Playing Catch-up

So much can happen in a week! We made the offer on the house, it was countered, we accepted the counter, had the inspection, and things are on track for us to close on July 17th!!! So now I'm packing, cleaning out, reminiscing while I clean (which considerably slows down the process!!), and then coming back to the den to work on lesson plans for one or more of the 4 different courses I'll be teaching this fall. I have a better idea now of the strengths and weaknesses of the students I will be teaching, so I'm making adjustments to my syllabi (I love that word!) and am doing a LOT of reading of new things for my classes, which means, of course, the end of "reading for fun" for a good while.

I'm also in organizational mode, and have at least three to do lists at any given time. Madeline will not be in school during July so I'll have to utilize my time at home with her to pack and sort without neglecting the longings of a 3 1/2 year old. I have BIG plans for her: the zoo, the Children's Museum, the park... and then of course, she will get to help me go through her old clothes and toys and decide what to donate to Goodwill. If I have to get rid of stuff, so does she. Granted, she doesn't have as many pairs of shoes as I do, but she beats me hands-down in the stuffed animal/doll department. And she's quickly developing her own library of children's books to rival mine.

Finally, I'm going to be shifting to Handy Jane mode in about 3 weeks. We are going to paint 3 bedrooms and a den and living room before moving in, as well as rip up the carpeting throughout the entire house. I've painted and ripped up carpet before, but not really on this scale. I just hope Patrick and I can handle it on our own in a 3 day weekend. There's also the removal of wallpaper to consider, and Patrick recently got me on camera promising to pull down all the wallpaper in the house (both bathrooms, the kitchen, one bedroom, the dining area, and a border in our room) but he'll have to do all the painting in those rooms. I've heard it can be a pain in the tukkus (which, one of the teachers at my new school tells me, is "Butt" in Yiddish!!), but am confident in my ability to channel all my aggressions into pulling that paper off the walls:) However, anyone with expertise in this area is welcome to give me advice or come help me out. I will not be renting a steamer-- the walls are drywall, and I don't want to damage them.

So I'm going from sitting around all summer to overdrive, but I'm not complaining. I can't wait to post pictures of the finished house!

A rambling missive

I went in to discuss my new job requirements today, and I have to say, I am so genuinely happy to be working at this place. First of all, I will have 4 different courses to teach, but each section will have maybe 8-10 students in it. This will give me much more time to work with each student individually, to really understand them and nurture them on their way to becoming lovers of literature. I brought home a pile of books about 2 feet high to go through and choose the works I want to include in my syllabi for each course, and I am so excited about getting to do that! I'm not stuck in one type of literature or stuck teaching only grammar, and I will get a chance to watch these young people grow and learn. I guess I'm meant to be a teacher after all!

Tomorrow morning, we are making an offer on a home. I really, really hope we get our first choice, and I really, really hope the woman who owns the home will agree to the things we ask for. Because I really like her house and want to make it ours, but there are some things we're not so handy with so we need her to fix them before we can agree to buy the home. I look forward to painting, pulling up carpet, clipping back shrubs, enclosing the yard, and all the things people do to make a house their own. I watch HGTV religiously to get ideas, and have lots for this new place. (I also will need lots of help and will be soliciting for supplies and labor in a couple of weeks!!!) I've chosen paint colors and found several kitchen sets that I like, flooring, appliances.... I should probably stay out of Home Depot:)

Mainly, I am thankful for the way things are going lately. I've had such a tough year so far and am really glad that things seem to be going in a positive direction now. My mom is going to come to town in July for a few days, then take Madeline back to Florida with her while we move. I'll go down to Florida shortly before I start work to get Maddie and bring her to her new home, and we will start a new chapter of our lives. Thanks to everyone who's been thinking of us and keeping us in their prayers as far as my job goes.

Now, who wants to help us paint? Remember, free beer!!!

NOW I can sleep well again!!!

Finally got a job and am going Friday morning to hammer out the details in my contract, get my textbooks, and set my schedule for the fall. I will be teaching at Margolin Hebrew Academy in East Memphis, and despite the fact that I'm not particularly religious myself, I'm really excited about the job-- small classes, essentially two sections of each course, with what seem to be some really great kids!

I am very excited about this job, not solely because I was at the end of the proverbial rope but because I really felt comfortable from the moment that I walked in for my interview. The atmosphere of community was heavy in the air and everyone I met was polite and welcoming. The Headmaster Rabbi is young, enthusiastic and friendly and I felt an immediate repoire with him as well as with the principal who interviewed me. Madeline goes to a Montessori school where community is vital and central to the philosophy and the experiences we've had there are almost all positive; for me to work in a place so much like that can only be nurturing to me.

So now, as you saw in my previous post, we get to move forward on the house front. Once the ink is dry on my job contract, we're going to try to move forward with the new house. Wish me luck!!!

An Appeal to All You Home Fixer-Uppers Out There!!!

Although I still need to get a job, once that time comes we plan to buy. We have narrowed our home choices down to two, and we want to make some decisions before we commit to one home or the other. One house is really pretty much updated-- I'm not a fan of the kitchen, so I'm going to paint the walls and cabinets when we move in and then eventually replace the countertops. Not too expensive. See this house at this site.

The other house, for some reason, I just have a soft spot for. It's very "vanilla" and there are mostly cosmetic changes that need to be made: painting every room, tearing down some wallpaper and pulling up the carpet throughout the house. We would paint, pull down paper/up carpet on our own and don't really need (professional, but friendly will be welcome and appreciated!) help with that, but there are some other considerations to be made. So, I'm asking y'all if you know of approximate costs for the following work, things you might recommend, or handypeople you might know that could help a sistah out (I don't know any contractors and don't want to call one just yet):

**outlets need to be grounded, approx. 6-8 outlets. The house was built in '59 so the capability should be there.

**curb appeal: we'd like to add some sort of front porch or overhang, as the house really needs it. Nothing fancy. Just go visit here. The whole front doesn't need "porching," just the half from driveway to front door.

**a teeny bit of fencing. Most of the property is fenced but we need to have the ability to put the dog out w/o worrying that he'll run off. So maybe 20 linear feet of fencing, at least some wooden. I'd be open to a cute iron fence on the sides, but no chain-link.

**ideas for a kitchen re-do that doesn't cost a billion bucks. Eventually I want to re-do the whole thing, floor to ceiling, including appliances, but does anyone have an idea how much just a good Mexican tile costs right now?

Also, if you have friends that aren't on Facebook that might be helpful or could point us in a good direction, please please pass this along. The first house I mentioned, the non-fix up, is $10K more than the 2nd, so I'm obviously wanting to keep the budget down to make it worth buying a house that needs work. Also, do I need an electrician to do the outlets? If so, I thought of asking the owners to do it since it's ultimately a safety issue in the home.

Thanks again, and please everyone keep your fingers crossed that I will get a job soon so we can move forward. Anyone who helps us move or paint when the time comes also gets free food and beer:)

Harry Potter and P*rn: A "Supernatural Enemy"

According to the Shreveport (La.) Unity of Faith community, Harry Potter books and pornography are at the heart of a declining culture and are considered a "supernatural enemy." In order to combat this spooky bad guy, they burned the Harry Potter books, tearing pages out and throwing them, along with pages from pornographic magazines (not, mind you, the *entire* magazine) into a fire pit at a three-day revival aimed at healing and strengthening against such horrors.

By the way, one of the pastors, James Crawford, represents IHOP-- the International House of Prayer. "Come to IHOP, kids!"-- now that's a good way to get 'em in the door.

Read the shortish article here, but scroll down for the real debate.

Cartoons for women

Because I dig it. Here's the link to a fun little set of cartoons that my friend Jeannie just turned me on to.

Dude. . .Wait, what was I saying?

Duh.

Sixty percent of the time it works, every time.

Today, as you know, was the Puerto Rico primary. And I don't know about you, but I could not watch 10 seconds of coverage without being more confused than ever before about our democratic process.

For starters, the numbers, percentages, and statistics alone are enough to drive anyone to drink. Looking at the coverage on television, with all the numbers and charts was like watching a sever weather alert with all it's little maps and coverage areas. I just can't keep up. Maybe that makes me a little stupid-- and I'll be the first to admit I'm not really "up" on politics, though I have been trying to keep up more lately. (I won't even go in to our local elections!!) Yet it seems that every day, we are bombarded with more numbers that truly don't mean a thing in the long run. Here's an example:

"Obama and his aides projected confidence, and even in defeat, he gained 17 delegates in Puerto Rico, leaving him 47 short of the 2,118 needed to clinch the nomination."

Okay, well....

"With all precincts reporting, the Puerto Rico vote count showed Clinton with 263,120 votes, or 68 percent, to Obama's 121,458, or 32 percent.

"A telephone poll of likely Puerto Rican voters taken in the days leading up to the primary showed an electorate sympathetic to Clinton — heavily Hispanic, as well as lower income and more than 50 percent female. About one-half also described themselves as conservative.

"Nearly three-quarters of all those interviewed said they had a favorable view of Clinton, compared to 53 percent for Obama. One-third said they didn't know enough about Obama to form an impression.

"The survey was conducted Tuesday through Saturday for The Associated Press and the television networks by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. It included 1,587 likely voters with a candidate preference; sampling error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

"Obama had a total of 2,071 delegates in The Associated Press count, including 17 from Puerto Rico. He also gained the support of two superdelegates during the day.

"Clinton has 1915.5, including 38 from Puerto Rico.

"There are 31 delegates combined at stake in Montana and South Dakota on Tuesday, and Obama's high command sounded confident that enough superdelegates were poised to quickly climb on and deliver him the nomination."

Regardless of who you're pulling for, one thing is clear (as mud): these numbers, while seemingly impressive on the surface, don't do much but confuse the general populace. Personally, I'm trying not to get on any bandwagon, and plan on voting for the person whose character and record speaks to me in the best way. Now, if they offer cake and coffee at the voting polls, that would be even better.

here's the link to the article:
http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-politics/20080601/Primary.Rdp/