I got the offer!!

I got the call from Edward Jones today!! Yeay! They offered me the job and they are sending the formal offer via UPS, to arrive tomorrow.

I'm excited!

This is just the beginning, but exciting nevertheless.

I now have to go to the local jail to get fingerprinted (or I could get arrested, I guess!), get a drug test, and read and sign all the paperwork and send it back.

I will start studying for the Series 7 exam test on March 3rd. 10 weeks of study-at-home program, paid by the Firm. I get one shot at the test; but I'm not even going to think about the possibility of not passing. After that, it's 9 more weeks of training - 2 weeks (1st and last) in either St. Louis, MO or Tempe, AZ, and then I'll be licensed to sell.

.. and then 2 or 3 years until I'm established. Tough road ahead, but the potential is so exciting.

I had to do a door knocking exercise as part of my hiring process and I loved it. And we wonder why I was nicknamed 'motormouth' when I was a kid? ;-)

Anyway, enough about me.

Ms. Sofia continues to be the most adorable child in the whole wide world. She's such a kind-hearted kid!! :-) Today when I picked her up at daycare she was so bummed because she got a baloon and a little boy popped it by accident, so - by no fault of her own - she lost her balloon and could not get another one (no more available). Her teacher was mortified to see Sofs so sad, and Sofia just held her tears and gave her teacher a hug and told her that it was ok.. oh, what a kid!!

She's going to make a good wife someday! :-) resignation, yeay!

Today, we were happy to hear that our friends Stephanie and Brent are hopefully coming to visit in March!!!! Yeay!!! I'm so excited!!! We were with them at their place in Austin, TX, but they have not yet met Sofia. WE're already telling Sofia that she has to be in her best behaviour and tell Brent that he would make a great daddy!! he, he, he!!

ok, I should get to bed. Tomorrow I'm driving up to Duluth to pick up mom and dad. We'll be back home on SAturday morning. Dad has a doc's appt (post eye surgery) on Monday and then I'll drive them back to Duluth on Monday.

Sofia is SO excited!!! She gets to have dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Mayer tomorrow and then see Abuelo & Abuela on SAturday! What a lucky girl! And Angie (Ansi) too!

If she can feel this loved for a long while, she'll be OK!

ok, if you read this, please send a comment so that I know you're reading it.

If you have a caucus this coming week, please rememeber to get out there a cast a ballot!!! we do have some control over our political process!!!

peace and flowers,

Mary

Quiet time

It is so bloody cold!! -16 F
I love the electric blanket that we got for Christmas. We don't have to crank it up; just putting it on a low setting makes the bed warm when we first get in and keeps it nice and warm all night. I am waking up less often during the night. Thanks mom & dad!
Sofia slept in her new bed - until 3:00 am. Baby steps. The mattress is very comfortable. I'll post a picture of it later.
Greg & Cat were over for dinner last night. As always, fun to have them over. They brought yummy desserts from Byerly's, including creme brule. :-)
I ended up making a roast that turned out pretty good.
Interested in a new recipe? here it is.. approx.. as I added some stuff
Make slits in roast & put in them slices of garlic (8 - 10 slices/slits) Brown roast on all sides, in same pan or dutch oven brown 1 medium onion and a small package (8 oz) of mushrooms (oyster or shytake).
Mix together 1 can of tomato sauce, 1 cup of red wine (cabernet sauvignon prefereably), 1 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp mustard, 1 tsp horseradish. Pour mixture over roast.
Add 4 stalks of celery cut to 1"
Add 2 or 3 carrots cut to 1"
I roasted it in convection over at 350 for 90+ minutes. You could make it on the stove top and cook for 1 hour without the carrots & add carrots & potatoes after 1 hour. You would then cook an additional 90 minutes. It turned out great in the oven. I roasted the potatoes separately w/ olive oil & herbs. Yummy!!
Sofia loved having Cat & Greg over!! She never wants to miss anything and ended up going to bed after 10:30pm. There is definitely some Spanish blood running through her veins!!
I think she'll grow up to be a well-adjusted person; even with the late nights and the excess chocolate that her parents allow her to eat! :-)
It's 7:30am and I'm sure that Sofs and Andy will be up shortly. I wonder if the paper boy made it to the door or just threw the paper in the driveway.. better go check it out.
Peace & sunshine,
Mary

waiting...

Waiting to hear back after a job interview is so draining!! I am hoping to get this great job/career, to start in the spring. I am in step 7 of 10 steps in the process. They are running a background check and it looks like they won't be getting back to me until Wednesday of next week. Arghhh!!
Anyway, at least knowing when I'll hear I can schedule some hours on my now regular job (answering incoming phone calls of folks calling to order stuff after watching infomercials). It's a nice gig; pay is decent and it's definitely flexible. I've been enjoying time with the muchkin in the mornings (nice change from being out the door by 6:00 am of the last couple of years).
Sofia has been getting used to not going to daycare until 9:00 am or later, so the mornings that we try to get out the door by 8:00 am are a challenge.
Today I went to downtown Minneapolis to pick up some free planters (huge: 5' long x 30" tall x 10" wide). I've been three trips so far; got a total of 6 home. We've put a couple on the concrete patio by the pool already. They are going to look awesome full of plants in the summer.
Cat has volunteered to help me plant - which I hope means that I pay for the plants and do the digging and she tells me what will look pretty and thrive. She has a green thumb!
Looking forward to having Cat & Greg over for dinner tomorrow.. salmon or curry? ummm...
I started cleaning and reorganizing the kitchen cupboards today. We've been in the house for a bit over 3 months now, and I'm already getting the itch to move stuff around.. no surprise!
I've also been posting stuff on Craig's List and Ebay, in an effort to minimize, unclutter, and make a little $$. Sofia's bottle warmer (not used since she was 3 months old!) was sold to a church lady for $10.
We got rid of Sofia's cute (but unused!) pink Ikea bed and tomorrow we'll be picking up a captains bed that we found on Craig's list. Andy and I are probably more excited about the new used bed than Sofia is. Maybe Dora sheets will entice her to sleep in the new bed? ;-)
We'll have to try that.
ok.. done with the procrastination and back to cleaning the kitchen. Where does time go? 8 hours at the office are certainly much more productive than 8 hours at home.
I'm sure that Ginger likes having me around so that she can go run around outside every 20 minutes.

Stay warm!
Mary

First Post

Just created this blog.. I thought I would give this a try as an easy way to stay in touch with friends and relatives near and far. Cool way to post pictures too!

It's super cold in MN this week. -60 w/ wind chill factor expected in Duluth. Much too cold! I keep looking at the swimmingpool covered with tarp and snow & hope that the next 5 months will go by quickly!

ok.. I'm going play with this blogger stuff now..

Cheers,

Mary