A(nother) Season of Change

There's been a lot of changes going on again in our lives, and on the outside edges of our lives. I've been struggling to come up with something to write about because even with all the change, life just seems constant(ly boring, lol). Work, weekend, work, weekend...I'm sure you've fallen into that slump before, just feeling like life is all the same. (And I've been listening to a Chuck Swindoll radio series in the morning on the way to work about Ecclesiastes, which is kinda of along those same lines.)

The biggest change for us right now is that Jordan decided not to continue on with medical school. He'd been wrestling with this decision since January, and we made it final in July. It was a variety of reasons: the time investment, money investment, work-life balance (or lack thereof), culture, future of medicine...the list goes on. He's started at UMKC and will graduate with his master's in Bioinformatics (bascially, computer programming for medical things) in August 2015. It's been a good change, and I think he feels at peace with his decision.

At work, I've been wrestling with purpose...I want to be making a positive impact in people's lives, and I don't know that this job does that. I think that "purpose" is something a lot of people in my generation struggle with: wanting to make a difference. I'm continuing to refocus myself and know that this is God's purpose for this time in my life, and that I am making a positive impact where I'm at just by loving Jesus and putting Him at the center of everything I do (or at least trying to!).

We went home a few weekends ago for quite the juxtaposition of events: a bachelorette party and a funeral. One of my friends from college was married this past Friday and I went home a few weeks ago to celebrate with her at the bachelorette party. It was low-key and, really, just my style. Eight of us went out for dinner and then back to the bride's home to open gifts and paint canvases. I'm so excited for my friend and this new chapter in her life. Marriage is such a blessing, and it really shapes us into new people as we grow closer as a couple. I'm praying for them that they continue to bring out the best in each other and learn to love each other more each day.

The funeral was for one of my nanny kids. I spent summer 2007 with her and her two little brothers...I always tell people that my two summers of nannying were the best "jobs" I ever had. I loved loving on the kids, planning fun days for them, blessing their parents by keeping their kids happy and occupied, while at the same time taking some stress off them by keeping the house picked up and getting dinner on the table. I still really, really love my two families. Jess was a vibrant, fun-loving 18-year-old...and she decided to take her own life. There's only questions in situations like this and my heart continues to break for their family. I can't imagine having to go forward in a "new normal" like this, and I think about them each day and how hard it must be to wake up with that realization that it isn't a horrible dream, but reality. I'm just praying that they cling to each other and to Jesus, that they love on their boys, who are still young and need a lot of leadership and shaping as they're growing up (as all young men do).

With the decision to quit med school and start at UMKC, we're planning on staying in KC long-term (unless God has another plan) so we've started trying to intentionally invest more in our church (now that we have time to invest as a couple) and building new friendships with people there and outside the med student circle. We've had dinner with a few couples, which has been lovely, and we've started a class at church and signed up for the membership class, too, which starts here at the end of the month.

Those are just a few of the "changes" going on in/around our lives lately. Are you in a season of change? What sorts of things are you wrestling with?

Who You Know

As much as any young person hates to hear this...sometimes getting connected with (not simply "getting") a job really is all about who you know.

Unless you've talked with me personally or have talked with my mom, you probably hadn't heard that my job  wasn't as fabulous as I thought it was going to be. In fact, I could see how...challenging...it was going to be by my 2nd day on the job.

And that's all I'll say about that on this here little blog. Suffice to say I needed a new job.

And one landed in my lap.

Just kidding.

It went something much more like this...

Back in November, I applied for this studio manager job with a photographer:

Location: Kansas City, MO

Position Type: Full time

To Apply: Send your resume and an explanation of why you think you'd be perfect for the position to inquiries@_.com. No phone calls, no drive bys and no social media stalking unless you don't want to be considered.

Job Description, Requirements for Consideration, etc.:

Are you:

• organized
• thorough
• good at making things happen
• a person who makes connections with others easily
• knows that the client's needs are never "too much to ask"
• good at juggling multiple projects and not dropping any?

If you said yes to those questions and still kept reading then here are some more you should be able to shake your head yes to as well…

• Do you like dogs?
• Do you appreciate sarcasm and a British sense of humor?
• Are you creative?
• Are your mind reading skills above average?
• Are you skilled at always being one step ahead of the curve?
• Are you self-motivated?
• Still reading this?

OK then, over achiever, here's what the day to day responsibilities are:

1. Respond to all client inquiries for ______.
2. Sell the photography services of ______ utilizing the existing marketing materials and pricing specifications.
3. Perform production services for photoshoots - including, but not limited to scheduling assistants, stylists, craft services, talent, booking travel, procuring props.
4. Continually evaluate and improve the preferred vendor list of ______.
5. Continually evaluate and improve the marketing materials of ______.

Position provides a base plus commission pay structure of approximately $35,000-$45,000 per year. There is also expense reimbursement and a cell phone stipend.

For More Information: If you are still interested in speaking with us further about the position, please send your resume and an explanation of why you think you'd be perfect for the position to inquiries@_.com. No phone calls, no drive bys and no social media stalking unless you don't want to be considered.

Posted: 10.05.2012

With this cover letter: 

To Whom It May Concern at __________:

I'll admit, I was a little intimidated by your posting on aafkc.com. It really all seems like a lot to ask out of one person.

Just kidding. 

I've worked in ad agencies for the past 4+ years and my favorite parts were ensuring that my clients were responded to in a timely fashion (to me, that means within the hour) and that my clients were happy. I've also been told by numerous people that I have an uncanny ability to keep about a million plates all spinning at the same time (not literally, though). And, it's true that in the past, one of my managers recommended me for a higher position because I "get s*** done". 

Also. I'm a woman, which means my mind-reading skills must be above average (and I have a husband, which means I get extra practice with the whole mind-reading thing [and he's so sarcastic that sometimes I'm like his walking disclaimer]). 

If there's one thing I am, it's self-motivated and driven (okay, that's two). But seriously. I've got a positive, can-do attitude that is invaluable at any company. (Who wants to work with a negative nancy anyway?)

I'd love to talk more about how I can help the team. (Okay, and I'd really love to come and play with the dogs, too...I'm far too frugal to pay the $200 pet deposit at our apartment complex.)

It looks like you all have a lot of fun. And that's how work should be - productive, driven...and fun.

Hope to hear from you soon!

Which impressed the photographer enough to give me a phone interview. And then he wanted a 2nd, in-person interview. And then I turned him down b/c he didn't offer health insurance. (That's like $500/month if you want an individual plan with maternity!) And then, he still wanted to meet me to see if he could help me find a job that was a good fit.

So we had drinks, back in November, and he got me connected with his friend who was a copywriter at an ad agency. She and I met up for lunch near our offices, and I impressed her enough that she contacted her friend at one of the two big ad agencies in KC and asked her to bring me in for an interview. So she did. Now we're into the beginning of January.

The interview went great! I loved the agency and thought it'd be an awesome place to work. And then they gave the job to someone with retail experience. I had none, so I could understand that. AND THEN. The friend was impressed enough to recommend me to her boss, the VP of the account team at said big ad agency, so HE brought me in for an interview. And told me I was the right material for their company, but there weren't any openings right now. He promised to keep me in mind. 

I checked in a week later and got a cool-ish, generic response, and was a little disheartened. I kept searching out other opportunities. AND THEN. At the beginning of February, said VP sends me an email and says he's recommended me to a recruiter and that I should contact them the next day. 

So I did. The recruiter and I had a great phone call that same day and when she heard that I had AGRICULTURE in my background, she thought she had the perfect opportunity for me. 

I did some sleuthing (okay, a lot of sleuthing) and I could find no one who would say anything bad about this ag ad agency. So I felt cautiously excited about it. Due to all the crazy snow in KC, my interview got rescheduled a couple times and finally happened on Monday, February 25th. It went great. And I remained hopeful. I knew if this wasn't the place for me, God wouldn't offered me a job here, so I didn't want to be too excited. But I was really excited. But kept it in check. 

Later that week, I got a call from my recruiter that they wanted a SECOND interview. On the following Monday, March 4th. So I went. I met more of the team. The team interviewed me. And I was really excited.  One of them had said something about "that's why it takes us so long to hire people"...so I was preparing myself to wait weeks to hear. 

And two days later my recruiter called me. I got the job. EEEEEEEE!!! I think I texted Jordan about 50 billion times because I was so excited. Okay. Maybe more like 5 or 10. But you get the picture.

I start Monday, March 25th as the newest Account Executive at Woodruff Sweitzer. I wouldn't have guessed 3 years ago that I was an ag girl, but having been out of it for a couple years now, I've really missed it and can't wait to get back into it.

I'm pretty ridiculously excited to start. 

But the moral of this story is network network network. I got connected with this job b/c I impressed a guy, who knew a girl, who had a friend, who had a boss, who knew a recruiter, who was looking for account people. RIDICULOUS. And awesome. 

Note that it's not only about who you know...you still have to sell yourself and be the person with the right qualifications and personality for the job...but knowing the right people definitely puts you in the right place!

And...it's all in God's good timing. And it was good. And He is always good. 

Short & Sweet

This week was (slightly) more low-key than last. Here's the highlights.

Pampered Chef Meeting
I went with another PC consultant and med student wife (AND fellow South Dakotan) to a cluster meeting. It's so great seeing the different ways that we can do our biz and to get ideas for my own biz. I'm excited to say that my first KC PC show is tomorrow night!

Weekly Work Wandering
Once a week, I'll be traveling to Peculiar, MO to work onsite at our clients' office. Upside: Jordan tells me that I have my bosses may have suggested me to work there because I have a great personality for it. Downside: It's over an hour from our apartment.

Gospel Community Group
Still feeling so blessed by this group. We were small and intimate this week - our hosts, two others and me. We enjoyed coffeecake, coffee and great conversation over last week's sermon. So looking forward to next week.

Date Night: Em Chamas 

Thanks to a Groupon bought before we moved to KC, we dressed up and gorged ourselves on meat - top sirloin stuffed with provolone cheese, Em Chamas' special picanha, garlic-rubbed picanha, beef medallions wrapped in bacon, chicken spiedini (a-maz-ing), marinated chicken wrapped in bacon...the list goes on...

Neighbors
After living here for over three months we finally spotted our neighbors! After sharing his beer-buying success ($6/12-pack...even I think that's worth buying beer...), Jordan offered one to our neighbor (and I met their super-cute two-year-old). A few minutes later, we heard a knock on our door and our neighbor said that he was from Mississippi and that you can't let one gift go without giving another in return...and then he gave us some ground deer meat!

Home-cooked Meals

Left: Hubby's fav brownies with peanut butter frosting. (When I make these, he eats them for breakfast.)
Right: After hearing mom say she made goulash, I made some, too (with the aforementioned deer meat).

(A few of) hubby's lunches for the week: goulash and brussell sprouts. Packed and ready to go.

Babysitting
I watched Zach & Kody's adorable two-year-old Leah while they went out for their 5th anniversary. We colored, played catch, played dolls, played with my earrings, watched Beauty and the Beast, and played with the "duckie" for over 30mins. Hilarious.

See that shadow? There's a two-year-old in this duck hamper. 

Redeemer Fellowship
As we're working through 1 Corinthians, we were on 8: 1-13 today. Here's some nuggets from my notes:

• You either worship Jesus or you are an idolitor. You are always worshipping something - is it God?
• Do everything you do to proclaim your exclusive allegiance to God.
• Don't do anything that will make anyone think that they can server God and another (god).

Zona Rosa Afternoon
With the nice weather, I met up with Kody and Leah to enjoy KC's Zona Rosa outdoor shopping. I didn't buy anything, but enjoyed some time outside and some girl time.

The Hubby
I haven't seen much of Jordan lately - he's up to his eyeballs in muscles, nerves, and arteries (actually, I think that goes all the way to the top of his head...). He's still feeling super blessed and enjoying what he's doing. But, I know he's really looking forward to this section being done (word is, this is the hardest one of 1st year). Prayers are appreciated as he finishes up this taxing section! (Final on Oct. 18.)

A Birthday Week

I use my weekly calendar to remember what I've been doing with my life and what was of interest to tell you all. Yes, I have one of those fancy droids and do use Google calendar (which I think is fantastic) but I guess I just like pen & paper for some things:

Apparently, the little reminder in my phone calendar isn't nearly as exciting as my own  handwritten calendar. 

Work went well this week. My new boss is big on mentoring and making sure that his team is happy and growing/learning - that makes me super happy. My first two bosses (at my internship & my first job) were BIG on mentoring. I thank my lucky stars (okay, I think God!) for these ladies and the things they taught me during the time I worked with them. What a blessing. I hope I'm able to grow as much here as I did in those two positions.

I had a lovely weekday lunch at Mildred's Coffeehouse in the Crossroads with Audrey and Liane, two wonderful med student wives. Mildred's is literally up the block from where I work, and Audrey and Liane braved the street parking to have lunch with me. We had great fellowship and I am so blessed by these women's friendship! And, because you've got to know, I had the Classic BLT on wheat toast and added avocado. So delicious. I had a half sandwich with a cup of Roasted Red Pepper bisque. Yum. It was $10 with the tip, and I'd recommend this little gem to anyone.

Friday night our group of friends went out to Jack Stack BBQ in the plaza, we waited an hour for a table, I had my first-ever cosmopolitan, and we found out just how blessed we are to have a great group of friends this early in the med-school game! All 4 guys are in school together, and Audrey, Liane and I work, and Preston's girlfriend lives in TN...but we're hoping that someday she gets to move here and join the us every time we go out! We all go to Redeemer Fellowship together, but this was the first time ALL of us were able to go out. Such a fun evening.

So thankful for our friends from all over! L to R: Tennessee, Colorado, Texas, South Dakota - WOW!

Jordan and I splurged on a full slab of Beef Back Ribs ($26.75) that are described as 8 Dinosaur-sized Ribs for those who crave the taste of Beef. Served with Creamy Coleslaw, Hickory Pit Beans, and French Fries. The were not kidding about the dinosaur-size. I ate 2 of the small ones, Jordan ate 4 and he had the other 2 for lunch yesterday. Ridiculous.

Dad, Mom and Lucas arrived around 9pm Friday evening...and we kept them waiting in the car for an hour in our parking lot (OOPS!) as we finished up dinner at Jack Stack. We were SO happy to have them visit, and of course, couldn't fit all the fun into a few days. They'll definitely need to come back:

City Market - bought a few groceries for the week and showed mom & dad how CHEAP everything is!

Ixtapa Mexican - a birthday lunch with dad, mom and Jordan. I enjoyed Tacos Chidos with shrimp ($15.49) which had five mini soft corn tortillas topped with shrimp, caramelized onion, guacamole and fresh cilantro. So delicious.

KCUMB Tour - Jordan showed us around campus, since mom and dad had never seen it before.

WWI Museum - Mom, dad and I spent 3-4hrs exploring this museum, and even though I'd already spent hours here in July, I read new and different things that I hadn't had a chance to read the time before. Such a good museum.

Fort Leavenworth - We visited my mom's sister and her family (AND my cousin Matt from Texas and his wife were staying with them, so we got to caught up after not seeing each other for probably 6 years! A great bonus. Plus, it was the first time I'd met his wife!), enjoyed fabulous beef stew made by my cousin Beth's boyfriend (and biscuits by my momma!), enjoyed amazing cheesecake made by my aunt Kathy, and took a walking tour of base.

Weston, MO - On the way home from Ft. Leavenworth, mom, dad and I met Jordan in Weston so they could experience the underground bar for themselves. Jordan taught us to play Texas Hold'em and mom beat us all!

We also spent an even at our apartment making zucchini, onions, yellow squash and kielbasa...one of my very favs (zucchini and squash courtesy of mom's garden!). We played Up and Down the River for over an hour and laughed hysterically. A wonderful evening.

Mom and Dad brought me my very fav Sioux Falls Oh My Cupcakes! for my birthday. To say I was thrilled would be an understatement. So. Delicious. 

Beautiful flowers from hubby for my birthday!

 I'll leave you with a challenging quote that was in our bulletin this past Sunday (blog post dedicated to our fab - and challenging - church is forthcoming...):

"Idolatry need not entail a statue of Buddha or genuflecting in a pagan temple. Idolatry is any tendency in the human heart to dethrone God for the sake of something else, whether that be money, sex, ambition, power, pride, or some thing as seemingly innocuous as respectability. To the extent that we give our affections to anything other than God on the assumption that it can do for our souls what He can't, we are guilty of idolatry." 

~ Sam Storms ~

Time Flies When You're...

...BUSY. That pretty much sums up the past two weeks. Here's what we've been up to:

Jordan: MEDICAL SCHOOL                                                                                      
Yes. It deserves all caps. It's pretty much the ONLY thing he's been doing. Right now, he's locked away in our 2nd bedroom (aka his office) studying away for his midterm tomorrow. I know - he's only had 2 weeks of class and he already has a midterm!? Yes. Ridiculous. KCUMB blocks are 4 weeks long - after the 1st 2 weeks you have a midterm, after the 4th week you have the final. EEK. Jordan likened med school to being accustomed to always drinking out of a water fountain and now you're expected to drink out of a waterfall. All the time. I'd be remiss if I didn't tell you how much he LOVES it. He's still so excited. Stressed, but excited. Life is good.

Betsy                                                                                                                            
I've been up to far more than one thing (unlike the hubby), so here's my quick list:

Quartermaster Marketing
I can't foresee a time that I'll EVER be bored here. Reminds me of my days at VC...but better, lol. Basically, this year-and-a-half-old ad agency has been run by creatives until now. (I say until now, b/c I started 2 weeks ago and a very experienced account director started 1 week ago - I've already decided that I'm going to be a power team with him...likened to the days of the DD & Betsy team...but not as awesome as the two of us together, of course.) There's not much in place for processes or prioritization or organization or...well...you get the picture. There's a lot to do and I'm ready to do it. It's stressful, but it's good. The worst part is the 40-min commute in the AM b/c of rush hour traffic...in "normal" traffic, it only takes 15-20mins to get to the office.

While at work, the team has also been taken out twice by our boss as a Welcome lunch for Jeff and I. I picked Lulu's Thai Noodle Shop for my welcome lunch and enjoyed splitting Thai Lettuce wraps with chicken served with carrots, bean sprouts and red cabbage ($7.99). It came with a peanuty sauce. They were delicious, but after the mess I made with my very first ever attempt at eating a lettuce wrap (and seeing how skillfully the other 3 girls enjoyed theirs) I didn't opt to tackle it a 2nd time. At my co-workers recommendation, I chose the lunch special Drunken Noodles ($7.69) (Chicken, wide rice noodles wok-tossed with Thai basil, peanuts, bean sprouts, scallions, Chinese broccoli, lemongrass, green and red bell peppers and egg). While delicious, I think I'd try something else my next time there. 

This past week we went to Manny's Mexican Restaurant and I wasn't impressed at all. I ordered the Fish Tacos ($8): Corn tortilla stuffed with breaded cod fillet and topped with lettuce, diced tomatoes, sour cream & longhorn cheese, served with your choice of beans or rice. Not delicious. And my first one wasn't spicy (which is how I like it) and my second one was full of jalapenos (so I couldn't eat it). And the salsa that came with the chips at the beginning tasted just like...marinara. I'm not kidding. Don't go here. Nothing about it impressed me.

The Other Half
The Other Half is the name of the KCUMB spouse/partner group (and I came up with the name!) and I helped with our table at the KCUMB Activities Fair. We had cookies for the med students and we passed out flyers about our upcoming picnic. I met a couple new med student wives and saw a lot of the med students that I'd already met. Afterwards, I met Jordan in the student lounge for dinner.

Redeemer Fellowship Community Picnic
Because KC is so big, our church had 4 picnics around the KC area. Our community picnic was about 5mins from our apartment and I was debating on going because I was going to have to go alone...I'm sure glad I did! I met 2 other couples around our age and live within a few mins of us, and the girls took my phone number down to (hopefully!) get together in the future. A 2nd-year's wife also introduced herself to me; she lives super close to us and I was excited to find another med student wife so close by.

Babysitting
Last Saturday I watched 2 adorable boys (4yrs and 5months) while their mom photographed a wedding at Union Station and their dad studied for his midterm (the 2nd years had their midterm last week Monday). We played lots of catch, pirates, school bus, board games, iPad, read books...I was exhausted at the end of the day. Four-year-olds NEVER run out of energy!

Oh - before I babysat, I met up with Deanna at Burrito Brothers to meet her boys. Think Qdoba or Chipotle, but better. So delicious. I'd go definitely here again.

Pampered Chef
I had 4 online/Facebook shows this month and made over $300! All of my hosts got $25 free, 20% off anything in the catalog and 1 item (or set) at 50% off. Plus the August host special on knives AND 3 colorful fall products for FREE ($26.50 value). I'm still trying to book stuff for September, so if you want to do an easy online show, let me know!

Cooking
I've been cooking up a storm! BBQ pork shepard's pie, pork roast with potatoes and carrots, thai peanut chicken stirfry, sweet & sour shrimp stirfry, deviled eggs, creamed cucumbers...next up is buffalo chicken lasagna!

SD Friends
Thank goodness for FaceTime! I've been able to catch up with 5 different friends from home - phone conversations are great, but you really feel like you're right there with them when you can see their face!

KC Friends
Audrey works weekends and evenings, which means we don't have much of a chance to spend time together...boo. On one of the evenings she wasn't working, she came over for a bit to catch up and enjoy a good glass of wine. We let our hubbies stay focused on their studies at the school.

Jordan & Betsy Dates!                                                                                      
We may be busy, but we made time for a few dates!

Affare
White linen tableclothes. Cloth napkins. Dimmed lights. We didn't know how fancy it was going to be when we bought this Groupon a couple months ago! Our Groupon included 2 glasses of wine, 2 entrees and 1 dessert. The only thing that wasn't mentioned on the Groupon or on the restaurant's website was that this was a SMALL plate restaurant. Hm. That would have been nice to know. (and, you'll notice it IS now listed on their website.) We decided to order one other thing since it's probably going to be the only time we're at this place...aka...out of budget. But, the food was phenomenal. Not joking. We totally recommend it for a fancy date night. Be prepared to spend $80-$100 if you're going for wine, dinner, dessert. You also get a bread basket of fresh homemade pretzels and butter and a tray of olives (kalamata and green). Our server brought us seconds of both.

Believe it or not, we took some pics.

Lump Crab Salad in a roasted red pepper roulade, frisee lettuce, madras curry paint  $15
Yum. This was the "extra" entree we ordered - so, it was the only thing we had to pay for outside the Groupon.

Seafood Allerlei in liaison with lemon risotto  $15
Salmon (2-3 small bites), halibut (2-3 small bites), 1 shrimp and 1/2 scallop
This was the perfect size for me - risotto is filling, and I tend to not be able to eat my whole
entree when it's ginormous. And, this was fabulous. Out of this world fabulous. I'd pay $15 to eat this again.

Slow-Roasted Wacholderbeeren rubbed Elkloin, bing cherry sauce, Butterspätzle  $16
This wasn't my favorite, mostly because I don't like meat all that much, but Jordan really, really enjoyed this.

German Guglhupf with Raspberries and Woodruff, yogurt mousse and Grand Marnier  8Yum. So delicious. But next time I'd opt to try a different dessert...mostly because this one was so small and our waitress had told us that some of the desserts are "as big as your face". 

Blue Koi
Only one other person from our class at Tri-Valley lives in KC...which is actually pretty unusual that even ONE other person does, considering there were only 64 people in our class. Matt suggested we meet up for dinner and we were more than happy to go wherever he recommended. We met in Midtown at Blue Koi - and it was worth the wait (about 30-45mins for a table). Matt and his girlfriend Isha, and Jordan and I split 2 delicious appetizers: pics courtesy of the Blue Koi website.

Crispy Tofu with Spicy Awesome Sauce $5

Lightly sauteed dumplings with chicken, pork and shrimp. $6.50

 The "Awesome Sauce" with the tofu really IS awesome. I'd definitely order that again. The dumplings weren't my fav, but they topped everybody else's list and I definitely didn't think they were bad - I ate two!

Fire Bird Duck:  Boneless roast duck sautéed with chili pepper, scallion and bamboo strips.  $13

This was Jordan's entree and unfortunately he wasn't very happy with it. The sauce had a ... bad ... flavor. I don't know what it was, but I tried it too and didn't care for the taste.

I had Chicken with Chinese Curry Sauce ($13):  Ginger, onion, mushroom, snow peas pods and fresh basil sautéed with sesame oil till fragrant, then simmered in lightly spicy Chinese curry sauce. No pic for this on the website. It was fantastic! So, so good. I ate it for lunch again the next day. Yuuuum.

We had a really great time and before we knew it, it was after 9! Jordan had to get back to studying, so we called it a night and plan to get together again in the future.

The Other Half Picnic
It was raining last night, so the picnic turned out to be an indoor event at KCUMB. The turnout was GREAT and I met even more med student wives. Dinner was bbq from Dickey's, so Jordan got to cross another bbq place off his list. He studied in the library while I visited. I'm looking forward to more of these events!

And this was AFTER lots of people had left! 

_______________________________________________________________________________

That's the rundown of the past two weeks! I wasn't kidding about being busy! (I also cleaned the apartment from top to bottom...floors and everything [Okay, not everything...I didn't dust....] in anticipation of my parents coming to visit next weekend. If you know my mom, and many of you do, she cleans the ENTIRE HOUSE from top to bottom every week (and yes, she DOES dust), so I wanted to have an equally...erm....sort of...clean apartment for when they visited. I also went grocery shopping, did the laundry and a few other errands. And uncle Pat & aunt Kathy (& Greta!) took me out to dinner at Em Chamas Brazilian Grill - talk about spoiled!

Okay, friends and family. I'm going to try to blog more than once every two weeks...it took me two hours by the time I rounded up pics, looked up websites, etc... And I probably don't have any readers that read on through this entire ridiculously long post! I'll try to do better. It'd probably be easier for everyone!

And I didn't even blog about church - GAH! Church has really been FAB these past few weeks...but I've GOT to work on some other things yet today, so maybe church will get a post all on its own!

The Last Week of (B's) Summer

This will be a quick one because I need to be headed to bed shortly...transitioning from six weeks of frolicking isn't as fun as it sounds! (Actually, transitioning from frolicking to working doesn't sound fun at all...)

I had one CRAZY day of interviews - 8:30, 10:30 and 2 - that ended in a most welcome JOB OFFER.

I had one EXTREMELY HOT evening at the Johnson County Fair doing a Pampered Chef booth. In which the only thing I got from it was sweaty. At the end I rewarded myself with fresh-squeezed lemonade, which almost made sitting in the non-AC'd-building-with-no-breeze for 5hrs worth it. I stand by my statement that these Missourians and Kansans can handle this humidity better than us northern folk!

I had two LOVELY dates with Audrey and Josh (okay, it wasn't just me on our dates, lol, Jordan was there too). After the White Coat Ceremony we went to their humble abode for wine and they came over for Thai and hottubbing the next evening at our place. So thankful for friends!

I had three FAMILY days with Jordan's mom Lisa and his brother Blake! We enjoyed lounging at the pool (which I got a little color from, even with 50spf, being out there at 10am and only being there for an hour! Strong sun down here, folks!). They were here to join us at Jordan's White Coat Ceremony. While they were here we also enjoyed more of the now-famous (on this blog) Bear's Smokehouse BBQ and we found a pizza that could rival Tomacelli's (but not their prices, lol) - Stone Canyon Pizza. Yum. Jordan and I split the Scampi Blanca...So. Good. "Sautéed shrimp atop our own special roasted garlic and olive oil sauce with mozzarella, provolone and asiago cheeses and diced tomatoes." I think it was almost better than my FAV shrimp, crab, garlic alfredo, and roma tomatoes at Tomacelli's - GASP. (But if you're in SF, nothing beats Tomacelli's...so get yourself some!)

Jordan had four SAMPLES at a microbrewery festival! (okay, so he got to sample MANY more than four...but that's the number I was on!) We met up with another med student from South Dakota (a new one, that we hadn't met yet!) and his fiance, Liz. We had a great time getting to know them and Liz even gave me some basil, chives and mint! I really need to start growing my own herbs...

Now it's time to get ready for bed and the White Coat Ceremony deserves more than a two-second write-up. It needs a whole post - it's that darn important! (and I even have PICTURES!!! I know. You're so excited now. Keep waiting in anticipation...I might have time on THURSDAY.)

A Job For ME: God Provides!!

I told Jordan a few months ago that my IDEAL job would be at an advertising agency that was centered around God. I also told Jordan that that type of agency didn't exist. I was also praying super hard that God would provide a job before August 13. That was my deadline - after the 13th, I was going to continue pursuing getting an agency job, but I was also going to start looking at retail (or coffeeshop or restaurant etc) positions.

I should have known God was big enough to give me exactly what I wanted...what I didn't even know I needed. I'm SO thankful that my "ideal" was in His plan for me!

A week and a half ago I had an interview with Quartermaster Marketing for an Account Executive position (the type of ad agency position that I REALLY wanted). I'd read the job description on CareerBuilder.com and was SUPER impressed and interested, so I applied over the weekend and flagged it to call the company during the week because I was so interested. Before I had a chance to call, Matt (my new boss) called and asked for an interview! 

After the interview, I was SO excited about the position. Matt called a few hours after my interview and said he had one more question - they had a "faith component" at their company. They prayed before meetings/meals and faith was a really big part of his life and his boss's life (Dominic - Matt's boss and owner of Quartermaster Marketing). Matt wanted to make sure I was comfortable with that and still wanted to pursue the position. Um. YES. I was SOOOO excited. 

Yesterday I had an interview with Dominic and after talking for 20-30 mins, he basically said "I like you. You're hired." GAHHHHH!!!! 

I start on Monday. The 13th - my deadline. Not that God ALWAYS answers within our time frames...but this time He did! He is a great God!! 

It's in the perfect location - downtown KC, 20mins from our apartment, 5-10mins from Jordan's campus...maybe we can have lunch together sometimes! - the exact pay I'd prayed for and said would cover our needs, it's the position I wanted, it's at an ad agency...they're focused on God. WOW. 

This job won't be easy, but it is exactly what I was hoping and praying for. I am SO entirely blessed. God answers prayers!!