Striving To Be Bold

Money Madness

2010-10-20T18:01:00.002-04:00

These tickers are here to encourage me on my journey to financial peace through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. Normal posts below!!!

Heading Out

2009-12-05T23:14:00.000-05:00

My grandpa died this afternoon, so I'm heading there tomorrow and will be gone about a week. I'm guessing once I get there I'll have some down time but it will probably all be spent with family.

I hope you all have a good weekend/week/weekend, I'm not sure when I'll be back.

Waiting

2009-12-04T22:47:00.000-05:00

It's been a week of waiting and unexpected financial distress here... between the visit with my family and Lyn's visit, tonight is finally a chance for me to breathe and have some quiet time. Granted, I'm not at home but the baby I'm babysitting is sound asleep. Truthfully, I wish I could be sleeping, too- I don't think I've gotten many hours of sleep these last few nights.

Last night, we thought my grandfather was very close to his death and most of my family began the trek up there. I "slept" with my phone on and was up most of the night, expecting to hear news, I guess.

This week has been so hard-- the debit theft, car issues costing hundreds and completely wiping out my emergency fund (plus more), trying to figure out flights/buses/trains to NJ for when my grandpa dies, school stuff (Jessa has officially been out a third of the year so far...I was talking to one of my coworkers when she brought me home from work and I realized just how frustrated the situation makes all of my coworkers, not just me. It was good to hear affirmation of my thoughts, but it also makes me feel helpless because I can't exactly tell my boss to fire her!

Anyway, I was so stressed at work and just exhausted mentally and physically and emotionally. I haven't had my car there the past two days so I couldn't just leave, but there is a nice subdivision behind my school so I took my lunch time to walk and clear my head-- not sure I would have made it through the day without that, truthfully.

Anyway, I know this blog's boring and depressing these days- I wish it wasn't! I haven't had time all week to read a book or a blog with Lyn's visit (she's very low-key like me but we were just busy!). Having here here kept my mind occupied until it was just in overload...man, my eyes are tired. Bed sounds good right now!

Bad, bad, bad

2009-12-03T01:15:00.000-05:00

WARNING: This is a complete venting post, so if you don't want to read something pessimistic, stop. At least I warned you. It's also not likely to make sense, but that's where I am right now.

My grandpa is dying. He'll most likely pass away in the next few days, seeing as from what I understand, he's not eating or drinking anything anymore. My family, minus myself and my brother, are driving to NJ to say a final goodbye to my grandpa on Friday, if they can make it there before he dies. Due to work and babysitting commitments, the fact that I've seen him more recently than most of my family members, and especially that it's not really him anymore I have opted not to drive with them. Once he passes away and funeral arrangements are made, I will go there for a few days- but this means I'll have to drive alone.

I don't mind driving alone, usually. But it's a solid ten hour drive from here, and being that when I'm making the drive I probably won't be in ideal driving conditions, plus if it snows...well let's just say I already wasn't looking forward to it.

And then on the way home from a bar tonight, I was driving with my friend Lyn and all the sudden the car made a not-so-good noise. I'm thinking/guessing it's muffler related but of course, I know nothing about cars so I could be completely wrong. I'll bring it by the shop in the morning...if I need her to, Lyn can bring me to work. Of course, I won't be able to pay the car place the way I normally would (debit card, that is) because my number was stolen and yada yada yada, so the only way for me to get money is to drive to an actual bank when it's open to get cash...if I end up driving to NJ, I really, really don't want to have to carry that much cash for gas and food, but if my debit card doesn't work and since I'm in this Dave Ramsey thing, I certainly can't, and don't want to use a credit card...

I know this is a mish-mash of words. I know it is. I'm so, so at the end of my rope right now though and my co-teacher Jessa will, guess what, be out AGAIN tomorrow and I seriously cannot handle anything else right now. It's pessimism week over here. Sorry.

Back to Reality...or Something

2009-11-30T20:36:00.000-05:00

I got back to BC yesterday afternoon and life's a roller coaster these days. Work went well today and it was great to see all the kids, but my co-teacher Jessa was out YET again. Sigh. One of my co-workers, Hope, asked me if there's an ad in the paper to replace her yet. I know where she's coming from- the woman who subs for Jessa and I can only do so much, and can only be in one place at a time!

I have a lot of Christmas crafts planned for the month- we only have fourteen days of school until Christmas break, though it seems impossible. We'll start on the crafts tomorrow, so I'll post photos as we complete them!

There's a lot going on here...after a week of traveling, spending time reading and playing games with my siblings, extended family and friends, it's been a bit hard to jump back into daily life because it's a complicated one lately. Without going into too much detail, I'll say that my paternal grandfather is in hospice and it's quite likely I'll be traveling with my family to New Jersey for a funeral in the coming weeks. My dad is there now and it's basically come down to the fact that if we want to say goodbye before my grandfather's death, we should go there soon-- but aside from not exactly having an unlimited supply of vacation/sick days to use, I feel like my real Grandpa died years ago when the Alzheimer's symptoms began. I've written about him before here and here...but our family could use prayers as we decide who's going when and as my grandpa slips away.

Another oh so fun (insert sarcasm) thing that happened was that a card of mine was stolen and used in a foreign country. Luckily I caught it early but I'm not used to the inability to use an ATM to get money! I'm so thankful this didn't happen while I was traveling to see my friend last week but boy did I feel stupid when I tried to get gas yesterday and my card was declined time after time after time. Oy.

A bright spot to my week though (ya know, so I'm not ALL gloom and doom over here) is that my friend Lyn came to visit me! She actually arrived yesterday before me, since a normally 2.5 hour trip took about 4 with the holiday traffic coming West from my parents' house! She'll be here until Thursday so we are enjoying each other's company. :)

Anyway, I hope you're having a great week (better than mine?! lol). I won't be around most of the week because Lyn and I have a few things planned, but I'll see you later!

Remnants of Thanksgiving

2009-11-27T13:03:00.001-05:00

I don't know about you, but we ate so much food yesterday that we were definitely full...possibly OVER-full, even.

From turkey

Okay, so maybe it wasn't that bad...but one of my sisters has a fairly new Mac computer that we had some fun with :)

From turkey

How was your Thanksgiving??

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2009-11-26T00:02:00.004-05:00

http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/content/RSC/EASTCO/images/newsletter_images/November2006/thanksgiving.gif

Wishing your family a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving day! Don't eat too much pie!! ;)

Preparations

2009-11-25T17:24:00.000-05:00

I arrived home yesterday from a wonderful trip back to my hometown. Rachael and I visited with friends and I spent most of the weekend cuddling baby Elsie, the cutest newest addition to Stevie's family.

Since my arrival back to my parents' house yesterday, we've been busy. My grandma arrived around 1:30 this morning and after some rest we all spent the day baking lots of goodies in preparation for tomorrow!

That's a lot of pumpkin pie filling!

Artsy Washington

2009-11-23T00:34:00.008-05:00

I'll be visiting and traveling all day today so I thought I'd post one of my last Pacific Northwest photo tours! Only two days of pictures left...maybe I'll have them up by January? LOL!!

On the day my brother was to move into his apartment, we had some time to kill after checking out of our motel. We headed to another state park where the trees were towering, the leaves changing (this was September first!), and the cobwebs intricately stunning. The leaves were huge, my macro setting was tested...everything was so pretty, it's hard to narrow down the photos :)

This shot absolutely cracks me up- it's a squirrel but he was jumping and I think it's funny...

We also went to a fish hatchery, which was interesting. I had never seen one of those before!! I feel like these picture are like Magic Eye, lol...can you spy the fish and the spider?

As the sun set, my brother was settled in his new place, a one bedroom, one bath apartment on the side of a house. There was no internet at his new place, so he spent some time on the library computer while I reveled in the beauty of a small town sunset.

Thankful Tree

2009-11-19T23:34:00.035-05:00

I found a cute Thanksgiving project over at Amy's blog and tweeked it a tiny bit for my classroom. I knew I should do some type of Thanksgiving craft with my kids, but since I'm not working all of next week, it had to be something simple- so this was perfect!!

Over the course of a few days, my students shot out things they were thankful for. Among the usual my family, my friends, my dog, God, etc., I picked out a few of my favorites-- and added a picture of our finished tree. With 50+ kids through my door on any given day, about 35 of them chose to participate in this project. We like it!!

I'm thankful for:
Liv- snowballs
Nina- sleeping at the beach
Rava- kangaroos and ice cubes
Adam- trains
Dylan- monsters and pancake face
Luke- eggs and bacon
Ayla- everything except bad guys
Maxim- cake
Charlie- chicken wings
Maile- you being the best teacher (AWWW!!)
Karden- windows
Ava- my twin brother and sister

What are you thankful for??

And with that, I'm over and out for the weekend. I'm off to visit one of my best friends, her new baby (& the rest of her family of course). From what I understand, the plans include lots of cuddling the new babe, catching up with each other, probably eating lots of junk food, and apparently going to see some movie that is coming out...something about Twilight..?

http://images-1.redbubble.net/img/art/size:large/view:main/194789-11-baby-feet.jpg

See you next week!!

Roses & Thorns

2009-11-18T23:58:00.001-05:00

I saw this idea on another blog (I don't remember where, or I'd link!) and thought I'd give it a try :)

-My coworkers have been fantastic this school year- so many of them pitching in when Jessa's been out so much. I'm so thankful for them!

- I had my oil changed and they didn't find anything else wrong with the car

- My emergency fund has grown a lot in the past week or so- many babysitting jobs!

-I'm going to visit one of my best friends this weekend

- I'll get to cuddle her new baby and get girl time, something that's been sorely missing lately

-After the visit, I have a week off of work for Thanksgiving!

-My grandmother is visiting for Thanksgiving, and I don't think we've ever had her visit for TurkeyDay before!

-Once I return to Big City, another good friend of mine is coming to stay for a few days. Hopefully we'll be able to fit in some good girl time, because I miss her!

- Jessa's been out SO much and it's stressful

- The emergency fund has come to a grinding halt until December's first weekend arrives. I'm sure it will be here fast but it's been nice being able to add to it every few days! ;)

- The visit this weekend could never be long enough- Stevie and I don't get to see each other much!

- We have our staff meeting Thursday and I'll have no time to pack...

Obviously, the good outweighs the bad... =) How's your week?

Take Me Back Tuesday Vol. II

2009-11-17T07:04:00.054-05:00

I started "Take Me Back Tuesday" last week and people seemed to like it so I present week two! If you have any ideas for future weeks, let me know. I have a nice list going, but it will run out if I keep this up (which I hope to!)

photo from: http://mattogno.com/MattognoGirls/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/slinky2.jpg

What else is there to say? Slinkies are an awesome invention and I have so many memories of watching them fly down flights of stairs both at my parents' house and at my grandmother's! I wish they could find a way to make them bounce back to their original shape after being twisted by small children, though!

Photo: http://luzyvidaministry.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/chalk2_list_view.jpg

Sidewalk chalk was a favorite of mine growing up, and the children at my school still enjoy it! We write our names, play tic-tac-toe, trace each other's bodies, draw pumpkins, airplanes, ducks, and about anything else you can imagine. One of my favorite memories is of a warm, sunny Christmas Day spent in Massachusetts. The weather was in the 60s or 70s, very unusual for that time of year in the Northeast and my aunts, uncles, siblings and I spent the holiday drawing all over my grandma's slanted driveway with all the colors of the rainbow! I couldn't have been more than 8 or 9.

Photo compliments of me, myself and I, from my time spent in Belize. Proof that sidewalk chalk usage doesn't all have to be in English! ;)

The Care Bears!!

Always friendly and ready to help, I have a soft spot in my heart for these cuties. We had (or my parents still have) the Care Bear Nutcracker movie. Growing up, I thought the theme of the Nutcracker was parallel with the Care Bears, something my dad would probably *still* cringe over if I told him!

I was homeschooled after fifth grade, but prior to that I went to a public school for a few months. As a member of a large family, I qualified for free school lunches and I absolutely LOVED it. After years of packing my lunch daily, it was like a dream come true, especially on square pizza days! I'm not sure I would enjoy it now, but it tasted great at age ten!

Photo: http://open.salon.com/blog/rwnutjob/2009/04/22/school_pizzayumyum

This one is bound to drive one of my blog readers crazy if she pays close attention! Before Lyn lef this summer, she and I went kayaking and when leaving the park, we came across tire swings! I spent hours upon hours swinging on one in my rural yard growing up and getting a chance to swing again was SO MUCH FUN!

However, this photo has been doctored, and no one knows how or why, although one of my friends had a silly guess this summer...if you can figure it out, I'll send you a homemade candle. Seriously! I'm a candlemaker, didn't you know?

Feel free to join in with your own childhood memories!!

Ice Cream, Part II

2009-11-16T05:19:00.000-05:00

Please check out the poll on the sidebar. It's in relation to this post of mine and I'd love your input! (Also, my students will thank you...)

Prologue: Read this post on ice cream. C'mon. It's a post on ICE CREAM. Not scary at all, I promise.

That's right. Click right here.

Well if you didn't read it, that's your own fault, but this post probably won't make sense. Just sayin'! ;)

Onwards.

I plan to visit said ice cream place next weekend and pick up some more deliciousness for Cara. So far, she doesn't know *where* I'm going, just that I'm taking a trip. If I can keep quiet for four more days, and if the top secret destination location of my destination (haha) is kept off Facebook, I'll be home free- I'll buy the ice cream and bring it back to BC with me to gift her with after our wonderful Turkey break.

However, I was thinking that it might be fun if I could find a goofy way to give her the dessert, rather than just, "Oh hey, brought you some ice cream!"

So- here's what I'm thinking. Yes, I know it's dorky, but I think (hope) she'll h=find it at least a little fun and maybe a little exasperating (because I'm mean like that!). I found random letters of "(store name) vanilla ice cream" on Google and pasted them to a word document. I'm going to print it at work, so it's all colorful and then I was going to cut up the letters, put them in an envelope, write her name on it (or even better, have one of the kids write it!) and slip the envelope in her work closet during her lunch break. She's going to know it's me pretty quickly because I'm the most likely to play jokes on her and Hope, but that way, she has all afternoon to work on the puzzle and hopefully finish in time to receive her prize, waiting in the freezer, by the time she goes home.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Yea, I'm weird I know. Get over it. ;) It's more fun that way.

Keep Back!

2009-11-14T23:18:00.000-05:00

Please check out the poll on the right hand side-- vote!! It's in relation to this earlier post of mine. Thank you!!

One of my students was wearing this shirt at the beginning of the school week and I couldn't help but take a picture, especially because the shirt is true for this particular child!

Little did I know it would also be appropriate for myself on Friday- which happened to be the 13th. Friday the 13th. I'm not really a superstitious person, in fact I don't consider myself superstitious at all.

However, I will say it was the worst day I've had in a long time. I'm not a fan of Fridays anymore to begin with, seeing as I fly solo for most of the beginning part of the day at work with Jessa out. My boss is to step in and help with lunch, but without typing a book, I'll just say she has a lot on her plate being the boss and all and, while she has the best intentions, she is never with me for ALL of lunch time, the most stressful part of my workday even on a good day.

So, cut to about 11:30 yesterday morning and you'll see me running around my classroom like a chicken with its head cut off. I had dismissed all the kids to find a seat in my lunchroom, but I had (spontaneously)

14 kids who were actually sitting, like they were supposed to (thank goodness for them!)

1 girl whining because she wanted to eat with her brother,

1 boy whining and crying because he wanted to eat with his sister. Sitting next to her just wasn't good enough for him,

4 boys waiting halfway patiently for me to direct them to a spot since we had more kids than usual (of COURSE!),

1 boy walking/running through the room with (kid) scissors because he is independent and wanted to open his yogurt RIGHT then,

1 boy spilling juice all over the floor/his shirt/pants/the table, and

2 kiddos waiting for the bathroom, which was already in use by another student, so they were fooling around...

so, as a teacher who usually has Patience...

it was "KEEP BACK 200 FEET!"

the patience was at about 5% and rapidly falling.

There was even more drama later in the lunch period, but I won't bore you with that.

That was my Friday the 13th drama. How about you?

*I do have to give props to my coworker Cara, though. She's the type of person who just helps out wherever she's needed, without being asked. She came in my room to drop off some papers right as all this was going on, and she stepped right in to help. I think even if she was a mean person who did that, I'd love her...of course, she's one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet which makes it easy to love her anyway. Cara also told me she'll be stepping in to help EVERY time Jessa's gone just to make sure I'm okay- as if she doesn't have a class of her own to manage already! I love my co-workers.*

Quick Poll!

2009-11-13T00:09:00.002-05:00

I hope this works!!

I don't have any updates on the baby (from the last post) but the meeting with my boss went really well! My idea was accepted with a LOT of enthusiasm, and my boss is already warning me that my co-workers will want me to present in their classrooms as well. Yikes.

Here's what we'll be doing beginning in December!

I was fortunate enough to travel to Europe and live there for four months when I was 19. I was technically there for school but also had the opportunity to travel to many countries and explore- so beginning with one of those countries, plus Belize, Mexico and Canada, you all have to help me decide which one I'll be learning about with my students! Hopefully, we'll expand on the photos and memories I have and include books like this one, implement music from the country, make (and try?) their foods, draw their flag...it's not all sorted out in my head quite yet but I'd love your opinion and ideas...it's going to be a fun ride, and I am positive much of the information will also end up on my blog!

Friday 5: Shapes

2009-11-13T00:05:00.017-05:00

What is your favorite shape of pasta? Lately, Penne
Which of the Lucky Charms marshmallows is (or was) your favorite? The clover!
Of people you know who are older than forty, who’s in the best shape? Umm, my grandma? I have no idea!
What shape is one of the more interesting scars on your body? The one from my burn is kinda cool!
Of a human’s internal organs, which you think has the most interesting shape? I've always liked the heart :)

Friday 5

Quick Prayer Requests

2009-11-12T10:33:00.000-05:00

The meeting I was supposed to have with my boss Tuesday was pushed back to this afternoon- what is decided will determine the course of the remainder of the school year. I have a few ideas in mind to mention to her, but ultimately the two of us together will decide what my stretching goal will be! Hopefully it will go...I'll be back tonight to let you know!

Also, one of my good friends from college has a baby daughter who is very sick. Clln's Madi is about 15 months and has been sick her whole life with various issues. They live just a few short hours from me, but the last time I saw Clln was a week or so before Madi was born. Madi is currently in the PICU on oxygen and may have to be intubated. I don't have many details as they are waiting for confirmation from various tests, but they have diagnosed her with pneumonia-- so any prayers you can send their way would be great.

Have a wonderful Thursday! Two weeks until Thanksgiving...

Whoops

2009-11-11T19:58:00.000-05:00

It's been an interesting few days here and blog reading (and posting!) has just taken a backseat to normal, everyday life.

School is going well, although Jessa was out again today and will be Friday as well- every Friday, that is. I think I wrote about that already, so I won't repeat myself. LOL. Yesterday was a particularly awesome school day- the kids and I had long circle discussions about consequences and quietly lining up- and my afternoon group has lined up quietly (as in DEAD quiet...) the past two days-- YAY! The kids are all ages 3-6, so I'm excited about that- of course, we'll have to reinforce every day...haha!

The other thing I've been working on non-stop is my school's webpage. We launched it at the very end of last year and it was time for some new updates and photos- meaning photo brushing light posts, faces of children who are not allowed on the website, removing dates from some pictures, compiling which photos to actually use and the order of them all...I worked on it for five hours yesterday and three hours today-- and still have more to do!

One of the issues I'm having is the program our website is built with is EXTREMELY hard to use. Granted, I don't technically have programming experience (technically...haha. I don't have ANY at all). Anyway- attempting to edit the site is such a pain. There is no option to center pictures, so I had to manually make a fake photo with our logo on the right side, then position it on the left side to actually center it. Makes no sense, right? Yeaaa....

So- I'm not sure if any of you can help me out, but I'd be glad for some help. We have a webpage, we have the domain, but I need to find a way to host it somewhere else so it's easy to edit. What would happen if I left my school at some point and my boss had to edit part of it?! Any ideas??

Well, I'm off. I'd post more photos of my trip west, but I can't really stand to check out any more pictures right now. My brain's on overload!!!!! Hope you're having a great week :)

Take Me Back Tuesday Vol. I

2009-11-10T00:02:00.035-05:00

I'm actually hoping to start this as a series, but we'll see!! I've been noticing (and reading!) things around my world that are just complete blasts from the past...aka my childhood.

Fozzie Bear!!!!

Okay, so I had one of these when I was very little. My sister Shae had a Miss Piggy one and I had Fozzie. I LOVED him. Somewhere in between all of our moves, my bear was lost. I have no clue what happened but I thought of him over the years. When I was in Scotland in '04, it was a rainy, blowy day. My friend Anna and I randomly entered a Disney store and I found a new Fozzie- I knew I had to have him! My sister Rachael also fell in love with my Fozzie, so I found one online for her- we have (almost) matching bears to this day!

Sesame Street- How Crayons are Made

I watched hours upon hours of Sesame Street as a child and for some reason, this is the one thing that sticks out. I have NO idea why.

Candy necklaces!

Um...yummy and sticky, as a kid the best thing ever...'nough said!

Tootsie Roll Pops

Haha, oh yes. The Indian shooting! When I was about 10-11, a rumor circulated within my circle of friends that if you had a tootsie pop wrapper with a WHOLE Indian shooting, you could send the wrapper to the TR company and they would send you a free lollipop. I tried it..a few times (haha). Didn't work, but I think I did get some nice letters & coupons from the company. LOL.

Stencils

I remember using these for hours upon hours. I claim them from my parents' house once Rachael gets too old for them and/or once I have my own kids. Two weeks ago, I was SO excited to find these exact ones at my school- I demonstrated how to use them to my students and they are enjoying them too :D

and of course, the books of my youth....which were honestly and truly taken away as PUNISHMENTS because I loved reading so much...

What are your favorites? Remember any of these???

Exploring!!

2009-11-07T17:37:00.000-05:00

For a few days after my brother and I arrived in the fine state of Washington, we mostly bummed around. We were staying at a cheap hotel, where the floor was my best friend. After days of driving, my brother chose to spend his time sleeping- I was more eager to explore, since I had limited time in the Northwest!

These were everywhere...so delicious!

I went into Seattle one day to meet a friend of mine in Pike Place (unfortunately, I have no pictures from Pike!). The following day, the two of us went to Larrabee State Park and walked around a little.

Beyond the towering pine trees I could spot the open waters of Samish Bay- they were beautiful! I'll let the pictures do (most of) the talking today. :)

Can you spot the starfish?

We drove to Blaine, Washington, which is about as far as you can go in the US without hitting the border. We could pretty much see into Canada from there-

On the way back to Bellingham, I caught a few nice shots of Mount Baker...

Later that evening, I snuck out of the hotel to view the moon, serenely in the sky above

More another day... :D

I'm Going To Be In Trouble

2009-11-06T21:06:00.000-05:00

Dave Ramsey will not be happy with me.

Neither will my accountability partner.

But here's the thing.

One of my best friends just had her second baby-

Elsie is adorable, from what I can see.

She looks just like her older sister-

With darker hair.

The problem is that Stevie chose to have Elsie

Six hours away,

You know, where they live and all that jazz.

I'm sure Dave would say to wait,

But babies don't stay tiny for long.

So I'm going to visit Elsie

In two weeks.

Go ahead and shoot me Dave.

I can't wait!

Fresh Air

2009-11-06T09:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was monitoring the playground when I found Zoe lying on the ground. I asked her why she was doing this, and her answer was,

"I'm just getting some fresh air down here".

I've been thinking about her answer since. I feel like I need to get some fresh air, move around, DO something. I'm bored. I have no life...of course once I figure out what I'll tell my boss on Tuesday, I guess that will change, but ever since the time change last weekend, I've been spiraling towards a dark hole- I don't want to and I'm working to fight it but something has to change. I don't look forward to weekends anymore, unless I have something planned. I look forward to Thanksgiving weekend- and next weekend I have a lot of babysitting going on, but...

I hate winter.

I'll be back tonight, hopefully in a better mood. Somehow working with the kiddles at work always puts a smile on my face :)

Adding To Subtract

2009-11-05T09:40:00.000-05:00

I added a few things to my sidebar to keep better track of this darn Financial Peace University I'm taking part in. Last month I went slightly off budget with the whole getting sick thing- I had to buy some soup & medicine that wasn't in my budget and then I bought a small room heater because my bedroom is SO COLD.

Anyway, it's a new month so I'm attempting to be a bit more optimistic with all the money stuff. I added a bit from my babysitting jobs at the end of October to my emergency fund, found extra change and added that, same with any money I had leftover from last month. I'm at 14% of my emergency fund which isn't great, but not awful either. I have a few babysitting jobs this month but a lot of the money will be going towards Christmas- I want to be able to buy the members of my family something, even if it's small this year. That might not be Dave Ramsey's thing but I enjoy finding something for my siblings/parents. I already found a great present for my mom @ Big Lots...it's an Elvis container full of popcorn!!!!

Totally joking, Mom, and only one of my readers will get that joke anyway. Point of the story is, I'll find something a bit less tacky. ;)

I'm off to work...roasting pumpkin seeds for the kids for snack today. I'll try and take photos of them enjoying (or not) the tasty food if they turn out okay.

Meeting With The Boss

2009-11-04T09:46:00.000-05:00

I had a meeting with my boss yesterday.

Usually meetings are freaky but I had only a few hours' notice for this one so it wasn't too stressful...also, I kind of knew what the topic of conversation would be.

In the last few years I've worked at my school, we had just one staff meeting a year, in which the following school year was discussed. Towards the end of last year, some of the other teachers called a meeting, which I ended up not having to attend because it involved classroom policies and for the most part, I don't deal with that. However, apparently that meeting was eye-opening for a few people within the school, resulting in three more staff meetings this year as well as more one-on-one performance reviews and boss meetings.

Due to these meetings, my boss is beginning to help people have "stretching goals" - two of my teacher friends (assistants in the classroom) are in charge of certain areas in their classrooms that earlier were taken care of by the lead teacher. They're both excited about this and are proud to be more involved. Another teacher's goal is to have a peaceful classroom, a goal that will probably span a few years. ;)

So, yesterday was my meeting with my boss to find out what she had in store for me. As it turns out, she had a few ideas...taking a few more classes @ the hospital that I haven't taken yet..but past that, I'm supposed to figure out my own goal.

EEK.

I told her I have no interest in going back to school full time, but would be willing, maybe even interested, in taking a class either in programming (thus helping to keep up the school webpage I built last fall/winter) or more child development. Past that, I have NO ideas yet...but I do have a week to think about it. I'm not sure where this is leading, but we'll see! (And if anyone has any ideas for me, pass them on! LOL.)

Beyond that, things are going well at school. The past week has been wacky crazy with Halloween preparations, the Halloween parade, and parent-teacher conferences. One of my friends was asking for kidisms and I haven't even taken note of any recently. And not that the kids haven't been funny...haha.I'm sure they have been!

Anyway...that's what's been going on here. Oh...and my new co-teacher will not be working with me full time anymore. She'll be working four days a week, which is STRESSFUL for me but I will get through it. If she's still exhausted after going down to 4 days a week, she'll go to three- double stress. If that doesn't work, I have no idea what will happen. Keep her (and me!) in your prayers. My boss almost had a breakdown last week because of all this, so needless to say the stress extends farther than just me!

Halloween: The Last Of It

2009-11-03T00:02:00.000-05:00

My hands are cramped (okay, they aren't now, but they were when I started this post!), but there's a good reason. Over the past week, I carved somewhere between ten and fifteen pumpkins at school. I had a lot of fun doing it, and the kiddos absolutely LOVED watching. All of the kids who chose to carve rather than paint drew the face of their choice on their pumpkin, so no two look remotely alike. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of all the completed pumpkins, but here are a few!

One of my absolute favorites- the boy who designed this is going to be an engineer. He's hysterical!

Initials...

Also, our tie dyed orange pumpkin shirts were a HIT at school on Halloween. They turned out really cute!

Well... I suppose since it's now November, fall is over. I'll leave you with a tree that one of my 4 year old students painted. He's very artistic and draws us cartoons all the time- the way he interprets things is really interesting!