Oh, where to begin? Its been approximately 2 months since my last blog post and there is a lot going on in the Robinson Family (as always).
I got a job! In my last post I mentioned I had interviewed and was waiting to hear back from a charter school, well I got the job! I am the new 6th,7th,8th grade teacher at University Schools. Its a charter school here in Greeley that started out as a lab school which was connected to the University of Northern Colorado. It has since grown and we are actually getting a new middle school this fall. The awesome part about that is I will get to help open and establish the new building. We are getting all new furniture, equipment, SMART boards and so on. I am very excited. I am also looking forward to my new schedule. Its a block schedule, so I will be teaching one 90 minute section of each grade a day, then repeat on the next day. I can not wait to have 90 minute classes and only teach each lesson twice (once a day). Planning shouldn't be too much of a hassle either, considering I get a 60 minute plan and I can repeat each lesson once before moving on. The biggest challenge will being prepped for all three grades, but I hope I can get into a rhythm and not have to stress over it. I am also VERY excited about being able to collaborate with my peer teachers. I am working with, what I think, will be an amazing, intelligent, dedicated group of women who were so warm and inviting to me at my interview. I really feel comfortable and happy to be starting at University.
In other news, Geoff just finished up an 8 week training program for a promotion! He is now an assistant manager at Wal-mart, he moved down to the south store, but is still here in Greeley. He had to do an 8 week training in Denver and we missed him SO MUCH!! He was able to come home on the weekends, but still, Eli and I were miserable with out him. Along with his new title, he got a pay raise, which makes up for the small pay cut I took in moving jobs. It is also very likely that he will be eligible for a promotion in one year, which would mean he could be a shift manager and that would be a very large pay raise. Wal-mart is building a new store in Windsor, which is only about 20 minutes from where we live and it should be opening this time next year...so fingers crossed that Geoff can land that store! It would be a great opportunity for our family. Of course, as the old saying goes, if you want to make God laugh-tell him your plans.
As a family, we are trying to focus less on our own desires and more on what God has for us. That has been a huge theme for me this summer! I have really had to let go of my own expectations and realize that happiness is a choice, and that God can fulfill me in all things if I give him the chance. Geoff has had some similar soul-searching this summer through an unlikely source-his schooling. He made the decision earlier this year to drop out of CSU and pursue online education. It was a very difficult, painstaking, and heartbreaking decision for him to come to, but we feel it was the right choice for him and for our family as a whole. He is almost done with his first semester through Regis University and he has been so much happier and more successful! He is taking a required class right now, titled "Leading Lives That Matter" and through this course he has had to really take a step back and evaluate who he is and who he wants to be in terms of his live choices and being a good husband and father. He has really grown a lot and we have been able to rededicate ourselves to each other and to being the kind of spouses and parents that we need to be.
One other big change for us, we have started making the switch to a whole-foods approach. I am sick and tired of being fat and out of shape. I bought a cookbook that has been very inspiring, its call "From Scratch" and its amazing. I am terrified of what this lifestyle change might mean for me, and I am terrified of eating whole milk, real bacon, real butter, soaked grains and fermented foods. I am scared of fats. I have been indoctrinated into a society where fat=bad and low carb=good. I am not having any success on my stupid low carb, low fat diet though, so a 100% whole food approach it is. In case you don't know what a "whole foods approach" is, its eating from scratch. If your great-grandparents wouldn't know what it is or where it came from, don't eat it. Its real food. Its chicken thighs, bone broth, lots of veggies cooked in butter, whole milk, pastured eggs, pastured beef. Its NOT processed, packaged or boxed. I am concerned with how this is going to work with me going back to work in a week or so, but I am dedicated and determined to make it happen. I will have to set aside time to make bone broth (stock) and bread, I will have to be conscientious about what I chose to pack in my lunch. I bought a fridge for my classroom, so hopefully between cold options and my thermos, I can bring real, healthy, left overs to work everyday! I have made 3 loaves of bread so far and LOVED them. I have sourdough starter bubbling away on my cabinet, I have sourdough crackers proofing in my kitchen, and I have milk kefir and pickles fermenting in mason jars in the kitchen. I am scared of doing all this, but more afraid not to. Geoff and I have always agreed that we wanted to teach Eli to be a good eater and to eat a healthy, varied diet. Well, he's now almost 3 and eats almost anything we put in front of him. However, its beyond time to start instilling that in every aspect of our lives and doing the best we can for him and for us. I also am going to try out a gym for a few weeks and see if I can make that a regular part of my routine. Geoff and I are commited to walking as much as possible, but with his new schedule (3 on, 3 off and 8-8 shifts) and winter coming, it might be difficult to get in exercise time. I am going to try going to the gym 4 days a week for an hour right after work. I am honestly nervous about the gym. It seems the gym is for skinny, healthy people. Not fat girls :) But I have to start somewhere and if its 30min of cardio and 30min of weights, so be it. I will keep this updated on our progress.
