Cross Your Fingers

Okay, I'm not saying that I am giving up on public school just yet, but today I applied for a Language Arts position with a wonderful local private school in Monroe. I would love to call George Walton Academy my new teaching "home." I've seen some crazy stuff at my local high school and have come to realize that I've really become old-school. (Never thought I'd say that).

GWA is amazing. I know some of the students and several of the parents. I've witnessed the awesome parental involvement first-hand.

Check 'em out - Here's the link - http://gwa.com/

Cross your fingers that I hear something back. The teachers are renewing their contracts next week and the school's administration said they should have an idea about what openings they will have after that.

Weekend in Pictures

We had a great time at Natalie's party. Glad to see so many old friends.

What Exactly Can I Afford on a Teacher's Salary?

Everyone asks about how I'll handle the teacher's salary and all I can say is this: It's really increased over the years and is pretty competitive in regards to other jobs that most women take. With that said, I'm already spending like I'm earning the salary of a teacher with a Ph.D. Is that wrong?

My latest purchase comes in the form of new stainless steel appliances. Jimbo and I updated the kitchen with granite countertops and tile backsplash over the summer and the old white appliances really stood out as being outdated. We are still working on installing the new dishwasher. Here are a few pics of the updated kitchen.

La-La Loves Ki-Ki

I know that all children are special (at least I am trying to tell myself that as I become a teacher). But, I have to share the most special girl (and person) in my life.

My niece Cameron is 2 1/2 years old and she has brought the most joy to my life (and my entire family) in such a short period of time. She calls me La-La and I call her Ki-Ki and we have so much fun together. She's sassy and bossy (just like a typical Kosko) and so full of life.

I love babysitting her and I am so glad that I'll have summers and holidays off so that I can keep spending time with her.

Love is: Family!

What Have I Gotten Myself Into?

Either I'm older than I thought or I'm just way out of touch, but I'm shocked at what goes down in high schools today. Student teaching has been an adventure and I've still got a long way to go! These kids say things, act certain ways and express themselves in ways I could have never imagined! I may have the best student teaching experience ever - especially if I get to help deliver one student's baby (literally due any day now).

I must be so transparent because the teacher felt the need to explain a few things that stunned me after 4th period yesterday. All I can say is WOW!

I think I've entered the Twilight Zone.

Crossing the Hurdles

I crossed another hurdle! I passed the GACE II High School English exam and will be able to finish up my masters now! I have taken so many tests lately that my mind is in a fog and I am so excited to have passed this phase in my program.

Now I am looking into starting on my Specialist degree and then I can move onto my Ph.D. My pocketbook is in dire need of help before I can begin on my doctorate though. How funny will Dr. Lauren Patty sound? Love it!

We Survived - Camping 101

Our camping trip was great. We headed out to Amicalola Falls in Dawsonville yesterday morning and I had enough stuff packed to stay a week instead of one night! Jim laughed at all of my "necessities."

Here are a few highlights of our trip:
1. It took us forever to figure out how to set the 2 beds up on the camper. This camper is 10 years newer than our old one, so we had a lot to learn about everything.

2. I made Jim sleep closest to the door in case someone came in on us (he'd be the 1st person they'd attack). Well, I didn't think about sleeping closest to the window and hearing every little noise all night long. Needless to say, neither one of us got much sleep. I kept imagining Jason (or Freddie) slicing and dicing us through the camper windows.

3. We were camping in the mountains, but still in touch with our inner-tech-geek-selves. Thanks to Jim's iPhone, we were able to look up the rules to Crazy 8's.

4. We had the most wonderful meal (to celebrate our 4th wedding anniversary) at the Smith House in Dahlonega. I ate so much I nearly got sick (literally).

5. I didn't make it all the way up the trail to see the falls. After gorging myself on roast, green beans and 3 helpings of corn bread, I just didn't have it in me to walk all the way up to the top.

Here are a few pics from our adventure.

Adventures in. . . Camping

Jim and I got a new pop-up camper and we are going to take "her" out this weekend for a mini camping trip. We've gone once before in our old camper, but this one actually has heating and air. I hope the weather is nice.

I think we are going to head up around Dawsonville and I hope to get some Outlet Mall therapy shopping in. Does that take away from the whole camping idea? I think I deserve it after finishing my classes and earning only one B out of 12 classes! Now if I could just get him to pay for something . . . .

I'll post some pics of our camping adventure when we return.

My First Post

I decided to create this blog in order to chronicle the challenges, excitement and adventure of becoming a first-time teacher. After five+ years of marketing and public relations, I decided to enter graduate school and pursue a masters in secondary education degree.

During the past year, I have taken 12 classes and have to complete my student teaching in order to finish up my degree. Working on my masters degree has been a wonderfully challening experience. I doubled up on my classes and am so pleased that it took me less than one year to finish all of my actual coursework.

Loganville High School will serve as the setting for my Adventures in Babysitting (as I like to think of it). 11th and 12th grade English to be exact. I pray that these 17 and 18-year-old kids aren't the spawns of Satan and that we will have a wonderful relationship in the classroom. I have a feeling that I'm going to have my first mugshot taken after this adventure.