This is going to be short but I will surely write more later, this has been the fastest two weeks EVER! I am officially a 6th grade teacher at PWMS, contract signed and everything and school starts tomorrow! My classroom is set and I have met some of my students already and I think it is going to be an awesome year. I will add pictures when I get the chance. Also today was my 24th birthday...I almost don't believe it. Me? Twenty-four YEARS old? 24 used to be my scary age...but as my life has progressed I realize that at 24 I am right where I want to be, with an amazing man (who's birthday card brought me to tears because it was so sweet), in a good job, with a supportive family and great friends who are right there along with me, in the great (but sometimes scary) twenties.
Summer vacation that is. My first summer break is in its last week and I am getting really excited about starting my new position as a 6th grade teacher at Parkway West Middle School. Yes, everything is almost official, I have filled out all the paperwork and I am just waiting for a few more "I"s to be dotted and "T"s crossed before I am officially official with a contract and everything. And so far everyone has been so welcoming and nice, I got three phone calls this week just welcoming to the team and the school and how happy they were to have me. I don't think I talked to anyone at Warrenton until the first week of school. I know Parkway is going to be a big change from Warrenton and I am very excited to be in a school district that has its' stuff together. I went and picked up some things I left in my classroom out in Warrenton yesterday and while I was sad to be leaving my friend Leslie and my new Promethean Board, I know that this change is definitely for the best, it means a closer commute, more money, and better resources.
Tomorrow I get to go out to school and see my classroom and run around the school a bit, hopefully I can move some of the crap that I took from Warrenton in so I don't have to cart it around in the back of my car.
Before I know it the first day of school will be here and those bright, shiny, 6th graders will be in my hands...oh goodness. I have a lot planned for this year and some changes that I would like to make in order to make my classroom run a lot smoother. For example, every kid is getting a number (that corresponds to alphabetical order) that they have to put on every piece of paper so I can put things in order in two seconds as opposed to ten minutes. That is just one minor thing but something to change nonetheless.
I can't wait to go school supply shopping! I can seriously spend hours in the teacher store looking at posters, stickers, markers, and pens...if only I had an unlimited budget for decorating...ahh, one can dream.
I have got to get some laundry done, we've been home from Flordia for a week and I still haven't gotten things all the way unpacked. Sometimes these arms just do not want to do chores. :)
Tomorrow I get to go out to school and see my classroom and run around the school a bit, hopefully I can move some of the crap that I took from Warrenton in so I don't have to cart it around in the back of my car.
Before I know it the first day of school will be here and those bright, shiny, 6th graders will be in my hands...oh goodness. I have a lot planned for this year and some changes that I would like to make in order to make my classroom run a lot smoother. For example, every kid is getting a number (that corresponds to alphabetical order) that they have to put on every piece of paper so I can put things in order in two seconds as opposed to ten minutes. That is just one minor thing but something to change nonetheless.
I can't wait to go school supply shopping! I can seriously spend hours in the teacher store looking at posters, stickers, markers, and pens...if only I had an unlimited budget for decorating...ahh, one can dream.
I have got to get some laundry done, we've been home from Flordia for a week and I still haven't gotten things all the way unpacked. Sometimes these arms just do not want to do chores. :)
It finally came and went, my vacation to St. Pete Beach, Florida. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful it was, to be on the beach with Chris for seven whole days was just what the doctor ordered. I was a little nervous before leaving because this was the first trip I had planned and paid for all on my own, no mom and dad dropping me off at the airport, just me and my boo off on our own.
The flight went rather well, a little turbulent but nothing I haven't handled before. The clouds were pretty thick when we left St. Louis and made for a neat picture.
Next big hurdle was the hotel, we booked a small little inn about two blocks away from the beach that was rated as #1 in the area by TripAdvisor.com which is all based off reviews of people that had stayed there. We were delighted to stay at the Gulf Tides Inn which was a big relief to me. I was hoping and praying that it was going to be as good as all the reviews said it was. If you ever travel to the St. Petersburg area this place is an amazing find and a great deal!
Harry the Heron at our beautiful pool at the Gulf Tides Inn
We did a variety of things while we were there, we went to the beach, rode the awesome roller coasters at Busch Garden and felt like little kids playing on the all the water slides at Adventure Island. We also ate like kings! There was the best meat market really close to where we were staying and we got the most delicious filet mignon and twice baked potatoes. Not to mention all the great seafood we ate while on the beach. We couldn't believe how fast the time went, we felt like we had just unpacked when it was already time to come home again. I know the memories from this vacation will definitely get me through the upcoming months ahead...I don't even want to think about winter! Here are some pictures from the trip.
Chris and I at Adventure Island
If you want to see all the pictures, check out my Facebook album.
My, my, my, what an eventful past couple of days! Lots of fun and friends that I hadn't seen in awhile. Last weekend we just had a fun night out with some of Chris's friends, we went to one of our favorite little bars called Babe's and sat out on the patio. After closing we went to Johnny Gitto's and then we were kidnapped and taken to the East side. I have only been to the East side
once before but let me tell you it is interesting everytime you go. Chris and I didn't get home until the sun came up! The next day I got to go swimming but Chris stayed in bed all day until 5pm...a full 12 hours of recooperation.
Natalie, Nicole, Candace, and Me at Gitto's
Before he took a coma!
I took four pictures of these 3 and this was the best one...ouch!
Thursday was my girlfriend Elyse's b-day and we went to Kobe Japanese Steakhouse for dinner that was so delicious! We had filet mignon, lobster, and shrimp all prepared on the tepanakyi (sp?) grill...it was pretty neat, definitely something you should experience at least once. Friday I went to happy hour with a couple friends from high school that I haven't seen in awhile at Jive and Wail on Mid Rivers. It was too early for any piano action but it was nice to sit outside and catch up with buddies. And then Saturday of course was the 4th of July. My friend Andrew has an annual bash that really is a great time, he lives close to Main Street so we always walk to fireworks, bbq, and get a couple of kegs and just have a good time. I think I took my fun a little too far because today was not pretty, I spent most of the day napping and eating trying to "cure" my ferocious hangover.
Flip Cup!
Last Wednesday was Chris and I's 3 year anniversary and it was such a great day! We always talk about stuff we want to do but then we never do them. I came up with the idea to create a little challenge, each person has to think of an activity that costs no more that $20 to celebrate our anniversary. I immediately thought of going up in the STL Arch, I had never been up it before and I thought that would be a fun little outing, not really romantic but adventurous and it fit the budget. Lo, and behold, Chris thought of the exact same thing...well kinda, he was torn between going to the pool and the arch and we really didn't have enough time to do both so the arch won.
A view of Busch Stadium from the Arch.
I got some great pictures while we were up there. I totally did not realize how many people can fit in the observation deck, there were tons of people in there all trying to get a view.
Did I mention is was ridicoulously hot last Wednesday? It was like 94 degress before 10am. And Chris told me that I had to dress somewhat nice because he had a surprise planned after we completed our Arch outing. I love but hate surprises. I am the type that will pester until someone gives in and just tells me what the surprise is. He did a really good job not telling me until we arrived at Mike Shannon's resturant downtown. It was crazy fancy and we should have been a little more dressed up then nice jeans and flip - flops but we didn't feel too bad because there were some Cards fans eating in shorts and a t-shirt. My god was the meal we ate to die for. We both had a little wine with our delicious 8 oz fillets with humongous baked potatos. We even shared some delicious cheesecake. How I wish I could repeat that meal everyday but due to it's price tag I think we can only afford to eat it every three years. Haha.
After we left the restaurant we started walking around downtown but we didn't get too far because Chris had arranged for a horse carriage ride! At first I didn't realize that he had arranged it and I thought it was happenstance that a carriage just happened to be right outside the restaurant, I think I even said that it would "stupid" to get in one of those. Before I knew it we were cruising downtown STL by a horse named "Dan." It was acutally fun and relaxing after the huge meal we just ate and downtown has gotten some awesome new art installations due to the All-Star Game coming in July.
I really couldn't have asked for a better day and I was so surprised that Chris went to such lengths to plan our night. It was a day to remember for sure.
So last week I wrote about how it was going to be such a long week because I was waiting for an interview for a new job and let me tell you IT WAS! I was a complete nut, I practice interviewing myself in the car on the way to Chris's house and had my sister mock interview, I wanted this thing so badly I could taste it. I got all gussied up on Thursday and strutted my stuff on in to wow the pants off the interview panel. Now I feel that I am making myself sound VERY confident going in to this interview when the truth is I could have peed my pants once I actually got there. I just tried to remain calm and collected even after they dropped the M-bomb on me...MATH. I was interviewing for a geography slash MATH position. I am sure the look on my face said, "WTF?" because the principal replied with, "Does that change your mind?" I really didn't know what to respond with except for, "Nope, not a problem, love math!" I'm such a liar. Math is my worst f'ing subject and now you want me to teach it to 6th graders. And my all means I should be able to teach 6th grade math, it covers things like fractions, decimals, precentages, but math is just one of the subjects that if you don't know what you are doing you stay the hell away from trying to act like you know how to teach it! But I digress, I made it in to the interview where I met with a panel of 8 people, by far the biggest panel I have come across so far in my fledgeling teaching career. They all introduced themselves and we got down to business. Thankfully they focused on teaching questions instead of content knowledge unlike the unsuccessful Parkway South interview. But I made sure to show them that I was the best for this job... I mean geography is my life, I was made for this job. Afterwards the principal told me that I would hear from them by next Friday and to enjoy my weekend and that was that.
Imagine my surprise when driving to the lake the next day when I get a call from the principal telling me that I was in their top 3 of the 6 candidates interviewed and that he is going to check references. HOT DAMN! I could have stopped my car right there on the highway, got out and done a little dance to celebrate but no, I drove the car on with an ear to ear grin on my face. He did want me to think about the position a little bit more because it is only for one year right now and they can't guarantee me anything after that which is a slight bummer but this gets my foot in the door and who knows what can happen by next year. I had to call him back yesterday to give him some more phone numbers for references and all in all he gave me a very clear picture of where this was headed. If all my references check out, "then between you, me, and the fencepost I am recommending you for hire." BOO-YAH. While nothing is official and it won't be until at least July 10th, that to me sounded like "you got the job!" Hopefully I am correct in thinking that it will not be too hard to break my current contract (and from what I am told it shouldn't be). Hopefully I will get an official offer by the end of the week so I can turn in my resignation letter. This is all very exciting and I can't wait for it to be really real!
Also this weekend is the 4th Annual Lake Trip. I have been praying to the weather gods for sunny skies and hopefully they will listen. Right now the forecast is calling for rain on Friday but gorgeous weather on Saturday and Sunday. Chris has an alumni golf tournament this weekend for Sig Ep so he won't be attending which means I have to drive myself to the Lake which I have never done before, I'm not too stoked about it. I also have to lug my own cooler and all the other manly stuff that Chris usually takes care of. I always get really nervouse before big gatherings with my friends for some reason, like I always fear the worst for some reason. It usually always turns out to be a great time but I run through all the what ifs before I go, like "what if someone drinks too much?", "what if someone fights with their bf/gf?", I think I do that just so I can have realistic expectations for my weekend.
"We don't take pictures at RUDE DOG!" What some guy yelled at us as this picture was taken, needless to say we spent about 2.5 minutes there and peaced!
This past weekend was Allyson's wedding and it was a great time! She looked absolutely gorgeous and it was fun taking a little road trip with the girls. We headed down Friday night and had dinner at Outback with Durick serving us, then we were out for the night to all our favorite old haunts...D'Ladium, Rude Dog (not really a fav, just had to stop in and take a shot), and Ragsdale's. Saturday we got ready and headed to Portageville for the 3pm nuptials and back to New Madrid for the reception. It was fun getting to catch up with some sisters I hadn't seen in awhile and of course celebrate Allyson. Around 9 we headed back up to Cape and settled in at D'Ladium for some good drinks and good fun.
Alpha Chi Omegas at Allyson's Wedding.
Fun at D'Ladium!
