Stop, Drop, and HOLD ON!

I experienced my first earthquake today.  I've supposedly experienced them before while living in Alaska, but I never felt this one.  This one.... Holy. Hell. It scared the crap out of me!  I was downstairs in the media room (still staying at Catherine and Robbie's house) and decided I was going to go upstairs to make a sandwich for lunch.  No sooner than I stood up did I hear a low-rumbling noise.  As I approached the stairs, the noise got louder and louder... I seriously thought either A) someone was breaking into their house and making an awful lot of noise in doing so or B) a plane was crashing somewhere nearby.

As I started going up the stairs, everything started shaking.  Harley shot up the stairs to the main level, and I followed him... I can't honestly say I was thinking straight during this moment.  Everything was shaking.  Pictures were rattling on the wall and becoming all sorts of crooked.  I swear the fan in the living room was going to fall and shred some pillows.   The water in the boys' fish tanks were splishing and splashing all over the counter.  And I could honestly picture the house sliding down the hill.  (Yes, I was dramatic.  I'm a woman, I'm emotional, and I was scared the F out! Let's all accept it and move on with life.)

And just like that, it was over.  Everything was still and somewhat calm.  I, however, was shaking like a bowl full of Jello.  I saw one of the neighbors outside trying to call someone on her cell phone, and she got in her car and left.  I tried calling my parents and Michael, and my calls wouldn't go through.  That's when I sat on the stairs in the foyer and just started crying.  I could not believe that I had just experienced that.  Granted, there are places around the world where they experience it on a much greater and much more devastating scale.  But me... Erica.... Just experienced an earthquake.  By myself.  And I couldn't get in touch with my family.  I had no idea where the center was, so I had no idea how much damage and destruction was out there, or where my family was amongst all this.  Cell phones were obviously out of service for a while, but thank God text messages were still able to be sent out and received.  I found out through texting that Mom, Dad, and Michael were all ok.  I was also able to text Catherine to let her know everything was ok here.

Once I got myself together and fixed the crooked pictures on the walls, I logged on to cnn.com and read up about the earthquake.  Its epicenter was in/near Mineral, Virginia, about 75 miles from Manassas.  I don't know exactly what it measured on the Richter scale, though.... I've read reports that it was a 5.9 when it struck in Mineral, but I've also read reports that it was a 5.9 by the time it got to the DC Metro area.  Surely if it was 5.9 when it initially struck, it wouldn't still be a 5.9 when it got to our area.  But then again.... I'm not an earthquake expert.  I am clearly a newbie when it comes to earthquakes.  It was felt all up and down the East Coast... Georgia to northern New England.  Crazy.

It didn't take long for people to start cutting jokes about the quake and posting their pictures of the damage that the quake caused.  This one is, by far, my favorite:

Aside from the earthquake, things are still pretty boring in my life.  I applied to some more jobs with FCPS and with a few local preschools.  I feel so useless having a teaching degree and no classroom to use it in.  Friends on Facebook have already started school and are posting about things going on in their classrooms, or how exhausted they are after a long day with the kids, which I totally get -- if I was teaching this year, I'd be posting the exact same stuff -- but it's weird knowing that I have the credentials and experience to have my own classroom, and I'm not.  I'm not employed.  I have one more paycheck coming from DCS and that's it.  Then what?  I have bills to pay.  I've filled out application after application after application... And... Nothing.  I thought things were picking up last week when I had four interviews, but still... Nothing. 

Everyone is telling me to stay positive and be strong, and while I truly appreciate that, staying positive and being strong does not put money in my bank account that I can use to pay my bills.  I need a job.  A freaking J-O-B is what will put money in the bank.  I don't know how much higher my stress level can go without me completely falling apart.

A note to the job gods...

Help. Me. Out!

I'm so aggravated!

Where did the last two weeks go?

My last post was 2 weeks ago and I honestly can't tell you where those days have gone.  When I was writing my post last time, it was early Friday morning, and I was expecting the moving truck to come later that day to get my stuff.  They never showed.  So later that day, I called AVL back and they said that they were going to try to get a truck to me Saturday, or worse case scenario, Sunday morning.  I told them that "worst case scenario" was not an option, because I was leaving to fly to New Jersey that day.

Long story short, the moving truck showed up at 8 am on Sunday morning, and I had to pay an extra $100 to cancel my flight to NJ.  I was SO pissed!!!

I ended up staying in Dothan until Tuesday, because I took my time cleaning out the apartment and loading my car up with all my stuff, and I wanted to be able to see people before I left.  I left on Tuesday around dinnertime and got up to Auburn around 7:30.  Heather was out to dinner with her bosses and some co-workers, so I let myself in and tried to get Harley and I settled.  Originally, I was going to stay for a week, but I'm allergic to her precious little dogs, Emmie Lou and Rosie.  I hate that some dogs make me sneeze like no other.  Luckily, though, I found some allergy medicine at WalMart that worked, and I spent my entire time at her house drugged up on the medicine.

While I was there, Mom called me and told me about some possible openings in Stafford County.  So I headed over to Panera (Heather didn't have internet) and I applied to the jobs.  However, I'm on such a "I need a job" kick, I decided I would also email the principals at the schools I applied to just to let them know I was interested in their schools and that I've already applied to the positions they have available.  I figured it would be a long stretch considering I've done this before, and all I got were emails telling me "Thanks for your interest in our school.  If you're chosen for an interview, we'll call you."  This time, however, it worked!  I got an email from one principal and a phone call from another!  Go me!

So, considering the fact that they were interested and calling/emailing for an interview, and the fact that I am allergic to Emmie Lou and Rosie, I decided to leave Auburn early and head to North Carolina to see Chelsea.  I was going to stay with her for three nights and then head up to VA on Wednesday morning.  But after talking to the principals that contacted me, I learned that they were hoping to fill the positions fairly soon since New Teacher Orientation starts next week.  So I changed my plans again.

I left Auburn that Sunday, the 7th, and drove to North Carolina to see Chelsea.  Instead of staying with her for a few nights like I had originally planned, I only visited with her for a few hours.  I did a load of laundry and we went to lunch at an Irish pub in downtown Durham.  I left Durham around 5 or so and headed up to Aquia.  Since I came in earlier than I had planned, Mom and Dad got me a hotel room in Aquia near their RV park.  I got within 60 miles of the exit and it got dark real fast and started pouring.  When I was about 30 miles away from the exit, Harley decides to use his litterbox to go #2.... Only, he missed the box and got it on the floormat.  I was so irritated, but I knew we'd be at the hotel shortly and I'd just clean it up when we got there.  Then when I got 5 miles further down the road, the only thing I could see in front of me were brake lights.  It took me an hour to go 25 miles, and my car stunk SO bad!  We finally got to the hotel, got into our room, and got settled.  I woke up to an email on Monday morning from one principal asking if I could go in at 4:00 that afternoon for an interview.  And then I got a phone call from the other principal and scheduled that interview for 10:30 yesterday morning.  Two interviews in one week.  I was so pumped. :)

The first interview seemed to go pretty well.  The principal said they were hoping to make a decision by the end of the week.  I had my other interview yesterday, and that one went really well.  I really liked that principal/AP team.  They aren't 100% sure they'll even have a position open yet, but they were hoping to know by the end of the week.  While I was in that interview, I got another call from a different school about another interview.  Score!  Yesterday afternoon, I got a phone call from Hayfield ES asking me to come in to interview for a 2nd grade position.  I was so stoked!  I would have loved to teach at Hayfield, considering I graduated from Hayfield Secondary.

I woke up today ready for these two interviews.  The first one was up in Falls Church.  The people on the interview team seemed nice, but I didn't get that warm fuzzy feeling like I did with the two schools in Stafford County.  My interview at Hayfield was this afternoon, and I thought it went pretty well, but while I was at the RV with Mom and Dad for dinner, the AP emailed me and told me they chose someone else.  I really hate that the school my second interview was at doesn't know for sure if they'll have a position.  I feel like if they were to hire me, I'd really enjoy working there.  The trek out to Stafford County every day would get old, but thankfully I love driving and listening to music.  And I'd be going against the traffic each way, so it wouldn't be too awful bad.

I know a lot of people are in the same, or similar, situations as me because of the economy, but part of me feels like a total failure that I can't get a job.  I was told that I was let go because of budget reasons, and that a lot of the teachers let go with DCS were the newer hires.  But I know of two first year teachers that were not pink-slipped.  And one of the other teachers that was let go at my school... Last year was her third year.  It's not fair that we were pink-slipped and other first year teachers were not.  What did they do so different or better than me that enabled them to escape the pink-slip boat?  I know some things in my class last year were rough, but I've spent a lot of time this summer reflecting and coming up with ways to do things differently next time.  I know I need to hand everything to God and let Him work His magic... But it's getting difficult to do that.  I'm struggling.  I want a job.  I want a job so much.  I want to put what I've learned from last year to work so that I can prove to myself that I can do this.

No more Summerwood

As I sit here watching That '70s Show at an un-Godly hour of the night, I realized that it's my last night in this apartment... Given that the movers show up later today like they're supposed to.  It's kind of a bittersweet moment, as is this entire move.  It seems like yesterday I was in Birmingham waiting for the phone call to let me know I got the job.  Before I could hang up with the principal and call my parents, I was pulling things out of my closet and throwing them into bags and bins so that I could drive down to Dothan.  I stayed with Lauren and Darryn for a couple weeks until I moved into this apartment.  It was a crazy start to the school year... Trying to get my classroom in order, my apartment in order, starting grad school, and trying to get my furniture from Birmingham down to Dothan.  Insane.

I finally got everything down to Dothan, and got some real furniture and a washer and dryer, thanks to my parents.  I attempted to decorate and give it more of a homey feel, but with everything on my plate this year, I never really got around to it.  Had I gotten a job down here for this next school year, I would have spent my summer really going through all my stuff and getting rid of things I didn't want and trying to find different DIY projects to decorate my different rooms.

But that never happened and now I'm moving out.  It's an absolute mess in here and it is driving me crazy.  I have so many different piles of things... Things going on the truck to Virginia, things going to a friend's daughter for her apartment, things being picked up by a missions group, things going to the dumpster, things going in my car... It's weird that this place will be empty and clean in a handful of hours.

Moving Drama

I thought this was going to be the easiest move I've ever made since graduating high school, because my parents were paying for a company to come in and move everything for me.  I assumed that meant packing everything up, as well, which I'm used to from growing up in the military.  So I told the guy at the moving company that I wanted them to pack and I wanted to supervise.  He said that wouldn't be a problem and we even talked about how many different boxes I'd need for all my stuff.  I've hardly done any packing other than setting aside things I didn't want the movers to pack: Harley's stuff, clothes for Auburn/New Jersey, important papers and pictures, etc.

Then the moving company called today to go over my order again to make sure everything goes the way it's supposed to.  I tell them I have a couple more pieces of furniture to add, because my cousin was going to take my futon and dresser.  She ended up getting a furnished apartment and didn't need them.  The guy said that wouldn't be a problem, and then said something about coming in and loading up the truck.  I mentioned them packing everything up and he said that's not how it was written on the order.  He said he could add it, but that, plus the extra space on the truck for the extra furniture, would require an additional $700 deposit.

$700?!  Seriously?!  I said, "Whoa! Hold the phone!"  I called Dad, and he said, "Oh hell no."  So I called them back and said to nix the extra furniture and packing and to leave the order as is, and I would take care of packing all my stuff.

Boy, was I hot!  I was so mad!  I went to WalMart and bought some plastic bins so I could start packing everything, and called one of the ministry groups to come get the futon and dresser.  However, their building is being renovated and they have zero storage space.  I'm going to have to call around some different places tomorrow.  Otherwise, the dumpster is going to get a nice futon for lunch one day this week.  I repacked one of my teaching bins into a bigger bin on wheels, but it's still SO heavy!  I was going to put my teaching stuff in my car to take with me just in case I get a teaching job in Virginia, but seeing as how freaking heavy it is, I may just take my chances and put it on the moving truck.  I certainly can't lift the damn thing, even on wheels.

I really don't want to have to pack up my kitchen.  I hate packing kitchen stuff.  There are so many big pieces and little pieces, glass pieces and awkward-shaped pieces... So aggravating.  I think if my parents brought their kitchen stuff over from Alaska, I may just donate most of my kitchen stuff to whatever mission group comes to get my futon and dresser.  Otherwise, the dumpster will be having dinner, as well.

I hate moving.

Actually... I like moving.  It's the packing and unpacking and dealing with heavy boxes that I don't care for... Ugh.

27 Dresses

In my attempt to get some packing done before the movers get here on Thursday, I decided to pack my clothes up that are not going to Auburn and New Jersey with me.  The movers are bringing a box for my bridesmaid dresses (since those are really my only long hanging clothes), and for the first time, I have all six of my dresses hanging in the closet together.  I'm well on my way to my own version of 27 Dresses.

Before I packed up my clothes, I went through all of them to figure out which ones I wanted to keep and which ones I wanted to donate... I ended up with three garbage bags full of clothes to donate.  Go me. 

While I'm jobless in Virginia this coming school year, I am hoping Mom will let me use her sewing machine to make a quilt out of my sorority t-shirts.  I have SO many of them, but I don't wear them anymore, but I don't want to throw them away.

This time next week I will be in Auburn... Officially out of Dothan.  It doesn't feel like I'm moving in a matter of days.  It seems like yesterday that the school year was ending, summer was starting, and my impending move was weeks away.

Almost Moving Time!

The deposit is paid.  The movers are scheduled.  The move back to Virginia is official.  The movers are going to be here August 4th and 5th, and on the 6th, I'll turn in my keys and head to Auburn.  Heather is going to watch Harley August 7th through 12th while I am in New Jersey.  Once I fly back to Atlanta, I'll go back to Auburn and stay there until Labor Day weekend.  Or.... If I am fortunate enough to find a job in Virginia, I'll drive up as soon as I can and stay with Rebecca and Eric.  Mom and Dad close on the house on/around August 29th. 

I hate that nothing worked out down here, but I'm honestly looking forward to being back in the D.C. area.  I never realized how much I liked that area until I left and tried to establish my life elsewhere.  The area has so much to offer me, not only as a teacher, but as a 25-year-old woman.  Not to mention the fact that I'll be closer to my parents.  Eventually I'll move out of their house for good, but I would still like to stay within a reasonable distance from them.
If I could take all the people that mean so much to me here in Dothan back up to Virginia with me, this move would be easy as pie.  And if I had a job to go home to, I think I'd feel a little bit more calm about moving, but honestly, I'm freaking out.  Yes, I have a room to go home to, but I still have bills and I have no idea how I'm going to pay those with no job.  And I'm a teacher... That's what I went to school for.  The thought that I may not have a classroom of my own this coming up school year is kind of upsetting.  Almost like I'm some kind of failure.  I know I can sub and stay pretty busy with that, but that's not the same as having my own classroom.  Hopefully I can snag some pretty good ideas from the subbing gig, and I can get my foot in the door with some schools for the next school year.

I just have to remember that God has a plan for me.  If I wasn't supposed to have been pink-slipped here and not having a job work out for this year, forcing me to move back to Virginia, then it wouldn't have happened.

Z z Z z Z z Z z Z ....

I love summer vacation.  What teacher doesn't?

But one of the things I hate most about summer vacation is not having anything to do.  And because of that, my sleeping schedule gets all sorts of out of whack.  I stay up late and sleep in late.  And the later I stay up, the later I sleep in.  The cycle continues until I'm up all night and I sleep all day.  I hate it, but even if I try using an alarm to get up at a decent hour, I know that I have nothing going on, so I turn off the alarm.  Or I'm sleeping so heavily, I don't even hear it.  I wish I was able to have found some kind of summer job so that I had something to do and get up for in the morning.  But no one is hiring around town.  Damn economy.

I gave Harley a bath tonight.  What. An experience.  Haha.  For some reason, he decided to go to the bathroom on the carpet right next to his litter box, even though his litter box was completely fine.  I had just scooped it a few hours ago.  Then, not only did he decide to pee outside his box, he decides to walk all over it and sit in it while he cleaned his legs.  That is beyond gross... Into the bathtub he went.  Now he smells like baby shampoo and I love snuggling up to him.  Baby shampoo is seriously one of my most favorite smells in the world.  It's so clean and refreshing.  I really wish I had taken pictures of his "wet cat" look... Haha, he was so mad.

On a completely unrelated, but totally brighter note, my birthday is on Wednesday.  It's the big 2-5.  So, given that I've had two pretty stressful years of teaching and two stressful summers of unemployment, I decided that my birthday present to myself is a trip.  Over the years, I've accumulated 97,000-something airline miles, so I decided that I would use some of my miles to go to New Jersey to see a family I used to babysit for in Alaska.  The last time I saw them was the summer after my 10th grade year... That was nine years ago!  Since this trip is a birthday present for myself, I figured I'd splurge on the airline miles and get first class tickets.  Hell yeah!  Atlanta to Chicago to Philadelphia... Philadelphia to Chicago to Atlanta... All first class.  I am amazingly brilliant.  And I'm SO excited for this trip.  I deserve this for myself.  August 7th can't come fast enough!

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

I'm about 99.99% sure I'm moving back to Northern Virginia in August.  My lease here ends August 12th and I  have a pretty strong gut feeling that I'm not going to get hired back with the school district here.  And the job I interviewed for last week... I don't think my heart is in it as much as it should be.  So I've just decided that I'd rather move back to VA.  I don't want to have to get a non-teaching job here and work a bunch of hours just to stress about whether or not I'm working enough hours to pay all my bills.  I'm barely scraping by on what I get on my teacher's salary, and if I were to make the same amount of money on minimum wage, I'd have to work like 85 hour weeks!  It's not worth it, to me, to work that hard and that much to make just enough to scrape by.

So, the plan right now is for me to finish out my lease here and move my stuff into a storage unit down here.  Then I'll go to Auburn and spend a few weeks at Heather's place, while my parents find a house in VA.  Once they find a place, they'll call me and I'll drive up there.  Unless, by the grace of God, I get a position with FCPS... in which case, I'll leave Dothan as soon as I can and drive up to VA and stay with my friend, Rebecca, and her husband and daughter until my parents get a house.

I'm more sad to be leaving the people I've become close to in Dothan than I am leaving the actual town.  But, I know for a fact I'll be back because I'll have to eventually get my stuff out of the storage unit.

Just call me the Energizer Bunny...

... I keep going and going and going and going....

I never consumed an energy drink until my freshman year of college.  One night, while I was doing study hours in the library, a couple of guys were walking around on the 3rd floor with a cooler.  I watched them quietly disturb all the students, offering them a free can of Red Bull.  I silently wished for them to come my way, as I was studying World History (which, if you know me, you know how much I hate World History... I'd seriously rather watch paint dry) and thought the can that "gives you wiiiiiiiiiings" would make the crap I was reading make more sense.  They must have heard my silent pleas... They finally came my way.  I was so excited to drink that Red Bull.  I practically inhaled the can.  Then I waited for the wings to come and for me to feel this energy boost these two guys had promised.  And I waited.  And I waited.  And I waited some more.  Nothing.  No energy.  No wings.  No miraculous sudden understanding of World History.  And then I had to pee.  And I pee'd... And I pee'd... And I pee'd.  I thought, "Ok... So Red Bull must not work for everyone... It clearly did not give me wings, but instead, made my bladder double in size and fill up super fast."

Throughout my years at Auburn and these last two years of teaching, I tried other energy drinks.  Different brands.  Different flavors.  Low carb.  No sugar.  Energy shots.  Still nothing... Nothing but a full, and suddenly bigger, bladder.  No energy burst whatsoever.  Not even a little... poof... of energy.  I figured the reason they weren't working was because I am so immune to caffiene.  If I liked coffee (which, by the way, I do not -- I hate coffee almost as much as I hate World History... almost), I could drink a cup as I was going to bed and be fine.  I tried to cut out Diet Coke and my head fought back with the worst caffiene withdrawl headaches... "There won't be any cutting out of the Diet Coke, Erica... Or I'm going to make you feel like complete and utter crap..."

I quit on the energy drinks.  It makes sense... 1) They don't work for me.  Clearly.  2) They make me pee.  A lot.  And 3) Why pay for something that doesn't do what it claims to do?

So... With all that in mind... Remember that cake I baked at 2:00 this morning instead of sleeping?  The one I practically drenched in food coloring to make the cake blue and the frosting green?  Hello energy!!!  Y'all!  I have been ON THE GO since just before 3, when I ate my small sampling of the blue and green masterpiece.  I decided to clean out the closet by my front door, which is a task that has been on my to-do list for months.  Seriously.  As I cleaned out the closet, I made a trash pile, a things-that-need-to-go-upstairs pile, and things-to-go-through pile, and then after I finished the closet, I went through the one pile, took the other pile upstairs, and took the trash pile to the dumpster, along with the rest of the trash in the kitchen.  Two birds.  One stone.  ....Winning!

Since then, I have taken out more trash, done the dishes, cleaned out my coffee table, paid my last month at the gym and canceled my membership, paid my utilities bill, checked on Christine's cats, cleaned the kitchen went grocery shopping, unpacked said groceries, talked to Mary as she was walking to work, read the newspaper (what?!), cleaned out the fridge and freezer, and did some laundry.  I just finished eating lunch and am only now starting to get a little tired.  We have Dinner with a Message tonight at church... I'm hoping I can stay up until 8 so that I can go to DWAM and then come home and crash.  However, seeing as how it is now 1:45 in the afternoon, I may be admitting defeat pretty soon.

Colorful

I'm baking a cake.  A blue cake.  And I have green frosting waiting in the fridge to go on top.  I love food coloring and making boring things colorful.

I also love that I'm doing this at 2:00 in the morning.  I'm fully aware that I should be sleeping.  But I'm on vacation.  So I'm choosing not to.

Also... I'm going to see Britney Spears next month with Mary.  She really wanted to go and I told her I'd go with her.  But when she went to get tickets, the cheaper ones were sold out.  So, being the awesome friend I am, I called her boyfriend and was like, "Get those tickets! I'll split the cost with you!"  And being the awesome boyfriend he is, he was like, "I'm all over it!"  Score.  Me and Mary.  Britney Spears.  July 17th. 

Then, I get a text from my brother today, like I do every year... "What do u want for ur bday?"  I said, "I don't know."  He said something along the lines of "Figure it out or you get nothing."  So I just happened to mention the ticket to the concert that I need to pay Teddy back for... After a few more texts, Michael said he'd send me money to give to Teddy.  In other words... Michael is paying for my Britney ticket.  SCORE!  Best. Brother. EVER! :)  I'm so pumped!

Adrienne --- Any chance you're going to the concert?  It's in Atlanta... I figured you'd be ALL OVER that one! :)

Stinger

I was perusing Facebook a few minutes ago and I noticed that my school from last year has officially welcomed five new members to the faculty.  My position has been filled, and I officially know now that I will not be at that school next year.  I was surprised at how bummed I got when I saw it posted right there on the school's website.  I keep reminding myself of Dr. Seuss' quote, "Don't cry because it's over... Smile because it happened."  My grandlittle in my sorority gave me a framed copy of this quote when I became an alum, and currently have it hanging up in my apartment.

I have a lot of memories from last year.  Some good, a few not so great... But not only am I leaving that school with the memories, the experience listed on my resume, and three shirts, I'm taking a lot of "lessons learned" away from the year as well.  I have no idea where I'll be next year.  But what I've learned in the last year only makes me a stronger person and a better teacher.

Itchy eyes

My eyes hurt so bad.  And if just the one eye hurting wasn't bad enough, now the other eye has started up.  I didn't sleep at all last night because it hurt to keep my eyes closed.  But it also hurts to keep them open because they're so irritated and dry.  The skin around my eyes is really red and raw now, too, because of all the goop and tears seeping out.  I think if they're still bad on Monday, I'm going to go back to the specialist and see what he can do.

On top of having blepharitis, I also have chronic dry eye.  That's only adding fuel to the fire... My eyes are dry because my tear breakup time is only like 3 seconds instead of the normal 10 seconds, and they're irritated because this blepharitis crap.  It makes me blink all the time, and that hurts like hell.  I can't see well to drive, I can't see the TV very well, and even being on the computer hurts.  I'm not even going to attempt reading.  I wish I had a heating pad type thing, but instead of heat, I'd like for it to be cold. And have the ability to stay cold.  I hate using a bag of ice and having it melt into water, or using a bag of peas and having them thaw.  I have a gel eye mask that I keep in the fridge, but it warms up pretty quick.

On an unrelated note, I think my interview on Wednesday went pretty well.  I met with the principal, vice principal, and the reading coach.  I feel like I had a pretty solid answer for each of their questions, but I couldn't tell from their responses and/or facial expressions what they thought.  The principal said I should hear from her in a couple of weeks.  We'll see... On one hand, I want the job, but on the other hand, I don't know how I feel about teaching pre-K.  I observed in preschool in New Orleans and I was so bored.  And I taught preschool as part of one of my classes in high school, and I didn't care for it much.  But if I'm offered it, and I take it, then I don't have to move.  And moving to Virginia will always be an option because all school years come to an end and Virginia will always be there.  But is it worth to stay another year here and be miserable with my job?

I have quite a bit to think about in the next couple of weeks, just in case she calls to offer me the job.

Blepharitis can bite me

It's 7:19.  I have an interview at 11:00 this morning.  That's in 3 hours and 41 minutes... roughly.  An interview, y'all, for a job... And I wake up with puffy eyelids.  WHAT?!

I started going to a specialist about all my "recurrent pink eye" nonsense, and he told me that, technically, it is "recurrent conjunctivitis."  However... mine is caused by a common disease called blepharitis.  I mean, sure... Let's add something else to the mixture.  Chiari. Check.  Depression.  Anxiety.  Check. And check.  Now let me give her blepharitis. Check.  Awesome.

There are different kinds of blepharitis, but I don't know which kind I have.  I'm sure the doctor told me... And I'm sure I forgot.  What I do know is that the oil glands in my eyelids secrete oil like they're supposed to, but the oil has a lot more bacteria in it than it's supposed to.  The extra bacteria decides it's going to hang around next to my eye and start a party... Like, "Hey, we're not supposed to be here, but let's hang out and wait for the rest of the crew."  And then when there are a lot of party-goers, they really kick it up a notch, and I'm miserable for a couple of days with swollen eyelids, crusty nastiness, blurry vision, and itchy-beyond-all-words eyes.  It looks like pink eye, without a doubt... You can look in a dictionary for the definition of pink eye and find my picture.  In all my swollen, red misery.  And where does Harley want to sleep these nights?  Yeah.  My face.  "Gee, Mom... Your eyes don't look so hot.  Here.  Let me take my furry self and lay on top of you."

I'm on an oral antibiotic to help prevent the growth of bacteria, and I have to do a warm compress on my eyes every morning.  That is such a bad idea, guys.  It is sooooo relaxing.  Remember my last post?  I laid down to do this the other morning, set my alarm for 10 minutes, and woke up 5 hours later.  I also have these super thick eye drops that have a similar medicine to the antibiotic to prevent the growth of bacteria, but I only apply it to my eyelash line.   And on top of that, I have to take a fish oil supplement.  Which I take anyway because it's good for me, especially because I don't eat seafood.  At all.  Of any kind.  I don't care how it's cooked, or how "delicious" you think it is... If it came out of the water, it's not going in my mouth.  But that is a completely different post.

According to some blepharitis articles online, I should also wash my eyelids with a diluted solution of baby shampoo and water.  My mom did this for me when I was living with them in Alaska last year... Relaxing!  Moms are so great.  I wish mine was here, so she could partake in all this preventive crap that I have to do.  She's a great alarm clock, and she wouldn't let a 10-minute compress turn into a 5-hour nap.  Actually, because I just said that, and she and Dad both read this, I bet she would let it turn into a 5-hour nap.  Just because I said she wouldn't.  And she likes to prove me wrong.

One of the things I hate about summer is that I have nothing to do.  Especially when no one is hiring for summer jobs.  There are either no positions available or I'm "too qualified."  If I understand I'd be working for minimum wage and I'm still willing to come in and work, what should it matter what my qualifications are?  Or that I am, in fact, I college-educated individual with a career?

Anyways.  Because I have nothing to do, I end up sleeping.  In high school, I was all about sleeping in until noon or 1:00 in the afternoon.  My parents will be the first to vouch for me on this.  But these days, I hate sleeping in.  I hate wasting the day away.  However, I have nothing to do, so I end up sleeping late or getting up early and then falling asleep a couple times during the day.  Today, for example... I got up at 8:45, which was awesome.  I fed Harley.  I made a new jug of tea.  I ate breakfast.  And then I microwaved my rice pack to put on my eyes, which I do every morning.  By the time I got settled on the couch with  my blanket and warm compress, it was 9:20.  I usually do the compress for 10 minutes, so I set my timer and started to relax.  Then I woke up 5 hours later.  5 hours later!!  Now it's almost dinner time, and I feel like it should be lunch time.  And because I woke up so late, I will probably be up late tonight.  And then my sleep schedule gets allllll messed up.

I am seriously hoping and praying, with every fiber of my being, that this interview I have on Wednesday leads to a job this next school year.  Because then I will have so much to do to get ready for the year so that things aren't crazy like they were last year.  I haven't taught preschool since high school, so I would have some reading up to do and things to make for my classroom.  And if this job doesn't work out, then I am hoping a job in VA works out.  I can't stand not having anything to do.

Are we done yet?

How many days of summer break left?  It is unbelievable how bored I am this summer.  All the days blur together because all I do is sleep, watch TV, go to the pool, and work on grad school stuff.  I have an interview next week for a pre-K teaching position for this next school year, and I'm hoping I get it.  After this last year, I would love to teach and spend time with some younger kids.  And if I do get it, I'm hoping I find out sooner, rather than later, so that I can spend the rest of the summer preparing so that the year goes smooth.  I would also need to read up on teaching pre-school... I haven't taught pre-school since high school.

I should call the Fire Department and sign up for a CPR class, and put my name on a waiting list for the First Aid class. At least it'll be something to do this summer.

Out of Order

I stayed up all night.  ALL night.  I went to bed around 10, but couldn't get comfortable or get to sleep because my sinuses and nose were all stuffed up.  I couldn't breathe... You know how it goes.  So, instead of laying there, I got up and cleaned my apartment.  I changed Harley's litter and vacuumed both bedrooms, cleaned the downstairs bathroom, folded clothes, did a load of laundry, did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen, and took the trash to the dumpster.  At 2:00 in the morning, I finally laid down on the couch, but still couldn't fall asleep.  So I watched I Know What You Did Last Summer.  Perfect idea, right?  I can't sleep in the middle of the night, so I'm going to watch a scary movie.  Genius.  Of course, nothing else is on at 4:00 in the morning, so I flip over to CMT and think the music will make me fall asleep.  Negative, my friend.  At 5, I got changed and went to the gym.

... WHAT?!

Oh yes.  I was up all night and felt like crud and still dragged myself to the gym.  Score!  I was only there for 40 minutes, but I was beyond exhausted when I left.  I came home, took a shower, talked to Mary as she walked to work, and then went to sleep.    And even after being up all night, not feeling well, and not going to bed until 7:00 in the morning, I was still up before 11:30. 

Craziness.



*Unrelated note: The J.G. Wentworth commercials are beyond annoying.  No one cares if it's your money and if you need it now.  Shut up.

Summer!

Well, my second year of teaching is officially over.  I can't believe how fast it went by.  It seems like just yesterday, I was settling into my job and into my apartment.  Because the economy is in the shitter these days, the school district had to cut the budget for next year by $3 million, and because I was a first year teacher with the district, guess who got pink-slipped?  Yeah.  Me.  It sucks.  But, I've been trying really hard to be optimistic about it, and remind myself how lucky I am, because the worst case scenario in all of this (I move back to Virginia and move in with my parents) is not the end of my world.  I've already applied for a few jobs here and one in a town about 30 minutes from here.... Now I'm just monitoring the TeachInAlabama website and the district website on a daily basis.

There really isn't anything going on these days, now that school is out.  I got all of my personal stuff moved out of my classroom last Wednesday and had all the classroom furniture moved over by the door, so that all the kids and I had to do Thursday morning was stuff it in the hallway.  They watched movies for the rest of the day and I picked up loose pieces of trash and turned random things in where they needed to go.  The kids were dismissed at 1:00 on Thursday, and surprisingly, I didn't cry.  I had to stay there until the normal 3:30, and I was so bored.  I had everything already done, and I went around to everyone it seems to ask if they needed help, and no one did.  I ended up going into one of the 4th grade rooms and sitting on the floor with that teacher and just talking about the year.  On Friday, we had to go to a 3 hour PD meeting at one of the middle schools, and then when we were dismissed for lunch, we were dismissed for the summer, as long as we had everything at school done and taken care of, which I did.  I went to Basketcase for lunch with some of the 2nd grade teachers and ran a quick errand back at the school, and then I went home and took the most amazing nap ever.

I don't even remember what I did over the weekend other than go to church.  I decided I was going to start going to church with C & A because, even though I'm ok with the whole pink-slip thing, I'm still bummed and a little (read: quite) bitter about the situation.  I'm stressed about finding a job here, about whether I have to move back to Virginia, how I'm going to pay for said move, how I'm going to pay for anything, why I was pink-slip and other first year teachers were not, etc., etc., etc.  Everyone has been telling me that I should put my trust in God and He will let me know where He needs me to be.  And I know I don't have to be at church to pray and trust that He will lead me, but it's almost comforting to sit there and know that He will take care of me.  Plus, C & A have introduced me to SO many people at HPUMC and to know that they, also, are praying for me is such a good feeling.  I am, by far, one of the youngest people there, aside from a handful of children.  The people there are so, so sweet!  One of the ladies who sat behind me a couple services ago noticed that I put my address in the attendance register and she sent me a card telling me how glad they were to have me back and how much they want me to come back.  Little things like that -- things they didn't have to do, by any means -- mean the world to me.  And the pastor... What a sweet man!  C says he's a licensed counselor, which could definitely come in handy, seeing as how much I hold on to crap and then completely lose it... Not to mention how stressed I am with the job situation.  I've told C & A that I'd like to keep going with them for the summer, and if I am fortunate enough to find a job here for next school year, then I'll talk with the pastor about becoming a member.

Starting over

It's been a crazy few months lately.  The whole updating-the-blog thing escaped me and I haven't updated the Project 365 thing in forever.  So I think I'm just going to start over with that whole thing... Unless I can find all the pictures I've taken between my last update and today.  I have them somewhere.  I just need to upload them.  And that will take forever.  And a day.  And probably some more days after that.  I had plenty of time to post them over Spring Break, but I decided sleep and starting with Season 1 of Bones on Netflix was a much better use of my time.  **edit: I'm starting over with Project 365.

We have five weeks and some days left of the school year.  I can't believe it's going to be over so soon.  Part of me is more than excited to see this year leave, but part of me... Nope.  I'm excited for this year to be over.  I just wish I knew what was going to be happening next year.  Will I be at my school?  Will I be somewhere else with my district?  Will I be working in this area at all?  Will I be moving back to Virginia with my parents?  I hate not knowing.  I can't plan if I don't know what's going to be happening.  It drives me crazy.

Wait a minute.  Back up.  Mom and Dad are moving back to Virginia?  It's true.  Mom put in her letter of resignation with her district a couple weeks ago, the house is on the market, and they are looking at leaving Alaska at the beginning of June.  I am SO excited that they will be closer-ish.  Dad is beyond excited to be away from the snow.

I went over to Alex and Christine's yesterday for an early Easter dinner.  It was a lot of fun.  I think the best part was playing dominoes with Alex, Christine, Eleanor, and Gordon.  I won the practice round and then came in 3rd place.  I seriously killed my score one round when I landed 78 points.  Yikes.

Random

• Since when is it possible for only half of your throat to hurt?
• We made it through testing!  And through ASEP!  Now we just have to make it through the rest of the week so that I can officially be on Spring Break.  And then we have to make it to June 3rd so that I can officially be on Summer vacation!
• My favorite part of the day is the first 10 minutes I'm home from work.  Harley loves all over me and snuggles up against me and gives me kisses, like it's been years since he saw me last.
• The storm last night was amazing.  I woke up in the middle of night to find that the power was out.  I actually forgot about it being hot until I woke up and realized that I had taken my shirt off in my sleep.
• As much as I want to be here next school year, I think I'm at the point now where, if I get pink slipped, I'll be ok.  I don't think I'll ever have a year that is as challenging as this one has been.
• Grad school sucks.  I'm so tired, and I just want to sleep tonight.
• Conduct folders going home on Wednesday sucks, too.  Why not Monday?  It makes so much more sense to go home on Monday. 
• There are not enough hours in the day.

I'm still alive...

"Update blog" has been on my to-do list for the last three weeks, and some how, I always manage to neglect it.  I have all my pictures for the Project 365 thing; I just need a few hours to sit down and upload all of them.  Lately, any free moment I have at home, I spend sleeping.  We've been in test prep mode at school for the last I-don't-know-how-many weeks, and with the addition of a new grad school class, I've been SO stressed!  And on top of all that, I still don't know if I'll be with my district next year or not. With budget cuts and proration, and the fact that I'm not tenured, I'd be more shocked if I didn't get pink slipped.  And that is adding to my stress level, as well.


We are officially done with the ARMT, and I'm not sure if I could be any happier!  We still the SAT-10 and the OLSAT to take next week, but the kids and I have not been more excited to see the Buckle Down and Skill Bridge books be put away!  I was really nervous that my kids would rush through the tests like they had on all of the practice tests we'd taken.  However, they proved me wrong, and have been doing a fabulous job at taking their time, reading all the questions and passages, and making sure they are marking the answers in the right spot.

I've been trying to not procrastinate as much on things I need to do, and I had been doing a pretty good job here lately.  I figured out that if I bring all the papers that need grading home on the weekend, along with my conduct folder crate, I have so much more free time at school and at home on Monday and Tuesday.  Now I just need to figure out a way to make all my copies on Friday before I leave school for the week.  I usually do my lesson plans on the weekend, when I have more time, but then on Monday morning, I have to scramble to get to school early and beat the herd to the copier.  If I could get into school on the weekends, this wouldn't be a problem.

Test Prep... Ready..... GO!

Oh. My gosh.  Test prep season.  21 school days left until the dreaded ARMT and SAT-10.  We are in full test prep mode at GES and it. is. insane!!  EVERY free moment is doing something ARMT/test prep related.  Our reading lesson plans have all been modified so that we can include more test prep time.  I completely understand now what Kacey was talking about in August about how after the ARMT test prep time and the week of testing, she puts all the test prep books away so she and the kids no longer have to see them!  I can't WAIT to put mine away!

Read Across America is next week, and I'm so excited.  I love Dr. Seuss and all of his fabulous books.  And we get to watch a Dr. Seuss movie.  I'm totally using that as an excuse to go buy Horton Hears a Who.  :)

If you know me, you know how much of a worrier I am.  I can't help it; I just am.  With that said, I am freaking. out. about next year.  With budget cuts and proration and how ridiculous this year has been, I'm so nervous about getting pink-slipped.  Although, on an honest note, I'd be more ok with getting pink-slipped if I knew it was 100% because of the economy and budget cuts and whatnot than I would be with getting pink-slipped because my principal thought I wasn't doing a good job.  Part of me wants to be ridiculously optimistic and think that if the funding is there, I'll be hired back, no problem.  But then there's that pessimistic side of me that is bringing on all this worry about what I'm going to do if the funding isn't there.  Be sure to keep an eye on my blog in April... I'll either be posting an exciting entry or a very sad one.  Until then, keep me in your prayers.

I took a personal day on Friday and thoroughly enjoyed the mess out of it.  I had a rough couple of weeks and just really needed a day off.  We were supposed to have today off as well, and a teacher workday tomorrow, but because we had that "bad weather day" in January, they took the holiday away, made today a teacher workday, and bumped up the students' return day to tomorrow.  I feel like today was the most unproductive workday known to man.  It was Cum Folder Day, and I spent the entire day making sure everything in each of my students' folders was in there and ready to go.  That way, come May, all I will have to do is write in their final grades, their attendance info, and the last day of school and I'll be done with them.  On the one hand --- YAY for being forced to do this now so that I'm not procrastinating on it later when ALL the other teachers are peacing out quick for their summer vacations.  On the other hand, however --- BOO for having my entire day sucked up by those cum folders and those meetings I had.  Other than checking over the cums and having to go to some meetings, I got nothing in my classroom done.  No lesson plans.  No grading papers.  No organizing.  No putting grades in the computer.  No making copies for this week.  Ugh.  I mean, I knew it was Cum Folder Day, and I'm not upset about that... I'm glad I had to do it now so that I don't have to do it later... But I didn't realize it was going to take soooooooooo long!!! So, all that stuff that I hauled home on Thursday (because I was going to work this weekend... ha!) and hauled back today (because I thought I'd have time to work on our teacher workday... ha!), I got to haul it all back tonight (because I'm going to get papers graded and get stuff done tonight.... h--- I did!).  I'm actually pretty proud of myself for getting all those papers graded, recorded, and filed.

And speaking of getting stuff done, can I just take a moment to brag on myself about how stinking productive I was yesterday?!  Holy. Moly.  My downstairs is so clean now (minus the closet by the front door -- that is still on the to-do list), I wish I had taken a before and after picture.  I threw away three bags of trash.  THREE. BAGS. OF TRASH.  Bleh.  I cleaned both bathrooms top to bottom and did all my laundry.  I made my bed (which I actually slept in last night, and am planning on doing so tonight -- so long sleeping on the couch!).  I cleaned the kitchen.  I made an appointment to get my taxes done.  I organized papers.  I cleaned out my fridge/freezer.  I put stuff in the storage shed.  I cleaned out my car and put windshield washer fluid in it.  And I cleaned my room.  Seriously, all that's left to do now is clean out/organize my spare bedroom, clean out the downstairs closet by the front door, and organize my closet in my bedroom.  Here's to hoping I can keep it this clean for more than a week...

**I know I've been a super-slacker on posting my Project 365 pictures. It's on my to-do list for next weekend.  Pray that I can keep my procrastination at bay and get everything done! :)

If only he could talk...

Harley escaped today.  It was the worst feeling in the world!  I went to get something out of the laundry room and noticed that the corner of the screen in the window was sticking out more than it usually does (I've tried to fix it, but haven't been able to).  I looked outside - didn't see him.  Looked in the kitchen - not there.  Ran upstairs and looked in the bathtub - nadda.  Looked all over my room and the spare bedroom - zilch.  I started FLIPPING OUT.  I called Lauren, thinking she was down at her house, to come help calm me down and help me find him, but she had gone home.  So then I call the next logical person.  My mom.  In Alaska.  When she got on the phone, I completely burst into tears, "Harley is gone! He got away! He pushed the screen out in the laundry room and he's gonnnnnnnnnne!"  She calmed me down and told me to leave the door open for a while, and while I'm doing my thing, he'll get hungry and find his way back.  Now, I'm the kind of person who, as much as I hate it, is run by my emotions and my thoughts.  The fact that he was out there all alone, for the first time ever, scared me to death.  I could hear dogs barking and trains going by and cars whizzing down the road... What if he got attacked?  What if he got hit?  What if some kind person found him and picked him up?  He doesn't wear a collar because of his allergies, so had he been picked up, this person wouldn't have known who to call.  And what if someone picked him up and decided to keep him since he didn't have a collar on?  But then, when they took him to the vet and figured out all his issues, they just decided to have him put down?  I couldn't bear the thought of all those possibilities, but at the same time, I couldn't keep them away.  And I couldn't just leave the door open and "do my thing."  No no... I sat in the door way, crying and calling his name.  Pathetic.  But it was all I could do.  I was so scared.  Eventually it got dark and it got cold, so I had to close the doors.  My sitting in the doorway became laying on the couch.  I made myself cook/eat dinner and while my potatoes were boiling, I sat on the floor in the kitchen and bawled my bloody eyes out.  After dinner, I went back to the couch.  I had the TV on, but it was muted so just in case he came back and was scratching at the door, I'd be able to hear him.  Finally, I heard something and I ran to the door and there he was.  He stopped and looked up at me as soon as he was halfway in the house, so I had to sweet talk him the rest of the way in.  As soon as he was in, I shut the door, picked him up, and started bawling.  Again.  It was the longest 5 hour time span of my life.  It felt like he was gone for an eternity, and I was not ok with it.  Not ok with it at all.  I wish he could talk and tell me what he did on his adventure.  I hope he remembers how much fun he had while he was out, and I hope he has lots of dreams about it.  Because he is absolutely, without a doubt, never going on one again.  Ever.

Catching up

I have been so busy/tired/stressed/all related words, that I have neglected to write in here.  I have taken my pictures for Project 365, but I didn't upload them here or on Facebook.  Since I have pink eye (again...) and stayed home today, I figured I'd might as well get caught up.  Get ready...

Day 20

Harley loves playing with my Auburn shakers!

Day 21

Harley sitting on top of the cabinets watching me cook dinner.

Day 22

Harley's toys... That he never plays with because he would rather play with

straws, pens, and pencils.  Go figure.

Day 23

Finally set my Wii up!

Day 24

One of Alex and Christine's cats playing on top of their truck.

Day 25

I finally got my own membership to Sam's Club!

Day 26

Lots of granite!  I went to granite store with Alex and Christine to pick

out a color for their countertops.

Day 27

New purse from Kohl's!  And thanks to some Kohl's

cash from Christine, I only paid $17. :)

Day 28

He loves playing on his cat tower.

Day 29

Next up on my "Things to Buy for the Apartment" list... Somewhere to

put my movies.

Day 30

One of the cutest pictures of Harley!! He's so precious!

Day 31

I love this game!!  Now I just need some people to come over and play!

Day 32

My classroom. :)

Day 33

Inside of my car.  LOVE the 6-CD changer. :)

Day 34

My bracelet from the Emergency Room.

Day 35

   When I went to the ER last night, they told me I had pink eye and that

  I had to stay home today.  Alex and Christine brought me a get well basket

  with homemade chicken noodle soup, cheese muffins, chocolate chip cookies,

a bottle of Diet Coke, and some pencils and candy for my class.  I love them!!

BFF4L day

I spent the better part of today hanging out with Lauren.  Her husband was at drill all day, so we went to Old Mexico and got some lunch.  I really wanted a margarita, but margaritas are expensive and I'm low on the dough.  We ended up ordering the same thing, but I didn't realize that the chalupa came with guacamole.  Nasty.  I picked it off and started eating some more of it, and I realized that the chalupa also had refried beans, not meat.  Double nasty.  I ate the taco and inhaled the enchilada -- that thing was SO good!

After we left, we went and walked around Ulta for a while.  She taught me the trick of sniffing a coffee bean between sniffing different perfumes.  I don't know how I didn't know that trick earlier.  We continued to walk around and found a display of bottles of shampoo/body wash/bubble bath.  We proceeded to smell each fragrance and decided that the Buttercream Cupcake was, by far, the best one.  Lauren ended up buying a bottle of Buttercream wonderfullness.  I would have too, but again, I'm low on the dough.  We looked at hair dye and figured out which shade we like for our hair, and we are possibly going to go back in the summer and dye our hair.  We want our color now to grow out.

We left Ulta and went to Barnes and Noble.  We spent a good while looking at books in the children's section.  She found a Harry Potter book of 3D images and could not, for the life of her, figure out how to see the images.  I tried to help her, but it's hard to show someone how to see them.  I found a book of 3D images in the puzzle and game section, so I tried to help some more.  She saw a couple of them briefly.  I should get her a book so she can practice. :)

Around 3:30, we left and went to the movies.  We saw How Do You Know with Reese Witherspoon and Owen Wilson.  It was an ok movie.  I don't think it's one that I would buy for myself.  Parts of it were really slow and it took all I had to not get my phone out to check the time.  After the movie, I dropped Lauren off at another store so she could go to dinner with her husband, and I went home.

Now, I'm about to go downstairs and play some Wii.  I haven't raced in a while.

Day 19

Lauren trying to find the 3D images at Barnes and Noble.

TGIF!

I'm so glad it's Friday and that the weekend is finally here.  Today was a rough day.  And knowing me, I would have stayed until 5:00 to try and get things done, but I was able to get Harley a last minute appointment with a vet about his toes and mouth.  So I left at 3:30.  I'm going to have a bit to do on Monday, but I really needed to leave.  Just one of those days.

Anyways... Harley.  When is there a time that there is NOT something wrong with this guy??  Poor thing.  When we moved to Dothan, he quit eating his z/d prescription food.  I had to get him to eat something, so I started giving him Friskies and 9Lives.  For a while, everything was fine as far as his allergies go, but here lately, his toes have been swollen like no other and I've come home twice not to bloody footprints in the kitchen. :(  When I was checking out his toes last night, I noticed that he had licked one of his toes so much that it was now an open would and was bleeding pretty bad. 

The principal at my school gave me the name of a vet in town that her mom goes to, but when I called this afternoon, they weren't going to be able to fit him in until next Tuesday.  I didn't think it could wait until then, so I called another vet (and this lady is SUPER nice, so we're staying with this vet).  The lady I talked to agreed that it couldn't wait, so she squeezed us in on an emergency visit at 4:00.  (This was at 3:35 and my apartment is 15 minutes away from work.)  So while I was packing up stuff to take home, I called the vet in Fairbanks and asked them to fax his records to the new vet.  I rushed home and got my copy of his records, rounded up Harley and his crate, and then rushed over to the vet.  We got there right at 4:00 and were in the exam room by 4:10. 

They weighed him and my jaw hit the floor when they said he was 10.3 pounds!!!!! It has always been a struggle to keep this guy above 9 pounds.  They checked out his paws, his mouth, and the growing bald-ish spot on his back and determined that his allergies are back in full-swing and we need to get him back on his medications.  The vet put him on Clavamox for a week and started him back on his Prednisolone steroid.  She was out of the liquid steroid, so we have to do tablets right now.  He'll take them, but he fights it a bit.  We also have to get him back on his daily allergy shots.  That's going to be fun.  I took the paper of his allergy test results to the vet and they are going to call and see if they can get a refill of his serum.  But since it's been over a year since I last had it refilled, the vet is not positive we'll be able to and we might have to start over and send them blood work.  That would suck a big one, because the basic test is about $140.  If we can get his serum refilled, it'll be about $130, and that bottle will last about 4 months. 

And on top of the medications, I have to put him back on a low-allergen diet.  We're going to try a couple different brands of low-allergen food since he refuses to eat the Science Diet kind now.  The vet said that the Purina has a low-allergen food, as well as Eukanuba.  Hopefully one of those will be satisfying to this guy.

Ohhhh, the things I do for this cat.  He's too precious not to do them, though.  He's my world. :)

Day 18

Our new vet. Always a good sign when they are Auburn fans. :)

War Eagle!

"Grrrr..."

Highlight of my day:

During after school tutoring, I have kids from all four third grade classrooms.  Today, I had two students from my class and one from another class.  We were finishing up practicing some of our multiplication facts before we got ready to go and the room was very silent.  And then my stomach growled.  Loudly.  The kids started laughing and then one of my students said, "Your stomach sounds like the tiger in my book!!"  I was confused and started laughing.  I said, "I sound like a tiger?"  He said, "Yeah!  I'll show you!"  So he goes to his desk and gets his AR book out of his backpack and opens it up to this...

Day 17

 "See?  'Grrrrrrrrr.....' Your stomach sounds like the tiger!"

Hahaha.  Moments like that make me love my job.

Foggy Windows

Today was a pretty dull day.  It was insanely hard to get out of bed this morning, and as a result, I got to work at almost the last minute possible.  The day was actually pretty uneventful, other than the fact that I had a lot to get done and not much time to get said stuff done.  But... that's the story of my life, isn't it?

Even though I stayed up late last night grading papers to go home in conduct folders, I didn't get around to filing the papers or putting them in the folders.  I kept a couple of my responsible kids in from PE and let them help me with that while I attempted to work on my PLP (Professional Learning Plan) thing for the principal (the computers/internet at school were screwing up and I couldn't save anything).  That thing is intense!!  I didn't have to do anything remotely close to this last year, and as much as I miss Northway at times, this PLP reminds me that coming down here was definitely the right decision for me as a teacher.

I was supposed to have after school tutoring today, but since there was only one third grader to tutor, the teacher who runs the ASEP told me I didn't have to do it today and the third grader was sent with the fourth graders.  On the one hand, I appreciated it because it freed up my afternoon to go home and finish my PLP.  But on the other hand, that's $50 in my check that I don't get  now.  She said we'd have more tutoring kids next week, and two more of the students in my class signed up, so hopefully, I won't have anymore days dropped.

I took my picture for today this morning before I went to work.  I can't wait until I get new doors and can actually see outside, haha.

Day 16

My sliding glass door going out to my patio.  The seal between

the two panes is damaged and the gas inside reacted with whatever leaked

in, and now this is my lovely view.

Down comes the rain...

Ugh! I should have known... The night where I have tons to do because I was lazy all weekend, it starts to rain.  And if you know me, you know that this is my favorite way to fall asleep.  Quiet house and the rain falling outside, hitting the lovely concrete patio outside my beautiful foggy sliding glass doors.

This is torture.

"This is the worst night ever! I'm never procrastinating again!"

Oh, Tuesday.... why must you suck so much?

1. After school program started today.  Hello, extra money.  Good-bye, sanity.  (Just kidding - I love the ASEP. I especially loved it today when I only had one student... And she's one of the sweetest little girls on the planet!!!)

2. I got my $51 refund check from Uncle Bob's storage for closing my storage unit early.  Hello, groceries.  Good-bye, $40.  Ugh...  In the words of my dad, the "money is bleeding out of me!"

3. Cosmopolitan sent me $1 in the mail today!  They also sent me a survey to fill out.  I wasn't concerned with the survey.  I was concerned with the nice, cold hard cash I was holding in my hand as the thoughts of what I could buy with that $1 bill floated around in my head.  What would I buy?  Money is hard to come by these days, especially during the last half of the month (especially when that month is January and you are a teacher and there are six tortuous weeks of no paycheck...), so this is not a decision to be taken lightly.  Some food for Harley?  Or a teeny-tiny drop of gas for my car, perhaps?  Or, maybe half a 12 oz bottle of Diet Coke?  How about a Snickers bar from the teacher vending machines at school tomorrow when my kids will, undoubtedly, be driving me crazy (oh, but how I love them!) and I will need a chocolate covered escape from reality?  If I do that, I'll get a quarter back!  Hmmm... What can I buy with a quarter?  Not much.  I guess that will go into the "Miss Broome needs a Diet Coke... STAT!" fund.  (I have one of those funds.  No joke.  One of my kids named it.  Feel free to donate to any/all of my funds.)

4. I had Subway for dinner.  It was amazing.

5. I hate Tuesdays, because I have to put conduct folders together.  I hate putting conduct folders together, because that means I have to send the graded tests from last week home.  Seeing as how we just came back from a three-day weekend, where I had plenty of time to grad them, I procrastinated.  Like an idiot.  An idiot who has repeatedly "learned her lesson" -- "That was the most awful week of my life! I'm never procrastinating again!"  Guess what I'm doing after I post my picture of the day?  Yep... Facebooking it up! (Just kidding... I'm grading papers calling my parents.)

6. Picture!  Harley makes me smile.  You'll see him a lot over the next 350 days...

Day 15

Please note where he is laying.  He's helping me to procrastinate by laying on

top of the papers that need grading and the conduct folders the tests go in

to go home tomorrow.  He's helping my problem... Just like he would if

I was an alcoholic.  We all know he'd be pushing that bottle towards me...

Ahhh, I love him!

another lazy day

Another lazy day.  To-do list still has nothing crossed off except my Project 365 picture.

Ahhh.... One day, I'll make a to-do list, get up early with my alarm, and I'll get everything done.  One day...

Until then...

Day 14

My favorite subject. :) Woot!

P.S. Watched the new episode of The Bachelor tonight.  I love Brad and Emily together.  Michelle is effin' crazy!  And she needs to go ASAP.  Bleh.

Sunday = lazy.

No matter how good my intentions are, I never get nearly as much school work done at home as I want to get done.  I should stop making such long to-do lists.  It's slightly disappointing to go to bed at night and realize I made a huge list of things to do (all of which could have been done in one day) and then not actually done anything.  My professional procrastinator skills win once more.

So, my picture of the day...  It's really the only thing on my to-do list that I did do.

Day 13

My little totem pole souvenir from Alaska... It's my

little reminder of home. <3

United Streaming

I have not been able to login to my United Streaming/Discovery Education account all week for some reason, so my bus duty kids were watching the same Magic School Bus episodes all week.  Haha.  Poor kids.  Finally, I was able to log on this morning and I've been downloading them for the last hour.

I went to bed pretty early last night, and just as I suspected, I was sat straight up at 7:00 this morning.  I laid back down and played with Harley for a little while before physically getting out of bed.  I fed him and made myself some breakfast and have been sitting here ever since.

I did go out to my car and take a picture of the sunroof from the driver seat for my Project 365 album:

Day 12

Frost on the sunroof

Heather is supposed to be coming down tonight after she gets off work.  I'm excited to see her, but we won't be doing much except laying around and being lazy.  I have some school work and grad school reading to do, but other than that, I see lots of movies and laughing in our future. :)  I also see lots of cleaning and laundry in my future, so I guess I should get going.

"Is Obama making us do this?"

I am so glad the weekend is finally here!  A three-day weekend and Heather is coming to visit... yay!  And she's bringing the last of my things from her garage in Auburn down to me, so I will officially have ALL of my stuff with me in Dothan.  I still need to organize and clean in my spare bedroom, but I can't really do that until I have more storage space (shelves, drawers, and whatnot), and I can't buy that stuff until I get paid.  And I don't get paid for another 2 weeks.  This whole getting paid once a month thing is for the birds.

Because last week was short and there are only so many weeks left in the school year, our district-wide reading program pacing guide combined the last week of Unit 3 and our Unit 3 review in the same 7-day time frame.  That = stupid decision of whoever put that pacing guide together.  Anyways, we had all of our Unit 3, Week 5 tests on Wednesday and we had all of our Unit 3 review tests today.  Understandably, the kids got a little frustrated when I told them we had to take our reading, spelling, and grammar review tests today when we just had those tests for Week 5 on Wednesday.  So I briefly explained to them about the pacing guide and why we have to cram these two lessons together, and one of them raised their hand and asked me, "Is Obama making us do this?"  It was too cute not to laugh a little before telling him no.  Such a sweet kid.

And between that comment, my kid who stapled their finger earlier this week (who did, by the way, come in on Wednesday beaming and then told me, "Miss Broome, I still want to help you with anything you need help with... Unless it involves that stapler.  Then I'm out!"), and the chicken snatchers at lunch yesterday... What a group of kids I have!  When we go to lunch, my class has two tables that we always sit at, and it always happens that one table is all the boys and the other table is all the girls.  At my boys table, I sent one boy to the stage for talking.  I'll call him Larry.  After he'd been up there for a few minutes, I hear my name being called, followed by, "They ate Larry's chicken!"  So I walked over and sure enough, Larry's chicken was missing from his tray.  There were two other boys involved (I'll call them Curly and Moe) and I asked each of them what happened.  According to Moe, Curly asked him for Larry's chicken.  So Moe gave it to him.  According to Curly, Moe took Larry's chicken and told him he could have it.  I asked Curly if he ate it and he said he hadn't, so I made him put it back on Larry's tray.  After a few more words, I went back to my seat and sent Larry back to his seat.  A minute later:  "Miss Broome!! He DID eat my chicken!"  I walked back over and looked, and I was surprised that his chicken was, in fact, gone.  Homeboy Curly peeled back the skin of Larry's chicken breast, ate the meat, and put the skin back!  It was wrong, but I'll be damned if that wasn't smart!  I took Larry's tray to the lunch lady and explained what happened.  She started laughing.  I got Larry another piece of chicken, and took his tray back.  I kept Curly and Moe in today for PE (I couldn't keep them in yesterday because of our grade level meetings), and they spent the entire 45-minute period writing sentences:  "I will not take someone else's chicken."  Hahaha, God bless 'em.

Anyways... I'm exhausted and am going to bed early tonight.  Hopefully this means I'll get up early tomorrow and be productive before Heather gets here.  I leave you with my picture of the day for yesterday and today. 

Yesterday:

Day 10

I took a picture of Harley and the flash apparently caught

him off guard.

And today:

Day 11

I got stuck behind the chicken truck today while I was heading to work.  I

hate driving behind these trucks, and this one was slowing down to turn

into the Perdue plant. :(