]]> http://sunnyeveryday.wordpress.com/2010/02/14/photo-happy-valentines-day/feed/ 0 sunnyeveryday Love Waiting http://sunnyeveryday.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/in-love-with-decay/ http://sunnyeveryday.wordpress.com/2010/02/06/in-love-with-decay/#comments Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:42:43 +0000 sunnyeveryday http://sunnyeveryday.wordpress.com/?p=128 ]]>

Monday Hubby took a vacation day and we decided to use the gifts cards that we had gotten from the holidays and make a day out of it.  We went to the movies and then shopping.  In my stocking he had given me a gift card to Saphora because he knew I wanted to get some new eye shadow.  I ended up getting the set above from Urban Decay (The Show Pony Shadow Box).  I have been in love with UD’s shadows for a few years now but this case came with something of theirs that I had never tried before…Along with 6 different shadows and a black liner this set comes with a small bottle of their Eyeshadow Primer Potion .  This stuff is amazing!  The wesbite says:

The genie in this bottle fulfills three wishes: eyeshadow that lasts, more vibrant color, and absolutely NO creasing. Apply Primer Potion to lids before shadow application. It dries down almost instantly (and invisibly), creating smooth lids that are super powered eyeshadow magnets. Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion is unmatched in the industry – a cult favorite loved by beauty editors and makeup junkies alike.

They are not kidding when they say that this stuff turns your eyelids into eyeshadow magnets!  I did my makeup like I normally would Wednesday monring and decided to do a little test.  I wanted to see how long my shadow would last going about doing the things I would normally do.  By that night not only were there no creases filled with globbed makeup but the shadow was still as bright as it had been when I put it on that morning.

So I decided to take it a step further… I slept with my makeup on.  And when I got up the next day?  It was still on!  Although it wasn’t as bright as when I had gone to bed I could have easily walked out the door for the day without touching it and people would not have been able to tell!

The colors on this palette are amazing!  So far I have only used the neutrals and the green (which is my new favorite shadow!) but I cannot wait to try out the purple and turquoise!  Overall, this set is most definitely worth the $30 and I definitely recommend it to ladies everywhere!

This position would be such a huge step forward in his career.  It pays $2 more an hour plus a very large monthly car allowance and mileage and the possibility of quarterly bonuses.  He would also get to dramatically increase his knowledge of the industry and he would be a step away from either a management or sales position.

He has a great feeling about this job so everyone please send positive thoughts his way over the weekend!

UPDATE:

Hubby got back from the interview and he said it went VERY well.  This was later confirmed by an e-mail from HR telling him he is 1 of 2 finalists and has a second interview on the 9th!  So keep those positive thoughts coming!

In general I am always in a better mood in a clean and organized house.  I like everything to have a place and to be in it and to not have to worry about having people over with little to no notice!

About 2 years ago when our car loan was new and I had student loans and credit cards to pay off, my total debt was just shy of $25,000.  Fast forward those 2 years and all of my creadit card and student loan debt is paid off and all I have left is he car loan.  I was laid off when I was about to start doubling up on car payments every month so that plan had to be put on hold for a few months.

Given that I am starting a new job 2 WEEKS FROM TODAY!!! I am getting ready to get my debt reduction back in motion.  At the time of writing this I have just shy of $12,800 left  on the principal of the car to pay.  When I look at it this way I realize that I paid off almost half of my debt is just two years.. $12,5000!  But I also step back and think of all of the other things we could have used that money for if we had not have put our selves in the position of having debt to begin with.  So, once our debt is paid off in full I am making a lifetime resolution to ever go into debt again.

So far I had been using David Ramsey’s 7-Baby Steps to achieve my financial goals (I found him about a year and a half ago on Wise Bread) and they have been working out really well for me.  Granted, I did do a couple of them out of order.  I completed Step 1 back in August 2008 and since then we have never had less than $1000 in our savings.  Step 2 is to pay off all debt using the debt snowball.  I did this by paying off my smallest debt first and then taking the extra money that I would have used towards that payment to the next largest debt and so on.  And that is how the credit cards and student loans got paid off.

Then, in December of 2008, right before the holidays, my husband was laid off.  And we realized that our $1000 emergency fund was just not going to cut it, considering I still had last mintute shopping to do.  So, gifts went somewhat incomplete and we had to reevaluate.  Thankfully, after a couple of weeks the company he worked for did some shuffling and he was hired back but to a different store that would be closing mid-2009.  So we put paying our debt off on hold and worked on Step 3 instead: saving 3 to 6 months worth of living expenses.  [Given the state of our economy I think EVERYONE should first get at least 6 months worth of living expenses into their savings and then pay off all of their debt.]

It was a good thing we did this because 7 months later he was back to working his old job and I was laid off from a job I thought I would always have.  Though we did not have the size of savings we were aiming for it was a lot better than just $1000.  Fast forward to now, we were able to put my severance into the savings as well as about $100 a month while I was unemployed.  YES, we actually were able to save money.  I am very happy with our savings account for now so once my paychecks start coming in we are going to get the car paid off.  Our entire tax return ill be going towards the principal of the loan and on top of that every month we are going to pay at least twice what is owed (our responsibility is $300.89 each month, I would like to pay at least $601.78 each month).  After we are paid off in full I do intend to start savings as much as I can for retirement (I will be 24 this year) and hopefully traveling .

©JoMW Photogaphy 2009

Greg of Dead Friends, Quincy MA, December 6th 2009

(A Side note, my husband was laid off Dec. 2008 and thankfully was hired back within a month… long story.. but we did get a taste of what would have happened with our health insurance and how much COBRA would have cost us…. HIS ENTIRE UI BENEFITS FOR THE ENTIRE MONTH!  We would have never been able to live off just my check while his UI benefits went to just our health insurance.  My check would have just covered rent, a car loan and car insurance… say nothing about utilities, phone, internet and food.. we already do not have cable)

Anyway.  Here is how we survived on 1 1/2 incomes in Boston.  We cut out everything that was not a necessity and kept a couple small comforts:

• Our (gas) heat is set at 62°F in our apartment.  Yes, it is a little cold but we just wear warm socks and sweaters and deal with it.  I have found that as long as it is above freezing outside our heat does not even need to come on and will stay around 65° inside.
• We do not have cable.. at all. We do have a Netflix account and used to get 7-At-A-Time but when I was laid-off we cut back to 5-At-A-Time.  This is one of our small comforts and is a much cheaper form of entertainment than going out to the movies or watching cable.
• I cancelled our texting and Internet on our cell phone plan.  This one step alone saved us just over $90 a month.
• We stopped eating out. We were the kind of people who would like to go out a couple of times a week and try new food but that equated to about $400 a month.. ouch.  And this does not even include buying lunch instead of brown bagging it.
• We went grocery shopping with a list.  And only bought what was on the list… and we no longer buy brand name anything.  5 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill & 7 Tips for Streamlining Your List
• I made all of our Christmas gifts. I hand-stitched blankets for all the children in our families and framed photos I took for all the adults.  The blankets worked out to $8.50 each and the photos were about $16.00 each.
• Cut back on travel.  About once a month we would drive to Vermont to visit my family but we cut this and only drove up once in 6 months.. For Christmas.  Also, we stopped hoping on the T just to walk around Boston for the afternoon.  Even with the CharlieCards it would cost us $6.80 round trip.
• Make our own coffee/tea. As opposed to going to a coffee shop every morning and spending $3-4 per cup.  This saves about $100 per month.
• Create and stick to a budget. This was the most important aspect of making it out of unemployment alive.  I will go into more detail about our budget later but I will say that I have a pretty decent spreadsheet working for us to track everything from our goals, debt, bills, income and more.  Allotting a specific amount of money to certain things every month and then tracking those expenses was the key to our success.

I understand that living on UI benefits is not supposed to be comfortable.  To me, they definitely were not but at the same time I think it was actually a really good experience and I learned how to better manage our accounts.  Once I have started my new job I am eager to see how much money we are going to bank and how quickly we are going to pay off our only remaining debt: out car loan.

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had, if today was your last day?
What if, what if, if today was your last day?

Against the grain should be a way of life
What’s worth the price is always worth the fight
Every second counts ’cause there’s no second try
So live like you’re never living twice
Don’t take the free ride in your own life

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you’re dreaming of?
Swear up and down to God above
That you’d finally fall in love if today was your last day?

If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it’s never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are

So do whatever it takes
‘Cause you can’t rewind a moment in this life
Let nothing stand in your way
‘Cause the hands of time are never on your side

If today was your last day and tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past?
Donate every dime you had?

And would you call those friends you never see?
Reminisce old memories?
Would you forgive your enemies?
And would you find that one you’re dreaming of
Swear up and down to God above
That you’d finally fall in love if today was your last day?

Nickelback – If Today Was Your Last Day – Dark Horse

©JoMW Photography 2009

Vermont Foliage Series, October 10th 2009

.

The days after I lost my job I was devastated.  I may not have enjoyed my job but it was a job and it was a paycheck (a really, really good paycheck).  I went through all of the normal emotions that come with loosing one’s job including angry and depression.  I was mad at my ex-employer for a lot of reasons and a lot of people said I was justified to have those emotions (there is a long story here that I am going to leave out because I have moved on from these feelings and what is done is done and I am better for it).

Being that I was let go on a Friday I had a whole weekend to wait before I could feel like I could do anything about my situation.  I did go straight to the bank and deposit my check for my vacation time that I had not gotten to use a single day of.  I cried.  A lot. The whole weekend.  And it sucked.  Monday I got out of bed really early to go get in line at a Career Center to initiate my UI claim.  While I was there I also learned what the Career Centers are actually for: helping people better their situations REGARDLESS of their current employment status… for FREE!  I feel like these state and federally funded centers are the most under-utilized resources out there.

Over the next few months, I participated in workshops on everything from resumes and cover letters to dealing with your emotions while unemployed to starting my own small business.  I also went in and took a quick introduction course to an online training tool they have and was able to get free advanced computer training!  I also met with a career counselor a few times to help me with my resume and the direction of my job search.  Unemployed or not, everyone should take advantage of this because times are changing and the job market is not what it used to be and they can help guide you to create the career you want for yourself.

When it came to actually finding jobs to apply for I was a little on the novice side.  This was the first time I had really been thrown into the fire and was not really sure where to start.  So I grabbed a notebook and some sticky notes and started writing down my goals and the steps I was going to take to get them.  I needed a completely new resume because I was planning on jumping industries.  I also wrote down my goals and where I would like to end up.  My Career Objective from SIX months ago was:

A position outside of the traditional office environment which allows me to expand my current knowledge.  i.e. outdoor education, landscaping, errand runner, artist, photographer, club/music promoter, assistant in the music industry, something  in the healthcare or laboratory industries.

All I knew was that I wanted a job that was not in a cubical sitting around typing all day.  All of my initial applications where really focused on hospitals, and being in Boston there are a lot of hospitals.  I made a list of hospitals and companies that I wanted to work for (about 25) and checked their websites daily for new job postings.  After about 2 months and about 20 application later..  and not getting anywhere, I changed my M.O. and starting including any position I qualified for.  In this market you almost have to be over-qualified to even be considered for a job.  If I did not meet 100% of the required and 90% preferred criteria I did not bother wasting my applying. I learned that the hard way.  It took me 3 months to get my first interview because I was applying to all of the wrong jobs.

I also started using another tool around this time that was really helping me put my search on steroids:  Indeed.com .  Here was my formula: ALL JOBS within 5 miles of my zip-code that are full-time in [Select towns/cities] posted by employers only and finally sorted by DATE (not relevance, time is of the essence).  By putting in even one keyword I was severally limiting my job search and that is always a bad thing.  Of the 86 jobs I applied for about 2/3 came from Indeed.com.

Finally, I started getting offers for interviews.  Every interview I went on was a learning experience in itself.  I started to see patterns in questions they would always ask so I would go back after every interview and think of how I could have answered all of the questions better…. and that made the next interview that much easier.  I had a total of two very good interviews.  One was for a position that would have been offered to me except the girl I would have been replacing decided she was going to stay with the company.  The other was for the position I accepted and am starting next month.  Both interviews felt less like them drilling me and more like us having a real conversation.  There were a lot of other good indicators, but for me that was the one that I could tell if I was going to be offered the position or not.

The final piece of my Job Hunt Tool Kit was networking.  The whole weekend after I was laid off I spent broadcasting to everyone I knew that I was out of work and looking.  I posted it on social networking sites, I called friends and family and I told everyone I saw.  I never knew where a lead would pop up so I kept talking to everyone.  To me, the more people who knew the better.  And when I was not getting any good leads I started expanding my networking to people I did not know.  I went to job clubs and I e-mailed my State Representative.  And if there was ever anyone I wanted permanently in my corner it would be my Rep.  I went to him with jobs I was applying with and if he knew anyone  where I applied to he would make a couple of phone calls and if he did not know anyone he sent an amazing letter of recommendation.  7 of my 10 interviews were because of his help.

As I near my Official Start Date at my new job and look back on 2009 I have to say I am very happy to be where I am standing.  It was a lot of hard work and I had to treat my Hunt like a full time job, putting in over 40 hours each week.  My new job pays less then my previous (but a lot more then my UI benefits) but there are so many good things about my new job that makes taking a pay cut completely worth it.  The biggest things?  FREE heath care and being in a position that is exciting to me with a lot of room to grow and build a career from.

Here is a look at my Job Hunt by the numbers:

• Days unemployed (until I received a job offer):  165
• Days unemployed (until my start date):  186
• Applications submitted:  86
• Training courses/worskopes attended:  15
• Interviews:  10
• Skill assessments:  2
• Job Offers:  1
• Federal UI Extensions:  0
• Pay compared to my pervious job:  -21%
• Pay compared to UI benefits:  +42%