Hola everyone. Derick is on the way home and I need to cleeaaann quickly before he arrives, but I wanted to post an update of things that are going on so that you, my avid reader, can be filled in on all the exciting stuff in my life.
We had a very nice trip to Arkansas for the holidays. It was such a blessing to see our family and friends. My parents' "new" house is just fabulous, although we had a hard time finding our way around it at first! My nieces and nephew have grown and changed so much just over the past few months--especially Nathan, who has grown about 5 feet and whose voice is deeper than the bass singer of The Inspirations. Paris had a really great time, too, and I'm having somewhat of an issue trying to get her back into her meal schedule since Mom spoiled her with gravy, milk, hamburger meat, chicken, bacon, and anything else she cooked for human supper. When I make her meal, which isn't too shabby for a dog, (crunchy dog food mixed with the soft Ceasar's) she just stares at me as if to ask, "Are you going to add the gravy now or what?"
I spent a lot of time bragging in Arkansas about how warm and nice it is in NC, only to come back to FREEZING temps. It was 20 degrees when I got up this morning. I didn't ask Derick if there was any ice on the windows, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were.
I had sort of an incident with our rental company yesterday, and I'm not going to really point them out and bash them on my blog, nor will I go into details because it has been resolved (and we all know how enthusiastic my blog becomes when I have someone to complain about. See: the post about Marriot). We have just decided to try to move on base once our lease here is up. We aren't hard to please, and we aren't mean people, but we are also educated and grown adults, thus it irks me when someone speaks to me like I'm a foolish child. Also, maybe it's just that I'm old fashioned, but if I were running a business and could potentially lose or gain clients solely based on my customer service, I'm pretty sure I would be friendly and helpful rather than nonchalant and rude. That's just me. I've told Derick so many times that I feel like I should just run all businesses myself. I may not know firsthand about finance or business relations, but I do know that being kind is a basic essential in running all professional companies. Being kind is an important trait to have in all aspects of life. So, that being said, I love our house and our rental company does, in fact, have very helpful employees, so I'm not trying to be a pot stirrer. I was just pretty bombarded with weird and unfortunate events yesterday, and this is me moving forward.
Speaking of moving forward, happy 2012! Where did 2011 go? So many wonderful things happened in 2011 and I am extremely grateful for and humbled by our experiences and opportunities. I'm excited about what is to come, and I'm really just trying to take things one day at a time. So often I overlook God's blessings by yearning for the future, and I think it's good to just try to take things as they come.
Since I indirectly complained about someone, I feel the need to praise someone. Today this company revived my faith in local business, and I'm really proud to be a customer. I get my oil changed at Doug's Car Care in Jacksonville, and they are always super nice. They also give so many coupons and discounts that those alone would make my frequent visits worth it. Today, I took the Ford in for an oil change, and on my way home (later in the day), my car started beeping at me saying that the oil life was at 4%. After dealing with yesterday's fiasco, my imagination immediately started wandering. I almost convinced myself that perhaps the mechanics actually didn't change my oil. I assumed I just sat in their office for an hour and a half while they did practically nothing to my car. I started getting a little ticked and was convinced that they just wanted to break my car so that I would have to return to give them more money to fix a bigger problem. I suddenly found myself questioning every business in Jacksonville, certain that they are all out to get Marine families. I pulled into my driveway and immediately called Doug's Car Care. The mechanic, Matt, told me that they just forgot to reset that specific feature on my car. He apologized and asked me to come back in at my convenience so that he could reset it. When I hung up, I felt the urge to call him back and apologize to him for creating a cruel story in my head. (I of course didn't tell him my crazy assumptions and accusations!) I felt so stupid for thinking so irrationally and turning myself into the victim when I'd received nothing but excellent service. I should have remembered that I no NOTHING about vehicles. I'm going to try to stop jumping to conclusions and being pessimistic about companies. Some actually are as good as they claim to be. So, if you live in JVille, take your car to Doug's Care Car. They do a really good job and they are always super friendly and professional.
I have five more tutoring sessions left, so I'm loosely looking for a job. I may tutor again, but if I could find something a little more degree-related or certificate-related or discount-related (jk on that last one), then I may end up working elsewhere. It's a little difficult to find a job around here apparently, but I haven't been actively searching, so maybe something good will come along!
Well, I hope everyone's week is going well! I hope you are all enjoying the new year and staying true to your resolutions. Mine are:
* be more conscious about what I put in my body. Not only are our bodies a temple, I believe life is very precious and how I care for myself actually says a lot about my character. I'm not a horrible eater. I love fruit and veggies and I don't drink sodas (except for the occasional Sprite, which, after seeing the amount of calories in one of those suckers, I've decided to cut, too). I just snack a lot and I love dessert, which wasn't an issue when I was younger because, like my nephew, I would have rather had a salad than chocolate any day. Now that I'm older, I find myself drawn to cake and ice cream and brownies. I exercise regularly so I convince myself that those treats are ok, and they are, but I definitely need to cut back.
* be more conscious about my grammar. I think I talk properly, but I've noticed I say some things that need to be corrected, and since I studied English, I just feel like I should try my best to speak it well. My friend Kelsey laughed when I told her that because she says she uses bad grammar all the time. I haven't noticed because she is so proper in all other areas. I know she is reading this now and rolling on the floor. There's your compliment for the month, Kelsey. Enjoy.
* gripe less.
* make fewer excuses.
* be more encouraging, especially to Derick.
* be more comfortable in my own skin.
Well Derick just pulled up, so I need to look busy!! Y'all have a blessed evening! Oh yeah, and boo for Rick Santorum for not winning the Iowa Caucus. Politics is in the air!!!
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