Yes. Most of the time. I'm exactly where I should be. Not at all. And probably the same as 26

I'm currently sitting in the backseat of Boyfriend's sister's car, on our way to northwestern Wisconsin for the Thanksgiving holiday. And even though I'm bouncing along at 70 mph, the rushed feeling I had leading up to the point in which we got in this car has not yet worn off. Tonight I didn't get off work until 6:20. I GPSed my drive home, as I always do--not because I don't know the way, but because I like to see the live traffic. It told me my drive that under perfect conditions should take 33 minutes was estimated to be a whopping 1 hour and 17 minutes. Cringe. Fortunately, living in a city whose streets are all in a grid pattern, I was able to chop over 20 minutes off my time by not taking the freeway highway. 

Once I got home though I still had less than an hour to attempt to pack, eat dinner, shower, do the dirty dishes in the sink, find enough food/activities/magazines to hold me over for the 4 days we'll be gone. I was able to accomplish all of that except the showering. Boo. I mean, it's not like there won't be a shower at his grandma's house, but it's always more comfortable to shower at home, right?

Anyway, I didn't start this blog to just tell about my busy evening. Since it's been almost 3 weeks since my last post, I figured I was way overdue and since I've still got over an hour of this leg of the drive left to go, now is definitely as good a time as any to catch up on my blogging.

My school job has become approximately 20938409280272 times easier, give or take. We had a TACC (Teacher, Assistant, Coach Conference) two weeks ago and we rearranged our groups to ensure that all students' needs were being met and that they were in the program that would best suit current needs. As a result, my fifth grade group went from 6 kids to 4 and I only have one of my "original" students left. I also switched programs to one that is much easier to do (not that I don't like a challenge, but this new program just runs so smoothly) and the dynamic amongst my new students is really the aspect I appreciate the most. They're all so positive with one another and not at all vindictive like my last group sometimes was with one another. 

I subbed one morning last week for a 4th grade class and next Tuesday I'm covering a Special Education class for a bit in the afternoon. I'm thankful that I'm able to be utilized in sub positions whenever the teachers need to be out for meetings. I love the chance to be back in the classroom and know that every time I'm flexible and accommodating of my school's needs, it just makes me look that much better :) A true team player! 

Speaking of jobs, lately I've been giving some serious consideration to leaving my afternoon nanny job. Mostly what's becoming frustrating isn't the job itself, but the commute. More often than not, the drive takes me nearly an hour when it should just take around half an hour. Add to this the fact that it's not doing anything for me as far as furthering my teaching career. Yesterday in my district's newsletter, I noticed two part time positions that are open at other schools in my district that would work with my existing Reading Interventionist position. 

By a stroke of luck, the woman in charge of hiring for those positions happened to be at my school this afternoon and I ran into her in the office and chatted her up and expressed my interest in replacing my nanny job with another position within the district. Fingers crossed that we can schedule a meeting next week to talk about the potential opportunities. I'd be willing to take a pay cut to leave my nanny job. My district is only 6 miles from my house and I can get there in 15 minutes. I've dreamt of a commute that short my entire working life. I talked to Twinsie about it a bit last night, and she ensured me that I need to do what is best for me. Love having her for advice, especially since I am essentially following in her working footsteps since she was a Reading Interventionist last year and this year is an amazing 2nd grade teacher :) Plus the position(s) don't start until January 9th so I'd be able to give the family I nanny for plenty of advance notice which makes me feel better about the whole situation. 

In other non-school/work related news, I went to my first NFL game this past Sunday. I saw the Bears take on the Chargers. I really couldn't have gone to a more fitting game. My home team versus my new home team :) Even though it was pretty cold (42, with a wind chill of 34), I still had an awesome time. I hope we can go again next year, but preferably earlier in the season when sitting outside for 3+ hours isn't as daunting of a task. As a result of using so much energy to keep myself warm, I fell asleep at 9:30 on Sunday night. Hah. I must be getting old?

Speaking of old, my birthday is one month from today and I'm having a hard time understanding how it is that I'm going to be 27 already. Seriously 27? Am I mature enough for 27? Am I where I should be at 27? Do I look 27? What does it feel like to be 27? Haha. I'm pretty sure the answers to my questions are, in sequential order: Yes. Most of the time. I'm exactly where I should be. Not at all. And probably the same as 26 :P

There's a lot more I could continue typing about, but motion sickness coupled with the pillows that smell gross next to me as a result of our bedroom's proximity to the kitchen, have crippled me with some intense nausea now. But I vow to post a Thanksgiving/Things I'm thankful for blog sometime over the next 4 days :)