2 Things:

1) My husband gave me the most beautiful potted flowers for Valentines day. (I love flowers and like getting them but feel like they're a waste of money at the same time. To compromise he gets me potted ones. Isn't that nice? :)

2) I got a new job in a cardiac rehab center at a somewhat nearby hospital. I'm really excited. It's starting out part-time but, it could go to full time. It also includes benefits. Hospitals definitely take care of their employees.

The hospital is in the process of reorganizing their program and are hiring an Exercise Physiologist for the first time in a few years in order to diversify the team. It'll be challenging to carve out a niche for myself but, I think that it's ultimately better that way. I think I'll enjoy having a say in some of the changes and making the program the best it can be for us and for the patients.

Life is good.

On Colds

I've always been really blessed when it comes to health. I usually only get a couple of colds a year. Working in childcare the last couple of months has already given me 2-3. I think I've reached my quota. My current cold is the worst one I've had in like 4 years and I'm not exaggerating. It's because of said cold that I'm blogging this morning instead of working. Luckily Joey has been really helpful.Two nights ago everything above my mouth was completely blocked. It felt like there was a heavy plug in all of my nasal and sinus passages. On top of that I have a sore throat so, the whole breathing with my mouth open thing didn't feel so good. No matter what angle I positioned my head and how much cold medicine I took nothing helped. As I got frustrated because my body was exhausted but I couldn't sleep I started to cry and my throat tightened up too and then I really couldn't breathe. It was kind of scary. After I calmed myself down Joey offered to give me a blessing and I was able to sleep the rest of the night. He was also willing to go to the store last night to get me some breathing strips (which actually help by the way). So, all in all I guess if I have to get a nasty cold at least I have someone to take care of me. :)

On another note, I just found out I may not have to work with the little petri dishes much longer (as cute as 2 year olds are and as much as I like them they don't exactly understand the concept of keeping germs to themselves.) I have a job interview at a cardiac rehab center! Updates to come.

Picture update of the last 3 months

I realized today that I've been shamefully bad about updating this blog so, here's a quick recap a few things I've missed: My mom came to visit at the end of September. It was awesome to have her here and we did some fun things like shopping and going to one of the local apple orchards.

 And then we made some delicious pie with the apples we got. Yum!

 Next comes Halloween & my birthday. We carved a pumpkin and then made some wonderful chicken cordon bleu for my birthday dinner. It was delicious.

Thanksgiving: We couldn't visit family this year and when I found out I was pretty disappointed. This is the first year that I haven't been able to spend it with my family. So, we decided to make our own Thanksgiving meal and set up our Christmas tree like my family does. It turned out well and we had a nice day together.

Here's Joey carving his first turkey. He did a really good job.

Here's the biggest, cheapest tree I could find. It's 6' tall and was only $20! I will admit that it looks a little sad by itself but, I really wanted a tree so, I'm happy.

Plus, it looks a lot better all decorated. We--well, mostly I--made almost all of the ornaments on the tree. I crocheted the snowflake garland as well. I think that it turned out really well.

Happy Holidays! 

Oh yeah, and I got a part-time in-the-mean-time-job at one of the other pre-school centers of the company that my husband works for. I'm a substitute. It's good enough to hold me over until something in my field opens up. Who knows, maybe the experience will help me in some unforeseen way. 

Chapter 10: The silver lining to the clouds

My blogs have had a slightly depressing or maybe even complaining tone to them lately but, as I think about it I find that there's always at least a little silver lining to the dark clouds that have come our way. We've still found time to do fun things and I've received a lot of tender mercies when I've been feeling extra down. My parents came on a surprise visit over Labor day and it was really uplifting to have family around. Then last weekend, Joey and I went on a light rail adventure to the Portland Saturday market and Farmer's market. We had a few extra dollars in food money that we hadn't spent and decided to get some things at the market. We saw an artichoke and decided to buy it even though we've never cooked one or eaten a fresh one and then we split a very tasty marionberry empanada. It was fun because I like to try new things. That evening, we made a delicious stuffed artichoke, spaghetti and peanut butter ice cream for dessert. (Good food always brightens my mood).  While we were waiting for the ice cream to harden in the freezer we watched a movie. We kept on getting distracted because it started raining very hard and then even harder until it was pouring so hard that the parking lot looked more like a bunch of rivers and streams. So, we went and played in it and got soaking wet. It was a nice day and I really needed it. This week was better too because I started a project. I'll blog about that when it's done. It really is nicer to be busy but I'm glad that good times can always be found. 

The Job Hunt Saga Continues...

After a longer than promised wait, I finally received the rejection email. It seems as though they decided to go with someone with more experience (not that they told me this but, as I know that I have all other qualifications for the job I assume that must be the cause). I was starting to thing this would happen because they took so long. Anyway, the next day I got an email to do an interview over at 24 hour fitness as a personal trainer. I went today and I think that the interview went pretty well. They guy interviewing me said that I definitely have the qualifications and that he's looking for the right personality. I have no idea if I have his brand of the "right" personality. I know that I would gain valuable experience from the job but I'm not exactly business minded so, I don't know how well I would do at recruiting and keeping clients. I suppose that I'll get the job that the Lord thinks is right for me. In the mean time I guess I'll just keep waiting and keeping an eye out for other jobs.

The Job Hunt Part 2

Two weeks ago from tomorrow, during the last week of my internship I had a surprise call from a Portland cardiac rehab center that I applied to even though I didn't fully meet the experience qualifications. They wanted to interview me! I was so excited and nervous. It's hard to say exactly how the interview went. I think I did well in some points and that I could have done better in others (but one shouldn't analyze an interview too much right? You'll always find something you think you did wrong). They told me I would find out in about two weeks and I've been in agony ever since. A full time job in my field is a dream job and to get it right after I finished my internship and graduated seems so good that sometimes I'm afraid it won't be true but, I've also been so incredibly blessed lately that it seems like it could be a possibility. I want the job so bad it hurts. Is it so hard to make a decision and pick up the phone? I just want to be put out of my misery.  If I don't get it I'd rather know so that I can move on with my life. Here's to hoping they call tomorrow.

Chapter 9: The Job Hunt

As my internship has been winding down, knowing that the hospital I've been working at is in a hiring freeze, I've finally begun the after-college job hunt. I've postponed this moment for as long as possible and I'm realizing more than ever the state that our economy and my chosen field is really in. Both aren't so good right now. Exercise Physiology* is a relatively new field and is still battling out it's place in the world. Cardiac rehab centers can certify with a national organization that recognizes EP's but there are only so many cardiac rehab centers in a certain area. Because of the economy businesses only want to hire people with experience so they don't have to spend money on training. Exercise programs also tend to be one of the first things cut as budgets get tighter. This is true for the average person as well as businesses. This puts me in a bit of a dilemma.

Do I stoop to personal training* or even retail--jobs that any kid out of high school can do--or do I wait it out until I can find a place where I can actually use my degree? My head says wait; my bank account disagrees. I've applied at a few jobs for EP's but I don't hear from them and when I call to follow up they've already filled the position. I suppose doing anything to pay off student loans is better than not doing anything at all. Besides, I would get bored with Joey at work all day. I guess I'd better keep looking. The Lord has provided thus far so, I'm sure that if I do my part I'll find something that's a good fit.

On the positive side. Joey's job is going well and he's such a great teacher that he's moving up to a full time position this Fall--and may even get a lead teaching position if budget allows. We're really excited about that.




*To clarify: An exercise physiologist has deep understanding of the human body and the science behind exercise. They approach exercise from a human performance standpoint and from an exercise as medicine standpoint. EP's work with a variety of populations from athletes to more clinical populations such as those with heart problems, diabetes, arthritis, cancer. They know the benefits of exercise and how to prescribe exercise for ALL populations. This is different than being a personal trainer who show generally healthy people the techniques of exercise and put together a basic exercise program based on national recommendations.