To any of you who live in the Monmouth County, NJ, area, please keep your eyes and ears open for me, OK? My husband got the bad news on Monday that he (and many others) has been down-sized out of his job as of 9/3. It's a very scarey feeling - we've got all the usual expenses, and I, for the most part, have been at home with the children for 10 years. He has been an order administrator with a DSL chip manufacturer for the past 41/2 years. Before that he worked 16 years as a warehouse supervisor. He is a smart, loyal, hard-working guy, and a very responsible employee.

If anyone in our area knows of any job ideas or leads out there for my husband, please email me. 8 weeks severence won't take us very far. After that it's unemployment insurance and paying for our own healthcare insurance.

I'm working on becoming a teacher and, for now, am subbing, but that's not very steady. HELP! I'm trying not to panic. Thanks, Candy

PS My honey's true calling is as a lifelong musician. He's a talented songwriter and pianist. And, actually, that's his second job. What a guy!

Candy, I'm a long way geographically from you. But I'm just a click away on the internet. I'm sending my best wishes to you and your family. Hope everything works out.

Oh, Candy, yikes!! I was job-hunting last winter and perusing all the want-ads for this area. It seems that unless you're an accountant or driver there's not much going on! But our unemployment rate keep going down, or so they tell us.

Tell hubby to try Monster.com as well as all the local job banks. They really do have lots of listings. Good luck, my fingers are crossed for him!!