It's almost over...

So the interview went fairly well. I was able to go to class in between the group part and the individual interview, so that was good to see everyone's multimedia projects. I am fairly confident that I will get a placement. I found out that I will know my region and the options for placement in January, but won't officially have a job yet. I will be called by the principal of the school that wants me sometime between then and the end of the summer. It's not as concrete as I had thought, but I don't think that it will take that long for me to get an official job. At least I will know what city I will be going to, even if I don't want to look at apartments without knowing the exact shcool that I will be working at. It's something to look foreward to. I can't really even apply for other jobs until April or May anyway, so hopefully I will know by then in order to choose.

I can't believe that the semester is almost over. I am officiall done with my undergraduate classes, if not all of my work. I don't have to go to class anymore, but I do have plenty that still needs to be done. My list just keeps growing and growing, so we just have to hope that I can get it all done in time. If anyone out there wants a Christmas card and letter from us, get me your address and I will make sure that you get one. (that's another thing that's on my list of things to do) The shopping is almost done, and what is bought is wrapped. We're going to get a bunch more stuff tonight, so it will be that much closer to being done.

I am going to the Children's Museum with my first graders tomorrow. That will be such a great experience and I am sure that it will be a crazy day. I am excited to be a chaperone on a field trip before they are mine so I can get some experience. then I need to go the the office and get my background check done so I really can be in the school. I a little surprised they didn't do one in August, but I'm not really here to question.

Good luck to everyone finishing the semester and getting ready for the holidays!

Teach For America

So I got the final interview.... I think things are looking up for this. We just have to sit down and figure our where we want to live for the next two years. This is such a big decision. I know where I would like to go, but there is someone else to concider now. I hope we can come to a few sites in common so I don't feel like I am dragging hm around the country. This will be such an amazing experience and something that I an so excited to do. It will also be a huge weight off my shoulders if I know in January where I will be in the fall. So much to get done... I guess I should get working on it all.

almost done

So once again the semester is coming to a close. I can not believe that I only have 3 weeks left of college. Student teaching doesn't really count as college. I'm doing alright on getting stuff done. That doesn't mean that all of it is really done, but it's all getting there. I'd say the projects are about 70% done each, while the papers I haven't really started.

It astounds me that next week is Thanksgiving. I just can not believe that it is so soon. Mom and Dad are coming down and we are just going to have a small dinner for us. We tried to get some friends to come over, but everyone already had plans. That made me a little sad, but it will be a nice change from years past. This is the first year that I can remember (even when I was in Spain) that there will be less than 30 people at a holiday meal. It is going to be a little wierd. We don't know how to cook a holiday meal for 4 people! We are going to be eating leftovers for weeks. Not that that really bothers me cuz I love left over turkey. Why don't we eat turkey any other time of the year? Only at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I don't really understand it. Who knows.

I applied for Teach For America almost 2 weeks ago. I had my first interview this morning. I think it went well. I think that I have a good chance with my special ed over someone with just a gen ed degree just because schools always need someone with special ed knowledge, even if they aren't i special ed. Now I just have to wait until Monday and find out if I am a part of the group interview in December. It's a really fast process and I can't wait to see if I can really make a difference in students' lives. That is what really excites me. I will be sure to keep you all posted!

So I said I'd post after the wedding, and that was a few weeks ago. It was a very nice weekend and really busy. I enjoyed it and I'm so happy for them. It was gorgeous! Here's a pic of the new fam....It's so not fair that they are going to have tall babies! Oh well, it will be fun to be an aunt someday.

In other news, I can't believe that the semester is so close to being over. I am stressed and overwhelmed as seems to happen every couple of weeks or so. I have no motivation to get it all done, but know I have to. As for right now, I should be writing a paper, but all I want to do is go to sleep. We'll see how well this works out for me. I wish I had more time to let you know what all is going one, but alas I need dinner and to do something productive. I'll try to update before Thanksgiving, but no promises.

quick update

So I know it's been a month and a half, and a lot has happened, but here's a quick list of what's been going on...

• We threw a big party for our birthdays. It was a blast!
• Our anniversary ws great. We went to dinner one night and spent another just hanging out. It was relaxing and very special.
• We have almost everything we need for the apartment. All we need is a new tv, which should come soon!
• My brother's getting married this weekend! It will be a crazy few days, but I'm way excited.
• This wedding also marks the end of the wedding summer. It will be wedding number 6, plus 3 bridals showers. I can't wait for it all to finally be over!
  
• School is crazy as always and I'm getting a little stressed, but hopefully I will get through it and make it to student teaching.

That's all I have right now. I'll let you know how the weekend goes!

This week has been great but very busy and stressful. I spent it all in the classroom I will be student teaching in spring semester. It was very cool to see how to set up the classroom for the year and how some of the things we have talked about in terms of creating a classroom environment are put into practice. I noticed that many of the lessons that are done in the classroom are already prepared for the teacher, such as math and phonics. Others are so straight forward, such as handwriting, that there isn't a need to plan for them. In first grade there is just so much to learn that people have realized the teachers can't possibly plan each lesson on their own. It is the beginning of the year so maybe it will change before I teach in January. I hope that by then the students will be in a little more of a routine and we can branch out a little from the prewritten lessons. I also hope that by then we will be able to do more than writing a sentence and drawing a picture that goes along with it. That is abou all they are able to do now. This is why I don't want the little ones. The don't know how to read or write, they've never been in school all day long (some haven't been in school at all), they don't understand the procedures of a school day. I want about third grade. By then, they know how school works, they can read and write. You don't have to teach them how to write on lined paper or the little things like that. I am excited to get to know the students better next semester, but also very glad to not have them this semester. I don't know how I would do it on my own with so many students and so much for them to learn. It is such a daunting task that I am beginning to realize I chose to embark upon. I know I can do it, but those jitters don't really go away until you really do it a few times.

That's the big news for now, but here's a quick update on other things:

• classes start monday.... my last semester!!!
• i'm going to see Ben Harper on Thursday
• i'm trying to get back into working out. I think signing up for classes is the only way I can do it, so that's the plan right now.
• there are only a few boxes left to unpack and a few more things to make this really feel like home.
• life is HAPPY!!!
  

The new apartment is coming along nicely. We have the living room and the kitchen all put together. All we are waiting on is the cable guy to come on thursday to get the cable and internet ready to go. So if you try to contact me, I probably won't respond in the quickest of manners until after then. The two bedrooms are still a complete mess, but they will come along eventually. I have a little bit of time off this week, so hopefully it will get done soon. We are going to have a party in a month or so as a birthday/housewarming/football party. If anyone wants to come, let me know and I will get you an invite!

The bridal shower is this weekend. I still have almost nothing planned and haven't heard from a bunch of people. So I'm trying to plan something for which I do not have a head count and don't know what all to plan for. It will all fall into place, I know.

I can't believe the summer is almost over. I have about 2 weeks left. That is just crazy. This has gone soooooo fast with everything to be done. And there is still so much left to be done before school starts again. Oh well... what gets done will and what doesn't will have to wait until there is time to do it.

I hope everyone is enjoying the amazingly hot days and the winding down of summer!

So the stress level keeps rising....


My landlord is trying to get us out of here on Sunday the 30th. I was under the impression that our lease was up on the 1st. We aren't leaving until the 31st at the earliest because we don't have the truck until then. She told us this YESTERDAY!! I talked to her about 3 weeks ago and told her that we would not be out until the first. Why didn't she tell us that we couldn't do that then? I don't understand her at all. Now I have to pack everything I can tonight, be in Michigan all weekend, pack as soon as I get back on Sunday and move everything out on Monday morning so I can clean and be out of here Monday night. That's a little much. Plus I had requested Tuesday off so I could move and got scheduled for Monday. So now I have to find someone to switch hours with me so I don't lose the hours, but who knows how well that will work out. I will talk to them tomorrow at work and try to figure something out. AHHHHHH!!!! I am so stressed that it isn't funny.

On a happier note, as I was wasting time at Target waiting for Aaron to get off work, I found a grill for us! It was only 55 dollars! It made me so happy! We are going to have a party for our birthdays/football kickoff/housewarming and were starting to get worried that we wouldn't be able to find an inexpensive grill for us. He is picking it up right now and it makes me so happy! So now we will be able to cook yummy foods! Anyone that wants to come, just let me know and I will get you all the info.

Ok, I guess I should get ready for work tonight.

I have decided to not pay attention to anything I eat or do for the next two weeks. While packing and moving, I don't really have control over what I am eating anyway, so why beat myself up over it? Currently I am just trying to empty out the fridge and freezer, so it is a random collection of food to eat. I'm trying to stay active during this time, so hopefully I won't do too much damage. We have decided to begin really concentrating on what we eat when we get into the apartment. We are going to plan meals and cook all in one day so there is no excuse for not taking lunch or dinner when we are gone all day. This will help drastically as we eat so much fast food right now which is horrible for us in general. I am very ready to make some drastic changes in my life to improve myself and my furute. I am rather excited about this and have high hopes for the future.

let me know what you think!