lists from a girl

Busy, busy teaching girl

2011-12-15T11:30:00.001-05:00

These days, I am less of a blogging girl, and more of a teaching girl. I do love blogging, but I like teaching more :) I have not yet landed a full-time teaching job, so as I continue to job-search I am spending my time substitute teaching several days a week.

People regularly ask me, "What is your favorite grade?" and I can now honestly say that I do not have one. There are so many things I love about working with each grade, that I could not choose just one. Today I am teaching a group of 31 mature, independent and cooperative fifth graders. They are wonderful. Today my favorite grade is fifth. Tuesday I taught a group of 32 fabulous third graders. Tuesday my favorite grade was third.

My 23rd birthday is quickly approaching, and I am forced to reflect on my life since graduation. What have I accomplished since graduation? What have I learned? What have a given? What have I shared? How have I grown? I am content with my 'grown-up' life, but at the same time, I am anxious to continue moving forward. I still have a way to go. I used to think that 23 was so old, but now that I am turning the page, I feel just about as young and inexperienced as ever, but more and more like myself. I am learning who I am. So much still to do. So much still to learn.

*********

Wanna know what I do when I'm not teaching? I shop. That's right folks! Tonight I am scheduled for my third shopping trip of the week. I have lost some weight, which is great and all, but it's starting to break the bank. Seriously. I suppose there could be worse things in the world. On tonight's shopping list: skirts that will stay on. Seriously folks, 35lbs makes skirts have a tendency to end up around your ankles. Wish me luck!

"We grow neither better nor worse as we get old, but more like ourselves." - May Lamberton Becker

Blustery Days

2011-10-14T13:26:00.002-04:00

The quick transition from falling rays to blustery days has kicked my mind into full "fall mode". Summer is my favorite for sure, but fall is a close second. Okay, not really close, but it comes in second for sure. What is so great about fall? I'm glad you asked, for I am in the mood for a list!

Top reasons to love fall:

1. Pumpkin cookies.

2. Wassail.

3. Colors.

4. Football.

Falling Rays

2011-10-08T10:47:00.001-04:00

It is fall, but it is also glorious beach weather. I love southwest Michigan. Leaves falling behind me, while Lake Michigan is glistening before me. The great thing about beach days in the fall is that the shore isn't crowded.

Yesterday my mom and I spent about two hours down at the beach after doing some stuff around the house in the morning. I collected beach glass, took some pictures and went for a [chilly] dip in the lake.

This is the life.

Wedding Days

2011-09-26T13:23:00.002-04:00

Between working at weddings and being at the age where all my friends seem to think it's cool to be getting married, I have spent a fair share of my weekends this summer eating overpriced meals and dancing to cheesy song. I have also spent great time with friends and gotten to fill my brain with tons of ideas.

Yesterday I went to a wedding with Isaac at a local barn that is rented out for weddings and receptions. This barn has beautiful, well-kept grounds which make them the perfect place for outdoor ceremonies. Unfortunately, yesterday's weather covered SW Michigan in rain, so the ceremony was moved indoors. Regardless of the unfortunate weather, the wedding was beautiful.

Isaac spent a majority of the evening editing the recording of the ceremony he took for the couple.

All the soda was bottled, which really enhanced the vintage feel of the wedding.

I love this barn!

To go along with the wedding theme, here are some pictures I snapped on my phone of various wedding details from parties I worked this summer. I seriously have gotten so many good ideas.

Beach Haven, in South Haven. Party favors (Chocolate covered pretzels) stuffed in the napkins. That's right, folks, I folded and stuffed 200 napkins.

The Blue Dress Barn. This receptions was for two doctors so their favors were little first aid kits.

I love these flowers, but it was a little windy and the vases were so light that they kept falling over. Love love love the fabric liners.

This reception (at The Veranda) was probably the most elegant that I went to all summer. All their wine came from The Round Barn Winery (which I love). They had a variety of center pieces which look so lovely. Everything was so clean and crisp! The next two pictures are also from this wedding.

Mill Creek Barns. Oh goodness, I can't figure out how to rotate this! This couple had a place for wedding guest to leave their finger print on a tree. Loved this idea.

Mill Creek. This may have been the same wedding as the last picture, but I'm not sure. This venue has an outdoor fire pit so this couple provided their guest with the fixings for s'mores.

The Blue Dress Barn. The apple table is something that we set up for appetizers. When we're using the smaller piece of glass (shown) we only put apples around the outside, but if we're using a larger piece (which fills the whole table) we fill the entire area with green apples. Guests always compliment on this!

The Veranda. Hated these centerpieces! It seriously looked like a horse tail sticking out of a vase.

The Heritage Center. Loved these creative centerpieces! They were lit from the insides for later when the lights were dimmed and there were live fish swimming in them, too!

Birthday Boy

2011-08-07T23:07:00.000-04:00

My boyfriend has passed the 2-1 mile marker. Yes, he is younger than me, but only my 19 months :) We've spent the whole weekend celebrating this event with family dinners and evenings out with friends. It's been wonderful.

summer blossom

2011-07-12T11:33:00.000-04:00

I love flowers, with the exception of roses. Not pictures of flowers, though. I like the real things.

Fresh. Clean. Vibrant.

The hydrangeas around my home are in full bloom and I love bringing them inside.

Naomi was gone for the weekend visiting friends hours away and brought me a fabulous gift. I love accented headbands and my sister brought me this adorable gray headband from J. Crew, which I love, love, love. She's the best.

Sweet Summer Sun

2011-07-12T10:29:00.001-04:00

I may have become a teensy-bit obsessed with sunscreen this summer [please note my paleness compared to Naomi below], but that doesn't mean I am not enjoying the sweet summer sun. Granted I am usually enjoying it in the evenings, I am enjoying it nonetheless.

Last night's sunset was exceptional (as they all seem to be lately), and I enjoyed the majority of it from the water with my closest friends. Southwest Michigan has a lot of wonderful things to offer, but the lake is by far my favorite. I love the way the sun sparkles off the water, almost as if it were a continuation of the sky. I would spend every waking hour at the lake if my schedule allowed. Last night I was at Weko Beach in Bridgman where my sister and I met up with friends after we finished up volunteering at Vacation Bible School, where we are spending our early evenings this week.

Last weekend was the Krasl Art Fair on the bluff in downtown St. Joseph, and I spent an afternoon walking around and enjoying the booths with Isaac. There were so many beautiful pieces. I look forward to going each summer, but going this year with an artist made it a little different. His compliments and critiques of different works forced me to look at the art in different ways that I would normally. I loved it.

I have the day off of work today, but that doesn't mean I'm not doing anything. I had a doctor appointment this morning, followed by a Caribou Coffee run. Of course I have to watch The Bachelorette episode from last night since I wasn't home to watch it, and I am sure that I will be able to find something else to do with my afternoon [beach?].

I cannot believe how quickly the summer is passing by. This happens every year, doesn't it? I still do not have any jobs lined up for the fall, but I working on it and trusting that God has something prepared for me.

2011-07-02T01:26:00.000-04:00

It has been hard for me to find the motivation to post lately. It's not that I don't have things to write about because believe me, I do. It's not that I don't have the time because, let's face it, that's a really lame excuse for not being able to do anything. It's not because I don't have pictures, because HOLLA! My camera is practically never more than a foot from my hand (Ha. That sounds funny. Maybe I should have written 12 inches). It just doesn't dawn on me to do it. Maybe it's because I feel as though I do a lot of the same things over and over again. I work. I walk downtown. I date my boyfriend. I watch movies. I go shopping. I hang out with my friends and family. Repeat. You've read it all, heard it all and seen the pictures all before. This summer is a little different, though. There is no real end date in sight. I am here indefinitely. I despise uncertainty, and that is all the I see in my future today. I know things will work out, yes, they always do. I will be safe, loved and provided for no matter where or how my summer ends. I like to plan ahead and work through every little step and detail, but I can only see through this weekend. Prayers do not seem sufficient and hoping only exhausts me. Patients is not my strongest area, and lately I feel weak. And tired, so tired. Maybe that's the real reason behind my lack of recent posts. I am tired.

c.a.k.e p.o.p.s.

2011-05-29T10:35:00.000-04:00

With my dear boyfriend 1177.66 miles away attending NEXT 2011, I have had a little more time to myself this weekend. This is neither good nor bad, I should add, because although I do miss him [kind of a lot] I have also enjoyed the more low-key weekend around the house. I have spent time with my sister, cleaned a ton [seriously, I love cleaning], and also spent a little time in the kitchen. I love blogs, obviously, and I have been intregued with Bakerella's cake pops from day #1. With a little extra free-time on my hands, and the fact that I practically ran into the ingredients while browsing Factory Card Outlet with my sister, I found that last night was the perfect time to try my hand at cake pop making. They may not hold a candle to Bakerella's, but that doesn't mean they're half-bad, either.

They do take kind of awhile to make, but for a special occasion, they're certainly worth it! First you bake a cake. Just a normal cake from a box. Once the cake is baked and cooled, you pop it into your mixer and crumble it. Next you add 3/4 a can of frosting and mix. Once the whole cake is crumbled and moist from the frosting, you use your hands to roll the mixture into 1 1/2 inch cake balls. Deposit them into the freezer for about 15 minutes to harden.

While they were in the freezer hardening, I got the candy melts ready. It only took about a minute in 50% power in the microwave to completely melt the candy pieces.

The final steps were quite easy. I just dipped the sticks into the melted candy before pushing them into the cake balls, and then refroze for about one minute to harden the candy which was now holding the lollipop sticks in place.

After that I just dipped them into the melted candy, splashed a couple green sprinkles onto them and voilà!

I think they are simple precious, and decadently delicious, too.

h.o.m.e.

2011-05-26T14:59:00.002-04:00

I love the beach. No surprise, right? It is the perfect place for getting away from other things in my life. Sometimes I have no real reason for going, other than I enjoy being there. Monday evening I was on my way to hang out with Isaac while did some work at the church, when I noticed that the sun had broken through the clouds as it was setting. I took a detour past the on-ramp I was planning to take, and a minute and a half later my toes were in the sand. This is my home.

I've graduated, folks! [and I have the cards to prove it]

2011-05-21T11:58:00.001-04:00

I am really not sure what to do now...so far my life has seemed to consist of school. Going to school, planning for school, shopping for school supplies. As the cards I have been receiving lately have reminded me, I am a college graduate now. For the time being, this is where my formal schooling stops. Sure, graduate school will come, but not quite yet. Time for the classes and homework to stop, just as the job searching and applications begin. I suppose I do know what I am supposed to do now, it's just a little sad, but also exciting. As much as I complained and procrastinated, I did like school. I like learning and feeling enriched, challenged.

My last day of student teaching left me with piles of cards, notes and pictures from my class. I cannot decide what to do with them all now. Trash? Frame? Scrapbook? I will most likely read through them all again before pulling out a few meaningful ones to keep as I throw away the others. As precious as little notes are to me, I already have bags full of them, and I can only hope there will be more to come, so I simply cannot keep them all.

Here are a couple of the notes from my last day at Roanoke Elementary:

I had a chance to go back and visit my classroom one last time while I was in town, the day before graduation. I read with them, listened to their songs and watched their dances that had been performed at their class talent show the day before, went out to recess where they showed me a nest of baby birds they had been watching, listened to their stories from their class camping trip the weekend before, and took a timed test with them. The student who "got" to grade mine was SHOCKED that I had missed two problems. I really only missed one, but one of my quickly written numbers was wrongly interpreted as a 9, instead of an 8, but oh well, I guess they had to learn sooner or later that I am not perfect :)

I miss them a lot.

One last piece of graduation proof, just in case you didn't believe me:

One of the great things about being done and home from school: more time with people I missed spending regular time with.

I love my sister dearly, even if we fight over stupid things such as whether or not The Price is Right is on tv on Saturday mornings, and even if I am insanely jealous of her iPhone and wicked fashion sense.

Last night was date night with this boy. Dinner at Tim's Too, which was delicious. I had never been there before, and cannot wait to go back. If you're from the area, or ever in the area, I would highly recommend it. Of course, Isaac had to Instagram the event. Shocker :)

After dinner, we walked around downtown, checked out the new surf shop, got some space ice cream, and mocked the farm animals scattered around the sidewalks, before catching a movie <3

2011-05-18T10:04:00.000-04:00

You know what's great about being home? Having a mom around who will make you single-serve jello cups when you're on day 2 of a sore, sore throat.

I think it's time for a little quicky update on my post-college life so far.

Following a late afternoon shopping trip a couple Saturdays ago [on Mother's Day eve], I made an evening trip to the ER. where I was poked, drugged up, ct scanned, drained of almost all my blood and then finally sent home. Woohooo for the recent discovery of *kidney stones* ick.

The next day was Mother's Day and we spent the afternoon at my Grandparent's home. Here my sister and I are with our wonderful mother:

Oh yeah, and then there was also graduation! Last Saturday I graduated from Huntington University. I feel like I finished the journey well (four.point.oh.baby!) and was very excited to finally hold that diploma!

My sister and brother-in-law come to watch! I am so happy I got to see them, even if it was only for a couple hours.

To see the rest of my pictures from graduation, click here :)

2011-05-04T12:32:00.000-04:00

Talk about being a lame blogger! The minute I walked out of the classroom, I lost my blogging inspiration. It may have something to do with the overabundance of graduation related work that I have been doing pretty much non-stop since I arrived home.

My last day of teaching was great. Well, I guess I didn't actually do any teaching since I had completely phased out, but it was still great to be there. Later into the afternoon I was summoned to the principle's office for a "meeting" aka to get me out of the classroom so they could get a party ready. I came back from my "meeting" to 18 students who jumped out of hiding with an overwhelming "SURPRISE" and met me at the door with hugs. We played music, opened presents, ate cake and said our last goodbyes before I left.

I made gift bags with little notes for each of my students.


Okay, so I realize that they do not all look super excited here, but I promise it's just the picture...they really are a happy bunch!

They were a fun class of kids, and I am so happy for the time that I got to spend teaching them and learning from them, but I am ready to move on. I am ready for a classroom of my own and I am so excited about the possibilities that my future is holding!

So now comes the question of what to do with this blog? It has always been about my college life (hence the title: Lists from a college girl), and then more recently about student teaching, which was the major culminating activity to my college career. Graduation is quickly approaching, and I will no longer be a 'college girl'. Perhaps this will become a place with posts from a 'job searching girl' or a 'newly employed girl' or [hopefully!] 'first year teaching girl'.

:*( Farwell Friday

2011-04-29T10:20:00.000-04:00

Some sweet girls in my classroom were in charge of the agenda board today, and they made it into just about the sweetest thing ever. It is indeed my last day here, but I have already scheduled a return visit, so there's no need to get choked up quite yet [as if that could stop me].

I guess I shall bring my umbrella to school today

2011-04-27T07:51:00.000-04:00

Easter Socks

2011-04-26T12:18:00.000-04:00

My mother loves seasonal socks. She has socks for Valentine's, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Saint Patty's - if there's a themed sock, I can assure you that she has it. And it's not enough for her to just buy them for herself...she likes the share the love. I get new socks for Valentine's, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, Saint Patty's. You get the point. This past holiday weekend was no different. My Easter basket was adorned with not one, but two new pairs of Easter socks. I thought they went well with my dress.

Sunday morning I went to church with my family. After church, we gathered back at home for a couple family photos before going over to my grandparent's for dinner and games. I was exhausted. I am a little tired of saying that, but it seems to be just about the only feeling I have lately. Blah. Oh, one more thing before I post a ridiculous amount of pictures. I love flowers. Particularly spring flowers, aka Easter flowers. Lovely.

Naomi made us some DELICIOUS deviled eggs

After dinner, games and naps, my family + Isaac went to see African Cats, which I loved. Amazing. I love the DisneyNature movies.

This is my last week in the elementary school. I have been observing and subbing in various rooms. Today and tomorrow I get to spend big chunks of the day in Kindergarten, which I have been LOVING.

Biggby

2011-04-19T21:55:00.000-04:00

There's this coffee place in downtown St. Joe. It's new. I've only been there twice and I'll be honest, I am not completely sold. Their drinks are good, but more fluffy than I usually like my coffee - if that makes sense. Dessert coffee, I call it.

Isaac loves dessert coffee. Last weekend we met up with some friends who recently got back into town after spending several months away. It was so great to catch up with Kaela and Britt. I have deeply missed my girlfriends.

The time with them was too short, as Isaac had to get to work and I had to head back to school, but I have our summer days in the coming months to look forward to.

Other highlights from the weekend included going to see a movie with Isaac's brother and sister-in-law, and spending an entire day hanging out with my parents: browsing Lowes, TJMaxx, Silver Beach Pizza, and The Truman Show. Overall it resulted in a new mirror in my bedroom which Isaac gladly helped hang as I watched on.

It was a rejuvenating and overall really beneficial weekend. I needed it.

In the classroom

2011-04-18T20:47:00.001-04:00

My mom and grandma come to my school this afternoon! They arrived right at the end of the school day so that they could see my classroom and get a little tour of the school. It was great to see them both, and I thought it was fun to get to bring someone(s) from my home-life into my school-life, even if it was only for a brief visit. My teacher side of my life is something that not many people actually get to see, so I loved having them there.

Mom snapped a picture of me posing with the whiteboard, which was still covered from the science lesson I had just taught.


Kristin, the teacher who's sharing her room with me, and me. I seriously have been so blessed.

After seeing the school, we spent a little time back at my apartment before they took me out to dinner. I so regret not getting a picture with both of them! I have so many things to be thankful for in my life, including these two wonderful women.

Fortunate Friday

2011-04-15T09:34:00.001-04:00

I went a little overboard this morning while filling out our agenda board. It's a crazy busy day, and I even forgot to add our spelling test - oops!

I love to be efficient. I don't like to waste time, and I like to get as much done as possible. I like to know what I have already accomplished and what I still need to do. I love having an agenda board.

Okay, so I know that these pictures are so not excellent, but I thought I would share them anyway [obviously]. Last night I had CPR training. My certification was actually still good through November, but since I am required hold a current certification for licensing and it was being offered, I figured I'd jump on the chance to take it with my teacher friends.

Erica and Carrie were SO excited to be re-certified!

Carrie was here for the evening, which I loved. We squeezed in CPR training, coffee, popcorn and plenty of pillow talk. It was grand. I like her a lot.

Fridays are pretty fast-paced days. Specials all morning. Math test. Spelling test. We have a special program in the gym this afternoon. Busy day. I like being busy. I like Fridays. Also, my cooperating teaching has a brunch at my university all morning, so I am workin' alone. And seriously, not that I don't like working with her in the room, but there's something that feels so good about being the 'real' teacher.

Also, Sunday is one of my student's birthday so...cupcakes today!

Agenda: 4-14-11

2011-04-14T13:00:00.001-04:00

I think we'd all agree that my whiteboard writing could stand to be improved, but gosh darn it! Writing in a straight line is harder than it looks! I have gotten much better over the last 12 weeks, but still have a way to go.

Today our morning was pretty much shot. Between art class, NWEA testing and it being picture day, I only got to see them for about 35 minutes before I walked them down to lunch. Is it lame that I sort of miss them when they're away?

Today I am feeling very sentimental as I realize that after today, I will only be in this classroom 7 more days. Maybe it is that I have not really been sleeping this week. Maybe it's that they are the first class that I have ever been with where I really felt appreciated. Maybe I just actually like them. No matter the reason, I am sure that life will move on after my time is over here. I just hope and pray that the time, energy and love that I have pour into this classroom will have made a lasting impact on them, as much as it has on me.

Plus I'm wearing my leopard print shoes today, so things have to be okay.

Graduation Gowns and Yearbook Photos

2011-04-13T21:12:00.000-04:00

A little catch-up with pictures.

Oh, what to wear for graduation? Too many cute choices. Why can't we just have three ceremonies?

These are from back over spring break. Running a fever and feeling less than amazing, I spent one afternoon snoozing on the couch in the theater. Don't worry - I was more than adequately cared for thanks to my wonderful boyfriend who showed up [sprite, chocolate and flowers in-hand] to watch movies with me. I am blessed.

Another spring break collage: Movie/crafting/homework night at the home of my lovely friend Brittney [who slept though the movie...I guess she was crafting way too hard!]

Hey look! I'm in the yearbook! That's right folks, my first official teacher picture in a yearbook :)

I have been wearing dresses this week. I may be a little obsessed. Okay, so I have actually only worn two, but it's only Wednesday.

Abby's birthday was yesterday, and my dad's was last Saturday. Sunday afternoon we partied with my grandparents who joined us for lunch and pie.

Oh Poppa. Just precious. Wait...is he sticking his tongue out?

Oh man. 9:12pm and I am heading to bed. Must I say it again? Being a grown-up is so not what I thought it would be.

Flag Day [happy birthday, Abigail]!

2011-04-12T08:54:00.001-04:00

Okay, okay! I do not want you to think that I am some horrible teacher who doesn't even know when Flag Day is (for the record, it's June 14th this year) - rather I would like you to think that I am some amazing teacher who comes up with fun (and educational of course) projects for her students.

We recently learned about the Alaska flag as we followed the Iditarod, and I had each of my students create a classroom flag. They each cast a vote for their favorite flag and we now have a (semi-official) class flag. Thanks to Isaac for doing the re-creation and enlarging :) I cannot wait for the kids to come in and see it hanging where we used to have the Alaska flag.

I like being back in the classroom and spending my days with my students, but I miss spring break already! Among other things, I also worked at the Children's Center and enjoyed spending a couple mornings teaching, reading to and cuddling my summer ~~babies~~ kids again - I missed them.

Here's what's on my teaching agenda this week:
Science: Magnetism
Reading: The Whipping Boy, Out of the Dust, and Running Out of Time
Math: Mean, median, mode and range
Writing: Informational writing

Happy Birthday to a wonderful sister and best friend. Abby is 25 today!

I love you, Abby!!!

I am obsessed.

2011-04-07T20:39:00.000-04:00

With these two boys, I am slightly obsessed.

I love their smiles. I love their passion (ha!) for monopoly. I love their reactions to the 3D version of Journey to the Center of the Earth. I love how they begged me to play an, "old fashioned" game with them...only to find that it was actually just kicking a soccer ball back and forth. I love how much they love bouncing on the yoga balls and playing monkey in the middle. I love that the would rather play outside than watch a movie. I love how much they love making cookies.

That's one obsession that I don't exactly hate.

Home clothes

2011-04-04T12:24:00.000-04:00

Haha, okay so I know that this is completely random, but let me share about my home clothes. Home clothes are very different than school clothes. School clothes are always matching, always proper, and never worn more than once. Home clothes, on the other hand, rarely match, are always comfortable, and parts are often worn more than once. Home clothes are comfy. And don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting dressed up for work, but home clothes over spring break are the way to go.

Mismatched florals? Check.

Workout clothes consisting of black, grey (multiple shades) and brown? Check. Leggings AND shorts? Check.

I have loved feeling like I finally have a couple minutes to relax...in a row! I have gotten to the gym every day, spent plenty of time with friends and eating a exceedingly large amount of Easter candy. Life is grand.

Freaky Friday and Sunny Saturday

2011-04-04T01:00:00.001-04:00

As previously promised, here are pictures from the April Fool's jokes that I played on my students:

I was honestly shocked by how many of them had no idea that it was April Fool's day! I found great fun in watching them come in and ask, "WHAT? WHY DO WE HAVE SO MANY TEST?"

Last night after dinner out with my parents, Isaac and I went down to Weko Beach to walk and watch the sunset. How is it that I never get sick is spending time at Lake Michigan, or watching the sun go down? Ah, so sorry! I just have phone pics from the beach.

After the sun was down, we stopped by my house to grab my camera and empty the sand out of my shoes, then we went bowling! Now, the place we went is super old-school and I loved it. The carpeted wall was seriously amazing, and I would not be surprised if the shoes I rented were older than I am.

It was a really fun night...even if Isaac was hugging Jason real creepily. Also, I bowled a high enough score to exceed my goal, which was to get more than Isaac.

Isaac: 60 something

Beth: 123. Oh yeah.

The longest day in history

2011-04-03T01:37:00.001-04:00

Friday was possibly the longest day in history. It was the day before spring break. It was April Fool's day. My students were hyper and their attention span = .32 seconds. It was bad. And it was long.

After school ended on the longest day in history, teachers rejoiced and jumped for joy. No school for one week. No lesson plans or grading. No 6:30am alarms or 9pm bedtimes. I quickly closed up the classroom for the day and (practically) sprinted to my car, for it was my little blue car that would carry me across the roads which divided school from home, work from play, and stress from relaxation.

I guess I should add a little disclaimer that the day was not all bad. Long, yes. Terrible, no. One student brought in cupcakes for her 10th birthday, covered in florescent frosting which left my tongue pink for at least 12 hours. Yum.

Also, I started reading a new book to the class during my read aloud time, Running Out of Time.

Since Friday was April Fool's Day, I played two simple pranks on my students, but you will have to wait for another day to see the pictures since they're on my phone, and for some reason, my computer's bluetooth is not in the mood for accepting new file.

Spring break is awesome. So far: Grandma's birthday, 24 w. Isaac, yoga class, shopping, dinner out with my parents, watched The Emperor's Club (love that movie!), sunset at Weko beach, bowling and a brand spankin' new charger for my Mac thanks to Isaac who is wonderful.

White boards

2011-03-31T09:01:00.000-04:00

Agenda board! Part of the Highly Effective Teaching model that this school corporation follows, is to include and agenda board in each classroom, filled out with the day's activities. The kids love it when I will let one of them fill out the board, but I secretly like doing it myself. Also, when they do it, it usually turns into one huge whiteboard art project, where the day's events are hard to decipher :)

So sorry this one is blurry! Each morning my students are greeted by a message on the board, instructing them toward how they should be spending their morning time. It's great because even if for some reason I am not in the room when they arrive, they can still get started.

The "move your tent" in the previous picture refers to the lunch tents that each student has. This is how we take lunch count. Each student will find the tent with their name on it, and then move it to the appropriate column, depending on what they would like to order for lunch.

Meet Mac the science guy. Mac has a lot of questions and each day his question, which also happens to be the topic for my science lesson, will be present on the board when the kids come in from afternoon recess. Along with Mac, they always find which page we will be starting on.

I love whiteboards. The only problem with ours is that it doesn't erase very well, so each night I wash it down with a wet washcloth to get all the smeared colors off of it. I must admit, it took me a couple weeks to get used to writing on the board...I had been practicing on a chalkboard, which is very different than writing on the whiteboard, but I think I have finally gotten the hang of it.

Date nights

2011-03-30T23:02:00.000-04:00

March 2011

December 2010

Not gonna lie...I kind of prefer the latter.

Musher!

2011-03-28T23:18:00.000-04:00

In honor of the pending season of Spring, I decided to wear a skirt today, even though it was only 31 degrees when I left for school.

Today we had a program which consisted of a man from Alaska who is a Musher coming and speaking to us about sled racing. It was honestly really interesting and he did a great job keeping the kids (and the teachers) interested and focused on what he was talking about.

He brought with him a sled, snow shoes, mushing clothing and one of his dogs, Nightlight, who is an Alaskan Husky.

You would not believe the size of the mittens (not gloves!) these people have to wear! That'd keep ya warm.

Monday is over, and oh man, it has been a long day! Hurry up Friday!

welcome, spring!

2011-03-26T22:57:00.001-04:00

One very important thing I forgot to mention when sharing about my love for Fridays...jeans! On Fridays at school we always get to wear jeans. I love my pointy toed shoes and dress slacks, but to slid into a comfy pair of jeans bring a whole new level of satisfaction to my life. And yes, I am still documenting my daily "teacher outfits".

Spring is in the air here at HU, and although the weather man still rattles off temperatures in the 30's, I choose to believe that the beautiful sunshine is a stronger indicator of the season than the thermometer. I love spring. I haven't spent much time with my newest buddy, Nikon, this semesters on account of working full time and going to bed a ridiculously early hours, but he and I spent some time together Friday early evening as I went for a walk around the campus that I will soon be leaving.

There's a beautiful little lake here at HU. Unfortunately, it smells nasty on account of there being hundreds of dead fish in it!

Oh the soccer fields, where I have watch my roommate Brittney play many games.

I am not a fan of disc golf as it has resulted in me being hit with a frisbee more than once.

Look Mom! The bulbs we planted are sprouting (please, ignore the weeds!)

Ah yes. Spring is in the air! Only one week until Spring Break 2011!

Friday.

2011-03-25T20:36:00.000-04:00

Friday! Friday has always been a wonderful day, as long as I can remember, but now that I am working >full time, they have taken on a whole new meaning.
Friday mornings in an Elementary school start with teachers who plaster on fake smiles as they welcome their students into the classroom. Not that we are not happy to see them, but the week has been long, and we're wearing thin.

So yes, we greet them with a smile, but inside we're screaming. IS IT 3:45 YET?

If you're good a pulling it off, you may even smile through the first pile of papers you will grade today. But that smile won't last for long.

I used to love grading papers. I felt official. Entering grades made me feel like a real teacher. Writing words of congratulations on the 100's brought me great joy. It's not that I now hate doing these things, but the newness is gone. And there are always more papers to be graded, more lessons to be planned, more meetings to attend, and more conferences to schedule.

It's been a long week, folks. And you want to know what I am going to do to celebrate the arrival of Friday night? I am going to pop a little popcorn, slid in a dvd from my top 10 lists, and tuck myself into bed, preferably at some time prior to 9:30pm.

Being a grown-up is not exactly what I had imagined it to be.

Running on apples and coffee

2011-03-22T09:16:00.000-04:00

Just because other teachers here at work do not drink coffee, does not mean that I have any intention of stopping. I have no idea how they make it through the morning [not to mention the afternoon!] with out at least one cup of delicious coffee goodness.

I am starting to think that apples for teachers are a good idea. I mean, I still think that it's cheesy when teachers wear apples on their clothes, but seriously! Apples give you so much energy! I have started eating one each morning with my coffee and I'd estimate that my daily energy has about doubled

= a happy, energetic teacher.

Today's teaching agenda:

Writing: Famous Hoosier report

Math: Symmetry and area

Science: How does heat travel? Insulators and conductors

Reading: Out of the Dust

Happy Tuesday!

raindrops

2011-03-20T23:15:00.000-04:00

With both of my roommates gone this past week, I had no desire to spend a weekend alone on campus, so I went home. I was also able to schedule a dr. appt. so it was not only socially beneficial, but health-wise, it was good too. Ha.

Friday night I went out to dinner with my parents and younger sisters, who was still home on the tail end of her spring break. Afterward, I spent some time at home before going out to watch the stars with my boyfriend. It was wonderful to see them all again, even after only being away for a week.

Saturday I went to my dr. appointment and then spent a little bit of time shopping alone before joining my boyfriend for an afternoon with his siblings in Kalamazoo. We got some delicious Chinese food, played games and went to a movie - on our way to dinner we passed the cutest puppy in the car next to us, haha.

On the way to dinner.

After the movie and on our way back home (it is only about a 45 minute drive) we stopped for drinks (SPRITE!) and then he took me to his favorite doughnut shop for a little snack for the road.

I don't even remember what he called the kind of doughnut (I let him pick) but it was delicious. Don't worry! We didn't finish the whole box :)

Sunday morning a friend of mine, Brittney, who has been out of the country for a couple months, picked me up for church and we grabbed Starbucks on the way. Why in the world doesn't my school's town have a Starbucks? Mmmm...so good. Anyway, it was wonderful to see her! After church my family ordered pizza from our favorite place, Silver Beach Pizza, and spent a little family time together before my sister left to go back to her school. I spent a little time packing and doing laundry before meeting up with Brittney again to do a little shopping before meeting some other friend for a movie. It was cloudy and raining all afternoon, but I loved it. Rain makes everything cleaner, and we all know how I approve of cleanliness.

It was a great weekend, folks! I am excited to get back to teaching in the morning, but also looking forward to spring break (in two weeks!)

You know what's great?

2011-03-17T08:51:00.000-04:00

Downloaded the latest version of Skype earlier this week. Best feature ever? Three way video calls:

Okay, so I realize this isn't exactly an amazing picture or anything, but it still shows the amazingness that is the new video feature. Unfortunately to use the feature, one of the users has to be a subscriber of Skype Premium (or be using their free 7-day trial). Bummer.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

pantry - woohoo

2011-03-14T21:28:00.000-04:00

I love to think that I am OCD, although I know it is not true. I like cleaning. I really like cleaning, actually. Saturday morning I skipped yoga class and stayed home to clean out the pantry and bake cookies.

Here are the before pictures:

A cup of coffee later and voila!

Okay, so it's not like a professional cleaning job or anything, but I was in speed-cleaning mode!

Then came the cookies :)

More weekend pictures to follow :)

Just a day

2011-03-09T21:59:00.000-05:00

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

At church on Sunday, the congregation was challenged to memorize these verse which went along with the morning's message about peace making. I'm not quite there yet, but I'm working on it!

We have chicks again in my classroom, and this time we're actually getting to see them hatch, thanks to the lack of snow days. This morning when I arrived at school, one had hatched overnight and then over the course of the day the kids and I got to see two more hatch. Oh the wonder of birth (or hatch)! The kids are so intrigued by it - I love watching the wonder and excitement on their faces as they watch the little baby chickens peck their way out of their shell.

Here's our first little hatchling as I found him this morning.

Our incubator set-up.

So what does a student teacher do after such an exciting day filled with watching chicks hatch? I am so glad you asked. I come home. I write more lesson plans, and I spend the majority of my evening in this very chair with my eyes glancing between teacher's manuals and the computer screen.

Now this is sort of a completely random thing to share, I suppose, but I found a place with decent coffee right by the school! Score. And with my recent decisions to pass on soda for a while, I can only predict my coffee consumption will increase.

And what do my roommates do while I lesson plan the night away? They play dress up! Trying on outfit after outfit as they pack for spring break, which starts on Saturday for students here at HU. No spring break for me yet though - my spring break this year will following the elementary school's break schedule instead of the universities. Only 23 more days!

So there you have it - just a day in my [student teaching] life.

[Today also marks 7 month with my boyfriend, but who's counting? Congratulations, Baby, for making it this far! :) ]

Laughter in the Walls

2011-03-09T17:05:00.000-05:00

Nearly every thing I do
needs doing again so soon.

Most everything I did today
has to be redone tomorrow
or at last by the end of the week:
shaving, eating,
driving to work, cleaning the gutters,
building a fire, answering the mail,
keeping up with the Joneses,
talking on the phone.

All these, and a hundred other things,
make up my waking hours
day after day,
week after week,
until it seems that most of my life is spent
in a succession of marches
that do not matter
and numberless causes
that do not count

And I am made to wonder:
Will I give myself away
bit by bit-
time, thought
energy, love,
emotion, will -
to a collection of choices and projects
which will die as I do
because they mattered only to me?

Somehow may I use the lumber of my life
to build a ladder - straight, sturdy, true -
on which people may climb until they come to thee.
Or to fashion a cathedral - a quiet, holy place -
where people would pause and seek thy ways.
Or to plant a tree - tall, serene, fruitful -
whose shade would someday grant a traveler rest.

Let me share in thy works,

not asking that I must see the results in my day,

but laboring in this confidence:
Because it was done in thee,

it will someday come to fulfillment

and I will not have lived worthlessly, selfishly,

needlessly.

Life Is So Daily, by Bob Benson
(Thanks Dad!)

Sprite

2011-03-07T14:40:00.000-05:00

After taking a year off from drinking soda, my pop guzzling is back in full force. Now I will be the first to admit that since January 1st, I have consumed way too much, but what's even worse is that I have somehow developed a constant craving for Sprite, instead of my old favorite: Diet Coke. So Sprite is now my soda of choice, but I have made a conscious decision to pass on soda for lent this year, and will instead keep on refilling my water bottle.

**************************************************

My weekend! Oh man, I love weekends.

This past weekend at home included, but was not limited to the following activities:

playing Monoply Deal * Panera * yoga class * haircut * lesson planning * visiting with my grandparents * napping * watching movies * going to church * spending time with Isaac *

Game time with my parents

Mmmmmm. Sprite!

Naptime! Isaac, of course, fell asleep on my floor Sunday afternoon. I was playing a game on his ipod and fell asleep too. My creepy mom snapped a picture. Ha.

I love how cozy home feels to me

Sunday afternoon pre-nap laundry! Woohoo!

Sunday evening's sunset through my backyard. It's the second best thing when I can't get down to the beach.

So there you have it - a quick review of my weekend home. Happy Monday!

Dream in blue and white

2011-03-03T18:24:00.000-05:00

I have a love for homes.

.interior design.architecture.menard's.drywall.blueprints.pottery barn.2x4.ikea.lowes.grout.curtains.

I love it all.

I posted about two years ago about the house plan that I am saving in my Dad's office for the day when my family is big enough, and my bank account is large enough, to build it for myself.

I mentioned just the other day about the location of a home that I absolutely adore.

And now I have found a decorating job that I want to one day copy.

Now I just need to find a way to grow up, have a decent money supply, and combine these three homes.

Apples

2011-03-01T11:06:00.000-05:00

I honestly enjoy apples. I really do. However, the whole idea of teachers wearing apple apparel and jewelry does not hold my interest even in the smallest possible way. I do not want to wear knitted sweater vests covered with schoolhouses and apples, just because I have chosen a profession that has obvious icons (ahem, schoolhouses and apples). Do you ever see bankers or accountants wearing sweaters covered in money? Heck no!

I may refuse to wear ugly teacher sweaters, but that doesn't mean that I am completely opposed to wearing something that might indicate that I do, in fact, impact the lives, enrich the minds and inspire the creativity of our nation's future.

Being back in the classroom this week has been absolutely wonderful. I honestly enjoy coming to school each day. I am not even hating getting up early.

I have moved onto a new science unit so we are now learning about the properties of matter [if you have any creative teaching ideas, feel free to share them!], and I am learning a lot about how important it is to make lessons interesting so that I will hold the students' attention, even when the subject matter does not really sound that interesting. Bring on the science experiments, which my kids LOVE and I don't exactly hate myself. Tomorrow I am going to do a lab where we pour all sorts of liquids together (oil, water, corn syrup, dish soup, etc.) to see how the all separate according to their densities.

Yesterday my supervisor came to observe me teaching and I am happy to report that she only had good things to say. Sometimes it's nice to know that I am not the only one who thinks I'm cut out for this job :)

Today I'll leave you with a picture of myself (vain, I know, but once again...I can't post pictures of my students) in my classroom. See that bright sunshine-y goodness behind me? For the first time in a long time, we have the blinds open and the sun's pouring in ☼

Sunny Days

2011-02-28T16:52:00.001-05:00

Gorgeous, beautiful sunshine, baby! That's what I was made for! The sun has once again shown it's lovely face around these parts following hours of thunder and lightening last night. And oh, how I do love thunderstorms! I went to bed around a fairly normal time and was awakened near 1am by the crashing sounds of thunder. Unable to fall back asleep, I moved out to the living room, opened the blinds so I could see the rain, and drifted back to sleep as I listened to the rain drops falling against the windows between bolts of lightening. This morning the rain is gone and has left sunny skies, for which I am very thankful. Looking ahead in the forecast I see the rain and clouds will return far too soon, but for now I am simply going to bask in the wonder of the sun. I love the sun and I love warm days, now if only that 36 would turn into an 86 and the rain puddles outside would become Lake Michigan :)

If I had time to post other lovely pictures that I have taken lately, I certainly would do so instead of talking about the weather (as glorious as it may be). However, I have far too much to do to be spending time uploading and editing photos, so I will leave you with a song instead. Happy Monday!

Lahdedah

2011-02-25T10:59:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I guess I miscounted. Yesterday's snow day was #6, TODAY's is #7. I also counted up how many delayed starts or early dismissals we have had due to weather since I started on January 17th and the count is up to 5. That means that of the 30 week days that have come and gone since I begin, I have only actually had 17 full days (I was sick one day) in the classroom.

This morning when I get to cancellation text from the news center at 4:53am I instantly had a bad attitude as I turned off my alarm. At least this morning it wasn't just a 2-hr delay text at 5am followed by a 7am cancellation text, so I was able to just turn the alarm off instead of resetting it and then turning it off at 7. When I did finally wake up for the day, around 9, I made a conscious decision to not waste my day like I feel I have for the last two snow days this week. I woke up, made my coffee and since then I have done some devotions, some other reading and written in my journal. Seeing as I have not taken any pictures yet during this snow day, I will instead venture back to my roots and post a list.

Agenda for snow day #7:
Shower
Yoga
Go for a walk
Write min. 3 lesson plans
Read a couple chapters in A Long Way From Chicago (which I am reading with a guided reading group, and I have been doing a terrible job of keeping up with them!)
Wash my dishes
Vacuum
Go to the coffee shop and do something productive (ya know? Like NOT on-line shopping)

Hm, looks like a good day so I suppose I should get started.

Darn icy roads!

2011-02-24T13:11:00.002-05:00

While snow can lead to wonderful things like sledding and ice skating (neither of which I particularly love...but I assume that others do), 2hr delays and snow days (which I happen to have again today), it can also lead to torturous roads, especially here in the midwest. Take for example earlier this week. One evening I receive a call from my boyfriend. "I flipped my mom's van," he said calmly as my heart rate accelerated. Note to boys everywhere: if you are calling to tell someone that you have been in an accident, but you are physically okay, start the call with, "I'm fine, but..." :) Praise God that He was watching over Isaac and that he was able to walk away from the accident with only frozen toes. Darn icy roads! It's on evenings like this one that being 100 miles away is really not ideal.

[Thanks, Seth, for the pictures!]

Yes, today is ANOTHER snow day. In case you weren't counting, this is #7. A girl can only do so much on-line shopping! Please God, can I pretty please be a teacher tomorrow?

Egg week phone pictures!

2011-02-23T19:17:00.000-05:00

There's a whole lot of egg stuff in my classroom right now because this week is EGG WEEK! On Monday we had an incubator with 6 live eggs delivered to our room. Monday afternoon the eggs started peeping, but none of them fully hatched. Sometime between 4pm Monday and 8am Wednesday, all six of the eggs hatched. Unfortunately, Tuesday was a snow day, so we all missed the excitement of getting to see them hatch. Today, following a two-hour delay start, we arrived to find six happy chirping chicks! Tomorrow we have Science Night, where students and their parents will spend the evening at school learning all about different science themes. In our room they will, of course, be learning about chickens hatching. Visitors to our room will also get to play with the baby chicks.

Each day, during my science lesson, I sharing interesting facts about chickens/chicks/eggs. Here's today's fact.

Little chick decor is scattered around the room.

Outside our classroom door, we put up a bulletin board today which has the scientific process as well as Eggbert, our adopted egg friend.

Tomorrow I am going to bring in some eggs and crack them with the kiddos to learn all about the different parts of an egg. We are also going to read a couple books that I picked up at the library this afternoon. Woohoo!

Ironically, today's hot lunch was a chicken patty sandwich.

Did you know? Weekend and snow day!

2011-02-22T14:33:00.006-05:00

Did you know that I like to spend some weekends at home? Some days the drive seems longer than others, but this past weekend it seemed to be the longest of all. It's only about 100 miles, but I like to break it up a bit. For example, I always stop at the Pilot station that marks the half-way point. It doesn't matter if I need to stop at the restroom and get a drink or not. I always stop. No matter what.
This weekend I added another stop to my trip.
Every time I make the drive to or from school, I pass this church and from trip #1 it has always intrigued me. It's not particularly beautiful or large, nor does it possess anything exceptional that makes me like it for any particular reason. But I do. My added stop was to the large loop driveway leading up to the double doors so that I could snap a picture. Of course, my car likes to be in pictures, too.

Did you know that I love the Chalets next to my favorite beach? Once again, I don't really know why. I just think they're beautiful and I love what they represent. Carefree summer [or winter] days on the lake. Isaac and I resorted to parking there during our trip to watch the sunset Saturday night, because the gates to the public beach next door were still locked for the winter. Please note that where I stood to take this pictures should actually be Lake Michigan. See all those rocks in front of the chalets? They're where the lake normally starts. Thanks to the miracle that is frozen water, along with a lot of blown sand, the shoreline makes its way out quite a ways during the winter months.

As promised by the lovely blue sky and scattered clouds seen earlier in the day, the sunset was exquisite.

The company wasn't too bad either.

Following our freezing sunset adventure, our hands were FREEZING!

Especially considering he took me out for coffee after. Please notice that one of my eyes photographs much larger than the other. This is not the first time, let me assure you.

Did you know that I adore coffee? It's true!

It was a great weekend. Monday at school went great - nothing new to report except that we now have an incubator and live eggs in our classroom! However, due to today's snow day, I am likely missing getting to see them hatch :( Even though I may be missing the action that is supposedly going on in the classroom while we're all away, I am enjoying watching the snow outside, while also coming up with some other things to do such as online shopping, yoga, nap taking and...list making...because although I have failed to keep this blog's content aligned with its name, I do in fact still make lists, even if I do not often post them.

Please forgive the fact that this photo was taken through the screened window! It was a little bit too chilly to actually step outside for a picture :)

Yoga time, yes?

Yoga time? Yes!

Flowers

2011-02-15T21:54:00.005-05:00

I love flowers.

And I love cards.

Especially when they come from this boy.

But what I like even better than cards and flowers (and a handmade puzzle!) is when I get cards and flowers hand delivered from my Valentine himself.

Even if he makes this grumpy face a lot when I skype with him...I choose to believe this is his "I'm-glad-I-can-see-you-but-mad-that-I-can't-actually-be-with-you" face. As I mentioned before, he makes this face via skype a lot.

So yes, Valentine's was a success and to prove it, I have a couple more lovey-dovey pictures to share.

Kellyn made me an adorable card. Love the owl!

Part of my gift to Isaac.

Pink tulips arrived from my Dad.

Red and yellow tulips from Isaac.

Hug someone today.

Mmm...what's any holiday without Dove dark chocolates to make it a little sweeter?

From my parents.

Shoes on or shoes off, I'm appropriately adorned for the day (thanks to the new socks from my mom)

There's nothin' quite like that to make a girl feel loved <3

-26

2011-02-10T09:23:00.001-05:00

Because some students walk to school, we often have delays or cancellations when the temperature falls to a certain degree. With a windchill of -26, I am supplied with 2 extra hours at home this morning.

Oh, what to do with myself? My lessons are prepared and my lunch is already packed, so I will relax. Lay around in bed for an extra half hour. Stay in my pajamas until 9am. Slowly sip my coffee while I read my Bible. Take pictures of the beautiful sunrise. Sit in the hallway and watch the sun dance across the walls.

I love going to the elementary school each morning, but I do not object to a later arrival time.

As long as I can remember, I have been a night owl. I have hated mornings with a passion and have found the one single redeeming factor to be freshly brewed coffee. This, however, may be changing as of today.

2011-02-08T22:03:00.001-05:00

I cannot wait to have a classroom of my own. I want a place of my own to decorate and organize. I want a classroom of my own students to teach and guide through a year of their young lives.
I love how I feel when I am teaching.
Powerful.
When I am standing at the front of the classroom, I feel like I can change lives through the words I am sharing. When I greet students on Monday morning, I welcome the hugs that come along with their stories about their weekend and I enjoy every moment of it...knowing that their attitude toward me will not be the same at the end of the day as I assign their evening homework. Yes, they'll huff and they'll grumble, but tomorrow will come and with it will be more hugs.
I love hugs.

Do I look like a real teacher yet? And yes, I did take a picture of myself on my computer before the students arrived this morning. Please don't judge me.

My science unit is going really well. The whole class has remained engaged as I have taught about weather, erosion, deposition, landforms and avalanches. Tomorrow's agenda: volcanoes! Did you know that there are 169 volcanoes in the United States?

The teacher’s task is not to implant facts but to place the subject to be learned in front of the learner and, through sympathy, emotion, imagination and patience, to awaken in the learner the restless drive for answers and insights which enlarge the personal life and give it meaning. -- Nathan M Pusey, President, Harvard

Oh Monday!

2011-02-06T23:17:00.001-05:00

Have you ever caught yourself wondering what my favorite part of packing to come back to school is? Following a busy weekend at home, which is filled with late nights and jam-packed days, Sunday afternoons when I am home are always my laundry/packing day. You may wonder: is it the whole organizing of the suitcase that I find most enjoyable? Enjoyable? Yes. My favorite? No. My favorite part about packing to come back to school is not the smell of clean laundry, nor is it the vacuuming of the carpet (although I really do enjoy those things, too!). My favorite part about packing is how my tall boyfriend always manages to fall asleep as I run around the room gathering objects to stow away in my suitcase. I must be honest, for the sake of not wanting to be called a liar or over exaggerator: This has actually only happened twice, but it has been the last two times I have been home, so it could be the beginning of serious tradition.

Perhaps he is just being wise and resting up before he offers to carry upstairs and out to my car the various bags I have been packing (because he's wonderful like that).

While I was home, my older sister and her husband who live a couple hundred miles away, stopped by for a couple minutes on their way through town. I was so glad to see them, even if it was only for a bit!

And so the weekend concluded. It was my first time home since the beginning of the semester, and it felt very rushed. I got to spend time with my family and friends, so I cannot complain!

Oh Monday! How did you get here so quickly?!?

Snow Day #3 [or 4]

2011-02-03T11:04:00.001-05:00

Monday was my first day teaching science and it went great! The unit we are starting is called Changes In The Earth's Surface, and we're learning about weather and erosion. We haven't gotten very far this week, however, because we've had three snow days!
SNOW DAY #1: Tuesday my roommates and I braved the weather to have breakfast at Richard's.

After that we pretty much just laid around the apartment and didn't do much besides watch Friends.

SNOW DAY #2: Yesterday we started the morning out with coffee and pancakes as we watched the morning news in our living room.

After that we got a little more adventurous and ventured out into the snow to make sure that our cars would be movable come morning, on the off chance that we would actually have school.

After getting our cars cleaned off and moved into the parking lots and out of the path of the snowplows, we ventured down the snow-covered streets for a little afternoon adventure.

Ashlee had us over for dinner and craft night! We decorated glass bottles and made some adorable magnets with glass beads. I'll post pictures later if I think of it :)

SNOW DAY #3: Who knows?

Oh, what a night!

2011-01-29T14:55:00.000-05:00

Last night may go on the record was one of the strangest nights of my senior year. It started out all normal and whatnot. I got home from school about 4:30 and got ready to go shopping and out to dinner in Fort Wayne with Kellyn and Brittany. It was sunny outside and the rays were offering some fabulous natural light in our living room, so I had to take a picture of my lovely roommates before heading out.

In Fort Wayne, we had dinner at Panda Express where I decided that the food quality is about the same as other Chinese restaturants, but that the experience is superior because the little panda is just too darn cute!

We finished dinner and spent to rest of the evening browsing the mall where we found some extraordinary deals. A quick trip to Target for milkshake supplies and the night was going wonderfully before heading back to our apartment to watch What Would You Do? while enjoying our mint chocolate chip milkshakes. The show was over and our ice cream was finished, so we popped in The Fantastic Four (bahha) and I proceeded to fall asleep, despite my sincere like of that movie.

I was awakened near the fourth quarter of the movie by a phone call from Isaac, my boyfriend, asking me if I was available to Skype and if I wanted to. Obviously I did, so woke up enough to join him on my computer. He is working at a highschool retreat this weekend, so we chatted briefly while still allowing him to complete his duties. At several times, he would leave his computer unattended to attended to things at the convention such as setting up things or tearing down things.

Then it got interesting.

"Hang on, I have to go help with some stuff." He said, as he walked away from his computer. Leaving me up on his screen, he vacated the area. A short while later, the room where his computer was sitting began to fill with highschool students who kept seeing me on the computer. A couple waved, other asked each other, "Can she see us?" or "Is this chat roulette?" Someone even asked me, "Do you need me to get someone for you?" Isaac had apparently lost track of time and started a game of Uno somewhere else in the building, while my roommates joined me to watch what all was going on inside that room. It was very loud there, so the people on the other end of the camera could not hear us, but it didn't matter. We made do with hand written signs and lip reading. We even put on little shows for people with sock monkeys and a lawn gnome. They loved it. We loved it. It was very strange. Eventually, Isaac rejoined us and explained to all of the high schoolers that yes, he actually did know us, and no, we weren't just random people. Also, my computer was running very slowly, so the video kept freezing. Isaac, being his wonderful self, sent us this picture:

We were frozen like that. For like...4 minutes. Please note that it was 1am. Oh, what a night.

Student teaching went well this week and I am starting to feel much more confident in the classroom. I am taking on more responsibilities so my time is quickly being filled with lesson planning, resource organizing and looking up science experiment that would demonstrate erosion.

The circus was extremely hectic, but very fun. I can't post any picture of my students, so I will have to leave it that, but just know that it was wonderful. I got to ride in a school bus for the first time, and we arrived at the venue with a police escort. I felt very official.

Speaking of official. I have vowed to never be one of those teachers who wears wrinkled tan pants with tennis shoes to school, since we cannot wear jeans. I want to be a classy teacher, and I want that to show in my appearance. I like dressing professionally, so I am planning to live up the whole "no jeans" thing with style.

All ready for school Friday morning

Bring on the dress slacks and cardigans, because wrinkled khakis will have no place in my classroom!

Lions and Tigers

2011-01-26T20:56:00.000-05:00

Lions and tigers and elephants, oh my! Tomorrow my class is going on a field trip to see the Shrine Circus! I am pretty excited. Now I am not a fan of clowns, so hopefully they will stay far away from me. Lions, tigers and elephants, however, I find fascinating, so bring 'um on!

In other big teacher-news, today my coop teacher presented me with my own lesson plan book. I feel so official now!

Yep! This week is all filled out - jammed packed with specials, reading blocks, spelling tests and an amazing field trip to somewhere great (like, ya know? The CIRCUS!).

I honestly cannot believe that I am already more than half way into my second week of student teaching, which has already proven to be just a little bit too exciting. There are all types of children in my class, and let me tell you, some of them are quite, ahem, ~~the little troublemakers~~ colorful. They may be a challenging group, but at least now I know what to do when I need to assign multiple students to ISS (in-school suspension), or when someone gets kicked off the bus for bullying. I've got my "teacher look(s)" perfected, that's for sure. And yes, there is more than one. You see...sometimes the "look" that will work for one student, will have no effect on another. Some need a stern look, others need a disappointed look. It's just a matter of knowing which to use.

Today in particular was tiring because I had meetings both before and after school, which make for a very long day. There was a little humorous relief in the middle of the day though. I went out to lunch with three other teachers and we got a flat tire! Thankfully we were very close to the school AND a gas station, so we were able to fill the tire which lasted long enough to get us back before our break was over. Talk about an exciting day. Never a dull moment!

5 miles at 15 degrees

2011-01-21T23:29:00.002-05:00

My first week of student teaching has successfully come to an end. I do not have any extreme stories or miraculous revelations to share with you, but allow me to share with you why it is that I keep pursuing this passion for teaching. Yes, sometimes children are defiant. Yes, sometimes they will wander around the room and no matter which method you choose to redirect them to their seat, they will continue to wonder. Yes, there are endless papers to grade, lessons to write and data to be entered.

And then there are the moments you remember why you want to teach. Today I was reminded when a student skipped over to me first thing in the morning with the Girl Scout cookies that I had ordered from her, she hugged me tightly and then said, "Thank you for buying my cookies, Ms. P-. You're one of my favorite teachers, you know?" as she smiled at me. And then I was reminded again while I was playing hangman with students during 2nd recess. It was my turn to be on of the guessers, and my heart about melted as the letters were guessed and filled in to complete the sentence, "I love Miss P-."

Change gears with me, and I will share with you about my last weekend before coming back to school. The beginning of the weekend played out like a lot of weekends over my winter break. We watched movies, ran to Taco Bell and simply spent time being with friends. Saturday we spiced things up a bit and drove into Chicago after Isaac finished a meeting at church.

We got into the city about 3:30pm and went directly to a little burger place that my friends had been raving about for weeks.

The place was packed, but we were determined to get our burgers! We ended up waiting for a long time, but the company was great so I can't complain.

After our fabulous burgers, we walked the magnificent mile after parking 2.3 miles away. Please note: it was 15 degrees with a wicked windchill. Despite the extreme briskness of the air, our hearts were warm with the company of great friends. That was cheesy, and I apologize, but it's true. I love my friends.

Photo by Isaac

We wandered in and out of stores along Michigan Avenue for an hour or two (or three) before heading back toward our car. Add some late-night coffees with dessert in a classy Italian place, and we were set and ready to head home. It was late, and we were exhausted, but it was the perfect way to end a fabulous month-long break before starting student teaching.

I have a problem

2011-01-19T13:35:00.000-05:00

I am a photo hoarder. I love to take pictures and then I feel the need to keep each and every single one stored away within the gigabytes of my computer. [I have no idea if that is anywhere near technically correct.]

Until recently, this hadn't really been a problem. It was upon discovering that my hard drive had about reached its max, however, that I came to the realization that my closet was not the only thing that must be sorted through and organized. And as with my closet cleaning, my iPhoto cleaning also resulted in several treasures that I had long forgotten about.

For example, this little picture here was filed under "old stuff" and provided me with about five minutes of chuckles - I could not bring myself to delete it for obvious reasons:

In addition to chuckle-inducing photos, I also found these from a weekend two summers ago. We had a sleepover around Rosie's campfire to get me ready for Turkey Run camping, and then the next morning we all went out for breakfast and to see a really lame movie. Exhausted from sleeping on the ground half the night (ha, I woke up and went inside around 4am), I (shocker!) fell asleep in the movie theater and rested my head on Isaac's shoulder. Also, Isaac got a flat tire. Anyway, I was chatting with Isaac while looking through them, and I couldn't decide if I should delete these or not, so I asked him what he thought and he confessed that this was indeed the very day that he started to like me.

Isaac changes his flat tire in the TJ Maxx parking lot

Aryn and I watch from the sidelines

Breakfast at Sophia's

Oh, who would have thought?


Here we are last weekend in Chicago.

I was woken up this morning at 5am by my phone announcing loud and clear that today would be a snow day! No school means that I will be spending my day sneezing my life away on the couch, with the tv to keep me company. Bring on the DayQuil and pass the Kleenex, please.

ps. I now have over 20GB of available space on my computer. I suppose I should count today as a success.

Spring Cleaning

2011-01-18T19:48:00.000-05:00

Spring cleaned had to start a little early this year. With student teaching quickly approaching, and all of my clothes still at home in an extremely untidy mess, I had to do something about the chaos behind the closet door. It was during the process of folding, donating and rehanging that I came to a shocking realization: I have way too many clothes. I kid you not - I had 72 pairs of pants...and that's not even counting yoga/pj pants. Ridiculous.

Basically I took everything out of my closet and sorted it into four categories:

Donate
Pack for school
Put back in closet
Save for a sister

So I ended the day with my bags packed, my closet organized, baskets full of clothes to donate and piles of clothes in both Abby's and Naomi's rooms.

I wish I could say that I have an 'after' picture to show you, but alas I do not. With the excitement of closet cleaning behind me, I skipped off to go shopping, or play games with my friends, or see my boyfriend or anything else that I wanted to do before I left for school.

Student teaching has started and it has been an eventful and exciting/fun 2 days. I am excited for what is to come. Pray for my strong teacher voice! Ha! I am already starting to feel the sore effects of reading/teaching/talking for hours on end :) Now please excuse me, I must go find a throat lozenge.

Wrapping Up

2010-12-28T12:13:00.000-05:00

The days since I arrived home for Christmas break have quite possibly been the most jam-packed, crazy-busy, pleasantly-exhausting and memorable that I have had for some time. I would love to share about Christmas morning and the hours that followed, but first I am going to jump all the way back to December 16th - the night I got home.

Exhausted and in desperate need of a shower, I stumbled through the front door with bags in hand. I was greeted with hugs from my parents, both of whom I quickly blew off as I headed for my bed. I opened my bedroom door and was surprised to find both my sister and boyfriend hiding behind the door. I was obviously thrilled to see them, but Naomi was disappointed that rather than screaming and freaking out, I just hugged them both before I collapsed on my bed. I was not exactly excited that they told me we had dinner plans in 10 minutes - but whatever. We all went to dinner, then I come home and took an hour nap before Isaac called to wake me up. The nap did me wonders and I felt like a new person :) Brittney, Kaela, David, Naomi, Sam, Isaac and I watched Eclipse and at midnight Naomi come down with cupcakes and lit candles, singing "Happy Birthday" as I turned 22. It was a great way to start my birthday <3

Rather than to bore you with a detailed account of December 17th-24th, I will just share a summary of what all I have been up to: Birthday dinner/party in South Bend (I'll share pictures from this just as soon as Isaac posts them on faceook). Family birthday brunch. Shopping in South Bend with my mom. Time at the theater: The Tourist and True Grit - really liked them both. LOTR marathon (that's right folks, my friends watched all three Lord of the Rings, extended versions, in a row. Don't worry, I only watched the last one because I had to work during the day). Tons of Christmas shopping. Ice skating. Tried to watch the lunar eclipse at 2am with Naomi, Isaac and Sam, but there were too many clouds. Game nights! Going away party for Brittney and Kaela/hot tubbing/Taco Bell :). Eating out with Isaac four nights in a row - we never want to eat out AGAIN. Graduation dinner for Shannin. Worked three afternoons at the children's center. Dress fitting for Carrie's wedding x2. Wrapped all of Poppa's Christmas presents for my grandma. Wrapped all of Dad's Christmas presents for Mom. Wrapped all the presents I bought. Made an ornament for Isaac as part of his Christmas gift. Spent an evening in Chicago at a concert with Isaac, Naomi, Seth, Shannin, Devin, Haley, Sam and Jake. Did the advent candle lighting at the Christmas Eve service.

Hm, I am sure there were more festivities leading up to Christmas, but you get the point.

As I mentioned earlier, part of my Christmas gift to Isaac was a little ornament that I made with little pieces of paper and the miracle that is ModPodge.

Front

Back

Christmas Eve was a great kick-off to Christmas Day. Naomi and I rode to church together and thankfully we were running early enough to stop for coffee :) Abby and Aaron got into town just in time to meet us at church for the service. Our family did the advent reading and lighting of the Christ candle for the service we attended. After church, Abby, Naomi and I played Christmas carols together on the piano and flute as Mom put the finishing touches on dinner. We had prime rib which was absolutely delicious. After dinner the whole family (+ Isaac who joined us for dinner as well) cuddled up in the theater room to watch Miracle On 34th Street - a family Christmas Eve tradition.

Christmas Day hardly needs any words, so instead I will share a little tidbit of a peak into my day via photos takes on my favorite Christmas present this year:

Thanks Santa and Santo!

To see all my pictures from Christmas Day, go HERE.

Stay tuned: Post-Christmas festivities pictures to follow.

♫ Don't go changin'

2010-12-10T14:58:00.000-05:00

Thing are changing quickly in my life. Along with the completion of my undergraduate classes, I have been hit with the reality that after I complete my student teaching next May, I will be a real grown up. I will get a real job. I will have real bills.

You'd think that by the age of 21 (soon to be 22 - only 7 days!) I would finally feel like an adult and stop saying things like, "When I grow up...", but I don't and I haven't. I feel like a child playing grown-up. Being a real grown-up sounds scary, and I'm not quite ready yet. I think I will be, come May, but for the time being, I'm scared. I do not like uncertainty and right now I feel like there's a lot of uncertainty in my life.

May I switch to a more interesting subject?

VACATION!

This past week, after I spent the morning teaching and observing where I will be student teaching in the spring, I drove the extra 15 minutes to Barnes and Noble. As I quietly browsed and sipped my latte, I ended up in the travel section, which is, by the way, where I usually end up. Last time I was there I read a travel book about Alaska and this week I read a travel guide about Michigan and one about Jamaica.

I honestly do not know what I like about these books, but I continue to read them cover-to-cover, so there must be something. In January I'm going with my family to Jamaica for a week of sun and relaxation before I start teaching on the 17th and I simply cannot wait.

lovely bride to be

2010-11-19T18:55:00.000-05:00

With help from some sweet girls, this week I threw a bridal shower for my roommate Carrie who's getting married New Years Eve. I had so much fun (and I hope the other girls did too!) We ate, played some games and opened gifts. Everyone was so generous and I think it got us all really excited about the upcoming wedding.

Ashlee made DELICIOUS cupcakes

Kellyn helped decorate them

Isn't she lovely? :)

Here's me with my roommates (and our adopted friends, too)

Ah, yes. It will be a fabulous New Years party! WOOHOO!

Waiting

2010-11-10T10:01:00.000-05:00

I spend a lot of time waiting on the wonderful things I am sure are coming. Do I spend so much time in anticipation of the future, that I don't stop to enjoy the present? I know I am so blessed and I really do lead a life that I am happy with and proud of, but something inside of me is always pressing me to look to 'better' things. I need to stop. I need to slow down sometimes. I need to enjoy the now.

I have great friends at school who I can talk to and hang out with. I have a precious boyfriend who is pretty much wonderful. I have a hometown full of friends who are always ready to do something fun. I have a family who loves me. I have a savior who loves me more than I can comprehend. I have everything I could ever need and more.

On the other hand, is looking toward the future really that bad? I enjoy it. I like waiting for thing. Well, okay, that's kind of a lie. I like anticipation, but I like that period to be short. For example, last week I decided that I had found a new phone that I wanted and I was due for an upgrade anyway, so within the day, it was ordered. If I decided that I want to do something, I want to do it now and not waste any time unnecessarily. However when it comes to something like vacation, I don't mind waiting because it is fun to think of the things I want to do while away, what I should shop for to bring with me, what I should do physically to get ready to go, etc. - that stuff is fun for me. I don't even really know where I'm going with this, it's just been on my mind lately.

⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘⌘

Now here's a quick update:

The last week and a half have flown by super quickly. I have been with school stuff and just enjoying hanging out with my roommates + others. Over the weekend my boyfriend came down to visit me for the first time here at my school - it was great to spend some time with him and show him this other half of my life. This week I have also been baking with PUMPKIN because my roommate and I cooked three pumpkins and had to do something with all that puree! We made pumpkin pancakes and we've made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies twice. Mmm so good! Also this week I presented a bulletin board about the different components of fitness, for third grade PE. And...that's the only picture I have for you.

Dear Santa/Santo, please bring me a Nikon for Christmas! Love, B

And just because I have several things I'm counting down to...

Thanksgiving: 15 days

Birthday/end of finals: 37 days

Christmas: 45 days

Carrie's WEDDING/New Years Eve: 51 days

Jamaica!: 53 days

Graduation: 185 days

arts & crafts [and music]

2010-10-25T10:33:00.000-04:00

I am taking a class this semester which may seem like a bit of a joke, but that will not keep me from sharing my masterpieces with you. Arts and Crafts is my only 8am class, but I don't really mind getting up early for it. Basically we just make crafts. It's great. If you promise to not laugh, I will now share three of my recent pieces:

Watercolor:

Paint:

Mod Podge: First we selected our piece of wood for the backing, then we sanded, stained and added our first coat of mod podge overtop of the picture to secure it in place. Then each day (for a couple weeks) we added an additional coat at the beginning of each class, alternating between front and back.

I have also recently completed a papier-mâché pumpkin, I'm in the process of finishing a woven berry basket and later this week: tie dye!

Let me also leave you with a song I am falling in love with:

la de da

2010-10-25T10:19:00.000-04:00

Sometimes I do not even know what to share here. Originally this started as a place where I would share the many lists that I would make over the course of a day or week - a way to keep myself organized, while keeping my friends and family informed of my day-to-day life. Obviously, I rarely post lists anymore, but rather I like to share pictures and events of my weekends and lively happenings.

My camera has broken, dear friends, and I have been unable to revive it. It all started two Christmas breaks ago while I was vacationing with my family along the Mexican Riviera.

In fact, it happened within minutes of taking this very picture...while I was standing on that slippery rock.

My sister and dad were riding away on a jet ski heading toward the parasailing boat, while I stood on that rock, trying to get a good picture of their adventure.

A wave came, I slid off and landed on my behind in the ocean - camera in hand. Oops. It got wet and quite sandy, but I managed to dry it out and keep it working for about 17 more months.

I am moving on - even if it means blogging without pictures while I save up/beg for Christmas and my birthday for this:

In the meantime, here's to blogging without new pictures!

Camping & Fall Break

2010-10-13T11:22:00.000-04:00

[ Please note that I took all of these pictures from Isaac's facebook album, and hopefully he won't be too enraged :) ]

This past weekend, my sister N and I went camping with some friends. We drove down early Saturday morning and spent the day around the campfire, eating a lot and watching football (but not the UM v. MSU game, ha). In the evening we stargazed and spent more time around the fire. The weather was beautiful, which I was so thankful for because if you know me at all, you know that I am so not a camper. I don't like dirt, I don't like being cold, I don't like sleeping anywhere but my own bed. However, my boyfriend was wonderful and brought all the essentials for N and me: sleeping pads, a tent and flashlights. Despite having the tent, N and I roughed it and slept under the trees. It wasn't horrible, but I am not exactly ready to do it again...yet.

I must admit, one of my fears of camping was the lack of coffee makers...thankfully, Isaac brought Starbucks VIA and made me a delicious mug-full first thing Sunday morning. After coffee, we went to worship with the rest of the group that was down there camping, and then cleaned up camp before going hiking. These pictures are from one time when we stopped to watch some people try to throw rocks up at a rock wall to get a piece to fall off...as you can tell by this picture, we were intrigued. Ha.

That's better... :)

The semester is about half over which means it's about time for...FALL BREAK! Tomorrow after classes I will drive home for a super extended weekend. N will be home too and we are already making big plans! Actually, all I have planned to do is carve pumpkins, but whatever. I am sure it will be a good week.

To do today:
* Final tennis class/exam
* Study for MLE midterm tomorrow
* Pack
* Hangout with my roommates...because I will miss them.

♫ ♥

2010-10-06T13:59:00.001-04:00

I'm liking this song quite a lot lately. There isn't an official video of Regina Spektor singing this song, but here's a pretty darn good cover.

Or you may listen to it here as well:

Find more artists like regina spektor at MySpace Music

I cannot believe that it's Wednesday already! I have a ton to get completed this week before attempting to ~~die~~ go camping this weekend. Papers to read, papers to write - such is my life as of late. I am a little bit ready for it to be over.

Well hello there, Love!

2010-09-29T11:54:00.000-04:00

Of the several material things I love in life, Pottery Barn is right up there on the list next to Real Simple. Not too far down on that same list you'd find things like Gilmore Girls, pedicures and beach glass. I am here to share with you something that today I fell in love with: Pottery Barn blue beach glass bath accessories. The fact that they are out of my price range and they don't match my bathroom does not really matter.

I think they are lovely none the less, because they remind me of the real deal. And, just the be clear, I love the real deal.

Speaking of football...

Oh wait.

I wasn't, but I will now.

Saturday I had a great time at the Michigan game! I loved getting to spend time with Naomi while we cheered from the Big House.

Mmmm and their coffee wasn't bad either.

The game ended 65-21 and we left happy, although slightly freezing. Burrrr was it cold! Can't wait for this week's game - go blue!

Fall at the lake shore

2010-09-24T22:09:00.000-04:00

Obviously, I went to the beach today. I needed to clear my head and take a short break from homework, so I hopped in my car and went. Unlike you would find it on a typical summer night, the beach was deserted. Well, almost. There was one lady reading on the swing and a guy came down from the chalets to walk a little later, but for the most part, it was empty and it was beautiful. If there is ever a time in my life when I am not able to run away here, even if it's just every once in a while, I will hardly be as happy as I am now. Oh, the the video...I obviously thought I was taking a picture.

I am an earth personality [what?!]

2010-09-22T11:45:00.001-04:00

It's no secret that I love Real Simple magazine. I like their tips, their "new uses for old things". I love the little quote cards that you can tear out of the last page and I really like their "daily thought" desktop wallpapers that you can download from their website.

Because of my extreme admiration for this particular magazine, there was no question in my mind this morning about whether or not I should take the quiz "What is your color personality" when I got an email about it.

How do these quizzes always get it right? It's amazing! Ha, I love deep blues, I think of myself as honest and loyal and I am certainly reserved. Also, I am pretty sure that can of paint is the same color as my bathroom at home.

To take this quiz, go here [and share your results, pretty please!]

Has this not been the quickest week ever? It is already Wednesday, which means I am going home tomorrow AND my last class of week was canceled, so I will be done by 2:00pm <3

Today I only have tennis class, so I am getting tons of homework done. My main objective: finish reading a ~~book~~ article for TESOL, write the paper to go with it, and get the outline for my research paper completed - all due Monday. Fun afternoon? Oh yes. I know it will pay off, because I cannot leave this much to do over the weekend...it simply won't get done if I bring it home.

looking ahead - a hodgpodge

2010-09-19T18:07:00.000-04:00

It would not be a lie if I told you that I often find myself dwelling on the past. I like to think about things that have already happened, which can be good I suppose, but often it leads me down a path of nostalgia leaving me with feelings of discontent; yearning for "the way things used to be".

I rarely think about the less than perfect parts of my life, but rather I see my past through rose colored glasses. I remember all the best parts, cut out the average, and squish them all together.

If I could stop, I would.

Or would I?

The problem with the perception I hold of my past is that, as I previously mentioned, I am left feeling like my present is less than adequate. When I am hurting, it is as if I am hurting for the first time. When I am lonely, it is as if I am being hit with it for the first time. If I stop and think, it is obvious to me that my past has not been perfect, but I really have to stop and think about it.

This morning in church, the pastor preached about the beatitude from Matthew 5:4.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

Mourning is a natural part of life, so why do we try to ignore it? It does not mean that we have to spend days on end wearing black and crying ourselves to sleep, but acknowledging that life isn't perfect can bring freedom through comfort.

Okay, so the connection between my thoughts today is not really apparent, but I promise you: in my head, this all makes sense.

Main reason for pressing through this week and praying it passes quickly: spending next Saturday in the big house with my family! Go blue! I really like U of M football.

Oh yeah, I'll also get to see this one boy I kinda like...

How's that for a random compilation of thoughts and ideas?

This week I have two best friends

2010-09-15T10:44:00.000-04:00

Kleenex and DayQuil. Yes, I am sick, but thankfully I think I am on the road to recovery. Something about a 3 hour nap followed by 9 hours of blissful sleep has left me feeling slightly better. Oh, and let's not forget the coffee - that's definitely making me feel better, too.

I have been pretty much sleeping or in class for the past few days. Consequently, I don't have much to report on the school front, so let me share about my past weekend [at home].

Thursday: I had class until 3:15 and shimmied out of town quickly thereafter. I got home around 6:20, just in time to meet some friends for Zekes Thursday. Zekes is a bit of drive from my town, so we got back a little later but still ended up back at my house for a movie night. The boys picked the movie and it wasn't something that I really was that interested in so, after about an hour of it, I ~~passed out~~ crashed.

Friday: I was planning to spend Friday with my mom, but she ended up going out of town for the weekend to visit my older sister, Abby. Instead I spent the day around the house, doing homework and being lazy. It was wonderful. My dad took me out to dinner and later Isaac and Jake came over to watch Friends on the projector. SURPRISE! Naomi showed up (she wasn't supposed to be back until Saturday afternoon). I was so happy to see her! We made cookies and enjoyed the rest of the evening.

Saturday: [GAME DAY!] Naomi and I both slept in and then spent the later half of the morning at Panera doing a little homework. As you can tell, we were exhausted (please excuse the bags under our eyes!), but plugged away nonetheless.

In the afternoon we, of course, watched Michigan defeat Notre Dame with our dad and Isaac. Go blue! Then we went shopping with Isaac, hit up Taco Bell and met Jake back at our house for a little Rook.

Sunday: I was seriously considering skipping church to do homework, but Naomi lured me out of the house with talk of a Pumpkin Spice Latte, so swung by Starbucks on our way to church. Dad made us a marvelous lunch before we went to a wedding for a friend from high school. I don't have any pictures from the wedding yet, except this one that Naomi sent to me.

Naomi left for school straight from the wedding, but I decided to spend one last night at home before driving back Monday morning. I skipped wine tasting with my friends to finish up my homework and then spent the rest of Sunday night over at a friend's watching an old movie. And by "old movie" I, of course, meant The Rescuers. Ha.

So there you have it: exactly what I did all weekend [ sorry if that was more details than you cared to read! ]

Now I'm off to finish reading the Ramayana before tennis class at 2.

Peace & Blessings.

Weekend and more. Woohoo cellphone pics

2010-09-08T13:44:00.000-04:00

Week two here at HU and all is well. I spent my long labor day weekend at home, which was really great. I only have a couple minutes here before I am off to tennis class with Bradie, but I wanted to share some pictures from my cellphone which serve as a summary of my last week or so.

Okay, so this picture is actually from the week prior to coming back to school, but I wanted to post it anyway. If you look closely, under the adorable mini umbrella, you can see the smallest dog ever. It even had it's own little water dish that the girl who brought it filled with bottled water. Legally Blonde anyone?? It was a cute, but slightly strange thing to see at the beach.


While home for the weekend, I was so excited that it was super sunny when I woke up, but my dreams of beach time were crushed upon finding that it was only 75 degrees. I never get sick of waking up to the woods and sunshine right out my window! And I realize that you can't even really see out the window from this picture, so I guess that's where your imagination will have to come in :)

Saturday I slept in super late and spent the day with Isaac at a wedding in Grand Rapids. Doesn't he look so handsome in his suit? Between the wedding and reception, they (Isaac, Seth and Shannin) took me to for Bibbgy Coffee since I had never had it [mmmm Pumpkin Spice Latte anyone?], so here we are in the car in the parking lot of Biggbys.

Sunday we spent the afternoon at my grandparent's since there was some family here from out of town. We played lawn games, had a delicious lunch and did origami.

BACK TO SCHOOL - Monday night I drove back to school


And what is Carrie doing? Taking a nap of course...with the pillow over her head. I really did not even know that she was in there sleeping until I look real closely.

I have an apple buddy! Kellyn looks so cute typing away on her ibook.

And I'm off to tennis.

Bring on the fall

2010-09-01T00:48:00.000-04:00

I hardly even know what to write about. It is great being back at school. It helps that being a senior is awesome and my summer school paid off, leaving me with a lighter schedule. I feel like a grown-up when I'm here, and that is a great feeling. I like my friends here.

I have this problem with reading homework where I feel like I am going to be all inspired and engaged in the material, and then as soon as I open the book...I feel like falling asleep. Take for example my text book for Religions of the World. We are starting with Hinduism, which I had anticipated really enjoying learning about...and then I opened the book. I think I just don't understanding textbooks. Call me when the movie versions comes out, ya know what I mean? I read and reread and then wonder what it was that I just read. It's frustrating sometimes.

I kind of have a love-hate relationship with school and homework. I love feeling educated, smart and grown-up, but I hate reading, sitting through boring lectures and hand washing all my dishes. I suppose it can't all be fun and games.

Speaking of games, Kellyn, Carrie, Bradie and I played an intense game of James Bond, which eventually lead to a semester long score board (likely to be laminated soon) and a list of official house rules, signed ~~in blood.~~

I had classes all day from 8-3. It was a long day, but good. We took an apartment "last first day of school picture" (a day late). Later in the afternoon, Carrie and I went to watch Erica's tennis match while soaking up some sun - dang it's hot here. The girls from next door visited for a bit before they went out shopping. After that I did some homework and hung out with the girls. Eventually Ashlee joined us and we rented a movie for the evening. It's been so great to catch up with everyone. It's weird to think that in a couple months, I'll be done with my "normal" college life. After this semester I'll be student teaching, so I won't be going to chapel, eating in the DC or going to classes. Technically I'll still be a student here, but I will be leading a more professional life - waking up early and going to work each day. It's strange to think about, and kind of scary.

Once again, my only pictures are of myself (ha) from photobooth, but hopefully I'll have a working camera again soon (or I can steal some from someone else)!

Summer was great, but bring on the fall.

Snapshots of emotion

2010-08-23T19:10:00.000-04:00

Happy: It's been a great summer and I get to see my HU friends soooon!

Sad: Summer is over :(

Ecstatic! Because Naomi bought me this amazing headband. She is the best :)

Thrilled: This may be completely lame, but I am practially in love with my new bedding. Seriously, I love it so much!

I suppose more smiles than frowns is a good sign. I have been so bad about taking pictures lately, mostly because my camera is not working 95% of the time. Hence the photobooth and cell phone pics :)

One of my last summer sunsets. Last night I had about an hour between evening activities, conveniently right at sunset, so took my little beach chair and drive half a mile to the shore. I set my chair right along the water and sunk my toes in the damp sand as I watched the sun fall. It was windy and I was quickly covered in goosebumps, but I didn't care. This is my happy place.

I love the beach at night because it is so peaceful. There aren't nearly as many people as during the day, it's cooler and I can just be. I can sit and just watch the sun while I listen to the water. My mind can clearly think and my body can just relax. I don't think that anyone would call me a "nature girl", but in a way I suppose I am. This is my favorite part of nature.

After the sunset, I went home. Isaac and some other guys came over to watch 2012. Isaac brought over a projector and we watched it on the wall above the stairs. I have got to take a picture of it next time because this is seriously the best way to watch a movie. Ever.

Days until I go back to school: 5
Days until I'm home again (Labor day weekend!): 11

I love being at a school closer to home. It's the best of both worlds.

2010-08-18T18:52:00.000-04:00

9 days until I go back to school. Today was my last full day of work at the children's center, which is great but I'm really going to miss those kids!

In other news, I'm a dating girl now :)

And... I'm really going to miss this girl when I'm at school:

And...I got a new duvet in my room!

And...I picked these hydrangias before Abby and Aaron visited weeks ago, and they're still looking lovely in my room.

Transitions

2010-08-09T13:07:00.001-04:00

When school is first out for the summer, it is a weird time in your life. A transition. You aren't really quite sure what to do on the weekends or how to spend your afternoons, but you're just happy to be home and time passes slowly.

And then something happens. Something wonderful.

Summer kicks into full gear. You're busy every night. Friendships blossom and you suddenly have a strong urge to move somewhere where you can live in summertime forever. You go to the beach, meet with friends, have sleepovers just like in middle school, drink lemonade, watch a ridiculous amount of movies and The Office, drink a lot of coffee, and simply bask in the wonder of summertime. Time passes quickly.

And then something hits you.

Summer is almost over. The long afternoons and late night will soon be gone and it will be back to the books for this college girl. Those days that moved slowly back in the beginning of June are long gone, and it feels like each day is only giving you 10 hours instead of the desired 24. It's a transition and it sucks.

And now some pictures:

This weekend I met with Erica and Brittany, in South Haven to hang out for an evening. It was just great to see them! We walked around the downtown area, shopped, had dinner and walked the pier.

Mattress shopping! Ha. Naomi needed a new mattress so we spent a little bit of time in the furniture store this week.

My side of the table: Jake, Isaac, Me and Sam. For Isaac's birthday a group went down to Fiddler's Hearth in South Bend for the evening. Afterward, Kaela, Naomi, Morgan and I hung out with Isaac and Sam and watch The Office.

I have other pictures of recent stuff too, but I haven't put them onto my computer yet.

On a completely different note, while listening to a pandora station this song popped up and I am now listening to it for about the 16th time in a row. Make You Feel My Love, by Adele.

I am spending a lazy afternoon with Kaela, Becca and Brit at The Phoenix, which is just the most adorable coffee shop in the Benton Harbor Arts District.
I'm off for another cup of coffee. I hope you're enjoying the rest of this super short summer - I plan to.

sisters, beach

2010-07-29T19:22:00.001-04:00

Aaron and Abby were here for a couple days this past weekend/week. It was great to see them, even though I felt like I was busy and tired the whole time. We went to a water park, down town, out to dinner and watched movies together (JAWS, anyone? ha).


Lakeside dinner with the Hummels.


Resting up at the water park.

Water park

I also worked this week, babysat and decided that I don't like Prison Break anymore.

Summer is quickly coming to a close. Sometimes I feel anxious to get back to school, while other days I simply want to stay home forever. Going into my last year of college has started to make me feel nervous about my future - where I will live, who I will live with, what job I'll have. Of course I can always fall back on the good ol' "God has a plan for you" bit, but it sure would be nice to have some indication of what's to come. I have a lot to get figured out in the months to come.

Here are just some other pictures (from my phone) that I snapped recently down at the beach.

In case you hadn't noticed, I am rarely actually IN pictures, since I seem to be the only person I know who actually takes them on a regular basis. These dashing beauties are Naomi and her friend Alecia who went down to the beach with me a couple days ago. It's finally getting to that point in the summer where the water is actually warm enough to enjoy!

2010-07-23T18:31:00.001-04:00

Today I feel sick and tired.

I am sick of cleaning nonstop.
I am sick of terrible dreams and restless nights.
I am sick of being bitten and spit on every time I go to work.
I am sick of it being too hot to even go to the beach.
I am sick of zucchini.
I am sick of being tired.
I am sick of today.

I suppose every summer day cannot be simply beach glass and bonfires.

Oh, nothing is sweeter

2010-07-21T11:48:00.001-04:00

Than what? Oh yeah, SUMMERTIME, of course! I have been busily living my summertime life, which may be a strange thing to say, but I kind of feel like I am a different person in the summertime than I am during school. I do completely different things, see different people and don't do any homework. Well, I guess that's a little bit of a lie since I did take seven credits this summer, but you get the point.

Naomi is checking out my mad parallel parking skills

Where to start? I hardly even know. How about 4th of July? I had to work on 3 July, so I didn't get to go to the Baroda fireworks where all my friends were gathering. That was kind of a bummer, but I made a bunch of cash, so I guess it all balanced out. On the 4th, Naomi and I went with our parents to see Karate Kid early in the evening and then we went straight downtown to St. Joseph to catch the fireworks from Silver Beach. Thank goodness that we had my car because parking was ~~hell/devilish/horrible~~ tight. We still ended up being about 10 blocks away from from the beach, but I guess that's what we got for not going down until 9:30pm.


Spending time with our little cousins

Then a couple weeks ago, we had some family in town, so Naomi and I enjoyed spending a little bit of time with our cousins and the rest of the family. I had to work and Naomi had friends from school in town also so we didn't get to spend as much time with them as we would have liked, but I loved getting to see them nonetheless.

Other stuff I have been doing:
Worked at Vacation Bible School, worked for my dad, cleaned windows at my grandparent's home, shopping, I tried a spinning class at the Y. Oh, and also, I am now hopelessly addicted to Prison Break. My standards for men have just changed. I've seen Eclipse, Toy Story 3, Inception, Knight and Day, Babies, Karate Kid and I want to see Dinner for Schmucks when it comes out, ha.

WEDDING TIME! WEDDING TIME! WEDDING TIME!

The Blue Dress Barn

I want to share with you one of my favorite wedding spots that I have been to so far. The Blue Dress Barn is a little bit horrible to work at since there is no kitchen or running water, but the beauty of the location makes up for it.


Walking up to the barn


Bar to the right, dance floor straight ahead

Dinner area - so pretty!

The table set-up. That's right, I folded all 180 of those napkins.

Is that place not gorgeous, or what?!? I have only gotten to work there once, but I loved it. The same people that own The Blue Dress also own Mill Creek where I worked at that vintage wedding a couple weeks ago.

I have a busy couple days coming up. Abby and Aaron will be here SATURDAY and (obviously) I'm a little excited about it :) Monday night Naomi and I are going to see Lady Antebellum (woohoo!!!). I'm not sure what other kind of amazing summertime things I will having going on, but I am sure it will be great.

I hope you are out there enjoying the last month of summer.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful

2010-07-11T23:50:00.001-04:00

Oh yes, it is storming again. It really has been the summer of storms here in this little beach town, but I cannot complain. It's keeping the grass green and helping me to sleep soundly, so I really have no reason to complain. I love storms and falling asleep to the sound of rain. I love that it keeps my car looking half-way clean and I haven't had to pay for a car wash yet this summer. As long as the tornadoes stay away, I am content.

Additionally, I am extremely excited because in a few short days, my sister and brother-in-law are coming to visit (pending Aaron's return from training in Peru)!! I haven't seen them ~~in many moons~~ since THANKSGIVING and it has been way too long. Seriously, haven't spent more than 3 days in a row with Abby since she got married in ~~2007~~ 2008; I miss her a lot. Here's a picture of all of us 'kids' + one of our cousins two Thanksgivings ago.

VBS started tonight. I am volunteering as a crew leader for preschool kids and let me tell you, it is e.x.h.a.u.s.t.i.n.g. I would have been more than content to come home and crash for the evening when it was over at about 8:30, but instead I went over to see some friends and watch a movie which I, of course, fell asleep during because, well let's face it, I always fall asleep in movies. Almost every time, at least, even in the theater! I swear it's a sickness. Do you ever fall asleep in movies? Any ideas for how to keep myself awake? Seriously, you'd think that knowing I'd just paid near ten bucks to sit in that theater would be enough to keep me up!

Why is summer so short?

2010-07-10T10:44:00.000-04:00

In case you hadn't noticed, I may be a little obsessed with silhouette pictures. These were each taken during different evenings over the past two weeks.
Silhouette 1: Beach volleyball! I love getting together with friends to play a little vball during the summer. This particular evening, a small group met up at Silver Beach and others who were down there too joined in. After the sun completely set, we went swimming and then went over to a friend's beach house to watch Avatar.
Silhouette 2: Becca was here! She made the trip up from Nashville for the weekend of the 4th, so of course we had to squeeze in an evening at LT beach.
Silhouette 3: Kaela and Me. I am so glad to have her in my life! We (with Naomi and her friend Mandy) spent an evening wondering downtown St. Joe and ended up swimming and play volleyball.

In case you hadn't noticed, I love summertime.

A day at the beach is always wonderful, but of course I am working, too. A couple days a week I am at the Children's Center, and on the weekend I usually work at least one wedding. Last night I was at a really fun wedding where all the guys wore kilts and I got to make 123 root beer floats. Tonight I am working again, but hopefully I will get done early enough to get some more summertime fun in!

Vintage wedding!

2010-06-28T09:21:00.003-04:00

I have written about my serving job before, but now I have actual pictures to show you. They are, unfortunately, from my cell phone and do not give this party justice. Last night's wedding was different than other weddings I have worked at. The theme was a 50's Garden Party. The bridesmaids wore vintage dresses, all different from each other, with those little hat things, ya know? the ones with the little fishnet veil thing that goes over part of your hair (WHAT are those called anyway?) The wedding reception was held at the same grounds as the ceremony and thankfully the day's thunderstorm passed through prior to the outdoor event.

The guests, of which there were about 80, were greeted with a candy table similar to the one seen HERE. Also on this table were the seating cards/flags.

I could not stop thinking of my roommate Kellyn, who is actually prancing around Ireland right now [to see her Ireland blog, click HERE], because she LOVES vintage stuff. I have heard to talk many time about the vintage wedding she will have one day. I am pretty sure that the dress the bride wore is exactly what I have heard Kellyn describe as her dream dress - I wish I would have gotten a picture of it.

The dining room was beautiful with twinkle lights and white paper lanterns in addition to the paper flowers and candy dishes on the tables.
Between the ceremony and dinner, the guest engaged in lawn games such as croquet and corn hole while sipping on vintage bottled sodas and great lakes beer.
Later the evening concluded for the guests with cake and dancing while I worked to clear stemware and linens.

After finishing cleaning up everything I left and made it home just in time to quickly change and head to the theater to see the movie Killers with a group of friends. I was so tired but it was great to just relax after a busy evening.

For more pictures from other vintage weddings and ideas, check out this blog I found: The 50s Style Wedding Blog
Definitely not my personal style, but was fun to see all the little things they did and thought of to bring their guests back in time.

to be a child again

2010-06-25T23:29:00.000-04:00

It is no secret that I love where I live. Summer days with sand between my toes and evening filled with walks downtown and watching the sun drop below Lake Michigan make for a pretty wonderful summertime. Oh, but to be a child here. Downtown they recently installed an amazing fountain, I believe they call it the Whirlpool Compass Fountain, where people young and old alike can run and play as water squirts up from the cement. Periodically the water guns (like see in the picture) shoot off gallons and gallons of beautiful crystal clear water.

After playing in the fountain you can walk a couple hundred yards, across Lake St. and onto Silver Beach where there's a really fun play area with swings, mini ziplines and slides. I don't remember spending too much time on the beach when I was little. I am sure we spent afternoons there, of course, but what I remember most about the beach is playing on the swings with my sisters and occasionally my cousin Erin when she was in town.

This is a great place to grow up. Even if I never live here with kids of my own, I can't wait for the day when I can bring my own kids, or nieces and nephews, downtown. We'll stop at Kilwin's (where Sarah Palin recently made an appearance) on our way to the carousel, before walking barefooted down to the shore. Oh to be a child again.

Flip flops will be worn by all

2010-06-22T09:18:00.000-04:00

It is pretty much my goal in life to graduate from college and eventually raise a lovey, Pottery Barnesque family, preferably on a beach somewhere (but not in Florida because I simply love having all four seasons). We will have sandy bonfires, tiki torches and an envious collection of sea glass. My children will run along the shore where I will teach them to dance in the sand, chase the seagulls, build sandcastles and how to pose for a perfect sunset silhouette snapshot. Oh, and have a mentioned that I will be an amazing photographer? It's true.

My patio will be graced with classy beach decor, probably from Pier One, where my friends will enjoy Saturday morning yoga with the sounds of the rolling water to sooth the soul. There will be fresh flowers, lots of laughter and more than enough love to go around. Flip-flops will be worn by all. Weekends will be filled with beach volleyball and cookouts. It will be a glorious life I am sure, but before I can finish dreaming I must go study some biology.