Haikus, continued . . .

Here a few more that were turned in today . . . .

The Great Haiku

I love my mommy

She smells like something funny

I love my mommy

The Earth

At night it's aglow

I do not like the bus stop

My life is random

Earth

I removed the earth

The earth was invisible

The earth was aglow

My Sister is Mean

My sister is mean

I'm always starving to death

I'm starving right now!

Tied

Balloons are aglow

They are tied down to the ground

Balloons are beautiful

(Save the best for last . . .)

Winter

Winter is unfair

I can't play outside with friends

Go away winter!

I usually post on Facebook, but this was just too lengthy to post there.  Our third grade spelling curriculum has a page where students learn about haikus and get to write one.  They were supposed to try to use some spelling words, so that will explain the abundance of words with prefixes! Here are some of their inspirations (the first few have some extra syllables, but I just had to share!):

I Hate Math

Math is really bad

Preschool is for little kids

I hate math really bad

My Sister is Lazy, Very Lazy

She is very inactive

Her chores are always incomplete

I do not like her

(Side note - this student actually likes his sister - she's a sweetheart!)

School

Preschool is downstairs

Miss Ramey is very nice

I do not eat pie

She is Shy

She is inactive

The girl is unspoken now

She's unthinkable!

Balloons

Balloons are aglow

Balloons are able to fly

Balloons cannot fly

Preview of Frozen

Frozen is awesome

I like the movie Frozen

Icicle snowflake

Life is Bad

I don't like my life

My whole life is incomplete

It stinks really bad

(Side note - this student is not depressed -  he was given the word incomplete and just went with it!)

The Earth is Aglow

It is very bright

I am very bright in school

My hair is aglow

Unicorns

Unicorns are cool

Unicorn's horns are aglow

Unicorns like earth

Dogs

Dogs bark very loud

They are very furry too

Be careful, they bite!

And my personal favorite . . . .

You're always incorrect

Math is incorrect

Seven plus two equals five

That is incorrect

My new school

Bible Center School is where I am now teaching

Long time . . . you know the drill

I'm teaching again!!  More to come . . .

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

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!

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

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!!

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

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

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

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

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!!

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

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 . . . .

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 !!

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

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 . . .

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 . . . . .

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

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!!