Thankful Thursday #7

I think I have officially had the longest week ever.  Training for your new job while training your replacement is exhausting!  Actually it might be better phrased as training your replacement while working the hardest week of the month in your new job after little to no training.  Either way you say it, while my bank account thanks my employer for the overtime, I'm physically and mentally drained.  If tomorrow wasn't Friday I'm not sure I'd be able to convince myself to get out of bed.

Therefore this Thankful Thursday is inspired both by my stressful week and that which got me through it.  I'm going to leave it at a bible verse and a list of things that helped me through this week.

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

1 Corinthians 10:13 (The Message)

Things I'm thankful for this week:
Funfetti cupcakes - give me all the homemade cakes in the world and I'd probably turn them down for this cake from a box
Bomb Pops - brings me back to my childhood and a nice (only 40 calorie) treat when I'm craving something sweet while still trying to stick to my calorie limit
Mail - see my Tuesday post
Bridal Solidarity -Brit's a girl after my own heart
Having a job at all - had a couple friends lose their jobs recently and I'm extremely thankful for mine even if it is difficult right now
Working out - Chalene makes my day better every time
A cuddly kitten
Sisters - both in the traditional sense and my bff in MI who is as good as, and yes I know I used them on my first TT but they've all helped me in some way this week and this is my post so get over it :)
Two (more) pounds lost!
Not having to study - there is no doubt that God knew the right time for me to rotate was during the month break I have from CPA studying, having to come home from working OT and then study would not have been possible

So this week, while I am thankful for the new challenges and learning opportunities that my new job have brought me, I am even more thankful for a God who knows what I need to enable me to get through what he knows I can handle (even when I'm not so sure).

Oh, Monday...

Today was one of those days that goes on forever. Just one problem after another and the only thing that was keeping me going was knowing that in just three weeks Doug and I will be here on our first vacation in three years:

 Wouldn't it be nice if there were always something like this to help get you through a bad day?

"Oh, you got to learn to roll with the changes"

While I heart REO Speedwagon and their many songs, change I do not heart. I could regale you with stories about my adverse reactions to all the various changes that have previously occurred in my life. However, I think I can summarize my feelings quite nicely. I just did a mental happy dance when I confirmed that all of my current doctors are covered by the insurance I will have with my new job! How sad is that?

Jamie's Great Day Part 2: A life lesson and what the e-mail should have said

So, in the middle of July I mentioned in this post and this post that I was interviewing for a position I really wanted to get. It met all of the qualities I considered for my ideal position. It was with a major St. Louis manufacturer. It was a rotational development program where I would get to learn about several accounting areas during my first few years. And I could ultimately end up in cost accounting (where my greatest accounting interests are) relatively easily. My interview went great and I thought I had made a great connection in my conversation with the guy in charge of the department I was interviewing with. As with other jobs I had interviewed for that I wanted, I began praying that it was not only my opinion, but God's will that I get this position. This time, though, I probably prayed more than I ever had.

Well at the end of July I got the dreaded "we've gone with someone else" e-mail. One sentence that crushed me then and had crushed me several times before. But this time was a bit different. Instead of my usual mopey response, I accepted it and moved on. I told God that I understood the position wasn't where I was supposed to be and even began pursuing another position that, while sufficient, wasn't where my heart was. And I'm guessing that new response to an unanswered prayer made all the difference.

Friday afternoon I got an e-mail and a voice mail from the department head that I had had the great connection with. Was I still interested in the position? Apparently, my one-sentence rejection e-mail should have told me that I was one of the top candidates they interviewed. They had been instructed to try to hire from within first and they would still like to hire me if they got a chance in the near future. Not exactly the message I got from the first e-mail, but as I told the department head, I certainly was happy to get it now!

And what have I gained from this experience? Sure, I was told to expect a job offer on Monday and that's freaking spectacular. But more importantly I've also gotten a nice reminder from God that when I put my trust in him, he will provide me with exactly what I need, whether it's what I think I need or not.

Up next, part 3 of my great day!

Random bits of advice I could use right now

Wedding related

1)What is the best way for one to get a hard to reach chaplain at a private university to return one's call in a timely manner? This dude must have a ridiculously leisurely job because every time Stephanie calls he is "on vacation." Seriously, the guy has been on vacation for like three months and it is driving both Stephanie and I crazy. One time that she did get through to him, he said "I guess you two are anxious about this?" she said yes and apparently that has not changed his behavior.

Not wedding related

2)Is last minute pre-exam cramming of information ever effective? I am taking my first CPA exam on Saturday and I honestly feel as if any studying between now and then wont help me. I've been studying for a month, isn't that enough? Any CPA exam tips are welcome too, as I know a large portion of my audience is in the accounting field. :)

3)What are the best ways to keep your mind off of the fact that you are waiting to hear back from your dream employer about an interview you had for your dream position? You would think this whole CPA studying thing would be enough to do it, but it's not. I would so trade a failure of my CPA exam section as well as give up on the chapel in order to get this job.

I will be back to posts about the wedding after July 29 (summer class final exam), I promise.

Help, please!

In honor of my two different interviews this week, what's the toughest question you have been asked?


P.S. Any other interview advice is welcome.


P.S.S. Any good thoughts thrown my way would be appreciated too! :)

I would have written tonight off as horrible...

I got attacked by a door and am now sporting a ridiculous bruise on my upper left arm,

I spent four and a half hours in a boring corporate taxation class,

and when I was finally able to leave said boring class I discovered that one of the straps on my adorable (and expensive) laptop bag is broken.

However, I came home to the sweetest card from Doug's uncle congratulating me on my graduation and new job! His uncle is one of the most caring people I have ever met. He is always the first person at gatherings to ask me how I am and what is happening in my life. However, he isn't the only one. Doug has (with maybe one exception) really nice and incredibly caring families on both sides. I have always felt completely welcomed by them and am excited to become part of both families. Bonus points for the fact that they are both large families. (Those of you who come from small families probably won't understand this, but big families rock.)

I already have a very large and wonderful family who I love so much, but in less than a year I will be gaining some wonderful new family members and that makes me really happy. Yay for mood changing cards from new uncles and yay for new family being a part of this whole getting married thing!

Packing Insanity

After getting yet another job rejection letter today, I opened up a package to find this.Yep that is a tiny approx. 3"X4" inch stamp pad packed in a box one million times its size.

Boo on the company who sent me this for hating the environment.

Yay for having the last item needed for invitation practice to commence!

On Wednesday I had an interview for a job that I would really like (and since Doug was laid off, we really need). I think it went well and am hoping for a call about a second interview this week. Any prayers and good thoughts sent my way would be greatly appreciated.

Three final exams and a presentation currently separate me from graduation on Friday. After which, you can look for wedding discussion to resume. In the lineup will be invitations (as the last item I need for a mockup is currently on its way to me) and flowers.

If I make it to Friday

I think that graduation (a simultaneously exciting and terrifying event happening in less than 4 weeks) will begin to seem close.

My internship will hopefully be ending sooner (since April 15th is Wednesday), after which if I never see a sign here sticker again, it will be too soon.

Dear crazy out-of-control subconsious,

I know that I am working you overtime in this insane try to graduate, find a job, plan a wedding, and deal with real life plan I've got going right now, but I just can't keep having so many nightmares. It is unacceptable for you to continue.

I promise to give you a little break after April 15th and an even bigger break after May 8th. (that is, of course, until operation study for the CPA exam commences shortly after, but let's just not think about that, ok?)

So, ya... no more nightmares, ok? Because the lack of sleep is only hurting the both of us.

Thanks, Jamie

The wonder that is analytics

Because all that awaits me today is a giant stack of random tax docs to sort and scan, here is a little bit about Analytics for LauraAnn.

Analytics can be put on a website to track visitors. With it, you have access to more information than you would ever need about your readers. For example, I can tell you that a little under 41% of my readers use Firefox. 17% are lucky enough to have a T1 connection. Someone from Addison, TX reads my blog. And Bedford, DE is visiting too. And thanks to Trisha for providing 10% of my readers the link to my blog!

I think if you go to the Analytics link that I have so graciously provided to you, you will find it fairly easy to set up. However, if you have questions let me know. I would love to help!

And because I would still love to hear from my unknown visitors, here is another dog picture. This time taken by me of my niece Gracie. If you are looking for a dog, definitely consider a retired greyhound! My sister and brother-in-law have two and I love them! They are seriously great dogs.

I need help

or a personal shopper, or something.

I went today to get some more clothes for work, since the 'I'm a student who always wears jeans and a hoodie' look won't work at my internship and I would have to start repeating clothes way too soon without acquiring some more. I spent at least 4 hours at the mall and various other stores and ended up with one pair of pants. One. And I can't even wear them because I have no brown shoes. And I think I may also be without any tops to go with them, but I'm not sure because I have, for some reason, no idea what goes with brown pants.

Dillards had a ton of stuff 50-75% off, and I still got nothing. Except 4 t-shirts, a hoodie, and coat all for Doug! I tried on at least 6+ shirts and 10+ pairs of pants in Dillards alone. I did find about 5 suits that I really liked, but my office is definitely too business casual for any of them. Is it weird that I kind of hope to get a suit-wearing job so I don't have to deal with this ever?

Is it possible that I am just not a business casual girl, that I can only comfortably live within the casual and suit realms?

Shopping advice, I need it. Or someone to just take my credit card and deal with this for me.