I miss curbside recycling :(

Now, we have only been without it since the beginning of Jan. and it usually was only picked up every other week.  But it is true that you never appreciate something until it is gone.  First, let me explain why it is gone.  In a nutshell, the company went bankrupt and didn't tell the county until about a week before they were going to stop pick-up.  The contract with the company was set to expire Dec 31, but the county assumed that they would still go month to month until July, when the new company's contract was set to start.  No such luck-bankruptcy hit.  

There are several cites/towns/villages in Outagamie county that worked something out with other places or something to get interim  curbside recycling.  However, Kaukauna is not one of them.  So they have set up a recycling drop off center and the streets department (M-F 7:00-3:30 and Sat 8-12) for the convenience of those who still plan to recycle during the stoppage.  (I am sure that there are some not willing to drive there recyclables to a center.  And the county is worried about that as well.)

Well, we are willing to drive our recyclables, even if it is a slight inconvenience.  So that is what I did, for the first time today.  It was not bad.  The center is only about 5 minutes from the house.  But, you have the hassle of loading all the papers and plastics bins in the car and then driving to the center.  Then you have to unload and throw the items into the correct bins.  (The paper one was quite high I had to loft our bags in.)  Course as I was almost done, some guy came out to help unload the cars.  There were 3 others there besides me.  Then there is the drive home and bringing the bins back in the house.

Hopefully I will only have to do this until March, when they are hoping they can get the new company to start.  

Wonder what the mayor would say if we asked for a refund on taxes for the months that we are paying for a service we don't have?!?

An ice scraper shortage?!?!?!?

I am not talking the tiny ones for the cars, I am talking the long ones for the sidewalks and such.  It would appear that an ice storm, like the one we had over the weekend, tends to clear all hardware stores of these scrapers.  I called at least a dozen stores in our area this morning and only one store could confirm that they had any left-and another would be getting a shipment later on this evening.  Unfortunately, the store that had them was out by the mall-20 minutes away and a place I try to avoid until March.  

I drove to Home Depot, the only place that said they had any left.  Sure enough, they had 2 left.  So I grabbed one and headed to the register.  As I was walking a man asked me where I found that.  I told him to hurry because there was only one left!!

So all the stores in about a 20 mile radius of my house are sold out of sidewalk ice scrapers until about 6pm (When Ace told me they would be getting more in.)

Thankfully we now own one and I will not have to go on a hunt for one anytime in the near future.

I am also happy to report that it works great and the think layer of ice that was once my sidewalk can be called a sidewalk again.  It was fun to watch the ice chips slide down the snow banks as I added them to the heaping piles of snow in the front yard!!

We are ice free for the time being!!!

2008

Since today is the last day of 2008 and I have some free time, I decided to take a look back on the year.

Personally:

*5 years of marriage

*the leaky basement was finally fixed ($3000, and a beautiful tree loss, later)

*we became godparents

*2 new family members (2 cousins had new babies)

*Brian changed jobs a few times (I think he is finally somewhere where he can be happy)

*I am still looking for full time work

*now sub for 2 school districts

*bought a new snow blower (which has come in very handy this year so far!)

*reconnected with several old friends, via Facebook

*3 years as homeowners

*family and friends are relatively healthy (I have a cold as I write this!!)

*broke down and bought an Apple computer (love it!!!)

*another successful summer school (3rd year teaching, 3rd school-Wonder where I will be in 2009?!)

*bought 1/4 of a cow (freezer space is very limited now!!!)

*had several bonfires in the backyard with friends

Other big happenings:

*first African-American president elected

*Appleton hit record snowfall for the month of December (broke the record set in 1887)

*stock market in trouble

*gas hit all time highs, only to come down again

*several companies shut down production-leaving many jobless (several right here in the Fox Valley and more in Wisconsin)

*unemployment hits an all time high

Hopes for 2009

*stock market recovery

*continued health of family and friends

*less snow

*a full time job

*continue a happy, healthy marriage

*attending at least 1 wedding, possibly 2

*ability to spend as much time as possible with family and friends

*lower unemployment rate-more jobs created

*possibility for more travel-not just to visit family or friends

*Sylvan enrollment will increase so we can all get back to the hours we were used to

*safe travels for all family and friends

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, but...

...enough is enough!!  It is not even winter yet (officially) and we have already had one of the snowiest Decembers on record.  And more is on the way, just in time for all the holiday travel.  We are not getting hit as hard as the areas south of us today, but I am still sick of the snow.  Don't get me wrong, I love the snow and it wouldn't be Christmas without it, but there is a limit.  When it snows about every other day, that is too much.  

We have lots of travel plans, SOUTH, for this weekend which I hope are not affected:

*Housewarming/Christmas with friends in Waukesha

*Christmas with mom's side of the family in Hales Corners.

*And I have a cousin that is supposed to be flying in from NY this weekend.  Hopefully that will happen, I haven't seen her in a year!

And if that wasn't bad enough, we are supposed to get more snow Saturday night into Sunday.

Mother Nature sure has some twisted sense of humor!!

Well, here is wishing safe travels to anyone going anywhere these next few days, even it is just down the street.  

Happy Shoveling Too!!!

I love student teachers!!!!

I probably didn't feel that way when I was one, but now that I am a sub, they are great!!

I subbing in a 4th grade classroom today, with a student teacher.  He was at the point where he was teaching everything.  So, why take that joy away from him to change things and confuse the kids.  I am not one who like to confuse kids and take them away from their routines.  So, Mr. Lamers taught the class today.  

What did I do all day??  I watched, and circulated the room to help out where necessary with directions and behaviors.  Now, keep in mind that they were 4th graders, so they didn't need much help.  There was also an hour break in the morning for Gym/Music.  There was nothing that needed to be prepped and Mr. Lamers was all set to go for the day.  So I read my book, a lot of my book.  

My day was a pretty easy one.  I like to have those every once in a while.  I hope that all of you get an easy day every once in a while.

Recess Duty

Up until today, I have had recess duty for the past 6 days that I have subbed.  As a teacher, I know how precious those recesses are, both to students and teachers.  And being a sub, I don't mind covering the required recess duty so the teachers can get a much needed break.  But every day was starting to get a bit much.  I would leave in the morning with my boots and winter gear prepared for duty.   And sure enough, but the time I read through the plans, I would see I HAVE RECESS DUTY written there.

I usually don't mind recess duty-when the sun is shining and there is no snow on the ground.  6 days of recess duty is a little much when there are so many layers required to just go outside.  And then with the snow, there is a little extra watching required to make sure that there are no snowballs being made or thrown and that everyone is playing safely in the snow.  And again, if the sun is shining I typically don't mind that much.  However, lately it seems that the wind has been pretty strong on my duty days.

I am beginning to wonder if teachers schedule conferences and necessary meetings on days that they know the will have duty, just to make the sub suffer!!

Luckily today was 5th grade at the intermediate school, so I had a pretty good feeling when I left this morning that there would be no recess duty in my future today.  I was right and was able to stay inside and warm all day long!!!

Happy December!!

Winter is definitely here!!  Our snow blower got it's first voyage today, since we bought it.  And it works great.

We woke up to a wonderful blanket of wet, cold, white stuff this morning.

I am told that there has been measurable snowfall on Dec 1st, for the last 3 years-more so down south from us.

And now the winter driving begins, along with school closings and delays.  

It is the weather like this that actually makes me want to put up the Christmas decorations and get rid of all signs of fall around the house.  I am sure that our decorations will be up by the end of the weekend!

Happy Holidays to everyone!!!

Turkey Day and Early Bird Survivor!!

I am happy to report that I have survived 2 turkey days and 1 morning of shopping, early bird shopping!!

Turkey Day #1 was at the in-laws on Thanksgiving.  I was a little worried about this one, since there is some history there.  Surprisingly everyone was on their best behavior.  One SIL even played a game with the rest of us!!  There was no arguing, shouting, complaining, or raising of the voices.  All in all, it was much better than expected.  

Turkey Day #2 was at my parents on Saturday.  This was just my parents, Adam and my aunt.  So nothing really out of the ordinary there.  Mom kept retelling the same stories, and the rest of us would just roll our eyes, knowing we had already heard the story.

Early Bird shopping was great.  Brian and I were up at 4am, and out of the house by 4:30am.  We were standing in line outside of Best Buy by 4:50am. (Best Buy opened at 5)  We were in and out of there in 15 minutes.  Then it was off for more shopping.  There are no injuries to report from the morning and we got everything we set out for.  I am happy to report, that thanks to this early shopping day, we are almost done with our Christmas shopping.  We returned home by about 9:15, after visiting 6 stores and stopping for breakfast!!

Finally, a (good) reason to be tired at the end of the week!!!

Besides my 2 hours, 2 days a week at Sylvan. 

I have been subbing again.  Today I was in a Kindergarten classroom and had a blast!!  Wednesday afternoon and Thursday I was in a first grade, bilingual, classroom.  That wasn't quite as much fun, but I can say that I have had worst times subbing in the past at that school for the older grades.  I usually don't like to go to that school for the bilingual reason, but at this point in the game I figured I can't really be picky.  And I was lucky enough to be teaching the English part of the group, so it all worked out for me.  May have been a little easier if I could speak Spanish, but maybe someday I will take classes!!

And I even have a day and a half booked for next week!!  It is with a new district, so I am excited to see how different this district is from the Menasha district that I have been used to for 3 years. I will be in 2 different 1st grade classrooms in 2 different schools, so it should be interested.

Stay tuned and I will let you know if there are differences and how I feel about this new district!!

WHY???

*Why can't Brian and I find jobs?

*Why is the price of everything going up?

*Why is the state so backlogged with unemployment?

*Who do you need to tell your whole life story to a stranger in order to get some assistance? (that you may or may not actually get)

*Why does it seem like very few good things come our way?

*Why can't I be content with the things that I do have?

*Why can't contentment with the things I have be enough to get through life?

*Why does it seem like my college degree doesn't meant much right now?

*Why are there so many struggling families this year?

*Why does the economy suck?

*Why is the government bailing out auto companies and banks? (I think the taxpayers could put that money to much better use)

*Why won't the government bail me out?

*Why can't I think of a work from home job that I can start myself, with no money? (If anyone needs a tutor or Christmas gifts wrapped, give me a call!!)

*Why don't I try to write children's books? (If anyone knows how I can get started with that, let me know)

*Why is it that the price of things we need everyday keep going up  Is it because they know we will pay whatever price they ask because we need it?  If supply and demand stay the same, shouldn't the price?

*Why are teachers not needing as many subs this year?

*Why do employers not respond to a resume (even with a NO)

*Why do make money from home sites require such a large start up cost?

*Why aren't there more work from home jobs?

Okay, I am done with my pity party.  Time to move on and be thankful for all the positive things that I have going on in my life.

Thank you

*Thank you for our health.

*Thank you for our parents-who are healthy and able to help us out financially.

*Thank you for the few hours that I am getting at Sylvan.

*Thank you for the opportunity to be on the sub list for 2 school districts.

*Thank you for the roof over our heads.

*Thank you for the food we have.

*Thank you for keeping our cars running. (can't afford repairs)

*Thank you for our friends, who continue to pray for our well being.

*Thank you for unemployment checks (once they start coming)

*Thank you for our ability to search the Internet for jobs.

*Thank you for heat.

*Thank you to everyone reading this blog, who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers for so long.  We appreciate all of you!!

Like a good neighbor...

...Brian and Sara are there.  We did our good deed this afternoon.  We raked/blowed the neighbors leaves to the curb.  Brian did this mostly because he didn't want them blowing into our freshly raked yard (they have not raked once this season and the last pick up is Monday)

These neighbors tend to be annoying and move about the yard at the strangest times.  They have parties in their garage, where the music tends to get really loud-almost sounds like they are holding a band practice.  They also have bon-fires late into the night sometimes and they do not have quiet friends.  They also just recently got 2 dogs(who tend to bark a lot when they are outside), so there is now a chain link fence in their yard, which doesn't really bother us because there is a fence between our two yards already anyway.  They come and go at strange hours of the night and day.  The cops have also been at their house a few times in the past.  There was once a rumor about drugs, but that has never been proven, nor do we know why the cops were there.  So these people are simply neighbors, not friends or even acquaintances, simply neighbors whom we tolerate (at least for now)!

We don't really know or particularly like these neighbors, so it was a really nice thing that we did.  I am not expecting to get anything in return, they have never done anything for us.  Nor I am even expecting a thank you.  I will be satisfied knowing that I have done my random act of kindness today and leave it at that.

Ballot Number 1057

I have done my civic duty for the day, and it didn't take as long as I expected.  The poling place was a 3 minute drive from my house and I was doorstep to doorstep in less than 30 minutes.  I guess it pays to go during the "down" times.  Or not that many people in my district are voting.

Now, it could have been faster if the people looking up your information were a bit younger and faster.  But overall, I guess I can't complain.  And I had Brian go first, so my name is in the book right after his!!

Hopefully all of you out there are going to vote today or have already voted.  Feel free to share any of your voting stories, good and bad.

Happy voting!!!!

Fall clean-up!!

We just did a second round of fall clean up in the yard yesterday, since the weather was fairly decent.  About 3 weeks ago, we raked the whole yard.  Those of you who have seen our yard know what a big task that was.  I figure the yard could use a good raking at least once a year.  So our leaves and dead grass were raked to the curb for pick up, and the gutters were cleaned out.  Of course, the trees can not cooperate, so there is more raking/blowing done every week  We get curbside pick up for about 5 weeks, on our garbage day.  So, if they are going to pick up once a week, we will get leaves out there once a week.

Since yesterday was a beautiful fall day, we decided to do one more major clean up.  I used the leaf blower on the yard, and Brian cleaned out the gutter (which appear to be full again today-darn wind).  We even pruned a few of our bushes and burned the remaining brush in the fire pit, so no critters would make a home there over the winter.  

There is one more week of leaf collection after tomorrow, but we will have to see what kind of weather next weekend brings.  It is not looking promising right now.

Did you ever wish...?

that you could just shake the leaves off the trees??

(Sorry, but I couldn't figure out how to rotate the picture!)

That is exactly what we convinced Abbie she could do.  I showed her how to "shake" the tree and make leaves fall down.  Thankfully the wind cooperated a bit with this as well.  So as we were playing in the leaves in the front yard (they don't have leaves at their house, so they came to play in ours), she would decide that she needed more leaves.  Abbie would walk up to the tree and "shake" it as hard as she could.  Se had her "working really hard" look on her face (I wish you could see it in the picture it is a cute look)  And then the wind would blow a little and she would watch all the leaves fall in the yard and in the street.  She thought this was the coolest thing.  So she would play in the leaves for a while and then go back and "shake" the tree.

If only raking in the fall was that easy.

Fall is here!!

As if the colder weather the last few days wasn't a sure sign that fall was here, all the leaves that I raked out of my yard this weekend and the ones that are still falling assure me that fall is here to stay.  We were teased this weekend with temps in the high 70's and low 80's.  Temps which allowed much outdoor yard work to get completed without being too uncomfortable due to cold.

This weekend we:

*Raked the back and front yard.  Leaf collection starts this week and goes every week for 5 weeks.  And this is our one good raking of the year.  My arms are still feeling it today and I have blisters on my hands to prove I really did do the work.

*Cleaned off the lawn chairs and stored them away for the winter.

*Dumped what was left of the planter boxes on the porch and cleaned out the "garden".  Our garden didn't really work this year.  Not enough sun and plenty of bugs, so nothing grew and we were left with the dead remains of our plants.

*Put the garden hose away for the year and turned off the water to the outside.

*Cleaned the leaves out of the gutters to prepare for the rain we are supposed to get this week.  However after the slight wind today I am sure that they are full again.

So, that was our busy weekend.  Hopefully all of you did something outside to enjoy the last bit of summer this weekend as well.

Maybe I'm not meant to be a teacher

Yesterday, I thought I still had a chance at the Kindergarten job in Menasha when I called the school to see if the position had been filled and the secretary said they were still working on it.  Today, I know that my chances are gone.  I subbed at that school and one of the Kindergarten teachers, who I e-mailed yesterday to update on the situation, said that they hired someone.  Luckily that was at the end of the day, so I only had to hold it together for a few minutes.  She made it sound like this had happened a while ago, but was sorry that I didn't get the opportunity to interview.  Why was I lied too??  Was the secretary not aware that the principal had made a decision??

It also gets me thinking about my Perceiver interview.  Was it that bad??  Was the principal seriously considering me for the position or was I granted the phone interview out of guilt??  (I did hand my application directly to him and worked at the school most of last year)

I know that the economy is in a tight spot, but why an I not getting a teaching job??  I am not a bad teacher, though I haven't really been given a chance to show that.

I would not be as upset if I had at least been given the chance to show myself and my skills in a face to face interview.  Would I be less upset if the secretary had told me yesterday that the position was filled??  Probably.  I don't mind the no's, because I know i got looked at, but why the lies??

So, now I contact the day care that was interested in me before the Menasha saga started.  I informed her that I had some opportunities through a school district that i was waiting to hear about.  Hopefully I didn't burn my bridges there or I don't know what i will do.  I need something full time and subbing is not going to cut it.

Thanks for reading my vent.  I know that I am a good teacher who will shine given the right opportunity.  I'll keep you posted on my career saga.  And if anyone needs a good tutor, or knows someone who does, let me know.

Teacher Perceiver Interview

For all of you teachers out there, you know exactly what I am talking about.  For those of you that are not teachers, the Perceiver interview is about 60 questions on your teaching style, teaching philosophy, interpreting situations, and how you would handle different situations.  Not all school districts ask for them, and this is actually the first one I have done since college (which was just a practice one)

Overall, I think the interview went fine.  It was done over the phone, so I really couldn't see reactions.  And it was done at 9pm, after I had subbed all day and put in 4 hours at Sylvan.  My brain was a little fried, but the administer knew all that was going on in my day and still wanted to give the interview at 9pm.

I answered from my heart and a little of what I think they want to hear.  (Who doesn't answer interview questions that way, either in person or on the phone?!?!)  After the interview, which took about 45 minutes, he was able to tell me some things that her "perceived" about me, based on my answers.  I would have to say he did pretty well.  He was able to perceive that I was a good listener and knew that there was more to listening then just listening.  He also picked up on that fact that I am a focused person, based on the fact that I have wanted to teach since childhood and have done things in life to reach those goals.  He did say that my mission was a little messed up, based on the fact that I didn't think that teachers were more important than doctors.  I think that they are equally important, but for all you teachers out there, teaching is the most important job in the world.  Remember that for future interviews.  He did think that I had the right mission, he said there were just other pieces floating in and out.

He was going to call the school principal as soon as we got off the phone and let him know what was perceived and then the ball was in his court.  Well, that was Thursday and I am still waiting to hear.  

I had a dream last night that the principal called and offered me the job, without an interview.  After all, I spent most of the year there last year, what else does he need to know about me.  So here I sit waiting, but not by the phone-don't want to seem too desperate.  Hopefully something good will happen, but for now it is out of my hands.

From summer to fall in a few hours

Wow, what a temperature change from Saturday to Sunday.  Saturday was beautiful; some sun, no rain, nice enough to hang laundry outside and wear shorts.  Sunday was gloomy, cold, no laundry outside and pants and a long sleeve shirt.  I guess we have truly entered fall.  The upcoming week shows more of the same cold and cloudy weather, with a little rain.  I am actually waiting for the rain to start, they said it would be in Appleton about 10am.  Almost 11 and no rain, but Doppler showed it, it is coming.

What a great day to bake blonde brownies and warm up the house with the oven and the home baked brownie smell.  Guess I could do some cleaning too, since I am not subbing today.  And I will be the next 2 days, so I will not have time then.

A "warm fuzzy" after a Sunday from hell

I will start with the Sunday from hell.  It started out nice, we went to church and out to brunch with the in-laws.  The intention was that after brunch, I would help one of my sister-in-laws with her math for college.  We were at the house and the other sister-in-law decided that she was going to put on a lovely shouting match complete with insults for practically everyone in the house.  I sat there and took it for probably about 20 minutes then looked at Brian and said are you ready to go??  So we left and P was upset because I was supposed to help her with her homework and her sister screwed everything up.  (Hopefully that ended up being a fight between them later.  Did I mention they are twins??)  So Brian and I left and my mother in law ended up bring P to our house for the homework help.  And I will not be going back to their house to help with homework.  The kicker here is that A will also need to take this same math class in a few weeks and was hoping that I would be able to help her as well.  Needless to say she screwed up that opportunity and all the "I'm sorry's"  in the world will not make me help her with the math.

On to the "warm fuzzy".  I got called to sub for yesterday afternoon at the school where I spent most of last year as a long term sub.  I was welcomed back by many of the teachers whom I got to know last year.  A few of them even asked when they were going to give me a job already.   The nice part was that as I was in the middle of read aloud, the principal walked in.  I thought he was there to talk to a student (I was in 5th grade).  No.  He said that he found out I was in the building and wanted to come and say HI and welcome back.  I thought that was really thoughtful of him.  How many other principals would have done that.

Then I had 4 hours at Sylvan, which was much easier than it sounds.  I didn't have nearly the amount of students I was supposed to have according to my schedule.  Hour 1-3 students.  Hour 2-2 students scheduled, I only had 1.  Hour 3-2 students, 1 given to me from another teacher because one of mine didn't show up.  Hour 4-1 student, 2 scheduled.

So after a weekend from hell, I had a great Monday which pretty much made up for it.  I also came home last night to find that one of the day cares that  I applied for called me back and wants to set up an interview.   Wish me luck there!!