Old State Capitol V - Springfield, IL

 Life-sized marble statue of Stephen A. Douglas

Books read in 2013

Between Here and April, Deborah Copaken Kogan
Bleed for Me, Michael Robotham
The Making of a Royal Romance, Katie Nicholl 
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II, Philip Eade
The Black Box, Michael Connelly
The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Drowning House, Elizabeth Black
Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly
Argo, Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio
Mad Women: The Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the '60s and Beyond, Jane Maas
Marilyn Monroe: A Case for Murder, Jay Margolis 
Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, Mike Campbell
Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, Stephen Rebello
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, Susannah Cahalan
Detroit: An American Autopsy, Charlie LeDuff
Top of the Morning, Brian Stelter
A Private Disgrace: Lizze Borden by Daylight, Victoria Lincoln
Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen and the Greatest Race Ever Run, Matt Fitzgerald
Waiting to be Heard, Amanda Knox
Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace, Scott Thorson & Alex Thorleifson
The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness and Murder, Charles Graeber
The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story, Lily Koppel
The Great Railroad Revolution: The History of Trains in America, Christian Wolmar
Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall, Will Ellsworth-Jones 
Detroit City Is the Place to Be, Mark Binelli 
Wreck of the Wabash, Laurie C. Dickens  
Hidden History of Detroit, Amy Elliott Bragg
The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
Kate: The Biography, Marcia Moody
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, Piper Kerman
Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City, Gordon Young
This Town, Mark Leibovich
City of Scoundrels, Gary Krist
Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America, Sam Roberts
The Princess Diana Conspiracy, Alan Power  
The Shadow King; The Bizarre Afterlife of King Tut's Mummy, Jo Marchant
Seabiscuit: An American Legend, Laura Hillenbrand
Where Snowflakes Dance and Swear, Stephen Manes
Reclaiming Parkland, Jame DiEugenio
Conquering Gotham: Building Penn Station and Its Tunnels, Jill Jonnes 

Currently Reading: JFK Has Been Shot, Charles A. Crenshaw, M.D.

Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association Region Ten IV - Adrian, MI

Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association

Region 10 Equestrian competition

Adrian, MI - Lenawee County Fair and Event Grounds
September 8, 2013

Old State Capitol IV - Springfield, IL

Normal

On the morning of September 30, I was laid off from my job of 14 years. My layoff was due to budget cuts.

The first three days after losing my job, I lost seven pounds because of stress. In the weeks since then, I have been filling out a bunch of applications. I filled out 14. Out of the 14 applications that I submitted, I only received one phone call. That one phone call was to tell me that the position I applied for had been filled.

I did call a company to follow up about my application. But I didn't hear anything back from them. I also emailed another company to inquire about my applications. I still haven't received an email or phone call.

I was extremely thankful when I filled out one last application. I was told to call and set up an interview. I called and a half hour later, I was being interviewed. Later that evening, I received a call and was told that I was hired. My first day on the job was Wednesday.

This job isn't complicated, but there is so much to learn. I took about 6-8 pages of notes today. The two people that I trained with said it is a lot to learn, but it is learning by doing.

I was jobless for three and a half weeks and I felt incomplete. I'm so happy to have found a job to make my life seem normal again.

Old State Capitol III - Springfield, IL

Books read in 2013

Between Here and April, Deborah Copaken Kogan
Bleed for Me, Michael Robotham
The Making of a Royal Romance, Katie Nicholl 
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II, Philip Eade
The Black Box, Michael Connelly
The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Drowning House, Elizabeth Black
Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly
Argo, Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio
Mad Women: The Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the '60s and Beyond, Jane Maas
Marilyn Monroe: A Case for Murder, Jay Margolis 
Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, Mike Campbell
Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, Stephen Rebello
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, Susannah Cahalan
Detroit: An American Autopsy, Charlie LeDuff
Top of the Morning, Brian Stelter
A Private Disgrace: Lizze Borden by Daylight, Victoria Lincoln
Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen and the Greatest Race Ever Run, Matt Fitzgerald
Waiting to be Heard, Amanda Knox
Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace, Scott Thorson & Alex Thorleifson
The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness and Murder, Charles Graeber
The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story, Lily Koppel
The Great Railroad Revolution: The History of Trains in America, Christian Wolmar
Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall, Will Ellsworth-Jones 
Detroit City Is the Place to Be, Mark Binelli 
Wreck of the Wabash, Laurie C. Dickens  
Hidden History of Detroit, Amy Elliott Bragg
The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
Kate: The Biography, Marcia Moody
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, Piper Kerman
Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City, Gordon Young
This Town, Mark Leibovich
City of Scoundrels, Gary Krist
Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America, Sam Roberts
The Princess Diana Conspiracy, Alan Power  
The Shadow King; The Bizarre Afterlife of King Tut's Mummy, Jo Marchant
Seabiscuit: An American Legend, Laura Hillenbrand
Where Snowflakes Dance and Swear, Stephen Manes
Reclaiming Parkland, Jame DiEugenio

Currently Reading: Conquering Gotham: Building Penn Station and Its Tunnels, Jill Jonnes