Sunday, June 29, 2008
Job Update
Things look good for the job. The principal e-mailed me to find out where I am at in the process of getting my NC certificate. She said that she can not move forward in the hiring process until I have that complete. Needless to say, I working overtime to get the paperwork needed and should hopefully have everything in the overnight mail by Wednesday!!!
On Money and Choices - REVISED
You know, this has been bothering me all week now. I have a friend that I taught with last year. She is making monthly payments to a debt consolidation company in order to "get out of debt". She and I were talking about getting together with the kids (she has 2 girls), and I said I would love to, but I would not be able to go out to lunch at this point. She knows our situation and what we are doing to get out of debt, but she feels sorry for me and felt bad about telling me about the fabulous beach vacation she has planned for July.
My friend chooses to allow an outside entity handle her debt. She has the money debited from her checking account each month, and she does not have to think about anything other than making sure she has that amount when they draft it. She has not changed any of her money habits, nor the way she thinks about money. She will often tell me that she is not allowed to have a credit card until she is done with these people. I fear that she has not really learned the lesson or changed the habits. As such, I fully expect her to fall back into debt within a fairly short period of becoming "debt free".
DONT' FEEL SORRY FOR US. The reason we are in debt is because we made poor choices. We were in the mindset of "have to have it now". We have seen the error of our ways and are working hard to correct them. But by no means do we want our friends to feel sorry for us.
I want people to know that the things Paul and I choose to do with our money are our CHOICE. We do not HAVE to put all of our "extra" money toward our debt, we CHOOSE to do so in order to be debt free fast. We could have gone to New Jersey recently, because we could have saved money to do so. However, it would have put us several months behind on our debt freedom plan to do so. Paul and I both felt that this was not in our best interest at this time. Unfortunately, that decision made some people unhappy. Know that it was our choice for our family.
In the three months that we have been actively getting out of debt, we have managed to reduce our debt by almost $20,000. We have sold some things that we realistically could not afford, we have reduced spending, we have been living on a budget and paying cash for everyday purchases, and we have put every extra penny towards our debt. And we feel great about this!!!!! On Wednesday, we put our final credit card payment in the mail!! We are down to 2 debts, and we feel great! By October (at the latest), we will only have Sallie Mae left to repay.
We are working hard and "living like no other" in order to be able to "live like no other" in the future!!!
My friend chooses to allow an outside entity handle her debt. She has the money debited from her checking account each month, and she does not have to think about anything other than making sure she has that amount when they draft it. She has not changed any of her money habits, nor the way she thinks about money. She will often tell me that she is not allowed to have a credit card until she is done with these people. I fear that she has not really learned the lesson or changed the habits. As such, I fully expect her to fall back into debt within a fairly short period of becoming "debt free".
DONT' FEEL SORRY FOR US. The reason we are in debt is because we made poor choices. We were in the mindset of "have to have it now". We have seen the error of our ways and are working hard to correct them. But by no means do we want our friends to feel sorry for us.
I want people to know that the things Paul and I choose to do with our money are our CHOICE. We do not HAVE to put all of our "extra" money toward our debt, we CHOOSE to do so in order to be debt free fast. We could have gone to New Jersey recently, because we could have saved money to do so. However, it would have put us several months behind on our debt freedom plan to do so. Paul and I both felt that this was not in our best interest at this time. Unfortunately, that decision made some people unhappy. Know that it was our choice for our family.
In the three months that we have been actively getting out of debt, we have managed to reduce our debt by almost $20,000. We have sold some things that we realistically could not afford, we have reduced spending, we have been living on a budget and paying cash for everyday purchases, and we have put every extra penny towards our debt. And we feel great about this!!!!! On Wednesday, we put our final credit card payment in the mail!! We are down to 2 debts, and we feel great! By October (at the latest), we will only have Sallie Mae left to repay.
We are working hard and "living like no other" in order to be able to "live like no other" in the future!!!
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Interview
So I had my interview at 1:30, which you already know. I was given a brief tour of the school by the lead teacher, who is basically the Assistant Principal. Then, on to the conference room, where I spent the next hour and a half having a lovely interview conversation with the principal and lead teacher. We seem to fit well together, but I will have to wait and see.
They will hopefully be letting me know by the second week of July. And, as it turns out, they are NOT a year round school, and follow a normal school schedule. That will work out much nicer, though we were prepared for Paul to take a leave from work in order to make this work out.
So, I still need your prayers, if you are so inclined, or your happy thoughts! I will let you know what the plans are as soon as I know them myself.
Thank you for your support!!!
They will hopefully be letting me know by the second week of July. And, as it turns out, they are NOT a year round school, and follow a normal school schedule. That will work out much nicer, though we were prepared for Paul to take a leave from work in order to make this work out.
So, I still need your prayers, if you are so inclined, or your happy thoughts! I will let you know what the plans are as soon as I know them myself.
Thank you for your support!!!
Today is THE day...
I am nervous. I have not ever really had to participate in many interviews before, so I still do not know what to expect. When I was hired at Fairforest, it was the only interview I went on. I was hired before my next interview was scheduled. So I have butterflies in my stomach and my interview is still 3 1/2 hours away.
I have a good feeling about this one, though. After praying about a position for next year, this school called me for an interview. It is the only school that called, so I feel like this is where God wants me to be next year. Perhaps that sounds silly. I also have been having dreams about teaching second grade next year. I do not know why. That may be because I would really love the chance to teach a younger grade than I have before.
The school I am interviewing at is a year round school. They actually start back in about 2 1/2 weeks. They have as much time off as a "regular" school, but the time is spread out over the course of the school year. They have 3 weeks off in September and December, 2 off in March, Spring Break in April, and then a month in June. It might be a great chance to earn extra money, as it would be possible to sub during my interim breaks.
Wish me luck!!!
I have a good feeling about this one, though. After praying about a position for next year, this school called me for an interview. It is the only school that called, so I feel like this is where God wants me to be next year. Perhaps that sounds silly. I also have been having dreams about teaching second grade next year. I do not know why. That may be because I would really love the chance to teach a younger grade than I have before.
The school I am interviewing at is a year round school. They actually start back in about 2 1/2 weeks. They have as much time off as a "regular" school, but the time is spread out over the course of the school year. They have 3 weeks off in September and December, 2 off in March, Spring Break in April, and then a month in June. It might be a great chance to earn extra money, as it would be possible to sub during my interim breaks.
Wish me luck!!!
Monday, June 23, 2008
A Third Dog?
Last Tuesday, we found a little dog wandering the street. The poor thing had no collar, and was covered in fleas and ticks. Surely it had been out on its own for a while. Well, we took it in, bathed it and fed it, and the children named it Max. We brought it to the vet and they put some flea and tick stuff on his back.
No one wanted to bring the dog to the humane society. We were really hoping someone would come around looking for him. After a few days, though, we had no luck. On Saturday, we brought the dog to the humane society, hoping someone had reported him missing. If not, they were going to put him down, and we just didn't have the heart to let that happen.
We were in luck! The dog had an owner. We met up with them, and they seemed so happy to have their little dog back. It turns out the dog's name was actually Max! They had reported the dog lost on Tuesday, the same day we found him. It was a little disconcerting to return him to a family that obviously missed him dearly, yet seemed to take poor care of him.
I hope Max stays safe with his family.
No one wanted to bring the dog to the humane society. We were really hoping someone would come around looking for him. After a few days, though, we had no luck. On Saturday, we brought the dog to the humane society, hoping someone had reported him missing. If not, they were going to put him down, and we just didn't have the heart to let that happen.
We were in luck! The dog had an owner. We met up with them, and they seemed so happy to have their little dog back. It turns out the dog's name was actually Max! They had reported the dog lost on Tuesday, the same day we found him. It was a little disconcerting to return him to a family that obviously missed him dearly, yet seemed to take poor care of him.
I hope Max stays safe with his family.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
A Good Prospect
I received a call today for an interview on Tuesday. I will let you know how it goes! Keep happy thoughts for me, please.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
Quick Fix
Yesterday, when we were trying to fill the pool, we noticed that the inflatable ring on the top had a hole somewhere. It was losing air fast. Today, I found the hole. Not having a repair kit handy, I thought of a fix. I used rubber cement and a piece of overhead transparency to make my own patch. So far, so good. I will keep you posted!
As of right now, the pool is nicely filling with water. While it is not totally level, it is close enough. It is awfully difficult to dig in our concrete ground this time of year!
As of right now, the pool is nicely filling with water. While it is not totally level, it is close enough. It is awfully difficult to dig in our concrete ground this time of year!
Hard Work
Today, we are working on putting up our little 13' by 33" round pool. Yesterday, I tried to level out the ground, with the help of a bobcat and some extra dirt left over from when we had our drain field installed last month. However, we discovered last night that it is still about 2 inches lower on one side than the other.
As such, I will be working on leveling off the area a little more today, moving dirt from the middle to the low side, thereby hopefully leveling off any differences. Needless to say, it is supposed to be 97 degrees today, as well.
As a reward for all this hard work today, I am taking Mandy and Andrew to the magic show at the library this afternoon. I am hoping that it will be as fun as it sounds!
Hope you all have a great day!
As such, I will be working on leveling off the area a little more today, moving dirt from the middle to the low side, thereby hopefully leveling off any differences. Needless to say, it is supposed to be 97 degrees today, as well.
As a reward for all this hard work today, I am taking Mandy and Andrew to the magic show at the library this afternoon. I am hoping that it will be as fun as it sounds!
Hope you all have a great day!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
New Beginnings
The school year is officially over as of tomorrow. Students had their last day on Friday, and there is nothing left for me to do except pack a few more boxed into my car and hand in my keys. I should be finished with the year by 9:00 tomorrow morning.
Thus said, it is time for a new beginning. A new summer means spending lots of time with my children, unfettered with planning for next weeks class. It means keeping my house as clean as it should be, because I have nothing to stop me from doing so. It means cooking good meals on a nightly basis, because there will be no getting home at 5:00. It also means setting up new habits so life will be easier when the new school year begins.
I love new beginnings.
Thus said, it is time for a new beginning. A new summer means spending lots of time with my children, unfettered with planning for next weeks class. It means keeping my house as clean as it should be, because I have nothing to stop me from doing so. It means cooking good meals on a nightly basis, because there will be no getting home at 5:00. It also means setting up new habits so life will be easier when the new school year begins.
I love new beginnings.
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