House

Okay-first things first...I can't beleive that Kristy DIDN'T get voted off American Idol this week. I am glad Amanda went but thought for sure Kristy would go. So, Jared and I made an offer on a house last night. We can't believe it, well, I can't believe it. It's weird! But we're way excited. We are supposed to find out by Noon today if they accept or not. More to come later...the real estate agent was laughing because Jared told her, "All I want is a 3 car garage, dishwasher, and double sinks!" HA! This will be a step up from our apartment :) Here is a picture of itP.S. Here is a shout out to my big brother...HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRICK! Did you know that you share the same b-day as Benito Juarez? Hope you have a fun day and get lots of loot!

Jill's American Idol Low-Down

This one is for Jocee...
Kristy better be voted off this week-I too thought it was Horrendous
Amanda BUGS me for some reason
I loved Brooke White
I really liked Carly's song too-I think she may be the winner, but not completely sure yet
I felt way bad for poor little David Archuleta, but he's good enough to stay
I loved David (Stripper) Hernandez last week, but way lame this week, he'll for sure go too
Surprisingly enough, I liked Jacuzzi's song
Thought Ramiele was WAY boring like the rest of them...
Did she dedicate that song to Danny? HA!
Everyone else was just kind of whatever, and, last but not least...
I HATE Jason's Hair-I swear there are bugs flying around it everytime he sings...
and probably even when he's not singing! GROSS! Oh, and his nose is weird.
Sarah and Mike-when you are two going to try out for American Idol? I would vote for you, and you would win together...as a couple!!!! OKAY!

August Rush

For all you band/music nerds out there. My Mom and Dad and I went to see August Rush yesterday. It was such a good movie. I highly recommend it, we started hearing how good it was, but didn't really remember or know what it was about. Here is the trailer but if you want to go see a good movie, watch August Rush!!!! I love the music in it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5ab6RtA-KE

Funny Story

Here is a funny story but it may have been one of those where you just had to have been there. Last Saturday I took Maggs to the track at the school by our house for a walk. The school is nice because for the most part it's all fenced in so she can run and frolic. We had done about 2 laps and she was getting more comfortable getting further and further away from me. Then all of sudden she took off as fast as she could (in Lane 1) and ran (as fast as she could) around the whole track (in Lane 1) until she got back to me. I think she takes after Uncle Brick, it was seriously like she was in a track meet. Then by the time she finally got back to me she looked at me like, "What's taking you so long?" I wish I would have had our camera to film a video to post but it was hilarious...and if you've never seen a weiner dog sprint it's quite entertaining. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjmcpCsy53o

Here is some St. Patrick's Day History to welcome March - I love this kind of stuff...
St. Patrick's Day honors St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. We celebrate St. Patrick's Day on March 17. Americans march in parades, dance the Irish jig and gather to sing Irish songs. People wear green in memory of Ireland, the Emerald Isle and wear shamrocks, clover with three leaves.March 17 was not the day St. Patrick was born but the day he died. Even though we don't know the date of his birth, most scholars believe the year was 385 AD and the year of his death was 461 AD.
St. Patrick was born in Wales, studied religion to become a priest and then went to Ireland to teach the people about God. There are many wonderful stories about St. Patrick, some true and some not true. The most famous legend is that he drove the snakes out of Ireland. This did not happen but the Irish will tell you that you cannot find a snake throughout the whole country of Ireland

Quote for the day!

For a while at my work, I'd send out a motivational quote everday at 3. Everyone made fun of me, but then after I stopped (I gave into the peer pressure) everyone missed it. This is one of my favorites that has kind of come true in our lives.
-----"You have to let go of the life you've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for you." Joseph Campbell

Random Updates and Happy Valentine's Day...Late!

So I've had a lot of people asking us what or if we know what or where we're going after graduation in May, and what job Jared will take. Here is a quick update on the both of us. I feel like I never have much time to add stuff to the blog so sorry this is all updated on the same day, and very long. Jared signed on with Fred Meyer in Pocatello a couple of weeks ago. He and I are both really excited about the job and staying here...especially the discount we get now at the best store ever! He was telling me today that a couple of people in his class were also interested in applying for the position but they only interviewed one other person that has already been a Pharmacist for a while; but they selected him. We feel really lucky! However, he still has 2 roations left to complete and to help "them" get through until he graduates he will be working 20 hours/week. Yup, this means he has been working 8-5 at his rotation, and 5:30-9 at his new job. I'm so glad I have a dog to keep me company and keep me safe. It will be a tough few months for us, but worth it so pray that we'll make it through to the end. I CAN'T WAIT! Also, we've been looking at some really great houses in Pocatello and are excited to get one...FINALLY! But, together haven't had a lot of time to look. If you know my mom very well, you'll know what I mean when I say she's right on top of it all :) Here is a shout out to her...Thanks MOM-It's been fun! Oh-and to my dad he drove around with us too...but only lasted 1 night!

Jared and I, becuase of our crazy schedule, ended up celebrating Valentine's Day Wednesday by going to the Jim Brickman concert here in Poky. It was AWESOME, and we ordered a heart shaped pizza. We hope everyone had a Happy Valentine's Day!

...Now about my job: I'll try to make this as short as possible. Idaho Department of Labor is contracted through the Department of Health and Welfare to provide their job search assistance program for welfare recipients. It's called Work First. We've been waiting for about the past month to see if the contract renews or not...this time it will be throughout the whole entire state, rather than just SouthEast Idaho. Well, we found out today that Health and Welfare didn't select the Department of Labor for the contract, and I have no idea what I'm going to do. Basically my job will be gone as of the end of March. However, since I have been with the DOL for almost 5 years I will have a job either working in Unemployment, or the W.I.A. program. Either way though, there will be people in our office that will lose their jobs. It's sad because all my co-workers are great friends and I have loved working with them, loved my job...helping people, teaching classes, even all the paperwork...it's really been the perfect job for my education and experience, we all thought for sure we'd probably get the contract. So, who knows...I've thought about taking some Medical Transcription and gravitating to the work from home employment...so I may look into that some more. We're kind of the go-to people for finding jobs though, so for now, I'm keeping my eyes and ears open for the good ones!

Welcome Maggie!

Jared totally surprised me about a month ago with a Dachshund puppy named Maggie. It really was a HUGE surprise. He took me out to dinner at Applebee's in IF. I kept trying to guess what we were doing there for a Friday night date, (laser tag, bowling, movie, paintball, go-carts.) So we get in the car and he takes me to this really weird neighborhood and as we are walking up to the door of the trailer a girl met us at the door and she said, "You're here to pick up Maggie, Right?" I was like WHAT ???? So we walked into the trailer with a mass of people and the whole place smelled like pot and cigarettes...I know because of my place of employment, and we rescued her. She had a way ugly pink, lacy lingerie thing on and a hot pink collar, 7 months old, with no shots, or spaying but she was kennel/mostly potty trained. The first thing (after we stopped by Petco) we did was give her a bath and a new collar! I love her to death...she's kept us laughing and kept our minds occupied on something other than ourselves. She's got the cutest face!

Maggie and her favorite stuffed Elephant, you can't tell so much in this picture but she is pretty long.

This is Maggie keeping me company while Jared works all night long...she's quite the watchdog, eh?!