Summer Rut

So, apparently my boring summer routine has kept me from blogging. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

I only have one more week or work. Four more days. Sixteen more hours. It'll all definitely be worth it when that paycheck hits the bank next month!

One more week of work means vacation is also one week away. I am in no way prepared for my month away from home, but I'm not stressing (not totally anyway) yet. I plan to make many lists at work on Monday so I can organize myself for the rest of the week. So much to do!

Have I mentioned my vacation before? No? I'm bumming along on my parents trip again this summer. Just me. B is staying home since he's in ALC until early August. I struggled with the decision to go without him, but he assured me it was fine and we both agreed that I should/could go while I still can. We won't be so conveniently located for an easy pick up forever and we still don't have any kids to worry about, so why not? Plus, I could totally use some lake time in my life. So, I'll be away from home for right at a month. Almost three weeks on the lake then a handful of days in NYC. Fun times!

I have officially completed my 8-week exercise commitment. Tomorrow I re-do my fitness test to see how much (or if) I improved. I'd love to see some serious gains in ability and/or loss in inches/weight, but I'm not expecting much. I feel stronger, but I'm not sure that will translate to my run or number of squats. My arms are more defined, but will that show up in my measurements? No matter what the test shows, I am really happy with my progress and hope to continue working out in a similar manner moving forward. I don't think I could (or would want to) commit to doing this constantly forever, but perhaps a series of 8-week commitments with breaks in between. I'll figure it out in August when I'm back and I'll do my best to get up and moving while I'm on vacation. I just can't believe I set a goals and worked to achieve it. I'm such a quitter sometimes, but not this time!

Quick boat update: It's been in the shop for a week (or two?), got some things tweaked, cost us $450, and still needs something replaced. Yaaaay. Not. She's back in her storage lot until further notice. I won't miss her while I'm on vacation.

I'll end with this... When you start keeping track of everything you spend, the end of the month isn't so fun. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to Double Payday on Tuesday!! I'll be a shopping fool (especially with vacation coming up) the end of this week! :)

Hey June!

So, the first week of ESY (summer school) is over. This means I am already two weeks into my summer vacation and only four weeks from my big roadtrip with my parents. Yikes!

I learned a couple things this week. One: I am working way too many hours (and thus getting paid way too much) for the amount of work I am doing. Shhh! Don't tell anybody. I'm not complaining about the extra money in my pocket for doing a whole lot of nothing. Two: I am so much more productive when I have somewhere to be every morning. I felt almost out of sorts last week when I had nothing to do and nowhere to be. This week I was back in my work routine. This meant really early mornings, exercise, cute outfits and makeup. Plus, ESY is only in the mornings so this freed up my afternoons to meet friends (ok, my one favorite friend) for lunch/errands/shopping. It was fabulous! I spent too much money on these shopping trips, but I have some great new clothes! Plus, I already took care of Father's Day cards and figured out why we didn't have our boat title (ugh -- stupid boat!). So, my conclusion is that working this summer is sorta kinda awesome. Extra money, a routine, and more human interaction. Yes, yes, and yes! Plus, I get to hang out with kids a little bit -- always a fun time. Now, ask me again how I like it in a few weeks. I might change my mind by then.

Did you see I mentioned shopping this week? I got some great stuff at Old Navy and it was all on sale! I swore I didn't need anymore dresses until I found two on the clearance rack that, I swear, were made for me. If I can find the pieces on their website, I might throw together a haul post. Ironically, the next day I went to Kohl's and didn't buy a single item of clothing. Haha. Too much good stuff the day before at ON!

Alright, I know this post was a bit all over the place, but it's been a pretty standard boring week. I'm doing a 5K in the morning so that should be interesting/fun. Not sure what else is on the agenda.

Happy happy summer!

Employment: Year Two

My second year of employment is officially in the books!

I spent the last week hibernating recovering. I obsessively watched DWTS youtube videos (no judging!), stayed up late, slept in, napped, wore the battery out on my iPad, got a pedicure, hit up a Zumba class, grocery shopped in the morning, and, of course, exercised everyday. It has been wonderful, but it's back to the grind starting Monday. I was crazy and signed up to work ESY (Extended School Year -- aka summer school). It's extra money and only four mornings a week, so it'll be ok. I'm working with my supervisor which should be equal parts entertaining and torturous. Focus on the money, Sarah!

Looking back on the past year, I am amazed by how unexpectedly wonderful it was. I didn't anticipate Year Two being much different from Year One, but I was so very wrong.

• I made friends this year. Relationships that barely started last year had a chance to flourish this year. I had lunch plans and Target dates and hilarious text conversations with truly wonderful people. My Army Oklahoma BFF walked into my life on the second week of the school year and nothing has been the same since. I swear it was fate. She didn't spend much of the year in the classroom next door, but that sure didn't stop us (and subsequently our husbands) from becoming fast friends. She and I spent all day Thursday together and never was there an awkward moment. It is really awesome having friends where you live.
• Brian was around this year. I started the year without him, but within the month he was home again. It was an adjustment (as it always is), but we were both happy to figure out the dynamics of a dual-income household. I know he's proud of me, too.
• It was important to me last year to let my work speak for me so I stifled my personality quite a bit around my colleagues. This year I had a better handle on the personalities in my school and I was more secure in my abilities, so my personality came out a bit more. This resulted in better relationships with teachers/staff and just all around more fun. I didn't hide in my classroom quite as much!
• Many of my students were the same this year from last year which was a blast. I love the part of my job that requires me to love these little kids, especially the ones who may not be getting enough of it outside of school. I could see the excitement in their eyes when they realized I would still be their "speech teacher" this year. How can you be down on yourself when you have 45 students looking up to you every day?? The hugs, drawings, and notes were always appreciated.
• And one last obvious perk of another year of work: watching our savings account slowly build. It may not work for most people, but for the time being we are still able to live solely on Brian's pay and put mine away for the future. Now if only I could stop spending so much money at Target so as to not put this plan in jeopardy...

So, goodbye 2013-2014 school year! It was great fun. Next year may very well bring changes (many different things happening in my school system which has the potential to change my assignment), but I'll be ready for it.

Last Monday + Belle

Monday Fun Day!

Today was Fun Day at school. It. Was. Chaos. I wore my hot pink Fun Day shirt, braided my hair, and slathered on sunscreen. It was fun for about 10 minutes. Then it was windy. And hot. And boring. I mean, I think the kids were having fun, but the adults were not. *sigh* I actually spent 3 of the 4 Fun Day hours outside helping/chaperoning, but bailed on the last (hottest) hour to do paperwork inside with air conditioning. In all fairness, I do still have two meetings tomorrow that needed to be prepped. And I did spend an hour more outside than I signed up for!

Tomorrow is Talent Show day which is my FAVORITE day! The one bummer: I have a meeting right in the middle of the afternoon show. Boo! I have been assured it will be quick, so I'll keep my fingers crossed that that is the case. Wednesday morning I'll pack up my room, meet a friend for lunch, then shoot over to my second school to clean/pack there (and see my favorite student one last time -- yes, I have favorites, don't tell!). Thursday will be more packing and cleaning. Friday there is a faculty meeting and then I should be free! Summer, baby!

Alright, what else has been going on? We got our modem/router moved last week so our new expensive desktop computer now works like a charm! Yessss. I am now on Week 3 of my 8-week workout commitment. So far so good. I haven't seen any crazy improvement or anything, but I do notice I feel better. I don't wake up feeling bloated, my clothes are slightly more comfortable, and I'm not analyzing (as much) what I'm eating. The biggest surprise is how quickly I have adjusted to the early mornings. I wake up at 5:45 or 6:30 depending on the day. It sucks when the alarm goes off, but I'm wide awake and feeling good by the time my workout is over. One thing that helps: having my workout picked out and ready to go the night before. The less thinking I have to do at that early hour the better! And, since I'm crazy, I've even been working out on the weekends when I don't "have" to. One day I try to do a stretching/yoga routine and the other I run. I'm still slow which is discouraging, but my feet are moving!

After two years of trouble, the boat may be ready to get back out on the water. Brian has been working his butt off since we bought it and definitely since he got back last September. I swear we've replaced every part in the darn engine (no, I will not add up how much it has cost). I think he wants to take it out to the lake sometime this week and really test it out. Eek!

Finally, when I was a junior in high school, my boyfriend at the time had some puppies at his house. I convinced my parents that we needed not one, but TWO puppies. One was black and white named Chip and the other was almost white (later turned yellow) named Belle. They turned into large sweeties who lived in our backyard. They were always kinda crazy and not conducive to living inside. Belle loved to swim, Chip did not. Chip wanted attention, Belle wanted more. Belle told Chip to jump and Chip asked "how high?" They were perpetually dirty and love love loved treats. A couple years ago we said goodbye to Chip. She got sick and eventually that look came into her eyes and we knew it was time. We were afraid for Belle being without her sister, but she bounced back and has been fixture in my parents backyard ever since. She watches you pull in the driveway and always lays with her paws crossed (very lady-like). She's been getting skinnier as the months passed and would only eat on good days. We all knew what was coming. My mom warned me a couple days ago that Belle had that sad look in her eyes and it probably wouldn't be long. We let her go today. My Dad took her and I know it was devastating for him. He always does the tough stuff. He was there for me when I had to make the same decision for Tiny. I feel bad that he had to do it alone today. Pets are wonderful and I've loved every one of mine, but letting them go is never easy.

Chip and Belle

Mother's Day 2014

I am not spending this Mother's Day with my mom, but I wish I was. Instead I have spent hours stuffing 47 goody bags for my students. I broke a sweat more than once getting it all finished. Now I have to figure out the best way to get them all to school and up the stairs to my classroom. And they aren't light -- I really stuffed those suckers!!

For future reference: I used white paper lunch sacks and had my students decorate them. Most of them created acrostic poems using their first names on the front and then drew/colored the rest however they liked. Each student is getting Cheetos, pretzels, a kool-aid drink pouch, a granola bar, 2-3 pieces of candy, 1-2 pencils with an eraser, 1-2 bouncy balls, bubbles, sidewalk chalk, stickers, a glow bracelet, tattoos, a toothbrush, and travel size toothpaste. They all got additional random prizes that I've accumulated over the last two years and wanted to get rid of. Every bag also has that student's sticker book (my reward system for the year) and a summer speech/language program to use for practice over the break. One student even has some flashcards stuck in there. I sealed them shut with printed labels telling them to have a fantastic summer and that I've enjoyed spending time with them this year. I love them, love how they turned out, and hope my students and their parents love them as well. And to think, it all started with one student declaring that he did not have a toothbrush at home.

And now for some Mother's Day business:

This is the only place you will find this. I won't post it on FB or Instagram or anywhere else. But here, on my very own personal blog, I will post it. Everyone thinks their mom is the best and I'm not going to try to prove that mine is better than anyone else's, but Mom, you are the perfect mother to me. Your voice echoes in my head often with bits of advice or wisdom that carry me through my days. The list of inside jokes and movie quotes that have embedded themselves in our vernacular is unending and updated often. It is the language of our family and something I cherish. Interacting with others was never my forte (and still isn't, truly), but you taught me how and when I need some extra courage to say/do what I need to, I channel my inner you. You are the first person I want to share everything with (which drive Brian crazy) and you always always say exactly what I want/need to hear. You cheer every success and build me back up after every failure. You have welcomed me on many summer vacations -- including one in a couple months -- and have opened your house to me whenever necessary (aka whenever Brian deploys). We share a love for Parenthood and Friday Night Lights, our favorite Friday nights are spent at Shotwell Stadium watching Cooper play football, and we generally hate most people. We love love love cats (see above picture for proof) and can usually find a soft spot for dogs, too. I burn while you tan and I have Dad's blue eyes instead of yours, but I think I have your hair and I know I have your love for books (have you seen my bookcase lately -- geez!). Just, ya know, thanks for everything...for being you...for being MY mom. I'm glad I'm yours cause I wouldn't be me if it had been anyone else (obviously). See you soon! :)

Technical Difficulties

We got this new computer to make blogging and other computer activities more convenient, but ever since we got it set up, it's had internet connectivity issues. It's a long boring story and it's still not resolved, but the internet guy is coming Tuesday morning so maybe I'll be more reliably connected after that. It's so frustrating not being able to blog when I want to!

We spent last weekend in our hometown which is always a nice treat. We didn't go for any particular reason and didn't have an agenda. We got our moms early Mother's Day gifts and ate so much delicious food. I hit the gym with my mom both mornings and did a little shopping. It was fun. I was ready for this weekend at home after two weekends away, though! I already cleaned my bathroom and paid bills. Now I am procrastinating on doing a much needed closet purge.

I'm in the middle of a big self-imposed work project. One comment from one student prompted the whole thing. A couple weeks ago I found out that one of my students does not have a toothbrush, but would use one if he had one. That's when my heart shattered for this little boy. It seemed such a simple thing. The irony is that I had a meeting with his mother not a week before where she reported that they had cable and an xbox (all told to me while her cell phone kept going off). There is money for cable television, but not a toothbrush?! Of course.

I marinated on what he told me for a few days. Then I put the word out on FB that I wanted to give all of my students a toothbrush in a goodie bag at the end of the year. That prompted an exchange with my hometown dentist which snowballed into a pile of stuff in my living room. The toothbrushes and toothpaste were donated by my awesome dentist. The rest -- snacks, toys, pencils, stickers, bubbles, chalk -- was purchased by me. The paper goodie bags were snagged from the work room at my school. So, over the next week I will put together about 50 bags full of some really good stuff. They're all even getting a summer speech program to work on at home for some extra practice before next year. It's been a labor of love and I still have a lot to do, but I feel good about it. Maybe one kid will be able to brush his teeth who couldn't before. That's worth it, right? Plus, I can't help but love these crazy kids that I've worked with all year!

Typical Monday

I woke up 15 minutes earlier than usual this morning so I would have time to curl my hair. Getting dressed required a sweater which was odd since it was 90 degrees yesterday. I packed my lunch, ate breakfast, and got to work at the usual time. I found a picture of one of my students in the post newspaper yesterday so my first stop was his classroom to show his teacher. She's jumped on this challenge-fitness bandwagon and would love to bring me to the dark side. I politely deflected. I'm generally plenty happy with my current gym routine. No need to mess with it.

April is always a crazy month in the Special Education world. There are so. many. meetings. My morning was boring, but my afternoon was split between therapy groups and preparing for the three meetings scheduled for tomorrow. We played Easter Bingo with M&Ms. I threatened the loss of stickers and the moving of clips. I physically stopped the impulsive grabbing of various items, redirected distracted minds, ignored excessive talking, and attempted to remediate some horrendous coloring skills (someone could possibly use an OT eval?). As frustrating as some students can be, there are always the ones that insist on saying hi in the hallway every single time they see you and the ones who drop by your room even though they were dismissed from services months ago.

I drove home thankful that the clouds cleared and the temperature got over 50. There were delicious leftovers to eat in the fridge and plenty to watch on the DVR. My pajama pants seem extra comfortable! Usually Monday means I sit on the couch all night, but something must have gotten into me because I managed to be productive! I updated my Reading Log and cleaned/cooked/packaged two family-sized packages of chicken. I don't know about you, but I love having plenty of chicken (cleaned/raw and cooked/chopped/shredded) in the freezer. We eat a lot of chicken around here.

I feel like I'm stretching out an old muscle that I haven't used in a long time when I'm writing in here. I'm still struggling to figure out what to write. I am making notes and brainstorming ideas, but in the meantime, I'll just have to force myself to record my everyday life. After all, that's what will be most interesting years from now.

Only five more Mondays until summer!

Where Does The Time Go?

Truly. It's already practically mid-April?

I really fell off the blogging train. I thought getting a new computer would fix that, but it just caused more headaches. I mean, why is my wireless-enable desktop not recognizing my wifi?? And Windows 8? How does that work?? How much does Microsoft Office cost these days? It took me longer than anticipated to sit down and figure the darn thing out. Honestly, I still haven't. I haven't used it nearly as much as I thought I would. The touchscreen is pretty cool, though!

So, how about I hit the highlights?

I just published my end-of-2013 posts....FOUR months late. Oops. So, those pretty much recap last year.

This year...

Disney World was equal parts amazing and exhausting. Those were some of THE longest days, but we packed so much into those five days. Not much had changed in the seven years since I had been there last, but it was incredible experiencing it with Brian for the first time. Plus, we got to spend quality time with my brother and his better, more handsome (haha!), half. I may have needed a vacation to recover from my vacation and I know I didn't take enough pictures, but it was awesome nonetheless.

I am six weeks away from the end of my second year of work. I'm not sure how many more years I have here (doubtful it'll be more than one) and it's hard to believe the last two have flown by. I signed up to do summer school in June, so I won't be completely free until July. The extra money will be nice though! Maybe I should start thinking of some way to treat myself.

Brian and I have been pretty rock solid. We have friends and go on dates (impromptu dinners out count, right?) and get away every now and then. I even agreed to go camping for his birthday. There was a fire a tent and everything! Now, I am in no way a camper now, but it can be fun occasionally. Next time maybe I can win a round or two of horseshoes! Ha!!

We celebrated seven years in the Army a couple days ago. It's gone by rather quickly. There's a possibility of another deployment at the end of the year, but Brian has a number of things up in the air, so we'll wait and see how it plays out. No matter what happens I know we'll be fine. I feel at peace about the whole thing.

Next weekend is Easter weekend. Instead of going home to see family or even to stay here and chill out (since I don't get a single day off between now and the end of the year), we are heading down to see Brian's grandmother. She's crazy, but she's always been good to us, so we owe her a visit while we're still relatively close. We're staying at a hotel about 45 minutes away from her and I doubt she's all that happy about it. She made sure to remind Brian that she has a bed and we can stay with her. Of course we know all of this and definitely made the conscious choice to NOT stay there. I have a feeling it'll be an interesting and probably tiring weekend.

Despite Brian being in the country this summer, I am ditching him in July to accompany my parents to the Northeast once again. I'm conflicted about leaving Brian behind, but the thought of two weeks on the lake again is too enticing to pass up. It is good for my soul to be there. By the time summer school is over, I think I'll really really need the break to recharge before getting back to work in August.

So there's the quick and dirty update. No promises moving forward, but I have high hopes.

I Guess I'm A Grown Up

I got my first full time paycheck last week. It was large. Larger than it will normally be. Why? Because they back-payed me all the way back to August. Yeah, I know...crazy, right? I didn't expect it since our district is so poor, but you better believe I ran right to the bank and deposited that sucker before they could change their minds!

Brian and I joked around a lot about what we could/should/would do with that money. It was never a debate, though. I knew, from the moment I saw that check, what I would spend it on. I was going to pay off my car.

If you've been reading for awhile, you might remember when I bought my car. Almost two years ago, when Brian was off on his second deployment, I decided it was time to trade in my 8-year-old Explorer Sport for something more practical and less gas-guzzling. That poor Explorer had served me well through college and beyond. It had seen a LOT of things. I narrowed down what I wanted and drove to Fort Worth to buy my new 2011 Fusion Sport.

It was a stressful ordeal. Car salesmen are slippery creatures. There was a lot of back-and-forth about trade-in values, interest rates, and down payments. Hours (seriously hours) later, I left with my new car. I was totally in love with it and still am.

I financed it for five years and always hoped to pay it off sooner than that. So, today, I wrote an absurdly large check and sent it off to Chase bank to pay off the loan on my car. Hopefully the title will show up in my mailbox in the near future.

This is my first real job since I graduated from college. We have always been a one-income family. It hasn't been a challenge and we are smart with our money. I must say though, being able to pay off a student loan AND my car all with money that I have earned working my butt off since August is incredibly rewarding. I know it's a drop in the bucket compared to what Brian has sacrificed and earned for our relationship, but I am finally contributing! Paying off this debt will help us in the future. We paid $500 in interest on my car loan last year. That is $500 that will be in OUR pockets this year!

I still have one student loan that is interest free, so I will continue to pay on that monthly until it is paid off. Other than that, we will be basically debt free when this car loan is officially paid in full. I can't believe it! Debt free is the way to be, man!

This is the one highlight in an otherwise long and tiring week (and it's only Wednesday).

Quickie

This will be quick.

Yesterday I signed my contract at work. I am officially an employed licensed and certified Speech-Language Pathology Assistant in the great state of Oklahoma. This has surely been a long time coming (since August) and I have jumped through more than a few hoops to make it happen. It still doesn't feel real...and I suspect it won't until I get that first paycheck next month. This is definitely one of my greatest accomplishments.

My parents are currently on their way to see me!! I can't tell you how excited I am to see them. I have no idea what we will do while they are here, but it will be nice to have company in my house for the weekend.

Napoleon Dynamite is such an awesome movie.

That is all!

Sunday

Today I:

• woke up with a sore throat.
• changed the cat's litter box and refilled her water.
• did the dishes and ran the dishwasher (it was waaaay overdue).
• returned library books.
• watched New Year's Eve.
• did a load of laundry.
• got stuff ready for work tomorrow (gift together for my supervisor and bingo game printed for my kiddos).
• walked a couple miles while talking to my best friend on the phone.
• returned a Redbox movie.
• opted out of make up and wore glasses all day.
• finished reading Shadow & Bone (good book).
• said goodbye to Brian.

Licenses and Ceremonies

I am officially a licensed Speech-Language Pathology Assistant in the state of Oklahoma! I got my card in the mail on Tuesday. Now I need to get my SLPA Teaching Certificate (paperwork and fingerprints already submitted) and I can FINALLY get hired. I am more than ready to be getting paid more than the peanuts and pebbles they're paying me now.

It's amazing to me that I am thisclose to Christmas break. Am I really halfway through the school year? Have I really been working with a 50 student caseload full time for 3.5 months? That's totally crazy to me.

I took this morning off from work to go get fingerprinted for my teacher certification and to attend Brian's deployment ceremony. Combined, those two commitments officially took 15 minutes. That's not counting the time I spent commuting, walking, sitting, or waiting. Five minutes to get fingerprinted and a swift ten minute ceremony. It wasn't quite as impressive as the deployment ceremony I went to in LA, but I'm glad I went.

It's real, ladies and gents. No matter how much I wish to remain in denial, the fact of the matter is that I will be saying goodbye to Brian soon. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm holding it together very well. I've been exhausted and can't seem to cook a real dinner to save my life. I also haven't done anything that resembles exercising in at least a week. I'm curious to see what kind of routine I fall into after the holidays.

So that's the update: I am licensed and another deployment ceremony is in the books.

Round Three

October 26th marked the one year anniversary of Brian's homecoming from his second deployment. A lot has happened in those 12 months. We've moved a lot and I got a job (finally applying for licensure - hoping to be fully employed by Thanksgiving!). We've put countless miles on my car driving back and forth to our hometown. We are at a good place in our lives and in our marriage.

The Army is a cruel mistress, however. Deployment #3 is here, folks. Yes. Already. There is still a small chance it won't happen, but preparations are under way. We are planning on it happening. It's a weird deployment that will send Brian to various countries in the Middle East. He's not too excited about it. Did I mention there's a decent chance he'll be gone before Christmas? Or that by the time he gets back we will have literally spent half of our 6 year marriage apart?

I am not quitting my job or moving home. I will stay here and figure out how to do the working-married-single-girl-with-no-friends routine. Luckily my folks are 3 hours away.

Last week when this news was fresh, it would regularly take my breath away throughout the day. It hit hardest while driving to and from work. "It's not fair," I thought. "I don't want to do this again," I whined. I am better this week, though. Ironically Brian is in the field until next week so I'm already getting a trial run at living without him. So far so good.

I needed to wrap my brain around it before I wrote about it. Maybe something will happen and it won't proceed. Or maybe I'll put on my big-girl-Army-wife panties and deal with it like I dealt with the other two.

Here we go again...

TGIF

Seriously, thank goodness it's Friday.

This week was long. The weather was funky: cold and cloudy on Monday all the way to a high of 85 today along with some random rain showers. A combination of germy kids, the weather, and allergies necessitated a sick day yesterday. I missed a good chunk of therapy hours, but the 3-hour nap was worth it. Although, I must say, the day went by way faster than I remember from when I was home all the time. Not fair!

If I expected today to be an easy day, then I was a fool. I only needed to make until my speech meeting at 1:30, then I'd be home free. Well, I was playing catch up all morning from my sick day and the speech meeting wasn't nearly as relaxing as I hoped it would be. And the cherry on top: I went solo to my first IEP meeting and dismissed the kiddo without incident. I felt like a badass. I only had about 90 minutes notice of this meeting and freaked out when I got the email. I really felt like he needed to be dismissed and I had only attended one IEP meeting prior to today. Plus, my supervisor (who I generally seek approval from for all of my feelings/ideas) has never seen this kid. When I called her she told me she trusted me and gave me a pep talk on how to handle myself in the meeting. I haven't worked up the courage yet to ask her point blank how I'm doing, but figure that no news is good news. Her trusting me is the closest thing to praise or approval I've gotten in the almost two months I've been doing this job. I needed that on a day like today. I also go a "Welcome to the Department" gift basket at the meeting. Lots of markers, post-its, and pens. How did they know I love office supplies?!

Next week is only three days long and marks the end of the first quarter. I have a bunch of work to do between now and then, but the promise of a 5-day weekend (and a haircut back home, finally!) should get me through.

After watching my Yankees beat the Orioles and win the ALDS, I am now settling in to listen to hometown high school football streaming on the internet. Here's to a relaxing weekend...

Work

I started work on Monday. It's been three looooong days. Today was the longest. I've managed to make dinner every night though...not sure how long that'll last! I have a classroom to myself, but it's full of junk I don't want or need right now. It's also totally not cute. I haven't decorated one single thing and it may not happen this week. Luckily, I have a while before I start seeing kids. (The perks of being a Speech Pathologist.) The good news? I like my school. It's ridiculously small, but everyone has been wonderful and I feel at home there. They leave me alone when I need some space, but are always happy to see me when I'm wandering around.

It's weird working full time. I miss scouring Pinterest and going without makeup and having all day to bake or plan dinner. I do, however, feel accomplished and I know my family is proud of me. It doesn't hurt to put my expensive degree to use either!

I know it won't be long before I'm counting down the days to Christmas and summer, but for now it's not so bad.

Our New Home

With help from my in-laws, everything was moved from house-to-house on Friday. We've been busy since then organizing and unpacking.The kitchen is finished and major progress has been made in the office. We managed to clear out the garage enough to get my car inside and out of the sun/heat. Our bedroom is still a disaster, but it's upstairs so no one sees it. Hopefully I'll have it tackled by this weekend.

I met with my supervisor for work today. We checked out my school, but didn't really find out much. It seems things are a bit chaotic there. Work starts next week, but there are still a lot of things to figure out. I'm trying to keep my obsessive personality in check and let things happen how they happen.

Guess Who...

...got herself a job?!?!

Yup, I am officially employed. Starting next month I'll be a Speech-Language Pathology Assistant for the local school district. I will be working full time and using my degree! (I wasn't sure I'd ever use that dang thing.)

Everyone expects me to be excited, but I'm really just trying not to freak out.

In other news: we're getting the keys to our new place on August 3rd.

This means that August will be a big month for us/me. We'll move, I'll start my first big-girl-full-time job, and I'll turn 27 (yikes!).

I think I'll try to forget all of that and enjoy the last couple weeks of July.