Birthday!

I am officially 23 today. Hopefully it's a good one at work! 

 

Hello 2013

It's really hard to believe that another whole year has come and gone. It was definitely one for the books though (literally. I just printed most of our proposal/engagement/wedding pictures, and I think it's going to take longer to scrapbook everything than it took to plan the wedding!). It was definitely a great year, though!

In January I turned twenty-two, and Michael and I started our last semester of college, and were living apart. He was still on campus at school, and I was back home three hours away, living at home with my parents while I did my student teaching.

In May, we both graduated from college. From the same college, on the same day, during the same ceremony. It was wonderful getting to see all of our hard work pay off (even though Michael really did not want to walk the stage). It was an incredible feeling, graduating after four years. The four years went by very fast though!

In June, I had my bridal shower, which was a complete blast. Even though we were still a few months from the wedding, we were moving into an apartment before getting married and wanted everyone to be there without worrying about work (for my teaching friends, which is a lot of them!).

July/August was busy for us. We were out searching for apartments when Michael got the call saying that he had gotten the job that he has now, and we were thrilled. We knew that we would only be able to get an apartment if he got the job. We found one we loved that day. During that time span, I was also given my job, which was very exciting!

The week of the wedding was full of fun activities. I took off Thursday and Friday since I had friends coming into town and things like that. Our rehearsal was on Thursday night, and it went wonderfully, and then I have my bachelorette party Friday, with the wedding being on Sunday. It was all a wonderful whirlwind, a lot of which I can not remember now!

And of course, in December we celebrated our first marriage as a married couple, though it was actually our sixth Christmas together. It was great, between spending time with both of our families, and having time to ourselves. Christmas morning. It makes me excited for traditions to continue in the future.

So, here we are with 2013. Here's hoping for another great year! Happy New Year, everyone! :]

I apologize!

Hello all! So sorry I've been so horrible about posting, but things have been crazy. I guess it is true when they say you either have nothing at all going on, or everything at once. The whole, 'everything at once' has definitely hit, and I'm trying to find time to catch my breath. Between moving into an apartment with Michael, starting my first year of teaching, and finishing up wedding plans, things have definitely been a bit hectic. However, I am sure that things will begin to slow down soon, and I won't feel quite so overwhelmed.

This was my first week of work, and it definitively felt incredibly long. Human Resources has been really slow about the whole process, and so all of the new teachers at my school (which is quite a few because of new administration and everything) have been without our emails or any other technology because we do not have any log ins. Luckily, we go next Tuesday night to sign our contracts and everything, so that will fix all of that. I have some pictures of my classroom that I will share very soon as well, perhaps tomorrow.

Our apartment looks great as of now. There are still some things I would like to do in order to make it a bit more homey and like us, but for now I am happy with it. I feel like it's going to be impossible to constantly keep it picked up completely, and I've decided that I'm okay with that. It's not something that I am going to stress myself out about.

I've done a lot of the cooking since we moved in, and I'm feeling pretty confident in it now. Well, more so than at first, at least. I did not know how to cook much before, so I've just been using recipes that I've collected and things, and so far I haven't made anything that we haven't liked. I count that as a definite plus! Hopefully in the future I'll be able to share some recipes, as well :]

Anyway, thank you for everyone that has stuck around through my absence, and all my new followers! I will go through soon and check out all of your blogs as well! :]

-Tiffany

What's been going on around here...

Sorry it's been so long since I've updated, things have been pretty crazy around here, and mostly in a very good sense. It really is amazing how a couple of things can change everything around for the better, and the future is looking pretty great at the moment.

So lately:
* I got rejected for a job that I was feeling really good about. I had some great connections and everything, but it just didn't work out for me.
* Michael began his job with Lockheed Martin, and I couldn't be more proud of him. It seems slow for him right now, but he thinks it's going to pick up pretty soon, which is great.
* We have picked out an apartment that I love, and we move in August 11th, which is really soon!
* We have found a lot of great furniture at great prices to fill our apartment with.
* I had three job interviews last Wednesday. After the first one in the morning, I got a call to go back and see the head principal. When I went back that afternoon, I was offered a job! Starting next month I'll be teaching 6th grade English.
* My bridal shower is this Saturday, and then we are celebrating my parents' 30th wedding anniversary. It's going to be a great weekend. (one of my best friends is coming into town for the shower too, yay!)
* Now I'm just waiting for HR to call to confirm the job and everything, and have started packing up stuff to move.

That's about everything that's going on right about now, at least that I can think of. Hope everyone is doing well!

Rejection

So, while this job search has definitely been stressful and frustrating, I had never thought about what could happen after the interviews. I know that sounds funny, but I was just so focused on getting the interviews to begin with and handling them professionally, that I did not think about the rejection that could possibly follow.

I had another interview on Tuesday, and it was with the school district that I would really like to work in, if I was given a choice. I was excited about it, because the principal had never even answered my email or anything, so I guess she was holding out, or one of my connections contacted her. I got prepared, and was feeling even better before this interview than my first one (understandable, I'm sure).

I felt like I had some great answers for their questions. I knew the sorts of things they were going to ask, and I was better prepared to answer those things. I know a lot of people write out their answers and things prior to interviews, but that doesn't work for me. I just stress about trying to remember what I wrote down, so instead I just go in and think through what they ask before answering. While the first principal I interviewed with was hard to read and told me he was impressed, I could not read this one at all.

Sometimes she seemed like she was incredibly pleased, and other times she seemed eager to get me out of her office. That wasn't too surprising, since the next interviewee was sitting outside her office waiting for us to finish. I guess she was not as impressed because Friday I got the call; she had given the job to someone else. That was all she said, aside from "thank you, goodbye."

I guess I was not prepared for those words. I knew that rejection was a reality, but I do not have much experience with it. Along with that, the whole job search has me so stressed and upset that I lost it. All my friends from school seem to be getting jobs already, and I've only had two interviews. I'm trying to stay positive, but it is not an easy task.

I still have no heard from the first principal I interviewed with. The position he told me might open up has, and he was supposed to contact me by the end of the week as well, but I have yet to hear anything. I would like to think that might be a good sign, but I'm trying not to get my hopes up. So, back to the drawing board I go in hopes of getting more interviews. Wish me luck!

Tiffany

Blog Star: Hi, I'm Tiffany!

There is a link up going on over at Mrs. Monologues, and I have decided to go ahead and join in on the fun. It's a simple link up and a great way to meet new bloggers, so go check it out!


So, here is a little bit about me:

- I was born Iowa
- But I have lived in Texas since I was seven
- I have two older brothers, they're pretty cool
- I'm engaged to a wonderful guy named Michael
- We get married in September, I'm pretty excited!
- I already think a lot about how I want our apartment to look, and we haven't even decided on one yet (nothing like doing things out of order).
- I graduated from college last month with my Bachelor's degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (yes, that is a fancy way to say I was an education major).
- I hope to have my own classroom next year, I would really prefer middle school level
- I'm a pretty big baseball fan, especially when it comes to the Texas Rangers.
- I have an addiction to shoes, I can't help it
- The only credit card I have in my name is one for Victoria's Secret
- I'm an animal lover, especially when it comes to giraffes.

Well, that's a bit about me. Feel free to link up and share as well! :D

-Tiffany

Interview #1

As most of you know, I have been working very hard to get interviews and things for open teaching positions for the next school year, and it has not been easy at all. I filled out a million different applications for districts and then sat around waiting for calls for interviews. In the meantime, friends from school were posting all over Facebook about how they were getting tons of interviews and I could not help but wonder what I was doing wrong.

You see, at school they did not give us many tips about what to do once you're actually done with college. They never told us how to go about trying to get the jobs and everything. They told us not to email principals, that they would come to us. They could not have been more wrong, though.

I went to dinner with two friends last week, who both happen to be in my wedding coming up very soon. We met in middle school and have quite a bit of history and have been friends since that point. We ended up at the same college, and the three of us graduated the same day. It was wonderful, and I enjoyed going to dinner and talking to them. That day they had both had interviews though (for the same job, eek!) and told me that they had been emailing principals like crazy, and that was how they were getting their interviews. Boy, did I feel behind!

The next day I began emailing principals. It took awhile, since most of the districts have sixty plus schools, which means sixty plus principals that needed to get emails. I was feeling pretty good, even with all of the "Thank you for your interest, but we do not have any openings." responses coming back in reply. However, some asked for my resume or said they would keep my information on file.

Then yesterday, I got a call. The lady assured me that they did not have any current positions but wanted to have a pool of people in case something did open up. I believe I was the first person they called, since they gave me the earliest time this morning, and I was thrilled despite not having any openings at the moment.

I'm not sure that the interview could have gone much better. I left the office feeling wonderful about the whole thing. The principal was nice, as was the secretary. He loved that I was about fifteen minutes early (though I was sitting in the car for about fifteen before that as well). We talked, and he seemed happy with my answers, and at the end he told me he was very impressed with me, which definitely made me feel great. He said a position might just open up, one I'm certified for. I love the school and it's close to the area we want to live, so it would be great.

This is just interview number one, and while it might not be too promising since there are no current openings, I'm already feeling a bit better. Hopefully this will be the start of many more interviews and a future teaching job!

-Tiffany

Engagement Pictures - Take 2

After Michael proposed, it did not take us long to pick our wedding day. Everything had been on September 23 for us, and it just happened that the September 23rd that followed our college graduation fell on a weekend. Obviously it was just met to be. Since we had the date picked, we had exactly two years to decide everything else. Since my parents were paying for most of it, we sat down and decided what we wanted to spend more money on, and where we were going to try to pinch. We decided photography was not something we wanted to go cheap on. It was difficult, though.

I don't know how many of you have had to look for photographers for weddings and things, but they do not come cheap. We went to bridal shows and did tons of research but could not find anything on our budget. So, when we figured out that our wedding coordinator from our venue did photography as well, and it was affordable. We assumed that it would work out okay, and she would know where to get good pictures at the venue.

During the summer we had her do some pictures out at a house with a barn and what not, which we thought would be nice at the time. She did not take any time to get to know us though, and simply just made everything really pose-y. It turned out, once we got the pictures back, that she did not edit her pictures at all. This was not something she told us before we agreed to use her.

I spent the time after that being very upset by the pictures. A lot of my friends were engaged and having pictures done, and I was always so jealous. Then one of my friends' pictures posted, and when I looked at them, it led me to the photographer's blog. I just had to ask my friend for the information. Within a couple weeks we had book Mary, and were thrilled that she was doing a special so we could redo our engagement pictures.

About three weeks ago,  we met her in the Arts Bishop District and had our pictures done, and she just posted our blog post yesterday. (see, I told you I had more exciting news!) I am thrilled with them, could not be happier, seriously. She is sending the disc of pictures to us and she said there are about 300 total, so I'm looking forward to going through all of them! 

Anyway, check out her blog post about us HERE and look around her blog some more. If you're from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, then she's definitely a wonderful choice! 

Today Was a Good Day...

Honestly, it's very exciting for me to be able to title a post with that. Lately I've been feeling so, well, "blah" for lack of a better term. With Michael living away right now to work back at school and not having any calls about interviews, I've been a little bit down. Sometimes a lot bit, but that's neither here nor there. Today was a good day though, a very good day.

I went and took my generalist certification exam bright and early yesterday. I got there at about 7:15, since I had to be there by 7:30, and got to start my test pretty much right away. They give five hours to take the test, but luckily it only took me about two. I don't think I could keep my sanity if I took a test that actually needed five hours! They said that it would take two to seven days for my score to post, but then I got the email this morning telling me that my grades had posted and I could log on to look.

Now, let me tell you, I was not feeling very good about this test at all. My specialty is Language Arts and Reading. I took the test for that before my student teaching when it was required and had no problems, but this test had math on it. MATH. I am horrible at math. It definitely had me stressed out. I sat staring at a couple of questions for a good ten minutes and then realized I had no idea how to even make an educated guess on the questions. Luckily, I did better at guessing that I thought and only missed four out of the twenty-eight math questions.

So, I passed the test! and by quite a bit actually, which was pretty shocking! I am incredibly thrilled that I won't have to take it again since it does cost one hundred and twenty dollars each time (ridiculous!). Now, I just have to take my ESL test and I can have my teaching certificate updated and update the billion job applications I have out there. I'm really hoping having my generalist certification will open up many more opportunities for me.

So, then there was more good news! I called the lady I did my initial interview for the school district I would really love to work in. You interview with her, and then she can help get your name out there when there are openings that you qualify for. I called her to update her on my test and what not, and since she said to just occasionally check in with her.

I am sure glad that I did!

Apparently the principal from the school I did my student teaching with has an English opening, and that is what I would really love. She had already passed my information to him this morning, and he had already mentioned really wanting to hire me if he had an opening. I'm hoping that this will turn into an interview and some possibilities. That would be a very nice thing!

One more GREAT thing happened this morning, too, but I think I'll hold off on that until tomorrow. Keep you on your toes....Oh, alright. I'll give you one hint.

Until tomorrow!

-Tiffany

Goodbye May....Hello June

 

I cannot believe it's already the end of May, that seems pretty impossible to me. Time seems to go by so fast these days, and sometimes that's a wonderful thing and other times it's not so much. Right now I'm feeling pretty bittersweet about it. This month we hit the four months mark for the wedding, but it also means I've gone longer without being called about job interviews. Ah, stress! Ultimately, this month was a pretty good one, though. 

I finished my student teaching on the 4th.
Michael and I graduated with our Bachelor degrees on the 12th.

That also meant that I got to see my friends at school for the first time since January, which was great.

We had a fun little graduation party that night with our families. It was amazing to celebrate all the hard work we had put in for the past four years. 

The next day, the 13th, we had a redo of our engagement pictures: we had our first session during the summer last year, but we ended up changing photographers. More on that will come soon, we should have the pictures soon, and then I'll be able to post some! 

This Monday for Memorial day, on the 28th, we had a family get together/cook out/pool thing at our house and that was a lot of fun having everyone together. (A couple of us girls took a break from the pool to go to Pier 1 and Kohls, and I ended up getting some awesome clearance stuff for our future apartment!). 

And today, the 31st, I went back up to the middle school where I did my student teaching. All of my sixth graders were so happy to see me, and it was awesome to see how excited they got. I really had missed them quite a bit. It makes me really want my own classroom for next year even more. 

I hope you all had a May that was as good as mine was! To end the post, I thought I would do the 7 Questions link up from Gentri Lee's blog. You should go check out here blog and answer the questions as well! :]

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1. If you were to start your own business, what would it be?
I think if I had to own a business, it would probably be a craft store. I really do love scrapbooking, but things are so crazy expensive these days. I would be able to use all the stuff I wanted, and that would be wonderful! I just think it would be a lot of fun, too. If I didn't do a craft store though, I would probably open a little corner bookstore. That seems like it would be fun.

2. You wake up on the wrong side of the bed, do you embrace your grumpiness or try to fight it?
Usually I wake up in a pretty good mood in the mornings, unless I'm super stressed (which has been a little often lately, boo!) Usually I do try to fight it as best as I can, but sometimes it's impossible to keep it all at bay.

3. What's the very first memory you have?
Um, I don't know. It's always difficult for me to determine if I really remember things, or I just know them because I've seen pictures and been told stories by my family. However, I do remember moving into our last house in Iowa, so I would have been about six. My dad and my uncle did most of the building and it was always fun to play with my brothers inside while it was all coming together.

4. the world is ending, what do you do? Allow yourself to die? Fight? Hide? Etc.
Oh jeez, I don't know. I guess it depends on what is causing the end of the world. If it zombies then I would definitely fight it. I mean, you can learn all the rules off of Zombieland, so I feel like I'd be pretty set to fight for awhile!

5. What is your favorite meal of the day?
I guess dinner, because it's usually more substance. I get tired of sandwiches pretty quickly, and when I was student teaching that was pretty much what I always had to take for lunch, so it got old. I like being able to switch things up more for dinner.

6. How do you best learn? Visual? Listening? Hands on?
I think it really just depends on what I'm trying to learn. I don't think one specific way works best for me, but I definitely need to be able to hear it explained, and then see it explained as well. Sometimes I'm perfectly fine if someone can describe it to me. However, when it comes to math I have to see it worked out, and slooowly. I'm horrible at math.

7. What is your favorite joke?
Uh, I don't really tell jokes...my dad is the one that makes jokes in this family, and they're usually pretty awful! One of his favorites is:
Q: What do you call a cow with no legs?
A: Ground beef. 

Clever, yeah? 

Head on over and answer some of the questions yourself!  

<3 Tiffany.