Taking on Some Challenges

The change that was a-coming has finally made it! I started my new job yesterday, and made the decision to consider this time a Season of Change in life and fully embrace it.

I'm taking on a challenge in my work environment, shifting responsibility for a project off one group and shouldering it myself. I think it will be a good thing for me, insofar as professional and personal growth goes, and I hope I can achieve a level of growth that surprises even me. After the first of the year, I will be learning more about the behind-the-scenes part of the internet store workings and have already taken ownership of the operation. It's a challenge, but one I'm ready to accept.

The second challenge I've taken on is the Pound for Pound Challenge on The Biggest Loser website. Since this is an official Season of Change for me, I'm going to shift things around and get out of my comfort zone. That means a renewed commitment to a healthy lifestyle for me and John, and losing weight is the most important part of that. I committed to 25 pounds between now and June 30th. I think it's reasonable, and if I apply myself I can make that happen.

The last challenge is the one I will accomplish first, and it's easily the one that will provide the maximum amount of happiness with the fastest payoff. I have to get completely ready for Christmas! With all the hustle of leaving the pharmacy, working there longer than I expected, and preparing for the Christmas parade on Saturday night, I have let my own stuff fall by the wayside. My family arrives early Christmas Eve morning, and we have to be ready!

Overall, I think the challenges are positive, and will yield some pretty awesome results, both in the short and long runs.

Monday - trying to find my groove.

I was reading Marianna's blog and got the idea for a way to break through the writer's block and blog more often. Look for more in the coming days as my schedule settles down and I find my new routine

Young Woman's Daybook ~ Monday, December 7, 2009

Outside My Window... It's still dark outside, but the last few days I've been watching our neighbor's trampoline fill up with leaves. The snow last Friday was very pretty and thankfully did not stick and cause problems.

I am thinking... The transition from the pharmacy back to the office is underway, and right now I'm just waiting for my new job to be ready for me. In the meantime I'll be helping out in the pharmacy during the day until I start. Once the new job begins, I'll help out on Saturdays. It will be busy, but worth it in the long run. Plus, it's the right thing to do, even though it's a more difficult choice (but isn't THAT the case more often than not?)

I am thankful for... There are too many things to be thankful for this year, even though we're still in a tight spot this year it's so much better than it was last, or even the one before that. I'm thankful this year we can focus on the real meaning of the holiday and not so much on the "stuff" that goes with it.

From the kitchen... Yesterday Christine gave us some fresh eggs from their chickens. I used those to make a breakfast casserole and it turned out well. I had a piece for breakfast this morning, with my coffee and yogurt, and sort of wish we had more of those eggs. It was an interesting new thing to try.

I am wearing... Right now I'm still in my jammies, but I'll have on my scrubs before too long. I really am excited about getting to wear "real" clothes to work and not have a literal uniform (although anyone who knows me probably thinks my unofficial uniform of cardigan, t-shirt or button-down, and jeans is probably a bit boring.)

I am creating... Our Christmas decorations are going up, and I am searching for the candles for my Advent wreath. I'm also putting together a list of crafty things I can make for gifts in these next couple of weeks. I also need to find my red velvet ribbon and make a big bow for the wagon on Saturday (see below.)

I am going... We're participating in the Hometown Traditions Christmas Parade here in Livingston on Saturday. We spent part of yesterday putting lights on the covered wagon and picking up a few things to finish decorating on Saturday morning. I am very excited about this!

I am reading... As always I have several books going. I just re-read Eclipse, and am also re-reading The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis.

I am hoping... It will be very good when my new job starts, and I hope that transition is smooth and positive for everyone involved.

I am hearing... The morning news is on in our living room, as it is every morning, and right now the traffic and weather is on.

Around the house... We have several things piled up for the parade Saturday, and I have a lot more cleaning and setting up to do before my family gets here on the 23rd.

One of my favorite things... Right now my Peppermint Mocha creamer is just about my favorite thing in the house. I know it's getting close to Christmas time when I see it in the dairy case.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... More cleaning is on the schedule, along with putting together some menus for the actual holiday and decorating. I want to firm up my craft plans and get those started as soon as I can so I'm not too rushed at the last minute.

The Lord is teaching me... It seems patience. I never wanted to be one of those who prayed for patience, but that seems to be the lesson I'm learning these days. I've never really been a patient person, but perhaps that's the point. I need to worry less, or worry about the things that really matter and not get caught up in all the superfluous things going on around me. Probably goes along with focusing on priorities and managing them properly.

Welcome Christmas!

I never feel especially Christmas-y until the first of December. It doesn't matter how many radio stations start playing music on November 1st, or how many parades feature Santa at the end, or how much shopping I get done before This Day, the first of December is the day I really start kicking into Christmas gear.

This year has flown so quickly, and even though I've been aware the holiday was coming up it seems like it's here much too soon. My family will be here in three weeks. I need to finish cleaning and decorating, get my gifts together, and be ready to enjoy the time they'll be here in Livingston.

Lots to do, and not a lot of time to get it done, but it will be an adventure!

Thankfulness

This year there is a lot to be thankful for in our home. As most of you have come to expect, it follows in list form.

• John is happily employed in what we have come to refer to as "The Job" - meaning the job he has always wanted, the job he wants to stay in for years and years and years to come, the job he sees himself enjoying for the very long haul.
  
• We are finding our place in this community and looking at longer-term housing options that will help us put down some roots here. Because of the first bullet, it's the first time in a long time either of us are in a root-putting place.
• I just got a new job working for John's company. I won't share much about that, particularly until things get sorted and settled more certainly, but it's a wonderful opportunity for me, and I would be hard-pressed to find something like this elsewhere in Livingston.

I will hopefully be posting more in the coming days, although we are traveling to El Paso for Thanksgiving, so I will be out of pocket a bit. Suffice to say there is lots to share, and lots to look forward to, and lots to reflect upon as this year comes to a close.

Changes may be a'coming

It's no secret I've been struggling for over a year now with some big-picture issues in life. I've taken different paths, peeked through doors and windows I was unsure about, trying to figure out what direction I'm supposed to take. It's been frustrating, depressing on some levels, and not exactly a fun-filled adventure on the whole.

One door may be opening and I pushed on it today in the hopes it will open to a better path for me, and for my family. Am I nervous? Of course. Would it be worth it? Without a doubt. I've done what I can do for now, and all there is to do is wait. That seems to be the overwhelming theme of my life lately - wait.

All I can pray for is that the waiting is worth it in the end. I know I would not wait this long for something that wasn't, and I know God has better than that in mind for me. I wish it were as easy as some like to tell you it is. It's just not. This whole trusting God to do what he does best, and trying to be patient for his resolution is just... it's a struggle I don't know I could wish on my worst enemy.

Until the daylight comes through this tunnel, it seems all I do is wait and pray and try to sort out what path is the right one to get me out of this place. Hopefully I will have good news in the coming weeks, leading to more good news from there. We shall see...

Thinking about direction

So lately the subject of school has been back on my mind. In a tight job market, I need to find a way to stand out from the crowd of Associates' Degree bearing administrative assistants who fell in the same trap I did.

I've also been reading Luci Swindoll's Notes to a Working Woman. She spends time discussing years of wandering down the career path rather aimlessly, following whatever happens to be in front of you at the time. That really summarizes my career to this point - I've taken the jobs that have fallen into my lap, and made the mistake of thinking "well, this isn't fulfilling/enjoyable/meeting whatever esoteric need I've perceived at the time" and just moving on to the next thing.

In a bustling job market, it's easier to move on to the next administrative role with little to no fuss. The worst I'd ever experienced was six months of unemployment after 9/11/2001 and the unfortunate ending of a temporary assignment just about two weeks before that day. Until now, of course.

So, my resume is full of six months here, six months there, and what is definitely job hopping. I chalk it up to a lot of things - uncertainty about where I'd be geographically, general undiagnosed depression, and a feeling that something just wasn't quite right and maybe changing jobs would fix it. For the last six months I've been working a minimum wage job in a pharmacy, studying on my own for the certified technician exam and trying to figure out how to make the best of this thing I've found myself doing.

I've come to the realization it's time to start putting out feelers for something in the administrative field again. I'm not saying I think I'm too good to work in the grocery store, or that I think I'm better than the people who've chosen to make their career there. It's just not for me. It's okay for right now, but in the long term I can see the benefits of getting back into something that's more appropriate for my skill set and personality. Quite frankly working 40+ hours a week in a "part-time" position with no benefits, no vacation, and no idea of what is coming down the pipe is discouraging. Couple that with the people I deal with on a daily basis, and sometimes I wonder about my personal sanity.

The question remains - how do I turn my resume around? How do I get someone to look past the negative that I'm certain they see and get the opportunity to meet them?I know I come across better in person than on paper right now, and the struggle is finding faces. It's made even more difficult by my schedule and current geographic location - the part-time job has me working five or six days a week, and I'm at least 45 minutes from anything resembling a larger town, so how do I get my networking (face to face, of course) in?

Do I try to go back to school in the midst of all this? And if I did, what do I study? Do I simply finish my Bachelor's in whatever I'm nearest degree completion? Do I try for a certification without a B.A./B.S. as a quicker route in the short term? Do I even worry about those things, and just focus on creating a network in Houston?

There are so many questions, and so many different answers out there. It's a matter of figuring out what works best for me and my family; not as easy as it may sound. But at this point I think I'd rather try and fail than continue to stay in the rut I've found myself.

Rainy Days and Exploration

It's been a bit rainy around here, which I am most definitely not complaining about, as it's made the temperatures a bit cooler. Things feel more fall-like with a bit of overcast sky and a temperature below eighty degrees. We're on this weather rollercoaster right now; Sunday I wore a light cardigan sweater and my boots, and tomorrow we may hit ninety.

Saturday morning, John found a gift card for Crate & Barrel left over from our wedding presents nearly three years ago. I had a nice little balance left on it, so I found the one (one, really?) Houston location of C&B and went exploring a bit on my own. I'd been to the Galleria area with John, but had not been off the interstate very much.

It was a fun day. I went to the Galleria and poked around a bit, stopping in Tiffany and Cartier to ogle jewelry, digging through clearance bins at Borders, and generally window-shopping to my heart's content. Lunch was the salad sampler at La Madeleine, and they even had the creamy potato soup I like so much.

The Crate & Barrel is in Highland Village, a few blocks from the Galleria, and I got some great deals on serving pieces and a neat colander that either stands on its own or fits over the sink. There are quite a few shops in Highland Village too, and I looked in a few of those, but they're a bit out of my spending range, especially my minimum-wage pharmacy range. They'd be out of my office-worker range too, but it's that much more evident right now.

I think there is more exploration to be done, and I was glad to see something different and learn about it myself. John has always been the traveler, the explorer, and it's sort of nice to get to experience something new that I can tell him about, even if he's not the least bit interested in the shopping parts.