Awful, dreaded wife

The other morning I was talking to the 10 year old, and he asked me "Why do they say awful, dreaded wife?"

I was at a complete loss as to what he was talking about, so I asked for some clarification. "Where did you hear that?"

"On the marriage thing. They always say, do you take this woman to be your awful, dreaded wife?"

So I explained to him the words lawful and wedded. And then spent the next five minutes laughing my head off.

Princesses

One of the fads lately has been 'princesses'. Everything is princesses. In pink. With lots of fluff. And every little girl should be a princess, she deserves it.

I've never really liked this movement. At all. And I finally figured out why.

The princesses I grew up with actually DID SOMETHING. They were responsible and fought for the rights of their people. I figured this out when I found She-Ra on Hulu and started watching it. Adora was She-Ra, the Princess of Power. She chose to not go back to her family so that she could fight the forces of evil that she helped establish. She felt a sense of responsibility and followed through.
Let's take another example. Princess Leia. To quote a list I once found, she's an ambassador, a freedom fighter and Jedi material. And she can fight. She opposed the evil Empire and braved Jabba the Hutt. I mean, come on!!

These are the princesses I grew up with. They fought evil. They took responsibility. And they didn't wear pink. This is why I feel the princesses of today do such a disservice to the girls of today. The idea perpetuated is that if you're a princess, you get what you want. My princesses fought for what is right. Girls of today need better role models to look up to. Role models who take responsibility.

I think I like my princesses better.

Car problems

I took my car into the shop today. Whenever I try to pump gas, the fuel tank won't accept it. The pump always shuts off and then spits gas back at me. I have to hold the pump so that there is barely any gas coming out and hold if for like ten minutes to fill my tank.

Apparently the problem is that the rollover valve is stuck. That's the valve that keeps the gas from going out in case of a rollover. Sadly, you can't replace just the valve, you have to replace the ENTIRE fuel tank. Let me tell you, that's not cheap.

So fun stuff. Not replacing the fuel tank yet. Can't afford it. And its not really that important. Its not something that is going to affect the way the car runs.

Fat

I've noticed recently that my pants no longer fit me. While I am not what conventional America would call 'fat', by my own standards, I weigh too much. I don't want to buy new clothes and I am not satisfied looking the way I currently do. I have gained 10 lbs in the last year and if I continue on in that vein, I will quickly weigh much more than I care too. So my goal is to lose that 10 lbs. My life last year was far too sedentary, so I am planning on changing that. Hurting my foot did NOT help at all, but its feeling better.

I really should change my diet too, but that requires me to actually do shopping, which I don't currently do.

Good luck to me!!

Chivalry

I found this article while browsing around online today (while I should have been getting my classroom ready) and thought I'd share. I like the point he makes and for any guys out there reading this, holy cow, chivalry will make a place for you in my heart. No joke.

Blind Date

I went on a blind date this last weekend. He's a doctor from about four hours south. He was in town to visit family and his sister set us up. On Friday, we went up to Sundance to see the Fantasticks, which was quite fun. And we chatted. Then he asked me out for Saturday and we went to see an independent film and have dinner. And then we walked around downtown and one of the shopping centers where there is a musical fountain (which incidentally, turns off at ten o'clock).

Now, he is good looking, funny, nice and a doctor. But he is almost 11 years older than me. I would like your opinions on this. Good, bad, stories? I have a tendency to date younger men, so that much older scares me a little. Let me know what you think.

My struggle finding a job

I've been looking for a job since I've been back in UT, and it has not been the most productive search. But you never know what is going to come your way, so you just keep plugging along, hoping, with faith in the Lord that something is bound to work out.

Back in July, I applied for a position at a charter school. At a similar time, a position opened up in a school district I REALLY like for a full time Drama teacher. I applied, looked up the program, and took my resume and a cover letter into the principal, and told all my friends and family to pray I got the job. The following Monday, I had an interview at the charter school. It was only a one hour drama position, so pretty much all they'd give me was some experience to get a better job later. The next day they called me and offered me the position along with a one hour Reading Specialist job. That's all they could offer me. I was still hoping for the full time position at the public school, and I really couldn't make a living just working there, so I declined. And then the public school didn't even call me for an interview. Mildly disappointing (to say the least)

Fast forward three(ish) weeks. I finally managed to get a hold of a lady who runs an Elementary School Ballroom Dance program. She said there was a position at a Jr. High available. Well, I love middle school, so I emailed her my resume and I got a call from the principle the next day. We scheduled an interview for Monday (yesterday), and I went in. I had the feeling that there really was no one else for the position, so the job was pretty much in the bag. I accepted it because I would really love to teach ballroom. Might as well do what I love, right? Sadly, this too is a two hour a day program, but there is after school work, and I'll help out with the tech side of theater teaching kids outside of class. So there is room to grow, which is the benefit over the charter school.

Then, today, I got a phone call from the school where I used to teach dance up north and they wanted me to interview for the dance position that I used to have that the teacher just resigned from. This time, it would actually be a full time position because I would do part time at one middle school and part time at another, which adds up to full time. However, it is not ballroom, its just plain dance. And I don't want to teach dance, and I don't want to take classes to get the credential for something I don't want to teach. So I told them I wouldn't come in to interview. Which is kind of sad because the principle wrote in my letter of recommendation that he would hire me again, so the interview was probably just a formality. But I would have to drive two hours every day for the job, plus my prep period would be spent driving from one school to the other. And I do still need time to study.

So I am teaching ballroom for basically peanuts right now. I will hopefully be able to teach for the elementary school program in the morning, and my landlady wants me to sell shoes for her a couple days a week, and I'll be working at least one night a week at the game store. And trying to fit my school work around it. I am, truly, insane.