I'm still here...barely

I know I've been MIA - literally because I haven't been answering emails and my address has changed and I keep forgetting to let people know what it is now - but I finally had an evening to catch up on my 115 emails (not including SPAM) and to update my blog.

LIFE IS FANTASTIC! I feel like I'm in heaven teaching. I truly believe I have found my calling in life. I'm an educator, as corny as that sounds. I love love love my grade level that I'm teaching and the school. I teach 5th grade at Tyndall Elementary. I have 20 students and they are spunky and wonderful. I've been working my tail off, working 10-14 hour days (I even pulled a few 17-19 hour days) every day of the week since I got hired on Aug. 11. Even though I've been practically living at school, I love every minute of what I'm doing. Unfortunately everything else has fallen by the wayside, which means I need to fill everyone in:

Kevin and I moved to a new address. Our address is now 723 Michael Drive, Panama City, FL 32404. We got tired of dealing with 60 year old base housing and the old plumbing and wiring and stuff, so we moved into Callaway into a lovely 3 bed 2 bath house with privacy fencing that Ruby has already busted through...twice. We love it here. And yes, I'll post pictures soon...ish.

Kevin found out that he's deploying in December to Afghanistan for 6 months. He's going to combat training in Fort Riley, KS on Oct. 3 until Dec. 12 then he's leaving for overseas sometime close to Christmas. He's very excited. I'm very not.

Other than that, things are just rolling along. Those are our big news items. Not much else to report. I will post photos of my classroom soonish as well. Maybe I'll get to that one weekend that I decide not to work at school. :)

Hope everyone is great! Sorry I've been neglecting everyone. Drop me a line (but don't expect a response - sorry!!!!) and let me know what's up in your lives. I MISS EVERYONE!!

I GOT A TEACHING JOB!!!

I GOT A TEACHING JOB!!!
I GOT A TEACHING JOB!!!
I GOT A TEACHING JOB!!!
I GOT A TEACHING JOB!!!
I GOT A TEACHING JOB!!!

I'm going to be a fifth grade teacher at Tyndall Elementary. I start tomorrow and have 6 days to prepare before the students arrive.

I GOT A TEACHING JOB!!!

we're moving!

That's right. We're moving but not outside of Panama City. We decided to move off base to a house in a nearby neighborhood. It's 1413 sq. ft. and has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It's a little smaller than our house on base, but here's what it has that our base house doesn't: a 2-car garage, a dishwasher, and 2 bathrooms! Those are the best parts of the house. Plus it has a privacy fence that Ruby will (hopefully) not be able to climb. We're moving in on August 28 and our new address will be 723 Michael Drive, Panama City, FL 32404. More updates and photos to come!

move over, tim allen...

I'm the Tool Man now. I just took a basic maintenance course at the auto hobby shop on base and now I know how to do the following things:
* change my oil and oil filter
* change my engine air filter
* change my cabin air filter
* change my wiper blades
* adjust my headlights
* where my battery, catalytic converter, muffler, fuel line, heat shield, fuse box, and brake and clutch fluid containers are.

I feel like a car genius! Especially since before this, I new how to check my oil and that's it. I even went to the car parts store and bought filters and oil and hose pumps and installed them all. Go me!

The funniest thing about all this is: now I know more about maintaining our cars than Kevin does.