Prepare To Be Amazed!

***no I'm not pregnant, don't even think that, you'll know when I am because the title of the post will probably just be "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" just wanted to clear that up real quick before you get to reading.***

Are you prepared. I have big news. Big. Huge. Huge news actually and it might come as a real shock to some of you. Ready? This might be hard to believe but I finally have a job. I do, it's true! I know you were starting to think it would never happen, I certainly was. It has been a very long time coming but in a way I feel like I finally "made it." Not really, I mean, it's no dream job but it is something that my resume will actually benefit from, so that's exciting. I'm going to leave out certain details when I blog about my job, including the actual name of the school I'm working at. I wouldn't want my blog posts to show up when people search for the school online or anything. I'm also going to try to be as positive about the job as possible on the blog which means that more often than not, you won't be getting the full story from just the blog :) As with most jobs, chances are, my reflections won't always be positive.

I am working at a private school in Bellevue. It's right off the freeway so it's convenient but I must say, it's one heck of a commute! Last night it took me nearly 2 hours to get home. Ugh. Anyhow, my first day was last Tuesday. I have a part time position as an office assistant during school hours (from 12:30 to 2:45) and as the after school program director during after-school hours (2:45-6:00). I've been doing a lot of data entry in the office. It's amazing how you can spend hours and hours on facebook and e-mail on a daily basis and not be at all bothered by it but after only an hour of data entry all of the sudden your eyes are tired and your back is sore. It's pretty silly. I've been liking it though because it's far less stressful than spending my entire work day learning how to do a new job. I can't really mess up data entry.

It's taken me a few days to learn the ropes of the after school program but I think I've finally got it down! Today went really smoothly. Basically I just manage the whole thing. Shuttle kids around from here to there, coordinate with the teachers, choose the worksheets and make photo copies, supervise indoor recess, listen to kids tattle, help parents find their kids, clean up and then complain a bit with my coworker before starting my drive home. I was a little bit bummed that the job is only part time and more than a little bit bummed that I didn't get hired as a teacher but I think this is really setting a good foundation for next year. I'm hoping I've significantly increased my chances of maybe having my very own classroom for 2012-2013! Wouldn't that be so cool?? Sigh, what a nice thought.

Oddly enough, I wasn't too excited after accepting the job. I was really excited during slash after the interview when I was offered the job but then I started to have mixed feelings about it. It felt like it was just too easy after all the failed attempts to get hired over the past couple of years. Then I started thinking about the schedule and how I wouldn't just be home to hang out with Steven on his days off and about all of the driving and all of the sudden I wasn't too keen on the idea of having a job. Haha! After all these months of complaining that I don't have one then I get one and I don't want it. That's just part of being an adult though, right? Fortunately, Steven was excited. He felt like it was a big deal and something that needed to be celebrated so celebrate we did.

We still had a Melting Pot gift card so Steven made a reservation and we went on a date a couple of weeks ago. It was an amazing experience, as always. The last two times we've gone there we've chosen to share one entree and we still leave feeling uncomfortably full. We decided this time that we definitely only need one salad to share instead of each getting our own. We chose the current Big Night Out menu. It was incredible! We had Boston Lager cheddar cheese fondue, and an entree plate that included shrimp and a lobster tail and then PB&J chocolate fondue for dessert. AND Steven made it really special by ordering the wine pairing flight for me and the beer pairing flight for himself! It was so much fun!!! It felt like a super fancy date and we just had the best time. We were so full afterwards though that we literally had to take the drive home in shifts. I'm not even joking. He took the first leg since I drank all of my wine and a good amount of his beer, and then he pulled over in Maple Valley and I drove the rest of the way so he could lean his seat back and just relax. It was an incredibly special evening.

Then last Thursday we had another big date night (totally unrelated to the first and not meant to be a celebration of the job). I surprised Steven with tickets to Cirque du Soleil's Micheal Jackson Immortal world tour. He had no idea, which made it that much more fun! I paid for cheap seats way in the back but there weren't that many people there so we were able to move way up before the show even started. We had a great view and the funny thing is, it seemed like everyone in our section had done the same thing. We overheard most of them talking about having moved up from their "cheap seats." Though I must say, they don't really sell a "cheap" seat to any Cirque du Soleil show. It was amazing! Completely different from any Cirque show we've seen but oh so much fun. Here's a very small taste of this phenomenal performance. It's an indescribable experience. I hope you get to go see it for yourself someday.

 

Steven has been wonderful about the whole new job thing. On my first day of work he surprised me with a super yummy dinner when I got home. He made salmon and rice and he was real sneaky about it too. That morning he told me that someone at the station wanted to know how I cooked my salmon. So I explained the process, he asked a few clarifying questions and that was that. Then on my way home Steven called and asked how to cook rice. He said he was thinking about making stir fry but I told him that probably wasn't a very good idea since the only vegetable we had was cabbage and maybe he should make potstickers instead. Then I came home and there was salmon in the toaster oven! Salmon is like our splurge dinner so it felt like a real treat and dinner was really tasty. Then last night I came home to a toasty house, glass of wine, mug of hot tea, and a pan of sloppy joe casserole fresh out of the oven. Isn't he the best?? I'm just so lucky.

It made me a little sad because I've always wanted to have dinner ready and the house smelling good when my husband comes home from work and I won't ever get to do that because he works 24 hour shifts and sometimes I'm still in bed when he gets home in the mornings. So it's really sweet that he's been making dinner for me but my heart breaks a little thinking about the fact that I won't ever be able to live out that little dream. It's one of the only "house-wife" type things I've ever been truly excited about. I'm planning to get up early tomorrow morning and make waffles before Steven gets home though. I hope that kind of feels special and fun and wifey. Guess that means I should stop typing and get to bed. Signing off. Goodnight!