Another Long Day

I spent 5 hours on an interview committee yesterday. Needless to say, after 5 hours of listening to interviews, I was tired. Not from "doing" but from thought etc. It was hard to sit there for 5 hours. I keep watching the clock. The only good thing to say about it is that it is over. I don't know where it will lead us. We have our recommendations as a committee... and there you go.

No sooner we were done with that task, we had to pack the van and drive to Auburn. We set up the booth in record time. I guess we have had lots of practice lately. Lindsey and I went to eat at The Pit... and Renee came by to visit with us. We talked about last year when Renee had her last day in Outreach with us this very day.

I remember that day very well. I was so depressed when Renee left her position. She had brought a ray of sunshine into a very bleak place. I didn't know then that it would get worse the next few months. Kari had her situations during the year that made me anxious and feeling hopeless. I have been looked at as not being valued because I am the oldest in the department. It did begin to get better little by little as the year went on. One thing that I fine fantastic is that Renee and I have continued to be good friends (adopted sisiters).

Time is such a big thing in my life... managing it, waiting on the Lord, coordinating it, make time, find more of it, etc. I never take it for granted and I never "waste" time like I use to when I was younger. I suppose that is true with us all. I seem to think about it a lot though. I am always "checking" myself to see if I am doing what I should be doing and maintaining a balance between work and play.

Today is a day off. I don't have to work a shift at the fair in Auburn, in which I am thankful. I am not sure what I will do with my day. I know that I will have the boys at some point and I would like to do something fun with them. Summer days and fun are becoming limited, so I have to make the best of them.

Have a great weekend!

On a Summer's Eve

Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband

Last night I decided to take Riley to the lake to see a concert in the park. We picked up some chicken & drink and then headed over to find ourselves a place to lay out the picnic blanket. The band playing this week was Ryan Shupe and the Rubberband. Mountain music meets the modern world! This quintet delivers a whole lot of fun with their energetic mix of acoustic, rock and country music that can be described as Post-Hee Haw-Funkadelic-Hip Hop-New Grass!

It was a beautiful night. Just like one dreams of in the middle of winter and dreaming of summer's warmth and joys (that was for you Julie). I will have to bring up these pictures in the months ahead. Above is the stage. Below is the lake to the right of the stage where we were sitting on our blanket. And the next photo is even a little further to the right. I was glad that I took the time out to enjoy a little taste of summer. I often tell you that I live "between the lines" of life. Which is what I should have named my blog. That is what I will call the next blog. Anyway, what I mean by that is; that we do what we must such as work at home and our jobs but it is in the moments such as these is when "real" living takes place. It doesn't have to take any money and it doesn't mean you have to travel very far. It does have to do with enjoying the moments and taking time out. When I go on a vacation somewhere, I end up needing a vacation from the vacation. So, it seems logical to me to try to find the nuggets of time where one can really vacation, even if it is in your own backyard.

Below Riley wanted me to take a picture with him on top of the rock he climbed up on. He is facing the sunset so the photo is a little bright in his face.

My education fair wasn't anything to write home about :-) Remember when I told you to pray for guidance in a "situation" about 3 weeks ago? Well, I had interviewed for Susie's job at the University of WA, Tacoma. Over 100 applied for the job, I was told. Only 6 people were choosen to interview and I was one of them! I hadn't heard anything about the job for three weeks which I figured was a bad sign. Today, one of the other college reps at the fair told the others that she had got the job. One of my close friends heard and came over to tell me so that I wouldn't find out in conversation. I know Fiona (Director at UWT) and she would be upset to find out that I learned the news this way. It was a bit unprofessional. There maybe 4 other people out there wondering if they got the job or not. I was a little disappointed but I had asked for direction in prayer. In the future, we will see why. Now I have to trust that I am where I am suppose to be.

Anyway, I was able to talk to Susie yesterday to let her know that I did not get the job. She is busy trying to find funding for the bookstore. Little by little that is coming together. She just wishes that it would come together a little faster. We all can understand that :-)

Today I will be on the interviewing committee again for the Director of Outreach. I did not apply for this position because it is an administrative position. I would not like being in that role. I enjoy too much working with the public; high school students and the community. Yes, it is more money, but everything isn't money. It would ruin my health. But, for today, I get to watch some people sweat on an interview. One thing is for sure... when you are on the hiring side, you learn a lot on how to interview. And still, it has all to do with the "right fit". It is nothing personal.

The evening will be taken up with setting up for the Auburn Good Ol Days festival. I won't be getting home until about 9 pm or so. This one is the second to the last fair of the season. The last one is the Puyallup Fair... it's big but I will explain more when the time comes in September.

Have a great weekend!

Just Another Day at the Office

Hydrangeas

Since I have been out of the office for 3 working days, I had quite a few emails to make my way through yesterday. It seemed like the day went by really fast. We are always busy. Bill, our dean, was telling me about some of the changes he would like to make this year in Outreach. He is a visionary, so what he is forming as an idea will evolve. So, we will see what exactly those changes might be once we hire the new director. He would like us to work together with our new Welcome Center staff. We would have more opportunities if we did something like that. It would just take some coordinating... but then, that is what we do. It is our main job skill.

I was able to see Renee at lunch again with Mackenzie, her baby daughter. Mackenzie is only 11 weeks old and she will smile at me when I am joking with her. She finds me funny even at this young age. I will try to get a picture of the baby next time, now that she is smiling and not sleeping all the time.

Last night, I met Dave at the rental house where our renters moved out. We have already found other renters which will be moving in soon, however there is always painting and maintenance to do. I am learning to help out more in that area. I put on the stain/ seal on the deck in the back. I guess I could count that as exercise. Dave has been really working hard painting, mowing, cleaning moss of the roof etc. I brought home some of the Hydrangeas from the backyard to put in vases. They are the most perfect powder blue. Below are some pictures of the ones I cut. The picture doesn't show the tinge of purple it has in some of the blossoms.

I will have another education fair in Bellevue today. Plus, I haven't seen the boys for the last few nights. I will have Riley tonight. I will go into work late tomorrow because we have to be out late on Friday night setting up the canopy for the fair again.

Regarding my question from yesterday, Judy gave me her tips of how she manages her time. One of her best tools is to make lists. I make lists too. I keep post notes in business... the ones with lines. I have one tablet in the car, at my desk at work, and near my bed. When I think of something that should be done, I make sure to write it down (so I don't forget it). If it is on a list, it is more liking to get done, instead of waiting around for me to think of it again. Another thing that keeps me sane... well, as sane as I can be... are routines. Routines... are lists you memorized. :-)

Let's Talk...

Let's Talk...

OK... Right now, a cup of coffee doesn't look inviting because it has turned warm around here. I know that I was talking about rain last week but things change quickly around here. Now it is in the 80's - 90's and we are back "on" with summer.

This is the day that a create a short post and ask a question... usually something that I have been thinking about in my busy life. This is also one way that I can catch up on my posts... a way to manage time.

That brings me to the topic today. In our busy lives, what are your tips for managing your time? Do you think you are good at it? Or do you think you could do better?

Leave me your thoughts and I will respond. Have a great day!

Verizon and Auburn Good Ole Days VIP Night

Tonight Lindsey and I went to the Auburn Good Ol' Days VIP Night at the Emerald Downs. Do you remember? That is were I went last winter to do judging for the DECA and FBLA competitions. I have been there a couple of times for the horses... but not usually. It was an interesting and entertaining night with meeting a city council person (lady), hearing Miss Auburn sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and listening to a storyteller/ author read from his book who lives in Auburn. I remember many times when living in So California wishing that I could experience what it would be like to be a member of a small town. I do get that opportunity in moments like this one.

Auburn Good Ol' Days is Auburn's summer festival. So far we have attended Maple Valley, Kent, Covington, Renton... and now Auburn's festival. With "Festival Latino" and "Kid's Day" thrown in there for good measure. After this one we will attend the Puyallup Fair in September and then we will be done with the summer fairs for this year. We will actually have three consecutive weekends (all three day for me) which we call "our summer" after the Auburn Good Ol' Days.

Today I also was in Bellevue (again) at a the Verizon Education Fair. They are one of the employers in the area that offers education assistance to their employees (even part time employees). They pay well, offer benefits and vacation from day one. Once you learn the information in the company, you can move anywhere in the company where you fit best. As you can see, I am very impressed with this company and would suggest employment there to anyone looking for a position. They are all over the USA and probably the world.

"Slumming In Bellevue"

Day Trip to Bellevue

Renee and I decided a while ago that it would be fun to go to Bellevue, WA to their Goodwill to shop. Bellevue is the 8th wealthiest of 522 communities in the state of Washington according to Wikipedia. So, the donations centers could be very interesting.

Today was one of my Mondays off. So, we met and took off together to Bellevue. Half way there we discovered that we both thought the other one knew where we were going. Funny thing because of our connections, we both thought that the other knew something. Thank Goodness we both have the internet on our phone. We were able to figure out exactly where to find a "Donation Center" for Goodwill.

I noticed right away that they had a better selection of quality furniture. They also had a very large area of used books where I was able to find 3 Weight Watcher recipe books with the old exchange program in them so one could know exactly what proteins, milk, fat, veggies, fruit, and breads one would count.

A Leather Jacket for Riley

I was also able to find Riley a nice, hardly used leather jacket for $7.99. It will be really nice to have when the weather turns cooler around here. Plus, it is good for being in the rain. I just bought both the boys some rain jackets too the other day. But there are levels of rain and cold around here. This will be great when it is really rainy and really cold around November where the other rain jackets will only be good for the early fall and for spring.

I also found a Columbia shirt for Dave and a jacket for me. They had some really great name brand purses and shoes there, as you could imagine. Renee really loves purses, to the point she would like to design a purse herself.

Afterwards we were able to see Trina that works at the community college there. She does our job for Bellevue Community College... so she is a "sister" too. We went to Thai Kitchen for Orange Chicken and we were able to catch up on some news. Unfortunately, Trina had to go back to work as we kept on our "day off".

Renee will be interviewing for a job on August 18th in Ellensburg, WA. She wants me to go with her for the day while she interviews to help her prepare and keep her nerves down. If you are a praying women, please pray for her interview and her nerves. I personally think she will do great because I have seen her interview, but prayer never hurts. Right?

Sunday

It is a nice warm day here in Seattle. Off to church and then off for a country drive.

Have a great day!