Teachers have all the answers. . . or at least pretend they do!

Time . . . and sadness . . . and JOY!!!! :)

2012-01-19T15:55:00.004-05:00

So I know it's been way too long. I announce this is the last time I will say that. I realize that it may be a very long time before I post again, but if it is, I don't want every post on this page to begin with, "So I know it's been way too long . . ." :)

That was the time. The sadness comes with the subject of my last post. Sadly, the iPod has disappeared. It served me well for just about 2 years, but it fell out of my bag either in my driveway as I was headed to my car (on trash day . . .) or between my car and school . . .

Which is where the JOY comes in!!!!! I am back in the teaching game!! I didn't feel right posting on a teaching blog when I wasn't actually teaching, but since the school year started, I haven't had much time to really think about it!!

I am teaching 3rd grade again, still at a Christian school. I am back at the same school where I completed my student teaching in 2005 (was it that long ago??) I am no longer counting the days to 30, I have reached and surpassed that goal to reach the magnificent age of 31!!

I'm going to keep this short so I don't bore the people who don't read this. I'll leave with one quick story from my class this year.

The school's penmanship curriculum begins with print, then moves to cursive in third grade. Because they are just learning, most of what I write on the board is in print. If I write something that is optional to copy, I try to write it, rather than print it. I did this one day and a student said:

"Can you write that in microsoft?"

I looked at him with a puzzled expression for a minute, then realized what he meant. The other students quickly responded:

"It's manuscript, not microsoft!" :)

trying to get back into it!

2009-12-05T10:56:00.003-05:00

I know I haven't blogged in a couple weeks, and it was MUCH longer before that. I really need to just get in the habit of putting something up, even if it's just to say "I don't know what to write!"

I guess I'll have some more exciting stuff coming up -- I'm going to go visit my sister next week!!!

So what have I done in the past 2 1/2 weeks?? I'm glad you asked! I really haven't done much . . . .we DID go "Black Friday" shopping, though! I FINALLY GOT MY IPOD TOUCH!! I'm SO addicted to it now!

It's a thing of beauty!!

Also, I woke up to this!!

Again, a thing of beauty! I figure it's about time we got some snow!! I think I need to look for schools farther north, or at least somewhere that gets lots of snow!

364

2009-11-18T14:59:00.006-05:00

That's how many days there are until I'm 30. It's kind of depressing, but kind of not . . .

So, what does a girl do the weekend before she turns 29??

MAKE APPLEBUTTER!!!!! :)

My family has made applebutter consistently since I can remember. When we used our 35-gallon kettle, we would make it every year or every other year. Since we've started using my Uncle Steve's 50-gallon kettle, we've had to make it less often. The last time we made it was in 2003 and we had about 10 people helping. This year we had to postpone it a day because of the rain, so we were down to me and my parents with a few people stopping by for a couple hours at a time to help out. If you've never been around for applebutter making, let me give a run-down of the process.

First you have to get a LOT of apples (12 bushels this year). I don't have pictures of that because it's not that exciting and Dad and my brother, Kaleb, went to get them after dark.

Next, starts the peeling. I have a video, but I'm not sure it will work, so I have a picture of me at the peeler, too.

You end up with a bucket of peeled apples that looks likes this.

Next you cut the apples into quarters and cut out the seed pit or "cutthroat" as a lady in our church said she heard it called. We call this part "snitting" :) We then rinse, drain, and bag the apples and put them in the freezer, fridge, or outside on the deck in boxes if it's cold enough! This goes on for 3 or 4 days before the boiling day.

On the morning of applebutter making, my dad sets the kettle stand up on bricks in the driveway and starts a fire. After it's going pretty good, he'll set the 50-gallon kettle in the stand.

Here's the kettle we used.

(oh, dad cleans it the night before -- this picture is actually after the applebutter was done on Saturday night) Dad started the fire around 6:15 am.
After the kettle is on, we put about a gallon and a half of water in the kettle and wait a little bit until it has heated up. Once it was heated, we added apples. Here's the kettle after there were enough apples to have to start stirring. We started adding apples about 7:30 am.

Once you start stirring, you have to keep stirring until it's done or it will stick to the bottom and burn.

Some of the stirrers were:

My mom

My aunt:

My cousin:

and me!

My dad obviously stirred the most, but for some reason we don't have a picture of him stirring. Some friends from my church came out and were a BIG help for a couple of hours, but I didn't ask if I could post their pictures. You'll just have to use your imagination!!

We started adding new apples every 20-30 minutes until we used all our apples. (the entire 12 bushels plus the 36 bags we found in the freezer.) When it was half-full, we added pennies to add some friction to the bottom and keep it from sticking. We added the last apples at 1:30 pm.

After the apples were all in, we kept stirring until it had cooked down to a thick applesauce. (about 4:00 pm.) This was about the time my arms started to get REALLY sore. I don't think my arms have EVER been that sore. My dad usually has more help stirring than just me, so I wasn't used to helping him quite THIS much! (and we haven't made it since I was 23!)

After all the apples have cooked down, we added about 65 pounds of sugar and let it cook for another 2 hours. At about 6pm, we added the spices (oil of cinnamon and oil of cloves) until it was just right.

By this time, my arms were completely dead and I had already taken 3 ibuprofen and a muscle relaxer and neither had touched the pain. Mom finally had the GENIUS idea of using a mentholated muscle rub to help relax my arm muscles.

By this time, my aunt was here to help take it up (aka put it in jars). I would stir while dad dipped it into an enamel pan and take it inside. There, my mom and aunt were ladling it into jars and sealing them. We eventually got into a routine where I would stir, dad would dip it and take it inside, he would come take the stirrer from me, I would go inside to help fill jars, then I would take the pan back outside so he could fill it again. We got into a pretty good routine and had everything in jars by about 7:30 or 8:00 pm. Then all we had to do was clean up! Everything was cleaned up by about 9:30 when everyone was so tired, we ended up eating cereal for supper! When all was said and done, we had 126 quarts of applebutter!

(Sorry this picture is sideways -- I forgot to rotate it before I loaded it and don't want to have to re-load it!)

So that's a day in the life of applebutter making. If anyone wants some, just let us know -- we have plenty!! :)

Happy 4th of July!!

2009-07-04T17:35:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to post a picture of this cake I just decorated. It's by no means an original design. My mom got a book from Ollie's with some different cake decorating ideas in it - this was one of them. Doesn't it just look yummy!!!

Movers and packers

2009-06-22T19:39:00.002-04:00

I guess 3 weeks is long enough to wait between posts! Since school let out, I've been trying to get some packing done, sending out resumes, and just generally not wanting to do anything at all!! I guess you don't really realize just how much "junk" you have until you move!! I keep thinking, "I need to get rid of some of this stuff!" but I just keep packing it away, thinking, "I may need it some day . . . " Of course, when I DO finally throw something out, I think about a week later, "Now, what did I do with ________, OH YEAH!! I threw it away!!" Maybe I'll eventually figure out what is worth saving and what can be disposed of!

Is there anything you have thrown out and then later wish you would have kept? Or maybe the opposite?? :) Let me know!!

Frogs and fingers

2009-05-20T16:56:00.004-04:00

The past two weeks, the High School Bible class has been teaching Bible lessons for my class. They have done an awesome job so far, and I've really enjoyed having them around. I think it's been really good for all of them. This week we've been learning about Moses. Today they taught about the 10 plagues in Egypt. At the end of the lesson, they gave the kids cupcakes that looked like this:

Isn't it adorable!! The green gobs above the eyes are marshmallows rolled in green sugar. The eyes are chocolate chips. She said it took her and her sister 2 hours to do them all!!! I can tell she really put some extra effort into it! Thanks!!!

Going backwards in time, I was playing volleyball last night -- you guessed it -- I hurt myself again. This time it was my left ring finger -- I guess I'll have to postpone my wedding a few more weeks :) That must be why I haven't gotten married until now -- God knew I would have probably needed it cut off because of the swelling. This one seems to hurt a lot more than last time. I don't think it's broken, though. My aide says she thinks she has a splint I can use to keep it stable. Speaking of which, I probably shouldn't be typing with it right now . . .

Backing up about a week, MY BABY BROTHER GRADUATED COLLEGE!!!

We are all so proud of him!! Now he can get a JOB!!! :)

The speaker for his graduation was Ben Stein (remember the movie "Expelled" and those eye drop commercials?)

You can sort-of see him on the screen -- please pardon the random backs of people's heads.

So now, it's just a matter of getting through the last couple weeks of school. Only 10 1/2 more days of school left!!

(as a side note, I sent out applications to 8 different schools. Please continue to pray that God will direct the recipients in the way HE would have me go.)

Teacher Appreciation Week

2009-05-07T16:04:00.002-04:00

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week. I am so blessed to have such great parents!! So far, they've given me flowers, chocolate, a book and an apple-shaped pin. One parent even invited me over for dinner in a couple of weeks! The parents in the school as a whole have been great, too. I haven't had to pack lunch all week!! They brought BBQ chicken on Monday, a meat and cheese tray on Tuesday, Lasagna on Wednesday, and Chick-fil-a brought us chicken, fruit, and brownies today!! Tomorrow, we have a hot breakfast served to us compliments of another family in the school.

Being a teacher is awesome!!!

Balderdash

2009-05-04T17:10:00.002-04:00

This weekend I lost my mind.

I had 8 teenage girls spend the night at my apartment. My friend, Karen, leads a girls Bible study on Saturdays, and they have had a sleepover once or twice. When Karen started planning this one, I said, "Hey! They could just stay at my place -- that could be fun!!" Fun -- right. It actually was a really good time. They made spaghetti and I got to show a girl how to make cheesecake! We had to improvise a little since I didn't have all the ingredients, but it still tasted great! They even cleaned up the dishes when they were done!

Karen is currently raising support to go on the mission field. She has such a heart for missions and wants to spread that compassion to these girls, too. She had them pick a missionary our church supports and write them a letter of encouragement. The girls did an awesome job! After supper and the dishes were cleaned up, we took some time to pray for the missionaries they had written to. I prayed for 2 Karens -- my friend who leads this Bible study and my sister and her family.

After we prayed, we played Balderdash. If you aren't familiar with the game, I'll give a summary. In the classic version, one person reads a word and everyone writes down what they think it means. They try to make it as convincing as possible. When everyone is done writing, they give their paper to the person who read the word. That person reads all the fake definitions, along with the real one they wrote down, and everyone votes on which one they think is real. I have a version that takes it a step further. In the version I have, they have 5 different categories: Weird Words -- as described above; Peculiar People - names a famous people and you have to say why they are famous; Marvelous Movies - gives a movie title and you give the plot; Incredible Initials - gives initials and you have to say what the letters stand for; Laughable Laws - gives the first part of a crazy law and you have to finish it.

You can really learn a lot from this game. For example, even though we only did about 6 or 7 rounds, I learned that a mormoop is a type of ugly bat; that in Baker, California it is illegal to ride a bicycle into a swimming pool; and that in Spartanburg, South Carolina it is illegal to eat watermelon in a cemetery. (I really like the laughable laws category!)

Anyway, it was a lot of fun. I felt really old, though -- they started a movie after midnight and I just went to bed!! They said most of them went to sleep about 3 am. I guess I'm just not as young as I used to be!!

Any other interesting facts you'd like to learn?? Maybe we can do a blogging version of Balderdash!! This could be fun! Let me know if you'd be interested. :)

EASTER!!

2009-04-13T10:52:00.002-04:00

This Easter was very different for me. This was my first "major" holiday away from any family. I would have gone home (since it's only about an hour and a half away), but between tax season and being in my church's Easter Concert, I couldn't make it back. Despite this, it was a good day. A friend of mine invited me to have Easter dinner with her family. It was great! I really miss those big family gatherings with the good-natured ribbing and reminiscing. After that, we just sort of sat around all day, chatting and napping and watching quilting and knitting shows on TV. Then it was off to warm-ups before the concert. The concert was AWESOME!! I'm hoping to get a copy of the performance. I won't put it all up here, but if I can put one song up, I'll try to do that. The arrangement of Amazing Grace was the best one. It wasn't the typical Amazing Grace, or even the arrangement with "My Chains are Gone." The words went:

Amazing Grace brought hope forever,
All sin erased, remembered never
I live again! Because He took my place.
Thanks to Calvary and Amazing Grace.

While we sang it, there was a video in the background with scenes from "The Passion of The Christ". We had to make sure we weren't looking at the monitors, or most of us wouldn't have been able to make it through the song. When we finished the song, it was absolutely silent in the auditorium. The pastor got up then to give his challenge. I don't know if anyone made a decision last night, but I know that God will definitely use that ministry for HIS glory!

Only 3 more days of taxes, then I FINALLY get to completley enjoy my Spring Break!!

aahhhhhhhhhhhh

2009-04-10T19:07:00.002-04:00

Spring Break at last!!!!!!

Today went well, though. I had one parent come in early to pick up their child. I loved her comment, "They seem quieter than normal." They were really good today. I don't know if it was because of the anticipation of break, the fun activities of the day, or the fact that we had an awesome magician speak in chapel today. Either way, I'm still glad for break. I did realize, however, that after leaving school, I did leave one thing on my desk: an Easter egg a 2nd grader gave me. Yes, I knew I would probably forget it. Yes, I tried to remind myself several times. Yes . . . it is a real egg . . . . maybe this can be the source of a great Science experiment. "What happens to a hard-boiled egg after sitting in a school for 10 days??"

I plan to use the next couple of days to pack up some stuff to get ready for "the move" to "______". This blank will hopefully be closer to being filled in after this break as I plan to get some resumes sent out, too. Please pray for guidance as I send these out. I feel like I'm back to square one. It's exciting and a little scary at the same time. I need peace.

In other news, our Easter Concert is Sunday night at 7. Anyone interested in hearing an AWESOME concert, let me know. (and it will be awesome for many other reasons other than the fact that I'm singing in it!! :) We have "dress rehersal" tomorrow. My throat is feeling a little sore, so hopefully it won't cause any problems. At least I"m not singing any solos!

almost . . . . there . . . I . . . . can . . . make . . . it . . . .

2009-04-09T16:28:00.002-04:00

Just one more day (technically a half-day) until EASTER BREAK!!!!!!!! I am sooo ready for it, too!! In the midst of testing, taxes, and the need to find a new job, I am just tired of doing stuff. I did have one interesting thought today that was just too thought-provoking to not share.

We have done our Achievement testing this week. It has been REALLY testing, too!!! I still like it better than last year when we did our testing the week after break -- that was insane! The kids are just done. That's it -- they're done! My thought-provoking . . . . um . . . thought came this morning. When we're in our rooms testing, we have signs on the doors that say: "Do not disturb: Testing in progress." My thought of the day: maybe this is the sign we as Christians should have for Satan. I know it's not the most doctrinally sound thought in the world, but it is an interesting perspective to have. Critique it all you want, it was just my half-awake thought of the morning.

testing . . . and help needed !!

2009-04-06T18:02:00.002-04:00

So this week is Achievement Testing week. This is sometimes a lot of fun -- a different change of pace. I can tell the kids are REALLY ready for Spring Break -- it must be rubbing off from their teacher! We tested all morning, then in the afternoon, we started working on "The Great Mail Race" If you're not familiar with it, it's a project where the class writes to another third grade class in each of the 50 states. The goal is to learn about all the states, how other Christian schools operate, and how we are the same or different. I think I need to change my strategy, though. I was just having them write in their own words and giving them ideas of what to write. This was going pretty well, until one of them decided that some important information they just HAD to include in their letter was the fact that I'm not married. I read it and just looked at him and said, "This isn't a dating service!!" I think we're definitely going to a form letter tomorrow!!

Another project we've been working on is Flat Stanley. This is a cute little book about a boy named Stanley who had a bulletin board fall on him while he was asleep. He was smashed flat enough to fit just about anywhere - even a mailing envelope! One of my "mom's" took pictures and they each made their own "Flat _______". They made one for me, but I haven't sent it anywhere yet. I'm going to look really bad when the due date comes and my little Flat Kelly hasn't gone anywhere! Anyone want to tackle this project?? You can put your address as a comment and I'll delete it so only I will see it. HELP!

Not a joke

2009-04-02T17:48:00.002-04:00

After I posted yesterday, I realized that I didn't exactly choose the best day to to post something like that. I just wanted to assure you readers that, no, it was not a joke. Yes, I was victim to a "reduction in force" at my school. Yes, I do covet your prayers.

I did also want to point out my blog change. It was the one with the least amount of pink on it, so there was my choice made for me!!

Off to lesson plans!!

It's been a long time . . .

2009-04-01T16:51:00.002-04:00

Over the past . . . um . . . almost 6 weeks . . . (yikes!) a lot has happened (one would hope!) The week after I posted last, I was told that, due to decreases in enrollment, I would not be needed next year at my school. This has (for obvious reasons) really "deflated" me. I am not alone. Another teacher with equal years of experience was also let go due to this "reduction in force". I don't want to say I'm depressed. I know that God did not close this door to throw me out a window. I know He has something better for me out there somewhere. I've felt His moving for a while. Third grade is great, but I really would rather teach an older grade -- especially anything math-related. I have a couple of possibilities and a couple GREAT friends looking for me - even pushing me to be motivated! This has been an added blessing in the midst of all this! If any of you readers out there know of a Christian school looking for a teacher, I'm available.

On to other things -- another thing going on now is our latest assignment in the third grade: ANIMAL NOTEBOOKS!!! They have been working for the past 6 weeks on reports for each of the 6 categories of animals we learn: Mammals, Fish, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, and Invertebrates. We finished up the reports in class yesterday and the projects are due on Friday. Yeah for me!! I will then have 24 projects to grade in the middle of our standardized testing week!!!! :s One good thing is that some have already started turning their projects in -- if I would grade them as they come in, things would go a LOT better for me next week.

It seems like a lot more has happened, but I'm kind of in a zone right now. I'll try to make shorter updates, but more often -- we'll see how it goes!!

sigh . . . . .

2009-02-19T19:50:00.002-05:00

That's the sound of someone who is physically and mentally exhausted. Since I last posted, I've started a second job (since teachers have so much spare time to do stuff like that!!) I've been working at a tax preparation office after school from 5-9 most days. This has helped with some of my expenses, but I still have a Chile ticket to pay off!!

On notes of finances and such . . . my landlord informed me that he's RAISING my rent by $50 a month! God is so good, though. The Monday before that, a fellow teacher asked me if I was would want to rent from her if I had a roommate. She has a 3-bedroom trailer she could rent to me, but can't really afford to rent it to me by myself. I told her later about my rent going up, and she said I could rent from her (once her son moves out and she paints and stuff) for what I'm paying now until I can find a roommate!!!!!! Like I said, God is good!!! ALL THE TIME!!!!!!! Now I just need a roommate . . .

In the midst of a second job, possibilities of moving, and an insane lack of sleep, I had parent/teacher conferences on Monday! I had 8 conferences!! That's the most I've ever had! That's 1/3 of my class!! This came after a 1/2 day with the kids -- less 6 students! Are things as bad where you are?? I haven't had all my class at school in about 2 weeks!! And I know I'll have at least one out tomorrow! One teacher told me today (after our hour long faculty meeting) to "go home!" My response: "You mean, go to work!" She asked me how I'm doing all this. I just said, "I'm not!"

Please pray for strength. I am having a hard time juggling everything. I can't afford to not work at the tax place so much, but I don't want to wear myself out or allow my responsibilities at school to slack off. Most importantly, my devotions haven't been very . . . well . . . there lately. I know this is why I'm so tired and cranky, but I just can't motivate myself to do it. I'm being very transparent now, please honor this by praying for me -- I need HIS strength now more than ever!!!

Thanks!!

Cold -- just cold

2009-01-14T15:57:00.002-05:00

Do you ever have those days you want to run outside and scream at the sky, "Quit being so cold and SNOW ALREADY!!!!" It's been FREEZING -- no -- BELOW freezing all week and still not so much as a flurry! I love snow . . . I dream of snow . . . I pray for a snow day!!! I love school, and we did get one day off last week, but it was for freezing rain, not snow, so it wasn't really worth it! Maybe I'm alone in this, but if school's going to be cancelled, at least let there be some snow on the ground!!

The new and the somewhat old

2009-01-13T16:57:00.002-05:00

The new part is the blog - the old part is the background. The site I usually use is not working right now, or they only have pink-ish cute-sy little Valentines Day backgrounds -- what ever happened to just plain winter?????? The tragedy of being single around this time of year . . . . . .

Anyway, just when you think you've heard everything -- talk to a teacher!! This is school spirit week, so the kids have been a little crazier than usual. Yesterday was PJ day -- a bonus for me since I had pneumonia last year -- I LOVE PJ DAY!! (though I did get a little tired . . .) Today was twin/career day, so the other teachers in my hall all dressed alike -- jeans, white collared shirt and a tie. It was great -- I was finally able to wear my Pepe Le Pew tie!! I've had the thing for about 10+ years now(boy do I feel old!) and I FINALLY wore it!! The best part of the day came at recess. I was talking to some of my students from last year. I was asking what career they were or if they were twins with anyone. The one doing the most talking said she was supposed to match one or another girl, but it didn't work out. She said they sort-of match -- Oh!! They're rhetorical twins!!! :) I said, "Do you mean fraternal twins??" "Oh, yeah -- that!" You've gotta love 4th graders!! That was almost as good as one of my 3rd graders reading our Science book today. We were reading about what to do during a thunderstorm. The book says to always try to be inside during a thunderstorm. But if you are caught outside (as she read it) " . . sit or crotch on the ground . . . " I never have a dull day . . . .

It makes me tired.

2009-01-09T19:08:00.002-05:00

This is what one of my students wrote for why they didn't like the book we just finished in Reading class. The book was called Secret in the Maple Tree. One part of the book report we did together said to tell whey they thought it was or was not a good book. Most of my boys said it wasn't good because it wasn't very exciting or it didn't talk about boys enough. I'm o.k. with that. I'm still trying to figure out how to rate, "It made me tired".

If you're familiar with the story, it's about a girl named Hilda. In one part of the book, she visits a friend who has small pox. She eventually came down with small pox herself. Or, if you are another boy in my class, she had chicking pots. I would have to say this student has some of the most inventive spelling I've ever seen. He has a very "West Virginia" accent, and spells EVERYTHING just like it sounds -- with that accent!! It's absolutely adorable! It doesn't help his Spelling grade very much, but it does make me smile!

Norma Jean Seizmore Caviness

2009-01-08T17:40:00.002-05:00

This past Monday, the church I grew up in lost a very dear woman. Norma Caviness, the faithful wife of our pastor passed away at the age of 70. If you visit our church's blog, you can read just what an impact she has made on our church. Please pray for the entire Caviness family during this time. She is already greatly missed.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

2008-12-25T21:14:00.002-05:00

AHHHHHHHHHHH . . . . .

It's finally here!! Christmas break!! I love break -- not that I don't love teaching . . . I love it!! It's just that . . . um . . . too much of a good thing is NOT a good thing . . . right?? :-) Just kidding! I miss my kiddos -- I'll be excited to see them again when school resumes in January.

In the meantime, I'll be enjoying my break! It's been really nice the past couple of days, just spending time with the family. My sister and brother-in-law came in from Michigan for a couple of days. They of course had 3 of the most adorable little boys with them!! I must say -- they have to be the cutest boys in the world!! (or as my great-aunt said -- "They're pretty enough to be girls" -- I don't know that I would go that far, but they are pretty cute -- they must look like their Aunt Kelly!!!! :-) They're gone now and the house is pretty quiet -- no boys screaming or saying, "I hungy Mama!" or "Iunna geon you showdulls". :-) I miss them too . . .

For now we're just relaxing and trying to enjoy the rest of the night.

Merry Christmas!!!

Remember the TRUE reason for the season is

JESUS!!

Pictures!!

2008-12-15T16:07:00.005-05:00

After many days of waiting to find the picture-loading thingamajig, I found it in my pocketbook!! I don't think I ever had it and my camera at the same place at the same time, so my actually realizing where it was wouldn't have gotten these pictures on here any sooner!

So here they are: Pictures of Chile and Teresa's wedding (I guess Marcelo was there, too :-)

This is the outside of the house they will (I guess now ARE) call(ing) home. I hope to get some of the inside pictures on facebook next week sometime.

In Chile, they perform two ceremonies: a civil ceremony and a "religious" ceremony. The civil ceremony is held in a tiny office (though we fit a lot of people in there!) This is seen in the eyes of the government as the "official" marriage. The outfit Teresa is wearing is the traditional "garb" of Chile. Mostly, they wear it on their Chilean Independence Day. (Sorry, Teresa, I don't remember the date.) Her sister and niece were wearing theirs also. The outfit has a name, but rather than totally mess it up, I won't even attempt to spell it!

This is a picture of me with the happy couple after the ceremony!!

Then we went on to the campground where they would have the "religious" ceremony performed by Teresa's dad. This is the cabin where I was attacked by a bat!

We stayed up pretty late that night decorating -- the ceremony was supposed to be outside, but we had to switch to an indoor wedding because it had been raining for 2 days!

This was one of my jobs the day before and the morning of the wedding -- we iced all 300 cupcakes, then stacked them on these tiers to make the wedding "cake". It turned out pretty well (even if the icing did turn out to be more green-ish than blue because of the butter!)

This is them lighting the unity candle (well, attempting to light it - it turned out to be a pretty good picture, though!)

My view of the ceremony -- I decided that my family will sit on the groom's side and his family will sit on my side so we can actually see the person we came to see!!! (though her hair was very pretty!!)

My former roomie and ex-member of the single's club! :-(

On our way to the bus station, I took a picture of this volcano! Some of the people I was traveling with hiked up there the morning of the wedding! I would have gone, but figured that would have been a little awkward! :-)

I realized as I was about to board the plane that I really didn't have pictures of the mountains this time.

Then on the plane, I saw this beautiful sunset and just had to get a picture!! Until next time (not next year, though!!

home sweet home

2008-12-11T17:14:00.002-05:00

I would love to say that I have pictures to put up, but once again, I have left the picture moving thingie at my apartment. I just wanted to type a quick post to say how much I LOVE Christmas!!!! I got some decorations up in my room and at my apartment. I'm so excited!! I wish I had pictures. Oh, great . . . now I really feel bad about posting at all if I can't show Chile or Christmas pictures . . . sorry to totally ruin your reading experience and waste your time . . . I'm such a loser . . . . I could make it up by finishing my travel story . . . maybe.

Things weren't too eventful for the rest of the trip. I made my flight and connections safely. It was actually kind of cool. Apparently when you travel from Canada to the USA you go through the US customs before your plane takes off. This way when I landed in Dulles I just went straight to baggage claim -- no customs!! This way I was able to pick up my damaged luggage more quickly!! That's right -- my bag was busted (I can say that - I'm in 3rd grade!!) I didn't notice until I went to sit down and wait for my parents to pick me up. I finally sat down, let out a sigh, and saw it. The seam was ripped. I almost didn't say anything -- it wasn't that big of a rip, but then I remembered that I did pay a little extra for travel insurance, so I figured, "I'm waiting on my parents anyway, I'll just see what happens." I found the people and told them what happened. They said they could fill out the claim and just switch bags right there and be done with it . . . if I didn't care about keeping the same color. If you don't know, my luggage is a medium-sage-ish green -- very easy to spot on a luggage carousel. They wanted to trade for black -- just like the other 5,000 suitcases people like to use when they travel! I opted to stick with the same color and they just gave me stuff to FedEx it to the repair place. This was left in the very capable hands of my father, so hopefully I'll have it back soon . . . not that I'll be needing it for a while . . . . .

We did a little shopping on the way home from the airport and finally made it back to my parent's place that night. I think I slept until about noon the next day (I decided to take both days off of school to recover -- I like it when I occasionally think ahead!). I was back at school last Wednesday -- just in time for the beginning of the "I'm-in-school-but-really-wish-it-were-Christmas-so-I-won't-behave-very-well-for-my-teacher-unless-she-threatens-me-within-an-inch-of-my-life" attitude of my students. Actually, they were only "bad" last week. This week I've been really proud of them. Not that things are perfect, they have just been much better at sitting quietly during the worksheets. I really do have a great group of kids this year -- they seem so much younger than the class I had last year, though. Maybe I'm just getting old . . . . yup, that must be it!

Well, I guess it could be worse -- at least I'm not 30 !!!! (yet)

P.S. - I really don't like my background, but it was the best I could do for free!!

On the road again (or the sky)

2008-11-30T08:45:00.004-05:00

**WARNING: The blog you are about to read contains references to undomiciled rodents. Reader discretion is advised***

I'm back in Santiago now . . . after another overnight bus ride. This time it was a little more comfortble, but how restful can it be when you usually sleep on your stomach??

The wedding was beautiful!! I have pictures I'll post once I return to the states. The most eventful thing happened the night before the wedding. Her wedding was at a campground near Villarrica called Lican Rey (I think I've got the correct spelling on those). The campground was like any typical summer camp: cabins, bath house, dining hall, etc. The cabin I stayed in had 2 rooms -- each with one bunk bed and 1 single bed. In one room was one of the bridesmaids (Christina), and one of Teresa's sisters (Janel). They had gone to bed early while Teresa, Angela(The other bridesmaid), Saul, and Claudia (groomsman and his wife) worked on setting up the room. She was planning on getting married outside, but it was raining on Friday, so she opted for an indoor wedding instead. When Angela, Teresa, and I got back to the cabin, Janel and Christina were already asleep. We figured out the sleeping arrangements (Angela on the bottom bunk, me on the top, and Teresa in the single bed. I asked if I needed to worry about bugs, and they said nothing deadly (last year we had some pretty scary spiders to worrry about). Then just out of curiosity, I asked if they had any larger animals they had to worry about. They said mostly mice, and sometimes bats. I figured that was good enough -- I was on the top bunk and wouldn´t have to worry about the mice and I had looked on the ceiling and not seen any bats. We talked for a couple minutes and went to sleep. As I was laying there, I thought I heard a noise that sounded like flapping wings. I thought, "Is that inside, or outside?" I decided to ignore it. When I kept hearing it, I realized it was something flying and it was inside. I said Teresa´s name to see if she was still awake, but she wasn't. I figured, "I can tough it out . . . it´s just a bat!!" Then I started thinking . . . some friends of mine at home had some bat trouble and their little 1 year old boy had to get rabies shots just in case he had been bitten. The doctor told them that you can't see where they bite you. This led me to cover my head with the blankets so it couldn't get to me to bite me!! I laid like this for a while, but it kept flying over my head and hitting the windows trying to get out. I tried to tough it out as long as I could, but when I felt it hit the covers, I decided to wake up Teresa. She turned on the light, and we saw it clinging to the ceiling. We didn't really know what to do. The ceilings were pretty high and I was in no mood to learn how to catch a bat!! So we did the next best thing: we pulled the largest mattress out on to the floor of the entrance area and slept there!! It didn't bother me any more, so sleeping after that wasn't too bad.

As I said, the wedding was beautiful. The only little hitch was that the unity candle wouldn't light! She was using someone else's candle and since it didn't get there until almost the last minute, no one had been able to check the wick. That added to the fact that when they put their individual candles down to light the big one, the wax from each of theirs fell into the big one and made it even harder. The best man ended up going up during the prayer and lit it, but even then it wasn´t very bright. Oh, well, they're still just as married!! Her dad was performing the ceremony, and he said afterwards that we won't try to interpret that as anything negative about their marrage!!

Well, I'm headed back tonight. I'll have pictures as soon as I can!!

The adventure continues!! (and Happy Thanksgiving!)

2008-11-27T08:28:00.003-05:00

In the past couple days, I haven't had quite as much excitement as I had on the trip down here. I think I'm just about recovered from the lack of sleep, but I suppose that's to be expected -- I'll have about 2 or 3 good days before I have to turn around and head back to the states!!

I met Teresa's fiance on Monday night -- he was dropping her off after they . . . did . . . some kind of planning for the wedding. That was so long ago I can't really remember what they were doing - OH!! They were meeting with a man from their church for some pre-marital counseling!! Teresa's dad is actually performing the wedding ceremony, but I guess they figured it would be a little awkward for him to do the counseling!!

Marcelo is very nice. Teresa said he doesn't like new situations, but he seems to be o.k. with me. There is the language barrier, though . . .

On Tuesday, we went to what will be their house to do some more baking (we had done a lot of baking on Monday, too -- they are fixing almost all the food for the reception. She is having cupcakes instead of a traditional cake and their "lunch" reception will be chicken, vegetables, potatos, and bread. I've been helping her mom with the bread mostly.) Back to Teresa's house. It is a little run-down. I didn't bring my little do-hickey that loads pictures to my computer, so I'll have to wait until I'm in the states to post pictures. They have been working to fix it up for the past couple of months, but since they're just in Springtime here, I guess it's been a little cold to do too much.

When we sat down to eat lunch Tuesday at Teresa's house, Marcelo looked over at me (I'll interject that he doesn't speak any more English than I speak Spanish -- I may know more Spanish than he does English. He had 2 years of English in school, but didn't like it very much). He looked at me and said, "How are you today, Kelly?" Then he said something to Teresa in Spanish which was, "That's all I remember from my English classes." Teresa said I need to come more often because he won't speak to her in English!!

The language barrier has definately been interesting. I took French in high school, so any time I try to think of something I could say, it ends up being French in my head, so I don't bother even trying to say anything. Sometimes I can pick out words from their conversations: house, tomorrow, and most numbers/colors/fruits. One phrase I do hear is "Yo tango" which means "I have". I'll get excited when I hear this, but then I realize that I don't really know WHAT they have, I just know they have something!! Sometimes I'll follow a short conversation, but mostly I'm lost. The best part is when Teresa's mom goes to "translate" for me and she starts talking to me in Spanish!! One time, Teresa's dad looked at her and said, "Do you wanna try asking her in English??" It's been great!!

I guess that's all the excitement for now. We're headed to do some more shopping today, then early tomorrow we'll head to the campground to start preparations.

When I started typing this blog post, I was trying to figure out what day I first met Marcelo, so I was going backwards in my head to figure out if it was yesterday, the day before that, or the day before that. Then I realized I didn't really know what day it is today!! I looked at my little clock thing at the bottom corner of my computer and realized: TODAY IS THANKSGIVING!! So, Happy Thanksgiving everyone!! We do get a typical Thanksgiving dinner tonight -- Teresa's 2 sisters and their families are traveling up today and we'll have a family celebration tonight. It should be very exciting!! I'll still be the only person who ONLY speaks English, but the ratio of non-English to English speakers will greatly increase!

Have a great day -- enjoy Black Friday -- I'll be missing it!!!

traveling "excitement"

2008-11-24T13:36:00.002-05:00

So I was really tired when I put up the last post. I actually had to edit it (thanks, Jeannine, for pointing that out to me!!) after posting due to a typographical error. I blame the jet lag!

Speaking of jets . . . There were 2 "significant" events as I traveled from DC to Santiago. I knew this was going to be an interesting trip when, as I was waiting in the security checkpoint line, the zipper on one of my carry-on bags broke!! Anyway, here are the stories:

1 - This one happened pretty much as soon as I got on the plane. I was sitting in my seat, minding my own business, when a man who was walking down the aisle stopped at the seat and stared at me. I looked at him and he said, "HELLO!!" I said, "hi". He said something to the effect of is this a good day, we are travelling together!! Then he asked if I accept Canadian money. I told him that I wasn't staying in Toronto, I was going on to Chile. He said he wanted to pay me to borrow my phone. I told him he didn't need to pay me to borrow it -- I would let him use it for free! He said, "But it will be long distance - I need to pay you for it." So he started searching through his stuff for some change. I said I didn't know what it would charge my phone. He assured me that it would be 50 cents. He actually gave me 75 cents, but it was Canadian money. I think at this point it is important to note that he didn't actually ASK if he could borrow it, he just sort of told me he was. Anyway, so he called someone he kept calling some dessert name (honey bun, sweetie pie -- something edible, I'm sure). He was telling them they needed to come pick him up at the airport, but he didn't know the flight number. He asked me, but because I was going on the United flight through Air Canada, my number was different (and I really wasn't bothered with helping him out any after he had pretty much demanded to use my phone). He started asking other people around us for the flight number, but they either didn't know it, or had witnessed the entire dialogue between him and me and they didn't want to help him either!! Since he wasn't getting any help from them, he started walking up toward the front of the plane. I think he went and asked the pilot!! While he was gone, I sort of looked around like -- he just took my phone!!! I was a little concerned, but not too much -- he had left his stuff on the seat. When he finally came back and returned my phone, I just thought to myself, "this is going to be an interesting flight!!" I pretty much ignored him for the rest of the flight, so it worked out!

2 - I know, that last one was pretty long. This one is a little detailed, but hopefully I'll be able to keep it short! I finally made it to the airport in Santiago. As I was standing, waiting for my checked bag, I had my carry-on luggage at my feet. I was watching the bags as they came out from the back, when all of a sudden, I noticed something come up beside me. It was a dog!! At first I thougt it was a seeing-eye dog, but then I noticed that there were 2 of them and neither had a leash (what's the point of a seeing-eye dog if there's not a blind person attached to them!!??). One of the dogs was sniffing a bag my mother had brought up to me when she and dad came for my birthday. A man in a uniform started rattling something in Spanish, to which I said, "No habla Espagnol." (as a side note, I'm wondering why people believe me when I answer that I don't speak Spanish, but I say it in Spanish . . . . . just a thought) Anyway, he then asked me in English if I had any fresh fruits or vegetables in my bag. I said no, I had some coffee beans, but no fruits or vegetables that I knew of, but he was more than welcome to look (like my saying "don't look" would have stopped him!!) He opened the bag (fortunately the zipper didn't break again!) and looked through it. When he didn't find anything, he asked what I had used the bag for last. I started to say that I hadn't used it before this time, when I suddenly remembered . . . . When mom brought the bag to me, she brought me some apples!! I told him this and it seemed to satisfy him, so he just left. I was just really impressed with those dog's sense of smell - to be able to sniff out the scent of apples when they hadn't been in the bag for several days!! This all made me wonder, too . . . how do you train fruit and vegetable-sniffing dogs . . . . . .

O.K. so that second one ended up being a little long, but you've got to admit -- it's pretty funny! I will say this is one time I can say in good conscience, "I blame my mother!" :-)

CHILE!!!!

2008-11-23T13:58:00.001-05:00

I made it safe and sound to Chile right on time. Teresa (or her mom, I'm not sure which) bought me a bus ticket to where they are. I'm with Tiffany's parents right now, and will probably travel back with them next Sunday. I'll leave at about 10:30 at night and arrive in Temuco at 6:45am -- no rest for the weary!! We're 2 hours different (it's 4:00 here and only about
12:00 back home). Pray for safety and rest!! They said she has a lot of cooking and decorating for me to keep busy with!!

I'll update again when I get down there!

I'm off !!! (well . . .)

2008-11-22T11:25:00.003-05:00

Today I leave for Chile!!!!!! I'm so excited!! I don't have a lot of time, but I just wanted to write a note asking that you pray for me. I'll be traveling by myself out of the country for the first time. I'm sure things will go fine, I'm just at the point that I'm afraid I'll get to the airport and they'll say, "We're sorry, but that flight no longer goes to Chile. And you can't have your money back." I wouldn't exactly hang my head and go home, but that could drastically change my Thanksgiving plans!!

Speaking of which, I'm sure I'll have a lot to share about celebrating Thanksgiving in a non-Thanksgiving celebrating country. I'll be with Americans, so we'll see what happens!

Pray for me!!

(Keep praying for Josh, my aide's husband, as he's still having some difficulty after surgery)

P.S. - a Pedi-egg is really a PedEgg. I spelled it wrong! It's a foot callous remover (it looks kind of like a cheese grater!!)

Happy Birthday to me!!!

2008-11-18T15:47:00.002-05:00

Before I get to the birthday stuff, please pray for my aide's husband, Josh. He had surgery today and is in a lot of pain. I'll update later on how he's doing.

Today is my birthday. I love birthdays -- especially mine! A few of my "parents" "surprised" me at lunch today with cupcakes (and a special one for me with a peanut butter cup on it!) I didn't have the heart to tell them that I'm not really crazy about peanut butter with chocolate. Don't get me wrong, I plan to eat it, I just won't enjoy it quite as much as, oh, let's say caramel with chocolate!!

The funniest part of the day came when they were asking how old I am! One parent said, "So, you're like, 20, right?" When I responded, "28" the other parents said, "I was guessing 23 or 24!" I gave them my typical response: "Come back in 10 years and tell me I look young then!!"

Some of the kids brought me some presents. In all, I got a pedi-egg (their mom teaches 2nd grade and is a good friend of mine -- the gift wasn't totally random :-), an air freshener, a matching necklace and earrings, and a DVD of Stargate SG-1 episode 200 with the Sci-Fi channel special (I found a soul mate in this mom -- a fellow Stargate fan!!!!) Some of the moms gave me money, too to help with my trip to Chile! I'm so excited!! Now it's off to dinner with my parents!!

Auction results . . . .

2008-11-17T15:55:00.002-05:00

So things didn't go quite as well as I had hoped. They did well on some items, but not-so-well on others. My class's projects went for $175 and $60. The one I had worked on to paint and fix up so it would bring more money only went for $60. Fortunately, one of the first grade teachers bought it, so I'm glad for her sake that it didn't go for much more than that!!

Other than that, it was a long night. I didn't leave until about 11:30! I'm just glad they do it on a Friday so I have the next day to recover!!!

Tomorrow's my birthday . . . . I need to get some rest . . . I have a feeling that my "parents" are planning something. This week is already shaping up to be pretty busy:

Tonight: Going out to eat with my MUCH OLDER friend Karen (I think the much older amounts to 1 month, 17 days, 9 hours, and 11 minutes . . . approximately :-)

Tomorrow: Going out to eat with my parents!!!

Wednesday: Choir practice

Thursday: Thanksgiving dinner with the young adult group at church.

Friday: Thanksgiving Feast at school, then going to my parents' house.

Saturday: This day I'm not doing much, just going to Chile :-)

At least I don't have to worry about getting hungry!!!

AUCTION!!! (and Christmas -- yes I said Christmas - decorating)

2008-11-14T16:19:00.003-05:00

Being a teacher at a Christian school means LOTS of fund raisers (not that public schools don't have them . . .). Our main fundraiser each hear is our annual auction. Each class creates a "project" to sell at this auction. This year, my parents decided to do a cook book/scrap book of the kids. I suggested they get a generic apron and iron on a picture of the class and have them sign the bottom. They then put these two items and LOTS of cooking supplies in a cute basket as our class project. I'll fill you in on Monday for how it goes (I'd do it sooner, but I don't have internet at home). The other item turned out really cute. I'll try to get a picture of it up sometime, but it's a little kitchen painted with the school's colors and mascot. I called it the "Falcon's Nest Cafe" (since our mascot is the falcon . . .) Anyway, it turned out to be really cute!

One reason I've not posted for a while is the crazy-hecticness of my life right now. Not that other people don't have hectic lives . . . .

Last night was the FINAL CLASS for my tax course!!!! YEAH!!!!!!!!!! Now I'm ready to start part-time after school in January. Hopefully this will ease some of my financial tensions (oh, and pay for my ticket to Chile!)

Speaking of Chile . . . ONLY 8 MORE DAYS!!!!!!! I'm so excited to see my friend Teresa again!!! She will be one of only about a half dozen people I'll actually understand. I need to start choosing friends in English-speaking countries!!! (just kidding, Teresa!!)

Since I'll be gone for Thanksgiving, I've decided to skip these decorations at my apartment and just skip straight to Christmas. My goal is to have my tree up before I leave. I would like to have it up in my room, too, but I'm afraid that would just drive my sub NUTS! Then again . . . rather the sub than me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . hmmmmmmmmmm . . . . . . .

Well, I need to get going. The auction starts soon and I need to get grades posted and assignments on the web site.

Don't be afraid to leave a comment. The extra approval is just a precaution. I don't want any too personal information showing up on my blog. If you're wondering anything about this, just send me a note on facebook. (or add me as a friend if you haven't yet -- I'll take all the friends I can get!!!)

Un-tagged

2008-11-06T14:49:00.002-05:00

So I was just looking at Jen's blog. She said she was tagged, but wasn't going to tag anyone.

soooooooo, I consider myself un-tagged!!

7 random facts about myself:

1 - I have visited 21 of the 50 states (22 if you count the airport in Missouri)
2 - I love math -- any type of math!!
3 - My favorite time to shop (well, the only time I shop) is when I know I can get a discount!
4 - I have over 100 "My Little Ponies" from when I was little.
5 - I did not pay attention to the direction the toilet flushed when I went to Chile the first time.
6 - I eat sweet pickles on my grilled cheese sandwiches and potato chips on my PB&J.
7 - CHRISTMAS IS MY FAVORITE HOLIDAY!!!!!!!

What are 7 random facts about you? If you're reading this, you're tagged!!

I don't know

2008-11-05T16:00:00.001-05:00

I feel like I should post something new.

I don't know what to say.

Maybe I can get help from you??

Will you help me anyway?

Maybe if I don't rhyme,

You will give me your time.

I could rhyme like my sister,

And use gigantic words.

the weekend . . . .

2008-10-31T17:59:00.002-04:00

So, within the past hour or so, my plans for the weekend have changed. I was going to ride with a friend to go to where I graduated from college, but things just weren't working out. So . . . I'm now going to just spend the weekend relaxing and trying to finish the cleaning I started last weekend! Maybe I'll actually make some progress!! One thing that would greatly help me is to be rid of the mattress leaning against my heater so I can actually turn my heat on in the living room!! I finally turned the heat on in the bedroom 2 days ago, but either need a new home within my home for the mattress, or a good Samaritan to haul it away for me!! (I would prefer the latter above the former!!)

I really need to get home, but I wanted to share something I learned from a former professor and good friend of mine. I was telling her how my students are on a kick right now of "Why aren't you married?" My response has been, "I ask myself the same question every day!!" She shared with me something a 60-something single lady says whenever SHE is asked about her singleness. (I LOVE this!!) She says:

"No man can stand to be that happy!"

Journal entries . . .

2008-10-27T17:49:00.002-04:00

My 3rd graders have, as do all the elementary students at our campus, a journal. We give them topics to write about 2-3 days a week. Today's topic was about Peace, Goodwill, and Friendship Week. They were to write about how they can keep peace with their friends. One of my students wrote this:

I can make peace with my friend's by playing with them. Who would like to join Sally and Jane's horse club? (names changed to protect the innocent :-) Now, inviting everybody like teacher's, boy's, girl's and younger & older kid's it's all about having fun. Not hurting, just living the life all recess time persides it's like you are a horse. There's talking about horses, playing horses, sometimes we even let people play as a enemy. It's so cool. Check us out on the playground we start this Wednesday.

Can you tell we just learned possessive words? Now everything that ends with an "s" MUST have an apostrophe!! When I read through this, I said, "Persides?? What does that mean??" She said, "You know, like, persides all this, we can do something else!" I, being fluent in thirdgradese, said, "You mean besides??"

Why must school start so early??

2008-10-22T16:33:00.001-04:00

Today was a first. I woke up when my alarm went off (no, that's not the first time I've done that -- just wait -- it gets better) I turned my alarm off and turned over. I usually do this, but I usually only doze for a couple of minutes before waking up and finally get moving on my day. Well, today when I finally got to the point of moving on my day, the clock said 8:10. For those of you who may not know, this is the time that my school STARTS. I'm supposed to be there at 7:30. Needless to say, I made a beeline for the bathroom and took one of the fastest showers of my life -- the kind that makes you wonder if you are really clean. When I got out, the school called me wondering where I was. I told them I was on my way. Fortunately, I only live about 2 miles down the road from the school, so I was there by 8:30 (like I said -- REALLY quick shower -- I even dried my hair!!) I was afraid the kids would be really disrespectful and say mean-kid stuff like, "AAWWWW, you have a tardy!" or something like that. My first comment was, "You look sleepy." They were apparently very concerned about my health (especially when they saw me that soon after getting up) Let's just pray this is the last time that happens -- it was definitely not a good start to my day!!

vitamins and health class

2008-10-17T17:49:00.001-04:00

In health class today, we were learning about vitamins and how they help our bodies. After learning about the second one which may help prevent cancer, this started a conversation about cancer. Some of them were saying, "What is cancer?" Before I could answer, one girl piped up, " I know -- cancer is when your arms start shaking and your eyes roll back and you swallow your tongue!" I was a little confused at first then said, "um, no . . . that's a seizure."

you never know what to expect . . .

2008-10-16T16:12:00.002-04:00

Today I heard my best, truly random comment from a student. We were about to do our sentence dictation for Spelling and one student looked at me and said, "Why haven't you gotten a boy to ask you to marry him? Do you want me to knock one upside the head so he will? I go to karate - I can do that!"

What can you say to something like that??

Question: Are fish cannibals??

2008-10-15T17:02:00.002-04:00

Though this may seem like a random question, there is a reason behind it. I was at my parent's for the weekend and (as I often do) don't think I fed my fish before I left (though I had the day before, Thursday, so I figured they were o.k. -- they've gone longer than that without food!!) Anyway, when I came home from school on Monday, I finally remembered to feed them. I have this habit (given my frequency of feeding) of checking the top for floaters and counting my fish. I have 2 goldfish and 5 little neons. I'm usually more worried about the neons since they are so small, but I'm sure I usually am aware of the goldfish also. When I went to count them on Monday night, I was trying to count the neons, when I suddenly realized -- there is only one goldfish in here!!! I looked over the top, bottom, between the little decoration thingies, and even in the filter, but didn't find it. I then looked around the floor and the only dead animals I found were stink bugs (are they as bad where you live as they are here???!!) Basically -- I CAN'T FIND IT!! I didn't see a skeleton in or around the fish tank and I'm not really sure what to do next! I guess I'll just be greatful that if the other fish did cannibalize the poor thing, at least they survived another day or two!!

I think I need to go home and feed my fish now . . . .

FIELD TRIP!! (well, tomorrow . . . )

2008-10-09T17:10:00.002-04:00

I remember when I was in school, I absolutely loved going on field trips!! Now that I'm a teacher . .. I realize why we didn't go on any more than we did!! Add that it's 1 1/2 hours away and we are ordering lunch from there . . . yeah, and I was saying I'd like to do more than I did last year!!! AM I CRAZY????? (don't answer that!!) Anyway, I just wanted to post that really quickly. I need to get off to my tax class -- did I mention that I'm taking a tax class twice a week from 6-9 and have choir practice in-between that and the Heritage Festival at my parent's this weekend -- I think I am crazy!! (you don't have to agree! :-)

my alarm

2008-10-03T17:29:00.002-04:00

One other quick thing while I'm thinking about it. I got up late this morning -- not as late as I have been, but late all the same. I usually wake up to my phone alarm, but I realized that it seemed later in the morning and I hadn't heard it yet. So, I rolled over to look at my phone, and the screen was blank, so I looked at the clock -- 7:20!! I'm supposed to be at school by 7:30!! (I only live 2 miles from my school -- yes, you can be jealous of me :-) I didn't make it by 7:30, but I was there by 7:45! Anyway, my battery wasn't dead, so I don't really know what happened -- it was really weird! I decided to share this story with my class. As I was telling it, when I got to the part about my phone being off, one student piped up with, "It was sleeping, too!"

picture day!!

2008-10-03T17:17:00.002-04:00

Last Wednesday was picture day. I know picture day to many parents is the day you look forward to having a nice pictoral memory of your child's year in their particular grade. Please remember, though, that we teachers tend to DREAD picture day. P-Day (sounds ominous, right??) fell on a Wednesday this year -- one of our P.E. days. Come to think of it, I think it fell on a P.E. day last year also. I think the picture people have something against me! Fortunately (for the parents receiving the pictures) we were able to get our pictures taken before the kids got all hot and sweaty. The main problems with picture day are the time lost in class and what I like to call "kid-wrangling". "Kid-wrangling" involves keeping 23 OTHER student occupied while only one can have their picture taken at a time. Then, trying to "wrangle" them while I get my REQUIRED picture taken. Not that I wouldn't like to have a decent picture of myself somewhere . . . Anyway, the funniest part of the day involved my hair. If you don't know me well (or haven't seen me in a while) my hair is about 3-4 inches past shoulder length and I have no bangs. For me, this means I ALWAYS wear my hair back as I can't STAND to have it in my face while I'm teaching. For picture days, I'll opt to wear it down. I also wear make-up (which I usually DON'T do except for special occasions) on picture day. The kids kept saying -- "You look different!" or "You don't look like yourself!" or (my favorite) "Wow! You look pretty!!" I just look at them and say, "Are you saying I usually look ugly??" They got a real kick out of that! Maybe I'll post my school picture and let you be the judge (or I'll just put it on Facebook -- I haven't decided yet)

I need to go -- Since it's now October and we've started a new Science unit, I have 2 bulletin boards to change and desks to rearrange.

Post a comment!

Friday!

2008-09-26T16:31:00.003-04:00

So today is Friday . . . .
I think it was just yesterday that it was Monday . . . .
How is it that the week goes by so quickly, yet I seem to have accomplished NOTHING???!!

Today was one of my student's birthday. He brought in 3 BOXES of Dunkin Donuts to share with the class!!!!!!!! (I only ate one, though) It was soo yummy!! If I had to pick one weakness of mine -- it would definitely be donuts! (especially if it is a chocolate-iced, cream-filled donut -- yum!) Not that I necessarily need it right now . . . .

I really don't have a lot of time right now (I seem to say that a lot). Fridays are tougher since we have to post grades online and our assignment sheets are done differently through the website. It's really better for the parents, but a little frustrating for me. I don't know how some of the other teachers do this AND have a family. At least when I'm at school until 7 or 8 at night, I don't come home to a hungry, worried family!! (though I do forget the fish sometimes -- I'm such a bad "mother"!)

P.S. -- if you want to post a comment -- don't worry about the comment moderation thing -- I just did that so I'd get an e-mail when someone comments!

It's FALL!!!

2008-09-23T17:29:00.002-04:00

I love fall!!!! I'm so excited!!!! (not just because my birthday is in the fall . . . really . . . ) I just HAD to change my background!! I don't have a lot of time. I'm still at school and I need to go home, eat, change, and go to my tax course by 6 and it's YIKES!! 5:30!! Like I said, I need to quit playing around with my background and hit the road. I just wanted to share my excitement of the fall with you!! Have a great fall!!!! (it officially started yesterday!!)

A note for the teacher

2008-09-22T15:55:00.002-04:00

Last week, I noticed that "we" are having trouble staying quiet when "we" are passing in papers. I finally had enough and said, "Unless you can write down a GOOD reason why you should be allowed to talk and I agree with it, you may not talk to each other when passing in papers."

I figured this would result in one of two things:

1 - They would stop talking long enough to actually write something.
2 - They would realize the error of their ways and obediently quiet down for the rest of the year.

While I am TOTALLY for option #2, it was option #1 that won more. I think it actually resulted in more talking as they now found it ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to share with the rest of the class what they had written. Some of them said they should be allowed to talk, "because it's fun", "because we like to talk", or "sometimes people aren't paying attention when I'm passing them their paper". While I can see the validity of that last one, I don't think that would need a chaotic rumble of noise.

One response stood out. Here is his first reason for why they should be allowed to talk when passing in papers, followed by the second letter he gave me. Words in parentheses are my interpretation of what he meant to spell - remember this is just the first four weeks of third grade!!

"Becasec (because) we are childerin we ned (need) to talk we no that we shood just for about four weeks please and the other weeks we will Be good I promis."

"I no I just set (sent) a note But This is in pontin (important) Becase we need to talk. Becase a year seen (seems) to long so long dot you think __________. (I think he inserted this for my response) we just need to talk Becase wind you was a child did you wanted to talk in school I bet you did wanted to talk in school I bet you talk to yor friends you probly Got in troble once or twis I don't no just plesea we need to talk you need to talk you need to talk to rite rite I think you think you think you will get in troble with your Boss But if you do I will hallp you I promisie just ten weeke you no wiy I sed four weeks I was scarid you wood say no but I not (knowed :-) you need to say no But we need to talk beacas we are chalderin I no you probaey didn't did think of this probly thot of this often you probly ast (asked) the teacher and she sed no, and you probly ast agn (again) and agn but and I think if thas troo I think your just foloeing (fooling-- or following -- I'm not sure) your teacher But I is not true are a awsome teacher but some people mite not think your awsome But I think your awsome in my would (world--pronounced wuuuld)

I DID IT!!!!

2008-09-15T17:52:00.002-04:00

For about the past 10 months, I've been semi-planning a trip to Chile again over Thanksgiving to go to my friend's wedding. After being frustrated over rising ticket prices and not liking some of the itineraries, I finally bit the bullet and bought the ticket. It cost me almost $1200, but God is already providing a way for me to pay it off. I've been planning to go to her wedding in Chile long before she even met her fiance, but I've just procrastinated since I don't have the money right now. This is tough for me as I'm not one to let credit card accumulate! I'm very sad that I won't be able to pay it off each month, but I know this is what I need to do. Please pray for peace that this was the right decision.

(I did get my camera back, but it's 6:00 and I'm still at school -- I need to go home!!)

Just a quick note

2008-09-13T01:13:00.002-04:00

I'm currently in Lynchburg attending the e-women's conference at Liberty University. I heard Chonda Pierce and Richie something or other who used to sing for Lonestar but now sings Christian music (the rest of his name will come to me eventually. Tomorrow we will hear Carol Kent, Angela Thomas, Karen Kingsbury, and hear a concert by Mandisa!! I'm so excited!! This is my 3rd year attending and it's definately going to be a regular event for me!

Just one quick note about a cute saying from one of my students. I've been having a problem with my students sharpening their pencils a little too often. I've been giving them permission to sharpen them while others are working, but this is a distraction and I only have 2 pencil sharpeners (hand-crank) for 24 students! Apparently, not everyone knows how to use them, either, because they start with a new pencil, but end up with one about 3 inches long! I've told them not to push their pencil in quite so hard, but they're just not getting it right now. My solution was to sharpen a basket of pencils and allow them to exchange a broken or dull pencil for a sharp one. When they ask to sharpen one, I've been saying, "you may exchange one". This seems to be working pretty well for now, but if anyone has any other suggestions or techniques you have used, that would be great! Anyway, they've started asking "May I exchange a pencil?" instead of "May I sharpen my pencil?"

Now we get to the cute saying! One of my students, instead of asking to exchange a pencil asked:

"May I rearrange my pencil??" :-)

The weekend !!!!! (I guess it's over )

2008-09-08T17:25:00.002-04:00

Over the weekend I had some time to relax a little, sleep a little, and . . . o.k. I did grading and school stuff most of the time. I did have one great highlight, though! I was grading journal entrys -- we did one on our monthly character trait. Each month, the elementary principal teaches the students in chapel about a specific character trait and they work on developing it throughout the month and the remainder of the year. They journal by writing the definition (this month was orderliness), and the Bible verse that goes with it (I Corinthians 14:40 -- Let all things be done decently and in order). They then give some examples of how to they can show orderliness. As I was grading these, I was looking at some older journal entries so I could comment on them. One student had written about his summer. He went to Hershey Park with his friend and their family. He said they "rode the Super-Duper Looper and we really Duped our loops!!" I just started cracking up right there. That's one good point about living by yourself -- you can laugh out loud as loud as you want and no one gets annoyed with you!!! I said something to him today, and he just grinned! I have a great class this year!! I'm still a little worried, though. Last year I had an even number -- 12 girls and 12 boys. This year, I have 14 boys and 10 girls. That's a lot of boy!!!!! I guess that just means I'll have more . . . . interesting stories to tell!!!

A summary of my life

2008-09-03T16:40:00.002-04:00

First I need to apologize for not posting for so long. Life at this time of year is . . . crazy.

So the last time I posted, I had just finished tearing apart my boxspring. (Wow, that seems like forever ago!) Here is a run-down of what I've been doing over the past several weeks:

After the monster truck jam, I went to my parents house for a couple of weeks. I consider this my "very low budget" vacation of the year. My cousin got married (congratulations, Ben and Jenny!!) on Saturday, then I stayed in "the valley" for the next couple of days helping my mom get ready for the yard sale I had convinced her was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY that we have (more on that in a little bit! :-) After a couple days at my parents, I went to visit my brother in Lynchburg for a couple of days. This is where the "very low budget" reached its ultimate low. We spent the entire time I was visiting him either watching movies, putting together puzzles, or talking (*note: these are listed in the order of time spent from longest time to shortest time) We decided that of the . . . ahem . . . .let's see . . . .4 maybe 5 (or 6) movies we watched over those 2 1/2 days, only 2 of them were actually watching again: Stardust and The Dark Knight. If you haven't seen either of these movies, I DEFINITELY recommend them (especially the latter of the two!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

So, anyway, after leaving my brother, I headed back to my parent's house to help their/my church with their soccer camp. I spent the next 5 days with 1st and 2nd grades helping them with soccer and just hangin' out with them and letting them know that someone cares. I had helped out last year and didn't want to miss out on it. I think I've helped with their VBS/Soccer camp every year since I couldn't be in it anymore -- that's 15 years!! (Wow! I feel really old!)

We spent the evenings getting stuff together for the yard sale, then had the yard sale on Friday and Saturday of that week. It really didn't go as well as we had hoped, but at least we got rid of some stuff!! It rained on Saturday, so that really didn't help things either. Maybe next time will go better, right, Mom???? :-)

I stayed an extra day and returned "home" on Sunday. I was going to go to school on Monday and start working, but I just needed a day. My friend Karen had been making sure my fishies didn't die while I was gone, and she and a friend of hers had left a "surprise" at my apartment. They left a scavenger hunt with sticky notes all over the place, along with some other cute notes that just made me smile. I took pictures of them, but I accidentally left my camera at my parent's house, so I can't post those (or any pictures) just yet :-(

I started the next day on my classroom. I was there just about every day for the next week and a half. In the middle of this, my sister and her family came in for a visit to my parent's. Of course, this meant I HAD to go see my little nephews!!!! (oh, and Karen and Bryan too, of course!) I was poised and ready to leave and mom called and said that 2 of the 3 boys were sick. This was especially sad since we were planning to go to Six Flags the next day!! Fortunately, Carter and Wyatt were feeling better by Saturday, so we got to go anyway (minus Keilah who had to go back to school). In the meantime, Hayden got some very special extra attention from 2 aunts and one uncle!!! HE LOVED IT!!! We went to Six Flags on Saturday and had a great time. Speaking of batman stuff (the movie earlier, remember?) We got to ride on the Batwing ---AWESOME RIDE!! You ride FACE DOWN!! My comment after it was "just make sure you mow the grass first!" It dipped pretty low to the ground at some points! I wouldn't recommend it when you have a headache, either -- the blood all rushed to your face!! If it wasn't for waiting almost an hour to ride it, I would have gone on it again!

I returned back to my place on Monday for our teacher work week. I had a very "exciting" 4 days of meetings and room preparation. Then, on Friday, my friend Karen and I started what was SUPPOSED to be an 8 hour drive to Indiana. TWELVE hours later, we arrived at Elkhart for our friend's wedding the next day. The wedding was beautiful!! We were supposed to stay for clean-up, so I was a little worried about needing to start the trip back home, but she was very wise in her decorating choices, so there wasn't much to do. I got to see some other friends from college and were treated to dinner when we stopped for the night (thanks Ray and Tiff!!!) We stayed in Toledo, OH for one night with Miki and a friend of hers. We set out the next morning for an equally long trip back to home. This was Sunday afternoon (I know, I know, we skipped church. ) I would have tried to stay a little longer, but school started that Monday. It was a crazy weekend, but I'm really glad I went!

So . . . bright and early last Monday (8/25) morning, I started my second year as a third grade teacher. It was really eye-opening. I remember getting so much more academic work done last year. I don't know how I ever explained how I wanted things done -- I guess that's why last year was so rough behavior-wise with my kids. Then Monday night, I went 45 minutes away to meet my Dad, Mom, Karen, and her boys at Cracker Barrel for supper. It was really good to see them one last time before they headed back home. (Bryan had left to help his brother with something or other) Since this was the end of the first day of school, it was all I could do to leave by the time I said I would be there! I finally got on my way, then got stuck at a railroad track. I waited there for a couple of minutes, but when the train was moving slower than molasses, then backed up until it was almost clear of the road, then started going forward again, I decided to turn around and try another route. I finally (after weeding through 5 o'clock traffic) made it on my way. As I was going down 81, I saw that the northbound lane had traffic backed up. I decided to take note and not go back that way, but take another road when I went home. Of course, by the time I made my way home, I decided that the wreck MUST be cleared off the interstate by that time!! right?? WRONG!!! Traffic was so slow that at one point I actually turned off my car for FIVE MINUTES and sat on the INTERSTATE! After I got through that, I saw more construction on the way home, so exited a little early -- only to be caught at the train track again (82 cars on the train -- just in case you were wondering) I didn't get home until almost midnight(which is great on a school night!).

The next night (since I'm a glutton for punishment) I went to our weekly volleyball game (just for fun at the church). As I was playing, I went to set a serve. You read that right I SET a SERVE!! The person serving whacks it pretty hard, too. So I hit it and managed to bend my left thumb backwards pretty hard. It was still hurting the next day, so after school I went to the urgent care place and they sent me to the hospital to have it X-rayed since their tech had left for the day. I got to choir practice about 20-30 minutes late and didn't confirm until 2 days later that it wasn't broken.

This past weekend, I opted to stay indoors and attempt to avoid any other major catastrophes. So far it's working.

Today was great, though. One of my "kids" gave me a letter. For those of you who have endured this update, here's what he wrote:

"this is my second year being at this school, and your one of the best teachers ever. I may be way back here (he sits near the back of the room) but every time i do my work I look at you, because . . . It helps me focus on my work."

He had everyone in the class sign it too! I think this is going to be a great year!!!

MONSTER TRUCK JAM!!! (and some cleaning!)

2008-07-23T22:17:00.011-04:00

I know it's been a while, but I have (drum roll, please . . .)

PICTURES!!!

I've had a pretty busy past week or so, so I'll just start with the most recent "events".

A couple of friends from church and I went to a Monster Truck Jam in Maryland last Friday. I've been to a Demolition Derby before (several, in fact) but NEVER to a Monster Truck Jam!

It was hot, hot, HOT when we got there and it didn't get any better until the sun went down. Before the trucks started, they had what they called "quad wars" and some local people jumping their "street legal" cars.

This first one is a pic of the Quad Wars. It was basically two teams of 4 -- Team PA and Team MD. The PA team won the first two and the captain was really arrogant and rude. The MD team finally won, but ol' PA captain wasn't very happy about it and challenged the MD captain to a "captain's challenge" MD's 4-wheeler thing broke, so PA guy ended up winning, but I'm convinced the whole thing was scripted just to give us a little extra entertainment. I guess I'll never really know (not that it matters anyway!)

The "quad wars" was kind of interspersed with the "street legal jumping" and the monster truck racing. Basically they were the floor show to keep us occupied while the drivers of the trucks/cars fixed whatever gunning your engine for that short of a distance does to it. Anyway, these are some pictures of the local folks jumping their cars/trucks/whatever would run. They could enter just about anything!

An F-150 . . .

A flame-y looking truck . . .

A Suzuki sidekick . . .

And lots of others -- I have more on my Facebook page if you want to check them out there (if you haven't already -- I got those on there a little faster than on here) Before it began, they brought the drivers of the trucks out to give a little shout out to the crowd and draw for positions. They had 6 monster trucks racing and one you could ride in for $5 (we thought about it, but didn't give in to the pressure)

I got to see . . .El Toro Loco . . .

GRAVEDIGGER . . .

Mopar Magic, Stonecrusher, Taz, and the Black Stallion were there also, but I don't have very good pictures of those.

At the end of the final race (between Stonecrusher and Gravedigger), Stonecrusher had some technical difficulties . . . well . . . he went over the barrier between the two lanes and ended up in Gravedigger's lane. Let's just say he had two tires that looked . . . um . . . less than good. . .

At some point near the end, one of the drivers brought out a 4-wheeler type thing with a slight modification added to it -- a jet engine. That's what they said at first. Then they said something about a helicopter, and the fact that it runs on kerosene. I'm not really sure what it was, but I do know it was fast, loud, and HOT! He went across in front of the grandstands and did a few "burns" for us -- the flames were almost as long as the 4-wheeler and we could feel the heat from it from our seats 5 or 6 rows up! You can't see very well in this picture because of all the dust that was kicked up, but if you look sort-of toward the middle bottom, you can sort-of see him.

I'm at my parent's now, but before I left, I had been spending the earlier part of the week trying to get my apartment in order. Part of this included trying to get rid of a mattress I've had in my living room for about 2 months or so (I just know school was still in when I got it). I don't have a truck and I don't think my landlord would appreciate my dumping it in the dumpster, so I did the next best thing . . . I took it apart.

This is the progression of my labors . . . here's how it looked when I started . . .

That's some stuffing in the bag at the bottom of the picture. That stuff was around the edge of the box spring and reminded me of some "critter" nests we used to find at my grandma's

This is what it looked like when I took the cover off it . . . and the covering stuff . . .

The next task was to get all the wire off the wooden frame . . .

Then get all the springs off . . . (It was late, but how often in your life do you have the opportunity to stack mattress springs???)

Which left me with this:

Then it was time to take all the wooden parts apart . . .

Leaving me with only the top mattress part to get out! I kept looking at the wire, thinking, "Surely there's something I can make with this, or some use . . ." but I gave up and threw it in the dumpster. I am now only left with the memories (and the pics!)

Anyway, so after I was finished that, and I cleaned my apartment (it was in desperate need of it, just ask my friend, Karen!). When I was done cleaning, I was so impressed I decided to make a video and show y'all my apartment. I realized that I've only showed pictures of the "dining room" on here so far, so here's the "official tour" of my apartment!

Day camp, and other such excitements!

2008-07-14T16:43:00.003-04:00

So it was never my intention to go 2 weeks without posting, but such is the life of a single Christian school teacher trying to make it by -- internet becomes a luxury I just cannot afford. So, here I am, once more at the library posting yet again without pictures! You would think that with the dramatic decrease of things I must remember (like, um, SCHOOL!!) I could remember something as simple as a camera. But, alas, I must paint word pictures for you. hmmm . . . I may have another idea, but we'll see if I can get to it or not . . .

Anyway, the main reason for not posting for the last week is that my church had its Day Camp last week. I (in my extreme insanity) agreed (a.k.a -- volunteered) to be the craft director for the week. I figured, "it's no big deal. I helped my mom with it for years!" The main difference is that I couldn't call on people to help me cut stuff out or make preparations because I've only been attending the church for a little less than a year, and I'm not really what you might call bold enough to just ask people for help. they've got better things to do with thier time, right?? Maybe by next year I'll be more confident in asking for some help.

The week went well nonetheless. We had a couple of times that I wasn't sure we would have the craft ready for the kids to atually do it, but God works things out at just the right time so we know that only HE could have arranged it! We had about 160ish kids come and about 50 workers. I think we had 3 children make a salvation decision!! One child was led to Christ by a teen who had only been attending the church for 2 weeks!

So I'm back to trying to work on stuff for my apartment. My list still hasn't gone very well. I don't even have new quotes for you today! I know that x-men and x-men 2 are 2 of my next movies, but I can't think of lines for them right now.

I did get to it, but I've been sitting here goofing off for too long, so I'll just leave you with my interpretation of 2 of the crafts for the week. The first one is from the first day: a creation mousepad. Each column has pictures from each day of creation (that's a dinosaur on day 6 :S) The second one was the "big" project. It was a tin can with pasta glued to it to make a pencil holder. I spray-painted them white, then the kids painted them with a color which represented the 7 "c's" they learned. Creation, Corruption, Catastrophe, Confusion, Christ, Cross, and Consummation. These 2 crafts were a lot of fun to make (but the better ones were the ones I got to use my drill for!!!!!!) The last picture is just for fun -- I like Microsoft Paint WAY too much!!!

A new look

2008-06-26T10:13:00.002-04:00

I was getting a little bored with my background, and I figured -- HEY! It's almost the 4th, so why not??

This makes me wonder . . . what are your plans for celebrating our great nation's Independence? I'm still not completely sure what I'm doing. Maybe I'll just copy one of your ideas!!

I haven't found any more movie quotes, but I'm tecnically not at the library right now. My friend, Karen is house/dog-sitting and I've been staying with her (they have internet!).

I don't have too much progress on my projects, but I'm busy right now with my church's day camp. I agreed to be the craft coordinator (what was I thinking???!!!!)Anyway, things are slowly coming together for that. Maybe I'll try to post some pictures of the crafts we'll be doing. (I know, more promises of pictures. -- maybe I'll do a post of all pictures sometime!)

How it's gone

2008-06-23T15:50:00.004-04:00

So, it's been a week, so I'll give a little update on how my "plans" have gone (and I have a couple extra that I've done that I'll comment on, too!)

1. Organize apartment (sort-of an on-going thing, but I would like to at least get some pictures on the wall!

Nothing on the walls yet, but things are getting a little more organized. I bought an aquarium at a yard sale when I went to my cousin's graduation, so that's up and I bought some fish for it, too! I was going to post some pictures, but I forgot to bring my camera to the library! Maybe next time I won't bore you with so many words!

2. "catalogue" books --

No progress on this one yet!

3. Scrapbook my Chile pictures.

No progress on this one either (this is a little depressing!!)

4. Organize/sort school files.

YEAH!! I did actually do this one, at least the part that doesn't have to be done at the school! Now I just need them to finish waxing the floors so I can get in there and start sorting!

5. Go to the resource center to laminate some things and cut out some stuff for next year.

I think I need to wait until I can get in my room so I know what needs to be done (a.k.a. -- not done either!

6. Read at least 5 books I've never read before.

No progress yet (I guess I can't be too hard on myself -- it's only been a week!)

7. Crochet at least one afgahan.

NOPE!

8. Find a quote from each movie I own.

O.K.!! This one I actually started! I decided I would do 5 each time I come to the library. I was going to come last Saturday, but they didn't have internet service, so this has been done for a couple of days! I'll share them with you, too, and you can let me know if you know of a better quote for one of the movies. (my OCD kicked in -- I'm doing them in reverse alphabetical order)

You've Got Mail -- "If I hadn't been Fox Books and you hadn't been The Shop Around the Corner. And you and I had just, oh, met. (I know) Yeah -- I would've asked for your number. And I wouldn't've been able to wait 24 hours before calling you up and saying 'Hey! How 'bout, oh, how about some coffee, or, ya know, drinks or dinner or a movie . . . for as long as we both shall live.'" Joe Fox/Tom Hanks (Kathleen Kelley/Meg Ryan)

Yours, Mine, & Ours -- "Why would anybody do this?!"
"But -- it's clean"
'No - honey - I can't work with clean. I have a deadline!"
(the mom after seeing how her children had cleaned up her work area)

World Trade Center - "We're not leaving you buddy. We're Marines -- You are our mission!"

White Christmas - "You know, in some ways you're far superior to my Cocker Spaniel"

War of the Worlds - (note -- I'm between 2 quotes -- let me know what you think)

"Runnin' -- that's what'll kill ya. And I'm dead-set on livin'."

or

"Between me and my brother, we know everything."
"What's the capital of Australia?"
"That's one my brother knows."

On to the new stuff!

9. I've had a couple-year goal of putting together all my puzzles and marking the back with a letter for that puzzle just in case the pieces ever get mixed up. I'm up to S so far, but I still have several puzzles to go. I put together one more this past week, so that's going well.

10. re-format my computer.

I tried to do this, but when I called Dell, they said that since my warrenty is up, I would have to pay them $39 to have them talk me through it. I told them never mind. I was really confused. When I had my desktop (not a Dell), it included everything necessary to re-format the computer whenever I wanted to! My laptop didn't even have an owner's manuel! (at least not that I can find!) Anyway, I'm going to check on their website and see if there's any information there that would help me.

I guess that's all for now. Hopefully the next time I post I will have accomplished a little more.

SUMMERTIME!!

2008-06-12T15:37:00.002-04:00

So I've been home for 2 days now and I'm bored. Not that I don't have anything to do, it's just that I don't really want to do them!! :-) I'm at the library updating this, so at least I know I can do that! I cold walk to the library sometime -- it's only about 2-3 miles away along sidewalk-ed (is that a word??) streets. We'll see if we have a "cooler" day sometime in the future!!

I have a few "plans" for the summer. I think if I write them down, I'll at least have some kind of encouragement when (or IF) I finish them.

Here goes: (maybe my "readers" can encourage me to attempt to accomplish something!!)

1. Organize apartment (sort-of an on-going thing, but I would like to at least get some pictures on the wall!

2. "catalogue" books -- I know, I'm a geek! What can I say? I'm a teacher and I like organization (to the point that if it's not organized -- IT'S NOT ORGANIZED!!)

3. Scrapbook my Chile pictures. (It would be nice to do this before I actually go back in November!

4. Organize/sort school files. (this speaks for itself!)

5. Go to the resource center to laminate some things and cut out some stuff for next year.

6. Read at least 5 books I've never read before (children's books excluded -- I may be doing this with #2 as I catalogue them -- like I said: geek!)

7. Crochet at least one afgahan.

8. Find a quote from each movie I own. This may not seem like too difficult of a task, but I own about 75 movies. This really started because I like the line from Tin Cup (I know, not the best movie in the world, but this line is great!) "When a defining moment comes along, you define the moment or the moment defines you." I don't know if someone else said it before Kevin Costner, but I like it -- not the most Theological statement, but there's a lot of truth in it!

That's all I can think of for now. If you think of anything else I should try to do this summer, let me know. I think I'm going to stay pretty busy, but you never know!!

No more lessons, no more books . . . I'll stop there :-)

2008-06-09T10:58:00.002-04:00

I know it's been a while since I blogged, but It's been a whirlwind here! (wherever "here" may be!!)

SCHOOL IS OUT!!!

I'm just a little bit excited to be out for the summer. :-) Don't get me wrong, I'm going to miss my kids--it will just be nice to have time to FINALLY get things situated at my apartment. I'm still hoping to find a job for the summer, so I'll keep y'all updated on how that goes.

My cousin graduated last Friday -- my final cousin to graduate High School! (I feel very old!) It was interesting -- at the graduation, the valedictorian kept saying, "I'll see you all in 10 years". that made me think, "10 years, huh?! that's next year for me." Needless to say, I'm feeling VERY old about now. It's not like I'm 30 yet ('cause that's REALLY old -- right Bryan (and Karen) :-) I'm only 27, but I don't even like being that! I don't FEEL 27! Many have said that I don't LOOK 27! Maybe I'll just be 25 for a while and see how that goes!!

I'm not sure how often I'll be able to update this this summer. I don't have internet at my apartment, but I may try to go to the library fairly regularly. I'll be at the school once a week, or every other week, so I'll at least have one of those!

bored and un-loved

2008-05-22T16:29:00.002-04:00

I'm pretty sure people read my blog, but I don't see too many comments on it. (Other than Jeannine -- THANK YOU! -- At least someone loves me!!)

The concert went well the other night -- the kids behaved themselves. The biggest problem was getting the teacher who had a main part to remember his lines!! He mumbled through the one song he sang because he hadn't practiced enough! The kids loved it, though -- it was great!

Tomorrow we have our field trip to Antietam Rec. It's going to be a CRAZY day!! Pray for us -- there is a lot of water at this park and even though each chaperone has a maximum of 4 kids to watch, anything can happen!!

Post a comment -- even if it's your favorite type of candy or color or pet or leg!! ANY COMMENT IS WELCOME !! (as long as it's appropriate!)

Spring concert!! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

2008-05-20T16:44:00.002-04:00

I guess there's not much more I can say -- this is the crazy time of the year when all the teachers here are about to pull out all their hair and question, "WHY DID I ALREADY SIGN MY CONTRACT FOR NEXT YEAR?????" We have some fun activities planned for these last couple weeks of school, but that just adds a new dimension of confusion to the whole mix!!

Tonight is the Spring Concert. We had practice today (all morning I might add -- not much academic work accomplished today!!). I finally got to see what happens between all the songs I've heard them practice in music class. It looks like a good program -- lessons from Proverbs and how reading Proverbs will guide you in your Christian walk. The only "problem" is corralling 75-100 2nd to 5th graders for about an hour! I admire our music teacher more and more with each performance!

I'm already thinking about how much I'm going to miss having my students next year. It seems like I'm just figuring out how they think and learn best, and I have to send them to the 4th grade teacher! I keep "threatening" to fail some of them because I don't want to get rid of them! They come up with the craziest stuff sometimes!

Oh, before I forget, there was one last thing. The school where I teach has 2 campuses. The other campus where the lower elementary classes are is a rented building which also has community activities and church services. One their bulletin board is an advertisement the other teachers thought I should sign up for. It goes something like this: "Sign up for our mass-wedding -- all you need to provide is the license!" Sounds . . . interesting.

So, what's the verdict? Should I sign up?? :-)

Father Knows Best

2008-05-15T17:20:00.003-04:00

This is the thought from the new book I received from one of my kids. The book is The 100 Most Important Bible Verses.

"Jesus said, 'Your Father knows the things you need before you ask him.' " Matthew 6:8 NCV

"Jesus gave His disciples the Lord's Prayer as an example of how to pray. Right before He spoke these famous words, Jesus shared a few reasons why one should pray. To do this, He provided two examples -- negative ones. Jesus said the Pharisees prayed in public because they wanted to be seen as holy by other people. He also said idol worshipers prayed, repeating themselves over and over, because they believed that the more frequently they asked for something, the better chance they had of having their request granted. After those negative examples, Jesus spoke the reassurance that God already knows what you need.

"At first, His words may seem to provide a reason why not to pray, instead of why to pray. If God knows what you need before you ask, why bother asking in the first place? Jesus's point is, the purpose of prayer isn't to be noticed by other people -- or even by God. God already notices you. He knows everything about you and your life. Prayer is not a way to draw God's attention to your needs. It is a way to draw your attention to how much you need God.

"Your greatest continual need is to better know and love God. Communicating with Him about the details of you life keeps you aware of how involved He already is. It also helps you see how many of your needs He fills every day. The more you recognize your dependence on God, the more thankful you become, and the deeper your love grows.

"The Lord's Prayer teaches you to pray for your daily bread. Jesus's words from Matthew don't contradict that lesson. They're a reminder that God needs to be involved in your life, not merely informed about it."

WOW!!!!!!!

2008-05-13T09:58:00.002-04:00

So I was right -- they did give me an AWESOME gift for Teacher Appreciation week. As some of you may remember, my laundry situation is . . . frustrating. I casually mentioned this to one of my "moms" -- not even thinking about anything coming from it. She arranged a "conspiracy" and had parents send in money to give to me on Friday. They gave me $200!!! She said it was for me to buy a washer and dryer. I stood there thinking, "this is great, but I'd need twice this to get both!"

But she wasn't finished yet!! She said that one of my students has a grandfather who sells used washers and dryers and, if I'm interested, he has a set for me for that price!!! I was soooo excited!! BUT WAIT -- THERE'S MORE! (I feel like an info-mertial) A few minutes later, I was opening other cards, and one student's mom had written me ANOTHER check for $100!! Later, my "conspiring mom" told me the first set they had was for $300, so that must be why the mom did that. Either way, I feel VERY blessed to have such giving parents.

Lest you think this is the end of the story, God's blessings just keep getting better!! I was telling my friend, Karen, about this when I was at her house Friday afternoon. Her dad piped up and said, "I have a stacking unit I'd sell you for $150, if you want it." God is so good!! Now my biggest decision is do I want separate units, or a stacking unit -- this is where my Dad's advice comes in. So, by the end of the week, I should either have a washer and dryer, or at least know where they are coming from!!!!! What a blessing!!

I've also received some other gifts I'll try to post about later, and more info on my eventful weekend. But for now I wanted to share this!!

God is good -- all the time!!

Feeling appreciated or showing appreciation or both??!

2008-05-08T16:13:00.003-04:00

This is the poster my students made for me!! I'm not sure if you can read it, but they have words which I suppose are to describe me. I'm not sure why some of them put "smart" or "beautiful", but If you see the orange-y looking one near the bottom, it just says "hi hi hi hi hi" I think that one describes me the best!! The week has been great, though I would rather receive excellent behavior from my kids than any of the gifts they have been bringing (not that I'm going to give it back!!) Since Monday, I've received: a set from Bath and Body Works, a bouquet of flowers, a glass fish paperweight, a bag of Ghirardelli chocolate (milk chocolate with caramel filling -- it doesn't get much better than that unless it's dark chocolate!!), and today one of my students brought in a huge bag with a canvas teacher bag, a fleece throw blanket, and a book titled The 100 Most Important Bible Verses. I read through the first one and it is AWESOME!! I think I'll start posting them once a week (or twice a week, or every other week, depending on when I get to it!!)

This week has made me reflect a little. I don't remember teacher appreciation week very much when I was in school. I guess in our house we just called it "Mother's Day" (seeing we were homeschooled and all :-) Having my mom as my teacher from 4th grade through graduating High School, I don't have that much pre-college experience with other teachers. Going through my first year of teaching, though, I have thought a lot about MY 3rd grade teacher: Mrs. Seal. It was her first year of teaching. I remember all the little notes she would write on my work, the fun extra projects she would do with us: boiling salt water in the kitchen to show how salt doesn't evaporate, making coloring page books to go with a missionary story, and who could forget studying the Tabernacle and actually visiting a replica of one in Pennsylvania!! We went to the zoo that year, too!! It makes me think . . . when did she have the time to plan all this? She was married when she taught me -- it's all I can do to get my lesson plans done before I actually teach!! I can't imagine how I would be able to have any time for a family with all that I have to do! I admire her so much and appreciate her so much more for the sacrifices she made to be such an encouragement to me and my other classmates!

Teacher Appreciation Week

2008-05-06T15:49:00.002-04:00

Many of you may know this already, but this week is Teacher Appreciation Week. I was welcomed Monday morning with a poster my students had made in art class (thanks to the art teacher!!) I'll try to get a picture of it up later this week. A couple of them brought me some flowers, and one gave me a little gift bag and a picture poster she had made using a tissue box as a picture frame -- it was very creative!

One of my "moms" seems to be conspiring against me -- she was very excited about something and has been receiving mysterious envelopes from my students for the past week. I'm trying not to pry, but I think I have an idea of what's going on. I love surprises, but have a bad habit of figuring out that something is up before it actually happens. Oh, well, I'm sure that whatever happens on Friday (when she said the "unmentioned" thing will happen) I'll have a very exciting post to share. Maybe I'll actually post several times this week -- we'll see how the week goes!

Only 20 more days left!!

A week later

2008-05-01T17:22:00.003-04:00

Ok, so it's Thursday again and I still feel like time is just FLYING by!! Tomorrow is our annual "Labors of Love" fundraiser. This is a day for ALL the students at my school to get out into the community and help people by cleaning up, working, or just encouraging them. My "kids" are going to 2 different nursing homes to sing and recite Bible verses. Please keep us in prayer for good weather -- if it rains, we have a regular day of school and I have to figure out what we're doing!! I'm excited about it, though -- we have matching tee-shirts and everything for it!!

On to other events in my life . . .

One week ago tomorrow was the first time I've ever gotten a pedicure!! A friend of mine said she was going, and I've been wanting to get one for a while, so we went!! I took some pictures of my feet (sorry to those who think this is gross). The first one (without the shoes) looked a little bright, so I put on my shoes for the second one. It was a lot of fun. We were going to go to one place in the mall, but there were some "customers" who looked as if they were about to get into a knock-down drag-out with the owners, so we walked to the other place. The best part about the experience was watching my friend have her's done! She is VERY ticklish on her feet and she was laughing almost the whole time!! It was a little expensive, but it was worth it just for the experience -- it may be a while before I have it done again.

Is it really Thursday???

2008-04-24T10:29:00.002-04:00

It seems like just yesterday it was Monday!! The weeks seem to be flying by the closer we get to the end of the school year. I guess that this is normal, but then again, it is my first year!! I'm sure my students have said some very clever things the past couple of days, but as the days seem to mush together, I can't think of anything "brilliant" right now. My week started with discovering that one student (who is usually very well-behaved) had decided to scratch a lovely little pattern on the back and seat of his plastic chair using a paper clip! When I saw it, I asked him if he had done it. He gave me the look of, "it seems I've been caught, so I'd better tell the truth, even though I don't really want to". I asked when he did it and he said Friday. (great powers of observation on my part -- I didn't even notice until the day was almost over on Monday! ) I was really curious as to how he did it, so I asked him that, too. His response was great: "I guess it was with a paper clip." I loved that he added "I guess" to the answer. It's like he still didn't quite want to admit to his guilt! He does get some points for honesty, though!

Hopefully it will only get better from here! I'm not sure if uphill or downhill is better: downhill seems like things will cascade and get worse; uphill seem awfully hard! I'm voting for even ground!!

Only 29 more days of school left! (according to the 2nd grade teacher)

Change is a good thing!

2008-04-18T17:20:00.002-04:00

Well, I've conformed!! My sisters decided to change their background, so after a little frustration (and reading from the BEGINNING of the instructions - what a novel idea!) I figured out how to do it!

What do you think of the new background?? Did I match colors O.K.?? That's not exactly my strong suit, so any advice would be helpful!

Things have been crazy this week -- I went home over the weekend to my parent's house because my Aunt and Uncle were there with my cousin and her son!! This was the first time to see my "first cousin once removed" (did I get that right, Jeannine??) Since coming back "home," I've felt a little like I'm just trying to play catch-up!! I've really been dragging this week -- I guess I have the weekend to relax! Only 30-something days of school left!! I can't believe it -- my first year is just about over! Not that I want to be rid of my students, the 12 hour days are just getting a little tiresome! Everyone ASSURES me that next year will be better. I DO believe them -- for one thing, I won't be writing History quizzes less than 12 hours before I give them (or 12 minutes sometimes!!) I guess only time will tell!

excitement at home!

2008-04-12T16:23:00.005-04:00

I'm home for the weekend!! This is always a nice, relaxing time (other than the hour and a half drive it takes to get here!!) I was met with a beautiful sight:

For those of you who have not been to my parent's house recently (or ever), this may not seem like an odd picture. However, for those of you who know this house fairly well, you will notice something VERY ODD. This is what it looked like a week ago:

What happened to the cars?? (technically cars and truck, but let's not be too picky!) My dad has been advertising one car and one truck in the local Valley Trader since January. This hasn't been going well, including people claiming to be ready to buy, then never showing up! They received a call last week from a man interesed in the truck solely because of the price. After they talked for a while, he told dad that he needs to find 100 cars to crush!! Dad said, "I've got 2 others, do you want them, too??" Dad described the other two cars and the man said, "I'll give you a hundred dollars a piece for them." Dad was thrilled!!!! We were beginning to think that they would only get $25 per car, and now dad was being offered $100!! So, he came on Tuesday of this past week and hauled them away. Here's a video of how they did it!

I have a video that is MUCH larger, but I think it's too big to put on here. Here a few more pictures to give you an idea for how it went!

Really quick -- almanac

2008-04-08T18:03:00.002-04:00

So today we started talking about Benjamin Franklin. At the beginning of each chapter, there is a "words/people to know" box which gives some words or people mentioned in the chapter and the meaning of the word, or something which made that person famous. The word in this box for Ben Franklin was "almanac". I read the word, then the definition. On student made the following comment:

"Oh, I thought it was a kind of a nut. . . alma . . maca . . something"

I told him he was very creative, but almonds and macadamia are types of nuts.

Wednesday's What vs. Weekly What

2008-04-03T16:54:00.003-04:00

Ok, so the Wednesday's What isn't working out so well. It seems I've posted it on Thursday or Friday more than anything! I think I will re-name it! It will now be called: The Weekly What.

I figure this way if I don't post it on Wednesday, I can still post on the next day without being fussed at by my "readers".

Before I get to that, though, I just wanted to comment on my students. I don't write about them as much as I would like to, so I'm going to make an effort to mention something that has happened recently. For example . . .

Today we were reviewing for a History Quiz tomorrow (which I still need to write -- yikes!!). We reviewed for about 10-15 minutes. It seemed to be getting a little boring and I finished asking all the questions I felt needed to be reviewed. Then I said something like this:

"This quiz on William Penn will be pretty easy. It's basically, he wasn't a Quaker, he became a Quaker. His father wanted him to be an English Navy Admiral, William didn't believe in fighting. The king owed his father money, so he gave William land in the New World. William said, let's name it ;Sylvania'. . . ." Anyway, you get the idea.

I basically summed up the entire chapter in about 60 seconds. When I finished, they did something that surprised me. I knew they were listening pretty well, because they were all looking at me with that, "this is different" look. I walked to the back of the room to set my book down, and they all started clapping! It was really funny. But my revelation came later. I realized just how encouraging my class can be. They may only be in third grade, but they really have a way of saying the right thing, or giving the right picture at just the right time. I only wish I would have realized this several months ago. Oh, well -- I have the next 8 1/2 weeks or so to develop this!!

Weekly What: "What is the most encouraging thing another person has done for you?"

oops -- it's Friday and I'm out of town!!

2008-03-28T11:56:00.002-04:00

My sister said I need to update this, so here goes. I wich I had some pictures to put up, but I'm visiting our brother at Liberty University right now, so I don't think I'm allowed to upload pictures. I want to show you pictures of my curtains and digital piano cover, so maybe next time.

It's spring break!!! I spent the first few days at my parent's house, celebrating Easter. I got my taxes done and went "shopping" at the local thrift store. (on a happy note, I went there to get some smaller-size jeans - I'm down 2 or 3 sizes!!) I left on Wednesday to visit our brother, Kaleb. He's in his 3rd year at LU, so it has been great to hang out with him for a few days and meet his friends. I'm headed back to my parent's house today. It's been a really good, relaxing time just "chillin' with my bro"

Wednesday's What: What do you miss the most about school (high school or college)?

Wednesday's What and SPRING BREAK!!!!!

2008-03-19T16:02:00.002-04:00

1 12/ more days!! Spring break is on the way! (And so is my brother ! :-) I'm just so tired -- I need a mental and physical break! I'm going to visit my brother for part of it -- I'm so excited!

Wednesday's What: What do you enjoy the most at Easter?

Wednesday's What and other "stuff"

2008-03-12T17:01:00.003-04:00

I'll get to the "what" in a minute. Before that, here's a quick update.

I haven't been feeling well for over a week. The last time this happened, I ended up with the flu and secondary pneumonia, so (with some "encouragement" from my mother) I went to the doctor after school on Monday. I was in and out in record time, considering it's an "urgent care" facility which usually makes you glad that whatever is wrong isn't really THAT urgent! Long story short - I have strep! This wasn't too surprising given that 3 of my students were out with it and the 2nd grade teacher had it also! This gave me a "get-out-of-school-free" card for Tuesday, but it was back to the grind today. I'm still only at about 70%, since I'm still really congested, but I have more energy when I'm "out and about" than when I'm just sitting at home watching the paint fade!
So I came back today to a disinfected room (thanks a BUNCH to my aide and a special mom of my students!) This comes at an especially good time because of grandparent's day this Friday!

Wednesday's What:

What is the strangest thing you have "hanging around" your house/apartment?

I'll leave you with these pictures as my answer:

mustache

2008-03-06T16:15:00.002-05:00

I know -- great job keeping up with the blog! I even missed my 2nd "Wednesday's What?" OK, so here it is:

What do you like to do on the weekends? I like to stay home and try to get moved into my apartment. I've been there since September, but still have boxes to unpack!

Mustache:

We had this word in our Reading book this week. I asked one of the students to read it to me. I guess this shows the usefulness of phonics! They pronounced it: must ache. I don't know if people who have them feel that way, but I was proud of their effort!

I'm on a roll!

2008-02-27T12:40:00.002-05:00

Look at me! I posted 2 days in a row!!!

Sorry, no pictures this time. I don't really have anything to say just yet -- I just wanted to get into the habit of posting. Ummmmmm . . . OH!! Karen has a "Monday Moment" -- I have a Wednesday's What? This is me asking a question for all my faithful want-to-be readers (hard to read nothing!)

Question for today: What is your favorite kind of soup? I recently tried Chicken Tortilla Soup -- you put it on Tortilla chips and top it with cheese (and sour cream if you like it) It was VERY good! I need to get the recipe from my friend!

Did I say end of the week??

2008-02-26T16:13:00.013-05:00

I meant end of the weak-ness known as never posting on my own blog!

I send out heartfelt apologies to everyone who has been faithfully checking to see if I will EVER post something. I FINALLY have some pictures of my trip to Chile. I was thinking about just posting some, but I think I'll go ahead and do them all, or it may be another 3 months until you see any more!!

The first couple are from the plane on the way there. Oh, just as a reminder, I went on a Mission's trip to Pirque, Chile, the week before Thanksgiving. (Yes, in 2007 -- it hasn't been THAT long since I posted!) Anyway, these are from the plane:

On Sunday, we traveled to the city (Santiago) to attend church. My friend, Teresa, translated for us. This red building is the church, and the woman in the middle of the picture is Mrs. Park. She and her husband were in charge of the work group, as they are every year. After the first service, they invited us to stay for some snacks before the next service began. These services were especially applicable because we were there on the International day of prayer for the persecuted church. It was so awesome to hear people in another country talking about Christians in other countries who are persecuted for their beliefs.

The girl in the middle of the picture is Jackie. She and her husband, John are raising support to be full-time at the camp. They, along with Jared (Pastor and Mrs. Park's son) will be directing the camp ministry and planting a church in Pirque.

Sunday night, they had a service at the campground. A group of Chileans sang some songs, both in English and in Spanish. We sang songs together in English and in Spanish, then we sang one song with English-speakers singing in English, and Spanish-speakers singing in Spanish. It was a wonderful time of worship!!

The next day, it was time for work! As I mentioned before, we painted just about everything wooden at that camp. They didn't have drywall in the rooms, it was all wooden paneling, wooden door and window frames, and wooden awnings. They were replacing most of this with unpainted wood, so guess what we got to do!! Everything needed 2 coats of paint. We were there for the last week of work, so most of the inside painting was already finished. Outside the two dorms . . .

. . . on both sides were two long porches. The underside of these porches, and the awnings needed to be painted. We painted two coats on one side and one coat on the other 3 sides, along with some of the new window frames and even . . . ceilings!!

We sometimes had to get up early enough to help with breakfast. Some did better than others . . .

We ate every meal outside and had beautiful weather the entire time we were there. (sorry about the funny angle on this one -- I was being "artistic")

Of course, you can't visit another country without seeing some interesting creatures. There are two main kinds of spiders we were told to watch out for: the chicken spider and the araña de rincón spider. The chicken spider is the one you see crawling on Hermon's arm (he had been there since the beginning of the work trip and built most if not all of the window frames and screen frames, and skylights . . ) We were told that chicken spiders are harmless, just REALLY BIG. The other one (rincon -- pronounced ran - CONE) are the ones we were told to watch out for. We checked our sleeping bags every night and hadn't seen one the entire time we were there . . . until Wednesday. We walked into the room and saw it on the wall, hence, the shoe-print on the wall!

As we were "admiring" the shoeprint, I noticed the third critter crawling out from under one of the beds! We were sharing a room with a scorpion, too! I asked how to get rid of it and they said to step on it, but that just seemed a little strange to me, so we caught it in a plastic cup and one of the Chileans who lived close by played with it outside until we left for the internet cafe.

One evening, just before sunset, we walked to the top of a hill behind the camp. We saw another spider on the way up! The hill was REALLY steep, with very little grass, so it was a little difficult to get up. When we got there, it was worth it! The view was spectacular and we were rewarded with a beautiful sunset. On the way back, we took some pictures beside a VERY LARGE cactus.

When our work was finished at the camp, we had scheduled a couple extra days to spend with Teresa. We visited the Cer ro san Cristobal and saw some beautiful flowers at the ampitheater.

After our morning of "smelling the roses", we took a bus to the Vina del Mar to see the PACIFIC OCEAN!! This was, obviously, my first time to see the Pacific Ocean, so it was very exciting for me. We didn't go swimming since we only had about an hour or so (we spent too much time doing other things that morning -- shopping and touring). We took the bus back to the city and left the next day for the States.

Here is a parting shot of the coastline of Chile from the plane:

These are a couple of us "enjoying" the plane ride and food! (and a nice sunset from the plane)

That's my trip to Chile. I have a powerpoint presentation I did for the elementary students at my school. If you ever want to see it, just let me know and I'll show it for you. It's too large to send over the internet, so you'll just have to come visit me!!

Chile . . . then chilly!!

2007-12-04T16:17:00.000-05:00

soooooo . . . .

It's been a long time since I've written. I really don't have time to do this, but I feel I owe it to everyone. Since my last blog, I've visited the BEAUTIFUL country of Chile! I went to Santiago for about 8 days to help a campground just outside the city prepare for their summer camps. One of my VERY good friends (Miki) and her sister, Lisha, and I joined a team of about 10 or so other people working on the camp. We spent most of our time polyurethane-ing the buildings around the camp. They had just refurbished many of the windows and frames, and put up walls and ceilings to finish off some rooms and make others more live-able. We had a GREAT time. We had been wanting to go on a mission's trip for a while, and when we found out about the trip to Santiago, we jumped on it. Part of the motivation was my college roommate -- Teresa. She grew up in Chile and was in Santiago while we were there. Everyone worked hard to be sure she didn't know we were coming -- and it worked! She was SO surprised to see us! We were able to stay 2 days later than needed and spend some time with her in the city, and visiting the coast -- I got to visit another continent, another country, and another ocean all in the same trip!! I hope to have some pictures of the trip up by the end of the week.

That was Chile -- now on to the chilly!

Since returning, it has gotten colder! It was so toasty-warm in the hot Chilean sun (it's spring there, by the way) . We got back on Nov. 18th -- my 27th birthday -- and were greeted with about 1-2 inches of snow!! I LOVE WHEN IT SNOWS ON MY BIRTHDAY!!!! School last week was crazy and this week is turning out to be a repeat with more hyper-activity and talkativeness. Grades are due by Friday and I have an un-decorated tree in my apartment, surrounded by boxes full of stuff that needs to be put up!!! Maybe the first part of my comment on Karen's blog wasn't too far from being helpful!!

Science Class

2007-10-30T17:30:00.000-04:00

Things have been crazy!! I love what I'm doing -- I could teach all day. Just PLEASE DON'T MAKE ME GRADE ANOTHER PAPER!!! I'm finally caught up (though I'm apparently working very hard to keep myself at school until 7 every night! -- my real goal is to leave by 5 or 5:30 -- it's 5:37 as I'm typing this and I still have papers to grade!!)

Report cards went out today. My first round of report cards ever -- so everyone is happy, right?? Hopefully we'll use this as a time to iron out any kinks -- that's all I have to say about that.

On to Science class -- We've been learning about invertebrates and desert animals. Today we finished up the section on Desert animals and we were reviewing for a quiz. I asked where desert animals go to escape from the hot sun.

Answer #1 -- They dig a tunnel so they can go underground.

Me -- Exactly -- it's cooler underground. Where else might they live?

Answer #2 -- They live inside a cactus -- oh, and they can invite their friends over and use the juice from the cactus and go swimming in the hot tub!

I laughed so hard at that! At least I know he understands!

For some clarification

2007-10-22T17:19:00.000-04:00

Thank you, mom, for your undying support of me. I appreciate you sticking up for my speling abilities. (and yes, Karen, that one was on purpose, too!!)

As a pictoral example of my spelling abilities and to confirm my mother's defense of me, I submit the following . . . um . . . picture.

Today was interesting. I got to "see myself" very clearly through the eyes of a student. Today was her birthday. The last time there was a birthday, the birthday boy wanted to take his extra cupcakes around to the other teachers. So, of course, today's birthday girl wanted to do the same. I told her she could choose ONE person to go with her. To which she directed to the students, "I'm waiting for it to be quiet!" When they didn't quiet down, she went to the front of the room, sat in a chair and stared at them. I noticed this and just had to laugh, because I have done this MANY times before I read a story to them after recess. She just sat there and said, "I'll take whoever is the quietest." My teacher's aide was there with me helping me get some papers together and I just had to laugh. It's so funny what they pick up on. Now, does she know what the Science lesson today covered? . . .

a picture is worth . . .

2007-10-17T16:42:00.001-04:00

OK, OK, so I finally remembered my camera! Here are the promised pictures. The first two are of my bulletin board I did for the hallway. I got the scarecrow's outfit from Goodwill and made the head out of some burlap from my sister (thanks, Karen!) The button eyes came from my teacher's aid and the mouth is . . . a cut pony-tail holder.

This one is one my students did to help me decorate it for fall.

I asked one student who finished early to cut out some letters for me to make the word "October" I think he did a GREAT job!

Another student brought me this rose -- it was just so perfectly bloomed I had to take a picture of it!

So on to the monumental events. I made my first "real" dinner! On Monday, I had fried pork chops, potatos, and gravy. I also had some crescent rolls that I baked in my toaster oven. (and yes I turned the poewr on:-)

Here's a picture of it cooking!

And here's the finished product. No, I did not eat at the table -- I ate in the living room -- a nasty habit, I know, but who cares? It's just me -- if there's a mess, I know who made it!!

I know, I know

2007-10-11T15:42:00.000-04:00

I haven't been the most faithful blogger in existance. What, did you expect me to post every day like I did the first week?? :-) I would like to, believe me!! But as it is, that has been impossible. I had mid-quarter grades due the first week, papers I was behind on as a result of that, and then Heritage Festival weekend last weekend, with more papers I'm behind on.

But enough complaining . . . for now!

I also changed the bulletin board in the hallway (I share it with the 2nd grade teacher and it's my month to decorate it) It looks really cute -- I'd show you a picture, but I left my camera at my apartment and I don't have internet there. I made a scarecrow and used some letters and a tree from one of my classes in college and it turned out to be pretty cute! I also had them trace some leaves and write what they like about fall on them. Some of them had some pretty interesting things on them, but I'll save that for when I actually have a picture.

One of my girls said something absolutely hilarious yesterday. We were walking to the classroom before school started. She somehow was on the topic of eternity and being in Heaven after Jesus returns. She said "the Christians will be in Heaven with Jesus. Um . . . yeah! And satan will be locked away in his own portal of death!" It was all I could do to not just start busting out laughing right there. I had just never heard it worded quite that way! Puts a new perspective on it, doesn't it!?

Anyway, I found out that I may be losing another student to financial needs. She seems upset about it, and apparently this has happened before, but they didn't pull her out. We'll see what happens. On the other side of the coin, the second grade teacher just started a new student on Tuesday! I can't imagine! I just hope they don't try to fill her empty spot with a new student for me! I guess if they do, I'll just roll with it like I always do.

Well, I should go -- I have lesson plans to do still and a mountain of papers to grade. I'm grading journals today -- I'll try to update on that as soon as I can.

One more funny story: For a recent language test, they were asked to write a declarative sentence of at least 5 words. One student wrote: When I get to Heaven, I'm going to ride on golden dirt bikes. This counted, but also earned him a smiley-face! :-)

What a week! (and a half!)

2007-09-27T16:08:00.000-04:00

Time sure flies when you're having fun! (and sometimes when you're not!)

This past week and a half have been interesting. The week went well, despite the fact that I found out that we have progress reports due by Friday the 28th. I've been frantically working on that most days since then. In the middle of my frantic rushings, I went to Liberty University to the Extraordinary Women's Conference. It was a good time with a lot of good speakers (Chonda Pierce, Kay Arthur, Angela Thomas, Jennifer Rothschild, and Gloria Gaither) They were ALL GREAT speakers. I just wish I wasn't so exhausted so I could have gotten a little more "refreshing" from their messages.

I've spent the past 3 days staying late, working on grades. I shouldn't even be posting this because I still have lesson plans and some more work on the progress reports to do. (along with a field trip in January, one in November, and did I mention Book-it begins on Monday??) One of my students was also pulled out on Monday because of family financial struggles, and I just found out another student may be soon diagnosed as being special needs! (but I'm not stressed!)

The sum of this post is that you would be in prayer for me. I know there are many teachers with many more struggles than those I have, but I would covet your prayers now. I hope to begin posting more "light-hearted" posts soon, but for now, I'm just working on organization!

2007-09-17T17:40:00.001-04:00

Well, here it is -- the one section of my apartment that is clean! (and it's still clean since I took the picture -- ignoring that I took the picture this morning as I was leaving for school) My mom came over on Saturday and between her and my friend Karen, we managed to get the kitchen in decent shape. My bedroom looks not much different, but the "office" looks a lot better -- at least the boxes are organized (boxes of books near the bookcase, boxes of files near the file cabinet, etc.)

School is doing well too -- the organization is coming. I've had a couple of parents make some very helpful suggestions which I plan to, or have already implement(ed) . The grading is getting a little less overwhelming, so we'll see how things go from here.

On to funny stories:

Story 1: We have just arrived on the playground. I have duty. A student is talking to me and I answer him as we walk out. I stop at the edge of the playground and watch the students "settle". I'm just watching, making sure they don't go beyond their boundary. The student I was speaking to stops mid-sentence and says, "You look creepy!"

"What did you say?"

"You look creepy! You know, like one of those movies or something where the person is watching the kids."

"Do you think I'm going to turn into a vampire or something?"

"No, you just looked creepy."

--Nothing like a 3rd grader for honesty!

Story 2: Same student, different teacher (she told me later) The students were to run 2 laps around the field next to the playground. The student says to the other teacher, "If you lean forward, your fat helps you keep moving!"

Story 3: This really isn't a story, just a question. If a student starts the day with X number of books, but part of the way through the day has X-1 number of books, who can miraculously find it for them? Apparently the answer is the teacher, because that's who they come to when they can't find a book or a paper. Even more amazing is that, somehow, by some amazing power within me, I can locate this paper or book with little to no difficulty. Usually the paper can easily be found in the black hole in front of the student known as their desk.

My students wrote some "all about me" papers -- I'll post some of those later this week -- they are very creative!

WOW! Two posts in one week!

2007-09-12T16:25:00.001-04:00

In art class this week, the art teacher taught my students how to draw birds. One student drew this and gave it to me. I thought I'd share this with everyone!

So . . . students . . . classes . . . learning . . .

We started reading groups this week. This has caused much stress in my life. It's amazing to think how many times you have to repeat a simple phrase such as "be quiet" or "stop talking" and they still don't understand it somehow. The elementary principal has been in twice this week and has offered helpful suggestions to me regarding this. I, of course, was open to any suggestion and started using them today. (which of course, also meant she did not come in to observe today!)

On the up-side, my parents came up yesterday and helped me get a little more settled. At least now my clothes are in the dressers and I have more than just plates, bowls, and glasses in the cabinets! Things will be so much better once everything is put away (right???)

Last night was exciting - a tractor trailer got stuck trying to come around a curve just down from my apartment. He had apparently not been driving for long, had bad directions, and ended up stuck in a 90-degree uphill turn! I think he was there for one and a half to two hours until he finally got out. I guess it's not that exciting, but it's news for me!

** An item of prayer**
The 1st grade teacher here has had some health problems and cannot continue teaching this year. My school will now have the position available. Please pray for her health and the filling of that position. A retired teacher is substituting until a replacement is found.

No the kids didn't kill me

2007-09-10T16:01:00.000-04:00

I know, I know -- it's been a whole week (and some change) since I last posted. I'm very sorry for this -- all I had to do was move. I don't know why I didn't post anything :)

Here's the week in review:

Monday -- Labor Day ! I was home and went to our church's annual picnic. It was really great to relax some and play volleyball. Before the picnic, we loaded some of my furniture (which a couple in my church was graciously storing for me) onto a borrowed truck with the help of a former employer. After the picnic, we started loading up the other truck with some help from the neighbors and one man in our church (thanks Mr. Nichols!) After that was loaded, I went back to stay with my friend one last night before "the move". (while my parents juggled cars)

Tuesday -- School is back in session. The teaching part of this week is sort of a blur, so I'll add those details later. After school, some of the teachers came over and helped my dad unload my stuff into my apartment. My uncle was bringing up the other truck after work, but didn't arrive until after they had left. My dad and Uncle Steve ended up unloading that truck (with minor help from me) Then we went out to dinner and everyone went home -- except me!! I was home!!!! My first home ever!!!!!!!! hmmmm -- scary.

Wednesday -- It was so nice to only have to travel 5 minutes to school instead of 20! I went to school (details later), then came home (I love saying that! :), attempted to accomplish ANYTHING then went to church. After church, I was beat, so I went to bed.

Thursday -- Lesson plan day!! This after school day was encompassed with attempting to grade some papers, and getting my lesson plans together to be able to turn in on Friday. Needless to say, I need to work on this on -- 2:30 is VERY late to go to bed!

Friday -- My mom came up and we went to Wal-Mart for some "staples". This took longer than we expected, but we were at least able to get some dishes washed and paper in the kitchen cabinets. Then my friend Karen came over and we watched a movie and just relaxed.

Saturday -- Karen left sometime around 9ish (I think), but I didn't get up until about 11:30. It was soooo nice to sleep in again! I worked on getting more paper cut out for the cabinets, and grading some papers for the students (did I mention that I HATE grading penmanship???!!)

Sunday -- So refreshing to go to church and get recharged! The church I've been attending has a Sunday School for 20-something single people -- and I'm not the only one in it!!! We had a good discussion about leading people to Christ and tools we could use to do it. We made a bridge to show the communication between God and man before the fall, then when Adam and Eve sinned, the bridge collapsed and we could no longer reach God on our own. Then when Jesus died on the cross, that cross became the new bridge to God and the way to everlasting life with Him. We used pipe cleaners, construction paper, tape, markers, and play-doh to illustrate it!

Monday -- Today. Getting back into the groove of things. Sometimes I stop and think "is this a dream -- is this really real? Am I really doing what I've wanted to do for so long??" It sort of worries me -- I'm afraid I'm going to do something that's going to screw it up and it's all going to disappear. An encouraging note to that is the the elementary principal came in to "observe" me today (she did warn me). She left me a very encouraging note about Science class and my transition from Bible to Science. The main thing she is encouraging me to work on is maintaining class discipline. I think I'm too much of a softie. I guess I need to crack down on them a little more. I keep "blaming" their inattention on them, but it is I who need to demand their attention at all times. Please pray that this will become a reality.

I guess that's all for now -- I'm already close to novel length, so the school stuff will have to wait for later. Until then, here's a picture a student drew for me. I scanned it in and cropped off her name. She drew me a picture of a "colorful butterfly" but had a little spelling difficulty.

Day five (and some of the weekend stuff)

2007-09-01T23:21:00.000-04:00

ahhhhhhhhhhhh -- the weekend!

It was sooo nice to sleep in today! My poor body isn't used to moving at such early hours of the morning! Why couldn't I have found a school that starts at noon??

Friday was a great day. I had another student bring me an apple. (another one brought one to me on Tuesday) The main difference (other than the fact this one was inside a ziploc bag) was that he then felt it necessary to explain to me why he gave me the apple:

student -- "Do you know how I thought to give you an apple?"

me -- "no, how?"
at this point, I'm expecting something like "they're good for you" "we had a lot at home" or "I saw so-and-so give you one" NO -- instead, he said:

"from watching cartoons"

Oh, the thrill of living in a modern society!

I am "home" this weekend -- in the middle of all the teacher "stuff" I have to do, I now get to pack my entire life and move it an hour and a half away to my new apartment. Not that I'm not excited to have a place of my own, but I have a LOT of junk!! This weekend is officially the "figure-out-what-you-have-and-only-take-what-you-need-to-not-starve-or-smell-bad-or-wear-the-same-clothes-for-five-days-in-a-row" weekend. (oh, and having a place to sleep is good too)

Well, it's late, so I'd better go for now. Pictures of the place will come eventually.

P.S. to my sister Karen -- I still don't know what to say . . .

Day Four (and Three)

2007-08-30T19:03:00.000-04:00

"The honeymoon's over" -- 4th grade teacher

My co-worker pretty much hit the nail on the head. The students have progressively gotten worse!! Don't get me wrong, they're good kids, they are just a little . . . um . . . talkative. What can you expect? They're 3rd graders!!

Anyway, so on to day Three. (since I didn't get around to posting yesterday) The major change for Wednesday was that I only had one "special". Since this term is new to me too, I'll "enlighten" you. "Specials" at my school are the special schedule given to the elementary. These are times when the students aren't in my classroom. It could be for music, P.E., Art, Library, or Computer. 3 days a week, I have 2 specials (each 1/2 hour long) -- one in the morning, one in the evening. The other 2 days (Wednesday being one of them), I only have one special. My special on Wednesday isn't until after lunch, so I have them all to myself until lunch time. I guess I can't complain -- I've substituted or helped in schools where the teacher has no relief all day long. Anyway, having said all this, Wednesday was a very long morning. We re-arranged the schedule to acommodate some tutoring, but that didn't work out very well at all! Math definately must be one of the first subjects covered in the mornings, or I lose them!

Day Four -- today. They are beginning to run together. Today, my main concerns have been focused on "teacher responsibilities". I have a newsletter I need to get out and lesson plans to have completed and turned in by tomorrow!! I've just barely been treading water this week as it is - now I need to think about next week!!! I'm sure it will work out -- speaking of which -- I have some stuff I brought here to work on and I need to get to that.

As the first of 2 side notes, I got an apartment!!!! The elementary principal helped me find a place close to the school -- and for a reasonable price! I'll post pictures as soon as I have some furniture in there.

The second note is a funny student story. I think it was Wednesday. I was teaching Language class, and one little boy raised his hand. He said, "I just wanted to tell you. I've been timing you since you started teaching Language, and it's been 17 minutes and 22 seconds." I wasn't sure how to take this, so I just said, "Thank you, but you don't need to do that." Later in math class, I let him be in charge of the timer for around-the-world speed drills, but he still used his wristwatch to time me. He hasn't done this anymore since then, but I just thought it was so funny, I just had to say something.

Until tomorrow . . . or until I have more spare time :S

Day Two

2007-08-28T17:49:00.000-04:00

Day two has ended -- I'm almost half-way through the week! Things went well today. The students are really listening well. I'm not sure if that's because they just always listen, or if they're scared of me, or if they just don't know how to take me! I've tried making jokes, but they just kind of look at me like I've lost my mind.

Today we were reading about General George Washington helping a Tory woman after his soldiers had taken food from her garden. We were discussing why he told his soldiers they shouldn't have done that. He told them that because she was a woman, they should not treat her that way, regardless of which side she supported. I took the opportunity to tell the "gentlemen" in my class how important it was that they treat women with respect. One said, "Like when we're in line, we let the girls go in front of us." I told him they don't have to do that, since we're in lines several times every day (and I know if the guys are always near other guys, the will ALWAYS talk!). I followed it with, "But if you do, you'll get brownie points from me!" Then I discovered at what point children transition from literal thinkers to abstract thinkers. Everyone's eyes brightened, they sat up straighter, and said "we get brownies??!!" I, of course, had to clarify (with the hint that brownies could be possible in the future)

On a different note, I have a possibility of an apartment. My parents are coming up tonight to go look at it with me. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

The First Day of School!

2007-08-27T21:23:00.000-04:00

The long-awaited day has finally come! After years of waiting . . . After months of anxious anticipation . . . After weeks of impatience . . . I have finally started a blog. (oh, and my first-ever-first-day-of-school-and-I'm-going-to-be-the-teacher-for-the-rest-of-the-year was today, too!) How do you fit into just a few paragraphs all the excitement and adventure crammed into one 7-hour school day?? I'll see if I can hit some of the highlights.

I got there extra early -- I guess so I would have more time to think of all the things I hadn't gotten done.

At this point I feel it necessary to insert a "historical account" of the past week. I arrived at the school last Monday to be greeted by the 12-year accumulation of "stuff" the previous teacher didn't want to lug to her new home in the midwest. Not that it was all bad -- I found some useful stuff (amid the useless, of course!). I decided at that point how I wanted to decorate my room, only to discover the following day that 90% of my decorations were Missing-in-Action! The remainder of the week was spent preparing for orientation on Thursday night - thanks to the wonderful assistance from some new friends. They were willing to give up their time (which I'm sure doesn't come easily) to help me get my room in order. They loaned me a calendar, decorations, posters, helper charts, and I'm sure a lot more that I can't think of right now. In the end, my room ended up looking something like this (minus the chairs on the desks):

View from the back door View from the front door

My Desk!!!!! 90% borrowed bulletin board

Organization!!!

Anyway, back to today! My 25 students (one is on vacation) were fairly well-behaved today. They kept talking, but what 3rd graders aren't?? We finished all our work today, and some even listed me as their favorite teacher when I gave them an "about me" paper to fill out. I'm not quite sure how I could be their favorite teacher since I've only actually been their teacher for one day (maybe that's why -- they don't know me yet!)

Another first of the day was the first tooth lost in my class! One little girl lost her tooth sometime in the afternoon -- I guess it can't get much earlier in the year than that!

Other than that, the day was hopefully as close to "normal" and "routine" as it gets (pipe dreams for a new teacher, I know, but, please - give me my moment!!)

I guess that's all for now -- please post a comment so I know at least someone's reading it. (first-timers, you can post with your name without entering an e-mail address)

Until tomorrow . . .