GIRLS WEEKEND!!

My two very most favorite people! :)





The weekend is half over and I'm not excited! but its soooo nice to have my two best friends here!

K.O.A.

Great news!! I got the guts and quit my job! It was the best thing I could do. I went in, talked to my boss who had no reaction to me quitting, got my paycheck and left. I then found out that they had hired someone else and she worked that same morning. So they could hire someone else and give them the hours but not give a current employee hours. lol. I am very excited to be out of there.
The next day I had a great interview with K.O.A base which is downtown. I'd be accepting calls and assisting people in their K.O.A accounts. It's an 8-5 M-F job. So even if it's a minimum wage job, it'll be better than driving 12 miles there and back to work 4 hours. :) Plus, the environment is great. The people are amazing and friendly. So fingers crossed that I get this one. They said I'd hear back from them by Friday to let them know the results. Hopefully I'll be working by next week!

The girls weekend is coming up in 2 days and I couldn't be more excited! The weekend is going to go by so fast, but it'll be nice to see my two very best friends!!
A few days after they leave, Don and Ferol come out to spend a few days with us. So that's exciting. THEN a few days after they leave, my mom comes out, Brad has drill and then leaves for 3 1/2 weeks. :) So although these next few weeks will be great and busy, it'll be nice to have company and visit! :)

We had a beautiful sunset last night and in the middle of it, I saw this huge lightening strike right down the middle of it! How often do you witness that!? It was thundering and lightening all night and it was pretty cool. It's supposed to be nice while the girls are out here, perhaps they will be lucky and get to see a storm! :)


I'll be sure to post pictures of this weekend!

Update on the Tornado

So these are the few updates we have. Another storm is on the way . . . . so we might see another tornado here in Billings. Thunder storms. heavy rain fall.

I tried to attach some links but they didn't work.
If you go to youtube and search for billings tornado you will get some pretty cool videos.
Also if you go to the billings gazette, under the most popular box on the right side of the box click on the most read tornado destroys metrapark arena! That's our favorite!! It has a great shot of the damage done to metrapark!

Wacky Montana Weather

It was a beautiful sun-shining day . . . at least for most of the day.
Brad and I were playing a few games of sequence when we heard the tornado siren go off. We had been having some thunder and heavy rain when this happened. We stopped our game ( which is still sitting on the table as I write this ) to check out the news to see what was going on.
A tornado had in fact touched down near downtown. It tore off the roof of the Metra which is billings version of the tacoma dome. It's a big entertainment venue. The roof is torn up and pieces are scattered around town. There was also power outages in the heights and other damages. It's done now, but for a while it was kind of worrisome. Winds were high, rain was rough. Lots of thunder and lightening. It was kinda cool but very happy Brad was here with me to go through it. I wouldn't have been so cool, calm and collected.
The national weather service warnings are getting annoying when they intrurpt our TV watching but its nice to know that we will be well informed for next time.

Weather from now on is supposed to be nice. For the girls weekend it's supposed to be in the 80's all weekend and thunderstorms!! :) awesome!

Kinda cool to say I have been through it. Thank goodness I can say that. lol.

If you want to see the pictures or coverage, you can search the Metra park, billings mt. Or just watch our weather on any weather station. Our local weather station we watch is the KULR 8!!

As of right now I see blue sky in spots around the mountains and then when I look the other way I see the darker clouds of the storm that passed. No more rain, just a flooded billings and little ponds in front of our house! lol.
Wacky Montana Weather

OH! small note. Brad and I have been married for 3 months today!! these 3 months have gone by soo fast!! :) But I couldn't be happier

Busy weekends

Since I last wrote things have been better and I'm not sure if it's because Brad is home so everything is great, or if things are REALLY getting better. We had a nice night in last night. Played some sequence and danced the night away. I woke up earlier than I had wanted to go with Tracy to the metra to get our tickets to the brad paisley concert on September 26th!! It was a long wait in line but we got them and it's going to be soooo much fun!!

These next few weeks are going to fly right by because we have people coming out for every weekend. This coming weekend my two very best friends are making the trip out to visit Brad and I. I don't think I've been this excited for something since march 20th! :) they are only staying for the weekend but it's better than nothing! Long over-due.
Then my in-laws will be venturing out to spend some time with Brad and I. That weekend is the 4th of July.
Then MY mom comes out on the 6th or the 7th of July and will get to experience a few things with us. Brad's drill weekend is the 11th and 12th so she can come and do concessions with me for the FRG. She will also get to spend some great time with Brad before he leaves the next day for his next training period. This time he will be at Fort Dix in New Jersey. He leaves the 13th and will be gone till August 3rd or 5th! Long time. While my mom is here I plan on showing her around. MSU-B, go on some drives. Maybe go Frisbee Golfing ( If pioneer park is still up and running ). Show her where Brad proposed. Just hang out and have some mother daughter time!

I have my job interview on Tuesday and am so excited for it! More to come on that . . . :)

Things are starting to look up . . .

There a few pieces of good news.
Brad coming home late tonight is the first part! Its going to be soo great to see him after only two weeks of separation. I am a little jealous though because he has a real tough lay-over in Seattle and is spending some quality family time. Wishing I was there to be surrounded by water and see the family. Doesn't matter though. My mom comes out next month and then the Irelands have rented a house for a few days right outside of billings where all of the boys and their beautiful wives will stay and hang out. I'll get family time!


The 2nd piece of good news though is neck in neck with the first. I got a call from ADECCO and I have an interview with the KOA people downtown. For those of you, like my dear husband, who aren't sure what KOA is, it's a camping site. If thats what you'd call it. Anyway, I've never stayed in a KOA but I am being interviewed to be a customer service kind of person. answering phones and directing calls and what not. :) Fingers crossed.
I also had a nice morning cup of coffee with my wonderful neighbor Rachel and we worked on my resume a little bit. I will be applying to her office as a receptionist here in the near future.
I need to book 4 more partylite parties and then I'll get my starter kit and get to be a consultant! :)

I have a feeling, before I know it I will have an abundance of job offers and will have to chose which ones I want!!

HORRAY!!

Defeated

I am feeling defeated.
Still no work for the rest of this week.
No word back from any other employers.
It seems that it really is hard to find a job in this economy. I know there is something wonderful out there just waiting for me but I don't want to wait anymore. I want to be employed and making half or very decent money to help contribute to being married and the expenses it comes with. It's hard to stay positive when there is negative all around. I've worked on my resume a little so that's a step in the right direction. Except I don't have much experience with customer service so I feel all I can do is work with children. Who wants to hire a receptionist who has no experience and has only worked with children her entire career? I am trying my hardest to stay with the mentality of the glass is half full, but right now I feel like it's half empty.

On a more positive now however, my wonderful husband comes home late tomorrow night and I couldn't be happier! I have missed him so much and am very excited to pick him up at the airport and wrap my arms around him. I am sure there will be tears and laughs and kisses. I also can't help but think what his homecoming in a year will be like! We hope to see each other on his 6 month leave and possibly meet in Ireland for a honeymoon kind of thing. His 6 month point is right around our 1st wedding anniversary so here is to hoping. That's just a nice thought as of right now.
So REALLY we will go 6 months without seeing each other, but it's still a long time. But his homecoming in September of 2011 will be amazing!! I never thought about the other part of the soldier before I knew Brad had joined the army. I only thought of the soldier, but really its hard on both fronts. I have a new found respect for service spouses. It's hard to be away from the person you love the most for a long period of time. You have to depend on a network of people to keep you elevated. I'm still working on building my network, but by the time Brad leaves in September I'll have made a few good connections and that's all I need.
I am still very thankful for my family and friends ( old and new ) who have been helping me through this harder time in my life. Tracy has been a life saver. Rachel has as well. And I'm not sure what I would do without my wonderful mother. :)

small update

a little bit of an update since a few hours ago.
My wonderful 2nd mother, Judy Brough, gave me the name and email of her cousin who lives in Billings and would help me find a job. :) I emailed her and hope to have a meeting with her within the week if she is available. Thank you Judy!
2nd. with my afternoon free, I sent a few people some emails. I am seriously considering becoming a partylite consultant so I will be talking with a consultant from seattle tonight to learn all about it and just confirm what I already know. I would like to be a partylite consultant.
3rd. I emailed an advisor at MSU-B to see about admissions into MSU-B and see what it'll take.
4th. :) My wonderful neighbor Rachel informed me that the job at her place of work needs the receptionist because the one they have now is just a temp. So I am going to get rid of my nasty attitude I've had for the day and get back on my feet. Hopefully one of these ways to a better job will work out.
I sure hope so.

First Blog

Life at the moment is frustrating. Not all of life, but most of life is frustrating. I have this job, if that's what you could call it, at a preschool on the outside of Billings. When Brad and I moved over here after the wedding I was in a desperate search of a job. Brad suggested that I apply to this preschool, just to see what happens. I walked in with my resume and walked out with a job. Little did I know, I was hired to do cleaning. They had told me upon hiring that they wanted me to do lesson plans and fun after school activities with the children, so I was super stoked about that. This soon changed when I had been there a week or so and I learned that a lot of my time spent there would be cleaning. Mopping floors, sweeping floors, cleaning toilets, wiping down shelves, washing windows etc. Some of this comes with a child care job, such as wiping down chairs and tables and commonly used items. However, moping and vacuuming aren't a part of what I would call regular duties.

Things were good and then they had asked me for some forms. I didn't get them done on time ( totally my fault ) so I went into work one day and one of my bosses ( the one that I don't enjoy as much ) told me to turn around and take today to get it done. So I did. I got my papers done and I got my tetnis shot. I was told I couldn't return to work till these things were completed. I made sure to complete them by the next day so I could return to work. That was the deal. Nope. I called and she told me that since I didn't get these things done in time that I had the rest of the week off and I could return the next week for work.

You can only imagine my frustration with this. But it's what I get for not getting things done on time. I am accepting my punishment, it just sucks.

I come into work on Tuesday ( the day before was memorial day ) and this same boss that I don't enjoy working with said (in her "I'm pretending to be nice" voice) Ms.Megan, you were supposed to be here at 1 today! But I guess you didn't know that since you didn't work all week!" Could she have not picked up the phone to tell me my new schedule.

So that was a good week. sort of. I was now working 1-6 instead of 2-6 monday-Thursday. Sweet. an extra 4 hours. Down side is that instead of working Friday's 11:30-6 I now work 1:30-6. So I don't get an extra 4 hours. I only get an added 2. Lame.

At the end of this great week, next weeks schedule isn't posted yet so my friend Tracy and I decided that we will just go into work at our usual time. Tracy went in at 9 ( her usual time in the baby room ) and I text her to check when I work. She calls me and tells me I'm not on the schedule till thursday, and that's only if we need an extra person, and I'm off on Friday.

Now before all this happened, maybe a few weeks earlier, I had requested for more hours. I had been noticing that the new girl that got hired maybe a month after I did, is getting more hours. Her mother works at a local public school and I am thinking that this is why she is getting some special treatment. Who knows. I could be crazy and assuming things. But it's hard for me not to think this way at the moment.

While all of this has been happening I have been looking for new jobs. I have applied to Costco, another child care center Ahead Of The Curve and 2 banks. I also applied to starbucks, but no luck. I was really looking forward to a free pound of coffee each week. : ( There was a mom at work who works for this company called ADECCO and they are a temp agency. She had suggested that I set up a meeting with them to see if they can assist me finding a job. Nothing yet, but it's only been a little over a week.

I just really want something to work out. It'd be nice to not live from paycheck to paycheck, but this might be the tough start to married life. Everyone goes though it, and those who don't are very fortunate.

I am trying to keep my head up, but sometimes are harder than others. I am just so thankful for all of the women in my life right now. My housemate Rachel is amazing. We have grown closer since Brad has been gone for his two week training in California. Rachel and I have gone on walks and had dinners together. She is amazing. One good thing that will come out of me having this awful job is Tracy. She is also another woman I am soo thankful to have in my life. We share common interests of shopping, coffee, dancing, board games and movies. Not that anyone would replace Courtney, but she is my montana version of Courtney. Tracy is there for me and we have become so close. The last woman that is wonderful in my life is Kyla from church. She always greets me with a smile and a hug before church and it makes me feel soo good. It's amazing that such a small action can have such a huge impact on someone else. She is interested in my life and how it's going and only wants to help me succeed.

More to come about this job search and life in general . . .