Playing catch up

So very much has happened in the past few weeks and here it is.....

John and Mandi got married!!!!

Mal and Uncle Nic

Sweet little Avery

Trying to be taller!

Family time on the boat! 

Nic caught this

And well.... I caught this!

She is so darn cute!

Working on Americas next top model

Love these girls! 

Such an easy baby! 

Here crabby crabby

until next time...

Life

I feel so unsettled. It has been on my mind a lot in the last year. I wasn't happy having a commission job without benefits. I hated not knowing what I was going to make each month. I hated taking vacation and not getting paid a single dime. I always thought I would own my own house by now but we don't. I finally feel like I am in my big girl job and ready to start putting down roots. However, we can't buy a house. We have no idea where Nic might find his forever job in the next year and it would be dumb of us to buy a house in Bellingham knowing that. It drives me crazy not knowing! We would love to have a child when Nic finishes school. Part of me doesn't want to because we rent and I can't even paint the walls to make a nursery! I know that's dumb but it is one of the things I think about. I want to make things my own and I can't. I am just a little frustrated and wish I had a magic eight ball to show me the future! Until they make one that can 100% tell me what life holds, I will trust in God that he has amazing plans for us! 




until next time.....

Challenges

When I adventured into cosmetology school, I wanted to be the best. I had the most request guests out of everyone in the school multiple months, sold the most product multiple months, but I set one goal for myself. I wanted to make the first stranger that sat in my chair a return request. I remember being so scared to take my first guest. I heard "Stevie your guest is in" and my hands started to sweat. I saw it was a guy which was great because I enjoy men's cuts! He kept coming to me the entire time I was in school until I became too busy and he couldn't get in. 


Recently, I completed ten months of dental assisting school. The last five weeks were an internship. Here we go again, I told myself I would get a job at whatever office I completed my internship at. I was halfway done when I realized it might not happen. I was assisting with a filling and she said to me, "So where are you going to work when you are done here?" Naturally, I said, "here?" She laughed and said, "like I need more help right now!" Hmph, I knew that was the case but I was still hoping! She gave me recommendations for other offices to work at. I went on an interview and almost got that position. I didn't get it because the office couldn't decide between three of us so they did majority rules and voted. How funny is that?!?! I finished my internship and realized there was serious competition out there for the VERY limited positions that were open. I called my internship site and asked if I could come in one day on my own time and learn front desk insurance stuff. The dentist said of course and so I did. I knew that if I was able to learn front office and back office that I was more valuable to where ever I found a job. Therefore, I had no problem volunteering my time learning. After I left the office for my day of front desk training, my phone rang. It was the lady who was showing me the ropes. She asked if I wanted to job share with her as she has three small boys and did not want to work full time when they went back to school. I thought to myself is she really asking me this.... uhh YES!! And thus I achieved my goal! I start September 1st and instead of front desk I will actually be assisting! For right now, I am working 7:30am - 1:00pm. Once expansion is complete (starts Oct. 1), I will be full time! I also get a $1.50 raise the first of the year! 


Show initiative, go out on limbs, strive to know more, donate your free time, and be flexible.... it will come in handy! 

until net time....

VENT SESSION

Do you have a schedule for what your hours are at work? I work commission and when I do not have a client on my books I am not required to sit at work and twiddle my thumbs. Why? Because I'm not getting paid a darn cent to sit there! With that said, the times I am required to be at work change every day. The only way to know what my schedule is...look at the main book on the desk. Which would be fine, except that the owners keep hiding the damn book! 


Let me back up, last year one of the stylists that had been there the longest quit. They never replaced her and we just worked as a team of four. A few weeks ago, another long term stylist quit and bought a salon all of 2 blocks away. (Might I add that I am so happy and proud of her!) This is when paranoia severely consumed the brains of my two bosses. I am the lone stylist left with these two nuts who used to be fine (not amazing and wonderful but not scum either). It started when the first stylist left. We (3 stylists) asked to sit down with the two owners. We didn't want to pay $5 out of tips for the stupid water thing. Don't most businesses provide this to their employees or you just drink tap water! For goodness sakes that is what they give their clients...tap water! We wanted a website. Yup, 2010 and we still never had a website. Oh you expect people to just find you up on the 4th floor of a building? Interesting! We asked for price increases... which hadn't been done in YEARS! AND for commission to be higher than 50%. We no longer have to pay for water. We had a VERY basic website for a few months that is no longer online. And we were told our commissions would never be higher than 50% they just couldn't do that and had never heard of that before. REALLY?!? I was making 55% at my previous salon and was offered 65% from another salon owner who tried to steal me away. THEN, I find out they asked the stylist who just left to not mention it to me but that they were raising her to 55% because she is like family to them! I was suppose to have a haircut price increase in May that didn't happen either! And all the while here I still am working for them. 


Last week, was pure frustration and rage (worse than anger). For the second time since the stylist left, I have gone into the salon to look at my schedule and it isn't there! The first time, I was trying to make an appointment for a friend and this time, I was trying to see if I could sub at the dentist office (more on that news later). I call them and the first time they said they needed them for quarterly taxes. I'm not stupid and went home to see when those were due and they were due two weeks prior. I didn't say anything but knew they were lying to me. This time they told me they left them in Bellingham at their loft cause they were consolidating. Then I find out they actually locked them in the maintenance closet and took the key with them. Lied again! They told me they would let me know first thing Tuesday morning what my schedule was. The salon opens at 10am and I finally had to call them at 11am to find out that I could have helped out at the dentist office! When I went in that afternoon, I brought an appointment book with me that I used at the previous salon I worked at. I wrote down my entire schedule in front of them. The bully of the two called me freaking out that no one had ever done that before and was I leaving. Then I get a second voicemail that they went through my station and found a spiral with my clients names and numbers in it. YES, you read that correct... they went through my belongings. He told me he owned the station and that I would have done the same thing if I were in his shoes. And on and on and on you can only imagine. He then threatened me and said that he spoke with his lawyer and it was illegal to go through his books and take that information if I was going to leave. I told him I wasn't and that the spiral had been in my station for a while (which it had). More stuff happened that week, and on Friday I went in on my day off to give them the spiral and appointment book and to stop harassing me. I told them I do not want to be friends with them and that this is strictly a paycheck for me. Here I sit on another Monday, I asked this morning at 10am if he could tell me what time I am in tomorrow. He told me he would let me know because he was going into his office today where the book was. It is now 5:40pm and only after I have sent a second text today did I finally receive my time. I need to make an appointment with the maintenance man for our townhouse to get a few things fixed and I couldn't do so because some inconsiderate people have the nerve to keep that information from me. How is it that my schedule could be such a secret! If I didn't need a paycheck from them....I would be LONG gone! Only 4 more months of this to put up with! 


Thanks for listening!


until next time....

SOS

On Saturday, I couldn't wipe the smile off my face. It was amazing to watch a group (130 volunteers) from a church go into a public school and enhance and transform it from the inside out! There was a ton of work to get done between 9 AM and 3 PM. We were ripping out plants and putting in new ones, sewing curtains for classrooms, painting parking lots, repainting basketball lines, painting four squares, painting a 100's chart, painting a map of the USA, etc! I couldn't have been more proud to see how dapper and crisp the school looked when we were done! 

How cool is this map?!?! I wish I had one of these at my Elementary school! 

This is Sunnyland's mascot! They did an amazing job painting this! 

Here are our curtains!!! The kid's are going to paint and put their hand prints on them to add some color! 

I worked on painting the 100's squares to help the kindergartners learn their numbers. After there were too many people on that project, I moved inside to help with the curtains. I was ironing the 2inch hem's on each end of the curtains before they got stitched! Let me tell you, the seamstress making these was a bit particular on the ironing....glad I could live up to her standards! I had a major sense of accomplishment at the end of the day! What an awesome project to be a part of! 

until next time...

Magical

My best friend always uses the word "magical!" For example: Our friends Kiersten and Ryan came over with their most adorable son Silas (you just want to squeeze and eat him... he is so cute!). They brought dessert but we were so full from dinner we didn't get to it. A few nights later, I opened the freezer to find not ONE but TWOOO boxes of Mochi!!!!!!!! Now that was magical! 

I can honestly say that my life is MAGICAL!  

The friendship I have with my brother is magical. He might call me 5 or more times a day but I would rather have that verses never having him call! My parents are two of the most amazing people. They have the biggest hearts and have made my entire life magical! I honestly think they would give the shirts off their back for anyone! I adore my family! Yesterday my grandma called me and said something so magical... She called to tell me that she was sitting at a marina, drinking wine, and listening to a band play. She said she just had to call because out of all of her grandchildren I would have enjoyed where she was the most and she just had to call me! I don't get those phone calls often so when they do happen it makes my heart smile big! I love knowing that my family is thinking about me! My best friend comes up with the most magical  presents. I don't know how she does it but every present she gives has so much thought and meaning and they are perfect! For my birthday she got me an ornament of a little dental assistant with my name and year! She is one hot little assistant I must say!  I think it is awesome that my mother-in-law can call me anytime just to say hi or pick my brain for ideas. Or what about when your husband's aunt is trying to skype you and you have a mud mask on...oh you bet I answered for Aunt Jodi! I am so happy that I can have a close relationship with my husbands family too! The most magical part of my life right now is seeing how close my amazing husband is with my family. My parents adore him (okay he is my dad's favorite child) and treat him as their own. Who can say that their dad thinks of their husband as the first person he wants to take on a one on one trip to Alaska?!? It is magical to see my husband experience all the opportunities I have been given by my parents. My humble husband looks at me like no one else ever has. He treats me with so much respect and wants the world for me. We have something magical and I am so blessed to have him by my side. I have been super busy right now and he cooked every night and cleaned and he and my dad with a little help from mom put up the screen door I have been desperately wanting! He does anything he can to make me happy and I wouldn't want to be with anyone else! 

My life is magical because of those that surround me! 

until next time....

Here's a little piece

...of what we've been doing!

Playing with our niece's

My most favorite dog in the whole wide world!

Lookin good at weddings

Congrats Kirk and Andie

 Admiring the summer sky

Brother's

Dancing Uncle Nic

What a view

The ENTIRE Truscott side! 

Baby Truscott Nuggie

Two stadiums and an amazing Mnt.

Can't go to Seattle and not see the gum wall! 

Mr. Andy Grammer!!!!

until next time...