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Thanks to everyone for all the career advice, I really appreciate your input. It’s helpful to know what options other people would explore if in my shoes. So far, I went back to teaching -one day -and that was enough! Granted, it was a tough class and I had a rough day, but it was still enough to remind me that I don’t want to be doing that anymore. I also find that when I’m on-call I don’t sleep. I toss and turn all night in anticipation of my phone ringing at 6am or so. Plus, I’m a worry-wort by nature and I just can’t stop thinking about um, everything!

I applied to a couple of jobs but haven’t heard anything yet, so more on that if I do ever hear anything.

The future of my current job here from home is actually looking a bit better. We may be bringing on new companies, so I’ll be busier than I am now. Again, waiting to see what happens with that, and if things go as planned, I may be satisfied enough to stay put with what I’m doing now.

So sorry for the lack of posts though, I’ve been very lax in updating my blog and in reading others. I’m geting caught up on the reading part but have had a hard time finding the motivation to post about anything wonderful. I welcome any meme’s or questions/post ideas.

What else have I been up to? I am in the process of becoming a Big Sister and I had my interview yesterday. Next Tuesday is a child safety class and then they will match me with a little boy or girl (aged 7-12) to mentor based on similar interests, etc. It’s only two hours a week and there’s a million and one things we can do. I’m pretty excited to volunteer again (it’s been years!) and I really think that once I feel like I’m giving back to the community, I’ll be more motivated to get my own career on track. I just feel like such a slug these days.

Although I do have to say that this slug has been good about going to the gym on a regular basis. I’m taking several classes (yoga being my favorite) and all my free time has been good for allowing me to go to those classes. Right now I’m in excruciating pain/stiffness from a weight class I went to yesterday. Ah! It’s good to feel active again! Giggs has agreed to be my assistance dog while I hobble around. I cry at the sight of stairs right now.

As for Giggs, he’s doing well and we’re making trips to the dog park whenever the weather isn’t in the minus double digits (celsius). We took him off the raw diet since he was eating too fast and barfing on occasion. He’s now on a new kibble and he LOVES it! His poops are still good too for those who are interested lol. We celebrated our one year anniversary together as a family on January14th! HERE’S a link to the post just after we got him. I can’t believe how much he’s grown and we got him at almost five months old to start with. LOVE, LOVE LOVE him :)

I Needs Me A New J.O.B

I mentioned in my last post that I may be back at the teaching grindstone. This working at home thing is nice and I like being at home but 1) I’m BORED and feel like I’m contributing nothing to society, and 2) I’m working in a very volatile market and the pay schedule reflects that.

So here are my options:

1) I can return to teaching (subbing) but that means working on call, so again, the money thing is sporadic and non-reliable, plus as a teacher-on-call (TOC) I’m basically a glorified babysitter who gets stuck teaching other people’s crappy lessons. You don’t bond with the kids as easily as a TOC and the job is not very fulfilling when it’s discipline and management issues all day long.

Getting a full-time position in this district means you have to do the TOC thing until you land a full-time contract. This can take a while and both contracts I’ve had in the past meant taking over for middle-aged male teachers with VERY DIFFERENT teaching styles than me and both were not well organized (in their own minds they were, I guess) so both were stressful experiences! I like to be organized and I want to set the tone and routines of my own classroom!

2) The second option is getting into a whole new career altogether. Problems here include: I don’t want to work for peanuts; I don’t want to go back to school; I don’t want to work evenings or weekends. Picky? YES! I have a Bachelors degree in elementary education (BEd), which is comparable to a BA -better, if you ask me since it’s a 5 year degree and I had to take a helluvalot more classes and credits to get it!

I just don’t know what to do! I’ve made myself available on the TOC list again, but so far no calls (I guess everyone’s nice and rested from Christmas holidays). It’s not my ideal, but if there’s work, there’s money to be had (almost $30/hr).

Any ideas or suggestions of cool, fulfilling jobs that pay well? Keep in mind, I’m in a city of about 100,000 so the opportunities aren’t as thick as big cities.

Maybe I’ll go to Alberta and work on the oil rigs… lol!

What We’ve Been Up To

Holy smokes, I’ve been a bad blogger! Christmastime was busy and in my spare time I avoided the computer like the plague! I’m all caught up on my blog reading, so now I better catch up on my blog posting. I’ll try not to type too much and just let the pictures tell the story…

We traveled out of town the weekend before Christmas to visit with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins on my mom’s side of the family. My parents, Tony, Giggs, Jack, and I all piled into the Rover and drove together. Jack was a good boy and sat in the very back where we had left room for him amidst the luggage, and Giggs sat in the backseat between my mom and me. Dad sat in the front with Tony. The drive was ok, lots of snow but not too slippery. It took a while for Giggs to settle down and stop trying to play with Jack over the back of the seat. We stayed overnight at my aunt’s where everyone came over for Christmas dinner, gift exchange, and general merry-making. The highlight of the evening was the turducken that my aunt got from a local butcher. Tony’s been wanting to try one for the past few years. It was really good! -oh yah! And when the marshmallows on the yams caught fire! That was fun too!

Uncle Darren gave Giggs some beer:

We had to cut him off.

Christmas Eve was hosted by us at our place. Both our families and a couple close friends, who do not have family in town, came over and we had a pot luck dinner. Our friend Sharley made her amazing briscuit! So good!

Giggs trying some last minute good behavior for Santa:

On Christmas day, Tony and I slept in until nine or so, then opened our gifts to each other at our place. Then we got cleaned up and dressed to go to my parents for more gift opening with my family. We stayed the day at my parents’ place and had Christmas dinner there as well.

The boys had a wrapping paper wrestling match at our house:

A satisfied pug on Christmas morning :)

Boxing Day was very mellow and since we didn’t need anything major, we avoided the shopping crowds.

We spent New Year’s Eve attending my friend Kim’s wedding. This is the second New Years wedding we’ve attended and they’re lots of fun! The ceremony was at three o’clock and the reception took place at 7:30 until past midnight (open bar, yippee!). In between, Tony and I had a nice romantic dinner at a fancy restaurant since we were all dressed up. We had a great time and we got a hotel room downtown so we could walk there and crash after the wedding reception rather than wait forever for a cab. Giggs spent the night at grandma and grandpa’s house playing with baby Ewan, who my mom was also babysitting for my sister’s friend. He had a blast licking the baby and making him giggle. Ewan started crawling about two days later and I like to think it was Giggs’ influence that helped him figure it out.

The ladies together again! We all met in the elementary education program at university.

Honey! Look what I caught!

I got to wear my red Christmas dress and shoes twice this year (due to the wedding) so I figure it was totally worth the money ;)

My birthday was on the 4th and I kept it low key. We’ve been so busy with dinners out and everything leading up to Christmas and then the wedding, that I just wanted to relax. I’m getting up there after all. We met some friends and my family for coffees and then Tony and I went to dinner at one of my favorite sushi places. Saturday, we went up to my parent’s for my family birthday dinner and gift opening. Then we had some Guitar Hero action on the Wii.

So now I’m getting back into a routine and may start teaching again (long story for another post) so if I don’t update as much, it’s because I’m out of the house working. Our Christmas decorations are coming down hopefully very soon, so my house will feel orderly again.

Still Here…

WOW! It’s been a very long time since i posted last… I’ve been a very busy girl! I’m just popping in today to say that I’m still alive and kicking. I’ll let everyone know what I’ve been up to very soon with a Christmas and New Year recap (since you’re sick of those by now I’m sure!). But I’m not doing it today! Because TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY and I’m not gonna sit here on this computer! I’m gonna go play Nintendo Wii instead. LOL!