now what?

Applying for jobs stinks! Everyone seems to be looking for a recent college graduate with a plethora of experience. Now I can't pull experience out of thin air, so the jobs in my field seem pretty slim. In my experience, with the job market being the way it currently is, employers can ask for basically anything from a job seeker because there are so many of us out there that are looking for work. It also means that those of us that just graduated and don't have experience are being left behind in the job search.

It has been almost 3 months since I've worked and I'm getting tired of sitting in my room / house applying for job after job and only getting rejection emails sent to me. 

I had a long talk with my sister {lynne @ Holland-Amerika line} and my mom and we all agreed that for the time being, I need a job, any job. I ran out of money rather quickly and that is the main thing I need right now, money. So I decided that right now I should re-direct my focus from finding a career to getting a job that will allow me to have money so I can start saving. This, off course, doesn't mean that I will stop looking for better jobs all together but it will be nice to get out more and make money. I miss getting up and getting ready.

I don't want to live in the town I'm in currently, yet I'm here now so I might as well make the most of it. I applied for a job here in town on a Sunday and got a call by Tuesday to come in for an interview the following Friday. I'm glad to say I accepted the job they offered me on the spot. I will be working at a high end clothing brand as a client specialist. This might not be my dream job, or even a career but for now it will provide me with what I need now, money and insurance. And who knows, perhaps this is a career. My career.

What I also found in my search is that a lot of employers are giving preference to those that have a Master's degree, and they don't seem to really care what field it is in. By having 'just' a Bachelor's degree, I feel as if I might be overlooked for other jobs because I have no higher education. After looking into it, I decided to apply for graduate school.

I didn't think I could get in to any graduate program. I pulled my grades together my senior year of college, and I graduated with a 2.24 GPA, but I didn't think that was high enough to get accepted anywhere. As it turns out, I got accepted at Liberty University! I am taking classes online for a Master's degree in Human Services with a concentration in Criminal Justice. I will be starting classes September 16th {pending student loans} and will be done with my degree in May of 2014!! This also means that by the time people graduate with their Bachelor's in May and they will also be looking at jobs, I will have finished my Master's degree and have an 'up' on them.

I'm so excited for this journey. Even though I am scared to take on student loans, it isn't a terribly large amount and something about this job and going back to school feels right. There is no other way to explain it.

Have any of you had trouble finding a career job after college? Or experience in getting a Master's degree?

what I'm loving right now

I thought it was time to share another 5 things I'm loving right now!

1. I love that I have finally been reunited with my shoes! They were in a UHaul storage unit and I had little hope of finding them. I didn't want to have to empty out the unit to find the right box, but with the help of my friend it only took about 30 minutes to find them :) So happy right now

2. La Croix sparking water. It is flavored water with nothing added to it. My favorite is the cran-raspberry! 

3. The fact that I'm getting my very first iPhone in only a few days! I know I'm late to the party, but it was worth the wait!! I may or may not have been scouring the internet for monogrammed phone cases...

4. REVENGE!! This show has me on the edge of my seat and when I finally think I have figured it out...plot twist! I suggest you watch it, season 1 & 2 are on Netflix

5. Blogging! I have fallen in love all over again with blogging and I feel like I finally found my voice. I hope my blog will continue to grow and I hope to gain more blog friends!

{horrible picture, but so far in one night I have written 5 posts. I am using the last of my free days to write as many posts as I can, that way once I start working and taking classes, my blog won't fall to the back burner again!}

What are you loving right now?

dream

{post written a few weeks ago. It is currently only 12:36am}

This is what I do at 2:53am. When I can't sleep and I can't think. I blog. And I dream. I dream about what life is going to be like a month, a year, 5 years from now. Will I get my heart's desire {to find a husband and have children}? Will I drive a huge SUV with 3 kids and have an amazing, Godly husband? Will I have a job/career I love{d}? Will I be blessed enough to be a stay at home mom and have the most important job there is?

Sometimes I wish I wasn't as impatient as I am. I can't wait to see what God has in store for my life, and I wish I could see it all now. That way I can close my eyes and sleep soundly, because I knew He would provide what I most desire.

I guess that is where a little word called faith comes in. I have to have faith that what I am feeling in my heart is there because He put it there. Not to dangle it in front of me and take it away. It is there for me to get used to, so that I will rejoice when I am ready to receive it. I do have faith, that is not the problem. I would just like to have a preview of exactly when I will meet my husband. Will I be 27? Or 41? Those things, for some weird reason are important, to me. I have been thriving in life and in faith in the past year and a half and that is because I Let go & Let God. I realized that if He wants me to have something, I will get it...in His time. 

These are the times I remember why I got the tattoos I did.

 *   "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your path straight" - Proverbs 3:5-6
*    "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" - Philippians 4:13
*    Hope anchors the soul - Hebrews 6:19
*    Don't quit before the miracle

Let go & let God !

almond poppy seed loaf

I don't know if ya'll caught the picture I posted on instagram {@sprinklesontoast} of this beauty, but let me show you!

It doesn't just look good, it tastes amazing too! 

Here is what you need:

3 cups of flour

2 1/4 cups of sugar

3 eggs

1 cup of oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 Tbs poppy seeds

1 1/2 cups of milk

1 1/2 tsp butter extract

1 1/2 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 

step 1. Preheat oven to 350. Gather all ingredients and dump in mixer

step 2. Mix for a few minutes, then place in greased loaf pan {all ingredients will fit in one bigger loaf pan without spilling over when rising}. Place in oven for 70 minutes. 

step 3. Let your loaf cool for a little while & enjoy!!

{original recipe found on My Kitchen Escapades}

weekend getaway

This was just what I needed. A little time away. I feel as if I'm going to go stir crazy sitting at home applying for jobs days in and day out.

My sister and my good friend Meagan moved to CA and was home for a weekend. Great excuse to go visit southern VA for a fun filled weekend with friends {this was a few weekends ago}.

We left on Saturday morning to make the two and a half our drive down south. It was a fun car ride, with 6 people piled into the car. It was nice to hang out with people and catch up with them. The day was filled with lots of fun, and lots of fruit pizza making! {we made 5!} I'm so glad I learned how to make fruit pizza. I'm sure my body is not though :)

Meagan's parents threw a barbeque party since Meagan can't come home that often. It was a blast, there were so many people there! After the barbeque, we played some slip and slide kickball. Now, when I first heard kickball I thought they meant dodgeball?? To me that sounded dangerous, like break a bone dangerous {I don't have health insurance so breaking a bone would NOT be a good thing}. I didn't want to be a dud and not play, and when I helped set up I realized it wasn't dodgeball, it was more like softball...without a bat!

It turns out, I am kinda good at kicking a ball with my right leg {I'm left handed and usually left footed}. I even got a home run! I can't remember the last time I had this much fun. A grassy area is a must because this game needs to be played again soon!

Here are some pictures!

{bad picture but this was our 'field' with 4 bases}

Love these girls!

FF - pajama edition

Ok, this is not really a pajama edition, but I must confess that I have no actual fashion pictures this week. I know, bad me! My photographer/sister is on vacay and I just forgot. It always surprises me how fast Friday rolls around. I do have some pictures to share with you. With not a whole lot going on in my life, I find it hard to actually get dressed. But I managed to put some cute things together this week

Exhibit A.

shoes - payless

mint pants - JCrew

polka dot sweater - Target

& Exhibit B. 

shoes - department store in Holland

pants - Rockstar Skinnies from Old Navy

shirt - TJMaxx

The rest of the days that I don't get dressed I look like a slob, either wearing this:

shorts - Buckle {old}

sweater - Fredonia State bookstore :)

Or, even worse, I wear this:

pajama pants - Joe Fresh

tank - Old Navy

The life of the bored is nothing short of that...boring! But PTL I have my orientation for JCrew on Thursday! I can't wait to put together outfits and dress cute for work, FINALLY wearing something other than sweats and pajama pants :)

Happy Friday

buying vs. adopting

Before I get started, I have a confession. I bought my dog from a breeder...I am guilty of the thing I am so against now...buying a puppy / dog. See when I was looking for a dog, I was under the impression that dogs that came from shelters were old and perhaps even mean. A short while after I bought Izzie, my sister adopted Phoebe, a sweet, beautiful collie mix who was about 4 months old. One big difference between adopting and buying is the price. For $400 I got handed a beautiful, 3 pound, 6 week old puggle who had no vaccinations, and was not spayed. For $100 my sister got handed a beautiful, 15 pound, 4 month collie mix, who had all her shots and got spayed! Looking back, heck I should have spent $100 and gotten a dog from the shelter. {side note: I love love love Izzie and I can't imagine life without her, but I wish I would have found her at the shelter instead of in an ad in a newspaper}

After buying Izzie and realizing she had no shots, I laid down another $150 for shots, and her spaying cost me $350!! So all together, Izzie cost me $900!!! And it is not all about the money. Most shelters are kill shelters meaning that in order for them to take in new animals, the same amount of animals need to be adopted. If not enough animals are adopted, the animals that are most likely going to be adopted {elderly dogs, or dogs with special needs, or specific breeds} will be euthanized. Recent statistics show that about 6-8 million animals are brought to the shelter each year, and about half of those will be euthanized. 

So many people want to adopt a specific breed and what they don't realize is that there are specialized dog rescue organizations that have specific breeds. I had no idea until I started to do some research. Petfinder is a great website where you can find an animal specific by breed. They literally have all breeds, even Izzie who is a puggle {considered a designer doggie} are listed on there. 

I just read an article on CNN that Detroit is having some major problems. People are out of jobs, and in so much financial distress that they see no other choice but to abandon their animals. These dogs are left to fend for themselves, waiting for someone to rescue them. There are literally tens of thousands of dogs running the streets looking for love. 

My plea to you, if you are looking for an animal {most specifically a dog or a cat}, look at your local shelter, check Petfinder if you are set on a breed, and consider adopting from a Detroit area shelter so you can make room to save the next dog. Whenever it is time for Izzie to become a big sister, I am 100% adopting a dog..no more buying for me! It is a waste of money and a waste of a life!

Save a life & adopt!