Fed Ex Ground Contractor

For those of you who may not be aware, the majority of our household income comes from being an independent contractor with Fed Ex Ground. I'm thinking of starting a new blog/business to support other contractors. We've been in business 8 years and we have considerable experience in shipping and working with Federal Express. So I'm posting this item just to see how many hits I can get off of the topic.
If you are a new contractor or considering purchasing a Ground route and would desperately like more info than what Fed Ex is giving you, or just want to ask a few questions and find out what it's really like to own a route, send me an email and I'll dish for you.

Road Trip Monument Valley

Is it even possible to take a bad photo of Monument Valley? 

It's even prettier than the Grand Canyon in my opinion.

Rooms full of old ladies make me uncomfortable

So I was at a meeting Friday afternoon between all of the librarians in our school district. Needless to say it was a complete waste of time, like most meetings are.

What it made me realize most is that I am really way, way, way, too educated for my job. In a room full of people who need instruction on how to use a help menu, change a barcode, and need tutoring in order to pass basic high school math I found myself constantly holding back eye-rolls and laughing cackles. I'm not an administrator and could never be for a school district because I cannot listen to a room full of over-weight middle aged women complain about doing things "outside of my pay-grade".

It was literally driving me crazy. A room full of women makes me nervous to begin with, but this was pushing me over the edge. My time is limited in this $10.00/hour position.

So here I introduce a new direction in the Life at 7000 Feet blog. It's been a bit stagnant for a while here since I've been in school. I graduate in December with my Master's Degree in Library and Information Science. I've been working for the school district as long as I've been in school and it's time to switch things up a bit and venture down a new path.

I don't know what that path will be, but I've got my eyes peeled for it. It's coming up here soon and I'll be ready for it when it comes into my sights.

There will be a lot of travel in my future and I need a career that will not interfere with that.

Just for a little photo interlude..... here's a lovely shot of my kids from our fabulous road trip to Nebraska this summer.

New Jeans

You know that no matter how many pairs of jeans that you try on in a dressing room at the store that there is no real way to see if a pair of jeans fits unless you wear them all day. The same thing goes for a good bra. One 30 second to 2 minute span of time of trying on is not sufficient to get a real gauge of whether those jeans are going to fit your body.
You really have to go hop in and out of your car a few times, pick up a boat load of toys from the floor, sit at a computer for 45 minutes, eat a regular sized meal, or maybe even try them on while PMSing to really know if they fit.
That is why I have maybe 5 pairs in my closet that fit fine at the store and then were never worn again because the inseam is too small, the snap hits me right where my leftover baby pouch is, or the jeans come up just a hair too high past my 'beware the muffin top' zone, but that was not evident that one day in the store when I went shopping at 9am before I ate anything.
I've been buying a lot of Old Navy jeans since I have a hard time justifying anything over $30 if I might not ever wear them again once they get home, but maybe that's the problem... the cheap jeans. But really aren't jeans just jeans?
This weekend (while extremely bloated) I am going to attempt to find a pair of Levi's. Old school Levi's. I might even go over to the men's department and get a pair of 501's. It's been a while since I've worn Levi's, but last time I tried them on I was not impressed by all the womanly "improvements" that were added to their women's jeans. I don't want a tummy panel, a weird waistband, or stretch in just the right places for my thighs. I want regular old jeans like I remember wearing when I was younger. Nothing fancy, but a perfect fit.
Wish me luck.

Happiness vs. Money

So here's the deal..... we could use a little extra money. I don't make very much money as a part time elementary school librarian.

I have seen two jobs in the last week that are advertising jobs in the $50-80k range for an architect that I fully qualify for.

Should I keep the low paying job that I love that lets me spend time with books, kids, and my own kids? I can spend days reading picture books, come home and spend 30 minutes on the treadmill, finish my MLIS, make dinner, finish 8 loads of laundry in two days time, read and write to my hearts content, have all the same days off and holidays as my children, and generally be a happy fulfilled poor person.

Or do I apply for an architecture job with the City of Flagstaff or NAU? The hours would be long, the summer vacations gone, the dropping off and picking up of my children from school non-existent but I would have full health benefits, vacation and sick pay, an opportunity to pay off my credit cards and student loans, the ability to give my husband a break from being the major breadwinner for the family, and a retirement package.

It's a difficult decision. Sure I can apply for the jobs and see what happens. If I am passed over it is a sure indication that I should stay where I am. But what if? What if I get one of those jobs and hate it and wish I could go back to the days of picture books, tying shoes, and recommending chapter books to fresh faced 10 year olds? Then what? And what about my Master's Degree in Library Science?

It could be years before I have a $60,000/year library job. What to do?

Why do we always have to seem to choose between money and happiness?

2012 Status Update

Okay, so I've gotta little time on my hands this week so I figure I could maybe start writing again. Things are under control. I'm only taking one class this semester and I've managed to finagle working only 3 days a week at the library. I know.... pretty cool huh?
The bills are paid, the taxes are submitted, the kids are at school, and I'm home alone. Which is rare nowadays.
So to take advantage of this new found time to myself I'll try and update this thing more often.
I love writing and I miss it. I feel guilty when I don't write, so I will do my best to write more.

So to re-introduce myself to you my 5 loyal readers here is a list of 10 things you may not know about me:

1.Reading is an absolute addiction to me. I cannot be sitting without a book in my hand.

2. It's been almost 2 years since I've been on meds for my OCD and I am a new gal because of it.

3. I have no medical insurance currently. (See above mention of me only working 3 days a week...not enough hours to qualify)

4. I can never say no to a chocolate chip cookie.

5. We have regular Saturday night dance parties at my house.

6. My children are allowed to listen to ANY type of music regardless of the lyrical content.

7. I am allergic to dogs and we currently have 6 cats in the house.

8. I am addicted to Clorox wipes. I'll wipe anything with them as long as it's dirty.

9. My boobs have miraculously grown larger as I've gotten older. Just bought a bra that is a 34G. Yes, I did say G!!!

10. I'm listening to Portishead right this very minute.

I know not to much new and interesting. My meds keep me fairly mellow nowadays. I'm trying to bring the crazy back within legal limits.