My First Day of Work

Monday was Labor Day, and we simply enjoyed being home.

Tuesday morning rolls around and I just hung up the phone after the Sears repair guy told me he would be another hr. or so. Then, I got a call to sub in the lunch room. I was so relieved that I had a good excuse. They wanted me there by 9:30 and the repair man wouldn't even be here unti then. I just haven't been convinced that I want to work in the lunch room at the public school since I went to the 2nd orientation. Yes, the hours are good because they never need me when the kids have no school , but the pay isn't that great and I'm not looking forward to bleached hands. I promptly filled my day and forgot all about it.

The Sears repair man came and fixed our fridge. It was freezing up on the top half, and icing over the fridge side but keeping the temp too low. They replaced 3 parts and boy was I glad that I decided to do the extended warranty 6 months ago. At that time, they fixed the ice maker that would have cost $200. This time, the bill would have come to $442! Seems like the $60 ext. warranty was a good deal, this time.

We had the micro go out just 1 day before the warranty expired. We moved in Aug. 15. On the 14th, the micro quit displaying numbers. Only the 30 sec. button worked. The Sears repair guy came and ordered a part and came back again the next week only to find that the part ordered was white instead of stainless. However, in the process, he unplugged the micro and found out that when he plugged it back in, it rebooted, and appears all is working fine! He ordered the correct part anyway, and now if it does go back out, even though the warranty is over, we'll have the part and Dave can install it. WHew!

So, Wednesday morning comes around, and I thought I was safe from the school calls because I told them I couldn't work on Wednesdays. (I'm going to the church bible study this year and it's Wed. morning, starting next week.) Well, they were so desperate that they called me anyway. I got myself cleaned up from the gym workout I had just done, and went all the way out to East Boise to Les Bois Jr. High. Turns out it is the newest, biggest cafeteria in the Boise district. That was a relief. I was having a big problem with the space issues they warned us about. Some lunch rooms are the size of our son's bedroom but 3 people work in there and deal with all the appliances and lack of sink space. So, I cut hoggie buns, counted wheat vs. white, served Domino's pizza, cleaned lunch tables, stalked the line watching for kids without lunch cards, and washed up all the dishes when done. It wasn't so bad afterall. The people were nice, and the cafeteria was big and clean. So, now I can get that pay stub that shows I'm a "govt" employ and use that for some needed discount to get Josh a cell phone.

As much as I was pleasantly surprised with my first day, I am still not convinced that I want to work in various schools for $8.50-9.50/hr. I've been watching the job postings, looking for something that is accounting related that doesn't require full time. They are far and few between! The bookkeeping jobs are slow to find, and wouldn't amount to much at first, and would require alot of driving around. Plus, it is another self employed business subject to the pit falls of no holiday, vacation, or benefits.

I did come across this job posting with the Ada County Treasurer's office.: Tax Clerk part time with excellent full benefits! Hmmm.... the benefits of govt. work and accounting experience and benefits, with only part time! After talking to Dave about it, I applied this morning. Everything is online these days, so I have no idea how long it takes for them to route it to the right dept.
Anyway, I think this would be a perfect job for me this winter while Dave will again be struggling to keep busy. This job is 25hrs/week most of the year, and turns full time for 8 weeks when property tax bills are due. Nov-Jan and May-June. Perfect for this winter when we'll need the income, but I'm still hesitant about the summer. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, I guess. But, I'm excited about this job because it has great potential, and sounds like something I would like.

In the mean time, we're anxiously awaiting my mom and Steve to arrive in town tomorrow. It's a short stay, only the weekend, on a stop over from Glacier National Park on their way to Northern Ca. I'm looking forward to seeing them!

The Idaho Fair

This weekend was the last of the fair (there are only 2 weekends). Since everyone was sick last weekend and school started midweek, we hadn't yet been to see the fair. We didn't get here in time for it last year. By the way, Aug. 15 marks our 1 yr. anniversary of moving to Boise!

Josh went to the youth group pool party Sat. It was a time for the incoming 9th graders to meet the other high schoolers. We took him over at 3:30 and we was brought back home at 9:30 that night by someone who lived in this direction.

That left Zachary, and he just wanted to sit and veg on the couch. So, Dave and I went together Sat afternoon. It was a nice time, although it was 100 degrees. I think we've only had about 5 days of over 100 this summer, and it just had to be one of these days. We enjoyed watching the dogs compete for the longest jump into a splash pool. Aussies were taking the lead when we moved on. We had a huge tasty "Saladman" dish of grilled veggies on a bed of lettuce.

We bought some household and car polish. Today I have been testing it out, and polished everything in all 3 baths. Mirrors, tubs, showers, toilets, shower doors, sinks, faucets..... Everything feels so nice and clean and smooth! I love helpful gadgets like that. My arms will be sore from the circular motions up over my head though.

I watched with lust over the demonstration of the professional pressure cooker. How I would love to cook beans from dry in 40 minutes. Or full chickens in 20. But, at $280 for a size that would also can quart jars, I figured we would come back next year and drool some more. There was a booth giving out brochures on a class at BSU learning to can. I've always wanted to learn to can. The neighbor gal said that she buys crates of fruits from the local orchard, and cans 300 quart jars of pears and 300 peaches! I'm not sure where I would store all those, myself. But, I'd love to have some of the fresh summer fruits/veggies to last into the winter.

It's only Tues, and I've finished a whole book on my 888 list, and working on the next in the Hannay series by Buchan. These are fun mystery/thriller type books from the early 1900's. Great literary quality for the genre. There are 5 in the series. I've only been able to come up with the first 4. And I'm reading number 2 now.

Dave is off working in Nampa, so yesterday the boys got a treat, and he picked them up soon after school was over. We noticed the carpool car came home at 6:30 last night! Those are long days.

I haven't been called to sub for the lunch room at the school district, so I'm getting plenty done around the house. But, Dave was talking with his customer in Nampa about me, and it may work out that she needs a bookkeeper for her coffee shop, and for her husband's construction business. She also thought that she knew enough other small businesses that I could keep myself busy enough making a nice tidy income from them all. I'm anxiously awaiting for her to call me when she gets off work! It would sure beat the lunch room dish washing! My only hesitation in getting regular clients as such is that they continue to do business when it is vacation and break time from school. I hate to be having to work when the boys are home. I'll have to be very picky in choosing some clients. But, I suppose I should use my previous skills that can make some decent income for us. I'm sure it will be another slow winter for Dave.

Boys are Off to School!

Here they are dressed at 6am and ready to go!

And, if I have to answer one more, "what did you do all day?" question, my standard answer is going to be... "Did you know Bon Bons have a new caramel flavor? They go great with all those soap opera shows in the afternoon!"

Are you kidding? I've had kids at home 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week for 14 straight years. There is SO much I'd like to do that I haven't been able to do. But, for now, I'll have to settle for getting organized. We have so much homeschool curriculum to sell, a school room to convert back to an office/study, and new responsibilities. Seriously though, you have no idea how many times I've heard that question in the last 2 days. I can't even count anymore. I wonder if they think I don't have a life, or if they think they would be so bored they couldn't think up anything.

The boys' carpool left at 6:15 am! Yes, the neighbors have a tradition they go out for breakfast the first day of school. Our boys tagged along and then were off to school, 16 miles away. It was a LONG day... they didn't get home until 5:40pm. The girl that drives has volleyball practice on M,W,F for the first 2 months of school. I was instructed to put MORE FOOD in the lunch box to tide them over that long.

Josh came home and was excited about his day. I think he liked just about everything about his school. He is taking Algebra, choir, art appreciation, grammar/comp, Bible, Physical Science, and Spanish.

Zach was awake when I came in to get him. I think he was more excited to start the day than Josh. Zach's class has 20 kids, and they only switch for history/science and 1 elective class. He likes his elective class, it's Read to Succeed. Funny, considering he doesn't like to read. Then, I found out it is a class offered to all the 6,7,8th graders so he has our neighbor in that class, plus 3 friends from Church. I had asked if they would switch that class to math tutoring, so now I'll have to decide whether or not it would be beneficial or not.

He wishes he were a 7th grader instead of 6th and is convinced he could handle it. So, I've given him an incentive. If he makes all A's the first quarter and doesn't struggle to do it, I'll go in and speak with the principal and tell her I made a mistake in classifying his grade. He was happy with that, so we'll see what he does.

So, while the boys were at school ALL day, I kept myself busy. I've never even tried a Bon Bon, but maybe it shall be something I will explore in the near future. In the mean time, I planned out the rest of the week for lunches and dinners. Got out the recipes, and made a shopping list. Packing lunches is no easy task these days. Especially when they come home and say, "no one eats sandwiches, Mom." Ok, what do they eat? Pizza, and such. Hmmm... more creativity required. I think Dave and I spent 3 hrs. shopping at Costco and Winco for lunch and dinner menu stuff this afternoon.

If that wasn't enough to do, The kitchen is now clean, I went to the gym for 1.5hrs, I baked 18 banana muffins for boy snacks, cooked dinner and had it ready when they got home, washed, dried, folded and put away 2 very large loads of laundry, and then took a 45 minute nap before the boys came home. See, no time for soaps or retired living. I think I've got at least a month of stuff planned where I will hardly have time to sit down during the day. But DONT ASK ME, "what do you do all day?" You'll get the Bon Bon answer. I'm sure you can come up with a better question :)

A Sleepwalking Device

This is our new gadget I found online to help us at night while we're sleeping and someone else may be sleeping but also doing other things.

We had a scare. We knew Zach made his way around the house in his sleep, but it has always been just to move to the couch or go to the bathroom, maybe change his clothes. This particular time, it was our neighbors who alerted us that they had a strange visit. At 2:30am! Ringing their doorbell! They were very confused that day when they confronted us about it and we were clueless. I guess we need to keep him home during the night!
This handy device will alert us when anyone goes down the stairs, or comes across its path from any direction for that matter. It works too. The receiver doorbell chime goes off in our room.
So, we will rest assured now that everyone is in their place where we left them, or we will know fairly quickly when they are not.

Weekend Riding

Saturday Dave went riding with the Full Throttle Christian Dirtbikers, a local group we found out about. He went up to the mountains, same ones we ski on in town, and let the advanced guys really humble him. Dave is much better than any of us that have been riding together (aka, us and the neighbors) but when he was compared to these guys he got left behind dumping his bike so many times he lost count. I think he finally got a dose of what we all have felt like riding behind him! This picture is just one of the advanced type of obstacles. Needless to say, he was tired when he got home.

Sunday, Dave and I went up to Idaho City to check out the "Ladie's Choice" ride. Ladies choose the ride, place and pace. Guys come by invite only. The early ride was "Intermediate" and since I told the gal that I probably wasn't intermediate she was so kind to have a second ride after they had already rode 3 hours. I did really well, dropped it only once while Dave saw ground twice. The course was fairly challenging, I just couldn't keep up a fast enough speed to make it to the "intermediate" category. So, they named me "novice". Not beginner, but not comfortable enough to be intermediate. I was amazed at the speed these gals could handle!

The drive to Idaho City is beautiful. There is a stream winding along the road up through the mountains. The green trees were wonderful, and it was so much cooler than down where we live. The road wasn't much of a mountain road though, so easy to get there. It was about 1 hr from our house to parking the truck. We attempted to stop and eat at this nice little diner in town, but found out we didn't have the time. Next time we'll take the boys up and enjoy a whole day up there.

Josh is Brace Free!

The Big Day: Josh gets his braces off. His teeth look really straight, and white. The Orthodontist awarded him with a bottle of sparkling cider and a bag of all those candies he said were not allowed with braces. Josh hasn't even opened them, nor do I think he is interested. He just isn't a candy eater after 2 years of prohibition. Silly... I don't think he was ever a candy eater. He says his teeth feel good and slimy. Just the way they are supposed to feel after 2 years of braces.

He got a permanent retainer wire on the bottom row of teeth. This permanent was defined as in it doesn't come out for temporary eating satisfaction. It remains there for 8 years though, which almost makes it permanent! He gets a removable upper retainer. I think he picked some type of picture rather than color. He only donated molds of his teeth for that one, and will get the actual next week.

We headed off to the Dentist today, and after having all our lives spoiled and well taken care of by Brother Dr. Mike, seeing a bill is stroke material. Josh had one cavity in a molar. He needed Xrays of just the molars, full cleaning, flouride and sealant in the molars for his deep grooves. Even after I arranged for 50% cash discount, the bill was $528!! Ugh. Is that real?

Son, those are mighty expensive pearls you're wearing there.

A New Car!

This is our "new" 1992 Mercedes Benz 300E. Dave got it while he was down in CA for work. He ended up spending his working money...heee heeee, but we were in the market for a cheap car that could be used as an additional family vehicle that got better mileage than our Landcruiser. This fit the bill, and boy is it nice! They must have had it detailed every month. It looks new. I couldn't find a better car anywhere for the price. My sister drove it up for us last weekend, along with 2 of her kids. She flew back after the weekend, and the kids stayed the week. The boys had a great time with their cousins.

We went to the movies since it was so hot to go out. We floated the Boise River and had a cool time. We taught them how to ride a motorcycle, but we didn't get to go out riding because Zach had an accident just before the 4th. He burned his hand while we were all sleeping. Apparantly the boys thought they would rig up their own firework for the 4th of July. They stuffed a GI Joe full of cap gun caps and when he used a screwdriver to smash down the caps inside the head, it exploded. Since he was holding it, his hand got caught in the fire. I heard the bang, and went into his room to find it full of smoke and he was breathing out black smoke. We ended up at the emergency room at 12:30am until 3:15. Mostly 2nd degree burns. We still let them do their own fireworks for the first time this year but there was much more caution.