Things that make you go, "Awwwww....."

Okay, okay, once again, I'm a bit obsessed. But I just love their interactions with each other!

Still Waiting...

Well, I figured I'd update on our South Korea process. I've been waiting to do this because I've been hoping we'd have news soon, but it seems as if we're doomed to wait until the last possible moment to find out where we're going, when we're going, and if we even have a job.

Some of you already know that Chaz and I wanted to teach in the public school, but then we were told there were no positions until March. Plans then changed to teach in the private schools; our second option, but still very exciting. Last Thursday we got an email (and a phone call) informing us that six PUBLIC school positions opened in Busan, South Korea: THE CITY WE WANTED TO GO TO. We were excited, so we applied right away. They sent off our applications to South Korea and told us we'd probably find out in a week about the positions as they wanted us to start September 1st.

That was one week ago.

Today we got an email saying that the woman in charge of hiring for public schools in Busan is incredibly busy and hasn't chosen who they want to hire yet. So now we must wait another week to hear about job offers. The good news is that this most likely means we won't be gone by Sept 1, so we have a little more time to say goodbye/visit/get stuff done before we leave the country for a year. The bad news is that if we don't get the jobs, that's one less week we have to find jobs if we want to be gone by mid-September. Ugh. I'm sick of this waiting and having to smile, laugh nervously, and say to people, "Well, we don't technically have jobs yet....we're still waiting on news...but the PLAN is to go to South Korea..." Gross. I just wish we had things a little more nailed down, but I guess this is why it's good Chaz and I are pretty flexible.

We've been taken care of thus far in this process (I mean, the jobs we wanted opened at the last minute...that's pretty sweet), so I guess we'll probably continue to be watched over. And that, at least, is comforting.

I've been meaning to write this...

I've been meaning to write about my birthday last Friday, and unfortunately, I just haven't yet. So here goes:

Last Friday I celebrated my birthday. Some of you may know that inevitably, something bad happens on my birthday. This means I rarely have a fun birthday. For example: last year we spent my entire birthday moving and cleaning our old apartment. The end. That was it.

So Chaz tried to make sure that this year it would be a good one.

We moved out early that week so we wouldn't have to worry about that on the 31st (move-out day in Ames, my birthday). Chaz even made plans to go to Minneapolis to stay with friends and go dancing/have a great time. I was pretty excited because it promised to be a great day.

And then my birthday struck.

The night before my birthday, we got a call from our friends that their plans had changed and they had to go on family vacation.

dun. dun. duuuuun.
Kate's birthday strikes again!

The next morning, we got ready for the day, and Chaz gave me my present (gray Toms!). I started the day with breakfast with Renee, then we had lunch at Stomping Grounds with my cooperative teacher's family, and followed that with hang time at Steve & Kim's place (okay, I played Sims for a few hours). It was already a full, good day. But it didn't end there. Steven's parents were in town, so they treated us for supper at El Azteca, where I got sung to even though I didn't want it. Yes, I had to wear a huge, goofy sombrero, and brace myself as they pounded on the hat (seriously...they hit hard!).



I got fried ice cream out of the deal. Then we trekked to Snuss Hill Winery in Cambridge for about 30 minutes of music and socializing. We ended the night with some serious Wii-playing at Steve & Kim's place.




I definitely slept well that night because the curse of my birthday had been lifted. :)

Moving out and moving on

After a week of barbeque, Chaz's family, the adorable nieces, and Tinkerbell parties & rooms, we got back to Ames on Monday morning only to have to pack up and move out. That's right, the next phase of our life is beginning. It's hard to believe we're leaving Ames, especially when I've been here for five years. This begins our transition to South Korea (or hopefully). Oh yes, another piece of news (which I'm pretty sure most, if not all, of you have heard). Chaz and I plan to move to South Korea to teach English. Exciting, scary, and wonderful all at once. For this next month we will live nomadically traveling from my parents' home to Ames to Minneapolis to live with friends and family and be able to say goodbye before we leave for one year. Here's the breakdown of our transition:

Last week we spent an entire week at my sister-in-law's place. It was an excellent week spent with the nieces, the sissy, and Chaz's mom & stepdad who we haven't seen in a year. The nieces had their huge 2nd birthday party with Tinkerbell decorations, cake, Ricky's ribs from Memphis, and an inflatable jumpy castle. We also helped decorate the girls' new room, and it looks just adorable.

We got back to Ames on Monday, and my parents came yesterday to help us move out. 7 hours later, the cattle trailer was full of our junk and on it's way back to Eastern IA.

Today we still have to clean the place, and get rid of some stuff we don't want.

Tomorrow we're heading to Minneapolis to visit Adam & Kara (hooray!) and celebrate my birthday.

After that, as I said, it's home to my parents house (I never thought I'd be in that position again), and then going between there, Ames, and Minneapolis. I'll continue to update as our transition goes on!

Another cute video...(at least to me)

Last week Chaz, April, Grandma Betty, Loréal, the twins, and I took a roadtrip to Omaha filled with Papa Chuck, zoo animals, pizza, swimming, and driving. It was a good time, and of course, I got excellent video of the twins. I wanted to share my favorite Livi video from the weekend.

As you recall, Livi has had a trach for awhile, and she hasn't really been able to talk until recently. She's figured out that if she plugs her trach, she can talk. So now she talks like crazy. Mostly it's "Dada, dada, dada, dada," etc. The girls also have been taught a bit of baby sign language (mostly the word "more"), so they're able to do a bit of communicating via that. Good news is: Livi gets her trach out next week! The doctors said she'd be ready for them to take it out, and the surgery is scheduled for the 14th. Hooray! This is just in time for a visit from Mama Penny and Black Daddy, as well as in time for the exciting two-year birthday bash.

Enjoy our conversation with Livi about her bath time and eating:



I love aunt-hood!

Summer Sickness

What's probably the worst thing to have happen in the summer?
You get sick.
What happens to me EVERY SUMMER?
I get sick.

Seriously, though. I rarely get sick during the winter, but without fail, every summer a bomb goes off and I'm laying in bed with aches and chills and a raging fever with the sun shining and the birds chirping outside and about a million wonderful, beautiful things to do beckoning me. Thursday and Friday I was completely out of commission: no eating, no moving, just laying on the couch watching Create and checking my temperature every hour. Chaz took good care of me, but it just so happens that as I get sick, my wonderful husband decides he's going to become a social butterfly. He's out on the town with friends, and I'm eating crackers and drinking 7up to Baking with Julia Child. I digress...I'm still recovering from the illness, but I'm definitely on the upswing.

Saturday I was able to make it to Rachel's wedding in Eastern IA. I had intended on just going to the wedding (since it would be the first time I moved since Thursday morning), but I was enjoying myself so much that I decided to go ahead and also attend the reception. While I was at it, why the heck not eat a full meal and then dance myself silly? I may have overdone it just a teensy bit, but come on, how often do I do that? heh, heh. The wedding was beautiful, and the celebration was awesome! Great times with old friends that I tend to forget how much they mean to me.

Tonight I'm just feeling glorious. Stim & Keven took us out for an AMAZING meal at The Café! We NEVER get to eat the way we did tonight. It was a beautiful time with food that tickled our tastebuds and conversation that kept us laughing.

So now, with belly full, I'm off to gargle salt water (to take care of the sore throat), pop some Vitamin C, and sleep away the rest of this sickness!

One Year

Sunday Chaz and I celebrated one year of marriage. Yup. A lot of you were celebrating with us one year ago in Bellevue, IA. It's been a crazy, up-and-down, topsy-turvy sort of year, and it's been forever, but it's also gone by quickly. To celebrate, we went to Sturgis Falls in CF (yeah, yeah, Kel!), which is where we met three years ago. The day consisted of church, friends, supper with family, salsa dancing, beer, foot washing, and laughter (and, of course, kissing). Now that we're a year older in marriage, we have much to look forward to: continual learning, new adventures, moving, but also getting more comfortable in our lives together.

We are so thankful for:
friends near
friends far away
friends in far away lands
church family
growing family
the love and support we get from all of those

Oh, yes, it's summer in Iowa

Yesterday was just about THE perfect summer day you could ask for. Chaz, Kim, Steve, and I decided to fill the hot, humid day with great fun instead of sweating into a pool of flesh in front of the television. We jumped in the car with Sasha, the sassy dachsund, and drove to get Tropical Sno from the local stand. Then, we took it across the street where we paid $5 to hit balls at the batting cages. I haven't done that in so long (not since dad and the boys would drag me outside to play baseball with them). It was glorious, and I actually surprised myself by being able to hit NOT ONLY the slow-pitch softballs, but also *ahem* the 50 mph baseballs. That's right, dad, I could bat with the big boys. Steve showed off his sweet skillz by switch-hitting in both the 50 mph cage AND the 65 mph cage.

After sweet treats and sweaty times, we drove to Peterson Pitts to swim with the mass of other people who had gathered there. It was dirty, cool, and de-LIGHT-ful. Steve lived up to his new nickname, C-Athay (like the comic strip "Cathy"), by complaining about every possible horrific scenario. "It's so dirty, I bet people get diseases." "Oh, no, I sand on my body! How am I ever going to get dry?" etc. etc. His complaining seemed justified, however, after he emerged from the lake (he wore his Chacos to avoid nasty things on the ground) with a hook and sinker wrapped around his sandals.

Then it was back home for grilled meats, tater salad, beer, and wine. And what day isn't complete with buzzed bike riding? Oh, it was glorious! I hope to have more summer days spent like that...

*Shout out to Angela and Joel for tying the knot on Friday! It was wonderful!*

Still Searching

Yep....we still don't know where we'll be next year. We've been searching for jobs the past couple of days, and thanks to a few websites provided by friends, we've found a lot to send in applications. However, I constantly have second thoughts about this whole process. Can someone ELSE make this decision besides me? I really need to get the new Threadless Select shirt called "I Overcomplicate Things." That's me.

Chaz and I have weddings to attend the next four weekends. Wedding season is upon us. Not to mention the celebration of our one year anniversary. My how the year has flown. I can't believe that at this time last year I had yet to teach in a real live classroom with real live students and real live assignments and real live grading to do.

Lately I've been puppy-sitting for the most adorable puppy on the face of the planet. His name is Oscar and he's a 12-week-old puggle (that's pug+beagle for those curious). He's provided much companionship during the days, and has made me pine for one of my own. Chaz refuses, however, and I know it's not the smartest decision (since we don't know where we're moving), but minor details, right? I mean, with a face this adorable, how can you resist??

the days of nothingness

Yesterday and today I had more subbing days. The beginning of the week looked bleak for some work, but I got a text from my cooperative teacher from last semester saying he was going to be gone on Wednesday, and I should get the job. This meant I got to sub my familiar class again! It was a sweet day full of students being surprised at my being there and me being comfortable with the students and the content area. Such a good time.

Then today I got a call at 10:00 asking me to come in as soon as possible because a teacher had a family emergency. I accepted and came in midway through the day. Students were pretty respectful since their teacher had gone for a somber reason. However, by the end of the day, they were just anxious to get out for the day and enjoy the weather, which is understandable.

So, here is what I have learned about subbing throughout my short experience:
1. Freshman are obnoxious. I know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't generalize, and I shouldn't be that biased, but it's a proven fact. I taught freshman in college....equally obnoxious. It's just a hormonal imbalance that causes everything to seem hilarious, even squeaking a chair on the floor over and over and over (and over and over and over...hilarious, eh?).

2. "Street Cred" is important. Even if only one or two students know who you are, the whole class automatically respects you. Without that, you're a nobody that they test and test and test.

3. Plans are so important. I'm especially going to keep this in mind when I teach. I've had jobs where I had great instruction and all the information I needed for the day. On the other hand, I've had days where I knew very little of what was going on for the day, and I felt nervous and fumbly throughout the time. Students notice that as well. The more comfortable you are, the better a day it will be.

Those are just three tidbits I've learned during my time of subbing. I'll hopefully have a couple of more jobs before the end of the school year, but if not, ah well. It's been an interesting experience while it lasted.

Subbing

That's right, people. I had my first subbing job yesterday.

I AM PRODUCTIVE!

So I was incredibly nervous before the day (stupidly enough). Chaz constantly tried to comfort me and reassure me that everything would be fine, but of course I didn't believe him. I awoke at 4:30 in the morning, nervous, and my mind raced so that I couldn't get back to sleep. Yesss!.....5 hours of sleep. I subbed for a social studies class having mostly freshman. There were a couple of classes of older students, and some students I had last semester where in them, so it was fun to see them. Plus, since I've already built good rapport with them, they didn't feel the need to "test" me. It was an okay day, and I think it would've been better if I hadn't been so TIRED. Mostly it was fun to see students I had last semester. I also got in on the Yearbook photo, so that was thrilling.

Last night was rough as I was incredibly tired and emotional. I finally gave up trying to make sense and went to bed. This morning I awoke to another call for a sub. I rejected that job, and wasn't going to go in today, but then I got online and saw a math position for today in which I just had to watch while students worked on their assignment. I wasn't tired and figured I should take all opportunities to work now while I still have them, and accepted.

So now I'm at the beginning of another day, this one looking much better than the day before. I'm hoping to coerce students into letting me read a Jane Austen-themed Choose Your Own Adventure book. I hope I hope I hope I can!

lazy dayz

As I said in my last blog, I'm finally done with 201. So what have I been doing the past week or so? Pretty much....nothing. I've read the sixth Harry Potter book, and yesterday I read the seventh in one day. I've watched television (yay Create!), felt guilty about being lazy, got sick because I ate nasty leftover food in the refrigerator, and gone home to celebrate Mother's Day (which was not a waste or lazy).

Today, however, I do not feel guilty. Today is a good day. I could feel a change when I woke up this morning. I watched my usual morning shows, had a bowl of cereal (there's nothing like replenishing your food supply to get you rejuvenated), took a shower, and made a tasty lunch. Then, I was watching the Create channel (my new favorite PBS channel full of cooking shows, craft shows, and do-it-yourself goodness), and what should come on? Mexico: One Plate at a Time with Rick Bayless! I haven't seen the show in a long time because it hasn't been on our Create channel since probably November/December. I was really wanting to watch it recently too. I was super stoked, and it didn't disappoint. I really want to have a Mexican Paella party now....haha.

To add to the goodness, I finally went in to turn in my subbing application! (One bad sidenote: Chaz left me his car to drive, and it was extremely windy today, and the Administration office is waaaaay across town, but Chaz's car had a flat tire, so I had to bike. I was sweaty when I arrived) So yes, I am officially in the system to sub in the district. And I'm scared. I've heard horror stories, but I know I'll feel better being a bit more productive than I've been the past week.

Glorified babysitting: here I come!

hodge podge of thoughts for today

I just wanted to say how excited I am about mewithoutYou's new album "it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright" coming May 19. Just when I thought these guys couldn't get any better with "Brother, Sister," this album looks to be even MORE incredible and even MORE amazing! You can check out a couple of songs on their Purevolume site. Ah! They just make me want to dance (I'm obviously listening to them right now).

Anyway...I'm done with 201 today! We had the final this morning, and we're having the grading meeting in a couple of hours. *sigh* Crazy to think that this semester is over. I have survived teaching a college course. Spent 10 hours yesterday finishing grading projects. Eek! Now on to other things. What? Still don't know, but at least I'm not worried about it (for now).

So many things coming to an end:
College
201
Shift
Marriage: Year 1
Year 23 (in a couple of months)
Living in Ames (?)
My Sanity (kidding)

Transition periods. Ah, life.

Jobs & IPTV Kids

Today is beautiful! It's so nice to have the sun shining, the wind at a minimum, and me sitting in Café Diem reading, blogging, and drinking coffee. To life!

I'm trying to be semi-productive lately, so I've been looking for jobs in areas we'd like to move. I found a definite potential, so I started writing a cover letter and editing my resumé. Don't know if it'll work out, but it would be sweet. They're a laptop school (each student gets issued a laptop), so it would pretty much be awesome as I could fulfill my dreams of using technology quite a bit in the classroom. Ack! How sweet would it be? Very. We'll see what happens...

Yesterday we had a couple of presenters from IPTV in class. They asked who watched different programs on IPTV Kids. Who was the only one who raised her hand?

You know it. Me.

I LOVE the IPTV Kids shows! They're awesome! Not to mention educational AND informational. haha. Probably the best is Electric Company. Apparently this was on in the 70s, and they brought it back, but updated it with an urban/hip-hop flair. So sweet. It's on at 4:00 on Fridays. I really encourage you to watch it. Anyway...during lab then I raved about IPTV Kids and told my students they should watch it for ideas for their class. I also told them I know Dan Wardell (this announcer-guy for IPTV Kids), and they thought I was crazy for calling him a "celeb." To me, and to kids all over Iowa, he is.

Don't knock it.

the creative me

Chaz had a lot of work to do tonight (it's teaching portfolio time for him), and I (surprisingly) had nothing. I decided that I was in a create mood, so I made a laptop cover for myself out of scraps of fabric I had in our craft drawer. Now, I've been needing a laptop cover for awhile, and I really just wanted to buy one for myself to save me the anxiety of making one (you know how most of the time you just see the flaws in the things you make?). However, I decided to just make one already instead of slowly letting my laptop get scratched as I tried to find the perfect cover. I was pretty pleased with the final product, but once again, I see the flaws. Ah, well, at least I kept myself occupied for an evening!

Look, mommy! I made a pretty thing!



(not the best image, but you get the general idea)

Good Mornings

I am so thankful for everyone who commented on my last post offering support, encouragement, and advice. Chaz and I are still mulling over possibilities, but I'll be sure to let everyone know what we're doing when we decide (which may be awhile from now...ah, well).

I just wanted to say today that I am so thankful for my husband. I get so focused on myself and my schedule and my life that I forget about everyone and everything else. Last night I was in a funk and took it out on Chaz. This morning, I awoke to a loving note (not spite), wishes for a good day, and a reminder about where my focus should be. I am so thankful to have someone who loves me and reminds me of what love looks like.

To all of you, I wish a good day upon you and a reminder that you are loved by someone (least of all, me).

No work

I waited awhile to post this because I haven't wanted to deal with the implications.

There is no dream teaching job.

Yes, that's right friends, I have no job for next year. Most of you know that I was really hoping for a job in the area because:
A) There was a woman retiring
B) The teachers there wanted me (since I student taught there and had experience and fit in well)
C) They have the best English Department in the world
D) It's my dream job

But the all-important E has trumped all and prevented me from attaining my dream job.
E) Budget cuts in education all across Iowa

Ugh. Are we really going to put a price on education? These budget cuts have cost this English Department 1.2 positions (not to mention positions all over Iowa). This means their curriculum must change because they don't have the amount of teachers to continue implementing their current curriculum (which is great, I must add). Yes, change is good, but I can't help but think this is not a change for the good. They will most likely have to sacrifice some of the great work they do at the school in the English Department. I mean, seriously, I taught juniors and they were learning things I didn't even hear about until my junior year in college. Consider how much more prepared they are for college than students from other schools. And believe me, I can see how much more well-prepared they are just in the college freshman I have this semester.

Anyway, I digress...

Here are the implications of this development: Chaz and I are jobless. We are free. We have no ties. We have no prospects. So what will we do? Here are options:

A) Go overseas—While this is something we've always talked about doing, I can't help but feel that it would be really difficult on our marriage. We've not even been married a year, and we're still learning about each other and about our marriage (as we will be for the rest of our lives, of course). But, I'm afraid if we only had each other and went somewhere without another couple (or at least someone else we know), we'd kill each other. I know it would be so tough if I only had Chaz to be around and didn't have other people to socialize with. I know that we'd meet people and we'd be able to fellowship with friends after we make them, but I would just feel a whole lot better if we went with someone we already knew and had that community already in place. However, this is a good time to do this option seeing as we have no ties currently and it would be wonderful experience.

B) Move—We have a couple of options with this one, however, no jobs. We know that we'd want to move somewhere with people we know (Colorado...Minneapolis...), but we have no job options. There is always the option of subbing, but I would prefer to have a job instead of just subbing for a year. I mean, we could always just sub around the Central Iowa area, after all. Plus, my parents are none to excited about this, but I can't let that stop me, can I? It would be a way to gain a new experience and experience some more of the world (which is what we should do now since we have no ties really....except for the nieces...darn those adorable nieces).

C) Stay and find another job—I love living in Ames, and I know that I'm so comfortable here that it scares me to go elsewhere. However, should I stay in comfort when I have the option of exploration? Probably not, but I'm a bit afraid of leaving my comfort zone. Anywho, we do have the option of staying here and just trying to find other jobs. Chaz could work for a coffee shop....I could find, well, SOMETHING. Or we could always sub.

D) Stay and go to grad school—While it's a little late to apply to grad school, my friend tells me I could probably get in just because I've been around the program for so long (and I'm working for the program right now). I could also have the opportunity of getting an assistantship, meaning I would get paid nearly as much as I would with a teaching job. However, I'm of the feeling that if someone should go to grad school, Chaz should get the opportunity first. Plus, if this is a time where we can just go and explore the world, should I sacrifice that to stay and continue my education (which I'll want to do later, most likely)?

We are leaning no way right now. We have no idea what we're going to do. What are your votes?

Lili & Me

Yay Spring Break!

Spring Break!!

Spring Break!!!
Yeah! *fists in air*

Sooo...here's my Spring Break: cleaning, purging, and grading. Oh yeah....I'm living it up, peeps! I had no idea I had married into a crap-ton of, well, crap. Chaz has been finding love letters from high school. And I thought I was a pack rat. Oh well, it feels nice to get rid of all of this stuff and cut our possessions in half. Chaz and I are also going to have a yard giveaway where people can come take what they need/want and leave what they don't. I think it'll be fun to give it away ourselves instead of just leaving it somewhere for someone to sell.

Well, it's back to organizing I go!

(oh, and I may have stretched the truth a bit. last night we celebrated kim's b-day and st. patty's day, so we are having some fun!)

Unification

It's been a week pretty much without internet, so I blame my lack of blogging on that.

Sunday night we had a Story City Youth Worship Night at The Crate. It was so amazing to see the room packed with tons of high school students at least one more time before we're finished with Shift (for those of you who don't know, Chaz and I are part of a high school coffee house ministry in Story City called Shift...we are the coffee part of coffee house ministry). We've been doing this for two years, and this seems to be the last as most leaders are moving on to other places in life and student attendance has been down. Unlike what you would think, this is a good thing because youth groups in the area (connected to local churches) have been growing. This was a goal of ours in the first place, so it's awesome to see it realized (hence why it's okay that we only have a few students each time).

Anyway, it was really awesome to see The Crate packed once again and students from four youth groups (and their leaders) joined all together. The students also gave the message, so it was great to hear words from them instead of one of us leaders up there talking at them. It was a unifying night, and THAT was the most exciting part.