Moving…

Well, I’ve decided that I really need to keep writing in this thing! Even if nobody reads it, I need to for my own sanity. Soon Steve and I will be in Wisconsin attempting to find work and get our lives situated. The cost of living there is insanely cheap, Milwaukee is only about 15 minutes away for amazing shopping, wine tasting, etc. and I already have a built-in network of friends and family. How sweet!! We are hoping everything will go as planned so we can begin our married life together there.

The plan is for me to land an elementary teaching job there, he some sort of full-time position, but here is the awesome part – we can be fully supported financially on one income! There really isn’t very much pressure… and I need a break from this high cost living. We somehow made it through til now, and it’s incredibly difficult to leave this apartment and my friends and parents.At least with saving, we might actually be able to afford a house someday there.

I’ve vowed to myself that while we are in the “recovery” period for the next two months, I am going to get my own life back on track. The last year of being pretty much unemployed has caused me to lose much of my self-esteem and I have put on a few unwanted pounds as well, which doesn’t help the first issue. I’m going to start at a gym right away, and also make sure to keep myself busy and not mope around at home. I’ve been in a rut for far too long, and I’ve realized that I need to be busy or I get depressed.

On a totally unrelated note, Steve and I are seeing Peter Gabriel in three days at the Hollywood Bowl!!! Some of you might find it pretty sad that the only reason we stayed this long was to see that show, but oh well! It’s worth it! Also, I just bought my ticket to see Phil in June in New York! A friend is letting me stay with her and we are going to the show together – very excited to say the least! Haven’t purchased my plane ticket yet, but it shouldn’t be that expensive. There ya go – keeping busy! I’ve been flying a lot lately, and this Saturday it will be with a cat, so keep your fingers crossed!!

Hmmm… nothing else to say at the moment – we are busy packing up the apartment.

My Sisters and I

From left to right: Me, Sherri, and Lauren

The second Boston trip – getting margaritas and mexican food! Yum!

Abandon this blog?

I was seriously considering doing just so and beginning anew with a new name and site address, but there is much history in this one, and I spent a lot of time getting it exactly the way I wanted it. News since last year in a nutshell: Found my sisters on facebook + flew out to see them, Babs died, Steve moved in with me, grandma died, lost my job due to low enrollment, began selling Mary Kay on the side, was proposed to be Steve (said YES!!), began planning a wedding, started taking thyroid meds, flew out to see my sisters again, got a new job as a reading specialist, and on and on and on!!! This year has been one of the most trying years I’ve ever had; an emotional roller coaster for sure. Have I truly dealt with all the stress, both good and bad? Probably not. I tend to push everything down – forgetting the bad and focusing on the good, which is good for an innately anxious person such as myself. At least that has not come back.

Politics… and indifference.

I wonder how wrong it really is to see both sides of the story and not fully agree with anyone. I guess I need to attend a “town hall” style debate… so I can remain indifferent. =)  I do “sway” Obama, but I’m just not passionate at all about this presidential race. All I know is we need help, stability, and change. Whoever gets elected has a huge undertaking ahead of them (thanks, Bush). End communication.

Awww… Thanks, babe

I cannot change…

…the fact that I am a procrastinator. I always have been, always will be. I left the planning for next week until the absolute last minute (it’s my week to plan for all three of the third grade teachers) and now I’m feeling very overwhelmed. I guess I have no right to complain.

What makes this confusing is that we missed two days this week: one for a pupil-free day, and one because of the fire. Every week, we focus on a new story in our book and have a test on Friday. Well, I was told to “stretch this week’s story to next week and we will test next Friday”. Well, hello, I’m a NEW teacher and have no idea how to “stretch” out anything…. I have enough trouble just straight planning a week! Oh, and I’m supposed to plan for science, social studies, and math too, which they always COPY from LAST YEAR’S schedule!!! Apparently they wanna see if mine matches theirs. BS!!!!! Ugh. Someone shoot me.

Fires

I was not expecting my school to be closed, as the Sesnon fire is based in Porter Ranch, which is NE of us. I got a call around 7:15 from my vice-principal telling me the school is closed and to begin calling my parents. Well, turns out I keep my roster at school… so no help there from the new responsible teacher. =P I ended up caling the school and told administration I do not have my phone numbers and to e-mail them to me, to which they replied that they are calling and not to worry about it. Whew!

Anyhow, I took a picture from my balcony facing toward the fire… the pic is a bit blurry, but you can see smoke approaching, slowly. According to the news, the flames are heading South and East…. right down Topanga Cyn Blvd toward the 101 (which is right where I live). Aaaah!

Luckily it’s not too close (yet.. knock on wood). It is incredibly windy out here, and it smells like bonfire! Cough cough.

I’m still trying to decide what to do with my day off… Steve has a meeting later so he’s no help, and everyone else I know has “normal” work schedules! I’m VERY tempted to visit Disneyland on my own, as I have an annual pass. =) Someone come with!

New Post!

I was just reading my last post from about this time last year and so many aspects of my life have changed. I’m now making a salary, living on my own, have moved to a new city, and am truly loving life. I feel so much more complete and independent; where I’ve always known I would eventually be. Woodland Hills is great, my job as a third grade teacher is great (I have such a loving and… spirited… class!), and my relationship with Steve feels stronger than ever. Everything seems like it has come together. Plus I looove my new one bedroom… it’s spacious, quiet, and has its own gym which is convenient.

Look at the messages my kids left for me on the whiteboard to find this morning (I was in the room when they wrote them on Friday but they didn’t want me to see! How cute!).

They are very sweet kids, but full of energy! I spend a lot of my day focused on classroom management, something I excelled in during student teaching. The kids get tickets for doing something to help another, and for getting their planner signed each day. On Friday, I pick two tickets and those students get to pick a prize from the prize box. Along with positive reinforcement, I can definitely be strict! If a student talks out of turn or blurts out answers, they owe me three minutes of recess. We also have table points and I am working on getting them to work more collaboratively. I think a lot of people don’t realize how difficult and draining teaching can be, but it is so incredibly worth it. Most people see the hours and summers off… it is SO much more than what it seems. Today we had an all-day workshop and the kids got the day off. Lucky them! I remember sitting there bored out of my mind, hoping to god that my kids don’t feel that way when I’m teaching!

Anyhow, I love my life! More posts soon.

Life has been extremely stressful the past week. Nothing momentous happened; just feeling overwhelmed and stuck. I absolutely cannot wait until I am making a decent salary next fall and have my own classroom. I think only then will I truly feel like an adult. I made dinner for Steve and myself two nights ago, which is definitely out of the ordinary! I’m pretty proud of myself. I made lasagna with homemade sauce that simmered for a freaken hour and an awesome salad with bleu cheese, candied walnuts (I candied them myself!), and apples with raspberry vinegarette. Yum! I think it went over pretty well.

No real plans for tonight, though I am taking a trip to Solvang this weekend with Sarah. We plan on doing some wine tasting and eating pastries! Now THAT’S a nice relaxing weekend! Speaking of, I also have Monday off for Veteran’s Day. Nice.

Life might stink right now but there’s a lot to look forward to, I guess. Student teaching, Solvang, New York (in January), teaching next fall. Whew.

More poor quality pics from my phone

 This was my view Friday, Oct 12th… before it started to pour! I was in the very front seat of the Garden Boxes so I had an incredible view. This camera phone is so awful!

Here is another from Oct 12th

And here is the view before the show started the first night I saw them in San Jose. It looks pretty far away but in fact I’m glad I got to take it the light show and visuals on the screen this night because the other nights I was too close to look at the screens!

And here is the hand stamp showing I was in the Pool section last night (THREE ROWS BACK!)