And in the end, it is not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years. Abraham Lincoln<br /> <br /> I cannot believe its been a full year since I started this blog. I began it while I was in between jobs, and it has been very therapeutic and a saving grace for me. I was having a really hard time of it after working 25 years for one company and then total time off. I cannot be idle, some of my peers had said, &acirc;��enjoy your time off, you deserve it. I tried, I really really did, but it just was not for me.<br /> <br /> Last summer while I was off and aggressively looking for a job, I tried a house cleaning job (&amp; obviously not for me). Well, was that an eye opener to hard work; but on the bonus side I had my 13,000 Fitbit steps made by 12pm most days. I tip my hat to those hardworking ladies, you do not appreciate and understand how hard they work until you do it yourself. Another bonus was that I learned how to clean my house properly (and more quickly) and learned some great tips. I also met some really nice people and that is always the biggest bonus for me.<br /> <br /> After 9 months of again &acirc;��aggressively looking for a job(only time I had a full 9 months off before that was when my son Cale was born), I got two, &amp; one of them actually found me-that was my one wish, and at the same time anguish. I had all these skills that I did not want to lose, and I desperately wanted to utilize them-if you do not use it, you lose it<br /> <br /> So to summarize the past year, I landed a great job (been to 2 awesome Sales meetings), had a great year with my blog and met new people. Husband, son/s, dog, and all my family &amp; friends are all healthy so I can not ask for any more~<br /> <br /> Take care (take one year at a time) and all the best~Celeste   Submitted By: Alicia "Celeste" Loughrey