The Highs and Lows of Looking for Work

Borrowed from Facebook

What a great day! It's been a day full of activity. I think I've done more in one day than I have in the past two weeks. 

This morning I went to the school to see my teacher and a couple of fellow classmates. We had a good debate about the brokenness of our social services system and the different views on a two-tier system. Afterwards I went for coffee with my classmate and we had a great conversation. After being cooped up in the house with my kids for the past two weeks it's kind of nice to get out of the house and have a real conversation without children interrupting. I've got some new ideas for my job search and I'm feeling better about life in general. After going home and feeding the kids lunch I took them to our aunt's place for a visit. Sometimes I just love hearing stories from the past. We stayed for a couple of hours and went home for supper. This evening I went to my group at the Ottawa Satir Center. I always feel so welcome when I'm there and I always leave feeling renewed and refreshed. It feels good to have a fresh outlook on life. 

Looking for a job can be very stressful and depressing at times. It's hard not to take rejection so personally. Believe me I get it. This is not an easy process for anyone and I need to remember I'm not alone. Above all right now I need to remember that I've just finished working my tail off for the past 10 months. These were months filled with hard work, sweat, tears, and very little sleep. It's no wonder I've been sleeping a lot the last couple of weeks - my body is playing catch-up. So, I'm quite happy that today I feel more like myself again. I'm sure there will come a time when I hit another low point and that's ok it's normal and I am not alone. 

Are you looking for work? Do you feel down and out? I'd love to hear from you. 

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The Unwritten Page of Life

I'm sitting here staring at a blank page. It's a little like my life right now - the empty whiteness of an unwritten page. An unwritten page is full of hope, promise and at times can seem like utter hopelessness and frustration. But there is something beneath the sheer blankness of it. There is someone writing your story. Even when it feels like a case of writer's block eventually something clicks and the story starts to appear. 

Although the metaphoric book of my life is already half written life feels like a blank page right now. I'm in that inbetween place where I know there is a plan but I can't see what it is. 

Is your life an unwritten page right now? Do you feel stuck or hopeless? There is a plan for your life as I know there is a plan for mine. 

I just wish someone would fill me in on it.

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Healthy Granola Bar Fail

Happy Hump Day! Yep, it's Wednesday and the week is half over. Since, I'm currently looking for work I decided now would be a good time to focus on healthy eating. I made my first batch of granola bars. As with most things I make I detoured from the recipe and made it my own. 

Homemade Fruit & Pecan Granola Bars

Upon trying them for the first time I realize these are not so healthy...they are way too sweet and coming from me that IS really sweet. Since one of my goals is to try and cut down on sugar these definitely do not help achieve that goal. Lesson learned. If a granola recipe calls for a cup of brown sugar just don't do it! 

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A Long Overdue Update

Okay, so obviously I'm a "little" behind in blogging but I'm here now and I have so much to tell you. As of midnight July 9th (technically the 10th) I am finished my student placement at the JF Norwood House. In fact, as of July 11 when I turned in my final evaluation I am officially done school! 

Can you believe a year ago I didn't even know if I would get into the program? And now here I am completely done. If my calculations are correct my overall average for school was 87%!!!!! I'd originally hoped for in the 90's but quickly realized that wasn't very realistic with 3 kids running around my house. After that my goal was to keep it around 85% and as you can see I beat that! I have to say I'm proud of myself! I guess that inner voice of negativity was wrong all along. I'm not really stupid at all, in fact, I think I may even be SMART! 

So, I finished placement Monday and left Wednesday afternoon to attend a GEMS Girls' Clubs Leadership Conference at Wheaton College in Illinois. It was truly amazing. There were over 640 women in attendance. I'm forever changed from the experience. I spent time with some of the most amazing women I've ever had the privilege of meeting. 

Myself and Kristen - I just love this picture! 

I arrived back home Monday in the wee hours of the morning and I've been catching up on sleep since. Today's the first day I haven't spent most of my time on the couch. When I think about it I've pretty much been going straight since September when I started school. Now I'm continuing my job search. 

Starting Monday I'm going to step it up a notch. It's not going to be easy, but I think getting up and getting ready as though I was going to work will make a great difference in my day. I'm sending as many resumes to as many places as I can think of. It's a lot more time consuming now that I actually adjust my resume and cover letter to each company I apply to. I'm sure the time I'm putting into them will be well worth my while. I'm a little concerned I will be overlooked because I don't have a lot of related experience. I wish there was some way of conveying who I really am in my resume. I'll just pray for interviews so people can see for themselves how truly awesome I am :-) 

Hey, if I can't toot my own horn who else will?

I'm off to go about my day. I'm going for coffee with my amazing sister-in-law and mum-in-law. On that note, just a shout out to say 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROBIN!

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