POTUS on Jobs

Obama:

And given the urgency of this moment, given the hardship people are facing. Folks gotta get together, but we’re not going to wait for them. We’re going to see if we’ve got some straight shooters in Congress. We’re going to see if Congressional Republicans will put country before party. We’ll give them a plan then we’ll say do you want to create jobs then put our construction workers back to work rebuilding America? Do you want to help our companies succeed? Open up new markets for them to sell their products. You say you’re the party of tax cuts? Well then prove you’ll fight just as hard for tax cuts for middle class families as you do for oil companies and the most affluent Americans. Show us what you got.

The time for Washington games is over. The time for action is now. No more manufactured crisis. No more games. Now’s not the time for the people you sent to Washington to worry about their jobs, now’s the time for them to worry about your jobs.

Link

APPLE-OATMEAL CRISP

APPLE-OATMEAL CRISP
1 1/2 lbs. apples (4) 1/2 c. butter 3/4 c. packed brown sugar 3/4 c. oatmeal 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 c. flour Arrange apples in casserole (sliced). Melt butter; add sugar, oatmeal, flour, cinnamon until crumbly. Sprinkle over apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Apples from our own 'State Fair' apple tree. COOKS.COM

Tradition...Tradition

The spontaneous and generous gift of a 25 pound turkey allows our Annual Labor Day Weekend Turkey Roast to continue
uninterrupted.

Downsizing: Year One

To say this past year has been tough, would be an understatement. What will happen tomorrow, next week, next month, its hard to say. Still, I am humbled, not by our circumstances, but the people in my life.

My two girls, knowing their friends are shopping for school clothes and supplies, instead, search the cabinets for folders and notebooks, pencils and markers. There is not a solitary mention of 'new' clothes from either one. Instead, they ask us to spend our TIME with them playing cards.

We have friends showing up to cook us amazing meals. A daughter who brings cardboard boxes filled with food or just cardboard boxes for moving. And a son who buys groceries ~ every single week ~ with his first ever paychecks.

We spent the summer bonding over 30 years worth of memories, as we cleaned up the house to prepare for the inevitable move, if things don't improve. 100's of resumes and dozens of job interviews, we have thinned out our clutter, but the magic 'job' to save us is still hovering somewhere over the horizon.

"Never take a person's dignity: it is worth everything to them, and nothing to you." — Frank X Barron

I have learned that while I always considered myself a generous, considerate person, I could have done much more. I have also learned that some people I considered thoughtful and generous, are not.

Mostly, I have learned people like to judge others with little regard to actual facts and that it really does not matter. The people in your life who care about you, will always be there when you need them, and the others don't matter, anyway.

· · Share · Delete

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    Joanne Otto Praying for you and your family Mary. I'm sorry you are going through difficult times, sounds like you have raised wonderful, respectful, generous children, that is worth more than any amount of money.

    16 hours ago · Reply
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    Maureen A James Oh No!! I understand all this!!! I am soo Sorry!! This is the stuff I live for.. Mari in Colorado...This is the saddest stuff in the World..And this iIS what needs to change. All of it!!!

    37 minutes ago · Reply

Living through Unemployment

Forgive the topsy turvy dates of the first few posts. We are editing an old Blog and reinventing it for this adventure.

Converting site...check back SOON. This site will be filled with everything you need to help you through the most incredibly difficult time of your life.

I know this because we are living it with you. Learn how to survive from, day to day, with us.

Lost Your Job~~Now What?

Lost Your Job~~Now What?

You've just been thrown out into the wilderness without a map. The most difficult thing is knowing where to begin. With months of research and trial and error behind us, we have experience in forging the trail. Let us be your compass.

The following is a list of websites with useful information for the Job Search/Interview process, itself.

Just follow the links to the appropriate sites.

From the unemployment fairy

(from my other blog)

Get Ready to Get Out There

What Is The Longest Period Of Time That You Have Been Unemployed?

Now that you know what jobs match your skills and interests, it’s time to get out into the job market and make things happen. Our toolkit will help you prepare with proven tips that can help you perfect your resume, sharpen your interviewing skills and prepare for salary negotiations: Link

What You Should Never Put in an Introductory Email

It's never too early to make a bad impression.

A cover letter or introductory email is often the first thing a potential employer sees when reviewing a job applicant. It's the first opportunity to impress recruiters and hiring managers and, therefore, the first opportunity to disappoint them. Everything from copy mistakes to inappropriate jokes in a cover letter could derail an application. Link

Top 5 Tips for Creating Impressive Video Resumes 

In today’s highly competitive job market, creating the right video resume to accompany your traditional CV can make you stand out from the crowd. The wrong one, though, can make you a laughing stock. Link

Interviews

A collection of resources to help you ace interviews. Includes tips for successfully navigating job interviews, sample interview questions and answers, plus interview practice games that provide immediate feedback online. Link

Thank You Note Example - Follow Up With Information 

Thank you note example to use when you want to follow-up with the hiring manager and provide additional information about your candidacy that you wish you had mentioned at the interview. Link

Hot Cocoa from Alton Brown

What do you do when people drop off boxes of food with dried milk? Obviously, you search the internet for hot cocoa recipes and the kitchen for ingredients. Gourmet cocoa without a Starbucks in sight.

Hot Cocoa

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Show: Good EatsEpisode: Art of Darkness II: Cocoa

Rated 5 stars out of 5

Total Time:

5 min

Prep

5 min

Yield:

5 1/2 cups dry mix

Level:

Ingredients

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
• Hot water

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly. In a small pot, heat 4 to 6 cups of water.

Fill your mug half full with the mixture and pour in hot water. Stir to combine. Seal the rest in an airtight container, keeps indefinitely in the pantry. This also works great with warm milk.

Between A Rock and A Hard Place

Having searched the internet for any sign of hope in amongst the despair about unemployment and its conqequenses, I have come to realize that what is needed is a place for families to turn to for information, help and perhaps, even a bit of humor. Life is not over...its just on hold. I hope. This blog will attempt to offer anything and everything about the life of the unemployed Ameerican. Mainly, that life does go on.

To be continued...

Value Meals

I have read, in many places, that in order to survive unemployment, you must give up eating out. I am fairly certain the people who say this are the same one's who say your children, who have given up going out to movies, birthday presents and new school supplies, don't deserve a simple candy bar at the grocery store.

Mean spirited~judgmental~people, who have given up NOTHING.

A value menu is a group of items on a fast food restaurant menu that are designed to be the least expensive items available. In the US, the items are usually priced between $0.99 and $1.49.

The portion size, and/or number of items included with the food, are usually but not always related to the price. Wikipedia

Our family of four has mastered the art of eating at Arby's for just over $8.00. The lift in spirits and well being, getting away from the drudgery that sometimes is our day, is worth much, much more.

Arby's

Arby's announced the launch of their value menu on April 9, 2010. Items on the value menu vary based on location, but typically include small or value size roast beef sandwiches, curly fries, milkshakes, chicken sandwiches, ham and cheddar sandwiches, and turnovers.

Burger King

Burger King added a value menu in 1998 with items priced at 99¢ (USD). In 2002 and 2006, BK revamped its value menu, adding and removing products at 99¢, and later increasing some prices to $1.39. Many of these items have since been discontinued, modified or relegated to a regional menu option.

McDonald's

After numerous attempts beginning in 1991, experimenting with a variety of menus and pricing strategies, McDonald's launched its first national value menu, the Dollar Menu, in late 2002.

Taco Bell

In 1988, Taco Bell lowered the prices of all new items and launched the first three-tiered pricing strategy and free drink refills.

Wendy's

Wendy's is generally credited with being the first fast food chain to offer a value menu in October 1989, with every item priced at $0.99.

Wikipedia

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

Eleanor Roosevelt

Weekly Time Sheets

Begin the job search by

Number ONE

Organize your time~~plan out your week.

Sample List
Monday
7:00-7:30 Breakfast
7:30-8:00 Morning Jog
8:00-9:00 Work on Resume
9:00-10:00 Internet Job Search
10:00-11:00 Practice Interviews Out loud
11:00-11:30 Fix Kitchen Sink
11:30-1:00 Lunch
1:00-2:00 Talk to Bank about Mortgage Options
2:00-3:00 Sort Through Email-Respond
3:00-3:30 Pick up Kids from School
3:30-4:00 Robert Half Consulting
4:00-5:00 Study Lesson 5.2 of Java script
5:00 Dinnertime
Tuesday
7:00-7:30 Breakfast
7:30-8:00 Morning Jog
8:00-9:00 Work on Cover Letter
9:00-10:00 Internet Job Search
10:00-11:00 Practice Interviews Out loud
11:00-11:30 Mow front yard
11:30-1:00 Lunch
1:00-2:00 Work on new budget options
2:00-3:00 Sort Through Email-Respond
3:00-3:30 Pick up Kids from School
3:30-4:00 Send Thank you to Robert Half Consulting
4:00-5:00 Study Lesson 5.3 of Java script
5:00 Dinnertime
Wednesday...
My Excel Templates

Making life easier, one Excel Template at a time!

Unemployment Fairy 2002

MLEIV.com
Card

Netflix

When it became obvious we needed to cut back, the first thing to go was DISH. $94.00 a month for satellite tv was an extravagance even in a working world. With no dish and no digital antennas, our television screens went black.

Thank goodness for Netflix. At $9.99 a month, we had unlimited streaming on two tvs and One movie shipping. Of course, Netflix has since changed its service so we no longer receive any movies by mail. Still, At$7.00 a month, now, the unlimited streaming of movies and TV series has made the lack of live TV relatively painless.

Breakeven

I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing
Just prayed to a God that I don't believe in
'Cause I got time while she got freedom
'Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven

Her best days will be some of my worst
She finally met a man that's gonna put her first
While I'm wide awake she's no trouble sleeping
'Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven, even, no

What am I suppose to do
When the best part of me was always you and
What am I suppose to say
When I'm all choked up and you're okay

I'm falling to pieces, yeah
I'm falling to pieces

They say bad things happen for a reason
But no wise words gonna stop the bleeding
'Cause she's moved on while I'm still grieving
And when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven, even, no

What am I gonna do
When the best part of me was always you
And what am I suppose to say
When I'm all choked up and you're okay

I'm falling to pieces, yeah
I'm falling to pieces, yeah
[ From: http://www.elyrics.net/read/s/script-lyrics/breakeven-lyrics.html]
I'm falling to pieces
(One's still in love while the other one's leaving)
I'm falling to pieces
('Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven)

You got his heart and my heart and none of the pain
You took your suitcase, I took the blame
Now I'm tryna make sense of what little remains, oh
'Cause you left me with no love and no love to my name

I'm still alive but I'm barely breathing
Just prayed to a God that I don't believe in
'Cause I got time while she got freedom
'Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't break
No it don't break, no it don't breakeven, no

What am I gonna do
When the best part of me was always you
And what am I supposed to say
When I'm all choked up and you're okay

I'm falling to pieces, yeah
I'm falling to pieces, yeah
I'm falling to pieces
(One's still in love while the other one's leaving)
I'm falling to pieces
('Cause when a heart breaks, no it don't breakeven)

Oh, it don't breakeven, no
Oh, it don't breakeven, no
Oh, it don't breakeven, no
http://www.elyrics.net/read/s/script-lyrics/breakeven-lyrics.html

Key Lime Pie

In honor of Job interview in Florida

SNEAKYKITCHEN There is only one real authentic recipe for Key Lime Pie, a long-time staple in Key West, although there's many yummy variations. "Conchs", as Key West residents are known, have made this pie since long before refrigeration. There were no cows in Key West, so canned milk was the only dairy product available, originally brought in by ship, later by Flagler's train, and finally by highway.

Authentic Key Lime pie uses tiny yellow Key limes, which are bursting with juice, have more acid and a stronger lime flavor than large limes. Most Key lime trees have wicked thorns, but thornless ones are available. We had a thornless one for many years, but the Florida Department of Agriculture's Canker eradication just cut ours down, so we will have to make do with Persian limes from the grocery from now on. As for the pie, here's the real thing, and it's yellow like Key limes, never green. It's a very rich pie and a little goes a long way. Use a Graham Cracker Crust for low calories and fat, or a Stir and Roll Pie Crust. Or use My Cheating Pie Crust. For more information, go to A Complete Guide to Key Lime Pie with video instructions. Variations on the theme of Key Lime Pie follow.

Authentic Key Lime Pie

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup Key Lime Juice
1 9-inch baked pie shell

Whisk the egg yolks into the condensed milk. Add the lime juice little by little, stirring until mixture starts to thicken. Scrape into the pie shell and let it chill and set up.

Some people make meringue with the remaining whites and dress the top of the pie. Some people prefer it with whipped cream or whipped topping, definitely a later invention.

Be aware that non-pasteurized eggs, served raw as is the case with this pie, could carry dangerous salmonella germs.

Fairy Godmother for Prom

Twin Cities non-profit plays fairy godmother

by Marianne Combs, Minnesota Public Radio

May 4, 2007

Listen to feature audio

Saturday night is prom night for Richfield Senior High School students. Among the young women attending the party will be several who wear dresses they got for free. A local charity is working to take the financial stress out of a teenage rite of passage.

Ever After Gowns is a Minnesota based 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation dedicated to supporting Twin Cities-area young women by providing them with new and gently used formal gowns, shoes, and accessories to be worn to their high school prom. Our clients receive all the attire and accessories
free of charge.