**Found My Way Forward

25 things

2009-01-29T17:00:00.000-08:00

1. My favorite color is green.
2. I am a big Wright State Raiders bball fan. I have no attention span for any other sports, but the Raiders get me all fired up.
3. My favorite meal of all time steak, mashed potatoes and corn.
4. I love to knit. I am curently attempting socks, 2 scarves, dishtowel, and a toolholder.
5. Number of people that I have taught to knit: 3 My goal is to teach the world to knit.
6. I am no artist; but I like to get out my watercolor paint set and paint every now and then. I frame them and hang them up in my house as "sunset" paintings if they don't turn out as anything distinguishable
7. My brother and I are only 11 months apart in age, but years apart in maturity
8. I bought my house and my Honda Civic all in one year 2008. I am currently putting myself on a no big purchases budget.
9. I love my job with the IRS. Every part of my job satisfies a different need in my personality. For example, I like to make lists and after every audit I send the taxpayer a detailed list of all of the things I still need. God is wonderful like that; he knew what the perfect job was for me.
10. I work for the IRS, but I let my dad do my taxes for me.
11. I like to visit metroparks at take pictures with my digital camera
12. I have an affection for large water birds and want to catch a heron up close on film.
13. I like to try new recipes and cook for other people
14. I only buy new clothes when they are on sale.
15. My favorite subjects in school were math, spelling, and art
16. I was in the county spelling bee 3 times and lost on the words tobacco, there, strength
17. I love yellow and green together. My kitchen is decorated in lemons and I love it.
18. I'm 25% irish and 75% german, but you would think it was the other way around with how excited I get about St. Patricks day.
19. I love to go the art museum and look at Impressionist paintings.
20. I do not think pets should be given people names like Sammy, Annie, etc.
21. I love the smell of dry erase markers
22. I like limericks and other things that rhyme. Here is one I wrote myself
I went to the fish docks
to find my lost socks
They were dirty
but yet they were purdy
I found them at the fish docks
23. I believe God has answered my prayers, just not in the way I always envision.
24. My favorite season is fall. I just love the red, brown, orange, gold color scheme. It inspired me to do a leaves theme in my bedroom.
25. I love to sing along to oldies in the car (ABBA, Elvis, Beach boys)

People I admire most & why

2009-01-10T12:42:00.000-08:00

My mother- her motherly qualities & common sense and pretty much everything else.
Maya Angelou-her humor and her personality
Jane Austen-her writing- especially Pride & Prejiduce
Reese Witherspoon- her versatility as an actress
Paula Deen-Her friendly quality and cooking abilities
Julia Roberts- Her infectious laugh and smile
Colin Firth- His portrayal of Mr. Darcy
Krystle Long- Her ability to make me laugh in every situtuation
Amanda Henry- an unfailing friend to all

Christrmas card photo

2008-12-21T07:04:00.000-08:00

This is the picture I would liked to have sent out with my Christmas cards...if I had remembered to charge my camera battery and had a good hair day before today. :) Merry Christmas and Happy New Year fans!

3 lists

2008-12-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

My Christmas list
Paula Deen cookbook
can strainer
bread machine
black sweater

Things I wish for in 2009
closer friendships with people in my Bible Study
to finish my Bible in a year reading program (ETA Nov)
to lose 20 lbs
learn to make socks that are not too big or small for the intended recipient
to do something out my comfort zone for someonelse
to wait and listen for God's voice and his answers to my prayers
to pray more often

To do to my house
hang ceiling fans
hang rest of blinds
to paint kitchen yellow and bedroom gold
plant blackeyes susans in my front flower bed
to paint a watercolor for my kitchen and bedroom

Thought for the day:
Why do Catholic priests have to stay single?
Every person longs for a special connection with another person. The Catholic religion asks priests to deny that part of themselves. I would think it would be a lifelong struggle to not form an attachment to a parishoner when they spend so much time serving the community/congregation.

New addition to the family

2008-10-21T18:01:00.000-07:00

I got a cat. Norma Jean is the best cat in the whole world! It is only day 3 and we are getting along so well. Here is a picture of my sweet cat.

Training, and a wonderful 4 day weekend.

2008-10-13T16:37:00.000-07:00

I am finally back from training for a month. Usually I am able to stay at a hotel with free internet capable computers. The garfield charged you by the hour, so my whole goal of updating more than I usually do was killed rather quickly.
It was sooo much fun to be together with the 2007 hires though. We are pretty much family (minus a few black sheep) and spend alot of time together. I had great food, saw my first soapbox derby, and got flowers sent to me for the first time. :)
So, this weekend was my first weekend back to Columbus. It was WONDERFUL to sleep in my bed again. Garfield is definetly not the Hilton when it comes to bed quality.
I got my haircut Friday and I really like it. I have had the same hairstyle since I started with the IRS a year ago and although it looked great on me, I just wanted a change. Pre IRS I would change my hairstyle every couple of months.
Saturday, I went to the zoo with Carl. I got some great pictures and am so glad that I got a better digital camera last year. My favorites were the prarie dogs, pheasants, moose, and cardinal. My dislikes were the crazy bees that wouldn't leave us alone when we stopped to eat lunch! I was really worried about getting stung they were so persistent.
After the zoo, we went back to my house and Carl made me homemade pizza. Very Cheesy. I had fun watching him make it, but I don't think he is going to get his own cooking show anytime soon. He needs a catch phrase like "Yum-O."
Sun we went to church and came back to make pumpkin rolls. I used to make them every year with Krystle and Josh, so I thought I would be an expert. .... I messed up measuring the sugar, my pumpkin roll broke, but at least that gave Carl the opportunity to learn from my mistakes. =) Regardless it tastes delicious and I gave one to my neighbor for taking care of my house while I was gone.
Today I got my first allergy shots and they don't hurt too much. I have to go once a week 2x if possible. At first I was like 2x a week would be horrible, but since I have already paid my $300 deductible for the year I now only owe 10% on all medical procedures. So it would be cheaper for me if I went twice a week till the end of the year before my deductible starts over on 1/1.
I also went on a hike today to take nature photos for my room. I want to do a red, orange, yellow leaf theme and I thought it would be nice to take some pictures with my digital camera. I think I may have missed the perfect time while I was at training, because I didn't see much red out there. It was also really sunny out today, so I think maybe I need to try a different metropark in Columbus. I wish I was in Dayton still. They had wonderful shady trails to walk on.

Oh yeah, the highlight of my Cincy trip was the Redbull Soapbox Derby in Mt. Adams. They had some of the funniest cars ever and the place was packed with people. It was a really cool event.
Pictures from my recent adventures are below:

Pictures from a coworkers wedding. She made a beautiful bride. I also made a purse for a charity that my Bible study leader was involved with. It is so cute!

The little black bag

2008-09-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

My latest creation. The perfect little black bag to go with your "little black dress."
Things are busy. I have to go out of town for a month for my job. Knowing me I will probably blog more while out of town than I do when I am home.
Some pictures of recent happenings below:

new couch, alaska, knit finished objects, coworker wedding, etc

May

2008-05-26T07:50:00.000-07:00

Things have been pretty crazy lately.
I finally closed on my house at the beginning of May (sure glad I didn't have to pack up again)
Here is a picture of my "gingerbread" house.

My small group went to Matt's sheep farm where he grew up. I pet a baby lamb for the first time and his mom prepared a fantastic homemade meal. We hiked in the woods and looked at wildflowers. It was a good time. =)Here are a couple of pictures from that.

For memorial day weekend I went to a cookout with my small group and the Franklin Conservatory downtown. I have been wanting to go there since I heard about it in the winter and this weekend was perfect. Lots of exotic flowers and butterflies. I guess it was worth the admission price, but Krohn's in Cincinnati is just as nice... and its free. Here are a few of my best pictures.

Chaos? Yes, definetly

2008-04-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

Life has been unbelieveably crazy recently. If a fortune teller would have told me 2 months ago the path my life would take, I would not have believed them.

1. I have been in the process of buying a house since the end of February. I say in process because after I moved in early March 22, the seller passed away in his sleep the next day. And if that wasn't bad enough, the house has had to go through probate since then because the deed did not have a survivorship clause. The realtor told me last week that I should be able to close by the end of the month. Until then, I have put all unpacking and purchasing on hold, which has been very difficult because I would love to plant flowers and get things organized.

2. My brother had a bad reaction to a medicine recently and has been in the hospital for a week. This has caused my dad and I alot of stress because the reaction has been of a behavioral type not a rash or physical pain. He is being released tommorow, so I do not know what things will be like.

Those have been my two major stressers recently, but there have been some positives
1. Alaska trip is paid in full -- I cannot wait to have a week off of work in June and spend time with relatives.

2. I have closed two cases at work and am in the process of closing a third. The first one received a "Good Job!" from my boss, which is very high praise indeed!

3. I have started carpooling with a girl from my small group to Church and other related events. She is really nice and it is nice to have someone to share the 30 minute ride to.

4. Saw Matt Redmen, the Christian music artist, at the Justice Revival for my church. He led the worship on the first night. It was great and the seminar really made me think about Social Justice and how I need to be serving others more in the community. God has blessed me in so many ways and in turn I need to be a blessing to the "widows and orphans" of Columbus and the world. Our small group has done a study recently on the woman that put all the coins she had into the offering and how that was more pleasing than the silver and gold the rich put in. Since then I have been really convicted that I haven't been making a sacrifice financially to the church. Its not that I haven't given money, but like the rich men in the story, the amount I have given hasn't "pinched" or made me rely on God to provide for what I need. It is my goal to start feeling "the pinch" by putting together a budget and working on tithing and to find a way to use my gifts to help someone.

5. Serve Columbus was yesterday and it went really well. They were calling for rain and lots of our projects were outside. We all prayed for the rain to hold off and ... it did! Over 1,000 turned out to serve the city by cleaning up, serving people, etc. My group picked up trash and planted flowers at a park. I of course helped plant flowers. I cannot wait to get started on my own yard. It was such a good feeling to have the soil beneath my hands and making it look beautiful with all the flowers we planted. Spring is finally here! =)

well thats all of the update I have for now. I need to go grocery shopping, church, and call my brother still today.

A photgenic moment

2008-03-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

After posting the last blog I had charged batteries, so I took more photos. My dad, jane and godparents came down to look at the house I am buying. I didn't think there was anyway they couldn't like it, but I wanted to make sure it wasn't too good to be true.
Here is a picture of my purse... 3/4 finished. I can't decide if I want knitted or premade handles. Until I decide who to make it for I will work on other projects.

Here are pictures of Me and my dad. So adorable. I think I may have to frame that and keep it by my bed. And the next one is of Dad and Jane.

Keeping my hands busy

2008-03-02T07:54:00.000-08:00

I have been doing lots of knitting but not taking too many pictures because my rechargeable batteries are never charged up. Lots of traveling for work lately.
Here are some new pictures of my projects.
I thought this sock yarn was cute on the internet, but the colors were not the same when I received them. I think they make perfect socks for my cousin Val. Hopefully I will have them done by Easter, but I have redone the heel 2x and I am still having problems with the short row heel. The first one I did not have any problems with, but as I read the directions more I realize that I didn't do that one right.... It doesn't look bad but its a little holey along the increase.

This is a picture of a washcloth I am making for my kitchen. I just love the colors and I think it is turning out really well. It is a little time consuming for a handtowel though, considering how cheap handtowels are at the store. They would not be this color mix though =)

This is a baby blanket I am working on for the church. I love the colors and making ripple blankets is so much fun. Going up and down keeps me interested enough to keep going and at the same time its not too dfficult that I can't watch tv at the same time. The only problem with crocheting blankets is that my sides always increase and decrease along the sides. Knitting blankets--I never lose stitches!

This is a recent picture of me that Katie took when we went to see the Nutcracker together. I got all dressed up because I never really get a chance too. Katie and I had such a good time even though we were in the nosebleeds and had a hard time seeing. Still I would definetly see more productions there.

2007 in Knit

2008-01-17T15:55:00.000-08:00

In 2007, here are some of my accomplishments
A baby blanket for my future children. I was given yarn by Emily and made an adorable blanket for my high school best friend. It was so much fun and then I found this perfect green and yellow yarn (really, what is the point of blue for boys and pink for girls? Make everything green and yellow so its unisex!)

This sock is still solo. In 2008, it is a goal of mine to make a mate and give them to another knitter since they do not fit my much longer foot. The pattern said the toe would make 2.5 more inches. A Lie! It only made 1.5 inches so, the sock fits someone with a size 8 foot.

To the left we see my first pair of socks! I finally made a mate and they are the same size. I was afraid to make a second one because I am not good at making 2 of the same thing. AKA the horrible black chenille that has failed to be a poncho, a hat, and a table runner. I think I am going to give it away or turn it into a boring scarf.
Below we have my first attempt at felting. This is a picture of my third attempt, which with the help of Jenny was very successful. I have finished and will felt it when Sheila comes for a visit this weekend. Too excited for words about this project and I hope it goes smoothly. I have already bought wool yarn for 3 other felted bags.

So, exciting news. Christine and I have started a Knitting for Peace group within our small group and everyone is coming over to my place Sunday to knit. I am really excited to teach the world to knit! I get so much enjoyment out of it and I really think other people would too. Our first project is a Warm up America blanket. Christine got a Knitting for peace pattern book as a Christmas present and it has a pattern for a blanket made up of 49 individual squares. There are about 7 different patterns for the squares (garter, stockinette, ribbed, etc). So I think it will be perfect for people that are just learning to knit to make garter blocks and more advanced ones to make the YO pattern, etc. Plus a square won't take too long to make, so people will feel that they have accomplished alot. (I am practically doing drumrolls with my feet I am so pumped about this knitting group) This is also a great way to use up leftover yarn.

Well goodnight knitters and I will post before and after pictures of my felted bag. What knitting projects are any of you working on? Emily???

An idea for 2008

2008-01-07T15:42:00.000-08:00

I was searching for something on magic striping yarn and came across this knitting blog. I am truly inspired to show everyone my knitting progress year long.
So look forward to pictures of my
FO (finished projects) of 2007
UFO (unfinished projects) of 2007
and my Works In Process for 2008.

I also like their idea of maintaining yarn stash by using 2 skeins before you add 1 skein back to the stash

Projects for 2006
1.Towels/ washcloths for my kitchen
2.Purse felting (my newest knitting adventure) I have yarn for 3 in my mind 2 of them Christmas presents
3.Socks I need to make a match to one I have made for a gift, start a new pair for an aunt, and make myself a pair. Since finishing my first pair of socks I have become overzealous and bought lots more sock yarn. The lady that writes in the blog linked above made 28 pairs of socks in 2007 and other projects! If she isn't a homemaker I feel lame-o.
4. Finish a charity blanket that I have had in process since Junior year.
5. Make a ripple blanket. I made one and ended up giving it away. It was probably one of the coolest things ever though.
6. Knit for charity. I have a goal of 8 hats by the end of year. I am going to branch out and probably make some other things for charity too this year.
7. Perhaps a T sweater for children in Africa.
8. Start a charity knitting group within my small group for church. there is alot of interest in knitting and Christine is encouraging me to head it up with her roomate Jenny. It could seriously be one of the coolest opportunities ever. I am so glad I continued with the Lighthouse small group even if they meet way across town 25 minutes from my apt. Who knows, maybe when I move in July I will find a house near Grandview, which would put me farther from the church itself.....
9. Mittens! Jenny is going to teach me how and I am going to teach her to do socks.

In other notes. I have been thinking more about how to serve at church and they have an English as a second language program. I am kinda interested in this, and I liked working with the Chinese students at WSU, but this program isn't one on one its teaching a group all at once. So, at the church knitting group Sunday one of the ladies works with the GED program and I was thinking next time we meet I might ask her if I could help out with math, English and Chemistry. Hopefully mostly math though. =)

Another learning experience

2008-01-06T19:05:00.000-08:00

For New Year 's eve I attempted to make banana bread for my grandma. I only had enough bananas for one loaf, so I made two tiny ones so I could keep some for myself. I set them in the oven long ways and set the timer. they started smelling delicious before I thought they would so I decided to check on them..... The pans were tilted to the side and big goops of the batter had dropped to the oven floor and were cooking very fast next to oven coil.
You know how when something goes wrong you panic and want to start doing something right away to fix it even though you don't have a plan. Yeah, thats usually me but I have been burned by the oven too many times to let that happen again. So, I shut the oven door and thought about what I could do to get the dough off the oven floor before it started burning and leaving a horrible smell in my apt.
AHA! a lightbulb goes on above my head. A) Turn the pans perpendicular to the oven shelf rungs. B) get a spatula while the dough is still soft and try to scrape it off.
Yup, ladies and gentlemen my brain has cat like reflexes and I always seem to "land on my feet"

Results: bread was delicious even if it looked a little mishapen on top

Lesson learned: no matter how long have you been doing something, you are never exempt from making mistakes

On another note. I have been sick the last couple of days and have gotten a ton of knitting done while recupperating. I finished my first pair of socks. Not my first sock mind you, but my first pair. You may know this, but I like making the first sock to see how the yarn stripes. then the mystery is over and I'm not that excited to make the pair. Well I did this with 3 socks and I finally finished a pair this weekend. They are adorable and I can't wait to wear them to Bible study this week. We always take our shoes off, so everyone sees your socks. =) My next project has been giving me lots of problems. I am trying to felt a purse. First attempt, the stitches that I picked up were too tight and I couldn't knit in the round. Second attempt I twisted the first stitch without knowing it and kept going for 11 rows or so. Grrr! I am on my third attempt and am knitting loosely and will pay very close attention when I go to knit in the round.

Will post photos when I get a chance.

Christmas and to do before I die

2007-12-24T19:48:00.000-08:00

What a difference in Christmas's from this year to last. Last year my heart wasn't in the Christmas spirit much at all. This year I got a little excited about decorating my apt, listening to christmas music, buying gifts, etc. It still isn't my favorite holiday or anything but it is a good reason to see my family again.
Tonite I went to Jane's for her family get together. I had never met them before and my dad and brother didn't want to go. I had already told her I would go, so I sucked it up. It wasn't too bad but its kind of a conversation stopper when people hear who I work for.
Tommorow I go to Maureen's house for my mom's side. I am looking forward to playing cards and opening presents again.
Yesterday I was looking in my room at my dad's house and I found my old journal. Before I went to college I had written a list of things I wanted to do before I was 40. This year I checked off a couple of things and here they are:
Take a ride in a plane (checked off in Oct 2007 plane trip from Dayton to Nashville)
Try a martini (checked off in Nov 2007 pineapple upside down martini with Jalena)
Graduate from college (checked off in June 2007 BS in Accountancy and Finance)

Have any of you accomplished things on your "to do before I die list"?

Thanksgiving x3 and my weekend home

2007-11-24T18:03:00.000-08:00

I took the day before and the day after Thanksgiving off from work to spend an extended weekend with my relatives. Since August I really haven't had the time to do this. Wednesday, I spent time getting my car worked on in Columbus. My parents never really had the money to do preventative maintenance on it, so it needed a tuneup, new fuel filter, radiator flush, and new air filter, and an oil change. This cost me over $400 but its better to get it done than cause something more expensive to go wrong. After that I went to pick up my tv from Circuit City. Until now I have been watching tv on a 13 inch tv that was given to me by my aunts friend. I am super excited about having a 32 inch LCD tv now though. I had to plug it in before I left for my dad's house and it looked real good. I had intended to wait till the day after thanksgiving to buy one, but I was too worried about the lines at BestBuy and how early I would have to get up to get one. It is a good thing I bought one ahead of time because Best Buy could only gurantee to have 6 per store. The extra hundred dollars I paid for mine was worth not having to stand in the cold and losing another hour of sleep. Plus I wanted to make sure I got one with good customer reviews and if I got to the store and the one I had chosen was sold out then I would have had to choose another one that I hadn't researched, etc. etc. and I didn't want that either.
So the deals I got the day after Thanksgiving are:
1.digital camera also bought prethanksgiving but got a great deal for $149
2. LCD tv 699.99
3. dvd/vhs recorder player 179.00
4. sweater $17.00
5. candle for fireplace in mirrored dish (very cute) $4.00
6. rubbermaid tupperware containers 24 peice with stackable lids and containers $14
7. surge supressors
8. printer cartridges
9. rent dvd
10. mannheim steamroller 3 cd set
11.GPS navigation system for my car --this will really come in handy for my audits in Columbus since I don't know my way around that well $127.00
I think this is it. I really didn't find anything for anyone else, but I was already done with my shopping for people on my list. I definetly splurged on myself this year, but I needed to get this stuff for my apt. The only other thing I am still on the lookout for is an IPOD for my bus rides to work. Right now I still have plenty of books to read, but it might be nice to listen to some music instead of watching the people around me.

Thanksgiving: Spent the night before at Sheila's helping her get the food ready. Peeled half a bag of potatoes, cubed cheese and had a gab fest with Sheila and Keith. Cooked my corn casserole and green bean casserole thanksgiving morning after Dad made my traditional coming home bacon and eggs breakfast. Delicious! Had a great time at Thanksgiving seeing everyone again. I really missed them while I was away at training. After the Riley's left, Sheila's inlaws came over to play Canasta and I stayed for that. We had alot of fun. It usually gets loud at times when someone beats the other team by a landslide in a hand. The whole day was perfect because we had good clean fun and there was no trouble.

Friday: We went out shopping as I mentioned before; Jane came to pick me up at 4:30 AM and we got to our first stop at Sam's club at 5 AM and had some free breakfast. They were not that busy at all. Next was Walmart and that was a madhouse, then we went to Kohl's and they had a line to the back of the store. You may think I was crazy to go, but it really wasn't that bad; I got a ton of deals and I was done shopping by 11 and had the whole rest of the day to do what I wanted. I went to Krystle's for her family's thanksgiving and saw her baby. She is getting really cute and cuddly. Then I picked up Val and we headed up to Abby's for the Cousin's night out. So all 8 of us went to Cheesecake factory for dinner, then Dave and Buster's to play games afterward. We had never all went out before but Emily wanted to try it out. I think there is at least 5 years difference between me and Chris (the oldest) so its usually seemed like we don't have much in common. Now that we are all over 21 and working in real jobs, we seem to have more in common. Overall good time. I didn't drink because I had been up at 4 am and still had to drive an hour home that night.

Saturday: Today we went to see my brothers new apt in Akron and his BMW car. After all the talk I've heard on the phone from my dad and brother about these two.... I had high expectations. I was let down. His apt had nice carpet, but otherwise the cupboards and kitchen looked outdated and the walkways are too narrow. I like my apt much better and its the same price per month. I haven't ridden in his new bmw, but it didn't look that special from the outside to me. It reminded me of the escort he just got rid of minus the rust. When my dad said "Oh, Linny you will really like this car" I was thinking that it would look like something the president would be driven in. Grandma's birthday party was today. She turned 85 and I haven't seen her in awhile. I wasn't really looking forward to this party for the simple fact that in my dad's side everyone smokes but me and my aunt sandra. It is not that bad when one person is smoking, but when 3 or 5 people are all doing it at the same time and you are trying to be sociable and stay in the same room with them. I was also tired because I didn't get that much sleep last night, so I was kinda grumpy to begin with and my dad and brother had gotten on my nerves when we were at his apt, then the smoking.... and my dads excessive drinking and loud mouthing while we were there just had me in a bad mood for the rest of the night.

Sunday: Tommorow I am going to the bead warehouse with Sheila and her friend around noontime. I am hoping we don't get back too late because I still need to get back to Columbus for work on Monday morning. I have enough clothes to wait to do laundry on Monday instead of tommorow.

Well this is a long enough post. Hope you are updated.

My thoughts on my new spot and misc

2007-11-16T14:36:00.001-08:00

I changed blog hosts because xanga is blocked when I am traveling for work and I was frustrated by the appearance options available through them. Though I dislike how my title looks right now, but I will continue to wrestle with that later.
Here is a sampling of my thoughts in the last few days:
--The fall color is amazing throughout my apt complex. There are good size trees along the roads and in front of my apt which is pleasant. Forest Lane had beautiful trees and then my senior year they just chopped them down one day and left a gaping hole. Wright State never seems to let trees grow very long before chopping them down because all across campus most of the trees are newly planted. Perhaps they change landscaping companies on a regular basis. I have no idea.
--The bus is wonderful. I get to read a book for at least 45 minutes 2x a day. Its like having a personal chaueffer, it costs less than driving myself, and I get to people watch. The only downsides are having to wake up earlier, waiting for ten minutes to be picked up, breathing in lots of exhaust from the other buses while waiting for mine to come.
--Although I don't have billable hours rqmts that public accounting firms have, I still have to "charge" every hour to a case or an administrative code. I have never been good at doing this and I always charged more time to administration than I should have at my last job because I felt that my bathroom or chat break should not be charged to the client. Well in this job there are only so many hours allowed per month for adminstrative duties and every hour thats charged I have to write up a report detailing what I did in those hours. This wouldn't be so bad except for it takes a while to write up the report and find the right codes. Ugh! I'm sure you can imagine how much time this takes up because I have to judge whether or not the time is reasonable or if I could add on a little extra time to cover my chat breaks.
I dunno who these reports help because most people wait till they are due to start filling them out. Hopefully it will get easier.
--Funny story. I had to make my first phonecall to the taxpayer to schedule an audit. Until now my mentor has been making all of the calls. I must tell you that I absolutely hate talking on the phone professionally because I always get flustered, which makes my voice go even higher and I stumble on simple words. So I was hoping that I would get the voicemail and I would tell them what my questions were and hopefully when they called me back our phone call wouldn't be that long. So, I prepare a script in case he is available to talk to and I have answers to every questions I think he may ask. I finally get courage to call after lunch and he is out of the office. So, I start talking about when I would like to schedule the audit and then I start giving the answers to all of the questions right there on his voicemail. When I realise what I am doing I give a long pause then I hurry up and end things. As soon as I hang up my mentor and one of the other girls in my group start cracking up and I bust out laughing too. Jalena, my mentor was like "No, no you were fine but I prolly would have stopped after the first part" So I went over the message in my head a couple times and I was feeling really dumb. He called back later and didn't make any references to my long message. He was really nice, so I feel better about the whole situation. If he hadn't called back today I prolly would have worried about it all weekend.
Was that a funny story? It was kinda long... like my voice mail message *grin*
--Finally have cable and internet. Loving it! I didn't have to miss any of my tv shows that I have become addicted to this season. I get to watch them on a 13 inch tv until I decide on which LCD flat panel I want. I think the best deal is at BestBuy the day after thanksgiving, but who knows if it is even possible to get one in the mad rush that morning. Is it really worth saving a hundred bucks? I guess its worth a try; I'll end up buying one either way. There is prolly a hundred dollars in taxes and special cables to buy.
--My coworkers came over the other night to see my apt. They thought it was really cute and we had some good laughs about my resident spider and my neighbor watching. (I will blog about them next)
tired and hungry, glad its friday. will blog more tommorow
posts to come:
xmas wish list
fall book and music review
spider and neighbor watching story