Hello Corporate World

long post sorry! 

Well friends...

 I got the job!!!

Last week I was called in for an interview and I was actually really nervous about it. I've only been to a handful of interviews so it's not something I am really familiar with. Anyways, I got the call yesterday and was offered the job, and of course I accepted it. It's kind of crazy because I will go to orientation on Monday! They're not wasting any time, are they?

A number of people have asked me what my interview was for and what I'll be doing... So now that I know I will for sure be employed there, I will share! It's kind of complicated/confusing if your unfamiliar, so I'll generalize it and try to make it easy to see how this job became an option for me... 

Having graduated in December with a degree in Elementary Education, I was looking for teaching jobs. Some of you may know that the market is pretty tough right now and teaching jobs can be few and far between. It had been six months since graduation and no leads for jobs. I was really unhappy with my current job and needed a change, and quick...

So I applied for a state job through the Attorney Generals Office with the Risk Management agency.

I know, you're probably thinking, how and where did you find out about that job and what made you want to go for it...

Well, I have a history of family members that have worked for the state, and the idea had always been in the back of my mind. My aunt currently works for the office of Risk Management and there happened to be a position that became available in her agency. I was more that thrilled! I applied online and a week later was called for an interview. I'm making it sound easy, but trust me it wasn't. There were a lot of different loops I had to jump through to get to that position. 

1. I had to go to the work force commission to submit my application. (work in Texas website is a doozy to work with and is not user friendly at all)

2. I almost wasn't able to make it for an interview because there was only a Friday time slot available and I was leaving that same morning for New Mexico.(They were able to fit me in on Thursday morning)

3. There were only two positions available with quite a few people interviewing. Two of those people being in-house recommendations, which was a bit nerve-racking.

So it definitely wasn't easy. I do owe some props to my aunt Kim for helping me out! These days it seems like you have to have an in with someone to get somewhere. The market can be so competitive! 

Oh, and job details: I'll be working for the office of risk management. What they do is provide state employees insurance and pay medical bills/income while out of work. Also provide state agencies risk management skills to reduce injury at work. 

 pros and cons

Pros:

1. Working at an office building downtown

2. Dressing nice for work

3. The amazing benefits

4. Working with my aunt Kim!

5. Nights and weekend off 

6. Having a normal schedule and seeing Scott, hallelujah!

Cons:

Not teaching

I haven't given up on the teaching gigs, but I will definitely be happier where I'm going than where I was! :)

Thanks again for your prayers because they paid off! I'm truly grateful!

XOXO Brooke

I'm back!

After about two hours of catching up on blogs, I'm finally able to write one of my own. I actually have been missing this world while I was on vacation, but I'm back and ready for action. OH, and a very unfortunate event happened, my computer screen won't turn on. Anyone else have that problem?? For the time being, Scott is lending me his MacBook, which is taking a lot of getting used to.

I want to tell you all about my trip! If you didn't know, Scott and I went out for a mini vacation over the weekend to New Mexico. We stayed in between Albuquerque and Santa Fe... I think. We really were in the middle of no where, which is the best part about it! 

The view out there was incredible!

We spent a lot of our time out by the pool reading and getting too much sun. I brought home a sunburn and a burnt scalp, ouch! My darn permipart! There were three pools there, one for relaxing, a family pool that included a slide that we definitely went down 10 times, and a baby pool. If you can guess, we didn't spend anytime at the baby pool.

While we were in New Mexico, we ate sooo much food! But, we were on vacation. That's a valid excuse, right?! Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of the delicious food, but we ate REALLY good. From breakfast buffets, to steak dinners. I was pretty much done with eating towards the end of the trip and stuck with salads. 

We were also were able to take a hike up Sandia Mountain. Boy, was I in for a surprise. OK, my definition of hiking is walking on a flat trail through some trees. Scott's idea of hiking is much different then mine which I soon found out.  

We were just starting, and I could feel the sun starting to warm up. It was around 9:30 and I was feeling good. Fortunately, weather in NM is better than in Texas. You can actually sweat there and it evaporates because there is like zero humidity. It's GREAT! The temperature was still hot, and you become out of breath quickly especially when you're hiking at an elevation your not used to...

But the view was worth it!!! 

Here are some videos we shot on the way up. Sorry, they are shot with my iPhone and I always seem to cover up the microphone when I'm shooting a video, so the sound may be muffled a little bit.

This is Scott's video that he wanted to share...

So, I was not prepared for this, but I'm so glad we went. It was such a beautiful view and such an accomplishment to see how far we went. I was not expecting the trail to be as steep as it was. We ran into a lot of people on the trail that morning, it was a popular spot. Oh and btw, we hiked about 5.5 miles, not 10 ;)

And for the results....

...snack time :)

The hike down took half the time and we were basically running down. There were a few cuss words said, and some slip scares, but we managed to make it down with out hurting ourselves or falling down.

I was sore for three days after the hike, it really worked me. My soreness made me feel less guilty about eating my body weight in breakfast that morning ;)

Look at Scott's cute parents. We got to spend a lot of time with them, they are a HOOT!!! So much fun! I'm very blessed to be a part of their family. That night we wandered around the resort, ventured off to hopefully crash a wedding,(the guys didn't let us), then headed home to pass out. (that was the same day we hiked, I was pooped!)

Our last night we spent with Milo's business partner and his family and traveled to Santa Fe for dinner. Wow, that city was amazing. It has so much character and scenery. I really enjoyed myself there, especially the company!! We eventually made it back to the resort to prepare for our departure the next morning.

 This vacation was just what I needed! So much love, good times and relaxation! 

Peace friends!!

*Brooke*

p.s. Sorry for such a long post, I've been out of the loop for a while!!!

New Mexico thus far

Hi and good morning friends from

NEW MEXICO!

I just wanted to say hi, and tell you a little bit about the trip so far. We are literally in the middle of the desert at a gorgeous resort! Wow, this place is amazing! When you look out into the distance you can see huge mountain tops, surrounded by dry desert. We checked into the hotel around 12:30 yesterday, so we had a lot of the day still to explore the resort and spend time at the pool.

Here is a great things so far list:

1. Little wild bunnies that hang out around the resort and munch on the luscious grass.

2. Three swimming pools.

3. Frozen strawberry daiquiris.

4. Dry, low humidity weather, with highs topping out at like 97.

5. Hanging out with the Hamiltons.

6. The view of the mountains.

7. The resort itself.

8. Spending time with Scott.

9. The awesome food and breakfast buffet that I just ate my weight in.

10. The hiking trails.

I could probably keep going, but we are off to go hiking on the Sandia Mountain. We are going to try out the pino hiking trail. Scott says it's 8 miles long...uhh I don't know about all that. Aren't we on vaction?! haha We'll see how long I last...

Oh! I also started fifty shades of grey. I'm about half way through the first book. It's getting pretty spicy. I'll need to get back to the pool relatively quickly because my kindle is calling my name.

Peace!

Brooke

sayonara, see you later, hasta la vista and THANK YOU!

Thank you so much friends for your encouraging words, whether it be from twitter, facebook, or on the ole blog! I really appreciate your kind words. I had the interview this morning and I think it went really well! I am so happy to even have the opportunity and it really helps build my experience. I should find something out with in two weeks, maybe less. Here's to hoping!

I'm leaving on a jet plane...

Tomorrow Scott and I will be flying out to New Mexico for a long weekend get away. We're going more for a business conference for Scott, so while he's taking care of buisness, I'll be relaxing :) Scott's parents are already in NM, so they'll be meeting us at the airport. We're staying at Tamaya Resort and Spa. It looks like a nice place, similar to Hyatt Lost Pines in Bastrop. I'm really looking forward to getting the time off and getting out of the area. I've been quite stressed lately, so I'm thinking this will be a great cure. I plan on getting lots of reading done, doing a bit of hiking, and spending time with Jan and that's pretty much it! I definitely could use this vacation.

I plan on posting from New Mexico while I'm there just to document the trip and catch up with peeps. I really love this blog world, it's so fun to see what other people are up to all over the world.

Thanks again for your kind words and encouragement :)

*Brooke*

p.s. I still need to pack. Now that is not typical Brooke. That alone tells you that I have been extremely busy. I won't get a chance to pack until 9 tonight, bring on the coffee and long night....

a prayer for me

As of right now, I work for Home Depot. This means that I work any day of the week, a lot of times work with unhappy people, stand on my feet all day, wear an apron, work late hours, have no real benefits :( (I get minimal paid vacation and sick time), and a lot of times miss Scott in passing because of our opposite schedules. Needless to say, all of these things are really wearing on me, physically, mentally and emotionally. It's time for a change, like soon!

Now, I'm not saying that my job is horrible, because it's not. I have learned SO much from this job. I love working and interacting with all sorts of people. I've met and became friends with people that I would have never met anywhere else if it weren't for this place. I'm just grateful to even have a job in this bad economy...

But what I am saying is that I could use something more stable, full-time, and something I enjoy just a liiiittle bit more.

So, usually I wouldn't blast this on the world wide web, but I feel that more prayers are better than less :)

I have interview tomorrow morning. For a big girl job.

Can I ask a favor or two?

Will you pray for me?

Will you send me positive vibes?

Will you give me words of encouragement?

Will you give me advise?

Will you say something that will ease my nerves?

Will you wish me luck?

I could use it!

thank you xox

*Brooke*

good times, great company!

I have been waiting all day to come home and read all my blogs as well as write a new post!

GOSH I have been busy...Want to know what I've been up to? Ok, here goes...

On Friday, Scott and I headed up to Round Rock to celebrate a friends Birthday. We met up with Thane and Amy at Quinn's Bar and toured a few others in the downtown area. We ended our tour at this Tavern bar, and we knew it was time to go elsewhere. This bar was just too unreal! It was 8 o'clock and there was a DJ, strobe lights, and it was super dark...just a little weird for our crowd! So we headed back to the Tennison's house for some pizza, wine and lots of talking! It was so great spending time with them. We also got confirmation that Thane with be officiating us! We've asked him other times in drunken states and didn't exactly know if either one of us were being serious or not, but Thane did give us his final answer that he would be more than happy to marry us. I am just thrilled! I love both Thane and Amy, they are a hoot together and  I'm really glad I got to know them through Scott!

Left: me and Amy, Right: Thane and Scott

1. Great spot for a tree, right? 2. Drunken girl talk. 3. Trouble

Saturday we woke up waaaay too early, 6:40 to be exact, made breakfast tacos and lounged around for a few hours before getting to work in the yard. For some odd reason, I love mowing the lawn. I like getting sun, the smell of cut grass, listening to Jack Johnson Pandora station and getting a mini work out all in one!It was great because each one of the house mates took on a chore. Jonathan weed whacked, I mowed, and Scott picked up Mac bombs. We make a good team. Then after that, Scott and I went on an errand run and found these little gems at Target:

They were only $3.50 on clearance! So we bought three. We ended up putting them on the outside patio/deck. I still need to get some chain to hang them from because they are a bit too high right now. And the best thing about the lanterns is that they replaced the icicle lights that were previously hanging there...men...

Sunday, we invited my brother, Brandon, and his girlfriend, April, over to have some BBQ and watch some basketball...Scott makes THE best brisket, and I'm not just biased, I've got people that can vouch for him! He also makes a mean rack of ribs, but I gotta say, they are just too darn spicy for me! They cooked for most of the day and we ate around 8. We had a spread of brisket, ribs, corn bread and beans. Delish!!!

is your mouth watering yet?

Sadly, I didn't get to see either one of my dad's on Father's Day, but I was definitely thinking about them. My dad was also cooking a brisket at this house with his family and my step dad was out of town in San Saba. My parents have a country home out there and he absolutely loves it. So my feelings weren't hurt when he said he was going out of town instead of coming to the BBQ after all... As long as they're happy, I'm happy :)

Here is a picture of my dad and I when I was probably four. It's one of my favorites. The bottom one is of me and my step dad, Bob. We are at "our" graduation party just a few months ago. He and I are so silly together!

This weekend was absolutely wonderful! I caught up on rest, saw family and friends and ate some darn good BBQ... I mean really, does it get any better than that?! Life is sooooo good!!!

Brooke :)

Current Crush: Peonies!

This is my first time linking up with anyone...ever!!!

I wanted to share what I was currently crushing on and link up with Danielle at Framed Frosting!

So this week I have been crushing on PEONIES!!! If you know flowers, then you know what a peony is. It's only the BEST flower a girl could get ;) am I right?! If you don't know what they are, then go to a local flower shop and pick some up! They are just beautiful and they make me happy :) 

Here's a picture of some peonies my aunt gave me on Sunday. Aren't they just great?

 Don't you just love this precious flower?!

Thanks for stopping by!

*Brooke*

Stephanie & Brooke play day

Yesterday I spent the day with my good friend Stephanie. We are always out doing who knows what. We love to go on nature walks, go geocaching, play yoga, or whatever! She's an easy going gal and we get a long just dandy!


So yesterday we went to a 2:30 yoga session at black swan. Have y'all ever been there? It's really neat if I do say so myself! I'm fairly new to yoga so I've only been a handful of times. I can already tell that I love it. It's really healing, and peaceful. Love that you can go in with a mindful and come out with a clean slate, not to mention what it does for your body. Stephanie is my yoga buddy and she got me to go for the first time. I will say that as a beginner if can be a little intimidating, but once you get the hang of it, it will come much more natural. After all, it is your practice, not anyone elses :)

After our yoga session, we headed down to sno beach for a snow cone... I don't usually like to go there because their tigers blood is not real tigers blood. It's a muted red color and tastes really bland! If you can tell, I don't recommend it. I went with regular, safe watermelon. Stepho chose strawberry. I will note that I got my snow cone for free because I started following googleatx on twitter. Don't have to tell me twice :)

cute stepho

Then from there we went to Barton Springs. If you're unfamiliar with the springs, it's a local swimming pool in Austin that is fed by the main Barton spring. It's located in Zilker Park and is open to the public to swim for a whopping $3. It is an Austin landmark and is definitely weird. There's always a good crowd to see, or hear. There's people playing music, "hooping" and sometimes topless... Oh and the water is about 70 degrees aka FREEZING! It's always a great time and SO refreshing, that is if you get the courage to jump in. It will take some build up to get the urge to jump in, but once you do, you won't be sorry...Ok I lied. You will be sorry but only for like 30 seconds :)

Here's to another day in paradise! I love my city.

Where are you from? What are some cool things to do in your city?

*Brooke*

hobby lobby, garden, m&m, sticks mirror

Howdy y'all!

I'm just now getting a chance to update life thus far. It was a busy weekend for me. And yesterday was definitely a Monday...Has anyone else tried to get their passport lately? I decided it would be a good time to go get it yesterday finally. I have been putting it off for a couple weeks and now I know exactly why. It is such a hassle, and expensive! But I managed to get it taken care of ($157 later) and I also got my car inspected. It was a day of chores for me but I can't complain because my weekend was so great! It was a fun time spent with family and friends and a little bit of shopping in between.

I got to go to my favorite store to pick up some lovely frames to display some pictures for the engagement party. I just love Hobby Lobby, they always have 50% off frames. I got some good deals. The pictures are a nice addition to the bachelor pad. Slowly but surely the house is becoming more feminine :)

I did a bit of gardening, but sadly this is probably our last harvest for most of the food this year. They just can't take this Texas heat, and watering them is almost pointless. I'm happy with the progress I've made this year though. Check out the HUGE onion that has been growing since last year. The stocks on those bad boys looked like something out of Dr. Seuss. I'll do a full post on gardening to show you what I mean. Also, that was our first tomato! But the critters got to it first :( Bring on more tomatoes!

Some pictures from our engagement party! We had an amazing spread of yummy food. Scott's parents hosted the party and were they prepared or what? We had mini sandwiches, quasadillas, cheese trays, cake and super cool custom m&ms! I saw them the minute I walked in the door. I thought they were so thoughtful and sweet and they added a nice touch to the party. The last picture is our first gift as a couple and a new addition to our entry way... It is kind of blurry but it's a sticks mirror! I am in LOVE with it. You should check out the website. Every piece is unique to how you customize it. The top reads "Go out for adventure, come home for love," written under the mountains, which is perfect since we got engaged in the mountains. :)

These are two pictures that some friends took of us. Scott's mom, Jan thought it'd be fun to practice cutting the cake... practice makes perfect, right?... And the other is a picture of the entry way, yes, we're getting married 4-20-13! I like the date because it only includes numbers from 0-4. Kind of a neat and quirky observation. The real reason behind the date is that it's also my Aunt and Uncles wedding anniversary(it will be there 28th)! I'm so happy to be sharing their special day. It will be such a great celebration. 

I hope your weekend was as good as mine! I'm excited to get back to business this week! Lots to do before next week :x!

*Brooke*

Engagement Celebrations!

Hi y'all! Happy weekending! 

I realize it is 9:20pm on a Friday, and yes I am blogging!  I just got home from a fabulous time spent with some dear friends of ours. We went over to Chris and Amelia's house for some grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. The food was delicious, but the company was soo much better!!! Chris is a long time buddy of Scott's and is also going to be a groomsman in our wedding in April! Amelia is his very talented wife that has given us so much advise on different wedding vendors, ideas, etc. She's a professional wedding photographer and really knows what she's talking about. Did I mention they have the CUTEST boys ever! They played in the pool most of the night while we all hung out and talked about life. It's so funny watching kids be kids. I love seeing Scott interact with them, it's very sweet! Scott, believe it or not, actually volunteered to babysit one night soon! I actually can't wait, it will be a lot of fun! (no turning back now, it's in writing!)

So speaking of Amelia, she actually referred us to our wedding photographer, Allen Doberenz! They frequently shoot together and I knew I could trust Amelia's judgment on anything wedding related! We just received some "teaser" Engagement photos today and I am so excited to share!!! 

We went all around the downtown/south Austin area for the session so here are a few from that day!

 

Ahhh I'm in LOVE!!! I can not wait to see the other 70 pictures!

This weekend we will be celebrating our Engagement with some of our closest friends and family. We are going to have a casual party on Sunday, and I can't wait to display some of these pictures! I am overly excited for this weekend!!!

I hope you have a super great weekend!!!

Juicin'- Day 1

Today I am trying something new, juicing... not the kind of juice that involves needles or alcohol, but the kind that involves a juicer, some fresh veggies and fruits.

A few months back, Scott decided he was going to start this juicing thing. He went out and got a juicer(I know he did not pay that much for his, right sweetie?!), found a few recipes online and went at it. To me it looked like a lot of money, lot of time, for a nasty, bitter, green-orange drink in the end. But I knew the health benefits, and I knew it would eventually taste better to me. It's kinda like the first time you drink a vodka/water. It was really nasty at first but it grows on you... I'm kind of hoping this is how the juice will be...

While I watched him cut up all his fruits and veggies this morning, I started thinking about trying this juicing thing out myself. I know it's extremely good for you and I would be getting my daily dose of vegetables in a matter of minutes...That's the part that sold me, seeing as I don't ALWAYS get my daily amount of good stuff. I'm actually a pretty terrible eater. I'm working on it. I felt that if I could start this juicing thing, it would be easier for me since Scott is already doing it. It's always easier to motivate yourself to do something if you're doing it with someone else.... So where else do I go to find some recipes that would appeal to me?... The world wide web of course.

I first googled "juicing for the picky eater" and it brought me to this blog. I figured if it's on a picky eater blog, then it might just be a good match for me. The ingredients are apples, spinach, parsley, lemon and fresh ginger. 

I also googled "juicing for kids" and came of with some great recipes there too. I'm actually looking forward to trying them, which is saying a lot coming from me. Those recipes are a bit easier to start with and ease my way into juicing. Some that looked good to me were:

1. 2 apples, 2 large handfuls of raspberries
2. 2 peaches, 1 apple, 2 carrots, a few raspberries
3. 2- 1 inch thick pineapple rounds, 2 stalks of celery

I can start out with these then maybe start adding in the less palatable veggies like spinach or kale.

I'm anxious to start! It will be a challenge for me, but I think if I'm juicing 3 times a week, then I'll be happy! 

I'm so curious... Does anyone else juice? What are some good recipes you have found??? Please share!

Weekend things...

This morning I took advantage of the cloudy day and went for a morning run. I've been kind of in a funk, maybe because it's Monday, but it really helped take my mind off things.

I love my city!

Anyways, back to my weekend...


Scott and I started our weekend a little early to celebrate his new job and just to take a day to ourselves. We went to the Comal River down in New Braunfels for some floating on Friday! It was a great time, and just the right amount of float for me.

I was excited!

The water was PERFECT! It wasn't too high or too low and it had a pretty good flow to it. I'm usually a wimp when it comes to cold water, but I jumped right in with a belly flop on to my tube. Good times!!!








The rest of the weekend I spent away from the interwebs... I spent the weekend watching my Aunts fur babies! My maw maw and I volunteered to watch Zeek and Zoey while they were out of town. The pups are miniature schnauzers and they have SO MUCH ENERGY! They can play fetch until the end of time, it never gets old to them! Although, I need to get used to puppy play if I plan on getting one one of these days... It's in the works. I'll tell you about that in another post :)

Zoey

Zeek (it was very hard to catch him on camera)

To end the weekend, we had some friends over for some puppy play time and a yummy dinner! It's always great getting to meet up with friends you haven't seen in a while. We ate the good ole steak and baked potato dinner and it was fabulous! SO yummy... I'm definitely a meat eater, love the stuff! I also made cupcakes for dessert, my favorite kind, yellow cake with chocolate frosting...Mmm!

Tired dog, steaks grilling and cupcakes!!!

What did you do this weekend? I'd love to know!