Weekend in Reverse

SUNDAY:

LifeChurch had a photo area set up in the lobby for Father's Day! =)

Parrish kids with Joshua Michael

We had lunch at Salt Grass Steakhouse, which always makes me think of Jeffrey. =)  Jace was complaining of his ears being cold, then tried this napkin solution and thought it was hilarious. lol

I drove back to Tulsa and went by the farmhouse to drop off this happy card for Chettles. (The original plan was to mail it, but Walgreens photo department was having major issues on Friday!)

SATURDAY:

Breakfast at First Watch in OKC with E-beth!! =)  Always fun times catching up with her, and her Rocky shirt made me really happy! lol

Biscuits and gravy for me... eggs benedict for her. I ❤ breakfast food!!

We chatted for a couple hours, then I went straight from there to Johnnie's for lunch with the fam to celebrate Grandad's Father's Day!!  ❤

The great-grandkids!

A photo by the Miss K =)

A preshface door-holder! lol

Babah's a funny one! lol  (She bought this hat for K-Faith.)

Rach and Grandad talking as we left

We were trying to get a pic of Kyndal in the hat, then J volunteered, saying, "Look at my hat!" lol

Hoverboards, dunking the basketball and hanging from the rim (with the assistance of a paint bucket to lift them up), and J being upset that he couldn't get a bait worm out of the boat to play with. lolol  It was quite the drama.

K finally tried on the hat at home. =)

FRIDAY:

I was so happy this came in a little ahead of schedule so I could give it to Tiffany on Friday afternoon! ❤

After dropping off the blanket, I went to Bixby for a party at April's!

It was the healthiest birthday dinner ever with kale salad, quinoa salad, corn on the cob, asparagus, and shish kabobs.  We did have peach cobbler and ice cream for dessert, so that was happy news! lol

It was the Fosters' connect group and a few people from the Woodlake worship team. I was having some weird deja vu moments with the eclectic, music-themed decor all over her house. The resemblance was already hard to ignore. I'm never sure exactly what God is up to in these moments, but I know He's working on my heart, and I'm along for the ride.

So that's my Father's Day weekend recap!

Thankful Thursday (84)

"Be my secure shelter and a strong fortress to protect me; You are my refuge and defense." ~Psalm 71:3

Since my last post was a bit of a venting complaint-fest, I wanted to counter it with some gratitude! lol

Today, I am thankful for...

1.  My sister and her family and all the joy my niece and nephews bring me!  

2.  My growing friendships with the Woodlake group!  The Fosters are two of the most faithful, faith-filled people I know. Audrey is genuine and compassionate. April is quiet but really funny. Neil and Amber are expecting their first child, and I know they'll be great parents!  It's just a fun group where we have game nights twice a month, and I'm starting to make some deeper connections, and I'm always thankful for that!

3.  The way God is slowly using that church and that group to bring healing and help me to trust again and be open to the true Holy Spirit after some super-crazy and semi-traumatic church experiences (with people who falsely believed they were operating in the Spirit) in my past!!! 

4.  My Grandad, who is one of the kindest and most genuine men I know!

5.  My job, where I have great work hours and get to work with my friends, where I have a unique skill set and I'm really good at what I do, and where I've become determined to put in the practice time to become better and pass the RMR and CRR tests and give myself a raise! lol  (Aaaaand where they've said they will bring me new ceiling tiles soon! lol) #yesplease

Waiting on a verdict in our trial last week! =)

6.  Summer and swimming and fresh cut flowers and how late it stays bright and sunny! I'm soaking it up and loving it right now!! ❤

7.  Baby bunnies!!  Because all the cuteness!  (This = a pic from Rach's phone that popped up in my Google Photos account and made me happy!) =)

The RPR (a rant)

RPR stands for Registered Professional Reporter.  The test = 225 words per minute Q&A, 200 wpm Jury Charge, 180 wpm Literary. Passing it gives you a $1500 a year raise. Not a lot, but also not a pay cut I'm willing to take right now.

First, a happy memory:  I passed my RPR test FOURTEEN YEARS AGO in November 2004.  I remember being so excited the day I found out! I went into our computer room at 9121 while we were baking a chocolate cake for a Christmas party we were having... and I checked the list and was so surprised to see my name there! Then I came and told Mom and she was super excited for me, too! The chocolate cake dough just made the moment that much sweeter. ;-)

.....Fast forward several years to 2013, when I had decided that court reporting wasn't for me and I was going to pursue a career in counseling... I couldn't have predicted the way that plan would fall apart and crumble - the last straw being when my alma mater (SNU Tulsa) rejected me for their Masters program after acing every class and getting recommendations from two of their best professors. I'm so done.

Before that dream ended, though, I let my Total Eclipse (CAT software) and my NCRA membership lapse. (NCRA = our national association which charges $280 in annual dues and makes everything as difficult as humanly possible on their members.)

.....Fast forward to 2017, when I decided to re-embrace court reporting and go for my RMR (the next step up at 260 wpm).  I rejoined NCRA, asking the woman on the phone for clarification that my RPR certification would still stand.  "Oh, yeah, that won't be a problem!"

Orrrrr will it?  
I signed up for the CRR (a realtime test), and after practicing, getting ready, completing the online practice test, and jumping through hoops to get a webcam and all the cables and equipment I would need for the new way they administer the tests... THEN they decided to mention that I actually could not sit for that test because my RPR was not current. They offered to let me "simply" pay a $100 fee to reinstate it, but I found that really irritating since the lady on the phone had assured me it was current, so I said no thanks and thought I would just skip taking any more tests.

.....Fast forward to 2018, when the State of OK is bleeding and out of money in every possible area, so they send out a letter saying that anyone whose certifications are not current with NCRA will take a pay cut this July.

*This, by the way, coincides with the $2000 a year raise being given to all Oklahoma State employees in a certain salary range.  Oh wait, excluding only the court reporters. Not even kidding. Nothing about it is okay.

Also around that same time, Total Eclipse informed me that I would have to pay $3000 for them to simply update my software to be compatible with Windows 10 - because in addition to the upgrade fee, you have to look backwards and pay them a $300 fee for every year you were not a member.  UGH.  And no one can stop them, and it suuuuucks.  So now my Windows 10 computer is here at home, and I kept my old work computer because a $3000 "upgrade" is too terribly absurd.

I finally paid the $100 fee for reinstating the RPR, and then I have to earn 2 continuing ed credits (CEUs) to make it official.  So I attended both days of our state seminar, (which they chose to hold in a hotel downtown where parking was a HOT MESS.  So $15 for valet and a $5 tip two days in a row, plus $160 for the seminar itself.)

I thought that would be enough, but I didn't understand that one hour = .1 CEU, meaning I have to attend 20 hours of seminar classes, so the 11 hours of boredom at the OCRA seminar was not enough.

Luuuuucky for me, NCRA offers online seminars for the low, low price of $350.  I was so upset by this point I could barely speak, but I really don't want to take a pay cut next month. Not getting the promised raise is bad enough.  And I have to be a registered RPR to move forward with any other tests.

At some point today, it dawned on me that I am attending 9 extra hours of online classes and paying crazy fees when I could have just paid $270 to retake the freaking 3-hour RPR test and saved myself loads of money and time and hassle.  (A test that I already paid for and passed 14 years ago, if that wasn't abundantly clear!)  Then I wanted to scream and punch someone, but I quickly realized that no one who's in charge cares AT ALL, so I'm writing this ranty blog instead.  

Soooo $650 and 20 hours later, I'll be an official RPR again. (Still.) And get to keep my existing salary instead of taking a pay cut whilst all other OK state employees are getting raises.  Hoooo-freaking-ray.

I am so over NCRA, and I'm over being a state employee!  The AC in my office continues to have issues and leak, almost destroying my printer yet again.  And they continue to care less and leave it halfway patched up with no ceiling tile in that spot and tiles with water damage all around it. #creekcounty #makeitstop #whydoesnoonecareEVER

As a State of OK official court reporter, we have to buy our own equipment.  That includes a computer and printer, a steno machine ($1800 to $5000), and CAT software ($4500 initially plus $600 a year for "support.") #nothanks

Our state association dues are $80 per year and the national are $280. Taking any test with NCRA is $199 to $270 each time, and they are not easy to pass.  We have not received a raise since 2005, and we're clearly not getting one this year either.  (Meanwhile, Texas CRs easily make double what we make, and the State of TX buys all their equipment, as well.)

GET IT TOGETHER, OKLAHOMA.

(End Rant.)

Weekend Update

Me and Lindsay at her yoga event to raise money for Aspyn Arrows on Friday night!

Derrick Henslee from LifeChurch played live worship music, and Kristen Campbell was the holy yoga leader. It was my first time at the Jenks Downtown Commons, which was nice, and they had a pretty good turnout for the event! =)

After that, I met Chet Lee, Karli Marie, and Tate Haywood for dinner at the Riverwalk Los Cabos, where we talked about their plans for the Hawaii trip in September! =)  Fun times!

We randomly ran into Michael on our way out, so I had to get a Wilson boys pic! lol

Saturday, Tiffany and I went to see Oceans 8 (fun times - I always love Sandra, and the Oceans movies make high stakes crime look like such fun - lol).  Then we headed to my neighborhood pool for a couple hours... which was so much better and more fun than I expected!  I think they're working harder to keep the pool clean now, so I'm gonna use it more this summer. (Technically, going twice will be more than any other summer I've lived here. lolol)

We grabbed dinner at Tulsa Hills and brought it back to my house, then listened to the N'Sync Pandora station (instead of watching TV - still going strong on that), and we had a really good talk! Yay for good friends and pool time and good movies and Panera mac n' cheese! =)

Sunday was the Growth Track class followed by an unexpected emotional reaction, then Woodlake Church then lunch with the Fosters and Laura Bower, who I randomly ran into in the Schlotzsky's parking lot!  We got to see Jon and Kristin's new place, and we had a good talk!  

That night, I hosted a girls dinner for Tiffany.  This month is rough with the anniversary of her Dad's death, of his birthday, then Father's Day three weeks in a row.  So I wanted to do a few things to honor his birthday (he loved Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream and liked to play dominoes) and just to encourage Tiffany and remind her how much she is loved!  Kelly, Laura, Breanne, and Kristin came (and me and Tiffany, obviously).  We had salad + pizza + cupcakes and ice cream, and we played Mexican train dominoes! Somewhere around 9:30, the crowd dwindled down to just the Creek County girls, and we got into a really deep, sacred conversation about favorite memories and painful emotions and holding onto God when we don't feel strong enough to make it through something. ❤

Today, I was off work and got to sleep in. =)  Then this afternoon, the Parrish fam stopped by on their way home from Grand Lake!  Mom had warned me that Jace would be curious about everything he saw, and she was very correct on that! lol  I just thought I didn't own any toys!  My therapy putty that I use to limber up and strengthen my hands provided all kinds of entertainment, as did my old CR machine, my fit-board, the globe (wanting to know how far Italy was for Claire), my jewelry box, the empty backyard, my Bible journal ("Can I color in this!??"), and a random pump he found in the garage ("Do you have a balloon I can blow up with this??  What can I blow up?  I need to blow something up with this!") lolol

I got some Domino's cheese bread and brownies for them. =)  It was fun having them here at my house and hearing all about their lake trip excitement!

My Simply Fit board was a hit! lol

The Miss told me I need to wear those heels next time I come over. lol Deal.

Me and T-man being normal... the rest of them being a hot mess. lolol

Best one. ❤

So that's a long recap of my long weekend!  Huzzah!! =)

Summer Sun

Well, our jury trial for today did not settle, but they did waive me taking a record of voir dire (my least favorite part of any trial ever!)... so yaaaay for that!  I'm hanging out in my office, chatting with Chet Lee on the phone and writing a happy blog post while they're all in court!  Here's hoping the attorneys take their time with this one. ;-)

Okay, so my summer TV break and "engage the real" thing is going really well thus far!  I've missed the TV less than I expected, and I've been much more productive and had lots of fun times with friends!  Starting with dinner and a game night at Audrey's new apartment on Friday... Neil brought her this emoji pool raft as a housewarming gift! lol I love it!!

Here's Audrey dancing to a new song Kristin was playing on her phone! =)  We had a potluck dinner that included BBQ chicken sandwiches, chips, veggies, a kale salad that was surprisingly good, and brownies for dessert!  Then we played several rounds of Nertz and Pit, which was fun times!!  I'm usually the least competitive person ever in these games, but it entertains me to watch those who get really into it! =)

Saturday morning, I decided to take a walk outside, and the Jenks pedestrian bridge was nice and close to me... then I saw these lovely pink bikes you can rent and thought, "engage the real" and "embrace the new!" lol

It was a short-lived dream, and entertaining for anyone who happened to be around to watch. lol  The seat was way too high where my feet couldn't touch the ground, and I rode about a hundred feet then nearly toppled over - so yay for getting my heartrate up! lolol  Then I walked the bike back to it's spot and thought of Phoebe! lol

The walk was still nice, though! =)  Yay for summer sunshine!!

I spent Sunday at church, then journaling and proofreading my friend, Michael's first book!  I volunteered myself for that one and helped with Elizabeth's book, as well.  I got them both done pretty quickly - ahh, the things you can do when TV is not an option! lol

This week, I spent Monday night swimming with Sarah and Tiffany at Audrey's apartment pool (the plan was to go to Sarah's but it was closed for maintenance). 

Audrey lives at the Encore Apartments in Bixby, and the pool area is really nice! =)

Swimming is so much fun to me! =)  We all met last night at Sarah's pool so that we could go with our original plan for Monday.  We swam and Steve grilled hot dogs for a late dinner, and it was relaxing and great and fun! ❤

It's nearly time for me to have to go back into court.  I've been getting up early and working out this week, and I'm determined to make that a new routine!  My screensaver of the preshface Miss K inspires me to be strong!! lol

That's all for now. Happy Wednesday!!

Mon Ami Memory Monday! =)

Today's Memory Monday = a tribute to my favorite French bistro, Mon Ami Gabi in Las Vegas!! ❤ #vegasbaby

These first two pictures are from my third visit to Mon Ami. Sarah and I were seated at the exact same table on the patio/terrace two days in a row! =)

My first Mon Ami experience was a brunch with friends on my 30th birthday in February 2014, where I had about 1/10th of my birthday mimosa. lol  (The taste has grown on me since then).  The atmosphere and the food were awesome!  I had trouble choosing between two types of waffles, so they made me a half-and-half plate, which was perfect! =)  It was fun times with good friends, and a perfect way to start off my 30s.  After our brunch, we crossed the street to watch the fountain show at noon! Oh, I miss Vegas. ❤

When Sarah and I went in January 2016, we were both big fans of Mon Ami!  Her skinny crepe pancake and my bananas foster French toast that first morning were fantastic. She had not been a big fan of "night Vegas" the day before, but it redeemed itself that morning. lol  The weather was pretty perfect. We had a fun waiter, and there was a guy on the street playing delightful music that went well with the French theme. We arrived just before they stopped serving breakfast, which meant that we got to watch the Bellagio fountains right across the street while we ate! =)  We quickly decided to come again the next morning so we could both try something different. All three times I've been there, I've eaten delicious breakfast foods (my favorite meal), and I've sat outside on their cute little patio! =)  If ever I go in summer, I'll get to experience the indoor part of the restaurant. I'm sure it's nice, but not quite as magical. lol

So if ever you find yourself in my favorite city, I recommend making reservations or dropping by the Paris Hotel for brunch at Mon Ami Gabi. You won't regret it! =)

Happy Monday, gang!  May all our jury trials settle!! =)