Moving day...

Well, tomorrow is the day we have been waiting for months for...moving day! Our living room is packed ceiling high with boxes waiting for the movers as they come tomorrow to move us out of this 3rd floor apartment...gosh it will be good not to have to climb stairs everyday! Anyway...As I sit here and write this blog I should be packing more boxes and preparing everything for tomorrow, but I am procrastinating. I just can't seem to find the motivation to finish the job. One thing is it's just me and Tucker here while Clay and Jonathan are working or at tutoring. The other thing is I am just plain tired! It has been a super long week, not to mention a super busy one. As we get closer and closer to Christmas break they seem to get longer and busier! Next week doesn't get any better...on Thursday Clay's mom, Justin, and Allison are coming into town for his graduation, and my family will be coming in on Friday. We will have a house full for the weekend! I'm sure all the boxes will not make it to the unpacking stage, but I am sure going to try. This whole moving thing didn't come at a very good time. Now I see why everyone moves during the summer! It is much less busy and easier all the way around. I am very excited about moving, but at the same time I don't like all the work that comes with it. This will definitely be the last time we move for a long, long while!

On top of all this I have my evaluation next Monday at work. It is something every teacher stresses over every year! I guess it's good I am getting it over with early in the year. It's so stressful having to include so many things in your lesson so that you can get a good evaluation. All 3rd grade reading/language arts teachers have had good evaluations so far. I am hoping I have the same luck on Monday. I am praying for no surprises or major shake-ups. We shall see when Monday comes. Until then...I must stop procrastinating and get back to packing boxes.

Home Sweet Home!

Well it was a big day in the Taylor household...we closed on our new house this afternoon! I left school earlier than normal so that I could make it to the title company on time. After getting a slight writer's cramp we were done signing the papers and the keys to the house were ours. Don't be fooled by the house buying experience portrayed on "House Hunters"...it takes much longer than they let on!

After an evening of searching for some new bedroom furniture we picked up Tucker and a pizza and headed to the new house. We ate dinner standing at our new bar, but just the fact that it was ALL OURS made it so awesome! Walking in our new house and seeing it so sparkling clean and perfect for the first time made me feel so undeserving. But I quickly remembered that it is just one of the many things I have to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! I thank God that we have been so blessed to be able to have the opportunity to do this!

The feeling of it all won't quite set in until we are completely moved in, but it is still an exciting day! December 6th is the big moving day...when the feeling will really set in. Until then, we have lots of boxes to pack and things to take care of! Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are just a few of the pictures Clay took this afternoon...


A cool shot Clay took of the house with the "Sold" sign in the front yard.


View of the house from across the street.


Looking into our kitchen.


The view of our backyard...the best part of the whole thing according to Tucker!

Always Remember 11/18/99

Today marks the 9th anniversary of the Bonfire tragedy. Time really does fly by. I can remember where I was and what I was doing on the exact morning that I found out. I was in the 9th grade and was getting ready to go off to school that morning. The TV was on while I was eating breakfast and one of the major national news channels was reporting that the bonfire had fallen. I had no ties to A&M then, except that my grandfather had attended there for 2 years, but I felt a sense of sadness for everyone involved. I still get chills watching the footage and thinking back on the sadness that must have filled campus, as well as the entire Aggie community. I had no idea, on that day, that 5 years later I would become a part of the Aggie Family. There is no way to begin to explain the sense of connection that all Aggies share. The age old saying really holds true: "From the outside looking in you can't understand it. From the inside looking out you can't explain it." This video that I found on You Tube is a great depiction of the tradition of bonfire and what it means to all Aggies.



On another note...we had an exciting weekend. After picking out appliances for our new house, Clay, Jonathan and I headed to Katy to watch Lockhart play Huntsville in the first round of the playoffs. It was one of the more exciting high school games I've seen with several ties and lead changes, but Lockhart came out on top for their first playoff victory in over 30 years. So this weekend we are headed back to Katy to watch Lockhart play Beaumont Central. Here's hoping this game proves to be as good, if not better, than the last one! Go Lions Go!

24 random things you might not know about me...

My brother posted a blog similar to this on his 21st birthday, so I decided to post one similar...and partially in response...

1: I taught my brother how to ride a bike...(he disputes this FACT)
2: I hate waking up early, but I'm a teacher...go figure
3: I once locked my brother in his room when I was 4 years old.
4: I once sliced my lip open while running with a shopping cart and had to get 3 stiches. I ran with it because my brother told me to.
5: I hate suprises, but I don't want to know what my gift is before I open it.
6: I get nervous about speaking infront of people, but I can teach a classroom of 22 kids.
7: I won almost every art contest I entered as a child.
8: I could eat pizza for almost every meal.
9: My husband is the first and only boy I've ever kissed.
10: I know more about football than the average girl.
11: I can't survive a day without having at least one Dr. Pepper.
12: I once backed into a UPS truck in the parking lot of All Star Grill.
13: I was never allowed to wear shorts to church until I was 13. (The year we moved to Lockhart)
14: I was once pooped on by a sea gull laying out on the beach in Corpus Christi.
15: I am OCD about lining things up and making them straight.
16: I can hear a song 3 times and know most of the words to it.
17: I know the words to songs I don't even like.
18: My dog Tucker was my first real pet. (Besides a beta fish I had for 6 months named Max) I got Tucker when I was 22.
19: I have the largest collection of stuffed animals you've probably ever seen. I can't bring myself to give any of them away.
20: I can count on one hand the number of times I ate in the cafeteria from Kindergarten through Jr. High.
21: I made a 100 on almost every spelling test in elementary and middle school.
22: I have been to 10 states and 3 foreign countries.
23: I am very much directionally challenged! Despite the fact that my father's nickname is Rand McNally...I obviously did not get his directional proficiency.
24: I turned 24 on Nov. 1st.

Wow! What a Weekend!

This weekend was a complete disaster...for me anyway! It all started when I got home from school on Friday. I was feeling like I had a slight sore throat so I decided to take a Zyrtec (thinking it was allergies) so that it would hopefully go away. I went to bed and was feeling chilly even when I was covered up, but I thought nothing of it. The next morning when Clay got up at 4:00 a.m. to go to work I was burning up! I took my temperature and had 100.8 degree fever! I quickly took some Tylenol and tried to go back to sleep. By this time my throat had gotten a little worse. I spent the whole day Saturday with fever...it fluctuated throughout the day. After the game Clay and his mom brought me some dinner from Quiznos. I was starved, so I ate every bit of it. About an hour later it was coming back up again...and again...and again...and again...and again! I threw up 5 times before I went to sleep at 9:30 on Saturday night. The next morning I woke up and threw up again. By this time I was so weak because I had nothing in my stomach because I couldn't keep anything down. I took a bath so that I could go to the doctor. Clay had to help me dry my hair...it was awful! As soon as I got dressed we headed to the doctor. We waited about 30 minutes to actually see the doctor, but when he came in it was all worth it. He diagnosed me quickly with strep throat and sent me on my way with 3 prescriptions. I have been taking them religiously since Sunday and I am feeling tons better! I stayed home from work yesterday so I could get my strength back. I went back today and felt like going back home as soon as I got there, but stuck it out and started feeling much better by lunch time. Needless to say, my weekend was not a restful one! Clay was such a great "nurse" throughout all this and I couldn't have gotten better so quickly without him! :)

This Kid is Awesome!

Check this kid out! His name is Dalton Sherman and he is a 5th grader from Dallas. He did an amazing job!

Wow...what a week!

This has turned out to be quite a week. Last Thursday we were all following hurricane ike wondering where it was going to wreak havoc. After much debate they decided to cancel school last Thursday to let everyone prepare for what was/was not coming. Because of school being cancelled on Friday, the hurricane coming, us living in a 3rd floor apartment, etc. we decided to pack up and go to Lockhart for the weekend. We packed in a hurry so that we could make it to see the Lions play Travis at Burger Center in Austin. Friday night we went to Kyle to hang out and have dinner with Nic and Jo. We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and watching the Weather Channel as much as possible. Sunday evening we headed home and I got a call that school was cancelled for Monday because there was no power in Caldwell. Ok, I thought, we will now be 2 days behind in lesson plans...then got another call on Monday that school was cancelled for Tuesday, because there was still no power. Then on Tuesday I got a call that said school was cancelled until further notice. Geez, College Station got hit harder than Caldwell and we have power...what is going on...Well, it turns out that Caldwell is on the same power grid as Beaumont so that pretty much explained it. Caldwell finally got power yesterday afternoon and the teachers reported back today to prepare for tomorrow. It acutally turned out for the best. We lost a week of instruction, but will pick up where we left off on our lesson plans, Friday being our test day. We will definitely be doing some major reviewing before all our tests, because they have lost a week of routine, and I can almost guarantee that they will have to be reminded about everything including how to sharpen their pencil...the first week of school all over again. Thanks to hurricane ike us teachers got a much needed break-one that we will not have to make up!

This weekend...Aggie Football. I pray that we don't get murdered by Miami! I'm very nervous and would almost rather sell my ticket and watch it on TV if it indeed turns out to be brutal. We shall see...Until then Gig'Em Ags! BTHO Miami!

School Days....

Well, school has officially started and I am pretty much back into the swing of things. I had two weeks of teacher inservice, which let me tell you it was definitely not enough time to prepare myself or my classroom for what was coming yesterday! Yesterday was insane! No matter how much I tried to be organized I quickly figured out something was about to throw a kink in my organization.

First thing Monday morning the kids started showing up at 7:30. I got there at 7:20 which definitely was not enough time to get the days things ready, or prepare myself mentally! It was a whirlwind from the second they walked in the door until I left at 5:00. It was crazy! So much to do, so much to explain, take up, pass out, etc....just absolutely crazy! But I survived to do it all over again today! Today was definitely less hectic....MUCH LESS! It was definitely more layed back as far as how much there was to do. After these first two days I must say I am really looking forward to this year! My kids are all well-behaved for the most part. Some of them will have some slip-ups, but for the most part I don't forsee anything major (i.e. referrals). Nothing like what I dealt with last year that is for sure! These kids are practically angels compared to my 4th graders last year! My fellow 3rd grade teachers are awesome also! They are willing to do anything to help me out! Which is so nice...I feel so blessed because I didn't have that luxury last year! And let me tell you it is definitely a luxury! The Reading teachers are planning the first 6 weeks lessons for the other new 3rd grade Reading teacher and me, which is SO nice! It is such a relief to have the weeks lessons handed to you and all the materials that go along with it! After the 1st 6 weeks we will begin planning a portion of the lesson, which will also be nice. I came from working in a horrible environment to this....I feel so blessed! It is an amazing feeling to be able to leave school in a good mood. (and only have to drive 30 minutes to get home!) Most days last year I couldn't say that.

Needless to say, I am really looking forward to this year! I have great 3rd grade teachers to work with (including my partner teacher who's awesome!), well-behaved kids (for the most part), and a supporting administration! All three of those combined should make for a great year! I will definitely keep this up to date on my daily happenings as much as my time allows. Until next time....

Hallelujah...I have a job!!!

Well, it finally happened....I HAVE A JOB!!!! I have gone through 5 interviews and waited all summer, but I finally got one! This is nothing short of God's handy work! In a nutshell here is the story...

I was sitting at home yesterday going between the computer and the TV as I have been doing all summer long when I get a phone call. It was the principal from Caldwell (who called last week to tell me they had filled the position I interviewed for 2 weeks ago) asking me if I had signed a contract anywhere yet. I of course said no, and she proceeded to say they have another opening for a 3rd grade Reading teacher. She said she didn't have a letter of resignation yet, but would probably be calling tomorrow (today) to offer me the job after she checked my references. Needless to say I couldn't express my excitement and gratitude enough on the phone. I was trying to downplay my excitement, but it was a little hard. So I waited by the phone all day today with my mind wandering in a million different directions. Then my phone rang...it was her offering me the job! So, I now have a job! I will be teaching 3rd grade Reading at Caldwell Intermediate School. I will also have a partner that will teach Math, Science, and Social Studies. This will be similar to my student teaching experience, which I enjoyed, but it will of course be 3rd grade and I will focus on Reading. I am not sure who my partner is, but I am nevertheless excited about this year! After I interviewed in Caldwell, I felt like I was supposed to be there. The grade level set-up was ideal for me (having a partner teacher) after what I went through last year. I will also have the opportunity to plan with the rest of the 3rd grade Reading teachers, so that will be so nice. I no longer have to plan for a subject I know little about...i.e. Science! I hope this proves to be a great year! I know I am excited for what God has in store for Clay and me as I am able to teach closer to home, and as he graduates and starts working full-time at 12th Man Productions. God promises that He will take care of us and never leave us, and He has proved that yet again! God is so good! This verse just came to mind, and I think it fits very well here...

And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
~Philippians 4:19

So why was I worrying???? :) Until next time....

And the saga continues....

There could be some good news...make that GREAT news on the horizon! I don't want to officially say it and jinx myself, but lets just say God has possibly opened a door for a job. I will probably find out more tomorrow. Until then I pray and wait...

On the same note... as I mentioned in my last entry, I had an interview at a charter school last Thursday. Lets just say that turned out to be a bust. They expected for me to be SUPER TEACHER, which is not exactly possible! I met with the superintendent of the school first who was a mild mannered older lady and very nice. Then she traded me off so that I could meet with the principal and she could meet with another candidate the principal scheduled an interview for at the same time mine was. (Great communication skills!) The principal, however, turned out to be a drill sergeant grilling me with all kinds of questions, some I didn't even have an answer for. So I pretty much would give the answer that was on the top of my head. I sat through 30 grueling minutes of this! It was the worst interview that I have ever had. I have never had a principal interview me like that. I felt so intimidated by him that I couldn't even think straight! As I was in the middle of the interview I just wanted to say "see ya, wouldn't want to be ya!" and walk out. On top of all this he decides to ask me a question such as this: "If I were to walk into your classroom how would I know you have enough knowledge to teach the children." Are you serious right now???!!! I have a teaching degree from one of the best colleges in America and you want to question my level of knowledge!!?? I was appalled, not to mention disgusted! Oh well, I have just chalked it up to another interview and moved on. I almost wanted to laugh in their faces before I left, but I kept my professionalism. Best of all they wanted me to teach in the corner of a room. They were going to convert a corner of the front office/cafeteria into the 4th and 5th grade classroom. Hahahahaha! But I digress....

Anyway..... Clay finished up his last summer session officially today! He got a 79 in his Biology class and will probably get a B in his English. Hallelujah he is done with summer school and almost graduated! 9 more hours to go! Should be a light fall semester of classes, but a busy one with football season! That's about all for now...pray for good news on the job front!

Jobs...ho-hum!

Well....I heard from the Caldwell principal yesterday...another rejection. Which I was preparing myself for already after I saw the position was removed and I hadn't heard back from her since my interview. At least she called. There have been times I haven't even gotten that much. I wanted to ask her point blank what I needed to do to improve....but I ended up just saying "thanks, bye." instead. I have an interview tomorrow with another local charter school. To my knowledge they only have around 100 students in grades K-12. I asked the superintendent what position I would be interviewing for and she said it would be a Language Arts position for multiple grades ranging from 4-8. Boy, that not the ideal position! The development and needs of 4th graders are so much different than 8th graders. How would I be expected to "teach to the test" when I am dealing with 4 different grades. We shall see how the interview goes. I have a list of questions I am prepared to ask in the interview to find out if they are a possibility for me. I feel like they have to be an ideal match for me just like I have to be an ideal match for them. I don't feel like I should take a job if it will be a miserable situation.

I emailed my former principal today updating her on my situation and asking if she would be able to write me a letter of recommendation. She said she would be glad to! So these next couple of weeks I will be in the process of putting together a mini-porfolio with my info in it. I plan on taking the portfolio to any other interviews that I might receive. I'm currently trying to find out any information I can on what to include in the portfolio. I have found a couple of ideas, but some people say include this, while others say don't. So I am going to have to decide what is most important, and especially what is going to make me STAND OUT! I need to find a way to make it cute and creative without being over the top...and without spending a gazillion dollars.

Other than that, we are slowly but surely unpacking boxes and finding special places for things we don't need at the moment. Clay is finishing up his last 3 days of classes until his finals next week. I will be so glad when our nights aren't spent with me watching the Astros (alone) and Clay studying Biology and reading adolescent literature! Until next time...

Moving and such

Well, we are all moved in and in the midst of unpacking the items that are of necessity for the next 5 months. Friday and Saturday proved to be 2 of the longest days of my life, and I can probably speak for the rest of the crew by saying the same for them! We went through many bottles of water and took lots of breaks before the final piece of furniture was moved up 3 flights of stairs and into place! Friday some of the Video Lab crew came to help us with the heavy stuff and their help was soooooo appreciated! We could not have done it without them! Saturday my mom and I spent most of the day cleaning up our townhouse to rid it of dust, dirt, grime, and dog hair! There was entirely too much dog hair! We still didn't get it all clean, so Clay and I will have to go back over there sometime this week, before we turn our keys in, and sweep, mop, and clean the downstairs bathroom. We are still getting adjusted to living in an apartment again and hearing all the noises that go along with it...including these 4 year olds that live on the 1st floor and like to play outside right below our window at 7:30 in the morning! Hopefully we will find all the boxes there own space and we will actually be able to walk across the floor without dodging anything!

On another note...job hunting is still proving fruitless. My interview with the principal at Caldwell last week went really well, or so I thought. She told me she would call me about a second interview, which are supposed to be this week. I have not heard back from her. The job posting was taken off the website on Friday as well. Which could mean they don't want any more applications. But it just doesn't seem promising. I go from 3 interviews within a week to nothing real quick! There is still time, but it is just dwindling fast. It is just not easy to find teaching jobs in this area....which is proving to not be a fun experience. All I can do is continue to pray and ask for God's will to be done, and trust that it will...which is always the hard part.

This is Clay's last week of summer school! Yay! He will have his finals next week and then be done with summer school forever! Hopefully the fall semester flies by and graduation gets here quick! Until then we just wait...

It's been forever....

So it has officially been forever since I last posted. Literally, as you can see, years! I guess blogging took a backseat to school, wedding planning, graduation, and finally teaching. I will try as best as I can to update this as often as possible, but sometimes, frankly, things just get too crazy!

I am currently in the process of multi-tasking in a lot of different areas...First we are moving yet again to another apartment this weekend. It will only be for 5 months, which means we will move again in December. After much deliberation and calling every apartment complex in B/CS we found one that actually does short term leases. We thought this would be the best decision considering I do not have a job yet and at the moment we can only commit to being here until Clay graduates. So, my parents, and Jonathan are coming down this weekend to move us out of our townhome and into our new apartment. I'm sure it will be drastically hot, but hopefully we can survive the heat as well as moving furniture up 3 flights of stairs...yikes!!! Jonathan will also be moving in with us, since a short term lease was all he could commit to as well. It should be a very interesting 5 months to say the least!

Secondly, I will have my third interview in 5 business days tomorrow. My 1st one was last Thursday in Lockhart, my 2nd was yesterday in Navasota, and tomorrow's will be in Caldwell. I have yet to hear back from Lockhart, but received an email from Navasota this morning with a "no" answer. Which was pretty much a bummer...rejection is never easy, but I know that God has a special place for me it's just trusting him and his timing to reveal that! Interviewing has never come easy for me...sometimes it is difficult for me to put my thoughts into words, escpecially when you have 4-5 pairs of eyeball staring back at you awaiting your response. Talk about nerves kicking in. You want so bad to give them the answer they are looking for, but instead end up screwing up your thoughts and falling flat on your face. Oh well....gotta get back up and try again next time! My interview tomorrow is with just the principal, so I expect it to be a little more relaxed. I will be interviewing for a 3rd grade reading position, so hopefully my enjoyment of teaching reading is conveyed through my responses.

Life is continuing to be busy with searching for jobs, interviewing, Summer School for Clay, packing boxes, and moving this weekend! Maybe one of these days everything will slow down...but until then enduring craziness is inevitable!