Need some dust please :(

[Smurfysmiles]

I took this picture the day I got it

 

[swimmer]

Date: 12/21/2009 2:25:19 PM
Author: Smurfyimproved

Date: 12/21/2009 2:13:34 PM

Author: swimmer

Smurfy,


Has your DH looked into subbing or otherwise working at a HS? With districts firing teachers left and right these days anyone that isn't Math, Science, or Special Ed certified needs to have something pretty spiffy on their resumes to stand out. I have a ton of applications on my desk from people wanting History teaching jobs and we are not filling even retirements next school year. Is he done with his masters? Can he student teach while driving?



Good luck with your car situation, it does seem like you might have to take the bus as he really has to have a car. Do you have an ipod? I just tune out with my podcasts while on the train, makes it fly by. Good luck!

We are getting the car fixed today so we can continue on the way we have been doing it. Hopefully we can get a second car soon. He has his BS degree in Classical Studies. In colorado you can get your teaching license by taking an exam and completing 30 hours in the classroom and then you have to student teach for 2 years or something like that before you have your license, so he can't sub yet :- would be nice though!

My dad's been kind of guiding us through it all as he works for the teacher's union up in Minnesota and so has a general idea of how the process works...just takes time is all....oh and PATIENCE. He also has a minor in history and theatre so i dunno if those will boost his resume or not. He also worked in Sicily for a year on an archeological dig.

Smurfy, great that you are getting the car fixed! Haven posted some fabu suggestions. My family likes to do sock hops (which are excellent for dusting!) just requires movies like Grease, Dirty Dancing, etc. What museums are nearby, or historic homes, they tend to have free or open houses during the holiday season.

Just so you know, subs do not need to be certified teachers in CO; Denver Public hires subs with a BA or BS. Look on their site, they are hiring. Not sure of your town. Regarding certification, here is CO's DOE website on alt cert, link All your DH has to do to get going it pass the PRAXIS (which is an insanely easy test), and decide between the 1 or 2 year alt cert program. It seems like the 1yr program wants some sort of educational work background. You might want to take some time during the holiday to go over this together. I see so many people getting bogged down in the certification process. Know that very very few teachers get hired who are not fully certified unless they are in a high need area. Sad to say, history is not high need. His majors sound very interesting (and I am jealous about the dig!), but this honestly, is not what I am looking for when hiring. It seems that dept chairs and principals are looking for what teaching has he done, where does he tutor, what is his masters degree in, and what work with students has he chosen to participate in? These are not questions for you to answer here, but for your DH to be putting on a resume. You guys are looking to have kids soon, you want him to be in a good district soon too, right? Sorry for the overload of info, but this has been part of my job at my Ed school, helping folks through the cert process and I love getting the right candidate into the right job.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

wow swimmer that is a lot of info but very useful and interesting info! I copied and pasted to pass along to dh. Hopefully he can get looking at subbing and we can get rolling on the other stuff after the holidays

 

[Haven]

That''s great info about subbing in CO, Swimmer. I was surprised when I read Smurfy''s reply that her DH had to be certified before he can substitute. It''s good to know that''s not the case. Here in Illinois they''ll pretty much give anyone a sub cert as long as he has a BA degree.

Smurfy--Swimmer''s advice is really great. I took on a lot of part-time teaching gigs when I was in grad school to earn my teaching cert. I worked as an adjunct at the local community college (which proved to be a *very* good thing, for me) and I taught in a Saturday enrichment program for K-12 kids at Northwestern, which I still do. I also taught Sunday School, and tutored high school students here and there. Those were excellent resume boosters, and they gave me a lot of practical knowledge about teaching so I could answer interview questions based on my own experience rather than speculation about how I *would* teach once I had the opportunity.

Good luck to him!

 

[Smurfysmiles]

thank you ladies, hopefully 2010 will be an even better year for us

p.s. i''ve cheered up upon discovering my workplace had a cookie buffet and free sodas and sub sandwiches for lunch for everyone today!

 

[BeachRunner]

Sorry to hear about your troubles, Smurfy. Everything will work itself out. The most important thing is that you have family around you!

I feel you with the financial situation. As you know, we just moved to CO, and DH has not found a job, so finances are tight and we can''t afford any presents, etc this year either. We''re just thankful we have each other.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

i guess we will all just have to light lots of candles and marvel at our diamonds instead

lol

 

[Winslet]

Lots of dust to you and your new husband, Smurfy. I know how frustrating it can be to be down to only one car, especially when struggling otherwise. I''ll be hoping for some Christmas miracles for you two as your families start arriving!

 

[BeachRunner]

Date: 12/21/2009 6:46:08 PM
Author: Smurfyimproved
i guess we will all just have to light lots of candles and marvel at our diamonds instead

lol

cheers!

 

[kama_s]

Most stores have extended returns for this time of the year. If you return a few things from the gifts you bought, you can cover the 100$ deductible. (https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/fess-up-how-much-have-you-spent-on-christmas.132269/)

It must get even harder in the winter to take the bus - it snows quite a bit where you live too right? I used to do it for school, the travel sucks.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

Well we managed to budget for the 100 dollars. Luckily I renewed my cell phone for 2 years thus changing the payment date which means no payments due until january 12th This also frees up about 300 or so dollars we can use while the parentals are here. Things ended up working out

 

[meresal]

Date: 12/22/2009 12:51:22 PM
Author: Smurfyimproved
Well we managed to budget for the 100 dollars. Luckily I renewed my cell phone for 2 years thus changing the payment date which means no payments due until january 12th This also frees up about 300 or so dollars we can use while the parentals are here. Things ended up working out

I'm glad to hear you found the $100.

Smurfy, wouldn't you rather save that money, and just do free things like you mentioned earlier in the thread?

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Am I reading correctly that the $300 is coming from your phone bill being pushed back? Your cell phone bill can''t be $300...I must be misreading that...

Just a suggestion, have you and your H thought about having a financial planner take a look at your finances and help you make a solid plan and budget so you can afford to pay your bills and set money aside into an emergency fund? I''m not talking about a financial planner who will try and sell you mutual funds or anything, I''m talking about more of a counselor. This could also help get you on the road to buying a home faster because they could advise you on other things to get you set up well for when you want to buy a house. I know my bank (USAA) offers this service to it''s customers, perhaps your bank does too?

 

[swimmer]

Good luck with the financial stuff, that is rough. The alt cert teaching programs all cost several thousand...so you might want to start saving asap.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

Date: 12/22/2009 12:56:34 PM
Author: Hudson_Hawk
Am I reading correctly that the $300 is coming from your phone bill being pushed back? Your cell phone bill can''t be $300...I must be misreading that...


Just a suggestion, have you and your H thought about having a financial planner take a look at your finances and help you make a solid plan and budget so you can afford to pay your bills and set money aside into an emergency fund? I''m not talking about a financial planner who will try and sell you mutual funds or anything, I''m talking about more of a counselor. This could also help get you on the road to buying a home faster because they could advise you on other things to get you set up well for when you want to buy a house. I know my bank (USAA) offers this service to it''s customers, perhaps your bank does too?

We already have an appointment lined up for January 2
As for the 300, I''m working some extra hours during the holiday, my cell bill is only 80 but in addition to the 220 ill make in overtime hours, it definitely helps.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

Date: 12/22/2009 1:20:34 PM
Author: swimmer
Good luck with the financial stuff, that is rough. The alt cert teaching programs all cost several thousand...so you might want to start saving asap.

My dad remembers how hard it was for him starting out as a teacher and has graciously offered to help with most fees associated with it. He''s treating it as a Christmas gift.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

Date: 12/22/2009 12:53:08 PM
Author: meresal

Date: 12/22/2009 12:51:22 PM

Author: Smurfyimproved

Well we managed to budget for the 100 dollars. Luckily I renewed my cell phone for 2 years thus changing the payment date which means no payments due until january 12th This also frees up about 300 or so dollars we can use while the parentals are here. Things ended up working out

I''m glad to hear you found the $100.


Smurfy, wouldn''t you rather save that money, and just do free things like you mentioned earlier in the thread?

A lot of it will be saved but there are 1 or 2 things I know his parents had their heart set on when they decided to come out. MIL LOVES to garden and really wants to go to the butterfly pavilion while she is here. I believe entrance is something like 8 dollars a piece so I will probably go do that with her one day. The other is that there is a movie dh and his dad have been waiting to see together that is finally out in the theaters so one afternoon they will probably go to a matinee showing. Otherwise yes, we''ll still do the free stuff

 

[kittybean]

Hey Smurfy! Happy (early) White Christmas to you!

Just wanted to let you know that they definitely let you substitute teach without a teaching certificate in Colorado. I did it!

I''m sorry things are rough financially for you at the moment. I think your plan to go to a financial counselor is a great one. You should definitely try to save at least six months of living expenses if at all possible, just to prepare for unemployment or illness or some other unforeseeable calamity. Living paycheck-to-paycheck is really stressful (obviously), so hopefully your financial counselor can help eliminate some of that stress from your life. Sending you lots of dust for a healthy and happy 2010.