Wrapping it Up

Here we are at the end of the year again! Alaina's birthday is today and I can't help but think that she gets pushed to the side when her birthday rolls around, considering it's New Years Eve. As the year comes to a close, and I look back at all of 2009, I can't help but think that this year just flew by. With Pat and I both in school and working and taking care of the kids, it seems we have lost track of time. My baby is 2 years old today! I can't believe it. I can't ask for a better life, I love my life and especially my family and friends! I can't wait to see what God has in store for us in the upcoming year!!!

Update

Well, I am going to go ahead and work while our friends are up, as much as I don't want to, it's the right thing to do. Not too much new is going on here. Pat and I finished our last cluster of this year and both of us finished with STRAIGHT A's!!! Pat found out that he does not graduate next December, but in June of next year, so he is super happy about that. It feels really strange to be on break and not have any homework or anything to do. I don't know what to do with my "free time". I presented my marketing plan to my class on Monday night and my instructor was very impressed and asked if she could share it with some other people. My project was on starting my own photography business, so I made a website to show everyone and then I passed around a pricing sheet. Anyway, my instructor showed the website to her class last night and then she e-mailed me afterwards. This was what she wrote to me:

Jennifer,

It took me a while to get the internet to work..as we did not have firefox on the system at the LCIE Building..However, one of the students was able to put it on and we showed the pictures. There was a positive response to your pictures and to your prices. Some one was interested in possible wedding pictures. I did not press the issue..just gave the information and price lists. Unfortunately the system here is not as good as what we have in Wentzville which was very disappointing.
I also left the CD and the information along with the picture you gave me for Lori Malloy..She is the Office Manager of the LCIE Program. I think you know her, she remembered you.
I told her about your still life pictures of flowers as well as your portraits..she is very interested in looking at them and to speak with you. They are redoing the office and walls and are in the process to look for art work. She asked for you to call her and speak with her.
She will be in the office Thursday and Friday and also next week.
I obviously could not give her prices on the pictures...
Lori's number is 636-949-4500. Her e-mail address is lmalloy@lindenwood.edu. I think she comes in after 9 am.
I also gave your price list to an instructor who was teaching, I think his name is Dr. Bailey....
Let me know how the contact with Lori works out...You might have to check with her to see if she has the access on her computer. I also gave Lori the information you gave me for access.
I think you have great potential and I am most interested in seeing how this goes. I think this is very exciting!
Warmest Regards,
Phyllis
314-540-3485 cell

Decisions, Decisions

So, working in retail during the holiday season has posed a few issues this month. Four months ago I requested some days off that I needed in December. It happened to be two weekends in a row, the 11th-13th and the 18th-20th. We also have a crazy amount of birthdays in December such as: Grandma Stroot and Lydia on Dec. 1, Doug on Dec. 9, Dad on Dec. 15, our anniversary on the 18th and Alaina on the 31st. It's a crazy month, plus throwing Christmas and New Years into that mix makes it a little crazy. So knowing that I requested those dates off FOUR MONTHS ago, I assumed that I would have those days off. I am babysitting the entire weekend of the 11th and the weekend of the 18th is our last chance to see the Robertson's before they move to Costa Rica. Well, to my surprise I received NONE of the days off that I requested. So, tonight when I go into work I'm going to be having a conversation with a manager and if they cannot work with what I am able to work, I'm going to have to make a decision of quitting or sucking it up and working even though I gave them plenty of notice. I will keep you posted and let you know what's going on.

I chose the Christmas card from 2 of these pictures

the dreaded DIET

I go back and forth all the time on working out, eating healthy, trying to lose weight versus being engrossed in schoolwork, being lazy, and relaxing frequently. I do well with working out and eating healthy for about a month and then I get bored of eating the same things all the time, so I splurge and it takes me a while to get back on the weight loss bandwagon. I don't have enough will power to stay motivated to lose the weight that I want to do. I am the kind of person that if I don't see results right away, I give up. I have decided that after the soda I currently have in the refrigerator is gone, I am going to try to start drinking diet in hopes that eventually I will give up soda all together. The two things I love the most are the first that need to go in order for me to lose weight, they are: soda and all junk food. :o( I know, I'm an adult and I should be able to have the self-control and will power to overcome these evil things, but so far I have not had too much success. I use the busy thing as an excuse all the time...I'm busy doing homework, cleaning, working, playing with the kids, whatever but the truth is, I could spend the time that I'm normally playing around on the computer and do some exercise, eat a healthy snack instead of a snickers bar and eventually if I stick to it, I believe I can lose the weight that I want to lose. I know you probably are wondering how much I am wanting to lose and the answer is 50 pounds within a year. That's less than a pound a week. Sounds pretty reasonable, don't you think? I'm going to pray that God helps me to stay motivated because I want to be a healthy mom for my kids, I want to be able to run around and play with them and right now I just feel like a fat, lazy blob. It will change, you'll see! (this is a pep talk to myself!)

Learning Something New

As I have mentioned many times before, I am currently in a marketing cluster. We just had to do a paper on personal branding and I found it to be very exciting. It has given me an idea of who I am, what I want to be perceived as, and which direction I want my life to be headed. I am having a hard time deciding what I want to do whenever I get my degree whether I want to try to do an office job such as accounting, or at least something with numbers, or if I want to be risky and start my own business.

If any of you know me well, you know that I am not a risk taker...at all! However, while sitting in church a few weeks ago, Pastor Erik was talking about taking risks and doing what God has called you to do instead of just sitting by taking the easy path because it is safe, secure, and much less risky. I know the idea of starting my own business has a lot that would go with it but at the same time, I truly believe that it is where I am the most gifted, the most talented, and I absolutely love it.

In this class I have learned that sometimes it is okay to take risks. If you fail, you learn from your mistakes and move on. I think my problem is the failing part. I choose not to take risks because I am afraid to fail. Through my wonderful Pastor and my current professor I have learned that failing is part of learning and growing. If I don't have a clear vision of where I want my business, life, marriage, whatever to go, it will fail. If I listen to God and define the vision that I believe he has set before me, I believe I will be more successful than I could have ever imagined.

I am willing to take the risk, as soon as I finish the marketing plan and the vision for our future!

Sweet Hook-up!!!

Today I had to go do a focus group on Sparkle paper towels. In the marketing class I am currently in the teacher makes us do a focus group or a mystery shop. I tried doing the mystery shop and nothing ever seemed to work out right, so I called up Lucas Market Research in Earth City and asked if there was a focus group I qualified for. I know boring...snore! Anyway, I got put on a list to do a focus group for this morning and in preparation, they sent me a journal that I had to do for 5 days! It seems like a lot of work but really it's not. We were getting paid $25 for our journals and $75 for doing the focus group. If we got to MLR early, we were put into a drawing to win an extra $25 and guess who won!!! That's right, my name was pulled right out of that basket and I just beamed. Yeah, I know it's only $25 but I WON! So I was all happy waiting to go sit in the room with these 6 other women to talk about the paper towel that we all "love" when I hear the receptionist tell me that someone wanted to talk to me. I thought to myself "uh-oh, they found out I work at Sams and aren't going to let me do this group (you couldn't work at a place that manufactured, distributed, or marketed paper towels. To my surprise, the lady said in a whispering tone "we accidently overbooked this group so we are going to pay you and you get to go home!" I couldn't believe it! Not only did I win the $25 drawing but I get paid $100 to go home?!?! God never ceases to amaze and take care of me and my family!