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| In reference to this question after reading a story in Spanish class: "Que pone la mama en la mesa y que hace el nino?" "I don't get what #4 says...All I'm getting is 'How do you lay a mom down on the table and make a kid?'" Gotta love 8th graders!! | | |
| So my Christmas break is very rapidly drawing to a close, and in about 24 hours I'll be laying my pretty little head down on a pillow early and preparing (and probably tossing & turning all night while dreaming about) for Monday-the day I head back to work. Now I realize that 2 weeks off is a much longer amount of time than most people get, so I'm definitely thankful for that time. But I'm also just sorta...dreading...going back. Don't get me wrong, I really do enjoy teaching. But there are some issues that I'm trying to deal with at my current school that just leave me less than elated to be returning. January won't be so bad, though. I have 2 full weeks when we return, and then there are some days off for holidays, inauguration (yay for living nearby), and exam week, not to mention a random built in teacher work day! So I really can't complain. Now February and March will be an entirely different story. I may complain then haha. I do miss being a housewife. Well, I don't miss always being home, because that got boring. But I do miss having that extra time in a day to spend cleaning, cooking, and those things that I know are important yet so often overlooked. But what can ya do :) Anyway, I really am trying to stay positive about going back. I do enjoy the general nature of the work so I am trying to focus on that while still maximizing the amount of time I get to spend NOT doing teaching stuff :) I'm currently also working on trying to do better at "time management". Incidentally,have you ever noticed how much TIME it takes to manage your time?! Seriously, what's up with that? Random I know, but just something I realized today. Basically, my ideal day would be to wake up, work out, shower & get ready, go to work, get everything ready for the following day (if not already done in advance which would be even more ideal) before I leave work, come home, relax, make dinner, relax, go to bed. Now...that's all in theory. My days usually end up going more like "wake up, get ready, go to work, make copies, set up for the day, teach, have meetings, teach, come home, try to get rid of a headache, avoid working out, forget to make dinner, throw something together and hope it fills us up, shower, go to bed. ha. See the difference? Yeah, but we'll see if I can manage to make my "ideal" day work. It's a good theory and I'm going to try here one of these days. But I think this break has just inspired me, which will probably wear off after the wear & tear of the daily grind comes back. So I realize at this point I'm rambling, but if you're still reading it's really your own fault. That's just a little of what's going through my mind right now as I try to prepare for the upcoming week. A guy at the beginning of the school year put it so well, and I can't remember his exact words, so I will give a general idea of what he said: "...[break] is over! You can't change that. There's nothing you can do to bring it back. So you might as well get over it and face the facts that it's time to go back to school! Stop complaining and start planning!" Yeah, it was so much more eloquent, but I loved his quote and I repeat it to myself every day. :) Bueno...adios, descanso! | | |
| So I've never experienced anything quite like I did this morning. I was talking with mom at about 6:30 when I looked out the front window (which overlooks I-95) and noticed traffic was moving a little slow. Usually, when traffic is moving that slow, an accident has happened and both 95 and Rt 1 are backed up. Well. . ."backed up" doesn't describe this morning. My 10 minute commute took about 40 minutes. No rain, no snow, no major disaster in the world. . .just an (apparently) bad accident. Well, I got to school at about 7:25, 20 minutes before kids can arrive, and I'm not kidding--there were only 4 cars in the lot. I only saw one other person as I pulled in. I sorta laughed to myself because I know how many teachers are coming from the south, where traffic was so backed up. I ended up getting a call from 3 different teachers because they were stuck in traffic. It took some teachers 2 hours to get to school, which put them at 9:00. We held our homerooms until 9, 15 minutes before 1st period usually ends. It was just really bizarre. To know that so many people were late for work (and 2 hours at that) because of an accident. Just one reason I despise this area. You'd NEVER hear of something quite like this where I'm from. Seriously--so bizarre. | | |
| What do those three things have in common? They're all a recent event in my life! I got a job teaching Spanish at a local middle school, and after a week and a half of prep, and 4 days of school, I'm still loving it!! Of course it is a challenge, but I've always enjoyed being challenged. Lesson planning is coming a little more naturally than when I taught in NC, so that's also good. Still time consuming, but when it's something you enjoy that's not always a bad thing. Now give me a few weeks when I start to feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over again...then I might get a little more stressed. But then again that's really what school is-we tend to do the same basic things in any given class. The material is the main thing that changes. Anyway, I'm truly glad I got this job, and while I really enjoyed the people I worked with on base, I completely love what I'm doing right now and am so much happier with this job. I feel like it's a good place for me to be :) Puppies...well...yes, I have two of them now. Gracie is just over a year (you knew that) and cute as ever, and as of last night we officially have a 9 week old puppy named Samson. He's also a bullmastiff and came to us all the way from Iowa!! We expected a 7:20 flight and ended up with a 4:30 flight, getting a phone call at 5, taking off as fast as possible, and amazingly arriving at Reagan airport in a near record breaking time of just 45 minutes!! Poor little Samson was all shook up in the airport and so nervous and dehydrated...but he's doing really well today! He's been in his kennel most of the day cuz he's not house-broken, plus Gracie doens't seem to realize she weighs 100 lbs more than he does, so she tends to plow him down pretty good when they're playing. Makes us a little too nervous. Poor Gracie has gotten in trouble quite a bit for not listening, but that was to be expected with the introduction of a new pup. Samson FINALLY peed and pooed outside this afternoon/evening. He does NOT like rain, so every time we'd take him out he'd go running back inside. It was kinda humorous, but kinda frustrating! Anyway, he finally did. He already knows what the Pup-a-ronis are...he is learning quickly to come when called and how to sit. His name is coming slowly but surely, but no doubt he'll get it. I think he'll be a good learner if we keep on him. We'll see. Cute as a button, that's for sure. I love that I can pick him up... I miss that about Gracie. But I'm also excited to see what he looks like all grown up, so it will be a fun trip. I think he and Gracie will be good friends :)  Rain...well, I realize that's not completely new, I realize, but it really hasn't rained much here in VA over the last couple months, so it really is sorta new. Tropical Storm Hanna came up from NC to the I=95 corridor dropping buckets of rain on us. I was a little scared when I first knew it was coming cuz I've never dealt with a tropical storm before, but we didn't get the worst, I guess. Mainly just a whole lotta rain and a little wind. No biggie. Kept us inside all day, though, except for that whole "trying to get Samson to pee outdoors" thing. From what I hear Ike was following Hanna's path but has now taken a turn for the Gulf. I hate it for those people, but I'm relieved (for now) to not be worrying about a hurricane coming my way. We'll see. You just never know when it comes to mother nature. That's about all that's new in my life. Momo-in-law is coming to visit next weekend so we're looking forward to that ;) Oh yes...and yay for OSU and we're getting ready to watch the Texas game shortly. Gonna be a late night tonight! <3> | | |
| Sooo....after four months of job searching I landed a job at the Quantico Education Center in July. I have really enjoyed working there as I work with a fantastic group of ladies, however...a couple weeks ago I got a call to interview for a Middle School Spanish position, and it ends up (more by luck than skill, I think), that I got offered the position. SO...I'm leaving my current job on base to begin a new adventure in teaching!! I'm pretty excited and very nervous all at the same time! I saw my classroom yesterday for the first time and there is a lot of decorating to be done. I feel sorta rushed to get things done and prepared because I'm still working my current job up until teachers start back to work. Kinda double-duty right now. I have some good ideas (thanks in part to looking around at some of my friends' classrooms & other resources & getting some ideas). . .now i just gotta put them all into action. We'll see. I hope I do well at this teaching thing, because I think I will really enjoy the line of work and getting to use my Spanish :) It's all rather exciting. That's about all with my life right now. Oh yeah, and I'm going to start dancing again. Sorta. It's adult ballet/modern, so it won't be anything *too* intense. But it's ballet nonetheless so I'm excited. Yup...that's it. Lots of love from VA  | | |
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