Top 10

I found out that I'm in the top 10 out of over 30 applications they had for the position. Seems that the next step is that they'll be sitting down to go thru those and proceed with making phone calls for interviews next week.

I'm excited to have made the top 10, however, I'm also looking at this that I've only got a 10% chance.

I'm incredibly nervous. Not even sure what else to say at this point, other than....

PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!

Waiting on pins and needles

I've never wanted a phone call so badly.

A friend of mine (bless her GIGANTIC heart!) told me of a position opening up where she works. She had me email my resume over and she personally took it to the girl in HR.

Some time went by, and I asked her if anything came of it. She told me that the girl in HR was on vacation and that she'd speak to her as soon as she was back (last Monday).

She called me and let me know what she had found out. The HR girl read my resume, and thought I would be a good fit for a different position. She told my friend she'd email over the job description and that I should apply if interested. In turn, my friend sent it to me, I read it over and didn't even think twice about whether or not I should apply.

So, I updated my resume once again, and sent it off with a cover letter for the position.

Now I wait and every time the phone rings, my heart lurches into my throat and I'm hopeful. Then, when I realize it's not THE phone call I'm hoping for, it sinks back down to the pit of my stomach.

I don't think I have ever wanted something so badly. I want this job and I KNOW I could rock at it. I'm trying not to get my hopes up, and that is damn hard. I feel like I've got an advantage because the girl in HR read my resume and picked the position she thought I would most fit. She could have just as easily said I wasn't qualified for the original position and left it at that.

First things first, I need to nab an interview. And then I need to dazzle them so much that they offer me the position. Like I said, I'm trying to be cautious with my emotions, my wants, my absolute need to do something like RIGHT. NOW. This is only my 2nd week being unemployed and I'm already itching to jump right in and get going.

I've continued to check Career Builder on a daily basis, and there's just nothing out there. It's scary, and this opportunity I have before me is .... everything.

So if ever there was a time to have a prayer answered.... now would be it.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Last month my boss sat me down and broke the news to me. The company was going to be going out of business. While this wasn't a total shock, it was one of those things you turn a blind eye towards and hope that somehow things just turn around.

Even so, it still left my world turned upside down.

Today my kids went back to school. As they start 4th and 2nd grade, I am starting unemployment. I put the kids on the bus, and came back into the house and cried. Not because my babies are growing up (well, maybe a little....), but because I had no job to go to for the first time in nearly 13 years.

And I'm unemployed in the worst economy in many, many, many years. My outlook is bleak. I'm holding onto shreds of hope. My friends are positive and optimistic. The whole "when one door clothes, another opens" bit.

While I appreciate their words (hell, I need that positive reinforcement when my mind is nothing but darkness), it's also hard to just put the worry out of your mind.

So, in the meantime, while I look for a job and bring in my small unemployment wages, I'll also continue doing what I have been for months. Earning $5 Amazon gift cards thru Swagbucks, earning $10 Amazon gift cards from a focus/research group I belong to, earn more $ from Crowdtap, earning $3 per survey thru PineCone Research (I've already done & been paid for 2 in just a couple weeks), and by couponing.

I've posted before about my couponing efforts and I'm going to try to start a bit more.

We'll start with today's trip to Dominick's. I normally don't shop here because it's too expensive regularly, but if you have their value card, and if you sign up for their "Just for U" specials, you can score some really fantastic deals.

Today I managed to get the following haul:


4 boxes of Cheerios @ .49 cents each = $1.96
4 boxes of Lucky Charms/Golden Grahams bars @ .89 cents each = $3.56
4 boxes of Betty Crocker fruit snacks @ .69 cents each = $2.76
2 boxes of Cheez-It crackers @ $1.49 each = $2.98
2 jars Ragu sauce @ .49 cents each = $.98
2 cans Friskies cat food (B1G1F) = $.65
1 box Teddy Grahams = $1.19
1 package of napkins = $0.00 (freebie with my "Just for U" savings)

TOTAL OUT OF POCKET W/TAX = $14.66

That's a savings of almost 79%!!!!

So, when life gives you lemons....find a way to make lemonade!