An Awesome Give Away

Just thought I'd drop in with a quick heads up about a super cool give away. My friend Gennifer has an Etsy shop where she sells these amazing family trees and silhouettes. I totally want to win one of these! You really NEED to go check them out on her blog.

Let me 'splain... No, there is too much. Let me sum up.

RM will finally be finishing his Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering this semester (or there will be heck to pay ;) ). We have applied for a grant that would fund his PhD and give us a stipend to live on while he researches. He wants a PhD because he'd like to teach Mechanical Engineering at a university. We are supposed to find out if the grant has come through some time in December. We have been going under the premise that if we get funded we'll do the PhD and if we don't get funded, we'll get a job. However, life being what it's like with five kiddos instead of four, we are considering getting a job even if the funding comes through. We can see many benefits to both options.

Since financially we have reached the point where we either need the grant or a job ASAP, RM put out several resumes at an engineering job fair at the U of U a couple of weeks ago. He has had at least a half dozen companies express interest and ask for interviews. So far we've had promising interviews from companies in Idaho Falls and Flagstaff/Phoenix. We have other interviews lined up with companies in Clearfield, Lehi, Washington, Michigan, and Albuquerque.

So, if funding comes through and we accept the grant or if we land a job on the Wasatch Front, we're staying put for at least a little while. Otherwise, we may be relocating as soon as the new year.

Needless to say, I'm feeling a little stressed.

As I chatted online with a friend tonight he shared with me a really great insight. I asked him if I could quote him on my blog. His response?

Only if I get a cut of the royalties...How about this: every person who reads and comments on my quote has to send me a job referral. And you have to say that the quote came from "my wisest and truest friend, Christian H Gibbs. (The H stands for Humble)

So, without further ado, here is his amazing insight:

I have a theory that at some point in our lives, the Lord pulls a 'Brother of Jared' moment on us. Tells us we have to make a drastic change in our lives, and when we ask him about details like 'how are we supposed to light the boats', instead of giving us the answer he says "What do YOU want to do?"

I think he's just about hit the nail on the head. I don't think it's a matter of a right and wrong choice for our family so much as a good, better, best choice. And, for some reason, those don't seem to be easy choices to make.

My friend gave me a bit of parting advice:

The brother of Jared formed a plan, then went to the Mountain of the Lord and humbly asked if his plan was acceptable. In other words, GO TO THE TEMPLE. GO DIRECTLY TO THE TEMPLE. DO NOT PASS GO. DO NOT COLLECT $200.

I think we'll be taking this very sound advice...just as soon as we have decided on a plan. :P

PS...Christian is looking for a job in software development if anyone out there can hook him up. :D

PPS...Just found this compilation video on Youtube. Too funny not to share (even though I've shared parts of it before.)

A Fun Link for My Fellow Foodies

Just wanted to pop in quickly and share a fun link for those who love food as much as I do.

Renaissance Man is a big fan of youtube. He is forever finding cool new things to watch and learn about. It's very common for him to spend time with the kids watching "how it's made" videos. Recently he found a video on how to cook onion rings. That lead us on a link to link chase through numerous videos by the same entertaining poster, foodwishes. Not only did many of these videos make my mouth water, they made me giggle too. So, without further ado, here's a link to the Foodwishes blog as well as a video clip to the onion ring recipe that started it all.

(By the way, I didn't find the Panko bread crumbs the recipe calls for at the grocery store on Saturday, so we used regular bread crumbs. Bad idea, they were a bit too much on the soft side and way too greasy. However, I am on a quest to find the right bread crumbs and try it again. :) )



Next up on my "New Recipe To Try" list: Bumblebee Soup.

Introducing The Baby Boy

As many of you know, we have a new addition to our family. He arrived on September 10, 2010 at 6:44 am. He was 7lbs and 20" long. Here are the pictures that were taken just before we left the hospital. Enjoy. :)

Hi Kate. :o)

I just had to give a shout out to my dear, sweet, wonderful sister-in-law, who complains nearly every time I see her that I haven't updated my blog in months.

So, here you go. A post.

It's my goal to make a post of some actual significance before the week is out. Maybe even more than one. ;)

Oh my. It's almost my blogiversary.

I got thinking about my blog and I realized that I had to be coming up on my blogiversary soon. I didn't expect it to be in just six days (July 12). Well, at least I didn't miss it. :P

I'll have to give this milestone some consideration and decide how we're going to celebrate. :D

How have you celebrated your blogiversaries?

I Think I'm Getting This...

I finally had a chance to sit down and explore the new system a bit. There are definitely some things I like and some things I'm not so sold on. But, I guess I'll figure it out eventually. As you can see, I found my three columns option built right into the program, which is really cool.

Thanks to those who have chimed in already. Keep your tips/discoveries coming, I'll probably need them. :D