Posts (page 2)

I am officially done with my first semester here! It went by ridiculously fast, but I am glad to be one semester closer to actually teaching. It was a good couple of months, I met a lot of nice people and learned a lot. It's weird to think I'll never have Children's Lit or Curriculum or (thank God) C&T200 again! Next semester will be even busier and I am NOT looking forward to 8am classes :\ But hopefully this will be a nice break!

I'm stuck here working until next Friday, when the kids are finally done with school. Things have been going pretty well. Today I tried a music activity with them but some of the songs I picked were too hard for them to analyze. I think I'll start with something more concrete next time. It looks like I'm getting switched to the Homework room in March, and I'm not sure what to think about that. I will definitely miss my group. We'll see how things go.

Of course I am feeling sick now that break is here...ugh. Hopefully it goes away quickly. I can't believe it is already December! Where has 2007 gone?

Did you shop for great deals on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?  Or did you observe Buy Nothing Day?

I didn't shop on Black Friday unless you count looking for a Christmas tree for my brother and his wife. I don't really find shopping on this day to be worth it- some people are just a little ridiculous about it. I had no idea what Cyber Monday and Buy Nothing Day were until I looked them up so no, I didn't observe those days either.

I don't have a lot of shopping to do this year, but I'm not sure when I'll do it either. We'll see :)

Thanksgiving in Austin was a little boring and weird at first, but it was made better by watching movies, eating pumpkin pudding and putting up the Christmas tree. I will miss Thanksgiving with my Dad's side though, it seems weird without them.

What are some ways you save money? 
Submitted by Pixiemom.  

1. Not drinking - Honestly, not buying alcohol or going out to bars has saved me a bundle over the years :)
2. Buying off brand stuff
3. I pay for most essentials (food and gas) with my Borders Rewards card. In turn, they send me gift cards to use at Borders...so I don't have to pay for my books :)
4. Not spending more than I make...my paychecks are never cashed. They are either directly deposited into my account or I deposit them myself. I never have cash. I think being frugal is mostly a frame of mind. I don't view myself as making money to spend on things I want, I view it as making money to replenish the money I spend on things like gas, food, bills and the occasional book. I don't buy expensive name brand clothes, I shop sales, I use coupons. I've been like this since I was a kid hording babysitting money in a box under my bed.

5. I shop at Wal-Mart ;)

Where is the farthest you have ever been away from home? Did you get homesick? 
Submitted by Melissa.

This is my question so I might as well answer it.

The farthest from home I have ever been was when I went to Japan- I was over 6000 miles from home. I did get a little homesick, especially when I changed host families, but it wasn't too bad. I honestly think I get more homesick living in my college town since it's long term. I miss seeing my family all the time and sometimes it feels like it would just be easier if I still lived at home and if my brother and his wife still lived nearby too.

I never want to forget the feeling I just felt today so I think I will paint it in words.

I worked at a summer camp and at an after school program from January to August of this year and it was a great experience. I loved the kids and the staff. I last saw them on August 1st, the final day of our summer program.

I decided to go back and visit today because our amazing director, Mary, is leaving to work with the Peace Corps in Africa soon and today was here last day at Sunflower. I told one staff member, Nick, that I was coming back today.

~~~~~~~

I drove from my apartment straight to the school, about a thirty minute drive. I got off the highway around 3:10. It felt strange to take that familiar right into the neighborhood where the school is. Our summer program was at a different school so I hadn't been back to our building for a long time. As I pulled into the parking lot, I started to feel kind of nervous. What if I didn't feel like I belonged when I walked in? What if the kids didn't remember me? What if the staff was too busy to talk to me? What if it felt like a mistake and I felt silly for going back? I said a little prayer, got out of my car, and headed for the building. A few teachers chastized me for not using the crosswalk. I entered the building and took a right to the cafeteria, where our program is held. On the way I passed Meilene, a girl in our program who I liked very much. She turned her head but didn't say anything, like she recognized me but couldn't remember why.

I walked into the ever familiar cafeteria and saw that instead of having the students split into groups by age level, all of the 80 students in the program were seated at long tables, chattering away. Several staff members were opening boxes of Papa John's pizza to set out pizza for snack- they were excited to have a special treat in honor of Mary leaving. Alexis noticed me first and shouted, "Miss Melissa!" as she ran to give me a hug. Suddenly, heads began turning and kids began shouting my name excitedly. Kids jumped out of their seats and ran to wrap their arms around me. We had a group hug of at least 20 kids going. I felt little hands grabbing at me and saw little faces with missing teeth smiling up at me. A huge smile spread across my face. One of my favorite coworkers, Alyssa, ran over. Kids that I didn't recognize began to join the hug circle too. Soon we were laughing and I felt myself rocking back and forth until we toppled to the ground. Everyone was completely distracted from what Mary was saying, and I hear her say, "Ok, get in a hug and then come back and sit down!" And slowly, the kids began to dissipate. I looked around at all the smiling faces. My heart swelled. I had forgotten how great it felt to be a part of this group. They still remembered. I still belonged.

It turns out that day at work was so bad because the kids had "Fall Festival" parties in school and were all sugared up. I wasn't expecting it- I figured they would have parties on Halloween like normal kids. Apparently not. They were back to being good this week so that was a relief- even my biggest trouble maker was really well behaved. I don't have to work tomorrow or next Friday so that's nice!

I had an allergic reaction to my allergy shot today and I broke out in hives. It was kind of scary, I've never had anything like that happen to me before. My throat was swelling and it made me cough a lot. They gave me a shot in the hip and it kind of hurt...it also made me extremely drowsy so I came home and slept. I was pretty bummed that my easy day was ruined by a shot. Oh well, at least I'm ok.

Halloween was ok. Tim and I watched "1408" and we both enjoyed it. We didn't dress up or have a party or candy or anything so that was a bummer. I read a scary story to my group and brought them candy. I'm glad I got to celebrate with kids. I can't wait to teach.

Mom and I are going to Branson this weekend! It should be fun :)

Yesterday was really bad and I hope that it wasn't all my fault.

I am really nervous about enrolling in my classes because a lot of the classes I need to take are filling up and I might get stuck with going all day long on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which would suck. I don't know if I'll be able to work or not and I would hate it if I couldn't.

Work itself was bad, a few kids ruined the day for all of us and it felt awful to have to punish a group based on a few kids acting up...but those kids were so rude and disrespectful, I don't know what to do. Luckily Ryan was there to help me out...I can't believe I cried in the bathroom but I just felt like I had no control and even when I tried to start activities, they just didn't listen. We didn't accomplish much yesterday. Luckily some of the kids are great.

A few days ago, Tim and I made plans to go to Hannah's swim meet. Yesterday, we planned on eating dinner together and I told him I would thaw out some chicken to make. I was on my way home from that terrible work experience and he told me he was going to pass on dinner and the meet and go out with him brother, who he invited to come over and drink last minute. So I was left with three large chicken breasts and a vast quantity of vegetables to cook (and eat?) myself. Needless to say, this was the straw that broke the camel's back. I ended up missing Hannah's meet and spending the evening alone.

I ended up staying home by myself and I watched a Harry Potter movie.

What a gross day.

I hope I can get into the classes I need.

I hope I can reach my kids so we can accomplish something together.

I hope Tim thinks of my feelings in the future.

I hope I am cut out to be a teacher.

Thank God for Ryan, Ashley and Jenna, who gave me what I needed yesterday.

It seems like time continues to fly by. I can't believe it is October 21st and that I am halfway through my first semester here. It's crazy. I'm finally adjusting and I've met a lot of great people- thank God for the cadre system! It's really nice to know people that have the same interests and passions that I do. I like being able to relate to them.

I visited Matt and Shauna in Austin last week and it was interesting. They kind of bickered a lot so I felt a little awkward but it would be really stressful to move away from friends and family and to be isolated like that in the beginning of marriage. I think it must be especially hard for Shauna because she's not all that outgoing and Matt makes friends wherever he goes- and he likes to party. Anyway, right after I got home, she had to go to the hospital and have one of her ovaries removed. So now she's recovering for 4-6 weeks, her mother is staying with them, and I wonder how that's going. Hopefully it'll bring them together and not drive them apart.

I think this is the first time I've ever really looked forward to fall. I'm excited for it to get cooler and I'm looking forward to Halloween. I definitely can't wait til Christmas break! I've been reading books like crazy and I love it. I miss home and I miss having my mom to talk to but having Tim here is very helpful. He's great :)

Chris came over last night and it was great to be with him again. He never changes and I love that about him. Andrew came over too and...well, I guess Andrew and I are just different people with completely different goals and interests. I don't think we'll hang out anymore...and I think I'm ok with that.

Note to self: Don't throw work shirt into the bottom of the hamper, pile dirty clothes on top and then forget to wash them before Monday. Try to avoid becoming the smelly kid.

What are some things that are worth (and not worth) spending money on? 
Submitted by pinejar.

Worth it:
BOOKS!!!
Food, especially ice cream
Travel
Gifts for loved ones

Not worth it:
Alcohol
The food at Bambino's
A parking pass

Have you figured out what your (or your kids') Halloween costume will be this year?  What's it going to be?

I'll be Hermione, Tim will be Ron and Elvis will be Crookshanks :) I just hope I can actually put this together!!