Remember Me??!!

OOOkkk, I know it's been MONTHS since I've posted...and I'm sorry about that!  It's truly been a crazy whirlwind of nearly 3 months.  I'll try to summarize:

• I told my bosses, after having the info pried out of me, that I didn't want to stay at my current job for the next year
• I was told by the head-honcho boss that I would, as a result, be "let go" at the beginning of June...which gave me 2 months to find a new job
• I took a week off in April to job-search...relentlessly searching!  To no avail.
• I found out about a center/school in Greenville (from a friend from church) which is strictly a preschool for medically challenged special needs children, called Meyer Center for Special Children.  My heart jumped when I looked into them.
• My friend knew one of the Speech Therapist's at the center through church and I was able to tour the center with her, meet the Rehab Director, and drop off my resume...though their therapists had been there for YEARS and they weren't hiring.
• Work got even worse.  They kept running all over me, taking advantage of me, and we (my Dad and I) had to get lawyers involved.
• As a result, they offered me my job back...if I would commit to being in the schools again next year.  Not thrilled about it...but I didn't have another job lined up, so I agreed.
• Work was MISERABLE.
• God taught me how to be joyful in my misery and to be content with my situation.  For a month and a half I lived by the quote from Joel Osteen (which was on a Post-It on my bathroom mirror to remind me daily): "Be joyful today...whether or not I feel like it."  That attitude change did wonders.  God is good...even in the hard times.
• Flash forward to the end of June: I get an email from the Rehab Director at Meyer Center telling me that one of their Speech Therapist's was actually moving to Arizona and they were, as a result, now hiring a Speech Therapist, and she was wondering if I wanted to interview.  Ummm...YES!
• I was able to arrange to leave work early on a Friday (which was also a blessing from God), and go interview.  I knew I wasn't one of the strongest contenders, as I have so little experience, but I tried to convey to her that what I lack in experience I make up for in enthusiasm for what their center does.  I left the interview a little baffled...as most of the time was spent with them talking trying to, seemingly, "sell" the center to ME.  I barely got a chance to "make my case"!  
• I spent that weekend in Moultrie, GA visiting my brother and his family.  I get a call Monday morning from the Rehab Director.........offering me a position!  And I also discovered they were hiring TWO Speech Therapists.  For a place like the Meyer Center...that's pretty unheard of, as their therapists stick around for YEARS usually.
• I took the position!  Amazed at how God orchestrated it all.  God knew that's where my heart desired to work, and though I thought it wasn't even a possibility, HE knew it would be and I just needed to wait for HIM to show me that.  What an amazing gift from God!
• I found out they had another PT (physical therapist) position available and I told one of my PT friends at my current job about it...she interviewed too and got the job too!
• I went to China to work with medically fragile children at a foster home, providing Speech Therapy to them.
• I returned to my old job and put in my 2 week notice...only to be told by the head boss to not return (but she let my PT friend stay...such a double standard).
• I'm now on a lovely little 2 week R&R "vacation"...awaiting to start my new job NEXT WEEK!
• August 8 I start at the Meyer Center and I'm SO excited for the opportunity for growth and learning that lies ahead!

Soo, I will have MUCH better hours: 8-4 every day 5 days a week with school holidays off and 13 days of personal vacation time on top of it!  No more being tugged in 5 different directions, never having time to finish what needs to be done, working until 9 pm and not getting paid any overtime (or getting paid for a full day even most of the time), and no more working weekends!  As a result, I may actually keep my blog updated more regularly this year!  (I know, all 3 of my readers are thrilled...)  Anyways, that's where I am right now...and I'm glad I can finally share that info!

Stay tuned, I'm copying Kathryn's idea and will be posting my own Birthday wishlist soon!

Better Late than Never!

Did you miss me? Be prepared...it's a LONG one!

I'm sorry it's been nearly a MONTH since I last posted! It's been a busy few weeks, needless to say! I had school stuff I've been working on (the LAST of my projects EVER!!), interviews, traveling, working, and trying to find time to sleep in between. My apartment is a MESS and is proof of my busyness! Hopefully I'll get around to cleaning it at some point (maybe when I'm actually in town for a weekend!).

So, I left y'all with some suspenseful news as of my last post. The news was that I was really wanting to move back to Savannah after graduation and be closer to home for a change. My decision to move up to Greenville was not becoming one I was so happy with afterall. Well, I had my interview up in Greenville and I went into it with the mindset that I was pretty much just going to get "the interview experience" since I didn't actually want to live up there anymore but already had the interview set up. Much to my surprise, I left the interview wondering how I was going to find a job that could possible be any more PERFECT than that one! The facility was great! They are a healthcare facility that serves both pediatrics and geriatrics. They do long-term and short-term care, contract out to the local school, as well as the local (teeny!) hospital! And they were REALLY wanting someone to help out with the hospital rotations...which is what I'm most interested in doing. I'd be doing a little bit of everything, which I've discovered is what is most interesting to me, since it's always changing and doesn't give me an opportunity to get bored. The entire Rehab team was very nice and there were a lot of younger girls that could help me "socialize" in my new town. There were about 5 other Speech Therapists that I'd be working with that I would also be able to call upon whenever I had a problem or needed some advice. They also worked with Physical Therapists and Occupational Therapists. The situation couldn't of been more perfect for me.

However, I was just not sure if I should take it since I hadn't had ANY other interviews, and I was waiting on places in Savannah to open up. Well, 2 weeks rolls by and I've either not heard word from any places that I applied to, or I had been denied based on no availabilities. So, after some nudging from my Dad, I turned down the radio in my car (while on my road trip to visit one of my besties, Allie, in Augusta) and spent an hour just talking to God about the whole thing. It's AMAZING what some quiet time with God can do! I cleared my head of every thought and just really "talked it out" with Him. And I came to a conclusion. I realized that I had been asking God for some "signs" of what He wanted me to do. I was just trying too hard to find an excuse NOT to take the job I think. God had given me signs...I was just ignoring them! The first one was back in October when I saw the advertisement for the position in one of my Speech magazines. Sign #2 was when I went to ASHA (our National convention) in November and ended up being recommended by one of my professors to visit the booth of that same company. Sign #3: the company told me about that same job position. Sign #4: how GREAT the interview went. I mean, c'mon Megan...how many more signs from God do you want?!

So, I talked it over with my parents, called up the facility and told them I wanted the job. And BAM! They offered me the position (and with QUITE a nice 'lil salary as well!)! So, folks...I'VE GOT A JOB!!!!!! Come June, I'll be moving on up to Greenville, South Carolina! (Ok, it's actually Simpsonville that I'll be living in, but that's just a minor detail...). I've now moved on to looking for places to live online so that I can visit them once I get back up there in May. I mean, how CRAZY is this?! My goal was to find a job before I graduated in May...and I did! Woo-hoo! Graduation is May 7th (YES!) and I enter the real-world in June! WOW. Guess I'm almost all grown-up. So, anytime anyone makes a trip up to Greenville, SC...feel free to give me a holla! (because a 2nd bedroom is a MUST for my new place! The more visitors the merrier!) :0)

Sending you love and JOY! : D

A Year of Changes

Ok, I know it's been nearly a month since I last posted...and lots of events have occurred since then, so rather than trying to play catch up on the last month I'll just give a quick synopsis:

We had lots of Christmas gatherings. I baked a lot of cakes and pies. We discovered that my Red Velvet Cake is out of this world, and I now have to make it every year for Christmas. Christmas was spent with the family and we all enjoyed our time with one another.

New Year's Eve was spent at my Uncle's house in South Carolina. ALL my Mom's side of the family was there (which equals about 40 of us with all her brothers and their kids and their kids). My Uncle Barney grilled a feast of oysters, ribs and BBQ beans and lots of other stuff too. We sang karaoke and I'm pretty sure I woke up all the dogs for about 20 miles around. "Happy juice" and karaoke make for an interesting New Year's Eve...

New Year's Day we were still at my Uncles' house, and he and my Aunt cooked up the traditional Southern New Year's meal; no superstition left out. We had our pork for health (ironic, huh?), hoppin' John for good luck, collard greens for wealth, and cornbread for happiness (I believe that's what it's for...we never could decide on what it was really). We all overate (as usual), and the New Year was started off right...with family.

Now that you're all caught up, I'm back to writing about what I really wanted to say. With 2010 comes many changes in my life. One of which, involves our family. All of us are going on "new adventures" this year. My Dad's got changes coming in the next month or so, my oldest brother, James, will be moving to Moultrie in May to begin his new career as one of the internal med doctors at a practice there (and he'll be taking my 2 little nephew away from us!), my other brother, Blake, will begin a career as a lawyer, and I'll be starting my own job...with my own income. LOTS of big firsts for our family!

This year also brings with it GRADUATION!!! This is my REAL graduation...the graduation that means I can actually get a JOB graduation. It's a big deal. Come May, I'll have my Master's degree in Speech Language Pathology, and I'll be hunting for a "big girl" job as well. I'm excited yet nervous all at the same time. I'll also be moving away from Georgia after graduation as well. South Carolina is looking promising for the time being. It'll be a big change for me. I'll start paying my own bills and being self-sufficient for the first time in my life. After 24 years, Daddy will no longer be my source of income...and that's really a little scary to think about! I think I've got a lot to learn about what living in the real world really means...and all the costs associated with it! Daddy's got a lot to teach me, I do believe...

Spiritually, I've finally reached the point where I know it's due time that I reconnected with my Creator again. I've pretty much put my relationship with God on the back-burner for the past 2 years really. I've said the occasional prayer, VERY rarely spent any time in the Word...and I've never felt more distant from God. God has continued to send me overflowing blessings even though I've just ignored Him, and He deserves more from me. My friend, Lindsey, inspired me to really get back on track with Him. She issued a challenge to go on a journey with her this year. A spiritual journey. A journey to reconnect with God and read through the Bible in 2010. Though I am going to do my best to read through the Bible with her, my real task for this journey for myself is to simply get back to a point where I'm actually spending time with God again. If the end of 2010 rolls around and I haven't read through the Bible, but I've spent time daily with God and learned lessons from Him, and changed things in my life to be more like Christ, then I'll count that as a success, nonetheless. My freshmen year of college was the closest I've ever been to God. He was truly my friend then. And I miss that. I'm ready to get back to that point. So, I've got someone to hold me accountable now. I've now written it in blog world...so I can't slack off. I hope to grow with God this year...and post about all the things I'm learning from Him in the process. That's my goal. My only real goal. (Okay, besides losing weight...as usual). But this is one that is vital for my eternity.

So, here's to 2010. May it bring many welcome and joyous changes.

Happy New Year!