Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

Drum roll please........

I have just submitted my Application to Retire online!! Woot woot!!  I will be officially retired on June 30, 2014 and collecting my pension in July!! On June 30th I will receive a lump sum payment of my pay for July and August (as our school year ends August 31st) plus..............

A $5,000 bonus for letting the school board know by April 11th that I am retiring!! Score!!

The down side, not for me but for grads of teacher's colleges, is that enrollment is DOWN and less than half of them will be hired. The number of new teachers far outweighs the rate of retirement what with fewer students in our schools. So I am willing to step aside for a fresh young eager enthusiastic teacher...I know, it's a sacrifice but I'm willing to make it :)

Now while that sounds like OODLES of CASH coming my way it will be taxed at a rate of 50% give or take...however I should be in for a juicy tax refund NEXT year! (Haven't even got this year's refund yet and I'm dreaming about next year's!) But I'll take what I can get and be happy with it.

Today I ran a HUGE training session with the EAs, admin staff and school board representatives. It took hours and hours and weeks and weeks of work to prepare but the great feedback I received made it all worthwhile. I look at it as a legacy I leave behind when I retire.

I have fallen behind with bringing objects home from school so I'm going to distract you now with.......


            FLOWERS!!


            GREEN SHOOTS!!

....you've forgotten all about my April 3 Challenge now haven't you?? hee hee...oh rats...


Okay, feast your eyes on some MYRTLE...
And for Barb - remember you commented the other day about the snow being gone from my patio?

Almost.....
 One last holdout due to the shade...
It was such a beautiful day on Sunday I sat outside with the last pile of snow on one side and the blooming myrtle on the other side, savoured a good cup of chocolate chai tea while I lazily listened to an audio book called "Death and the Lit Chick" - can't wait to get back into it again tonight!

Oh, and by the way I've returned to my bike with a vengeance! Pedalled for over 90 minutes and 30 kms last night! And today is Day 9 of my Juice Fast! If you would like to visit the website and learn more about this type of fast go HERE!


11 comments:

  1. Wow, that's quite a bonus. Our school district gives $1000 and that is with notification in December. We are paid sub pay for our sick leave that remains. I think I currently have about 100 sick days. Knock on wood for good health. Enjoy every minute as your year winds down.

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  2. I'm so happy for you Jane!! That's a nice bonus too! The days are dropping like crazy on your counter!

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  3. Nice!!! June 30 will be here before you know it :)

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  4. Gotta love getting a little extra when you're doing what you were gonna do anyway. Good for you! That's so awesome. We'll have to throw a party, come June!

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  5. Flowers? Flowers? Wait!......I think I remember what those are....... ;-)

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  6. beautiful flowers! glad you're getting to retire- I dream of it. I know I haven't been in the work force nearly as long as you but I feel like it's been my entire life. all this overtime lately with this shift I hate is wearing me thin (not literally because I eat too much for that to happen) but I'm trying and trying and trying to get caught up on stuff I NEED to get done- tired of my townhome being trashed so been hauling stuff out - things I thought I'd never get rid of aren't so important any more - space is LOL! I'm starting to picture in my mind where I want to put stuff from my parents' house and what I want/need to get rid of and what I need to forget about bringing down here even though my mom 'bought them for me to have one day' - just no space for it. then getting my carpet and tile super cleaned and made fresh...I keep alternating rooms so can't see a LOT of progress but I tell myself every single bag taken out for trash pickup is 1 less bag of stuff taking up space in my space! I finally got a few bookshelves displaying my tea pots, teacups, and vintage pyrex/fire king but once I bring stuff from my mom's that will likely move to the dining room area of the house(currently fabric storage and expanded sewing area...) where I can hopefully sit at my table (putting it in there after the carpet cleaning)and enjoy reading and sipping hot tea or eating my meals in there. also want to budget in some other home improvements/décor- I'm not as handy or energetic as you so gotta figure out what to do LOL!
    sooo excited for you girl!
    Susanna

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  7. Wow so jealous, I want to retire with you!

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  8. Your patch of snow looks like you dumped the contents of your freezer!
    Love the 5G bonus! Holy cats that is sweet.
    80 days to go..............WOW I am getting excited.

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  9. That's a nice bonus! Woot!! :) I'd take a hairdryer to that snow pile if I were you... ;) hahaha! Perhaps it needs someone to "pull the plug"?

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  10. Our snow is gone but it may snow again tomorrow. BLECH!

    I'm so ready for warm weather.

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Thank you for your comment - it means a lot to me that you read my post and are leaving a comment - you just made my day!