this weekend

So thursday i was in class all day like normal, not too many exciting things going on there! friday i had off of classes and got to talk to one of my good friends on the phone, we hadn't done that in a while so it was good to hear from her. Then i went and babysat one of my fav. little girls. It was really fun because she is incredibly cute and sweet. I hardly ever have to get on to her. I picked her up from daycare and then we ate lunch, then went to the NC life and science museum. If you are ever in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill and have kids, or just want a fun place to go you should stop by. it's like Fernbank in Atlanta, with really fun exhibits, but it has a petting zoo, and a butterfly house, and life size dinosaur display. It's pretty cool. and it's not too expensive either. We are members of an association of science museums (when we went to huntsville last year we got the memberships because it was cheaper than paying full price to go tot the air and space museum) so we get in free anytime. The girl's parents are members too, so they go about once a week with her.

So after about an hour she was getting tired so we went back to her house for a nap (which she insisted she did not want to take or need, but she slept for 2.5 hours) I'm babysitting her again tonight. it was an easy afternoon and i made 60 bucks. Audie and i went out to eat last night and walked around target for a while, just to have something to do.

ok today- homework is on the course for today, until i babysit at five and i'll be doing more of the same tomorrow. the semester has hit for sure. I have 7 books that i have to read part of - which equals about 1000 pages of reading, and two papers due this week. NOT fun!!!

Julia

what a wednesday!

Ok it wasn't that exciting, but i got you interested right?? please say yes!

So today i slept in, glorious, and had to go to class at 2:30. it is one of those classes that you have to listen and take notes the whole time. I realize that you would think that all classes are like that but we all know that they are not. but this class is pretty good, i like it so far. One thing that stresses me about this class is that i have to blog for it.

I know that it shouldn't stress me out, because i blog as a hobby. But it's not the same. We as a class have a private blog out in the world and we have to each post 2 times a week and respond to another person's blog. It's basically like us doing a reflection paper each class time, but everyone gets to read our thoughts about what we're reading and talking about in class. That stresses me out. I hate reflection papers, i think that they are just busy work for grad. students!! and i don't like the thought of people talking about what i'm posting. Not to mention there are 45 people in my class. that means 90 posts a week and 45 comments spread around. that's a lot to read, on top of all the other stuff we're reading for class. not fun!!

But other than class not much happened today. i made some creamy italian chicken and Fettuccine for dinner. one of my favorites! yummy. now i'm catching up on my DVR, and i blogged for class for the first time - wish me luck!

Julia

Bachelor last night.

so i was too excited about the bachelor to wait through the day! i had a few moments in the midst of the day so i figured i would go ahead and post!

So michelle, wow i think she is really crazy!! she was like bipolar acting the whole time, or drunk the whole time one, both could be possible for sure! i was glad for her to go home, though i always think that the girls in the house spend way too much time thinking/worrying about the other girls than they do about their own selves. I didn't like her, and when she kissed Jake and then complained about the lack of passion in it she was like 'well why don't you just send me home' then Jake said "ok, well if you don't want to be here you should probably should go home then." I thought he handled it with grace and integrity, but it was shocking to send her home that way. but the other girls were certainly surprised of his actions.

Valisha- she was sent home and i could see that coming a mile away! the editing of the show didn't show much about her, which makes me think that she wasn't going to make it. that makes me worried for some of the other girls that haven't had a lot of air time too.

Elizabeth - the non-kisser. She had asked Jake NOT to kiss her until she is the last girl standing, and he knew that she was THE girl. But then she would say like 'i really want to kiss you' etc. and kind of be a tease about the whole thing. I think that she was doing this just to stand out in his mind and to have a gimmick that made her different. one of my friends on Facebook said she was disappointed because this was the only girl that showed any kind of morals and she got kicked off. BUT Jake asked her last night about this whole thing, and called her out for teasing him with the not kissing. he asked if this was out of religious beliefs and her face said that was no where in her reasoning, and she said of course not. AND her comedy club performance made her sound like a potty mouth, because they bleeped every other word. so overall i think she was just teasing him, or she knew that he'd be kissing all the other girls and really didn't want him to, but was regretting that choice. I think if she was really real about the whole thing, he would have respected it, but since she was wavering back and forth he got frustrated.

SO that's my thoughts about the events of last nights episode for what it is worth, probably not a lot. Other things going on today: not much, i have classes scheduled throughout the day so that means i have to be at school all day, which stinks!

Ok ta ta for now!

Julia

weekend update!

So i know i'm falling into my old patterns of not blogging frequently! i'm really sorry guys, but i was trying to get a jump on some homework for the coming week. I want to utilize my free fridays by reading for the coming week, before i get drawn into enjoying my weekend. But there was a wrench in that plan because Audie was off of work on Friday.

SO friday we did a TON of errands, we went to Target, the thrift store, WalMart, SAM's, the grocery store. It was so nice to fill our cabinets with food. We haven't gone grocery shopping in the last two weeks and we were scrapping the bottom of the barrel of our cabinets! That night we made reservations at a really nice hibachi place near our house. A friend of Audie's at work recommended it because it was good and fairly cheap. They had a early dinner special, so we ate at 6:00 and both got chicken, steak, shrimp, rice, veggies, soup and salad for $40 total, after drinks and tip. that's a good deal in my book!

Saturday i made up my friday off of homework by doing some reading. I got a good amount done because Audie was at work and out of my hair. At around 4 a friend of ours called. He and his wife wanted to go see a movie. We went to Carolina Ale House, a great sports bar. I had a great burger and fries, so yummy. We then went and split off to see different movies. The girls went and saw Leap Year, which was good, but i didn't love it. it was a pretty typical romantic comedy. I would say netflick, redbox, or rent it rather than going to see it in the theater. The boys went and saw Book Of Eli. Which they both loved! i think it was a good story line and had some unexpected things that kept you on your toes. It was not my kind of movie, so i won't be seeing it.

Sunday we had a lacy and quiet day, i read more on my homework and napped a bit. Audie was excited for the beginning of 24. again that show is not my cup of tea, so i spent my time continuing to read. I was reading a book for one of my classes that was so good i stayed up late to finish it. It was a novel called Jesus Land. It was pretty graphic and had some disturbing themes in it. i had a nightmare after staying up to read it, but it was still a good book, one of the best assignments yet.

Today i had my third job interview for chaplain jobs. This interview i think went well, and i wasn't surprised by too much. I did my internship last semester at this hospital, so i knew the people that were interviewing me and knew where i was going so i was a lot more calm and collected during the interview i think. But it was not really a surprising interview, because i knew what to expect. i didn't have to go on the tour and knew that the residency would just be very similar to my internship. I'm still just hoping for a good result in Feb. when they call and let me know what the results of these interviews are!

Ok this has been a really long post, but i needed to catch up! So tomorrow you can get my thoughts on the Bachelor, i'm just starting to watch it, so excited!!

Julia

new classes, new semester!

SO sorry i haven't posted in the last few days, but the new semester has hit! I am taking four classes this semester but not working so it is a different pace from last semester where i was only taking 2 classes, but had to work 20-30 hours a week at the hospital.

So the reading load was a surprise, many of my classes have a lot of reading to do! so i'll be jumping right in, but I'll have fridays off and i think i'll be able to read for the coming week on fridays. I will have to be very self-disciplined to get up and do that but i have done that other semesters so i think i'll be fine.

I was seriously considering taking three of the four classes pass/fail, but now that i have seen the syllabi for my classes i don't think i will. Two of the three i'm allowed to take pass/fail have pretty easy loads, so i think i can get an A or A- if i try really hard. the third i don't think i will fail it and i think i can pull at least a B, it will all depend on how difficult a grader the professor is. In the class there are 5 students, which i think will help because the professor will be able to get to know me personally. It's a preaching course as well which is not my comfort zone, but i got an A in my first preaching course. So overall i think i can handle all three without the pass/fail. and if i wind up getting a B or A/A- I can raise my GPA a bit.

the fourth class that i have is going to stretch me a good amount! i can't take that one pass fail, though i wish i could because i think it will be a difficult class!

anyway, it feels good to have my first few days under my belt! I have 50 class days until i'm done, so i'm excited!!

TTFN

Julia

last day off of school!

I can't believe it but that is true! tomorrow is my last first day of school, the last day of a new semester i guess is more descriptive. Today is the last day of Christmas break, and while i will have days off every month or so, and actually i have every friday off of classes the next time that i have extended time off will be after graduation! ooohh wow! that's kind of crazy! but i think it's time, i've been in school since kindergarten so i'm ready to be done for good!

So an update on TV this week. yesterday evening we watched Chuck and it was awesome! audie got season one for Christmas and this friday i'm getting him season two for his belated birthday gift, so i can get all caught up on the show for this season. We watched it together for a majority of the first season, but then i got involved in the bachelor and dancing with the stars, which come on at the same time frame. Now with DVR our problems are solved! we love it! it was a great start to the season, though i'm looking forward to seeing what i missed over the season that i didn't watch.

We also watched Castle, which is another good series that we like to watch together. It's really funny and totally worth staying up until 11 to watch the whole thing. love it too!

So the drama was all over the Bachelor last night!! I love the girl, Ali that he took on the one on one date! i also love Tenley and Corrie, both (well all three) are such sweethearts! There are a whole lot of girls on the show that i think are sneaky and kind of slutty! i hate to say that about someone that i don't know, but that's all i can think when i see these girls making out with him and throwing themselves at him. The Rozlyn girl was one of them, so i'm glad that she got sent home! (and the drama with what an 'inappropriate' relationship entails- don't get me started! I'm not sure what that means she did, but she got sent home for having one with a staff person who was promptly fired! there you go) I was happy to see her go because she seemed really fake and didn't actually seem like she was that interested in dating Jake. The Michelle girl (who packed her stuff to go home when she didn't get a date with Jake this week, and then the other girls talked her out of going home - i mean if you want to go home, go for it, one less person competing for the guy if you ask me!) i don't like her either, i think she's a bit unstable! of course the show is probably editing it to be like that, but they only have stuff on film that you really do, so she set herself up for that one! there are some other girls that i just don't get a good feeling about, but can't really put my finger on why they don't sit well with me. Anyway, the 2 other girls that went home, i was kind of sad to see go, but i don't think that Jake had a huge connection with either one of them, and that's why they went home.

well i'm glad that you all care about how i feel about reality tv! i hope you like the updates! and hope that you have a great day too! I'm excited about getting lunch with a friend tomorrow before going to my class at 2:30 (also i'll give you the run down on which classes i'm taking tomorrow)

Julia

i survived!

Ok I have officially become too old for lock-ins! I know i was so excited about going to the lock-in and it was so fun to see my friend and get to meet her youth and help her out. We stayed up until like 5AM, which was SO past my bedtime. It was really fun and when i got home at 10AM i felt right asleep (actually i fell asleep on the ride home) and stayed asleep until 1 then again from 4-7 then from midnight until noon today! i definitely recovered, but was a pill all day yesterday when i wasn't asleep. So i guess i can do about one a year or so, but any more than those and i'm not a happy camper.

Also i realize that being an on-call chaplain for a 24 hour shift (where many times you don't sleep most of the night) is like signing up to do lock-ins all year round! but i don't think it's quite THAT bad!!

So besides sleeping away most of the day nothing else really is going on, we stayed at home most of the day, but went out to grocery shop for this week so we can eat at home all week again. now i'm looking forward to a quiet night of TV with Audie.

This is one of my last quiet weekends for a while, because class starts back on Wednesday! i'm excited for sure! ready for May and graduation though!!

Ok i'll give you further updates as things get going this week!

Julia

Friday night!!

Hi ya'll,

Sorry you got a hiatus from my posting since tuesday, but really it's just been much of the same, very little going on! Today I went by the school and bought my books for my last semester of school! I was so glad to get that behind me and know that i'm starting my last semester. It feels so weird! but good too, of course. I also stopped by the hospital to see a couple from my home town that are up here having some surgery and treatments done for the husband's illness. It was really nice to see some folks from back home, and i'm sure seeing a familiar face was nice for them too.

Tonight Audie and I have big plans! (oh yeah are you getting excited??) We're going out to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings! yummy, it's such a good place, they have awesome buffalo wings and i'm really excited because we are going with some good friends of ours. After that Audie is going to drop me off at a friend's church for me to chaperone a lock-in. My friend is the youth minister there and was really in a bind because she's been working really hard to get her ordination paperwork into her conference and she needed a hand, and i'm really excited. Maybe i should be more worried. wow that's big plans huh? i know we're exciting folks.

other than that we're not up to a lot. I babysat for a sweet little girl yesterday who's parents are hoping to adopt a new baby soon! so there's the update for what we have been up to, as little as that has been.

ok hope you guys have a great weekend!

julia

good interview and good tv!

So i told you guys i would keep you updated on my job search. I interviewed today at a hospital in our area. It is Number 3 on my list (of three) mostly because it is a 45 minute drive without traffic, and the route to get there gets a LOT of traffic! Well i wasn't too worried about this interview, but it went really well I think. More importantly i really enjoyed getting to see another hospital and see how another chaplaincy department does things. I actually think that i would like to work there if the commute wasn't as bad. BUT if i did work there next year we would probably move to Raleigh. mostly because there is no reason for both audie and i to drive 45 minutes to basically the same area of Raleigh. We could move and pay a little more in rent but only have about a 10 minute drive. Positives about this hospital that i realized today: free employee parking at the hospital, which the other two do NOT! the pay is actually better than the #2 hospital but not as much as #1. So after my interview at two places I think that i would be happy working at either place. I think i would be happy working at any of the three for sure so we'll see what God (and the selection committees) have in store.

On to good TV! i love the new seasons of reality and other TV that are starting up soon, or have just started! IF you know me at all you know i have an unnatural obsession with Television! so this weekend i watched the iron chef special with Michelle Obama (she was so stylish in a red/coral sun dress and green cardigan with a flower on it! say what you will about her husband or their politics, but that woman can dress!) And afterward I wound up watching Worst Cooks in America, which was really funny. It's a show about these people that CANNOT cook being taught how to cook by two food network chefs! hilarity ensues, because these people are really bad at this!! pretty good show, DVR it for sure.

the next show i have seen in the last few days was the bachelor! I definitely watched watched the last few seasons, and Jake is a pretty cute bachelor for the show ( i mean some of those guys are NOT attractive) but his personality gets on my nerves! I know that he gets some flack from ladies about being a good guy, but i don't think that's what bothers them Jake, i think it's that you are a goody goody and are kind of wimpy guy. i think that good guys don't always finish last, but i think that most women (myself included) like a good guy that is a man's man, and can have the nerves to stand up to us or for themselves. i think Jake has that, but not enough of it is on the surface for women to see it. But he doesn't get on my nerves enough to not watch the show (though i know that Lyndsay at fluffy, famous and fashionable has decided not to watch this season because he's so annoying!) ANYway, the girls overall were nice, I really liked some of them, but others i thought were kind of skanky, too slutty or were downright crazy! as usual the bachelor did not keep or get rid of all the girls that i wanted him to keep or get rid of, but he kept some of them that i wanted and got rid of some of the crazies. Though there are some girls that i cannot wait to see what drama they will start. overall i think that Jake will see through some of the crap and get a really good girl out of the deal. I also loved the 'this season on the bachelor' scenes because they showed a good bunch of trash talking, drama from the ladies, including some secrets, women who are having relationships while being on the show (not sure how that happens?) and a girl that possibly leaves, al la Ed from last season! I'll keep watching for sure! and I like the DVR so i can fast forward through the oodles of repeating what happened last week and recapping during the show!

OK so after the bachelor aired a new crappy reality show called conveyor belt of Love, I watched, I laughed, I loved it!! it was so cheesy and kooky it was hilarious!! so on this show a conveyor belt parades 30 or so guys in front of 5 single ladies who have signs. The guys get 30 seconds to present themselves in whatever way they wanted to the girls. (some got really creative, some fell flat, there were magic tricks and other craziness present!) the ladies then get to hold up a 'interested' or 'not interested' sign! if they are the only one that is interested the guy goes and stands in a box with her name on it. if there are multiple women interested then the guy decides which girl he wants to go out with and goes and stands in her box. If none of the girls are interested then the conveyor goes on it's way, with the guy on it. AND if a girl wanted to 'upgrade' their guy from their box for another one they could! at the end of the parade o' guys the girls go off on a date with the guy in their box. It was really funny/ cute to see these guys working hard to get and keep a date with their lady! Overall a pretty good crappy reality show! right up my alley!!

Ok i think that's enough for now guys! expect more updates as the job hunt keeps going, and as spring tv gives me more fun things to share with you! also i'm excited because Audie is picking up chicfila for dinner on his way home (yes we ate that on saturday again, but come on it's amazing!!)

TTFN,

Julia

just another (not so) Manic Monday!

Ok so my life right now is pretty much one day like the next for now. This weekend Audie worked on Saturday to make up for his sick day he took on Tuesday. Which means that his paycheck won't suffer by taking that day off as much. but he wound up only working half a day, which doesn't help the paycheck as much, but it is nice that he didn't have to work all day!

I did some laundry this weekend, we had some friends over for dinner on Friday night, and we watched a movie with them. I also finally took my winter clothes out to be sorted and pack up my fall clothes. If I had a million dollars one of the things i would do is get a large enough closet to never have to do this! I HATE going through my winter clothes and putting away my short sleeve stuff, because weather is such a finicky thing that it never stays cold or hot for long. So i haven't needed heavy sweaters just yet this year, but I also don't think that days where i can wear a short sleeve + cardigan are gone for the year either! does anyone else hate this chore? i put it off every year until I can't stand it anymore.

In other news: Audie and I went out for a free date (don't get too excited) on Saturday night. I was getting a bit stir crazy from not getting out of the house except for to go to the UPS shipping office (story for later!!) So we went to Target and just window shopped, didn't cost a dime, but i got to look around which helped me not go crazy! And then we took a Chic-fil-a gift card and two coupons and got dinner to go, it was awesome to eat out (we've been staying in to save money after the holidays) and not spend any cash.

so today i have to trek to the UPS shipping office again. It's a really long story but basically UPS tried to deliver a package to us on the 24th, and then didn't try again. finally Thursday we called and asked them to just hold it at the shipping office until we came and picked it up. Well Thursday I went over there, only to realize that they were closed for New Year's Eve. I talked to a man there and he said it was basically impossible for them to find my box while i waited. But i could come back on Monday. Well i got a phone call today (at the butt crack of dawn) and they told me that they had located my box and it was all ready for me to come and get it. Thank you very much! (not really!) thanks for nothing!

ok now that my frustrations are aired I can enjoy my day of doing very little, and will be going to the UPS place again to finally finish receiving all my christmas gifts!

Hope your monday is going well!!

Julia

first day of the new year!

Hello 2010! I'm glad to see this year come because in May I ill be graduating from Div. School and hopefully for the last time! It's a milestone I've been waiting for since my first day here, ready to move into the work force and 'begin' my 'real' life.

I'm hoping that this year I will begin a job as a full time chaplain resident at a local hospital (hopefully at my first choice one!!) We're also putting on hold some things this year, like my ordination, our moving back to GA, and our starting a family. That last one is really not that big a deal I just know that if we lived in GA next year we would definitely be trying to start a family. Now it seems like it's going to be a long time until those things happen, when in actuality it's just one more year. I just hate feeling like my life is on hold. But this year is going to be pretty awesome too! for the first time ever I will be out of school!

Though the internships that i'll be doing will require a good amount of reading, writing and 'class' with my fellow interns. it will be like easing into the shallow end of the real world instead of jumping off the diving board, but i'm ok with that!

Well our new year is off to a good start, Audie got off work early today because things were so slow, so we spent the afternoon cleaning up around here. We have two friends coming over for a dinner and a movie/game night. It should be awesome for sure, though i wish other friends were able to come, though they are all either out of town or they didn't want to drive to NC for a dinner party (not that i can blame them!)

Ok that's all for now! Enjoy the new year and the new decade.

Julia

Tasty Thursday!

So back when i updated my blog i would sometimes post yummy recipes. I am always looking for awesome recipes that are easy, cheap and are something that you don't need every dish in the kitchen to make, so that's what kind of things I cook and I like to share them with you!

So tonight for dinner is:

Baked Penne Rigote

2 26 ounce jars of pasta sauce (any kind)
1 box Penne pasta
1 lb. Mozzarella Cheese grated
1 package Italian Sausage

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook Pasta according to the package instructions and drain. Cook the sausage in a skillet until they are fully cooked. Slice the sausage and stir it, the pasta sauce and 1/2 of the cheese into the drained pasta. Spread into greased pyrex dish and bake for 50 minutes. Spread the rest of the cheese on top and bake another 10 minutes.

Ok so my veggie loving friends won't be happy with this one, but i know you can leave out the sausage and it still be yummy or you could add roasted veggies. Tonight I used spicy sausage, and I'm hoping it turns out well, what i tasted before it went in the oven was really yummy!!

The best part of this recipe in my mind?? This recipe makes a TON of it, like enough to fill two small rectangle pyrex (maybe 9x11?) So it perfect if you have to take dinner to someone (you can make two pyrex and eat one yourself and do your neighbor a favor at the same time) What I did tonight was freeze the other pyrex, and some day I can pull it out in the morning and pop it in after i get home from school and then we have a ready made dinner!

So I hope that you try it out, and if you love it then you can thank my greatest friend, Jessica for her awesome recipe!

Julia

what's been going on?

not a lot of anything!! And it has been awesome!! I love being at home for Christmas break and so very little has been happening around here. We got back from Christmas on Sunday, after an awesome time with family. We flew to New Orleans and then drove to my Aunt and Uncle's house for the holidays. We spent the time really just hanging out with family. we got some awesome presents. Audie and I decided to get a Wii for ourselves for Christmas, which has been an awesome gift, and we have enjoyed it a lot! Audie got some good DVDs and Blue Ray movies that he has wanted for a while. I got some shoes, earings and a few measuring cups. They are really cool because they are the same kind that Alton Brown (i love him) uses for sticky liquids. I LOVE them, i want to make something with honey or mayo in it just so i can use them!! I also got to do a bit of shopping and i got some TOMS shoes!! So that brings my total up to 5 pairs!! I love wearing them for work because i have to wear closed toed shoes and they are super comfy, like wearing flip flops all day!

But definitly the best time was just sitting and hanging out with family and getting to see all my cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and my sisters and mom and marcus! but now that we have been home it has been a boring kind of week. I really need to be cleaning our house up and getting everything settled in for the next semester, but I haven't really been motivated to do that stuff yet! so we've just been chilling out. Audie did catch a cold and stayed home from work yesterday to recuperate, which never happens, so it was nice to have him home, but sad that he was sick feeling!

well i know you were glad for the update, even if it was pretty boring. So i'll get back to catching up on my DVR and sitting around in my PJs!!

TTFN!

Julia

Job interviews!!

so if you know me, or heck even read my blog you know I was thinking and planning on applying for full time chaplain jobs in NC hoping to finish up here quicker than i would with chaplain jobs in GA. So i put in applications recently at 3 area hospitals. I got calls back to do interviews with all three, which is really encouraging (though i just got the last call today). I have ranked the three hospitals in case I get multiple offers, but I think that I would be happy basically at any of them, so i'm trying not to put too much stock in getting one over another.

So I had my first interview today (with the #2 hospital on my list) and I think that it went well. They seemed to ask me some tough questions, but also to understand and appreciate my answers. I really liked their office area, but the hospital where i did my internship seemed better. (like prettier, which is really arbitrary, it doesn't matter what kind of rooms i'm visiting in, just the people i visit.) But the people i encountered were really nice and I think i would be happy there at least. They pay a good amount, but 2000 less than the #1 hospital.

So we'll see as the other interviews unfold. the next is on the 5th of Jan. and another on the 18th of Jan. But no matter how well they go I won't hear from any of them until Feb. 16th. The area hospitals have an agreement to notify all of the applicants on the same day. So if any of the hospitals put me in their top choices (about 5-6 per hospital) they will give me a call and offer me a position on that day. If I don't get the top spot at any of them that doesn't mean i'm out completely, just that i'll have to wait and see after the top folks make their decisions. I think that these hospitals kind of figure that many of the applicants are also applying at the other places too so they know that they may offer a position to a person that decides to go somewhere else.

So that's what is up. By the way: Audie and I both had a very blessed Christmas, we traveled to Louisiana to be with my family, but that blog is for another day i guess. The job stuff was just way more on my mind!

ok ta ta for now!!

Julia

Merry (Early) Christmas!

So i know i have been MIA for the last four months, but i have a good excuse, my last post (i have never been so busy in my LIFE) was true for the last four months. BUT i'm setting all that aside to say hi to all my bloggy folks, if there are any readers left! maybe there are some folks that are still reading, and maybe i'll be better this coming semester about posting. I worked really hard at the hospital this semester, about 25 hours a week on top of taking two classes. Grades came back last week and I wound up with an A- and an A!! that is pretty difficult to accomplish in grad school so you can be impressed and i will be bragging about it. Since school let out I've been working on "chillaxing" and submitting applications for jobs for after graduation.

Right now I'm continuing to focus on chaplain jobs in this area. I hate that we'll not be back in GA as soon as we hoped, but i think that it is where God is leading me. I had a meeting recently in my hometown and they approved me for another year and gave me the go ahead to stay and continue doing chaplaincy for now. So I put in my applications at Duke Hospitals, UNC Hospitals and WakeMed (which is in Raleigh for you folks that don't know) and I have gotten interviews with two of them so far. In fact my first interview is next week! Ahh, kinda crazy! I'm really trying to focus on just putting this in God's hands, because i know his plan is to prosper me and not to harm me! So I put in my applications and will do as well as I can on the interviews, and have ranked them in my preference, but wherever God wants me to be I know he'll give me the green light to go there. Whatever place that is highest on my list, and offers me a job, that's where I'm going to go and trust that it is God's plan!

In other news: We got a new car! it happened about a two months ago, but Audie's car completely died on us (it had a messed up transmission) and we had to have a new car. It was really fun to pick out a new car, but it is way not fun paying for it!

We're definitely excited about the coming holidays. We spent Thanksgiving with Audie's parents in Atlanta and so we're spending Christmas with my mom's whole family in Baton Rouge! I'm really excited to get to fly with Audie this week (we haven't done that in a really long time- three weeks after we were married to Puerto Rico(fyi NOT our honeymoon, but a mission trip with 20 youth)) i think it will be really fun to get to sit next to my hubby on a flight and not some stranger.

Ok so we've been really busy, so don't judge the fact that we haven't sent out Christmas cards, finished our shopping or put up any decorations!! but that doesn't mean that we don't know and appreciate the real reason for the season!

TTFN

- Julia

wow

i have never been so busy in my LIFE!!! i had a great weekend at the wedding/ baptism, but now it's back to work! I've had some great times at work this week, i'm getting better at 'cold calls' were you just go and introduce yourself to a patient/family. This has worked out pretty well.

Today i had my first pretty hard case. I can't give any details, but it was hard to be this family's spiritual rock in the hard and difficult situation they were in. so your prayers would be greatly appreciated!! also this weekend I am on call for the first time. That means for 24 hours i am the only chaplain in the whole hospital! AAHHH!! i hope it goes ok.

in other news i spoke with my DS today, and asked him about if i could put off ordination for a year and do a chaplaincy residency for a year. He was very supportive. I'm still not sure if i will do that or not, because if i do that means that we have to stay in NC for an extra year. But there is a bit more security in us doing that because audie has a job that he likes, i would have a job that i like, we're happy with where we live, etc. the only sad part is that most of our friends would be moving back and we would be staying for a while. what do you think? is it crazy to put off ordination for a year? my DS seemed to think it was ok, and then i'll try for ordination in 2011. wow that seems so far away.

Ok that's all for now- i have TONS of homework to do because i was off doing great things all weekend.

Julia

today:

today I had poppyseed dressing on my salad at lunch. When i got in my car at 5:30 i realized that i had a poppyseed in my teeth. Why o Why can you not tell me i have something in my teeth when i am talking to you?

today i booked tickets to go see my family for Christmas! we're going to Baton Rouge, by way of New Orleans!! we got two round trip tickets for $420 total, for the week of Christmas!! i love good deals

today i looked at blogs instead of cooking dinner and then rushed to get something together so i wouldn't have to admit to the level of my blog addiction!

Today i 'paper-cut' myself on a CD while driving!

that's all!

Julia

I LOVE my Job!!

So can i tell you guys that I love my job!! I'm working as a chaplain for the Labor and Delivery unit at a hospital. I have completed my first week! I worked 12 hours on my floor, directly working with some awesome nurses, doctors, and other hospital folks. I also made 9 pastoral care visits!! most were just routine visits where I simply introduced myself and told them what we chaplains are here for. But I got to pray with two lovely families/ ladies. So i also spent a good amount of my time charting all that I did and i spent about an hour on the phone with IT people trying to get computer access for different things (doesn't that happen every time you start a new school/job!) Anyway! it has been awesome so far. it's not just good times though, there are some families that have experienced some deep loss and are in a good amount of pain when their babies have to be in the ICU or stay when they get to go home. It's a really hard job, but wow do i love being with these people in their happy and sad times, and bringing the name of the Lord into their days!

So another thing that i am really excited about is that in a week one of my BFF's is getting married!! and then a month later another one of my BFF's is getting married. The really cool pat of both of these weddings is that Audie and I are very good friends with both people so that always makes the wedding better! also i'm excited because we won't have to drive a mega long way to the weddings so we can stay as long as we want and the receptions. I hate having to leave before the couple does, and the last few weddings we have gone to it seems like we don't get to stay too long because we have to get back for some reason or another.

So classes also started back this week, and they look good. The chaplain classes I'm taking along with my time on the floor are going to be tough with a lot of work, but it seems like my other two will be ok!

alright that's enough for now, i'm going to go sleep and rev up for Friday! i also have to work really hard this weekend to make up for the fact that we're going to be in ATL for five days for Jessica's wedding and my niece's baptism.

Also on that note- our niece's parents (audie's sister and brother-in-law) asked us to be her godparents. What does that mean to you? everyone i have asked says something different and i'm not sure what they have asked us to do! Also Leah- if you are reading this i really want know your opinion.

TTFN-

Julia

my aassignment!!

Oh my lordy ya'll i know i haven't posted in FOREVER!! but you know how it goes, and i'm so sorry i've been too busy for blogging.

I just wanted to pop in and tell ya'll i'm busy and to forgive me! i started orientation this week at the hospital where I'm a chaplain. I'll be working there this semester 20 hours a week and also taking two classes- Evangelism and Christian Worship. but this week we're doing orientation with the hospital all day every day!

so far we've just been finding out where things are and basics and we'll be learning a WHOLE lot more the rest of this week. Today we selected our units. I'll basically work around that one unit of 32 beds or so, answering to the pastoral needs for any patient is in those beds! So i'm excited because I am assigned to the Birthing Center!! where most of the other chaplains will have more somber and hard emotionally driven areas, i get to spend my time with ladies in labor, their families, and thier babies!!!

TOO EXCITED about spending my time with the labor and delivery patients!!!

TTFN,

Julia

annifestabuel

so yesterday and today make audie and my annifestabuel!  so audie and I's first date was on July 1st and then we got married a year later on June 30.   So we refer to these two days as our annifestabuel (it rhymes with fuel in case you were wondering about pronunciation) We got the idea from a friend of mine and her ex who had a diagreement over when they're first date actually was so they celebrated both and called it annifestabuel.   It works for us. 

this year we pulled out all the stops and both went to work all day yesterday!  when working at the church Tuesday becomes my busiest day, because i lead bible study in the evening.  We don't get home until late and i plan our discussion all day + yesterday i made some pastoral visits and went to a VBS meeting.  all went well.  

Today for annifestabuel we're celebrating by me doing laundry all day and audie going to work again!  i know we are some wild folks!   

but we're going on vacation for a week starting on Friday afternoon (as soon as Audie gets off from work, so pray for a slow day!)  so we have got to clean our house and pack and a million other things that need to happen!  So i'm spending the next three days cleaning so that when we come home from vacation we have a clean house.  

i'm really excited about seeing all my fam for vacation, and more importantly having a week where i won't have to do anything work related.  

well TTFN, 

Julia