BBIAM to post

I just caught up on Yesterday's thread.

Kim, I am a teacher and I can honestly say that I wouldn't do anything but. I love my job, I love the kiddos I teach, I love preschool. I might not feel this way about it had I stuck with my original major, elementary ed., but I'm just glad this fell into my lap. Having said all those positive things, let me just also say that I have a bachelor's degree, a couple of post-baclaureate certifications (student loans till I die!!) and I have to take a ton of ongoing ed, about half of which is on my dime. I work well over the hours I am paid to work to be ready for my kiddos when they come, and the hours that I am actually paid for earm me less than $17.00. SO I will never be wealthy (until Drew gets me there ) but I am very happy with it, and it's a very family friendly career. You could also consider teaching at a college level, as the pay is somewhat better and you can call your time more your own (i.e. you're not cutting out little duckys for the children's nameplates on their cubbies). If you were to get a master's, you would be qualified, and you'd also bring practical experience to the table, which is something high school and college journalism classes would be looking for. Just my two cent's worth.

Happy birthday Lex!

Happy Birthday Lexxy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





BBL to post.

Laura

Thanks girls!!! Is it time to leave work yet??

Happy Birthday from me too!!! Lexxy!!! Enjoy your day!!!

Kim~ Jayne said a lot of what I was going to tell you. DH is a teacher and he doesn't have to cut out duckies but he does grade papers after school a lot. He teaches high school history and civics. A lot of people are drawn to teaching b/c evenings, wknds, summers off but there is a lot of work done in the evenings. Dh actually just stays a couple of hours after the school day b/c I am still at work but he is definitely not done by 2:30 when school is out. He does love it though. I would love to go into teaching but it is not feasible for me right now to go back and get a different degree. BTW how was the ride along?

Jayne~ Good morning. What is your topic of the day??? I am always interested!

Laura~ Morning, How is the work out queen?

Cuba~ I agree, everything in the movie was so over the top. I just love the way they bicker. It cracks me up!

Amber~ Congrats on the Dog. He sound so wonderful. Glad it cheered up DH.

Rina~ 6.4 You are the queen.

Daphne~ Hi and welcome!!!

Well we did like one of the houses we looked at last night but we will see. I am trying not to get excited anymore. I am just such an optimist that everytime we like a house I visually decorate it and move myself in. Meanwhile my realistic husband is looking for leaks and having friends inspect things. Uhh he is such a downer No actually I am so thankful for our differences it definitely creates a necessary balance. Other than that I went to a ladies fellowship at church which was good and then I went home and hung out with dh. Well that sums it up. BBL

Oh, topic of the day I didn't know if anyone really liked that or not, but it does seem to keep the thread hopping and humming, so I'm glad you like it, Becky -- I do too!!

Topic of the day:

What is the thing about yourself that you are the proudest of? Even if you've never told anyone else what this is, tell us. You don't even have to look at us while you say (type) it.

As far as I go, and as vain as this sounds, the thing I am proudest of about myself is that my family is really well-taken care of. I work hard to make them healthy meals that they actually like, give them nice clothes that are clean and ready for them to wear when they want to, keeping our house clean and peaceful, and thinking of little surprises that make them happy. When I see how happy they are, it's all worth it and more. And it does come back to me -- I am always getting those same little surprises from Drew, and I see how hard he works to be able to give me the freedom to work as I want and spend as I want (more or less). So that's what I'm proud of about me. How about you all?

Rina-Great Loss! Wohoo!

Lexxy-HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I'm trying to get to know everyone better so I don't feel out of place here as I love the support. So I thought I would do a quick sum up of my bio: I am 26, live in Maryland with hubby of 6 yrs Shawn, and 5 yr old daughter Hope, moved here from San Diego where I was born and raised after Shawn got out of marines. I work full time as mortgage loan processor but would love to figure out what I really want to do with my life (hey the $ is good in the meantime...lol). I lost 30 lbs in 6 mos last year on phentermine and am not taking it anymore, I maintained that loss for 8 months now. I started WW 3 1/2 weeks ago and have lost 8 more lbs. I HAVE GOT TO START WORKING OUT. I started the WATP tapes Monday and plan to do it 3x week this week then bump that up to 4-5x week next week. I also belong to a ladies circuit gym similar to Curves that I hope to get back to 3 nights a week. My goal weight is 150 but I am really focusing on 175 right now. I want to get pregnant soon but not sure when, I want to be healthy first, so that's up in the air. So that's my story...lol. Sorry for the long post!

Morning Ladies!

Apparently, Kim is thinking of a career change. I'll have to go read yesterday's posts to get the full scoop. However, as the first person in 3 generations of my family to NOT get an Ed. degree and teach - teachers work a lot more hours than is apparent to the public. Evenings and parts of weekends are used for prep and grading and most teachers I knew (grew-up in a neighborhood that had 1 or 2 in every house) worked a 2nd job in the summer - teaching summer school, driver's ed., tutoring or even mowing lawns and painting houses.

Jayne - LOL - until Drew gets you there! I tell CB that he's my Sugar Daddy. I'm an exec admin. Pays the bills but I'll never be rich. He's in IT. 'nough said. Today I tried to convince him that I need to be a housewife......

Lexxy - Why are you even at work? Don't you know that you ALWAYS call in sick on your birthday?

Becky - you are causing me massive guilt. I confess that I haven't had an OP day since Wed. and haven't worked out since last Thurs. You may be the kick in the butt I need. Is building an option for you and DH? Down here, it ended up being less expensive for me to build a no frills starter house than to buy a pre-existing home.

So, true confessions. As I've mentioned, I got off track. I'm not sure why. I guess because I'd lost close to 8lbs and my clothes were comfy and I was in my "acceptable" weight range again. I need to take time today to plan my food and make sure healthy stuff is in the house so I don't regain those pounds. I planned my work-outs for the next 2 weeks yesterday. I'm starting those up again today with a yoga class tonight followed by 30 min on the treadmill.

I need to get back to work. BUSY this morning.

Laura

Oh I just saw Jayne's question...I am most proud of my family. My mother is on her 4th divorce, both my dad and Shawns dad have been married twice and so has my sister. Shawn and I had only been together 5 mos when we got married and we were told it would never last. We have been married over 6 years now and we are very happy. We rarely fight, except dumb little arguments when one of us is grumpy, we communicate very well, we put up with each others moods and bad days well (which I think is very important), we have similar goals and dreams, the sex is GREAT (sorry...had to throw that in), he is my best friend. I am also proud of the parents we have become. Hope was an "oops" but neither one of us would change it for the world. We were only married 6 months when I found out I was pregnant and at the time was only 20 yrs old. She forced us to grow up REAL fast, but we did it! She is a beautiful, smart, loving child and it is very obvious how loved she is. We are only 26 and we own our own home, we have a boat, a 4 wheeler, a nice car and truck, our own zoo (lol...a new dog, 2 cats, 2 birds, 7 fish, and a snake), and we just take care of ourselves and we work VERY HARD to do so. I know a lot of that is material but we work hard to enjoy life and so Hope can enjoy life and that makes me most proud. OK another long post...sorry...lol.

Amber - good for you starting a work-out plan! I fell off the wagon last week but I typically work-out 400-500 minutes a week.

Jayne - loving the daily discussion. I think taking care of your family is something you should take pride in!!!!!!

I think the thing I am the proudest of is how many things I've paid for through working hard. Before you think I'm materialistic, let me explain. Between the ages of 17 & 27, I paid for a college education, a $13,000 car, purchased big ticket appliances and put a down payment on a home. In the last 2 years, I've been able to invest a decent chunk of money into upgrading my home. I've done all this with no outstanding credit card debt, a reasonable amount of savings and while growing a 401k.

I probably sound like a money grubbing gold digger. I'm not. I just grew up in a household with no finiancial stability so that kind of security is important to me. I'm proud of the fact that I can take care of myself this way.

Enough! I REALLY have to work.

Laura

Yay Jayne!! Thanks for the fun question...

I have only been a wife for 4 months so comparitively speaking I am a rookie but I think I am good at it. I grew up in a very dysfunctional home and was afraid that I too would become my parents once the ring was slipped on my finger. My mom tended to criticize my father and he has little self esteem which led to a LOT of problems. With this in mind I make every effort to keep my DH happy. It definitely goes both ways but I do pride myself in not letting bickering turn into big fights and taking care of him when he is in a blah mood. His mom wasn't very supportive of him and he lived in a hyper critical family. I am determined to give him the confidence and credit that he deserves. He is truly a wonderful man and I make sure he knows it I am always complimenting him and thanking him. I don't want to take him for granted. So, that said I pride myself in a being a supportive wife, which sounds very 1950's but, so be it! I am just proud that in this day and age with marriages failing on a regular basis DH and I seem to have a really good start.

Amber~ Thanks for the info. I love hearing about everyone's lives. Ok the zoo thing threw me for a second until I read on

Laura~ That is awesome and something to be proud of! As far as working out I am sure you will get back on track and it sounds like the plan is already in place. Building in my area is very expensive. I do however have friends in Indiana and they both built b/c they said it was cheaper. That is awesome.

Happy Birthday Lexxy!!!

Congrats on the loss, Rina!


ok, ladies...i need help! i have been home-bound for the past few days because i've been sick and i just want to EAT AND EAT AND EAT!!!


i'm up to about 9 points already. but usually i like to save most of my points for dinner (BTW...do you guys think this is a bad idea?!?) any words of advice?!

Morning Ladies!!!
I am a tired lady today. The ex phoned me at 2am and then got all defensive when I got mad at him for waking me up. He thought I'd have my phone turned off "like a normal person" - Who turns their phone off at night? I understad maybe if you really don't want to be disturbed and are really tired - but I like to be reachable in an emergency. When my phone rings after midnight, I freak out thinking something is wrong with someone. One would think after living with me for 5 years, the ex would remember that. I have to find some way to break contact with him. I'm too nice and I feel sorry for him so I talk to him and we go out to movies every now and then and I'm really getting tired of him whining at me when nothing is going right in his life. OK whining done, sorry about that. It was very irritating.
Being proud - I'm proud that I managed to leave that relationship (OK, I haven't completely left) but I'm on my own and happy and healthy and I wasn't a year ago at this time, I was turning out exactly like my parents who have come to an understanding and are still together after 31 years but haven't liked each other a whole lot through parts of those years. So that's my storey. I'm proud of being able to put myself before a relationship.
Jayne - again, good topic and you should be proud. Family is probably the most important thing in life and you're doing a great job.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEXXY!! Are you having a great day!?!
Becky - sounds like the perfect way to shop for a house to me!
Amber - you guys sound like you're doing great! You've got quite the accomplishments for a 26 year old.
Laura - A friend of mine said to her children that their auntie got everything she had because she was lucky - the auntie responded with no, I got everything because I work hard and save. Sounds like you've done just that. It's not materialistic at all.
Rina - Excellent job on the 6.5#!!!! Hope the MIL visit is going well.
Kim - I'm a firm believer in doing what makes you happy. I wonder if you can volunteer somewhere teaching or assisting a teacher to find out how you'd like it?
OK - Monster post. Must get some work done.
KT

UGH, I am so stuffed, just ate a HUGHE burrito for my bday lunch. I can't believe I used to have those things more than once a week. Anyway, Laura, I am here at work because I'm taking tomorrow off!! My friends are taking me out drinking tonight, so I figured it would be better to take that off than today

Emily, I think it's a matter of preference as to when you eat your points, depending on your schedule. I've heard as a weight loss tip to make breakfast and lunch your biggest meals and have a light dinner, but the only benefit of that I can see is for "fuel" purposes (which I guess is what food is for!). I personally like to eat like 5 times a day, but it's whatever works for you, as long as you're not starving during the day and then overeating at dinner.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I can't really think of anything for Jayne's topic, I guess I'd have to say that I don't have any major credit card debt.

I'll throw in my 2 cents about the teacher thing....a friend from college is working as a math teacher at a private school and they work her to death. She has like 6 or 7 different classes that she needs to plan for and grade - and no time during the school day to do this. On the other hand, I lived with a girl was a teacher who made just as much as I did being a consultant. She had 1 school day every week to plan and grade papers while her classes were at gym, art, etc. She left for work after me and ALWAYS got home before me. She NEVER brought work home. When it was end of term, etc, the teachers were given time during the normal school day to do grades. She only had to plan curriculum for 2 subjects and since she had taught them the year before, she didn't re-do them at all. She had so much free time during the normal school day that she could tutor kids afterschool for like $40 an hour (basically to watch them do homework). I have never seen someone do so little work and get paid so much. I think that must be an extreme, but it sure seemed like a cake job.

Emily - we were posting at the same time. The leaders generally suggest spreading the points out but I think a lot of people save their big points for the big ticket meals. If it's working for you, don't worry about changing it!
KT