FRIDAY - JULY IS GONE

It seems that with each day that passes, the chances of Vegas grow more Slim.

 

I have spent a lot of time trying to find jobs for Tom online.  This has become a very tedious task.  I believe that on Wednesday I sent out around 9 or 10 resume's and feelers.  The school district helped in getting me connected to their job connection weby site, but there really isn't any immediate feedback to work with there.

I found one promising job as a manufacturing supervisor - which is what Tom is doing now.  I think I am going to call them today and find out if they are still looking or not.  They happen to make Windows, which I find histerical, considering Tom and Rob worked at Weathervane Windows during college.  Not that either of them enjoyed the job, but hey, he has worked in the business.

 

As of Monday- we have to make our decision.

(Monday, wear the sweater to school, be calm,  look cute....   (sorry couldn't help myself, if you know what this is from - VERY COOL))

 

I've decided that we need to let the school district know, or I have to send all my paperwork in on Monday for them to get it by Wednesday.  If we get a decent bite on Monday for Tom, I'll try to extend my date, which Las Vegas has said they would do.  But, if we have nothing and the window company is dragging their feet,  I'll have to tell the personnel department that we will have to wait till next year.

YES, Tom has said that we can try again next year.  I guess that is fair.  It would give us time to work on the house a little.  Properly pack - and get rid of a lot of garbage.  (Although I have been doing a lot of that lately.)  He is interested in using vacation to go and do the police academy out there.  That would give him a much better chance of getting into a job he is more interested in.

 

If we do happen to pull this off...... We'll throw a packing party.

 

I think that will be the best way to get this done.  I will have to be on the road by August 13th, to get there in time before the first day I have to be in meetings, on August 18th.    The date of the packing would have to be the 11th or the 12th.  If people were able to help on one or both days, I would be the happiest person on the planet.  Yes, I know those are a Wednesday and a Thursday.  I'm guessing that I would have the truck here on the 12th, they charge by the day- ewww.

 

I checked with a real estate agent and we can get more money for the house than we bought it, always good news.  I'm fairly sure we can have the new carpet in the basement by then.  Scott is coming out on Monday to start on the walls.  Yes, too much to do in too little time.  I understand why Tom is wigging out a little.

 

Wish us luck.  Thinking of you all.

Tammy

July 27th, Dang, Already???

It's a rainy Tuesday here in Michigan paradise where nothing goes the way you plan.

 

So, how is everyone?  With the carpet gone from the basement it really does seem like everything is a real mess around here.  I have someone coming to give me a quote on the walls.  The bathroom walls down there are black, time to get those out of here.  We had kept a couple books around that had gotten wet, ewww  they are so going in the trash, mold is growing all over them.
 
We haven't had any luck looking for a job for Tom.  All the online sites for the casino's are all yes and no questions and if you have one not they way they like, it's thanks but no thanks.  I have to call some places and see what can be done.  If anyone wants to check for possible jobs somewhere, lit me know.  I am losing my mind.  I should start looking for manufacturing stuff at this point.
I have not recieved the letter asking me to come work there.   This is good and bad.  Good because we can still look for a job, bad because I have too much other stuff to do when I do get it.
I think Tom and I are just going to have to run out there and see what we can find.
 
Thanks for all your support.  Do you want me to keep emailing you that I have an update?  I plan to do it when I have big news.  Otherwise just hit the board once a week at least.
Take care
Tammy

JIB JAB- "This Land"

Howdy, it's Saturday the 24th, and no we don't know about Vegas yet.

Tom is still looking for a job.  He took yesterday off work and he was applying for stuff and kept running into stupid snags.  He tried calling the companies and guess what - ugh - the employment departments were closed on Fridays.
One of the lovely people who read the blog sent this movie from JIB JAB to me.  I then received it in the mail from another friend.  So, obviously this is getting around and I think it is great.  As the title implies - it really doesn't matter who you are going to vote for - but the premise is great.
http://www.plur.net/thisland.html 
Don't freak out if you can't get in right away.  I read the JIB JAB blog (lol) and they are having major site problems with the number of people trying to connect to the movie.  I would not suggest trying to watch this if you have a dial up connection.  Not gonna happen.
JIB JAB has a lot more in the animation department, but their server isn't sharing them at the moment.  I have seen several of them before.  I really want to see "Au-nald for governor" or something like that.
 
Basement looks horrible.  They ripped up the carpet and now you really have to have shoes to go down there.  Must finish the list.
 
Movie reviews-Tom stayed home so we went to the movies:
The Bourne supremacy-  Ok, the story is really good.  They keep you going rather well.  If you have a headache or anything even close to one - DON'T GO.  They shot it all HAND HELD.  I know it is supposed to make you feel like you are there.  Well, it feels like someone's grandma was holding the camera.   Ewww.   I like a little work like that; but it was most of the movie.  Tom and I both felt a little sick.  The beginning is really bad for that - it was worse than the opening of Mulan Rouge to give you a comparison.
Cat Woman - Halle Barry (SP) LOOKS GREAT.  The premise is good.  They did a nice job explaining to the non-comic book people (me) where the original idea for cat woman came from.  Tom and I felt bad that they didn't get the Spiderman people to share in the special effects department for climbing the walls and jumping from roofs.  I give movies a lot of slack.  Some people might decide it isn't rounded enough or something - but I thought they did a great job with the story.  Just enough story to keep you interested and a good amount of special effects.  The bad guy in the movie is cool.  They do keep a couple secrets till near the end. Hurray.
 
If you want reviews of the other summer movies... Feel free to comment.  Oh I must mention....
I, ROBOT -  Will Smith gives us a GREAT view of 3/4's of his body.  Very ripped butt.  WOW.  I liked the movie, some people are complaining that they didn't follow the book.   Umm, they sort of say they aren't going to follow the book.  Ok, I enjoyed it.
Spiderman 2 -  Good.  Special effects awesome, much better than first movie and the bad guy is GREAT.  Maryjane does something I think is totally stupid, but hey - not my call. 
Alright, I know this is long.

Talk to you later
Tammy

Friends in TOWN

Hurray,  Paul L was finally able to come and visit.  This was a much needed boost in my morale.  Of course I have been working on Computers non-stop today, but what else is new.
As you can see from the pictures we went to the Ann Arbor Art Fair on Wednesday.  It was SOOOO VERY HOT.  We all looked pretty sad by the time we got home.  Ice Cream is a good thing. :~)
Paul is using the mighty morphing DSL connection to apply for jobs.  I swapped out the Modem in his computer and added a little ram.  Always a good thing for anyone.
I got a call toady for a job at a Charter School today.  Of course I was out, so I shall be calling them tomorrow.
News about Vegas.  The Principal understood our need to look for a job.  He doesn't officially offer the job.  So, we have until the letter comes from the personnel department shows up to look for a job for Tom.
Tom is taking Friday off to fight with the internet and call about jobs.
Oh yeah, I think Everquest might fit in there too.  
Have a lovely day.  We are.
Later
Tammy and Tom........   And Paul        

Rob, Naarah and Paul are bragging about their Saturn's to the Saturn Guy stuck trying to hand out Saturn Bags at the Art Fair. By the way, Saturn was in Retrograde of Ford that day. 

MOOSE!!!! Ann Arbor ART FAIR. Paul L, Naarah and I wandered around most of the day. Rob joined us later. This Moose is made out of Rusty nails, that gave him the color. For those who want to know, the orc guy in armor behind the moose is Anatomically correct. lol 

Here we are at Carrie's house, enjoying a bit of cake and LOTS OF FOOD. We were celebrating Naarah's birthday. For the people who never seen this crew before. Carrie on the left, Katie with Honey, Naarah and Rob. 

Changed the Blog Look

Hi, just wanted you to know why I changed the blog look....
My posts were starting to get really long and it seemed that the side bar was making stuff unnecessarily long.
Please let me know if you like, hate, or don't care about how it looks.
Hey, use the comment function...

ON to your regularly scheduled Blog.....

TUESDAY JULY 20

We get a few weeks to Find Tom a Job.......

It's Tuesday morning and I talked to the Principle and a million other people yesterday.  

You obviously want the run down of what I learned.

• After 30 days we get $2000 for moving there.
• You have a choice of joining the teachers union.  I guess there are some perks, one with a credit union that is immediate.
• Health insurance is a ppo an you add the spouse for a little money.
• If I accept the job, then they will put the thumb screws to who ever Tom applies with to make him a priority candidate.  The Chamber of Commerce feels that new teachers are really important and work to make the rest of the companies help get the spouse or adult age children jobs.
• The school is in a decent section of town.  I found a lot of interesting looking apartment complexes in that area.
• Every single person I spoke to from the school district was really nice and helpful.  They did everything to make it seem easy to work there and worth the trouble to get there.

So, now what happens....  After talking to a lot of people, I finally called the principle back.  I told him that we are interested in moving there, but it depends of if we can get Tom a job.  He was VERY understanding and said that it would now be between myself and the personnel department as to deciding what to do.  He will forward my name to personnel and ask that I be checked to fill the position that he has open.  They will then send me a letter offering me the job. (OR NOT)  I highly doubt that they wouldn't send an offer.

I must use the time before the letter gets here wisely.  We need to book on trying to find Tom a job.  I spent a whole lot of time working on that yesterday too.  I guess I need to find a head hunter or something.  hmmmm

Other Blog news....   If you notice after each entry there is a little notice about writing a comment.  Many of the people that read my blog know each other.  So, I thought it would be fun for you to write a comment that others could read and I could acknowledge.  I think I set it up that anyone can do a comment.  It doesn't have to be elaborate or anything.  You can alo go back to other posts and do comments on them.    The blog could feel a little less one sided if people make comments.

Hope to manage to see most of you soon.

Tammy and Tom

SUNDAY JULY 18

Well, we haven't made a full decision yet.
I am so pleased to see how many of you looked at the blog and responded to it.  Thanks.
Tom is fairly sure that we just couldn't get everything done in time to make it reasonable to go.  Basically I want to tell them to give us a couple weeks to see if we could come up with a job for Tom.  Our biggest concern right now would be to get the basement redone and fixed to rent or sell the house to go.
Ah yes, a decent idea shared with us.  Rent the house till next June, then if we decide to stay, sell the house; or if we decide to come back to Michigan, we'd still have our home.  Know anyone who wants to rent a house in Wixom..... lol
I think it would be great to go.  Tom likes the idea of the weather, and yes he does like the heat.  I may have more trouble adjusting to that.  Although, I could probably ride my bike a few more months out of the year there. :~)
Thinking of you all.
Tammy
 

FRIDAY JULY 16 - 5 AM

You're asking yourself, "Why on earth is she writing a post at 5am?"  (So, Michael can make fun of my spelling all he wants.)
NO, that is not why.  I woke up when Tom left for work and then I couldn't get back to sleep; I am a little excited and my brain is going a million miles an hour.

I got offered a teaching position in LAS VEGAS, NV.

The principle of a school called yesterday to do a phone interview.  We talked for at least a 1/2 hour and he offered me a job.  I told him that I really had to talk to my husband about it and that it would be a few days before I could answer.

Of course, now we have to figure out what we are going to do.  I want to go.  There is no question in my mind, that this is a great opportunity.  Las Vegas is a growing city, (it has it's own problems too I know) and the possibilities for keeping a teaching job are much higher there, than here in Michigan right now.  And I don't think the situation in Michigan is going to get better in One year.

Our biggest concern right now is getting a job for Tom.  He would like to be a Parole officer and well, he has to pass the physical agility tests to get into that... ewwww.  He might try the gaming commission, or even security at the casinos.  We are trying to figure out what to do. 

  Here is the High School I got offered the job for.....  http://ccsd.net/schools/cheyenne/

 

A rather large school, he said over 2000 students.  It looks to be a newer school and they have a good sports program, and did you see the million clubs?

We have a lot of thinking and work to do this weekend.......

 

By the way - the carpet got cleaned and oh did the basement stink yesterday.  I have no idea what it is like today.  Tomorrow we get to decide if the carpet has to go.

Talk to you all later,   Tammy

 

Tuesday, July 13th

Happy Wedding Anniversary. 3 months.
The ServPro people with the drying equipment came out yesterday and agreed with me that everything is not dry. The basement still smells and well, its just ugly.
They decided to leave the equipment a few more days and discuss our concerns with the claims adjuster.
I got the film pictures developed and posted the water ones. I wish Tom would have got a shot of the laundry room and bathroom. Oh well, can't get everything.
Had to get a new printer so that I could get the lists done. Isn't that a bummer. So, I spent time at costco yesterday getting what I could. Much better deals than any of the computer stores. Not much choice, but exact price range, so there ya go.
Garbage guys come tomorrow, so I have work to do today. I spent hours yesterday looking up prices of stuff. Wow, talk about a pain. Got to get that list done.
Anyone want to buy an explorer. Oh my, I have to get that sold.
Later
Tammy

Another section with big losses. There is a power strip on the floor behind the tv and everything. When I picked it all up, the plugs were oxidized (is that right) into the strip. So, the directv box got it, the stereo got it (expecially the speakers) and the TV. Oh yeah, on the bottom shelf there is an editing VCR. UGH Hmm, notice the floating books. (sigh) 

Here ya go. I finally got some pictures off the film camera. This is the view coming down the stairs . As you can see, the water made it all the way to the far wall. 

This is the corner where my computer equipment lives. You can't see the one power strip on the floor - where the printer is on the right of the screen.. Unfortunetly, everything plugged into that strip got fried. The printer included. 

Well, it is Sunday

The equipment has been running in the basement almost 4 full days now. I have to say that it does smell better down there. They are supposed to come clean the carpet and get the equipment tomorrow. I certainly hope it's with a chemical dry stuff.
I am still a little worried about the mold possibility.
The air conditioner has been running solid since Saturday afternoon, we made a boo boo and left the windows open a little too long, it got into the high 80's on Saturday. The upstairs is tolerable. Certainly better than outside.
I'm not sure if it has been the traveling or all the work, or the fact I have a big sunburn now, but I am really tired. Tom has been napping a tad bit also. He has been working a lot, but i'm not quite sure what my deal is.
The house was full of people on Friday. Everyone came to see the diaster zone. Jane came to visit, Rob and Naarah came to help and we all wound up haveing pizza. Jane's husband Scott even stopped by to give us an estimate on drywalling the basemetn. We have a couple walls that really should be redone.
Today's good news is that we relocated a network cable into the spare bedroom closet and now I have access to the network and internet. My big monitor survived and I am evaluating the rest of the computer equipment. I know I have lost a few things for sure.
It's weird to have a window I can see out of and I can actually use my cell phone while on the computer. Oh my, I best not get too attatched.
I think it is going to take me the rest of the summer to deal with everything. I guess it's good that Tom is getting overtime.
Have a good night. I should add new pictures tomorrow.
Tammy

Well, here is the equipment that was brought to the house to help with our flooded basement. Wednesday morning Tom called me to say come home. The hot water heater broke and dumped tons of water in the basement. Got a good 8 inches over most of the stuff. I lost lots of things and we are going to fight for new walls. Mostly a finished basement. I'll keep ya updated. 

OH NO - WATER

Oh my - It not even 7:30am and I have trouble.
I will be leaving my parents house today, after Tom called at 5:15am and told me there is water in the basement.
The only goodnews about that - 1. I have my BIG computer down here with me in Chattanooga. 2. It is clear water out of the tap. No sewage - thank god.
Bad news. 1. My other computer is sure to be dead. 2. The phones are out??? Thank goodness for cell phones. 3. Ewww the mess, there is carpet down there. AND all my stuff for school....
So, I am packing up right now to leave.
I figured I would post, because if the phone is out, I won't be posting at home anytime soon.
Tom is calling a plumber right now, and he at least got the water shut off and is getting the drains open.
I will be playing cleaning lady for the next week I guess. Lets hope the sun is out - so I can dry stuff.
later
Tammy :~(

Here is a closer picture of the fish. We had a heck of a time getting him in. He was so big we couldn't get the net around him. 

HOLY Smokes - Look at that fish. Yes he is a 2 foot carp. I caught him as the huge rain storm was ending. There was hail and wind and lightning. We just sat it out on the boat. As usual.......  

Careful with those poles guys. 

Mom and Dad out to see the Fireworks on the 4th of July. 

July 6th

Wow, it's Tuesday and we are still going like crazy.
Got a few pictures from the 4th and a couple of mom's flowers that finally came in. I think the bumble bees are keeping the yucky beetles from eating those flowers. The other plants are not looking so great.
The Guys went fishing all day yesterday in the 91 degree heat. The ladies went shopping and stormed the Hobby Lobby Grand Opening near the mall. Wow, that is a cool store.
The Hawaii videos are still giving me major problems. I decided to skip the one and try to get the other to work. If that doesn't work, I'm going to have to re-import a bunch of the movie. EWWWWWW
Have a great day. I should be going home some time this week.
Tam

Uncle Ken enjoying a day fishing. 

Dad and Pat 

Mom's Stargazers. They look really good and the bumble bees really like them. 

If you don't remember this is my brother Michael. Yep, he plays guitare and is quite good at it.  

Mike and Chris the ultimate fishermen. lol 

I'm a pepper, he's a pepper, don't you want to be a pepper too. 

Michael caught two fish, here's one. We all had a fairly crappy fishing day. 

Michael felt that I must claim Chris as my catch of the day. 

WARNING - this picture might disturb you. Yes, that is a fish hook sticking out of Chris's head. 

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

It has been an interesting weekend to say the least.
Yesterday - July 3rd was MY (Tammy's)birthday. We had a break in the weather and spent the day out of the boat. Micheal and Chris showed up at 2am and then Aunt Pat and Uncle Ken arrived in Chattanooga around 5pm.
The fishing was ok. Michael caught two, dad caught one and I caught - well I caught - Chris.
Those faint of heart may not want to look at the picture of Chris' head too closely. Aunt Pat was squealing, "The worm was wiggling on his head."
At least it was a plastic worm and I hadn't caught one fish all day. So yes, I nailed Chris in the head with a fish hook. Everyone here is just having a field day over it. Chris is a really good sport and claims that it really didn't hurt.
The good news is Jay was home and he brought over some numbing stuff, cut it off and got it out. Saving about $400 in a trip to the hospital.
Today - the 4th. The guys went out on the dock this morning fishing and didn't seem to catch much of anything. I stayed here and slaved over more Hawaii videos. Mom is still working on the stencil. It looks pretty good. Pat, Mom and I took a little break and ran to the store. Walmart look out.
Tonight we are going out on the boat to watch the Fireworks that everyone sets off over the lake.
Have a great 4th and we'll see you later.
Tammy

Traveling Tammy visits the Adamson household in Atlanta Georgia. We realized a little late we forgot to take pictures, so Keagy fell asleep.  

Say Hello to Chris and Kelly Adamson. Whisper to Keagy.... :~) 

Ben Sprayberry, quite a ham and just as cute as can be. 

Wow it is Thursday already.

Well, it is Raining AGAIN. I would guess that it has rained some everyday that I have been here. Just a warning to those of you coming down this weekend. Wednesday it rained all day. Dad and I watched it rain from the boat dock. Quotes from dad, "Fisherman lie - "Of course they bite when it's raining;" and "Mother nature is a bitch."
Woke up today and still it is raining. I visited the Sprayberry household last night. Kenny (Harphey) is our guild leader from Everquest. I even met the alusive Dave (Hnash). He doesn't talk much, and you wondered why he doesn't answer tells.
Patti and I had a great time talking about everything and I hope to get together with her again before I bail from town.
Time to get some more videos done. and Eat - yes Food is abundant here..... lol

Whats the point of seeing two cute kids if you don't get your picture taken with them. :~) 

I finally visited the Sprayberry Household. The proud daddy (Ken) would also be known as Harphey/Larphey ..... Ben and William are quite adorable as you can see..