I had my interview with CSHP this morning. I think it went well. I was interviewed by the head of the lab department and the head of the radiology department. I was able to answer all of their questions and even had a chance to ask questions of my own. I feel like I would be a good fit for the job. If I'm offered the job, I'd start on November 19th, 11 days from now. They said that HR would notify me by the beginning of next week. I have to admit that I'll be disappointed if I don't get the position, but if I don't I'll just keep looking. I'm going to have to brush up on my lab and radiology codes and procedures. I'll look and see if they have anything at the library since I'm going there tomorrow to drop off that Stephen King book on tape. I never finished it. It didn't grab my attention like the other one did. I'm really nervous about waiting to hear from CSHP HR. I so want this job. I did pray though, that if it's not the right job for me that God would completely shut the door on it. I don't always know what's best but He does. I wish they'd make a quick decision and I'd get a call tomorrow. I just have to be patient I guess.
Tomorrow morning I go to PPWFC and do a skills assessment test. That should be fun. If I do well I'll forward that to CSHP HR. Couldn't hurt. If I don't fair too well then I won't send it to them. Then tomorrow afternoon I'll be going over to Lisa's for scone church. I'm looking forward to that. She invited us over for Thanksgiving. We accepted. I won't have to buy a big meal then. I'm not sure what I'll bring but it will be less expensive than doing a whole meal for just the two of us.
David and the girls are already in bed. I'll be heading there pretty quick. I took some time tonight to reply to topics on the DR forum. Being on that forum is so helpful. It keeps me accountable in the finance department. I got paid for both the items I sold on eBay. I used the money to put some gas in the jeep, get Benadryl for the dogs and to do some grocery shopping. There's a challenge on the DR forum to keep grocery shopping to $25 a week until the first of the year. I had budgeted for $60 a week. If I can spend half that, I'll be doing good. In two weeks I go pick up the AFM unit. There will be all kinds of stuff in there. I hope I can use most of it. Whatever I can't use that's non-perishable will go to Care & Share.
I have to be up by 7am the latest tomorrow. I'll have to leave about 7:45am. I don't want to be late. I have no idea what the testing will consist of. I'm sure it's all done on the computer though. I guess there could be some writing too. I'll know when I get there. It'll be fun.
I called the recovery center and told them that I would like to be taken out of the running for their office position. I also emailed the owner that I interviewed with yesterday afternoon and told him that same thing. No need to drag it out. That way the can eliminate me and go on to the next candidate.
If I get the CSHP job, I'd be working from 7:30 - 11:30 am, Monday through Friday. They said there is a possibility of the position turning into more than part time, but that would be down the road. I won't worry about that right now. I have 9 months to make as much as I can before I have to worry about going full time or making the appropriate amount with my disability. Nine months should give me enough time to figure out if I can really go back to work, even just part-time to start. I have applied for some other jobs, some of them are full-time, just to get some more experience doing interviews. Oh yeah, they mentioned tattoos and piercings being frowned upon, so I'll have to always wear long sleeved at that job. I did stop last night and buy a $2 shirt at Goodwill. It looked really good today. Until I know what job I'm getting and what the actual dress code is, I won't buy any work clothes. There's no jeans at the CSHP job except on payday Fridays. I will have to ask, if I'm offered the job, what my pay rate will be, when I get paid and what happens with the holidays if I'm only part time. They have some days that they work only half a day but get paid for a full day (xmas eve, new years eve, sometime around Thanksgiving). Since I'd only be part-time I don't think that would apply to me.
It's 11pm. I really need to get to bed. I want to feel refreshed for the testing tomorrow. I also have an appointment next Wednesday with the Voc Rehad people. I don't know what, if anything, they will be able to do for me. At least I'll be able to go to the appointment. Unless of course the pre-employment screening and drug test for CSHP has to be done on that day. They would have all of that done by next Thursday so I could start on the following Monday (the 19th). It's nerve racking not knowing if I did well enough in the interview. I need to remember to send a thank you to Paul and Caryn for interviewing me.
Well, I'm going to go look up the lab/radiology stuff at the library and see if I can find out where to send the thank you's and then I'll head to bed. I'll be back sometime tomorrow.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Another interview from H E double tooth picks
I guess I'm just not used to small business interviews. I worked for a big corporation for 12 years before I quit working 7 years ago, so I'm used to organization, structure and a professional demeanor. I never thought that I would go to an interview and the guy running the place would be in bib overalls. I have nothing against bib's or casual, I'm just not used to interviewing for a job with Uncle Bob. lol This afternoon's interview went well despite the fashion faux pas. lol It turned out to be a business in this guys home. He does construction and remodeling and has an online business as well. He does large volumes of work on eBay. Basically I'd be the office girl - filing, data entry, computers, phones, etc. It's definitely something that I can handle. The pay isn't very good ($8/hr to start) and he pays in cash and doesn't do 1099's. I assume I'd be responsible for taxes and such. Not sure how that would work yet. He is the kind of guy who just wants to cut through the cr*p and get to the bottom line. He said that in his business it was 'his way or the highway'. Yikes! Not sure if that's a good sign or not. Anyway, he won't make a decision until the beginning of next week. I guess because I'm not totally into the job, I'm not very nervous about whether I would be offered the job or not. I was hoping this would give me some experience interviewing so I would do well tomorrow morning at the job I really want. Nope. He doesn't care about resume's, he doesn't take you at your word re: what skills you posess and he wanted to tell me the way things were going to be (versus interviewing me). What the heck am I doing wrong to deserve these nightmare interviews? lol ~sigh~ Well, at least he wasn't late for the interview and he didn't eat while we were meeting. I have to be grateful for the little things. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's interview because I know it's with a large company and I'll feel like I fit in better there. Please pray for me. lol
Job interview nightmare
I had another interview last night at a recovery center. The whole interview was, hmmm, how should I word this? A joke! They were late getting to the interview because they were at Subway. They didn't formally introduce themselves. They ate what they got at Subway DURING the interview. One of the girls left the interview, just minutes in, to take a personal phone call. The girl I was left with told me she wasn't prepared for the interview and didn't learn about until late in the day. She had no idea what questions to ask me. The one who took a personal call came back in and continuted eating while talking to the other girl. I felt like I wasn't even there. They didn't seem to be able to tell me much about the job. What a nightmare! Turns out it wasn't even for a permanent part-time job, but for an on-call job. The girl who was allegedly interviewing me was the one who was going to leave, but she decided to stay, for now. It was very confusing. And comical in a way. At the end they asked me if I had any questions. I told them that I did. I got to ask one question before they stopped me and ended the interview. Huh? The whole thing took less than 20 minutes. What a waste of time. I still have to call them and let them know that I don't want the position. I'll probably do that tomorrow.
On the brighter side, I got a call from CSHP and they want me to come in for a second interview! Woohoo!! I am so excited! The interview is tomorrow morning at 9am at the Central office. I can't wait. I really feel good about this job.
This afternoon I have another interview for an office job for a home office. I don't think it's a job I want to take but I can use the interview experience. I hope this interview goes better than last night fiasco.
I have 45 minutes until I have to leave for the interview. I'll let you know how it goes after I get home. Wish me luck!
On the brighter side, I got a call from CSHP and they want me to come in for a second interview! Woohoo!! I am so excited! The interview is tomorrow morning at 9am at the Central office. I can't wait. I really feel good about this job.
This afternoon I have another interview for an office job for a home office. I don't think it's a job I want to take but I can use the interview experience. I hope this interview goes better than last night fiasco.
I have 45 minutes until I have to leave for the interview. I'll let you know how it goes after I get home. Wish me luck!
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Not feeling well
I'm not feeling well today. I feel like I have a cold coming on. I've been coughing quite a bit. So, I decided not to walk today. It's kind of frosty out and I don't want to be out in the cold.
David asked me to clean his bathroom today. I told him I would do it. I'm going to have to get some energy first. I also need to clean the cat box, do dishes and do laundry. And I don't feel like doing anything. lol At least I don't have to worry about dinner tonight. We're having leftover turkey/rice/celery. It's delicious.
My eyes are really watering. I need to take a break from the laptop for a while. Be back later.
David asked me to clean his bathroom today. I told him I would do it. I'm going to have to get some energy first. I also need to clean the cat box, do dishes and do laundry. And I don't feel like doing anything. lol At least I don't have to worry about dinner tonight. We're having leftover turkey/rice/celery. It's delicious.
My eyes are really watering. I need to take a break from the laptop for a while. Be back later.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Working at getting a part-time job
I've applied for a few more jobs this weekend. I have to apply in person for one of them tomorrow. For another one, I have an interview on Wednesday. On Wednesday I also have to call Tracy @ CSHP HR to see where things stand. I'll be disappointed if I don't at least get to the second interview. It's been a quiet weekend. I've been in the whole time. David worked OT yesterday morning and this morning. That'll help the bottom line. I'm going to try to spend only $25 per week on groceries through the holidays. Turkeys should go on sale this week. I'd like to get a four or five dollar turkey. I have a menu from the Dinner Diva. It looks yummy. I'm not going to go overboard making stuff though. I'll pare it down to just the essentials: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, veggie, gravy (probably I'll make pan gravy this year), and something for desert (maybe a pumpkin bread). That sounds good. I could do a cheesecake because I have 3 things of cream cheese in the freezer. I'll have to see what the ingredients are for the cheesecake. If I have most of the ingrediments then I'll make cheesecake. We have so much food on hand that I shouldn't have to buy too much over the next few weeks. I do need to get milk, bread, apples and bananas. We decided to day that we are only going to get gifts for the grandkids this Christmas. We'll probably get Dylan some Lincoln Logs and we'll get a Sock Monkey for Aspen. That's it. I have to check to see if I have any christmas cards (I'm sure I do) and if I have enough stamps. I'll probably have to get some more stamps now that Brad is in jail again. I like to write to him often. I may scale it back and only write to him 2x a week. I wrote to him every day last time he was in jail. I have plenty of stamps for now but I'll need a few for christmas cards. I'm not going to send out as many cards as I usually do either. I'm just going to send to family (Cork & family, Ronnie & Ronda, Aunt Francis, Aunt Freda, Uncle Skippy, the Kerr's and Brad. That should be about 10 cards total. Usually I send out about 50 or more. Yikes! Postage alone would be over $20. I'm going to go look and see if I have cards. BRB.
Couldn't find any cards. So, I'll have to buy a small box of them at Wal-mart or Walgreens. My creche is in the christmas bin. I think I'll try to sell that on craigslist. I don't use it anymore. I'll have to see what a fair price would be for it. BRB.
Looks like I should ask $15 for it and try to get $10. That'll be an extra ten that I can use for holiday groceries. I'm also going to ask David about the drill press he got brand new for his 35th work anniversary. I don't know that he will have any use for it. But if he doesn't want to sell it, then I'll be okay with that. I've thought about selling the table and chairs. We never sit there so it's kind of just a filler. I could look at selling the light above the table too. It's beautiful, but again, we rarely use it. We've got to be gazelle intense about making money to pay off debt. That's why I'm trying to get a part time job. I have to be careful about how much I make though. If I make over $900 (2007) or $940 (2008) then I'll lose my benefits. They'll also do a medical review sooner if I don't get a job through Voc Rehab. If I use Voc Rehab, there won't be any review. I don't go there for about a week and a half. I do my skills assessment at PPWFC this coming Friday morning. That will help me with getting a job (if I don't have one by then). I'm fairly nervous about applying for more jobs. There's one that I applied for and I don't remember if it's part-time or not. I sent an email to the owner of the business and asked him but I haven't heard back from him yet. I really would like to get a job close to home so driving/gas won't be an issue this winter. Gas prices have gone up again. There is no rhyme or reason for the way gas prices go up and down. It's about $2.90 a gallon right now. And I only have a quarter of a tank of gas. I'll have to fill up soon. That will throw a wrench in the budget. I do have some money coming in though. I should clear about $30 on the stuff I sold on eBay. I'm expecting another $80 from Vonage. Hope they don't drag their heels on sending it. Then I'll put a few more things on craigslist. I will also have to spend a few bucks at Goodwill to get a pair of pants that fit. The two pair that I have are almost falling off of me. lol I haven't walked for a few days now. I'm going to get back to it tomorrow morning. I need to do my walking at least 5 days a week. I guess I could try to sell the jeans I have on craigslist for $5 a pair. Who knows, they just might sell. I also have to cover postage for the two packages I'm going to ship out tomorrow. That'll probably take all the cash I have. I may have to use the debit card to pay for it since I need to get some stamps too. I'll have to think about all of this. I know Vonage got my package because I got delivery confirmation on it. They should open it tomorrow. I'll keep an eye on how long they take to refund my money. They better not jerk me around.
I've been watching Nascar most of the day. I love Nascar. I've also been watching the Patriots game too. Score is 24-20 New England. Woohoo! Unfortunately, on Nascar, Tony Stewart isn't having a great day. It's still fun to watch though.
We turned the clocks back this morning. It's just after 5pm and it's already getting dark out. I hate that it gets dark so early. I have trouble driving at night. I'm not comfortable being out there at night driving anymore. That's why I want to get a job close to home. Especially with the snow coming.
David and the girls are in taking a nap. I need to get dinner going here in just a bit. It feels like we're having dinner really late tonight. lol We're actually probably going to eat earlier than usual. Tonight I'm going to make ground turkey, rice and celery. Mmm, mmm, mmm. It tastes so yummy. Think I'll go put the turkey on. BRB.
Okay, I've got everything cooking. It'll just be a few minutes and it will be done. It's good to have dinner taken care of already. And there will be plenty for David to take leftovers for lunch tomorrow. He's been doing well with his $20 a week. He spends it mostly on breakfast at work and chew. He did have to get gas today. It was about $34 dollars I think. Yep, $34. Now he has a full tank and that should last him for at least a week and a half. But like I said earlier, I definitely will have to get gas sometime soon. Especially since I'll be driving around for the part-time job stuff. Time for dinner.
Couldn't find any cards. So, I'll have to buy a small box of them at Wal-mart or Walgreens. My creche is in the christmas bin. I think I'll try to sell that on craigslist. I don't use it anymore. I'll have to see what a fair price would be for it. BRB.
Looks like I should ask $15 for it and try to get $10. That'll be an extra ten that I can use for holiday groceries. I'm also going to ask David about the drill press he got brand new for his 35th work anniversary. I don't know that he will have any use for it. But if he doesn't want to sell it, then I'll be okay with that. I've thought about selling the table and chairs. We never sit there so it's kind of just a filler. I could look at selling the light above the table too. It's beautiful, but again, we rarely use it. We've got to be gazelle intense about making money to pay off debt. That's why I'm trying to get a part time job. I have to be careful about how much I make though. If I make over $900 (2007) or $940 (2008) then I'll lose my benefits. They'll also do a medical review sooner if I don't get a job through Voc Rehab. If I use Voc Rehab, there won't be any review. I don't go there for about a week and a half. I do my skills assessment at PPWFC this coming Friday morning. That will help me with getting a job (if I don't have one by then). I'm fairly nervous about applying for more jobs. There's one that I applied for and I don't remember if it's part-time or not. I sent an email to the owner of the business and asked him but I haven't heard back from him yet. I really would like to get a job close to home so driving/gas won't be an issue this winter. Gas prices have gone up again. There is no rhyme or reason for the way gas prices go up and down. It's about $2.90 a gallon right now. And I only have a quarter of a tank of gas. I'll have to fill up soon. That will throw a wrench in the budget. I do have some money coming in though. I should clear about $30 on the stuff I sold on eBay. I'm expecting another $80 from Vonage. Hope they don't drag their heels on sending it. Then I'll put a few more things on craigslist. I will also have to spend a few bucks at Goodwill to get a pair of pants that fit. The two pair that I have are almost falling off of me. lol I haven't walked for a few days now. I'm going to get back to it tomorrow morning. I need to do my walking at least 5 days a week. I guess I could try to sell the jeans I have on craigslist for $5 a pair. Who knows, they just might sell. I also have to cover postage for the two packages I'm going to ship out tomorrow. That'll probably take all the cash I have. I may have to use the debit card to pay for it since I need to get some stamps too. I'll have to think about all of this. I know Vonage got my package because I got delivery confirmation on it. They should open it tomorrow. I'll keep an eye on how long they take to refund my money. They better not jerk me around.
I've been watching Nascar most of the day. I love Nascar. I've also been watching the Patriots game too. Score is 24-20 New England. Woohoo! Unfortunately, on Nascar, Tony Stewart isn't having a great day. It's still fun to watch though.
We turned the clocks back this morning. It's just after 5pm and it's already getting dark out. I hate that it gets dark so early. I have trouble driving at night. I'm not comfortable being out there at night driving anymore. That's why I want to get a job close to home. Especially with the snow coming.
David and the girls are in taking a nap. I need to get dinner going here in just a bit. It feels like we're having dinner really late tonight. lol We're actually probably going to eat earlier than usual. Tonight I'm going to make ground turkey, rice and celery. Mmm, mmm, mmm. It tastes so yummy. Think I'll go put the turkey on. BRB.
Okay, I've got everything cooking. It'll just be a few minutes and it will be done. It's good to have dinner taken care of already. And there will be plenty for David to take leftovers for lunch tomorrow. He's been doing well with his $20 a week. He spends it mostly on breakfast at work and chew. He did have to get gas today. It was about $34 dollars I think. Yep, $34. Now he has a full tank and that should last him for at least a week and a half. But like I said earlier, I definitely will have to get gas sometime soon. Especially since I'll be driving around for the part-time job stuff. Time for dinner.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Errand day tomorrow
I didn't get anything done today. Mostly just sat in my chair listening to DR. I'm waiting for my Prozac to get here. I don't know that it will get here until sometime next week. It was mailed on the 30th of October, so it will be four days tomorrow. So maybe it will be here by Saturday. I won't count on it though. I know I'm not feeling too good without it. I have to get some stuff done tomorrow because it's pay day. I have to got to CFAN and order the AFM box. I also want to go to Big Lots and look at the flannel sheets they have on sale and the crock pot that is $12. Then I need to stop by the christian bookstore and pick up the DR TMMO book. It's on sale for $13 and I have a coupon for 25% off so it'll only cost me about $10 total. That's a great deal for a $25 book. I also have to go to the grocery store and pick up milk, bread, cereal and toilet paper. It'll be a busy day. I'm going to try to get up and walk in the morning since I haven't walked for four days. Oh yeah, I should also pick up some smoothie mix. I don't think it will still be on sale though. I guess I could check the Vitamin Cottage and see if they have it and what they are charging for it. I'll already be up that way to go to the christian book store so I might as well stop in there and see how much it is.
I'm going to go take my nighttime medicine and go to bed. I'm feeling sore tonight. I think that's a side effect of not having all my meds. It'll feel good to go to bed tonight.
I'm going to go take my nighttime medicine and go to bed. I'm feeling sore tonight. I think that's a side effect of not having all my meds. It'll feel good to go to bed tonight.
It's November!
I had a job interview and testing yesterday. It was for a medical receptionist position at CSHP. I was so nervous before I got there. Once I started the testing process, I felt better immediately. The test was on a PC and consisted of data entry, customer service questions, receptionist questions, spelling/vocabulary and medical terminology. The only part I didn't do too well on was the data entry. The job was listed for $9/hr but I was told that if I was offered the job it would probably be for $11+/hour. Woohoo! Only problem is, that then I might make too much money so I need to be careful about what I accept for compensation. I don't want to lose my SS benefits. I can't. I'm not even sure I can work even part time at this point. It would definitely be a trial thing. The actual interview was fine. I was able to answer all the questions put to me. I had to list Lisa and Kitty as references. They were fine with that. Once my references check out, I'll hopefully be asked to a second interview at the actual site (over here on the east side of town). If that goes well, I should hear from the HR person and be offered the job. It will probably take a couple of weeks for all of this to take place. Hopefully I'll be able to attend the voc rehab and skills certificate sessions at the PPWFC.
I also applied for an online job with savingdinner.com. They are hiring a Customer Support Representative. It's an at home part time job. That would be great because of the dogs. If the receptionist job is more than 4 hours on any given day then I probably won't be able to take the position because the dogs won't last in the house alone for that long without possibly having an accident. I'd hate to have to refuse the job because of the dogs. Anyway, whatever is supposed to work out, will work out. I know that.
Want to mention that I called Lynn before the interview and we prayed for me to have peace in the interview and testing process. It definitely helped to pray. I had a lot of confidence in both the testing and the interview. I made a few flubs, but nothing glaring. It certainly was a victory for me to get through the process. Even if I'm not asked for a second interview, I feel good about doing well in the testing and interview. My right hand is sore from taking the test on the PC. I don't know how that would be effected by working 20 hours per week. I'm sure I would get used to using my hand again for that length of time.
After the interview I went home and applied for that online job at savingdinner.com. Then a bit after 6pm we went over to Lisa's for a Halloween get-together. We didn't stay all that long, but we did have a nice time. I was in bed by 10pm but was up at 2am to go to the bathroom. I went back to bed, but started thinking of things that I needed to do so I got up. I wanted to send a thank you email to the interviewer and I got that done. I also wanted to figure out what the potential pay would be for the position so I could see if it would affect my benefits or not. If they don't offer me less money, then I'll have to ask for less. I get to deduct the cost of my medications, but the rate that she quoted me would probably still be too high. I'll just have to see what happens. I'm not going to spend any time worrying about it. I know that what is supposed to happen, will happen.
I also wanted to get up and blog a bit. I haven't blogged for days now. I've had internet and phone at home so I haven't had to go to the library and I've had distraction while at home. Mostly I've been spending my time job hunting and filling out applications. I've kind of let the house go (laundry, dishes, etc.) but I started working on that yesterday. I'll try to get everything caught up by the end of the day today. I'm sure I'll get back to bed for a while and get some sleep. I've only had about four hours of sleep so far tonight/this morning.
I got half of my medicine in the mail yesterday. It's nice to have my Trazadone again to help me to sleep better. I'm still getting up to go to the bathroom but when I am sleeping, it's a more restful sleep. The other half of my medicine should be here by the end of next week, I hope. I really need my Prozac. I'm starting to feel a bit off kilter.
I got a haircut yesterday for the interview. It was kind of messy looking so I got it trimmed up. It's a bit shorter than I'd like but not military style. lol It definitely needed to be trimmed.
The weather was really cold and overcast yesterday. There was a possibility of snow showers and that made me a bit nervous since I had to go downtown for the testing and interview. But the weather was fine. No precip to speak of. But it sure was cold. I parked in the parking garage so I wouldn't have to walk outside. Unfortunately, it cost me $6 to park. Yikes! That's for only about 2 hours or so. Highway robbery if you ask me. lol
We're on our second month of being on a budget. It looks pretty tight for the first couple of weeks of the month, but then we'll have a surplus at the end of the month to 'get ahead'. In December we can definitely start on the BEF. If I can get a job, then we'd be able to fund that a lot quicker and start on the debt snowball (loan, jeep, FFEF). I'd need to spend some money on clothes for work if I get a job outside the home, but I'd try to do my shopping at Goodwill instead of paying retail. If I had two pair of pants and four shirts, I'd have plenty to wear. I don't have any dress clothes at this point. I wore a pair of David's dress pants with my orange top. Luckily the pants fit just fine since I've lost so much weight. I work clunky shoes but decided it would be better than 'falling off' of my slip on shoes.
I haven't walked for days. I need to get out there tomorrow morning and get my mile in. I don't have any smoothie mix, so I've been having cereal for breakfast. I miss walking. I'm not quite as into the new Stephen King story as I was the first one, but it's growing on me. I did a lot of nervous eating today, so I really need to get out there and walk tomorrow. So far I've lost about 30 pounds total. That's pretty good. I'm still trying to stay away from soda, junk food and fast food. I've had a treat now and then, but not daily (or multiple times a day!) like I was doing just months ago. I'm doing really well.
Well, it's November 1st! I can't believe it's turkey month already. I need to start getting ready for thanksgiving and buy a bird. I'm going to keep it low key again this year. If we get invited somewhere, I think we will go but I will still make a bird for at home. David and I need to sit down and talk about christmas. We don't have the money to buy gifts for everyone this year so I think we should concentrate on getting something for the grandkids only. I'm not sure how he'll feel abou that, but otherwise we'll have to do family gifts (movie or game baskets). That might be a better idea anyway. We'll have to see.
I miss going to the library. I was much more focused while I was there. Since I didn't want to spend the day there, I had to just do what was necessary and put off what I didn't need to do. It saved me a lot of time by not being on the computer all day. But, now that I have internet service at home again, I'm back to spending more time on the laptop than I should be. Mostly I spend time on the TMMO site. Which reminds me - The TMMO book is on sale at the christian bookstore for half price, plus an additional 25% off! What a deal. I think I'll pick up the book on Friday. I'm also going to buy some flannel sheets for the bed. They are on sale at Big Lots for $20. They also have a 3 quart $12 crock pot that I'm going to look at. I'm not sure if 3 quarts is big enough so I'll have to see it first. Those things aren't in the budget but they are necessary. I want to start using a crock pot for cooking so I'm not having to start dinner so late int he day eveyr day. And the flannel sheets are needed because we are keeping the temperature so low in the house to conserve on energy. And the book is a steal, so I can't pass that up. I'm not sure how much more I'll get out of the book than I've already gotten out of the radio show and the forum, but it would be nice for David to be able to read the book along with me. He's totally on board but needs some information to understand where we are going with all of this.
I've already got the November budget in place. We went over the budget last weekend. I think we need to go over it again though in more detail.
For some reason I was just thinking of the house up in WP. Sometimes I really miss the lifestyle that we had up there. I don't particularly miss the house, but I do miss the lifestyle. I also miss heating the house with the wood stove (in addition to the electric baseboard heat). I don't know that I miss hauling firewood up to the second level, but I do miss having a fire in the cold weather. And I sure do miss that property. It is so beautiful. Oh well, that's another chapter in my life now. One that I've had to turn the page on. I'm glad that I'm having good feelings about the place instead of always having bad thoughts about everything that happened up there.
One of the other things I was thinking about while I was lying in bed was the money that people owe us that they had no intention of paying back. I lent money to a friend so she could buy safer tires for her vehicle and she never paid us back. We also loaned about $11,000 t D & A and I'm sure we'll never see any of that. And of course there is the money we loaned to Brad. Speaking of Brad, I believe he's back in jail. I got three messages on my cell phone and I think it was from the correctional facility. I'm actually glad that now that the weather is getting colder that he is in jail instead of on the street. He'll have a warm place to stay, food to eat, shelter, a shower every day and he won't have to worry every day about where he's going to sleep that night. I worry about him being in jail since he was jumped last time he was in, but overall I think it might be a safer place than him being out on the streets. I tried to call Grace to see if she knew he was back in jail, but she didn't answer. I left her a message though. I have no idea how long he'll have to be in jail (if he is in there). I hope it's for a while, at least during the cold, snowy months.
Well, David's alarm went off, so it's time for me to head back to bed. It's a bit after 5am. Hopefully I can get another 3 or 4 hours of sleep. I'll blog more later today.
I also applied for an online job with savingdinner.com. They are hiring a Customer Support Representative. It's an at home part time job. That would be great because of the dogs. If the receptionist job is more than 4 hours on any given day then I probably won't be able to take the position because the dogs won't last in the house alone for that long without possibly having an accident. I'd hate to have to refuse the job because of the dogs. Anyway, whatever is supposed to work out, will work out. I know that.
Want to mention that I called Lynn before the interview and we prayed for me to have peace in the interview and testing process. It definitely helped to pray. I had a lot of confidence in both the testing and the interview. I made a few flubs, but nothing glaring. It certainly was a victory for me to get through the process. Even if I'm not asked for a second interview, I feel good about doing well in the testing and interview. My right hand is sore from taking the test on the PC. I don't know how that would be effected by working 20 hours per week. I'm sure I would get used to using my hand again for that length of time.
After the interview I went home and applied for that online job at savingdinner.com. Then a bit after 6pm we went over to Lisa's for a Halloween get-together. We didn't stay all that long, but we did have a nice time. I was in bed by 10pm but was up at 2am to go to the bathroom. I went back to bed, but started thinking of things that I needed to do so I got up. I wanted to send a thank you email to the interviewer and I got that done. I also wanted to figure out what the potential pay would be for the position so I could see if it would affect my benefits or not. If they don't offer me less money, then I'll have to ask for less. I get to deduct the cost of my medications, but the rate that she quoted me would probably still be too high. I'll just have to see what happens. I'm not going to spend any time worrying about it. I know that what is supposed to happen, will happen.
I also wanted to get up and blog a bit. I haven't blogged for days now. I've had internet and phone at home so I haven't had to go to the library and I've had distraction while at home. Mostly I've been spending my time job hunting and filling out applications. I've kind of let the house go (laundry, dishes, etc.) but I started working on that yesterday. I'll try to get everything caught up by the end of the day today. I'm sure I'll get back to bed for a while and get some sleep. I've only had about four hours of sleep so far tonight/this morning.
I got half of my medicine in the mail yesterday. It's nice to have my Trazadone again to help me to sleep better. I'm still getting up to go to the bathroom but when I am sleeping, it's a more restful sleep. The other half of my medicine should be here by the end of next week, I hope. I really need my Prozac. I'm starting to feel a bit off kilter.
I got a haircut yesterday for the interview. It was kind of messy looking so I got it trimmed up. It's a bit shorter than I'd like but not military style. lol It definitely needed to be trimmed.
The weather was really cold and overcast yesterday. There was a possibility of snow showers and that made me a bit nervous since I had to go downtown for the testing and interview. But the weather was fine. No precip to speak of. But it sure was cold. I parked in the parking garage so I wouldn't have to walk outside. Unfortunately, it cost me $6 to park. Yikes! That's for only about 2 hours or so. Highway robbery if you ask me. lol
We're on our second month of being on a budget. It looks pretty tight for the first couple of weeks of the month, but then we'll have a surplus at the end of the month to 'get ahead'. In December we can definitely start on the BEF. If I can get a job, then we'd be able to fund that a lot quicker and start on the debt snowball (loan, jeep, FFEF). I'd need to spend some money on clothes for work if I get a job outside the home, but I'd try to do my shopping at Goodwill instead of paying retail. If I had two pair of pants and four shirts, I'd have plenty to wear. I don't have any dress clothes at this point. I wore a pair of David's dress pants with my orange top. Luckily the pants fit just fine since I've lost so much weight. I work clunky shoes but decided it would be better than 'falling off' of my slip on shoes.
I haven't walked for days. I need to get out there tomorrow morning and get my mile in. I don't have any smoothie mix, so I've been having cereal for breakfast. I miss walking. I'm not quite as into the new Stephen King story as I was the first one, but it's growing on me. I did a lot of nervous eating today, so I really need to get out there and walk tomorrow. So far I've lost about 30 pounds total. That's pretty good. I'm still trying to stay away from soda, junk food and fast food. I've had a treat now and then, but not daily (or multiple times a day!) like I was doing just months ago. I'm doing really well.
Well, it's November 1st! I can't believe it's turkey month already. I need to start getting ready for thanksgiving and buy a bird. I'm going to keep it low key again this year. If we get invited somewhere, I think we will go but I will still make a bird for at home. David and I need to sit down and talk about christmas. We don't have the money to buy gifts for everyone this year so I think we should concentrate on getting something for the grandkids only. I'm not sure how he'll feel abou that, but otherwise we'll have to do family gifts (movie or game baskets). That might be a better idea anyway. We'll have to see.
I miss going to the library. I was much more focused while I was there. Since I didn't want to spend the day there, I had to just do what was necessary and put off what I didn't need to do. It saved me a lot of time by not being on the computer all day. But, now that I have internet service at home again, I'm back to spending more time on the laptop than I should be. Mostly I spend time on the TMMO site. Which reminds me - The TMMO book is on sale at the christian bookstore for half price, plus an additional 25% off! What a deal. I think I'll pick up the book on Friday. I'm also going to buy some flannel sheets for the bed. They are on sale at Big Lots for $20. They also have a 3 quart $12 crock pot that I'm going to look at. I'm not sure if 3 quarts is big enough so I'll have to see it first. Those things aren't in the budget but they are necessary. I want to start using a crock pot for cooking so I'm not having to start dinner so late int he day eveyr day. And the flannel sheets are needed because we are keeping the temperature so low in the house to conserve on energy. And the book is a steal, so I can't pass that up. I'm not sure how much more I'll get out of the book than I've already gotten out of the radio show and the forum, but it would be nice for David to be able to read the book along with me. He's totally on board but needs some information to understand where we are going with all of this.
I've already got the November budget in place. We went over the budget last weekend. I think we need to go over it again though in more detail.
For some reason I was just thinking of the house up in WP. Sometimes I really miss the lifestyle that we had up there. I don't particularly miss the house, but I do miss the lifestyle. I also miss heating the house with the wood stove (in addition to the electric baseboard heat). I don't know that I miss hauling firewood up to the second level, but I do miss having a fire in the cold weather. And I sure do miss that property. It is so beautiful. Oh well, that's another chapter in my life now. One that I've had to turn the page on. I'm glad that I'm having good feelings about the place instead of always having bad thoughts about everything that happened up there.
One of the other things I was thinking about while I was lying in bed was the money that people owe us that they had no intention of paying back. I lent money to a friend so she could buy safer tires for her vehicle and she never paid us back. We also loaned about $11,000 t D & A and I'm sure we'll never see any of that. And of course there is the money we loaned to Brad. Speaking of Brad, I believe he's back in jail. I got three messages on my cell phone and I think it was from the correctional facility. I'm actually glad that now that the weather is getting colder that he is in jail instead of on the street. He'll have a warm place to stay, food to eat, shelter, a shower every day and he won't have to worry every day about where he's going to sleep that night. I worry about him being in jail since he was jumped last time he was in, but overall I think it might be a safer place than him being out on the streets. I tried to call Grace to see if she knew he was back in jail, but she didn't answer. I left her a message though. I have no idea how long he'll have to be in jail (if he is in there). I hope it's for a while, at least during the cold, snowy months.
Well, David's alarm went off, so it's time for me to head back to bed. It's a bit after 5am. Hopefully I can get another 3 or 4 hours of sleep. I'll blog more later today.
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