Pork Chops

Does it count? K is cooking this new recipe of the week. And just in time too... I had actually forgotten!

I think part of my distraction is the job situation. As many of you know, the levies were not passed in my school district, which I knew could lead to some cuts and the possiblity of part time, but there has been some talk of bumping that might bump many of the probationary English teachers out.

I think on some level I've made my peace with it, and I've even begun thinking like I won't have a job next year. I've taught enough subjects and done enough co-curriculars that my resume looks substantially better than it did when I was done student teaching. However, I'm not 100% certain I want to go back into teaching high school. There are so many things that make me frustrated (and occasionally maniacally angry) that I'm not sure this is the grade level I should teach. I also know that there are some detailsa bout my school district that are less than thrilling, but I can only speak highly of my principal and department heads as well as my department. So right now I guess I'm doing some serious soul searching--what do I want to do with the rest of my life? I feel like I did three years ago when I was grudgingly finished with my undergraduate degree and unsure of what to do with my life. It was a light bulb--high school teaching! I love English and I love K! I can always find a job teaching high school nearby and his job seems like it might be more risky as far as geography goes. And when I started that program, I was so enthusiastic and determined that I think I forgot who the core of myself was--someone who is passionate about literature and writing. Those things have played such a minor role in my life in the past two years that I somehow feel I abandoned who I had always wanted to be. So do I go back into teaching if I am cut? I know that I like what I do, and K asked me an important question: "Do you think of this as a career or a job?" Career, certainly, but one with some aspects that make me crazy.

And I looked into it over Thanksgiving break, before I even suspected my time at my HS was through. If you get a TAship at the big university, your tuition is paid for and you get a stipend that would cover my half of the mortage and bills and not much else. And I do know that I have always wanted my MA and PhD in literature (and maybe even an MFA in poetry, but that might be asking a lot). K knows this too; he said he was just surprised that I was talking about it so soon! I thought--well, I could get tenured, maybe go part time while I get my degree... I had thought it might be nice to teach high school part time and teach a class or two at the university level.

Anyway, I can't apply for next year as I've missed the deadline; I also haven't taken the GRE or collected letters of recommendation or polished a writing sample or anything else. I'm not adverse to doing "something else" for a year or two while I get myself together, but I do feel it's important (to me) to pull my own weight around here. We've got no kids and I'm a lazy housekeeper, so I couldn't justify it--I'd read all day, watch television while knitting, and play with our dog. Not very fair to K, who works too much as it is!!

Oh, speaking of dogs... I think K is very interested in getting a second dog. We've been together quite a long time, and we've always talked about how nice the day would be when we could finally settle down--not only to end the long distance shuffle but to get a dog. We've got two lovely cats (or rather, I've got two lovely cats, but he bullied me into both of them, and they adore him, so he's part caretaker anyway) which may be the last of our feline friends when they are gone... (too many allergies of friends and family). We have our adorable dog, P, who has grown so much and has been featured on my blogs with more pictures in a very obsessive parent-like way! And K let me pick her out completely. So I told him it's only fair that he picks the next, though I do love goldens... he is ignoring the hint! :) And I have featured here a dog he forwarded me a website of today... We even went so far as to drop by the Humane Society, but this puppy (a little younger than P) was at a veterinary school and would return in a few weeks. We checked out the other dogs, including one chicken-killing husky mix--beautiful, but probably not for our house! I just caught K on the websites, looking for huskies in the state. I think we're leaning towards young pup in the summer, only because of the cats and house training, though he seems quite anxious aso this isn't the first dog I've seen him looking at! Our reasoning is this: P thrives when she is around her favorite dog companions, B and C and S; it seemed only logical that she ought to have a canine companion, especially since our cat G has become the substitute playmate (which he somehow hasn't minded terribly, but he's a very laid back cat).

In other dog news, my grandparents adopted their very own golden retriever. I cannot wait to go out and meet her! I'm trying to figure out if I'll be able to before the wedding as every break that I have, I have some house improvement planned. (Kitchen wallpaper and redoing the banisters are at the top of the list!)

Well, on to try that new recipe... now that I'm eating meat again, a whole world of recipes has opened up to us. I'm glad, as it was very hard with K being such a picky, vegetable-phobic eater, and myself refusing to eat meat.