Kate's Eye View

Jeremy and I moved in to our new apartment last weekend. The move went quite well in part because we were ready to go and because we had some friends help us! Normally we move everything my ourselves so it was nice this time to have the help. We had our walk through and they were very impressed and we are getting all of our deposit back. The property manager wrote on the move-out sheet "In better condition than move-in". That felt good to hear. Hopefully we'll get the money before our vacation. It has been just over a week since we moved and we are almost all unpacked but unfortunately we need to get a storage room somewhere because there isn't enough storage space here for all our empty boxes, sports equipment, and Christmas stuff. We really like this new place. It has a really nice pool and hot tub outside in the courtyard. There is also a nice gas grill you can use whenever. The fitness center is also very nice with all the equipment you need to get a good...

Today I decided it was finally time to fix the chalking around out bathtub. It had mildew from the previous tenants and I killed all the mildew using Tilex mildew root killer, however the mildew had left the white silicone chalking around the edges stained black even though the fungus was dead. This is how it started out earlier today: To start out I first scrapped off all of the old stained chalking with a stiff, sharp putty knife. This was the messiest and hardest part. I made sure to get all chalk that could be contaminated by mildew so this included the chalk around the soap holder and the faucet. Then Jeremy made up the following solution for me that cleans and sanitizes the whole shower area so that no mildew spores remain and the surface will be clean and ready for the new chalk to adhere to. The solution was 3 quarts hot water 1 quart bleach 1 cup Trisodium Phosphate (TSP) substitute 1 cup Dawn dish soap I applied this to the entire shower surface and then let it sit for abo...

Since my last post I officially finished the kitchen cabinet refinishing project! Here are the pictures: BEFORE AFTER I started packing this week. It is good to give yourself a lot of time to get ready to move I think so it spreads the stress out over a longer period of time and is in smaller doses but it is also hard to decide what to pack up so early! I am constantly looking around asking myself what we can live comfortably without for the next two and half weeks. So things like books, winter clothes, extra mug/bowls/glasses/plates get packed up but the rest of it I don't want to do too soon then end up having to rummage through boxes later when we need this or that. So, it is refreshing to know that in only one week I have to have everything packed. You can live with less for one week! :) On Wednesday night I made a fantastic dinner consisting of Spanish seafood flavored rice, Spanish garlic shrimp, and petite lobster tails. It was so good Jeremy took a picture. We ate it...

All of the sudden it is the month of May and we having exciting stuff going on! I haven't heard back from Bruce Randolph about that interview I had with them so I probably did not get that position. But at least it was good practice and now I know what an interview is like. I did however hear back from Otter Tail Environmental and I did get the summer position with them! They called me and asked if I was still interested in working for them and I said yes, and then they asked if I was still willing to drive to Boulder county and I said yes but then she also asked if I would be willing to do mosquito identification in the lab and I also said yes to that. Currently I am not sure about what I will be doing with them but either way I am glad I got a summer job so I can start paying off some debt! Last week I also did a phone interview with The Denver Model Staffing Initiative which is a non-profit organization part of The New Teacher Project which is a nationwide effort to help urb...

I had my interview yesterday and I think it went well. I prepared a teaching portfolio with materials such as my license, resume, references, Praxis scores, transcript, HS lesson plan, MS lesson plan, examples of activities, picture of pasta DNA in the classroom, email to students, email from parent.... It ended up being 37 pages long! I also made a pretty sweet cover for it: The position I applied for was for 6th grade and 9th grade Earth Science. Earth Science isn't my first choice but I'll doing anything! It would be fun nonetheless. Apparently they teach the curriculum through the use of kits. Utterback did this and I really wouldn't mind it especially since Earth Science wasn't my main focus in college. At the end of the interview they said they were looking to make a decision pretty quick and they would be in touch with me soon. Also, when I was getting ready for my interview yesterday Jack called from CityScape, our current property management company. ...

Today was a good day because I had my in-person interview with Otter Tail Environmental. I was supposed to meet with the same person that did my phone interview about two weeks ago but I ended up with another person who also seemed very nice. He basically just reiterated what the job entailed (working independently 40+ hours a week doing mosquito surveillance and pesticide application when needed). I think the interview went very well and he seemed impressed that I already had a college degree and experience working in a lab keeping track of data and being very detail oriented. He said I would hear back from them probably by the end of next week, so around April 24th. Yesterday I applied for a teaching position at a school called Bruce Randolph School and today I got a call to come in for an interview on Monday!! I am so excited and hope it goes well. It sounds like a really neat school because it has been undergoing a transformation from a failing middle school into a passing scho...

It has been 4 months since I last posted... time flies! In the meantime: I took the Praxis. I turned 23. Student teaching ended. I graduated. Got Recognition of Excellence on Praxis. Moved back to Littleton. Celebrated Christmas with my mom and Jeremy. Went skiing. Went snowboarding = broken distal radius. 3 weeks in a long cast. 3 weeks in a short cast. Applied for my teaching license. Watched the super bowl. Went skiing. Went snowboarding. Painted the kitchen and entryway. Applied for teaching jobs. Watched all 4 1/2 seasons of Lost. Found a new apartment. Got a new haircut. Received teaching license. Applied for summer jobs. And now we are headed to Flagstaff for Easter tomorrow. There. We're all caught up! :-) This looks like a lot but ever since January it has been very boring for me. I went from having a million and one things to do and worry about and having to get up at 5 A.M. to having nothing to do and no time schedule. Needless to say I don't know what to...