New Job Excitement!

I have officially been hired by the Everett Public School District!

I completed my applications and everything on January 7th. The next day, I was contacted by the assistant Principal of Lowell Elementary and asked if I was still interested in one of the jobs I applied for as a paraeducator in life skills. Of course, I said I was. We scheduled an interview for that next Friday, the 19th. A week later, I was called by the same school and asked for an interview on the 18th for an ECEAP preschool position. A few days after those interviews, I had another call and interview with Emerson Elementary. Then, around the same time, I was offered a tour of the Life Skills classroom and I met several of the students in that room. I fell in love instantly, and my heart knew that even if I was offered all three jobs, I would choose Life Skills. Annette, the VP, and I have been staying in contact but a couple weeks went by with no word.

A couple days ago I was offered the preschool position. Then, just last night (2/7), a lady named Linda from the Everett School District HR gave me a call. She said that I was in the unique position that Lowell Elementary was offering me two separate positions - the assistant preschool teacher position, and the Life Skills position. She asked if I wanted either of them or one more than the other. I was so excited and took the Life Skills position! Linda asked why I chose this position. I said that I had a heart for kids with disabilities and I had met the students and fell in love. She seemed really excited for me, too. She said that Annette would be in contact with me soon and give me more information.

Annette emailed me that night and welcomed me to the team. Then she asked me when I wanted to start! I had no idea that this new job would get started so quickly and suddenly. I had to call my boss Teal and discuss this with her before I could make additional plans with Annette and the school district. Today (2/15), I'm at HR to fill out paperwork and get more information about how much I'll be paid, and what benefits are like. I'm meeting with a lady named Debra Wisniewski! Wisniew is derived from Wisniewski, so technically we have the same last name, how funny is that?!

Anyway, it looks like they want me to start on Monday! That means that I will potentially not work at all next week at Dutch Bros. I would've worked on Saturday but I took that day off for Lakeside Bible Camp's high school weekend. So my last day at DB (for the season), is Saturday the 24th!

Since paras don't work during the summer, I will be needing to get a summer job in just a few short months (about mid June). Thankfully, Teal said that I may be able to work again at Dutch Bros through the summer! This would be the best case scenario, because I wouldn't have to get accustomed to new management or the training of a short summer position. Because we're SO MUCH busier through the summer, Teal likes the idea as well because it means she doesn't have to train a new person and I already know all our regular customers and am comfortable with the job.

So I'm not leaving Dutch Bros completely. But for the next several months, I'll be on a new adventure. I am so excited to see what its in store at Lowell Elementary. In another post, I'll go into more detail about the specifics of the job itself. Not everyone can work well with children with special needs. But I am very comfortable with them. We connect well. I understanding that children with special needs are sometimes considered harder to love, and I want to be someone to tells them they are loved. They are worth it. They are special because they are who they are, not because they have "special" needs.

I'm super excited to see what the future has in store. I had my first day today and I'll talk more about it in another post!

Have a great week!

Holls B Jolls

First Plane Ride & First Impressions

It's been over a month since I left California. However, I still wanted to document the trip. This is a long post; but there are plenty of pictures at the end, mostly all taken by my sister, and highlights of every day we were there.

The trip started early, with an Express Shuttle van arriving at our door at about 4:07am. Our flight was at 8:12 but we wanted to make sure to get there plenty early since we were flying alone and it was our first time. 

We arrived at the airport at 5:30 and spent some time walking around, getting into long lines we weren't supposed to be in, and finally went through security around 6:30. Sydnie was able to go through PreCheck, so we were separated because I had to go through the normal security. The line was VERY long, but went surprisingly fast. I took about 20 minutes longer than Sydnie did, however, so she waited on the other side. They didn't have us take our shoes off, separate the liquids, or anything like that, which is what I was expecting. Maybe the LAX airport will be different and take longer, but I was surprised. 

After we were both reunited again, we had lots of time to kill before the flight boarded. We got some Starbucks and ate some snacks. We boarded the plane at 7:47. There was one stop before we landed in LAX, in Santa Rosa. This first leg of the journey was beautiful, completely smooth sailing, with views of mountains and the sunrise. We were able to watch some of a movie, listen to music, I read a lot, and slept a little. 

The second leg was much rougher. Since we were in California, we saw so much smoke and burned land from the plane. There was lots of turbulence, and the plane shook. I'm not going to lie, it was terrifying. I didn't know that turbulence is a relatively common and not very dangerous occurrence, but because of the shaking and dipping I was worried we would crash. I had to close my eyes, breathe, and pray. Because of my anxiety, I was a little shaky, and my stomach was turning long afterwards. We didn't crash, of course. We made it to land and Anna picked us up at the curb. 

LAX was not as crazy as I was expecting. I'm sure it's crazier to fly out of, but it was not crowded at all when we walked through. It was easy to find her and we headed to our home for the week. Anna's family lives in Camarillo, about 2ish hours out of LA. It was about 1:00pm, and the drive was beautiful. We took the scenic route and drove along the coast the whole time. We saw surfers and paddle boarders when we drove through Malibu. The houses look so different, very "California-y" and the palm trees!! Honestly everything looked the way Cali does in movies and on TV.

As soon as we got to Camarillo, we needed to pick up the kids from Anna's in-laws' and her parents' house. Both families have pools, orange trees, and the Spooners have an avocado tree. All three families live only blocks from each other. The Spooners and Tabors have dogs from similar litters, and littermate cats.

After picking up the kids from the Spooners', we spent a few hours at the Tabors. Around dinner time, we went to eat at In-and-Out.

That night was pretty chill. After dinner, we relaxed at the house and my sister and I watched TV in bed and went to sleep early, due to our long day.

On Friday, we went to the ocean with Anna, her kids, younger brother, Jack, and sister, Faith. Faith works at the mall in Thousand Oaks, and offered to drive Sydnie and I there to hang out while she was working. We shopped and watched Daddy's Home 2 at the Thousand Oaks mall theater. Their tickets are only SIX DOLLARS so we had to grab that opportunity to see a movie we wouldn't normally watch in the theaters. I spent the same amount of money on both our tickets that I typically spend on ONE here in Everett.

On Saturday morning, with Anna, the kids, her sister in law, and Faith, we went to the farmer's market (which is year-round in CA), and bought DELICIOUS chocolate macaroons! We also went thrifting and played with the kids at a park.

On Sunday, we went to Faith's church in the morning and her youth group's nerf party afterwards. The theme was camo, so we decided to go in Christmas camo. We wrapped ourselves in wrapping paper or hung ornaments on our shirts to become a tree. We won the costume contest and got a prize. After the games, we hung out with Anna's brother George all day. He drove us around looking for my wallet, which I lost (but eventually found), in California. That night, we played games and ate brownies.

Monday was spent mostly at Anna's in-laws' house. We did crafts there and talked on their porch, while being served iced tea by Anna's mother in law :) We went out to eat lunch at a Mexican place beforehand.

Tuesday, we went to the LA zoo. We were going to go to the Santa Barbara zoo which was closer, but due to the fires, that zoo was preparing to be evacuated and so it was closed. That night, Sydnie and I had sushi for the first time with Anna and Faith.

Wednesday was our last day, and unfortunately it wasn't that great. Sydnie and I did not feel well, but at least she was able to go to the beach again with Anna and the kids. Because we had to leave so early, that night was spent saying our goodbyes to Faith, George, Anna's in laws and the kids, and going to bed early.

It was overall an amazing trip. I'm really excited to go back to California this year and do more exploring. Maybe Disneyland next time!

Thanks for reading this LONG post! I hope you enjoy the pictures at the end (@sydnisity & @sydsartpage on Instagram).

H.L.W

P.S. Yes they are all screenshots of her Instagram lol :) 

What's Up

I've been very busy lately. I had a 5-week-long break in December from school, and took a nice relaxing trip to California. Now I'm definitely back to the same old busyness of a full time college student, studying to be a teacher (one of the hardest professions, I swear), and still working 20 hours a week.

School has been going great so far, but I am still in the first week. As someone studying to be a teacher, this quarter I am beginning my practica. A practicum (plural: practica), is when I'm in a school observing and assisting the teacher. This quarter I will be teaching at least one lesson in the 1st grade classroom I'm observing, and I'll need to plan this lesson ahead of time to be reviewed and graded by my instructors and practicum supervisor. I'll be in Cedar Wood elementary once a week from 12:00 - 3:30pm, so only a few hours. I'm really looking forward to what this quarter brings. LOTS of homework, but I'm ready! I have an Educational Psychology class, an IT class that only meets once a month, and the Foundations of Education class.

Work has been busy as well. I've been working under 20 hours most weeks but the days I work are long. If I work the morning shift, then I'm out of the house from 6:30am until 9:30 at night. At least with these shifts, I get several hours to relax at school and get homework done or put some makeup on before class. When I work the noon shift, I'm out of the house from 11:30am until 9:30pm, but with this shift, I have to rush from work (I get off at 4:15), to the bus to get to school on time (which starts at 5). Thankfully I'm getting my license and my own car soon, so this rushing to catch the bus will change!

I'm also getting a new job soon. I've decided to become a paraeducator with the Everett School District, for better hours; more pay; and most of all, to start working with kids and gaining new experience that will someday aid me as a teacher. I had been working on my applications for some time. The initial application I had finished and submitted by mid December, but I needed to write a resume and letter of introduction (I didn't have those or need them when I applied at DB), I needed to get 3 letters of recommendation, and submit pictures of my AA degree and transcripts. After those were turned in, I had an assessment with "what would you do" scenarios to complete. I finally completed all of that on Sunday night (1/7), and the next day I received an email asking if I was still interested in one of the jobs (life skills at Lowell Elementary), that I had applied to. Of course I said yes, and an interview has been scheduled for next Friday. Today (1/12), I got a phone call and another interview set up on Thursday for Lowell Elementary's preschool assistant teacher position. When the interviews come closer, maybe I'll make a post explaining what these positions mean, their hours, and pay, and which ones I'm leaning more towards. I may also get more interviews set up after the holiday. It's funny to me that they're both in the same school. Lowell Elem is 6 minutes for my house, so it's very ideal. I was hoping for Madison Elem, which is within walking distance, but I'm not picky!

I had no idea that this would move so fast. Because a paraeducator position is 30+ hours, Monday through Friday, I will not be able to work at DB anymore. However, I haven't put in my 2 weeks yet because I don't know the outcomes of the interviews, and I will keep working at the great job I have until the even greater one starts.

Something else fun that is going on this winter is Lakeside Bible Camp! Last year I cabin led senior girls (10-12 year olds), for a week during the summer, and this weekend I'm cabin leading jr. high. Next month I'm cabin leading girls camp, and the weekend after that I'm a gopher for high school camp! I'm really excited. Since I have summer quarter at school, I may not be able to cabin lead summer camp for a couple years. However, I want to do as much stuff during the winter as a can!

Thanks for reading my ramblings and I hope you guys learned a little bit more about what's going on with me! Maybe you cared, maybe you didn't. But now you know, haha!

H.L.W.

Hello 2018

2018 is here! If you read my last blog, you know that 2017 was a big year for me. There were many ups and downs. Haven't read it yet? Here it is: https://loveeverythinggood.blogspot.com/2018/01/good-bye-2017.html

Today I'm going to be leaving 2017 in the past and write about my goals, hopes, and excitements for the year 2018. I hope to have lots of adventures. 

If you haven't read my post about making goals for my 19th year, you can find it here: https://loveeverythinggood.blogspot.com/2017/11/19-things-for-19-years.html

I'm going to be using my biggest goals from that post as my 2018 goals. I don't believe in resolutions. They rarely last and just don't mean as much to me as goals. Goals are realistic, require steps, and just seem to make more sense. I googled the definitions of both terms and resolution means: "a firm decision to do or not do something." Goal means: "the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result." A goal requires hard work. A resolution is all in your head. Maybe you see the definitions of these words differently, but this is what they mean to me.

All these goals are adaptions or variations to the goals I made for my 19th year. To see the full list, click the link above. I chose the biggest ones that I want (or need) accomplished. These goals are challenging. They will take lots of hard work. I don't believe that you can do whatever you set your mind to, because there are some things that humans just can't control or have power over. But I do believe that an attainable goal that has measurable steps and challenges you to be better than you are, can be reached with hard work and determination.

1. Read my Bible and journal daily. Pray continually without ceasing.

2. Read, read, read for FUN. Put down your phone scrolling on Facebook and read.

3. Become a paraprofessional (paraeducator). So far my applications are in and now it's just the waiting game!

4. Buy a car and get my license.

5. Buy a camera.

6. Travel. Even if it's somewhere close, go exploring.

7. Take care of myself. Work out regularly. Cleanse and detox. Find balance between being alone and being with family and friends on days off. Get lots of sleep. Take my vitamins. Prioritize my physical and mental health. Get outside. Get more massages. Do more hot yoga. (This goal is seriously LOADED).

Thanks for reading some rambles and goals. What are your goals for 2018? Are you a resolutions or a goals person?

#goals,

- H.L.W - 

Good Bye 2017

Welp, bye bye 2017 (imagine here a waving hand emoji). It's been one crazy year. It's been all the things and ALL the feels.

Today is January 1st, 2018. I've been reading through my journals over this past year to remember everything that happened. While I do have a good memory, there are so many things this year that slipped through the cracks. Today I'm going to talk about everything that happened in 2017. The good, the bad, and the ugly. In my next post, going up next week, we'll talk about everything that I hope will happen in 2018 and the reiteration of some main goals I hope to accomplish this year.

January 24: Met Travis Boersma

January: New community group

April: Crossway Women's Retreat

May: Shed

June: Graduated with High Distinction (3.70 GPA). I had a grad party and no one from work showed up.

June 19th: Accepted into Western Washington University's Woodring Program!

June 24 - July 3: Cabin leader for Senior Girls camp at LBC

August: VBS

August 21st: Solar eclipse 2017! I was working with Maddie, Taylor, Katelyn and Erika. Taylor had brought in solar eclipse glasses and we got to enjoy this opportunity with customers. It was a pretty cool shift!

August: DB Coacha in Medford, OR. This was my first concert as well. Daya opened for Macklemore.




September 11: Driver's permit

September: Joined the leadership team at my youth group for our middle school group

September 22: Hot yoga for the first time with my boss

September 25: Started school at Western Washington University at EVCC

October 29: Started going to Everett Reach Church

November 5: A mother rabbit of mine died. In December, another rabbit of mine passed away from unrelated causes. I actually had to put down the second one, because she was paralyzed.

November 9: Sam told me she was leaving and broke my heart

November 11: I turned 19

November 18: One year ago I was hired at DB

December 13: One year ago DBEverett opened!

December 14 - 21: California adventure! My first plane ride! In CA we also had sushi for the first time.


December 24 & 25: We had a white Christmas!



The year was filled with firsts, new friends, loneliness, and loss. I started taking better care of myself; worked out on a regular basis; didn't eat sugar for a large portion of the year; and started seriously saving money for school, trips, and hopefully a car. I started blogging because I had lots of opinions and things to say especially now that I'm in Western. I have read lots of books this year for fun because I used to be an avid reader and I missed it. This has been a huge year. It's been fun, it's been terrible at times. But it's been worth it. It's another year in the books.

I'm going to be honest, I'm glad it's over, and excited for changes and new adventures in the coming year. What's your biggest highlight of 2017?

So long,

H.L.W

P.S. I have a couple posts started about my California adventures, and I hope to post these (with pictures!), scattered throughout the month. It was a busy week and too much happened to just write one blog about it.