SLC Visit was Great!!

Wow! I went to Salt Lake on Wednesday November 12, and returned Sunday. It was the most incredible trip. It occurred to me on the trip home that I have a really educated family! The three girls, Becky, Bree and Brenda have Masters Degrees, Josh has his Administrative License, comparable to a Masters and Ben has the equivalent of a Masters + in Microsoft Certifications and now Devin has his PHd. At least I have a Bachelors, but it seems so unreal that the kids have achieved so very much, and they are still so young.

I am still having camera problems so photos will follow, but I will give you a low down on the trip.

Devin's defense was absolutely mind boggling. I am sorry to say that I only understood the buts, ifs, ands, and protein. It was so technical it was like a one hour speech in a foreign language. He was so poised and professional it made me proud to have him married to my daughter and to be part of our family. He deserves huge kudos for the five years' work he put into it. The dissertation was an inch thick, and as understandable to me as the defense. It was a privilege to be part of the process!!!!

I got to babysit for Laila and Logan while Becky and Devin enjoyed evenings out. I must say, the kids were perfect for me. It must be the Nana touch. The parents needed some much deserved time to themselves, to say the least. Every minute with them all was a joy. The birthday/celebration party for Devin was outstanding. I think everyone had a great time. The only family members not present from both sides were Bree, Owen and Josh. Bree, of course cannot travel in her very pregnant condition. I think we all had a good time for them. Ben traveled alone with Amelia and Brenda came in Saturday from a conference in Little Rock and joined us. It seemed a supreme effort for everyone to support Devin and well worth it. Amelia and Logan had a great time together.

On the job scene, I got a rejection email from Fountain-Fort Carson School District - boo hoo - it would have meant a 40 minute commute, anyway. I applied again for another job at District 70 today. I have an interview tomorrow at 10:30 at a Doctor's office, and I go for my intro to unemployment meeting on Thursday at 10:00. I got a lot of unemployment information, now I am just waiting for the $. I don't know when I will find out about that. I didn't think I would qualify, but it doesn't hurt to try. It would mean $320 a week if I did get it. Would certainly help with Cobra insurance and house payment. I faxed a resume today for a construction company from an ad in the paper. I have about 5 craig's list jobs to apply for. It seems most of them are pretty sketchy! They want "dynamic" people wanting to work in a fun environment and they will pay $40-$50,000 a year. In Pueblo - oh yeah! I am not sure what the businesses are, but the ads are fun to read. I will apply to Starbucks this week to try and get part time work for now. We have 2 big business here in town cutting back employees from the paper today. Just what I needed. I am keeping my chin up and hoping for the best. Maybe something will happen soon. Cindy's aunt does a lot of volunteering, so I am contacting her this week to find out where I might do something fun. I am thinking the zoo would be neat! I bet I could make a bunch of great contacts with the giraffes and apes - don't you think? Since it is one of my favorite places to go, I think it might be nice to meet people and get out!

While I was gone a building exploded not too far (2 miles?) from my house. I haven't checked it out yet, but it totally destroyed the building and broke windows in neighboring stores, killed one person and injured 12 others. The pictures in the paper were pretty scary. They still don't have a cause yet. It is in the old historic district not too far from the riverwalk.

Well, bye for now - the job search is calling!