I got a job!

In 3 days I'll be heading back to school to teach 24 kindergarten kiddos. I feel unbelievably and completely blessed to have this chance. I went on two interviews, one was at the school I did kindergarten practicum at, and neither one resulted in a job. I got a call late one evening from a principal who wanted to meet with me the next morning. I thought the interview wasn't my best, but she sent me back to spend some time in the classroom. I took about an hour or 2, then came back to meet with her. She asked to see my student teaching portfolio which was still being graded. I met my mom for lunch, went and demanded my portfolio so I could rush it back to school. The principal looked over every inch of it then finally offered me the position. It's a leave position for the rest of the school year and if I land something for the 2011-2012 school year, I won't miss a paycheck.

I got to spend a few days with the class to get a feel for them. Their previous teacher has 3o+ years of experience so I have some big shoes to fill. I'm a little nervous because the school has a lot of older teachers who don't like using technology and operate the same way they did when they started teaching so things might be a little tough for me at first. Taking over a class mid-year is one of the hardest things for a new teacher especially but I'll take it over no job any day.

For now, I'm going to soak up my last few days of freedom. I'm working on getting my house organized and doing all the things that got neglected while I was student teaching.

Life ain't always beautiful

I've been on a complete roller coaster when it comes to job hunting. I had signed up to sub and booked a few days at the school where I did my student teaching. Monday I got two calls for interviews, one for pre-k and one for k. I heard back from the k interview and I didn't get it. I was pretty disappointed since it was at the school where I did a k practicum last spring. They were nice enough to call and let me know at least. I got another call this evening and I have an interview for a k job tomorrow. Pre-k is my absolute last choice so I'm hoping I can land this k job instead. At this point, I'd take anything that comes my way but I know nothing about pre-k.

I've been on a spending freeze since I am truly about as broke as I ever could have imagined I'd be. If it weren't for my family's help, I would've already lost my car and been without electricity. I'm feeling a little better about things and I'm out of the being angry at God phase. I can't control the situation, but I can make the best of it. It's been really hard. I'd give my right arm to be able to afford to go places and do things again, but right now I can't even afford basics like food and gas. It's true that you don't appreciate what you had until it's all gone. If this isn't rock bottom, I don't want to hang around to see what that is.

What I'm Into Lately

It's impossible to recap the crazyness that has been my life for the past month in full sentences so I'm going to do some short ramblings.

Thanksgiving was great, stayed in Houston the entire week, drank a little too much the night before T day with an old friend

Finished student teaching, kids threw me a surprise party, I cried

Had a mini breakdown because of my job situation

1 substitute day lined up before Christmas (help!)

No longer employed at the house of beer and sports

Got 2 interview calls this morning, 1 interview down (praying, praying, praying)

China Glaze Lubu Heels

I'm not a huge fan of polish with glitter. I like the more opaque colors but I do enjoy a good dark polish so I thought I'd give this a try with the intention of wearing it on my toes. I bought it at Sally's for $5.99 and used it on my fingernails today. Not bad at all. The glitter is really subtle and not as tacky as I feared it would be. I used 2 coats and finished with Seche Vite top coat. It covers wonderfully. China Glaze Lubu Heels is quickly becoming a favorite.

Product Review: Sephora Tinted Moisturizer

Disclaimer: I'm not a beauty blogger nor do I aspire to be. I review products from time to time if I find something particularly wonderful or particularly awful. It's nothing but my honest opinion. I do admit I am a bit of a product junkie like a lot of women tend to be.

I order my Bare Minerals from Sephora and needed a little something extra to add to my order to qualify for free shipping. I decided to add the Sephora tinted moisturizer in Bronze to my order. It came in yesterday so I gave it a try this morning. I used to use Elta MD tinted moisturizer with spf 50 and that stuff is definitely my go to moisturizer. Another great product is Laura Mercier Tinted Illuminating Moisturizer but like the Elta it's pretty pricey at around $42.

Sephora's Tinted Moisturizer is a pretty good sub at only $8. It isn't very greasy at all which is great for my combo skin that can get a little on the oily side. It went on very smoothly and could be worn alone or under makeup. I used Bare Minerals foundation and Nars Orgasm blush on top, followed my Bare Minerals Mineral Veil. The Sephora product gave my skin a nice glow similar to if I had spent an afternoon in the sun. On a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give it about a 7.

School

I've been busy busy with my class. My cooperating teacher found out she is pregnant and due at the end of the school year so I have a 6 week leave position in the bag if I don't get a job. This will also make for a few sub days with my usual kiddos. When a door closes, God always opens another or at least a little window.

The first cool snap down here in Louisiana came and went and I'm just sitting here waiting for it to return again. We have a field trip this Friday so that should be interesting. We are going to the aquarium. It's an all day affair that requires charter buses and the kids are mostly excited about watching tv on the bus.

I'm going to miss my kids so much when I have to leave them. There are a few that just crack me up. One in particular, I'll call him Gman always has something interesting to tell me. I try to circulate the room in the mornings and let my talkers get a few things out before we get started so they can stay quiet during lessons. The other day Gman approached me with the most serious face and asked me if I was ok with what he had to say. I said, "of course, whatever you need to tell me will be fine." So, he gets even more serious and says, "are you sure you're ok with this?" I was thinking oh Lord, what now but I told him I'd heard lots of things in my life and whatever he had for me, I would be ok. His face got even more serious (which I totally didn't find possible until then) and he lifted his foot and said, "I have dog poop on my shoe." It was dried up and mostly gone so he informed me that he would stomp his feet on the concrete at recess to get rid of it. Today Gman had a story about a farting pony at a birthday party that apparently was so impressive, it could sneeze and fart at the same time. If only our end of the day language lessons were as impressive as the farting pony.

Life or something like it

Student teaching is going great, just wish it was over already. Tomorrow I start teaching reading which means I'll have math, language and reading. In two weeks I begin teaching social living so that will have me teaching full-time with the exception of 15 minutes for spelling. We are using the Spalding method for reading and spelling and while I've been trained on the reading portion of it, I don't know anything about the spelling part so I get to skip it. Depending on where I end up teaching at, I will be sent to Spalding training at some point so no worries there.

I'm just ready to have my life back. My weekends consist of beer and football but I don't get to participate in it. Next weekend, I have to work an LSU game with a UFC fight right after so that will kill my Sunday as well. I've been neglecting church for the past few weeks and I need to start going again. Being exhausted is not an excuse.

I did my Sunday night usual and headed to Target. I didn't score anything of particular interest except three long sleeved layering t's. The mornings have been pretty cool this past week but it warms up fast during the day. For once, I'm actually ready for the colder weather. We haven't had rain in forever which means outside recess duty twice a week. It's been so long since it rained, there is a statewide burn ban in effect. My poor grass is just about dead but at least I'm not out there mowing it every week.

I hate to complain but...

I'm thinking that maybe I should've just gone to hair school. I'm having some issues with my cooperating teacher and it's making my student teaching experience miserable. She is very controlling, it's mostly her way or no way and she interrupts me in the middle of my lessons constantly. I've tried talking to her about it but she seems to get her feelings hurt really easily an doesn't want to see anyone else's point of view. I've heard horror stories about cooperating teachers and I've been pretty lucky up until now. Tomorrow, I have to attend an inservice that no other student teachers have to go to because she insists that I be there. On my birthday no less. I'm trying to make the best of it because I only have a few months left. The only solution I have so far is to keep kissing ass and move on.

Student Teaching

So I'm student teaching and working at the house of beer and sports for another 3 months. I started last week so I've gotten all of my bitching out of the way. I love my cooperating teacher and I was placed at the elementary school I attended (which btw is flip flop friendly as long as they're a little dressy) so I can't really complain too much. I got the class to myself for a few hours on Thursday and had a sub Friday so I've really gotten to know the students well. We have 23 which is a pretty big class and it's gonna make for an interesting 3 months.

I'm gonna get back to some regular posting for the whole 2 folks that read this. I just need to get caught up on life for a bit.

Rollercoaster

I'm on a rollercoaster at the present moment and I want to get off. On Thursday, I got a phone call saying that the school board had finally opened the federal class reduction positions. There were 4 I could take so I ran off to drop resumes and actually got to speak to a principal. Now, we're playing the waiting game of the school board actually giving the official word that all certified teachers have been placed and practitioners can be hired. Monday is the absolute last day I will be on this ride. I either get off at student teaching at the elementary school I attended, or having my own classroom at one of two schools.

I've been doing a lot of praying and I have the entire Trinity Baptist older ladies Sunday School class praying for me and I definitely can feel it. I don't pray for things to go one way or the other anymore, I just pray to survive the weekend without a full blown panic attack. I've been doing a lot of sleeping in and I have to also mentally prepare myself for the fact that on Tuesday morning, I could have a class of K, 2nd or 3rd graders looking to me for guidance. Life is not a fairytale but either way I will survive and wherever I end up, will be the place for me.

First Day of School

Today was the first day of school and it wasn't how I imagined it was going to be at all. What I had in my head since January was my freshly decorated classroom full of my students for the year. Sadly, I don't have any students and still don't know if this is going to become a reality for me. I worked tonight at the house of beer and sports and enjoyed my rather large piece of humble pie. I try not to think about it or let it get to me and I know it's not over yet. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be even though I did shed a few tears.

The best way to describe how I feel right now is to imagine walking through a dark house that you know well but it's not your own. You can somewhat make your way around and you kind of know where the light is, but it's just a matter of finding it and turning it on. You may bump a shin on the coffee table or trip over a rug, but when the light comes on it'll all make sense. I'm just waiting for the light to come on.

Faith

I can't help but to feel jealous of the all the teachers who are setting up their classrooms right now or attending an inservice. I have several friends that are complaining about long inservice days when I would give anything to be there with them. It's not over yet, and I don't know what the next few weeks will bring but the uncertainty is killing me. As each day goes by, I loosen up a little and gather a little more faith.

Tonight was an especially hard night at work. Whatever could go wrong went wrong and I had to remind myself to be thankful I have a job at all. I also realized that this is the end of the carefree and reckless days of being a student.

I have a picture on the wall of my living room that says, "faith is not believing that God can-It is knowing that he will". When I was going through the Spring semester, I lived by this picture and it became my mantra. I took it with me in my heart when I taught a lesson or took a Praxis test.

It went with me to a tattoo shop after work with some friends who just decided to get a tattoo on a whim after a stressful shift. I wanted something but I didn't know what.

A little of everything

I know summer is not over yet, but I'm ready for the fall and darker nail colors. I pretty much have to keep my hands dark because of my busted thumb and these are my go to OPI colors. I've finally made peace with their thicker brushes and painting before a bath definitely helps. The colors are: Lincoln Park After Dark, Vodka and Caviar and You Don't Know Jacques. Next on the list to purchase are: I'm Suzi and I'm a Chocoholic (from Fall/Winter Swiss Collection) and Dulce De Leche.


I'm down to the wire with the teaching job situation. I may end up student teaching, which I'm trying to talk myself into a little each day. I'm still slinging drinks at night and the bills are getting paid, so I feel pretty thankful.

I started a reading plan to read the Bible in 90 days. So far, I'm staying about a day ahead of my scheduled readings. I can read at home or on my Blackberry so that makes it much easier to keep track of. It breaks down to about 12 smaller readings a day and my goal is to finish in 45-60 days. I wish I could keep on a blogging schedule and become more involved in this "blog world" but I just can't seem to stick to it plus I'm such a random and all over the place person it just doesn't work.

Work Shoes

I had a pair of shoes that were nothing fancy, in fact I'd never wear them anywhere else but to work. They supported me through college, walked on restaurant floors and greasy kitchens, through bar areas with spilled beer, and even supported me running after people who didn't pay their bills. For years, I waited for the day when I could throw those shoes away and close that chapter of late nights, living on tips and serving food. Four months into my post college job, I cleaned out my closet and tossed them, along with the old uniforms, aprons and name tags from the service industry business. Three weeks ago, I needed them again. A new pair has taken their place and I'm back to the late nights and the hustle. I know it's just temporary, I'm still a teacher but without a class. So for now, it's back to slinging drinks and being humbled at 1 am when someone I went to school with comes in and asks what I've been up to. The chapters of life may close, but the book remains open and at times we need to refer back to earlier chapters in order to influence the ending. I think it will be awhile before I throw those shoes away again.

China Glaze

Due to the fact that my job situation is still up in the air, I've had to make some additional cutbacks in my budget this summer. The ideal thing to go was getting my nails and toes done. This was my last thing that I was hanging on to but I ended up with a staph infection in my thumb from smashing it so that made things easier. Let me just add that summer in Louisiana is not the time to be taking a large dose of antibiotic that requires staying out of the sun and makes you have constant hot flashes.

In order to save $$, I've been painting my own nails and toes. I'm an OPI junkie when someone else is doing the work but I've been using China Glaze. The brush is so much easier to handle. I've gotten a little better at it but I still have a ways to go.

My go to colors: Shocking Pink, Rose Among Thorns, and For Audrey

A little summertime violence

In all of my criminal justice classes, we always talked about how the hot weather makes southerners a little more violent than usual. We had an episode out here Sunday afternoon where someone decided to fire a couple of rounds at someone else. Everything ended ok and off to jail they went. The Sheriff's Office is doing a little patrolling tonight so hopefully that keeps the drama to a minimum.

Reading Group is going slowly but surely. I'm already running out of ideas and we're on day 3 tomorrow. Not a good look but I don't have the crutch of a classroom full of supplies so I guess I'll really have to get creative. My student is incredibly bored and doesn't want to be there so that doesn't help things for me. I hate to start off as one of those teachers whose creative juices stop flowing the minute the students are dismissed for the summer but that's how I feel. I need some motivation quick.

Ramblings

One of the things I dislike about myself is the fact that I wait until Sunday afternoon when God and everybody is out at Wal-Mart, Target and wherever, before I decide to finally go. Reading Group starts tomorrow and I may or may not be prepared, ie: I can't find my clipboard, can't remember my student's name (yes just one student and I can't remember, how did I remember 100+ students' names last semester?), don't know if I printed everything and don't really care.

Tomorrow just might be the never ending day. I have class, reading group, meetings at 2 and 4, gotta squeeze in study time for a huge test Tuesday and I have to check up with my insurance company. When hurricane season starts I always call them up and have a friendly chat to make sure I'm paid up, my coverage is what it's supposed to be, and that in the event that my house collapses, they will rent a mudboat and some waders and come on down as soon as it's legally permissible to enter the parish.

Weekend, sweet weekend

I didn't do much this weekend, reading clinic starts Monday and I got a 1st grader which makes me very happy. Anything over 3rd grade freaks me out for some reason but I guess everyone has their preference. I know some of my classmates wouldn't teach K if it was the only job they were offered.

I hit the children's book lottery tonight though. I went over to my mom's and dug in the garage to start gathering books. I had no idea that she had that many. If I do K or 1st I won't have to get anything before school starts and I can just order Scholastic a few times throughout the year.


J commented the other night that I was out of beer and how unusual that was. Like any good Louisiana girl, there is always a Bud Light or 2 in the fridge and most likely something from Abita as well. On a good day, I've also got wine for the none beer drinkers. As far as drinking goes, I don't discriminate. If it's got alcohol in it, it's fine by me. Even though college is over, a good Natty Light or Keystone doesn't bother me. I decide tonight to go to the store and I get my 12 pack and a bottle of Cab. As always, I whip my ID out before they ask. I worked in the service industry and I know how annoying it is to stand there and wait while someone digs for ID. Store Clerk Man stands there staring at me and the ID for a good 2 minutes before I start rattling off the info on my license. He says, "ooh honey you lost weight". I reply, "no, I just had a terrible haircut that made my face look fat." Just ring me up for my damn beer so I can get out of here.

Sun Care Routine

Today after class instead of going home to clean my house or do something productive, I went to the pool. I'm blessed by having easy to tan skin (I never burn) but I am careful in the sun because I spent way too much time in tanning beds (I've sworn off them this year but I still feel the urge). Because of my skin tone, my sun care routine is fairly simple:

I start by using Elta MD on my face every morning under makeup. It was recommended by a dermatologist and is slightly tinted. My second favorite is Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer. Elta MD has spf 41 so it's a little better for summer protection.
Next, I slather on Coppertone Sport spf 70. I like to use the spray rather than lotion, it goes on easier. It's super water resistant and I reapply plenty of times. I use Coppertone Sport for Faces also. If my face gets oily from repeated sunscreen use, I wash my face with an acne cleanser rather that my regular stuff and that usually knocks it out in a day or two.
After I'm done in the sun, I just use a generous amount of Banana Boat Aloe After Sun. It really does help with any redness or slight peeling and it smells just like summer to me. Sometimes I use it the next morning as well. It's also supposed to help extend a tan and for the price, it can't be beat.

First Day of Summer Class

The summer semester is going to be tough. On the first day, we were given 2 assignments. The reading clinic hours are going to work into the specified class time so it's nothing extra thank goodness. I finished my first assignment but I had to stop and watch The Hills and The City. I've always loved The Hills but I do think it's getting time to wrap things up. Speaking of my guilty t.v. pleasures, Housewives wasn't the drama fest I expected. Things were rather calm when Danielle showed up at the benefit.


I've mentioned before that we take a canoe trip or 2 each summer. I've always wanted to go tubing in New Braunfels but found a closer alternative that sounds pretty fun. It's called Tiki Tubing and seems much more relaxing than having to paddle. It's about two hours away from here and it's another hour from New Orleans so that would be a perfect start to a four day weekend. I'm not going to be able to take a major vacay this summer so I'm trying to cram as many little weekend getaways as I can. The planning takes away some of the stress of the fact that I still don't know about a job for next year. I'm not going to allow myself to mention it here anymore, because I truly feel like I have to "let go and let God".

And so it ends again

Like an afternoon summer storm, my little break is over. I start summer class tomorrow. This is the last class before I start teaching and we're going to be working with a summer reading program and focusing on RTI and remedial reading tools. We start a week earlier than regular university classes, so the first week is lecture on the diagnostic tools we'll be using. This is the part I don't care for, I love the students and working with them but 8:55-11:35 each day of lecture time is not going to make my happy. I got a lot of the things done around the house that I needed to do so that is a blessing but I feel like another week would do wonders for me.

Product Fail

I had a pretty low key weekend by any standard but on this Memorial Day (let us take a moment to remember everyone who died so we can live the blessed life we live) I am awake at 3 am. My 5 shelf bookcase decided to collapse and completely rip apart in the process. Note to self: bargain shopping is a great thing but when it comes to items that need to serve a purpose such as holding all my heavy lesson plan binders and portfolios, a cheap bookcase will not do. Ever. Now that I know I'm not dying of a heart attack, no one is breaking in, and I have cleaned all this mess up I might try and go back to sleep.

Summer Essentials in Photos

Adventures in Online Dating

Collected from various sources, what you see here are attempts at first contact.

The Poet
This morning I took a look outside,
then I sat down and wonder to myself,
why every morning does the sunrise.
then when I took a look at you face,
and now I feel its my duty to tell you,
It rises ever morning becase of your beauty!


Mr. Missed the Grammer and Punctuation Lessons At School
i like you pics your a cutie
(this was sent to a fellow teacher who no doubt cringed upon reading it)


There are no words for this one
WELL I CHECK THE WATER BEFORE I GET IN.. LOL I HAVE BEEN TRYN TO GET MY PICS OFF MY PHONE BUT CANT FIGURE IT OUT IF U WANT U CAN TEX ME AT 504-xxx-xxxx... NO BIGGIE IF NOT BUT I AINT A PERV... HOPE TO HEAR BACK FROM U IF NOT KEEP YOUR FOCUS ON UR LIFE IT SOUNDS NICE.. TAKE CAR
Take car where?

Dry Shampoo

I've used dry shampoo before but found that a little baby powder worked just as well. Now that I'm leaving my hair dark, I decided to try TreSemme's dry shampoo. It's a pretty good product to revive hair after a night out when there's no time to shampoo the next morning. My hair is very very thick and it worked well. It took away that greasy look and it smells fresh and pleasant, not too overwhelming. With it being only $5, I'll definitely buy it again. CVS also has TreSemme products on sale 3/$10 from time to time so that makes it an even better deal.

Confessions

I am a bedding hoarder. I get all crazy excited over sheets, duvets and pillows. It's so silly because I can only use one set at a time but I can't help it. While I prefer to stick to a nice damask or solid on my bed, there are other choices for the adventurous.

Wallpaper on Cabinets

I really really hate my cabinets. I don't really want to replace them right now or paint them so I've come up with another idea. I'm going to do wallpaper as shown here. The 1st pic is Jill of Real Housewives of NY's apartment kitchen. I'm thinking a black and white damask will go well with my red walls and stainless/black appliances. Worse case scenario, if I mess up I can paint them.

What I'm Loving Right Now

From lowest price (Fossil $95) to medium (Toywatch $295) and high price (Chanel $4100) I am loving the white watch. I'm sporting the low price currently but I really really want the Toywatch.

It's Over

Tomorrow, I go for my final check-out in what was the hardest semester ever. I've spent the past 4 months having God and everybody watch me teach, jumping through whatever hoops I've been asked to jump through, all while maintaining a smile on my face when I wanted to cry. I made nothing less than a B, have managed to impress every single one of my professors, and have done a great job of proving myself. It was a crazy ride. Some days I would teach K lessons at one school, then teach 3rd grade that afternoon.

Now the hand-holding is over. I've gone through this journey with a support group behind me but when that door shuts on the first day of school, I'll have to rely on myself and what I've learned in order to make it work in my classroom.

For now, I'm not going to stress over having a job next year. I know the economy is bad and there are going to be cuts. I won't know anything most likely until mere days before school starts and worst case scenario, I get called in after school begins. At this point, I have to let go and let God. I can't spend my entire summer worrying about something I can't control.

Tomorrow after check out, I'm going to the nearest drive thru daiquiri place and ordering the largest, quad shot of whatever I want. Then, I'm going to put on my bathing suit and not care that it doesn't look as good on as last year. I'm going to sit by the pool until it gets dark.

Tervis Tumblers

I absolutely adore these Tervis Tumblers. These are the 2 that I purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond. I had coupons so the zebra one ended up being basically free. The initial one is a 24 oz. We can't have Coke cans or bottles at school so these are perfect for morning coffee and afternoon Coke fixes in the classroom. The French Twist pink and green ones on the website are adorable as well.

What Spring Break

It's officially the first night of Spring Break and here I sit with a frozen pizza, chocolate milk and the Louisiana Comprehensive Curriculum in front of me. I've already created one flipchart so I might as well write the lesson plan to go with it. My philosophy is that I will take an actual vacation after I've got my first year of teaching under my belt.

The students were pretty typical today, full of candy and ready to go home. I had a few asking if it was time to go home at 9:30. We were able to hide eggs on the playground even though it had been raining. We attempted to watch a movie in the afternoon but gave up and went outside again. It was a pretty good day and nothing too terrible happened. I'm exhausted from my drive to Texas so I may end up going to bed fairly soon.

Spring Break

Spring Break is 2 days away. Thank you Lord!!! Tonight and tomorrow night, I will be washing all of my clothes and tidying up the house before I leave for Houston. I said I wasn't going to work on anything other than my discipline plan during Spring Break but I lied. I'm taking everything with me so I can set up a little "office" and maybe get quite a bit done. I seriously was debating on whether or not to bring my printer, that's how obsessed I am with getting this stuff done.

My goal is to relax, which I can do while working, different surroundings will help things. I'm going to get some shopping done also. A few things I need to work on are: Spring wardrobe, visiting some teacher stores, and finding a video camera and possibly a new digital camera.

My sweet great aunt rescued me from a serious problem last week. While I was working on my unit plan, my laptop died, as in the screen completely just caved in. When it started, I had about 2/3 of the screen to work with so I frantically saved all of my stuff just in time. I now have a brand new laptop that I love. The last one was a cheapie that lasted longer than I expected but I wasn't planning on making a purchase until I started teaching. My aunt got me one, so I'm back in business and got that CUP turned in on time.

Check in

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I made sure to wear plenty of green so I wasn't constantly getting pinched by kindergartners all day long. I turned in a major school project this week so my load is getting a little lighter. I still need to do observation hours and hopefully I'll have them all beat by April 1st.

I really don't have anything interesting to report so I'll probably defer back to taking a break for awhile. 3 CASA kids went home this week so I'm down to 6 now instead of 9. We are dealing with a child at school who is having auditory hallucinations so things have been interesting lately. I'm only with them 1 full day a week so I don't experience any frustration but its really heartbreaking because she is a sweet kid and very smart.

Old Navy Love

I was in Old Navy the other day and found these cute things. I don't really buy too much from there except for pj pants and bumming around clothes. I have some of the shorts pictured above and they are very comfortable. The flip flops come in several colors and are only $9.50. Can you tell I'm desperate for warmer weather. Come on Louisiana, it's March.

Budget Cuts Suck

I seriously can't believe what our School Board is trying to do in an attempt to cut the budget. They are proposing to bring in frozen lunches from another state instead of the hot lunches we currently have for students. The kids in my K class get one hot meal a day and all of them eat breakfast and lunch at school. It has created some outrage in the community and I'll be attending the School Board meeting on Tuesday to see what happens. We all know that teachers are underpaid and overworked yet they keep cutting positions. So far this year they've cut the DDP (Developmentally Delayed Preschool) program which means all of those kids will either go to K or Pre-K. They've not allowed aides to have a sub. This means if the aide for my hearing impaired student is sick, we have to make things work to get her through the day. She is in K and thankfully her mother has worked with her on sign language and things but what about the kids whose parents haven't? They just struggle through the day with no aide. Or the Pre-K teacher with a huge class? Having the aide there makes a difference. Not to mention the Behavior Disorder classroom. Those students need multiple aides. Something has to be done and it's hard to find an answer that doesn't cause the students to suffer in some form. Louisiana is already behind in education. Way to make that gap even wider.

Have and Have Not

So far this weekend I have:
Taken lots of naps
Got some schoolwork done
Bought 2 bookshelves and attempted to put one together and quit

So far this weekend I have not:
Washed clothes
Cleaned my messy house (thank God no one else lives here to see this mess)
Put away all the extra junk and clutter (need the bookshelves for that)

When life throws you curves

I'm stressing out so bad now. I am supposed to start teaching in the fall as an intern for the 1st year and then I will be officially certified. I found out today that I have to sign up to student teach also as a backup in case I don't get a job. I also learned that I might not get an official offer until the 1st week of school. Talk about stressful. In my perfect world, I would have plenty of time to prepare my classroom and myself for the incoming students. Now, I might be flying in the first day with a list of my little friends' names and a wing and a prayer. Is this an ideal start to the year? No. Can I handle it? Yes. I do my best work at the 11th hour under intense pressure. I also have resigned myself that this is the last I will speak of it and that I will let go and let God. I know how much I need a job and I just have to trust that whatever path I take will be what's meant to be.

Long time no see

I feel like I've been away from blogging for awhile. School as usual, has been catching up with me and I'm slowly finding a balance. I got to do a few more social things with the Superbowl and Mardi Gras so I can't complain about being stuck at home too much.

This weekend started out great when I didn't have to work my normal Thursday and Friday night shifts. Then on Saturday I woke up sick with no voice. I did manage to go get my hair cut but other than that, I rested most of the day. Today I played catch up and I feel bad I had to cancel dinner Saturday night with D (he was going to cook) but I just don't feel like we've gotten to the "you can deal with me when I'm super sick, whiny and look like crap" stage.

I'm working on my first lesson to be evaluated by a supervisor on Friday. We are going to plant seeds and draw a prediction of what they will look like by the end of the school year. I'm incredibly nervous but very thankful that she is coming first thing in the morning. The kids behave better and I have less time to freak out. I have to go finish a few things then get myself to bed and hope and pray I feel better tomorrow.

Recap

It's been a week or better since I've blogged. The Saints won the Superbowl, never thought I'd witness that in my lifetime. I started observing in my practicum class and I couldn't love my cooperating teacher more. She is amazing. This is going to be a great semester. I'm working on a President's Day lesson plus my lesson that I my supervisor has to observe. School has my nerves going bad but I can make it.

I'm kind of irritated at D and I'm trying not to be whining and complaining about it because I know that he's going through a lot waiting on his knee surgery.

I went this weekend and attempted to do some shopping but couldn't really find anything I wanted. It always seems to work that way for me. When I can afford to shop there's nothing. This is a hard time of year anyway, transitioning from winter to spring. The sun finally came out today so my mood lifted.

Superbowl Sunday

As a resident of the Who Dat Nation I was required to wear my black and gold to church. I did a black long sleeve shirt and gold cardigan. Easy and done. Of course I had fleur de lis accessories. Some people wore jerseys. There was a cute little family decked out in Drew Brees jerseys. One of the older deacons had his Who Dat t-shirt under his suit jacket. You can definitely feel the excitement today that's been building out of control for the past 2 weeks.

I'm heading to my game watching destination in a few minutes. I got all of my homework and things done beforehand so I didn't have that hanging over my head when I got in tonight.Everyone stay safe tonight and may the Saints win!

Backwards in High Heels

I feel like I'm goin 90 to nothin right now. Tomorrow I have class, school board meeting, observation then work. Friday I was called to court but I have to teach all day and I'm already behind in hours so I had to brief someone to send in my place which took longer than the whole proceeding will on Friday. I've been on the phone in between classes, while peeing, running in the rain and I finally have my Blackberry unattached from my ear. I turned in some book reviews that are all marked up with corrections so I have to work on all that this weekend. Seriously, the are worth 5 points each, let's not get crazy. At least D hasn't bailed on me yet because I'm so crazy.

Now let's breathe and focus on the good. I wasn't at school today so I got to wear sweat pants. At least I don't still have my iPhone so I can get my email wherever I am and get it out of the way. Two goods are enough for today.

Teaching Sites

I went to observe 1st grade today and the kids were wild. It was the same class I had last semester and I went in the mornings. They definitely get a little crazy after lunch. Quite a few were on yellow and red, one had to be taken off the carpet, one was out in the hall and another at their desk.

I'm working on a disability lesson and I just really don't know what to do. I try to work on everything as soon as it's assigned just so I can keep afloat. I also have to work on diagramming my ideal classroom and do a discipline plan. The good thing about teaching is that there are so many resources for lessons and it's perfectly ok to borrow something and make it your own. Promethean Planet and Lesson Planet are my heroes.

Weekend, What Weekend?

I attended Promethean training this morning bright and early at school. It was a pretty decent training and we got to ask questions. I'm not as irritated by the board anymore and now I'm thinking I better have one in my classroom. One teacher talked about how kindergartners can learn to use the voting tools at their desks and I learned a pretty cool way to check roll in the mornings that the students will enjoy.

Tonight I get to go meet some of D's friends for a birthday party. He's told me they can be a tough crowd and I'm exhausted so I'm not really looking forward to it but as future GF it's my obligation.

I had a crappy experience with customer service today. I was having issues with my iPhone and finally dumped it and went back to the Blackberry clan. I refuse to buy $100 a year software in order to get my email to cooperate so mom got the iPhone and loves it and I'm happy. The new BB's use a smaller charger than the previous models (why mess with a good thing? Not to mention I already had extra home chargers and a car one) I get it, they want my $$. So I go to the accessory store at the mall to get a car charger and a case. I use the little rubber cases which they didn't have so I told the guy I'd run by AT&T and be back. He was asking whether or not I still wanted the car charger and I asked if it was safe to use . I've heard of people having issues with the cheaper chargers blowing fuses in the car or busting the phone. He started explaining the lifetime warranty and the fact that they had a tech so if the phone was damaged, they'd take care of it when the other salesguy came up and said, "fuck it! spend time on the customers that are buying something, let her fuckin go". I was completely blown away as were the other people standing there, some just walked away. I was going to ask him to go ahead and hold the charger but since Mr. Asshole had to get crazy, I went to AT&T and got treated nice although I did pay $10 more I probably would've paid $20 more if necessary rather than giving Mr. Asshole by business. I was proud of myself for walking away and not just giving him a peice of my mind, but in truth, he's really not worth it.

Classroom Jobs

I had to come up with a list of jobs for students in the classroom. This year, the Pre-K standards have changed and instead of rotating students on the job list, everyone must now have a job at all times. I've been thinking of jobs I can add to the list and some jobs I can double up on. Instead of having one student do the dusting, I can have 2 share the room.

I also have to get the supplies for my "talking sticks". I'm going to use red, yellow and green to color code them. The green kids can be asked lots of higher order thinking questions, yellow might need assistance, and red is for the ones who are shy to answer and get nervous when called on.

I've also been debating on where exactly this blog is going. I knew it was going to take a turn into a teaching blog but I also would like to keep it to blab about daily life and a little fashion of course when I'm no longer a poor student. Life right now is throwing me some serious curves. My brother is in a lot of trouble again and the stress of all my observation hours and completing all of my coursework is weighing on me and it's only the 2nd week of school. I think it's time for me to stop and count my blessings for a minute.
1. I have the means to be able to work 1-2 days a week and fully concentrate on school.
2. This is my last semester and no one ever died from Pre-Service Candidacy work
3. I have a roof over my head
4. I'm getting a tax credit from some work I had done on my home
5. This too shall pass
6. I live in the Who Dat Nation and get to see my Saints go to the Superbowl

Black and Gold Superbowl

There are fireworks all over the place, my voice is gone but we did it! I believed from the get go and now it really doesn't matter whether we win the Super Bowl or not, what matters is, we got there. Now I'm headed to bed, too much excitement today. Geaux Saints!

School Time

I got assigned my classroom for my practicum class. I got a kindergarten but my cooperating teacher has 17 years of experience so hopefully I'll be able to learn a lot from her. 90 hours and 10 lessons taught later, I will be certified to teach K. Everyone in the class goes to Pre-K or K but I was hoping for some 1st grade. My major includes Pre-K-3rd and I really have a desire to work with older kids but maybe this practicum will change my mind about K.

The bad thing is, I have to attend separate classes for my Math, Science and Reading classes so I'll be running around like crazy. I'm going to the 1st grade class I went to last semester because I really enjoyed Mrs. R and the students. My Reading teacher is a principal so all of my field experience will have to be done at her school. I have to hit the ground running this week, that's for sure.

Back to School

Today was the 1st day of school. I'm not going to pretend this semester is going to be a walk in the park. Today I was still healing from a cosmetic procedure on Monday so the day was extra long and uncomfortable. On the plus side, one of my professors is the principal at a local elementary school (hello brown-nose my way into a job!).

I can and will get through it. I'm only working Thursdays and Fridays at the Land of Alcohol. Next week, when I get my shit together, we will return to our regularly scheduled programming on SAST.

IEP Woes

What a weekend! Friday, I went to my seminar and hung out with friend boy. Saturday, the Saints came through and won! Friend boy is pretty amazing so far but I'm not the type of girl to put all my eggs in one basket.

I'm having a time with one of my CASA kids. We are desperately trying to get him an IEP before he fails 1st grade. His teacher's position was to wait until he failed Reading and Spelling for 2 six weeks straight which has already been done. Now things have changed to let's wait until he either gets held back or fails 1st grade then we'll evaluate. They don't even want to entertain the fact that he might be dyslexic until at least 3rd or 4th grade. The child is already saying that he's stupid because he can't read or write well and I feel like the longer he goes with out assistance the worse it will be for his self esteem. He's been through a lot already and my heart goes out to him.

Still sick

I'm still not feeling better. I guess I'll have to make an appointment with the doctor tomorrow. I don't have insurance due to the fact that I went back to school so shelling out the extra money isn't the greatest but whatever I have to do, I have to do.
I did meet a boy so things are looking up a little. We're going out tomorrow night. I kind of knew him already so that definately makes things easier on me.
My CASA case is driving me insane and sometimes I wonder how I'm going to manage things this semester but I know I have to keep praying about it and saying postitive. It'll get better.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Target Haul

I've been feeling a little better today so I went to mom's for dinner then to Target. I scored a cardigan in gold and green for $5 each. (can't get the image to work, ugh) I also picked up some pillow covers for my throw pillows on the couch for $4 each. My couches are chocolate brown and came with crazy striped pillows that I've been looking to replace but haven't found anything. The covers are Tiffany Blue so that should be perfect until I find something else. I'm starting to feel ick again so I'm off to lay down on the couch and hopefully this cold goes away soon.

Cold weather=sick

This weekend the temps got down to 17 which pretty much makes everyone in Louisiana go crazy. I of course got sick with the whole high fever and cold thing. My mom brought me dinner last night and my fever was so high I was talking all kinds of craziness. The weekend at work was slow because of the weather. Thank God my sweet neighbor wrapped my outside pipes for me. It's gotten a little warmer though. Saturday night when I was driving home from work my Yukon said 23 degrees so it's a small improvement.

School starts in a week and I couldn't be happier, I'm so ready.

Adventures in dating websites

So far I have: figured out how to get rid of the creepers who are "looking for loose women", ignored a few 55+ members of the population and found several guys I went to school with. Bff and I are having a good laugh over this and it's definitely making for an interesting experiment. Dating websites are the virtual version of a bar and I've heard cheesy lines that I thought went away with the 90's. I did have an interesting convo with a guy we'll call SaintsFan or SF for short. Now SF seems normal, all things considered but he can't spell to save his life. I've always been the self proclaimed Queen of Spelling and it unnerves me to no end when an adult can't spell basic words.

Bff and I haven't quite contemplated what we will do should we find someone interesting enough to, God forbid, meet in a safely lit public place. However, I'm sure that won't be happening because the Federal, State and Parish background check as well as the "meet my huge cop friend first check" and the "why yes that is a 45 sticking out of my handbag" will be sure to scare anyone off.

I know I've been poking a bit, ok a lot, of fun at this online dating deal but I was raised where you meet men at church, school and such. If anyone out there in blog land cares to share a success story about an online match, feel free and perhaps, I'll learn to be less skeptical.

Relationship Drama

The bff and I have decided that in the new year we're going to embark on a manhunt. I think it's been enough time of me being upset with everything that's gone on with a certain boy and going back and forth. So, we've decided that we're going to sign up for a certain online site and see how many creepers we can attract. We're not expecting anything but it should make for some interesting blogging.

Weekend Recap

I got a little stroke of luck last night. I came into work and wasn't scheduled so I happily left. It was a fight night anyway so I'm sure I didn't miss much other than some drunk meatheads in Affliction gear. I had dinner at my parents then headed to meet ex roomie for some drinks. We had really bad falling out that lasted a year or so and just reconnected but haven't really spent any time together. We went to a small local bar and I got to meet her new bf, who is definitely a sweetheart and amazing for her. The Patron and Tequila Rose got to both of us so we stopped for food and her bf drove us home. No hangover this morning thank God.

It's Sunday Night Clean Night so I'm headed off to get that under control before bed. Tomorrow is errand day and 2 weeks til classes start. I'm so ready but worried about my work schedule. I'm taking 5 classes plus doing all of my observation hours, trying to attend a Bible Study once a week and I don't know how I'm going to squeeze work into all of that too. I'm confident that things are going to work out, I've come too far.