Back to the Beginning....

This week on SITS they’re hosting a Back2Blogging challenge/giveaway to encourage people to get back into the swing of blogging. Today’s task is to re-publish my very first post and share my thoughts on it. I’m linking up my post on SITS and entering to win a brand new washer and dryer. The giveaway is sponsored by Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath, and Florida Builder Appliances.

Since I have been seriously lacking in the blogging department lately, I figured that this couldn't hurt.  Plus I have a few new followers (amazingly enough...hi!) that might find this insight into why I started my blog helpful.  The link to my first post is here.

Re-reading that post I can't help but laugh.  First off...it's horribly cliche.  I felt like I was reading my middle school journal.  Secondly, the facts from that first post were almost all changed so I feel like reading that didn't get you much more information about me except that I'm getting married...the date changed, the venue changed, my job changed, my STATE changed....you get the idea.

What was fun for me in reading that though was to re-read my engagement story.  Day to day, it's easy to forget how lucky I am to have hubby in my life and despite that fact that there are days that I want to murder him, I really love him.  It's also amazing to me how much my life has changed since I wrote that first post a few years ago.  I have had 2 new addresses, 2 new jobs, and 2 new pets.  I got married, bought a house, and got pregnant.  And it's all recorded here for posterity.  If that thought doesn't get me back into bloggy mode, I don't know what will.

Just a reminder...

...to any of my followers here.  I moved my blog to http://www.mylifeaskradz.blogspot.com/.  Come follow me there...

I moved!

I have officially moved my blog to a new place because I am no longer counting down to my new name.  It's http://www.mylifeaskradz.blogspot.com/ .  Come follow me there for more frequently update (as my job now allows me a few moments a day to actually think).  Full catch up post to be expected on the new blog (complete with wedding pictures) soon.

A big 'ol sigh of relief...

I was laid off from work about 3 weeks ago. It sucked. Royally. I have tried to keep this fact quiet because I was petrified that I'd be out of work for a while and the last thing that I wanted was everyone talking about how I was unemployed at the wedding and hearing how sorry people are over and over again. No offense or anything, but sorry's aren't going to get me a job or earn me money.
The reason that I can finally say that I got laid off is because i got a new job! I'm super excited about it too. First, in case you don't know, I was a teacher and I have been saying that I wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. Sure, I went through various dream careers including archeology, pharmacology (those were my dream jobs anwyays...what...they weren't yours too?), but for a large chunk of that time I have wanted to be a teacher. And for the past 5 years I have loved being a teacher. My career aspirations, though, have always been to be a "teacher's teacher". In fact, according to my mom, I decided at the age of 6 that "someone had to teach teachers so that's what I wanted to do). Up until a few weeks ago I figured that someday I'd end up teaching at a college in the education department.
When I started looking for jobs I decided to peek on monster. com just to see what was out there and ran across an "education specialist" position at the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technologies. I applied on a whim....come to discover it's a pretty cool job. I went on 3 interviews an (wooh) got a job! I'll basically be designing teacher workshops/student programs that encourage students to enter into science/engineering/technology jobs. I get to get kids excited about science! How cool! So I'm jumping right into this...I start next Thursday. Can't wait!

Amazing blog!

So 2 posts in one day...clearly I am procrastinating on writing all those thank you notes from the shower. I just came across the most amazing blog ever if you grew up the 90s. http://childrenofthenineties.blogspot.com/ enjoy a good laugh!

I was showered!

My shower was this past Sunday. How amazing! I have to admit, I was completely nervous and a bit guilty about the fact that people had bought me so many gifts (the table was covered...and so was the floor beneath it!). Luckily, once I got over that initial nervousness it was wonderful. Good job mom and Mrs. R.! It was help at a golf course in town and we had a lunch-time banquet complete with salads, finger sandwiches, sweet tea, and spiked punch. With the sweet tea I felt like we were down south. After that we did gifts and I was completely blown away with how generous everyone is. I got everything that I could have asked for and more and some people were so clever. Keith's aunt and I are both avid readers and talk books a lot. She found this website www.booksbyyou.com where you choose a book, enter in information about people and then you get back a book that is personalized. She got Keith and I a book about race car owner (me) and her new driver (Keith) and their romance....ooooh! I doubt Keith will ever read it but it's so cute. I am also completely stocked to have the biggest party ever....so details on that will be forthcoming I guess. :) The shower was also good practice for the wedding day. I got kind of used to being the center of attention and learned that I need to not make so many faces. My poor cousin was trying to take pictures and managed to get a stupid picture of me practically every time! Might be tough to get good wedding pictures if I keep that up. Next wedding related thing is my final dress fitting next weekend. I can't wait!

The troops are getting restless

May is on the horizon. That combined with the warm weather mean that my students are going nuts! The end of the year is always rough. I usually am ready for summer as much as my students are, but I have to somehow make them think that I want to be in school doing school work and that what we are doing is vitally important (when I know in my mind that whether they remember the name of Darwin's ship is not going to make or break their future). Always fun...

Now sometimes the kiddos are clever. Yesterday one of the kids left school during 8th period (which is wrong, but he did have a study so at least he didn't skip class) and put a tarp in the back of his pickup truck, filled it with water, and drove back to school. This must have been planned in advance because half of the senior class had on their bathing suits and they had a "redneck hot tub party" after school. Innocent fun. It got me thinking about the silly things that we used to do back in high school that adults probably shook their heads at, but that made us laugh. Like the time in Chem class (not sure if you've heard this story Allison) where we were tye-dying clothes and our teacher told us we could tye-dye anything we wanted. Me and a buddy bought in underwear and sports bras. Or the times we used to go sneak into the local YMCA camp after dark to slide down the super long slide (in defense of my coolness it was a long slide that went down the side of a huge hill....and we had Wendy's trays).

Those innocent fun things are the reason that I love teaching high school kids. So much better than the doofus that thinks its fun to come to school drunk or high. Kiddos like that really grind my gears (family guy anyone?) In other news....actually can't think of any other news. So until I can think of something witty....bye