Two Awards in Two Days :D

I was thrilled (and super surprised!!) to find out yesterday that I had received an award from Cheryl over at Crap That Bugs Me!, I couldn't believe it!! My very first award!! And from a blogger I LOVE to read!! Part of my daily, morning routine :) I'm kind of an addict LoL

Thanks again, so very much, Cheryl!! I do appreciate it!! :)

This blog is awarded to up-and-coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. I only have 4, so I suppose this made me a terrific candidate!! I am glad that she happens to like my writing enough to bestow such an honor unto my little piece of sanity :D

So, you can imagine my surprise when I logged on today to see that I had received ANOTHER award!!! :D I did my very own happy dance!! (Too bad the honey wasn't here to see it!! LoL He loves it when I do it!!) This second honor was bestowed upon me by Becky over at Just Passing Through. This is another one of my favorite blogs to read!! Every. Single. Morning. I can't get enough :) So I was more than flattered to have received yet another award from a favorite fellow blogger!!

I appreciate this little beauty from Becky more than I can explain :) Thanks again!!

Aren't they beautiful?? I think they look just lovely here on my blog :) I set them up their own page *Hint, Hint ;)* I was thrilled to follow the rules that come with each award (even though some of the rules are still works in progress for me) and you can see all the details over on the page--see, now you have to check it out!! This is where you can see whom I've passed these beauties along to, and I suggest you check out these awesome fellow bloggers!!    **These lists will be updated as soon as possible. I have 3 left to award for the Liebster award and 2 left to award for the Sunshine award. I will let you know when those lists are updated/complete**

I'm going to take my excited self off to bed now. It's going to be a long morning tomorrow....I feel a rant is probably in the works....Thanks for reading!

Interview Anxiety

Well, I have an interview on Monday morning at 10 am. While this isn't a glamorous job, it is a job nonetheless (and these days we all know how hard they are to come by). I am rather excited about this prospective new job for a few reasons:

• It is guaranteed the shift I want (swing shift like my honey). 
• Guaranteed, every other weekend off. This is great because we only get to see little man on the weekends. Also, this is when my honey has his days off from work. That never changes (almost LoL).
• I get to see my honey more often during the day this way than I do now. Right now it feels like we hardly see each other at all--though a few friends/coworkers have pointed out to me that my honey and I spend more time together than most.
• It gets me out of my overly-stressful current job situation and into a slightly more relaxed environment. Couldn't we all use that every now and again??

 This isn't my first interview at all. However, I am always rather nervous about having to sit in front of a complete stranger and talk about myself to them. More times than not, I am so confused on what it is that they are asking me exactly. And I am always afraid of saying something incredibly silly like Jen did over at PIWTPITT (No offense Jen!! I love your blog and this post was hilariously good!!)

Almost......

While I don't recall ever being asked what animal I would most be like and why, the one question that always trips me up is, "What is one example of how you have handled a tough situation/customer/coworker in the past and how effective was this?"

I'm sorry. Am I suppose to pick ONE of THOUSANDS of examples of dealing with the idiots that walk this planet on a day to day basis?? This is always a tricky question for me because I tend to mouth off sometimes without really thinking about what I am saying. I always want to answer with something along the lines of, "I let them continue to breathe oxygen. They were satisfied customers and returned." Seriously. I have such a low tolerance for ignorance and it surrounds me daily in many, many forms. I pat myself on the back at night for not ripping people's heads off all day.

I know that is not an appropriate response, however, so I almost always come up with one mostly crappy example. If I can't think of an example quick enough without looking like I'm grasping for anything, I usually just say something about doing the best I can to rectify the problem and take the matter up with my manager if I cannot. I am never satisfied with my own answer to the question and yet I can't bring myself to lie a little and jazz it up a bit.

The other question that bugs me the most is, "Why do you want to work for us?" Hmm....I need a job to pay my bills and feed myself? This, apparently, is not the right answer to this question. So, if being honest is not the right answer to the question at hand, then what is? I think this picture says it all:

I think that about sums it up......

For the next week, my stomach will probably be in knots with anxiety over this interview. The funny thing is that I usually rock my interviews and get the job. I usually stress myself out for nothing. So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for this new job. New opportunities await me :)

I Proudly Support Oreo Because They Proudly Support Equality

Right before I went to bed last night I came across this picture in my Facebook feed. It brought a very big smile to my face since I am an avid gay rights supporter. I "liked" it and went on my way with my last minute, late-night Facebook fix.

I thought nothing of this picture again until just a few minutes ago when I came across an article a friend had shared. I clicked this link and was appalled by what I read there!

Seriously people??!! You are going to boycott all Oreo and/or Kraft products because of this----> picture?? How about General Mills or Starbucks. I bet you didn't realize you would have to also boycott Microsoft, Apple, and Google. Oh, and not to mention that most car companies are also in on this, such as Chevy, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Mitsubishi and even Toyota, you would also have to boycott them. One more thing, that also would mean that you could no longer support your beloved Facebook!!

I understand that everyone is entitled their own opinions but really, I don't understand how you think that boycotting these companies is going to do anything except make you look like a giant asshole. Regardless of whether or not you buy their products, they will continue to thrive. For every single hateful comment I saw, there were at least twice as many supporters. I'd like to showcase some of those wonderful comments now:

 

 

 

I could really rant on and on about how ignorant I believe all the haters to be. How ignorant I believe it is to hide behind the bible to justify the hate that I saw on this picture thread. The mass support I saw, however, keeps me from really ranting.

It is ridiculous that people think going this route will change the outcome. Oreo is still going to support gay rights even if you boycott their products. Why? Because, if they pulled the ad and went back on that support it would blow up in their face. That would be what really kills their company. So, be ignorant. Keep boycotting. Just means more delicious cookies (as well as other things too!!) for all of us who actually care about equality--and just plain good food!!

**All photos were taken from Facebook here**

The "Secret" Epidemic of Slavery in Our Country: Sex Trafficking

What is the first image that comes to your mind when you hear the words sex trafficking? Does your mind automatically conjure up an image of a woman from some other country on the other side of the world from you? Do you think of the young girls "patrolling" the streets attracting unknowing customers? Instead, does your mind create the image of the young woman down the street? How about that of your own daughter, or even yourself?

"It couldn't happen to me. I'm not that kind of girl."

"I don't put myself in a position to be one of those girls--for that kind of thing to happen to me."

"My daughter knows better than to talk to people like that. She knows better than to get mixed up with that kind of a crowd."

The Three Biggest Problems in America's Schools Today

Almost everyone can agree on this one simple thing: Education is important. When we think about sending our children to school, public or private, we hope that they will have the best experiences they can have there. We hope they will thrive in a loving and nurturing environment provided by licensed, experienced professionals.

While I don't have any children of my own that are of school age, I do have a few friends that do. So, in order to keep up in the conversation with my mommy friends, I've been reading about our school systems all over the country. I have to say that I am appalled by some of the stories I have encountered as of late. With each story came a little bit more disgust. Recurring themes popped out at me as I read and I realized what our biggest problems in schools today are (with the exception of teacher lay-offs and severe budget cuts--which are both separate topics of their own for another time). I narrowed them down to the three that happened to rub me the wrong way, this time.