New Endeavors

Where have. You. Been?! (Any Molly Weasley fans? No? Y’all are lame…)

On a serious note, I’ve been a busy busy camper. In the past few months, I’ve been working towards a new goal. I’ve been a COA & OSC (Certified Ophthalmic Assistant and Ophthalmic Scribe Certified) for 6 1/2 years and, the clinic I work for has been understaffed and poorly managed for the majority of those years. But ever since COVID-19, it has been so so much worse. I have cried almost daily either at work or after work. But I’ve felt so trapped. I don’t like what I hear about other clinics, so I’m afraid to go apply elsewhere. But yet, all my academic achievements so far are in Ophthalmology, so if I want a good paying job, I’ve got to stay in that field. …. Right?

Wrong.

As I’ve been mulling around ideas on how to get OUT of ophthalmology, I began thinking about my mom. For many reasons. My ultimate goal is to be a stay at home mom who makes at least some contribution to the family income, like my mom did. So, how did she do it? She was a Certified Personal Trainer. She made her own schedule and helped people work towards their health and fitness goals, often taking me with her to client meetings/sessions. I grew up in the gym, and I love the gym. Lately I’ve been so overworked that I haven’t been able to go to the gym. Suddenly, it dawned on me.

If I pursue becoming a Certified Personal Trainer, I can get a full time job as a CPT at a gym, work out before or after my client sessions, and still have all the benefits (401k, health/dental/vision insurance, PTO, etc), while doing something I love. And one day when we decide to have kids, I can bring my kid and let them stay in the children’s room, go part time if need be, or find clients independent of the gym and make my own schedule, whichever works best for our family/financial situation.

So, with that revelation, and some talks with my husband, I enrolled in NASM’s CPT program and am so far half way through the online course. It is not easy but I am loving it. I am also enrolled in their Nutrition Coach program, which I’m super excited about because nutrition is fascinating to me.

Currently, after all the craziness that 2020-2021 has put my family through, I have gained a lot of weight. No one would want me as their personal trainer right now. So, as I work towards my certification, I also take the knowledge I’m gaining and apply it to myself. Hopefully, but the time I’m ready to start applying to gyms, I’ll be back much closer to my goal weight.

Prayers, please, for this new adventure. I am SOO excited!!

-TQG

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This Guy

 

This guy I’m seeing. What can I say? He’s pursuing my heart with such gentleness and respect, I can’t recall ever feeling so valuable. It’s lovely. It’s beautiful. It’s still so new and so fresh, I’m looking forward to seeing where it all goes. But as it stands, it’s looking pretty awesome.

Japanese Cherry Blossoms

So, it’s been a grand total of forever since I have blogged about… well… Anything. So, allow me to give you a brief update (be aware I did not read my last post and don’t remember what I have or have not already told you all) :

I am 24 now! *gasp* SO OLD.

I live in a house with a roommate and no longer in my childhood home or with my Dad. I have real adult bills like rent and utilities and renters insurance now. Yup. Life.

I am a COA, OSC (Certified Ophthalmic Technician and Ophthalmic Scribe Certified) now, as of Dec. of last year (so I am sure I must have told you this… hopefully.)

I am STILL SINGLE. Or really single now. As I was in a courtship with my best friend, who is still my best friend, who I am still madly in love with, but who has chosen to spend the rest of his life with Jesus and be celibate. (But still my best friend, because friendship should not end just because the courtship didn’t end in marriage, fyi.)

I have made a NEW FRIEND, who has the most awesome testimony ever and I love him dearly, he is super cool. He is an excellent adventure buddy. ^_^ In fairness I’ve known him for quite a while but only recently have gotten to know him really well.

As of Dec 2nd, I am getting my first tattoo! Japanese Cherry Blossoms, which symbolize the beauty and fragility of life, and “Matthew 25:21” beneath them, as a memorial to my mom. November 22 will be three years since she went to spend forever with Jesus. My tattoo artist has been doing her thing for 27 years (longer than I have lived) and is super mega skilled. I am stoked. And terrified. It’ll be great! Pictures to come once it is all healed and ready to be seen by the world.

Let’s see… Anything else? I have an iPhone now. That’s not really news. I joined the cult. I’m sorry. I regret nothing. I am enjoying it. Sorry, Android lovers. I was once one of you, but I have moved on to bigger and better things. 😛

Anyway, guys and gals, I really really am sorry I have left you all hanging. Since my courtship ended, I have had less that really inspired me to blog. Yeah, he’s still my best friend, but it’s hard. There was such a beautiful dream, such a precious love, and it is still there, it just cannot grow into anything else, and that’s hard. Please pray for us. Pray for me, that I am able to move on, and pray for my awesome guy, that he would change his mind and marry me. (Just kidding!!… sort of.) Okay, for real, pray for guidance for him, for clarity, and that both of us will continue to be lead by God into whatever future He has for our lives. And that no matter what happens, we remain close friends. His friendship is so valuable to me.

Alrighty, I must be off. But thanks for reading, and thanks for the prayers.

~TQG

I did it!

Apologies for taking such huge breaks between posts. I have had a lot going on! Such as:

• Ever present possibility that I have to move suddenly (I live alone, but it’s my dad’s house, and it is on the market).
• Going through some difficult times relationally.
• Full-time job
• Studying for my COA (Certified Ophthalmic Assistant) exam.

BUT I HAVE GOOD NEWS! I PASSED MY COA TEST! I am officially, Moriah, COA, OSC.

I am super excited about it. I wanted to share something interesting that happened while I was preparing for the test.

One afternoon, I was studying and feeling very overwhelmed. So, I prayed, and I asked God to please help me stay calm, remember what I was studying, and help me pass the test.
And he gently nudged my heart and says;

“You ask for an awful lot from someone you never spend time with. How about you put Me first, make spending time in My word priority, and then, we’ll see.”

I felt kinda convicted. So, I began reading at least one chapter of scripture and spending time in prayer daily before I would allow myself to study. I still studied, but devoted time to both studying ophthalmology and the bible. And I passed my test. 🙂 God is awesome.

Prayer request for you all! My best friend has to move on Dec. 20th. He still does not know where he will be moving to, but so far his only option is 45+ minutes farther away from his jobs (he has four jobs… yeah…), and farther from me (super-sad face emoji). Please pray that God will provide him a place that is closer, more convenient, and in a good price range. Preferably with a roommate that can split the costs with him.

Anyway, I’m off to do some reading before bed! TTFN!

~TQG

Gotta Be Somebody

A friend sent me this song today. Instant arrow to the heart. But I like feeling sad sometimes. It’s happy for deep people. (Sally Sparrow reference!)

In less sad, or actually, the opposite of sad, news:

GOD IS DOING AMAZING THINGS 

He’s waking my desire for His word. Drawing me out of my fears. Connecting me to new people, new experiences, new joys. And I am loving every minute of it.

But, because of this, I can feel the enemy attacking me. I took a major hit today, I was knocked down pretty bad. But by the grace of God, I know I can get back up.

I had a long, stressful day, and I succeeded. But the devil had to try and end the day on a sour note. Guess what, devil? You’ve already lost. My flesh may fail, but my God never will.

It’s very suddenly 2016. I feel that God has big plans for me this year. I have a few hopes, but I know His plan will far surpass even my dizziest day dreams. I’m excited. 🙂

Here’s a cute, happy Disney song to end the post that I started off so dreary. ^_^

The Full-time Life

Can’t believe three weeks have passed. Flew by in what felt like seconds. Today I received my first paycheck of my new job. Totally blown away, so excited to be getting decent pay. I’m going to be able to put so much away in savings and be more generous than I could before, and that makes me really happy.
I’m almost to the point now where I can do a basic eye exam on my own. Just the basics, vision check, pupil check, muscle balance and putting drops in people’s eyes. Can’t refract (determine  a glasses prescription) or check eye pressure  (to screen for glaucoma) yet, but I’m learning! Very pleased with myself. At the beginning of all this I was starting to wonder if I’d gotten in over my head a bit.
Less important news, I got a new phone. It’s one of those ridiculously huge, cannot fit in a normal sized pocket phones. Something I said I’d never do, but here I am typing on it and enjoying all the space my thumbs have to roam. Haha. It’s pretty cool though. I got it because my old phone was cracked and I was worried it would stop working soon, so I decided to replace before it died.
Anyway, I’m super exhausted today, 8 hours  spent learning, feeling constantly pushed beyond my limits and examining patients really wears me out. I haven’t exercised at all this week. I feel so lazy. Got to get back into the gym…
So, that’s my update! Nothing big, but hopefully some of you find my life at least somewhat interesting. I’m assuming you must or you wouldn’t follow my blog. ^_^

Until next time!
~TQG

Coming Soon: New Furry Friend!

So, hopefully either late this month or early December, I will be bringing home a new little friend!

Me working at Petsmart is a bit like a shopaholic working at a clothing store. I want to take everything home. At Petsmart, if any of our animals get sick, we take them to a vet and nurse them back to health. Lots of TLC! Currently we have a guinea pig (who I have named Teo) that had a bad case of ringworm and an upper-resperatory infection. He had his most recent vet check-up the day before yesterday and the vet told me that while he is still contagious and not ready to come home with me, he is improving well and his skin is healing up wonderfully! So, while I wait for him to be ready to come home, I have been researching guinea pigs and preparing his new house. I’m going to wait for our black Friday sale to get his cage. 🙂 Super excited!

Pictures will be posted as soon as I get enough free time while at work to actually take one. haha!

~TQG

 

Bittersweet End Of Summer

Summer is coming to an end, and though that means little for me, who doesn’t yet attend college, it still has a feeling of bittersweetness as people prepare for their schooling and plan their classes.
Today was a pretty good day, got to swim for a while with some awesome friends. I feel blessed. The sermon today was excellent, and right now I’m actually typing this blog from my iPod touch, the WordPress app is actually pretty dang amazing. I’m impressed!
I am, however, catching a bit of a cold. Which is unfortunate. Hoping I won’t be sick tomorrow and will have no issues while working my first 8 hour day. We shall see!
Anyway, there’s a quick update for you! I better head to bed!
~TQG

Sick Days

Sup guys! As I expected, some homeless germs at VBS have tried to take over my body and use it as a vessel to distribute themselves across the world and infect humanity. However, I am fighting back hard, with lots of Vitamin C and E and Zinc and am making a full recovery.

Quick update:

Haven’t heard back yet about my interview. Called them today and found out that they’re still interviewing others and are waiting to finish all the interviews before they make the decision. So, we’ll see what happens with that.

Beyond that, I’ve been having kind of a hard week mentally, being stuck at home feeling sick, unable to go to Bible study and such. But, it comes and goes. Soon I will no longer be sick and will get to check out the new store “2nd & Charles” that just opened up. It’s a really neat concept, I’m looking forward to checking it out. 

Despite being sick, I intend to go out to dinner with some friends tonight to a place called “The Ale House”, and no, I will not be having any alcoholic beverages. 😉 

Lastly, with 27 days left of being a teenager, I’ve decided to accept the fact that I’m turning 20 and choose to make it awesome. Not sure what I’ll do quite yet, but I want to do something to make it fun and memorable. We shall see. 

Anyway, I don’t know if many of you care to read these updates but, nevertheless, here it is! 🙂 

TTFN, readers!

~TQG

 

Children! Road Trips! Adventure!

So, this upcoming week is going to be quite an adventure. For me, anyway.

First, on the 19th and 20th, I’ll be baby sitting a 5 year old boy and a 6 month old girl from 7am-5pm. I just met them today, super cute kids. The little girl is the happiest baby I’ve ever met. She’s teething, and she thought my wrist was really tasty. (They also have three cats, which is cool. I like cats.) Spending an entire day alone with two balls of endless energy will be quite a new thing for me. But, seeing as I’d like to get a regular nannying job, this will be a good trial run to see how I can handle it. The commute will be pretty intense, they live waaayyyyyyy on the other side of town. But for two days it’ll be worth it. (Thats what a GPS is for!)

After that, on the 23rd, I’m going on a road trip with my Bible Study/College and Career group people. We’re going to visit the Young Singles group at a Church one state over from us, about 2.5 hours away. Spend the day hanging out with them and exploring the area, and hopefully being back home around 9:30pm.

The next morning I start a week of volunteer work at a local Vacation Bible School. I’m the 2nd Grade assistant. I’ve done this before several summers ago; last time, I got horribly sick with a cold on the last day and had to go anyway, and was popping cold meds like candy all day. Which was terrible. But still very worth it.

That may not sound like a lot to you, my dear reader, but for a recovering hermit, that is a lot of goings on! With people! And active children! I held the little girl I’ll be watching for about ten minutes, supported on my right arm, having lifted weights today, and my arm is so tired. Who needs the gym? Lift a baby a bunch of times. Strap the baby to your back and do baby-squats. Run while pushing a stroller. I mean, really.

Anyway, that is what’s going on with me! I’m not sure if any of you really care, but just in case you do, now you know.

Also, I wore contacts all day today and I’ve gotten pretty used to them. I can see! I can wear normal sunglasses while I drive! Woo!

So yeah. TTFN, readers!
~TQG