The Start of Things...

My name is Julie. I 'm a Chicagoland Native, and I write for the Examiner.com Chicago Careers and Workplace Balance section. It struck me that there would probably be things I'd like to share about myself and my life that may not be article-worthy but still worth writing.

I'm a wife, a mom, and a career girl with two mortgages. My world revolves around a husband, a pug, and a baby daughter, and I try to balance those things (with varying degrees of success) with a career. I like to think that I'm intelligent and capable, but I definitely have my weaknesses too. Over the last 8 years or so I've had a corporate career in Human Resources and Recruiting, but I've also ventured into IT, the legal world, and sales over the length and breadth of my career and feel you never stop reinventing yourself. I get by with heavy reliance on a great (if wacky) family, a lot of advice from a fabulous group of friends, and a sense of humor that manages to see me through most situations.

In finding myself about to be one of the 11.3% unemployed in Cook County I've spent the past few weeks looking not only for new employment opportunties but also ways in which to expand my horizons a bit. I've started writing for Examiner.com and loving getting back into writing in general: even though that's where my degree is it is only now that I seem to be really doing something with it. I've also been learning about social media marketing, Twitter, and a whole host of things out there that are changing the way we do and talk about things - it's all pretty interesting.

In any case, I will likely repost some of my Examiner articles, but wanted to provide myself another forum as well to write, to learn, and to get feedback and ideas. Hopefully, someone out there will read it and like what they see. Welcome to my tiny little messed-up and goofy world!

If you have any ideas, advice, or article suggestions, feel free to comment, email me at this address or Tweet Me on Twitter! You are why I write and I want to make the time you take reading my stuff worthwhile. I would love to hear from you!