I love Tebow.

Zumba was fun tonight.  Eleven people.  We did a new routine that's humorous - a funny song called "Chocolate (Choco Choco)."  Next week I'm adding a bachata!  I'm excited about it.  It'll be a brand new style for our class.  I hadn't even heard of bachata before Zumba.  I sold one pair of sticks too.  I couldn't decide whether I should buy more to sell because I don't make all that much money by selling them, so I asked Mayela.  Ha!  I can't make decisions.  She said get some.  So I did.  Then I told her I have 12 more to sell and she asked why so many.  Because to get the best price I have to buy 12 at a time.  But she thought I'd get a few pair.  Oh well.  Now I have TWELVE more to sell. Praise the Lord.  I'm into saying "Praise the Lord."  It's my new saying.

I hope I get a call for that job on the 15th.  I hadn't thought of it till my sister reminded me of it on the phone tonight.  Actually, she didn't remind me but I told her about it and so I reminded myself.  Darn.  It was better when it wasn't on my mind.

I'm thinking of taking Zyrtec every couple days whether I need it or not because I do need it every two or three days.  This way, theoretically, or is it hypothetically, I don't have to freak out every night wondering what's going to be swelled up tomorrow.  I'm paranoid about getting a job then what do I do if my eye or lips swell up.  I'll have to call in sick.  I hate calling in sick.  I don't want to make a reputation for being sickly and missing work.  That's not me at all.  Who wants to be the new girl and call in sick the first month?  Serenity Now.

Church was sublime this morning.  I learned about typology.  I learned about Eljah and Elisha.  Elijah was a prophet.  Well, yeah, he has his own book in the Old Testament, so I kind of knew that. Elisha was his servant, as in, student.  Elijah was Elisha's mentor.  I was never sure if the two names were the same person or two different people.  It's two different people.

Our Zumba presentation at the Veterans' Home went swimmingly.  They liked us!  They smiled and the employees smiled.  We all wore the deer antler headbands I bought.  And we got sweaty.  I might need to pick some slower routines next time.  I wore a snowman headband to the market and it was the darnedest thing.  Everyone was smiling at me everywhere I went.  It put me in such a happy mood.  I guess the snowmen bouncing on my head caused people to smile.  And when they looked at me smiling, I smiled back.  And felt good!  I spread a bunch of Christmas cheer around the store and it didn't hurt at all!

Speaking of hurt.  My hand and one eye swelled yesterday.  I was severely bummed.  But I went to Zumba at the Vet's Home anyway because from far away I hoped no one would notice one eye was little.  But at church today three people hurt my hand.  They shake it too hard and the swelling in it is down, but not gone. One lady, bless her heart, she shook my hand then smacked the top of it a few times (she was being friendly) and yowser, that woke me up alright.  My husband is going to buy me a thingy of some kind that I can put on my hand and that way on Sunday people can't squeeze it and stuff.

Getting a cold sore on the inside of my nose and part of my nose is red.  Man, I am falling apart here.  Had a giant stomach ache after dinner last night.  Spaghetti sauce apparently didn't agree with me.  I took Maalox and it actually helped.  In an hour I felt fine.  Praise the Lord.  I feel pretty good at the moment.  I have some Zovirax for the cold sore and Abreva topical for it so it ought to pass quickly.

I would like to do a hot oil treatment on my hair, but I am also very sleepy.  My big job of the day is I need to thoroughly clean Bella's water trough.  I'll do it right after...my nap.

I feel kind of bad today.  Just generally.  Sort of.  All around.  Could be my friend's sadness.  Could be the Zyrtec I took which helped tremendously but kept me from sleeping.  Could be for some reason I keep thinking of abortion and can't get it off my mind.  Keeps coming back.  Could be I'm done with the interview process and have only to wait.  Could be I want to know what is God's ultimate plan for me and I don't know the answer.  How can I use my gift(s) best and what are my gift(s)? 

Pastor's wife asked if we could have any gift we wanted what would it be.  That's like asking what would you do if you knew you could not fail.

I wore a reindeer antlers headband to Zumba tonight to make sure it doesn't fall off.  I liked wearing it.  I got a pair for each of the Zumba ladies who are going to do Zumba on Saturday at the Veteran's Home.  It should be a lots of fun!  We're spreading some Zumba cheer for Christmas.

Well, I guess I'm still in the running.  I did well enough at the interview that they've asked me back for testing.  I hope there's nothing about ratios on the test.  I can do the basics.  I took a practice online clerical test tonight to sharpen up.  It'll be 30 to 40 minutes she said.  Didn't give me much notice to brush up.  Human Resources called this morning at 10am and the test is tomorrow at 3:30pm.  I will do my best!  Say a prayer for me.  Did I say I want this job?  I do. 

I had seven peeps in Zumba and man, it's cold outside.  It was in the 20s.  Last night they closed the 10 and the 25 and truckers were parked all over the place.  They opened the civic center for people to sleep there.  We had a power outage for several hours from about 7am to 10am.

Again, I missed my own blog anniversary.  It was seven years on November 10th.

Today I am teaching myself samba.  It's the hardest of the Zumba steps, but technically not difficult.  You gotta get that little bounce in there to look good.  I want to add samba to our class.

I did all right.  Not stellar.  Just okay.  There were three or four questions for which I had to say no because I did not have the experience.  At all.  Can't lie about what you ain't got.  They asked if I had a certain certification for which I had to say no.  So I got a bit deflated right there.  Wondered how I got selected for interview.  Kept my chin up though.  Afterward I whipped out the job description (which I already read over and over) and it says nothing about this certification.  I will say I liked the interviewers quite a bit.  They were easy to talk to.  I liked them and think they would be good people to work for.  Maybe something in the future could come up there that I will be more qualified for.  I wore my new black skirt and cowl neck sweater, hair in a French twist, and I looked nice.  I had on nylons and pumps and pearl earrings.  Maybe I'll wear the outfit to church sometime.

So needless to say, ain't expecting a call anytime soon.  Sigh.  Onwards and upwards.  My job is out there somewhere.  Maybe I will take the circuitous route whatever that means.

All my blood test results came out normal.  I do not carry the RA Factor for rheumatoid arthritis.  Thanks be to the Lord.  He will reign forever.  They tell me they think it's an allergic reaction.  To.  Something.  I have no idea what it could be.  Doctors being doctors, they warn of the most dire reaction.  My throat could close and kill me.  Well, as the visiting pastor said when they were told his wife would likely die of a brain tumor - I will say like he did, "Not in my case."

That which is in a woman's heart is what comes out of her mouth. 

I will start keeping track of everything I eat.  I'm gonna hate it, but I have to do something.  A swelled up face is no good.

My new car has five colors of ambient light that I can use for the interior.  Sweet.  I found a fast way to adjust the base.  My husband is a talk radio man so he doesn't like extra bass.  Me, I like all the bass I can get.  Now we can easily change it back and forth.  He has big hands though and he was getting frustrated because every time he turns on the car the wipers in front and back come on.  That's embarrassing you know.  He asked if it happened to me and I said no, never.  This morning he figured out his big old hand inadvertently presses the windshield button.  Hehe!  Well, it is a little car.

My interview is tomorrow at 1:30pm.  How will I do?

My lip swelled up.  I looked like a duck.  Now my lip is down but I have a big welt on bottom of right foot.  I can still wear my heels though.  I tried them on and was able to walk fine.  Can't walk fine flat footed though.

Took a Zyrtec at 5pm and hope it resolves my problem well enough to look fine tomorrow; and to walk fine.

What does the future hold? Is this my job?  I want it real bad.  It's 28 hours per week.  If I don't get it there will be another, but I think this is the one I want.  I have to have all the gates open in my mind and comprehend the purpose of each question to answer it best.  Don't hesitate to think quietly for a moment before speaking.

God is great and greatly to be praised.  My husband bought me a new car today.  Black.  Cute. Sport suspension. Ten speaker Sony surround sound with 8" woofer.  Keyless entry and push button start.  Nav system with voice recognition.  Bluetooth (which I don't have, do I need it?).  Heated leather seats.  Dual climate control. Extended warranty which he's never ever bought in the past.  Built by a company that pays its debts with its own money.  Rides smooth and quiet.  I can zoom around town and drive 70 miles to Cruces on two gallons of gas! 

I could use a job to make the monthly payment that's on its way in January!

Gosh, why didn't I say let's go out for Thanksgiving.  The bird is in the oven.

Went shopping with Mayela and Kathy and it was a little slice of heaven.  I had such a good time with them.  They helped me tremendously with shopping for an outfit for my big interview.  I have an interview for part-time clerk with the county on the 29th.  I will prepare with all my heart.  I hope I will be good enough.

Today I was trying skirts on and the sales lady was watching me.  Odd she was looking at me the way she was looking.  Then she said, "You know, you're wearing that skirt backwards."  Hahahaha!  I am so out of shape for shopping for work clothes.  I turned it around and said, "Oh, it fits a bit better now, thank you."  She was super nice.

Kathy and Mayela found two totally cute outfits for me.  One was a flirty little skirt and the other a black pantsuit.  I could have bought either but I stayed focused on choosing just the perfect thing for an interview.  I did not stray.  The flirty skirt and red and gray sweater would have been great for dinner out or something.  The pantsuit, amazingly the pants fit well and were comfy on me.  I left them at the store though.  I only need what I need.  I spent my own Zumba money on what I bought so I feel very independent.

I spent $4.30 at The Dollar Store.  I bought two sparkly beak clips for my hair, blue and purple, and noticed when I got home a crystal is missing on one already.  Boo.  Well, it was only a dollar so it doesn't hurt my feelings too muchly.  I bought two seed bead necklaces with matching earrings.  I love seed beads.  I thought I bought a pair of socks but I must have dropped them because she didn't charge me and they're not in the bag.  All I can think is I dropped them before I got to the register.

I bought a black skirt and a black sweater top with a big cowl neck.  A little gray herringbone suit, way on sale, lined jacket and skirt, peplum waist, fit me perfectly.  But alas, I would have been overdressed in it for clerical job.  I stressed over whether or not to buy it, such a good price, and I finally decided to pass.  There will be other suits, yes?  I tried on two pair of shoes.  One, very cute, but did not have a pair that fit me.  Second pair hurt my feet and cost $69 so, thank you no.  I'll wear my black heels from the '80s.  They're a little higher than I'd like, but they're comfortable and they will do well enough.  I don't want to invest more than necessary and then perhaps I won't get the job in which case I'd have shoes that I'm not crazy about and that hurt my feet.  If they're gonna hurt they should be ruby red or gorgeously glittery so it's worth the discomfort.  I wished for a low heeled shoe, round toe, 1/4 or 1/2 inch platform, but they did not come to me.

Bought Kathy her first Bible.  I picked a NKJV for her.  Purple cover.  Jesus' words in red.  I hope she will like it.  I wanted to pay in full for it but she had a little fit and said she would feel bad about it and I know that feeling and didn't want her to feel bad so we split it.  I'm so happy she has it.  She was born again last week at church.  Hallelujah!  I missed praise and worship practice this week and am so looking forward to singing tomorrow.  I should be asleep now or I'm gonna have circles under my eyes tomorrow.

My left hand swelled very large yesterday.  Husband took me to the walk-in clinic.  It went well I think.  Firstly, no horrifying wait.  Secondly, they took blood there, four vials, so I didn't have to make another trip to a lab or wait another day to do it.  They will call me with results in a week which I suspect will be a week and a half on account of Thanksgiving is next week.  What they're looking for is signs of rheumatoid arthritis and I hope I don't have that.  I'm taking five days of Prednisone and I must say I feel great.  My hand looks normal now.  It took a whole day for it to get normal again. The usual pain I feel in mornings is gone.  I hope that's not a bad sign.  God is great and greatly to be praised and whatever my lot is to be I am prepared to face it.  I pray for a good report.  A good diagnosis.  I am not afraid.  I'm a little afraid.  Psalm 103:1-4  Psalm 103:1-4  Psalm 103:1-4.

I earned $80 bucks tonight.  Yay!  Seventeen students came to Zumba tonight.  Lately I've had between 5 to 8.  I did "The Sock Giveaway."  I've been advertising that three lucky people will win a pair of socks and they really enjoyed it.  Maybe I should do another giveaway sometime.  The socks cost me $10 so even when I subtract that I still earned $70.  If I subtract shipping it would be a little less.  And insurance, if I subtract that, a wee bit little less.  And rent.  I pay 10% in rent.  Hmmm.  And my $30 per month fee to receive my Zumba instructor DVDs each month.  I buy Zumba clothes once in awhile because they say we should look Zumba-ish when we're instructing.  I cheerfully tithe into the kingdom of Jesus every week because he gave me these arms and legs.   

Hmm.  Maybe I didn't earn as much as I thought.  Maybe I should quit and stay home.

No!  I keep going!  I must forge ahead!  Zumbaaaaa!  Woohoo!  As long as I have some of my own money to buy another little something for my hair I will be happy.

I made a new hair sig.  I worked on it for two hours before dinner and clicked save, but I saved a different image than the one I had open.  I didn't realize it.  So.  I closed the document I was working on and reopened it and...nada.  None of my work was on it.  I had a blank background.  [Silent scream]  I'm out of shape.  So what can you do.  I started over.  Luckily I had saved pieces of it, so it was faster putting it together the second time.  I really want a good hair down photo for the standing photo, but don't have a recent on that I really like.  I used the modified figure 8 pic for the full length photo.  My regular sig is from 2009.  Time flies!

I must have spent two hours today trying to make a good hairstyle for some new photos.  Had my husband all lined up waiting for me.  I couldn't make anything I liked.  Maybe it was because I had just washed it.  My husband asked if I had hair block.  Haha!  Yes, I must have.

My hair today.  I washed it last night and just lay it over the top of my pillow when I sleep.  I have hardly any tangles in the morning.  There have been times when I thought I should cut it because it's not as thick toward the bottom as the top.  I'm glad I didn't.  I like having long hair.

No welts today, but I burnt my hand pretty good on a cookie sheet.  Sheesh.

I got a welt on my foot late today.  I put shea butter on my feet last night.  I'm not using it anymore.  I hope I don't get any more mystery welts.  Fortunately it was on the side of my foot so it didn't bother me for Zumba.

I submitted an application for part time clerk with the county.  I hope, hope I get called for an interview.  If I don't I'll have to rethink this whole job search thing.  I'll have to volunteer somewhere or something.

Two hair pretties are on their way to me this week.  Looking forward to receiving them.  I bought a vintage beaded hairnet for $9.99 which came a couple days ago.  I had one for years until a certain little boy when he was a baby got hold of it with his sticky little two year old fingers and I never could untangle it after that.  The original package says 39¢.  My purpose has been shopping for unique hair claws and I have found everything but.

I shall keep shopping.  It's work, but somebody has to do it!

Zebra for Z

My sister always called zebras "beezrus" when she was little.

I think I might be allergic to my new Spectrum unrefined coconut oil for hair and skin.  I'm bummed.  I quit using it today so we'll see.  I am getting giant welts on the soles of my feet.  They go away in one day.  Last Friday I had to limp around all day.  I had to hobble all the way in and out of Walmart to buy ribbon for my hair.

And my fingertips are swelling up now and then.  It's very weird.

Y is for Yaqui

YHWH are the consonants in the Old Testament that stand for the name of God.  And Y is for Yaqui Indian, which, until my husband was an adult he grew up thinking he was half Yaqui Indian.  His mom told him he was.  So one day my husband asked his dad, "Am I half Yaqui Indian."  His dad said no.  My husband was in his mid-30s when he learned the truth! Apparently his mom was ashamed of being Mexican so she told her son a fib!  His mom knew the Yaqui as fierce warriors.  Back in the day, the Yaqui were feared where she came from.  His dad said in Mexico they learned enough of the Yaqui language so that when the Yaqui came by the town people could trade with them instead of getting killed by them.  That's an interesting Y story!

Today I'm going to do the hot oil thing for my hair.  I'm getting ready to do it right now. I wore a new, gorgeous crystal barrette to church this morning but it slid so far down my pony that I had to take it off.  I wore it yesterday with a figure 8 and it stayed.  So, figure 8 in, single pony out, for the new purple barrette.

I'm cooking a chicken for chicken noodle soup.  I'm really pleased with this chicken my husband bought.  He bought it because it was the only one there, but it's a natural kind of chicken - no antibiotics ever, free range, no cages.  Very cool.  I always feel bad about the chickens I get that have bruises.  I look at their little bodies when I wash them in the sink and wonder how they grew.  I think about one night during the wee hours of the morning.  We were traveling in southern California and it was a miserably hot summer day with daytime temps in the 100s.  It was still dark at about 4am.  We stopped at a gas station and a semi was there full to overflowing with chickens squawking.  They were thirsty and I'm guessing hungry too.  I didn't eat chicken for a weeks after that.  It was horrible.  There should be a law.

A label on it says "Raised by the Charlie Mann family."  I looked up Harvestland.  The chickens are raised in Kentucky.

X is for Xylophone

My sister had a colorful toy xylophone when she was little.

I talked to her today.  And tonight we went to Cristina's for flautas (we call them taquitos in California) and beans and rice.  We drove 30 miles to get to her house.  We had such a nice time.  I felt happy.  She thinks there's a ghost in one room of her house and she wants me to go in and pray so it'll leave.  Apparently my friends recommended me.  Can I do that?  I'm a daughter of God.  I can pray.  Bible says submit yourself to God and the devil will flee from you. But I asked about demonic influences in their family and there are some access points for the enemy to penetrate their family.  I don't even know if she's a born again believer.  What is it she's afraid of in there?

W for Watermelon Skies

I do love the watermelon sky of New Mexico. It's when the horizon is pink and above it is blue. Very pretty. It's a watermelon pink color. I think I want to try to photograph it. I've gotten plenty of fiery orange sky, but not a single watermelon sky.

My friend, my best friend, filed for a divorce today. Her heart is broken and stomped upon in a bad and ugly way. I pray that I will be a good friend to her. I pray to be one who can help point her to the light. She's real down but she is doing the days as usual. Although she missed Zumba today.  It's extremely unusual that she missed Zumba and didn't tell me first.  She's missed about five classes ever since I started and always she texted or told me in advance, but she did not sleep all night last night. She could not fall asleep no matter how she tried.  So she fell asleep before Zumba.  Emotionally expended.

Twenty-seven years of life and love invested in a marriage and it comes to this.

U is for Uvula

And there's not much I can say about that.

T for Tebowing

Tim Tebow is a football player. He's a quarterback for the Denver Broncos. He's an unapologetic Christian and tends to say a prayer on one knee now and then on the field. On tv. So now everyone calls it Tebowing. I tebow a lot but I've never done it on one knee. I've done it on two knees? Yes.

Tomorrow I'm going in to do my school volunteer hours, but not as Zumba instructor. We'll see what we see for what I end up doing. I hope I can find something to do that I'm good at and that I like to do. It would be nice.

Am doing my hair a new way tomorrow. Serpentine Medusa Wiggle Bun. (Update 15 minutes later: Oh no! This is way too much twisting. Gonna take me all night. I have to hurry to YouTube and find a different 'do.)