New Apartment

Here are a few pictures of the new apartment. We don't have the couch yet so the living room looks a little empty and the lawn/deck chair won't stay there forever. We've actually found that we like it since it has cup holders but it leaves a bit to be desired when you come visit us!! If I missed you on the email with my new address, just let me know and I'll be happy to get it to you.


Kitchen-Lots of cupboard space


My Bathroom & Guest Bathroom-Come visit me!



My Room-Complete with curtains made by my fabulous and amazing mother. She also painted the dresser in the corner to match. Is she great or what?? There is a little more to the room than this but some of my school stuff is still piled up pretty high so I conveniently forgot to turn around and take a picture of the other side.



I've really liked living here so far. It was an easy move without having to be worried about school too. I did make it through all of my letter files and plan on working on first week of school stuff this week. No more news from school about changing the first day so it looks like they might pull it out and get us in on time. Still hoping for the best!

What I Love About . . .

summer.

It is actually a well documented fact that I am not actually a big fan of summer. It is my least favorite of the seasons for the solitary reason that it is hot. I do not enjoy just sitting around being hot and therefore give summer a little more grief than it is probably due. In an effort to make up for that, I have decided to create a list of the things that I do like about said season since it is coming quickly to a close and negativity always kills the mood.

-10 weeks of paid vacation where I am actually making more money than the school year because there are no Union dues or TRS fees being taken out of my check. (Not to mention the $40 a week I'm not spending on gas.)
-Cold showers
-Long days
-White Lake, Little Swan Lake, and any other anything that has to do with water. Including but not limited to pools, lakes, ponds, sprinklers, slip n' slides, and oceans
-Blonde hair & Tan skin
-Doing laundry made up entirely of t-shirts
-Flip Flops
-Lemonade
-Sweet Corn
-Weddings
-Fruit
-Grilling out
-Festivals and fairs
-Staying up late
-Ice Cream
-TV marathons
-Reading entire books in a day
-No alarm clock invading my peaceful slumber
-Visiting and catching up with friends
-Volunteering
-And as of late, softball. At least it keeps my distracted from that fact that it's so dang hot and humid.

Bumps on the Road

Yesterday, I got a letter in the mail from the school with the title "Lead Paint Update." You know this can't be good. It was the most ridiculously formal letter I have ever seen to say so little. In short, it says that during construction they discovered that the classrooms have lead paint in them. After testing, it was found that they "contained lead in amounts exceeding the allowable limits under applicable law." They have a plan, but they aren't telling us what it is. It briefly mentions that they are working on getting the "required elements in place so that the ROE can issue a Permit to Occupy." Read between the lines and you realize no one is being allowed inside until it's been abated. Which also means those ceilings and light fixtures they were supposed to be finishing isn't being finished. Did I mention they were supposed to be done in 17 days??

On the positive side things, I actually started sorting through my files this week. I have 11 letters done in only 3 days. I've also watched an entire season of Friday Night Lights on Netflix instant view. I highly recommend it. It will make you pumped for football even if you are going to be cheering on a team with a less than stellar record of recent success. Have a mentioned I have season tickets??

2-0

We won again tonight! It's still hot and we're baking out there but playing really well.

1-0

We had our first softball game today and won 10-0 in five innings. The second game was only 3.5 innings long due to a distant thunderclap and lightening bolt. However, we were winning 7-1. It was almost unbearably hot but we played through it. I probably drank almost 100 ounces of water in 5 hours and sweated it all out.
We started a little antsy and missed a few easy plays but seemed to always be able to come back and finish out the inning. The pitchers pitched really well both games and we got our bats on the ball quite a few times too. Infield warmups went without a hitch and even coaching first base proved to be really fun. It's a good group of girls and with all the extra help and expertise we have around us, it's shaping up to be quite the exciting season. Goooo Bulldogs!

School News & Softball Sneak Peak

My list of things to work on before school starts has gotten 0 things crossed off of it. I'm being really productive like that. I'm feeling a little out of place without a classroom and still 3 weeks left before I even have a chance of seeing it. Everyone else is in full "back to school!" mode and I'm stuck in "wait and see if the construction ever gets finished mode." Last I heard, we didn't have ceilings. Which means we don't have lights. Which means it will be a miracle if we are back in on August 31st. Ugh. Perhaps, I'll start on my list next week. After I move. And unpack. : ) Maybe it will be two weeks.

They have hired one new Kindergarten teacher for our team. She is a 2010 ISU graduate. I've only been emailing her a couple of times but she is excited to start. She student taught in 5th and 8th grades and did a little big of summer school in K this summer. We also lost a K teacher from our team as one of the teachers got a preschool job closer to her home. She's expecting her second child this winter so going from a 45 minute commute to 10 will be much better for her and her family. As far as I know, they have not yet hired her replacement. So in a matter of a week, I went from being #4 on the totem pole to #2. And our team will have two first year teachers, 1 second year teacher, and 1 30+ year teacher. Should be interesting to see how it all unfolds. Cross your fingers that I will be able to snag the "big" K room with the bathroom and closet. In theory, it's mine for the taking but there is a possibility the special ed. teacher will pull rank and move in ahead of me. It might be too good to be true that I would get the most coveted room after only 1 year.

Our first softball game is Monday so there will be lots more news about that after it happens. Overall, it has been really good so far and I'm glad I did it. It's been HOT but it finally cooled off for the last few days. It's amazing how great 85 can feel after 3 days of 105. I'll be hitting infield pregame so you can pray for me on that. Not really sure how I drew the short straw but I think it had something to do with the words "Sure, I'll try" coming out of my mouth inadvertently. Thursday was rough, Friday was better, Monday I'll be ready. Go TEAM!

The Disaster that is My Life

This is all my stuff. In my grandparents basement and spare bedroom and garage. THANK YOU GRANDMA AND GRANDPA!!
The worst space is the bedroom because I have to have clothes to wear but nothing is really organized in a way that I can find what I actually want to wear. So everything is everywhere. Thank goodness it's only for another 4 days.


Please note that despite the total mess that this is the beds are both made. AND it wasn't for the purpose of this picture which is the reason I left all the clothes on it. It's the island of peace in the stormy sea.