|{ Work Stress and Day 3 }|

Every 2 weeks at work I get a call about how I am doing with my quality as well as my productivity.  While my productivity is getting better my quality is dropping a ton!! I am making more mistakes than ever and I really dread those calls! Every other week I fear I hear those awful words.. "This isn't working out...you're fired."  I've never been fired so that would really suck, not to mention I really need this job.  I am stressed and worried about it all the time and it's driving me crazy.  So for the next 2 weeks I will be slowing down my productivity to make sure my quality goes up, which is the most important thing.

I'll get it eventually.... I hope.

DAY 3:
YOUR IDEA OF THE PERFECT FIRST DATE

Probably my least favorite question of all of them but I don't want to start off bad my skipping it.

I've had some great first dates and some really not so awesome ones!

My idea of the perfect date isn't what you do but how much you enjoy the other person.  The best first dates are the ones where you can talk and talk and talk and both of you never get tired of it and you just feel really comfortable together.  That's how Jon was, we just clicked immediately! That's the best!  It doesn't matter what you go and do as long as you have fun and enjoy the person you are with! :)

|{ Days 1 and 2 }|

Instead of starting on Day 1 today I thought I would day 1 and 2 so I can just go along with the month...until I get the end of the month of course! Haha.

DAY 1- A PHOTO OF YOURSELF AND A DESCRIPTION OF HOW YOUR DAY WAS:

(Taken in 2007)

My day has been alright.  I am getting over a cold, today is the first day that it isn't so bad, so that's good!  Other than that I have just been working, which went well today! And of course I have been blog stalking, which is my favorite thing to do on the internet! :)


DAY 2- TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOB:


Well, I work as a medical transcriptionist.  I had to get certified to do it and that took about 9 months to finish.  I get to work from home (which is the main reason I decided to do it) and I work a full time 40 hour  week, Tuesday through Saturday!  It can be hard sometimes, mostly just to stay focused, but other than that I really enjoy it and I'm glad to be able to be bringing in some money while my Med School Student Husband can't work! :)

My Job Is Screwing Up My Spelling

So for those of you who don't know, I work at home as a medical transcriptionist.  I really enjoy it and I think I am pretty good at is as well!

I get medical words crammed into my head all day long, which is great because I can't do my job without that focus; however, I often find my mind just racing with a bunch of nonsensical words that don't have to do with anything just because those are the words I am used to hearing.

On the plus side, with Jon being in medical school it is really helpful because I know exactly what he talking about, which has been very enjoyable!

However, sometimes I find myself a little hindered when I am not in the work setting.  I try to use my word expanders in places they don't work, like blogging.  For example, I hate spelling the word approximately and during work all I have to type in is 'aprox' and it spells out the for me, so much easier...too bad it only works during work!

And have you ever noticed that sometimes when a word is spelled right but spell check says its wrong because you put an 's' at the end.  Silly spell check, I know it's right, stop telling me otherwise!

Also, I tend to get similar words mixed up and end up trying to spell bowl, like bowel.... Haha! Oh the joy of my job!!

What A Relief!

Today I had a conference call with a lady at work about how my progress is going.  I was pretty nervous, ready to hear the worst, 'You aren't doing very well at all, if you don't pick it up then we are going to have to let you go...'

So at 4:00 I got on the phone and to my surprise I found out that I am doing just fine, pretty great in fact.  I have continually been improving and everything looks good!!

I was so excited!  It is such a relief!  I have been worried about my performance for a few weeks now so it feels so good to finally know and to know that I am doing well.  I am excited to continue to improve and get even better!!

Also, the wellness program is still going well. I did my workout yesterday and today and I can definitely feel the muscle pain telling me I'm doing well. I love that pain!! Especially in my abs, which is where I feel it the most, for once!!  Have you guys ever done Wii fit?  It's what I've been using, which, of course, may not be the most strict or tough workout, but I have always been surprised by how well it actually works for me!!

Hoping you are all having a terrific week!!

MHRF

My Husband Rocks Friday (MHRF)!!

This week my husband rocks because he is more than willing to help out around the house!

My work schedule is really weird. I work Tuesday-Saturday from 2-10. I get a half hour break during the day, which I use to pick Jon up from school. He has been super helpful and has been helping me, or completely taking over things like making dinner. He has also been doing other things around the house as well. I help as much as I can and I worry a little about what's going to happen when he really gets into the thick of things for school and has to spend a lot of time studying. But it's so nice to know that we are there to help each other out!

I am hoping to be able get my schedule changed soon, we'll see how that goes. I feel bad for making him do all these things that I usually do, but he keeps telling me that he feels bad because I'm the one making all the money. So we decided to call it a truce and neither of us will feel bad. I am so grateful for all he does! He is such an amazing companion!!

New MT Job!!

I just started a new job! The last one was not really working out. It was not steady enough and I needed more work. So I just started a job with a new company. I started working yesterday and so far I really like it! It's a lot better! I even get benefits after three months! I have a steady work flow and the work is a lot more like I was taught in school! I really love it so far!

I'm excited to be able to start bringing in some money for us, especially since once Jon starts medical school he won't be able to work. It is a lot of pressure on my shoulders but I know it won't be forever and I'm glad I can help support him! We leave in 3 and 1/2 weeks and I can't believe it!!! We are so excited to stop worrying about selling and move on to something bigger and more exciting!!

I am enjoying spending time with Amber! It's so nice to have her here!! I miss the rest of my family but she's so great so it's okay!! I adore that girl!!

I feel so grateful for all that has been going on in our lives! It's going so well and I really appreciate all that Jon is doing! He is so wonderful and inspiring and encouraging! I don't know what I would do without him!

Blessings in Dallas

Things have been interesting since we moved to Dallas. There have been a lot of bad things happen, mostly just drama with people. So and so doesn't like so and so, so and so did this, so and so did that... It's been exhausting but in the end the good things have outweighed the bad things.

We love it here in Dallas. The weather is amazing! Humid but not overly so, hot, but generally not too bad. Jon has been doing really well here! Much better than in Nashville. He hasn't gone even one day without selling anything and that feels so good. On Monday he sold 4 systems for the first time this summer and it feels great! We have been having a lot of fun with Jess and Mac! It's always nice to make friends that you end up caring about so much and to have them care about you in return is something to cherish. We are so happy to be able to spend so much time with them! I love having friends like that. Jess and Rochele are my angels and I love them so much!! Though we miss Erick and Kira like crazy!!!!

I have been looking for a job and have just found one!! It's perfect!! I will be working on Tuesday through Saturday from 1-9 pm. It's exactly the same schedule as Jon minus Monday and I can't believe how perfect it is going to be! Much better than my previous job! I will also be getting benefits in 3 months and will be getting a pay raise hopefully in not too long. We feel very blessed to be out here. Things are going well. We are catching up financially and this weekend we will be getting a nice push in the right direction when Jon gets paid and we are so grateful for that!

My sister, Amber (Nichelle) is coming to see me around the 23rd of June and I AM SO EXCITED!! She wanted to stay for at least a month but unfortunately we could only work in about 3 weeks but it's still a long time and we can't wait for her to get here! We are going to have fun at the pool and watch Color Splash Miami and do whatever we want!! It's going to be great!! And next summer she'll get to stay longer!!

Kira just graduated high school and I am so happy for her! I miss her like crazy and I wish I could see her too!!

We are loving life! We get to buy stuff to make sushi this weekend which rocks!! We are so happy together and we don't even care that people are spreading rumors around about us. It doesn't matter. We are so happy and we love our lives!!

My Life Is Full Of Glee

Once again, I failed to post on Friday... But this time I have an excuse! Jon's parents came to visit last Thursday and I spent all day Friday with them, so I didn't actually have time! I'll make sure I post my hubby this Friday and I'll make it a really good one! :)

We have been having a pretty good time with the Peterson's here. Jon really loves having them here. His little sister can be a little much, but we love her too. We haven't done too much. Both of his parents came to Tennessee on their missions so they have been spending most of the time driving around to see the places they remember and Jon is gone working during that time, so it's been working pretty well. We mostly just hang out and play games in the evening. This morning we sat down to discuss our finances with his parents (my favorite thing to talk about...NOT) but it actually turned out to be okay. We have been making progress to pay off our debt and it feels good to be on the right track. His parents also asked us if they could take Jon's student loan away from us. We were both super grateful! It was a crazy generous thing to do and I am constantly amazed by how much they for us! That's one of our biggest debts and they just wanted to be the ones to pay for it. Of course we said yes, haha! They are amazing people and I love them so much!!

I have been looking for a second job because the one I currently have has not been sending me assignments. I probably haven't had an assignment in about 3 and 1/2 weeks now. It really sucks! I hate looking for another job when I already have one! It's even worse than looking when I don't have one!! But we need the money so I'm trying to do something to help out. I kind of have the feeling that when we get to Michigan I might have to go and find a job outside of the home for a while, but we'll see how it all goes.

I'm really excited but worried too about getting to Michigan. We've always had Pinnacle since we've been married. We've always had plenty of money to get by plus a little extra and when we get to Michigan not only will be making less but Jon won't be working at all and all of it will be put on me and any loans we might be able to get for school. It's a scary thought but I know it all work out in the end. I just hope it doesn't shock us too much...

I have started watching Glee since we got here! I went online and was able to watch all of the first episodes that I missed and we have it set to record every week! I wasn't sure I would like it, which is why it took me so long to start watching it in the first place but I definitely love it now!! Jon really likes it too, which is awesome!!! I love how all of the characters are so different from each other and they all have weird quirks and problems. They aren't the perfect characters we see on so many shows. I love all of them for different reasons, even the bad characters. Haha! I think my top favorites are Emma, Kurt, Sue, and Brittany. They are all such funny and interesting characters! Of course I like all the main characters too, it's really hard to pick a favorite!! They are all great! I love the music they sing, it's fun to watch. I adored the Single Ladies episode!!! That was the best!! HAHA! I love Kurt!! Anyway, it's official, I LOVE GLEE!!

I have been terrible at taking pictures since we got here. I love my camera but I sure miss our little digital camera. It's so much easier to take places. Oh well! I'll try to be better at it so my posts aren't so boring!

Double Dates, Kickball and a New Job

So Rochele and I have been spending almost all day everyday together for the past week or so and it has been fabulous! It's so wonderful to have such a great connection with another girl!! I love Rochele so much!! She is such an amazing friend!! She's really the best and I am SO sad that I am losing her next week when she heads home to Rexburg. I'll miss her so much!

We were watching Racheal Ray one day and she had this fabulous looking recipe so we decided to do a double date with our husbands and make them dinner! We made lemon glazed chicken and tangerine scallion pasta!! It was delicious!! We also had sparkling cider, non-alcoholic wine, bread, and, of course, dessert!! We had apple crisp and vanilla ice cream! Yum!! We also made it all romantic with candles and low lights. It was so fun and really really tasty! It was great and our husband's loved it! After dinner we played games and had limeade!!! It was a great Saturday night!

On Sunday we had one of our last barbeques with everyone and then we went and played kickball together!! It was an absolute blast!! I haven't played a game like that for so long and I am so sore! It was SO great! Almost everyone was there! The score ended at 13 to 10 (or something like that). We were on the losing team and we had more people, it was pretty funny, but we had such a great time!!! I'm really going to miss everyone. Almost everyone is leaving by next week... Sad day...

So, I'm not really sure how this happened, it started out as a joke and then just happened so fast, but I HAVE A JOB!! No more job searching! YAY!! I am actually going to be the secretary for the Pinnacle office in Sacramento for the guys who are extending. I am pretty excited, though a little nervous. But Amy, the secretary now, is SO wonderful and amazing and she has spent a lot of time training me and making me feel comfortable about it. I'm so glad that I get to do this so she can go home! Wish me luck!!

SUCCESS!!!

A lot of great things have been happening in the last few days! It has been fantastic!

Jon had been doing really well selling! He got 4 sales yesterday which he hasn't done for about 5 weeks, so that is awesome! Also, he just hit his 100 mark!!! Good job baby! I knew you could do it!! There is an incentive going out to all of the guys for a cruise later in the year! Each person was given an individual goal to hit and if they do it then they get to go on the cruise! Jon's is 150 and I really think we'll be able to go! 2 cruises in a few months time! Yay!!

Also, I just found out today that I PASSED MY TEST!!! I am WAY excited! I was really worried about it and actually had a hard time actually opening the email that told me because I was terrified that I failed again! But I didn't!! I passed with 93% and even got HONORS!!! I am just so happy that I don't have to take it again!! Thanks honey for being so supportive and encouraging!! I love you!

So things are going fabulously! We are having tons of fun with the people out here and the summer is quickly coming to a close. People usually go home around the end of August, and I am dreading it because we'll be here until November and I'm really going to miss my friends. How sad! But we still have a month so I'm totally going to make the most of it!

Also, Jon's friend Matt just got engaged to a sweet girl named Kim! I am absolutely thrilled them! They are getting married on November 21st, which is SWEET! Because Jon and I were married on November 20th and we already plan on being in town for Thanksgiving! So we won't miss it! We wouldn't miss it anyway, but this is easy now! Hurray! Congrats friends! We love you!!

Test Attempt #2

I just submitted my 2nd attempt at my test!! I think it went really well actually! Definitely better than the first time. I only had a few blanks and though there may be mistakes that I failed to see, I think that I should at least pass. I need 85% to pass at all, 95% and up would be best though. I think that I at least got somewhere in the 90s, so we'll see. I officially have to wait for 2 weeks (again). Waiting is tough!! But at least I don't have to worry too much, I just need to enjoy the break and try not to think about it!

***** Oh! Also, if you have heard about Career Step (careerstep.com) from me and have decided that you want to try it, I would REALLY appreciate it if you would add me as a referral! That would be FREAKING AWESOME!!! Thanks!! ******

I am leaving tomorrow morning to drive to Utah to pick up my sisters!!! I'll be there tomorrow (Wednesday) night and I'm driving back to California with them on Thursday morning! So lots of driving, but it will totally be worth it!!! I can't wait!! It's going to be great!!!

Also, Harry Potter movie #6 comes out in theaters tonight/tomorrow!!! I LOVE HARRY POTTER!! (For all of you who had no idea. ;) )

Good night!!

More Family Visits

Last week Jon's family came to visit us here is California! (Sarah didn't come, but everyone else did). They stayed for a few days but Jon still had to work, so it was just me and them for most of the week/weekend. They got here on Wednesday night and we went to Six Flags on Thursday. I really wasn't in the mood to go to Six Flags again, since Jon had been there only 2 weeks earlier, but I did, however, want to spend time with my in-laws. I am really glad that I decided to go. We had a good time and it was nice to have the bonding opportunity.

On Friday we just hung out during the day and went to the pool for a bit and Jon was able to come home early from work, so we went out to dinner together. We went to this great restaurant called Wasabi. It's like Teppenyaki and Benihana where they cook in front of you. The food was great! Jon's family had never been to a restaurant like that before so it was fun to see them enjoy it for the first time. Our cook was pretty creative too, it was fun!

On Saturday we went to the park to have a picnic for lunch. It was amazingly hot outside and I felt really bad that Jon still had to be out there all day in the sun talking to strangers. We played Frisbee for a bit until we couldn't handle the heat anymore. We spent the rest of the day inside until Jon got home. We had chicken fettuccine alfredo for dinner and then went to the park again (this time with Jon) and played some more Frisbee. Jon and I took off our flip flops and our feet started to turn orange. I'm still not sure whether it was just the dirt that was under the grass or whether is was something else, like some sort of pesticide or something... Jon ended up getting a charlie horse and left with Ben to play Nintendo while the rest of stayed to play. We played until the sprinklers turned on and we were forced to leave. It was a good time.

On Sunday, his parents made pancakes for us for breakfast and then they went to Sacrament meeting with us before they left. I'm really glad they came. We had a really nice time!

Jon and I are planning on taking a cruise in August! It's about halfway through the time that we will be out here and it will be such a nice vacation! No stress at all, just fun. We got it officially booked a few days ago! We are leaving on August 8th and coming back on August 13th! The ship is going to down to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico! I'm so excited! Neither of us have ever been on a cruise before! It's going to be fabulous!!

Also, I didn't pass my medical transcriptioning test. I did well on the first section but I have to take the second part again. So, now it's back to studying for at least another week before I can take my test again. I really hope I pass this time, I only have 3 chances and that would REALLY suck if I didn't pass... so we'll see...

I'm Done!!

I finished taking my final test today and I am officially done with school!! I think I did alright on the test. I'll find out in about 2 weeks. I'm pretty nervous, it was kinda hard. It feels so good to be done with it though! I had until September to finish and I'm glad that I was able to finish a few months before that. It will give me extra time in case I need to retake my final... though I REALLY hope that I won't have to do it over again! I have to get 85% on both portions (separately) in order to pass. I am pretty nervous about it, but I'm trying not to worry. I have 2 weeks until I find out and I don't want to waste that free time worrying about my test!

I'm so grateful for Jon. He was super supportive and very excited for me! I really appreciate the encouragement that he gives me. He always believes in me, even when I don't believe in myself. After I find out that I passed the test (if indeed I did pass it) I will start looking for a job. I am pretty nervous about that and I hope it won't be too hard and that I will do well. Right now though, I just want to concentrate on the good feeling that I'm done with school!!

Time For A Change

I decided recently that I was really in need, or want, of a change. I really want to change up my style. No more t-shirts... okay, at least not for going out. I want to actually have some style. I want to have nice clothes that I look really good in. I want to do stuff with my hair instead of throwing it up in a ponytail all the time. I'm tired of looking like a teenager. I need to change my style so I can look and feel more my age. So, if anyone has any tips on how to dress stylishly, find good clothes, and change my daily hairstyle, I would REALLY appreciate it!!

Jon is doing really well. He sold 4 yesterday and was #19 in the company for that day! It was awesome! His first sale was just amazing! He sold it to a couple who just moved into a new 3-story home! The guy was pretty rich because he had a family member that worked at a company... I can't remember the company... It's kinda lame, because he never had to really work for his money, but still. It was a 45 point system!! And for those of you who don't understand how big that actually is, they usually give out between 5-10 points, so it was huge!! Jon got to charge them a lot of extra money and made at least 2 or 3 times more on that sale than a normal one! It was great! It also took the technician 6 hours to get it done!! And then to get 3 more... yeah, it was a great day for him!! Good job Babe!!

I am almost done with my medical transcriptioning program. I sat down today and figured how much work I have to do before I get to my final. I'm in the last stretch and have 165 more dictations to transcribe. That's a pretty big number to look at, but I split it up. I am hoping to finish with it by June 5th. My parents will be here on June 6th, so it's a perfect time. That's about 16 days, including today, that I have to actually work, so minus Sundays. So really, I only have to do about 11 a day!! That's awesome!! I can TOTALLY do that! I'm way excited about it and feel a lot more motivated to actually work! Wish me luck!!