Those words you never want to hear.

Hearing "no" is never easy, is it?

I am not the type to announce things like job interviews or other things that are not definite. This time around, I wanted to tell people because I wanted the advice and the prayers. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the people on my side praying for good news.

I wish I had good news to give you, but I don't.

:(

Today I found out that I did not get the job I interviewed for on Monday. To say I am heartbroken is an understatement. I am afraid I am in for a round of heartbreak though as I continue to interview for elementary positions. This process has reinforced that searching for the perfect teaching job is truly not easy and I may have a very long road ahead of me.

After asking the principal what I could have done better, she said to articulate more examples with my answers to the questions.

I have to admit, I found the panel interview to be odd. It did not feel like a conversation. It felt like me just talking and them writing. It did not feel personal at all. So, after this experience I will be thinking about what I can do better (including more examples!) and trying to create a conversation type atmosphere. A part of me kind of hates myself for typing that though, because by the end of the interview on Monday I had them all laughing and seemingly enjoying themselves. So, clearly my need for a more personal atmosphere is seeping through the intense formalities.

Anyway, I just wanted to get on here and thank you all for your well wishes and prayers. They meant the world to me and I really needed that encouragement. Thank you.

Student teaching update + Winner announced!

Ay yi yi! It's already the end of Tuesday! Holy buckets. Everyone said student teaching would fly by, and I have to admit, I doubted them. Really doubted them. But, they were RIGHT. This is my fourth week of student teaching and that hardly seems possible! I absolutely adore the school I am at, and I know I will miss it terribly when I head to my second placement in four weeks.

I love it so much, I had to control my cheesy grin and urge to hug the principal when she offered me a chance to interview for one of the two fifth grade positions that will be open next year! She asked me if I was interested on Thursday and on Monday (yesterday) I interviewed. My very first, full blown teaching interview! Boy, oh boy, was it intense. I am still coming off the intensity, but I honestly feel I did as well as I possibly could have. I should find out by the end of this week or early next week. Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers! I feel so good in this school and I know it would be a great fit for me!

Switching gears a bit here, but I think I have a giveaway winner to announce! I'm sorry this is so late, but I put the number of the comments into random.org and #5 was drawn, which means..... Lisa is the winner!! Woo hooo! Congratulations, Lisa! I will get you your goodie bag out in the mail soon! :)

Thank you to everyone that entered and has stuck around! If you're not already, please find me on Twitter and Instagram! My username is IowaAmber.

Hope you're having a great week!

Update + a GIVEAWAY!

Hellooooo! How are you? Life as a student teacher is flying by and I cannot believe that two weeks are already over and done with it. I am loving every second of it, and I just my class. I am so lucky that I have a wide range of ability levels and differences in this class, as it is giving me some great experience!

I thought I would update you all once again, but it will be in easy to read bullet form! :)

• This past weekend was a busy one with Bacon Fest, a Skype date with Jane Porter, lunch with a friend in town and .... me falling ill with a nasty sore throat/cold. 
• Bacon Fest was ... interesting. I can't say I will be jumping to go again next year, but I am glad I experienced it once. A lot of the bacon was really good (even if it did need to be cooked more) but the effects the next day were not so great. I am pretty sure I retained so much water I looked like a balloon. 
• Sunday afternoon about 8 friends and I gathered for a book club meeting and Skype date with the lovely Jane Porter! It was so fun to talk books and about her writing process with her. I am blown away at how nice and generous she is! We all read The Good Woman and we cannot wait to get going on The Good Daughter that just came out! 
• In 12 weeks I am running my second half marathon and third long distance race. As we speak I type this, my boyfriend is putting together a running plan for me. Should I be nervous? (I think so. He's gonna kick my butt).
• Saturday after Bacon Fest I decided to skip the Zumbathon I was supposed to participate in and opted to spend the rest of the day and night in bed nursing this cold. That seemed to do the trick, until Sunday when I decided drinking mimosas while chatting about books with my girlfriends would be a good idea. The champagne immediately went to my head and I feel icky the rest of the night. 
• After the book club chat I met up with Lesli for a lovely dinner out. It was good to see her! I cannot wait to see her again when I head up to Minneapolis for Jodi Picoult's signing and Lisa's going away party.
• Student teaching is going *amazingly* and I am loving it! I hope I can blog some stories soon, because, oy... do I have 'em! My little Nicki Minaj (which is what I call that little girl that asked me if I was NM) provides the best material to retell! She is a total hoot! 

I am signing off for now, but first, I would like to giveaway a copy of Jane Porter's first book in the Brennan Sister's trilogy. Comment below with your email address and you will be entered to win a signed copy of The Good Woman along with some other goodies! Giveaway ends Friday night at midnight and I will announce the winner sometime over the weekend! Good luck! 

Surviving Student Teaching v1

I have survived two days of student teaching in third grade and I still want to be a teacher, so that's good, riiight? I think I will try to check and recap how things are going periodically and share the stories I will undoubtedly gather over the next 3 1/2 months.

The first two days really were great and I feel so fortunate with the school I was placed in and the mentor teacher I have. Both are fantastic and I am loving every second, but with the anxieties of a new "job" I am feeling a little stressed and cannot place my finger on why exactly. Before I get into that too much though, I wanted to recap the days.

Day 1:
The first couple weeks are meant for observing and slowly taking on responsibility. I am not interested in slowly taking on responsibility and I really want to start doing things right away so that when I do get to "bell-to-bell" teaching, I am not completely wore out by the end of the day.

On the first day the kids went around the room and introduced themselves to me and asked me questions about myself. For the most part the questions were things like, do you have pets? What's your favorite football team? Are you a Cyclone or a Hawkeye? (our in state college rivalry) and then I got the best question EVER .... Are you Nikki Minaj?

What??

Yes, this girl has a wild imagination and an enormous amount of confidence (she boldly announces when she has a crush). I had to stifle a laugh (as I have had to do several times so far!) and said, nope! I'm Miss Johnson, your new student teacher!

I cannot wait to see what else this imaginative little girl and the rest of her classmates have in store for me.

Day 2:
The day started with a team meeting of the third grade teachers. All of the teachers are so nice and welcoming, and I really enjoyed sitting and listening to them plan!

The rest of the day went very much like the first day and it flew by! I helped several students one on one and did a little note taking/data collecting for my mentor teacher. It already has begun to feel like I have been there much longer than two days (in a good way!)

The school was buzzing a bit because there is a big winter storm coming and overnight we are supposed to get a bunch of snow. So, you know what that means... a possible snow day or late start! I was a little bummed about this storm because I had a feeling it was going to sabotage my Tuesday night plans which is the weeknight I usually get to spend time with Bill. I really look forward to these nights, but we live about 20 minutes away from each other on opposite sides of town and I did not want to skip my evening workout and I did not want to drive over there just to drive right back... all in all, it was really bumming me out because I hadn't seen him since Thursday. As I type this out I feel a little silly for letting this get to me, but I suppose it is pretty valid.

So, I here I am, 8:30 on a school night (smile) and I am typing this out in bed and will probably be asleep very soon. I have a feeling this is my new normal. :)

What time do you usually go to bed? Do you remember having any student teachers in your rooms as you grew up?

I'm here!

:::wind blowing:::

That is the sound of me blowing off the dust on my blog! I don't know if I will be back regularly - which, let's face it, I probably won't. Life is just too busy and I am beginning to think I am outgrowing this space.

But, in regular blogger fashion, how about I update you all via everybody's favorite method? Bullets.

• Last week I turned 31. Which is just weird. I am still not used to being 30 and now I am 31? Just weird. My birthday was great though and I was definitely spoiled with giftcards from family, new boots from the boyfriend and charms for my Pandora bracelet from friends. I definitely feel loved! 
• My New Year's resolution of working out even more is going great with the help of GymPact. Last week I upped my commitment to five days a week for at least 30 minutes. Each workout I miss will cost me $5. Since I am cheap, I refuse to let that happen! Today I needed to get in my fifth workout (they have to be done by Sunday evening) and as I left campus at five and headed to the gym, I realized I forgot shoes. Ugh! So, I got home and decided to go on a walk for 30 minutes with Zeke... in the drizzling freezing rain. Ha! It was about 37 degrees, so it wasn't too slippery, but here is how I looked... It's a little dark, but I've got on my new boots (love them!) running tights and a running jacket. Oh, and a hat, since it was drizzling a little bit! If it wasn't for GymPact, that walk would not have happened AT ALL, I am sure of it.

• Tomorrow I start student teaching. It is crazy to me that this journey is almost over! I have begun the application process with two districts and had a very short preliminary interview on Saturday. It is all so surreal and I know this semester is going to fly by and then I will be done with my Master's degree! 
• I have been a reading fiend this month, which is exactly what I wanted to do. Right now I am reading Off Balance which is Dominque Moceanu's memoir and I am LOVING it! 

So, tell me something new! What is going on in your life these days? 

PS: If you want to join GymPact with me and get $5, ask me how! 

Don't worry, be happy (and laugh!)

I saw this on Facebook last night and just cannot resist sharing... 



Let's all look for happiness in the little things, ok? :)

TGIAF!

Healthy chicken nugget recipe

Today I am sharing a simple, healthy recipe for an old favorite. Chicken nuggets! Sometimes I crave chicken nuggets or chicken tenders that are likely one of the most unhealthy, fried plates on a restaurant/fast food menus. But, there is a way to make this tasty dish healthy at home! The key is the panko crumbs...

 

Ingredients:
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1 egg and 2 parts egg whites (or 3 eggs)
2 cups panko breadcrumbs (you could also add salt and pepper for more taste, but I don't)
Cooking spray

Directions: 
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Get a cookie pan ready with cooking spray. Set up a bowl of your whisked eggs and a bowl of panko crumbs.

Cut your chicken into chicken nugget sized pieces. Dip chicken into egg mixture, then roll in panko crumbs, making sure that the entire piece of chicken is covered. Then place on sprayed cookie sheet.

Repeat.

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Find your favorite dipping sauce (mine is BBQ!) and enjoy!