Run Ladies Run!

Watching the LA Marathon as the men are about to overtake the women, with like, 2 miles left. Why is it inevitable? That's what they keep saying..."They knew it would happen...just a matter of time" RUN Petrova!!

Oh nuts. He passed.

Four...Three...Two...One

Oh my what a week it's been. There are only four weeks of school left, but next week I'm flying out to visit my new school before their kids are done for the year. I'm hoping it will put a lot of anxiety to rest and let me see exactly what I should be bringing with me.  

Over the past 4 months or so I've been following Fly Lady and creating cleaning routines and lifestyle routines.  We've decluttered our apartment significantly. I had no problem getting rid of a lot of stuff- clothes that didn't fit, or fit awkwardly (thank you long torso), knick knacks, stuff students gave me years ago that I couldn't part with, books, etc. What I AM having trouble getting rid of is teaching material.  I know there are teaching supplies and books in Texas. I know that more than half the stuff in my teaching closet I've never used or used once or twice.  I know that a lot of the stuff I have is for grades younger than what I teach. But I can't help but think, "Maybe I'll have a low reader in my class and NEED that phonics stuff." or " What if I decide to do a unit on __________ sometime in the future and I need that book?" I know in my mind that I can replace anything or go out and get what I need (which is how I acquired all this stuff in the first place) and so I know my thinking that I need to bring all this stuff is irrational. I'm just so type-A (and always over-prepared) that I think the stuff makes me feel like if I have, then at least I'm ready for whatever new challenges: moving, renting, buying, new school, few friends, no job for the husband yet, come my way.

So, hopefully this trip next week will assuage some anxiety and show what I'll need to bring and what I can leave behind and still feel mildly successful in my transition.

6 Weeks

That's how long I have before we move halfway across the country. YIKES. I got a job, Chris is working on a transfer. I can't believe it happened, especially so late in the game. Soon we'll have a house and you're all invited to stay for SXSW and next year's ACL. Yay!

Progress

There's good news to be shared, eventually. Possibly a choice between really good and really good. Though not how I expected it turn out.  I'll update when there's a for-sure in the bag. Thanks for keep your fingers crossed for me!

Just Breathe

So here it is.  I fly out in 14 hours to go to a job fair.  I feel kind of like our future hinges on what happens in the next 48 hours. I don't even know if I'll get a response at the job fair.  Maybe they'll just schedule interviews for a later date. I'm slightly nervous, but really more curious. After spending a lot of time and energy into job searching and resume-building, and getting ZERO response, I want to know what these employers are looking for.  What is the process here.  I feel out the loop, I don't even know if there IS a loop.  But I feel like I'm missing some piece of the puzzle.  Hopefully this weekend will answer some questions for me.

A Long, Long Time Ago

Wow. Over a month and a half since I last checked in. Things are different, things are the same. I am more entrenched in the whole job search, resume writing/sending, school researching, follow-up thing. Yet, have gotten the same amount of feedback from principals- which, for those keeping score- is none. A few replied to my inquiries about receiving my resumes and explained no jobs were open (and some later posted open jobs- so who knows what I'm dealing with here). I fly out Friday to go to the district job fair on Saturday. They claim to be hiring 600-900 teachers- but I haven't seen that in my searching. I do have my one-year certification, though, which I hope will help land a job. I'm also signed up to take the test in June- so I'll likely be truly certified before the school year begins. There's a job I'm really interested in, so that will be my first stop at the job fair. A few other positions at schools I'm interested in claim to be open according to the district site, but that's notoriously not updated.

Three weeks ago, Chris and I went out there for a spring break vacation. We had a fabulous time and fell in love with the city all over again. This however, led to me falling off the running bandwagon. I did go to yoga twice while I was there, though. I'm trying to get back into it. I may start back at week 4 with the faster pace. Since I've been back I've been doing quicker walk-run intervals, which I'm finding more entertaining than longer intervals.

Before the vacation I was also doing a great job with my cleaning and routines from flylady. I'm telling you, our apartment is so much cleaner and less cluttered than before. Both Chris and I are putting things away more. We organized the kitchen and are keeping the systems in place. We're hoping that getting a lot of this cleaning and decluttering out of the way now, will make moving time a lot easier. We keep looking at things and asking if they are worth packing up and moving halfway across the country (especially when we don't want to drive a huge truck). However, the smaller weekly cleaning routines aren't getting done as often since I've been home. Take right now, for example. I have planned to use this time before the farmer's market opens to do the kitchen cleaning, so I could mop and let the floor dry while I was gone. And here I am, blogging. But, it'll get done.

The thing that has suffered the most in the past few months, though- with all the running, yoga, and cleaning. Is my crafting and reading and cooking. My other blog is like no man's land right now. I do have some stuff to post, but I've been decidedly uncrafty recently. I am in the process of making two blankets- one for my mom (for Christmas- oops) and one for a friend whose baby is due in June. The baby blanket is in squares, so I'm working on that more often. My mom's blanket is one piece and it's getting large, so I've kind of abandonded it because it's feeling bulky. I don't want to travel with it, though, so that's my incentive to finish it before we move.

We're headed out the Festival of Books later. Yay!

Freak

Wow. This past few months have been weird. I've had two really upsetting things happen, started two new motivating things, finished a few things, and been really stressed.

Bad news first? About a month ago I brought both my wedding and engagement ring into the jeweler for the six-month inspections they have to do in order to keep the warranty.  The rings were a little dingy, so it was time to send them out to be re-rhodium plated (they're white gold). After anxiously waiting to get them back, I came home one afternoon to find out that UPS has "lost" both rings in transit.  The jewelry store would replace them after an insurance investigation.  You can imagine how upsetting this was. So now I have replacements. They're not my rings, but they're new and pretty. 

Just last week I was driving home from school and a tree fell on my car.  I was okay, but really dazed and ended up not pulling over until about half mile down the road.  Technically just the top branches fell on me, because the truck of the tree fell on the car heading the opposite direction as me. They were okay, but their car was immobilized- given the tree on it. I know fully relate to the term "freak accident."  How weird is that?

On a more positive note, I've been really into the Flylady organization website. I'm on day 14 of the baby steps for beginners, where we're just setting routines and doing minor decluttering and cleaning. It's been really motivating for me, because they keep it fun and short. Our apartment is looking really picked up and clean. The hubby has picked up a little of my excitement about the organizing and cleaning, so sometimes I come home and a little chore that makes a big difference has already been done (like washing base boards and vacuuming the air vents- who remembers to do that stuff!?)! We're really hoping that taking small steps toward decluttering and cleaning will help the move out process this summer go more smoothly- less to pack, less to clean.

I also joined the Self Challenge.  I tried this last year, too, and made it maybe three weeks in.  I'm starting my third week tomorrow. I actually joined an online group of supporters for it, which is what makes me think I'll follow through with it more consistently this time.  I'm trying to put myself out there more, in preparation for moving to a new city and having to make friends (which is hard enough as it is, but as an adult it seems impossible). So I thought I'd start small with an online group and also maybe get back to my book clubs.

I finished the Couch to 5K program last weekend. I loved it! By week 9, 30 minutes of running was no problem again.  It really got me back into the running groove.  I'm restarting at week 4 and this time picking up the pace by one less minute/mile.  I did that first week 4 run on Thursday at the faster pace and I was feeling it just after 5 minutes. I want to sign up for a few 5Ks before it gets too warm, so this will keep me training.

With stress at work and trying to get applications out for jobs in Austin, I've been getting home late. I try to get to yoga or the gym after school, too, so I'm not home until 7 or 8 every night. I usually eat and then snuggle the husband for a bit and then head to bed.  So, sadly, I'm not getting a lot of crafting and cooking and reading done.  With daylight savings starting tonight, I may try to get my runs done in the morning and force myself to leave school at a decent time. I need to find balance with all of my interests.