What a brat...

I got scolded last night by my mother for not blogging this week. I told her in a sad and pitiful tone that I didn't have anything to blog about because my life was boring this week. She refuted with "Good grief!"

So I got to thinkin.... I was right. My life was boring this week! I didn't go out any. I hardly talked to any of my friends because school has started and they are all busy. There wasn't much on t.v. Nothing major at work. No Monday night girls night, no Thursday night Cantina night. No nothing. As I sat on the couch in my pajamas at 6:30 and wallowed in pity, something suddenly hit me...

HELLO JENNIFER YOU LIVE IN AMERICA! This is the land of opportunity. I am so blessed to have parents that are still married and love me! I have a (big) little brother who would do anything in the world for me. I have a roof over my head, a fridge full of food, a college degree that I am not in debt for. I have car insurance, health insurance, friends that I adore [and they adore me :)], I am getting my Master's, I have an amazing job, with amazing co-workers. And I know when I die I am going to Heaven! I mean seriously, what the heck is wrong with me?!

I am so blessed and I feel so guilty when I get down on myself. Snap out of it Jenn! God has provided so much! I am truly blessed and should say thank you waaaay more often to the big man upstairs.

I think you under estimate my sneaky-ness...

That is one of my favorite lines from an Adam Sandler movie "Mr. Deeds." I like to say it quite frequently, because in all honesty I am not a good liar. I either feel bad and tell the truth in the end or it is just written all over my face that I am lying. Buuuuuut I do like to have a little sneaky fun, when I know it's all fun and games and no one will get hurt.

With that being said I was enlisted to help pull of a lil decorating stunt today. My coworker, Jennifer, had her birthday Saturday. Within their group of friend they like to "decorate" for each other's birthdays. (I use this term loosely because it is more like throwing confetti, balloons, streamers, etc EVERYWHERE!) Jennifer and Susie "decorated" Eric's kitchen most recently; so it was payback time for Jenn.

Originally we were going to get her office, but staff meeting was toooo long and I couldn't distract her for Eric to get in. So, I suggested her car. During staff meeting, I said I had to give something to my mom real quick, and I snuck in her office and grabbed her keys and tape, and RAN downstairs to the parking lot. We used 2 ENTIRE rolls of streamers and I don't even want to know how much confetti! We made quite the "decoration!"

BUT then I get back to the meeting and Eric says "I forgot to take pictures!" At this point I am sweating and thinking, "You have got to be kidding me Eric!" So after staff meeting, Jennifer went to get water...I snuck back in her office, grabbed her keys AGAIN, and my camera, went back to the parking lot and took a few pics. I'd say it was worth it because these are great pictures!

Now I realize that by helping Eric, my name is now on the "payback" list. YIKES! Better watch my back!

A new J-O-B!

I got a job! A real big girl job with a salary, benefits and a 401k! It's craziness! I will be working at The Community Foundation of Shreveport-Bossier as the "Office Manager." I will have a lot of different task on my plate, but I think I will truely enjoy it. I will still be taking my classes on line and I should be able to apply most of the classes immediately to my new job! That is just so exciting to me! I will be updating and editing the new website, managing membership and donors, making deposits, etc etc... I will only work Thursday and Fridays at the Foundation until I finish up our big event at LSUS. Then it is full steam ahead at the Foundation! My first Thursday is this Thursday!!

As a side note, I am happy to be working downtown again...I am close to Daddy's office, which mean lunch dates again. AND I will get to eat at BlindTiger! One of my favs!

Projects before school starts...

I decided after summer school ended I would complete a few projects around the house. I bought new shelves to go in the living room and continue to decorate it. Next, I decided to paint one of the walls in my room. When I moved in I painted it antique white, and that was getting a bit dull. So I decided to spruce it up...

BEFORE:

MIDDLE:

The End Results

Now the only problem is my room looks like a promo for Team USA. I just need a Michael Phelps poster. Ugh, a new bed spread is definitly in order.

All About Grad School

So finally, here it the post about all the odds and ends of my graduate school experience thus far...
I graduated in May with my degree in public relations and didn't really know what I wanted to do after that. I knew the job market is terrible right now and just thought I needed a little something more. I didn't really want to leave Shreveport, since I just moved into a townhouse and such. LSUS offers a Master's of Science in Human Services Administration. This sounded perfect! The end goal would be to do public relations work with a non-profit. So 3 weeks after undergrad graduation, I started my graduate degree.

This degree is 100% on-line. I have never met face-to-face with anyone in the class or even the teachers for that matter! And I even had to do "group" work in one class! I took 3 classes this summer and each class was set up in a different way.

One class had the 8 weeks broken up into 4, 2 week sections with a paper due at the end of each section. There were group discussion posts as well as class discussion boards.

Another class had a different topic out of the book each week that we would write on and every other week a paper would be due.

And the last class was actually an undergrad class but it helped me get used to on-line classes and the non-profit finance world. For this class we read chapters and had quizzes and/or questions and spreadsheets due.

The key to these classes is to just stay organized and on top of things. As long as you have everything turned in by the due day, it is very simple to keep ahead. And the great thing is if you turn it in early, you don't have to worry about it for the rest of the week!

I can't wait for the fall semester to see how that schedule works.

Oh, and did I mention I earned a 4.0 :)

Don't Stop Believin'

For Father's Day this year, we gave my dad Journey tickets! Well, tonight was the big night and it was so fun! We started with some Mexican food for dinner...

A short ride to CenturyTel Center...

We made it in inside and took a pic with Daddy since this was all for him!

And then finally there was JOURNEY!! They were so good, and the new lead singer sounds EXACTLY like the old one! And he freakin rocked out!

Personal favs of the evening: Don't Stop Believin', Anyway You Want It, and the lady who decided to bring her permed hairstyle from the 80's to the concert, thank you for that.

Random thoughts from the weekend...

- I now know your forehead/scalp can peel at least four times in one summer! Boo.
- I don't like funerals. I mean I know they are no ones favorite, but still they just make me sad, even when I know the person is much happier in Heaven. They always make me think about my family, and how I never want to lose anyone!
- According to the Myers-Briggs Personality Test, I am an ESTJ personality. Overview: I am the Guardian, constantly scanning my surrounding to make sure everything is in proper order. Number one career- Military Leader. Not sure if this is a good thing. Ha! Read more about me here- http://www.personalitypage.com/ESTJ.html. (It is so true it's scary!) And then see which one you are here - http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
The first website has the best descriptions but the second website offers the test for free!
- Weekends in the country are the best. Home cooked meals, plenty of reading time (that doesn't have to do with school!!), sleeping late, swinging on the porch, and pink lemonade with every meal! Ah.....
- A good laugh with your friends can make everything better!
- And finally, painting your room and then going on a 5 mile walk/run will make sure extremely tired the next day! (And the room's not done yet! More on that later...)