The torture never stops...

For those Frank Zappa fans out there: actually, Dan is the Zappa fan, and when we began dating, I was inducted into the official "My Boyfriend Listens to Zappa, So I Have to Learn to Love It Fan Club". And I did come to have an appreciation for Frank Zappa, though I don't reach for his CDs to while away my stamping hours.

The torture I'm referring to is the Artisan Awards. 'Member that? How so many of us stamped and trimmed and punched and inked our fingers to the bone in hopes of winning cash, a catalog shopping spree and some other cool things?

Yesterday was the date that winners were supposed to be notified by phone. I know lots of people who entered who were sitting by their phone all day. ALL DAY! But since I used my cell phone, I just carried mine with me everywhere. I made sure to put it on vibrate when I was vacuuming. I made sure to put it in the bathroom when I took a shower.

And like all the other people waiting to hear yesterday, I did not get a phone call. From what I've been able to tell, no one did.

All day. Waiting. Nothing.

Some one finally called and asked if the calls were going out today. And they were told that SU! was "in the process" of making contact with the winners and they should be done in the next couple of days.

Two more days. Two more days of this:

I don't know if I can take it!!! Ack!

Well, anyway...so many of you were interested in medical transcription and asked me to share which course I was taking.

When I first started looking into this, I did a google search, something like, "Best online course medical transcription". And I came across a couple of web forums where that very thing was being discussed. And I learned that there were three programs that were highly recommended, some people going so far as to say that they had taken a course elsewhere and ended up enrolling in one of these because their original choice had been a waste of time. So I looked into all three of these:

The Andrews School
CareerStep
M-Tec

I ended up choosing the Andrews School. For a couple of reasons:

a) because the payment plan was one that was more affordable for me. I put down a large down payment, then will be paying monthly for two years on an interest free loan for the rest.

b) because the program seemed to be comprehensive. The M-Tec program has to be taken in two tiers, so it would be more expensive in the long run.

So far, I have been more than satisfied. The program seems to be very thorough and the communication with the instructors very satisfactory. All the materials you need are included. It takes a year to complete and they do help place you when you graduate.

Well, this blog is about stampin', and I have some to show you. It's just not...SOB...strictly SU!
Well, the reason why is that recently I received something unusual in the mail. It was a pickle, from my pal Dawn Griffith. Dawn and I share a love of the green and sour, which I recently discovered from her blog. So we compared notes and the end result was that Dawn sent me one of those BP gas station cukes that she ordered in bulk!

And man, was that sucker SOUR! I like a good pickle, but it was little more sour than I usually go for (though quite delish!) So I made a card to send to Dawn to thank her and she must have gotten it by now, so I am going to post it so y'all can see:

Ingredients: Stamps - Pickle Jar (Lockhart Stamps), Outlined for Fun (SU!), In a Pickle (Lockhart Stamps); Paper - Good Morning Sunshine DSP, Summer Sun, Chocolate Chip, Whisper White, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss; Ink - Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss; Other - Scallop Oval punch, Wide Oval punch, Kiwi Kiss striped grosgrain, gold brands, prismacolor pencils, gamsol, Sakura clear glaze pen, sponge wedge, dimensionals.

Isn't this STINKIN' CUTE?!?!? But it gets better:

I just had to alter the sentiment a bit. Bahahahah!

Now, I have to show something I've been meaning to show you. My daughter Emily seems to have inherited the artistic genes from me and she has filled up the sketch book I bought her for her birthday already. She's very good at copying Naruto (Manga) drawings by eye now, here's one of her drawings:

Not bad for age 12, eh? What am I saying!?!?! It's FABOO!!!!

Of course, when she is drawing things out of her head, they are not quite as anatomically accurate, but she's coming along! But I have to show you the Mother's Day card she made me:

I will treasure it forever, obviously! It's nice to know that even though I am not a ninja, I am still loved by Emily! And it's nice that I am so nice and thin on the front of the card, LOL!

More news: the boy with the wayward finger was accused yet again yesterday of using the center phalange on his right hand (see? already I'm learning medical terms!) to express a thought towards a class mate, which he vehemently denied. As a result, he spent the afternoon in the principals office doing work. Probably a better idea than having him be at home...he actually ENJOYED that, even though I tried hard to make it unenjoyable. Sigh.

I'd like to think that he didn't do it, as he says he didn't, but I just don't know. All I know is that once you get a rep for doing that, as I told him, his classmates can use that against him to get back at him simply by saying he did it. So I told him that from now on, KEEP YOUR HANDS IN YOUR POCKETS when talking to your classmates! LOL! Eleven and a half more days of school...I think waiting to see if we can get through the rest of that without any birds flying is going to be far harder than waiting to see if I won an Artisan Award! But if I do, you'll be the first...well, SOME of the first to know! Ta!

Comments

[Debbi]

I hope SU calls SOON! What a fun card with the pickles. Too funny. And your DD is an awesome artist.

[leslie]

I used to know someone who did court transcribing. Not a bad gig! Good luck with that!

[Stephanie P.]

Got my fingers crossed for you Jan! Hope the call is affirmative, woo hoo!! And tell DD to keep it up,that Naruto pic is fabulous!

[Lisa (cat)]

If you win Artisan, everyone within a ten mile radius is going to hear you shout! LOL!

[Cheri' LaEace]

Any news yet on the awards???????? Good Luck you definitely deserve it!

[Jen]

Jan, Andrews is a great school. I made it through the second module and really enjoyed all the learning. My difficulty at the time was that I could not stay home alone. (A tiny bit better these days!). I would end up in a panic after an hour and the rest of my day would be lying in bed enjoying the wonderful effects of tranquilizers! lol. I am now thinking of going back, but have not yet decided. Andrews bent over backwards to work with me, and I was the one who decided to stop.

I am very much hoping that you get that call!

Maybe you can sticky strip your son's fingers together?

Good luck!
Jen

[Patti Groetsema]

That creative gene runs in the family you know......some of us more than others!!! HAHAHAHAHA~!

[mary puskar]

Kids will drive you to drink....or that could be a good thing, right Jan! Enjoy your blog so much and wanted to tell you. I was a medical secretary and transcriptionist in another lifetime, always loved it. And so many places now hire people to do it at home. I had a gig like that for awhile and it was great. Type the material on a disc and drop it off to them! Hope you like it and get a really good job when it's all done. If I can ever help, give me a yell!

Mary
www.primitiveseasons.blogspot.com

[Ree Donnelly]

Jan, I feel your pain! Must be torture!
Hey, I'm a Zappa fan too! (my DH isn't really tho). I do listen sometimes to a "greatest hits" of sorts called Strictly Commercial. I laugh sometimes when I find it ironic as I sit stamping something sweet and lovely for, say, one of my Mom's friends, or an aunt of mine... while singing along to maybe "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" or something! LMAO!!!!

[Beth]

I hope the Artisan folks call you, SOON. The pickle card is absolutely fabulous-love the look you got for the inside pickle. Your daughter's amazingly talented-maybe her own stamp line someday? So sorry about the wayward finger incident. I'm just catching up and read your earlier post (big thanks for the parenting advice, btw!). I have not had the pleasure of experiencing that skill yet with my 13yo DS. Well except for my 5yo yesterday. He came to me to show me a boo-boo and his teeny tiny birdie stood high. I chose not to react and just kissed and tended the wounded bird. Hang in there-we've got 15 1/2 more days due to an earlier teacher strike (ugh).

[Lisa T]

Oh, only you would have a pickle jar stamp! Too funny. Two whole days is a l-o-n-g wait. Hope your wait is worth it and you win. :) Yes, your daughter is UBER talented (like her mom, of course!). And, how kind of her to draw you so nice and skinny. (So much easier than this diet & exercise nonsense I am currently torturing myself with). Oh my, sorry to hear about the boy with the wayward finger. I hope he gets through those days of school uneventfully! I read your post and know how hard you tried to make staying home NOT fun. (Don't you hate it when the little boogers enjoy themselves anyway? Takes all the fun out of being the mom, lol!)

[Tonya Allen]

I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for you. And I will be disappointed if they don't choose you! (I used the fact that you were entering as my excuse not to. that way i didn't have to go up against you! haha) Best of luck and I hope you hear something soon!

Tonya (littlebits on scs)

[Cindy Coutts]

Jan, I know I just emailed you and asked which school you went to for MT and I just read Andrews. EXCELLENT choice! Linda is fabulous and has always had employers compete for her graduates.