23 November 2012

Blessed!

In case you haven't already heard, there is reason for rejoicing in my household this Thanksgiving.

On Monday I received the call: I got the Big Bend job! Woohoo! I am so excited: my first legitimate National Parks position!

I'll be starting on the 13th of January, so I've got about a month and a half or so to prepare, pack, and plan my way across the country. We'll see how it all unfolds!

So, that's the good news. We had a relatively small Thanksgiving yesterday, and Nikki and her family are staying with us through tomorrow, so that's nice. Last night we watched "Miracle on 34th Street" (the 90's version), and tonight we're supposed to watch "White Christmas" so Nikki can get her fix, since she doesn't have a VHS player up north.

We've got some relatives (my grandpa Workman's brother) coming over to meet baby Cade and Garrett, and I've got my second chiropractor appointment today. I'm not sure if we're planning anything else, but I wouldn't be surprised if a little hike happened at some point.



P.S. - Mom made a coconut cream pie for the first time yesterday and I have to say, it was definitely one of the greater dessert discoveries of my time. Yum! :)

19 November 2012

Waiting...

I'm stuck in the house today, waiting for the phone call that will tell me whether or not I got the job at Big Bend. Knowing my luck, it'll happen in the evening and I'll wish I had spent my day being a bit more productive. Oh well.

Since coming home from up north with a horrendous cold, I have not been entirely inactive - although chair-sitting was my sole past-time for a few days. For instance, in the midst of my cold, I went over to Mike & Tiffany's to help my sister-in-law tan a deer hide.
Yep. That's right. I'm wearing the poncho because we were in the basement with the windows open to keep it from stinking. Luckily, I had a real nose-full, so there wasn't much of a chance that I could smell it.

I've also been hard at work on my quilt, which is nearly complete: all I have to do is tack down the binding, do some minor embroidery, and I'm done! Very exciting. I think it's safe to say that I'll have completed this epic in just less than one year. Woohoo! I'll post a picture (or more) of it when I get it completed.

I'm also busy making a wedding gift for my study-abroad friend Kourtney, who I just found out is getting married in December! Obviously, I won't post any pictures until after she receives the gift - don't want to ruin the surprise!

My dear friend Erin Cooke came over to visit with me this weekend, and we enjoyed a hike to the beach, a gorgeous sunset, burgers on the grill with my folks, and then she enjoyed watching me watch the Hunger Games movie for the first time. I forgot how much I love watching movies with her: we literally talk our way through anything remotely worth commenting on in the movies, which is so much more fun, and helps it all to make sense (especially since she's read the books and I haven't).

On top of all that, I am halfway through the final book of the King Raven Trilogy, and I can hardly wait to find out how it's going to end! But I'd better get reading - I've got a slew of tiny house books on request at the library to peruse before I go anywhere!

14 November 2012

Not your average Wednesday

Today's been surprisingly busy until now, and there's plenty to come in the evening as well.

Just for information's sake: I had to leave Traverse City (and my nephews and sister and brother-in-law) behind a little earlier than planned because I came down with a cold hardcore and didn't want to get anyone else sick, so now I'm back home in Muskegon again, but things are far from boring.

This morning I had an interview for that part-time Park Attendant position at Pigeon Creek Lodge south of Grand Haven. It went really well, so well, in fact, that I was given a contingent job offer at the end of the interview! So, now the ball starts rolling on becoming an Ottawa County employee (background check, standard training, etc.), and if the snow is good this year, I'll hopefully be putting in a good 12-20 hours of fun-filled work each week - not to mention probably going skiing every day after work!

After the interview, it was back north to home, but on the way I stopped at Mike and Tiffany's to borrow Mike's hammock. The reason? Call me crazy, but I've been thinking a lot lately about sleeping in a hammock full-time, and I wanted to try out the old hammock stand my grandma had in her garage and see if the dimensions were right, or what dimensions would be right for a good hammock stand. After catching the last half of the Price Is Right and eating a lunch of trail mix and yogurt, I went outside to test my equipment. Didn't go over so well - Grandma's stand was far too small, but I think it's smaller than a regular stand these days anyhow. However, I did hang the hammock in between posts on our swingset and took measurements so that I now have a pretty good idea of what I'm looking for size-wise.

In the middle of that, I received a call from Big Bend: the interview process is (finally) ready to move forward and I will be getting a call either tomorrow or Friday for my Spanish interview. Eek! I'm excited/nervous/anxious/thrilled. I hope I do well, and I hope that my cough and congestion continues to clear up so that I can hear and speak well when I do get the call.

So I just got a job offer, but there's a chance I'll end up turning it down if I nail this next interview.

This evening, it's the fellowship dinner at church, and then my first time attending my Yeshi Yoga class in three weeks. Hopefully it goes well. Looking for something interesting to watch? I saw PBS is doing an interesting segment on Ducks tonight at 8pm Eastern.

Until next time!

07 November 2012

The job-hunt continues!

Another day, another slew of applications.

After a few "not contacted - not selected" disposition letters in my inbox, my current tally of NPS referrals stands at 13.

I am still on the short list for that job at Big Bend, and am still hoping to hear back, if nothing else just so I can have the experience of being interviewed in Spanish. As terrifying as that sounds.

I've officially put in for a UPS holiday season position, but am getting a bit of a run-around from their system. Hopefully that'll be figured out soon.

And this evening, I just sent in an application for a part-time Park Attendant at Pigeon Creek Lodge. Pigeon Creek is an Ottawa County Park with excellent groomed ski trails that my family has frequented on numerous occasions throughout my years, in the night and in the day, in summer (for hiking or mountain biking) and in winter. They have a lodge that serves the basics: a warm fireplace, tables and chairs, hot dogs and hot cocoa, as well as ski rentals. The position is pretty simple: keep things clean and clear, give and take food orders, patrol the park on skis (which sounds great and would be a great thing to put on a resume for future winter park applications - like that Black Canyon of the Gunnison one that I didn't quite measure up for), and respond with a level head in the event of an emergency. All of these, I'm pretty sure I could do. It'd be part time, minimum wage, but good experience and at a location that I know and love already. A bit of a drive (20-some miles from home), but I'm sure I could figure something out, and it's not all that bad if I had to make the full commute every day.

So that's where things stand, for now. I'm enjoying my time up north with my sister. My older nephew (I can say that now, because now I have two!) just went on the potty by himself without telling anyone or asking for help for the first time! Very exciting. The little one is getting more expressive each day, and we're taking him for all sorts of firsts: first outing, first going to church, first shopping at a thrift store, first trip to the grocer's, first walk through the neighborhood. The days are a balance of playing, eating, and resting (or trying to rest). It's fun to be up here, and great to feel like I can be a part of my nephews' lives - since it's hard for me to do that the rest of the year when I'm traveling all over the place and living so far from home. Hopefully after this week, Garrett will actually recognize me the next time he sees me. :)

Until next time!

03 November 2012

Little man, Iceman

 The little man. :)
 Proud Auntie! :)
 Just getting started...
 That is the grin of a man who just passed someone going uphill. That's my daddy!
 Honing in on that finish line!
 Glad to be done...
Iceman!!!