Day 89-Bye Bye Bye

Today I feel more like myself.  Not that I didn't feel like myself before- I guess emphasis on the more here.  I have taken the next step to my super short chic haircut and took off several more inches.  I love it, but more importantly, I love the way I feel. 

Day 87- Questions...

Sometimes it takes talking to someone who is lost to realize how "found" you are.  Listening to someone ask themselves and you unanswerable questions causes you to reflect upon who you have become and the things and people who mean the most to you.  I am happy to think back on a few years ago when I was so unsure who I was supposed to be. I am happy because I have become someone so much better than I ever could have thought possible.  I may not be living where I would like to be and I may not have everything figured out, but I am happy- and that is all I need. 

Day 86- NEW HOBBY!

Today I made my first 2 necklaces.  I was fun and I was very pleased with the results.  I will post pictures. 

Day 85- A Little Late

Online Karaoke with Gabe. 

The best part is that you can record yourself and then laugh to tears when you listen.  Love it. 

www.karaokeplay.com

Day 84- Bragging? Yes.

I had a wonderful post conference with our principal today.  It was a conference for my unannounced observation earlier this week.  Not only did I score high marks, but I also was told the following things: 

"I could sit in your classroom all day"

"You have one of the most comfortable, nurturing, learning-friendly environments..."

"You are one of the best first year teachers I have seen"

"There really is nothing I can say needs improvement"

It is nice to get a job well done.

Day 82- Winner

Who won the Marion School Biggest Loser competition? yeah... that'd be me.

Day 81- Lovely Day

Today the weather was perfect.  It was perfect for being outside or inside with the back door propped open and windows raised.  It was perfect for driving with the windows down.  I wish it would stay this way.

I enjoyed a nice drive into the country, full of yellow fields, with Gabreal today.  He is such an exceptional listener when I go on tangents that pigeon walk from one subject to the next for 10 minutes at a time.  I know I filled his ears with school nonsense and silly ramblings, but he didn't seem to mind.  I hope he didn't mind...

Day 80- hoot

This beautiful necklace came in the mail today. :) 

Day 79- On a String...

I have been in desperate need of a hobby. 

I have settled on making jewelry.  Most likely this will be for fun and for myself, but who knows... 

I am just craving a creative outlet and have been researching this and obsessing with supplies on ebay. 

I'm EXCITED!

Day 78- Da Feet

It counts as today because today started at 12 am.  I was the recipient of a ridiculously excellent foot massage last night. Kudos also to Pandora for the fine tunes that helped make this foot massage so perfect.

Day ?- Hiatus

It was not by choice.  It was not on purpose.  It was inevitable.  

Our "free" internet decided to turn on us.  It once welcomed us with it's open, high speed, arms.  With no warning, it left us high and dry. I was nearing an intervention anyway.   I must say for a day or so I was a little lost, which is ridiculous seeing that a few months ago I was on a 3 year run with no internet.  After getting over the initial withdrawal symptoms, I rediscovered some simple pleasures in my life.  They are as follows...

1.  Morning walks

2.  Video Rentals

3.  Baking Brownies

4.  Eating dinner with the main entertainment being conversation

5.  Eating dinner on the back porch

6.  Hard Boiled Eggs (I do have a problem with boredom-eating)

7.  Thinking.

8.  No school email at home

...I will probably be adding to this list, my eggs just finished boiling . Seriously.  Cage Free, baby.

Day 68- How to Be Alone

I know I post a lot of videos.  I have to admit that I sometimes I do this because I am not simply in the mood to type out thoughts.  This conflict was mentioned to me by people when telling them my idea about this blog. But be assured that I never post a video haphazardly.  Every video I have posted has been something beautiful to me, whether it be something discovered that day in my YouTube escapades or in the past. 

As I post this video I want to give it what it deserves.  This video makes me smile inside.  This woman's voice-over slowly made its way inside of my head as I decided she has one of the most interesting and captivating voices ever.  Her message is just at beautiful and captivating.  The video is entitled "How to be Alone."

Day 67- Little Human Beans

Let me start by saying, I love reading novels with my class.  

I have never been a strong reader and was almost terrified to teach reading.  I felt like it was my weakest area and that I would inevitably fail my students.  I can say that while teaching this year I have watched my students grow to love reading and have done the same in the process. 

There is something about sitting under our classroom tree.  

There is something about my students sitting on the window sill, in the bench, on the back table, and sprawled out on the floor.  

There is just something about these little random, different bodies scattered around for our relaxed, yet highly productive, reading "circle." 

I feel this is the place our classroom family grows closer.  Where students who were terrified to read in groups volunteer to read over and over and over.  Today I could see this growing to be true when we discussed this passage as pointed out by a student to share as something that stuck out to them: 

"Human beans are disappearing everywhere without giants is guzzling them up.  Human beans is killing each other much faster than the giants is doing it...human beans is the only animal that is killing their own kind." 

I love it when they "get it." 

Day 66- "I just don't wanna blog."

Day 65- Cloutains

This evening the clouds disguised themselves as mountains.  

Day 64- Show

Thrift Stores. 

60 books for under ten dollars. 

1/2 of a Sloppy Jane at Mayfels.

1/2 of a Pritchard Park Portabello at Mayfels...

Bright Eyes concert. 

Day 63- Kids

Today was the last day of the food drive that my class sponsored.  I am truly amazed at how much food was collected! 

Total:  715 cans

Kids can be so amazing.

Day 62- Voice Mail?

I realized today that I had 10 voice mails that had just been lingering in my inbox for sometime now.  These were voice mails that I had not listened to, and most of them I had completely forgotten were in existence.  Well, I finally listened to them today and it was almost like going back into the past.  

I enjoyed, for some odd reason, listening to them.  It took me about 15 minutes to get through them all, but it was almost like I had a conversation with 7 different people when it was over.  I liked, I suppose.  I guess this isn't really something that was beautiful, but at this point I felt like trying to come up with something that I could type up tonight would be almost impossible.  It's not that my day was awful- my brain is just fried.  After 6 hours of conferences with parents I am not sure that I could even generate a genuine thought at this moment. 

Day 61

Day 60 is for...

Warm Smooches.