A Belated Post

Is anyone still out there?

After not blogging for nearly a YEAR I can't imagine anyone still follows this unreliable piece of work.

And yet, I've decided (once again) to begin blogging again!  I'll do my best my friends.  I'll do my best.

What has changed in the last year?  Lets see:

- My first full year of teaching went TREMENDOUSLY well.  I still have a job.  I was voted "Favorite New Teacher." I'm still in love with my career

- I got ENGAGED.  That's kind of a big deal I guess.  Mark your calenders: 7.06.13.  Galena, IL

- Kyle and I MOVED.  Again.  We have an actual house with a huge back yard!  Also, we're having a party tonight so if you're in the area...

- I made it through my first half marathon.  And haven't run since.  Oops.  I might want to think about starting that up again.  The number on the scale keeps going up.  It's like weight and exercise are related somehow.  Hmm

- My girl crush Ann Curry was fired from her TODAY show job.  I feel very angry with NBC over that.  In fact, after Conan/Curry-gate I would completely boycott the network if it wasn't for Parks & Rec.  Crap.

And that is honestly about it.  I'm nothing if not consistent.

Home is Wherever I'm with You

Not to get sappy, but I'm oozing with happiness these days.

Moving in with Kyle has been a long time coming.  Nearly nine years in fact.  Sometimes I feel like Kyle and I are on a different path than many others our age: we didn't get married straight out of college and we haven't had five kids yet.  But I am utterly content with our journey. 

Since the age of 16 I've been pretty certain that Kyle was the guy I was going to spend my life with, so I've never felt the need to rush anything.  That being said, I've wanted to live with the guy forever now but life didn't always work out in our favor.  I feel so blessed to now be with him day and night.

Prior to dating Kyle, I used to be so cynical about high school relationships that ended in marriage (despite my parents being high school sweethearts).  How could you ever marry your first love without seeing what else is out there????  After meeting Kyle, my entire view changed.  Now I know how LUCKY I am.  If you were offered a few extra years with your significant other wouldn't you want them!?  I've just never wanted to see what reside on the other side of the fence, because my lawn (in my eyes) has always been perfect.  And now I can't get away from him :)

Thus far living together has gone smoothly.  Honestly after 9 years of dating there is not much I didn't know about Kyle.  One thing I didn't quite realize the extent of; is just how active he is.  Good Lord, he doesn't. ever. stop!  I love to just relax, sit and read a book, sit and watch TV.  Kyle? Oh no.  There is always someone to see, someone to call, something to do, work to be done.  He brings the activity, I bring the zen.

And I've been trying to bring the beauty to our home.  Slowly but surely she's coming together.  (I WILL post pictures soon!)  For the most part, we are so happy with the place we got. 

The Good:
- It's an old home with tons of character and charm
- 10 ft ceilings!
- Original hard wood floors throughout
- HUGE front porch
- Deliciously perfect little nook upstairs
- The fact that it has an upstairs
- Its our first place, it's the Ritz baby

The bad:
- It's an old home with tons of character (a little "over-used" in some places) and charm (meaning someone must have been under a spell when they put that 500th coat of paint on some of these doors)
- Teeny, tiny kitchen
- Teeny, tiny bathroom
- Ummmm, hello spiders!
- The Underground Railroad, aka our terrifying limestone basement

Yet even the bad I'm beginning to love (minus the bugs).  I love my history, so I love this house.  I even just purchased two large black and white "lost photographs of Freeport" to frame and hang above our couch.  Pretty beautiful and pretty original if I do say so myself.

Yes I must say things are coming together.  I can't complain.  I have my family, I have my friends, I have my home, and I have Kyle. 

Someones in a good mood today.

Happiness

So much has changed since my last post, funny how quickly life can change.

I did not get my BC teaching job back.  I re-interviewed and did not get it.  Everyone was very honest with me that the position would go to someone else if they had 7-8 years experience.  I had a gut feeling all along that I wouldn't be back next year.  It is my personal, although unconfirmed, opinion that they had someone waiting in the wings they wanted to get in.  Despite their honesty I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hurt and angry.  Apparently hard work doesn't always get you what you want.  I did a damn good job at BC and will miss my students terribly.

But alas, things may have worked out for the better.  I interviewed at "FHS" (my old high school!) and got offered the position within a few hours of the actual interview.  A real FULL TIME teaching job!  And because I know about half of the staff already I know I'll have tons of support.

Once I got a job, things moved very quickly.  Kyle and I found a place here in town, a beautiful old duplex with lots of character.  We're just about entirely unpacked and I couldn't be happier.  We'll soon see what things I learn about dear Kyle.  He's already seeing just how OCD I can be. 

So life is once again rapidly changing.  But I am so very happy.  Now that we have a stable Internet connection I promise I'll be blogging more.  And I'll soon post pics!!

Fast Times at Whitney High

Things in my life have suddenly accelerated.  A lot is changing (very quickly) and it is questionable whether it is all for the best.

These numerous changes are the main reason for my recent blogging absence. Oh, and I've also been playing a little bit too much Tap Fish.  How do you waste so much time on a pointless app you ask?  Good question.

So what is ch-ch-changing?  Here is the short list

1. BAD: My car "Sassy." Just paid her off as of TODAY.  So naturally, over the weekend she started acting like a real bitch.  Currently she's (hopefully) being fixed.

2. GOOD: School is done, one week from today!

3. BAD: School is done, one week from today, meaning I have piles of work to get done!

4. GOOD: Kyle and I found an apartment we love, love, LOVE and put in our application for it.

5. BAD: Still no word on whether or not we got the aforementioned apartment

6. GOOD: Training for a 1/2 marathon in August (Thanks Nate).  Yes, that is 13.1 miles.  Yes, I have lost my mind.   No, I have never run that far in my life (current record: 6 miles).  Yes, I realize I have a loooong way to go.

6. QUESTIONABLE: My job for next year.  It was posted to internal candidates: No takers.  It is now being posted to external candidates (since it is considered a "new" position).  I will be a "preferred" interview but everyone keeps reminding me someone good, great, better than me could interview.  Thanks for the reminder.  And to make me keep sweating, the interview might not take place until EARLY JULY! Ugh!

So there you go.  My stress level as of late is through the roof.  I do believe I'm always 2.5 seconds away from a heart attack.  At least I have tap fish....at least I have tap fish.