"There she is, Miss America"

Anyone catch the Miss America pageant last night. Please refrain from the eye rolling if you don't ever watch pageants. Last night, I just happened to catch it TV. I grew up watching the Miss America pageant. I know all the reasons that some dislike this "scholarship" pageant. And while I do find the swimsuit competition degrading to women, I still love watching this (if you will allow me to say) historic tradition. BTW--the interview portion is worth way more than swimwear...does that help? No, I didn't think so! Love it or hate it, you gotta give props to anyone who walks onto a stage in a swim suit and knows they are being judged!!

I was glad I caught it in the beginning because I had an opportunity to weigh in on my initial favorites. And, I knew that without a doubt, my best friend Bridget would be watching too. A little background if I may...Bridget and her mother are Miss America fans (big time). Neither Bridget nor her mother have ever competed, they just love it. They are great predictors of the winner and I think Bridget would be an awesome pageant coach. For years they have gone to Jackson to watch the Miss TN pagent and even been hostesses a few times. Living together in college, Bridget and I use to watch the pageant together. We even went to Atlantic City for Miss America to cheer on our sorority sister and Miss TN at the time, Ashley Eicher. What fun!

So, last night, Bridget and I got to "watch" it together again via text messages. (Sometimes I really do love technology.) And as usual, Bridget was so accurate. Her top pick from the very beginning was Miss Indiana and that's who took the crown as our new Miss America, Katie Stam. Congrats, Miss Indiana!

P.S. Clint and I think she looks like Rachel McAdams (from the Notebook).

Miss America parade the night before the event.

Miss America 2005

We made our national TV debut with these signs!

Miss TN 2005, Ashley

Over Qualified..Puh-leez!

It’s no secret here that I’m still job searching. I’ve now moved into phase 3 of the job search, which is: “Just find a full time job, any job.” So, I’m looking for things out of the education field. Over the past month, it has been a little more discouraging. Sometimes I think it’s almost worse to get a job interview and not get the job than to ever have been called in the first place.

Recently, I have had a few people suggest I leave off my Master’s degree on my resume. The reasoning behind this is that some employers will automatically see my higher degree and think I’m over qualified and that I’ll want more money or leave that job once I find a better one. Honestly, I did consider this idea. But, ultimately, I think it would be lying. And I worked hard for it and don’t want to hide it. I mean, I’ve heard it said now days that a master’s degree is the new 4 year degree.

After all, my higher degree is a Masters of Education. I certainly didn’t do it for the money or the huge salary I would bring in for having it. I did it for me, for my knowledge. We all know that people in the education field don’t make the big bucks. (And don’t get me started on how that is so wrong! Yes, I’m talking to you, celebrities & sports stars, who think you contribute so much to our society that you deserve that outrageous salary!!) Anyway, I think we should pause to thank our teachers and education staff members…pause…pause…Okay. That also includes our professors. Were you under the illusion that having your Doctorate of Education gets you any bigger salary? Nay, nay. As a former graduate assistant to the chairman of a university department, I can tell you first hand that professor’s salaries are crap too. One day I was put to the task of typing, printing and stuffing annual salary spreadsheets. Just to give you an idea, the longest tenured professor in that department (30 something years) only made around $65,000 a year!!! So, again I say, we don’t do it for the money, honey!

Okay, I digress. Anyway, it seems I am being labeled, “over qualified” for jobs and I honestly don’t see how in some instances. You mean to tell me that having a master’s degree and only 1 year of professional work experience over qualifies me!?!? On second thought, maybe that is just their nice way of saying, “We have found someone else!”

If you need me, I’ll be here just filling out applications and writing more cover letters. Unless, of course, I’m too over qualified to do that myself. In which case, I’ll have my secretary get right on it :)

Window "Mistreatments"

We have more windows in this rental house than we did at our last place. Therefore, they have been bare for quite some time. And truthfully, some will stay bare. However, I did a little "mistreating" to 2 of the bare windows. (Visit Nester's blog to see all her window mistreatments. I get a lot of good ideas from her. She is so practical.) Because we are renting and hopefully will one day soon have a house of our own, I didn't want to do anything too permanent. That's why the only materials I used for this little project was some tape, glue gun and thumb tacks. It was quick, cheap and easy. I also didn't cut any of the material because who knows what I could use it for later. (Also, it eliminates sewing!)

Don't look too close b/c you will see many imperfections. But, that's what I love about Nester's instructions: It doesn't need to be perfect...and shouldn't be! So, after an hour of assembly and hanging, here is my finish product. I'm happy with it now, but who knows, I could always change it. Aww, I love not having to commit!

I HATE our bathroom here...it's so outdated! (That's why you will not see pictures of the rest of it.)

Fabric + Trim= $4.00 window treatment

Taping the edges allowed me to avoid gluing the trim on the fabric. Key word here is reusable.

Finished product. At least now the out dated bathroom has a little style.

Fabric for kitchen window...again another out-dated room. Now thinking about it, all the rooms pretty much are :)

Fabric + Trim= $8.00

A little dark, but you get the idea.

The Power of Prayer

As many of you know, Lo had her surgery yesterday. I am updating all of you via my blog simply to attest to the power of prayer. For those of you who weren't aware, my sweet mother-in-law Lo was diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of the year. I feel that at times, some things are too sensitive to post on a very public blog. But now, I would like to thank each one of you for your prayers for us. Prayer is so powerful!

Her surgery went well and we were told that her lymph nodes were clear! She is now on her way to recovery. We went to visit her briefly last night and I will say for some who just had major surgery she looked fabulous! During her recovery, she will be very well taken care of by family. This is a very strong family unit and mainly because of her. God is so good to us and we pray for a fast recovery with as little pain as possible.

We are encouraged by all the survivor stories that seem to come from everyone and everywhere. Many of you have experienced this battle yourself or with family members or friends. I'm sure you would agree with me that it this cancer doesn't discriminate and can happen to any of us. May we all thank God for our health and our many blessings! And thank you again for all of you who keep us in your thoughts and prayers!!

Praising the Pressure Cooker (A whole blog dedicated to the PC!)

Bless the inventor of this handy cooker. Yes, you might be amazed to know they still make the pressure cooker. However, my Nanaw can attest to the fact that finding one of these jewels is a real challenge. I was instructed to add this to my wedding registry by my mom and grandmother. They promised me after using one I would never go back. But, forget that, because Belk, Bed Bath and Beyond nor Wal-Mart had one. You should have seen the confused, bewildered look I received when I asked a young associate at BB&B if they had a pressure cooker. This just confirmed my suspicions that they are a thing of the past. Nevertheless, last Christmas I was shocked to find a rather large present to me from Nana. Oh yeah, she found one. It should be no surprise that she finally located one at the “find almost anything store” Wally-World.

Okay, so why am I going on and on about this kitchen must-have. Well, I’ll tell you why. Because not only can you cook the most tender roast your taste buds will ever savor or the most delicious green beans your belly will ever digest…but, you can do both in about 30 minutes! So for all you working gals, mommies, married ladies or Rachel Rays out there, you know the value of a 30-minute meal! Last night I cooked another roast in my secret weapon and I’m proud to announce that I think I’ve finally mastered that meal. I grew up thinking this is how everyone cooked a roast and how it is suppose to taste. Well, not so! But, it can be if you use the PC. Since this is one of Clint’s favorite meals, it’s such so great to be able to come home and throw this in the pot, add a cup of water, a little seasoning and voila! 30 minutes later…you are on you’re way to impressing anyone who eats it. They will think you have had it in the oven or crock-pot all day. Now, you all know the secret. So, don’t be afraid, go hunt one down and get cooking! (Unless, you already have one and then you know what I'm talking about!)

In the past week I...

--Played in the snow with Chloe yet again while Mr. Davis plowed through it on the roads with the big ol' Pepsi truck. (See pictures below)

--Wished my best friend/old roomie Sarah a Happy Birthday! I'm looking forward to our annual post Christmas get-together in a few weeks.

--Celebrated Joe's b-day over at their house with all the family! So fun!

--Received a letter in the mail telling me that I didn't get another job! Not so fun! Letters are never good. I'm slowly learning to handle rejection. (And I do mean SLOWLY)

--Substitute taught every day but 1 last week. I am thankful for that small, yet steady source of income. (One day I was in the cosmetology classroom!)

--Got the urge to pull out some things in our storage/spare room to do some more decorating.

--Finally figured out what to do with some pillows purchased from a garage sale forever ago. (See pictures below)

--Went to the first week of Ladies Bible study at church. I'm so excited to start this study and continue to meet new friends.

--Finally got a diagnosis from the doctors regarding mom's mystery illness. It's her gall bladder!! She is scheduled to have it removed on Monday. Funny, that is what the nurse originally thought it was when we took her to the ER. Wow, could have saved us a weeklong hospital stay and tons of pain for mom!

January 8th

Can't keep this dog inside when it snows. She plays in it forever!

Garage sale pillows--think I paid 4 bucks for both. Not ugly, just wanted more color on the couch.

Took out the old needle and thread and stitched this fabric on one side...

and this on the other. This way when I get tired of one look I can have a new one with the flip of a pillow! Neat idea and not mine by the way. I get most of my good ideas elsewhere :)

I'm back with more pictures

I have been so busy after Christmas I feel have neglected my blog a bit. My mom went into the hospital Sunday after Christmas with what we thought might have been a heart-attack, but thankfully it was just pluracy. And thankfully I was there and didn't have to come home to work. (One positive about not having a full time job.) However, because it was over the holidays, we ended up staying there for almost a week! We were all ready to go back home. It really made me feel for the people I met who had been there for weeks and some even months. I am glad to report that she is back at home and recovering. Thank you for all the prayers and calls. Also, huge thank you to my Aunt Libba for letting me stay at her house while in Knoxville.

Once I got back to JC, I got to work on taking down my Christmas decorations. I have to say it's much more fun putting them up! And I am already back subbing this week. So, it's been pretty crazy but I did want to post some pictures from over Christmas taken with my new camera. Hope everyone is getting back into the swing of things after the holidays. (Even if you only had one day off like my poor husband!)

She just keeps getting cuter!

Clint with his "Christmas Story" lamp

Working on her runway pose!

A little sibling "Rock Band"

Christmas Puppy!

Helping mom make our Christmas meal

My sweet Nana

Class of '01 Christmas get-together

Fun time with the classmates at JD's house