GRADUATED = Happy....other than that FRUSTRATED!

I am officially done with college! Well my first degree anyhow. I will still be taking classes for the next year as a part of the certification process for teaching, but I'm fine with that. Just Tuesday nights and some Saturdays.

I got financed for a car today....Saturn Vue- just like I wanted :) I can go get it on Friday and I totally could not be happier!

I am moving this weekend (hopefully, I have my fingers crossed!) Actually, I think I'll drive my little self over and see if those guys are moving their stuff...

I am extremely frustrated, but I have been coping with that by cleaning, cleaning, cleaning! My roommate has strewn her stuff everywhere as a part of her stress induced disaster disorder (aka, I have too much to do to clean up after myself disorder). So I cleaned everything up today, it's the least I could do to relieve my stress...I could have gone for a run, but it's raining. And 2 of her sisters are flying in today and the house looks like the tornado that there was a watch for earlier spun right through the entire house.

Oh and I cleaned the kitchen this morning- even the oven (I made sure not to put the burners back on it so that she wouldn't let her oily grease spill all over it again before we move)! Then I went to the car dealership. Upon my return- she had taken all of the dishes out of her room and strewn them all over the kitchen...UGH! So- I cleaned the kitchen again, ran the dishwasher, washed some clothes, vacuumed, mopped, picked up 213 (I counted) different pages of crap strewn across the living room. This is the study area you know? That desk, in the bedroom, nope- not good enough- 2 tv trays and the coffee table PERFECT for all of the papers accumulated over the course of a semester, bank statements, cigarettes, ash trays, chips, napkins, hair ties, razors (ew), cokes, etc...that's when I stop looking. I piled everything up on one of the tv trays and put it in front of her door, got the clorox and cleaned all the surfaces in this house.

Now- Chloe and I are chilling in the CLEAN livingroom. I need to figure out what I should wear to school tomorrow. I think it's not quite time to break out the sombrero earrings, even though I am DYING to wear them!

Well- off to pick out some clothes, clean out my car (ugh...I don't want to think about that) and much more stuff!!!!

FIRST day (observations)

So today I started my real, "big girl" job! Not that any of the others weren't real, but today marks the start of my career. I mostly just observed today, they were working on a "self-help" book about conjugating verbs ending in -ar. The first class was kind of dull, my theory- they kids weren't awake! All of the rest were much more enthusiastic and had lots of great questions.

So at my school the kids have an optional 1st period course. Not even half the teachers offer this, but I do teach that period. So for me, school starts at 7:45. However, most students arrive for school at 8:35. We get out at 3:15 and I can leave at 3:30 technically...not that I think I will ever be so fortunate. I want to be super organized, so I have a feeling I will be staying later most days, plus I am more than happy to help students after school. That is something their current teacher does for them- offers 1 hour of tutoring after school, and the school actually pays you extra if you do that!

Anyways, today was a really great day. Besides being awkward due to the fact that they don't know their teacher is leaving yet- it was good! The teacher warned me about the students she has had issues with, but most of the students are doing really well and seem to have a desire to learn. Hopefully we can keep it that way.

1 paper, 1 test, 3 finals- DONE! I'm finished on WEDNESDAY at 1pm! HOORAY! I'm so very excited about that.

Oh- and p.s.- I will have to post pictures late from Thanksgiving, but it went MUCH better than expected. I had a great time, even though my sister in law and I haven't gotten along very well in the past. I think she was more or less in her comfort zone and not very stressed, which helped a lot! Whitney and Waverly scare the crap out of me with their driving (Wave more than Whit). They definitely need more practice. It scares me even more that my parents want one of them driving my car to Texas...yeah right, not happening! Ok- off to watch television crap- aka the Starter Wife (don't get hooked guys!)

I PASSED

So yesterday I finally found out that I passed both sections of the GACE (which is the first step to teacher certification in Georgia). I'm very excited! Those 4 hours and waking up at 5am to drive to the exam and $250 paid off! I am SO thankful!

So I only slept for 3 hours and now I'm bored because I always over estimate how much time I need in the morning before an exam. I was in the library until around 1am and then when I got home my roommate kept talking to me, which is fine with me but I was getting really sleepy! Chloe (my dog) was extremely hyper because she had not been out to play at all yesterday. So getting her to bed was not an easy task. Usually if she stays in the bathroom while I take a shower she calms down so I took a shower and then we both went to bed for just a couple of hours.

Anyways, I'm off to the parents house right after classes! I'm very excited to go! Lots of pictures to be taken- who knows when the next time all 5 generations will be together, if ever?

Every time I see my sister in law I pray for a fresh start, so hopefully this time will be much better than the last few times. I am trying very hard to be optimistic although she has broken my optimism every other time I have seen her. I hope that mends can be made so I can see my brother and nephew more often. Right now every time I have gone I turn right around and leave (well it seems like it). This time there will be no escape (just like Christmas, which was a complete disaster and the worst ever holiday of my life). Be optimistic! Be optimistic! Be optimistic!

Ok, that's all for now...off to study more research methods for psychology (I think my brain is stuffed!)

New beginnings!

So this week ends the grab and go crap I have been eating! I decided to eat healthy this week and for the most part I have been doing well. I have decided that tweaking what I normally eat will be the best thing to do and work out! So today was the first day that I actually went to the gym and did a good work out. Also, I just finished a killer abs work out that I found on youtube! I loved it. It was only 10 minutes, but I think I need to do it every day about 3 times to get good looking abs!

Anyways, I am officially the newest Spanish teacher for Jones County High School! I'm absolutely thrilled. It took a lot of waiting....I have been interested in the position and in contact with them for exactly one month now. So anyways, I'm just really thrilled about this amazing opportunity. This Monday or Tuesday I'll be signing the contract, but at least I have been approved by everyone necessary.

I really need to get the roommate thing figured out, so hopefully I have found someone to room with that will be respectful of my space. I was considering putting up with the same roommate, but really I don't think I could handle that any longer. It's not like I spend a lot of time at home, but when I do I need it to smell and look nice.

Ok, on to more things! I am getting a new house, a new car, and a new job, that I hope comes with new friends! I cannot wait!

Why must weekends end?

This weekend has been a lot of fun! I'm not looking forward to my 8am French class tomorrow! I've finally gotten the cold I've been trying not to catch from friends for the last month or so. Guess it's my turn now!

I went and test drove a Saturn Vue, and I LOVED it! I called my dad and told him that's what I want. I also went and looked at a new place to live. It's a little bit of a sacrifice from what I'm used to, but it was okay. I would like something a little nicer and a little closer to work, so I'm going to look at a couple places tomorrow and make a decision this week. If I can't find anything close to being that cheap I will probably go with that I already looked at. It's a basement apartment, just not very nice. Cement walls and floors, so no nails in the walls this time. But hey, it has lots of storage space, and I definitely need that. It has a great yard for Chloe (puppy) to play in and all the necessities, just not really nice. It does have windows in every room, which is a great plus, espcially since it's a basement apartment, that was a big suprise. Let's not talk about the bathroom though. I just hope that one day when I get married and have my own house I get my dream bathroom, maybe that will make up for these extremely small bathrooms I've had through college.

Anyways, I didn't sign any papers this past week- it's going to be done Wednesday or Thursday. I'm going to go in for observations every Friday until I start in January and I'm going to try to go to the Spanish teacher weekly meetings on Thursdays as well.

Busy week ahead- gotta make a "to-do list"...

Papers and cars....

So, today is going to be a GREAT day! I'm officially going to sign papers today for a job! I'm very excited. I guess after I go and find out all the grand details, that will be posted on here. I could not feel more blessed. Now I have to make a decision about where I should live. I've been looking a few other places besides the complex Tyler lives in, but I can't seem to find what I want.

Moving on...
Mom and Dad are letting me pick out my own car now. They were going to give me the car they bought this summer for my graduation present, but they have decided to give that one to Whitney and let me pick my own. So I've figured out my price range and now I have to figure out if I want an SUV or a car. Well, that was dumb- I have to figure out which one would be best for me, because I already know what I want. Tyler and I will be carpooling most days so I'm not that concerned with gas. No matter which car I get I will most likely have to fill up once a week and he has to fill up once a week, so gas is not that much of an issue...except for on long trips...but I mean I haven't taken one of those in a while. So...here's the thinking....Saturn Vue or Chevy Equinox....or I know, very different from those 2- the Nissan Versa. Ther was something else too...I don't know, Tyler made a list on his computer. I'm also very excited about that. This weekend....car shopping it is!

Only 6 weeks left!

I will be a graduate of Georgia College & State University in just 6 weeks! It's so exciting!

Two weeks ago I started noticing the number of weeks and crunching for ideas of what to do after graduation! I was praying a lot about having patience through this whole process, but I was still feeling very anxious.

I have done all those "fabulous" job searches that stink! We have a search engine specifically for our school through the career center and I was not finding anything that I could see myself doing. So I had come to the conclusion that if all else failed I would substitute teach.

Every day I check the TeachGeorgia website to see if there are any Spanish or ESOL jobs available around somewhere familiar to me. Every day it's the same old thing. Well last week on Wednesday I was preparing for my weekly after-school activity at the office, and I had about an hour before I needed to leave so I decided to check TeachGoergia. I looked on the website and this time it said 12 Spanish teaching jobs instead of the normal 11, so I figured I'd check it out. Well, turns out that the position is just 20 miles up the road in Jones County!

The main problem is that I do not have my teaching certification, however I e-mailed the human resource lady for the county (who by God's grace alone happens to by my boss's mother-in-law) and she told me that I should still apply and we would worry about certification later.

I applied, and Friday I had an interview set up for Monday afternoon! So, after long deliberation about what to wear all weekend, I was interviewed! It was really cool, and I was so nervous until I got there. It was like God just put a calming hand on my shoulder the whole time. So my interview took OVER 2 HOURS! It was definitely a very possitive experience! I talked with their veteran Spanish teacher of 25 years and observed her for about half an hour. It was really great! The principal's two main concerns were that I can not start until December and that I am not yet certified. So, I decided I was not going to worry about it one bit and I put it completely in God's hands, because this week I had ENTIRELY too much to do!

Well, since what I had to do has nothing to do with this story, I will continue. Last night I received an e-mail from the human resource lady for the county and she said the principal was very impressed with me and asked her to help me finish getting certified ASAP. So, while I realize this does not mean I got the job, it is a huge step and I am very excited!

So, I'm still just trusting that God will provide and soon enough what He wants will happen! Happiness!!!!!!

Why Not?

So I used to do xanga, but I hear this is the cool thing to do now! I am always on here reading someone else's blog about what is happening in their life, so I decided I have nothing better to do with my summer than write blogs about my cute little swim lesson kids!

Following in the foot steps of my parents (I can hardly believe I am saying that) I am teaching swim lessons this summer and having a blast! I taught swim lessons and lifeguarded two summers ago in Austin, TX while living with an aunt and I really loved it. I forget how much I love doing it until I start again. Last summer I was in Mexico all summer so I didn't get a chance to do it, but since I have found a company that has 12 satellite locations in the Atlanta area hopefully I will get to do this some every summer! Maybe I can convince them to start a location a little closer to Milledgeville so I don't have so much driving to do.

I am not living in my apartment/house this summer, because I needed to make some good money before school starts back up, so I'm staying with some good friends in Carrollton, GA where I graduated from high school. I'm teaching Monday, Wednesdays and Saturdays, but still driving an hour to get to the locations where I teach- Thank God Aqua-Tots pays for my gas!!!

I still have somewhat of a job in Milledgeville, but I am at the point where I am no longer enjoying it. I can work from home, but the internet is not quite strong enough where I am to really make it work from here. I have been going to the coffee shop to do some work but I really haven't gotten anywhere and I am not wanting to really concentrate on doing it right now.

I'm trying to decide what I should do this upcoming school year. Should I change my class schedule and substitute teach two or three days a week? Should I leave it the same and work at a day care or after-school program? Or should I just stick with a job that does nothing for my resume and getting into the graduate program for teaching next summer?

Decisions, decisions, decisions! I am trying to find a teaching job close by to start in January and teach through the remainder of the school year, then start grad school in July. That is what I am really hoping for, but we'll see what ends up happening.

For those of you who don't know- I'm majoring in Spanish, and minoring in English as a second language and Psychology. Next July I would like to start the year long Masters in Arts and Teaching program at the same school I'm at now.

Mom and Dad will be in the states in 10 days!!!! I'm so excited, even though I was just with them a couple weeks ago, but I am excited that they will be in the US for 6 months! CHRISTMAS IN MY HOME COUNTRY!!!!!! Whenever I need them I can drive 4 hours and have them!!! I am so glad to have Whitney and Waverly back as well- we have been texting non stop even though they are in Texas. I'm going in a few weeks for family vacation / reunion. It will be the first time all of the family is together with Amanda (Will's wife) and James (the baby they're expecting in September).

My boyfriend Tyler just got a job in Gray, GA, so he will be staying in Milledgeville, which I am very excited about! We've seen each other a lot more than expected this summer, because one of my teaching locations is 15 minutes from his parents house, but it will nice to be a couple miles from each other like we have been used to.

Well that's all for now...Hopefully I have covered anything that is burning on anyones minds to know, but feel free to ask away!