Recent and Exciting Happenings

After multiple interviews and lots of waiting I was finally offered my first job!! I will be a direct support coordinator at a group home for adults with developmental disabilities. I am super excited because I am in a supervisory position and will be given more freedom with the goals and plans for the residents. At my current (part-time) job I have been given the goals for my client and just had to follow them. At the new job I will be in the meetings to analyze the goals and see how things are going with the residents and be able to make new recommendations. I also get to organize the outings, coordinate doctor's appointments, and make sure the other staff in the house are doing their jobs. I am slightly overwhelmed because I know it is going to be a lot of work, but I am also extremely excited. Today I had my drug test and my TB test (I get the results for that Wednesday) and I should set up training etc in the next few days. I am not sure when I will officially start working but it should be within 2 weeks.

Thursday morning my mom and I leave for a mini-vacation in San Francisco. We are going to be there until Monday and will be staying with my aunt and uncle. We have both visited the area before, but didn't get to see everything. I am really excited about the timing of this trip because I'm sure we will all be celebrating me getting my first REAL job while we are there. Since the training is really flexible and I still need to quit my part-time job the trip was literally perfect timing.

As far as running is going it has been really up and down. I run at least once a week on a 2 mile route. I would love to run more but things have been really crazy lately and the heat has been intense. Hopefully once I get moved and get into my job routine I can make a consistent schedule.

I guess that is all for now. Just wanted to update everyone on how life has been going and all the new and exciting things happening! Hope everyone is doing well!

Job Search and Running

This past week has been a surprisingly good one! I have had lots of emails and calls about jobs and even two interviews. I have another interview next week and hopefully will have something in the works by the time I get back from Florida. If nothing else the interviews have helped me practice my interviewing skills and given me more self confidence. Hopefully I will be able to find the right job that is the right fit for me at this time and will help me grow as a person and eventually get me accepted to graduate school.

I finally got off my butt, after two months, and went for a run! I may still be sore from it but overall it was great. I ran further than I had planned and while it wasn't fast it also wasn't as slow as I thought it might be. I plan on going for another run in the morning and then getting back in the groove of running!

Living with my sister and brother-in-law has been surprisingly fun. I have been pretty busy with job interviews, cleaning the old place, hanging with friends, and working my measily 12 hours a week so I haven't been around too much... that is probably a good thing since my sister works from home. When I am home I try to be productive and don't take nearly as many naps as when I lived at my old place. At this point I will be sad when I move out... then again it has only been a week so after another week I may be dying to get out of the house. Anyways, hope everyone is doing well and having a great summer!

the REAL world

I have officially, or rather unofficially, joined the real world. Officially I have graduated from college, but I consider it unofficial since I don't have a "real" job. I am searching for a full-time job and spending each day/night applying like crazy to different jobs and getting my resume out there! My sister and brother-in-law have been kind enough to allow me to live with them for the summer which means no rent!! It will hopefully give me a chance to get my life together and get a full-time job since they are kicking me out August 31st. I am trying not to stress too much because that is not going to help me any, I am just trying to take it day by day and do the best I can to be proactive about finding a job.
Now for the more exciting, fun stuff... this weekend I am going to Myrtle Beach for my good friend's Bachelorette party! We are going to have an amazing time and I will hopefully get some color from laying on the beach all day Saturday. I am sure the weekend will be full of tons of laughs and good times.. I can't wait! Once I get back I have about 2 weeks of work then I'm heading to Florida for 10 days to take care of my grandmother. She is getting knee surgery and needs someone to take care of her so I agreed to help out. Of course the fact that I have a friend who lives 15 minutes away and there is a beach close by in no way influenced my decision... haha! Hopefully I will be able to get out of the house some here and there to hit up the beach and maintain my sanity. Anyways, I need to rest up for the crazy weekend that is about to happen!! :)

Done

I am done with college!! Yes that is right... completely done! I have actually been done since Friday but never had a chance to blog about it. I was planning on bumming around all week until I found out I was working with a new person on Monday and Tuesday along with my usual on Monday and Wednesday plus taking a training class on Wednesday. I thought I was only working 10 hours this week, but it is going to end up being around 20! I guess it is good that I actually am working and it is related to my major... I haven't really found other job opportunities. It is going to be tough working with both people because I will be working with one of them M-F 9-2 and the other M/W/F 4-8... basically my M/W/F are working from 9-8!! Burnout? I hope not! I am moving in with my sister which means my drive won't exactly be short, but I will be crashing at a friends house every once in a while so I won't be back tracking on either Tuesday or Thursday mornings.

I am so ready for Friday. I pick my grandmother up from the airport in the afternoon then all the family comes into town and we are going to dinner then going beer bowling. Saturday morning is graduation followed by lunch and then relaxing/drinking and later cooking out at my sister and brother-in-laws. Hopefully I will be going out that night to continue the celebration! Sunday I will be both occupying my grandmother and going to a friends candle party. I am not sure when I am actually moving since I am busy all this weekend, the following weekend I will be at the beach for a Bachelorette party and the next weekend I will either be at the beach again or I won't have anyone to help me move. It looks like I am going to be doing some moving during the week and hoping to get everything done. I am so glad to get out of this crap hole that we live in, but sad that I won't be living with roommates anymore. Unfortunately with the job market the way it is and the fact that I don't know where I will end up with a job I did not want to sign a lease with a friend and then be stuck in a bad situation. My hope is to find a new job by August or September so I can have normal hours like the rest of the world. Whew well this was a long post and I have to wake up early to go to that training so I must go!

Running

Last June I decided to take up running and train for my first 5k. I did the Couch to 5k plan and ran my first 5k in August. Since then I have run 2 or 3 other 5k's and did the Krispy Kreme Challenge which is approximately 4.6 miles. I haven't run much since March and have decided to get back on the running train starting Monday! Since I have probably lost a considerable amount of endurance I am going to have to start slow and will need much encouragement to keep going. My first race is going to be in mid July in Dublin, CA which is just outside of San Francisco. My mom and I are visiting for a mini-vacation and I figured this would be a great time to run a new distance in a different state! Assuming the 10k goes well I am hopefully going to run a 10 miler in September (I ran the 5k for this same race last year) and maybe even do a half marathon in October or November. Honestly all of this sounds really ambitious for me, but if nothing else I will run this 10k in July... unless I don't think I can and just decide to do the 5k! (This is why I need encouragement to get out there and run.) Anyways, since I am pretty much jobless and have limited plans this summer I don't have the excuse of saying I have no time for running. I will try to post what I have been doing each week and if you don't see anything please ask me because it probably means I have been slacking and sitting on my butt instead of outside training. If anyone has advice for how much over 6.2 miles I should train let me know... right now the longest run I have done is 4 miles so I still have a ways to go!

Week One

Exactly one week has passed since I began my gluten free test diet! I am pretty happy with how I have been feeling and have had to be very creative in my meals. Last night I went to Mellow Mushroom because they have gluten free pizza crust; it was delicious! I have found other restaurants that now offer gluten free options which is pretty exciting as well. If the next week continues to go well then I will either continue testing out the gluten free diet or decide to go completely gluten free. I have also considered going mainly gluten free and still allowing myself the occasional gluten treat like real pasta or crackers or BREAD, but we will see. This week is the last week of classes then exams start next week. I am so ready to graduate and so nervous that I still have no idea what I am going to be doing. Here's to enjoying the last week of class...

Gluten Free

I have been thinking about trying a gluten free diet for almost a week now... that may seem like a short time but all signs point to trying it. I was working with a client last week and I was having a discussion about gluten and casein free diets with his father. His son has severe autism and he is considering trying to eliminate both gluten and casein to help his sons meltdowns/behaviors. They have tried this particular diet before and did not see a huge change, but now that he is a few years older they are considering trying it again. That is what really got me thinking about trying a gluten free diet in the first place. After that conversation I looked at some blogs and one in particular where I thought I remembered the blogger being gluten free. Pretty Little Steps blog discusses how she tried going gluten free and decided it was the right choice for her; quite quickly actually! This brings me to today... not only did I receive an email back from Yasmin, I also received two e-mails from my bosses talking about a class they are offering this coming Monday on gluten free diets! If that is not a sign I don't know what is!! Although I can't attend the class/training because I will be in class at that time I am going to try to start my 2 week trial diet on Monday. I realize this is going to be really hard and probably more costly, but I am willing to see what happens. Anyone that knows me personally knows that I have had digestive issues on and off for years... I have been tested for celiac's before and I don't have it so although gluten is not lethal for me it seems to have benefited other people who have eliminated it from their diets. If you have any advice on things I should purchase for my two week trial please let me know!! Hopefully this will be a positive change that ends up making me feel better overall.

The Shred

My roommate and I have started doing the 30 Day Shred. We have successfully done level 1 the last four out of five days... pretty impressive, eh? We took a sneak peek of level 2 tonight and realized we are not ready to try it out yet. I think we are going to try to do 10ish more days of level 1 and then try out level 2. I've read a few blogs about people doing the 30 Day Shred so we are hoping for big results... just in time for swimsuit season! In other news I am doing a fill-in with a different "client" tomorrow. He is much more autistic than I am used to working with so it should be a challenge. Hopefully he won't smear poop all over the wall like he did with the last person who filled-in. Hope everyone is having a great week!

Beautiful Weather & Trivia

The weather here is gorgeous and just in time for Easter! I am glad it is finally warm and I can start getting rid of my pasty skin. (Unfortunately that never completely happens... but I do eventually become "normal skin tone" as my mother calls it!) Tonight a few friends and I went to eat dinner & play trivia for the second time this week. We went earlier this week and finished 11th out of 11 teams... tonight we finished 3rd out of 10 teams! We walked away with a $10 gift card to the restaurant that we were able to put towards our meal tonight. Trivia is so much fun and FREE... if only we ate before we went then it would be completely free! In other news I have started to do p90x with my roommate... I have not been completely dedicated, but the parts we have done have been super killer. In the morning we are doing the p90x yoga which is 90 minutes long. I have NEVER done yoga in my life, let alone p90x yoga. I am sure by the end of it (if we make it through the whole video) we will both be sore and ready to collapse. I think I prefer the 30 day shred much more; not only is it shorter, it also doesn't leave me quite as sore! Well, I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather and has a wonderful Easter!!

Graduation

With graduation just around the corner and lots on my mind I decided I finally needed to start blogging. I, like many others, am not sure what I will be doing when I graduate and as terrifying as that may sound I am not too stressed about it. Tomorrow I will be appealing my rejection from UNC's MSW program and if I get in then I will know exactly what I will be doing for the next 2 years. If I don't get in I will be winging it and possibly applying to different programs? I have realized that I am interested in Occupational Therapy after a friend mentioned that option to me about a month ago and am researching ways to make that happen. Although it is a scary time in life it is so exciting because I am not tied down to any one person or any one place! I am ready to see what the next few years have in store for me, and with any luck I will be able to finally find my niche!