Excited!

Today I took a load of crap into my classroom. Sadly, I don't think I even got half of it in there, but it is a start.  And, what I did take in is already unpacked (amazing, I know).

Anyway, I was very pleasantly surprised by my room!

It's very decent sized; I have two desks that form a wrap-around desk, a HUGE counter, lots of cabinets, a closet, two bulletin boards, and four big bookshelves and one small one. Plus, I've got a lot of natural light thanks to the big window and door by my desk.

Here's what it looks like:

This is from the front looking toward the back. My desk is next to the door and window.  All of the boxes on the desks have textbooks and novels. The teacher in the neighboring room had her daughters put them there so they could install my bookshelves.

 

 

FOUR bookshelves!!!! The small one is behind my desk.

Look at that counter!!! There are cabinets and drawers under it. The whiteboard is bookshelved by two matching bulletin boards.

My vantage point.

Sam says: I don't see what all the fuss is about. It's just a room. Now leave me alone. I've gone into sleeping bag mode, and I shouldn't be disturbed.

Day with Aunt Beth, Part 2

Taylor's choice for our day together was going to the Science Center of Iowa. So, we went to lunch first, and I made sure to time it so she had the option of being on the Channel 13 weather forecast at noon. But, she didn't want to do it, but at least I gave her the option.

I basically let her go on her own and just trailed behind. It's a hands-on museum, so I let her play with what she wanted to and added in my knowledge when necessary. This resulted in us blowing through the place in 32 minutes.

Taylor may have had the most fun in the toddler section of the science center.

Here she shows off her brute strength.

I had her for the rest of the afternoon, so I had to quickly think of an idea of what else to do. I suggested we go to Barnes and Noble, and she was thrilled. I had to put her on a limit of two books, otherwise she would have walked out with 20 (not that I would know anything about that). She was reading one as soon as we hit the car, and she curled up on the couch to finish it when we got back to the house.

But her dorkitude didn't end there. Last summer, I had the girls Kool-aid dye some yarn, which they then used to knit a bookmark. Taylor really took to it, and she had actually finished a dishcloth for her mom a few weeks before that. So, I had given her some needles and two balls of remnant yarn I had so she could make herself a scarf. I can't describe how proud I was when she showed me this:

It doesn't look like much, but there's only one error in there. That's pretty good considering she did all of that on her own. 

We finished the day with a trip to the mall to get some ice cream. I also let her window shop for a bit.

So, we had a nice dorky day. The dork gene runs strong in this family:)

Goal updates:

Um, the no new yarn thing, still not working. The shop got a lot of new sock yarn. I came home with two skeins - one for me, and one for Jeremy. I also heard that my favorite sock yarn will be coming in soon. Plus, I'm on the search for the World Cup sock yarn; I'm going to have obnoxious German knee highs for the next one:)

I have read a book a day so far. I've also been reading on my Kindle while I work out. It makes me less cranky about the entire thing.

Randoms

*Sorry for the blog silence. I was without  my laptop last week. My technology curse continued, and one of the Web sites that I visit had been hacked. This resulted in me getting a virus. The "humorous" thing about this virus is that is actually from a antivirus company. Basically, they hold you hostage because they pop up their antiviral program, and then they disable yours. Then, they say your computer is riddled with spyware and horrid virii. It meant we got to wipe my computer and start over.

*I broke down and got a new Zune. Mine took a bath in the pets' water dish (Jeremy knocked it off the counter). I'm very glad I got the new version. It's so light. And after loading it up with my favorite 90s music, I now have a better idea of why my dad thought I was addicted to heroin (nothing else, mind you -- just heroin) in high school. I listened to some angry stuff.

*Staying with the technology theme, thanks to my curse of gadgets hating me, in the past 3 years I have managed to kill 3 laptops (one was a work one and it was actually Sam's fault -- he stepped on it), render 2 Zunes useless, kill 2 or 3 phones, and the wii went kaputt, too. I say it is because of my electric personality; Jeremy doesn't buy this.

*Jeremy and I joined the Y. I've worked out every day since we joined. I have never liked exercising, and I still don't. It makes me hot, sweaty, and smelly. And I hate smelling. However, the nice thing about already being a stick means I get to see results quickly. My egg (what I've always lovingly called my bicep) is now more of a large lemon. I can see my calf muscles again, and my thighs are rocks. I'm now preparing to run my first 5K in October - The Race for the Cure. And I'm making Jeremy run it with me because I need a buddy.

*It's been a wet summer in Iowa. This makes me miss Florida - if only because people in Florida can drive in rain. People in Iowa, not so much. I've had practice driving in insane rains thanks to various tropical storms and hurricanes. Just keep plowing ahead, there is no need to slow down at random points or hit your breaks suddenly.

*I may have downloaded a widget to my phone that is counting down the days to Disney (153, if you were curious). I'm worse than a kid, and Jeremy is about as bad. Once we have mini-Knips, it may be hard to distinguish who are the adults and who are the kids.

*I have two weeks left of summer vacation. Thanks to my stupid classes, I feel like I have not accomplished enough laziness. But, I will finish the last class this week, and it is my goal to read a book a day in that time.

Yarn diet update: I fell down and went boom last Friday. I went to a yarn shop in Altoona that I haven't been to before. I got some yarn for a present (so that was a necessary purchase), and then two skeins that were just for me. But, I also finished two projects last week. I'm calling it even.

It's a pretty good year

In April, I found out that there was an opportunity for me to get my teaching certificate in Iowa from doing a portfolio instead of finishing up all my classes (which I'm doing anyway because I'll be done with my master's next May). So, a few short weeks later, I had my "non-traditional transfer license." I still needed to take a few classes for the English portion of my license (hence speech since I'd never taken it for undergrad), and I also needed two years of experience teaching in an Iowa school.

This meant I started furiously applying for jobs. It's not such a great time to do that. Each position is getting hundreds of applicants, and they typically only interview 3-5 teachers. So, when I got a phone call 2 weeks ago to set up an interview for a 9th grade English position, I was thrilled!

I had my interview last week, and I felt very confident after leaving it. The counselor, who was on the hiring committee, personally knew one of my references and had called her directly. I had an inside track from another friend on what they were big on, which was actually something I had gotten experience with while doing my long-term jobs in Waukee (professional learning communities). But, I had to wait five days to hear anything.

Yesterday I had planned a day with Parker. We went to the Iowa Cubs game. I managed to get us pretty decent tickets, and he managed to get a foul ball. He had a great smile on his face the whole day, and he had told his mom that morning that he was just excited to get to spend the day by himself with Aunt Beth. I will admit there was several moments of me checking the phone to see if I had gotten the call that I got the job.

I figured by the time 3 p.m. rolled around, I was going to have to wait until today. Nope! As I was driving Parker home, the principal called. I called back, and left a message. It was a very long 10 minutes while I waited to get the call.

But, I got the job! I start August 9! I'm very excited!

So excited, in fact, that I agreed to go to Disney during my Christmas vacation.

Excitement finds us

It's been a busy two weeks for me. I got the brilliant idea to take a speech class that was 3 credits in two weeks. Not exactly so much fun when I was taking four other classes, but at least it's done!

Then, I found out on Wednesday that my great aunt had died, so it was going to mean a trip down to Eddyville for the funeral on Saturday. By the time I got home that afternoon, I was just ready to crash and be a bum.

Nature had other ideas, though.

Jeremy took Sam out to go potty, and as he opened the door two ground squirrels/grinnys/chipmunks/whatever you call them ran at him and one actually ran inside. (Side story: I usually call them grinnys. The first time I saw one was at my granny's, and I got a kick out of saying "Granny's got grinnys!" My odd little sense of humor started early). I was sitting on the couch trying to get homework done, so I was a bit confused at why Jeremy was making odd noises outside of the door and why it was still open.

Then, I looked over and saw a little grinny, scared to death, staring at me from the kitchen. Miho also quickly spotted it and cornered it. I've never seen my tubby little cat run so fast.

I jumped up and grabbed two plastic containers to attempt to trap it to release it back in the wild. This did not go as planned.

It first ran behind the trash can, and I got it out, but it then ran over to the box pile. Sam then came in, shooed out Miho, and got the grinny to run back over to me. We tried this a few times to no avail.

I decide to get a lid to shoo it in to the box, but Sam got to it first. He grabbed it in his mouth, and Jeremy quickly moved him outside. (Sam does have a toy chipmunk; he grabbed onto the real one exactly like he does the stuffed one. I don't think the thing had a chance).

Unfortunately, the grinny didn't make it. I took one of Sam's poo bags and disposed of it in the Dumpster. Sam and Miho kept trying to refind it all night long, and I think Miho was a bit upset that she didn't get to finish her hunt.

I later saw the grinny's little friend, and it looked sad and depressed. I told it to blame Sam.

Now Sam has gone nutty and wants to really chase after everything he sees. I'm not looking forward to this.


Sammy's first kill

Iowa weather

Iowa weather is nutty. Today, one part of the state was under a thunderstorm warning while another was under a winter storm warning. We got the rain and hail.

Anyway, there is little to no grass in front of our apartment. This is where Sam goes out to go potty, but he is picky about his paws and doesn't like to get them wet or muddy. Both happen to him if it is raining out.

So, I tried to help him out today and made him some "rain boots." He was not thrilled at first:

You can even see the mud tracked in from the past in this photo up by the Swiffer.

However, the next time when we went out, I made him some bigger ones, and he actually sat patiently while I put them on and didn't try to rip them off. He even trotted down to the mail box with me and didn't seem to be bothered by them. I think he actually figured out that they kept his paws dry, warmer, and clean.

Something has frozen over...

So this week brought the weather I so hated growing up in Iowa in January. Damn cold is the only way to explain it. When the high is below zero, that's just ridiculous.

All week on the weather, they've been talking about we haven't had cold weather for this long of a period since 1996. I remember that cold snap. I holed up in my room the entire week (we had no school because it was too damn cold). My room had a floorboard heater, which I had cranked, and this made my room the warmest in the house. I'd stick my head out every once in a while, yell for some food and listen to my dad gripe that I was going to set the house on fire by dropping something onto the heater (he was paranoid about fire).


Anyway, I decided that I was going to get equipment to help beat the cold that manages to freeze your nostrils together in a matter of seconds (it hurts, trust me). So, while walking through my favorite store here - Scheels (it's a sporting goods store filled with all manner of cold-weather fighting gear) - I found this hat. It may look dorky, but it makes my head sweat. I kid you not. I can go out in this weather, and my head and hands (woo hoo for my fancy gloves) will be sweating. It's a lovely, lovely feeling.

Part of the reason that I got all of this gear was that one of the munchkins turned 8 this week, and we were supposed to go sledding this weekend for her party. Sadly, the stupid weather has postponed it, but my hat, gloves, snow pants (the boy even got some of those this week), and boots will be waiting.

I also gave into fashion and decided I needed a pair of Uggs. Now, I always thought they were ridiculous when the anorexics of La-La Land wore them in summer, and I didn't understand why they were needed in Florida. Here, though, they make sense. I have been coveting a pair since going back to work after Christmas break. I see all the girls with them on and all their fleecy goodness as my feet freeze in my cute flats or heels. So, I searched online and found these:


They aren't as ugly as the typical Uggs, but they're just as warm. However, the problem is no one here has the grey ones. And they weren't much easier to find online, thanks to Oprah making them one of her favorites of 2008. So, they got ordered directly from Ugg central, and I should have them by the end of next week.

The saddest story of the week was Sam Puppy. He had some issues with having to go outside to potty in the frigid weather. He'd submerge himself into drifts so his little belly wouldn't get hit by the wind. Of course, he still managed to look like an idiot because he hops around when his paws get too cold. He was thrilled today that it got up to a balmy 18.

Yes, I used balmy to describe 18.

A bit late

So these photos are from October. Oops.

It started with Emily, pictured below, deciding that everyone had to go to the pumpkin patch on the same day.



So, everyone went because it makes life easier if you just agree with Emily.

If you look closely at Sam's shirt (baby on the left), you can see a small bulge toward the top. He decided that his shirt made a good storage spot for his binky. Everyone thought it was missing, but he had just stuffed it down his shirt.

The pumpkin patch has a play area as well as a hayrack ride down to the patch. They even had a fire pit to roast marshmallows. Jeremy, as you can see, decided to join in on the trike races. I attempted to throw a football; I'm still not good at it, nor should I try to catch it.


All the kids picked out pumpkins. Emily took my advice and got what I said was the most perfect pumpkin in the patch. However, it was a bit too big for her to carry, so she held on to Sam's. Taylor chose to not carry hers at all, which is why she's the only one without one.





And of course, the kids seemed to be most excited about the farm cat that was hanging around.

Woops

This is us, overlooking Florence.

So, I kinda forgot about this blog. Woops. Anyway, to quickly sum it up, we're still the apartment; house isn't sold; but life is good. I'm subbing full-time. I honestly have a job every day. I start classes on Jan. 20 through Mizzou's online program. I'm not in a graduate program yet, so I don't know what my degree will be in. I'm just "testing" the waters right now. Jeremy still likes his job and loves this winter weather. He's also in hockey heaven; he's in two leagues, and we'll be going to Vegas in April because he's on a traveling team (it's their only trip.). This means I get to finally see the Beatles' Love.

And, that about sums it up! Here's some pet photos (Chewy doesn't like to demean herself with crazy Christmas hijinks.)

Sam faces off with an evil bow. The main thing to point out in this photo is that he is not trying to eat the bow or harass me while I'm wrapping presents. I think he was admitting defeat in that something else was taking up my attention other than him.

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Miho apparently thinks she is worth of being wrapped as someone's present.

Update

Well, we are still in the apartment w/ no exit date in sight. I'm ready for the Pensacola house to sell so we can get the ball rolling. Sell, house, sell!

My job situation, however, is looking up. I am waiting for a background check so I can substitute. This is just for one district; I've still got one other district. I also have an interview on Thursday for a part-time communications director position at a local church. It is only 10 to 15 hours a week, so I should be able to do it along with subbing. One of the girls who works with Jeremy passed the job to me and put in a good word for me with the minister. So, send me good vibes on Thursday at 4:15!