I’ve just joined the rat race known as job hunting. Had one work sample/screening interview. We’ll see if I get a bite off of the other four applications I have out there.

I’ll be honest–I’m not holding out much hope. With the economy the way it is here, the job market is flooded with highly-qualified, experienced individuals, but I hope my skill set is marketable on some level. We’ll see.

How I Spent My Sunday Morning

At the Canton Farmer’s Market. This is what I purchased (along with honey, lettuce, and a house-warming present for my darling friend, Brooke).

That’s homemade black raspberry jam from Ross Farms in Brighton, MI, and homemade multigrain bread from Kapnick Orchards in Britton, MI. Delicious, both of them.

I will be back to see them all again in a week.

How I Spent My Wednesday Night

With friends. And, yes, I do have friends.

Laura

Mia (left) and Lauren (right)

(To all my kid’s lit peeps, this is for you!)

I recently discovered JacketFlap.com. It’s a networking website for children’s writers, editors, and publishers. It’s a great place to meet like-minded professionals in the children’s literature field. I’ve already found a few new faces and had a couple friends join, so we can talk shop without taking up space in our e-mail inboxes. You can also track your reading and show off your published books (if you are so fortunate to have any). It’s fun, safe, free, and the place to be. You know it.

If you join, add me: avonde

Yay, Red Wings! We won the Stanley Cup!

(Now, as many of you know, we’re not very “sporty” in our house. OK. That’s an understatement. We don’t watch “mainstream” sports [i.e. basketball, football, and baseball]. Ever. But we love our hockey. Yes, we do. We also love rugby, but that’s harder to catch on TV here in the States. I personally enjoy tennis and soccer, but I have to be in a certain mood to watch them. But Nate loves hockey, and we’ve been following the Red Wings pretty consistently since we moved to MI. If there’s a game on, it’s on the TV. And it’s a proud day for MI–we finally have something to celebrate!)

I’m working on my master’s project–I’m collecting names of people to contact for the interview portion of my project.

Aren’t you proud of me for getting my butt in gear?

It’s not totally my fault. I just now got the OK from the human subjects review committee. I can finally move forward with my project. Waiting put me behind about two months, but I’ll get on it. You know I will. Woohoo!

I finally received word back from the human subjects review committee, and my request was deemed “exempt,” which means I can move forward with my project interviews, and I won’t have any other hoops to jump through in the future (unless I change my plans, but dammit, I will not be doing that! I hope not, at least…).

Yay! Onward and upward, I say!