Official World's Worst "Blogger"

It's been over a year since my last post, and while I'd love to apologize and say how much better I will be, I don't want to lie. So please accept my genuine apologies and understand that while I truly do wish I was a better blogger, I am not.

Now that I'm finished groveling, hello...again.
I warn you now, this is going to be a lengthy post.

I have quite a different life now than I did a year ago, but it's all for the better. The biggest change, is that I have graduated with my 2nd and 3rd Associates Degrees (yet somehow still manage to be Bachelors-less) and became a certified sign language interpreter in May, and I began working with a local referral agency since August!

Oklahoma has the Quality Assurance Screening Test (QAST) for state certification, which is what I took. There is a written test (which I passed in 2015) and 2 separate performance test (which is the test I took in May). There are 5 levels of certification through QAST, which are separated in to 2 tests: Levels 1-3 and Levels 4 & 5.
In May, I took the Levels 1-3 test with the rest of my classmates. Usually, graduating students strive to score a 1 in Interpreting and/or Transliterating (signing with ASL signs in an English order) and finally be able to say they are a certified interpreter. My goal was the same as my classmates: I wanted a Level 1 so I could start working. I passed with a Level 2 in Interpreting and a Level 3 in Transliterating, which is awesome for a student with no background with sign language prior to entering a formal Interpreting Program, like I did.
In October, I took the more difficult Levels 4 & 5 test, hoping to at least bump up my certification (and thus, my pay) for Transliterating from a 3 to a 4. I did.
So now, I am the proud owner of a QAST Level 2/4. I will be testing yet again in May, and will continue to do so until I reach a Level 5 in both areas, at which point I will go on to a national certification. I feel that is still a way down the road for me though, and I will have to have a Bachelor's degree before I can test for national certification.

Since I get asked all the time what it means to be a sign language interpreter, and who I actually work for, and what I really do...let me break it down for you.
I work with an agency called Sign Language Resource Services Inc. (SLRS). They are one of the biggest sign language interpreter referral agencies in Oklahoma. When an entity/company/client needs a sign language interpreter for whatever reason (examples including educational settings, doctor's appointments, work related interviews or training, legal situations, mental health, etc.) they can contact an interpreter directly if they have that information/capability or (from my understanding, more commonly) they can contact an agency and make a request for an interpreter. The agency will then go through their extensive listing of sign language interpreters and select one for the job.
Most interpreters with SLRS are independent contractors, who set their own hours of availability and can specify what they want to be paid (although if they set their prices too high, they may not get sent on jobs often). The downside to this (in my opinion) is that independent contractors are not given any benefits nor do they have taxes withheld for them.
I was lucky and snagged a staff position, of which SLRS only has 5 or 6.
After I graduated and got my certification through the state of Oklahoma, I started the process of filling out paperwork to start working as an independent contractor with SLRS. I was also trying to figure out what I was going to do regarding health insurance and how on earth I was going to figure out how to set aside money for my taxes. After I had finished filling out my paperwork and sent it in, the Executive Director emailed me asking if I would be interested in working on the SLRS staff team as a Sign Language Interpreter Apprentice, seeing as one of their staff interpreters was leaving. I was thrilled! Not only did this solve my insurance and tax issues, but it also meant that the Executive Director saw something in me worth investing in! As I mentioned before, I have been working with SLRS as a staff interpreter since August.
I'm not sure how it works for independent contractors, but as a staff interpreter, I am emailed my jobs for the following week on Wednesdays. I am given a time, place, clients (both hearing and deaf) and a general idea of what the job is about (is it a classroom setting, a doctor's appointment, physical therapy, a work meeting, a job interview, etc.).
I don't report to an office every morning and my schedule varies every day. At first, it was a little daunting, but I really enjoy it now. Some mornings I have to wake up really early, and some days I don't have an assignment until noon, so I can sleep in. Some days I have to work assignments that I don't really like, and then some days I get to work with clients that I really enjoy. I've got to experience things that I didn't think I'd have the opportunity to before, and once I gain experience and fluency in the field, the possibilities will be endless!

Another exciting thing happened to me this year (no...I'm not pregnant...though the baby fever is strong). I got the opportunity to go overseas to Italy for 10 days!
Tulsa Community College's Interpreter Training Program has a summer study abroad type class, and last May was Italy. The group was supposed to be a mixture of hearing and deaf, but the only deaf that ended up being on the trip was the instructor and the tour guide. I feel a little bit short-changed, because the point of the trip is to be fully immersed with sign language, but considering there were only 2 Deaf people and 9 hearing people, I didn't get the full experience in that aspect. But hey, even a bad trip to Italy is still a trip to Italy! Regardless, I loved the trip and was astounded at the beauty if it all. While I doubt I'll be able to go back, I absolutely hope that one day, I can return and experience it all over again. At the end of this post will be the picture spam, but I have one more thing to add first.

Chris finished his first half triathlon this year!
In October, we drove out to Tempe, Arizona with April for Chris to compete in his first IronMan sanctioned event, and competing with Team Blueline. He trained incredibly hard for this day, and my heart was so full of pride that I cried when he crossed the finish line. It was a rough nearly 9 hours including a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bicycle ride, and 13.1 mile run... but he did it!
Not only did he finish, but he even signed up for a full IronMan next year! Apparently half crazy wasn't enough; he had to go full crazy! Next up is a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bicycle ride, and a 26.2 mile run in Tempe, Arizona again. I got tired just typing that...
So we are in for another busy year of training, but it will all be worth it when he crosses that finish line and the announcer declares "Chris Figueroa, you are an IronMan!"

So now before us, is 2017.
Already, we know that Chris will be competing in the full IronMan and I will be going with Tulsa Community College another trip, this time to Hartford, New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. in May.
Speaking of trips, stay tuned for my Italy picture spam!

No promises, but I'll do my best to update everyone sooner on the happenings in the Figueroa Family.

Farewell Holiday Season!

Well, the holidays are finally over, and it's time to take a deep, relaxing breath before my final semester of college (well...my final semester to get my second Associates degree that is) begins. Graduation is in May, and while I'm not done with school, I am ready to start working as an interpreter! I still want to get my Bachelors degree, because while having two Associates will be nice, I'd really like a heftier degree. Plus, if I ever want to become Nationally certified, I'll need a Bachelors degree.

We've had so many family get-togethers over the last couple of months, including the release of Mockingjay Part 2, my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and my mom's short visit. With all of those special occasions came so many opportunities for me to cuddle and love on my baby niece!

Those of you that know me at all, know that I am a bookworm. Also, you should know that the Hunger Games series was one of my favorites, and that my sister-in-law and I forced our husbands to accompany us to the midnight premiere of all the movie adaptations thus far. Chelsea was worried about how this year's tradition would hold up, seeing as Ellie's due date was just 2 short weeks before the movie's release. Baby Eleanor ended up being born only one week before Mockingjay Part 2's release, and the new parents did well being away from their week-old baby for a few hours!
As was the tradition, Chris, Chelsea, Kalen, April and I went to watch the final installment of the Hunger Games series. It was bittersweet, and I had mixed emotions about the movie since I felt like it strayed quite a bit from the book. But alas, it was still a good night and I enjoyed the time spent with family. We've all agreed, however, that now we need to find a new movie series to replace The Hunger Games so that we can keep up the midnight premiere tradition!

The Saturday after our trip to the movies brought my 25th birthday, where we all met up at my wonderful mother-in-law's home. She baked me a scrumptious strawberry cake, and cooked up some tasty manicotti. I got to spend time cuddling with sweet Ellie Lou, and also played some card games, and Pin the Tail on the Donkey with my older niece and nephew.
We enjoyed some time together, relaxing, playing games, and chatting for several hours.
It was a great way to spend my birthday. I truly couldn't have asked for better company to have spent my birthday with!

Thanksgiving rolled around shortly after that, and I just so happened to be off of work!

Hubby signed us up for a 5k that morning, which he ran and I walked. He has been training diligently for several physical events, including a half-marathon (which his mother will also be participating in) and a Half Ironman in Arizona this summer!
In September, Chris finished an aquabike (the swim and cycling part of a triathlon...though I like to say he did a triathlon because he ran several meters to cross the finish line), and now he is on to bigger and more challenging events! So the 5k we did together was nothing but a blip in his accomplishments for the year.

But alas, we participated in the 5k Thanksgiving morning, and then drove down to have Thanksgiving dinner with my step-mother-in-law's family, as we do almost every year. Again, I enjoyed my time with family, but I had to spend most of it seated, as I hurt my foot somehow and it hurt to walk on. Since I wasn't doing much moving around, I got to hug on Eleanor some more. I did have to share her, though, since a lot of the family hadn't met her yet. Of course I didn't want to share her, but I'm not that greedy, and I know that my family loves her just as much as I do.

My mom usually visits every year in the winter, and this year was no different! Unfortunately, she was only here for an extended weekend, but it was still great to see her!
We went to several different restaurants around the house that Chris and I had never been to before, and they were delicious!
We also took my mom to see the Chickasha Festival of Light, which was nice, but it was too warm! I know...how dare I be complaining about warm weather in the winter, but it made it so hard to get into the Christmas spirit! I didn't even want hot chocolate, and I always want hot chocolate when I see Christmas lights!

On the Saturday of my mom's visit, Eleanor turned one month old. Chris, Mom and I drove to Chelsea's house for what was going to be another get-together including Chris's mom, stepdad and April, but their hot water tank caught fire and so they decided to stay home and monitor it. I didn't blame them, and felt better with them staying home. They were able to put out the fire before any serious damage could happen, but it was still scary!
I brought my SLR camera to Chelsea's and took some Christmas pictures of Eleanor, as well as her one month pictures! She was a little fussy at first, but after she ate she was a very happy baby.

I could stare at this beautiful face all day!

 Mom's trip ended too soon...as it always does.
The weekend after her visit, I took Chris to see Penn & Teller at Winstar, and he was so incredibly excited!
I don't really like big, showy, Vegas style magic, but Penn & Teller were fantastic (though I suppose after being in show business for so many years, what else did I expect?)!!!! They even explained step-by-step how to do most of their tricks, and it still blew me away.
Chris knew that typically after their shows, Penn & Teller would hang around to take pictures and sign autographs. Chris brought a playing card, hoping that they would stick around after the show like they usually did and sign it for him.
They did, in fact, stick around, and we got pictures, plus the card autographed.

I had to work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year, but I got to celebrate a little bit.
After work on Christmas Eve, I drove down to my mother-in-law's house so that we could wake up at her house on Christmas morning and open presents, as we've done for the last two years.
We ate an early Christmas lunch and celebrated Jeanette's birthday, but then I had to leave so that I could go to work. I hated leaving the festivities so early, especially since I'd been so lucky as so have spent so much time with family recently, but that's part of working at a casino; you have to miss out on a lot of family events.

New Year's Eve, however, was not one of those events!
I was off, but unfortunately, Chris was not. I didn't have any plans on going out and really celebrating the New Year, but I did want to spend it with someone and not by myself.
Chelsea and Kalen were kind enough to let me spend the night at their house, and they even made me a delicious dinner of pork chops, mashed potatoes, corn, and black eyed peas. I had never eaten black eyes peas before, but I'd heard that you're supposed to eat them on New Years Eve or New Years Day. They weren't bad...they tasted more like flavorless beans.
Since I was at their house, the new parents took advantage of me playing and cuddling with Ellie and took down their Christmas decorations while baby was preoccupied. I didn't mind at all, and even got to share my first kiss of 2016 with a happy little baby!

Now that things are calming down, I'm slowly starting to get back into a semi-regular routine, and have even started a Couch to 5k program. I hate running, but it's good exercise and I'd really like to get back at least to my weight when I got married. It's not that losing weight is a New Years resolution, because I've been working on it for a little bit now...but I'm going to be trying a little harder now that the holidays are over. I gained back everything I had lost thanks to my family's delicious cooking.
Plus, Chris and I are supposed to do another 5k in March, and I said I'd run that one with him.
Yeay being healthy!

I hope your holiday celebrations were full of love and yummy food!
And I wish the best in 2016!!!

Welcome to the world Eleanor Louise!

On November 12th at 7:01p, Eleanor Louise made her way into this world, and instantly commanded everyone's love and adoration. Though, how could you not fall head-over-heels in love with a face like hers?

My sister-in-law has wanted a baby since she and her husband got married 5 1/2 years ago, and so there is no shortage of love for this adorable bundle of joy.
She's not my first niece, but she is the first that I was able to greet at the hospital.

Chelsea and Kalen were smitten with little Ellie at first sight, as was I.

I'm so happy for the new family. The amount of love radiating off of them is incredible, and I know that this baby will never want for anything so long as she lives.

Bookworm meets Author...yeay!

A few days ago, one of my favorite authors (Rachel Vincent) announced that she was going to participate in a local book signing with other authors from Oklahoma on Halloween. I was thrilled at this news and made sure I had room in my schedule to attend. Since I had not yet bought Menagerie, nor had I won a copy online...I decided I would buy a copy at the book signing to support her and hopefully encourage her to have more local events.

I was already going to be in the area due to a brunch at a local Panera Bread, and so I was thrilled that it was going to work out so well!

I showed up at the book store, and was surprised at how small it was, but it was cozy nevertheless. As soon as I walked in, I saw Rachel Vincent sitting at a small table, and I got giddy. I bought a copy of Menagerie, then mozied over to her table to get it signed.

I follow her on Facebook, and a while back and attended a concert at my place of employment. I commented that I was at the same facility she was, and that I wished I could go say hello, but I was working. Apparently ever since then, she has recognized my name and profile picture on Facebook as a local fan. When I walked up to her table, she knew my name and even how to spell it! That's a big deal for me, since my name is spelled differently. Anyway, Rachel Vincent was so nice! She signed my book and we talked for close to 30 minutes before I had to leave for work.

As a bookworm, this was a huge ordeal for me. I can't wait to start reading Menagerie!

So much to celebrate!

My family has had so much going on in these last couple of weeks, and I was lucky enough to be able to participate!

September 19th was Chelsea's baby shower, and it turned out so great! My sister-in-law is having a baby girl, and the theme of the party was princess, in pink, gold, and pearls. There was a mountain of presents, and the food was looked so pretty and tasted delicious! Plus, it was fun getting to hang out with friends and family in celebrating a new addition to soon join the family.

We played Baby Shower Family Feud, we ate cake, cupcakes, fruit and yogurt dip, and chocolate covered oreos, we drank punch, we oohed and aahed at the adorable baby onesies and homemade blankets, and had a great time all around.

Eleanor is going to be spoiled little princess, that is for sure!

The next day, Chris and I took April to go see Disney Presents: Frozen on Ice at the Oklahoma State Fair.

It would have been much more enjoyable, but we got rained on as we were walking to the arena. We had parked in the free parking area and had to walk, which was fine with me, until we got about half-way to the arena and it started pouring huge droplets of rain, and we had no umbrellas or jackets. By the time we got inside, my once cute and curly hair was a wet mess, my jeans were drenched from the knee down, and my shirt clung to me for dear life. Once we found our seats, the "pre-show" had already started. The seating was awful, with steep and narrow aisles and incredibly uncomfortable wooden chairs that made you feel like you were sitting in your neighbor's lap.

The show itself was good, and the skaters were very talented, but I couldn't shake my grumpy demeanor because I couldn't dry off in the cramped seat, and I was cold from being wet in an ice rink.

After the show had ended, we walked around the fair to dry off and get some fair food. Chris bought a deep fried Snickers, April had some deep fried Wisconsin cheese, and I ate chocolate covered cookie dough sprinkled with real bacon. The fair is the only time I get somewhat adventurous with my food, but not so adventurous that I'd eat bugs. No thanks...I'll pass on the candy coated scorpions and cricket pizza.

Thursday, September 24th, was Deaf Awareness Day at the fair, so I went back to support my college's Deaf and Hearing Social Club, and to support Deaf Awareness Day. I got to see an interpreted magic show, which was pretty cool! I was supposed to be observing the interpreter, but I kept finding myself looking at the magician instead. Oops...

Yesterday (September 26th) however, was the biggie!

Chris has been training for his aquabike for a long time, and yesterday was the big day. Chris had a 1.2 mile swim, followed by a 56 mile bike ride, and then a 100 yard run across the finish line. I know how hard Chris has been training for this event, and how many times he has sacrificed sleeping in for waking up at 5am to ride his bike, or to go swim in the lake.

We got up at 4:15am and got to Lake Hefner at about 5:15am for the event. We had to park a decent way away, and then Chris had to get his things situated and ready for the race, which didn't start for a couple of hours. I wasn't able to stay, because I already had plans to attend the 3rd Annual ASL Walk at the zoo. I dropped Chris off and met Chelsea and some other friends at the zoo at around 7:30am. We walked the mile loop and chatted for a few hours, and then Chelsea and I went back to my house to get ready for the post-aquabike celebratory BBQ.

At 12:28pm, I got the call from Chris saying he was about 45 minutes away from crossing the finish line. Chris' mom, step-dad, half sister, pregnant sister, brother-in-law, brother-in-law's brother, his wife, and I all piled into a van and a jeep to go watch him cross that finish line.

I could see the transition area across a grass field from the finish line, and knew that he would be running out of that area to loop around the field, and I kept my eyes glued to it, waiting for my husband to come towards us. When he finally started to make his way to the finish line, my heart was pounding and I was on the brink of tears. My heart was (and still is!) so full of pride and joy that I wanted to burst out into tears. Chris crossed the finish line, and after getting his medal and a water, we swarmed him with sweaty hugs, congratulations, selfies, and a kiss from me. He was so tired, but so proud of himself, as he should have been!

We got Chris back to the house, finished setting up for the BBQ, and let the party begin! Unfortunately, the guest-of-honor wasn't feeling his best and didn't get to enjoy the food to the fullest. There were plenty of leftovers though, and after a 10 minute power nap and some heavy duty pain killers, he was able to eat some food.

Today, Chris is relaxing and enjoying his day off. The house is nice and clean, he has no homework tonight, he has more than enough leftovers to eat so he doesn't have to cook anything, and he has the house to himself all day!

Way to go Chris!!! I love you and I'm so proud of you!