Sock monkeys and sweater thieves

I have a small secret--I love socks. It's not really a secret anymore. They're the project I knit most frequently, and if wild socks are on sale at the local "Tarjay," I will stock up on them. When Grandpa died a couple of years ago, Mom gave me two pairs of his hunting socks. (Since Grandpa spent much of his life on a quixotic quest for the perfect pair of socks that kept his feet warm but comfortable, I've got my suspicions as to whom I might have inheirited the obsession from.)

They're not my size, so I plan to make sock monkeys from them for Shirley and my brother's little girl. As with any much-loved knitted item, they've got a bit of lint on them.

So before I could start the sewing process, I had to take out the sweater stone and de-fuzzify them. The resulting ball of lint was so impressive that I had to share it:

Currently I've got everything done except for sewing the limbs on . Dismembered sock monkeys in the craft closet? Pretty normal for this household.
And in other clothing-related issues, the Mimi has started "borrowing" my clothes several years earlier than I thought she would. She looks way cuter in that sweater than I do.

Shameless product placement

Normally I don't mindlessly babble about my shopping on the blog. However, I recently found a company that seems to be worthy of that.
Karma Naturals sells almost all of their products in both a full-sized version and a sample-size. So I ordered several samples of their products. (I have a hard time buying perfume in the store, let alone guessing if I'll like it when I buy it online.)
They shipped it promptly. Not only did my order arrive just as I'd ordered it (mixed-up orders are a huge pet peeve of mine) but they even included several complimentary samples with it.
And I love every single one of their fragrances! I'm most partial to the "Relaxation" one, which is a blend of lavender and citrus, but the others are good.
When I have disposable income again, I think I'll be picking up a lot of stuff from them!

Job hunting fun

I had a job interview yesterday, so I'm much less twitchy now that the anxiety has worn off. Job interviews and exams always make me feel anxious. I always do the best I can and then I always come out of them going "I have no idea how I did!" trusting that I'll find out in a week or two.

Some people offer "Go with your first instinct!" as a possible stragegy for dealing with job interview questions. For me, that's a bad idea. Why? Because my first instinct, while true, is generally not "diplomatic" enough for an interview situation.

When the interviewers ask "Why do you want to work in public health?" they would much rather hear "I want to practice nursing in the community setting." than "I'd like to work in a setting that has patients who can walk."

"Tell us why you're interested in mental health" is best answered with "I had a really good mental health instructor in nursing school and I thought that'd be an interesting branch of nursing to work in" instead of "Well, my family's crazy..."

"What has been your experience working with physicians?" should be answered with "I've worked with some very talented individuals who really cared about their patients and co-workers," as opposed to "Some of them combine the charm of Dr. House with the morality of the cast of Grey's Anatomy."

The fact that my co-workers seem to think I'm a shoo-in for the position makes me feel better about it. Now that the worst part (the whole interview panic) is over, the rest should be much easier.