Sorry it has taken me so long to get back online here. After reading a few of your updates, it has inspired me to get moving!
David and I are working hard to get things ready for Christmas. Matt and I leave for Provo next Tuesday and David will follow on the 23rd. We are all getting excited to see everyone and to spend the holiday with family.
After much thought and prayer, David and I decided not to take EDS up on their early retirement offer. The timing just wasn't quite right. So, we will be members of the working class for a few more years at least. I know, I can hear you all crying for us even now...
However, two of the guys who work for David did opt to take the early retirement and there are no plans to replace them, so David will be scrambling to figure out how to get all of their work an his done at the same time for a while. Fun times.
Mike was able to spend several days last month in San Fransisco visiting companies that use graphic design artists. He learned a lot and came away excited to get on with his last semester of school and on to graduation. He and Melinda hope to get a job back here in the Dallas area close to family etc. We are hoping... Melinda also hopes to start cosmetology school as soon as they are settled with Mike working.
Chris accepted a job with Deloitte in San Fransisco which starts in September. In the meantime he will finish school--graduating in April and will come home to Texas for the summer. He will take part II of the CMA exam in June and then try to take a couple parts of the CPA exam during the summer. It will be nice to have him home for a few months before he takes off for his new life in California. No girlfriend on the horizon, but he has a few months to work on that!
Matthew is looking forward to getting back to school. He has been on a break these past few months working and saving money. He has been officially transferred from BYU-Idaho to BYU-Provo starting in January. He will be living in an apartment just one floor above Chris and in the same ward. That will be great for both of them! Matt is looking excited to start his studies again and get back into the college social scene. The singles scene here in Dallas/Plano has been pretty thin this fall.
Sara has been having a pretty rough go of it lately. She and Travis have really and truly broken up and it hasn't been easy. Things are finally starting to look up at this point though, and she is looking forward to some time off for the holidays. She may take a semester off to work, may launch back into a full load of classes, or may even go to class part time and work part time. She has a few decisions to make, but feels blessed to have so many options. She is still on track to graduate some time in 2008 and is turning her sights toward that goal.
We are glad that most of you in Washington survived the floods etc. Hopefully Anna and Ben will get their apartment situation worked out soon. Congrats to Lei and Jacob on their new cutie!! We need more pics!!!! I can't help being jealous of Grandma Susan, though. You will all have Nini and Granddad visiting you soon and I'll get first hand news back in a few weeks. That will be almost as good as being there. We love all you guys and miss seeing you like we used to.
We send our love and best wishes to all for a wonderful Christmas! Count your blessings and don't forget to share them. I'll try not to be so lazy with the blog next time.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Time for another update, I fear. Not too much has happened, but enough to make sitting down at the computer worthwhile. Melinda and her friend have started making purses to sell and have a trip to Salt Lake/Provo planned for next weekend to buy some fabric. Perhaps we can talk Melinda into putting a photo of one of her purses on her blog so we can all see what she is talking about. I am not aware if she has a new job or not or just how the job hunt is going. Mike is looking forward to his class trip to San Francisco next month. They will have the opportunity to visit and investigate different companies that would use a graphic design artist. He will be gone about a week and hopefully gain some valuable knowledge that will help him secure a fabulous well paying job after graduation!
Chris got callbacks for a second round of interviews from Price Waterhouse and Deloitte and is still waiting to hear from Bain Capital. He also has a first interview with Boston Consulting Group next Wednesday. So when he takes off for San Francisco and LA in a couple of weeks, he hopes to have quite a few second round interviews lined up and make the absolute most of his time there. GO CHRIS!! He has also joined a bowling league and I understand is still dating up a storm. Plus rumor has it that he is also going to class.
Matt is keeping busy checking in all the babes at Express Fitness during the day and delivering pizzas at night. He keeps bugging them at COSTCO for that elusive third job, but so far, no luck. One of these days they are going to wake up and smell the postum and hire him! They should give him something for diligence if nothing else.
The most recent intelligence on Sara and Travis is that they are currently dating again. She is enjoying her Shakespeare class as well as her technical writing class. Other than that, I really don't know what is going on.
David is still considering the EDS early retirement offer. There is quite a lot to consider. He has to make a decision by the end of the month, so the pressure is mounting. I don't think we are ready to give up a job altogether, so the decision now is do we stay here with EDS another 3 or 4 years or do we retire with EDS, move to UT and get another job there. (Anybody know of any openings?) I know what I want to do, but I am just going with my gut--who cares about the numbers?!
That is it for now. I am still waiting for the Nixon clan to get onboard with the bloggin' . Get movin' you guys!!
Chris got callbacks for a second round of interviews from Price Waterhouse and Deloitte and is still waiting to hear from Bain Capital. He also has a first interview with Boston Consulting Group next Wednesday. So when he takes off for San Francisco and LA in a couple of weeks, he hopes to have quite a few second round interviews lined up and make the absolute most of his time there. GO CHRIS!! He has also joined a bowling league and I understand is still dating up a storm. Plus rumor has it that he is also going to class.
Matt is keeping busy checking in all the babes at Express Fitness during the day and delivering pizzas at night. He keeps bugging them at COSTCO for that elusive third job, but so far, no luck. One of these days they are going to wake up and smell the postum and hire him! They should give him something for diligence if nothing else.
The most recent intelligence on Sara and Travis is that they are currently dating again. She is enjoying her Shakespeare class as well as her technical writing class. Other than that, I really don't know what is going on.
David is still considering the EDS early retirement offer. There is quite a lot to consider. He has to make a decision by the end of the month, so the pressure is mounting. I don't think we are ready to give up a job altogether, so the decision now is do we stay here with EDS another 3 or 4 years or do we retire with EDS, move to UT and get another job there. (Anybody know of any openings?) I know what I want to do, but I am just going with my gut--who cares about the numbers?!
That is it for now. I am still waiting for the Nixon clan to get onboard with the bloggin' . Get movin' you guys!!
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Hey there everyone. This week there is actually some news to report. First of all Matthew got another job last night. He will be working part-time for Express Fitness starting Monday. He still hopes to get on at CostCo as well. If he does end up with CostCo, he will have three jobs!! CostCo would be from 6am to 10am, Express Fitness will be from 11am to 3pm, and then he goes to deliver pizzas for Dominos from 5pm until whenever. If this all works out, he may actually end up with enough money for school. That makes us happy. He also got all of his paperwork completed and sent in to apply for a transfer from BYU-Idaho to BYU-Provo. He should hear within the next two or three weeks if he makes it or not.
Sadly, Sara and Travis decided to "break up". Things just don't feel right to Travis for now, so they elected to stop dating. They are still talking as friends and that is good. Sara was pretty upset for a couple of days, but is doing well now and thinks this is for the best--even though she is still having trouble understanding just exactly what isn't right about their relationship. Time will tell, I suppose. Meanwhile Sara is going to class and enjoying time with her roommates. It has been difficult to see her go through such a tough time lately, but I know she is growing and learning important lessons from the experience--it is still hard though. No one likes to see their child go through such hard things. The worst part is feeling so impotent, knowing there isn't too much one can say or do to make things better. Plus, being 1300 miles away isn't too fun either.
Chris has had a few interviews this past week. I think with Deloitte, Arthur Anderson, and McKenzie. He is leaning toward the consulting side of business, thinking that is where his interest and talents lay. He is also leaning towards working in San Fransisco. It is an exciting time for him and for us. It will be fun to see what offers he gets and where the possibilities lay. Then comes the hard part of making a decision. Fortunately, his hard work and diligence with his studies is giving him the many options he now has to consider. Plus, he went on three dates with three different girls in the first week and a half of school. Go Chris!!
David is still considering the early retirement offer from EDS. He gets the entire package of information concerning the nitty gritty details on Monday. So he should be able to make a more informed decision after he analyzes all the data. He is worried about not having an actual plan for what he will do after retirement whether it be now or in a few years. I told him that I think he will be surprised how fast his time fills up, but I am not sure if he will be satisfied until he has concrete plans.
I may take another unplanned trip to Utah in two weeks. My friend Penny from work is going to be driving a new car to BYU for her daughter to have and wants me to drive up with her. If I do that, I will probably stay in Provo through the 19th of Oct. David and his brothers are all going to Utah for that date as it is the day Cathy Nixon gets inducted into the BYU Sports Hall of Fame. It would be fun to be there for those festivities. Then David and I could fly back home together.
That is about all the news for now. Nothing from the Mike and Melinda front. No new job yet for Melinda, and Mike is enjoying his classes--especially his ceramics class. I hope everyone is doing well and those of you not blogging yet, get on the ball!! Dell and Laura Nixon have said they are going to figure it out and I hope they are online soon. Can't wait for the rest of you.
Sadly, Sara and Travis decided to "break up". Things just don't feel right to Travis for now, so they elected to stop dating. They are still talking as friends and that is good. Sara was pretty upset for a couple of days, but is doing well now and thinks this is for the best--even though she is still having trouble understanding just exactly what isn't right about their relationship. Time will tell, I suppose. Meanwhile Sara is going to class and enjoying time with her roommates. It has been difficult to see her go through such a tough time lately, but I know she is growing and learning important lessons from the experience--it is still hard though. No one likes to see their child go through such hard things. The worst part is feeling so impotent, knowing there isn't too much one can say or do to make things better. Plus, being 1300 miles away isn't too fun either.
Chris has had a few interviews this past week. I think with Deloitte, Arthur Anderson, and McKenzie. He is leaning toward the consulting side of business, thinking that is where his interest and talents lay. He is also leaning towards working in San Fransisco. It is an exciting time for him and for us. It will be fun to see what offers he gets and where the possibilities lay. Then comes the hard part of making a decision. Fortunately, his hard work and diligence with his studies is giving him the many options he now has to consider. Plus, he went on three dates with three different girls in the first week and a half of school. Go Chris!!
David is still considering the early retirement offer from EDS. He gets the entire package of information concerning the nitty gritty details on Monday. So he should be able to make a more informed decision after he analyzes all the data. He is worried about not having an actual plan for what he will do after retirement whether it be now or in a few years. I told him that I think he will be surprised how fast his time fills up, but I am not sure if he will be satisfied until he has concrete plans.
I may take another unplanned trip to Utah in two weeks. My friend Penny from work is going to be driving a new car to BYU for her daughter to have and wants me to drive up with her. If I do that, I will probably stay in Provo through the 19th of Oct. David and his brothers are all going to Utah for that date as it is the day Cathy Nixon gets inducted into the BYU Sports Hall of Fame. It would be fun to be there for those festivities. Then David and I could fly back home together.
That is about all the news for now. Nothing from the Mike and Melinda front. No new job yet for Melinda, and Mike is enjoying his classes--especially his ceramics class. I hope everyone is doing well and those of you not blogging yet, get on the ball!! Dell and Laura Nixon have said they are going to figure it out and I hope they are online soon. Can't wait for the rest of you.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Kiwi-Strawberry Spinach Salad
As requested by Jeanne Cratch:
12 cups torn fresh spinach
2 pints fresh strawberries, halved
4 kiwifruit, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar (or raspberry vinagrette)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and kiwi. In a blender or food processor, combine the sugar, oil, vinegar, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce; cover and process for 30 seconds. Add onions, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Yield: 12 servings. (I serve the dressing at the table, as any leftover salad wilts fast if it already has dressing on it.)
Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1 cup) equals 121 calories, 6 g fat, 0 cholesterol, 64 mg sodium, 16g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 fruit, 1 fat, 1/2 veg.
12 cups torn fresh spinach
2 pints fresh strawberries, halved
4 kiwifruit, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup raspberry vinegar (or raspberry vinagrette)
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries and kiwi. In a blender or food processor, combine the sugar, oil, vinegar, paprika, and Worcestershire sauce; cover and process for 30 seconds. Add onions, sesame seeds and poppy seeds. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Yield: 12 servings. (I serve the dressing at the table, as any leftover salad wilts fast if it already has dressing on it.)
Nutritional Analysis: One serving (1 cup) equals 121 calories, 6 g fat, 0 cholesterol, 64 mg sodium, 16g carbohydrate, 4 g fiber, 3 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 1 fruit, 1 fat, 1/2 veg.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
15 Sep 2007
Now it is time to get serious about family information on this site. I thought I would recap the summer for everyone. Matt came home from BYU-Idaho in late April (he is on the Winter/Summer track so Fall semester is his break) and started looking for a job. He had hoped to start working right away at COSTCO where he worked last year. Alas, it didn't work out, and he was left shopping around. He ended up delivering pizzas for Dominos and is still looking for another daytime job to round things out. The COSTCO position may still work out as we get closer to the holidays. No ladies to speak of here in Plano--to his dismay. He has applied to BYU-Provo for Winter semester and should hear soon if he will be able to transfer. He plans to change his major from Graphic Design to Business.
Christopher came home for the month of May to study for the first part of the CFA exam which he took (and passed!) the first week of June. He then took off to Boston for an internship with Delaware Investments. He lived in Cambridge with five other LDS young men and had a blast!! He was able to travel to New Hampshire for fun and games, to Palmyra, New York for the pageant there as well as to visit some of the Church historical sites. Plus he was able to spend the Fourth of July in Boston and partake of several fun events taking place there including "the best fireworks display I have ever seen!" It was great to hear how happy and stress-free he sounded all summer long. I am sure it was an experience he will never forget. This fall he is back in Provo to finish up his Masters degree in Accounting at BYU. He is living in a brand new apartment (with all the amenities you can imagine) with five of his buds. Interviews start in the next couple of weeks with the Big Four accounting firms and he is getting ready to give it his best shot. If all works out well, he should have a job offer in the next few weeks for when he graduates in April. No ladies on the horizon, but he is on the lookout. If any of you have any suggestions, he is all ears. Blind dates are accepted within reason.
Sara opted to stay in Provo this summer to work at ShopCo and room with some of her good friends from last year. Plus there was the small matter of a boyfriend who was also staying in town...She was able to work a full-time schedule for the first time and managed quite well despite the recurring headache problem she suffers from. Working for ShopCo has its perks (for those who don't know, ShopCo is like a small department store on the par of a WalMart or Target) She bought a Papasan chair on clearance for $13 and a 21 speed mountain bike on clearance for $9. Plus she was singled out as a star employee for having the #1 selling cosmetics area in the region! She and Travis (the boyfriend) have been dating for 6+months now and things are moving along well for them. She is enjoying life. Her education continues this fall with her majoring in English. If all goes well, she should only have three more semesters (including this one) before she graduates. Not bad.
Mike and Melinda keep holding the fort down in Rexburg. Melinda quit her job at the day care center and is now a nanny for a family who used to go to the day care. She likes that job a lot better--no politics involved! Mike has been working as a maintenance man for a Best Western Hotel in town this summer and hopes to be able to continue with that on a limited basis during the school year. He starts the Bachelor of Fine Arts program this Fall and will graduate in April. They are excited to "get out of Rexburg" and hope to end up in Texas-the Dallas/Ft.Worth area where they can be near family after graduation. We hope so too.
Camille still works four mornings a week for our friend Mike Fisher the physical therapist and volunteers at the Stake Family History Center every Tues. afternoon. Plus she has recently started teaching Relief Society once a month. David keeps plugging away at EDS. Recently he was offered early retirement (along with 12,000 other employees) and is currently weighing the pros and cons of taking the offer. It is tempting, but with four kids still in college and none of them with permanent employment as of yet, it may be too soon to start thinking of getting out early. Nice to think about, though.
Camille spent a few weeks in Provo this summer with Sara goofing off before everyone else joined them for a family vacation in Wyoming. We all went to the Nixon family cabin near Jackson for a couple of days and then drove to West Yellowstone, Montana where we stayed for a couple of nights. Using that as a base, we were able to drive around the north loop of Yellowstone National Park. We have had the opportunity to go through the south loop of the park several times, but never the north loop as it takes so long from the cabin. It was a nice time to spend with the fam. Mammoth Hot Springs was breath taking! If I can get my photos to load from my camera, I'll put up some pics from our trip. We had a great time. On the way out of the park on our way back to Jackson, we had just about given up seeing any more animals. We hadn't seen any bears at all. We were almost to the exit, when we saw a lot of people stopped on the road. We stopped too, of course, and there were four grizzlies feeding practically on the side of the road. A mother and three year-old cubs. We stayed and watched them for a while. It was amazing. They were gorgeous! Certainly worth the wait. After we got back to the cabin, everyone but Camille went fishing the next day and everyone had success. Of course, we had water problems and David had to spend most of his fishing day figuring out how to fix the water supply, but he did get to go again the next day too. After a couple of days at the cabin, we all drove to Bear Lake in Utah for a Nixon Reunion for the Labor-Day Weekend. This is a yearly get together of David's parents, Paul and Joan, their five kids & spouses, and grandkids with spouses. By now there are 34 of us. We stayed in two houses, took turns cooking the meals, played games, went boating, had family home evening/testimony meeting, went to church, and had a great time. It is short and sweet and everyone comes and everyone has a great time. Then it was back to home and school and on with every day life.
That about sums up the summer and gives you an idea of what everyone is up to this fall. I'll try to keep you aprised of the goings on as newsworthy items arise. I'd love it if more of you would make a page and share your info. too. I know everyone is busy, but think of it--you only have to write it once and everyone in the family gets to read it!! It actually saves time if you think of it that way. We would all love for this to be a regular site for the family to share information--I for one would love to be better in touch with everyone else. Think about it. Love, Camille
Christopher came home for the month of May to study for the first part of the CFA exam which he took (and passed!) the first week of June. He then took off to Boston for an internship with Delaware Investments. He lived in Cambridge with five other LDS young men and had a blast!! He was able to travel to New Hampshire for fun and games, to Palmyra, New York for the pageant there as well as to visit some of the Church historical sites. Plus he was able to spend the Fourth of July in Boston and partake of several fun events taking place there including "the best fireworks display I have ever seen!" It was great to hear how happy and stress-free he sounded all summer long. I am sure it was an experience he will never forget. This fall he is back in Provo to finish up his Masters degree in Accounting at BYU. He is living in a brand new apartment (with all the amenities you can imagine) with five of his buds. Interviews start in the next couple of weeks with the Big Four accounting firms and he is getting ready to give it his best shot. If all works out well, he should have a job offer in the next few weeks for when he graduates in April. No ladies on the horizon, but he is on the lookout. If any of you have any suggestions, he is all ears. Blind dates are accepted within reason.
Sara opted to stay in Provo this summer to work at ShopCo and room with some of her good friends from last year. Plus there was the small matter of a boyfriend who was also staying in town...She was able to work a full-time schedule for the first time and managed quite well despite the recurring headache problem she suffers from. Working for ShopCo has its perks (for those who don't know, ShopCo is like a small department store on the par of a WalMart or Target) She bought a Papasan chair on clearance for $13 and a 21 speed mountain bike on clearance for $9. Plus she was singled out as a star employee for having the #1 selling cosmetics area in the region! She and Travis (the boyfriend) have been dating for 6+months now and things are moving along well for them. She is enjoying life. Her education continues this fall with her majoring in English. If all goes well, she should only have three more semesters (including this one) before she graduates. Not bad.
Mike and Melinda keep holding the fort down in Rexburg. Melinda quit her job at the day care center and is now a nanny for a family who used to go to the day care. She likes that job a lot better--no politics involved! Mike has been working as a maintenance man for a Best Western Hotel in town this summer and hopes to be able to continue with that on a limited basis during the school year. He starts the Bachelor of Fine Arts program this Fall and will graduate in April. They are excited to "get out of Rexburg" and hope to end up in Texas-the Dallas/Ft.Worth area where they can be near family after graduation. We hope so too.
Camille still works four mornings a week for our friend Mike Fisher the physical therapist and volunteers at the Stake Family History Center every Tues. afternoon. Plus she has recently started teaching Relief Society once a month. David keeps plugging away at EDS. Recently he was offered early retirement (along with 12,000 other employees) and is currently weighing the pros and cons of taking the offer. It is tempting, but with four kids still in college and none of them with permanent employment as of yet, it may be too soon to start thinking of getting out early. Nice to think about, though.
Camille spent a few weeks in Provo this summer with Sara goofing off before everyone else joined them for a family vacation in Wyoming. We all went to the Nixon family cabin near Jackson for a couple of days and then drove to West Yellowstone, Montana where we stayed for a couple of nights. Using that as a base, we were able to drive around the north loop of Yellowstone National Park. We have had the opportunity to go through the south loop of the park several times, but never the north loop as it takes so long from the cabin. It was a nice time to spend with the fam. Mammoth Hot Springs was breath taking! If I can get my photos to load from my camera, I'll put up some pics from our trip. We had a great time. On the way out of the park on our way back to Jackson, we had just about given up seeing any more animals. We hadn't seen any bears at all. We were almost to the exit, when we saw a lot of people stopped on the road. We stopped too, of course, and there were four grizzlies feeding practically on the side of the road. A mother and three year-old cubs. We stayed and watched them for a while. It was amazing. They were gorgeous! Certainly worth the wait. After we got back to the cabin, everyone but Camille went fishing the next day and everyone had success. Of course, we had water problems and David had to spend most of his fishing day figuring out how to fix the water supply, but he did get to go again the next day too. After a couple of days at the cabin, we all drove to Bear Lake in Utah for a Nixon Reunion for the Labor-Day Weekend. This is a yearly get together of David's parents, Paul and Joan, their five kids & spouses, and grandkids with spouses. By now there are 34 of us. We stayed in two houses, took turns cooking the meals, played games, went boating, had family home evening/testimony meeting, went to church, and had a great time. It is short and sweet and everyone comes and everyone has a great time. Then it was back to home and school and on with every day life.
That about sums up the summer and gives you an idea of what everyone is up to this fall. I'll try to keep you aprised of the goings on as newsworthy items arise. I'd love it if more of you would make a page and share your info. too. I know everyone is busy, but think of it--you only have to write it once and everyone in the family gets to read it!! It actually saves time if you think of it that way. We would all love for this to be a regular site for the family to share information--I for one would love to be better in touch with everyone else. Think about it. Love, Camille
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Welcome Bloggers
OK. I absolutely hate the word "blog". Who came up with that anyway. But I guess I'll just have to go with it. I have decided that since no one else has come forward, I will be the "blog master" of the fam. The Walker family has one and Melinda Nixon has one and my friend Teri's family has one and they all seem to work really well. Teri is always showing me the new pictures of her grandkids etc. at work on her kids blog pages. So, I figured, why not. What have we got to lose. The only problem will be if people don't contribute. But if they do, it will be a great way to keep in touch with what everyone is up to and we can even keep up with photos etc. I chose blogspot 'cause this is the one that Teri's family uses and I just like the look of it. Also, it is free. So, bloggers, now is our chance to get really techno as a family and go for it. If you have any suggestions, I am game, but as you can see, we all get to design and contribute to our own pages and just link them together. I hope. I am still very new at this and I guess we will just learn together. As you learn new features etc. just pass it along. Meanwhile, I will try to get some photos of the family on board and make this first page look as cool as I can to try to inspire you all. Happy blogging. (I still really hate that word!) Love, Camille
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