Out with the old...in with the new...

Not only have the last couple of years been an emotional journey, they've also been a "job hunt" journey. As many of you know, I've been on quite the job turnaround the last few years. It's been interesting! Graduating from college and getting a full-time job is not what you think it's going to be. Rarely do you graduate and land that perfect job you'll be in for years to come.

Right after graduating and getting married, I taught at a private elementary school for one year. Within that year, David ended up getting the job he's in now and was commuting an hour away until I finished teaching. Right after I finished the school year, we packed up and moved closer to his work. The plan? For me to stop working and start having a family. HA! God had a totally different plan.

Thus my very interesting journey through jobs: substitute teaching, receptionist, and then one of my all-time favorite jobs:

That's right...I'm still considered a "certified barista"!!! If you look closely you will notice that this picture was around Christmastime and boy oh boy is that the best time of the year! It was so much fun! One of the best things I got out of the deal was an espresso machine. It's amazing! And I can whip up just about anything...Dave's gotten very good at it too...although I think he's determined to become "more certified" than me :)

Anyhoo, throughout that process I was in counseling and it was the best job I could have imagined during such an intense time of life. Who doesn't just want to decompress by whipping up some foam or frappuccino's? There were MANY times during this journey I sat and thought, "I have a degree in education and a year of teaching under my belt. And I work at Starbucks. What am I doing?" But God had a purpose even in that.

I ended up having to get another job and started with a tutoring company. Before I knew it, they had offered me a management position part-time and were also curious if I would start writing their phonics curricula. Things started out slow but I really started enjoying my job. It was awesome!

BUT, I had to give up Starbucks. It was time to move on but oh how I miss my discount! TANGENT: By the time all my papers were processed there, I still enjoyed my benefits for a couple of months. And yes, we loaded up! One of the biggest complaints I heard was how expensive everything is there. With my discount, I didn't really pay much attention. Now I know! And there's a Starbucks right next to our tutoring center!!!!

All that to say...I had my evaluation about two weeks ago and to my surprise they offered me a full-time job as a curriculum developer. I'm sooooooo excited! It won't officially start until the Fall but I have a bunch of summer projects to start working on! I will be creating an outline for an elementary math curriculum and will also be finishing up phonics. I will be training tutors and continuing to check in on their progress with the curricula! It's amazing. I wanted to respond by saying, "Wait, you want to just offer me a job??? You mean I don't have to start looking through the newspaper every morning and faxing my resume? You mean I don't have to have an account with Monster.com anymore? You seriously just want to give me a job? Umm..ok...I'LL TAKE IT!!!"

God is so good...all the time...God is good! He allowed me to have some fun at Starbucks during a very hard emotional time. And right as I have tied up the loose ends on my counseling, He drops this job on my plate. Very exciting!

Just thought many of you out there may not know what I even do these days! I understand...it's changed MULTIPLE times! Hopefully I will get to stay here for awhile. I absolutely LOVE the job, the people, and the atmosphere. It's my niche. I even like it better than teaching!!!! So, I will keep you updated! It definitely has the potential to turn into an at-home job when children come our way! Love you all!