Am I crazy?

In June, a mere 9 months away and I'll be 60 years old.  I am in the process of applying to George Mason University in the Master of Art in Teaching (MAT) in teaching Art.  The goal is to become a K-12 Art teacher.  The program will take about 2 and a hlaf years.  In about 3 years, plus a bit longer, Keith will be retiring again and the plan is to move to Utah to be ski instructors.  If I go for this new masters, then I'll also be a full time teacher and ski instructor on the weekends for the rest of my life. 

That doesn't sound too bad. I had always thought by this time in my life, I'd be in a job on auto-pilot and exploring and enjoying all the things I have been putting off or dabbling in for years.  I'd finally be able to go through all the photos and put them into albums and organized. I'd be taking classes for fun and doing volunteer work. I'd be traveling and spending time with family. 

I still have to get the basement and all those photos organized and cleaned out. I need to downsize because I don't want to pay to move all this junk that has accumulated over the years.  I love all my books and thought that at this point in my life, I'd actually be reading them. You know, the coffee table books, the history books, the art books, etc. 

When I got back from Portillo, I read the book.  The big, 2 kilo book.  It has the most amazing pictures and stories about the history of the Hotel Portillo. Now what will I do with it? It is even signed by the author, who we got to meet and have a drink with. How can I now give that away or donate it?  Who else wouuld want it?  How often will I look at it again?  It is beautiful, but it weighs 2 kilos.

Keith will be home soon from skating.  I need to get outside and pull weeds and clean up the back yard. 

Am I crazy?  I wish I could turn back time and when I left FCPS, to get the masters in interior deisgn, I wish it would have been this MAT at Mason.  But I wasn't ready then.  It wasn't the right timne, or the right me.  I needed more time to mature and mellow. Now I finally have the patience to not let little things bother me.  I understand people so much better now.  I can listen without thinking about what I am going to say. I can really be thrilled to see someone "get it" and be delighted at an improvement or new thought or new move.  I can finally let go of the ME in situations and BE there for others.  It has taken years, but maybe now is the right time for this new adventure.  Maybe I am finally ready and can let go of all that STUFF in the basement.

I pray, Lord, let this be the path you have been preparing me for, if not, please put a huge block in the road and send me in the right direction. 

A New Start

Summer is over and I am taking classes at Northern Virginia Community College with the goal of becoming a Licensed Teacher in Virginia as soon as possible.  After the failure of the Kitchen Guild and BathExpress, I decided that a new job or career was in order.

The Kitchen Guild (TKG)had been the company of my dreams, as an Interior Designer with a passion for making homes more functional and accessible, especially people wanting to age in place and people with disabilities.  The Kitchen Guild was a company with a 60 + history with the last owner having the company for 17 years. The company had grown to four showrooms and dwindled down to a single Mobile Showroom. Having always had their own in-house installers and talented designers, one of which was a "Voice of Industry" for the National Kitchen Bath Association (NKBA) who was going to be my mentor, was truly a dream come true, not to mention a 15-minute commute.  

In less than a year, it was all gone and I had to decide what to do next.  I didn't want to work nights or weekends.  I didn't want to work with contractors who were unprofessional and unable to do the work properly.  I thought I might try a larger commercial company, but when I got a call from a client who knew I no longer worked for TKG (I had been gone two months) asking me to change the tile color that she had approved, well... I decided, I also didn't want to work with crazy clients.  And finally, I didn't want it to interfere too much with my skiing.  The 2017-2018 season, I only skied eight days. Pathetic.

A friend suggested Substitute Teaching. It fit ALL of my criteria.  

• No nights or weekends

• No bad contractors

• No crazy clients

• Flexible schedule that would accommodate my becoming a Certified Alpine Ski Instructor, which would equal a lot more days on the slopes.

I didn't really think I would like teaching.  For years, walking through a Middle School or High School, even some Elementary Schools intimidated me because the students were so much taller than me. At 4'11", being vertically challenged only presented itself in the midst of all these young giants. But I thought, I'd give it a try, what did I have to lose?  Well... I LOVED it.  my first assignment was at a High School teaching Ceramics and Photography as a long-term assignment lasting over two months. I was so sad to leave the students when it was time for me to go, I cried.  Some of the students cried too.  As much as they loved their real teacher, they didn't want me to go.  It was very touching.  I truly felt that I had made a positive difference in some of their lives.

During that same time, I also became a part-time ski instructor. I had doubted I would enjoy that either, having to teach all ages from four-year-olds on up to senior adults, who had never been on skis every in their lives. We call them Never-Evers.  It was challenging, but again, I loved it.  I was so happy when someone who was struggling made it down the slope and was smiling at the end. I earned my Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) Level 1 certification. By the end of the 2018-2019 season, I had logged 54 days on the snow. That’s a lot better than the eight the year before. 

I had a great summer traveling and being with family, but now it was time to get serious about starting that new job or career.  Teaching was calling to me.  I'd explain something to a stranger and they would say "You must be a Teacher. You made that so easy for me."  Or, my sister-in-law, recently retired, who had never had time to be a "reader" wanted to become one, but felt she read too slowly. I gave her books that I had enjoyed. I also gave her books that I had shared with my son, ones we had read together and suggested that she read those with her grandchildren. She was thrilled and now we're sharing thoughts on books and what we'll be reading next.  

So now I am taking EDU 200:  Intro to the Teaching Profession. I still want to substitute this semester in addition to doing a 40-hour field placement with an Elementary School (a change of pace from High School). I’ll be taking two other online teaching classes, and finishing my Children’s Specialist certification workbook for teaching children to ski. I’ve already passed the online quiz and hope to take the “On the Snow” exam in December.  Wish me luck, as this new journey begins. 

Summer Re-cap

Summer 2019:

Wow what a great summer.

It actually started with Spring Break at the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) National Academy in Big Sky, Montana.  A week of skiing with current and former National Demo Team members.  It was fantactic and I learned a lot.

Then in May, I went to Texas to take my Mom to my Niece's wedding.  Great fun and wonderful to see her new house and how well she and my brother, Gene, have settled in. 

In June, I drove to Texas and spent a week with my mom and a couple days with Keith at his sister's, Kristi's, for her 60th birthday.  Then the following week, I spent with Keith and Kristi's families (Ken and Leila & the Girls, Cora and Claire), Wen & Lilly, Kristi, Acie, Ashley & Cliff and Lexi and Wade, Stephanie & Kelly and Lane.  Laurie and I shared a room.  We all stayed in a fantastic house with it's own private pool and entry to the beach at Port Aranas.  It was heaven. 
There was a bonfire and s'mores on the beach and day trips around the island and lots of beach time.  I loved it. 

The end of July, Keith and I spent 2 days in Santiago, Chile.  It was great.  I loved the city.  We walked everywhere.  The first night in the Hotel San Fransico I slept the whole night, which never happens.  Keith said that he wasn't surprised after a red-eye flight from the states, then walking all day around the city, including a 2.5 hour hike up to the Cerro San Cristabol and topping that off with the best Pisco Sours at CH PE Libre! 

After Santiago, we headed to Portillo where we skiied 7 days.  Magical. 

Another Career Change

My old blog is at http://bauhaus1925.blogspot.com/2011_09_11_archive.html

changes

Sometime life throws unexpected things our way; like getting the job of my dreams, then having everything change so that I have to leave and start all over again.

Dream Come True

When I was graduating from George Washington University with my Masters in Interior Design, I had developed a passion for making homes more accessible for Aging in Place/Universal Design. Working for a Kitchen & Bath company so that I could focus on my passion made the most practical sense in my career progression. Joining the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA) and working toward earning Kitchen and Bath certifications became my goal. 

However, jobs in this industry weren't readily available, so I set out to learn as much as I could and continue to look for opportunities to design kitchens and baths because they are the two most important and functional rooms in the home. 

My first real step was working for the Mary and Cathy Team of Long and Foster Realtors, as a Project Manager for Remodeling and Renovations. The work consisted of budgeting, scheduling contractors, selecting and purchasing materials and finishes.  The bulk of the projects were to renovate or remodel kitchens and baths for residental resale. I learned a lot.  

Then due to unforeseen circumstances, I took a detour for a year to be their Staging Manager. It was truly fun and the crew were great hard-working people. Still loving Kitchens and Baths, I could do a couple projects on the side via my company, Function First Design.

In January, this year (2017), I made the leap out of the nest to focus exclusively on Function First Design. However, while still getting to do an occasional bath or kitchen, I was getting heavy into decorating with an emphasis on furniture and fabrics. Fortunately, I had never stopped looking for that special Kitchen and Bath company. My dream came true when I recently accepted a full-time position with The Kitchen Guild/BathExpress. I can't wait to start next week.  

www.kitchenguild.com    http://www.bathexpress.com/

I got the test scan back of my kitchen and it is amazing! It's still off a bit on the dimensioning, but it is close enough to get a super start on any new projects. It was so quick. The actual scanning only took about 2 minutes, then 2 days to get the file back. I'll still have to take field measurements, but this should really help.

I did go ahead and get the new iPad Pro, 10.5"  It is a lot more powerful and has more memory, so I should be able to scan more than one room at a time.