What will it be? Curtain # 1, #2, #3?

I feel like I'm playing Let's Make a Deal.

The only sad part of my current part-time job is the commute. I admit I was getting a little bored, but thankfully the owner gave me new projects that helped with that. The commute still hurt my gas tank so in order to worry less about the big financial picture, I began scoping out my other part-time work options.

The library aide position didn't pay enough.

I missed out on the hotel job, which in hindsight, I'm grateful for. Do I really want to work holidays and weekends? Not really.

I didn't even apply at the gas station because I have watched one too many surveillance videos! In my college days, I did work at a convenience store. I had my share of drunks but thankfully, no hold ups. Now that I'm a mom, I don't want to press my luck.

A friend's husband was looking for part-time help but after he hadn't returned my calls, I thought that ship had sailed.

I began to focus on trying to make financial changes at home, to make what we have go further. God reminded me to focus on the boys and how home schooling is where I'm needed most right now.

Well this week has brought unexpected changes. My friend's husband called and I have a meeting scheduled with him tomorrow. Two new jobs were posted in the local paper, one for part-time office help working with the elderly housing commission and the other as an assistant for someone disabled.

Just when I thought a job change would be in my future, my boss offered me a 15% raise!! 15%!!! I was stunned! I hadn't told her I was job hunting, but I suspect she knew. She once said to me, "You will tell me if the cost of gas gets too high for you won't you?" She has already lost employees who couldn't afford to commute anymore. I know she appreciates the work I do. She said, "I would offer to do a formal review but you're already doing such a fantastic job. There is nothing I could say except positive things." Wow! Its just become much easier to stay put and deal with the commute, 3 times a week.

But, I don't know really how much longer my van will hold up, and I have to ask myself, "Am I in a place where I'm growing?"

Change doesn't really spook me, but the unknown will make me pause. I can take forever just trying to decide what to order at a restaurant! I'm going to explore my options fully and do my best to see the positives rather than the negatives. I need to sit down and really think about where I want to go job wise.

As scary as looking at the checking balance is, I have learned that being here for my kids is first and foremost. And watching them learn and grow is motivation for me to learn and grow as well.

 

Happy 4th Of July!

I just wanted to pop out a quick note. This weekend is going to be crazy busy with running around to parties, parades, and fireworks.

I didn't get the hotel job. "We really liked you but we went with someone with hotel experience."  I'm bummed but also reminding myself to trust God's plan. Right after the rejection phone call, I prayed and the first thought that came to me was- focus on homeschooling. I guess I had gotten so concerned about money and making ends meet I forgot where I'm needed most.

On the positive- I still have my part-time job at the pool and my boss may have a project for me where I could log in a few extra hours at home. Maybe I'm suppose to keep exploring the home business idea?

For now though, I'm going to forget about money worries and just have fun with my family this weekend. Have a safe and fun holiday weekend! I'll be back with snapshots and details. I'll expect the same from you!

Friday's report

I have no idea how the interview went. If nothing else comes of it, at least it made me buy these pretty shoes! (Yes there are a black pair hiding underneath as well! Payless has those great deals!)  I'm thinking of them as my ruby slippers, and hopefully I clicked my heals enough times before I went into that interview! "There's no place like working near home...there's no place like working near home..."

I had scheduled an appointment, but the manager of the new hotel was hosting two days of open call type interviews. I was somewhere around candidate 50. I know I'm more than qualified, but with so many in the playing field, I'm worried. My hair is gray and thinning. I'm overweight. I don't have a hotel management degree.

On the positive, I did point out the advantages of my age- maturity, patience, flexibility, experience, the ability to work with minimal supervision. I also threw in there I live close enough to walk to the hotel. I'm going to write a great thank you letter follow up and hope for the best. Its in God's hands.

The ants have invaded. Every summer they usually do look for water in the bathrooms, but this year they were in the kitchen!! Outside, I used up the last of the "black market" Diazon right on any ant nest I could find. (My dad still had some of the banned, good stuff.)  Inside I discovered Simple Green kills ants!!

I love Simple Green! Its a better alternative to toxic cleaners. I buy a gallon jug at the hardware store for about $10. Its mega concentrated so it lasts me over a year. I started spraying the ants just to wipe them up and discovered the ones I didn't wipe up quickly had died. So I sprayed a line of Simple Green around the perimeter of our kitchen and this morning I noticed the swarm was down to a few stragglers. I know this was just the first battle though. The war's not won yet.

I have to vow to stop reading and listening to news! It just depresses me. Stock Market plunge, oil prices surge, gas may go to $7 a gallon... This morning I found myself wondering, will we be a 3rd world country soon? Or will the government step in and before you know it, we're headed towards... I don't know...Communism?  That system of government historical has failed as well. I think the answer is we're not prepared to play on the global playground.

I realize I can't let all this garbage worry me. I have to focus on what's in front of me right now on my little plate.

I'm going to focus on taking better care of myself today, drinking lots of water, getting back on my Wii, and taking time to play with my boys. Its Friday Fun Day/Night after all! Maybe we'll go for a swim too.

Hope you have a great Friday Fun day too and a great weekend! Peace!

Sweet Sunday.....

Letterboxing yesterday was great. I needed a good long hike. My body couldn't help but relax because it was exhausted from hiking for almost 4 hours. It was more proof to me that exercise is a requirement in daily living. As stressed out as I was, every fiber in my body could chillax last night.

Yumi seems to be doing much better, but I've done more research that makes me believe the food the vet recommended may not be the best choice. I'm thinking of moving Yumi to a wet food, meat only diet even though she seems to prefer dry kibble. Check out this web site for cat food info. Its very eye opening.

I'm suppose to be cleaning because we've invited friends over. Instead I took a nap. I'm thinking our friends can over look a little dust.

DS12 has a better looking blog than I do. He's getting ready to hook up a web cam I didn't even know we had so he can do video responses. I'll have to have him teach me! I hoping having his own blog gives him another outlet for writing.

I have an interview this Thursday! A new small hotel is opening up in our town, and if I could find a position there, I could walk to work! The problem is, I believe the positions are all full time. My first priority is being available to help my children home school. I'm going to try and sell the manager on the idea of job sharing and see how it goes.

Well, its time to make tortillas for tonight's supper.

Its Firefox

Although I haven't found the cure, I have figured out its my Firefox browser my Multiply page doesn't like. Apparently, you could still see my background photo, while I could not. I couldn't customize anything either. I logged on with Internet Explorer (blah), and now I can manipulate my page again.  I hope I do hear back from Multiply though. I would rather use Firefox.

Last night DH and I had a great conversation about how people refer to time periods. We noticed that while you do hear people say, "That's so 70's," or "Remember the 80's?" you don't hear people say, "Its the one's," and will people refer to the decade from 2010 to 2019 as the tens or teens?

We wondered if around 1803 people had this same experience. Did they refer to the years of 1790-1799 as the 90's? Will we in 2032 look back at the 20's and not think of 1920's but the 2020's?

I'm thinking people before 1900 referred to centuries rather than decades. My reasoning is that within the latest hundred years or so, technology has advanced so quickly. You have inventions unheard of just 10 years prior. The world communicates much more quickly and on a global basis now. With all this comes constant, rapid changes. Time periods have more crunched into them. KWIM?

For weeks now I've felt the weeks and days go by too quickly. I feel like the world is literally spinning faster, the earth cruising around the sun even more quickly. If this was really happening all throughout the universe would we even be able to measure it?

Maybe its because I'm reaching the big 40 this August. Maybe its because my babies are becoming young men, seemingly overnight. Maybe its because overall, I'm loving my life and can't get enough of the blessings God has given me. I don't want the fun to end!

At the same time I do feel like I can't keep up the pace. Every day there are things I don't get to that I wish I could. Last night, I fought off the droopy eyelids because I just had to keep reading. As much as I do share with my children, I have so many other things I wish we could do while we can. I feel like Sandy in the episode of Spongebob. You know the one, she wants to get it all in before hybernation.

Its comes down to making good choices with the time we have. I know this. I'm just not a great decision maker. You do not want to be behind me in line when I'm trying to figure out what to order!

I'm dreading the phone call I know is coming. As I had feared, the library can't offer a very good wage. Gas money included, its much, much less than what I currently bring home. I feel badly, but I think I'm going to turn it down. I would really enjoy working there and all the perks, but the fact remains we need the income. This is probably just another sign that I need to develop my own business.

Well, time's a wasting. Got lots to do and never enough time!

Spring Cleaning

Look out dust bunnies! Here I come! I'm gearing up to do some serious spring sprucing. My MIL may be visiting tomorrow as well so I have to get cracking.

Yesterday I bought microfiber towels to use instead of paper towels. Not wanting to pay a high price, I skipped the cleaning products aisle at Target and hit up the automotive care aisle. I found a really great set of premium detailing microfiber towels for $6! I know any old towel cut into pieces would have worked but once you've tried microfiber, you know why I spent $6 on cleaning rags!

After work last night I did something I rarely do. I went out for drinks with my co-workers! I don't drink alcohol, but with my manager friend leaving, I wanted to wish her well. My naive coworkers almost all barely aged 21, decided to gather at the worst Mexican restaurant in Madison, Pedros. Anyone experienced with true Mexican cuisine knows this place is a joke. I think they choose it for the giant margaritas.

My manager friend is my age, and she doesn't really do the bar thing either. We did have a good time though. I realized I missed being 22, but I'm really glad I'm actually not!

I have a job interview scheduled already. I just started looking yesterday and my first interview is Monday. With my friend leaving, I began to think I too should look for something else. I want to stop driving so far. Our local library is hiring. Would this not be a homeschooling mom's dream come true? Actually I'm not getting my hopes up because I'm guessing the wage will be really low. Don't you wish you could just ask,"How much would this job pay?"  I will go through the protocol, ace the interview and then find out the wage is unrealistic for my family's needs. If anything else it will reaffirm that we need to develop a home business.

Alright. Enough talk. Time for action. I want to play infomercial with my new microfiber friends! LOL! Have a great Friday!