la salade de kermit

I just had to share this.
A friend of mine found a frog in her salad today.

Exciting news!

I got a job offer yesterday.
I accepted it today. :)

I took the teacher position where I will have my own classroom. Everyone was super nice there. I went back and looked at the room and I think it is doable. (Two tables do fit in the room so I can have an activity at each, plus the kids can play on the carpet area with other things at the same time). And I just really think it is exciting to be able to run the classroom how I want to.

I start on the 27th. There are three more days of the school year after I start, then an "in-service day" when I can organize my classroom, then a four-day weekend, and then I start for reals on the 5th. Right now the class is called the Dragonflies, but they said I could change it if I want. I think I might, but I'm not sure to what.

I really think I'm going to like it there.

Oh, and my parents have been asking what I wanted for a graduation present, but I had no idea. A few days ago I added a lot of books to my wishlist about preschool activities and classroom management. I sent them an email and expected that they would get me a few. They bought me all 10! I think I'm set now!

pictures!

I finally took some pictures of the things I'm working on, plus some extra ones of our yard.

First is Bad Penny. I'll probably get an orangey color similar to the one in the pattern for the trim. It's knitting up pretty quickly, though I've gotten to the monotonous part of it and haven't been working on it as much as I should. I also need to learn to start putting stitches on string instead of holders when I set them aside, because I got an awful stretched out area on the underside of each sleeve when I did this. I'm sure I can just stitch it up with some extra yarn, but it would be better if I just didn't have it in the first place!

The full shot

Up close and personal

I also have some of Orangina knitted up, but I haven't worked on this since I started Bad Penny. I usually like to knit when I'm watching a movie or listening to music. This lace pattern doesn't really allow me to do that yet though. I've lost my place a few times, and I'm just now getting the swing of how to find it again. I'm just so worried that I'm going to make a mistake and then have to rip all the way back to the start because I won't know how to fix it in lace.

It sure is pretty though.

Wolfie isn't too interested.

Ah, I feel better now. I need to buy some new yarn and start on the socks for my Sockapal-2-za sock pal. I think I will try to make a pair of socks for myself first though, since I don't want to give someone else my crappy first try pair.

Anyway, I am loving parts of our yard (while other parts still need some work). Here are pictures of some of my favorites.

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

countertops, interviews

Just a quick post because we have some countertop pictures up. We've actually done more kitchen stuff since (the sink works, etc.). Pretty countertops.

Also, the director at the school I interviewed at yesterday morning called me to ask if I could come back tomorrow to observe the classroom and children and get a better feel for the school. Things seem really optimistic with this one! I need to buy some of these activity books if I'm going to have my own classroom! :D

Update: Oops! The activity books don't show up in my wishlist anymore because my dad bought me ALL of them! My goodness.

interviews

I had two interviews today and I have one tomorrow.

One of the ones today I definitely did not like. I expect to get an offer (because she Really seemed to like me), but I will most likely turn it down (I wasn't too thrilled with her). Just not my style of preschool. A little too structured in some ways, a little too unorganized in others. Plus she said a couple of things that made my jaw want to drop because I just could not believe she was saying them. It's too bad really; I had high hopes for this one from our phone conversation.

The other one from today I have mixed feelings about. I would have my own classroom. I would not be a "head teacher" because there is only one teacher per room. Though the thought of having my own classroom makes me somewhat nervous, it is also pretty exciting. I could do things the way I want to instead of how those who have been there longer think it should be. I would get to plan everything myself (and boy do I like to plan and organize). AND if when I screw up once in awhile (as I know I will having never run my own classroom before) there will be noone there to see it but the kids, and they don't care. ;) Being the only teacher in the room would allow me to wing it better. And the part about doing circle time that always makes me anxious is the other adults watching me - the kids don't make me nervous - so this would be perfect.

Drawbacks are that it is in San Mateo (a half hour drive) and that it is a really tiny classroom. There's not much room for having more than one activity available to the kids at once, for large motor activities during circle time, or even for keeping lots of different supplies. I'm not sure yet what my response would be if they offer it to me.

My interview tomorrow is with an organization that provides substitute teachers to preschools in my area. If no other opportunities seem great to me, I can always do this for awhile while I look around more. Flexible workdays, lots of variety, possibly find out about other permanent openings while also bringing home some money too. Excellent.

I really need to do a knitting post. I'm working on a few different projects. Orangina (a lacy tank top), Bad Penny (a short-sleeved shirt), and I joined a secret pal sock-along for my first try at socks. Links for all three can be found in my right sidebar. I will post pictures soon (ya, I said that last week about kitchen updates and still haven't done it, but I really do plan to!).

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I could really use some air conditioning. My slurpee will do for now.

kitchen update

The craziest thing happened last night.

I cooked dinner for the first time in almost 4 months!
Hooray for countertops and a sink!

All we have left are wall cabinets, the fridge, hanging pendants over the island, butcher block countertop for the island, and the backsplash. Ya, that still seems like a long list, but you should have seen the original one.

We'll post pictures of the countertops and sink soon.

After this is over, we will move on to one of the million other projects we want to do around the house. It never ends.

• Bookshelves for library
• Shelves for craft room
• Stain cabinet for craft room
• Refinish dresser
• Paint master bedroom
• Paint library
• Paint guest bath
• Tear out wallpaper in dining room and finish painting
• New light for dining room
• Wall light for library and craft room
• Redo baseboards in craft room, library, loft
• Make side walkway into rock path
• Tear out front yard shrubs - add walkway to side street and maybe retaining wall?
• Tear out bricks in front courtyard, add many pretty plants
• Tear out bricks in innercourt, add many pretty plants
• Make plans for backyard (patio, flowerbeds, etc)

I told you it never ends. There's actually other stuff on our list, but I decided to leave off the lower priority things. Hah! We wanted a house we could fix up and make our own. We definitely got that.

graduation

My graduation was on Saturday. Hooray! I thought I would point you in the direction of my graduation pictures. There aren't many - just a few.

Click to see more

I graduated magna cum laude. Fancy schmancy, I know. The morning was awfully chilly, but it sure did heat up. We all ended up with sunburns.

This week has been a mixture of relaxing and household chores so far. I've been looking on craigslist for job opportunities, but there aren't too many out there right now. Luckily, Tim said it was okay. I don't have to take a job just to have a job, so I can wait to find something I will really love. My husband is so good to me. I will show my appreciation by taking care of lots of household stuff in the meantime.