Change it up!

Is that really a hockey term or do they just say it on The Mighty Ducks? It's actually D2: The Mighty Ducks when Coach Bombay isn't there and that teacher lady is coaching and she says "they're getting tired. We need to switch places." and then Charlie tells her to yell "Change it up!!" I suppose this really has nothing to do with anything except that it happens to be what I chose for the title of this blog.

Anyhow, I'm not one who's usually much into change. In fact, I'd say I'm generally opposed to it. I very much enjoy the comfort of familiarity but I'm slowly learning that change is a good thing and I'm trying to embrace it. So here are some things that have been changing around here:

1. Spring is here!! I can hear the birds chirping in the mornings and the frogs croaking in the evenings and the cherry trees are blooming! It's been over 50 degrees for the last week or so and the days are definitely getting longer. March was an insanely busy month for us and I am so looking forward to starting a new month on Friday and welcoming even more springy weather.

2. I'm going to start splurging on yummy/healthy foods every now and then. Steven and I were at the grocery store together today and we decided to buy salmon for dinner (even though it costs about 3 times as much as chicken, which we already had at home in the freezer anyway...). We had salmon and rice and zucchini and an orange and it was SO good! I'm thinking salmon should be a once a month treat -- I'll keep watching for sales. (We also purchased the Tangled DVD and watched it this afternoon. Still just as cute as when we saw it in the theater. I love it.)

3. Here's the big one -- we're making some huge changes in terms of our jobs. Steven has been somewhat miserable at his job for, well, the entire 6 months he's been working there. He would really like to focus more of his time and energy on volunteering at the fire station and working on getting a firefighting job. So we're finally doing something about it. Steven gave his two weeks notice at Rural Metro on Monday. He will still be working for them part time but that might be as little as two shifts per month. His stress level has decreased significantly since we made this decision earlier this month. It definitely helped to ease the tension during this busy time. We're so looking forward to having a normal work schedule that allows us to actually eat dinner together more than 5 times a month and attend church together every week instead of just every other. I'm trying my very best to substitute teach as often as possible. I am currently employed in 4 school districts and have submitted applications to 4 more. It's a little late in the year but my goal is just to get two solid months (averaging 2 to 3 days a week) of teaching in before the summer starts. I also got a tutoring job at the Sylvan learning center in Maple Valley. It's only 6 hours a week but it's something I can continue into the summer, so that's good. Steven had an interview at US Bank on Tuesday and is hoping to get a part time job as a teller. The pay is pretty close to what he was making with the ambulance company and the commute is only half as long. We'll both need to find something more over the summer but we're feeling good about what we've got going on right now.

4. The blog has a new look, did you notice?

5. I'm growing up! I'm learning how to say "no" and set healthy boundaries and not just be nice all the time. I read a book last week called No More Christian Nice Girl and I'm feeling rather empowered. These kinds of changes are particularly difficult but I'm working on it.

6. Steven got a new helmet. The new helmets actually came in a while ago but I just took the photo recently. He's pretty excited about it so I thought I'd show you. How crazy is it that I'm married to a firefighter? Pretty darn.

7. Speaking of firefighting, Enumclaw is in the process of hiring 3 firefighters. We haven't really heard when they're going to start testing or doing interviews. Right now they're putting together committees and just getting ready. I don't think it's too early to start praying that Steven gets hired though. Feel free to join in.

8. I think I'm finally ready to apply for a real teaching job! I've been working on the online applications so that when the job postings go up over the next few months I'll be ready to submit my applications right away.

9. Steven and I are ready for quadruplets!!! JUST KIDDING! No way am I ready for that but we have been enjoying our time in the nursery at church every Sunday morning. We work in the 12-16 month room and so many of them just want to snuggle. It's really sweet.

10. Well, I can't think of a tenth thing that is changing so I guess that's just a perfect example of something that isn't changing -- I still have some OCD tendencies, like how I couldn't just end my list at 9 and be satisfied :)

That's all that I have to update you on this evening. I would love to hear from you though! Leave me a comment or send me an e-mail if we haven't had a chance to catch up in a while.

take care!
Steph

p.s. happy 23rd birthday to Lena!