P all over the place

Haha, that title made me laugh.

So, a little update...no job. No prospects, no clue where I'm headed.

I have people ask me 4500 times a day, haha.

Anyway, I realized that my life the past few weeks is composed of all things P.

I've already mentioned my oh-so-fab Margherita Pizza. See below...isn't it a beaut?



I've been painting for over a week now...and I'm just now halfway thru.

I have to call the plumber to fix the leak in the bathroom and the pest control guy to spray for carpenter ants.

Normally I wouldn't have the time to think about the things on my "to do" list and realize that they all start with P. Unemployment will do that to the brain.

Hope your week is going fabulously! Happy Fall to all of you

My week.

We decided to take on the daunting task of painting the outside of the house. First off, painting sucks. Mainly because I like having money in my bank account so I don't pay anyone else to paint for me.

I've been painting for two days straight and I'm not even halfway done with the first coat...WHAT IS THAT ABOUT!!!

On a separate note...SHAMELESS PLUG for this month's Cooking Light magazine. I highly recommend the Margherita Pizza made from scratch, it is incredible!!! I've made 3 of them! And conversely, and I seriously warn you against the 3 cheese macaroni...it tastes like melted blue cheese and noodles.

Happy Monday everyone!

Ouch

For those of you who watched the game yesterday, I'm sure this made you sick.

All I can say is...OUCH!!

Overdue pictures

Well, life prior to my layoff seems years ago and so I'd forgotten to post these pictures from BF's birthday.

Enjoy!

Do we really need greeters?

I don't understand the point of greeters. Other than Walmart, I've never seen a greeter with an actual purpose. At least with Walmart, the "greeter" or "elderly person" is incharge of putting a little sticker on each of the items you're returning and verifying that you didn't steal anything when your bag sounds off the alarm.

When I worked in retail, there was always an employee assigned to the front of the store for the same purpose as the Walmart greeter. But usually, we ended up harassing any potential clients. My favorite is when someone had just stepped foot into the store and we ask, "Good morning! Can I help you find anything?" and what do they answer? "No thanks, I'm just looking."

But I still can understand the purpose of that kind of greeter as you need someone near the door in case someone is going to steal something. But really, do we need to feel all warm and cozy when entering an establishment? Has there been some study proving that cozy people spend more money?

Here's what I don't understand. Yesterday I go to the bank to deposit the last of my severance/commission checks and I'm accosted by a bank greeter. A bank greeter!! In a time when unemployment is at a record high, we seriously have a need for a position as a greeter at the bank??

Think about it.

If I want to start a new account, I'm going to go to someone sitting behind a desk. If I want pretty much anything else, I'm going to go to the ATM or to a teller. The ONLY way I wouldn't know where I'm going is if I was 12 and opening my very first savings account. And in that case, I'm probably with my Mom or have been to the bank with my Mom enough times that I know whats up.

Yet, I have this young lady say, "Good afternoon, Ma'am. What can we help you with today?"

I wanted to say, "You can help me by not delaying me any further than I'm already delayed by having to actually walk into the bank because you don't have a drive thru at this location. So why don't you go make a fresh pot of coffee and stop annoying me. Oh, and don't call me Ma'am."

In reality I just shook my head and tried not to make eye contact, in the same way I handle the perfume sample ladies at the mall.

September 11th

I've been amazed today to see that September 11th seems to be just another day again. I hope that each of you will remember what happened just a few years ago and make an effort to never forget.

Take a moment, take a breath, take time to remember those we lost, those who became heroes and those who still are our heroes and protectors.....fighting for us every day, in every country.

Here are some of the pictures I took on our trip to Ground Zero this past June.

God bless our troops, God bless those affected by 9/11 and God bless America.

Those who can't.....

"Those who can DO, those who can't TEACH" ah, isn't that a lovely saying? Doesn't it motivate those educators that are then supposed to motivate our youth?

Most of you don't know that I've decided to pursue teaching. And to answer your question, yes..I started this process before I got laid off.

One of my best friends called me in July to discuss the possibility of teaching and I truly believe that everything happens for a reason. That phone call was a blessing. She gave me the final push I needed to get this process started, something I'd been thinking about for several years.

I was accepted into the program and am already halfway thru my content course.

I'm so excited about molding young minds....hahaha.

So here is my challenge to each of you. Think back to your best and worst teachers. I want to know what each of them did to make them the best or the worst.

Mine...Mrs. Tull in 3rd grade taught me creativity, passion and a love for animals.
Mrs. M* in 7th grade math made me hate math and fear it for the rest of my education. (I might end up teaching math to prevent this in the future)

I had too many great teachers to name....so do me a favor...next time you meet a teacher, instead of giving them a look of pity for accepting such a tiny salary, shake their hand and thank them for devoting their lives to what they do. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Change, the ugly duckling.

It is amazing to me how change affects each of us. I used to think that change was my friend. I loved the way it would creep up and surprise me, most of the time with things that I had never thought of. I thought it was exciting, new, and challenging. There were times when I knew it was coming….because it was inevitable and we all expected it. And there were times when no one could’ve predicted it because it was coming whether we wanted it or not. It was like change, fate and destiny were all the best of friends and had the most creative of imaginations.

Most people don’t like change….even if they say they do. They don’t like change in their routines, in the bottom of their purse or collecting space on their nightstand. Change is that friend that is often uncomfortable, often unwelcome and usually takes a lot of getting used to.

But lately, no matter how much I used to love it, I’m not a fan of change and I haven’t been able to see it coming. Lately, change seems to be constant. Change seems to be all around me and the people that I love.

But when you think about change, whether it be in your life or in your pocket, it only really makes a difference when there’s a lot of it. In the big picture of life, a little change doesn’t amount to anything. But the more you have, the more opportunities you have to do something with it.

So I’ve decided that I’m no longer going to be afraid of it….I’m no longer going to dread it’s presence. Instead, I’m going to keep track of it and count it. Because, each time change appears, I’m a little bit closer to using it for something I really need.

cyclical guilt

I sat here for about 10 minutes staring at a blank screen. You see, I have so much to say but can't seem to form it into a point. This week has been incredibly interesting for me. I'm definitely out of my comfort zone.

As I've been looking for a job, I've been busier than I ever thought an unemployed person would be. Yet as busy as I've been, I can't help but feel a little useless at the end of the day. And so I don't let myself have an end of my day.

When I was working, I was the type of person who could truly leave work at work and when I got home, my brain was free of stress/worry/etc hence why I could totally immerse myself in an episode of reality tv.

But now, even blogging, I'm overcome with guilt about the impact I should be making that I'm not...right here, right now.

I've never been the type of person who experienced guilt...mainly because I don't do things that I have to say I'm sorry for. And I didn't do anything wrong in this situation, yet I feel guilty.

ALL.THE.TIME.

So my first thought on how to end this time period in my life is to find a job as quickly as possible. However, I don't want to just take ANY job...I want to find another job that I love as much as I loved my last one.

And the circle continues....here's hoping something jumps out and stops me from spinning.

oh..and a big PS-please....under no circumstances, please do not baby talk me. I may be unemployed and it may suck, but I cannot stand to get voicemails or phone calls from those with the baby talk voice saying, "heeeyyyyyyy, hooooooww arrrrrrrreee youuuuuuuuu?" Nothing is more annoying.

"Life's a B*tch and then you get laid off"

This was the subject of an email I received today from a good friend comforting me after my first official layoff yesterday. It was the 3rd layoff I've been thru in my professional career but the first one that I didn't survive.

I was shocked. Maybe shocked isn't the appropriate word, I don't that there is one. I had absolutely no warning, no signs, no knowledge that the company, or my job, was in danger.

Typically the salespeople are safe in any company as they need money coming in. Apparently, things are bad at my former job because 20% of the entire company and 75% of the sales team were laid off...leaving one guy in sales and half the # of employees that were with the company when I started a year and a half ago.

Let me back up and tell you that I'm good at my job. (or I was good at my job). I'd never received anything but raving reviews from my bosses and I was just offered a promotion. Unfortunately for me, these layoffs were not performance based.

And, unfortunately for me, there wasn't anything "common" about my job. It was kind of a niche operation and mine was kind of a niche position. What does this mean? This means that there are no competitors to go to....no comparable positions, companies or salaries to fill this hole.

So, here's me.....at square one.

It's amazing the perspective you gain about the important things in life when you're faced with a life changing situation. Just two days ago I blogged about what I'm thankful for and thank goodness my #1 was what it was....because I'm going to be okay.

I have no idea what I'll do or where I'll land but something just tells me that I'm going to be ok. So...they say these things happen in 3s...I had 2 of them this week, bring it on #3!

Oh, and if you know of anyone wanting to hire an incredibly bright, witty and all around fantastic gal, let me know! Hook 'em horns!