Despite an unusual 80-degree stretch in March it has been downright chilly here in Chicagoland in April. Luckily for me, however, things have been downright COZY with hubby ;) On Saturday, we are attending a black tie charity event - not because we are such philanthropists, but because I'm a big fan of the event emcee - a local radio personality. I'm still somewhat insecure about my attire of choice for the evening (mostly due to the unseasonably cold weather,) but I suppose it will be fine. The financial fears we had in the beginning of the year have diminished somewhat as his annual bonus came through, and thus shored-up our savings. So, for now, it's staus quo. But he and I are both sprucing up credentials and keeping our eyes and ears open to new workplace opportunities.

Time to make like a condiment and KETCH-UP!

Har har har.

*Ahem.*

Ok, so basically, things are a bit stressful here because hubby's work situation is not going well - his entire dept. was dismantled and some folks have been let go. There is more to it that I can't get into but his sense is that he needs to be on the hunt for opportunities.

My job search has stalled, as well. I did speak to someone in my district about being considered for add'l t.a. (teaching assistant) hours when they are planing for the new school year but I'm not too hopeful anything will come of that.

All I can do now is:

1) be frugal/cautious with spending

2) keep looking for a gig for myself

3) maintain a positive attitude.

So that's what I'm doing.

I had no idea I missed over a month of blog entries. I've said it before but I'm much more active on Twitter and Facebook. Anyway...


Xmas was good, although I was so stressed the whole time, I feel like I didn't enjoy it much. We did visit my family and for whatever reason I slept terribly on the guest bed (which usually is great) so that didn't help much. I think I was worried aobut the many pets I left behind with pet sitters or at the kennel. I feel guilty about breaking up the group. They get SO SAD when we leave!

My baby sister is due with her 3rd and she asked if me & my husband would be godparents, but I told her that the airfares are so high, I'm not sure we can swing it. Really! Isn't that sad?

Here's what else I realize: I definitely prefer my Midwestern Chicagoland suburb to the Philadelphia area. Yes, this blog is called "Philly Expatriate" and I still love my Phillies and Eagles and certain nostalgic things of my childhood, but other than that...I think Arlington Heights is where I want to be; not there. It's sad b/c I miss my family but...I could never live in Delaware County again.

That said, I've been back on the job search...and this time of year, school jobs are scarce. I am considering full-time, year-round work, and applied for a few but have not heard anything yet.

Our local library offers tutorials of MS office products free online so I've been trying to upgrade my knowledge of the latest version so I can actually back up the skills my resume claims I have!

My gum surgery was on Tuesday and I guess it went well. I was so looped from the anesthesia, I remember NOTHING - not even coming home after it. I then took a Tylenol-3 after that so that day is a complete blur to me.



I can state confidently that my smile already looks much better. I'm also leaning toward bonding a few teeth to fill gaps and skipping the crowns altogether. I'm not eager to grind 8 of my existing teeth into nubs for the promise of a gleaming white smile. I'm just not.



Thanksgiving was depressing and lonely as usual. We went out to eat and I was the only one who even ordered turkey. If we didn't have dogs (and thus, the expense of boarding them to travel) I'd start shopping for airfares to just go to Philly next year. Maybe I will, anyway. I can't take sitting home, no leftovers, no good smells of turkey in the oven.



I thought about applying for yet another teaching assistant gig in the district but I'm of the mind that I want to talk to someone in HR to discuss my areas of interest, first. Sort of exploratory, so to speak. I am state certified to be a TA, so that's no problem.



Here's the REAL problem: my barium test revealed no apparent hernia or swallowing dysfunction.That is GOOD news. Sort of. Then, I realized that over the summer, I had little of the "lump in the throat" sensation caused by an inflamed larynx (voice box.) My current job, which requires much yelling (really!) is likely causing the problem!

I'm drowning in a sea of mucus and yuck right now. I picked up a virus of some sort. It was an excruciating sore throat for the first 4 days; now I'm getting sinus/nasal congestion. I have also had a hacking cough, but no body-aches or fever, so I don't think it was a flu virus. I never got a call regarding that other job I applied for in the district. I was really disappointed. Talking to a co-worker about it, we have come to realize that we are stuck in our current positions within the district. Because there is such a demand to fill our jobs (there are always postings for it every year, due to high turnover) we assume that they will NOT cherry-pick from within to move into more lucrative (and thus, easier to fill) jobs. I'm going to stick with it for now, but as I've been sick in bed, I've been browsing some job opportunities in my area. There are one or two administrative gigs that look really interesting to me, but I'm still not comfortable with the idea of working in the evenings (after school hours) or in the summer. Not that I need the time off, but I would have no idea what to do with my 12 year old. Not to mention, I'd be seething that we're still paying taxes & utilities on a cabin in WI that I'd then not be able to use. Tomorrow I'm supposed to have a barium swallow test, although I am going to try to change it due to feeling like a sack of shit. I can't imagine trying to drive a car with all the meds I'm on right now (including Rx cough syrup!) Tuesday is my scheduled periodontal surgery, which I may also change, although I'm being driven to and from that app't due to the anesthesia. I'll see how I feel tomorrow.

Last week, I applied for another gig in our school district. It's very close to my idea of the "perfect" job: in the library, perfect hours/schedule, great tasks that I'm not only capable of doing, but that I actually ENJOY. My preference would be with elementary-age kids, and this is for middle school (not my daughter's middle school.) But overall, to ME it seems like a perfect match (I did a very similar job for 2 years as a volunteer at my daughter's former elementary school.) I was hopeful but now don't think I have a chance because, for one thing, the district is woefully short of folks who do my current job and they seem to have a hard time recruiting more, so I doubt they'd pull from my ranks to fill a position that might be much easier to fill (because it's full-time with benefits, but on the "school schedule" so still great for moms like me.) That said, I did do some things to move myself in a positive direction mentally. For example, I tested out some "interview outfits" by mixing and matching things in my closet, just to reassure myself that I *could* quickly head over to an interview, should I get to that level of scrutiny. I also updated my resume and put together a file of pertinent documents. I think at this point, that's all I can do. The kitten , "Pumpkin," has really come around and now is soooooo friendly, cuddly and playful with us. I think part of her issues were that she was malnourished and a bit dehydrated. A week at our house has turned that around. She's also really accepting of one of our cats, Lucky, who is curious to get to know her, but is a bit apprehensive. She's now ready for him to play but he's not quite there yet. They do sniff, and even nuzzle a bit - no growling or hissing - so I think that they have the potential to be close companions. Our other cat, Percy, is not quite as accepting or interested. He'll view her quietly but if she gets too close, he growls a bit and then runs away. Our dogs are still being goofy and make her a bit nervous, so we keep a baby gate up in the doorway to "her room" (for now) until they get to know each other over time.

Things seem to be improving for hubby's work situation. That's all I can say without jinxing anything. I'm breathing easier.

Hubby will be breathing worse, though... because we got a new kitten! (He's mildly allergic to cats but he's had them for over 20 years. ) Well, I should say that we are officially "fostering" it until I find a permanent home for it but typically with us and our pet history that means "adopting." We've never shoved a pet off on someone else - not even the ones that were pains in the ass! ha! But, truly, if I knew someone who

It was not a planned event. The other day, a local restaurant posted a Facebook message about a litter of five kittens of a stray cat that was living in the garage of a regular patron. They are about 7 weeks old now.

Oddly enough, I had been thinking about getting a kitten for a desire to "baby" something lately. She hasn't come close to settling in yet, but it seems pretty typical for a kitten this young to be fearful. She did use the litterbox, so that's a great sign!

Don't ask for specifics, but I'm getting a bad vibe about my spouse's job security. Actually it seems more likely that his boss is in jeopardy but that's all I can reveal. It just seems that the internal politics are really bashing his department pretty badly, although there have been glimmers that the tide could turn.

Either way, it just makes me feel very anxious these days/ As I've noted, I've been trying to get more hours, although I now am realizing that even if I did get a TA job with more hours, it wouldn't be enough to make that much of a difference. I'd need to strike out and ramp-up my job skills (or at least my MS-office skills!) to pre-motherhood levels.

I think that will involve some sort of tutorial software that I think I can get at our local library.

For now, I'm just being careful, sticking to the budget, and yeah, I'm still gonna get the teeth fixed (while we still have dental insurance!) I think it's a worthwhile investment - esp with chipped front teeth, which looks rather Hillbilly-esque, in my opinion!)

Er, actually, the check is in a drawer at the periodontist's office. In an unexpected yet pleasant twist of fate, I received my 2nd half of the year property tax bill. It was $1500 LESS than expected! WHEW!!!!

So that meant that I was able to tap into liquid savings to put a 50% down payment on my oral surgery. I'm scheduled for the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. My husband thinks that's stupid, since 2 days later is an "eating holiday." But these days, we just go out to a local restaurant for dinner. If I'm really not feeling up to it, he can take the kid and they can enjoy turkey without me.

Due to my insurance max, I'm only having this phase done in 2011. The crowns (or at least, SOME of the crowns) will arrive in early 2012.

I'm not so worried about the gum work as I am about having 8 of my teeth ground down into nubs. It's such a permanent alteration. I also hope it doesn't look gooney after my time, money, discomfort and worry.

One step at a time...

I really wished I had gotten that job that would have added a few more paid hours to my week. I learned that it really wasn't "open" per se, but that it had to be posted for legal reasons, yadda yadda yadda. Our budget is in the crapper. It doesn't help that after spending $$$ on the home renovation a few years ago, BOTH of our cars bit the dust, so in addition to a HELOC payment, we have TWO car payments. I will keep my eyes open looking for opportunities; I'm even open to the idea of actually spending some $ to get what's called "paraprofessional certification." It's sort of like a teaching certificate, but all you have to do is pay the $ to have your college transcripts sent to the state, plus more $ to the state, and they rubber-stamp you as "qualified" to be a teaching assistant. I already set down one rule w. my husband: if things get to a point where I really need to go back to work full-time, then the cabin gets sold, and furnishings liquidated, because it makes no sense to keep paying for it's upkeep (utilities, taxes, insurance, etc) if I'd only have two weeks off per year (if that!) We make our budget each month but it seems there is less and less wiggle room for anything extra. Also, per Suze Orman's advising, I don't thing our emergency fund is big enough. So, for now, its saving via cost-cutting, and looking for new sources of revenue. (If I can do it, why can't the Federal government??)