Monday, May 12, 2008

Just for Kicks

Mom, I just thought you might get a kick out of seeing what Kellan did with those stickers you sent him awhile back!

Friday, May 09, 2008

Tagged

I've been tagged two different times so here goes. A little bit about me.....

Four jobs I've had:
1. When I was in 6th or 7th grade I went to work for the 'Bird Lady' as we affectionately called her. Bird Lady lived just a mile down the road from our house in Mesa where I grew up. I guess I got the 4 hour Saturday job because I thought I wanted to be a vet and the lady had a lot of animals and it would give me valuable experience. (HA!)

What she mostly had was birds. Cages and cages of parakeets that she sold as a business. I mostly ended up cleaning bird poop for hours on end on Saturdays, unless I got a break and she put me to work washing her dogs. She paid me piddly squat and that is where I learned the real meaning of a dollar. I would look at a pack of gum and realize that it would take me an hour of scooping bird poop to pay for it, and most of the time the price of what I wanted wasn't worth buying. My dad made me keep that job for a long time too, even though I hated it. Because when you are a Vlahovich, once you make a commitment, you keep it even if you don't like it.

2. My second least favorite job that my dad found for me and made me keep (sorry Dad!) was working at Taco Bell. They put me to work at the cash register because I was too slow making tacos. That darned perfectionism made me want to put all of the cheese in just the right spot!

To his credit, he did get me lined up to be the Ryans family's babysitter when I was in jr. high, which was a great job. 2 of the 3 kids are getting married soon. Agh! I feel old! Becky Ryan went on to give me another great job at her insurance agent when I was all grown up :-) So Dad, thanks for that!

3. After I graduated high school, I went to work as a receptionist at a retirement center. Super Dad got me that job too. I loved that job! My favorite part was going down and taking attendance at lunch. I got to meet lots of sweet people and hear lots of amazing stories that way. For awhile, I thought I wanted to become a social director at a retirement home. I still think that would be a great job.

4. I worked for Portraits by Reg for almost 2 years in their sales department. That was another great job for me too. I guess I really enjoy the jobs where I work with people the most. I loved seeing moms fall in love with pictures of their seniors, even if they thought the packages were expensive. :-) I still would love to have a career of having people fall in love with the images in front of them of their loved ones. Hmmm.... Maybe some day.....Maybe not!

Four movies I've watched more than twice:
The New World - I love the cinematography and music of this movie.
Waking Ned Divine - hysterical!
Chocolat - lovely and whimsical
Strictly Ballroom - I love the soundtrack from this movie too!

Four places I've lived:
Mesa, AZ
Villa Regina, Argentina
Roach, MO
2 different islands in the Philippines

Four TV shows I watch:
Biggest Loser
Take Home Chef
What Not to Wear
The Apprentice

Four places I've been:
Chile - one of the most beautiful places on earth ever!
Boracay, Philippines - one of the other most beautiful places I've ever been
Maui
Germany

Four places I would love to visit:
I would love to take a historical tour of major cities on the East Coast in fall
I would love to take a cruise to the Mediterranean
I would love to get an RV and drive around New Zealand
I would love to stay in my aunts' beach house on Maui for our 10th anniversary

Four foods I love:
chicken enchiladas
crab legs
Pei Wei's Mongolian Beef
tiramisu

Four things I've been looking forward to this coming year - ok, I put more than 4!

Maybe getting to go to Seattle for my 30th birthday. I'm crossing my fingers on this one.

Getting a new computer with our tax incentive, so I can finally load the Photoshop Elements 4 that I got last year for Christmas. (Jason is convinced that it will crash our laptop if we load it.)

Starting a garden if we can get some of our back yard cleared out. It is a total disaster.

Being in AZ when my beautiful cousin Lindsey gets married this fall and seeing Mirielle as her flower girl.

Learning more about photography and stretching myself to be more creative and confident.

Finishing up some of the finish work around our house. Getting M's room done. Repainting our master bedroom (I don't like the color already). Painting the baseboards that my dad put in a year ago! He says he wont come visit until we get them painted ;-)

Growing together and getting to know the young families home group that we just started at our house.

Not having MOPS on Thursday so I can go to yoga at the gym.

Getting a better picture of what goes on in Kellan's head as he is finally starting to talk more.

Jason being done with his first year on the job.

Maybe going on vacation together as a family. Right now I am guessing that might mean nothing more than camping out in the living room for the weekend.