Its been a while...

I can hardly believe that its been nearly 3 months since I last blogged! I guess I've got some catching up to do...

I am finally employed! Praise God! I am a full-time nanny for two boys, ages 5 and 9. They are both very smart! They're also both at that stage where they are learning lots of words that are NOT okay to say and then say them constantly because they know they're not suppose to. It can be a little exhausting. I do love my job though and hope I can work for this family for several years!

This weekend, especially, has been an interesting one...
Let me begin by saying that shortly after we moved into this awful apartment we noticed something nasty in the corner of the dinning room. We thought perhaps our cat threw up. Anyway, I cleaned up whatever it was and forgot about it. Well, this past Thursday night I was setting the table for dinner and stepped on a wet spot on the carpet...no, a soaked spot on the carpet. I knew that neither Derek or I had spilled anything so we thought maybe it was coming up through the carpet from beneath so we decided to call maintenance on Friday. Then Derek says, "Oh no, that thing in the corner is back!" Yep, what we first believed to be the result of Reecie's upset stomach turned out to be something strange growing in our dining room...that's right...growing!! GROSS!! Maybe some kind of fungus or strange mold? We still have no idea. Well, after we called and informed the office of the nastiness in our apartment, they had maintenance knocking on our door within 3 minutes...literally! Their diagnoses is that we have a small leak in our dishwasher, and the neighbor right behind us coincidentally also has a small leak, which is the cause of the soaked carpet and the strange growth in the corner of the wall. Hmmm... So, I had to take all my crystal dishes out of the hutch, and the hutch had to be moved (not an easy task considering that its solid wood!) and the carpet in the corner of the dinning room has been ripped up! And it has been left ripped up all weekend so that the padding underneath can dry... The apartment smells musty and like mildew and everything is out of place until they can finish the job. They're suppose to come back tomorrow and decide if the carpet can be put back down. I'll be anxious to see if things are better when I get home from work tomorrow. They fixed the dishwasher by replacing the motor, but I have to say that it actually sounds worse than it did before it was fixed. In some small strange way I am hoping that fixing the dishwasher does not fix the wet carpet problem and it will end up being a mystery and we'll have to move out! I have already highlighted several houses for rent in the classifieds just in case! :)

So Friday didn't end up being very fun, or productive, seeing as Friday is my cleaning day and nothing got done. However, Saturday was amazing! It had been my plan since the beginning of last week to have a picnic on Saturday since the weather was suppose to be amazing (and it was!!). So Saturday afternoon Derek and I went to Olmsted Falls and had a picnic near Grand Pacific Junction in the nature walk area. I wish I could remember the name of the trail and park, but I guess it doesn't matter. Its absolutely beautiful! I have a feeling Derek and I will be spending many summer days there! Shortly after we sat down to eat a bride and groom who were either about to get married or had just been married walked over to us and asked to take their picture with us. Umm...random!?!? I have to say it was a first... I don't think very many newlyweds say to themselves, "Hmm, I think I would like two complete strangers enjoying a picnic in my wedding photos!" It was strange to say the least...then again, a few minutes later we saw them pick up a big stick and have their picture taken with that too. I guess they're just "that" kind of couple!

Anyway, Grand Pacific Junction is possibly my new favorite place! Here is their website if you care to take a peak:

http://grandpacificjunction.com/index.shtml

After our picnic we took a walk over to Falls Ice Cream, which is part of the Junction. They have SUPERMAN ICE CREAM!!! Its the ice cream of my childhood! So of course I had to have 2 scoops, which unfortunately I couldn't finish because their scoops are huge! After eating too much ice cream, we did just a little more walking and then left for home.

After watching the Indians DESTROY the Stinkees, I mean the Yankees (22-4!!), Derek and I rearranged the bedroom. Its a nice to change things up once in a while. Later in the evening we went to the drive-in movie theater!! It was my first time ever going and I loved it! We saw a double feature: 17 Again and He's Just Not That Into You. The first movie... amazing, I loved it! The second movie...sucked, I hated it! He's Just Not That Into You should be listed in the top ten worst movies of all time. Don't watch it unless you want to leave feeling completely hopeless. If you want to see a good movie, watch Fireproof!! Anyway, overall my drive-in movie experience was awesome! I can't wait to go back!

Perhaps I shouldn't wait so long to blog next time because this has become a small book. I think I'll go work on a puzzle for a while...sounds nice and relaxing! Have a great week!

God Bless!

Cleveland

Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Arkansas anymore...

Today, after a job interview I had in Cleveland, Derek and I drove around downtown. Its been such a long time since I've been downtown in a major city! I felt like a little kid discovering Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. There are moving statues and special street lights for buses, major sport arenas, a special area dedicated to theatre, hugemongus hotels and skyscrapers, and Lake Erie...and very scary traffic! I saw the Quicken Loans arena, Progressive Field and the Brown's stadium all in one day...all in one hour! I'm a little overwhelmed.

Anyway, the job interview went very well, I think. I should know something by the middle of next week, Lord willing!

I have recently decided that Derek and I will not be producing any children until science finds a way to keep them from turning into teenagers. My least favorite people (generally) are high-schoolers, and for a good reason...
Yesterday at the library, all the computers were in use so I reserved the computer next to Derek, which was currently being used by...you guessed it...a teenager. Well, the computer, instead of allowing him 10 extra minutes, as it will usually do, told him he would be logged off in 5 minutes (because I was waiting on it). Well, this really pissed him off because he was in the middle of a really important video game, SO when he was logged off after 5 minutes, he decided to shut the computer off...knowing full well that I was standing there waiting on it. Lovely. The library was closing in 30 minutes and I had a list of things to do on the internet, and now I had to fetch a librarian to fix it for me. Stupid punk kid. When the librarian asked him why he did it his response was "because she reserved it". Umm...and that's a crime?? He's literally at the library everyday, playing that stupid video game while other people actually need the computer for important things... like blogging about stupid kids at the library! Soon I will never have to reserve a computer again because we'll have internet at home. I can hardly wait.

You know those kiosks in the middle of the aisles in malls? They often sell sun glasses or t-shirts... Well, the other day we were in the mall searching for a hair salon and we passed a kiosk selling manicure/pedicure stuff. The man gave us a free sample of lotion and somehow brainwashed us into listening to his sales pitch. He wanted us to buy a kit that had a buffer that makes your nails really shiny and pretty, a nail filer, cuticle oil and lotion for $70! He said that it was cheaper than going to the nail salon. I'm sorry, but no... I do not and have not and will not EVER spend $70 to get my nails done. So, when we didn't bite, he said he would give us two kits and an extra bottle of lotion for the $70. I'm sorry, but that is still a lot of money to spend on nails, so I said no. He then said he would sell us one kit for 50% off...making it like $34. When we still refused, he knocked it down to $29.99...so we bought one. I had fully intended to walk away and leave him heart-broken and disappointed, but instead I walked away with a nail kit that cost $40 less than when I originally walked up to the kiosk. The funny part is that when I got home I felt bad because I was afraid I had ripped him off. I got over it quickly though because I believe I got a good deal...plus it has a life-time warranty! Now I look at it as a win/win situation. :)

Remember how I mentioned that we were looking for a hair salon?? Turns out it was too expensive, so we went elsewhere and I got three inches cut off my hair. I'm having a hard time adjusting to the shortness.

Well, the library is about to close so I have no choice but to stop here. Have a great weekend!

-Sarah

Let's try this again... Redo!

I decided to delete the last post because it was ridiculous. I was having a really rough, emotional day and decided to have a pity party. I don't want to look back and read that someday, so I got rid of it!

Derek and I believe we have found a church home. We visited the Broadview Road Church of Christ in Parma on Sunday and loved it. The preacher took us out to lunch with two other couples and we had a great time! We definitely look forward to going back next Sunday!

In other news...still no job. This economy SUCKS! No one seems to be hiring. In fact, a lot of places have been saying that they're cutting jobs altogether. I had one interview a week ago and hope to have another one soon. I REALLY hope to hear something this week! I've been praying for it every night. I know God will come through for me; I just hope its sooner rather than later! I know He helps those who help themselves... maybe I need to try harder?? If you are reading this, please say a prayer for me that I might find a job soon! Thanks! :)

I may not love our new apartment just yet, but I do love watching Reecie look out the window! She's so funny when she's watching the birds. We have a tree right outside our bedroom window and yesterday she sat there for several hours charming the birds and pawing at the glass. Too cute!

Well, we're expecting more snow...sigh. I think the lack of snow over the past four years has been made up for already. I really don't care to get another 8-11 inches by tomorrow night! Oh well... I just hope the roads aren't too bad for Derek in the morning. :(

I really hope we get internet at home soon. Having to go to the library to use the internet isn't that bad, but I'd much rather be at home. Someone around me has awful onion breath! Yuck!

Well, I guess I'll wrap this up. I hope the next time that I post I'll be able to announce that I have a job! Until then, God bless!

-Sarah