Education is Expensive

I just realized that my teaching certificate will expire Aug '13.  I started to panic.  I need to take 15 credits or 150 clock hours in order to renew.  I started checking into it and I'm a little dishearted.  Education is expensive.  When I was actually teaching in a real job, I would take classes, spend a bunch of money to take them and then get a little raise to help off set the costs.  Now that I'm subbing my pay stays the same no matter how many classes I take.  Despite the fact that I've almost maxed out the pay scale when it comes to education credits, I make the same subbing as a first year teacher.  I have to say there is little motivation to renew especially with the fact I have a "can sub for life" certificate. 
While part of me wants to let my cert expire the other half keeps playing the "what if your dream job comes along" card.  I haven't taught my own class since 2001 and I haven't taught full time since 1998, but the thought of NEVER going back seems weird to me.  Some days I really miss teaching and other days I'm sooo glad to be going to lunch and getting pedis with my girlfriends. 
I'm very lucky to be in a situation where I can choose to work.  I sub because my friends are teachers and need me.  I don't go on random sub jobs and I don't work all the time.  I like that.  I don't need to re-up my cert to continue to do that.  It will cost around $1000 plus "seat time" to renew and with no raise in pay to offset, I'm just not sure what to do. 
All I do know is education is expensive.

Tackle Clutter Tuesday #3 (the Wednesday edition)

A few months back I showed a picture of my junk drawer. 

Here is a quick reminder of it. 

Ugh. 

What seems to be my biggest challenge is the randomness of clutter.  Believe it or not I can really organize the dickens out of a space.  It looks beautiful until something random that I didn't account for shows up and then I start down that slippery slope of "just cram it in there and I will find a home for it later" (yeah, like that ever happens) So a few days after my junk drawer post I decided to clean it out.  I purged and zoned and contained.  It took maybe 15 minutes.

As I was taking something out of there the other day I noticed that it was still in pretty good shape.  I think the key was small containers that held specific things as well as leaving a little extra room for that random thing or two that would surely show up.

Here is my junk drawer yesterday. 

I was temped to primp it a bit, but I thought that was cheating.  When I looked back and saw that I organized it back in November and it still looked pretty good. I was a happy camper.  I am hoping to feed off that good clutter busting juju and tackle another part of my house.  Despite my lack of posts, I have been tackling some major clutter around here, but the thing is... my I must clean out the shed RIGHT NOW or I will go insane doesn't always correspond with having camera in hand for the ever cruial before shot.  I'm trying to be better about that. 

:0)

Who Loves Ya Baby

So today is Valentines Day.We keep things pretty low key here at Chez Yoko.

This year Joj really pulled out the stops and surprised me with a pretty neat-o surprise.

I've always regretted not seeing the 1984 tour when Van Halen, and not to mention Diamond David Lee Roth, was in their prime. Well now they are back and I've got tickets!! 

Of course, the best part is that Joj knows me so well. 

I'm a lucky girl

Happy Valentines Day!!

:0)