10 Years Ago...

Ten years ago today, God blessed our family with our sweet Zoe. She is always such a bright ray of sunshine. I love you!

A Pethora of Jobs

I was having lunch with a friend the other day and she made a comment about how many different jobs I have had in my life. Which got me thinking about the different jobs I have had and how I have accumulated so much knowledge that is no way marketable! Here's my complete employment history:

Bartlett Florist - I got this job in high school. I took orders, arranged some flowers and got to deliver them (my favorite part). I loved this job and had lots of fun doing it.

Oldies 98 Diner - This was also a high school job at a 50's Diner. It was such a fun job! We wore bowling shirts and jeans and served delicious, greasy food. I was a hostess and a food expo. I loved it. We were always busy so it was fun. The guy who owned it also owned a super nice restaurant in town so he closed the diner to focus on the restaurant that made him the most money.

Pig-N-Whistle - Another high school gig. I was a hostess at a BBQ restaurant. I hated this job. I think I worked there about three months.

Shelby Systems - This was a job during the summers while I was in college. This company (it's where my dad worked) markets and sells computer software to churches. I learned how to make books and lots about different shipping methods. I liked this job too, but mostly because I got taken out to eat almost every day by my dad!

Chili's - I was a hostess at Chili's in Jackson, TN. I hated this job too. We were required to wear skirts with panty hose. At Chili's. Give me a break.

Lemstone Books - I worked at a Christian bookstore in Jackson. I loved this job, but hated the retail hours. I made some great, lifelong friends though. Loved it. Learned how to imprint Bibles.
Madison County Tax Assessor's Office - I can't even remember how I got his job, but I did desk audits for tangible personal property for commercial businesses. I learned how to use a 10-key and I liked this job. We were extremely busy during tax season, but the rest of the year, we watched a lot of soap operas. Someone had to be in the office so we couldn't leave, but we didn't do a whole lot when it wasn't tax season.

Southern Door & Hardware - This job was in Jackson, MS. I was the receptionist at a subcontractor that manufactured door frames and sold doors, frames and hardware for doors. I also helped with collection calls and a little accounts payable. More completely unmarketable skills, but made some good friends.

Cox, Simpson & Bennett - Legal secretary. This is one of the easiest jobs I have ever had. The guy was a difficult personality, but he was rarely there and the other lady in the office and I had lots of fun. We scrapbooked, tatted lace, and hung out. We had fun.

Faith Baptist Church - I was a church secretary and I loved the job. I got to know some of my dearest friends at this job.

Lemstone Books - This one was in Chattanooga. Again, met some great people, but didn't care for the retail hours.

Synthetic Industries - This was a temp job in the research and development department for the fibers that they put in concrete to make it stronger. So totally random. Didn't last long at all.

PlayCore - This job I loved. I started as the receptionist at the corporate office for a commercial playground manufacturer. PlayCore is the parent company for several companies. I transitioned from receptionist to financial assistant where I learned a lot about financial stuff. Then I moved into Order Processing where I made sure the orders we took were correct and compliant with federal standards.

Brainerd Baptist Church - I started this job as the publications assistant and then moved to music secretary. I left in May 07 and came back in Dec 08. Goes without saying that I love this job.

Target - Last, but not least...Human Resources at Target. I like this job (most of the time), but the retail hours still drive me crazy. But, they are perfect for a mother of four who doesn't want to have to pay for daycare! :)

There you have it...a comprehensive list of all my crazy jobs and I really am surprised that I have had that many jobs in my life. I've only been old enough to work for about 16 years!

Another Annabelle Funny

So at my house, the three oldest kids play soccer. I have a "You must be at least 4 years old to play an organized sport" rule at my house. So the other day, I was cleaning the kitchen and I hadn't seen Annabelle in a little bit so I called out to her and asked her what she was doing. She replied, "Getting ready for soccer." I thought nothing of it because she is always putting on the other kiddos cleats and stuff. She comes out and says, "I put my shin guard on!" She was very proud. Here's what I saw...

Okay...I need a closer look...can't really tell exactly what that is...

Yep, it was a Maxi pad! Not to worry, it was a new one, but still...Zoe, of course, said, "Annabelle, that's not a shin guard!" Annabelle said, "Well, what is it then?" Zoe looked at me like what do I tell the three year old? I waited to see what Zoe would tell her. "Um, yep, it's a shin guard!"

Office Supplies and Mascara

No, this isn't a post about a recent shopping trip. This morning as I was putting on my mascara I thought to myself "I need some new mascara" which got me thinking about how much I love getting new mascara. My eyelashes are pretty much non-existent so I have to wear mascara so I love getting it new. Of course, I am married to man whose eyelashes touch his sunglasses when he is wearing them. (so not fair!!!) Anyway, there are a few aisles at the store that I will look at just about everything in them. Now, my desire for these items is almost always trumped by my hatred of spending money on myself, but I always look. One of those aisles is the office supply aisle. I love all that stuff...paper clips, pens, colored paper...you name it and I can probably come up with a reason that I NEED that stuff in my home. Again, I hate spending money on myself so I can usually talk myself right out of it. Another aisle is the craft aisle (or the entire Hobby Lobby itself). I love the idea of crafty projects. How sad is it that I rarely actually do them? I actually have done more here recently and since my kids are getting older, these type things are lots of fun. And the mascara aisle...I am lured by the promise of the brush extending each individual lash by 15% (who measures this??) Oh, and the voice in my head that makes that promise is almost always a British female and that mascara is going to make me 5 foot 11 and 125 pounds. Just by putting on the mascara! Powerful stuff...

Thankfully for Adam, my rational side almost always wins this battle. The side of me that says, "Why in the world would someone pay $15 or $20 for mascara?" And then I reach for the sensible mascara that will ultimately do the same thing for half the money.

Our friends...

Here is a picture from our Chick-Fil-A meeting with Charity, Andy and their three boys...Left to right- Heath (9), Jude (4), Sebastian (5), Noah (10), Elijah (8), Zoe (9) and Annabelle (3). This was as close to a good picture as I could get...we had a hard time getting them all to be still. And, my boys really wanted to make silly faces. But we had a great time! Love you, Charity and Andy!!!!

ATO Founders Day and lots of fun...

We had such a fun weekend! Each year, Adam's college fraternity has a Founder's Day celebration and he tries to go every two or three years. Well, this year, lots of his college friends all came so he was able to hang out with lots of his "old" friends. I think he had a great time. The kids and I dropped him off in Jackson, TN on Friday night and picked him up on Sunday. Friday night after we dropped him off, we were able to see my friend Charity and her husband and her three kids. We haven't seen them in 6 or 7 years! We stayed at Chick-Fil-A for a little over two hours and visited so much. It was so much fun. Then the kids and I headed for my brother's house. It's always so much fun to visit with them because they have a 10 year old girl and a 5 year old boy. So everyone has fun. Saturday morning I took all the girls to the mall to spend time with my friend Heather and her two kiddos. Ashley (my sister-in-law) kept the boys and took them to McDonalds. I think everyone had a good time. Saturday night, Ashley and I took the girls to see the Hannah Montana movie. It was pretty cute. Of course, it had a huge Daddy/Daughter relationship part of the story, so I cried. Add that to the embarrassing list of movies that I cry at! But, it was a pretty cute movie. Sunday morning we got up and went to Faith Baptist, which is where Adam and I got married. Well, to be correct, now there is a huge beautiful worship center instead of the gym where Adam and I got married. It was so much fun to see Brother Danny and Brother Todd and lots of people that I have known since I was 10 years old. Then we headed back to Jackson to pick up Adam and we even got to spend a little time with some of his friends. It was a lot of fun!!

A Random Thought

Why is it that we can put a man on the moon but no one has been able to figure out how to make a cereal bag that doesn't rip when you open it?