Juggling time

So, I mentioned briefly in the last post that I got a job.

There are some reasons I haven't written too much about it.

The superficial, untrusting-of-God part of me is nervous that I'll get fired after three days for no apparent reason.

The other part of me is wanting to be professional and make sure that I am presenting this new company I am working for in the best light.  By not mentioning their name and details, etc...

I can say this:

Real life stuff

So here is the latest scoop.  I'm in a race to beat the please-help-me-fall-asleep meds, so I'll try to keep this brief.  Ha ha ha...

I had another job interview on Monday.

They emailed back just over an hour later, asking me to come in (today) for a second interview.

What just happened?

Whirlwind.

That's the word that comes to mind.

It's the only word I can think of to describe my day.

My day started much like it did yesterday.

With nightmares.

At 4am.

It's called sleep paralysis.  I have now officially self-diagnosed.  I've had these nightmares, this sleep paralysis.  It's a real thing.  If you don't know what I am talking about, HOPE that you NEVER have this happen to you.  It is terrifying!!  For me, it is typically very dark.  I cannot move my head or hands or body at all.  Sometimes I can't even blink.

Most of the time my eyes are closed.  I will see (when eyes are open) or hear voices that aren't there - such as the other day, thinking my mother-in-law was coming down the steps.  Other times, there is a darkness.  Someone is there.  Standing over me.  Ready to rape or kill me.  I don't know how to make it stop.  They tell you to get more sleep, reduce stress, etc...yeah, well...maybe someday...

So, that happened yesterday and this morning.  At 4am.  I would try to go back to sleep and during the next several hours, it would continue happening.  So I wasn't getting any rest at all during this time.  Which is both annoying and exhausting.

Back to my day.

So I woke up to this sleep paralysis.

We chilled this morning, then we drove to my mother-in-law's house so that she could watch the kids while I went for a 1pm job interview.  This was one that the temp agency found me, and I decided that if I didn't get the Ritenour secretary job, I would settle and do something like call center work.  Work that I knew I was well qualified for.  Work that I knew I could excel in.  So, I went to this call center place and had to take a math test.

Yes.

Math.

If you've ever read anything I've written about math, you should know that I hate numbers.  I despise math.  And I especially hate word problems!!!  This test was 10 questions.  ALL word problems.  If you miss 2, they won't even interview you!!!  No pressure right???

There were 2 questions I was sure I got wrong, but I was pretty confident about the rest.  HOWEVER, I actually missed 3.  When I asked her about it, she said that it was OK.  She interview me anyway.

And then, she took me over to talk to the head of Human Resources.  She was just as pleasant as the manager and I got a really good feeling about the company as a whole.  It sounded as if they were willing to hire me right then & there.  But I was honest with them.  I told them that I was waiting to hear back from Ritenour.  And then we decided I would call Ritenour to see if they had nade a decision, so I didn't have to just keep waiting.  I'm already 2 days behind in the training class as it is.  If I was going to start this new job, it would have to start TOMORROW!!

I left the interview about 2 hours later.  I was there for a very long time.  But I had a really good feeling about it.  And honestly, my skills are more suited to customer service/call center work than anything else.  I will probably be happier and more confident in this role.

But, what about Ritenour?  I mean, $17/hour is really hard to pass up.  I was determined to make a decision today.  So I called and got no answer.  Then I decided that the easiest thing to do would be to DRIVE to the admin office and just ask the hiring person if I was even a candidate.  I was told that they offered the job to someone else yesterday, and that person accepted.

That made my decision easier.  I called the call center back and they told me they would get back with the temp agency right away.  And they did.  I had my phone ringing left and right.  It was a little chaotic!

So things were already crazy.  Then I went to pick up the kids and when I got there, the temp agency called and said I would have to drive to Alton (right then!) and fill out the tax forms.  So, the kids and I went to Alton.  I filled everything out and got direct deposit set up.  Tomorrow morning, before I go to work (training), I have to take a drug test.  People were harassing me about my horrible math skills by saying that I would do better taking a drug test than a math rest!

Well, there you have it.  I have a job.  In a call center.  Making just enough money to pay our bills!  I had looked forward to using the next 3 days to finish laundry and get the house in order so it would be good when school started.  But, it seems that won't be happening.  I am working 9-5am until training is over (around 2 weeks), and then my schedule will be 10:30am-7:00pm.  Not ideal...and it will interfere with several other events/plans but we'll work through it and figure it out.  Kris will come home in time to get the kids off the bus, deal with homework and dinner, and then wait patiently for his wonderful, hard-working wife to come home.  ;-)

Thank you for your prayers.  They are appreciated!  Please pray that I will rest tonight.  Sleep without the nightmares/paralysis.  I have heard that the Neurontin (Gabapentin) that I am on can cause vivid dreams/hallucinations.  So I am going to try to NOT take it before bed and see if that makes a difference.

So there is the job update.  Please excuse any grammar/spelling errors.  I am about to fall asleep and so it can't be helped...it's been a crazy day!

Resumes are HARD

I completed my resume. I *might* have had help from Bethanie. She may have provided all the correct wording that would appeal to those hiring for administrative assistant positions. I have at least 3 jobs at Washington University that I am going to apply to. I know there are more that were just posted. One was an editing gig, that I think I would really enjoy! I know that God will put me in the right place. But I'll tell you this. I spent 6 hours yesterday tracking down employee information, dates, etc...and created a resume. I gave it to my friend to check out and she wrote all over it in red ink!!!

Can you believe that?

So she spent some time working on it this afternoon and again tonight, and we have finally finished it! And I LOVE the way it looks! Now...to apply for jobs. Please pray for us in the job transition. I think it will wind up being a really good thing for us, and it will give me a chance to interact with people again, which I need. I am SO ready for summer to be over with!!

 With VBS this week and way too many late nights, my children have NOT been good. They've been downright horrid. That's the word I used with Kris earlier. They were all so horrible at different times today. Really, this whole week. And it's not that they are horrible kids. They just haven't been getting enough sleep and it is wearing us all down. And their behavior is out of control.

While I feel sorry for my mother-in-law for having to keep them this weekend, I am actually really looking forward to a marriage weekend that Kris and I were going to. Last fall, we went to a marriage conference. I was NOT in a good place. Kris was still bound by the chains of addiction, and I was living a second life no one knew about. The conference was OK. But for me, it didn't mean much. I tried, while I was there. But when it came time to repeat our vows to one another, I just stood there crying. I couldn't do it. And while I do not think this weekend will be anything like what we went to in the fall (as far as the style), I do believe that this is going to be an extremely refreshing time for us.

Satan has been attacking Kris and I like crazy. I don't know what he is trying to prevent from happening, as Kris and I aren't teaching at VBS or anything. But he keeps attacking, right before VBS. Kris and I have so little time right now, and the time we do have we spend fighting. And it is usually over stupid, trivial issues. We'll fight about the fact that we're fighting. I realized what was happening tonight on the way to VBS. I spent the first ten minutes there trying to hold back tears. Then Sheri came over (I love her!!!!) and asked how I was doing. I'm not really good at faking it. So I just shared briefly how I felt like Satan was attacking me and Kris. She hugged me, from the side and told me she'd be praying for me.  And I cried.  Then enemy is out there. We have to fight back! We HAVE to.

Have I mentioned that I love my church?

So much!

Tonight was crazy hair night at VBS. I thought I'd post a few pictures of my kids, since I don't have permission to post other people's kids! We tried a weird Koolaid version to dye their hair but it didn't work out, so we used my friend's blue hair coloring for the kids. Just little spots here and there.

You can't really see the blue tips but I also put her hair in pony tails all over and then linked them all together in various places.

We had pony tails in his hair in the spot where the blue is, but he took them out.

She used Mama Kat's YouTube tutorial on how to make bangs so she went for that look, then we dyed that one strip of her hair.

Such a free spirit!  I love this shot of Abbey.