I saw Ella kissing Santa Claus

Baking with some amazing women

Last Wednesday, I had the pleasure of baking Christmas cookies with Ella, my Mom and my Grandma.

Ella rolling out some dough

Helping Mom measure out the flour

She's giving me "the look"...notice there is more flour on her than anywhere else

I guess she had an itch

Her magic clothes...just add a little water and they'll stand on their own!

Four generations...I'm so blessed!

She knew just who to ask to get a cookie

Some of the fruits of our labor

We made a total of 7 kinds of cookies. I believe Ella consumed a record-breaking amount of sugar that day. I hope its a tradition that we can continue for many, many years to come!

Weekend anticipation

I just had to take a minute to share how excited I am about this weekend...here's the breakdown...

Friday night - Rob is taking me to the Royal Dumpe Dinner Theatre. I've never been there, but I've heard its a lot of fun. Its been SO long since Rob and I had a date night. I can't wait!

Saturday morning -My graduation from SIUE! I have to be there at 8 AM and graduation is at 9. It still seems surreal that I'm actually done.

The rest of Saturday - Schudel Family Christmas. Every year, this time is filled with lots of fun and laughter. I'm sure this year will be no different! We are even blessed to have Rob's cousin Brandon and his wife join us from Guam! They definetly get the award for traveling the farthest. Ella will also get to see Santa that night. I'll be sure to post pictures later.

Sunday - Rob has basketball at SIUE in the afternoon, so I plan to hang out at my parents house and help prepare for my graduation party that afternoon/evening. In a previous post, I mentioned that I thought my Mom and Rob had something up their sleeves for that evening. Well, "the cat is out of the bag". I'm so excited to have an evening with all of the people that I love the most in one location to help celebrate.

I hope each of you has a great weekend ahead as well!!!

Prayer Request

A quick prayer request...please say some prayers for my Mom. She has a job interview tomorrow (Tuesday) at 10 AM. I know that God has a plan for her and if this company will be her next employer, I pray that the transition be a smooth one for her. If this is not the next step in her life, I ask that she be encouraged by the interview and feel prepared to face whatever comes her way next. Either way, I'm super excited for her and thankful for her to have this opportunity!

Dear SIUE,

I don't like you right now. I don't care that you are having budget issues. I don't mean to sound unsympathetic, but I've paid my dues over the last 8 1/2 years. You see, one of your people called my house the other day and informed me that the hooding ceremony (for those of us who have completed our masters degrees this fall) has been cancelled. WTF?!?! Her excuse included that part of the reason was because of the budget crisis. You have let me down. I was looking forward to celebrating my accomplishment with some of my fellow graduates. I was looking forward to a nice evening and dinner with my husband. I was looking forward to enjoying what every other semester before me has done to celebrate. I know that to some graduates, the hooding ceremony didn't mean anything or they didn't care to attend. I, however, was looking forward to it.

Luckily, since we had already arranged for someone to care for our daughter, my gracious husband has agreed to take me out that night to celebrate.

Also, could you kindly remove the $25 parking fine that you have put on my account FOR A DAY THAT I WASN'T EVEN ON CAMPUS?? Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Sincerely your infuriated graduate,
Julie

Ideas needed

Well, I'm certainly not good with coming up with ideas of things to do. I've always been a "go with the flow" kind of girl. That is why I'm turning to the blog world for help.

I need suggestions for something fun to do when you combine the following: two moms, an (almost) 4 year old, an (almost) 2 year old, and a 7 month old.

My friend Jamie and I would like to plan something to do with our daughters but we aren't coming up with any ideas. Help!?!?!?!

Da Bears!

A few months ago, I decided to surprise Rob with tickets to a Bears game in Chicago for Christmas. Despite being a Bears fan for quite a long time now, he had never been to a home game. After searching high and low for tickets which can be rather hard to come by, I found some on Ebay and managed to win the auction. My surprise was almost ruined as Rob walked into our laundry room (which also is home to my desktop computer) just as the auction was finishing up and I was watching it to make sure I was the winner. Luckily, I was able to cover up what I was really up to. When the tickets arrived in the mail, I couldn't keep it a surprise any longer. I also wanted Rob to be able to share in my excitement as the game drew closer. The expression on his face when I gave him the tickets was priceless.

So, this past Sunday we left Alton first thing in the morning after dropping Ella and Payton off at Rob's parent's house. We stopped in Springfield at the Hen House for breakfast and then continued on to Rob's cousin Holly's house in Batavia. After some yummy pizza and time to visit with them, we finished our trek to downtown Chicago. We booked a hotel room for downtown Chicago in hopes that we could walk to Soldier Field and enjoy just being downtown. It was a bit of a hike to get to the stadium, but little did we know that the true exercise was yet to come. Our seats were in section 436 (right on the 40 yard line), row 32. Translation - about 8 rows from the top of the stadium. I think we had to climb the Stairway to Heaven to get to our seats. We found our seats with over an hour until gametime, but decided that we'd had our fill of exercise for the night and enjoyed people-watching for the next hour.

The game didn't turn out as we hoped since they lost to the Eagles 24-20, but we still had a GREAT time.

Here's a few pictures from our trip...

Uppercase Living

I just wanted to send another Thank You to those who placed orders from my Uppercase Living party. I plan to close the party out tomorrow. Sorry for the delay in closing out the party. There are several people who I have been waiting on to see if they wanted/needed anything. I will let you all know when the products come in! Thanks again for the orders and I hope you enjoy the products!

Christmas List

So, apparently my Mom needs our Christmas lists by Wednesday. I have no idea what to put on my list. Any ideas?

Goodbye, SIUE

This past Monday was my LAST CLASS of my Master's Degree. That's right, I'm done....finally done. After four and a half LONG years, I have met my goal of completing my Master's Degree. Sure, I had a couple semesters off along the way, but they were for good reasons. I had to drop my class one semester because of the car accident I was in. For that prof, apparently being in surgery wasn't a good enough excuse to miss class. Dropping that class seemed like the logical decision. I also took two semesters off when Ella was born. My due date was around the time of finals for the first semester and I didn't want to leave my two week old baby to go back to class.

Now it seems odd to know that I don't have a mountain of homework waiting for me at home. I don't have to spend my lunch hour working on homework. I don't have to tote a book bag with me everywhere I go. I'm done being away from Ella and Rob on Monday nights. I'm done asking people to help watch Ella so I can work on homework or go to class. I'm done writing checks for thousands of dollars for the purpose of a piece of paper to hang on the wall and three small letters to go behind my name. No more papers. No more books. (Wait, that seems like a song...)

One of the main reasons behind getting this degree was so I would have enough hours to sit for the CPA exam. So, even though I'm done studying temporarily, that study time is going to come back with a vengeance very, very soon as I prepare for the exam. I've been told that studying for the CPA exam will be the most intense studying I've ever done in my life. Frankly, right now, it scares the crap out of me. I don't want to be away from my family more than I already have been! I don't want to have to spend hours every day studying to pass the exam. But, given my profession, passing the CPA exam is a necessary evil. I just hope that I pass it quickly. I have several friends who have taken and passed the exam and numerous co-workers to encourage me and sympathize with me during this next step.

But, enough of the depressing CPA-exam-study-talk...for now, I will celebrate this accomplishment in my life. To each of you who have encouraged and supported me during this time, thank you. To those who helped with Ella during this last year and a half while I was at school or studying, thank you. To those of you who I will rely on while I study for and take the CPA exam, thank you, in advance.

Stay tuned for graduation pictures, coming December 19th (or a few days after)...

Dream House Savings Update - Month 1

Well, its hard to believe one month has passed since I started putting aside the money I save by using coupons. I must say I think it has gone well for my first month. I've bought a three-ring binder, baseball card sleeves, and tabbed dividers and have all of my coupons well organized. During this month, I have saved $143.30 by using coupons. I must admit, I have bought a couple things only because I had a coupon. One of these was a $6 air freshener, but I had a coupon for $6 off, so it was free. Another thing was a $7 candle, but again, I had a coupon for $7 off, so it was free as well. This $13 savings is included in the total above. I keep reminding myself that the savings from this month would be enough to buy paint for several rooms or hardward for a bathroom. Its a drop in a bucket compared to the price of building a house, but its a start.

Boo at the Zoo

This past Saturday, we were able to enjoy a beautiful moring at our awesome St. Louis Zoo with my friend (and co-worker) Jamie, her husband, and daughter Taylor. The Zoo was holding an event that they call Boo at the Zoo. This provides the kids an opportunity to dress up and walk a path around the zoo and collect candy and other freebies from local businesses that have tents setup. The morning started out on the chilly side, so I was very thankful that Ella has a warm costume.

Daddy & Ella

Our little ladybug

Carousel!

Snow White & Ladybug

Family Photo

"Smelling" the rose she received at the Zoo

My "purdy" face

Flu shot frustrations (that's putting it nicely)

Yesterday afternoon I called Ella's pediatrician to talk to them about getting her a flu shot. The nurse pulled Ella's chart and confirmed that she did get one last year, noted that she'd only need one shot this year since she got one last year, and said that I could come in this morning because they have a flu shot clinic on Wednesdays starting at 8 AM. So, about 8:10, Ella and I go into Dr. Hill's office, walk up to the counter, and I tell the nurse that we are there for a flu shot. She asks "What kind of insurance do you have?", so after answering her question she says "We only have flu shots available for people on Public Aid. We have the flu mist for anyone though". WHAT?!?!?!?!?! First of all, you can't get the flu mist until you are at least 2 years old, so that makes Ella unable to get it. Second, why the heck wasn't I told this yesterday on the phone? Third, and most importantly in my mind, why do people on Public Aid get a flu shot when someone with health insurance cannot? Why do Rob and I work hard to provide for our family and get health insurance for ourselves, just to get punished for it? Why can Joe Crackhead who doesn't work and has 18 kids, bring them in and all get flu shots? Sometimes the world we live in infuriates me. I left Dr. Hill a message to call me tomorrow. I'm anxious to hear what she has to say about the reasoning behind this "policy".

Luckily, after numerous phone calls today, I was able to locate a flu shot for Ella at the Jersey County Health Dept, so I'll be taking her there tomorrow. If that doesn't pan out, you might see my mug shot on the evening news tomorrow night. Will you help bail me out? :)

Carefree

Friday Favs

Happy Friday!!! This week has been somewhat crazy at work with our extended individual tax returns being due yesterday. That deadline is bittersweet for me. It is a relief to have another deadline behind us, but it also reminds me that tax season is now around the corner...again. :( But, I don't want to talk about that now.

I ordered this cookbook this week from Amazon. I can't wait for it to come in! The cupcakes look so cute!

I think the corn on the cob cupcakes are so cute and creative (sorry the picture is blurry)! I hope I have time to make some of the goodies in the book!

Recently, Rob and I have been talking about buying a new camera. Something that we can have as a "family camera". We decided on this one...

Last Saturday, we celebrated Grandma Brinker's 89th birthday with a yummy dinner at my parents house. It was a great chance to see some family that we don't often see and celebrate an amazing woman who has blessed my life.

3 more weeks of class!!! Hmmm...I need to start thinking about what I want to do to celebrate when I'm done...suggestions?

Its a good thing we love her

This morning I decided Payton was overdue for a visit to her vet. She has been scratching her ears for a while now, and recently started to yipe when she scratches them. I figured it was somehow related to her allergies. If only we could figure out what she's allergic to! Who knew dogs could get allergies?!?! Luckily our vet's office is AMAZING and they got us in at 11:15 this morning. So, my poor dog has a yeast infection in both ears, a staph infection on her belly and needed her anal glands squeezed. Yes, I know that is gross. She also got her nails trimmed while we were there because I HATE doing it. She now has 4 medications to clear up all of her current ailments. So, after paying the vet's office a day's wages, we're back home. Sure is a good thing we love her!

Friday Favs

Hi everybody! TGIF!


I MUST start my favorites with the rainy, cool, fall weather we've been having lately. Call me nuts if you'd like, but I LOVE this weather. I love it even more when I can stay home, in bed, with a good book and some hot tea. Unfortunately, that hasn't been in the cards for me, but I still love this weather.


Other favorites for this week include:


Cindy's chili and spending quality time with my in-laws


Annual Kettle Cooking at the Boda house. You can read more about it here.


Receiving 145 out of 150 points on my presentation in class


My Mom going to Play Pals with myself and Ella on Wednesday.


Getting 3 BIG pumpkins and 2 small ones for $10


Lunch at Olga's with Mom, Rob and Ella


A bedroom ceiling fan with a light that now works again!


Ella randomly walking up to me, standing on her tip-toes, puckering up for a kiss


Saving roughly $40 by using coupons this week


A free lunch from QT thank you to a coupon for a free sandwich!



What a great week! I hope you each have a great weekend!

I'm trying to squeak when I walk

Cheap, frugal, tight-wad, thrifty, penny-pinching, economical...call me whatever you want, but I LOVE saving money. My Mom likes to call me the Coupon Queen. I don't think I'm that good yet, but I certainly try to save wherever I can.

A few tips that I have learned about using coupons and saving money:

• Look to combine coupons and sales. This may mean multiple stops each week (i.e. WalMart, Target, Walgreens, etc), but it will be worth it.


• DO NOT buy an item just because you have a coupon for it.


• View coupons as free money on items that you would normally purchase


• Stock up when you find a great deal (I believe I currently have about 6 bottles of shampoo and 6 bottles of conditioner at home because I got each for about 50 cents). Stocking up will also prevent you from needing to rush out and buy an item and probably pay more than necessary.


• CVS and Walgreens are AWESOME! I could do a whole other post about just these two places, but for now I'll note a few of the highlights. At CVS, you will get MUCH better prices if you are a member of their ExtraCare program. Typically their sale prices are only valid if you present this card. It is free of charge to join. Often, store coupons will print at the bottom of your receipt when you checkout (one of my most recent ones was for a free toothbrush). As an ExtraCare program member, they will sometimes email you a coupon to use in the store (for example, $5 off a purchase of $20 or more). Walgreens has what they call Register Rewards. You purchase a certain item (or a combination of certain items) and when you checkout you get a coupon for money off your next purchase. The best way to shop at CVS and Walgreens is to check out their weekly ad. In my most recent trip to Walgreens, I purchased $36 worth of items and paid $11; for CVS, I purchased $26 worth of items and paid $8. Not too shabby!


• Keeping coupons organized is key. I'm still trying to figure out what works best for me in this area. As of now, I have an expandable file type thing that I have divided out into sections.


• Use websites. I have one BIG favorite on where to find coupons http://hip2save.blogspot.com/. This lady is amazing. She tells you where to find coupons, a lot of which are printed from the internet, and couples them with items in stores to help you find the best value. She does a weekly post called Follow Me Monday. This past Monday's post was about coupon organization. I'm definetly going to use some of her tips to help me organize my coupons! The week before, she went to Walmart and bought $180 worth of items and paid less than $50! WOW!


• Some other good websites include: http://www.stlmommy.com/ and http://www.coupons.com/


• A lot of times you can print a coupon only after entering your name, DOB, and an email address. I have setup an email address that I use only for putting in this blank, otherwise your inbox will get very cluttered, very quickly. I do sometimes check that email account because occasionally they will send more coupons to you via email.


• As for the rest of my coupons, I get them from the Sunday Alton Telegraph and my Grandma saves the coupons from the St. Louis Post Dispatch for me. If you are dedicated to using coupons, it would more than pay to pick up a copy of the Sunday paper.

Do you have any more tips that I can use?

Starting yesterday, each time I use a coupon to purchase an item, I am going to set aside the amount I saved in coupons as savings toward our dream house. I figure if I'm saving toward a specific goal, I will be more inclined to save even more money. I hope to post an entry each month with the amount of money that has been saved toward the house.

Wish me luck on saving for our house!

Friday Favs

Seriously?!?! Its Friday?!?!

This week's favorites include:

Cooler weather! Fall is my favorite season so I've been waiting for these temperatures! Now I'm anxious to take Ella to get pumpkins!

$2.99 taco salads from MotoMart

Being half-way done with my last class of my MBA

The merger at work - The merger was effective this past Thursday, the 1st. So far, everything has gone relatively well. I have a TON of emails that I need to keep up on with new policies and procedures, but it was great to not have IT issues so far. This week has been a little sentimental, knowing that GMCH is no more. But, I trust that LarsonAllen has great things in store for me!

Packing away most of Ella's summer clothes

Great friends

Less than 3 months until Christmas!

What a great week! Thanks for reading!

Dream House

Back in 1984 (I believe that was the year), after my Great-Grandpa Klenke passed away, some of his land was going to be sold at an auction. My parents decided that they wanted to buy a section of 121 acres located on Hoxey Road, south of Hamel. As a kid, we spent a TON of time out on this land. Somehow, over time, it became known as "The Farm". In the early years, part of the land was planted in various crops and harvested by some family members and friends. Beginning in 1993, Dad put the tillable land in a conservation program through the State of Illinois. Over the following years, several types of trees were planted in these fields. The first field that was planted in trees was 15 acres and it now contains 2,000 walnut and 2,000 pecan trees. I have a lot of memories from planting the trees including needing a johnboat to get to one of the fields after Silver Creek, which cuts across a corner of the land, floaded. Several other snapshots from planting the trees that have been saved in my memory include my Grandpa, who's been gone for almost 10 years now. Some other great memories of time at The Farm include riding 4-wheelers for hours, peeing behind a tree and not being ashamed (LOL!), and stepping on a thorn which went through the sole of my shoe and had to be pulled out by my Dad. Dad and his buddies have always used The Farm for deer hunting. A few years ago, Rob was inducted into the group of hunters. I could seriously talk about my memories from The Farm for hours...just ask me. :)



Sorry, I got a bit sidetracked there! When Rob and I bought our current house, we agreed that we would stay here a minimum of 10 years. We've been here almost 3 years already. Time sure does fly! Over time, we've both developed a passion for the house that we want to build someday. We talk about it almost daily. Its almost become an obsession for us! Ever since I was a little girl, I have wanted to live at The Farm. Luckily, Rob has grown to share that dream. Some time back we shared our dream with my parents. They have graciously agreed to give us a few acres of The Farm when we are ready to build our house. I know it won't happen for quite a few years, but we have already decided on a floor plan that we LOVE. Here's a picture of the outside...
Some of the highlights include...
The front porch that I have always dreamed of.
Main floor master suite with a bathroom and walk-in closet. That is located on the far right side of the picture.
Three car garage (one of Rob's "musts")
Four bedrooms
A dining room, that I really wish I had now

I used to say "IF we can build our dream house" when Rob and I would talk about it. We agreed that we have to talk about it knowing that it WILL happen. Until then, I clip coupons and question almost any purchase we make in an attempt to save money, all with this picture in my mind. For the next few years, I just have to be patient.

Friday Favs, a day late

Sorry for the delay...just too many great things going on!!!

At the top of my favorites list this week are:

Spending ALL of last weekend one-on-one with Ella...talk about some Mommy/baby bonding time!

Giving Rob his tickets to the Bears game on Nov 22!!! Go Bears!

Surviving another week of class (6 more sessions to go!)

Ella going potty on the Big Girl Potty two more times

MMOM Sale at SWIC http://memom.org/sale.htm

Taking about 10 minutes per night to read in bed before passing out

Ella starting another session of Play Pals

One last lunch with Mom while she still has her job...its been so awesome having her work a tenth of a mile from my office. We've been so spoiled by that. If either one of us was having a rotten day, the other one was just a phone call and 2 minute commute away.

Whew! Just thinking about this past week is exhausting! Lots more great things to come this week...

Too much Sesame Street?

So, Rob got home from his weekend Cavallo trip about 7:00 last night. As we sat down for a late family dinner, the Emmy's were coming on TV. Rob says "Is this the Oscars"? Ella's eyes lit up and she exclaims "ELMO?!?!?!"

Gotta write that one down in her baby book...

Friday Favs

This week has been crazy, to say the least. But, this week included a lot to be thankful for, including:

• Mom & Dad's 35th wedding anniversary - What an amazing example you two set for the rest of us. You both are a blessing in my life and I definitely wouldn't be who I am today without you. Congrats on 35 years and I hope you are blessed with another 35.
• Celebrating Mom & Dad's anniversary - We took them to dinner at Bella Milano in Edwardsville. It has to be the best, or at least one of the best, Italian restaurants that I have ever eaten at. The food was amazing and we had a great time spending the evening celebrating with them.
• Making it past another deadline at work. September 15th is the deadline for extended corporate and partnership tax returns. For the first time in five months, I had to work last Saturday. I can't say that was a favorite, but it helped me get more things done. I'm glad the deadline is behind us.
• Receiving an employment contract offer from LarsonAllen that I am pleased with. Salary wasn't what I'd hoped it would be, but the benefits make up for the lack of increase (specifically 4 cents per hour). Its nice to know that on 10/1 I will still have a job.
• Edy's Slow Churned 1/2 the fat ice cream - especially the French Silk
• Today we took Ella to the apple farm for the first time. I loved watching her try to pick an apple with one hand, grunt, then pull with two hands and eventually pick the apple with a little assistance. I hope to post some pics later.
• Having today off work since I had to work on Wednesday. It was really nice to still have a 4 day work-week despite the deadline and HR meetings.
• Beasley's Fish in Grafton
• Uppercase Living - these things are SO COOL!!! http://kris.uppercaseliving.net/Home.m

Early this week was crazy busy and stressful. I'm looking forward to a mellow weekend, with not much (other than homework) on the agenda. Have a great weekend!!!

Facts of life

Wow...I don't even know where to start. So much has changed since the last time I posted anything. In no particular order....

• For my ENTIRE LIFE, my Mom has been an employee of Chicago Title Insurance Company. In fact, she has worked there since high school. She took a couple years off when I was born, but remained an employee during that time. When she returned to work, it was part time. Eventually, she returned to working full-time. After adjusting for her time off, she has been with the company for approximately 33 years. Late July they were informed that the office would be closing and most of them would be losing their jobs...Mom included. Naturally, the news has been hard to swallow. Now they are in their final days and Mom has started cleaning out her desk. Dad keeps reminding Mom that when one door closes, another door opens. At this point, her plan is to take some time off and see what happens. I'm glad she'll get a break and continue to pray that the next step be clear, smooth and a blessing. Mom, please know that I'm here for you, that everything will be ok. I admire your dedication to your job and to CTI. I love you and will support you in whatever the next step may be for you. You are in my prayers. I love you!!!
• On a lighter note, I am finally in the last class of my MBA at SIUE. I'm currently taking MBA 534, which meets on Monday nights. This is the Capstone class of the program and it really is a lot of work. Each week I struggle to get the homework done for the following week. But, at this point, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We have 7 more class sessions, with the last one being Nov 2. Commencement will be Dec 19. My master's degree has taken longer to complete than my bachelor's degree, but at this point, I'm just thankful to be on the final leg of this journey.
• This fall, Rob started his master's degree. He is going to Missouri Baptist University and studying to be a counselor. When he has completed the requirements, he will be a LPC and able to provide counseling services for those in need. He hopes to be done with the program in December 2010. He's super excited about the program and I'm glad to see him studying something that he enjoys. Rob, keep up the good work. We're all proud of you!
• Ella...what happened to the little 7 lb 6 oz baby girl that I swaddled and rocked to sleep not that long ago?!?! That baby girl is changing right before my eyes. About a month ago, she learned how to climb out of her crib. I was out scrapbooking with "The Girls" and Rob called. He asked "When did Ella learn how to climb out of her crib"? My jaw dropped. She proceeded to show him how she did it several more times that day. Luckily, when we purchased her crib, we bought one that converts into a toddler bed. After much discussion that evening and some tears on my part, we decided we would convert it to a toddler bed the next day. It wasn't worth risking her hurting herself. The move to a toddler bed has been difficult at times. Now that she has the freedom to get up whenever she wants, it has been harder to get her to fall asleep. I knew we would obviously make this transition eventually, but I assumed it would be on our terms, not hers. Later THE SAME WEEK, she peed on the "big girl potty" three separate times. It was almost too many changes for me to handle in such a short time. Granted, since then she has indicated the need and desire to go on the potty, but nothing has resulted. Either way, it was excited to know that she understands what happens on the goofy shaped porcelain thing in the bathroom that Daddy sits on for a long time. Her vocabulary is exploding. Some of her favorite words include banana, grape, why (insert eye roll by Mommy here), Gacaw (Grandpa), and Mommy (FINALLY!). I love each and every day with her and am thankful for such a wonderful blessing.
• Ok, so this isn't a change, but something I've learned. This lesson has been learned both recently and over time. It has been hard to accept at times. Its about friends. Some friends will be there for you, no matter what. Other friends say things that hurt. Sometimes they talk behind your back. Some friends let things come between them. True friends don't insult you, or let time or distance interfere. True friends want what is best for you, not what is best for them. I guess this is all part of life, but that doesn't make this lesson any easier to swallow. So, to my true friends...thank you. Thank you for listening, when I just need to talk. Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for caring. Thank you for letting me share in your life. To the "other" friends...all I can say is that I hope I've been a better friend to you, than you have to me.

Lots of big changes happening in our lives. Lots of lessons learned. Lots of prayers said. Lots of tears shed. Overall, I guess these are all just facts of life.

Job changes

Well, I figured I should start with the biggest change going on in my life right now.

It all started late August when an email was sent to everyone at work (GMCH) informing us of a mandatory staff meeting on Friday, August 28. Immediately, we were all nervous. No one seemed to have any idea what the meeting was about. Mandatory staff meetings historically have occurred around tax season. A meeting of this nature in August immediately caused a lot of worry, confusion, and gossip. My main concerns were that we cutting jobs, cutting pay, or closing some of the satellite offices (mainly the one I work out of).

Luckily, the day of the meeting, right before we left to go to the meeting, my boss Tim decided to fill us in so we wouldn't be as surprised as most others in the firm. We were informed that GMCH was being sold and would become part of LarsonAllen, effective 10/1/09. We were told that all offices would remain open and that each GMCH employee would receive an employment offer from LarsonAllen. The news, however, did not reduce the worry, confusion, or gossip. In fact, it increased these fears and created more. Would we be taking a cut in pay? Would our culture mesh with the culture of LarsonAllen? Would we be required to report to a different office? Would our work duties change? The questions were endless.

As we continue to approach the date of the merger, some questions have been answered, while other new questions have been created. After our HR meeting this past week, a lot of the basic questions about our employment were answered. The main things that I am excited about at this point are 1) getting a laptop to work from, 2) working out of the same office and with the same people, 3) less expensive insurance benefits, 4) short-term disability insurance that is company paid and can be used during maternity leave, 5) more PTO and paid holidays that I didn't get with GMCH.

Overall, I still experience mixed emotions at times. I'm sure there will be some good changes and some that will take time to get used to. It will take me a while to accept that I will no longer be an employee of GMCH. I've been with the company for 4 years and 8 months and for the most part it has been great. I love the flexibility of my job. I love the people I work with. I love my clients and the work that I do for them (most of the time - that answer would likely be different around a deadline. LOL!). I'm sure there will be things about GMCH that I will miss, but I'm sure there will be a lot of positive changes too.

Please keep me and my co-workers in your prayers as we go through this HUGE change.

I know, I know...

Yeah, so its been several months since I've posted anything. I hate the fact that time flies by so quickly. I typically think about posting something during the day while I'm at work and check my friends' blogs, but then when I get home I forget. Oops. So, this weekend should be pretty low key. I'm hoping to spend some time catching everyone up on my life lately then...

Check back soon....good things are soon to follow....

PROUD

I first have to make the disclaimer that this post was completely unplanned and I just got the "itch" to post it a few minutes ago. In a previous post, I talked about the camp that my Dad counsels each year. Just this morning, Dad forwarded a link to me with a video that was made this year at camp for the Northwest Herald. Its a bigger file, so it takes a bit to load, but it is totally worth it. Note: Dad isn't interviewed, but you can see him in a lawn chair on the shots of the kids playing the beanbag toss.

http://ssm.nwherald.com/northwest-herald/video/20090618CampIAmMe/camp-i-am-me/

Dad, I don't know if you read my blog or not, but I just have to say how proud I am of you for sharing yourself with these kids. You give them warmth, compassion, love and kindness. You show your campers that there are people in this world who look past their scars and care about them and love them for who they are. You not only give of yourself during Camp week, but throughout the year while you raise money to support the Camp. I'm so thankful that you are a positive influence in the lives of these kids. Dad, I'm so blessed to call you my Dad and I love you.

Friday Favs

I have to admit, this past week has been awesome. Here are some of the highlights, which are also my favs of the week:

Last Saturday, Rob, Ella and I went to the Farmers Market in Alton. There wasn't a lot there yet because of the time of year, but we got a zucchini and a loaf of Parmesan garlic focaccia bread. After that, we stopped by an estate sale in the Fairmont subdivision. It was really neat to walk around and look at all the stuff for sale. Our final stop of the morning was at Food & Fermentation in Godfrey. We picked up a bottle of wine and some 8 oz. filet mignons that were $5 each!!! We had an amazing dinner that night.

Sunday, Mom spent the day with me and Ella while Rob had baseball. After a quick trip to Bed Bath & Beyond, we did a little experimenting in the kitchen. We made cheesecake cups. One batch we made with chocolate and peanut butter and the other with chocolate and strawberry. Both were YUMMY, but the ones with peanut butter were AMAZING! I made a chicken lasagna for dinner, which was also pretty darn good.

Monday was rough at work. We lost internet and phones from 10:30 to 4:45, which left me with not a lot that I could get done. But, when I got to SIUE for class that night, I discovered that class had been cancelled. WAHOO! So, I went back to work to get some things done that I couldn't do during the day.

Our trip to Burn Camp was on Tuesday and Wednesday. I had such a great time. You can read more about that trip in my last post.

Finally, today is Friday. The end of the work week. The last day before a weekend that will fly by, just like all the rest.


Some other highlights of this week:

That Ella did GREAT on her first road trip
Getting text messages from my Dad while he's at Camp
Genuine Chicago style pizza
Rob not snoring in our hotel room :)
Honey BBQ Twist Fritos - my favorite road trip food
Excitement for the upcoming trip that Rob and I will be taking

Thanks for reading. TGIF!

Dad's Father's Day Surprise

For about 17 years now, one week out of each summer my Dad has volunteered as a counselor at the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance's Burn Camp (now also known as Camp I Am Me). The Camp is located at the YMCA's Camp Duncan in Ingleside, IL. It is for kids ages 8 - 16 who have been severly burned in a fire. Many of the kids have absolutely heartbreaking stories. Many have very visible scarring and some also have physical handicaps as a result of their injuries. Each year, Dad prepares the woodworking projects for all of the campers for the week. He loves helping the kids build anything from memory boxes to birdhouses. Throughout the years, we've seen literally thousands of pictures that he has taken and heard tons of stories each year after his return. The Camp is definitely something close to his heart.

Every year on the Wednesday during Camp week, they host Visitor's Day. This is a chance for contributing fire departments and other organizations/individuals to come and see the Camp. I was able to go to Visitor's Day once roughly 10 years ago with one of Dad's friends. The rest of our little family, however, had never experienced Burn Camp first-hand. Some time back, I decided that for Father's Day I wanted to surprise Dad on Visitor's Day at Camp. So, this past Tuesday afternoon, Mom, Rob, Ella, and I loaded up the car for the nearly six hour drive. During our evening in Chicagoland before Visitor's Day, we couldn't pass up the local cuisine. This pizza from Giordano's was amazing.

Yesterday morning, when we got to Camp, we were able to locate Dad without him knowing that we were there. We asked another counselor to take Ella and go take her to Dad. Mom, Rob, and I were able to watch his reaction from around a corner. He looked rather confused when he saw Ella. At that point, we came out of our hiding place so he knew we were there too. He certainly was surprised to see all of us.

One of the main events during Visitor's Day is a fire truck parade. Many local fire departments bring a truck and the campers and counselors are able to go for a ride in the parade. The other visitors, including us, were the spectators. Ella loved the parade, including waving at Grandpa on a fire truck. After a bite of lunch and a little bit of time with Dad, we decided to head home. This was also Ella's first roadtrip so she was pretty tired, but overall she did great.

Here are a few other pictures from our Father's Day Surprise.

Ella and her "Da-Taw"

The shirt Ella wore on Visitor's Day

Sleepy baby

Just a dream

So, I guess part of me has always had a hidden career dream. Not too many people know this, until now. :) Part of me has always wanted to go to culinary school and become a chef. I think the main reason I didn't look into it more was because I don't know what kind of career opportunities would be presented to someone with a degree in the culinary arts. I wouldn't want to have to work every evening and weekend at some place in St. Louis and always be away from my family. I think I owe this dream primarily to my Mom. My Mom is an AMAZING cook and she has learned from another AMAZING cook, my Grandma. Mom and I love to swap recipes and she is the one I call from the grocery store with all my crazy questions. All of my days as a 4-H girl also helped me explore my skills (or lack there-of) in the kitchen. I took quite a variety of cooking/baking/etc projects in 4-H. Yeah, just ask me about my State Fair, Superior ribbon-winning bread. Got the big fat purple ribbons to prove it! Anyway, I used to be able to use the lack of a dishwasher as a deterrent to cooking/baking as much as I wanted. Really, who wants to wash all the dishes that result?!?! Not me! Well, now we have a dishwasher so that excuse is out the window. I really wish I had more time to spend in the kitchen, but for the sake of still trying to lose my baby weight, its probably a good thing that I don't spend more time there. Sure, I have had my fair share of "nice try, but no thanks" recipes. Just ask Rob about the seafood pasta dish I tried one time. I've tried to block that particular event from my memory, but I do remember it having a home-made red sauce, shrimp and lots of seasonings in it. Basically, it tasted about as good as cardboard. Leftovers were not salvaged from that dinner.

After a particularly frustrating day at work today, my curiosity got the best of me. I'm sure you've all seen the ads and TV commercials for the Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Institute in St. Louis. I decided to give them a call. Who knows, accountant turned chef...I'm sure its happened before. Needless to say, after finding out that its 4 days a week, 4 1/2 hours per day for 9 months with a price tag of roughly $16,300...I think I'll be finishing my masters degree and sitting for the CPA exam in the next year or two. So, my dreams of becoming a chef will remain just that, a dream.

Friday Favs

Really, Friday again? Where did the last week go?

Anyway, some of the best parts of this past week (not in any particular order):

Movie Nite with "my girls" - they can always make me smile and laugh. You guys are the best!!!

New basement windows

3 years of marriage - sometimes our wedding day seems like it was yesterday, and other times it feels like its been longer. We've been through/done a lot in the last three years - Ella's birth, bought our house (including remodeling our kitchen), two new cars & a motorcycle, my car accident, Rob's graduation from Greenville College, Rob's new job on SIUe's campus, my continued work on my MBA (not all necessarily in that order)

Date night with the hubby - dinner at Tony's (seafood pasta - YUM!), putt-putt golf, and Rick's ice cream (thanks to Grandma JoAnn for watching Ella!)

Ella's laugh - it can brighten anyone's day and make any worries go away

Our landscaping - its been done for almost a year now and we are loving all the plants and flowers. They add some amazing color to the outside of our house. Its low maintenance and looks great, if I might say so myself!

Movie Review

Last night was Movie Nite with "the girls". (Thanks again for hosting Steff!) After a yummy dinner from Roma's and some chat about our Annual Girls Trip (Hermann MO this year!!!), we settled in to watch He's Just Not That Into You and New in Town. He's Just Not That Into You had a couple of characters that were INCREDIBLY annoying at times. The last 15 minutes was good, but not a movie I will go out and buy. It basically gives different scenarios of dating relationships in which the girl and/or guy does something over the top. Of course its exaggerated for the purpose of the movie. New in Town was much better. The Minnesota accent of the majority of the characters would be my only dislike. Of course Harry Connick Jr is very easy on the eyes. He's a bit rugged in the movie, but I won't complain. If you are in need of a feel-good movie - its worth renting.

My favorite things from this week

I stole the idea for this post from my friend, Alison. Thanks Alison, hope you don't mind!

Once a week I hope to write about some of my favorite things from the week, in an effort to make me notice and be more thankful for the good things in life...

Scrapbooking with "my girls"

Getting out of class at 8 pm (instead of 10:30) for the first night of class

Ella's first trip to the zoo

70 degree weather in June - I could get used to this!!!

Finishing Breaking Dawn (book four of the Twilight series)

Iced Mocha from McDonald's

Having GPS while trying to find a client's office in Sauget for the first time

Mashed Potatoes!

Tonight for dinner, we had turkey, mashed potatoes and green beans - all foods that Ella LOVES. We've really been trying to work with her on using a spoon and fork. I decided to let her try eating her whole meal on her own, including the mashed potatoes. Needless to say, I hadn't planned on giving her a bath tonight, until she put her entire hand in her mashed potatoes and then smeared them all over her face and hair. What kind of blogger/scrapbooker would I be if we hadn't taken pictures?!?!

Early during dinner...

Eh, forget the spoon/fork...fingers are more fun!

Ella's "uh-oh" face...

My little Picasso

This past Saturday was Rob's graduation from Greenville College. Rob had a meeting to attend in the morning, so Ella and I were going to hitch a ride to Greenville with Rob's parents and just meet Rob at graduation. Mid-morning, after Ella's bath, I decided to put her down for a nap to help her make it through the busy afternoon. Since we hadn't turned on our A/C for the summer and it was a tad warm in her room, I decided to let her nap in just her diaper. About 11:30 I heard her begin to wake up from her nap, but she was content to play in her crib so I left her alone. As it got closer to noon, I decided I should get her up so she would have time to eat lunch and get dressed before our ride was to arrive at 12:15. As soon as I began to open her bedroom door, I could smell a dirty diaper. My darling daughter had not only pooped in her diaper when she woke up, but had taken her diaper off, removed the poop from the diaper and proceeded to paint her crib, herself, her mattress, and everything else in it with poop. As if that weren't enough, she had pressed herself against the side of her crib and managed to pee on the carpet next to her crib. I was speechless. I had 15 minutes to clean up an unbelievable mess. I took her straight to the bathroom and spent the next 10 minutes scrubbing all of the poop off of her. I got her dressed and put her in her high chair to eat lunch just as my in-laws arrived. I was so thankful and relieved to have Cindy's help! She fed Ella lunch while I regained my composure and finished getting ready.

Naturally, after graduation, when I was telling Rob about the event, his response was "Did you take a picture?" I failed to capture the moment, which I believe was a good thing. Luckily I can laugh about it now, and I have a great story to embarrass her with when she's older.

I'm a follower...

Ok, so I guess its time that I admit it. My name is Julie and I have a problem. I'm a follower. Maybe there's a group I can join to help me with this. FA - Followers Anonymous. I could always start my own FA group, but wait, that would make me a leader!!!

Anyway, the reason I say I'm a follower is that most of my friends have blogs and I haven't jumped on the train until now. What caused me to start now? My friend Alison's 3 year-old son, Josiah, now has a blog. I guess you could say he was my inspiration.

So, thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy reading.