My job: A week or two after I found out I had lost my job as a kindergarten aide, I interviewed in Tosa for a literacy aide position. I ended up getting a full-time literacy aide position at Washington School...a school only a mile or so away from the school I was at last year. Basically, my job consists of me working one-on-one or in small groups with struggling readers in grades 4K-5, as well as supporting the teachers in the classroom during reading or writing time. It took some time to adjust to this new job and new school, but it's going well. The reading specialist that I work closely with is very scatter-brained and hard for me to work with. She's not well liked by the teachers in the school, so it's taken A LOT of patience to work alongside her. My schedule is constantly changing, so it took a while to get into the groove. At this point in the year though, I now know what I'm doing and feel confident. I love the staff at Washington. I love that I work with so many of them and from that, feel like many of them come to me with questions, concerns, or just to vent or joke around. As for next year, that of course, is up in the air. I'm fairly confident that my position will be available next year, which would provide a good back-up. I enjoy most parts of my job this year, but I still want to be in the classroom. There are 2 third grade teachers retiring from my school after this year (if their retirement requests are accepted), so that could be a possibility. I will also look for openings in others schools, both in the district and out of the district.
Relationships: At the end of October, I started dating a guy I met at my church's young adult group, Impact. He was new to Impact, and we started dating within a couple weeks of meeting. The relationship went really well...he treated me well and I had a lot of fun getting to know him and spending time with him. However, in the beginning of December, he decided we should break up. The biggest reason was because he's new to being a Christian and felt like that was a big area where we differed. He felt like he had a long way to go to be anywhere near where I am in my faith. He decided that he wanted to work on things in his life, and felt like he would only be holding me back if we kept dating. I was disappointed that the relationship ended so quickly, but I knew it was the right decision for him. We decided to be friends, but haven't really seen each other much since breaking up. We did email quite a bit after breaking up, further discussing the break-up and how we were both feeling. I feel good about things, and hope the best for him. I miss being in a relationship, but I feel like God brought Danny into my life to help me realize that there are things about me that guys like. I was kind of struggling with feeling like someone could like me for who I am after the whole Mike thing. But now, I'm feeling more confident in who I am and can say that I am beautiful and worth it.
Other: I've been living at home since the summer of 2009 and my sister and I finally decided it was time to move out. This week, we'll be moving to an apartment on the east-side of Tosa. I've always wanted to live down there. It has a small town feel, with lots of cute boutiques, restaurants, and shops all within walking distance. It also has a park and a river with a great biking/running trail also within walking distance. We're so excited to finally have our own place! I have also been trying to workout regularly, as well as watch what I eat (during the workweek anyway)...and have lost 8 pounds! I'm hoping to lose at least another 10 pounds eventually.
I think that's about it. I'm hoping to update this more regularly, so keep checking back! :)
