4 days and counting........

Here it is January 27th, 4 days until the first of the month.  CHECKMATE!  And....I'm not the winner in this game of chess.  I have had no job opportunities knock down my door.  I haven't even had a soft, muffled tapping on the window either.  I've filled out a bunch of applications.  In fact, this morning, I spent 3-1/2 hours doing an assessment test for another medical transcription company.  I have to say it was a very difficult job.  The voice files were horrible.  There were SIX of them.  My foot pedal wouldn't work.  I had to use the stinkin' F (no I'm not just abbreviating the F word here....literally the F keys!!!) keys on the keyboard.  Do you know how hard it is to type and control the voice files with your fingers?  Not an easy task.  Cardiology, orthopedics (yep easiest for me), OB/GYN (some chick had a fibroid the size of Manhattan), neurology (poor kid had seizures), general surgery, and ENT.  If I don't hear something from someone in the next 5 or 6 days, I guess this tired, old, fat mommy is heading over to the local Wal-Mart and putting in an application.  YUCK!!!  I have no other options.  AND I'll have to work in the evenings.  Tell me that doesn't suck BIG TIME.  So, pray that a mommy or daddy will call (a few mommies or daddies) for babysitting in the next 5 days or this transcribing company calls me in the next 5 days and offers me a job.  Pray that after I receive the call offering me the job that it pays at least 0.10 a line.  One thing I can honestly say is that I have the best cheerleader here at home.  Joe is such a trooper and is very understanding and kind.  He has confidence that it will all work out and everything will be okay.  What a great comfort to me!  Thanks my BFF!!!  I like having you in my corner!

And Mary, I'd  absolutely LOVE to open that bakery with you.  I'm into decorating cakes now and think that would be such a fun job.  You could be the scones queen and I could be the cupcake/cake queen.  However, you realize, of course, we would have to get a liquor license?  We could NOT possibly stand on our feet all day cooking marvelous bakery items without having a margarita or glass of wine, right???  The guys could be our guinea pigs, I mean critics.  Sorry Joe and Mike.......

So here's to the last 5 days of my 13-year "career" with Southern Indiana Orthopedics. 

Same career....different day.

Don't you ever wonder why things happen the way they do?  I'm over wondering about my job.  Bottom line.....as of February 1, I WON'T HAVE ONE.  That stinks.  Don't corporate people understand that there is tuition, college rent, mortgage, etc?  What's up with them only thinking of the company and not the little "nothings" that actually do the work?  What's up with the lies and the not sharing of important information?  I guess Joe is right, I would be a HORRIBLE manager.  I couldn't do that to anyone.  I'm not a "career woman", never have been and never will be.  I'd be happy to volunteer at the local hospital or nursing home and not make a penny.  I'd be happy to clean my house like I used to and keep the laundry and ironing up.  However, kids grow up and cost a bundle of money.  I am going to have to find a new job in the next couple of weeks, and I know it is going to be doing the thing I hate the most.......transcription.  I wish, since I'm being forced to find a new job, that I could make a career change (even though I'm not career oriented).  I'd love to do something fun and meaningful (well meaningful to me).......make cookies, shopping for others, mowing yards in the beautiful sunshine, work at a gym and be a trainer like Jillian on The Biggest Loser (except I wouldn't use the raunchy language she uses),  make cool things with my sewing machine and open a really cool store, open a daycare with my friends and sing Barney songs all day.  See, I have ambition. 

So, I have 12 days to find a new job, and there is only so much Googling you can do to find a new career field. 

My BFF

Joe.......my BFF!  I miss him during the day when he is at work.  I find myself thinking about him all day long.  Thank goodness we have email.  It's so cool opening up my email and seeing that I have an email from him.  I look forward to spending time with him, whether we go and do something or just sit and do nothing but watch TV.  It will only be 2-1/2 more years and all of the kids will be out of the house.  It is such a warming feeling to know that we like/love each other and will enjoy our "empty nest" time.  He makes me smile, he makes me feel loved, he just plain makes me happy.  Thank you God for blessing us with this new-found love for each other.  I can't remember a time in my life that I've been happier.  I love you Joe....my BFF!

College costs......Really???

Isn't it funny.......just when you think you might be a tad bit ahead of the game, something else comes up.....like college text books.  $563!!!  What's up with that?  I can go to Barnes and Noble and buy a big book for $40 or so.  Why are school books so stinkin' expensive.  Does it cost more to make these books?  Are these books written by Puliziter Prize winners?  Are the buy-back rates better than 25% of our cost?  And while we're on the subject of college, is it REALLY necessary for a girl who is majoring in speech pathology to take an aerobics class or a geography class or a computer science class.  Huh?  I can only imagine how much her graduate school will cost.  Wish we would have won the $355,000,000 lottery last night.  Joe had to take a class this past summer in order to renew his teaching license.  We had to pay $1300 for him to learn to relax.  But, by golly, his teaching certificate was renewed and now he can go back into the classroom and stress out.  I don't think we got our $1300 worth!!  They don't teach you how to deal with gang members or losers who have a GPA of 0.08.  While I'm complaining about the education system, Christina has to take a class that is only offered at night.  She will be out after dark from 6 until 9:15.  Just a couple of months ago, one of her roommates was assaulted at knifepoint in their apartment stairwell.  She ended up being admitted to the hospital.  Her being out after dark by herself does not give me a warm fuzzy feeling.  Now I have something else to worry about.  It was so much easier when they were all in preschool/elementary school. 

Meet the Bautista Family

We are the Bautista's.....Joe, Luanne, Joseph, Christina, and Daniel.  There are also four-legged Bautista's...Romo and Landry (Great Danes), Nalla and Reese (Schnoodles) and Sisco (cockatiel).  There have been many, many animals that have lived in our house, thanks to our Christina.  You name it, we have probably had it at some time during her 20, almost 21, years.  Joe is a high school math teacher.  I have always been a stay-at-home mother, but I have been doing medical transcription out of the home for approximately 13 years (not my favorite thing in my life).  Joseph will be 25 in about 6 weeks.  He lives in New Mexico and is an intelligent analyst for the military. He is not in the military but works for the military.  We are SO proud of him.  However, it looks like he may be deploying to Iraq in March/April for 4 months, then back to New Mexico for 4 months, and then off to Afghanistan.  Makes a mother sad but proud at the same time.  Scares the crap out of me though.  However, he is very happy with his job, so that makes us happy too.  We miss him terribly.  We haven't seen him in almost a year.  He left last February, and we haven't seen him since.  Thank goodness for today's technology though.  Christina is 20 and a Junior at Ball State University studying speech pathology.  She has found her niche and is an outstanding student.  Her GPA this last semester was 4.0!  We are so proud of her too!  She has 3-1/2 years left until she gets her Master's, but we know that this time will fly by so fast.  Daniel is 16 (getting his driver's license in March......HATE IT!).  He is a sophomore in high school.  He is a happy kid.  He's been smiling since he was born.  He is a compassionate kid and always finds the good in everything.  He doesn't know what he wants to do with his life yet, but I'm sure he will figure it out soon. 

I'm starting this blog not only to do some journaling but also to keep the Mom and Dad accountable to a couple of things.  Joe and I are embarking on a training mission today.  We are going to attempt a Duathlon in May.  Yep........that's right........a duathlon.  We don't have any desire to swim, so no triathlon for us.  However, the duathlon makes up for that.  It is really a "mini" duathlon.....5k run, 20k bike ride, and another 5k run after that.  I'm a fat mommy, so this is a double whammy for me.  I'm training for the duathlon but am also doing it to lose a good deal of weight.  I would love to post some pictures, but haven't figured out that portion of the blog yet.  Maybe the daddy-man can do that for us.  Joe is also beginning training today for a RAIN bike ride.  RAIN....."Ride Across Indiana".  It is a 160 mile bike ride in 1 day.  Yes.......that is ONE day.  I know he can do it.  We have great road bikes and he LOVES to ride.  Me......love to ride, but not 160 miles!!  I'm going to be his support crew (crew meaning just me!).  I will provide water bottles, bananas, etc at designated stops throughout the route for him.  I'm looking so forward to it.  I love having something planned to do with him. 

Joe and I have been married for almost 27 years.  We have had ups and downs over the past years, but we have found the "up" and are best friends!  I love him so much, and I can't even describe the happiness that I feel with him.  He is a such a gentleman.  He has opened my car door for me for the last almost 27 years.  Can anyone of you women out there say that about your husband???  We had a fabulous Christmas this year (well last year..2010!) and am looking so forward to the next 50! 

So.......here's to a brand new year, happy and healthy children, a fantastic marriage, and great success with training for the Bautista family (and success with weight loss for the mother!).