I'm considering teaching abroad for a couple of years. I want to get a teaching job here and do it for a year. I need the freedom of knowing I can live alone and take care of myself. I am 26 but I'm not sure I can survive on my own. I don't know why I feel this way, considering the fact that I lived on my own in CA for a year. I still want to go to grad. school but I feel like I should try living abroad or I'll regret it. SBD is going great! I'm looking forward to the Pro Bowl and Grammys this weekend. The only things I've been watching on TV are Catholic Mass on EWTN or Three's Company.

Good morning, FoodOb, and thanks once again for getting us started on this Fun and Fancy Free Friday. I hope you can find a teaching job soon, either here or abroad. Good luck!

Jenn, I hope you get some answers on Monday and can start on a plan of action that helps.

It's definitely a Fun and Fancy Free Friday for me. I have the day off and it's the start of my long weekend. I want to finish cleaning the house this morning, and I have to run over to the supermarket for a few groceries, then back home to get in a good workout before I can goof off for the rest of the day. It's frigid and windy outside, a good day to hole up inside!

Good morning!

What grade level/subject area do you hope to teach? I hope your plans work out well.

I'm so glad it's Friday and I won't have to go anywhere tomorrow! I'm not sleeping very well, I keep banging/bumping my sore wrist and waking myself up in the night. It's looking much better this morning though, much less swelling. I'm on the mend for sure.

I did my daily check for wii fit in stock and there's one at the GameStop in Auburn (the closest 'city'). I'm not sure how quickly they'll sell it, but I'm going to ask my DH if he feels like going shopping this morning....

It's cold today, 3 degrees at my house right now. I don't know if I'll be able to check in from school today - I'll be monitoring inside recesses... *shudder* I'll catch up with the rest of you after school for sure though. Enjoy your Friday!

Hi Linda! I didn't see your post. I hope you can get everything done early and enjoy goofing off for a change!

Food Obsessed, it sounds like you have a lot of things on your mind these days. I hope a job turns up soon and you can flee the nest. So glad SBD is going well for you. Hang in there!

Up at my usual 5:30 without the dog alarm! My body can't seem to forget those years of getting up early to be at work for seven. Dumb body! I've now been retired for 12 years.

I'm off to the gym for 7:30 and then Paul will be here with another commercial dehumidifier to continue the basement drying out process. He also is replacing wet insulation in the new part of the basement. What a great guy!

Got all the strips and squares cut for my quilt project - there are about 1000 pieces so that was a major job. I'll post a picture of the pattern if it scans properly. I am still having major PC issues and will probably be buying a new one next week. My friend Rob really knows his stuff and is dying to shop with me. I'd get a laptop but I have this wonderful $3K desk so will probably get a desk model.

Tomorrow before my quilt marathon, I have a breakfast meeting and need to throw together a fruit salad for 20 people. I'll pick up fresh fruit on the way home from the gym but have frozen mango, pineapple and blackberries in the freezer so it won't be a problem. I'll fake a sauce/dip for it with cream cheese and sf/ff yogurt plus some rum.

Fun and Fancy Free Friday? It's looking that way at the moment. I hope your day looks the same.

I'd have gone with freezing and frigid but this sounds better

FO: Wow, early start to the day. I always tell my DD that you should do the things you really want before you are settled with a family. If it's something you will always wish you'd done, don't let it slip by if the opportunity arises.

Jenn - Hope today is a better day

Cottage - Enjoy your weekend! I'm such a wimp when it comes to cold that I just hibernate.

I'm so glad today is Friday! Not a very exciting day. We have a work retreat coming up and we all have to meet with the facilitator ahead of time. I get to do that today. Wa hoo. He seems like a perfectly nice guy and if I still had any hope that things would improve I'd be encouraged. I gave that all up months ago though so just going through the motions and hoping for a new job before the retreat (or a snow storm )

Tonight is a GNO with my former co-worker buds. It won't be a late night because one friend has date night with her hubby at 8, but it will be fun to see them. Luckily I know the restaurant well and already know what dinner will be

So far I've spent my morning searching for warm and spicy soup and stew recipes for next week I need to do my main grocery shopping today so should figure out what the week will look like, or the weekend cooking anyway.

It's crazy cold and windy here this morning so the drive in will be slow and cautious. My little car gets great mileage but the highway is a wind tunnel and my car is light.

Hope you stay warm and glide through your Friday

ETA - I knew there were other posters out there

Heidi - Sorry to hear that wrist is still giving you trouble. I'm trying not to worry too much about you (it's a Mom thing )

Ruth - If you want the convenience of a laptop you can still get one and plug it into a monitor for your desk. You can even add a mouse. Then you still have a laptop for convenience but on your desk
Can't wait to see your quilt plans! Happy gyming

Linda, I am so jealous that you have a 3 day weekend! FoodObsessed, if I were you I would take that opportunity to teach abroad. You may never have that chance again. Although I did a lot of traveling to Europe etc. when I was younger, I never lived anywhere other than Brooklyn and I wish I had. It's good to try another environment.

Heidi, last year I tripped and really jammed my elbow. I actually sprained it, which is very hard to do (you have to hit the elbow in a very exact way to sprain it rather than break it). It was SO painful. The ortho told me to ice it for 24 hours and then use heat so it wouldn't stiffen up, and to be sure to exercise it. Maybe things are the same for wrists too. I also used a cream from the health food store called Topricin, which works specifically on ligaments that may have been bruised or damaged, and it really helped. I'm usually a bit skeptical about homeopathic remedies, but this one really worked.

Things had been going so much better with my boss recently...until the going away party for a co worker last night. While at the office I wear two keys on a lanyard around my kneck - a master key, since I frequently have to let myself into others offices, and an elevator key. I guess the keys knock together and make a jingling sound when I walk. I walked into the party and my boss said "You are like a cow!" I'm sure she didn't mean weight wise, but still. How rude!

SO...I let the dogs out again and all these folks sneak in!

Cottage, enjoy your first day of the weekend. I'm so glad I've been to your house because I can visualize you in your livingroom with your laptop.

Heidi, did you mean to type 3? In either F or C, that's cold. We are -33 right now - and that's about the same in F or C! The dogs' potty trips are very short - like the dogs and their mistress. Glad a bit of the pain is abating. A fall sure shakes up the body.

Gotta crank up my day now to make it to the gym AND have a shopping list for later. See you.

at Cyndi and Mmck who snuck in on me too!

Good Friday morning chicks!

FoodO - Teaching abroad sounds like a wonderful adventure. My DH always wanted to live and work abroad but then we had kids and life got in the way. You are smart to do it while you are young!

Cottage - Enjoy your long weekend - goof a lot

Heidi - Many of the game stores let you order online and pick up in the store. Check it out. Brr.

Ruth - I wake up way earlier than I need to as well. Sigh. I hope your PC purchasing goes faster than mine! I got a desktop too and everyone seems surprised by that. Makes me second guess myself. Anyway, final accessories coming from Amazon today so may be on the new PC tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing the quilt.

Cyndi - Sorry work is a bummer; enjoy your evening out. Soup sounds good to me too.

Mmc - Your boss sounds like the cow!

It is getting cold here again and we have a little snow. Today will hopefully be spent getting the new PC running, finally. Gym workout with mom this morning. Looking forward to the weekend because DS eats out or with friends so I can make what I want for dinner! I think it will be taco bake one night and spaghetti squash deep dish pie the other.

Have a great one all!

Happy Friday!

FoodO, I lived by myself, paid my bills, and was responsible for myself for several years before I got married. It's a wonderful thing knowing you can survive on your own. Go for it!

Cottage, Why is it a long weekend?

Heidi, I always feel sorry for Auston's teachers on bad weather days. 15 Kindergarteners in a room... Yuck!

Ruth, I agree with Cyndi, a laptop sure is convenient.

Cyndi, Keep your car on the road! Have fun at GNO.

Mcc, Did you say, "Moooooo!" How rude!

WT, My mom lives in Louisiana. I would love to work out with her!

Me: No coffee for me this morning! I have to have a blood sugar test first thing. Hope I survive! I'm working on Ph1, but I haven't been to the grocery store yet. I'll boil a couple of eggs to bring to work with me and grab a salad for lunch. My sweet hubby said he is cooking dinner!!!

Tonight, we are going to see my beautiful 15 year old niece in a pageant. She looks like a supermodel in her dress. Her daddy is going to have to beat off the boys!

It's good to be back. Where is the sign up list for the cabana boy?

I'm back folks after yum yum yummy veg. soup! I think veg. soup will eventually replace beans as my top fav. SB food, if it hasn't already. Thanks guys for your spport. I am going to a job fair for Educators on 2/13/2010 (Sat) and hope to score a position teaching 4th or 5th graders. When I go abroad, I want to teach older people. I really enjoyed being a teaching assistant to undergrads while I was an undergrad. myself.

Morning, all! Wow, you've been busy so early!

Going to head to the gym in a bit and then my daughter and I are going to New Orleans to do the Magazine Street Stroll and have lunch with 2 girls she used to work with before she moved to L.A. Looks like the weather won't be our friend though...it's supposed to storm all day.

Uh, Chelby, you might want to rephrase that statement about what your niece's Dad is going to do to those boys....let's just say I got tickled. (I can't help it...my mind just works that way!) Best of luck on the pageant!

FO, that sounds like a fun plan. I've been teaching since the late 70's and still love it (most days). I got the cutest one page note from one of my second grade students yesterday saying how nice I am and how I never yell at them (he must not be paying attention!) It's one of those notes I will keep forever.

Have a wonderful day everyone!!!!

Good morning chatty chickies!

FO - thanks for the start...what a great title!! I'm hoping it is! I understand your thoughts, and good luck with them...you know you'll get a lot of support here!

Cottage- have fun goofing off. Please let us know what you get to do!

Heidi - hope we have stories of a Wii fit tomorrow!

Ruth - would love to see the pics of the quilt in progress! I tried to start doing that while I was still in college...I never finished my first one. Certainly not going to happen with kids now!

Cyndi - GNO sounds fabulous...I haven't done that in a longgg time. Hope you enjoy!

MMCK - You are hardly a cow at the stats you have posted, but it was certainly very rude for them to even make a crack like that!

Karen - it is so much easier to make food only for yourself, isn't it? I realize on the nights the DH is gone, it is SO much easier!

Chelby - it's pathetic, since I see you on FB so much, I hadn't realized you weren't checking in here. Welcome back!!

Cat - have a great time with the daughter. I don't think the weather will matter to you!

Me - Yay! Part of the DH's present is to get out of here for the weekend. It's been pretty stressful, between the holidays, work, and the kitchen. So, we're off to Erie this weekend (I would've picked DC, but happy to get out of here!). Found a great hotel with a pool, lined up a few activities...I look forward to getting out!! Until then, a fairly full schedule at work.

We'll have internet at the hotel, and since I always get up an hour or two before anyone else, I'll probably be checking in.

I did realize, looking back on our little exercise calendar, that my treadmill problems began when I started being better about taking the dog on a walk at night. I wonder if I'm getting fatigued a bit, doing 2-4 miles on the treadmill on the am, then a pretty fast paced walk outside at night? I'm going to take a couple days off (and walk the dog at a more normal pace) and see if it helps a bit.

Have a great Friday!!

FO- You could always teach for a dod's school.
http://www.dodea.edu/offices/hr/employment/default.htm

You would be teaching at the schools on US military bases all over the world. I have a friend who has taught in Japan and in Germany. I know one that has taught in England, Iceland(I think), Germany, Japan. So the possibilities are endless.

Morning everyone else. I need to get the kids to school. running late at the moment.

Tammie

Good morning

FO - I was in the Air Force when I was younger and I lived in England for two years it was alot of fun and a great learning experience.

Cottage- enjoy your three day weekend.

Heidi - keeping my fingers crossed that you score a Wii

Ruth - glad to hear your basement is being taken care of. You will have to post pics of the quilt.

Cyndi - have fun at GNO! Hang in there for work.

MMCK - yeah that was not a nice comment. I also have keys on mine lanyard as well as badge and secure key fob, but when I go for my walks at lunch I take my keys off because I make such a racket I annoy myself

Karen - Have fun at the gym

Chelby - you can get your coffee after your test. The pagent sounds like fun.

Cat - enjoy your time with your daughter.

Twynn- have fun on your getaway weekend.

As for me last night was super busy- got home and turned around and picked up a gf's son to take him to see his mom in the hospital since he cannot drive and she had to stay an extra day in the hospital. So we didn't get home til late- did my work out and just got to look at my new dryer LOL.

This morning had to get up early to take DH to the airport he is gone for over a week went down to FL for Pro Bowl and SuperBowl. So I decided I should go into work today since I was already in St. Louis and we are interviewing people today. I am looking forward to the weekend. I to have to DS to scholarship interview on Sunday afternoon but it just the next town over.

Have a great day everyone