Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Useful Little Things


These little trunks have been stacked in my living room for quite a few years. I accumulated them over a several year span from different places. The one on the bottom was given to me by my sister Jan. She and her husband love to visit antique shops and are great at decorating their home. They really are perfect for each other! Anyway, back to the trunks! Don't you just love the versatility of antiques in country decorating? It's great with children and grandchildren because everything is already timeworn and dinged up! This stack of trunks looks great and they also are great for storing things. I have seasonal decorations stored inside. I also have some small items that I rotate in and out of my rooms stored in them. The two larger trunks in my living room (see former posts) hold magazines, books, and other seasonal items. They are also favorite places for Olivia and Allison to color in their coloring books or to make things from Play Doh. Oh, don't we all just love Play Doh! I usually find little crumbs of it for at least a week after the girls have been here for a visit.
I was thinking today about work. So many people are being laid-off from jobs right now. My husband is going to be off again next month for a week and then more in July and August. It makes a mess of the budget! I was trying to come up with ways to make money from home. If you look online for ideas, you can find all kinds of schemes, but I worry that they are just that....schemes that don't work! Earlier in my life, I wanted to be a writer, and I sometimes get the urge to try my hand at writing children's books. I have thought about characters to develop and plots for the stories, but I can't seem to take it to the next step and just DO IT!
What kinds of jobs have you held in your life? In my past I have done secretarial work at an insurance company, for a Social Security Office, and for an educational film company. I have worked for a crafts manufacturer and at its retail store. Another job was telemarketing (I only called businesses - not homes!) Once I worked at an antiques shop/coffee shop which turned out to be mostly waiting tables. I have worked for a woman who taught folk art painting, and have done home craft shows. I have sold Longaberger baskets. I was also a rural mail carrier (where I gained a great deal of respect for how hard postal employees work!) I have done typing from my home. My favorite job was working at a great primitives shop...I think I spent more than I made, though!! The last job I had (prior to babysitting my grandchildren) was to teach rug hooking and I had an online rug hooking business. I LOVED it, but it got to be too much to do while watching my granddaughter. Designing and making up rug kits takes a LOT of time! I also decorated and sold wreaths and other prim items on the website.
I would love to hear about the jobs you've had that you loved (or hated). If you feel so inclined, please tell me in a comment to this post. It would be fun to find out the kinds of jobs you all have had!

4 comments:

  1. I have mostly worked in the medical field but for the last 10 years in the hotel industry.
    Getting very burned out at this!
    I have looked online too but you are right just schemes!

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  2. Those boxes a are just gorgeous!! What histiry they must have and stories they hold!

    I too sold Longaberger baskets - even went to the Basket Bee in Columbus I think it was, and I also sold Shaklee and Avon. Most of my career was spent between being an RN and later a preschool teacher and Director but at times I have also been a microwave oven Demonstrator, a wallpaperer, a stenciler, consultant for the preschool accreditation process, grant writer and I worked retail once Christmas season to get the stores discount!


    I LOVE children's books - you ought to give it a try!!

    hugs, Linda

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  3. Linda,
    We do have so much in common. I have stacks of old boxes, too.
    Decades ago, I was a substitute teacher for junior high and high school ~ I absolutely HATED that job ~ and after that I no longer wanted to be a teacher when I grew up. I don’t regret the college degree, but with a B.S. in Education, if you don’t teach, it can actually be a hindrance in searching for a job, as in “you have too much education to be happy in this job”. I then went on to be a CRT operator, a stay at home mom for twelve years, worked in real estate title, ten years as a purchasing agent in a nursing home, and then started working for the USPS as a city letter carrier. I walked the streets of Cleveland six days a week (and hated every day of that job, too). It was the hardest job I ever had, especially for someone in her 50’s. I did it for six and a half months and quit under my terms. You are absolutely correct about how hard postal workers work. On the plus side, it was the world’s greatest diet…lol! Currently my job title is secretary, though I do very little secretarial work. AND…I also sold Longaberger baskets back in the 80’s.
    I think you would do an excellent job being a writer. You present your thoughts so well on paper. Enough of my ramblings………

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  4. I'll have to email you a picture of MY stacked boxes/trunks!
    Gayle

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