The Good & Bad

So much has happened today... we had a death in the family this morning - our pet frog, Kermit or FatA$$ as he was sometimes called, died... and had to be dealt with. We've had him for about 4 years or so, and all the little kids in our life have enjoyed watching him when they would come over to visit. He was a HUGE albino frog in our aquarium, and he really loved eating - so much so that he developed all these weird lumps on his body where he'd store food... because I had to resort to feeding him once a week. Anyway - we're in discussions about getting another frog, but we'll see what happens. It's not the same now that the aquarium is in the entry way of the house because we never see it... so I guess I figure what's the point?

After that fun chaos... I watched a little ER, and then did my workout. Today (for a little variety) I decided to try doing straight aerobics with no yoga or strength training... and I did about 45 minutes before I started getting bleary-eyed. The thing that put me over the edge was the jogging - which is harder than it might seem. It's basically jogging in place, which is very boring - so I jogged around my living room... with my dogs at my heals. I was feeling really good when I started so I tried the advanced set, which was 4 minutes of jogging... and I was soooo winded... I hung in there and completed it, but MAN! It's a good thing I gave myself all summer (and fall - it's Texas after all... it doesn't get cool until November) to get myself ready to take my jogging to the streets, and I'm going to need it!!

I got a call early this afternoon for another interview. This one is for a 3rd or 4th grade teaching position at a private school in the area. My blog friend, Jil, told me about the openings as she used to work at this school. The program looks amazing, and I'm thrilled to go hear what they have to say! I don't think that I'll be able to afford to work there, but if it's in God's plan - he'll make it happen for me. And like Jil told me, with a private school - you are able to be open about your faith and not have to work around in in lot of ways like you'd have to do in public school. In all the fun - I actually got to talk to Jil on the phone today, and it was really great talking to her!! (Hi Jil!!) Like I told Jil, if nothing else - it will give me some interview experience with a school before Monday's big marathon interview (job fair). I know the experience meeting with them will be great no matter what - and I absolutely love visiting school environments - they just get me that much more excited about the prospect of having my own classroom in the fall.

A little later in the afternoon, my friend Danielle, called to give me some tips for the job fair on Monday. Danielle's husband, Seth, and John used to work together - and we always enjoyed hanging out with them... but we lived about an hour apart and never got to hang out much. Now they are in the process of moving to San Antonio, and while it's a great opportunity for them - we'll miss them terribly!! The company Christmas party won't ever be the same! (Hi Danielle!!)

Anyway, Danielle called to give me the lay of the land for what I'll experience on Monday and possibly Tuesday. She told me that I'll wait in line for any length of time (she waited an hour for some of the tables at hers) and then you'll get about two minutes to sell yourself to the district or principal. They'll ask a lot of questions like "Tell me about yourself" or "Why should we hire you?" Which means I need to work on an elevator speech before Monday. An elevator speech is a 2 minute speech where you'd assume that you'd only have enough time to convince someone of what you want them to do before you reach the bottom floor and the person gets off the elevator. She also said that the buzz words that they want to hear are that you want to work in an environment that is kid-centered, and works toward the best interests of the students - not the adults. The other biggie is to make sure to tell them that failure is not an option for your students - that I'll do whatever it takes to make sure that my students pass - and that will depend on the individual child's needs. It was a great pep-talk, and gave me lots of things to say and think about before the main event.

Other than that - I made up a new recipe tonight, I made Kim's Special Fettuchini Alfredo for dinner. Basically though - I made some low carb pasta. I sauteed some chicken in a pan until it was cooked through, took it out and set it aside. Then I sauteed some onions and mushrooms together until they were done, and mixed the chicken back in. When I was satisfied that the chicken was warm again, I mixed everything with a jar of Classico Four Cheese Alfredo Sauce. When I served it - I sprinkled a tiny bit of Parmesan on top. To complete the meal I served a small tossed salad. It was really good! I made enough to feed us both tonight, lunch for John tomorrow, and two additional meals for me.... I'd say it was successful.

I got a pedicure with my friend, Sarah, yesterday. We sat in these amazing spa chairs with the massaging motion... and it felt great yesterday, but today it feels like I just had a deep tissue massage! You know that deep bruise like pain that you tend to get after they work out a knot or something... I guess I had something in there that needed to be worked out, and it must have gotten that way!! OUCH!

I never did hear back from the people I interviewed with yesterday - so I guess that door is closed for good now... but I'll let you know if I do hear back from them.