What's more frustrating than being unemployed?

Doing some work and waiting to get paid... I start the new job tomorrow, but obviously won't get paid for at least a week! Sigh. SO close!

Better than I expected...

I started training for the new job today, and I'll be fine if I can just remember to repeat people's info back to them so as to avoid mistakes!

I also made it to the gym and DIDN'T choke like I thought I was going to (got a little phlegm in the chest from that nasty head cold)

On the DOWN side... I found out I WON'T be making the $ tomorrow that I was expecting to, due to unforeseen circumstances, but that's okay, because it gives me time to do a graphics project for the same lady, and she really needs that done by Monday.

The bummer is, even though I'm NOT going out to hang flyers, I STILL have to drive all the kids to her house early in the morning, because they ARE.

All's well that ends well...

I DID get a job today. I got it from answering an ad on craigslist.org

PUT IT IN THE AD, DAMMIT!

Okay. I'm not a sore loser... in fact, I think the girl who beat me and got the job is an excellent choice. She is very calm, cool and collected... as well as extremely confident. All of which will most definitely serve her well in the position she has won. However, I was told that the primary factor in choosing her over me was the fact that she's bilingual and I'm not. Fine.

BUT...

If you want someone bilingual for a position, PLEASE state it in the ad, so us poor shlubs who only speak one language won't waste our time applying for the job... and won't flatter ourselves by THINKING you might actually want to hire us.

When I worked in the Career Services Department at school, I posted jobs on the school's website for the students. Since I know how annoying it is to look at an ad, only to find "must be bilingual" buried toward the end somewhere, I got in the habit of putting it in the job title... so that those who were NOT bilingual would not even bother to look at that one. (In other words, instead of reading "receptionist" it would read "bilingual receptionist")

Oh well. I guess it just wasn't meant to be. And I was SO close! They narrowed it down to two of us... so I guess I should feel pretty good that they liked me that much. But with no paycheck and mounting bills, that's not much consolation. Gosh... I wish someone would click my paypal link and send me EVEN ONE LOUSY DOLLAR!

Okay. I'm off my pity pot now. Sigh.

When it rains, it pours!

I'm still recovering from the head cold, but today is shaping up to be a very optimistic day. That's a good thing... because last night I went to sleep with the nagging sensation that something was just "not right" with the world. (Made it damned hard to drop off!)

Anyway, I got a call from the College I attended to whom I had sent my resume for a receptionist position (which I am already 90% trained for, since I worked at the school for over a year as a workstudy employee)

Then I got an email from someone who has been doing her utmost to help me by finding freelance work... and she seems to have a pretty full schedule ahead for my kids. (Handing out flyers, etc.)

All in all, I'm feeling hopeful today, and that's a good day. If I don't still feel this way tomorrow, at least I can say TODAY was nice! Gotta take things, as they say in AA: one day at a time, one hour at a time, or even one minute at a time. Whatever it takes to get through it.

Update: at noon the temp agency I'm signed up with called and they have a job they'd like for me to do next week... so it seems that ONE WAY OR ANOTHER I'm going to have some income. Woo hoo!

Second update: at 3pm someone else I'd sent my resume to called... they're interviewing for M-W-F 8-4:30 at a dialysis center. Gosh. I can not believe how many possibilities have been presented to me today!

Final update: I went to the interview at the college, which was a group interview, and they asked two of us to stay. Then I was asked to come back tomorrow at 10am. I am DYING to see what the second interview will be all about! Wish me luck... say a prayer... cross your fingers... whatever it is you do!
: )

Kill the kids?

Yeah. They're driving me bonkers. I guess that means I'm not so sick any more... because when I was really sick I could barely drag myself out of bed long enough to notice whether or not they were behaving.

On the plus side, my son paid my cell phone bill and gave me some cash to deposit so I could pay another bill as well. Guess he feels guilty about that window that he smashed out (of my car) last month.

TV all day?

I never do it unless I'm REALLY sick... but I've pretty much stayed in bed and watched TV for the better part of the past two days. Today I watched Stephen King's "Rose Red" which, I'm sorry to say, got progressively less credible from the midpoint on. Sigh. Well, hopefully tomorrow I'll be well enough to resume my normal routine, but I'm not taking any bets just yet!

Picnics and head colds

Short but sweet: had a picnic today and it was very windy. Stuff kept trying to blow away. More about that tomorrow if I feel well enough to tell it...

Right now I'm coming down with a mild cold and my intestines are twisted in a knot as they always are when I get nervous. Hope I feel better in the morning...

I was planning to do several things tomorrow, and also intended to chronicle that information here, but I'm beat. Gotta get to bed and hope to GOD I can get some rest.

Worn out but feeling a bit better about things...

Well... I got up at 5am today, got my son up to go to WPB for work and he got on the computer and paid up the cell phone bill. It won't post 'til Monday... but I'm happy!

THEN... I was SUPPOSED to be dropping off two of my kids to help hang door hangers advertising a tax prep service... and one of the other kids reneged so I took his place and made $24 for 4 hours of work. Not much, but better than nothing. Not going to let myself fret over the shortfall today... just too tired for that.

I still have to make potato salad for tomorrow's picnic... and right now I'd like to go to bed and get up at 5am again to do it... but I don't think that's feasible.
: (

Sooooooooo I'll just plug away and hope to God I don't fall asleep while the potatoes are boiling and burn the freaking house down!

Stressed and depressed

The bills are mounting and our income is at its lowest for the year (I hope) so I am once again contemplating getting a J.O.B. despite my lack of success in obtaining one last time I tried. It was a lot easier to get a job when I was young and attractive. Now, they're looking over my shoulder for the next applicant before I've even discussed my qualifications with them. Sigh. Oh well. I don't really want a job. I just need to earn some income. I wish I were better at securing freelance work!

Hopefully going to the gym for a killer workout will take my mind off my troubles. Then I have a lot of work to do when I get home, as well as tomorrow. Gotta quit spending so much time here at the computer since it's not earning me money or getting me anywhere...

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

My Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

I am excellent with words and language. I explain myself well. An elegant speaker, I can converse well with anyone on the fly. I am also good at remembering information and convicing someone of my point of view. A master of creative phrasing and unique words, I enjoy expanding my vocabulary. I would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have?

R.I.P. Rocky

Well, he didn't make it. I'll miss the little bugger.

He was a friendly bunny who loved to chase people, and I deeply regret that I did not catch his "attack bunny" behavior on video. It's a miracle he never got stomped to death the way he loved to get up under people's feet!

The new bunny that showed up a week ago is beginning to show a lot of personality... it loves to give kisses... a semi-common but not typical rabbit behavior that we find to be delightful. Cute little pink tongue! I wonder if he'll turn out to be an "attack bunny" too?

Sigh. It's hard to say goodbye... but even the dearest of pets can't live forever. Best not to ever have any if you have a problem with mortality!

Poor old bunny...

Rocky seems to be dying. I can't afford to take him to a vet, so he'll live or die based on what care we can give here at home. He's an inbred dwarf with a severe malocclusion of his jaws, so he's always had to have his teeth trimmed, and my daughter suspects he's retarded but I never thought so. His nose was bitten off by the other male bunny when he went and stuck his nose up to the other bunny's cage. That is one of the reasons I hope to soon build new hutches... to get them further up off of the ground so that when one is exercising it can't stick it's nose into another's hutch and get bitten!

Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.

No one ever listens. They're all too busy telling each other to shut up.

I don't know how many times I find myself in the middle of saying something and realize that no one is listening. That is probably what led me to write. When you write, it is irrelevant whether or not anyone is listening... if they read it (and you want them to) great. If they don't, no biggie.

On the other hand, if you make a habit of talking all the time whether anyone is listening or not, you'll either be committed - or5+*
 avoided as if you should be... people are scared of those who appear to talk to someone who's not there.

Besides, when you talk, it's air... it's gone. Unless it's been recorded, which is rare. Writing is more likely to stick around and be there to look at years down the road. I like writing.

Alas, it seems that my reflection time is over. Interrupted by a poopy diaper.

Gainful Employment

Someone I met through the homeschool group I've been loosely participating in may be boosting my family's income shortly... she gave me a data entry job about a month ago, as well as a web job which has apparently been relegated to the back-burner for the forseeable future. However, she has some flyering for the kids to do over the next 3 weekends, as well as a tutoring job for me. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that she'll keep finding more work. If only I were more adept at doing that for myself?

Just curious...

I'm "on the rag" right now... (sorry guys) and that led to an odd musing. I know that some ladies call it "Aunt Flo" and in the U.K. it seems that "Belinda" is the visitor's preferred moniker. Do you have a name for that time of the month? If so, leave a comment and tell me what it is. (Sorry... no prizes offered here!)

Local and long distance

I was thinking about how nice it is to be able to have friends that are close by and local... the ones you can have a cup of coffee with... as well as those who are on the other side of the globe.

Prior to the internet, our sphere of influence was so limited... remember that "seven degrees of separation" theory? I wonder how the World Wide Web would affect that one. I never did see the movie. Anyone wanna send me a copy?

One step forward, two steps back...

I'm getting there. But I won't be winning any "Suzy Homemaker" awards any time soon. Is there a Suzy Homemaker award? Sounds like a reality TV show to me.

Short but sweet:

Made it to the gym for an AWESOME Lower Body Workout... then took Selena for a nice walk nearby to local shops and see the boats at the marina.

Went home and had a shake, took a quick shower, then picked up my son from school, took some of last night's HUGE ham to a friend, and took my daughter to meet the people that want a babysitter. That worked out well, and now she is gainfully employed at the age of 14!

Now... if I could just get rid of this headache...

Can I have a "do over"?

What a day. I got up and went to the gym, then stopped and got rabbit food. It's a good thing I did, because we found another bunny today, a cute little black bunny that's probably not more than 4 or 5 months old.

I went for a long drive with the baby... during which she took a nice nap... and my oldest son (the one who smashed out my car window, refuses to replace it, and still doesn't have a car of his OWN to drive) calls me to tell me he's cut his finger and thinks he needs stitches.

Well, I was too far from home to deal with it, so I told him to have his dad take him. But when I got home, his dad hadn't taken him, saying he didn't think it needed it. He finally DID go to the ER later, and I assume that's still where he is now. The cut is nasty, but it was borderline, so I can see why his father was hesitant. Our new insurance has a $2500 deductible, so guess who gets to pay through the nose for those stitches? (Thanks Clinton)

Of food and effort

Well, I have made it to the gym every day this week, but I really haven't been trying too hard to stick to my nutrition plan, because I figure once the workouts are an ingrained habit (and I've built some of that wondrous fat-burning muscle) it will be a lot easier to take the next step and tighten up on my nutrition.

Plus I'm figuring if I focus on workouts for the whole first 12 weeks... the next 12 weeks, in which I may officially enter a BFL Challenge again, will coincide with the receipt (I hope) of our tax refund check, which means I can purchase all the ingredients I need in order to cook the Eating-for-Life meals.

Earaches and recycling

Off to a slooooooooooooooow start today. I knew I had to wait for Bob to get a tire put on my car and then go to the grocery before I made it to the gym... but I was planning to sleep in, and that didn't work out.

Selena woke me up around 7:30 crying that her ear was hurting and she wanted an ice pack. Then I heard the recycling truck and noticed that our bins hadn't been put to the curb, so I had to make a mad dash to do that... and when I got back to bed, Selena was heading toward her bedroom, about to wake up her sister looking for clothes. She wanted to get dressed!

So I got a basket of her clothes that I had folded but not put away yet, and found a dress she would wear. But by then there was absolutely NO HOPE of going back to bed for some more much-needed rest. Sigh.

The Mirror Project

Hey! Check it out! My photo got accepted for admission into the mirror project!

Oh the agony!

My punishment has arrived. My triceps are so freaking sore from yesterday's bench dips that I can barely lift my arms. Ugh.

Mixed emotions...

I've had a pretty good day regarding my workout and nutrition... but not doing terribly great keeping up with the housework.

Sadly, my son's beloved cockatiel escaped out the door today... but it's partially his own fault for refusing to clip the creature's wings. I had a feeling that sooner or later this would happen. But it still makes me very sad. I loved that little goofy bird.