Today, I’m inviting you into my living room. Behold:

We live in a loft apartment in the attic of an old brick school building on Capitol Hill in DC. The lofts still have the original unconditional concrete floors, but they’ve been sealed so they’re no longer porous. It’s an awesome apartment–the only bad side is that we have NO storage space…

I started my Daily Routine 21-Day Makeover today, albeit in a more relaxed weekend-ish fashion. I often have after-work engagements for either business or social purposes, so I’m allowing myself the freedom to shift afternoon items to either the morning or the bedtime routine when I have evening plans. So far, I’m off to a great start! I’ll post periodic updates on my progress.

Morning Routine:
Exercise (walk, run, or body sculpting)
Make breakfast and pack lunch
Unload dishwasher and wipe down kitchen counters
Shower and get ready for work

After Work/Afternoon Routine:
Meditate (at least 10 minutes)
Write tomorrow’s blog post
Work on a creative writing project for at least 30 minutes
Laundry
Straighten living room
Make dinner

Bedtime Routine:
Decide what to wear tomorrow (on workdays)
Straighten bathroom
Wash face
Brush & floss

My husband and I went to the DC 101 Chili Cookoff today for the first time in the many years we’ve lived in the area. Meh. It turned out to be more of a crowded beerfest than a chili cookoff. And people, I was there for the chili. WON’T SOMEONE THINK OF THE CHILI???

Ahem.

Anyway, here’s a shot of the arena (note: by arena, I mean large parking lot) where the event took place.

The people you see in the foreground are standing in the ridiculously long beer line. It was out of control. My husband and I stayed long enough to eat overpriced hot dogs and try a few of the chilis, then we left and went to see Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was HILARIOUS. A lot of full frontal male nudity in the movie, which doesn’t really have anything to do with chili (but it is wiener-related).

I don’t know what a Bumbleberry is, but I know these things were delicious!

My sister, brother-in-law, and niece came over for dinner and we had these for dessert. They were SO GOOD! Get thee to a Safeway and buy some!

The last two days have been, as you might guess, a bit trying. I promise to get back to regular, topical posts on Monday, but before I do, I wanted to share something with you.

I’ve made a pretty significant decision about my career and my future. It’s a direction I’ve been considering for years, so I guess it’s been a long time coming. I haven’t been able to make this move until now, but my husband just got a nice raise and we’re very financially secure, so the time is finally right.

I’ve decided to apply for the DC Teaching Fellows this fall. It’s an alternative certification program that allows you to start teaching while taking classes. Teaching is something I’ve always been drawn to, and I’ve loved my experience as a mentor with the Higher Achievement Program. Working with kids was challenging and rewarding in ways that I’ve never experienced before, and I think I would be completely fulfilled by a teaching career.

The program has a number of great benefits. Teachers can get lower interest rates on home loans in DC, and there’s a program where they can buy houses at up to 50% off the list price. I can get my federal student loans cancelled by serving in an underserved school district. I can get half of my tuition reimbursed–more if I agree to teach for two full years. And I get to work with really great kids!

It’s a competitive program, and there’s a chance I might not get in. Even if I don’t, I still want to pursue one of the other alternate certification programs here in DC. My goal is to start teaching in Fall 2009. It’s kind of scary to contemplate cutting my salary nearly in half, but I haven’t been happy at work for a long time and I’m ready to be HAPPY about my job!

In addition to being a career that will challenge and fulfill me, teaching would give me summers off. And you know what I could do with that time? WRITE!! I’ve been pretty sporadic with my creative writing lately. I’ve found that my job, which is very stressful and mentally/emotionally grueling, leaves me with zero creative energy at the end of the day. It’s just more than I can do to spend nine hours in intense mental concentration in front of a computer at work and come home and engage in more intense mental concentration in front of a computer. I’ve tried, and I just burn out.

I’m really excited about preparing for the program! I’ve already signed up to take the PRAXIS exams, and I’ll be applying to the Teaching Fellows program as soon as registration opens in October. Hooray!

I’m off to enjoy a (hopefully) relaxing weekend with my (thank God) healthy husband. I hope you have a wonderful, restful weekend!!

Tags: Career, teaching