Checking In

I am still alive lol.

I don't have time for anything anymore.

Who knew a part-time job would take up so much of my life?

Oh well, I enjoy being able to pay bills.

Super-glad I could go see my kid graduate from boot camp.

Things are good.

I am not able to write anything creative today.

Incredibly tired.

Really excited to go to sleep.

But I am alive.

2017 - already looking better

So, where do I start?

After a year (13 months, actually) of actively looking for a job and nearly weekly sending out applications I have FINALLY been hired somewhere.

I finally decided that the 8-5 job was just out of my league since there are NO people hiring for 8-5 positions. Literally ZERO. So I expanded my search criteria to IDGAF what shift gimme SOMETHING that will pay me money in exchange for my limited services.

So I applied to the C___ station in S. It's close and I have some experience (granted it was 13 years ago). Best of all I know the lady that runs that store, so practically guaranteed an "in" right? Well, I applied before Christmas and didn't hear anything and didn't hear anything. After the new year passed I had pretty much thrown that option out the window.

Then I got a call that said, "I know you applied to S. but would you consider working in P?"

I was like, "........I have NO idea where P. is."

But she told me and I went and interviewed. They hired me before they even realized I had worked at a C____ before. They are/were SEVERELY understaffed and needed SOMEONE just to give their full-time employees a day off or so a week.

So, happy I had ANYTHING, I started working there. The kitchen was easy - I still retained a lot of stuff from my time as a pizza maker. It was like getting on a bike. Just a few reminders helped me along. Only a couple things hindered me...like at my old store they had beef and sausage next to each other in the prep bins and this store doesn't, so when I made my first taco pizza I accidentally put sausage on it lol. Other than that I slid right into the roll so quickly that on day THREE I was running the kitchen all by myself. Day THREE, as in, two days of training and I was running the show. Crazy. I credit my awesome trainer...she's very cool and easy to learn from. Days I spent in the kitchen literally flew by. I hated coming home two hours after my kids and husband but that's the sacrifice I gotta make to get some money right?

So then they started training me on register. Register is WAY HARDER (even though a couple kitchen people expressed jealousy that I was doing register). First of all there is the terrifying thought of messing up the money. I would literally NEVER steal money ever for ANY reason...but there is the possibility of a math error that might make it LOOK LIKE I stole something, and I'm double-counting everything in a desperate attempt at not messing something up math-wise. Secondly, there's the cooler. I freaking HATE the cooler. It's so hard! I can run around crazy and stock what's already in there, but once a slot is empty I'm completely worthless at finding out what's supposed to be in there. There are sheets with pictures on them for reference, but I was informed they're all wrong so don't follow them. Thanks?? And the person that's supposed to be training me didn't really show me HOW to do it, they were just like, "you'll figure it out." Um....thanks??

Then there's the register, which is completely different than anything I worked with 13 years ago. That I'm picking up on rather quickly, but the cigarettes...oh goodness the cigarettes....there are SO MANY!!! And so many different kinds of each brand!! Someone comes up and says, "Oh hey, I want [whatever brand] [whatever color] [whatever size] in a [whatever pack]" and I'm like:

 
And then I turn and start playing "Where's Waldo" with this ENORMOUS wall covered floor-to-ceiling with a thousand DIFFERENT kinds of cigarettes looking for the one specific kind these people are talking about.

Other than that everything else is cool. I can make coffee and clean out the machines, I can refill cups and "face" everything with great enthusiasm.

So I will likely need a lot more training on the register, but I don't care. If I can do kitchen AND register then I'm practically guaranteed to have 30-35 hours a week, and that will be awesome.

I'm giving up a position with the hospital (reception) because C___ gives me more hours, and I'm trying out one other place as a potential job because I don't have to drive as far to get to it, but as far as I know I'll be at C____ in P. for the foreseeable future. And that's great. :)

Oh and in case you're wondering, about a week after I was hired in P. the S. store called and wanted to know if I could interview and I asked if I could work at both stores. The lady was mad that "they got to you first" but said there's nothing she can do about it now.

Oh wait, THERE'S MORE....but yeah, you WILL have to wait because I have a lot to do today and I can't sit in front of the computer for hours anymore.

LOVE YOU!

Cool things I saw:

We saw these bottles of wine in Binny's. They are super-scary!!

 

Okay, we were looking at dishwashers. Ours broke and it is the third one that broke and quite frankly I feel like dishwashers leave a gross film on dishes anyway and hand-washing may take longer but they at least come out CLEAN so I don't feel like we should spend the money on a dishwasher, but we were out looking at them anyway. We started wandering around and saw this really awesome (and really expensive -- $4,000!!) fridge.

 

It has an interactive touch screen on the front where you can leave notes:

 

Look up recipes online, watch YouTube, and it even has cameras on the inside so you can see what's in it without opening the fridge!!!

SO FREAKING AWESOME!!!! If I had $4,000 to blow I would definitely buy this fridge!!!!

 

Lastly we found a clone warrior that's a little, um...different than most clone warriors.

Okay that's it, I'll leave you alone now. :)

Another Catch-Up picture day

Now that we've had our little "After-Christmas Cleanup Party" (Actual Christmas stays out until January per my strange husband) I thought, "Hmm, maybe now would be a good time to put up some photos from October on the blog," so here ya go lol.

We all went to see a movie: (Trena was more excited about it than she looks here lol).

 

Here were the photos I took for Christmas ideas:

Alien fanfiction? YES, PLEASE!

 

Joe Hill! I WANNA READ IT!

 

Pretty much anything Star Trek ever...I have quite a collection of Star Trek fanfiction (mostly original series, some Next Generation, willing to read Voyager). Some are bad, but most are insightful and interesting and really add to the Star Trek universe.

 

For the record....I received NONE of these books for Christmas. But I'm posting them anyway because my birthday is coming up soon!! There's still hope! ha ha ha yeah, right.

A really awesome sunset over Caseys. :)

That one time we went to see the Illini play football! <3 br="">

 

Holy wow a phone out in the wild!!! I thought they took all these away!

 

A really good shot of a misty morning thankyouverymuch

Last but not least....our Viktor cat loved to sit in our Nester's lap LOL! <3 br="">

Hooray!! Maybe I'll get November's pictures up before 2017 comes along buuuut I wouldn't hold my breath if I was you. I'm super-busy this time of year.

Love you!
AmyG

First "Dear Trena" video and some pics.

Here's my very first "Dear Trena" video!

And now here's some pictures ~ because I'm lame and have no life to speak of.

My kids WERE supposed to open for Jared Yates buuuut weather around here sucks this time of year and that got cancelled. Whatever happened to "The Show Must Go On?" I could've got my kids there...the roads weren't nearly as bad as they were last night (that I had to drive in). But I do agree that the kid's safety needs to come first.

So here's pics:

My oldest on her first day of work: (Back in ...whenever that was)

  

The sad state of our Kmart. :(  Now closed forever and I have nowhere to buy clothes for that cheap anymore.

My kick-butt nails one week!

  

My youngest took up the trombone. He's not too bad, either:

  

Visiting my brother and his wife in Chicago(ish), AND my Hawaiian sister and her husband moved back to Illinois!!

Pink sky at night, sailor's delight (supposedly....I'm sure Illinois skies don't matter to sailors in the slightest lol)

 

I bet you can't guess which superhero is my daughter's favorite....

Did you say Superman?? Close.

Hey, we might as well finish it off with some sky photos:

The corn is down.

 

beans weren't (at the time this photo was taken)

See you next time!

Holiday World part 2

Kid #4 and 3: 

Dad & Oldest:

 

#3, 2 and 2's friend:

 

#5 and 4:

  

At the magic show:

 

D'awwwwww:

 

Getting ready to let littles drive cars:

 

Dad & 13 year-old:

 

Okay, so when my oldest was learning how to drive, I took a picture of me screaming because honestly it was the most terrifying thing ever. She nearly hit like, 3 mailboxes!! So since the YOUNGEST was driving, she insisted we take this picture, because she's weird:

  

Me with a sunburn in front of a Christmas tree in September because why not?

  

My two army kids:

 

That is all. Have a great day.

Holiday World

Here's some random pictures from our last trip to Holiday World over the summer. I really like that place and I hope we can go again sometime.

Photo one: We rode The Voyage but the photo screens were down. I thought it looked pretty and snapped a pic:

  

Photo 2: A scarecrow

  

Photo 3: We're not afraid of no ghosts!

  

Photo 4: My Mr's favorite ride; Raging Rapids

  

My two 18 year-olds:

  

THE VOYAGE:

  

The pirate ship: I have three kids that are terrified of this thing, even though it's just a glorified swing:

  

THE THUNDERBIRD!!! The best 30 seconds you could spend!

Okay that's enough for now. I have more photos I'll post next time. ;)

Have a great night.