LOOOOOOOONNNG Overdue!!!

WELL...this blog is LONG overdue as the title implies! :) It's just one of those things...I get really good at keeping up with something...and then it just falls to the wayside. That, I guess, is the story of my life! :( I cannot seem to be able to keep all of the plates in my life spinning!

Anyways...a lot has happened since my last post (in January of 2007). A full year and some change has come and gone...and many things have transpired. I'll try to keep some brevity to this post...as a year and 3 months could make for an awfully long blog! :) hahaha....

Since the last post a whole lot has happened. I supposed that is inevitable...considering it's been over a year. Shortly after that last post, I got a call from the Milford Hospital saying that my dad had been admitted to the hospital and that I really needed to get down there because it looked like he wasn't going to make it through the night. A little history...I had only spoken with my father once since I moved out at the age of 21...and that wasn't even a nice conversation. He had a lot of issues....and we'll just leave it at that. SO...needless to say, I wasn't thrilled about that call. However, I felt like I needed to be there, so Pedro & I headed down to the hospital and I saw my dad. He did not look good as they had explained on the phone...and I spent some time trying to calm my sister down - who had been very close to him. He did, however, make it through that evening...and made it for a few weeks...but ended up passing away. I wasn't sad because I didn't really have a relationship with him...but I did feel like I needed to tell him about Jesus because he did not have a relationship with Him. I did not want to have to face the Lord at some point and have Him say, "I gave you this opportunity for you to tell him about Me, but you didn't? Why not???"....so I was able to talk with him a little. Pedro met my dad for the first time that night at the hospital...and ended up wanting to talk with him privately. He led him to the Lord in that hospital room. Knowing that made me at peace with how it was going to end.

Well, I was looking over some of the blogs that I had posted and I noticed in one that I mentioned that I knew I wasn't supposed to be at the day care...but wasn't sure what I wanted to do....just that I wanted more money and less responsibility. WELL...I left the day care at the end of March - and started nannying for a family in Needham at the beginning of April. It started out pretty decently but quickly turned into a very frustrating job. They made me go to Florida with them for two weeks - right at the beginning of my job - which was a bit weird. I spent 24 hrs. in a minivan with a family that I didn't even really know! Needless to say, it was a LONNNNG 2 weeks...and I was thankful to be back! After that trip, I lasted about a month before I really got fed up with the job and how I was being treated. She was a micromanager...which frustrated me to NO end! I ran a day care center of 110 children...so I think I can figure out what to make kids for lunch. Literally EVERY day except for 3, I had her telling me what to make for the kid's lunches. SOOOO frustrating!! Two weeks before the end of July, the family told me that they were going to Canada for a month....and that I had two options. I could go with them and get paid; OR, I could stay home and not get paid. WELL...neither of them really work (first with my social calendar and the latter with my financial planning! ;-) hehe). BUT...I figured that I'd be able to find something. I briefly thought that I'd help out at the day care...but thought better of that when I found something different. I ended up getting a temp job at a place in Holliston. I left the day care on the last day of March...and moved the next day from Whitinsville to Holliston - where I am currently residing. I LOVE it there...it is so cute!! I've been there a full year and 1 day (as of today!). SO...that temp job was about 7 minutes from my house. Much better than the 30 minute commute that I had to Needham. Honestly, the commute didn't bother me all that much...it was actually nice to have that quiet time in the morning. I just didn't like my ride home in the afternoon with all of the traffic. Anyway, long story short...that temp job ended up turning into my permanent job with all of the beni's! :)

My title is Customer Service Specialist for KDScientific, a small division of Harvard Apparatus...which is part of Harvard Bioscience. Our stock name is HBIO if you want to check it out....or you can go to www.kdscientific.com. I sell syringe pumps for research ... typically used on small animals (like mice, etc). I LOVE my job...I've been there since August and I am still loving it in April. Not too bad, right! :) I am busy as all get out...I answer all phone calls, I enter all orders, I do some tech support, I do all repair paperwork (and keeping track of them, etc.)...I am VERY busy. BUT...it makes the days fly by! I can't believe that I've been there for 8 months already! I came up with an idea to make a pump pink - for breast cancer research - and will be headed to San Diego, CA to go to my first trade show to show it off and get the initial press release for my pump. If I see anything in any journals or whatnot, I'll scan them and show them off here. :) I can't wait!! I have a picture....but I have to get it off of my phone and onto my computer first! :) hehe... SO...I head to San Diego on the 12th of this month and return on the 17th. I hope to hit up the zoo while I am out there ~ I've been told by many people that is where it is at! :) heheheh....I'd also like to visit Tiajuana! ;-) Get a little bottle of Tequila?! hehehe....Not that I drink it...I just think it'd be fun to say I went there. All I know about Tiajuana comes from the episode of The OC that I remember watching. SO...all that to say, work is going really great and I'm loving it.

Pedro and I are doing great! We made it to lots of Patriots games this past season. I think we went to 4 or 5...including the AFC Championship game....which was a ton of fun!!! All of that confetti was everywhere! :) He's busy working - as usual - but he loves it...so that's good! He is keeping up with his futebol team, Santos, which because of a new coach - they aren't doing as well as last year. He still loves them....SANTOOOOOOOOOS!!!! :) hahahah....

I am going to be making my first trip to Brazil in June! I am SOOOO excited! Funny thing is....I'm not actually going with Pedro. My friend Andreia and I had been talking about it for a long time that I'd go with her (I think even before I met Pedro??)...and it finally worked out that we'd get to go together!! :) I can't wait! Even though Pedro won't be there, I'll be visiting his family - b/c oddly enough, they only live about an hour from where she lives! Crazy, huh?! As big as Brazil is, they live that close!! I head out of the states on June 11th and will be leaving Brazil on June 25th - arriving in the States on June 26th. It is about a 22 hr. trip to Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais....and then from Belo Horizonte to Governador Valadares, it is about 6-7 hours by taxi/bus. From Governador Valadares to Campanario, MG (Pedro's hometown), it is about an hour. That is LOOOOT of travelling. I guess his sisters want to take me up north to Bahia - which apparently has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I am really excited to see it. LOTS of pictures will be put up following this trip, I'm sure!!

My schedule is pretty crazy this month. I am in Devin & Aline's wedding - on the 5th of April...so we have the rehearsal this Friday night...the wedding on Saturday, the 5th. I leave for San Diego on th 12th...arrive back in Boston on the 17th (at 11:30PM)...I have my friend Jason & Lilia's wedding on the 18th...and then Steve French and his fiancee (Jess) are getting married on the 20th. HOLY SMOKES!!! It's crazy!!! Then...May is pretty calm...and then before I know it, I head to Brazil. I leave on the 11th, come back the 26th...and our 10 yr. high school class reunion is on the 27th! whhoahhhh!! You'd think I'd learn to plan better! :) hahah....Then, we'll get together casually on the 28th...and then I don't think I have any other firm plans...although Leah and I might go to Maine that weekend? We'll see. I may just want to be home for a bit after being away for 2 full weeks!

Well, that's about all that's going on with me. If I think of anything else, I'll definitely let you know! ;-) I hopefully will have some good pictures from the wedding, the SD trip, and the other 2 weddings...so I'll keep you posted - and I promise, will try to do a better job of keeping everyone informed!

~Jen