poison ivy- why do you love me so?

yep, thats right, i have poison ivy AGAIN! 

for those of you who dont know, i am extremely allergic (read:sensitive) to poison ivy. during spring break 2008 while on a mission trip in Arlington, TX , i got a little poison ivy... no thats an understatement. i was attacked by poison ivy. i had it all over my face, legs and stomach. and i had to drive us back 10 hours with it. 

dont worry, the story gets worse.

i went to the doctor and got pills and cremes. it didnt go away. i got a shot and more creme. it didnt go away. i got another shot. it did not go away! i got super strength steroids, a super dose shot and super dose creme. it went away. 

it took an entire month of my life last year. literally! 

so on monday (memorial day) i started itching. i assumed it was a bug bite, i mean i was outside all night with some fabulous company. 

no such luck! on tuesday morning i realized it was a patch of something... something that looked familiar... something i had seen before... "ahhh man is it really poison ivy?"!!! yep. i somehow got a case of poison ivy on my stomach, in my belly button (yes IN), on my side and on my back- only in the curve of my spine (how the heck do you get it there?). 

so right now i am putting the cremes on it (since i happen to have an abundance on hand) and trying my absolute hardest to not scratch. and so far no spreading... if it doesnt spread then i am not going to get the shot... but if it does i am just going to ask for the super stuff from the beginning. 

it is miserable to think about and desire to do something all day long but not be able to do it... and i know that is a great segue into comparing this to our spiritual lives but it is one in the morning and i cant sleep because i am itching so bad, so no spiritual application for me right now. 

oh- and we leave for youth camp on monday! ha great great timing i have. as usual... and where the heck did i get this stuff anyways?? geez! 

thoughts on getting a job #3

i am enjoying sharing things i am learning about the process of getting a job with you (whoever you are) so i am going to share more, regardless of if you are actually finding it helpful or fun... hehe

so thought #3 is about... cover letters. 

i feel like they are the new resume. i mean i spent literally a few months getting my resume ready before i started looking for jobs, and then to my amazement i have to work just as hard at doing cover letters for every job i apply for. now i know what you are thinking, why dont you just do one and be done with it? well here are my five tips when it comes to cover letters (which i picked up by scouring the web on the subject- of course!):

1. Dont underestimate the importance of the cover letter! Most employers read these alone and then pick the resumes they will look into solely off of this.

2. Dont just copy a template offline and change the names etc! I will totally admit this is what I did with the first few. Then i found an article online which pointed out that everyone is doing this... meaning companies are seeing the same cover letters over and over again! Which leads us to number three...

3. Put some of yourself in the cover letter. I kept seeing this tip on websites and it totally makes sense, because you want them to begin reading something they havent seen all day. So think of something personal that connects you to the position.

4. Connect your strengths and experiences to the position responsibilities as much as you can. You want to be specific and straightforward, showing them that you will be great at this job. Dont write a bunch of vague and generic sentences about work in general, they want to know how you will be at their open position, so tell them.  (This one i experience first hand with council applications... when people wrote generic sunday school answers i skipped right over their answers bc i found it to be fake and pointless...)

5. Be honest. Dont try to convince them you will be a good worker if you wont. Just tell them who you are, what kind of experience you have, why you like the position and then let God do the rest! 

now i realize i am an unemployed girl who really knows nothing about any of this... but i just want to share easy to understand info along the way for anyone who is in the same boat i am. i hope it saves you lots of time googling the million upon millions of websites dedicated to this! 

do any of you have any other great tips?

job and health updates...

so just a quick update about a few things in my life.

1. Job: still unemployed (it has only been a week), though i have felt just as busy as when i had a full time job! but somethings are happening. 

i had an interview with Community Action last week and got a call for a second interview today. So this thursday i will interview with them for a second time. i thought the last interview went well, and i felt more confident than i thought i would. i usually lose the ability to think of words when i am put on the spot, but i was able to take my time and think thru good answers. anyhow, we will see how that all goes.

i have applied for a million jobs at wku, well to be more specific ten jobs (yes ten). the first several had been posted forever, so i am fairly certain those positions are either filled or frozen for now. but lately they have been adding more positions!! i get so excited everytime i check the website and there is a new opportunity to look at! i have applied for several jobs i am no where near qualified for, but i feel writing the cover letters and doing the application process is good training. 

i did get an email from the hr department at WKU this week informing me that my materials (resume etc) was being forwarded on to the office hiring that position. so thats good, it means i made it past the "there is no way this person is working for wku" round. (i have heard nothing on the other positions...) and there is a new position open that i am really excited to apply for, ill talk more about it later. (a friend told me it wouldnt be wise to give specifics on the blog until i get a job)

as tommy johnson says, "looking for and getting a job is a full time job"... i am working at it sir! 

2. health: remember all those health posts about thyroid junk and how i was feeling? (you can find them under the "health stuff" category) well i thought it would be a good idea to let you know i am feeling so much better! leaps and bounds better! yay! i have no idea if it is the new thyroid medicine, or if it is the insulin resistant medicine, but i have energy and feel much more like myself these days! Praise the Lord! 

what is funny about that is that i almost forgot to tell anyone i was feeling better. it is so much easier to complain than to give good reports isnt it? i find it annoying! 

3. **bonus update**: when i first started this blog last summer, i was doing a bible study with some friends... well we never finished it so this summer we are trying it again. the bible study is: "no other gods" by kelly minter. isnt it crazy how something you already did can challenge you so much? it goes to show i did not learn these biblical lesson the first go round i guess. so i am sure you will get to here all about lessons from that study in the next few months. 

and coming soon to pate life: a memorial day update and a stab at being crafty... stay tuned! 

 

a new 'blog-world' find... well two actually

thanks to a few of my friends blogs, i have found two new blogs that are super fun and i thought i would share.

1. this young house: this is a young married couple's home improvement blog. they have all kinds of cool "how to" tips and before and after pictures of home redos. if you are the type who loves a night watching hgtv then this blog is for you!

2. Passionate Homemaking: this is a blog about living frugally and generously for the Lord. she has some great cooking and recipe advice, some cool frugal tips, and alot of spiritual encouragement. check out her book list, it has some great recommendations. 

Enjoy my friends! 

day 1 of unemployment

here is a snapshot of my first day of unemployment:

woke up at 7:20am b/c a 75 lb dog was sitting on me.

quickly fed my dog, my cat and tommy's dog bandana (who is staying w/ us for the week).

tried to coax bandana out of his kennel (he loves that thing).

got bandana out of the kennel and down the hallway (headed outside).

saw my dog, joey, peeing on a chair! 

yelled furiously and smacked his nose.

got both dogs outside finally.

began cleaning up the little mess my dog had left me! 

finally sat down with some coffee and had some time with the Lord. 

took the dogs for a walk.

scoured frugal blogs to find deals before i went grocery shopping... turned out to be wasted time, saved no money with coupons this week.

watched a girly movie.

went to the grocery store and ran some errands.

read websites about interview questions to prepare.

went to a job interview at community action.

got home right when the hubby did! yay.

cooked dinner.

ate dinner on our patio, fabulous!

sent the hubby to work at starbucks.

cleaned the kitchen, did laundry and more laundry.

watched the season finale of one tree hill... way to go nathan (oth fans will understand).

currently surfing the net waiting for hubby to get home so we can sleep!!! 

sounds like a ton, but i swear if felt like the slowest day ever!!

thoughts on getting a job #2

this morning i had a "job screen" for a job with community action. what is a job screen you ask? i didnt have a clue either! ha! on friday morning, i got a call from community action asking me if they could schedule a phone job screen for monday morning. i said yes, still having no idea what it meant. and then this morning i waited for the call. 

a job screen is a "pre-interview" phone interview that helps the company weed thru applicants and pick the best for the position to actually bring in for an interview. they ask a series of generic questions, and are not allowed to clarify or deviate away from the questions in the screen. this is so that everyone has the exact same screening.

so i was asked questions about what kind of worker i would describe myself as, how i deal with conflict, what type of work environment i prefer etc.  

i decided i should share a few things you should always know about yourself incase you have a job interview. put these on the fridge if you need! ha!:

1. have a list of 5 adjectives that describe you handy (bc we all know that thinking of adjectives other than fun and cool is hard on the spot)

2. think up and write down a few different examples of a time you have dealt with conflict management in a previous job

3. a list of your top strengths and weaknesses... i always hate that question! 

thats all i can think of for now, but you get the point. i am definitely going to make a cheat sheet for next time! 

thoughts on getting a job #1

i have decided that while i endeavor to get a new job, i will share with you guys what i learn or realize along the way. maybe some of it will be helpful, but most of this will prob just be showing you my frustration with this process. here we go!

thoughts on getting a job #1

do future employers expect you to keep a database of all previous job information from your entire life? i just applied to a retail company for a part time summer job. i had to give them my entire life on paper. seriously. they wanted me to list every job i have had in the last ten years. TEN YEARS! 

and here is the thing, i know all the jobs i have ever worked. but i had to give them the phone numbers, name of supervisors, amount i got paid etc. maybe i am the only one here, but i did write down nor do i remember my supervisor from sonic when i was 17's name. some of the places i worked dont even exist anymore. 

lesson number one- keep a database of everything you ever do in life, so then you will always have it when some company has enough time to look thru where you have w

orked in the last ten years. they must has a booming business. 

rain, rain go away! come back another day!

i feel like it has been raining FOREVER!! i could obviously never live in seattle. anyhow, it has rained off and one for over a week. which is good in some ways... but not so good in lots of other ways. so here are my reasons for it being good and not so good...

the good list:

1. rain makes things grow

2. rain is soothing to sleep to

3. rain relieves humidity

4. rain is wet... eliminating the worry of your hair being frizzy or you being sweaty!

the not so good list:

1. rain makes my grass grow- and i now live in a jungle

2. when you have to get up early and be a grown up, rain doesnt help the cause!

3. rain makes things slick and might cause you to fall

4. rain is wet... making the bottom of your pants soppy and you super cold and wet also...

5. rain makes my dog wet... then he comes in and makes everything else wet and gross! 

as you can see, i really think that the bad outweighs the good. now I know that weather is in God's hands and not mine, and who am i to judge the job he is doing. i am simply requesting He consider giving us a few dry, breezy and sunny days! 

a God who provides

This morning I want to share two thoughts... let them dwell in your heart for awhile. 

1. So many times in my life, I've discovered God's provision in packages way different than I think I need, want or expect. It is not that He isn't providing for me, it is simply that I need to change my perspective on what is going to be best for me. 
2. Keeping my mind saturated with truth keeps Satan from being able to whisper dangerous assumptions, false accusations, and faith-eroding perspectives into my mind. 

Isaiah 26:3, "You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." (NIV)