Say "Beignets!"

They say that good friends are hard to come by and that is so true. Yet I have had the amazing good fortune to be blessed by a kindred spirit. I have said it many times over, but my best friend Shelley just keeps reminding me why she is such a wonderful person. I found my soulmate in my husband, but I also connect on whole other level with my best gal pal. When I graduated from U of O back in the day, she was there to help mark this rite of passage with me. When it was her turn to graduate, I screwed up the day and missed it. I felt so horrible and hoped that someday I would be able to make it up to her, so I promised that I would be there if she ever went back to school. What does Shelley do? She upped and moved to Houston to attend law school. I secretly wondered if she was testing my promise...j/k.

So about two years ago, I flew to Houston to help her celebrate this major milestone in her life. She worked for three long years to earn her Doctor of Jurisprudence to become a lawyer, an awesome accomplishment in and of itself. True to form, we did all sorts of fun and silly things like we did back in our early college days. One of the fun things that we did during my stay was to go out to eat at a New Orleans-style diner to feast on red beans and rice, followed by beignets for dessert. Such a simple thing to some, but needless to say, we were in heaven. It was a grand time overall and I even returned two months later to help her celebrate her wedding vows. I felt blessed to be a part of all of these wonderful events in her life...and I had kept my promise.

Ironically, I had just entered grad school myself, so it was going to be a long time before we saw each other again...almost two years to be exact. Shelley promised to be there for me when it was my turn to graduate. Well, this past week I completed twenty months of hard work to earn my Master of Arts in Teaching. True to form, Shelley was right there to help me celebrate. She was truly supportive and made me feel like I was on vacation too. Like two giggly schoolgirls, we hung out and got to just cut loose. We got loopy and enjoyed the most inane things...such as cruising craft stores for scrapbooking stuff at 9pm on a Friday night. Hey, you gotta get creative when you're on a budget...)

A great bookend to her visit here came when we found a great little cafe that mirrored the diner down in Houston that we'd come to love. We ordered red beans and rice and chased it with some very sugary beignets. The gal who served us was so sweet and even gave us extra sprinkles. She also took our pic, but instead of "say cheese," she required us ot say "beignets!" It was too ironic, but so fitting. It was a rollercoaster visit and we were on the go for the entire time. This morning, we woke up at the "butt crack of dawn"...3:30 a.m. to get her off to the airport for an early morning flight. I was very sad to see her go as I don't know when I will see her again. Thank goodness for email and such. Though I've made some really wonderful friends here that are like family, Shelley just holds a very special place in my life as we've seen each other through so much. So here's to you Shellers...you deserve much more than a simple "woohoo!" From one York Sister to another, bless your heart for all you are and do. I hope it's not another two years that go by...;P

Where R U Mr. Clean?

I have so much to do today, but am having a hard time getting motivated to do any of it. I got started on my cleaning on Monday, but then I ended up working a sub job yesterday. This caused me to lose my momentum, something I need if I am to be productive. It can take me forever to get into the mood, but once I do get there...the house is usually sparkling by the time I'm done. So my game plan is to enlist the kids' help to clean up their rooms and a few other smaller tasks. Other than that, I will probably have them both take long afternoon naps so that I can clean uninterrupted. You have no idea how hard it is to concentrate on stuff when my two wonderful rugrats (I mean that as a term of endearment) are bugging each other incessantly about this, that, and the other thing. My hope is that I will feel satisfied enough with my cleaning progress that I can take them up to the nearby tulip farm that has a large windmill. I doubt the tulips are in full bloom like they were a few weeks ago, but they still have some out and the kids love doing that kind of stuff...always on the hunt for great photo ops too. We shall see how many things I can accomplish. With all the hub-bub of the next few days, I don't want to worry about what people think of the clutter..so I will just make it presentable at least. Woohoo! Shelley comes tomorrow! How's that for timing...???

Changes in the air

As I sit here watching American Idol: Idol Gives Back, a special fundraising edition of the the popular singing competition, I am somewhat humbled. They are raising money to help support families and various charities in America and Africa. For all of my bellyaching about losing out on a job opportunity, I am reminded that I am pretty darn rich already. I have a wonderful family, amazing friends, a good home, and a masters degree in teaching...something that gives me the power to change lives for the better. So I am grateful to this show that I adore for making me remember that. I had a yummy dinner, a nice bath, and got to read some of my book, so that has helped cheer me up as well. A little TLC does a body good (that and milk). Now onto more Idol chatter. Who knew Simon had a soft side? And a big heart to boot? I was genuinely touched by the great outpouring of support by celebrities and everyone involved in the show. What was another interesting development was the changing of the guard so to speak. Some of the early frontrunners have given way to some sleepers. Phil Stacey, whom I didn't predict would get quite this far, is now becoming a real contender. Though my girl, Jordin Sparks, was simply amazing. She's gonna take it to the end! Now I'm gonna go vote for the first time this season.

Here's your woohoo Shellers! =)

I'm bummed...

Okay, so I get a call from my mother-in-law last night with the news that her daughter's (my sister-in-law) baby was dropping lower and needed her in Seattle by Wednesday. She does some of our childcare, so we bumped her day up to Tuesday (today) and I put all of my plans on hold for another day. I had been looking forward to a day of rest and getting some housecleaning done. Anyhoo, I ended up working a sub job at local school for 6 1/2 hours...not too bad. Even though I wasn't expecting to work today, I did and it was pretty easy. I did some office work and a lot of recess duty. Well, I came home a bit tired, but in a good mood...that is, until I opened the mail. I got a letter from the school I interviewed at last week. I knew right away that wasn't a good sign. They thanked me for interviewing and wished me well, the standard rejection letter. I know it was only one interview and my first one as a teacher candidate. However, I had allowed myself to get my hopes up. That is always a big mistake as then you are even more disappointed. We even had began looking at houses for sale in that area. I know I shouldn't get discouraged as it is still early in the hiring season for teaching positions, but it's so difficult not to. I'll admit it, I'm bummed out. It just sucks. There I said it, aaah...cathartic blogging...good for the soul. I thought I had done an unusually good job in the interview. Normally, I mess up by rambling or getting too nervous. For this one, I had good answers and was on my game. Guess it's just a crapshoot. You never know how it's gonna go. So I'm gonna make myself feel better with a yummy dinner and a hot bath and book. Then I'll hit the internet and start applying to even more places. I'll say it again...I don't like job hunting. It's too hard on the ego.

Earning my way

After several months of working for free, today I officially return to the workforce. While I am not jumping up and down to do sub work, it is a nice change of pace to receive a paycheck for it. I should clarify that I am not working as a teaching sub yet as I need a license for that too, so instead I'm subbing as an instructional assistant like I did last fall for a little while. My degree won't be conferred until my professor turns in my grades and then George Fox has to turn in the necessary paperwork to TSPC. Then I have to submit more paperwork myself. After all said paperwork is in, it takes an another 60-90 days to process my teaching license. At some point they will mail it out to me and I can officially consider a licensed teacher. Only took me 33 years to get to this point...=)

I know lots of professions are full of this kind of stuff, but I find it interesting that there are lots of positions available out there that do not require a teaching license. As I was perusing craigslist.org, I saw numerous ads wanting preschool teachers to apply, but the educational background requirement was miniscule. Now granted, these particular jobs are usually in daycare centers and the pay isn't usually very much. However, I just found it odd that I spent so much time, effort, and money to get my Masters in Teaching when I could've just worked in one of these positions. I comfort myself with the knowledge that it was not a wasted effort in that I can get a job in a school district or a myriad of other places, something I wouldn't have been able to do otherwise. Hopefully, the pay will be better too. Who can survive on $8-10/hr with monster student loans to pay back and a family to feed? Now I am not naive enough to think that my MAT will bring a financial windfall, but it should allow me a better start than I've had in the past. An old co-worker of mine has been working with Head Start for awhile now and is proud of the fact that she is also a teacher. She had lots of childcare and social work experience, but hadn't ever taught a class. It worked out that she didn't need the teaching aspect so much as they wanted her social service background. You just never know what you're gonna need. She loves her job and is very good at it. I am hopeful that for the first time in my life, I can say I love my job, earn a good wage, and save for the future all at the same time. Time will tell.

Bit of this, a bit of that

Wow, it's been awhile since I blogged. I had a ton of things happen last week that I could've blathered on about, but ultimately opted not to for simple reason that I couldn't muster the energy to think. After 20 months of constant school and stress, I chose to go let my brain go catatonic...well rest anyway. I am of the mindset that literally anything is possible these days. Case in point, some neighbor boys were letting their bulldog do his business in my yard. As I open my car door, the dog jumps in and proceeds to step on a large container of salsa (for a potluck later that night)...causing it to burst open and stain my car. As you can imagine, I was not a happy camper. Can we say random? When does this kind of stuff happen to people? I'm still cleaning it up as it is in every nook and cranny of the driver and passenger sides, but will spare you all the long, drawn out version of this bizarre story.

Instead I will turn to more fascinating news. I am done with student teaching! What a long, strange journey it has been. My class made me a memory book and we had a big cake at the end of the day as a going-away celebration. They all gave me sweet hugs on the way at the door and told me they didn't want me to go. It did my heart good. I know I should be more excited about this week's graduation festivities, but I am struggling to focus on all that. Too many other things going on I guess. Who'd a thought I would ever get to say that school is a backburner concern...:) There's lots of family and friends coming, so that will be fun. My best friend is flying up all the way from Houston, so I am most happy about that. We haven't seen each other in two years. I'm sure I will be more jazzed when the big moment actually arrives. I think I'm just to mentally drained to do a "woo hoo!" right now. At lease I got back my Action Research paper and scored 24/25 on it, so that was awesome, better than I thought I was gonna do. And I did start reading a book (for pleasure!) over the weekend. It's called Geisha, A Life. It's true story and I am totally into it. That's what I missed about reading books of my own choice...just getting lost in the story and escaping real life for a little while.

Spent part of today doing some household cleaning and have lots more to do. Since we didn't do a very good job of keeping track of our spending, we overdrew our account, thus taking away some of our fun money for this week. So that also kinda took the wind outta my sails. We are penny pinching as usual, so I've been on craigslist everyday in search of part-time gigs to earn extra cash. I just interviewed yesterday and got a job as a Sunday school teaching assistant. It's about three hours each Sunday for about $40, so it's a good start. I'm in the process of setting up an opportunity to create some brochure materials for company. We'll see how that pans out. We are trying to cut down on the childcare costs as much as we can.

One really fun thing I've been trying to do with the kids lately is spend some real quality time with them and get some new cute pictures of them taken. My hope is that at some point when we are back on our feet I can send some off to Costco and get enlargements made to hang on the wall. In the meantime, I've been sifting through some of my older piles that have been collecting dust and aim to put them into frames. We are really hopeful for me to get this job I interviewed for last week and so we've been toying with the thought of selling the townhouse earlier than planned...like over the summer before Nicky goes back to school. No big hurry, but it's fun to plan. Gives me motivation to get the house into shipshape order. Okay, enough rambling for one night. Hereos returns tonight! Another big bonus...watching tv again instead of getting on the laptop to do homework. That deserves a "woo hoo!"

Connections

I am in awe over the horrible events that have transpired this week in Virginia. What happened to that campus is awful, but sadly not shocking anymore. It seems as though we hear about these kinds of things way too often nowadays. You begin to feel numb. Yet you still find ways of feeling connected to people you don't even know. Kind of like 9/11, I didn't know anyone personally involved, but I could grieve for them all the same. Speaking as someone who lived in the Eugene/Springfield area during the Thurston shootings by Kip Kinkel, I can truly emphathize with the Blacksburg community where Virginia Tech is located. I have a brother back east who once lived in the Centerville townhome area where the gunmen's parents call home. It was a different cul-de-sac, but they are all the same in design. This has been hard on everyone there, but I can only imagine the grief the Seung's family has endured this week. Not only have they lost their son, but they have to face the reality of what he did and the questions he left behind. Won't be an easy road. My husband told me that his boss knows someone who was one of the victims. Indirectly, we are all connected.

While this tragedy evokes images of Columbine and other terrible massacres, it does remind of someone specifically. When I was a freshman in college, there was a young Asian man who lived
two doors down from me. It was a coed dorm and we had a pretty good group of people on our floor. However, it was clear from the outset that this young man, whom I'll call "M", was very different. His hair was always unruly and shaggy, his clothes unkempt, and wore these coke-bottle glasses with a peeper keeper attached to them. He was in my writing class, so I got to know him a little. His comments were strange, but I was always a magnet for people who were a little different. I tried to look past his oddities and get to know him. He was heavily into Baywatch, that I remember. He asked me to knock on his door to wake him, as he had trouble making our 8am class. After a week of this, I told him to set his alarm. "M" would ask random questions of people that caught them off guard such as "were you breast-fed as a child?" It just turned people off from being friendly.

At one point, we had a writing assignment that required us to discuss a significant milestone in our lives. Most people chose stuff like graduation, marriage, births, deaths, or other such important events. "M" chose to write about a time he worked as a hotel maid. He said he walked in a couple who were having sex. As he was telling me one day about his story, I asked him how it was significant in his life, he replied..."I always remember to knock now before entering." I couldn't quite tell if he was serious or just trying to be funny. He was actually a good writer, but his subject matter was always a bit off. As time wore on, he began acting creepier. He stayed in the dorm as much as possible and began skipping classes. He withdrew and didn't appear to have any friends. His roommate said he "M" flipped out and put a white line down the middle of the room to divide it up. Eventually, his roommate requested room change. I changed dorms to be closer to my boyfriend at the time. As the school year progressed, I saw even less of "M." I later heard from my former RA that "M" had tried to hang himself in his dorm room and was later asked to leave the school to seek help. I never knew what became of him. He did have some serious social issues, but he seemed like a genuinely nice guy, if an oddball at times. You just never know about people.

Littlest Pet Shop

I have a new obsession, one in which my friend Rosie can relate to. We both love to get our kids toys they love. We're enablers to each other's addiction I think...:) That's okay by me. Makes it more fun to shop with someone who understands. I am loving the new toys called Littlest Pet Shop. They are simply adorable and actually very affordable. My daughter gets one for every so many stars she earns on her potty chart. They are quite inexpensive actually, which is great. It's not that I want to play with them myself, but I love getting them for K. She loves to play with them. The cute factor is really the hook for me. It must be the large set eyes. They are little bobble head miniature animals. The panda is my personal favorite so far. I was cruising ebay for fun earlier and found a bunch of retired pets. When I have some money to burn down the road, I want to get some of the hard-to-find ones. It's a lot like when my son used to collect Thomas Trains, I loved getting them for him. They worked well for bribery when he was potty training too. The Littlest Pet Shop animals vary from $2.00-$9.99, depending on whether you get a single or a mini-set. Can't afford to get much these days, but try to one for K once every blue moon or so. Toooooooo cute!

Behind the Wheel

What a whirlwind weekend! I wish I could say I was whisked away for some fabulous romantic Tuscany holiday, but that would not even be close. Instead, I barely saw my family and spent most of the weekend behind the wheel of a car. Got up early on Saturday to drive 6+ hours round trip to go to my sister-in-law's baby shower. My tushy was feeling the pain. I'd be lying if I didn't confess that I was very apprehensive about how the day would go. For a variety of reasons, I was nervous. The short version of it is that she never approved of her younger brother and I having a baby out of wedlock. She had major issues with us for so many things that I couldn't list them all here. Well, the lack of respect snowballed into a full-on silent treatment. The standoff would last six years. She was polite during the holidays and such, but you could tell it was difficult for her.


The good news is that ever since she finally conceived her first baby, she has mellowed considerably, which was my hope. I think she's realizing what motherhood is all about and can relate to us a little better, at least I hope so. It seems that the ice is finally melting and she has found little need to hold onto whatever it was that made her keep us at bay. She invited me to attnd her baby shower, a very nice gesture I thought. It was nervous and awkward at first as I felt like a fish out of water. I'll say this, she has a good eye for interior design and excellent taste in decor. Her home is beautiful. Since I barely new anybody, I just made small chitchat with people and focused on the food. As the party got going, I relaxed more and actually enjoyed myself. During the time where she opened presents, I thought I'd write down her funny comments. There's a cute little game where you read the comments at the end, but you change the context to the delivery room as her reactions to having the baby. It was a big hit and she softened even more towards me. I was glad I went, even if did make for a long day.

I was meeting a friend I accompanied a friend to a Mary Kay party. That was interesting as I learned some new makeup tricks I hadn't known before. I like to wear some makeup, but my skin is ultra-sensitive and so it limits my options. Anyhow, it was fun. The party took place about an hour from where I live, so I didn't get home til 11pm.

This morning, I got up early again to go to a brunch at a former co-worker's house about 45 minutes away. She was hosting a reunion party of sorts of some wonderful women I used to work with at Camp Fire. It was so surreal to see what everyone has been up to. One lady who was quite obese had apparently lost most of the weight and it took me a minute to realize who she was. She looked amazing! Another one was 35 weeks pregnant. It's funny how you think life stops for others as if they are suspended in time while you keep on living your own life. Time marches on with or without you I guess. It was so great to catch up with everyone. Since I hadn't seen the kids much if at all, I opted to take my daughter along. She brought along a little bag of tiny toys to keep her busy. My friend kindly put out watercolors for her to occupy herself. The one glitch was when she had a #2 accident while we were there. Other than that, she was really good. Anyhow, it was so nice to see all these people who were once such a big part of my life. They were the first people who truly made me feel like a respected professional in my field. I needed that boost of conifidence going into this next phase of my life.

Came home and crashed. Took a long nap, had some McDonald's for dinner as we were too lazy to cook. Now I'm using up all of my ink and printing 50 brochures for the upcoming symposium. Too expensive to use the print shop ($94 plus the cost of paper) as I researched it. So crossing my fingers that this will work. I am entering my last week of student teaching. This week is the dress rehearsal for the symposium presentations and then next week the real thing. Am I done yet?

At the movies!

I've been feeling very deprived in the last two years...when it comes to watching movies I mean. I am very behind on what has been released in the theaters and on DVD. I've made random attempts to catch up such as borrowing some films from the local library (hey, it's free!) or renting from the local video store such as watching United 93, Brokeback Mountain and Shut Up & Sing! It got me thinking about which ones would be worth owning or at least renting at some point...some I've seen and some I haven't. Yes, here goes another random, but short list...=)

• Where the Heart is


• Babel


• The Departed


• The Holiday


• The Lakehouse


• Sweet Home Alabama


• Titanic

There are tons of others, but I gotta get going to work. Have a great day!

Bunny days are here again...

Wow, I feel like a deflated balloon. I've been been dragging a bit in the energy department the last couple of days. It's because I finally finished all of my work! Now I just have to graduate...;) What an awesome feeling to be done, but at the same time I feel like I still have something that needs to be done. You get so used to working on stuff daily that when you don't have an assignment due...it feels abnormal. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of household things are in dire need of attention. It's just that I needed to give myself permission to be idle for a few days. Though I did go to the park with N and our dog Keely to play. Sissy was at grandma's today, so it was just us. Took the camera because N wanted me to take pics of him climbing the rocks. Can't wait to take the kids to Multnomah Falls this summer. Will get some really cute shots there I bet...but I digress.

We had a great Easter weekend. Spent Saturday night at some friend's house and all of the kids go to dye Easter eggs. Unfortunately, my camera battery died and so I couldn't get any pics. Thankfully, my gal pals took some for me. The kids had a wonderful time on Easter morning. They got to hunt for their colorful eggs, open some giffies, and eat a yummy breakfast prepared by Daddy. We took lots of cute photos (see below). It was hard to get the kids to stand still long enough to get a shot though. They were too into their new toys to hold still for Mommy. While the morning was eventful, the day in general was pretty low-key.

I needed to finish up my trifold. I made it my mission to get it all done by the end of the weekend. I nearly succeeded. It got very late and I eventually had to accept that it would have to carry over into Monday. So I got up early and finished the trifold before going to work. If there is one thing I know about myself, it was that I wouldn't be able to concentrate until it was done. Woohoo! It's not too shabby either. I'll post pictures of the before and after from the symposium at the end of April. Definitely on the home stretch now!

Check that off...

Brochure is done and printing as I type this. One more thing to check off my list. In the words of Irene Cara..."What a feeling!" Just have to make 50+ copies of the brochure at Office Depot and finish the trifold. And that will be it. I have been getting nostalgic lately about my previous graduations from high school and undergrad. It's such a strange and wonderful feeling all wrapped up into one. I think about how much my life has changed and the people in it. The people I knew 15 years ago (wow, has it been that long?) are not the people I know now. I am happy to say that I am still in touch with some of my college pals. In fact, I met my best friend on the third floor of the international hall. Dorm life brought us together...life kept us together. She is making her way here to see me graduate just I did for her two years ago from law school. It will be great having her support here. My hubby and kids have been in my life for the last 8 years, so that has been the most life-altering events. They are my everyday existence and what keep me going. My parents are the only constant throughout it all. I won't get all mushy here, but I will direct you to this link for a song that sums it all up...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70IHIrvAO_w&mode=related&search=

Inbox almost empty

Well, the Action Research paper is officially done and out of my hands, turned everything in last night at class. I only have to finish the brochure and trifold for the symposium. Then I can call it a day. Still got lots of little things for graduation and job hunting that I'm working on, but my stress level is way down finally. What a long road! May will feel so anti-climactic. I'll probably even blog about how I have nothing to do. If that happens, I give permission to someone close to me to give me a good, swift kick to the heiny so that I remember how long I yearned for nothing to do. Well, gotta go finish another day of student teaching. That part won't be over until the 20th, so I'm not idle yet. Have a great day!

Pounding the pavement

Today was one of those days where I am very glad I had a comfortable pair of shoes on. I spent all day a the convention center standing in line after line in hopes of a job opportunity. Some booths were more informational, while others interviewed you on the spot. I had a good mix of both experiences. What was disheartening was that some of the districts I really wanted to work for were so popular that the process felt very impersonal and robotic. My chances of getting a job could be slim to none. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the response I got from some smaller districts that took the time to chat with me and get to know me. The good news is that I had some nibbles that could potentially lead to something. It's hard to tell with these kinds of things.

I found it fascinating how many positions were available that were specialized (i.e. ESL, Special Ed). One classmate of mine got a job offer on the spot, but she didn't want as it was farther than she wanted to commute. Another classmate got a great lead on something that she didn't even expect and now really wants it. I am on the fence about a few of my leads due to the commute as well. Can't make much of a decision on anything until I have a concrete offer. Some districts definitely showed interest in me, while others could've cared less. It's such a crapshoot, so who knows? I feel like I'll be in limbo for awhile as the waiting game comes with the territory as one administrator told me today. Sometimes you don't hear anything until late August or even a couple weeks into the school year. Flexibility and patience are key.

Took the Max train into downtown so I could avoid the traffic, but it was still an hour commute. Lots of good progress made and I'm tired. Literally was on my feet all day today. I'm thinking a warm bath is in order tonight. Got lots to do between now and tomorrow night. I have an 83 page Action Research paper to print out...good thing we restocked our ink and paper supplies. Then I gotta finish some job app stuff online, check out some more districts for info, and type up my last assignment. It's all due in class tomorrow. Whew! Except for tweaking my brochure and making the trifold, I'll be done with all the hard stuff after tomorrow. Inching my way closer to homebase! Ever so slowly, but I'm crawling to the end. Just not a big fan of the job search thing. My feet just can't take the pain for too long...:)

Blow it out your glass...

Kinda catchy I thought...:) Anyhow, I figured it was high time I rambled a bit about something that I find fascinating to watch. Glassblowing is such an intriguing art form, expecially the process of creating a piece. On the PBS show, Art Beat, they've profiled a few different artists who do this for a living. To take it one step further, a show on Discovery Channel called How it's Made has breaks it down for the viewer and demonstrates the intricacies of the heating phase to the molding of each design. It's kind of like watching someone blow a monster bubble of gum. It's really something to see and they make it look so easy. I am a big fan of Portland's Saturday Market as you'll find a vast array of original and unusual blown glass pieces for sale. Last night I watch the movie, Sweet Home Alabama, with a friend of mine and marveled at the lightning striking the sand. The romantic lead, Jake (hottie that he is), creates beautiful works of art. Sure, it's just a movie, but I like to admire the glass pieces he makes from them. Someday I wanna either take a class in it or at least tour a studio to see the process in person.