Black Bear Black Bear

While we were at my Grandpa and Grandma's for Thanksgiving we went for a walk along the Rogue River. On our way back I noticed a weird shape in a tree. At first I thought it was a large hawk with its wings back. Then I thought it looked like a black garbage bag that got stuck in the branches of a tree. It also kind of looked like a bear. I pointed it out and said "What is that? Is it a bear?" Sure enough it was a black bear that had gotten scared and ran across the road and up a tree. The tree with the bear in it was across the river from us so we were safe, but I felt bad for the poor little bear. Seeing it up in the tree like that reminded me of Brown Bear Brown Bear what do you see. It was definitely the high light of the walk we went on and the first time I have seen a bear in Oregon.

Goodbye Nursery, Hello Office

Between working and home improvements I have been busy and have not updated our newest projects. We finally took down the hideous light above the kitchen sink and put up a much more tasteful one.


We also did a makeover on the second room downstairs that was set up as a nursery. The room has white wainscoting around the lower half and was painted baby blue with a farm animal trim. I hate baby blue paint!


It just happened that my parents bought red paint when they bought there new house but decided not to use it. Erik and I love red walls, so I prepped and primed the room and Erik helped me paint it red. It looks great! We love it now. But we still have to hang the blinds that we got, put up art work, and organize the room. This will take a while but at least now we can be in there with out cringing.



I still need to paint the guest bedroom which is even more hideous but we do not go in there as often. I have a list of projects that need to be done but the finally feels like home now. Our newest addition to the house is a belated wedding present from Erik's Grandpa. It is a 50 inch plasma TV with a Blue-ray player. It definitely fills up the upstairs living room wall and will take some getting used to. We watched a movie on it last night and it was like being in a theater!

Subbing

I have now been subbing for three full months of school now. Teaching seems to come in waves. Some weeks I work almost the whole week, while others I may not work at all. I have learned that it is all about connections. I am signed up to sub through Willamette ESD,which serves many of the small towns/ districts in the Willamette Valley such as Yamhill, Carlton, Dallas, Stayton, Central etc. I did my student teaching in the Yamhill-Carlton school district and I have mainly been subbing there. I am also signed up to sub in the Salem-Keizer school district which has 45 elementary schools. I assumed I would be doing most of my teaching in Salem because of how large the district is. However, I have not received a single phone call from their sub finder. Either my account is broken, or they have way too many subs. Luckily one of my friends is a fifth grade teacher there and I have subbed in her classroom once and will be subbing there again in another week. I am so grateful for my friends and connections in the Yamhill-Carlton school district for allowing me to get experience. I can't imagine what it would be like to move somewhere where you have no connections. I was talking to a sub today at lunch, it was his first time teaching in Yamhill. He moved here from Wyoming two years ago to take a job in Dallas. He taught fifth grade last year and then was laid off because of budget cuts. He owns a house, has horses, as well as two kids in college and now no steady income. He said that he checks AESOP (Willamette ESD's sub finder) every hour from the time school gets out till nine o'clock at night and then wakes up at four thirty to check some more. He said he has worked for a month straight now, but in order to get the work it has been exhausting. I am so lucky I have Erik and that the economy has not hurt his company so that I do not have to be as concerned and stressed if I work or not. But I sure appreciate all the teachers who have called me directly to have me work for them! Next school year we will most likely be living in Newport, Oregon where I know no one and have no connections or experience. I am hoping to get a teaching position there or at least work my way into subbing. Right now I am trying to get as much experience as I can. So far I have only taught first, second, fifth, and sixth grades. I would really like to try out third and fourth so I can be well rounded.