Saturday, August 30, 2008

Something new...

So I made the decision to sell Mary Kay. Yes, I did it. I'm shocked myself at the fact that I'm doing this so please save the negative comments if you have any. :-/ This is my year for trying new things...cheer sponsoring, getting married (lol...I'm not trying that out, it's just new), selling Mary Kay...it's kind of scary! I hope I make it through the year without dying of exhaustion! Anyways, for any of you ladies living around me and anyone you know who likes to buy Mary Kay products, let them know that I sell now. My personal website is: www.marykay.com/stephanie.perryman and you can actually order from that website. I am going to try to do most of my selling with just word of mouth, passing out books and letting women know that I'm selling it. I don't like the idea of pressuring someone to host a party when they really don't want to. I've had that done to me before and it isn't a good feeling. Mary Kay doesn't have any quotas I have to meet so I'm free to sell however I want to. I might have a "debut party" which is just an invite to get all the women I know to come over for a party to let them know I'm selling now. (it kind of sounds like I'm talking about drugs when I put it that way) Anyways, I just wanted to put up this information on here and let everyone know that I am selling MK. I've already had a couple women at work and a couple of friends say they would buy from me so that was encouraging. :) Thanks girls!!
In other news...
I made it through the first week of school and my first game with the cheerleaders. The week went well, no problems with any students and no screw ups on my part! Score! lol. I had been really worried about what kind of classes I would be getting and hoping that they would be well behaved and so far, I've got that. I know a lot of them won't show their true colors for another week or so but I do have some genuinely nice kids who I think were just raised to be nice and polite. I also have several who wrote on their student data forms that they really are excited about taking Spanish and that they have high goals for their grades. That's always a good thing to hear about your students...it's really encouraging. Sabrina (the other Spanish 1 teacher) and I have gotten ahead on our lesson planning which is awesome. It feels good to be ahead of the game on that front. My only concern at this time is finding time for grading. I have to go straight from my classroom to cheer practice Monday-Wednesday from 4-6 and then Thursdays are our game days which requires me to be at both JV games (There is a JV Blue team and a Gold team). That's a long day! Our game this past Thursday was in Wichita Falls and I didn't get home until midnight! Needless to say I was exhausted on Friday morning when I woke up. Today I also had to get up early for our fundraiser serving breakfast at 7:30am. I'm thankful this was the 2nd of three fundraisers that will be held on Saturdays (at least to my current knowledge). I don't mind doing that work though because it's paying for my trip to Florida in January. ;-) Plus, I'm getting paid extra for doing this and I have to admit it has been sorta fun. The girls are all pretty nice and sweet and fun and I get a kick out of watching them do all their tumbling and stunts. (look at me, using all the right terminology! oh yeah!)
I'm excited we got paid yesterday because now I can go buy some real food. We've been eating so much macaroni and cheese and ramen noodles and frozen dinners. I'm actually looking forward to cooking something and having a good, non-frozen meal for a change. I've cut out lots of coupons to use and made my grocery list and marked the food I have a coupon for so I don't forget to use them. I'm going to become the coupon queen! I want to find the grocery stores that double and triple the coupons and go there too. Long live the coupons!
We swept and mopped the kitchen, hallway, dining room and "dog closet" (i.e. washer/dryer closet with no washer/dryer in it) today. Wow! I didn't even notice the floors were that dirty. The main part we wanted to clean was the dog closet b/c it was beginning to smell like urine and doggy doo-doo. ugh! It took a while after mopping twice for the smell to completely go away. I think we need to find a better place to put the dogs. We are still going back and forth about what to do with Daphne. She has her good days and then her bad days and most mornings are really frustrating with her. I set my alarm to about 6:20ish and without fail she wakes up and starts whining and howling about 15 minutes before I have to get up! It's so frustrating!! Why can't she just be quiet in her kennel and wait till we get up?? We always let her out as soon as we're out of bed, it's the same routine everyday but she's not catching on. She just whines anytime she wants something. It's really annoying. So...we're still trying to decide. Waylon is completely ready to get rid of her, no doubts about it. I still have my doubts and feel bad every time I think about it. So if anyone knows of anyone who wants a dog and would take good care of her, let me know. I'd love to give her to someone who has time and energy and desire to have her and would love her and give her a good home.
Now, I'm really tired and need to get a little rest before going to practice. Thanks for reading again!
Steph

Monday, August 25, 2008

Surviving the first day back to school...and more

Well, the first day back has come and gone and here I stand: breathing and alive! It was our first day on the semester schedule which was different since our class periods are shorter by 20 minutes and our lunch is 4th period instead of 3rd. We have 2 more teaching periods than last year so it feels like you are being really repetitive by the time 5th, 6th, and 7th periods roll around. I kept asking the kids by that point if we had already covered certain information because it felt like I had just talked about that five minutes before. That part was a bit tedious but we're past it now so it should be getting better from here on out. So far as I can tell I'll have great classes. I was looking forward to meeting the kids and they were all polite and quiet. I remind myself that we ARE on the first day still...so that could change. I'm really hoping it doesn't change too much though! I also had my first day of cheer practice and I felt kind of useless there. When they had us break up into our squads and work on our cheer for the upcoming pep-rally, I really had no input...I don't know anything yet! After they had practiced a bit I asked them to practice "those lift things you were just doing" because they were having problems with it and they all looked at me like I had 3 eyes and corrected me in that they are "mounts" not lift things. lol. I felt a little stupid but they all laughed afterwards and moved on and no one seemed to remember it after 30 seconds. As I spend more time in there I will learn more terminology and figure out what is what. Until then, I'm just a warm body, gaping and the twists and flips and splits these little skinny girls can do. It's amazing to see what the human body can do when trained properly. I can't even touch my toes!! I feel very inadequate being their coach right now. I hope this will be the motivation I need to get back into shape. I will never be able to do the acrobatics they perform but it would be nice to be a little more fit around them. I look obese right now in their presence! ugh!!
I continue to learn the challenges of being married. It's been three weeks and I'm loving it but already seeing where some areas we're really going to have to work on in order to keep things running smoothly. I love Waylon and he has been a wonderful husband for a first timer! haha...we're both first timers, I just thought it was funny to say that. Anyways, I get all excited when I think about how we have the rest of our lives to spend together and get to know each other and see all the ways God is going to bless us and use us together. I really get excited when I think about our future children and how they will be and what they will grow up to be. It's really just a very exciting time of life. I hate that right now at the beginning of our marriage we are having to spend a lot of our evenings apart with him being in school and me working late, however, the time we do have together we do our best and being together and just enjoying one-another's company. I already feel at home with him and if I wake up in the middle of the night it's a huge comfort knowing he's right there beside me.OK, OK, OK...I'll shut up now!! I know some of you are wanting to barf right now b/c you have been married long enough to be past this little infatuation of mine or whatever you want to call it. :-) I just like to think about it and write about it and if you don't want to read it, you don't have to! lol. I hope you do though...hehe
I have biscuits in the oven and I need to make some gravy to go with them so...good night and have a great week!!
love,Steph

Thursday, August 21, 2008

What's my name?

The name change ordeal has begun. I had been waiting for our marriage license to come in and it did last week. I've been carrying it around with the intention of getting my new social security card change, drivers license, bank account, work stuff and teacher certification stuff changed...but hadn't done a single thing with it...until yesterday! I took the first step towards making me a Perryman on paper: I changed my name at my bank! I'll be getting new checks and a new debit card with my new name! I can't wait, it's going to finally start looking official. My school has already changed my name on the master schedule so my students will have Mrs. Perryman on their schedule. My mail box at work also already has Perryman on it. It is an odd feeling not seeing Woolbright. Anyways...it's a long journey with many steps but I will get there one day!
On the subject of school...the week has really flown by for me. It's been a good week. I got the room change that I requested so I will be upstairs, closer to my fellow Spanish 1 teacher and out of the roach and mouse infested room I was in. Not that the other room was a horrible room in and of itsself, the location was great, right by an exit where I could park right around the corner and see my car from my window. I'll miss that part, but I'm still more happy upstairs. I'm also closer to the lunch room with the refrigerator. Another perk about the new room is it doesn't have a zillion papers left over from the teacher before me and I have A LOT more shelf space which I hardly had any of in the other room. Overall it's going to be a great move. The only problem at this point is that I didn't move my stuff from my old room to the new room until TODAY at the END of the day! Don't ask me why I waited this long...it irritates me. There was a lot going on and we were getting lesson plans ready and stuff but still, I wish I hadn't waited until today. I'll have to stay late tomorrow probably to finish decorating it and getting everything exactly the way I want it and even then it probably won't be complete for another 3 weeks while I work out all the kinks. I'm excited though.
I found out that the first game I'll be performing my "cheer sponsor" duties at is an away game in Wichita Falls. This requires me to leave school at 2:00pm and miss 6th and 7th periods. I also get to ride on a bus that is designated ONLY for the JV Cheerleading squad which for some reason was funny to me. There will be plenty of space...that's for sure! I think there was mention of the possibility of taking a "short bus" which I think would be a better option. I'm looking forward to going to the practices next week and beginning my duties as their coach. It's kind of exciting. :-)
Do you know what else is exciting? I get PAID tomorrow! I have NEEDED this paycheck since about the the week after I got it! Half of my last paycheck went to last-minute wedding expenses and we have been living off what was left over after my bills were paid and what little Waylon had left over after wedding expenses and tuxedos and the honeymoon expenses. We were running very low on mula so I'm very, very, very excited about getting paid tomorrow and hoping the new raise for the next year will be on it. That would be fantastic!
I have had no luck with getting Daphne adopted. Everytime I think about it, I get sad and feel bad. I would rather give her to a family or person I know will take care of her, but no one I know wants her. She hasn't been so bad lately though (as I say this Waylon is having to get up and go to our room and get the dogs out after they have sneaky-ly opened our door and gotten in). Maybe she knows something's up?? Poor thing. They are very cute together when they start playing or fighting. It will be wierd not seeing her little perky ears around if we end up giving her up for adoption. I have found a local adoption agency that is supposedly a "no kill" agency but have not had the guts to call them yet. I'm a wuss. I would really just rather he behavior get all better and not have to get rid of her at all...this is unrealistic since I'll be spending even LESS time with her starting next week. Oh well, a girl can dream, right?
We have a praise, which I chose to leave till the end to make sure that end on a positive note: Waylon has a job. This one is legitimate. It's an hourly wage with set hours that work perfectly with his school schedule. It's nearby also. He will be reading water meters for one of the neighboring cities. He will walk 5-7 miles daily and he's really working forward to that part...NOT! lol. He is happy to have the job though and it was a huge relief to me. He filled out all the paperwork today and found out he will have benefits as well, something he hasn't had in a long time at a job. He has a couple of interviews between today and Monday when he has his first day on the job so something phenomenal might pop up between now and then but at least we have a guaranteed job! Praise the Lord! I knew God would provide and He did and it didn't take very long. I hate to admit it but the thought popped through my head that God may put is through a test right up front to test our faith in Him by allowing Waylon to not find a job for several months and us have to live on one salary. I know it's unrealistic since he actually could get A job, maybe not a good paying one, but a job none-the-less. God still may be putting us through a test that we don't even know about as of yet, but I'm glad it doesn't include Waylon NOT having at least a decent paying job. :-) I do get stressed out when I think of even the possibility of not having ends meet on any given month. It gives me knots in my back.
So...there was a little update on our lives as of late. The apartment still isn't pristine like I would like it, but we are working on it. I plan on cleaning the bathroom and sweeping and mopping the kitchen this weekend...GASP! Try to stay composed people, yes, this is Stephanie talking. ;-) I'm learning what it feels like to take pride in how the place you live looks like. It's a humbling experience. la-dee-da!!
It's 10:10 and I need to get in bed so I'm not exhausted tomorrow when I'm going to have to be doing all my setting up in my room.
Night!
Steph

Sunday, August 17, 2008

list...

Quick blog: Things I need to do this week and some decisions I need to make that are kind of big...
1. Get my name changed - this is a must, we finally got our marriage license in.
2. Get organized for school and start writing some of my ideas down on paper - I have not done that yet and we go back tomorrow for in-service.
3. Brainstorm for ideas to get my women's book club started up again at church and make it better. Also find a good starter list of books to use.
4. Find the next song the women at my church can sing for a special.
5. Decide if I'm going to sign up to sell Mary Kay. They do a great job talking it up and making it sound like a great opportunity (which I do believe it is), however, it's not something that's cut out for everyone. I could use the extra money right now and I think it would be worth a try...I'll have to talk it over with Waylon to see if he agrees.
6. Finish organizing my apartment - yuck!
7. Find some good recipes for me to start cooking this week.
8. Begin reading "The Shack"
9. Enjoy being married!!
10...I've got nothing for this one.
good night,
Steph

Friday, August 15, 2008

My wedding pictures [the professional ones]

If you want to check them out, they are on this link:
http://www.bennettphotography.photoreflect.com/
then just click on "woolbright_perryman wedding" and it should go to them. You have to select which group of pictures to view. There are three: "before and ceremony", "formals" and "reception and setup"
Enjoy! Let me know what you think!
I just had a piece of my wedding cake and it's still so flippin' good!
Stephanie Perryman [I love seeing that!]

Thursday, August 14, 2008

It's my Thursday morning blog.

Does anyone here ever watch that show 30Rock? It's got Alec Baldwin and Tina Fey...its REALLY funny! We started watching the first disc of the first season last night and it's really pretty funny. I never thought I would like that show. I'm not a huge fan of Alec Baldwin, but he's super hilarious in this show, you should watch it. It has some crude humor but not a ton. We checked it out from the library. That's what we'll be doing until we have a steady dual income in our house...checking out movies and DVD's from the library instead of Blockbuster. Hey, it's free and they actually have some pretty decent stuff. We checked out "Be Cool" earlier this week and watched that. It was funny too. I love that movie. Waylon wasn't impressed. He's never impressed with any movies I say are good or funny. They are always "alright" to him. He's very picky about his movies and I can usually tell within the first 5-10 minutes if he's going to like the movie just by his body language; how he's sitting and the look on his face. He doesn't hide that very well at all. This comes from going to movies with him for 7 years, not some magical gift I've recieved since being married to him. :-)
It turns out that the job we thought was going to be great, wasn't. He didn't go back today. It was cleaning carpets and the way they presented it to him and the way he saw it being done during his non-paid training were not the same. The guys have to upsell different services once they arrive at the houses to really make money and some of the "services" were not all they were cracked up to be and Waylon did't feel right trying to sell that at the prices they were charging. Oh well. He tried. He's going out for round two today. We do have a couple of options though. His first goal is to try to find something with pay as close to what he was making before, which was REALLY good for the hours he worked. The second goal is that they have flexible hours and work with his school schedule and the third goal is to find something nearby so that he doesn't spend a lot of money on gas. We're still trusting God to provide because He always has and always will. If Waylon can't get the pay he got before we're going for somewhere with a decent, consistent, reliable pay that doesn't depend on the ups and downs of business. He needs the hours. As much as he likes sales, it's not the most dependable source of income, unless you have a good base salary. So those are the things he's looking for in a job right now. He's calling a few more places today and hopefully will get an interview or two.
I am in another mindset right now: preparing for going back to school next week. I've already received my two in-services schedule letters from the school district in the mail outlining next weeks happenings. I get to work with my department for the first two days which means me and Sabrina, the other Spanish 1 teacher, get to work for two days straight on getting our lesson plans ready for the first six weeks. I'm looking forward to that part because I got some new ideas this summer during my ECAP academy. (I am an "alternative certification" teacher so I went through all the education classes this summer through ECAP - we went to class everyday from 9-3ish for 4 weeks to get what all education majors take during their four years of college) I'm really anxious to try some of this stuff out. One of them is a bit idealistic but I still want to try it. I'm really inspired right now by all the teachers I heard speak to us and all the things they have been able to accomplish in their classrooms. Some of it is super scary to even think about trying, but I picked some that I really think I could do. So I get to work with Sabrina who is AWESOME and who also went through ECAP several years ago and this year is our new department head. I think she will do a great job and I look forward to working with her in that capacity. Another thing we're doing this year which is new is "opening ceremonies" for our school district. In our letter is says that we're going to have t-shirts from our school to wear to these ceremonies. I have no idea what to expect there...hopefully it's not an adult pep-rally or something. lol. That would be interesting. Now, those of you who know me will find this next part probably a bit odd and out of character: this year I accepted the position of being a cheer sponsor. Yes, I know, it's crazy. It also pays an extra $3250 on my salary which right now we need. It also allows me access to connect with some of my students (I had several cheerleaders last year in my classes) and to go to games and see other students of mine playing. I know it's not really a coaching position, but in essence I am their coach at games and in practices...so I've been told. I know it will be time-consuming and probably frustrating at times, but I think it will be a good experience for me. I like the athletic atmosphere and although I know I'll be in the cheerleading side of it, I think it will still be fun. I've been told I won't be taken seriously, but I think that's all about how you carry yourself and letting others get to know you and see that you're doing it because you care and want to get involved in the students lives. I'm not worried about that, I have enough confidence in myself to overcome that.
After I wrote that paragraph, I looked around me and noticed my surroundings. I still have boxes that need to be put away and clutter that needs to be organized. The unpacking is not finished unfortunately and if I don't want to be totally stressed out next week, I need to get my rear in gear and get it done today and tomorrow. I still have a bunch of stuff at my parents house in my old room! ugh!! Clothes and clutter...the story of my life. I don't know where I will put all that stuff either because my apartment is just started to get that "full" feeling where you don't want to add anything else for fear of an explosion. yikes. My dogs are being annoying right now, chasing each other around, growling and biting each other. They can do this for hours! It drives me crazy. I'm actually really trying to get rid of one of them. I got Daphne back in may, she's a rat terrier and I thought it would be really good to have a second dog for Rowf to play with so he wouldn't be so needy with us. It was a mistake. First she was sick for the first month and half with pneumonia. Yes, dogs can get it, I didn't know that either! I spent probably $1000 on vet bills trying to get her better. She would cough and cough and cough and I thought that would never stop. Well it did and as soon as she was all better, her real personality came out. She is probably the hyperest dog I've ever owned. She moves like a bolt of lightening, if you blink, you can miss her. She's also a whiner. If you're not giving her enough attention, she whines, if you put her in her crate, she whines, if Rowf has a toy she wants, she whines, if you're eating and not sharing with her, yep, she whines. One of the few times she doesn't whine is when she goes to our window andlooks out over our balcony and stares outside. She loves to do this! I love for her to do this! It keeps her attention! It's great! Anyways, for our small apartment and the $300 deposit PER DOG, having her is turning out to be more frustrating than anything. Sometimes I feel like she may not live to see another day when I get really frustrated with her. Rowf is much calmer, older and trained - we don't have problems with him. Daphne has a mind of her own and isn't scared when she gets in trouble. She's like a stubborn little child and once I go back to school training her will be more difficult. She needs a family or a person who can give her lots of attention and who is really good at training. She's really cute and can be very sweet when she wants. Right now I'm just at wits end with her so that side doesn't stand out to me much. She is very cute though and I know that once I do get rid of her, I'll be sad for a while. She entertains us a lot when she gets into it with Rowf. They are quite hilarious together. Anyways, if you know of someone who wants a small dog and would be a good home for her, let me know. I don't want to just send her off to any Joe Shmow.
With that, I think it's time for me to cut out and start organizing and cleaning. I've got a lot to do here not to mention still going to my parents and getting the rest of me moved out.
Happy Thursday!
Steph

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

First week home as a Perryman

I'm a married woman, finally. I'm starting this blog because I want somewhere other than Myspace to write about the things I learn and go through as a newly married woman. I know there are going to be highs and lows, struggles and victories and that the road ahead isn't all roses and rainbows. I'm 27 years old and I'll be 28 in just a couple months. I've already been through a lot in my life, now I have someone to share all that with. I'm excited and sometimes scared if I'm really honest with myself, but mainly excited and extremely happy! I know God brought Waylon and I together and that he is the one I God has been preparing me for through my life. I love him so much and in the 7 years we have known each other we have been through our own ups and downs as friends and as significant others. Now we embark on a new path: husband and wife. He has already shown himself to be a loving and caring husband and I hope to be a godly wife to him and show him the love and care he deserves. With God's help I know our marriage is going to be the best thing in both our lives.
With that being said, I've already learned a few things about myself since being married. Before I was married, I lived with my parents. In fact, I have NEVER lived on my own and the longest I have gone without my parents would probably be 2 weeks. That's it. I know for most of you, that seems crazy, what with my being 27 and all. For me, it's just how life was. I was used to it. That's not to say I didn't want to move out, but the circumstances were never such where I really could afford it. So I stayed at home through 9 years of college, 6 majors, more jobs than I can really count on two hands and three dogs - two of which I still have. Now that I'm living in my OWN apartment, with my own stuff and the responsability of keeping a "home", a few things have changed as to how I see things. Suddenly, I feel more like my mom must have felt with me and my messy room. I suddenly have the urge to go around picking things up off the floor, using my handy vac, washing any dishes that are in the sink, and an array of other equally disturbing things. I am astounded at myself - and slightly frightened! If you know me, this is NOT normal behavior. Now, let me clarify something here. If you came into my apartment right now you would NOT see a perfectly immaculate place. I say that because compared to how I USED to be before marriage (I'll start referring to that as BM...so don't think I'm meaning bowel movement), my apartment is much, much, much cleaner and neater but not as clean or neat as some would think a "clean & neat" aparment should look. That being said, I still think it's much better than I ever saw it being. I'm proud of myself.
As a married couple only being "home" for 6 days, we have already gone through our first "crisis". Waylon went in to work yesterday and was immediately let go. Apparently the company isn't doing well and they are having to downsize. We had a financial plan already set up to put into effect in September and this threw me for a loop. (I'll get into more detail about our financial plan in a later blog, it's a great plan and I'm very excited about it.) This just goes to show that the verse in the Bible that talks about not knowing what tomorrow brings is so true. We make these plans for our future and often don't think that God could possibly have something different or even better out there for us. I have to admit that for a couple of hours I was freaking out. I didn't know how we would make the rent plus utilities PLUS my car payment, PLUS my credit card bills. I was downright panicking. But God is in control. Waylon was calm and on his way home picked up a newspaper and we hit the job listings. One thing Waylon is really good at is finding a job...quick. He found one yesterday and they hired him on the spot! He started today! God IS IN CONTROL!!! If everything works out the way they say, he will be making as much or more than his last job which was a very good paying job! Crisis averted!
Well, I would like to write more, however, Waylon has already gone to bed and has to get up pretty early tomorrow and I want to spend a little time with him before he drifts off to sleep...and I have a book I really want to get started reading. :-)
I hope to really get some use out of this blog. I really feel that blogging about my personal discoveries in marriage isn't Myspace material, no offense to myspace because I love it. I also like what my sister has started with her blog so I want to do the same here. I'm a copycat!
With that, I'm signing off.
Stephanie Perryman