enjoy

Halloween 2010

The Beginning.

The dance party!!

Spartans!!

The girls.

Legos.

Dumb and Dumber (Luke and Trent)

The Bee and The Ninja (turtle)

The Monk and The Turtle

House, Link, Clark Kent, Ninja Turtle

Driving Ninja Turtle.

Start the oven!!

My hot shower was ready for me as I dreamily awaited the few moments of relaxation and relief I would have before shutting my tired eyes. These moments were long gone once I realized that I promised my students brownies for tomorrow if they did their homework from last night. It was 10:30 pm (way past my bed time as of late), and I was rushing to Kroger. Brownies. Eggs. Juice.

Great. I just realized I forgot the plastic cups.

Anyway, the brownies are in the oven, and I will be waiting the 45 minutes they will take to cook. Hello, midnight! Hello, very few hours of sleep. Hello, Starbucks!!

(Happy Friday!)

Late Night (comical)

Halloween 2009

It's 10:16, and I am up LATE! I never thought I would say that. I am so close, yet so far from the ever-so-crazy days of college. I admit to enjoying the structure of the schedule, though I would prefer to sleep in more.

Anyhow, since all I talk about is school anymore, I wanted to let you know I am figuring out what teachers would sometimes leave out things on tests that they had just taught. I have been plowing (rather slowly) through Patrick Henry, Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin. However, I am going to just finish Benjamin Franklin tomorrow (hopefully). I've told the students they will be tested on Friday. It just seems too rushed! They need to be tested, though, and it'll be better than waiting until Monday. I've written them a review guide (not telling them what is on the test, but rather a bullet list of things to know and study). Since they are juniors, I figure instead of taking Friday to review and push the test back, I'll just give them the review and tell them to study tomorrow night. The class is only 45 minutes, so the test can only be so long. I think they can do it! I'm really not sure, though.

I promised them brownies if at least 10 people bring their homework (completed) for me tomorrow. I have seen more zeros than I ever wanted to in the past few weeks, and I'm sick of it! Sure enough, many of them had it done before the end of the day--that just shows how easy the homework I am giving them is! (and they still don't do it). I'm hoping one treat will encourage them to continue doing homework...

I also started bathroom passes this week. They didn't like it, but they're handling it find and not arguing. I think they're realizing I'm not going to put up with their tricks, and I'm their teacher from now on. I've been pretty stern with them lately, but I also make sure to take time to laugh and smile with them. I'm having a great time. :)

Other than teaching, I don't have much going on! Haha. It has taken ovarrrrrrr.

Halloween is this weekend, though! I'm excited, but I have no costume. I've been a thrown-together hippie each year, just so I could have a "costume" to go downtown with. I want to be Wonder Woman so badly, but I just don't feel like spending $80 on a full costume, and I've waited too long to make one. Maybe I can pull it off?? It's basically my last year of being in a college town, so I need to go out! It's going to be a crazy weekend for sure. Downtown for Saturday night--I'll be hoping to see many people dressed up--last year was AWESOME.

Happy almost-Friday :)

Childhood

This song is the perfect melody to lead one back to a childhood memory. It brings me to...

my first overnight with ice cream for breakfast (omg!),
begging my father to let me ride the toys in the yard,
watching the squirrels out my window and giving them names,
saving a baby bird and feeding it with a straw,
coin tricks from my grandfather while he was sick,
laser tag with my brother in the front yard,
blue-box macaroni and cheese,
dangerous ride-toys
the rebellion of climbing trees,
eating the "best toast ever" my father would make,
singing with my hairbrush mic to the animals and trees out my window,
believing I sounded just like Amy Grant,
sneaking a huge gulp of cold, bitter coffee which I thought was coke,
making my brother play barbies with me,
playing cars with him,
thinking there was a huge scary face on my shade each night,
chatting with hairy, bearded Billy, my next door neighbor,
handmade mailboxes made of shoe boxes,
the warmth of Christmas Eve in the basement,
Wishbone,
trying to write songs,
loud music every Saturday morning coming from the basement,
a prayer each night,
going to the mall for the AC,
wondering if our car was going to stall that day or not,
cooing to my neighbors--it was our secret call for each other,
double-talk that drove my mom crazy,
crooked bangs,
capture-the-flag,
my first shooting star,
Dad's Donald Duck impression,
shopping with Mom,
fishing on The River,
my first dog-love, Plato,
willow trees,
running in the sprinkler,
feeling the love from my family,

..to name a few.

Simplistically Serinating

I could listen to this over and over again...

GRADING

Tonight I will be grading papers. No, there is nothing more but to simply grade. I don't get it; I gave the kids a quiz today and already graded it. However, I have had a pile of (longer) essay papers for another class that I have avoided for days. Here I go...

unforgettable moon

Imagine this: a crisp night in Fall, and the trees left with only their courageous bare skin. The leaves delicately rest upon the top layer of the lake nearby. It is dark, and only the sound of the wind tickling the branches is heard. Two people sit in a boat, drifting along at a slow pace, so that they can remember these few moments far longer than they are destined to last. Within minutes, a light begins to come over the tips of the trees in the distance. It is round and wondrous and ready to gift itself as the beauty of the night. It rises slowly and gracefully, teasing the on-lookers with its majestically dominating size. Soon it is the new sun, the hope of the night, staring down at the people in the boat. They are so taken back by the beauty of this moon, they can say nothing. They lean back into their pillow of adoration and allow the light to blanket their souls. They no longer notice the cold. They no longer notice the edges of the lake and its noises. The moment is so real and beautiful, so they don't dare go inside. Breathing in the air is all that they do with the hope of sketching this image with all senses of their bodies, so they never forget.

ps

This link will take you to a group of videos that makes me ever so thankful I didn't mess up the National Anthem during my high school graduation!

http://www.asylum.com/2010/10/21/the-worst-national-anthem-fails/?ncid=webmail

Puppies

These are two adorable puppies one of my neighbor's is fostering. Aren't they precious!?

This Day Has Been Awesome!!!

What a good Friday!!

I had a great day at school I'm not sure if it was just because it was Friday, but the whole day ran smoothly, and both my lesson went well! (I'll be teaching two classes each day from now on). My 3B block finished their summaries of the Declaration of Independence, and we hung them around the room. I made up a lesson as I went for 4th block, but it turned out great!! The sub even said she really loved my lesson. Did I tell you that yesterday I also got a compliment from another teacher? She said I was doing great (in comparison to some of the other younger teachers, I guess). Also, I may have mentioned this, but my observation went great yesterday! Overall, this day has been a great end to my week, and a wonderful boost of confidence in my teaching career.

And here goes... the rest of my Friday so far (and it's only 8 30!):

I went outside with L to carve pumpkins and hang out with neighbors. Well, after most of the neighbors made their exit, we sat on my stoop to carve the pumpkins. One of my neighbor's drunk roommates was outside, and he decided he wanted to join us! After chatting for a while, he wanted to take my pumpkin, so I let him. He wanted to draw the picture for me to carve, and that was fine too. He then wanted to carve my pumpkin! Haha. I'm not very good at it anyway, so I let him--plus I could use the other side if I wanted. He made a (pretty terrible) college acronym. I was pretty straight forward with him with how bad it was. Later he told me I seemed pretty laid back and asked where I was from blah blah. I didn't even tell him I liked music, and he wanted to use my laptop, so I let him (this is pretty much the story of the night). He played, rocked, and jammed out to his favorite music for an hour or so. I have to say it was pretty fun--too bad he probably won't remember it!! haha. We were discussing how great voices are, and how we both wished we could sing better (he sings a bit as well), and he wanted to play one of the "greatest" songs: Simple Man. I loved hearing that because I was introduced to that song this summer (as mentioned earlier in the blog). This guy, however, played the version by Shinedown. It was a really good version, but they didn't have the beautiful, moving guitar parts that Lynyrd Skynyrd does so well. Overall, GREAT song.

After a while, I had to hint that we were going in, and he said goodbye to everyone. He had earlier asked what we were doing tonight, but I told him I was probably going to bed earlier than he would expect.

It was just a really funny, entertaining couple of hours. What's hilarious is that I've met this guy maybe twice before because he's taken the neighbor's dog out for him before. Good times!!

Hope you're enjoying your Friday as much as I am.

Get me to the coffee house.

This is all I said after work today. It was another learning experience to say the least! I am really enjoying it, even with the hard experiences I'm learning from, but it is still exhausting. How many times have I said this already? I feel like a broken record. Yet, I write on...

English is so incredibly huge. I don't really know how else to think of it. The thing that's different is that it is endless. The topic of literature can go on and on forever until the ends of the earth!...which is why I love it so much! However, it is really overwhelming to try to organize what I want to say as I go. As much of a scatter-brained undiagnosed A.D.D person I am (more than likely), it is pretty challenging. I feel perfectly comfortable (for the most part) talking in front of class, but sometimes I lack the proper sentence structure and choice of words in my language as I go. It's as if I can't find the right words to say. Maybe it's nerves? Maybe I'm just not comfortable with the content? Maybe it's lack of sleep? It could be a number of things.

All I know is even though I'm not getting paid for this experience (rather, I'm paying for it), it will definitely pay off in the end. I can't wait to actually have my own classroom instead of being in the strange position of student teacher/substitute/peer/friend/thing.

Until later...

You may have (and should) notice by now how much I love Ingrid Michaelson. She was introduced to me a few years ago. I bought a ten dollar ticket to see a show in a small concert hall. When I left, the only thing I could say to my friend was, "Wow, she's going to be famous soon." Her voice was incredibly tuned and controlled. Sure enough, only a few months later, she was on television and on the radio! Crazy.

Not sure how I miss out on things, but SHE HAS A NEW CD OUT!! I'm going to buy it ASAP, as in tomorrow after work. Here's her popular song from the CD:

Recent Pandora Find

His voice is addicting.

Is it Friday yet?

A friend sent me a text with those words, and I couldn't agree more. Today was such a learning experience!! I realize how real it is for me to be in charge of a class or two now, and it's a little whack. We continued our talk and activities on Patrick Henry, but yet again, only got through a little more. The class is so short!! Let's just say that it was a very long day, and it's going to be a long night. I have so much planning (now I believe my friends who student taught last semester that always would say 'just been planning really'), and I don't even have a working printer! I also have to make a rubric....which is a lot harder than it seems! -- the grading aspect, that is.

I have to say, though, I'm so glad I have this experience. I can't imagine going into teaching on my own without it. I have learned so much in only a few days, and over the weeks (this is 5 already!), I have gathered so much material for future classes. I already need to buy a 3-4 inch notebook to replace mine.

OH and as a side note: my car has been working just fine! It only has shuttered a couple of times, but it hasn't stalled again. It has days where it feels stronger than others, but it gets me to work each day! Thank God for that.

Tomorrow I look forward to a pumpkin spice latte date with a friend after work--yessssss.

hello, monday

The Patrick Henry lesson went well.. but so fast! The class is 45 minutes long, and I planned to get through at least 1/3 of my lesson. I didn't even get through the notes! Wow. I had them do a journal entry to get us focused on the topic, though, so maybe that played a role in how short the time became. I will get right into it tomorrow. After finishing notes, I will discuss the artwork of the speech with them, and then I'll play the audio. They will get into groups to find rhetorical questions, allusions, antithesis, etc. for about ten minutes. Then, the assignment for the class will be to think of something they would want to tell the school if they had its attention -- as Henry did for his speech. What would they say? What topic would they choose? They will (hopefully) present by Wednesday. If this all works out, I will be starting The Declaration of Independence on Thursday when I will be observed.

...annnddd the weekend is gone!

What a wild, busy weekend. In short:

Friday night: hang out with friends and movie night
Saturday: engagement session (beautiful scenery), dinner date, bookstore
Sunday: J's parents came to visit/discuss wedding, lunch date, phone chat with bro, hang out with friends

Now I'm crazily trying to gather my ideas for my lesson plans and teaching that begins (full time) tomorrow. I have to teach Patrick Henry's Speech in the Virginia Convention... the class is 45 minutes long, so the lesson will probably take about three days.

Here's my plan so far (in short and in my language):

What does liberty mean?
"Give me liberty or give me death!"
Fill-in notes/discussion
Audio of speech
Break-down of speech: repetition, parallelism, rhetoric, persuasion, etc. (the part I'm struggling with now)
Group activity
Homework

It is a lot to get under control, and I will admit to having anxiety, and I'm stressssed, but everything has worked out well so far, so I know it will be okay! Enjoy Monday, everyone.

I did it!

I officially taught all day today because my teacher was out for an appointment. It was so much fun and so successful! I had no major problems! I can tell the students are used to me now and see me as an authority figure (for the most part)--thank God. Overall, it was a great Friday, and this weekend is going to be awesome. More later :)

Great Video For Class

I came across this video tonight, and I plan to use it for my teaching of The Declaration of Independence next week.

update!!

Remember that friend Jason of mine that I JUST wrote a blog post about and I hadn't talked to in over two years??? Yeah, I got an e-mail from him that he sent from his phone late last night that he had been thinking about me lately, and he's still in San Diego! Haha. I absolutely love life sometimes. It's such a friggin' ride.

Pumpkin Pickin'

My friend and I went to the local pumpkin patch last weekend. It was perfect weather at around 50-55 degrees. It was cloudy and breezy, both of which add to that fall feeling. We both picked up a pumpkin that we're going to carve soon before Halloween. We also grabbed some cider at the main building. This place had spectacular views of the mountains and fields. I already want to go back!

Too Cool

Check out this bike shelf. It's so chic and modern.

 http://www.swiss-miss.com/2010/09/bike-shelf.html

Thankful

I feel a bit odd writing about religion, spirituality, whatever you want to call it, but I shall indeed write on...

The Glee episode this week was surprisingly religious. It was filled with gospel music (which I happen to adore) and other spiritual songs. It was weird to watch because I haven't been to church in long time. I hate writing about religion (usually), and I don't enjoy arguing about it either. However, I plan to touch on a few topics that come to mind....
Where it began for me: My childhood was filled with church because my family attended each week. My dad has always played his trumpet and sang in the church band, so I was surrounded with late nights in the basement watching him practice. Even though he wasn't always playing church music (most likely it was jazz), I still mostly remember the Christian music we sang together while he would chime in on the trumpet. My mom would always play Christian music in the car and everywhere. I grew up singing with Amy Grant--she was my favorite, and I thought I sounded like her. Also, many of my close childhood friends were from church, so that was an influence.

Starting in high school and college, I used to sing on the stage every Sunday with our church band (totally hip). That was the most moving part of my week--to have the mic in hand and think only about what I was singing. No matter how exhausted I was each Sunday morning, there was always a moment that refreshed me.  I still have a notebook filled with hundreds of worship songs I would flip through each week. There were a few that had specific parts (I usually did alto harmony) that would give me chills each time.

On a different note, there were also negative outward influences on my spiritual living. I was exposed to a very religious family during high school, and I went to church three times each week. I knew people there that were completely different when they stepped into the church parking lot after sitting through a service. I knew people that preached, only to turn around and live completely different lives than what they claimed. These people hurt me a great deal, making me feel insecure in my spiritual side. They showed me the negative side of religion and all that comes with it. Thing is, though, everyone meets these people. I guess it's the choice of whether or not to judge an entire religion off of those people, or get rid of them.I did get rid of them, but it still affects how I view religion today. I choose not to push any specific type of worship or beliefs on anyone because everyone has their own relationship and their own comfort. If I push it on someone else, they will only see me as as close-minded person. Why would I want to do that? If I was affected so greatly by something, and I was a Christian at the time--how would another feel if they weren't religious at all?

I also prefer not to talk about denominations because they are all so different. Right away, people are judged for his or her denomination, and some of them actually feel like they have closer relationships with God than other churches. I see no point in this, as it is creating separation and outcasts.

Even though I haven't been to church in a while, and I have been living the college lifestyle for a while, I am still thankful I was brought up in a church. I am far from the outwardly "religious" type, and I prefer to stay away from that term, but I know that when I see a green and blue painting of a view in front of me called nature--there lies my faith, and it's a beautiful thing. I picture church on a mountainside or in a field of flowers, where all you see is creation. To me, that is perfect.

Hmm

Alright, so these morning blog posts are really just for me. I do not plan to entertain you in any manner; rather, plan to help myself wake up. I am ready a few minutes earlier than I was yesterday, so I have a few minutes to spare. I went to bed before 11 again last night, and I'm feeling much, much better than I did in my first week. However, now I have the fact that I'm going to take over full-time next week looming over my head. I found out today that after I teach colonial literature, I get to move on to people like Edgar Allen Poe, which is pretty cool. The best part of all this is that I will have a whole notebook filled with lesson plans for 11th grade English! I finally finally finally feel okay with my lesson plan for Patrick Henry as of now. Tonight I'm going to try to finish the Declaration lesson plan, then show my teacher all of the work tomorrow. Unfortunately, I also have to do Ben Franklin. So little time!! I will be teaching this class and another for the rest of the semester. Ohhhh my.

The worst and best part of waking up this early is taking the dog out. I hate doing it because there is no one outside, it feels isolated, and because my first day of student teaching ever, there were two drunk idiots that decided it would be funny to yell at me very loudly about four times. I freaked. The best part is that there is no one outside, it feels isolated (yes, repeating myself), and it is beautiful. It is the only time of day I see my yard and parking lot with absolutely no one in it but the breathing cold air.

I'm anxiously awaiting the days I have to get up earlier to defrost my car. I don't think I will like anything about morning then.

"Women wish to be loved without a why or a wherefore; not because they are pretty, or good, or well-bred, or graceful, or intelligent, but because they are themselves." -- Henri Frederic Amiel

Awake

Glad I woke up this morning. After about five snooze alarms, I was about to get up...thennn just put my head on the pillow for just a sec. Of course, that never works out. I have half an hour to get all ready to go. I really feel like I need that coffee this morning. If only it didn't hurt my stomach on this early mornings.

Yesterday was more of an observation day, and today is more of my teaching day. I will help with a class and teach them about cognitive development and Piaget's theories. I'm helping with another class, too, and I think it's about government/politics.

Hope you all are having a good week. I must say I felt awesome yesterday (considering it was a Monday), and I'm not so high of hopes today, but I'll get there! The only thing I can think of in the mornings now is how I'm going to come go to bed right after work because it will feel amazing. That, of course, never happens! I always feel good after school--no need to sleep!

California Bound

No, I'm not California bound, unfortunately. However, I got a text from my brother on Friday to let me know that he was "in LA, and it's really nice, you should visit." I was shocked!! My uncle lives out there, and after we reunited with his for the first time in 13 years this summer, my brother and I both thought of visiting him one day, but I didn't think he would this soon! Honestly, it was perfect timing for him. He's in between jobs, has money saved from summer, and got a car recently. He's all set for adventure, and frankly, I'm jealous! (Yes, I'm already planning the same trip for a year or two from now...) He went by himself, probably slept in his car, and got there Friday after traveling since Monday. Crazy! I hope he's having a great time, and I really hope he got a camera before he went driving. Have fun, bro.

TGIF

Thank the Lord in the high heavens it's Friday.

It's not even 10 pm on a Friday night, and I'm ready for a soothing shower and my bed. I never thought I would be saying these words!

I had a great day at school today--must have been because it was Friday--but the kids were so fun, and I taught some of the AP class (they clapped for me lol... I had forgotten they had never seen me teach before) and some of the English 11 class. One student high-fived me afterward. There are many more stories about the day, which is why teaching is so perfect for me, but no need to bore you with them!

After work I went shopping with my friend Laurie looking for shoes for work and wedding. Of course, we found nothing. I proceeded to grab some fun Halloween items and a couple of sweaters for work.

Tomorrow I plan on relaxing and getting some lesson plans done (I'm taking over full-time soon.. it's the only way I'll get in my hours by [maybe] late December. Sunday I am going to the Pumpkin Patch.

October is beginning beautifully.