ROCKTOBER!!

When a new year approaches (like in October), I purchase a calendar. I haven't done it yet...because it's usually in later October that I get it. But anyway the point is not that I get a new calendar, but moreso that when I look through it the October of the following year always seems so much further away than it actually is. I've been looking at this years October with so much excitement and yet with slight weariness.

October always seems to be packed in tight. This year will be no exception.

It's already started with a BANG! My friend Valerie married the man of her dreams October 1. I spent the beginning part of the weekend hanging with friends and celebrating Val & Josh. The latter part of the weekend was spent with my aunt and uncle. They are on my top 5 most hospitable people list! :O) It's a serious gifting my aunt has. That I would have a pinch of what she has would be like hitting the jackpot for me.

Anyway - I'm going to make it a point to update this blog with the exciting escapades of this month's weekends!

COKE & CHOCOLATE

I've noticed there have been some addictions that I've completely lost without even noticing. And picked up some just the same...

The one I've lost is one I've been trying to kick forever!! Can you guess? Drinking COKE like it's my life. I think it's easy when it's sooooo terribly hot and you become dehydrated to actually be in want of the most refreshing drink on the planet - WATER!

Which reminds me of a side story.

In college, some friends of mine asked me to go on a bike ride with them to the park that wasn't too far away from our campus. BEAUTIFUL PARK! Anyway, they had access to 10 speeds, while I...ended up with a rusted Wal-mart bike that had no gears. And the dumbest thing I chose to do was to NOT bring water with me.

As I was huffing and puffing, my friends were enjoying their leisurely stroll through the neighborhood. I literally got to the point that I thought I would pass out if I didn't have something to drink! I was so desperate I was willing to start knocking door to door until someone gave me a glass of water.

Luckily, there was a woman watering her lawn. I went up to her looking like a Mexican gone through a drive through car wash (without the car) and asked to please have a glass of water. She looked at me and didn't say a word - she was extremely apprehensive about a stranger approaching her. With all the desperation in the world, I said, "Ma'am, I don't want to go into your home. I just want water. I'm willing to drink it from your hose."

So, she handed me the hose (I KNOW!!) and I DRANK the most life enhancing
WATER I've ever had in my life.

No longer a wilted flower, I got back on the bike and somehow managed to
get through the bike ride thinking how accurate scripture is when refering to Jesus as the Living Water....and of course - I was also amazed the woman only offered me her water hose.

Anyway - Something I picked up. CHOCOLATE!

It's horrible. What is the point of dropping COKE when you're going to start up on CHOCOLATE!?!?! I don't get it... If it's around I can't say no. I have to practice SELF-CONTROL!!

One thing that I think will help is knowing that CHOCOLATE can trigger migraines. I wouldn't touch a migraine with a ten foot pole...so why would I touch the chocolate that triggers it?

So if you're my friend you won't bring it around me. (Just kidding. You can have it, I just have to CUT BACK on the KISSES!)

If this story had a moral - I think it would be: There's nothing new under the sun. Chocolate and Coke, I've always struggled with them both!

Summer in the City

The heat is unbearable. There are water restrictions, of course. After school dismissal is complete torture! My clothes is practically wet when I get back to get my things after school.

Pure misery. I'm ready for the changing of the seasons. I'm ready for RAIN!

Please, Lord, send the RAIN!!

First Day of School

I was nervous about teaching older kids (3rd and 4th graders). I mean, I liked my first graders. I found out quickly there was nothing to be nervous about. Instead there's lots to get excited over. Like the fact that there was no crying at all. There's lots of independent, self-motivated students (not true for all). And their humor is SO stinken fun!!

I don't know if they'd never read Miss Nelson is Missing, but they giggled so much when I read it to them. I loved that! I was telling them that I could be either Miss Nelson or Miss Viola Swamp. They for sure have tested it and I am proud to announce that my teacher look was perfected yesterday. It received an AMAZING response! YES!

When I got home, I received a phone call from one of my sweet friends. I was in the middle of finishing up a small project and I told her I'd call her back. Well, I didn't. Why? I had fallen asleep around 9:30 pm on my work and slept so hard that I actually DROOLED all over my arm and my work. Thankfully it was laminated!! Whew!

So - that was my first day. It was super duper! And super exhausting!

My Classroom - Before and After

{BEFORE} Honestly, I didn't know where to start. The good thing was that the teacher there before me was AMAZING at getting her stuff and moving it to her room. She's been really helpful.
How did I get through this? Well, I made a plan. I mapped out my room and started working from one area to the next - throwing things away or organizing them and putting them away as I went through the room.

{AFTER}
I started by putting all the tables in the middle and hiding the chairs behind a wall - just so that I could SEE what I wanted to look like without the stack of chairs. Then, I decided what work stations I'd have in the future: whole group, small group, computer station, library, writing station and listening station. I designated the areas and then went to town.
My favorite spot is the library!! Are you surprised? I still have to work on it to get it sorted by genre.
I can't wait for the room to be "ACTIVE"!!

My Dad is the MAN!

I seriously wonder how I'd make it every year without the help of my family. They help me SOOO very much to get ready for school. Well, more than what I should ask of them. My mom comes to clean every crevace...and makes a sour smelling room smell like fresh laundry!

My dad - well, he helps me with lifting boxes, etc. This year, he takes the cake!! My kids didn't have a place to store their backpacks and I didn't really know what I was going to do about it - except for having them hang the packs on the backs of the chairs (not my favorite). So - what does my dad do? He put together some hooks to hang in my classroom and they worked like a charm!

Kuddos to my dad! I wouldn't be me without him!

Mission Statement

There are MANY times that I feel inspired to write a mission statement much like Jerry McGuire's. This week would be all about the hoarding problem school teachers have. It's disgusting!! A classroom should be asthetic!

But in all reality, what would I accomplish in writing said mission statement? NOTHING!

Rant concluded.