Dealing with Disappointment

I hate being sick!

I went the whole school year without getting sick, until the last day... and WHAMMO! I got a Mother of a Cold. Ugh. It's going to take my body a week to recover from all the coughing and sneezing...

But I'm not here to complain about that. I'm going to complain about something else...

After working as a long-term sub at the same school for almost a full year, I applied for an open position--and I didn't get it. But the worst part about it was the principal wouldn't tell me why someone else was chosen over me. I was so angry and disappointed. I felt used and helpless. How could they do that to me? And to top it off, she let me suffer through the last work day, avoiding me when she'd already decided--the coward, as I listened to all the teacher wish me good luck, hoping I'd get the job.

For a couple of days I was sick and depressed--I couldn't even have a drink cause I'm sick, dad-gum it! As a realist, I kept myself open to the possibility that I wouldn't get it. I've been screwed over before. But this was worse, especially after all the praise and encouragement I'd received. Early on, I told myself if I didn't get it, I would be done with teaching. At my age, this was my last shot. I guess it wasn't meant to be. It's their loss.

Some things in life we can't control. So I decided to act on the things I can control. Like, I won't sit around and wallow, feeling sorry for myself. I need to find a new direction. This is just a transition. It's not even a failure or a setback. I was a damn good teacher, but that chapter of my life is over. It's time for a change.

So that's where I am. Healing physically and psychologically. I'm ready to step up to the next challenge. And praying for strength and guidance along the way. Time to move on to bigger and better things.

Please DO NOT feel sorry for me. I'm over it.
Writing about it helped a ton - I highly recommend it.

You can't keep a good woman down - and don't forget it!
Have a SUPER week!

Maintain, No Gain Challenge

All right all you really real peeps, it's time to stay just the way you are!

Don't let that holiday spirit equal extra pounds! No one wants to start the new year with a sweatpant wardrobe as your only option.

Not that I have anything against sweatpants, I'm actually wearing a pair as I type this...I'm just saying that as of this moment...I do have other options in my wardrobe. And nooo, I'm not talking about my leggings.

But here's the really real truth, a few extra cookies this holiday season and I'm NOT going to fit into my other pants. Sure, I can up up a size, I know how to shop, but I don't want to.

Now, I could pay big money and join a weight loss club OR I can harass encourage my fellow friends and blog buddies to join me on our Facebook page for the Maintain, No Gain Challenge.

It's NOT a diet. We're turning our Facebook page into a support group that we hope helps us achieve balance--

To indulge without adding more bulge. 

It will be easy- if you're on Facebook. The Really Real Housewives have a public Facebook group, all you have to do is join the group and join in on the fun. We'll start Monday, November 21st- just in time to start the holiday cooking! And we'll be in it together until January 1st.

Crafty Support

I wish I could say I’m a crafty person. I have so much admiration for the bloggers I see creating holiday decorations out of items they purchase at the craft store. In all honesty, I’m more likely to spend the day browsing items on Etsy to buy from some super-talented person. I just don’t have the creative eye for it.

As a child, being “not crafty” is never an option. I remember working with papier-mâché in elementary school and stamping my initials into leather at 4-H camp. I did exactly what the teacher said without ever coming up with creative ways to add to what I was doing.

Then I started middle school home economics class. It was the 80s, so we were still learning how to sew, and I hated every minute of it. I created some horrid 80s-style lavender shorts suit that looked a lot like the dress Jake Ryan’s girlfriend wore to the party in Sixteen Candles. I remember my icky creation every time I see that movie.

Soon after, I made a stuffed animal called Madigan. It was a cuddly dog that I loved. But I only made it through the sewing process because I followed the instructions to the letter. Hugging Madigan always made me feel better, since I didn’t have a real dog to hug.

Once I discovered I could write, I felt as though I’d been set free. I always felt like a creative person, but it didn’t fit with anything else I tried. I couldn’t dance, sing, act, paint, draw, or build things. I could put words on paper, though, and from time to time I even managed to move people with those words.

Would I like to be crafty? Sure. But in an Etsy era, I can just purchase the great crafts everyone else sells and support them. They can keep making their crafts and I can set them out around the house and hand their business cards out when people compliment them.

Stephanie Faris is the Simon & Schuster author of the middle grade books 25 Roses and 30 Days of No Gossip, as well as the Piper Morgan chapter book series. Her freelance work has appeared on NYPost.com, Mental Floss, The Week, and Your Teen magazine.