Update

Today I was offered an official interview for the Everett Children's Center job!!! At 9 AM one week from today (Thursday, Oct 9th), I will be interviewing in Everett for the outpatient job. I'll have lunch, take a deep breath and then at 2 PM, I'll be interviewing at Children's Hospital in Seattle. That will be a big day--2 interviews for 2 different jobs--but I guess maybe it's better just to be nervous once and get it over with!

I Did It!

Today I made arrangements to meet with my manager and I let her know that I am interviewing elsewhere, and at this point, if the job is offered to me, I plan to accept. I can't believe I actually did it and that this happening! She was very nice about it and seemed understanding. I made sure to emphasize all the positive aspects of the other jobs that I'm pursuing rather than stating the things I don't like about my current job. I had kind of dropped hints at my last annual review that I was hoping for more of a Monday to Friday schedule so at least that was on her radar and she wasn't blindsided by my pursuing a "normal" schedule.

After the meeting, I felt at peace and free. And then I flipped out and wondered if I did the right thing. But I'll admit that today I had an extra skip in my step, wondering if maybe, just maybe I'm on the way to a job where I'll LOVE what I do! (Is that allowed??!!)

Egg Carton + Plywood = ART??

We just got back from a two-night trip to Spokane to visit our good friends the Moodys. They lived in Kirkland for the past year but then both won chairs in the Spokane symphony (they are fabulous musicians) and so moved east last month. It was so great to see them and tour their new stomping grounds.

The activities of our stay were quite spontaneous. For instance: the Moodys are still newlyweds and therefore haven't accumulated a lot of furniture and wall art. Their new place was beautiful but the dining room had a huge empty wall that was begging for a showpiece. Enter my artsy husband. He was itching with creativity and the Moodys were much desiring his eye for art. Jason pulled a 5 foot x 5 food piece of plywood from the basement and we set to work painting it white to create our version of a "canvas." We weren't quite sure where we would go from there but decided to take things as they came and create "group art."

Graham found an egg carton in the recycling bin and quickly went to work using it as a "stamp" on our "canvas."

I was quite skeptical as I am one for symmetry and neatness (and certainly not modern art!). The rest of group seemed excited by splatters and less uniformity so I kept my mouth shut and smiled. We all contributed and to my surprise, it worked! I really thought that our white trash art would end up as, well, trash.....but no! Granted, the piece is quite modern so you have to appreciate modern art to really enjoy it but it really made the room. See what you think:

Floating Down the River...

Last weekend, my brother Ben came and stayed with us while my parents took a weekend away to celebrate 29 years of marriage (go Mom and Dad!) On Friday afternoon, Ben challenged me to a game of tennis while Graham was at work and then we made grilled pizza for dinner--yum!

On Saturday, we planned to take a trip to Leavenworth to go tubing down the river. Unfortunately, Friday was about 80 degrees and sunny and Saturday was more like 70 and cloudy. BUT, we pressed on and decided to tube despite the weather and boy was it worth it! Thankfully the snow melt river had all summer to heat up and so it really wasn't that bad. Our tubes were practically luxurious with a back rest and cup holders and frisbee paddles for some degree of control. I saw lots of salmon swimming under my toes (I like to eat fish but I HATE swimming with them). We will definitely tube this river again in the future--hopefully as a part of a family campout or maybe for my birthday next year. Here are a few photos....

The 3 of us w/ Ben holding a beer stick??

Getting suited to float

I find this photo hilarious...Graham eating lunch

Ben (and me) w/ his "paddles"

Oh and yes, I was there too

Such a pretty float!

Home Visits

So I just got back from shadowing the speech therapist in Everett and I am really thrilled! The home visits were so much fun and it was refreshing to think of working with slightly older kids (toddlers). I think I would really enjoy some of the counseling aspects of the job (actually I think coaching is a better word), encouraging the parents in the small successes with feeding difficulties. I would get to work with all sorts of kids with disorders I've never heard of before so I would always be challenged. The therapist I followed also works with some of our NICU babies so I have worked with her a little bit before. She said she was excited by the thought of me taking the dietitian position and thought I would be a good fit. I officially submitted my application as soon as I got home! We'll see what happens.....

A Dietitian's Dream

Look what Graham made for me tonight! A perfect balanced plate: BBQed Salmon with Sweet Onions, Mashed Sweet Potatoes and a Balsamic Salad with Walnuts and Feta.....

An interview!

I got a call from Children's Hospital today and I have an interview in 2 weeks for a renal dietitian position! This means there are currently 2 jobs on my radar which means that I'm going to have options--wow! (Or more like "uggg" in my mind because decisions are so challenging for me...) I think I was surprised, quite frankly, to hear back so quickly. Maybe it's because Graham never heard back from Children's so I just assumed their system was slow. Anyway, the position would be Monday through Friday, 40 hours a week (WHAT!? That sounds like what a normal person would work!! I've never had that in my life so I must say it is quite appealing.) There would be the occasional Saturday shift and on-call Sunday, but only every couple months or so. I'm excited about the possibility of being challenged again in my work and about having steep learning curve and good training. Plus, I love kids and it'd be nice to maybe work with some who are old enough to talk.

Meanwhile, tomorrow I am job shadowing a speech therapist from the Children's Center (a clinic at my hospital in Everett, not to be confused w/ Children's Hospital). --The first job mentioned on this blog is the outpatient one in the Children's Center in Everett--. I'm hoping that being a part of some home visits will help me narrow done which job will be the right fit for me.

Good news!