Faith, Hope, and Love

I taught my first lesson today! And I was soooo nervous! My voice sounded silly in my ears. I felt like I was talking way too fast (although I guess that's not uncommon for me). But I think the kids actually learned something. We were working on the long 'a' sound. Later this week, we'll focus on the long 'e' and 'i' sounds. It sounds pretty elementary, but it might mean that a few of these kids might actually "crack the code" and be able to read and write English more fluently (my kids are all bilingual). I think that's probably been the most exciting thing about student teaching so far--I feel like these are all kids that really need me. They need me to give them that extra push, help them break through the language barrier that keeps a lot of them from succeeding, help them know that they can do it! They already have a great teacher, and she's worked really hard to get them to where they are now. But there's still a lot o...

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. In honor of the day, I decided to spend the last week reading "The Diary of a Young Girl," by Anne Frank. While a lot of kids tend to read this book in school, I never had to--although I've read lots of books that reference the book, and I obviously know the general story behind it. It's been an interesting read--she's a funny, cheeky 14/15 year old. One of my co-workers thinks I could read a much more in-depth book about the Holocaust--one that sheds light on how things were in the concentration camps, etc. Last year I read Jane Yolen's "The Devil's Arithmetic," which is a children's book as well, but does shed some serious light on the reality of the horrors many Jews faced. Maybe one day I will read much deeper, but right now my thoughts are focused on the aftermath of it all. There's a saying that goes something like, "Always remember" or "We must never forget." Whatever it...

Whatever I had this past Thursday didn't kill me! Most of the horror passed by Friday afternoon ( yes, I took a sick day ), and by Sunday I felt about 90% well. Now I'm just tired... I have like five schedules I'm trying to juggle and keep from colliding into each other and overwhelming me. There's the student teaching, there's the school itself, there's church stuff, there's tutoring, and then there's the I-just-want-to-have-fun stuff. So far, so good... but it definitely makes for some long days. And then  two  opportunities to make some money were presented to me... and can I do them? Nope! (Well, definitely not one of them because of student teaching, and I could maybe do the other one... but it'd be another schedule to juggle with the rest!) Mostly I think I'm tired and overwhelmed because I've been a bum for the last six months and I'm not used to working eight-hour days anymore. Nor have I had to wake up by 6 a.m. since li...

That's probably a question I should have asked during orientation. Because if the chills, headache, fever, and aches and pain I'm experiencing are indication, I just got hit majorly with the flu. I blame it on two things: trying to be green and walking to school two days in a row (I think I'll wait till Spring officially hits before I do that again) and the horrible parking at my apartment (which often requires I walk a block or so if I happen to make it home after 9 p.m... which is often). When I started sneezing yesterday, I didn't attribute it to much. But then my sinuses and head started hurting, so I figured allergies (although I've NEVER had allergies, but you can develop them later in life. So I figured why not?). I took some sinus and cold stuff last night and this morning and they cleared me up briefly and then mid-day... it hit. All the lil' 4th graders kept staring at me in pity. Because if I looked anywhere close to how I felt then it was PATHE...

Today I spent the first half of the day at my school . It was a teacher work day, so none of the kids were there. But, I got a nice tour of the school, met a lot of teachers, as well as the librarian (yay!) and kind of got a feel for how things might be over the next 14 weeks. And I'm feeling excited about it all! While my co-teacher and I were in the library, she picked up some Cinderella books. They were different versions of the classic fairytale from different cultures/countries. I'm not sure what lesson this is planned for, but I got excited about it. For one, I love  fairytales. I'm not sure why, but I'm pretty obsessed. And I love reading a good variation of classics (Anyone else love "Ella Enchanted" by Gail Carson Levine? The book, not the horrid movie). Well, the library didn't have a copy of the original story by Charles Perrault, so I offered to bring in my copy. It turns out... I don't own a copy. I'm not sure why I thought I did. ...

Tomorrow I official start student teaching! Yay! And can I say that this day has been a long time coming! First of all, I took all the classwork to get my alternative certification during the Spring of 2009. I also took, and passed, content exams for English Language Arts for grades 4-8 and 9-12. I considered taking the Journalism content exam too, but since each test cost $120 I kind of had to stop. Anyway, I spent the summer of 2009 applying to both journalism and teaching jobs. Ideally I knew I'd want a journalism job (to get paid to write is always my ideal), but at the same time I had teaching English (books and writing, yay!) as my backup. I actually had two interviews for one school, but that never went anywhere. And then some weeks later, I got hired by CURE, which was even better. And I can honestly say, until things got rough for me in the last few months, it was the best first job a girl could ask for. But now I'm back to being unemployed and I never actually g...

Leo vs. Virgo Now, I've never been one to believe in astrological signs or follow horoscopes. But occasionally I find the whole thing entertaining, and I liked identifying myself as a Virgo. Except now, according to science (astrology is a science, right?), my sign has changed due to a shift in the sky over the millenniums.  Earth is now in a different spot in relation to the sun than it was when the 12 zodiac signs were originally assigned. So instead of a Virgo, my birth date now falls under the zodiac sign of the Leo. I have a problem with this. It's not so much that I'm extremely attached to being a Virgo (but, in a way, that is part of the problem). But at the time I was born, had the Earth already made this shift? If not, then I am still and always be a Virgo. This might be a confusing argument, but bear with me, and hopefully you can follow my logic. Our signs are supposed to predict our personalities, our fortunes, dating compatibility, etc....

Exactly six months ago, I lost my job. And can I just say these last six months have been... trying. It really has felt like an uphill climb to nowhere. I got denied unemployment, I got a part-time job I ended up seriously disliking, I got another part-time job that I loved, but still can't really pay my own bills and therefore have to rely on familial support (which is just annoying. I mean, I'm thankful, but dude, I thought I was an adult now!). But today, I've decided, will be my hump day. Not only is it Wednesday, but it's also exactly half a year, and I feel like the next six months are going to be an easy ride downhill. I'm at the top of the hill and I can't wait to take the wild ride down. Leading up to today, I've been a bit grumpy. All the bitterness and anger that had been brewing in me when everything first went down seemed to re-appear out of no where. I thought I had made peace with the situation, but apparently not. It's like I was go...

So I just finished a week of living a life of No Impact . Or at least trying  to live a life of No Impact. I wasn't always very successful, but I think it was still a worthwhile week. I've walked away from it a changed person. I'm more conscious of the choices I make and how they affect the environment, and I've taken steps to change a few bad habits and swap them for more eco-friendly ones. And while I may still be more "lime" than "green," it's a start. And I think that's the more important thing. Well... today, I received another challenge. The Awakening , a young adult group at the church I go to in Dallas, is doing a three week series on "Life on Purpose." Purpose as in "what you're supposed to do in life; your calling, etc." Although, I also took it as "on purpose" like the opposite of "on accident." Mostly because I think lately, or at least since losing my job , I've kind of been livin...

So, I'm a "Bachelor" junkie.I was disgusted by the Jason-Melissa-Molly situation (You would have thought Melissa was my best friend! Although I do hope Jason and Molly true bliss), I was horrified by Jake picking Vienna and wasn't surprised at their very public break up. Ali and Roberto are cute, and I hope they are the next Trista and Ryan.  To be honest, I've been planning to quit the show for years, and there have been seasons that I've skipped out of it. But somehow I've continued to watch all seasons from Jason up to this current one with Brad. Personally, I think "The Bachelor" is absolutely ridiculous (maybe that's why I am so addicted). While I think that you can be pretty sure about wanting to spend your life with someone after like 6 weeks, I've always found the engagement thing a bit extreme. Especially with the fact that there's 25 to 30 women (or men) clouding your judgement. I've never understood how people can ...

But only if I win "Nina Garcia's What to Wear on Every Occasion Look Book" from Dr. Drama's blog . I'm too lazy to buy it on my own. But it would be a good thing to have, since I'm becoming more of an adult and actually have more "occasions" to dress for and often find myself staring at my closet thinking, "I have NOTHING to wear!" Even though I have a pretty full walk-in closet. I would encourage you to enter this giveaway, too. Except... I want to win. So back off!

So, I'm doing this No Impact Week for Yes! Magazine . And so far... so good, I think. It definitely has presented it's challenges, but at the same time I am realizing there are a lot of easy  things I can do to lessen my impact on the earth. Like yesterday was all about food, and I shopped at a Farmers Market for the first time. Some of the prices were a bit steep, but for the most part I'd say it was equal to what I'd find at Kroger's or Wal-Mart. And it's not like I have every really  focused on shopping for bargains, etc. I just grab the brand I like, or just go for the one with the cheapest price sticker under it. But it's not like there's ever a real plan  to save money. Anyway, I decided to my own re-usuable bags to the store. I felt a little bit awkward about telling the cashier, "Please don't use your bags. I have my own." But her response was all cheerful and the bagger instantly took them from me and began filling them up. I o...

I had a good friend come visit me in Chicago. I was really excited about this visit, and although this friend was renting a car for the weekend, I decided that I'd go meet this friend at the airport. But, while on the train from Evanston to O'Hare, my cell phone battery died. And I didn't have coins on me to use the pay phone. And even if I did... I just couldn't remember my friend's phone number! (I have a VERY bad memory when it comes to numbers, I can get the first six, but those last four always evade me.) Cool part about this story is that I met Sabra, Season 3 winner of So You Think You Can Dance , and asked to use her cell phone. She said no. But her friend let me use his to check my voice mail (where I was positive my friend had left a message where I could glean the appropriate phone number from). While it was cool and all, it was also a total bust. Because 1) I was too embarrassed to ask for a photograph, even though I had my camera with me (and it's...

So, while playing around online, I ran into this New Year's Resolution Generator . As I mentioned earlier, I don't actually make resolutions, but I thought it'd be fun anyway. The resolutions generated for me included: Learn to cope. (This one I'll take; there's a lot in my life I need to cope with. Better start learning how to.) Eat a whole tomato like an apple. (No way. I hate tomatoes. I pick them out of sandwiches and salads, etc. No way will I force myself to eat one.) Laugh a lot. (I can do that!) Whistle. (Hmmm... can I just sing? That's already on my things to do more of this year.) Realize none of us are strangers. (Not even sure how this one actual makes sense. Sorry. I have a lot of "friends," but ultimately most of them are strangers to who I truly am. But I guess there is that whole thing about the universality of humanity.) Skip. (This I already do. Often. Hehe.) Reuse. (Working on this... through the Yes! No Impact Week .) Ba...

Today is 1.1.11! It reminds me that I should take things one second, one minute, one day at a time and not worry about what will happen tomorrow, or a month from now, or 11 months from now. All I need to worry about is today. Although... I am looking forward to 11.11.11. At either 11:11 a.m. or 11:11 p.m. I will be making one heck of a wish :)