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            These days I have a new schedule. I am waiting... The past two years I was a middle school Social Studies teacher. I was teaching "part time" and spent my mornings grading and planning for the job. I loved spending 7:45am (once our girls were at/on their way to school) to 10:50 (when I had to leave to get to school cafeteria duty, get ready to teach, etc) for work time. Then, I taught until 3:15, often left around 4 to head home. Once our girls were working on homework after dinner, I worked on classroom work for another couple hours until family prayer time. I usually put in another hour or two after they headed off to dreamland, as well.
            In early May my husband asked me if I wanted to continue teaching this "forever". I said I wasn't sure and began to pray and think about it in depth over the next few weeks. I loved my job-the kids and staff were wonderful! However, my ultimate goal has always been full time job, and as much as I loved middle school, my heart lies in elementary school. So, I quit my job. I thought about my plan, to apply to everything under the sun, teaching-job-wise, hoping for something, at least an interview, now that I had that elusive "experience"... But, if it didn't happen over the summer, I was going to sub and get back into the teaching pool, hoping for a job for next year. Then, if these don't work out, move into another profession. I love teaching, but the pool of applicants here is so flooded. I recently heard that if you don't get a teaching job in the first three years of looking you won't because you've been "on the market" for so long, like a house-which could just have had viewers who didn't like something about it... but after "so long" people are afraid of it. I got my first subbing jobs in 2005 and have been subbing, an alternative instructor or middle school teacher since... so 8 years... And I am still waiting on the sub agency to finish processing me so I can't get my foot into the subbing door, yet, either.
             I'm back at home wondering where my path will lead... where God's path will take me. I wonder how things will work out. My faith base has always been a strong point in my heart, so after my husband's grandfather's funeral, when he mentioned to me that I would make a good chaplain, I chewed on that. It grew in my heart. I called our church and am meeting with the care ministry on Wednesday. I know putting my time, somehow, into sharing my faith will help.
             I know God has a plan for me, and I love staying at home, accomplishing the many things neglected while I work outside the home, but there is a longing in my heart to throw myself into something more. I hear of people's struggles with faith after major disappointments in their lives and I don't have those... I just have this need to find where God wants me. I'm just not sure where that is. There's a new song I listen to by the Sidewalk Prophets called Help Me Find It and these words really resonated with me recently:
If there’s a road I should walk
Help me find it
If I need to be still
Give me peace for the moment
               I am enjoying catching up on blogging, too, Reader, to reconnect with you.

Recipes I have tried this week

This week I used that last of the tomatoes from our garden (let me restate, we still had tomatoes, but with the waning sunlight, the baby green tomatoes would not ripen soon! :)) to make a marinara sauce. I made this with my fresh tomatoes, instead of canned and my husband said it was the best sauce he had ever had. Mind you, I'm not a great cook, so I truly think the freshness of my garden tomatoes and herbs had a lot to do with it! :)

Giada's Marinara Sauce Recipe

Also, this is the tried and true pesto recipe I use all summer. I have tried to make enough to "can" but we end up eating it before. I can grow basil like crazy, here. The plants are taller than waist high and they are full of lovely, green leaves. I cannot grow cilantro for longer than a week, however, for some reason, but that's another post. :) This recipe is very simple and delicious to marinade chicken in, or just to dip whole grain Tostitos Scoops chips into. ;)

Food Network's Basil Pesto Recipe

Hope you enjoy them, Reader! What have you been cooking?

Thursday's Helpful Apps

Today I will be sharing apps that I frequently use for social interaction. Before I do that, however, I have to note that my iphone got it's iOS7 update this week. It is an adjustment, as with any change. There are just little things I've noticed so far, such as graphics (which really didn't bother me, at all), the method you use to close in-use-apps, camera features (which I love!), which are easier to find, the swipe-up control center has nice organization, itunes radio (which is like pandora), better swipe-down notifications, changes in the weather app makes the others I had downloaded unnecessary, and sadly, the fact that it seems to drain my power more quickly than it did before (BOO!) I have found a few sites to share, here, that discuss the new iOS7 features:

• My Crazy Good Life has iOS7 tips and tricks here.
• Independent.ie (business/tech article) about "hidden features" here
• BuzzFeed's "Send This to Your Parents to Explain iOS7" article

Next, my "social" apps that I use regularly (I have provided links so you can click on the app name and read more about it):

• Facebook-I get frustrated with all Facebook's policy changes, but when I consider getting rid of it altogether I hear from my grandfather, who lives in another state, and he messages me. He says he likes my pictures or comments on an update, lets me know how he is. That is a BIG deal! I love it. I have the app for my phone and it is on the short list of things I check at the beginning of my day.
• Twitter-I love checking it. I follow a variety of people-athletes, tv stars, family, friends, and news outlets. I do not, however, have the hang of dropping hashtags (#s) into my text as the younger set do...
• Instagram-I also love this. I love taking pictures and sharing them with my family and friends. Instagram has features that I can use to edit those pictures and then post them. I will talk about this again in a few weeks when I discuss my favorite photo apps! I also like this way of sharing photos and seeing what my family and friends are sharing, as well.
• Skype-This app lets me connect with my nieces in another state. I can see and hear them, and vice versa. I love that I can even read them books, and I can point things out on the pages as we go. We can interact pretty well! It has been helpful with our oldest daughter off to college, as well. So nice to see her face as well as hear her voice.
• Last, Facetime-This allows me to do the same things as Skype, but lately the connection has been better. 

Do you have favorite social apps, Reader? Or have iOS7 features you like/dislike?

What I'm Reading Wednesday

Just checking in with what I'm reading! Just finished-yes, just finished today, Bossypants. Cute book. Made me laugh for the first 3/4 and then I lost interest for some reason. Not sure why. Anyway, it was a cute book, and I would have finished sooner, but had my family here for Sat-Mon, so not polite to sit and read while they visited. ;) It really was so nice to have them. Back to the book-I gave it 4 stars out of 5 on good reads, only because it deserved a 3.5 and they only let you give a 3 or 4. Next I'm reading one of these books below... which to choose? I have them all checked out from the library until 10/15... any suggestions, Reader?

Talk About Family Tuesday

My parents got to come down this past weekend for a visit. It was so nice to see them! We went out to dinner and dessert, we went to the zoo and we sat around the fire pit on the chilly evenings, as well. We just had a great time being together. They got to be here longer than normal, this time, because they had taken Monday and Tuesday off for their anniversary. So, they were here Saturday and Sunday and didn't have to leave until Monday. They got to spend a little time with just our younger daughter, as well, while my husband and I ran in a 5K race near our home. I love it when they visit, but I stay up way too late catching up! :)