NEWS!

no, i am not pregnant.

but, i do have some very exciting news! keith and i moved to greenville in april because he got an amazing job at ECU. so that meant i had to leave my job in raleigh [sad]. in the mean time, i have been searching high and low for a job. the job market in greenville is much different than raleigh. raleigh you blessed with not only the city itself, but all of its great suburbs as potential places to work. greenville isn't exactly a metropolis. and whereas, there is the opportunity to work in other neighboring cities, i am not sure they are the market for me, to put it nicely. so yes, there are jobs, just less of them. plus, i am very particular and i don't just want to work anywhere so that i can have a job. i don't want to go to work and be miserable everyday. so living in a small town makes it that much harder for a picky lady to find a good job.

UNTIL NOW.

most of my professional experience is working with children. ironically, my education is not. however, whenever i think about having a job, working with children is what i want to be doing. why i never became a teacher, i'll never know [but it's probably a good thing i'm not a teacher in NC right now]. however, i have always enjoyed the freedoms of the jobs i have had when i worked with kids: recreation, after school programs, summer camps, and preschool. i still had the opportunity to teach children and be a positive role model, while allowing for flexibility and creativity in the programs.
thus some of my job search entailed me looking for jobs through parks and recreation and at preschools. i had an interview at a montessori school yesterday and was hired ON THE SPOT. i am so excited. it is a teacher assistant position in one of their primary classrooms [ages 3-5]. the school ranges from ages 3-12 years. the classrooms are broken up into primary [3-5], lower elementary [6-9] and upper elementary [9-12]. i was excited before the interview and once i got to the school, heard even more about montessori, the school, and the teachers, i am now ecstatic. it seems like a wonderful place to work. i start on tuesday. i really can't wait [insert very happy face]. 

i was getting frustrated with not having a job, for many reasons.
*it made me feel inadequate and unqualified.
*it made me stress about money. sure we have enough, but we just have less wiggle room.
*i get bored and restless.

i also knew that finding a job would work out when it was supposed to. i have sent out countless resumes and job applications. i have gone on a half dozen interviews. all of which i was excited about in some fashion, but also had reservations about. clearly, none of those interviews manifested into jobs. i now have a job that i am excited about, doing something i am passionate about. sure, i will not utilize my education to its fullest, but there are plenty of people out there who don't use the degrees they have. it is just another tool in my toolbox.

so, i return to the working world next week. FINALLY. you never realize just how fundamental working is until you are unable to do it.

UPDATE [tuesday, august 20th]: today was my first day! it was so exciting. this week is only teacher workdays, but i am thankful for that because i have so very much to learn! i am overwhelmed at how new and different montessori is, but i am encouraged and motivated to learn a new teaching philosophy. i will definitely give you all an update after a few weeks of school to let you know how things are going!

xoxo,
ks

updates.

dearest blog,

i am so sorry i have run astray the past few months. my life has been crazy, as usual. i will try my hardest to stay in touch with you better in the future. however, let me update you, as quickly as i can, as to what i've been up to!

insanity.
keith and i started and completed insanity. and we are still doing it. we really enjoy it. we've lost weight and gotten into really great shape. we have now added running to our workout regime. we are looking into a half-marathon to do in the fall/early winter. and are looking at adding some classes from our gym to go two a few times a week. insanity really helped us find motivation to get in shape and to be healthy. two things we had a hard time sticking with in the past. so we are thankful for insanity and excited to continue to stick with it and add to it.

we moved!
in june we moved to a new place. it was just a cross-town move. to an apartment. however, we are not sure about buying a home yet. we are not ready for all of those homeowner expenses (ie, maintenance, updates, unexpected expenses). we enjoy all the perks of renting: included maintenance, a fitness center, two pools, a dog park, etc. we love our neighborhood. it's walkable, which the dogs love. and we are close to work, shops, and restaurants. there is so much at our disposal that we weren't even aware of when we moved. hopefully we will be able to call this place home for awhile!

i got a new job!
i have been looking for a full-time job for about 6-7 months. i really enjoyed my job with raleigh parks and rec. however, it was almost a dead-end position. it was really impossible to move up and achieve full-time status. so, i started looking elsewhere. i am passionate about many things and one of those things is working with children. so, i was fortunate enough to find a job at a preschool. it is an amazing school and i was offered a great position. it is a split position of half teaching and half administration. so it will allow me the opportunity to get my feet wet in both positions and determine which i like better to perhaps pursue one or the other (teaching v. administration). Now, I have only worked one week, but it's been a lot of fun so far. the staff is a lot of fun and very sweet. so i am excited to continue to meet and get to know everyone.

those are the three big things in our life right now. it's been fun and exciting. we stay busy with family and friends, as usual. and are already busy planning our fall with hockey, football and vacations. i love our life!

see you soon bloggy.

xoxo,
ks