so, i agree completely with lewis black: meteorologist means liar in english. they told us six to ten inches...and we got twenty-one. somebody needs to come to my math tutoring.

j has a job! he is working for the same school that i do. currently, he is a substitute, but he is scheduled to have a meeting on Friday to become full-time. thank you to everyone who has been praying for us - the Lord has seen us through and brought us to such a blessed place. i cannot thank Him enough for His care.

been traveling quite a bit still. i went on a trip to philly/harrisburg last month and will go on another one next week. in march, i have one overnight trip. i will be in philly for several days in april...but j should get to come on that trip, so i am looking forward to it. we'll have to work during the day, but in the evenings we can go site-seeing, relax in our hotel room, and enjoy the "vacation." truthfully, i enjoy the travel...though it can make me homesick at times.

tomorrow's a snow day! being a cyber school, we still have to work, but it gets to be from home - specifically with me in my PJ's on the couch, propped up by my pillows and covered by my favorite quilt, cup of cocoa in hand. definitely a good way to spend a work day. :)

filed our taxes today. i hate doing that. the older i get, the more i find myself agreeing with my uber-conservative husband (which i hate to admit...but he seems more right about our government and such as time goes by). it just seems wrong that the government gets to take some of the money i earn before i even get to touch it, and then they ask for more of it when the year is over. reminds me of the playground bully - already took your lunch and now coming after your toys too.

well, it is way past my bedtime, as is evident by my random train of thought. how about you? any random thoughts? penny for them, as always. :)

just about everyone has heard me talk about having "two brain cells to rub together" lately...my poor head just can't keep itself going these days, it seems. just too much in there...

j's been out of work for a little while now. once the school year was over, the place where he was didn't need him anymore. he's been applying to everything under the sun (he amazes me with his fortitude sometimes). so far the school that i work for has not been interviewing for reg ed positions. i'm still praying that they will soon and he can finally have a permanent salaried position working as a teacher...in the meantime, God has been very good to us. between unexpected gifts, additional side jobs given to him, and family generosity, we're still getting along financially. the Lord has a way of making things work out.

my school year is set to start on Monday....which is insane. new students, new classes, new schedules, new paperwork...plus a two day trip i have to go on to harrisburg/philly for orientation. but it'll be nice to be busy, if i can keep up.

i started up the ladies' bible study on Job again. we had put it aside for several months, but i had a few requests from some to get going again. my sister generously offered her home as a place to meet, so i said, sure! let's start it again...forgetting the time and effort it took the first time around. truly, i love getting back into the material and studying with these amazing ladies.

my sister's shower is finally over (yay!). i told j that we better have all sons because i don't think i could do that for a daughter. but in the end, the comment that my sister gave me made it all worth while: she told me that it was exactly what she wanted. knowing it made her happy is all i could have asked for.

--there are just a few of the reasons for worrying about those brain cells...all the rubbing is causing so much friction, i have a feeling they're going to give out one of these days. :) if any of you have a few cells to spare, i'd love some...

so what's been keeping your brain cells busy? penny for your thoughts?

for all of you that have been following my husband and i in our attempts to find teaching jobs:

we are both now employed teachers. i have my job at PA Cyber (which day by day i am getting more and more accustomed to...and it is slowing down...bit by bit...). and j started a long term substitute position in 8th grade. its only for this school year, but he was told that there is a good chance he could receive a full time job next year somewhere in the system.

thank you to everyone who has been praying for us. God truly blessed us this season. i was so worried when he got laid off a couple of weeks ago...little did i know that it was just the time he needed to apply for jobs...to be interviewed...to get this position. if he had not been laid off--who knows?

God works in mysterious ways. i thank Him that His ways are so much higher than mine.

how about you? has He been working in your life lately? penny for your thoughts?

so my new job is crazy. period. i have to give kudos to the ppl i work with. i've asked ten million questions, but they keep smiling and answering me!

the trouble will be next week...we have to temporarily (sp?) leave our building and go to a temporary location, which doesn't have much space. so the school's decided that everyone who was hired before January can work from home. us newbies get to work at the temporary place...

which means i don't have a bunch of ppl to bug. us newbies are gonna be on our own. it'll be hilarious - blind leading the blind!

the one big upside: the temp place is in the middle of a big shopping/restaurant area...we're already planning where we're having lunch each day. :)

anyways...as stressful as the work is, the ppl are great, the kids/parents i've talked with are wonderful, and the possibilities with this place are tremendous. i cannot say enough good about the whole bit. God has truly blessed me with His wisdom and wealth. thank you to all who have prayed for me over the past three years--He answered them beyond my wildest dreams.

so...what has been on all of your minds? penny for your thoughts?

for those of you along for the last three year search...i finally got one! i finally got a teaching job! woo-hoo!

and this weekend...i'm going car shopping! i'm wanting something with 4WD but decent gas mileage. any ideas?

penny for your thoughts?