1. What’s one task you’d like a little Christmas elf to sneak in and take care of tonight? 

Hmm, can they read my family’s minds and tell me exactly what they’d like? I have two teen boys who don’t like “things” necessarily and a tween daughter who loves EVERYTHING. It’s difficult to shop for them.

2. What’s your biggest challenge during the holidays? 

Trying not to feel overwhelmed by the activities, spending, and the impending January blues. I hate January and always feel so down, so I know it is coming.

3. Are you a cookie baker this time of year? If your year had to be summed up in the shape of a cookie cutter what shape would it be? 

No, not really. I am sure we will make some before Christmas eve but we don’t need any extra sweets around! If I could sum up this crappy year with a shape it would be:

Only because I feel like the year really took a turn when I lost my job in March (though didn’t have to leave until August) but then now, I am on the hunt. Overall, it didn’t feel like a “good” year.

4. Santa likes milk with his cookies. Do you like milk? What kind of milk is on tap in your house? (whole, 2%, skim, almond, oat, etc). What’s the last thing you made that called for milk? 

We don’t really drink milk around here, though I do buy a small container of whole for my daughter to make smoothies. My oldest has been buying Fairlife chocolate milk lately. Last thing I made with milk would be my mac and cheese, which has a whole lot of it.

5. Share one favorite line from a Christmas carol or holiday tune? 

Hmm, I guess this from the Carpenters:

Logs on the fire
Fill me with desire
To see you and to say

That I wish you merry Christmas (Merry Christmas, darling)

It just conjures up such a cozy image to me.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Well, final grades for two schools I work for have been submitted. I have two more weeks in one online school until a break, then one more in the other until they break at week 5, then they pick up again in January to finish out through week 12. I am feeling A LOT better about things right now. At SNHU, I was only going to take one section because you have to spread out your two course sessions, or else two, 8 week sessions only allow for one section. But I went ahead and took the second, just until I can find something else.

On that note, I applied for a very similar job to my old FSU position, but in Religion. It’s a much smaller department than English ever was. In fact, whereas English had about 10-12 staff positions, this department has two. After I applied, I emailed the main lady and she actually got right back to me. I am way over-qualified and she let me know it’s an entry-level job. Yeah, I know. But at this point I am ok to pull levers; I want a state job with benefits and a consistent paycheck! Besides, I’ll keep my online stuff. Even if they don’t know it. 😉

I am so damn hopeful for it, it’s sick. I think part of it is familiarity; I worked on campus for 13 years and this building is right next door to my old one. I know the college school year, I know the FSU systems. I know I shouldn’t get ahead of myself, and the pay is lower than I want BUT, they do have a caveat in there about “commensurate with experience” so maybe I can angle for a few thousand more. Man, I just can’t get over how excited I am, thinking about how awesome it would be to work back on campus. It is for sure, in retrospect, an instance of “Don’t know what you got ’til it’s gone.” I left a crappy situation in 2019 and maybe if I’d stayed and stuck it out, I’d still be there. But that moment in time was seriously killing me. I’d never been so unhappy in a job – ever. Obviously it is what it is now; but here’s hoping I have an in there and can start working full time for the state again!