Taxes

If anyone is looking for a good accountant please contact me. I have a great lady who's really sweet and she get's you back as much $$ as possible (I know, cuz I got a lot back this year---well, aside from the state's I OWE YOU).

Anyways, her office is in Northridge so if you're interested, email me at megan.mcmahon@yahoo.com and I'll send you her information.

Slumdog Millionaire

Great Movie! Highly recommend :-)

Happy Valentines!

Happy Valentines Day! Even though I probably should be cynical about this holiday I cannot help but think about how excited I would get as a kid when we would have Valentine's Day Parties in elementary school. I remember we'd take like 2 whole hours and just celebrate--which usually meant eating a lot of candy (no wonder I was a chubby lil kid!).

Well, I taught my 1st Saturday school session today and amazingly the kids were really sweet and there were only 15 that showed up so that was wonderful. It was long (a 4.5 hour class!) but even the kids admitted that it went by fairly quickly. I don't think I've ever even taken that long of a class so I can see why kids who failed it the first time around might find it daunting. But I tried to make it fun to day since it was Valentines (I brought them chocolates and we ate in class).

Anyways, Kim will be here any minute to celebrate our single awareness day...lol. Hope everyone enjoys their V-Day!

More good news...

This week has brought me some good news (finally!). I found out today that I have reached permanent status within the district which means that it is very unlikely that they will let me go in June (although if the crisis gets worse we still don't know for sure). But I'm no longer listed as probationary and I am also fully cleared with my credential...in other words, I have tenure!

It's a great step in my career and I wish I could celebrate more but I still feel a little down for whatever reason. I just really want to start seeing the fruits of my labor and this week has definitely given me a taste of that--for which I am very grateful.

Sadly, I am teaching Saturday school tomorrow morning so my Fridays are now shot to hell :-( But I accepted the position...I'm hoping it will help me with my crazy bills for the next few months. I really want to take a vacation this summer.

By the way, does anyone even read this? LOL

I've cleared my credential!

Great news! After a heinous BTSA program through the Los Angeles Unified School District, I have officially cleared my credential. I had my final portfolio review today and they approved it so they will send in the paperwork to the state of California and I will no longer be listed as having a preliminary credential--I am now fully certified!

Yay!!! Finally, some good news after a long stretch of not so great situations.

What do I want?...in a man that is...lol

So I've been told it's a good idea to write down what you want in a partner...and I am throwing this out to the universe so that if he's out there casually looking at blogs maybe he'll pick up on my vibe...haha!

I want a man who knows himself first and foremost. One who is full of life and passion, someone who will go on adventures with me and push me out of my comfort zone while still sticking to my values. Ideally I'd love to find someone who shares my faith or is at least open to it. He should be goal-oriented and hard working but still light hearted and fun (he needs to balance me out a bit cuz I'm too serious!).

I really don't want someone who is lazy, immature or cocky. I'd really appreciate a man who is a MAN--no girly, fruity boys please. I want someone I can share great chemistry with, great conversation, and fun times. Honestly, I guess I'll only know what I exactly want when I find him but I'm throwing this out there world (ahem, God!). It's not that I need a guy cuz I don't. I think I've proven that over the years that I'd much prefer to be single than in a lame relationship that has no foundation in anything. But I'm so ready for the real thing. Ready to move on and throw off the past. Ready to find someone I can truly respect and someone I will fall in love with.

So if you're out there Mister Right...I'm waiting and I hope you're looking for me too :-)

A beautiful ending...(or beginning)

When I was a kid my parents sponsored a little girl in India named Aruna. She came from a very poor community and my parents monthly donation paid for her education and medical bills as well as meals, clothes, and a few other things like birthday parties and such. It was a really wonderful example they set for me by sacrificing $30 a month to make someone else's life dramatically better. Aruna and I became pen pals and we wrote to each other for about 13 years before we lost touch. When she turned 19 she left the program (only kids & teens were allowed to receive sponsorship) and she had gotten into college!

Well, we just received word after about 5 years...she's finished her BA and she's a teacher like me. In her last letter to me she had told me that I inspired her. I wish she only knew how much she inspires me. It's amazing to think that two girls who "grew up" together across the world have ended up doing the same exact thing for a living. I'm so proud that I had the privilege of knowing her all those years and I'm so happy to know that young, poor children in India are now receiving her instruction.

My parents are now sponsoring another girl in her same home town and I started sponsoring a girl in Guatemala when I was 19. She's now 15 and in her 2nd year of high school. I hope she's as happy and successful as Aruna. Maybe one day I'll actually get to meet her.

Prayers for kids

Hey everyone. For whatever reason, a lot of people are struggling right now. I have so many students who are going through hard times due to the economy and health issues. One of my students' families is being evicted and he has to find a job to help support his parents because neither of them have jobs. I have another student whose mom has cancer and countless others who are going through hard times. If anyone is interested in helping a kid out let me know because I'd love to do something small to help out our struggling students--provide them with some sort of small scholarship or get them something that relates to one of their interests. With my own financial hardships right now, though, I can't do it alone. Let me know if you're interested and we'll see if we can do something together.

Funny/scary!

So I accidentally typed in the wrong address for this blog and I found an old blog I had started when I had just turned 19 (that I totally forgot about!). I guess I wrote in it for about one year, but I completely forgot about it--amnesia much? (lol)

I ended up sitting and reading it--laughing my ass off about how silly and immature I was back then! Hopefully I won't think the same thing if I happen to stumble across this blog in cyber space 10 years from now.

More on fear...

I remember the first time I saw Salvador Dali's, "The Scream." It resonated with me in a terribly frightening way. The contortion of the figure's face matched my internal struggle with depression and fear--fear that I know has demonic qualities.

At school today, the students finished their final exams in the first hour and I showed them The Lord of the Rings in the second hour so they would remain quiet. As I was watching it I realize something new about one of my favorite stories of all time. The difference between Gandalf and Saruman was not that Saruman rejected the truth. He feared the possibility that truth would not win. And in his fear he allowed himself to be consumed by evil. Gandalf could not accept that truth would not win--he realized that he (and many other good, innocent beings like Frodo, Sam, the elves, etc...) might have to be sacrificed along the way. But, he never doubted the resiliency of the Good, of the True, of that which is the ultimate Beauty. Saruman possessed the same knowledge of this truth but he failed to trust, to have faith, and in his crucial error he lost the most "precious" aspect of himself--love.

What binds together Gandalf, Frodo, Sam, Aragorn? Trust and Love.

So too must we bind ourselves to the ones we love and our God. Everything else is rubble and will pass away.

Fear is the thief of...

If there's one thing I've learned this year is that fear is the thief of:

-Joy
-Peace
-Love
-Trust
-Identity
-Happiness

Trust in the relationships you have, trust in your God, but do not trust your circumstances, your pocket book, or any other material item whether it is your car, your house, or your paycheck. I have been threatened to loose every material item of value I own this year (car, house, paycheck), but at the end of it all, I still have what really counts. My mom, dad, sister, several wonderful friends, students and colleagues who respect and care for me, and a God who loves me unconditionally even when I fail to recognize it.

So if my 24 (almost 25) years of wisdom count for anything I would say this:

Trust in the Lord your God. Trust in your family and friends. Everything else can be taken from you in an intant. Be grateful always for those things because even when everything else seems to be falling away, at least you have that.

I hope that if I am challenged again in this matter that I will stand strong and not allow fear to take over me (even for one day). I realize that my actions and my reactions affect not only my only happiness but the happiness of everyone around me. So for all the times I've failed to trust in that which really matters, I am sorry. For all the times I allowed fear to rob me of my peace, I say, I hope God will give me the grace to not do this again. I know in the course of my life I will be tested many times, but I also know that there will be good and beautiful times ahead as well. I only hope that my response to adversity can be one of courage, humility, trust, and love.

Thank you for your continued support.

Lots to do...

Life is overwhelming right now but I'm trying to choose to not allow it to get to me. The house has been tarped to prevent water damage (Thursday expects rain). They also cleaned up the patio and took down the awning/gutters which were totally destroyed when the tree hit. They also tested the insulation for esbestos so now I'm waiting to hear on that.

In addition to all that, my final grades are due Friday for the first semester, I had a BTSA seminar last night and an all day seminar on Saturday that I have to attend. After that, I'm teaching Saturday school for the rest of the semester to earn a little extra $$ in case of lay-offs. I'd rather spend that time working on salary points to boost my salary but for now "temporary" is what America is running on...hehe.

Now despite this insane maddness of a schedule, I will be doing some fun this this semester including:

President's Day: Santa Barbara adventures with Kim
March: Vegas with Kim (she has a free room!)
Spring break: Up in the air (I have an invite from Marc to visit Hawaii--we'll see if I can afford it!)
April 16th: My sister's 18th bday!
June 1st: My 25th bday
June 19th: Bre graduates from HS! (I get to have her again next semester!)

So I will do my best to look on the bright side. I ask you all to keep me positive, cheer me up and don't feel sorry for me! If anything, when you see me give me a big smile and a hug and I'm sure we'll have fun :-)