aunts, uncles, etc, who will always be there for me is sometimes too much to hold inside. Some would call me lucky (and even I tend to use that word), but I am truly blessed. What else can I say? I am humbled and overwhelmed by their love and faith in me. If I am ever ungrateful, I would really deserve a slap in the face! I love you all.

Lazy (?) Saturday

Farmer's Market this morning. Mari & I dragged ourselves out of bed to go dance there by 8:30 am. A friend of ours made arrangements with those in charge of the Farmer's Market to have the Swing Club come, dance, and generally entertain passers-by and shoppers. It went ok...but the sun got hot around 10 am (which I thought was a bit early for it to be warming up). Well, not hot for shopping at the Market, but hot when you're dancing!

Mari got an e-mail the other day about the Bloomington Police Dept having an open house. Well, he just had to go (and drag me along, of course). It was pretty entertaining. Outside they had a sqad car, a motorcycle, a bike (really), and some equipment from the "Swat" and rescue teams.

But inside was where all the fun was. We saw some of dispatch and evidence gathering kits, and then one of the officers took us to a room where they had a training simulator set up. You get a gun & a holster which work with the simulator so it can detect when and where you shoot. Mari went through several senarios of "shoot or don't shoot". He was taken out twice, saved his partner once, and got the bad guy twice as well. No innocents hurt!

We then saw the room where those brought in for DUI "walk the line". This made me wish I had the camera! There were 3 pairs of goggles simulating different BACs: ~.07-.10, ~.12-.15, and the a third which is so severe they didn't even have it rated. Looking through each pair was wierd! They made you feel very strange: slightly dizzy, can't find the floor, sense of balance WAY off, etc. And if you left them on too long, you started to get a headache from your eyes and brain trying to make sense of it all! Mari couldn't even walk the line with the first pair: arms stretched out, face down staring hard at the ground, and almost falling down! I did slightly better, but the 2nd pair got me. It was great: the officer even laughed at us!

So now we're back home hiding from said sun. Maybe we'll go catch a movie...which is very unusual for us. Mari's been talking about "Cars" and "Prairie Home Companion" for some time now. (He must think that he'll wear away my resistance if he keeps it up...he might be right!)

I've done it now...

So, I finally got around to joining the revolution. I now have a blog.

Why? Good question. I'm not really sure myself. I figure I'm not really writing as much as I used to (bet most of you didn't even know I like to write), and I thought it might be nice to have a place where my loved ones and friends could find out what happens on a regular basis. We'll see how well this goes, I guess. Don't be surprised if sometimes I blog in my «deuxième langue»...it'll happen.

Wish me luck!