We found it

We found a house! It needs some work, but it is very doable work, considering the family I moved into. The previous owners, closed off the garage to make a room. They drywalled a wall into the garage, but never took out the garage door. We wouldn't not need that extra room, so the first thing that should be done is making the garage, a garage again. They added a 4 seasons room off of the dining room. The 4 seasons room has an inside flower bed that runs along 2 of the walls. That would go, and we would poor cement out to the walls to make a true 4 seasons room. The previous owners also had mirrors everywhere. I'm not kidding, EVERYWHERE. Either they were really vain or they had some weird parties in that place. It is a bank repo, and they are asking way more than it's worth. Our realtor knows we can low ball them and the bank would probably take it. T, my father in-law and our inspector, is typing a list of things that "need" to be done to attach to our offer as proof of why they are asking too much. The people also kind of over did the landscaping, and since no one has been living there, it has grown! I would probably do a little yard work this fall, but then let winter kill things off and then start new in the spring. I would really love to have this house, but I'm trying not to get our hopes up.

Another house we looked at last night proves that God has a sense of humor. I know that it shows a weakness in your faith to ask for a sign from God, but I have been wanting to have some sort of calmness or something when I walk into a house(ps: I had that in the house we want to buy). The second house we looked at, smelled like diapers (they have set of triplets and a younger boy). While noticing everything that needs to be done to even make the house truly livable, my mother in law started laughing. She called me into the triplets room and said, "Sweetie, this is your sign. I don't know if God is telling you to buy it or run the other way though!" Two of the triplets have the exact same names as my mom and aunt! The third triplets name is the name of a friend of mine (we have lost contact over the past year, but we are working on building our relationship back up).

Well, it's Friday, and I have court on Monday so I should get all of my paper work in line.

House Hunting Continues...

but with much less worries than before. We found out from our mortgage officer (the officer title cracks me up!) yesterday that we are preapproved for a house. Tonight we are going with our relator to look at 3 houses. We are taking my in-laws along with us. T, my father in-law, is a licensed home inspector so he can help up realize what we are getting into. The one house we really like has accepted a bid, pending financing. If we like the house, we can also put in an offer and if the first couple's offer falls through (can't get the money) then it's ours. The second house is kind of scary. No...scary's not the right word...funny....because it is set up almost exactly like mom's house! So, it would kind of be like moving back in at home! Except one room is painted this obnoxious pink with green carpet (I know this because A and I went and peeked in the windows last night). Both of the houses are currently vaccant, so if we pick one of those houses, it wouldn't be long till we could move in...which is a scary thought in itself. I was "taiking" via email to an old friend ("old" meaning we've been friends for a long time) today and he said that out in Seattle his friends just bought a house for $300,000. I cannot imagine paying that much money. We aren't even going to spend a third of that amount. I'm trying not to get my hopes up....they say that the hard part is over with since we have the financing, but I think the hard part has just begun! Now I want to look at every house in our price range so I'm not left thinking..."I wonder what that house looked like."

Weird Wednesday

Its "hump" day and I feel weird. Not sick weird, just weird. I'm really tired, which I shouldn't be since I slept 9 hours last night. Hmm? Maybe I'm worried. We had our meeting with our mortgage officer last night. Things went well. Our credit scores were where we thought they'd be. She is sending in our application today. Hopefully by Friday we will know what we are preapproved for. It would be nice to know now, but patience in a virtue (that I apparently lack!). There is good news though, my sisters interview in GR went well yesterday and she stayed the night and had a second interview this morning. Hopefully all is well.

I really don't feel like being at work today. This is the first time I've felt this way. Not that I don't like the place, I'm just not up to par today and I don't feel like I can be effective. I feel like I will easily snap today and that is not what M needs today (after being sick two days). Well, speaking of M, he just walked in...so time to work....

Keep us in your prayers about the house and about N's job!

Proof that idiots live among us

This was emailed to me by A. Being a teacher, he thought I would find it funny. While I find it funny, I also find it sad. How stupid have we become??

Another Bad Week...

...in my town's life. Fair week. Apparently this year is the 75th DeKalb County Free Fall Fair. Yeah rah!! While the ACD week brings in a lot of people to our town, those people have money, and spend it on classic cars and collectible items. The people that come to our town during the fair week...well...are scuzy. It's like this is the one week a year when all of the freaks from the tri-state area feel comfortable enough to venture out of their houses and travel to the courthouse square. Not to mention those wonderful people that "Poor Jack" hires to "run" (I put it in quotes because they don't really work, they just take ticket and smoke) the rides. There are good things about the fair. Funnel cakes, elephant ears, the 4-H side of the whole thing. But the biggest kicker is the slogan. "The biggest family reunion!" I call it the biggest gathering of freaks. Unfortunately, I am going up there tonight. It will be crazy since it is the opening night of the fair. I am going to "work" the TR booth with my husband. Who knows, maybe I'll meet some interesting people...yeah right!

It's Finally Friday...

...I'm free at last. Well, not really. I'm stuck here until 3:30. Which isn't bad, except my vision is screwed up! I had my first eye exam in about 2 years. They did a glaucoma test which required funny yellow eye drops, then they dilated my pupils, but sucked. Everything was red! I was given one of those nifty pair of sunglasses (even though it's raining and the sun hasn't woken up yet) that covers your entire face that only old people wear (sorry mom, but it's true). My vision is still a bit blurry. I look like I'm on drugs! 5 more hours and I can go home and take a nap!

Since when...

...has it been ok to go 3 days without showering when you smell? Since when has it been ok to not wear deodorant, wear a long sleeved shirt, and work out? Since when has it become ok to work out on your lunch break and not shower before coming back to work? I just wondered if I missed the memo on the new changes in social etiquette. If I did, please someone let me know that it's ok to go out into public smelling horrible and wearing last nights eye goobers on the side of my face. Oh..that reminds me, I have an eye appointment tomorrow morning.

Today is the day for change

Ahhh, I love mornings. Well, not actually. Lately I have become more like my sister in wanting to say in bed till noon. After yesterday though, there is no where to go but up!! Yesterday was a tough day at work, student and teacher both didn't feel well and both were easily aggravated by each other. Today is much better. Yeah!

Today is also the day that A and I are meeting with the realtor to look at houses. I can't wait! She was able to work it so that we can go look at all 4 houses we found tonite! I know they say not to look at more than 3 houses, but our realtor is very busy and we were lucky to snag her. Granted we pulled the whole family card (she's married into A's mom's side of the family), but still. So I'm very excited. I have brought my digital camera and am ready to explore!!

Well, I better find something productive to do today!!!

Happy day! Today is pay day!! Well, I won't get the check today, they mail it, but still. My first real paycheck from my first real adult job.

Today is going to be good, I know it.

Big Decisions

Well, A and I have decided to meet with a realtor to discuss our options. It's frightening and exciting at the same time. I've never made a big purchase like a house before! I've never even bought a car before. We have a couple of houses we want to look at, but it's not like we are going to buy one right off the bat. Hopefully we can find some incentives since we are first time home buyers, I'm a government employee and I'm also a licensed teacher.

I really feel yucky again today. This makes day 3 in a row for me. My tummy does weird flip flops and then I get a stabbing pain right behind one of my incision marks from my surgery. A's tummy hasn't been well either. I don't think it's something we ate, because after three days I'd think we'd be over it. Either way, it's going to make for a long day!

Wedding Woes Part II

So, we went to the wedding and to our suprise, it went very well. A friend that was in our wedding and recently moved to Arizona came back. It was really nice to see him and hear about his life out west. Ran into some long lost, but not forgotten, friends. E ended up sitting with us at the reception and them coming back to our house for drinks. It was really cool to get reconnected with her. The bride and groom where happy to see us and it seems that the invitation was her way of apologizing and i accepted. While I'm sad that we lost 6 months of our friendship, it is cool to know that it's not all lost.

Work is still going well. My one student worked very hard today and with minimal help from myself of T. Biology seems to be his strong subject. He spent his lunch break showing T how to play computer/internet games. It was funny to watch the student get frustrated with teaching an older adult new technology. I spent the day making business cards, checking about ISTEP, getting late work around, typing letters to schools, and fighting with my laptop. I can't get my wireless to work even though my house (where I work is a house) is wireless ready. Hmm... I told student if he gets homework done tonight, I'd let him take a crack at the wireless problem in the morning. He is a computer whiz and is looking foward to teaching me a thing or two.

Well, it's time to go do the final paperwork of the day. With all of the forms I fill out, I wonder how much of it is useful? How much do they refer back to the daily log sheets? I know they come in handy, and I'm not complaining, I'm just wondering where do they store all of this paperwork? Why not computerize it!?

In Over My Head

After my meeting with 2 out of the 4 schools I'll be working with, one song keeps running through my head. More specifically, part of one song.

"Everyone knows I'm in over my head, over my head...." Cable Car by The Fray


Just when I think we are on the right track and everything is all ironed out, SMACK, someone asked a question I had no clue how to answer. The main concern being credits. I am licensed English teacher, therefore I can legally give English credits. I have three years to become a "Highly Qualified Teacher" (meaning I can teach all subjects in an alternative setting, like the one I'm currently in). So until I reach the end of that three years, am I allowed to give credits in other areas? Do I need to work directly with a teacher from one of the schools who is licensed in the core areas?

Hopefully this can of "Mountain Lightning" (cheap Mt. Dew) and my beef pot pie will help me sort all of this out....

Wedding Woes

So I have a wedding to attend this weekend. I am not really looking forward to it. The person getting married used to be a friend of mine. We basically grew up together. After my wedding we drifted apart, I was student teaching, she was planning her own wedding. I didn't think it would be a big deal since we both were busy. WRONG! She called me one day, out of the blue, and basically called our friendship off. I know at times she can be a bit childish, so I thought I'd wait the storm out. It seems I'm still waiting the storm out. After a couple of phone calls (she didn't answer, but I left voice mails) and unreplied emails, I took a hint. Then, WHAM. The wedding invitation shows up. I don't know how to take the invitation. Is this her way of finally putting the ball back in my court? Is she waiting for me to make a move? Is this her response to my phone calls and emails? Did she only send it because her mother quilted her into it? It's all very strange. It would be easier if I knew why the invitation was sent. If I knew that she sent it as a gesture in my direction, then great. If she sent it because "mommy said so" then I don't want to make her uncomfortable at her own wedding. We are still friends with everyone in her family, just not her. I'd love to strike a friendship back up again, but then I don't know if I can deal with anymore of these tangents she has twice a year. I bowed out of being a bridesmaid, which is what really adds the icing to the cake about this whole thing. I am kind of happy that I can prove her mom wrong. Back in the day, while helping her pick out bridesmaid dresses, her mom told her to make sure the style she liked had a maternity version. She thought I'd be pregnant by the time the wedding came around. Well, guess what I'M NOT! Yeah, at least I won that bet!

Well, I needed to get this off my mind before my big meeting this morning (in twenty minutes). Hopefully all goes well at this meeting and I can come back to the house and get out of these clothes. Yes, I dressed up for the meeting. Dress pants, sweater style cami, and a red dress shirt. Oh yeah, with pointy toed, high healed shoes that click when I walk through the house. I call them my teacher shoes. You can hear me walking down the hall. Better get my feet walking so I'm not late.

Teacher Moment

I am trying to figure out how I want to balance this program. I would love to have this computer program I went to training for, but the money is an issue. I'm working on a grant (well, going to work on it this afternoon) but if that falls through the students will only have books. Not everyone works/learns well with just books, then again, same thing with computers. I once worked at a place where they pushed technology on students. It was pathetic. The students couldn't use encyclopedias. I cannot use the Dewy Decimal System (shut up librarian nun natty) but how many places still use that? Grrr... I have a feeling that these things will work themselves out within the next week, if not after my meeting Thursday morning. I want text books and computer programs. Is that too much to ask?

Don't Try This At Home

I have discovered something that I probably could never do again, and even if I could, I'd choose not to. I am sitting at the computer, sending out emails to people begging for money for this computer program, eating my morning snack of peanut butter M&M's when I sneezed. Did you know that you can sneeze M&M's out your nose? While what came out wasn't a whole M&M, but rather large piece, it still hurt!

Yet another day at work

It was a struggle to get myself out of bed and to work today. I have had some major migraine issues the past couple of weeks and waking up with a headache just ruins the whole day. The fog delay didn't help anything either. I wasn't delayed, but I was hoping for a cancellation, and then had to face the disappointment of it not happening. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job, but all I want to do when I have one of these headaches is climb back into bed. It didn't help that my hubby has the day off and slept in. Heck, before I even left for work I managed to eat breakfast, shower, clean up the guest bedroom, do two loads of laundry, minor scrapbooking, and make my hubby's "To Do" List. Don't go thinking that I'm a bad wife who won't let her husband enjoy the day off. We have paperwork that needs to be sent back into the car insurance people by today and I didn't want him to forget to fax it. He has to take the company truck to the Auburn store today to be looked at, so knowing him, he'll get suckered into working and I'll go home and do the "To Do" List myself.

Oh my, that couch in my office is looking good right about now. If only I had a pillow........

I am my own boss.......YIKES

Work has really taken off, if only we had some students! I had an improptu meeting with my "boss" yesterday and if you were to read the Reader's Digest version of our 3 minute conversation (he's not a big talker) it would come down to this..."We(the schools and probation department) like what you have in mind and we are handing this program over to you. Whatever you feel you need to do or want to do, then by all means do it." So this thing is 100% mine. It's cool, yet scary! I have a meeting with some officials from a couple of the schools on Thursday, so after that I'll have a better feel for how this is all going to play out. I ran into a gentleman that I worked under while student teaching and he let it slip that Friday is the official last day of state counting (for funding purposes) so I'm hoping next week some of these students will get themselves kicked out. Wait, is that wrong of me? To wish that students get in trouble so that I can have something to do? Well I better get started with this grant writing business if I want to get enough money for a program that I want.

Labor Day Party

Most people spend the Labor Day weekend taking "one last trip" for the summer. We spent it at home since we were broke. We did go to the craft show, which sucked this year. We had a get together Monday night at a friends apartment. The upstairs apartment seems big until you try to pack 12 people in the small living room. Ayron was put in charge of grilling and he almost caught the deck on fire. The grill leg collapsed, and most of the brats when flying over the edge of the deck into the potted plants owned by the renters down below. Opps.... We then had the bright idea to play Scattagories. The Letter "N," the topic "Things that jump/bounce." The most creative response, "Nudests!"

They Let Me Graduate With Honors??

I'm realizing and reliving the whole saying of "If you don't use it, you lose it." I am practicing my math skills (i may have to take the Praxis in math to be considered a "highly qualified teacher") by taking the practice ISTEP+ GQE exam. We have a huge book here at work, and I thought, what the heck, might as well start practicing now. I am beginning to think that I slept through most of middle school and all of high school math! The only things I can remember is stuff I relearned by working as an aide last spring. Estimating square roots? Blech...am I that bored that I willingly decided to prove to myself how lacking I am in the math department?

I am looking forward to tonight. J and K are getting married. It's nice to see him finally happy. Yes he dated my best friend in high school. Yes they got married, then divorced...long bad story. But it's nice to see him this happy. They are having a family only wedding then a big party at his house this evening. I'm excited. I'm gonna use it as an opportunity to get all dressed up and girlyfied. Well, this stupid practice exam won't take itself so I better get back to work.