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| Highlights from 2010 - Our Girls |
It's the 28th of December and time to start thinking about the new year and reflecting on this past year....
2010 brought us many ups and downs, some new ventures, some new people and a couple of new furry friends. To recap the year, here is what I came up with, both the good and the not so good.
The Good:
- Adopted a new family dog from our local rescue - Bella
- Adopted a new family cat from our local rescue - Jasper
- Started volunteering at the Alternative Humane Society
- Got a bunch of new friends (both furry & human) through my AHS volunteer activities
- Started a pet supply business
- Started a pet blog
- Started a gourmet food mix business
- Started a blog based around family and food business
- Youngest daughter started ballet
- Oldest daughter started wrestling
The Not So Good
- Got laid off from my 13 year long job due to the economy
- Watched my sister go through a divorce
- Quit my pet supply business
When I reflect back on the year we have just had, I am happy to note that "The Good" list is far heavier than the bad list! However, getting laid off from my job has cut heavily into our family finances and has made things extremely tight around our house, thank goodness we know how to be frugal. Looking for work has been a challenge, there is not much available out there in the land of opportunities these these days. The employers seem to know that they have the market cornered too....lower wages and higher expectations. I'm not talking about a dollar or two lower - it's more like five to eight dollars per hour lower for doing the same type of work.
Small business or big business, it doesn't seem to matter, everywhere you look it's all about the money or lack thereof. To top that off whenever a job does come available the number of people who apply for that one position are staggering. Then there are the Craig's List postings that are nothing but a bunch of scams, some are easy to spot and some are not, they are mixed in with the legitimate job postings so applying for a job has become a challenge in itself. You have to be careful not to give up too much information in case it is a scammer, but you have to give enough to get you noticed in case it is a legit job posting.
The latest retail reports are showing that the retail business has picked up over last year's holiday shopping which is usually a sign that things are improving Unfortunately we live in the Pacific Northwest so we are always last to see any changes, from fashions to trends and the economy! I'll know when we are finally in an upturn by the quantity of job postings - the more jobs are posted, the brighter that the future looks. If you look at the local job market we are still "smack dab" (I like this term, but wherever did it come from?) in the middle of a bad economy!
I am hopeful that "my job" is out there and 2011 will be even brighter, to that end I am off to fine tune the resume!
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| Highlights from 2010 - Valentine's Day |
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| Highlights from 2010 - Mother's Day |
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| Highlights from 2010 - Tru Blood |
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| Highlights from 2010 - 4th of July, waiting for the fireworks..... |
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| Highlights from 2010 - I hate golf, but I tried it to make hubby happy! |
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| Highlights from 2010 - Our new furry friends, Bella and Jasper |
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| Highlights from 2010 - Easter! |
Happy New Year!
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