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In A Quandry...

Tonight I sit here with my future on my mind. That is, career-wise, of course. I have been working full time from home as a freelance writer for a little over a month now and I am truly happier than I have ever been. Technically, I have been working from home for over a year and a half now, but it is only recently that I decided to give up my job as a customer service/sales agent and concentrate on doing only nonphone work. Basically, I got burned out. So, I took the plunge and applied for a couple writing jobs. Once I acquired those jobs, I forged on to see how I like it and if I can make a decent living at it. Thankfully, the answer to both those questions is yes!
So here's where my quandry comes in...I am currently attending college to gain my AAS degree in Medical Administration. While I am sure a career in Medical Administration would be a great improvement financially, will I be happy? I have always had a great interest in anything in the medical field and felt I was on the right path when I chose my degree. In fact, I still feel that way to some extent. But, in all honesty, if I knew I could do just as well financially and still give my family a better life, I would change my major to something in the field of writing. I have enjoyed writing since I first discovered I was pretty good at it when I was in high school. Now that I am doing it full time to earn my living I love it even more.
But, there's still that fear in me that makes me wonder if it is something I can make a career out of. So, for now, I suppose it is probably in my best interest and the best interest of my family, if I continue on with Plan A of getting my AAS degree in Medical Administration. If I am totally miserable (which I'm almost certain I won't be) working in a Drs office, I can always have my writing to fall back on. But still I wonder, if I hadn't started working as a freelance writer only a few weeks ago, would I even be having these doubts right now?

Update

Ok, for a blog entitled "So Much To Blog About" I sure haven't been blogging about much! LOL Anyway, the past year has really been a whirlwind. The last thing I talked about here was how ill my MIL was. Sadly, we lost her on August 20, 2008. This was one of the most heartbreaking times of our lives. It was so sad seeing someone who had been so full of life and love become so gravely ill. She has always been such a feisty, spitfire of a lady and that horrible cancer took all of that away. I can not say enough how thankful I am for the time I knew her. She was my other Mom for a little over 10 years and she will always be in my heart.
On a happier note, while our hearts were still aching, we were also filled with love and happiness on Dec. 26, 2008. That is the day my sweet nephew Cameron Lee came into the world. He was 5 weeks early and had a bit of a rough start, but he is such a little fighter! He is now doing well and growing and thriving wonderfully! He's the apple of all our eyes and we were head over heels in love the day we first laid eyes on him. Thank God for this little man who has played a huge part in healing our broken hearts. His Mammaw Jan would've been so proud of him, as we all are.
Oh, taking a few steps backward, we also moved in November of 2008. We are buying a mobile home on land contract that is conveniently located right across the road from where we used to live on that dreadful hill. I love it here! It is an older home, but we are gradually making it ours by doing some remodeling to give it our personal touch. The payments make things a bit tight sometimes, but we got a great deal! I am thrilled to say it will be paid off in full by February of 2010! the land won't be mine, but after the home is paid off I will only have a very affordable lot rent to worry about. I have a big pretty front yard and truly have never been happier living anywhere else.
Jumping back to my time frame, February of this year was pretty rough! John got sick at work and had to be off on sick leave for 7 weeks. He was having unexplained chest pains and it still has not truly been determined what brought them on. He is now on a higher dose of BP meds, cholesterol meds, and even a low dose nerve pill and is doing much better. I personally feel the stress of losing his Mom, moving, and a few other family issues we had going on at the time was getting the best of him. I know from experience myself that stress can really make you feel horrible and the more it escalates, the worse you feel. Thank God he is feeling better and our lives are finally starting to get back to some form of normal, whatever that is.
There's big news from my end in the workforce department too. When I last posted I was working from home for LiveOps taking calls. I'm happy to say that is no more! As of May of this year I no longer sit confined to a headset and phone while I work. I still work from home of course, but I love the work I do now. I am a Freelance Writer for Demand Studios and TextBroker and I couldn't be happier! I have always loved writing and getting to write and being paid for it is awesome! I also still have my side jobs as an Expeditor & Voice Transcriber for ChaCha and as a Website Tester for Usertesting to make extra money when I need it. Luckily, all of my jobs are nonphone jobs now and I no longer have the stress of dealing with cranky customers. I still apply to other writing jobs so that I have a nice full basket to pick and choose my work from. I really cannot express how much I enjoy my line of work now! I would consider going back to phone work only if I was offered a position that was total customer service with lots of call volume. Something CS in the line of health care would be nice, but no more sales for me!
I guess my last big news is that I am back in school again. I went to college before from January 2007 to June 2008, but I took a year off due to illness in the family and wanting to focus on helping with my MIL's care. I don't regret that in the least because I spent time with her that meant so much to me. So, I re-enrolled last month and I am working towards my AAS degree in Medical Administration. I am determined I will achieve this goal no matter how long it takes! If things keep going as planned it looks like I may earn that degree by Dec. 2010. So, I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed and my head bowed that the next year in our lives goes smoothly to allow me to graduate on time.
Finally, an update on my kiddies. They are doing wonderful! Justin is 15 and going into the 10th grade in August. He is such a great son and I am so proud of him. He has a beautiful girlfriend that we love dearly and hope to get to keep permanently. He has been working alot on his music and amazes me how great he is with it. McKenna will be 8 in November and is going into the 2nd grade. She is still my sweet baby girl and is such a joy to have. She keeps us laughing everyday and is so intelligent. I can't wait to see what the future hold for both my kids. I am just so thankful to have a loving God that has blessed me so much with such wonderful children and a hubby that is my very best friend. I really couldn't find better family or friends than those He gave me.
So, that is the latest news on the past year of my life. I will do my best to get back more often as new things come about. God Bless & Happiness To All!

What a rotten week it's been!

I don't think I have mentioned this before but my MIL was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma back in February. She has had such a struggle the last 6 months and has had numerous stays in the hospital. She has now been in the hospital for over two weeks and we don't look for her to make it.
My terrible week started last Sunday August 10th. We went over to see my MIL and take the kids to see her because she had been missing them. After we had been there all of 30 minutes or so, my hubby got extremely sick. He was white as a sheet, broke out in a cold sweat, and doubled over in pain. So I rushed him downstairs to the ER. We assumed he was having another diverticulitis attack because he had been diagnosed with it about a year ago and had a few attacks since then. The CT scan they ran on him showed no divers, but they wanted to admit him anyway because his blood pressure was going through the roof. A couple days later he was taken down for more tests to find out what was going on. It turns out he had inflammation of the esophagus, inflammation of the small bowel, an ulcer in his small bowel, and his gall bladder wasn't functioning at all. Needless to say he was looking at gall bladder surgery.
The day they did his surgery was on Thursday August 14th. He did pretty well but was in alot of pain afterwards. That same evening was also when my MIL got some results back from a lung biopsy she had earlier in the week. She had been having trouble breathing and wasn't getting better from what the dr first thought was double pneumonia. The drs thought she might actually now have Lymphoma in her lungs. The results came back good and we were all thrilled to hear that her lungs were clear of cancer!
However, that joy was short lived. Later on the same night my MIL started gasping for air. The respiratory team tried every way they could to get her breathing normally again, but to no avail. They ended up having to put her in ICU and on a respirator. Now we have been told that her lungs are full of blood clots and fluid and her heart is getting weaker everyday. Yesterday morning her heart stopped once and then started back up and her left lung collapsed. The drs now say they will keep her on the respirator two more days and if there is no improvement at all it is time for us to ler her go.
This breaks my heart and absolutely infuriates me! I hate cancer! I don't understand why it has to fall down upon good people, or anyone for that matter! My hubby, his brother, and my FIL are all so heartbroken they are like walking zombies. I've cried more the past few days than I have since my Dad died 9 years ago. It kills me to think that she will not get to see my kids grow up or the new grandchild that my BIL has coming in January. This is so unfair! I just want to scream and throw anything I can get my hands on. But nothing helps, cancer is an evil thing and takes away those who mean the most to us...I am still praying for a miracle because I know it can happen if it is God's Will.

Working From Home

So, I've been doing this work from home thing for several months now and I have to honestly say I love it! I started out in September 07 just working part time from home to supplement my income as a substitute paraeducator. I decided to go at it full time in February 08 and I'm so glad I did. I have just been totally amazed at how much more convenient things are for me now. If I need to take a day off, I can. I don't have to ask or tell anyone about it, I just simply don't schedule myself to work that day.
It has also saved me tons of money. I no longer have the gas expenses, lunch expenses, or need to buy dressy clothes for work. I tended to wear jeans at work alot before, but it seemed like every so often I was buying something new. I do miss the people I worked with and the kids I took care of at school, but I just feel like this is what is best for my family. I just never would have imagined I would like working from home so much.
I work for a few different companies from home. My main job is as a customer service rep for Liveops. I usually average at least $13-$15 an hour with them. I also have a few other side jobs I do as well. I'm a contract keyer for Key For Cash doing basic data entry online. I also do work for Usertesting.com. Here, I view web pages and give recorded voice reviews and short written reviews. I absolutely love this job because it is so easy! I get paid $10 for each 15 minute session I do and I also get to check out some really cool sites. Finally, I do occasional writing for various companies. This is fun too, since I obviously like to write alot.
So, working from home has made a huge change in my life. I am happier and still make decent money. I would recommend working from home to anyone who's looking for a happier, more stress-free way of earning a living.