Here I am sitting in the Traffic department at work. Today is slow, and that's weird because it's usually chaos on a Friday. So I thought I would write a little about my job and what I do. I'm the Traffic Coordinator/Continuity Specialist. I work for FOX 13 KSTU television in SLC, UT. I've been in my position for 16 mos now. Traffic is not what you think, it has nothing to do with cars on the road. It's part of the sales/advertising machine.
Sales people sell the commercial time, my boss (who is in Kansas City) decides which commercials will go where and when, my local boss decides how much the commercials are going to cost during which show/day, and the client tells me which commercial they want to air for which show/day, and for how long (a day, a week, month, etc), and I get to make sense of it all. I mostly do data entry type stuff. But it's also my responsibility to get the commercial from the client, make sure it's the right length and content, relay all that information to our operations department (that I used to work in), make sure it's ready for air when needed, and coordinate all that information to needed parties. I process the finalized "Log" or playlist and send it to our automation that puts it on TV for you to enjoy (haha-ya, we all hate commercials). Bottom line, if the wrong commercial goes to air, or the right commercial doesn't air, or there is any sort of problem with commercials--it's my butt on the line.
Previous to this position I worked in Operations (Master Control/Ingest/and Camera). Compared to this job, it was seriously a piece of cake, although it was challenging. Mostly because I worked graves and no one bothered us. We did our job and still had A LOT of free time to just watch TV, chit chat, and goof off. While still monitoring everything of course ;-) Coming to this position was a huge blessing, a bit more pay, a day schedule (what I had been praying for), my own office, and tons of responsibility. It's been a very hard adjustment. I'm used to doing my job, going home, and not worrying about work until the next day. Now I'm on call 24/7 and believe me, they call me at all hours about problems, or things missing, or computer issues. It's a huge change. I love it most days. But some days I worry that this job is too much for little old me. I'm a lot more confident in my job, but I feel like such a slow learner. Every mistake is a huge loss money wise, and requires meeting after meeting. It can be very discouraging and depressing.
Fortunately, I rarely make mistakes now, but in the beginning it was very hard learning the ropes and mistakes seemed to be a daily occurrence. But, they do still happen occasionally. That's life.
I really like the people I work with. We laugh, we have fun, we joke. But most of the day it's quiet in the office and I'm listening to my headphones. Kinda boring.
So that's my job in a nutshell. So completely different from my dance studio days...but it pays the bills and keeps my family fed. I'm grateful to have a job period.
Friday, September 13, 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Home Sweet Home
Last night I tucked my kids into their beds and sat in the kitchen by myself. I looked around at all of my things...my things...in my home. Our new home. A wonderful feeling. So happy I can do this for the kids. I know they are really loving it and it makes it that much sweeter. We still have so much to do, but the main floor is really coming together.
I let the girls have the master. The room itself isn't that much bigger than the others, but they have their own bathroom and a GIANT walk in closet. They have soooo many clothes, bags, shoes, jackets, belts, etc. It just made more sense. They have always been seriously messy. I'm hoping this will inspire them to take care of their stuff... or at least keep it contained in their closet. So far, we have a looooooong way to go. But in their defense we just got it all in the house. So I will give them a few days to figure things out. And then, momma's gonna drop the hammer.
Justice's room isn't too much better, but at least his clothes are hung. We will really tackle the rooms this weekend.
My room is put together, but it doesn't feel right yet. I need to personalize it somehow. I've never been a great decorator, but I finally feel the need. I'm really feeling hopeful and excited about the future. Free from my past!
So thankful for where we are at that we have this opportunity.
I let the girls have the master. The room itself isn't that much bigger than the others, but they have their own bathroom and a GIANT walk in closet. They have soooo many clothes, bags, shoes, jackets, belts, etc. It just made more sense. They have always been seriously messy. I'm hoping this will inspire them to take care of their stuff... or at least keep it contained in their closet. So far, we have a looooooong way to go. But in their defense we just got it all in the house. So I will give them a few days to figure things out. And then, momma's gonna drop the hammer.
Justice's room isn't too much better, but at least his clothes are hung. We will really tackle the rooms this weekend.
My room is put together, but it doesn't feel right yet. I need to personalize it somehow. I've never been a great decorator, but I finally feel the need. I'm really feeling hopeful and excited about the future. Free from my past!
So thankful for where we are at that we have this opportunity.
Saturday, August 24, 2013
A Fresh Start
It's only been about a year since my last post. Just pitiful! But here we are, ready to get back at it.
We sold our house on Roxborough Park in March 2013. It was a very difficult decision for me, I really wanted to stay there and so did the kids. But I was trying to make things square with Eric. He wanted it sold, and I just wanted to put the past behind us.
So we put it on the market at it sold very quickly-surprisingly. Only 1 week on the market. I was happy for that, because I kept wanting to change my mind. It was hard packing up all of our stuff not really knowing what the plan for the future would be.
We moved in with mom and dad. It's been a real blessing. They are so good to us. We are spoiled with laundry, cleaning, and a roof over our heads. It's been an easy adjustment :-) It has been hard to give up our independence and having a feeling of ownership.
I found a townhome in West Jordan, UT we are going to lease for 2 years. Very nice and just the right size for my little clan. It's very close to mom and dad. They help out a lot with the kids so I don't want to be too far from them. Justice's elementary is by their home and I want him to finish school there. So we are very excited to be moving back into our own place. I wish I was buying a place, but I'm not quite ready for that yet. Financially I think renting is perfect for us. Someone else is responsible for repairs and upkeep. Since it's a condo- the yard work, outer home structure, and snow removal are taken care of. We will have a pool, club house, exercise room, volleyball court, basketball court, and a little playground for us to enjoy. We are pretty excited. Two more weeks and we can start moving in. I know two years will go by in a flash. Hopefully we will be ready to buy a place by then. Moving is really a pain.
It will be great to be starting fresh and leave all the past in the past :-)
Sierra has had so much going on . She tried out for "So You Think You Can Dance" our favorite dance show. She tried out in Detroit and made it to the very last round before getting cut. She was so close that we really wanted her to try again. So she headed to LA. She made it through to the next round in Vegas-the Final Rounds! It was so thrilling and we were so very proud of her. She was on television for several weeks. We would pause the tv on our dvr and take pics with our phones and cameras. She was on quite a bit! But she was eventually cut in the Vegas rounds. It ended up being for the best. Which I'll explain later. She went on to audition for Odyssey, a professional company here locally that puts on "Thriller" around Halloween which has had phenomenal success as well as many other productions and world-tours. She didn't make the company, but was selected for O2, which is the training team for Odyssey. She is basically on scholarship for her classes (20-30) hours a week, and trains for a few classes with the Odyssey company. She is getting a first class training- which she really lacked last year while with UDC (Utah Dance Company) at the U of U. So she has done a 180 and is on her way to being at the top of her game. She just had surgery on her knee due to some bursitis above her knee cap. She had it drained, but it filled right back up. They decided to operate and removed the bursae sack on top of the knee cap. She was in a knee brace/stabilizer for the past 4 weeks. Then she got the ok that her stitches had dissolved and she could begin bending it gently. We are hoping she will be able to bounce back quickly and get right back at it. This made us realize it was a good this she didn't make the SYTYCD show or Odyssey just yet. She will be healed in time to really get serious rehearsing for Thriller and gear up for next year. Whatever she decides to do, we are ready to be her cheering section.
She also just sent off her sweetheart Mark Lesuma to a mission in Scotland/Ireland. We absolutely love him and are trying to rally behind them both during this exciting time for him, and hard time for her. He's been gone a month. It's fun to see her writing him letters, sending him packages, and put stickers on her countdown chart. Brings back a lot of memories. It's a very special time for them both.
Montana tried out for cheerleader at Bennion Jr. High and was so thrilled to make it. It has been a very hard adjustment for her. She had planned to continue with soccer also, but the majority of the girls on her "Fusion" team decided to go to other teams and her coach decided to dissolve the team because they only had 3 girls left. :-( We really couldn't afford to do any of the other teams out there. They were double and triple the price of Fusion. So we made the decision to just focus on cheer this year. Well she has had a hard time fitting in with the girls. She is more of an athlete, and these cheer girls are in a completely different mind set. She goes crazy when the drama starts up and they seem to be upset about nothing. They have good days where she loves it. I can see her progress and the pride on her face when she wears her uniform. I hope she will grow to love it. She has some soccer friends that live close to us that she still hangs out with. I can tell she misses soccer so much. She went to a practice with the "Utah Glory" soccer team, that a lot of her friends play for, and of course the coaches loved her and would love for her to be a part of the team. She told them that we couldn't afford the fees, and the coaches told her to tell her parents "Not to worry about the money". I'm not sure exactly what that means. She could play for free or reduced fees? Or maybe they would work on a long term financial plan with us. At any rate, she is going to practice again Monday and I will talk to the coach and get all the information. If we can work it out, I would love for her to keep it up- as I think that is really where her heart is. She's in 8th grade this year, and 9th graders can play up a year for soccer and play with the high school. I know she would love that. One day at a time I guess.
Justice is enjoying 6th grade at his new school and was just elected as his class president. He has a whole crew a friends that are girls. They draw to him like flies- it's pretty adorable. I wish he would make more guy friends but he seems to relate to girls better, and always has. He is making plans to run for school president, campaigning begins in two weeks when they go back on track. Also band will begin. He will still play the saxophone. He still loves it and it will be great to see him learn more and have more experiences. This program at his school seems much more intense and organized. He is still my cuddle bug and loves to hang on me and craves my attention. Which I love.
Eric and Corilynn got divorced. A total surprise to everyone. It's been really rough on the kids as they really loved Jillian and McKayde as well as Lynn. They moved out of their Mapleton house and back in with Uncle Jerry & Uncle Bruce. It's only been a month or so and so things are still kind of up in the air. It's been great having him living in Salt Lake again. I hope he can stay here. It makes shuffling the kids back and forth a lot easier. I feel bad for him, but I feel worse for the kids. Why does life have to be so complicated?
On the flip side, Chris is getting married to his long time girlfriend Lynn who is also a flight attendant. (What's with all the Lynn's? lol). Not sure what the official date is but it sounds like this fall sometime. Sierra likes her and her 2 little boys. They have bought a house in Texas together and are living there. Chris comes to Utah for about 1 week a month. He finished his basement in the Utah "Vacation" home and is trying to rent it out. He did a great job, it is really nice. I worry about Sierra living there with someone we don't know- so hopefully we can get that worked out.
So plenty of changes going on in our world. But that seems to be the one constant for us...change.
I'm still at Fox working in the Traffic department. I've learned a lot and am finally feeling comfortable and confident in my job. It's been 15 months and it's still a constant stress and 24/7 on call for emergencies. Overall things are good. I just got a raise and another week of vacation starting in 2014. Not too shabby.
I'm enjoying the single life and my kids. They are my world and I honestly don't know how I would fit anyone else in at this point. The kids talk about me needing to date- but I just don't seem to care or want to. I hang out with my friends and my family and that seems to be plenty for me :-) Life is crazy enough!
Everyone is in good health, spirits, and really looking forward to what the future will bring us.
We sold our house on Roxborough Park in March 2013. It was a very difficult decision for me, I really wanted to stay there and so did the kids. But I was trying to make things square with Eric. He wanted it sold, and I just wanted to put the past behind us.
So we put it on the market at it sold very quickly-surprisingly. Only 1 week on the market. I was happy for that, because I kept wanting to change my mind. It was hard packing up all of our stuff not really knowing what the plan for the future would be.
We moved in with mom and dad. It's been a real blessing. They are so good to us. We are spoiled with laundry, cleaning, and a roof over our heads. It's been an easy adjustment :-) It has been hard to give up our independence and having a feeling of ownership.
I found a townhome in West Jordan, UT we are going to lease for 2 years. Very nice and just the right size for my little clan. It's very close to mom and dad. They help out a lot with the kids so I don't want to be too far from them. Justice's elementary is by their home and I want him to finish school there. So we are very excited to be moving back into our own place. I wish I was buying a place, but I'm not quite ready for that yet. Financially I think renting is perfect for us. Someone else is responsible for repairs and upkeep. Since it's a condo- the yard work, outer home structure, and snow removal are taken care of. We will have a pool, club house, exercise room, volleyball court, basketball court, and a little playground for us to enjoy. We are pretty excited. Two more weeks and we can start moving in. I know two years will go by in a flash. Hopefully we will be ready to buy a place by then. Moving is really a pain.
It will be great to be starting fresh and leave all the past in the past :-)
Sierra has had so much going on . She tried out for "So You Think You Can Dance" our favorite dance show. She tried out in Detroit and made it to the very last round before getting cut. She was so close that we really wanted her to try again. So she headed to LA. She made it through to the next round in Vegas-the Final Rounds! It was so thrilling and we were so very proud of her. She was on television for several weeks. We would pause the tv on our dvr and take pics with our phones and cameras. She was on quite a bit! But she was eventually cut in the Vegas rounds. It ended up being for the best. Which I'll explain later. She went on to audition for Odyssey, a professional company here locally that puts on "Thriller" around Halloween which has had phenomenal success as well as many other productions and world-tours. She didn't make the company, but was selected for O2, which is the training team for Odyssey. She is basically on scholarship for her classes (20-30) hours a week, and trains for a few classes with the Odyssey company. She is getting a first class training- which she really lacked last year while with UDC (Utah Dance Company) at the U of U. So she has done a 180 and is on her way to being at the top of her game. She just had surgery on her knee due to some bursitis above her knee cap. She had it drained, but it filled right back up. They decided to operate and removed the bursae sack on top of the knee cap. She was in a knee brace/stabilizer for the past 4 weeks. Then she got the ok that her stitches had dissolved and she could begin bending it gently. We are hoping she will be able to bounce back quickly and get right back at it. This made us realize it was a good this she didn't make the SYTYCD show or Odyssey just yet. She will be healed in time to really get serious rehearsing for Thriller and gear up for next year. Whatever she decides to do, we are ready to be her cheering section.
She also just sent off her sweetheart Mark Lesuma to a mission in Scotland/Ireland. We absolutely love him and are trying to rally behind them both during this exciting time for him, and hard time for her. He's been gone a month. It's fun to see her writing him letters, sending him packages, and put stickers on her countdown chart. Brings back a lot of memories. It's a very special time for them both.
Montana tried out for cheerleader at Bennion Jr. High and was so thrilled to make it. It has been a very hard adjustment for her. She had planned to continue with soccer also, but the majority of the girls on her "Fusion" team decided to go to other teams and her coach decided to dissolve the team because they only had 3 girls left. :-( We really couldn't afford to do any of the other teams out there. They were double and triple the price of Fusion. So we made the decision to just focus on cheer this year. Well she has had a hard time fitting in with the girls. She is more of an athlete, and these cheer girls are in a completely different mind set. She goes crazy when the drama starts up and they seem to be upset about nothing. They have good days where she loves it. I can see her progress and the pride on her face when she wears her uniform. I hope she will grow to love it. She has some soccer friends that live close to us that she still hangs out with. I can tell she misses soccer so much. She went to a practice with the "Utah Glory" soccer team, that a lot of her friends play for, and of course the coaches loved her and would love for her to be a part of the team. She told them that we couldn't afford the fees, and the coaches told her to tell her parents "Not to worry about the money". I'm not sure exactly what that means. She could play for free or reduced fees? Or maybe they would work on a long term financial plan with us. At any rate, she is going to practice again Monday and I will talk to the coach and get all the information. If we can work it out, I would love for her to keep it up- as I think that is really where her heart is. She's in 8th grade this year, and 9th graders can play up a year for soccer and play with the high school. I know she would love that. One day at a time I guess.
Justice is enjoying 6th grade at his new school and was just elected as his class president. He has a whole crew a friends that are girls. They draw to him like flies- it's pretty adorable. I wish he would make more guy friends but he seems to relate to girls better, and always has. He is making plans to run for school president, campaigning begins in two weeks when they go back on track. Also band will begin. He will still play the saxophone. He still loves it and it will be great to see him learn more and have more experiences. This program at his school seems much more intense and organized. He is still my cuddle bug and loves to hang on me and craves my attention. Which I love.
Eric and Corilynn got divorced. A total surprise to everyone. It's been really rough on the kids as they really loved Jillian and McKayde as well as Lynn. They moved out of their Mapleton house and back in with Uncle Jerry & Uncle Bruce. It's only been a month or so and so things are still kind of up in the air. It's been great having him living in Salt Lake again. I hope he can stay here. It makes shuffling the kids back and forth a lot easier. I feel bad for him, but I feel worse for the kids. Why does life have to be so complicated?
On the flip side, Chris is getting married to his long time girlfriend Lynn who is also a flight attendant. (What's with all the Lynn's? lol). Not sure what the official date is but it sounds like this fall sometime. Sierra likes her and her 2 little boys. They have bought a house in Texas together and are living there. Chris comes to Utah for about 1 week a month. He finished his basement in the Utah "Vacation" home and is trying to rent it out. He did a great job, it is really nice. I worry about Sierra living there with someone we don't know- so hopefully we can get that worked out.
So plenty of changes going on in our world. But that seems to be the one constant for us...change.
I'm still at Fox working in the Traffic department. I've learned a lot and am finally feeling comfortable and confident in my job. It's been 15 months and it's still a constant stress and 24/7 on call for emergencies. Overall things are good. I just got a raise and another week of vacation starting in 2014. Not too shabby.
I'm enjoying the single life and my kids. They are my world and I honestly don't know how I would fit anyone else in at this point. The kids talk about me needing to date- but I just don't seem to care or want to. I hang out with my friends and my family and that seems to be plenty for me :-) Life is crazy enough!
Everyone is in good health, spirits, and really looking forward to what the future will bring us.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
October 2012
Hello again! Some prodding from my family has got me back here writing again.
Sierra is loving College life at the U!! The University of Utah is treating her well. She is on the Utah Dance Team (UDT) and is able to be on the sideline for all the football games, dance for pre-game, and half-time. She'll dance at many more events throughout the year, but I don't know to what extent. They got to travel to the UCLA game and cheer at the Rose Bowl Stadium. I wouldn't say that this team is challenging her dancing, but she has learned tall flags, working with a full band, and being a spirit leader, and making appearances as a team. She wants to start pursuing a dance degree and can't be on UDT while in the dance programs, it conflicts with schedules and what not. So we will see how things work out. She is studying hard and getting good grades so far. I'm pretty proud of my little Ute!
She is teaching dance at many schools and studios. Luckily they are all part time. Just a few hours here and there. Her new big gig is assistant coaching the Taylorsville High School Drill Team. Her old coaches heard that some other schools were going to approach her about coaching and they swooped in and hired her before that could happen. She loves it- but the early mornings are a kick in the pants. She is also coaching at Bennion Jr High for their Dance Company, teaching for Xcite Studio 22 & Illusions Dance Studios, and continues to choreograph & coach solos as well as cut & edit music for all these adventures. So needless to say she is still super busy. She is still dating Mark and they are cute together. We really like him and think he is a good influence on her as well as a fun guy. He is preparing for an LDS mission in the next couple of months and Sierra is preparing to wait for him. I hope she will date other guys while he is gone, but I don't know when she would have time, and I don't think she will want to. But we will see. 2 years is a long time.
Montana has become a soccer fanatic! She was bouncing back and forth between soccer and dance over the summer, but then decided to go back to kicking balls. She also tried out for her Junior high soccer team and made it. So it was league & school soccer 6 days a week for the last 3 months. That was more than she bargained for, but in the end, I think it was very good for her. Her skills have improved immensely and she has learned to be more aggressive as well as more controlled. Her school soccer is over for the year and they did well. Made it to the semi-finals. Her league team "Fusion" has a tournament in St. George over Thanksgiving weekend. Tana and I are going down together. It will be a fun trip, just for the two of us for a change. She is loving the Jr. High social life, but not school so much. She's having a hard time adjusting to the 8 teachers in one day vs 1 teacher all day in elementary. She's doing well grade wise and I know she will adjust. She is very outgoing and has a friendly, silly personality. She's got LOTS of friends and the boys are starting to notice how gorgeous she is. She was in choir this semester and was chosen for a short solo in one of the songs they were singing. She did very well. I was quite surprised to see her not get worked up and nervous like she usually does. She is shedding her shy, anxious, and withdrawn ways and is blossoming into such a beautiful young woman. I'm so proud of her.
Justice is taking saxophone in school this year. His uncle Shaun loaned him his old one (that was in pristine shape) to see if he likes it or not. I think he does, but the weight of this instrument is probably the one downer. We bought him a rolly cart that he carries it to school in, so that helps. I haven't heard any songs yet, just notes and scales. Which is wonderful. It doesn't have the squeaky nerve rattling quality that the beginning violin did- thank goodness. He's in 5th grade now, and is still struggling with the homework and getting things turned in. But he's a bright kid and I know he will turn things around soon. He is still involved in scouts and loves doing activities and earning badges and pins. He's got quite a collection now.
He and his friends got a big idea to turn our garage into the "mancave". They have collected all kinds of hand me down, thrift store & garage sale finds to the cause. It is pretty cool. They've got a playstation with a million games on a special shelf, a sound system with nice speakers, a television, seating for 5, and a nice rug and "coffee table" to pull it all together. It makes me laugh that he would go to such extent to put this thing together-but hey- keeps the boys out of my hair and the mess in the garage. Plus he loves having his own space- no girls allowed!
I FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY, got promoted at work. After working nights and overnights for the last 10 years I'm working a 9am-5pm job for the first time in my adult life!! It's so nice to be home with the kids at night and not have to take them to grams every night. But I have to admit, I do feel like I'm missing out on a lot. Taking them to school, picking them up, being home if they are sick, running them to lessons, and to friends. I'm asking family & friends to help out and it's taking some getting used to. But I am making a bit more money and holidays off!! And sleeping 8 hours a night is the biggest perk. My new job is 180 degrees of responsibility and workload from my old job. I'm still at FOX13 TV. I used to run cameras for the news, edit commercials and programs, and most of the time, just watch tv, because I had a lot of down time. But now it is a race to get my massive workload done on a daily basis. Plus I am on call 24 hours in case there are any problems, and if there are any problems, it's my butt that gets chewed about it. I'm the Traffic Coordinator in the Sales Department. I enter instructions into the commercial engine "Wide Orbit" for each and every commercial that is on air and make sure the commercials are ready to air when and where they should. If there is a new commercial or a campaign ends, I need to make sure those instructions are entered into the system. My entire day is spent at my computer, in my own office cube :-). I send and receive about 200+ emails a day, I work with our hub team/HQ station in Kansas City to produce a written log, "the bible" of each days commercial info & time that each will air. I can't leave for the day until the next day's log has been printed & sent electronically to Master Control. If a commercial gets kicked out of the system or goes missing for some reason, I get a call and have to tell them where to find it or decide what to do about it. That's my job. Kinda weird and kinda fun. It's been a massive learning curve and a lot of costly mistakes have been made, but 5 months into it now and I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. Knock on Wood!
We are happy and healthy and thankful for all of our family, blessings, and opportunities. Posted below are some pics of the last little while to get you caught up on our latest happenings!!
Click the link below to see new pics! Laters!
http://www.kizoa.com/slideshow/d3475938k3559631o1/blog-slideshow-11-2012
Sierra is loving College life at the U!! The University of Utah is treating her well. She is on the Utah Dance Team (UDT) and is able to be on the sideline for all the football games, dance for pre-game, and half-time. She'll dance at many more events throughout the year, but I don't know to what extent. They got to travel to the UCLA game and cheer at the Rose Bowl Stadium. I wouldn't say that this team is challenging her dancing, but she has learned tall flags, working with a full band, and being a spirit leader, and making appearances as a team. She wants to start pursuing a dance degree and can't be on UDT while in the dance programs, it conflicts with schedules and what not. So we will see how things work out. She is studying hard and getting good grades so far. I'm pretty proud of my little Ute!
She is teaching dance at many schools and studios. Luckily they are all part time. Just a few hours here and there. Her new big gig is assistant coaching the Taylorsville High School Drill Team. Her old coaches heard that some other schools were going to approach her about coaching and they swooped in and hired her before that could happen. She loves it- but the early mornings are a kick in the pants. She is also coaching at Bennion Jr High for their Dance Company, teaching for Xcite Studio 22 & Illusions Dance Studios, and continues to choreograph & coach solos as well as cut & edit music for all these adventures. So needless to say she is still super busy. She is still dating Mark and they are cute together. We really like him and think he is a good influence on her as well as a fun guy. He is preparing for an LDS mission in the next couple of months and Sierra is preparing to wait for him. I hope she will date other guys while he is gone, but I don't know when she would have time, and I don't think she will want to. But we will see. 2 years is a long time.
Montana has become a soccer fanatic! She was bouncing back and forth between soccer and dance over the summer, but then decided to go back to kicking balls. She also tried out for her Junior high soccer team and made it. So it was league & school soccer 6 days a week for the last 3 months. That was more than she bargained for, but in the end, I think it was very good for her. Her skills have improved immensely and she has learned to be more aggressive as well as more controlled. Her school soccer is over for the year and they did well. Made it to the semi-finals. Her league team "Fusion" has a tournament in St. George over Thanksgiving weekend. Tana and I are going down together. It will be a fun trip, just for the two of us for a change. She is loving the Jr. High social life, but not school so much. She's having a hard time adjusting to the 8 teachers in one day vs 1 teacher all day in elementary. She's doing well grade wise and I know she will adjust. She is very outgoing and has a friendly, silly personality. She's got LOTS of friends and the boys are starting to notice how gorgeous she is. She was in choir this semester and was chosen for a short solo in one of the songs they were singing. She did very well. I was quite surprised to see her not get worked up and nervous like she usually does. She is shedding her shy, anxious, and withdrawn ways and is blossoming into such a beautiful young woman. I'm so proud of her.
Justice is taking saxophone in school this year. His uncle Shaun loaned him his old one (that was in pristine shape) to see if he likes it or not. I think he does, but the weight of this instrument is probably the one downer. We bought him a rolly cart that he carries it to school in, so that helps. I haven't heard any songs yet, just notes and scales. Which is wonderful. It doesn't have the squeaky nerve rattling quality that the beginning violin did- thank goodness. He's in 5th grade now, and is still struggling with the homework and getting things turned in. But he's a bright kid and I know he will turn things around soon. He is still involved in scouts and loves doing activities and earning badges and pins. He's got quite a collection now.
He and his friends got a big idea to turn our garage into the "mancave". They have collected all kinds of hand me down, thrift store & garage sale finds to the cause. It is pretty cool. They've got a playstation with a million games on a special shelf, a sound system with nice speakers, a television, seating for 5, and a nice rug and "coffee table" to pull it all together. It makes me laugh that he would go to such extent to put this thing together-but hey- keeps the boys out of my hair and the mess in the garage. Plus he loves having his own space- no girls allowed!
I FINALLY, FINALLY, FINALLY, got promoted at work. After working nights and overnights for the last 10 years I'm working a 9am-5pm job for the first time in my adult life!! It's so nice to be home with the kids at night and not have to take them to grams every night. But I have to admit, I do feel like I'm missing out on a lot. Taking them to school, picking them up, being home if they are sick, running them to lessons, and to friends. I'm asking family & friends to help out and it's taking some getting used to. But I am making a bit more money and holidays off!! And sleeping 8 hours a night is the biggest perk. My new job is 180 degrees of responsibility and workload from my old job. I'm still at FOX13 TV. I used to run cameras for the news, edit commercials and programs, and most of the time, just watch tv, because I had a lot of down time. But now it is a race to get my massive workload done on a daily basis. Plus I am on call 24 hours in case there are any problems, and if there are any problems, it's my butt that gets chewed about it. I'm the Traffic Coordinator in the Sales Department. I enter instructions into the commercial engine "Wide Orbit" for each and every commercial that is on air and make sure the commercials are ready to air when and where they should. If there is a new commercial or a campaign ends, I need to make sure those instructions are entered into the system. My entire day is spent at my computer, in my own office cube :-). I send and receive about 200+ emails a day, I work with our hub team/HQ station in Kansas City to produce a written log, "the bible" of each days commercial info & time that each will air. I can't leave for the day until the next day's log has been printed & sent electronically to Master Control. If a commercial gets kicked out of the system or goes missing for some reason, I get a call and have to tell them where to find it or decide what to do about it. That's my job. Kinda weird and kinda fun. It's been a massive learning curve and a lot of costly mistakes have been made, but 5 months into it now and I think I'm finally getting the hang of it. Knock on Wood!
We are happy and healthy and thankful for all of our family, blessings, and opportunities. Posted below are some pics of the last little while to get you caught up on our latest happenings!!
Click the link below to see new pics! Laters!
http://www.kizoa.com/slideshow/d3475938k3559631o1/blog-slideshow-11-2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Miss Drill Solo- Sierra :-)
This is actually from a competition a few weeks earlier, but same amazing routine:-)
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