Life in the Slow Lane

My days are different lately. I will spare you all the drab details, but what I will say is how life can change in the blink of an eye(yes, literally). I'm not a good decision maker, and have been known to make my fair share of lousy ones. But what I can say on the flip side, is that even if I make a crap decision, I somehow, always dig myself out of the hole I got into, and come out clawing and stronger. That's how I feel today. That's how I've felt for a few weeks now. Shit, I'm in a hole. A big hole. A hole that I didn't fall into, I actually jumped in. My best move? Some would say absolutely, positively not. I (not today but at times) say hell yes. If you don't change and take a leap sometimes, how does life move forward? Isn't that why they call it a ' leap of faith '? You might not have my back this time, or during some of my previous decisions, and that's ok. There have been times I was on the outside looking in on someone, just...

Can't even show you a picture of my work area, readers. Right now I'm kinda at the dining room table, and at times on the couch. I know, a terrible practice, but I can't see the sun from my office. Or the spot I'd much rather be in(see below). It's been a long year. A year of change, renewed sense of why I do what I do, and a reminder of how mentally exhausting it all can be. I've saved up my vacation days for nice weather, but haven't seen any yet worthy of a day off. Just keep swimming, right?? Sunny summer days are not too far off...

A few weeks ago, there was a ton of Teacher Appreciation Day/Week stuff going on. They asked kids to vote, write about, talk about teachers they enjoy having. It made me think about the teachers I've had over the years. I remember an assignment in college to thank a teacher we had. I sadly only thought of one teacher I'd thank.  I wrote a  REALLY long letter to a teacher that fostered my love of math. I NEVER HEARD BACK. I know that might sound selfish to ask for a thank you, or even a glad you are doing well, but it pissed me off. So no, I wouldn't thank her again. But if I had to do the assignment now, long after college, I'd thank someone that I really should have thanked long ago. He was the first principal that took a chance on me before I was even out of grad school. I'm guessing he was just pretty desperate for a teacher so late in the summer, but I went for the interview, and left with the teacher editions for all the math classes I'd be teaching in a ...

I've completely neglected you over the last few weeks. But with good reason. With all the depressing life changes that have occured here recently, it's time for a happy change...a new business venture! I've been working very hard on opening my very own local yarn shop! Where we live in the Poconos, there isn't much in the way of retail shops. Sure, you can drive a half hour in any direction and get to some civilization and any store you need. But here, in the small town, local community, there just isn't enough. One thing I've always wanted since I moved here is to be part of the community, so now's my chance! The Yarn Barn will be located just outside Hamlin, PA on Route 348. If you're local or visiting, stop in and say hi. If not, visit me on Facebook here , or check out the website. Comments and suggestions always welcome!! http://www.allisonsyarnbarn.com/

...that is the question. Being an out of work teacher can be very stressful. Knowing that you have all this education under your belt, love the job, and are good at the job, makes it suck even more. This area is overwhelmed with teachers, and it's all who you know. So perhaps it's time for a new line of work. Or better yet, perhaps it's time for a business venture. How do I take that jump to the unknown in the business world? Where do I start? What if I fail? These are the most common questions in my head. But as life has changed alot lately, I'm starting to trying to look at things in a more optomistic manner. New questions like 'when can I start? ' and  'how will it improve our community? ' are seeping into my vocabulary. Not to mention excitement, curiousity, and wonder of the unknown. Should Mama take the leap and try something exciting and new? Should she just stick to her day job and substitute teach for the rest of her days? The answer my frien...

I need to know if I'm the only obsessed teacher around. Not even just teachers, anything in a related field. I get a little cooky about my stuff, so today I'm here to not only share my issue/problem, but to make sure it's not just me. Being a teacher, it's hard to walk that fine line of being a mom and being a teacher. It's hard to mix your 'teaching stuff' in with your own kid stuff, and sometimes honestly, I just don't want to share my stuff. It's clean, it's new, it's mine. And my book collection is still my biggest hang up. The boys love books, and they have a ton. But once in a while they ask for a new book at night, so I get the nerve up to look through my shelves. As I look, I have memories of using many of those books in class or in my own classroom, and I put the books back for my 'someday'. I usually wind up pulling a book for them to read with me, but promptly put it back on my shelf after tucking them in. If you're ...

Go ahead. Just say it. You know you want to. I haven't been the ray-o-sunshine blogger I usually am. No great recipes. No happy mommy tips. Not even some yay I'm skinny Wii updating. Bad Mama blogger. Bad. Life has gotten in the way of everything over the last three weeks. The family is dealing with something rotten and of course why at any time other than the holiday season? But yesterday, amidst the grey clouds and gloomy thoughts, a phone call came my way. One that brightened up my day and could possibly change my new year. Mama's got a job! I've thought about working again for a while, but was really waiting for the right position to open up. And it did...Middle School Math Support Specialist. Ahh, doesn't that just roll off your tongue? Just what I've been waiting to do after 6 years of being home full time. So yes, I suck at blogging lately, and I need some happy good vibes thrown my way for the fam, but as I said a few posts ago when talking about ...

My friends went through jobs in high school like, well, like it was there job. They would try a new one every few weeks, then move on because they had to work to much, didn't make enough money, didn't like working on weekends, bla bla bla . But I was fortunate enough to get a job in my sophomore year that I kept until I got married. Yup, you read that right, almost 10 years! Prestige Gifts & China was located on busy Central Ave. in Yonkers, NY. In the early/late 90s, if you were a bride in the tri- state area, you were traveling to Prestige for some goodies. I went in one day when my dad told me I MUST come home with a job, just figuring I'd drop off an application. The girls up front sent me right back to the little office where I talked to the boss, and he hired me on the spot. I started the next day. Duties of my job really revolved around making the customers happy. I helped them pick out their china, flatware, stemware, register for their big day, and prett...

....what would you be when you grow up? Are you a mom that wishes she went to college to be an accountant? A therapist that should have been a teacher? Glad you chose your profession? Just curious. If I had to do it again, I'd probably still be a teacher, but also an architect, a welder(which I still plan to do), and advertising agent, and of course a backup singer.

Today was my first day home full-time after subbing for 4 months straight. I have to say, I'm thrilled! My house was starting to show the wear and tear of neglect, laundry has piled, bills were being forgotten, and dinner was a once a week treat. I've decided to take this week off as my 'vacation', but will be back in the full swing of full-time momming next week. I did enjoy working, and do enjoy teaching, but I now realize I'm meant to be home, even just for a few more months(or years!) Hope everyone had a relaxing, love-filled Mother's Day. I got the best Ugg slippers ever, and a date with my best friend for the spa next Sunday ALL DAY. How great are my boys? Can't top it for Father's Day though.

My 8th graders are definitely starting to get spring fever and cannot wait to be done with school. Unfortunately for them, there's still plenty of work to be done! One thing we need to do is a writing assignment for the fourth quarter. I thought about it for days, and sat on the internet for hours at a time. How many research papers and stories can you have them write? But then, I found a great assignment! " The Theme Song of Your Life ". Students are to choose a song for its lyrics, and tell how the song pertains to their last year at our school. It can show any range of emotions they choose, and they have to choose a line from the song to relate to. How great is that? After I gave them the assignment they seemed pretty excited to get started. So today they came over to the computer lab to start looking for songs. Then someone finally asked me, "Mrs. Wallace, what would you choose as your song?" Crap . No Clue . I love music more than anything, but it's ...

For the last two years or so I've been going back and forth trying to decide if I should pursue another Master's Degree or not. I've had plenty on my plate during that time, but I always felt like it was something I still needed to do in life. Time and money have been the two biggest factors of why I have not done it. Yet. I'm at a crossroad now. I'll be done with my teaching position this June, as I'm just a leave replacement right now. Being my first year back to work after six years of being home, it fit our schedule perfectly. But of course all good things must come to an end. So now the question is, what next? Do I look for another job? Do I substitute for another year? Try to start up that business I've been tossing around for a while now? Or do I stay home and take online classes towards the degree? I've always had a hard time with decisions of any kinds, so these big ones are no different for me. At least I've narrowed down the degree opti...

All of my friends went back to work within 2 or 3 months of having a baby. I was fortunate enough to stay home for 6 years! Actually, I could continue to stay home if I chose to, but I think I've lost enough brain cells, and it's time to get back into the swing of things. But never did I imagine the stressful confusion that would result from me being out of the house for 8 hours a day. I have the same schedule as the kids which helps, but it just seems like there are now less hours in the day. When do you do laundry? How do you prep dinner ahead of time? What if I need that one extra item from the store last minute? When do I catch up on my Facebook?(kidding on the last one!) I know some moms say it's harder to be a stay-at-home mom, and some say it's harder to balance work and home. Now that I've officially tried both, I can't say being a working mom is 'harder', but I can say it requires a lot more juggling and organization. So kudos to all of m...