LIFE

I just haven't felt like blogging lately!

So here is everything going on in one blog...

Job

I resigned yesterday. I was SOO nervous because I have never quit a job before!! I went all official and wrote a resignation letter and everything. I waited until my boss was in his office and then I went in and handed my letter to him and sat down. I could tell he was very upset, but I think I just really took him off guard, because they had no idea I was even looking and I have only been there 3 months. However, after the shock was over with they were much better today. I have been incredibly impressed with how kind everyone has been to me, since finding out that I was leaving. They are all very support, yet sad at the same time and my supervisor asked me today to change my mind. Needless to say it feels good to know that I won't burn any bridges there and have met soo many neat people!

Soccer

My soccer teams did AWESOME this season. My 10 year olds ended their season undefeated and my 14 year olds ended with only one loss (a game I missed, ironically). They are both awesome and by far the best teams in their league only because they work soo well together. I have had a lot of fun coaching this year! This week and next they are actually in a tournament and I would LOVE for them both to win it all, but I don't want to get my hopes up. I know they are both capable of winning the entire thing, but we will just have to wait and see.

Babies

My Aunt and Uncle were supposed to have their baby (Isabella) yesterday.... but she wasn't ready. They have to have her early because the placenta is in the wrong place. So yesterday they went in for an amniocentesis and if her lungs were fully developed they were going to go right into surgery for a C-section. However, Isabella had other plans for us. Now the next magic date is June 8th, they go in for an amnio and if her lungs are good, they go right to delivery! Even though I was disappointed that I won't get to see her this weekend, I am pretty excited she will be coming later on because I will have about 2 weeks off before I start with the BLM and I should be able to go to Alb and spend lots of time with her and my aunt and uncle while I am off!! :) I will be posting pictures as soon as I see her or get some pictures myself!

And that is all she wrote.

Front Yard = Finished

A couple of Months ago we started working on our front yard. It had Grass that was half dead and gravel and we decided to dig up the grass and put a different color gravel in where the grass was. I blogged about it back in November...

http://jaclynwaggoner.blogspot.com/2008/11/yard-work.html

We had planned on getting it finished by Thanksgiving, but that didn't work out. (It was a lot harder than we anticipated to dig up the grass and shovel the gravel.) We finally finished shoveling the gravel into place right before our wedding, however Ryan still didn't feel like it was quite finished. It needed a barrier of some sort to separate the different colors of gravel. This past weekend we finally put some rocks out to separate the gravel and we took some pictures. :)







I am soo glad we did this instead of messing with the grass. It was such a pain in the butt and the gravel is just soo easy and maintenance free! Whoo Hoo!

Ranger Waggoner take 2

So after much anticipation, today I got the phone call that I have been waiting for.... the BLM called me and offered me a job! :D I was screaming in my house this morning! :) I always new that they were a good company to work for, but I never really appreciated working for them until I worked somewhere else. Now, don't get me wrong... the bank has been pretty decent to me; However, it will be nice not to have to beg to go to the dentist because I don't have any leave and to actually get paid what I feel like I am worth and to have my bosses actually be older than me.

Although I will really miss dressing cute EVERY day!! :) But I guess that is what the weekends are for, to step up my fashion game! Ha!


Now... I haven't been broadcasting this news (until now) because I haven't exactly told the bank yet. I found out this morning, but couldn't get a hold of Ryan. Then, I found out that my starting date isn't until June 22 (although I may have to push it back because we are going to a wedding in Colorado at the end of that week...) But without pushing it back, that is a whole 4 weeks away!! So I am still debating on when I should tell the bank. I may put in my 3 week notice and just work 3 more weeks there. I don't know. I have to call the BLM tomorrow and see if I can move my starting date or just take off the end of the week I start... Ha.. even better.

So that is my news. I will be a park ranger again, with the company that I love.

I am so very glad that I took the job at the bank. It was an incredible way to meet soo many people in this town. I feel like I am actually becoming a part of this community because I now know soo many people now. Not to mention the friends that I have made at the bank. I am really going to miss some of them, but I know that I will still hang out with them outside of the bank and overall it was just a great experience. Tonight we actually had a work rally where we all went bowling. I didn't think I was going to have fun at all... but I actually had a Blast! It was soo much fun to hang out with these people outside of the normal work environment. I will truly miss them and I know I worked there for a reason.... but


On to the next chapter....

The New Car

Here is our new car! It is soo very wonderful! I already told Ryan that I will get a couple speeding tickets in this car because it is soo fast and powerful! And you don't even realize that you are driving fast!

maturity

Over the past couple of months I have noticed a maturity in my dog. I know it sounds lame, but I swear she has calmed down and become more mature. She will be 2 this summer, but already I have noticed a change.

It all started with my soccer team. Ryan had been running with Bailey to the soccer field to watch my games. And because she has made every game, she has become their mascot. At first it wasn't a big deal, a couple kids called her their mascot and went over and pet her after the game. Well, after a couple of weeks this changed and now the whole entire team comes and gets in her face after the game. I was a little concerned at first and worried how Bailey would react to having 12 kids in her face. I think she was a little overwhelmed at first, but I can tell when she is overwhelmed, she just lays down and when a little face comes near hers she will lick it.

The other thing I noticed is she isn't running away. It sounds silly, but the other day our back gate got open and our neighbor called to tell us she was out. The weird thing was that before the neighbor came over to try and bring her back, she was already back in the yard. We have also been letting her out with us in the front yard and she just kind of hangs out with us.

And finally the biggest thing I have seen is with other dogs. Last year Ryan's mom left her dog, Sandy with us for a month or so while she was moving. They got along, but Bailey was very jealous of the dog. Last Sunday we picked up Sandy again. We are only supposed to have her for a couple weeks, but I can already see a change in the way these two get along. Bailey seems to be a little more care free. They haven't fought once. They play all day and share everything. (Food, toys, water, beds and bones) I am very impressed at how they are getting along. And I think it is all Bailey. She doesn't seem to be jealous of Sandy at all, just happy to have her company. Does this mean she is ready for another dog???

Busy Week/s ahead

This week is going to fly by... I hope...

It is my last week of soccer. We have practice on Wednesday and then games on Friday and then they are done! My younger team is undefeated, 5-0 and the bigger kids are 5-1. I had such a good time coaching them this season that the season just completely flew by! I am going to miss them all! :(

My work is having a company rally on Thursday night. We are all going bowling and get awards and stuff. I think it might be pretty lame, but the way may supervisor told me today that I HAD to go makes me think that maybe I will be getting some sort of award and.. well that is pretty cool. I am hoping for a bonus! HA! One can dream.

After my soccer games on Friday we are heading down to Las Cruces to visit Ryan's brother for the weekend. We will probably stop in Socorro on Friday and spend the night at my parent's house and then head the rest of the way to Cruces on Saturday morning. We haven't seen Ryan's brother in FOREVER (since Christmas, I think) and he is leaving in June to work in Pennsylvania for the summer... so it will be really nice to spend some time with him before he leaves! Although it will be SOOO hott there!! Las Cruces is at least 10-15 degrees warmer than Grants. I am already planning to wear the lightest and coolest clothes that I have... plus his apartment complex has a swimming pool which I plan to take full advantage of. :)

We will probably head back to Grants on Monday. THEN, on Tuesday my Aunt and Uncle might have their baby!! :) They have a Dr's appointment that morning and if everything goes as planned, they will have a c-section later that day. I don't think we will be able to make it to see baby Isabella until the weekend, but I just can't wait for her to make her appearance! Also Ryan's family will all be back to NM next week, so hopefully we will be able to spend some time with them as well. And then in June my friend Dawn will have her baby!!! I am VERY excited to finally know whether that baby bump of hers is a boy or a *girl*!!!

Anyway, I have another couple of blog ideas for the next couple of days... so stay tuned. And I need to post pictures of our new car as well!! :D

A Face for Radio?

Since I started at the bank I have been writing radio commercials for them to help advertise. I think I have written about 6 all together, including a new one this week (and a tv commercial too).

Yesterday the owner and voice of the local radio station came in to make a deposit for the station and I was his teller. I told him that I had been writing the recent commercials and he immediately became very interested. He asked me if I only wrote commercials and if I would have an interest in also being a voice on the radio. He said he has a hard time finding talent here in Grants and that it is usually just him and this other guy and he said that he was sure people get bored listening to two men's voices.

I told him my background, you know the whole PR degree thing and I also threw in that I had originally went to college as a broadcast journalist and even took a voice and performance class. Granted, I was the worst one in the class and haven't used my voice for anything since... but I really enjoyed it all.

So I told him that I would be willing to help out if he ever was needed a female voice and did my best to count back his money in a nice voice! HA!! lol

Not an hour later I received an email from the VP of the bank asking me if I would like to go with them to the radio station next week to record the latest commercial that I wrote... I kind of didn't want to... because that would entail riding in a bank car with the President and Vice President who are both odd and not my favorite people and also record a commercial in front of the two goofs... but the more I think about it, the more I figure, what the heck?! Even if I suck, at least I gave it a shot. And who knows, maybe I will do a good job and the radio man will call me back to do some more stuff for them.

Too be continued...

Shocker! (ANTM spoiler Alert!)

Teyona Wins ANTM!


What? Lol. Man I sucked at predicting when it came close to the end of this season!!

The final three were Aminat, Allison and Teyona. I thought FOR SURE that Aminat would be the top 2 just because of her walk and the fact that I was expecting Allison to fail miserably because of her walk. I was DEAD wrong. Aminat had the best commercial of them all and I think because of that, she deserved to be top 2, more than Teyona, who's commercial Sucked. However, the judges didn't like Aminat's face. Lol, so she went home. I am not sure Teyona deserved to win, but she definitely wanted it more. Allison, did REALLY well in the runway. I was expecting a hot mess and was completely shocked. I think Allison deserved to win.

Allison had decent pictures that just got better towards the end, by far the most improved model.

Teyona had really good pictures in the beginning, but they turned into mediocre pictures in the end... it was like she was going downhill.

I would have picked Allison. :) Oh well. Now the wait is on until next season. Maybe Tyra will call and give me Paulina's job as a judge... wouldn't that be FABULOUS... I could express my opinions and help make or break girls' careers. :) One can dream...

NEW CAR

Ryan and I bought a car last night. We will be driving the car, pictured below home tomorrow night. crazy stuff. After a couple hours of negotiating... ugh I HATE that part... Ryan finally got a deal he was comfortable with for our new car. The only thing Ryan and I didn't agree on was the color of the interior. Black or Red and Black. I wanted black, he wanted red and black... however after a couple hours at the dealership, I was soo burnt out I could care less if the interior was camouflage... I wanted to LEAVE! Lol, So here are some pics I found online, I will take some more this weekend after we get it home.

relaxation=home

Ryan and I had a really nice visit in Socorro this weekend! We stayed at my parents house and every time I go home I fall more in love with the house and the place that I grew up in.

We fell asleep with the windows open because it was soo hot for us, coming for a higher elevation and at least a 10 degrees cooler in Grants, we were dying in Socorro! When we woke up, I felt like we had woken up in a bird sanctuary! My parents love their birds, they live on about an acre of land and cater to the birds like they are all their special pets. They have several different types of bird seed, as well as hummingbird feeders and even fruit set out for all the different birds to eat. I swear I had never woke up to soo many different birds chirping before in my life! It was really a neat experience!

My parents have also turned into quite the gardeners! They have always had fruit trees, grape vines and tomato plants... but now they are growing all their own spices, lettuce, spinach, squash, chili, rhubarb, and I know there is many more! They are little organic farmers! Ryan and I were both VERY impressed with their garden and we LOVED relaxing on their back porch listening and watching all he birds.

Going home always makes me relaxed... but then reality set in and Monday morning came... boo. Until next time...

Mother's Day

Sooo...I totally broke down in Hallmark today.

I was in Hallmark last week, buying some gift bags, and I walked by their Mother's day display. Of course they had a big Grandmother's section and they had some VERY sweet things and some things that even said Nana instead of grandma... and that was what I called my grandma, my Nana. I quickly walked to the other way to avoid sadness.

When I went in today to look for something for my mom for Mother's day, I purposely avoided the Grandmother section. I stopped at this one little plaque on the Mom's section that said, 'God takes care of those that take care of themselves, but God really blesses those that take care of their Mothers.' I couldn't help but think about how much my mom sacrificed and took care of her Mother and that maybe she would like this. I continued on my trek for something more for her for Mother's day, when I spotted the religious section.

I am normally not big on getting or buying religious gifts... I mean, I am religious, don't get me wrong... but I usually just sway away from buying religious gifts. I walked over and immediately saw this thing with praying hands. I don't even know what it said on it, but the praying hands reminded me of my grandma, so I grabbed it and then I looked next to it and there was this beautiful cross that said Grace on it. Grace was my grandma's name. I grabbed both of them, cried and then checked out.

It was soo bizarre because no matter how hard I tried to avoid the grandma section I still found things that reminded me of her soo very much.

This will be our first Mother's day without my grandma and I know that my mom will be VERY sad. I also KNOW that I am going to make it that much worse for her with all of the presents I got her...

ANTM (Spoiler Alert!!!)

So I JUST finished watching tonight's ANMT's episode. Shocker... I can't believe that stupid Tyra sent Celia home because she is older. Lame. Soo.... I am now making a prediction of who will win this season's ANTM. It is the top 3, Allison CANNOT walk runway so there is NO way that she will win and she sucked at her last commercial, so I am thinking that she will be going home after the Cover Girl commercial. Also the previews had Teyona breaking down in her commercial AND the fact that Aminat has a ferosh walk.... I am thinking Aminat will WIN. Although I don't really like her. :) But that is my prediction.

Hopeful...

I got a call from the BLM today. I REALLY don't want to get my hopes up, because I learned the hard way, that you just never know. HOWEVER,I am very hopeful this time.

They are opening up 2 park ranger positions out here... and the positions will only be open for 3 days. The positions don't even open until tomorrow, but I was notified about them today, so I could get my application and everything ready. It all sounds very hopeful.

We will see.

But oh how nice it would be to be making a gov't salary again, to have VACATION both sick and annual leave, and to not have all the pressure of working at a bank and dealing with everyone else's money all day long even if I did have to deal with a looser for a supervisor. :)

Double or Nothing

There is a pretty good possibility that our # of vehicles is going to double within the next couple of months. Both of our vehicles are older... not too old... but older and we have been thinking about getting a new car for awhile now. In fact, we set up a savings account about 6 months ago that we have been putting money into every month towards our new car.

This weekend we went car shopping... which I think is really stressful, but Ryan enjoys because he likes bartering with the stupid salesmen. We are looking at a 2009 Pontiac G8 GT. It was one of the only cars we could agree on, lol. Ryan really wanted a new Camero or a Dodge Challenger, but they are 2 door vehicles. My thought process on this is, if we get a new car, we better have it for awhile and we are going to have children in awhile... so the car needs to have 4 doors. So it was either a Pontiac G8 or an Acura... and to be honest I don't really care what it is as long as it is pretty and has 4 doors. :) We test drove the G8 this weekend and it is pretty nice, but a little pricey, so we are shopping around. Plus all the car sales men were total jerks at the dealership we went to.

Here is what it looks like:


Originally we thought we would trade in my Impala towards the new car, but not anymore. Ryan drives 45 minutes to work everyday (one way) and there are a lot of cows and elk that like to frequent the road that he travels. Almost everyone has hit a cow or an elk at least once that works with him, so it is like it is only a matter of time before he too will hit one. Although I like to hope that will never happen. Because of this fact Ryan has decided that he doesn't want to drive a new vehicle to work everyday. With my Impala still working well and getting over 30 miles to the gallon it only makes sense to keep it for him to drive to work.

So pretty much we are planning on keeping the Impala, parking the truck and using it to tow the pop up camper and other stuff with and then getting a new car that I get to drive to work. :) Sounds good to me. :)

Also, Ryan's brother has an OLD ford truck. (Like 70's or something) Right now it is parked at their mom's house in Socorro, but she is moving to Utah. So we volunteered to let him keep it at our house until he graduates college. I am still not sure where we will park everything, but I guess we will burn that bridge when we get there.

Billy Mays

Do you guys know who Billy Mays is? He does infomercials on TV and practically yells the entire time he is talking.

Well, at the bank we watch either GAC or CMT all day long and we see several infomercials per day from Billy Mays and he has totally been cracking me up, because he literally yells for the entire 30 second commercial. I googled him, found this and thought it was hilarious... Enjoy! :)