it's the end of the week....

It's time for another blog entry. It's Friday already and once again, i can't believe where this week went! It's a grey, drizzly, dreary looking day here in San Pedro. It's actually been this way the past couple days. Diego had to go in to LA for some class/workshop, so he will be gone all day. It's kind of quiet and lonely here today. He's usually in and out every few hours, or I'll see him around the property, so it's strange to not have him around. I feel like I'm kind of stuck in the apartment building today because I broke my key yesterday ( the main one that unlocks all the building entrances) and D didn't have time to make me a new copy before he left this morning. I can get into the gated parking lot because I still have my clicker, but there's no guarantee that I could actually get into the building. The parking lot building entrance is USUALLY open until 5, but you never know. So I'm a little hesitant to go out today. Although, I probably should so that i can go fill out a job app.

Last month I sent my resume in to a random Autism Behavior Consulting group. They weren't hiring, but I thought I would send it in just in case. Well, I got an email today saying that they are looking for a behavior therapist for San Pedro and that I should come in and fill out an application! So I'm pretty excited about that! They have excellent benefits, 90 day training, this would be a GREAT way to get my foot in the door of the ABA world. It's great to have a potential job opportunity because honestly, my job hunt has been looking kind of bleak this week. There are absolutely NO Language Arts teaching positions to apply for...i can't even attempt to get an English teaching position in the LA area. Tis crazy! I think this may be one of the worst places for a teacher to be right now. I mean, considering how many schools there are, you would think there would be some sort of opening, but that's just not the case. I've been applying for all kinds of different jobs: administrative, customer service, non-profit, teaching aid, etc. Oh, I do have an interview scheduled for next Thursday @ the Cerebral Palsy Organization, so that's something too....

I FINALLY got my Indiana Teaching license! woohoo!!! I have been waiting forever ( seriously, almost 3 months...) I contacted Purdue on Monday and they got the problem fixed and within 10 minutes I was printing out my license! yay! So now I just need to apply for my California license. I need to go in for my Livescan( fingerprints), get a TB test, fill out a bunch of paperwork, and send in copies of my transcript. I can also apply for a sub license, so that i could get on the teaching sub list; but I'm a little hesitant to do that. Most of my teacher friends that have had to do that have had pretty negative experiences and HATED subbing. I suppose I'll do that if I can't find anything else, but it's not something I would look forward to. It's a tough job....usually subs just end up babysitting, but it really sucks going into a diff classroom everyday. You have to have really excellent classroom management skills(esp at high school level). I feel that I'm lacking in this area and have a lot of room for improvement. I guess subbing could probably help me improve in this area, but it still seems really intimidating. Especially because I could potentially be working in some pretty rough schools....so yeah, i suppose it could be a good opportunity, but definitely challenging.

Anyways, I never did finish talking about last weekend. Although there's really not that much left to tell. haha. On Sunday morning, Diego and I overslept so we didn't make it to church. We watched an online sermon instead. Did I mention that my mom and dad and Jennica booked their tickets for their trip out here?! Yay!!! I'm super excited! I'm counting down the days until they get here!!! Anyways, so D and I are going to go check out the hotels around here to try to find the best deal ( which place is cleaner, etc.) So on Sunday we stopped by the first one, Vagabond Inn. It's definitely a motel. A whole week for $400 definitely isn't a bad price at all, but you get what you pay for. It basically looked and smelled like a Motel 6. haha We were getting ready to go check out the next option when we got a phonecall from chicho inviting us to a movie. (Crystal had free tickets I guess)....So we headed over that way....

Standing in a circle around the coffee table chowing down on jicama before we left for the movie...

haha I wish I could have gotten everyone in the picture. Alicia, Larry, and Diego were also standing around the table..There was literally a circle around this food. I found it hilarious!  ;)

Anyways, we went to see "Real Steel" which is a movie about this guy(Hugh Jackman) and his son who have this fighting robot. I thought the previews were ok, but never would have actually paid for the tickets. Joel had seen it already and said that it was pretty good. So good that he guaranteed us that we would like it. He even said that he would refund us our money if we didn't like it. haha. It actually ended up being a really good film...something that most everyone can like. It made me really homesick though. The opening scene was this shot of Hugh Jackman driving through the countryside and going to this small county fair. It reminded me so much of home. And there were a couple different shots like that throughout the movie, so i was constantly feeling homesick. I even teared up a little bit.. :P  Lately, I've felt that I'm trapped in a concrete jungle. The whole city is just so grey and bleak. It's awfully depressing. Sure, the ocean is pretty, but it's not enough to sustain me. haha. I'm ready for some open countryside. Some new territory. I'm hoping that D and I can just go for a long drive and get out of LA  sometime soon. I mean, we can't really do an overnight trip right now, but even just a day trip up north. Just out of the city, you know? These concrete walls are closing in on me...haha.

Anyways, here are the last couple pictures that I snapped last weekend:

@ the mall..in front of the movie theater...it looked really inviting...

This really cool display of Toms Shoes @ the mall...Love it!

Wish i could come up with an idea as good as Toms!

We tried this Chinese fast food place in San Pedro called Pick Up Stix...it was ok. We just got the chow mein..it wasn't the best...

Jicamas and some other weird looking vegetable...I think it looks like a gigantic spider leg. It kind of grosses me out...

$5 Subs! D and I split a turkey sub... I asked for a lot of extra veggies bc I know D loves them...The girl could barely close the sandwich...D was laughing at me.. :P Whatever...i was getting them for him :P

A few more pics from this week:

Supporting the cause w/ pink sprinkles ( in the shape of a ribbon)

and stamps!

On Monday we got a surprise package from my very thoughtful aunt and uncle! Thanks guys!

They included tons of great fall decorations!!! My faves are these pilgrim figurines and the turkey! So cute!!!

On Wednesday, I decided to bake some brownies to send to Kendra since Tuesday was her 16th bday!!!

Don't they look delicious? Baked from scratch...

Happy Birthday Kendra!!!!! I think the brownies should get there today...

Diego eating his onion soup @ Outback...

We went there with Rachel and Edgar...

we  had a coupon for a free 6 oz. steak and one side...Since D ate his soup early he only had his steak on the plate...doesn't it look lonely?

So Edgar donated a grilled pineapple

Rachel gave him a spoonful of her mashed potatoes... D added some steak sauce and it turned into a smiley face...haha

I got the Queensland salad and it was oh so good! :)

Here's the link to the brownies if you're interested in making them. I believe that it's Pam Anderson's recipe from a cookbook that she put together, but I got the recipe from mybakingaddiction.com. If you're a brownie lover, you should definitely try these! They're quite tasty! However, the recipe only calls for enough mix to fill an 8 in. pan. Next time, I would definitely double the recipe so that it will fill a 9x13 pan! :)

In other news, Diego FINALLY got his 90 day review( only a month late)...he got a $1 raise. Unfortunately, he didn't get his one weekend a month free from call that he was hoping for. They said that he can just let them know in advance if he's got something planned...but I mean he can't keep asking for free weekends...that would just look bad. So that really sucks. Also, we didn't get the apartment w/ the porch and distant ocean view/breeze that we were hoping for. :(  They offered us an apartment up on the fourth floor, but it's still on the same side of the building and there's no real benefit to moving. It would just be a gigantic hassle. So I guess we'll be staying in this apartment. Thankful for the raise!!! But definitely disappointed about those other things....

Well, that's it for now...looks like it's clearing off outside! Diego just called me...he's on his lunch break. I suppose I should get busy. I need to workout, shower, and do a bunch of housework. Hope you have a great weekend!!! :)