updates on life

1. Long, long ago when the Switzerland idea was still fresh, Brett asked the guy at the university if he needed to do anything for his family's visas, and the guy said no, we'll take care of it. Much much later, they said, 'Oh, go ahead and apply for visas for your family.' Would have been REALLY nice to have known that we

eks ago!! So we paid the fees, did ALL the paperwork, wrote a nice letter begging them to hurry, and sent it in to the Swiss consulate. But really, it's still going to take a long time even if they did hurry. So, that makes us kind of sad. Because we thought we'd be over there by now, and instead of every day seeming like we're getting closer to going, it feels like every day makes it less likely that we'll ever make it. Sigh.

2. So Brett went and got a job welding at a company here. When he was at the interview he told them that he's not a certified welder, but he's had lots of hobby and farm experience. So the guy said okay, come down to the production line and let's see what you've got. So Brett welded for a while, and then the guys said 'Stop, stop. You're better than a lot of people that come in having welded for their job for years.' Yes, my husband is a welding ninja.3. But he goes to work Mon-Sat from 5:00am - 3:00pm. Today he had to be in by 4:00am. That's early. Which makes him a tired man. Last night he wanted me to come to bed with him at 8:30 so we could cozy for a little while, but I was like "sorry dude--I just can't force myself to go to bed at a child's bedtime." Sad. But we do have an income which is always good.

4. Speaking of an income, I've picked up a couple of gigs to earn a little fast cash. The first one was for Kellog's. I went to a Wal-Mart for an afternoon and painted little kids' faces. This Fri and Sat I'll go to a Sam's Club and give samples of a men's body spray. Should be awesome. "Hey dude--you stink! Get this and the women'll want you!" I'm a born saleswoman, don't you think?
5. In other Switzerland news, we do not have a house yet, though we are trying. Also, we were incredibly blessed to find an amazing AMAZING deal through Craigslist (weird that I happened to look on craigslist one day because I don't speak German, and they hardly use it over there anyway) on a WHOLE bunch of furniture and household goods from a family who is moving to China. However, when we bought it we thought we'd be over there by the time they moved and we could pick it up. Now we have to figure out how to store it, how to get it picked up, etc. Brett told me it's too bad I don't speak German because I could be calling people over there about these things, because by the time he gets home from work it's the middle of the night there. But I don't speak German. I sense that this is only a small sampling of how it's going to be when we get there. Brett's going to have to do a lot of babysitting--taking me grocery shopping, to kids' school things, doctor's appt., etc. What fun.6. These pictures are from when we took the kids to scout out this place for Sterling and Lindsay's pictures. They had a grand time. When we told them it was time to go home -after only about 10 minutes- they all bawled.

7. I bought this WAY cool headband off of etsy. I was feeling bold. It's awesome. I'll have to post a picture soon.

8. Kami and Leo and their family are in Colombia right now. Isn't that awesome? It's also awesome because I steal their van when I want to go places.

9. Me and Brett, my mom and dad, and Andrea and Tim are going to a concert tonight (a Veteran's Day thing). I'm excited. Brett will have to take a nap when he gets home from work or he'll fall asleep though.10. Yeah, you know how Talmage is the angel child? Well, NOT ANYMORE---he's turned into the devil! He just woke up one morning as if he were possessed! Seriously he shrieked, hit, bit, shrieked, flopped, and shrieked. Brett told him no for chewing on a book, and he screamed, flopped to the floor, and then started hitting Ethne who happened to be near him. WHAT THE HECK?! Who is this guy---I'm sending him back to the manufacturer because obviously there's a defect. It is seriously so weird. I'm hoping it's just that he's getting teeth, and he'll be back to angel-child soon!! p.s. anyone want him in the meantime?

11. I've been wanting to go to Target for a while now bec

ause I had some gift cards and I like Target. The closest one is about an hour away. So we finally went yesterday, and I got some cute things, and as we were driving home I was like, "I forgot to use the gift cards!" Silly silly.

12. A while back, we were watching the movie 'Confessions of a Shopaholic' with Isla Fisher (see above), and Brett said, "You could have hair like that (implying that I should let it grow instead of cutting it)." And I was like, "grrrrrrrr...yeah if I could also have five personal assistants to blow-dry it for me every morning and curl it and floof it up every five minutes, and nannies to take care of my children so that they don't mess it up." You know. But I do love her hair and if I thought mine would really look nice and take

n care of like hers, I might actually grow it that long. I can actually post about this now because I just got a haircut that I really like and it's cute and so I'm not bitter anymore. ;)

13. A while ago a sporting goods store had a teacher appreciation sale, and anyone who is a teacher got to buy at employee discount. So my dad-thanks for being a teacher dad!- took Brett and I and we got some hiking boots. Thanks Dad! And while I was there I bought myself these. they are awesome no matter what my dad says. :)