It's Christmas 12.25.2014

Technically, it's Christmas and it's a day that most spend with their family.  While I would have loved to do that, it's not possible this year with my family once again spread out in different states so I am home, doing what needs to be done, finding work.  It's quiet and I like that.  My girlfriend is at work (against her will) and my youngest daughter is napping.

Besides, Christmas doesn't have the same appeal now that my girls are older.  I used to get super excited when they were little.  This is the second Christmas that I haven't seen my oldest daughter and that bothers me.  She moved away a few days after her birthday last year and with all that has been going on in my life, I haven't been able to do any traveling. Mainly, I've been stuck in job search mode for far too long.  Even when I had a job, I was looking because it was only part-time.  Now, I don't even have that so it's even more in the forefront of my life.  Eventually, I will find a job, I'm sure but this is getting old and so am I.  Honestly, if I didn't need a job, I probably wouldn't even bother looking but the truth of the matter is, I need an income and I need it now so I press on, searching.

I'm hoping and praying that 2015 will be better.  Of course, I hoped that 2014 would have been better but I lost my job in 2014 so that clearly wasn't better. Oh well.  Either way, I hope everyone had a fun-filled day or at least got to do something they wanted to do.

Until next time,

~Pamela Denise~

Yep, it's Monday...again 12.15.14

I didn't blog much at all last week.  I was actually quite busy applying for jobs and just being productive.  I even went to a resume writing workshop which was really very helpful. I had to give my resume a complete overhaul.  My resume was missing so much important information that it made sense as to why I was getting the usual response "We've chosen to go with another candidate."  The only positions that I seemed to be a good fit for were transcription positions.  Of course I get the occasional email from what I call scammer positions who claim they found my resume and thought I would be a good fit for their opportunity in insurance sales.....uhhh, no where on my resume is there anything listed about any sales experience...so yeah...scammer position.  I spent an entire day updating my resume and then updating company sites that had my profile on them so hopefully things will start to turn around in the job sector really soon.  It's been almost 2 months and quite frankly, I'm bored and ready to go back to work.  Ideally, I would love to work full-time from home but since I don't have a private office any longer, I don't want to even apply for call center positions.  I know they have zero tolerance for noise and right now, my girlfriend is watching Bar Rescue right next to me LOL.  Of course, I can go back into transcription but I already know that won't turn out well with the low pay that they offer now.  I'm not trying to kill myself and end up with major carpal tunnel syndrome because I have to type all day and night to make  any money with their measly 3-5 cents per line.  I'm cool on that.

So yeah, with those things working against me, I will opt for working in an office, which again, poses another problem.  Ya girl ain't trying to drive to Atlanta, not if I can help it.  That drive is stressful.  It's totally different when I go to visit my daughter in college in Atlanta because I'm not on a time schedule so I'm not as stressed out.  One day I will work for myself and Atlanta traffic won't be an issue.  There's traffic in my little town too but it's only bad in certain spots, like the main streets that people use to avoid the highway, which I completely understand. Let's be honest though, there's always traffic Atlanta, no matter where you go.

Okay, I'm done ranting about jobs and traffic.  I need to go grocery shopping since the kid will be home tomorrow and we all know teenagers, even slim girls, can eat.  Besides, I found a recipe for Asian Garlic Tofu and with the kid being a foodie, I want to make it for her. She is supposed to start a blog with her food adventures soon and I'm actually looking forward to reading it.

Until next time,

~Pamela Denise~

Freelance shouldn't feel like volunteering 12.9.14

I'm sure I've spoken about this in past blogs but I've worked as a Medical Transcriptionist for over 20 years.  For most of those years, I made a good living, from home.  That was until the Medical Transcription Service Organizations, or MTSOs for short, really started popping up and taking over the work.  At first, I looked at it as a good thing.  You know, a way to work independently for several companies if I chose to, in which case, my earnings would be unlimited.  Yeah, sounded good to me.  What I didn't count on is the fact that the MTSOs weren't going to pay much, all while expecting you to do so much more.  Medical Transcription used to be a good profession, one that I was proud to be a part of.  For those of you who are not sure what I'm talking about, I basically listen to a recording of a patient's doctor visit or surgical procedure and type what the doctor is saying in regards to that visit or surgery.  It's a quite solitary job but being an introvert, I enjoyed it.

Back to the MTSOs.  I spent the last year working as a Medical Records Clerk, which I also enjoyed but with budget cuts at the hospital, my position was terminated so I figured, why not give transcription another try, especially with winter coming and my paranoia of being stuck on Atlanta highways.  Well, let's just say that things have not changed. Some of these companies are paying even less.  I don't see how this is even legal.  I've seen positions that pay 3-4 cents per line for editing reports that have been generated by the voice recognition computer system.  The companies feel like that's a reasonable amount of money because they claim that you can edit twice as much.  I beg to differ.  Even if you do edit twice as many lines, you are still only earning 6-8 cents per line.  Typing 1000 lines per shift at 6 cents per line works out to $60 a day, from home, or $600 every 2 weeks before taxes.  Sounds very doable but in the grand scheme of things, it's rare that you will even earn that without sitting at your computer for 12-15 hours a day waiting for work, so that same 1000 lines at 6 cpl per line over 12 hours works out to $5 an hour, less than minimum wage. You may also be struggling through horrible dictators or dealing with horrible computer programs that they claim are the best thing since sliced bread.  Hmmmph, they are not.  Let's not forget that so many of these companies are staffed by what I like to refer to as "mean girls," who micromanage by emails and instant messaging because you work from home.  It can make for a very stressful working environment.  The job itself is stressful enough without all of the added extra.

The sad thing is that people are still actively accepting those low wages and killing themselves in order to get their line counts up high enough to justify taking such a low line rate of pay, all while needing to maintain a 98-99% QA rate.  I'm all for producing quality work because after all, this is someone's medical record we are talking about and correct information is important but these low line rates are quite sickening if you ask me.  When I worked as a transcriptionist from home for another hospital, I made 15 cents per line, so at 1000 lines, I earned $150 a day but usually typed more than that, so yeah, these line rates are a slap in the face.  Of course, the hospital I worked for now sends all of their work to services. I get it, it's business.  Even with them paying a higher rate to the services, in the long run, they are winning because they don't have to offer health insurance, vacation time, or have office space for these employees and the work is still getting done.

But seriously, 3-4 cents per line is a damn insult! Even if I were just starting out, I would feel insulted by that line rate and be mad that I even trained in this profession.  Call center reps make more than that from home. That's not my thing and I don't have a quiet enough space for that sort of work.  Otherwise, I'd be doing that right now.  Heck, even at $8-9/hr which is what I see most call centers paying, that works out to $64-72 a day from home, and you are only working the 8 hours. Granted you may have to deal with irate customers but still at least you know that going in.  These MTSOs will paint this lovely picture of how easy it is to make so much money with them. Yeah right. Talk to a few MTs and they will tell you a quite different story.  Many of us have chosen to get out of the profession because of MTSOs.

Let me get off my soap box and focus on what needs to be done.  I signed up for an Interior Design course thanks to Groupon and it was only $39 so I need to work on that.  If you haven't signed up for Groupon, what are you waiting for? Here's a link.  They have a ton of killer deals. I was unaware of the classes until my girlfriend took a class.  I'm currently stalking the real estate training.  I missed the one for my state for $99!  I will be taking that next because I'm pretty sure they will offer it again.  Clearly, I need a new profession and really, I have no desire to sit through 4 years of college for a bachelor's degree. The more things I can learn in the shortest amount of time, the better my odds will be in this crazy, unstable economy.

Until next time,

~Pamela Denise~

Neck candy is calorie-free 12.8.14

Happy Monday!

A while back, I joined a company called Kitsy Lane to sell jewelry online but honestly, as much as I love jewelry, I didn't give it a lot of effort.  Needless to say, I eventually closed my boutique.  I woke up this morning and decided to give it another try, so I opened another boutique, Pretty Sparkles.  I'm super excited this time, more so than I was the last time and I'm not really sure why.  I hadn't even thought about the company since I closed my first boutique.

Anyway, check them out.  Feel free to shop my boutique, or heck, join through me using this referral link and get a boutique of your own.  The best part, it's free to join. Yes, I said free. There are no required supplies to purchase, no business starter kits, and no monthly fees to maintain your website.  Of course, you can purchase a business starter kit, it's just not mandatory. You can always do that later if you choose.  There are no parties that you have to do in order to make money.  You can basically promote your boutique solely online, or with flyers and business cards.  You can create the flyers for free. They use Vistaprint for their business cards but again, these aren't mandatory.

It's funny how the second time around, I realize there are so many positive things about this company that draw me to it on a business level.  People always say you have to spend money to make money.  This company gives you an option that proves this statement to be false just by offering free sign ups, free websites, etc.  They also have free webinars to help you get started. I believe they are prerecorded but the information is valid and if I remember, correctly, they are no more than an hour. You just have to sign up and show up.  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for investing in your business but at the same time, I'm just going to lay it on the line....your girl is broke right now and anything that allows me to make some money without squeezing the life out of every dime I have is a good thing.  Not to mention, investing time can be more valuable than investing money because you are actually putting in the effort, as opposed to just spending the money.

So yeah, check out the site, buy some stuff, get your own store...have some fun, make some money.

I think I will spend today researching other companies that I can join and earn some money.  If I come up with a list, I will try to come back and post another blog with my findings.

~Pamela Denise~

Feeling discouraged but never defeated 12.2.14

I set a goal for myself to be employed, or at the very least set up for an interview by December 1st. Well, that was yesterday and I'm still unemployed.  Technically, if you count the contracting position that I did for 8 days last month, I guess I didn't miss my mark but since I am no longer with them and have not even been financially compensated for my efforts as of yet, I'm not really counting them.

Anyway, today is a new day and I woke up in a funk. Honestly, I don't think it really has anything to do with me not finding a job yet but more so the process.  I'm tired of filling out applications.  I'm tired of sifting through thousands of job ads online.  I'm tired of signing up with staffing agencies.  All of that takes works, and on top of that, I'm tired of jumping through hoops with the unemployment office just for a few hundred dollars. I feel like if I can find a way to earn at least what I was earning with my part time job, which wasn't a lot, I'd be okay, especially if I could do it from home.  That would give me the breathing room I need to allow me to focus on what I really want to do....run my own online business, and get into some sort of career dealing with houses, and also allow me to focus on moving out of this city...but that's another blog..maybe tomorrow.  That's what would make me happiest.  Getting there seems to be the problem.  I even applied for a leasing consultant position for an apartment complex because the ad said they would train you.  They chose someone else.

Like I said though, I'm not defeated. I just needed to vent to get it out of my system in order to focus today and come up with a new game plan because clearly what I'm doing is not working. You know, "Do the same thing, and you will get the same results"......also known as the definition of insanity.  I'd like to think that I'm not insane.

Okay, enough rambling, time to get some more fuel in the form of coffee and get the wheels turning in the right direction.

Until my next ramble session,

~Pamela Denise~

Minimalism 11.28.2014

Lately I’ve been trying to rid myself of unwanted or unneeded items in my life.  This has proven to be a bigger task than I once thought.  First, there’s the obvious, like clothes and kitchen items but when I start to dig deeper, I find little things everywhere….too many paperclips, notebooks, and ink pens. Too many little trinkets, earrings I have no use for, accessories I’ve been holding onto and haven’t worn, you name it.   I’m also a list maker and a paper stacker.  I will write something on a sticky note and stick it on my desk to get back to later for whatever reason. I also do this with things I get in the mail, or things I print, so it’s a constant battle.  Luckily, I don’t do this with bills.  I long to have a desk as clean as the one in this photo.  I also keep receipts, which I have to remember to go through every couple of months.  I think right now, I have them in at least 3 places, not including my most recent purchases which are still in my checkbook.  Before I started the process of receipt purging, I had receipts that dated back a few years.   Some of them, I could barely read, others were blank because the ink had completely faded away.  I thought I had been on top of my tax papers until I found tax papers dating back to 1999.  I did spend a few hours one day tackling the tax papers so I don’t have anything that old anymore.

Then there are the things that I have too many of and can’t bear to part with, like coffee mugs and scarves.  I have gotten better with my mugs and managed to get rid of 6 not long ago, and they haven’t been replaced.  The scarves, hmmm, well, I got rid of 2 or 3 and I purchased 2 or 3, so yeah, kind of pointless, unless you follow the one-in, one-out rule, which I don’t.  It just happened that way.  A part of me wants to get rid of 90% of what I own and only buy what I feel is completely necessary but honestly, I think 30 scarves is totally necessary…seriously.

Years ago, I used to collect refrigerator magnets.   At one point, the front of my refrigerator was completely covered with them.   Whenever I would get a new one, I would squeeze it in and the weirdest thing would happen:  My girls would say “You got a new magnet.”  I could never figure out how they could even tell.  I guess they memorized the way it looked.  They were always able to pick out the new one.

It’s like I have spent my entire adult life accumulating things, only to realize that I don’t need to have all of these things and they are adding to the stress in my life, as well as costing me money.  I moved over a year ago and a lot of my things have been in a storage unit the entire time.  I got rid of a some things but the fact that I even have a storage unit tells me that I still have too much stuff.  Luckily, it’s not completely full because I have been going through the stuff, getting rid of items but clearly, there’s more work to be done.   Granted, some of the boxes belong to my daughters, one of which moved to another state on a last minute decision but that was a year ago.  I have been going through her things and sending some of her items to her, while purging things I know she doesn't need. The other is a freshman in college so most of her things are spread between her room and her dorm but she has taken the liberty to get rid of a lot of things as well in an attempt to simplify her belongings. She only has 1 or 2 boxes in storage. My original goal was to have the storage unit for less than a year.  Sadly, that didn't happen.  Now at the very least, I'd like to downsize to a smaller unit within the coming months, only because I have some household items that I want to keep and don't have the place for them right now but the other items will be gone through more thoroughly.

People tell me that it’s a long, never-ending so I try not to be discouraged but I have to be honest, this is an overwhelming task and I’m tired already.   I’m not giving up though.  I know my mindset is changing because I don’t just buy things now.  I actually think about if it’s something I need or if I already own something that I can reuse.  I tend to shop mainly for groceries now.  That’s my next challenge:   Changing the way I grocery shop.  I need to plan my meals so I don’t end up in the store every few days, which has been the case of late.  Years ago, I shopped once every 2 weeks.  Then it changed to once a week, and now I end up going whenever, or several times a week.  I know that’s hard on my budget too, so I definitely will be working on that.

Okay, clearly I’m on to another topic so I should end this post. 

~Pamela Denise~

Bosses 11.23.14

Happy Monday!

I woke up this morning thinking about bosses in general, probably because I don't have a job right now.  For the most part, every one of my bosses has been a dream to work with.  They have been compassionate, caring, listened, were never loud and unruly, or rude in the slightest way.  I wish all bosses were like that.  I truly feel being a good boss is part of having a good employee.  If you are rude and unruly, people are less likely to want to stick around.  Who wants to be yelled at, whether it be in person, or via email with words capitalized or in all red?  I sure as heck don't.  I'm not a cry baby but I don't take too well to scare tactics.  They make me quickly look for a way out because dealing with tyrants physically affects me, and my healthy well being is far more important.  You can't put a dollar amount on physical and mental well being.  You just can't.  If I'm no good, it seeps into every aspect of my life, every relationship and I become hard to deal with because I'm cranky and irritable. Because I know this, I feel like I'm hypersensitive to the bad vibes that people give off and I try to avoid those people.  It's not easy avoiding your boss.  Besides, who wants to be spend years avoiding someone just to have a job?  Not me.  Don't get me wrong, I know bosses have a hard time as well, dealing with different personalities and different work styles.  I get that but that in no way excuses child-like behavior when you are clearly an adult.  No yelling or scare tactics are required to get your point across....ever.  People will tune you out.  Trust me, I've done it.  Nobody wants to deal with that.

All of my bosses, except for 1, have been women.  My very first boss was a man.  He was great.  I often wonder if he's still working for the company, and if not, what is he doing.  I only left that job because I became pregnant and climbing up and down ladders with boxes was not a good idea.  He told me I could come back if I wanted to.  I should have gone back.  It was actually a great company to work for.  I still shop there to this day.  Maybe I will look him up.

Well, being that it's Monday, I need to focus on earnings today so I suppose I can't just sit here and blog all day.  I mean I could, and maybe one day I will become a professional blogger.  You never know.  For now, I just enjoy talking about what's going on in my life.

Until next time,

~Pamela Denise~

I'm ready for a Moped 11.22.14

Yesterday was the parking day work of the devil!  I picked my daughter up from her current college to head to the new college she wants to transfer to.  We made our way downtown and still had 20 minutes to spare.  The problem:  Downtown!  I have been driving for close to 30 years and I still hate driving downtown in any city.  It's always a pain with the one way streets and minimal parking.  I finally made my way into what I thought was the right parking deck, only to be told that I had to go back out, make a right out of the structure, make a right at the corner and then another right to bring myself back around to the correct visitors parking deck.  Fast forward to $7 and a token later we get out and walk to the proper building and things are going smoothly from that point.

Anyway, because I paid for all day parking, there was no way I was going to leave and come back when we needed to find lunch, so we walked.  Let me tell you, my daughter is a foodie and an avid Yelp stalker LOL.  She had me walk blocks to get to this one place she found on Yelp that had good reviews.  Your girl was tired by the time we got back.  The good news is there are plenty of food places for her to walk to on her own to feed the foodie in her.

Okay, back to the parking.  After getting our food, we were going to sit in the car but realized what time it was and decided to walk back to the building.  The lady was actually waiting on her so it was good that we went back when we did. After she got her response and what her next steps were, we headed back to the car, and that's when the drama unfolded, again.  I admit, I am horrible when it comes to remembering where my car is parked, except for when I'm at Disneyland.  That place is much too large to even take a chance on not knowing where your car is parked.  Anyway, let me ask you something.  Have you ever been lost in a parking deck?  I had never been....until yesterday.  It was not pretty.  All of the floors started to look the same.  We spent a good 20 minutes looking for the car, going up one level and walking around, going down one level and walking around, until my daughter turned into mini-me and said what I would usually say "Can't we just call somebody?"  I thought she was crazy but she found a number and called anyway.  The lady on the other end asked if I had a panic button for my car, to which I responded no until I looked down and saw the little red button labeled "panic."   Ha, don't judge me.  In 9 years of owning that car, I have never had to use it so I had no idea if was even there.  Needless to say, we were on the wrong level and the lady basically told us to try every level using the panic button, so down one level we went and there was my car.  Talk about somebody being happy to see their car.  Looks like I need to do better with remembering where I parked.  Next time I will take a picture of the sign outside the stairwell as well as the one inside the stairwell so this won't happen again.

Well, it's about 8:30 Saturday morning.  I guess I need to get started on my daily job hunt. If I could just win the lottery, I could be something fun this morning.  Oh well.

~Pamela Denise~

Why be normal 11.21.14

I was watching a podcast and the guy quoted this.  His talk was called: Four Ways To Quit The Rat Race. I will link it here if you are interested.  It's rather long (just over 45 minutes) and includes some Q&A but I found it interesting.

I've been normal for the better part of my life and grew up with parents that were normal too. I'm not sure that I want to spend the rest of my life being normal.  When I think about this quote, normal really doesn't seem appealing at all. I know I need money to survive but this further reinforces that I just need to earn money and not necessarily have a standard 9 to 5 (although it would beat unemployment at this point).  I really want to call the shots and have more control of my life.  Hopefully I can make that happen soon.

That's all for now.

~Pamela Denise~

Short parking space rant 11.20.14

I hate it when people don't park properly.  I didn't want to post an actual picture of my neighbor's horrible parking so I found a random photo. You know, that's how I do it LOL.  Anyway, her parking isn't this bad but it's bad enough that I never want to park next to her.  I don't understand how people can be so inconsiderate and park any sort of way when they know there are only a certain number of parking spaces per building.  It's just rude.  If I park my car and realize that it's over the line, or too close to the line, I take the time to fix it.  Besides, I'm not trying to take the chance of someone with a bucket pulling up next to me and putting a major dent in my car door because they are angry with my parking.  No thanks.  Folks are crazy these days.

That's it...I'm done ranting.  Have a wonderful day!

~Pamela Denise~

A new day 11.19.14

I'm ready for my second cup already.  No, I didn't make this cup of coffee and mine never looks nearly as pretty.  It's okay though.  It always tastes delicious and that's what's important to me.

I don't have much planned for today other than some job searching, a little cleaning and maybe I will get out of the house again today, and maybe not.  It's quite cold outside still.  Speaking of cold, my heart goes out to the people in Buffalo, NY who have lost loved ones already due to this freak winter storm.  I pray that no more lives are lost and that the city gets back to normal quickly.

This weather reminds me that I need to make sure my college student is well-stocked with everything she needs in her dorm in the event that things get crazy quickly.  I don't want her to be stuck without things she wants to eat, or things she needs, like toilet paper and such.  I will have to take care of that next week when I take her back after the Thanksgiving Holiday.

I need to focus on what I'm going to be cooking for the holiday.  I don't want to cook.  I miss the days of going to my parents' home for holiday meals.  My parents are still alive and doing well but they moved back to California and my girlfriend's mother lives in Virginia so we won't be traveling to either of those places. With my recent job loss and the bills we have, it's not really in the budget, but oh well...what else is new?  Maybe next year.

Okay, so it's time for that cup.  Enjoy your Wednesday people!  Wait...today is Wednesday, right?  I'm still losing track of days.  I need to go back to work soon before I start losing track of weeks and months.

~Pamela Denise~

Reason #27588 11.18.14

Happy Tuesday!

I've had a productive day thus far.  I've been to the unemployment office, the bank and even the grocery store to pick something up for dinner and it's not even 12:00.  Go me!

Anyway, I'm going to make this brief.  This picture is reason #27588 (LOL) as to why I hate public restrooms.  How can you not replace the lock?  I mean really?  I can't help but wonder how many women have been walked in on in this bathroom because they failed to check for feet before grabbing the handle and swinging the door wide open.  SURPRISE!  That's bad. No fix, no nothing.  If this were my business, I'd be embarrassed to the say the least but I guess the state does things differently.  At least it was clean but c'mon son...get a lock.

That's all for my rant for now.

~Pamela Denise~

It's Monday....11.17.2014

Normally, I would be stressed out on Monday from all of the work that I have to do BUT since I'm currently unemployed, Monday was fine.  I almost forgot it was Monday.  I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing but whatever, it doesn't matter.

I had big plans to get up and look at jobs to see what I could apply for.  I looked briefly.  The weather outside was and still is so weird that I really couldn't focus on much for looking out the window, well that and checking a few social media sites.

As usual, it's 3:00 and I'm ready to focus.  This seems to be the norm but strangely enough, I don't care for working the late afternoon/evening shift.  I did that for years.  It wasn't so bad because I did it from home.

We are expecting another wintry winter LOL.  That's sounds strange but where I live, we don't really have snow or ice every winter, just cold weather.  Last winter, we had 2 snow storms, one of which crippled the major city and it was all over the news.  Of course, we were made fun of because of it but it wasn't funny when 5-year-olds were stuck at school and their parents couldn't get to them.  I can't even imagine having my girls stuck at school.  Well, actually my youngest will be stuck at school this year if there's a storm but she's in college and lives on campus so that's totally different.  I'm talking not being able to see your babies because you couldn't get to them.  That had to be heartbreaking.  Luckily, those schools were full of dedicated people who stayed and kept those babies safe.

Let's not mention the teenager who had her leg severed while helping to push her aunt's car off the road.  Again, no laughing matter.  Yeah, I really got angry when folks made jokes about the whole situation because those were the local stories they weren't sharing on the national news.

My oldest called to tell me that she woke up to a winter wonderland this morning where she lives. She has no babies other than her 2 puppies and her boyfriend, and she works from home.

Speaking of working from home, I was working from home again for a short while but that didn't last so I'm looking again.  I'm not sure if I will find something else from home though although it would be lovely.

I'm going to end this blog for now and get some work done.

Until next time,

~Pamela Denise~

It's Saturday 11.1.2014

Happy Saturday folks!  It's super cold outside. Pre-winter is definitely in full effect. I trust that everyone had a safe Halloween yesterday.  Mine was rather uneventful, and that's a good thing.

Busy day ahead of me today.  Normally, I visit my daughter in college on Friday but with it being Halloween, she had a ton of things to do and was attending a party that evening so I did some things around here that I needed to get done.  I will visit her today. Hopefully when I get back, we can get to Sprint to find these phones, or phablets as they call the Samsung Galaxy Note 4.  Originally I had no desire for such a large phone but the more I play with the display in the store, the more I want one.  There are so many apps that I want to download and that in itself has me super excited.

I tried organizing my desk yesterday, again but I have come to the realization that I will never have an organized desk, free of clutter until I go back to a desk with a hutch...but I'm not trying to bring a large desk with a hutch into a temporary living space, so I will wait. I did get some of the clutter removed and stacked the stuff on the side a little neater, but it's still not organized.

I managed to take some things to Goodwill from here as well as from storage.  There's still a ton more that can go so I will be going back to the storage and Goodwill in the coming weeks.  We don't need all of this stuff.

The sun is shining but it's only 40 degrees.  I'm not happy about.  I don't remember it being this cold in November. Plus, the wind is blowing so I'm sure it feels closer to 30 degrees.

I got up early to apply for some jobs before I left for my visit but I'm here, blogging.  Well, I did look at a few sites and didn't see anything so then I decided to do a quick blog.  Since it's only 9:30, I think I will look at a few more sites but I gotta tell ya, this cold weather makes me not want to be out there daily going to work.

Have a lovely Saturday!

~Pamela Denise~

Green stuff in my cup 10.27.2014

My children will tell you, I have a problem with green beverages, as in I find it hard to bring myself to drink anything green, though I love green vegetables.  I'm sure it's just a mental thing, thus I'm trying to get passed it.

The other day we picked up a Ninja Master Prep Blender so I decided to give this green juice/smoothie thing another try.  This one has kale, half a cucumber, a banana, an apple, a few mandarin orange slices, a few peach slices and some water.  I have to admit, it's quite tasty.  I actually made enough for 2 cups yesterday but didn't add peaches until today to what I had left over and I blended it some more since yesterday's cup was a bit too chunky for my liking.  Of course, it's in a pink cup with a lid and a pink straw so I really don't even notice that it's green LOL.  Maybe that's the trick.  I could get used to this.

I need to find something to add that gives me energy without adding flavor or texture so I can work on cutting down on my coffee intake. Time to do a little research.  I know I don't want to add protein powder because I had a protein drink once and it was like drinking powdered chalk, so no thanks, I'm cool on that. No matter what I did, it still was bad so I ended up pouring it out.  I was so glad I got it on sale but still, I hate to waste money.

I can't believe I've almost finished the whole cup already.  Go me!

Okay, back to doing something productive.

~Pamela Denise~

Situation revisited 10.27.2014

It's Monday morning and I was about to download the files I need for this contracting position.  Unfortunately, upon visiting the link, I do not see several of the files that I am supposed to install so I will be contacting tech support shortly.  I'm pretty sure they are there and because it's Monday, I've overlooked them. Besides, I would feel safer just having someone do it for me.

In any case, I thought I would update my scarf situation.  As you can see from the photo, I did manage to hang the scarves by looping them around the top bar of a rolling clothes rack.  I like the idea but there's not enough room for all of my scarves. A few more of my lightweight scares and all of my winter, heavier scares would not fit so they are still in a basket. I guess that's not so bad because the heavier ones do not wrinkle like the lightweight ones because they are made out of yarn as opposed to fabric.

This is just a temporary fix.  The original plan was to be able to remove both baskets, along with the other items that I have stored on the small shelving unit so that I can move the unit to another location and make room for a long dresser in the bedroom. It would be lovely if I had an accessory closet and I could hang all of my scares and necklaces, as well as store all of my bracelets and earrings in there.  Oh well, maybe one day I will have enough room to have this type of closet in my home.

My Current Situation 10.25.2014

Soooooo, days ago I said I was going to tackle my scarf situation and get them organized.  Well, that didn't happen.  This morning, I decided to take them out of the 2 baskets.  It's even scarier when I see them like this. Sigh.  I still don't know what to do with them but uhhh, something has to be done so I can see what I have.  This just looks like a mound of colorful fabric.  I'm hoping that a solution will come to me between now and bedtime, or they will go back into the baskets, which I do not want.

My original thought was to use a shower curtain rod in my daughter's closet since she's away at college, however, I thought I had one in storage and I do not. Another possibility that I have access to currently is to use a rolling clothes rack which I'm not sure will work but I will give it a try.

Another reason this is so important to get under control is that I want to open an online scarf store in the near future and while I will be selling new scarves, I still need some sort of visual organization so that when an order comes in, I don't have to hunt through a box. Of course, that organization will be something different.  Maybe I will actually use boxes to separate them but they will have to be clear boxes so I can see them and have them organized and sorted in a way that makes them easy to locate.

Okay, enough of this typing if I plan to get to this today.

~Pamela Denise~

Visiting the college student 10.24.2014

As is typical, I made my weekly trip to Atlanta to visit my daughter in college, basically to take her to get snacks and such to have in her dorm, and of course to spend time with my baby girl.  I'm still not completely used to both of my girls being out of the house.  It's a process, I know. I'm just glad I'm not alone.  I'm pretty sure I would go insane if I were.

While this photo wasn't of me actually traveling, this is what I deal with coming back, and in spurts going.  I have contemplated getting a job in Atlanta because there are more opportunities in a big city obviously BUT bay-bay....let me tell ya....this traffic is nuts and quite frankly, I ain't gon' be able to do it. Some way, some how, I will find a way to make a living without heading into Atlanta 5 days a week.  The added stress of needing to be anywhere down there at a certain time scares the heck out of me and only adds to my anxiety. Granted, I worked close to Atlanta for 9 months when we first moved here and was still subjected to this sort of traffic, but I just don't see how I can handle it now.  There were many days when I had to call from the car because I thought I was going to be late, and many times, I was.  They understood and never fired me but I jumped at the chance to go back home to work just so I wouldn't have to deal with that. From that point up until about 18 months ago, I continued to work from home.  I didn't make a lot of money from home or with the last job either as it was only part time, so my finances were always screwed up until I finally filed bankruptcy after blowing through my savings trying to keep myself a float.  Thankfully, I wasn't doing it on my own because I would have surely become homeless but it was hard on my girlfriend and her finances too.  She gave her all but I wanted, no needed, the madness to stop with my finances so I filed bankruptcy.  I wasn't shopping but I was using my credit cards to pay bills, buy food, the usual stuff we needed once the money was gone from my savings.

Of course now, I've recently lost my job due to budget cuts and I'm in need of income.  I won't say I'm in need of a job, just income, cash flow, duckets, dead presidents, paper, cheddar, greenbacks, coins, or whatever you want to call it.  What I do have lined up has been a great thorn in my side this week and is therefore reminding me to continue my search to achieve multiple streams of income but that is easier said than done. I have no doubt that I will prosper, I will succeed and I will look back on this time in my life and say "Yeah, I was bankrupt and broke but that was then, this is now."

I'm tired and probably won't get much done tonight but tomorrow morning I have a date with my computer and a nice sweet cup of coffee. Wish me luck!

~Pamela Denise~

In A Funk 10.23.2014

I didn't want to admit it but today, I am in a funk. My life is so off track right now and it's making me crazy. I feel like I don't have control of anything and that scares the heck out of me.  I'm anxious, irritated, annoyed, all rolled into one.  It's going to be a long day.

~Pamela Denise~

Blah....10.22.2014

Well, today has been super boring.  I've had plenty of things to do but since I was waiting on some emails and/or phone calls, I didn't want to leave the house or get too involved in any projects.  Of course, around 3:00, I decide to go outside, and you guessed it, the phone rang.  Glad I hadn't left yet.  Anyway, now the waiting game begins again because I'm still waiting on one more call or email to get things rolling.

One good thing though....I deleted a ton of emails.  I still have too many but hey, at least I deleted quite a few.  Maybe by the end of the week, I will have more deleted.

I suppose I should deal with the scarf issue I have going on right now.  They've been crammed in 2 baskets and that's not good because I forget what I have.  We'll see if that happens.

Been doing a bit of research today though on the business front and the job front but I can't say either were successful searches.  Oh well.  At least I have a few checks still coming and a contractor position lined up, so everything is going to be okay for now. Aside from that, my computer has been really slow today since I did those updates.  I hate when that happens. Guess I should defragment it or scan it, or something while I work on those scarves.  Yep, that sounds like a plan.  Have a lovely afternoon folks.

~Pamela Denise~

Changes 10.1.2014

This shake really has nothing to do with change but right about now with all of the stress in my life, an Egg Nog Milkshake would hit the spot and put a smile on my face.

For the past few months, I have been looking for a full-time job with not much luck. I figured since my youngest has graduated and is off at college, there's really no need for me to work part-time anymore BUT, this has been one of the hardest job searches of my life!  I have applied for countless jobs.  To top things off, things are super slow at work so I know what's coming down the pike, which adds even more stress to an already stressful situation.  I get it, it's business, nothing personal but my finances are personal for me...just not you.

I would love to own my own company and work for myself but that has yet to come to fruition. Don't get me wrong, I've done the footwork.  There are just roadblocks that I can't overcome right now, like money, among other things.  On a happier note, I just received a call about winning 2 free cruise tickets if I complete a survey...pssh...yeah right...I hung up. That's what I get for answering a call on my cell labeled "unknown."  I only took that chance because my daughter's cellphone has been really weird and she has been calling me from her computer using Google so I have no idea what number she will call me from.

Anyway, back to business and job hunting.  After being a medical transcriptionist most of my adult life, I really don't have many transferable skills and the MT market is not that hot any more. On the business front, yeah, roadblocks, some simple, some not so simple but I'm determined to make something happen....after I get a full-time job and a little extra cash flow going. I can't just throw caution to the wind...I have bills to pay and responsibilities so I have to be an adult about things and plan.  I'm trying to act quickly, just not having much luck.

I'm positive something good will happen soon. It's all I have...hope.

Until next time,

~Pamela Denise~

8.17.2014 Sunday Ramblings

Happy Sunday Evening!

I just realized that I haven't posted since June....shame, shame, shame.  I don't even think I've taken many photographs.  So much for building up my portfolio.

I had a very long, boring summer but relaxing nonetheless.  My youngest spent the bulk of her summer in California with my parents so I got some much needed me-time.  I dropped her off this weekend to move in her dorm at college.  She's feeling overwhelmed but I'm sure things will get better in the next week or so once she's in class and getting adjusted to her professors.  I'm still in shock that I don't have any more babies.  That seems really weird to me but I'm thankful to have seen both of my girls grow up.  Each day is a gift and is not promised...so yes, for that, I am thankful.

I've been busy applying for full-time jobs now that she is out of high school but I realize, I'm homesick in a big way.  I left California 8 years ago but now that just about everyone has moved out of this state, it seems weird.  My oldest daughter is in Ohio.  She's been there almost a year and I haven't been able to get to visit yet with my finances in shambles and trying to get my other daughter situated for school.  Anyway, I'm not sure I will ever make it there, only because she's trying to move to California also in the coming months, which is making me even more homesick.  My parents are there again, and with both of my daughters trying to get back there, as well as one of my sisters...I'm super homesick.  My youngest sister just left (not by choice though) but does plan to move back when she gets the chance.  I thought I might not want to go back but I do.  This weather makes me nervous.  I'm fine in summer, spring and fall but as soon as winter hits, I panic. Last winter's snow and ice didn't make things any better for me either.  I was stressed out just watching the news on t.v. of all of the people stranded on the highway.  It was totally unreal....unreal I tell ya!  I work close to home and luckily, I work in one of the departments at the hospital that didn't have to be there during the bad weather.  The nurses had to stay...were given sleeping arrangements and everything.  There is no way I could have done that.  No ma'am...no thank you.

Okay, I'm rambling..go figure.  I guess I need to end this post and go fold my laundry and get things ready for work tomorrow.

I hope everyone has an awesome evening.

~Pamela Denise~

6.15.2014 My photography

Happy Sunday!  Happy Father's Day to all of you fathers out there!  I'm just popping in to share my photography page with you:

http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/pamela-morrow.html

I have some pretty awesome shots there.  You can get wall art or blank greeting cards so check it out.  And if it's not for you, I would appreciate you sharing my link via social media.

Hope everyone is doing well.  This is my current situation even though this is an old picture.  Nice and creamy and hits the spot while I listen to this webinar.

Have a marvelous day!

~Pamela Denise~

Twelve years in the making 5.17.2014

Today is the day my youngest daughter graduates from high school.  I'm super excited and scared at the same time.  I know from this day forward, my life will be completely different.  No more taking kids to school, picking up supplies for projects, you name it.  No more of that.  For the first time in my adult life (I had my first and only other daughter at the age of 19), I will only have to be responsible for myself and my needs.  Sure my daughter will be away at college and will still need my support financially and mentally but the day to day will be gone.  She thinks I need a hobby to fill my time but I probably won't.  My focus now is on getting a full-time job since I've worked part-time for the past 4 or 5 years, mostly so I could be available for her and her needs with groups she was in, volunteering and the like.  It paid off.  She's graduating Magna Cum Laude and has received a scholarship to a good school here.

I'm ready to take on this new chapter in my life, but I admit, I'm nervous.

Until next time (who knows when that will be),

~Pamela Denise~

11.30.2025

Baby girl has gotten her Bachelors, her Masters, and as of September of this year, she is in school to receive her PhD. I'm super excited for her.