My classroom!

So Ry and I officially live in Rancho Cordova now. All of our stuff is unpacked and either in our room or jammed into our storage unit. We made about 5 trips back and forth this week. It was pretty rough. But the highlight of the week was getting to see my new school. It is amazing! They are only finishing up their 6th year so everything is still practically new. Well, new compared to the previous schools I taught at. They are moving my classroom from a portable room to a huge room! It has sinks, tons of storage space, and a bathroom right outside this small room that connects to a kindergarten classroom. I will be close to the small playground that the kindergarteners use which will probably be better for my students. I met the old teacher and we are meeting next week to go over IEPs, she seemed very nice and eager to help me out and talk with me about the students. They had me go into her room and put sticky notes on all the pieces of furniture I wanted for my room. It's still so bizare to think about. The principal was also extremely nice and welcoming. I should start training for the new curriculum within a couple weeks. I am also meeting the assistant superintendent on Tuesday where I get the "official" offer. Hopefully I find out exactly how much moola I will be making as well. The only downer is that it takes me exactly a half hour to get there. and that is without traffic. I'm going to have to do a few trial runs during the summer to see how bad traffic is. Ry and I still have to go back to Chico to clean the house. Not fun. I'm sick of driving but we are almost done. Oh and I think Marley and the cats love it here more than the Chico house. They have cool wood floors to sleep on. Marley also really loves the new park we take her too. Tonight this lil family with two baby girls were having tons of fun watching her fetch her toy a million times. Well, I guess that's it for now. Here is the link to my new school, check it out!

Bridgeway Island K-8 Elementary

Won't Back Down

Busy Week

The weekend is finally calming down. Actually, it has been an insane week. It started last Monday. Ryan and I drove to Sacramento b/c I had two interviews on Tuesday. We figured we might as well load the cars with stuff to bring down. My first interview was seriously freaking me out. It was a 3 parter, an oral interview, a 20 minute lesson to junior high students and a written part. The interview went well, the lesson was difficult and the written part went well. It confirmed for me that I never want to teach junior high students. They are just kinda rude and have an attitude.

The second interview went a lot better. It was for Washington Unified School District in West Sacramento. The interview seemed to go well and I figured they would let me know within a few weeks or so. But at the end they said they really liked me and wanted me to meet the principal the following week. I was stoked, but still figured that was just part of the interview process. Then they said if that went well and my references checked out, then they would send my paperwork to HR and tell them I was their pick! I started freaking out a little, but acted calmly and told them I would see them next week. Everyone was telling me that it meant I was practically hired. But I didn't sign anything and they didn't say for sure, so I was being cautiously optimistic. Graduation came Thursday for my credential program, as well as my parents, Jamie and Willie. It was nice to go out to lunch with my parents. It felt like it had been a long time since I had seen them. The graduation ceremony was nice and we had a little after party with cookies for my whole Special Ed credential class and family.

Friday morning I woke up with a phone call from the lady I interviewed with at Washington Unified School District confirming my meeting with the principal that day at 2. I was like, uhhhhhhhhhhhh I have it scheduled for next Friday. And she apologized saying I was right and she was just so anxious to get everything started and that she is probably just going to send my stuff to HR because the principal trusts their judgement and that my references had nothing but great things to say about me. I GOT THE JOB!!!!! I couldn't believe it!!!!!!!! It is a k-3 special day classroom with 10 students and 2 aides. I still can't believe it. I have a job! and it's exactly what I wanted. ahhhhhhhhhhh! They ordered all brand new curriculum so I will start training on that next week I believe. I will also go through an autism training as well. The school looks really nice, it is in the middle of a bunch of nice housing development. It just all seemes so surreal. I'm sooooo excited!

Anyway, on Friday Marika, Joe, Sally, Janelle, Mike, Kim, Griffin, Stephanie, Cesar and many more came to visit for Graduation weekend. Friday we went out to The Bear. I had soooooooooo much fun with everyone. Ryan and I counted and 18 people slept at our house that night. If you have been to our house you will know it is not very big. But believe it or not we even had room for more! Saturday we were all exhausted. It was Kristen's graduation and her grad party. The party was super nice at one of her friends parents house. Mike and Ryan went swimming the whole time. Then Sunday we drove to the bay for Kim and Griff's wedding shower. It was stunning. They had it set up so nice, I loved it. It was also really fun to see all of the friends from Pleasant Hill. It had been a long time. Of course I got all teary when their parents were giving speeches. I am soooo excited for their wedding in Oregon this August. They really are an amazing couple. As usual, I am terrible at remembering to take pictures. But I have some from the weekend and my graduation ceremony.

My parents, Jamie, Kristen and I

Jill, Angie, me and Fiona waiting during the graduation ceremony.

Kristen and I and a group shot

It's been a while.....

I haven't posted anything in a few weeks so I thought I'd put up some new pictures and give some updates. I have been interviewing for jobs which has been stressful but also great at the same time. Yesterday I had two interviews, one for a junior high (attitude much?) and one for a k-3 special day class. Not going to lie, the second one is my dream job. The interview went wonderfully and they invited me back to meet with the principal next week. They told me I was their pick. But, I'm being cautiously optimistic. I can't help feeling ridiculously excited but I'm trying not to think about it until I am actually offered the job in writing. Ryan and I were able to move some things into Jamie and Willies house which felt like a great start to the moving process. I still get a headache thinking about everything we have to move buuuuuut we have plenty of time and no jobs (yet) to get in the way of moving all our crap. This has been a long week. So far it's been interviews and moving, tomorrow people are coming up and I'm having my credential graduation, Friday even more people are coming up, Saturday is Kristen's graduation and grad party, and Sunday we are driving to the bay for Griffin and Kim's wedding shower. I'm ready for things to calm down a little bit. Anyway, here are some pictures from last week. On Thursday I went out with the girls from my credential program. I am seriously going to miss them all sooooooooooo much. They are all amazing and I can't wait to see where everyone ends up. We are already planning a wine tasting weekend for this summer. Friday we drove to the bay for Ryan's cousin Amanda's wedding. I'm terrible at remembering to take pictures so I'm hoping Ryan's mom can send me some pictures she took. She was actually getting some of Ryan dancing with me! Anyway...here are some pics...

Ry and I at the wedding

Ashley, Holly, Laura, Me, Angie, Michelle and Jill

I didn't know what to do with my hands

Future teachers of America right here! Is that a hand on a boob?

My First Experience Being a Krazy Coupon Person

So I found out about the crazy world of couponing and can not get over it. It all started with this blog called Krazy Coupon Lady. It teaches you how to grocery shop using coupons and save tons of money. It's crazy! Apparently it takes a lot of time, which I don't exactly have right now. I still frequent the blog to check out good deals. Well, today I actually did it! This is probably going to sound really lame, but it made me super excited. I have been on a fiber kick lately, they say fiber is a dieters best friend. I have been eating Fiber One cereal and bars. Well, Target had a deal that if you buy 4 Fiber One products, you get a $5 Target gift card for free. Krazy Coupon Lady posted websites where you can print or find coupons for money off Fiber One cereal and bars. So I printed three .75 cent off coupons for the cereal and one $1.35 off a box of bars. With all 4 items being on sale for $2.39 each before the coupons, after the coupons my total was around $6. But then I also got the $5 gift card. So in the end, I paid $1 for 3 boxes of Fiber One cereal and a box of Fiber One bars. According to the receipt, I saved $13.40. The key is to save coupons and then use them when items go on sale. So you end up spending a quarter of the original price. I fully intend on researching this further, but unfortunately now is not the time. Maybe this summer when I have more free time. Now I'm off to work on eating those 3 boxes of cereal I now have in my cupboard. Check out the website for more info. And yes, I am aware this whole thing makes me sound lame, but hey....when you're on a budget, finding new ways to save tons of money is very exciting.

Movies I Can't Wait To See

Wanna come with me?