Life As We Know It

Really?

2010-04-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

After eight years of classroom teaching and several more years of teaching Sunday school and various early childhood groups, I think I've become pretty adept at revising lesson plans to fit my needs and my style. I won't say what the program is, but I've been helping out with a mid-week group at my church lately. The lesson is on forgiveness tonight. But is it just me, or are these the dumbest directions for a lesson you've ever heard?

"Have a soft ball, such as a beach ball, available to play with as children arrive and allow them to get somewhat rowdy.

Sit them in a circle without removing the ball. You are setting up for misbehavior in order to demonstrate grace."

Really?! I think I'll be making revisions to these lessons.

Life as a Classroom

2010-04-26T20:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm sure there are some very fitting quotes for the following blog content, but I've decided if I'm going to get "back at this," I am just going to have to roll with it...and some may be more like rough drafts than final drafts. (I AM an English teacher.)

I have learned lately that life (and the Christian walk) is a constant, on-going lesson. I feel like I've learned many things about life, relationships, and even myself lately (some as recently as in the last few weeks.) And I'm sure some of these things will have to be re-taught (re-learned by me) at further points in my life. But for now, here are some things I've learned:

* I still get nervous when I know I'm being "formally" observed by my principal, even after 8 years in a classroom.

*It's probably not wise to stay up WAY too late the night before I am to be "formally" observed by my principal. This MAY lead to my feeling quite scattered during said observation.

* I have a higher tolerance for roller coasters than I thought was possible for my age.

* Going to an amusement park when it's fifty-something degrees out and raining CAN be fun with just the right companions. And it's more fun because lines are short and crowds are small! (Whoo-hoo!)

* I enjoy taking on the challenge of coordinating and planning events. (Maybe even a blog regarding this to come.)

* I thoroughly enjoy any opportunity I get to "mother." (For any perfect stranger reading this, the fact is that I am not a mother. For any "loyal reader" who is reading this, I think you'll understand.)

* I'm realizing that above-mentioned opportunities are God-given, and I should not take them for granted. (Probably a blog regarding this topic to come as well.)

* I AM capable of loving the un-lovable, as God enables me, BECAUSE it is a challenge and a charge from God.

* God gives us the right friends at the right time. Some are new; some are "gold"; all are valuable.

* And as it's way too late as I write this, I've learned that I still have a very difficult time making myself go to bed, even when wake-up call (that pesky alarm clock) comes at 5:30 or earlier. Maybe I still need to work on mastering that lesson.

Good night, all!

You say "good-bye"; I say "hello"

2010-04-22T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I think that one year MIGHT just be the longest I've taken a break from just about ANYTHING. But I thought I would give this a shot again. I won't get into all the reasons I stopped, but one of the main ones is that my life is simply put - CRAZY BUSY! But lots of busy people write blogs, and my dad has specifically requested that I blog at least enough for him to feel connected. And my sister pointed out on Facebook when I had my one-year anniversary of NOT blogging.

So to get back in the swing of things, I thought I'd just share some of my "funnies" from school lately. Last week, our kids took the MAP test (Missouri's standardized test). Oh, and by the way, this is ALWAYS the longest week of the school year. Thankfully, we did not have whole afternoons built in to the testing schedule this year for kids to just "relax." (You have no idea how relieved I was that we did not follow that schedule this year!) There was some free time when testing sessions are finished early enough before lunch, though. So I interacted with kids a little more than normal in conversation - and overheard a few funny conversations.

Conversation One: Ummm, well, you know it seems like they don't fall until they notice. So if cartoon characters would just NOT notice they were falling, they could probably just keep on walking on air and be fine. (This said while the other two students nod their head very intently in agreement...and these are some of my smartest kids!!!)

Conversation Two: (I'm not sure what was said before, but here's where I came in.) Boy: I have two farms. That's one more than you. (Followed by a questioning look from the female listener.) Boy again: Oh, that's TWO more than you. (I had to do my best to keep from laughing out loud - this boy is so smart, but maybe when he takes over the family farm, he better leave the bookkeeping and general counting to someone else.)

So that's all for now. Oh, and only four weeks and one day left with these kids. I think for the first time in a few years, I'm truly going to miss my kiddos!

Quotables

2009-04-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

So, if you read my previous post, you know that I had a pretty rough day last week. But on a bright note, Friday, I DID go to work, and it WAS a much better day. Then, there's the weekend - always a good thing.

I thought I'd just share a few quotes that I either heard or read this week that made me smile.

"My poopy doesn't smell. It think it's your walls. You need to scrub your walls." ~ My friend's small nephew after "smelling up" my bathroom.

"Compassion for our parents is the true sign of maturity." ~ Somebody named Anais Nin, quoted in my Real Simple magazine

"Some of us are snowballs; some of us are fireballs; and some of us are just spitballs." ~My father-in-law/pastor referring to the scripture where God tells Christians not to be lukewarm or he will "spew" us out of his mouth (Revelation 3:15-16).

"Are you ready for the government to tell you how shiny your shingles will be, how brightly your paintings will be lit, how bright your hot tub can be? No? Let me ask you this. Why is it you hate the Earth so very much?" ~ Glenn Beck referring to the 648-page climate bill recently introduced that apparently does not focus much on big picture issues. (Guess you had to hear the sarcasm in his voice, too, to appreciate it as much as I did!)

Is it Friday yet?

2009-04-16T20:25:00.000-07:00

Have you ever had one of those days you wish you could have a "redo"? Today was one of those days for me.

I didn't sleep too well because, once again, I procrastinated sorting & entering grades & knew I wasn't QUITE ready to turn them in by the deadline this morning.

Tried to get to school early (which is a huge feat, especially lately). Left in time to get there at "normal" time, but definitely not early enough.

Decided I did at least have time to get gas in my car so I wouldn't have to fill up after school (was almost to that point where it would be needed by then.) First gas station, I had problems with 2 pumps, so I decided I'd just get gas at the one by school. (Didn't realized until I was almost there I had driven all the way with my gas cap hanging open!) Got to gas station #2, and just as I got my print-out for a future car wash, my pump's monitor blanked. "See attendant." Ok. She tells me to go ahead and pre-pay. Ok. Get back outside, pump not set up for pre-pay. No idea what's going on. Girl comes running out to tell me she set me up on different pump. So, by pump #4, I finally got gas.

Got my grades "exported" to the counselor a little late, after a few setbacks. Ok, good.

3rd hour - AWFUL! Yelled at them more than I like to in any given day. Oops. Let's let the blood pressure lower during plan period during planning period 4th hour.

Nope. Meeting about MAP testing in cramped principal's office. (Ok, so this really wasn't so bad - just not how I like to spend my entire planning period.)

5th hour - good little breather. A normally talkative & somewhat disruptive class worked very had and got a lot done.

6th hour - one of my "favorite" (no such thing in teaching, I know, but still...) groups not doing their best work.

7th hour - Is it over yet?

After school - oh wait, I still have to go vote on contract proposal, arrange desks for MAP pretest tomorrow & "renumber" about 95 practice tests. Hmmm, maybe I'll just copy ones I already have done...would work great if everyone else weren't copying their tests on our 2 very slow copiers. (So I copied one class set) Get to my room to find I've inherited 14 extra copies of said test from another teacher (Score!)

Check my e-mail before I head home & got a good little laugh from my sisters. Yay, a bright spot in my day.

Come home. Park myself in front of the t.v. (instead of going to gym as originally planned). Renumber one more class set. (Good, now if I can just use the copier for one more class set by 7:25 tomorrow morning, I'm set!). Finished that job. Now make cute little pawprint name tags (totally NOT needed, but it was a mindless job) for testing seating chart tomorrow.

Put everything back in school bag & chill on the couch for a while. 6:00. Can I take a 15 minute nap? Is that even possible? Today it worked. Just in time for dinner and good conversation with friends. Ahh, this is who I really am, not that mean, stressed teacher lady.

The details probably don't make sense to anyone who wonders why I'm "renumbering" so many tests and wondering what the big deal about this MAP test is. And I know this was totally a whiny post, but that was my day. So all I'm saying is thank God tomorrow is a new day and His mercies are new every morning. PLUS, it's Friday! AND 3rd hour (see above note) will be shortened because of testing schedule. I can and will survive! *Sigh and Smile*

Random things

2009-04-02T19:14:00.000-07:00

This post is going to be reminiscent of my little brother's blogs, at least how they could sometimes be quite random.

I finally went and got my wedding ring back from the jeweler's after being without it for a week. I did feel a little "naked" without it, but it didn't bother me as much as some people apparently thought it should while I was without it. I couldn't believe how many women made some sort of comment like "How can you NOT wear your ring?" or "I'd at least get a fake if I were you for times like this." I didn't feel the urge to wear some other ring on that finger for the week-and-a-half I was waiting for it to be repaired; I mean, I KNOW I'm married.

This week, I met a lady who has a daughter with my same name (with only a minor spelling difference). This is interesting to me because I love my unique name, and I've only met one other person in my life that has the same name. But get this - this lady's daughter also shares my birthday (just 18 years later)!

And then today, at the end of our rather lengthy staff meeting (we are gearing up for state testing), our principal called out a few names of people he "needed to see." He had some papers for us, but apparently, he hadn't even looked at what it was. When he opened the envelope and read the cover letter, he commented, "You've got to be kidding me!" All I knew was that I saw "Homeland Security" across the top. Well, about ten other staff and I were randomly chosen to fill out an "Employment Verification" form...basically to prove that we are American citizens. The funny thing is that we have to bring these forms back to school tomorrow filled out, plus two forms identification. Here's the kicker: one of the ID's can be our school ID with our photo on it. So here's my thought: if the school district hired us, then they would be the ones creating and providing that badge for me. How does that prove I am legit here in the US of A? Hmmm... Just funny to me.

Well, that's it for the randomness. Have a good weekend.

Trade-In

2009-03-18T15:55:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 61:1 is a pretty popular scripture that one might hear at an ordination of a new minister. "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives..." Leaving out a little bit, it goes on to say "to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." I don't think I remembered that those two sections were in the same context until I started focusing on this scripture this past week. A couple of Sunday nights ago, we had a pretty incredible singing and ministry group at our church called Higher Ground. I don't even remember what song they were introducing, but they quoted this scripture, specifically the part about "putting on the garment of praise instead of heaviness" (another version, I guess). Well, I broke. I had been under a "heavy" spirit. That morning, there had been a shooting at a church a few towns over from my home town in Illinois. My friend Karen was suffering physically and mentally because of a really bad report with yet more cancer. It was easy to feel heavy in my heart. But that night, I felt a true freedom to "put on the garment of praise" instead.

Well, this week, more heaviness, more burden. A good friend of mine lost her dad the other night. It was not completely unexpected because he had been ill, but it was very sudden. Then, today, another family in our church lost their husband and father very suddenly. This man has a wife and three boys ranging from 5th grade to high school age. My friend Karen seems to be either getting worse or experiencing some sort of new struggle each day. And not only that, but it's so hard to watch as she went from being so strong and claiming to "praise God anyway," to "losing her song." I needed a reminder about putting on that garment of praise instead of despair, so I came home and looked up that scripture in three different versions. Do you know what God has pointed out to me? It does not say that it is God's role to go "provide for those who mourn" or "to bestow...beauty instead of ashes...and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." This scripture actually says that God has sent ME to do that. So I am going to pick up Karen's mantel and I am going to sing a song of praise until she gets hers back. I will be there for my friend as she says her final goodbye's to her father; I will cry with that mother and hug those young boys. I will mourn with those who have lost, but I will keep on that garment of praise so that despair will not overtake them. It seems almost more than I can handle, especially because I know my own thought tendencies, but the reward will be great. "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the lord for the display of his splendor." It's hard to know why these things happen, but maybe if enough of us trust God FOR them, they will come out victorious and strong in God's perfect timing.

A Sea of Green

2009-03-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

On such a beautiful day, I was not surprised at the sheer number of after-school-care kids playing on the playground at the elementary school we share a campus with. I had to smile because it looked like a sea of green with all the little kiddies in their various shades of green t-shirts for St. Patty's Day. (One class must have green t-shirts because a lot of them looked the same - you know teachers "name" their classroom then have t-shirts made up for field trips, etc.) It was amusing to me because after transferring from five years in elementary, and now working two years at the middle school level, I still think of the differences between the age groups. At elementary, the kids wear green t-shirts. At the middle school, they wear

* green knee socks with four-leaf clovers all over them
* green beads
* as obnoxious a green hair bow as they can find
* a green frilly mini skirt
* any other green "bling" they could get their hands on
* green Nikes or stylish kicks
* and for the preppier girl, a green bow with white polka dots in her hair WITH a purse to match!

The one similarity? They ALL, no matter the age, would love nothing more than to pinch anyone who has not followed the green trend today! Too bad the principals make sure they announce that morning that we want everyone to have a GOOD day, so no pinching allowed!

No Mainenance Required

2009-03-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

Have you ever heard the term "high maintenance" in relationship to a person? I can honestly say that my husband is NOT high maintenance, unless you count his eating habits. Something you need to know about me is that I love to plan things. I don't always have time, though, so sometimes the idea or picture in my head just doesn't end up matching up with the end result. One example is how I wanted to really do something nice for my husband when he finished his MBA coursework. Ok, so that was a month ago. He was actually on a missions trip in Mexico with our church when he turned the last of his work in on a Monday night. He didn't get home until "bed time" Saturday night, Sunday was church and busy as usual. And then life just took over, so my ideal celebration of just the two of us had never panned out. In fact, the gift that I had in mind (at least in general terms) was not even purchased until last weekend...while he was out of town for a church retreat. So, I decided enough time had passed, I have the gift now - I need to show him how much I am proud of him. Let me just tell you what my idea of a nice celebration would be: I would cook a nice dinner, probably including one of his favorite desserts. We would probably even have some sparkling juice in honor of the occasion. We would eat together, then have a nice evening at home where I could give him his card and gift. Or I would've even been okay with going out someplace nice to semi-nice. But when I suggest it to him, what does he say? "Oh, I'm ok with just getting Chili's to go and coming home." Well, all right then. In the past, I might've had my feelings hurt. But after almost six years of marriage, I've just learned that this is my husband. I guess I can't complain. I mean, I do like their queso. So, we ate our Chili's at home, watched a rented movie, and then I gave him his gift. Then we went to the library. Boring? No, just "low maintenance"! (I'm just relieved he liked his gift - that was the highlight for me!)

Happy Birthday, Dad

2009-03-03T20:56:00.001-08:00

When I was in junior high, I remember my Sunday School teachers talking about the love of God, our Father, being so much better than our earthly fathers (which I know is a hard connection for some people to make). But they used the illustration of a child being so excited when Daddy comes home from work at dinner time (stereotypical, I know) that the child runs and jumps into Daddy's arms. So I don't remember making this response, but I probably did. My Dad loves to tell the story that the nice couple reported to my dad that after they used this illustration, I raised my hand and admitted, "I still do that"! Honestly, I probably did because I was such a daddy's girl...but I'm not really sure I would've admitted it in front of all my teenaged friends!

Here is a saying that I stole from a Hallmark Father's Day card I gave my dad a while back; I guess I knew I could reuse it at some point:

Because her father listened to her, she knew she had something to say.

Because he believed in her, she believed in herself.

Because he said she could do anything, she did

Now, don't get me wrong - my dad and I still argued at times, we didn't always see eye-to-eye, etc., but so much of who I am today is a result of my dad's guidance and willingness to be the kind of dad I needed. I could say so much more, but truly, I'm just thankful to have had my dad and that I still DO have my dad in my life!

In honor of my wonderful (and shameless father), I thought I'd post just a few pictures that show his great personality. They're actually both at family reunions, one where we have an annual auction (of junk, basically); and the other one where we can never get away without having some good gospel music first!

Love you, Dad!

I Have Found the One...

2009-02-20T17:05:00.000-08:00

Today I left my cell phone at home, and I didn't get home until evening. I felt lost without it all day. Do you know that feeling? Well, multiply that by 10 (probably much more than that, actually), and that's how I've felt with my husband gone this week! It's amazing because I've always been very independent and have never really minded being away from him for a while. This...well, this has been different somehow. When we were first married, Jon went on these trips every year. AND he'd be gone MORE than a week. Distance definitely makes the heart grow fonder, but I'm realizing that it seems to be worse (the missing him) now that we've been married longer (5+ years now)!

You see, I've never struggled to stay busy. In fact, I planned several things just to keep myself occupied while he was gone on one of my three-day weekends, then through the week. (Of course, now I'm exhausted, but that's beside the point.) I've tried to look on the bright side of things to keep from moping, and here's what I've come up with:

I can eat macaroni and cheese, cereal, or curry chicken for dinner.

I can actually keep a full cabinet of glasses (dishes) and not find them all over the house.

I can go out to lunch with friends, shop, or go to an appointment after work and not have to consider what time I need to come home.

I can leave my exercise ball in the middle of the living room floor (where I use it) and not even put it away all week.

I can read at dinner time instead of cooking.

I can watch my own tv shows.

I can have some peace and quiet...

Really, no matter what I "can" do while my husband is away doesn't take the missing him away. God has reminded me of something this past week; all the scriptures that I would cling to when I was single and wondering when that special someone would come along are still true. "The Lord is my portion." He is the one that sustains me and keeps me. At the same time, this past week has opened my eyes to the fact that I have truly found the one whom my soul loves because I am just not the same without my wonderful husband, Jon! (Sorry for the sappy blog!)

Macaroni with a Twist

2009-02-04T17:23:00.000-08:00

Literally. But let me start by saying I think I'm going to start posting recipes from time to time. Maybe I should pick a day a week to do it, you know like my sister has "Thankful Thursdays," and another blogger that I think I will soon be hooked on has "Fashion Fridays"...but there's no day of the week that starts with "R," so that's my excuse if I don't post one once a week. Anyway, I have subscribed to the magazine Real Simple for a couple of years. My problem has been that I'm usually too occupied with other things to read it regularly, but my initial motivation was that they often have great recipes (and my 2nd motivating factor was that I thought it would help me get some ideas for organizing & decorating my house, and that's another story).

Have you heard of the cookbook compiled by Jerry Seinfeld's wife called Deceptively Delicious? I have a couple of friends who love it and use many of the recipes. Well, this recipe I made tonight kind of reminds me of that. The category of recipes in this issue was "comfort food made healthy." I already made the chicken pot pie (made WITHOUT cream of chicken soup for the first time in my life!), and tonight I made this home-made macaroni & cheese as a side for the fish I cooked. Now I have to tell you that the mac & cheese took longer than the fish, but that's ok because it cooked in the oven while I fried the fish. Back to the "deceptive" part of the recipe - it has cauliflower cooked right in. I don't generally buy cauliflower because I rarely eat it raw, plus I don't think I would just cook it up as a side vegetable, but apparently, it adds fiber AND vitamin C!

A couple of changes I made were that I used cavatappi (thus the "twist") because my local grocery store didn't have wheat or multi-grain elbow macaroni.
And I used some wheat hot dog buns I I had leftover from our Super Bowl party (because I remembered reading an article...yes, in Real Simple...a long time ago about using leftover hamburger & hot dog buns).
I also used just the dried, store-bought parsley for the bread crumbs because I forgot to get fresh on my last trip to the store.

Here's the recipe:
12 ounces multigrain elbow macaroni
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped (I only used about one half)
4 slices multigrain bread, torn
1/2 cup fresh flatleaf parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt & pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar
1 1/2 cups reduced fat sour cream (I also used less of this because I ran out)
1/2 cup 1 percent milk
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard (also did not use because my husband has issues with any condiment!)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cook pasta according to directions, adding cauliflower for the last 3 minutes of cooking time; drain.

Meanwhile, pulse bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Add the parsley, 2 tbsp of oil, and 1/4 tsp. each of salt & pepper; pulse to combine & set aside

Return the pasta pot to medium heat & add remaining oil. Add onion, 3/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally just until soft, 5-7 minutes. (I also skipped all this because I used a too-small pot & just mixed it all in a big bowl...and it turned out just fine!) Mix in the pasta (if you do it as directed), cauliflower, cheese, sour cream, milk, and mustard.

Transfer to a shallow 3-quart baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs, and bake until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes.

To my surprise, my husband and I both REALLY liked this. I served it with pretzel-crusted Mahi Mahi & sweet potato fries (from Trader Joe's), so it was really a pretty easy meal. I hope you can benefit from this.

To give credit where credit is due, this came from the February 2009 issue of Real Simple.

Attempts to make some dough

2009-01-29T11:12:00.000-08:00

I've done it again...kept my ideas in my head instead of blogging it. But I just have to share with someone (I'm getting cabin fever since I'm on my third snow day in a row)...that I just posted my first items for sale on Craig's List and Amazon. I listed four books on Amazon, books I know I won't reread or ever need again (like my study guide for my Praxis test for middle school English area). The profile showed that a couple of books I listed have over a hundred selling right now, some starting at $.49, so I'm not too hopeful about selling mine for $5. But I want to get my feet wet in this since my husband and I have been talking about this as a possible way for an occasion extra cash source. You'd be amazed at how much "stuff" we've acquired in our short five-and-a-half years of marriage...and how much of it hasn't been used or has been barely used. On Amazon, I listed two throw pillows that we bought for our living room back when we were newlyweds and living in our townhouse, and I also listed a brand new pair of tennis shoes that my husband was never able to wear. I have no idea how successful these items will be with bringing us any cash; honestly, I'm just excited to have accomplished the process of registering, posting, etc., all on my own!

Makeovers in the Kitchen

2009-01-12T19:56:00.001-08:00

Tonight I made a "makeover" meal. At least, I think I read that that's a term for these kinds of meals anyway. I guess it's a spoof of "leftovers." These are where you use a previous meal to make a new meal. Make sense? Between the price of groceries and cooking for only two people, I've been trying to either cut recipes in half so food doesn't go to waste...or get creative. My mom was the master at these "makeover" meals. My meal tonight was one I remembered her making when I was a kid; I took leftover chili, added a little taco sauce to make it more "Mexican," then used this plus some shredded Colby Jack cheese as a filling for our so-called enchiladas tonight. It was super easy and fast - it was completely prepared and baking in fifteen minutes, and twenty minutes later, we were eating! (This is also a great alternative for my husband since he doesn't like enchilada sauce.)

Here are a few other "makeovers" I remember from my mom:

Roast - used in vegetable soup or used to make barbecue beef sandwiches
Turkey - used in turkey pot pie or turkey and dumplings
Mashed potatoes - potato cakes (I think is what they were called) or as a soup thickener

She could also work wonders with homemade dough - crust for homemade pizza, cinnamon rolls, cherry stolons at the holidays...all with the same dough. (I've tried all of these by now, too, and have been very proud of my results!)

I'm sure there are many more that I've forgotten, but I'd love to have your ideas on how to make the most of leftovers. I'm even cooking up the idea of compiling people's ideas, maybe even to publish down the road. I have a cookbook full of recipes solely for a slow cooker...and all of the recipes are from people all over the country that apparently submitted their ideas & recipes. I think that's an idea worth stewing on!

Quirks

2009-01-10T20:18:00.000-08:00

Well...I haven't updated in a while. In about a week's time, I saw an interview with some "well-known" blogger...then I read an article that was almost verbatim what the blogger said in the tv interview. They both said that one should not blog without a purpose. That intimidated me; my blog is very random, from personal to spiritual, to school stories, etc. But I think I've gotten over it by now. Plus, schedules have slowed down, my back has healed somewhat (the one I "threw out" two weeks before Christmas), and the two faithful followers that I know read my blog have been bugging me. So from now on, be prepared for the same random thoughts and stories as before. I think I'll even try to include a picture from time to time...but those might be random, too.

I have never thought of myself as a germ freak. It's not like I'm constantly slathering the Germ-X on my hands or anything; if I remember to, I will, though, especially during flu & cold season. I'm not constantly wiping down counters, sinks, etc., though a "goal" of mine (since it is January) is to be neater...and I promise my cooking areas are sanitary. Anyway, Jon and I started using a fruit and vegetable spray a while back. I don't hardly eat any kind of produce unless I've sprayed it and rinsed it thoroughly afterwards. Jon pointed out that we should probably even spray foods like pineapple before putting it on the cutting board so that the edible parts aren't touching where the germy, chemical-sprayed rind (is that what pineapple has?) had just been. I thought he was extremely overdoing it. But now I do it out of habit. I realized that my quirk with household duties comes in with washing clothes. I have this weird thing that I hate to mix kitchen towels and bath towels in the washer. You know, the bath towels touch your body, but the kitchen towels might have come in contact with bacteria from some raw meat. Sheets are another touchy laundry item. I couldn't find a link for it, but do you remember the Clorox commercial from a couple of years ago that shows how much "body soil" is on your sheets? I guess it was just grotesque enough that it fueled this quirk of mine. Am I the only laundry-germ freak out there?

Perspective

2008-12-07T13:22:00.000-08:00

Maybe it's the holiday season. Maybe it's the economy. Maybe it's my sisters' posts about being thankful. Maybe it's because I work with adolescents. Or maybe it's just because I'm getting older, but I've been experiencing a lot lately, it seems, that helps me put things into "perspective."

Here are a few examples:

When I took sixty-four 8th graders from my Honor Society Christmas caroling at an assisted living residence this week, there were a few of the elderly residents that began to cry. This really bothered some of the students because they couldn't understand that. (So much so that one girl gave one man five student-made cards and two ornaments to make him feel better; isn't she thoughtful?) My perspective on this was: Maybe he was thinking of the significance of the song ("Holy Night"), or maybe he is all alone in this world and just appreciated a little holiday cheer.

Then there's my friend, Karen, who is going through her second battle with cancer in just a few short years. My perspective is: "Why, God? She was faithful to honor you all throughout the first round, became cancer free, and now again?! Why her?" But she is an encouragement to all of us who know and love her because she refuses to focus on any of the negative. Her motto throughout this whole second experience has been, "I will praise God anyway because He is God, and He is worthy."

And then yesterday, our church family had to say our final good-byes here on earth to an inspiring and courageous young man, Nick Duncan. I did not know Nick well, but I know that his story was that he came from a Christian family, but as a young man, he decided to go his own way. He made many choices that took his life down a path of destruction...and then he was diagnosed with liver cancer far too young. He turned his life over to God, and he never looked back. His enthusiasm for life and spreading God's love in his last few months impacted so many around him, especially many of the people his age at our church. Even when he was in hospice, he still wanted to be in church, two weeks before he died. While my thoughts are, "God, he died too young," his perspective the entire journey was, "This cancer is not a curse; it is the thing that brought me to God."

If you are reading this, and you don't know God in a personal way, please don't think that you have to wait for a tragedy to seek Him out. He's been seeking you out for a long time - you just have to be still long enough to hear Him. I don't understand God's ways, but the Bible says that His ways are higher than our (man's) ways. I don't understand why "bad things happen to good people," but I just have to remember it's all about perspective: if I put my trust in God, then I can believe that his plan is perfect, even if we don't understand.

Put Some Meat on Those Bones

2008-12-01T19:14:00.000-08:00

Have you ever heard that saying. The one that says, "You just need to put some meat on those bones." Usually, this is meant to encourage someone to plump up a little, but I just think it's a funny expression.

Well, I saw my regular doctor for the first time in a while. He's finally back to seeing patients after his long sabbatical dealing with his own rare blood cancer. This was a follow-up from some problems I was having a few months back. But I thought I would ask him about a few other minor health issues. One is that my toes literally go numb if they are cold. I had wondered if this was a circulation issue, etc. I've only experienced this in the last few winters, and it's really just more annoying than anything. He checked to see if my toes "blanched" by squeezing on them and checking how long they went from white back to normal (white?) skin tone...and it took a long time. So, wanna know his prognosis? My problem is that I have such "long digits" (his words), and they are so skinny, that literally, my toes are mainly bone inside with no muscle to warm them up! Trust me, the rest of me does NOT go numb in the cold. :o) I guess I'm just going to have start wearing thicker socks. And figure out a way to put some meat on my phalanges.

Being Thankful for the Unpleasant

2008-11-30T18:24:00.000-08:00

I have not posted in quite some time. I think I'm learning that if I want to keep up with my blog, I'm just going to have to keep them simple...and not worry about them being perfect. I wanted to post a Thanksgiving blog, but time got away from me...and I got to enjoy a lovely weekend away with my husband. IF I had posted before Thanksgiving, I probably would've written about how I'm thankful for my family and for health, which many may think is odd coming from a woman at my age. But if you know my story, you'd understand, I think.

Ever since I read my sister's blog on Thanksgiving day, though, I've been challenged to reflect on the unlovely things in my life that I'm thankful for. So, here are just a few:

I'm thankful for the medical/physical trials I had in my growing-up years. I think that this experience has given me insight into what families with sick children go through. One of the latest books I read (am actually still working to finish) was written specifically about finding one's purpose (and more specifically, for women). In the beginning, there were a few questions to help the reader indicate her strengths and giftings, and one question that really jumped out at me was along the lines of "Who do you feel most empathetic toward?" That question, plus watching a friend deal day-in and day-out with a very small child with cancer, has really awakened the desire in me to reach out to families in similar circumstances. I'm still praying and watching for opportunities on how to do this...but I'm trusting that door will open in my near future.

I'm also thankful for this time that my husband is in school and staying very busy. It's tough to deal with his hectic schedule and knowing that we don't both just get to come home on certain evenings and enjoy each other's company. But I think this is teaching me to support him that much more, be encouraging when I just don't want to, and especially to enjoy the times we do have together. I also think I am being reminded that it's better he gets this degree out of the way before we start our family. I can't imagine balancing a new baby or small children at home AND the daddy of our home being so busy.

One more thing I'm not even sure I can be thankful for right now (but I'll work on) is dealing with conflict and/or stress in my life. I wish there just wasn't any of either of those, but I feel like in the last couple of years, I've had to deal a lot with both of these trying facts of life. I'm not sure I've dealt with either one in the best or most appropriate way, but I feel that I've learned a lot about myself and my spiritual walk as part of the journey. I pray that God will continue to grant me wisdom and peace in these areas so that someday I can truly say, "Thank God for stress and conflict because..."

Kids and Politics

2008-11-01T16:12:00.001-07:00

Ok, I know I keep commenting on how small kids' world views are. Because of that, I think it's actually a little silly that we have events and organizations such as "Kids Voting." I find it interesting how kids talk about politics because generally they are just spouting off what they've heard at home. I know I did; I probably even voted in my first election based on what my parents told me. (Honestly, I probably still vote very closely to the way my parents do, but now it's because I've adopted those same values as my own since I've been an adult.) My respect goes to those families, though, that do discuss the "issues" with their kids, even if it's at the level appropriate for that child. At least that way the kids are somewhat informed.

The following are just a few political conversations I've heard from kids these last couple of days.

My nine-year-old niece who is very smart and grown-up for her age had to vote in her reading group at school. First she told us (her mom, Nana, and me) that she had heard that McCain had pushed a kid...over a cliff...but she's pretty sure she just heard that from another kid. However, she did Google McCain and has decided that he's not the man for the job because "he called a little kid a jerk." (This made me wonder what's out there on the wonderful World Wide Web...but I haven't verified the story for myself.) I also thought it was funny when my sister (her mom) told us that my niece M had been concerned about John McCain having been in jail...until my sister explained to her what a prisoner-of-war is!

Now take kids who are just a few years older than my niece, my 8th graders. They had to participate in the Kids Voting at school on Friday. I heard some kids teasing one girl for voting for four presidents. When I asked her how that happened, this is what I heard:

Girl: Well, I didn't know. Plus I thought "Libertarian" said "librarian" on the ballot.

After a few "looks" from other kids, same girl: *In her most defensive tone* The White House might need a librarian too!

I was so glad I didn't have to set her straight (especially because I was laughing so hard). But just leave it to another kiddo to tell her, "Do you really think we'd get to VOTE for the White House librarian?!?"

Seriously, though, thank God for the innocence of these kids. I know that they are so impressionable and many will just go by what they are told for the next few years. But it just reminds me how much they still need the guidance of adults like me, and how much responsibility that is for me to teach them not only how to read and write each day, but to teach them about good character and citizenship in the ways I can at their level. And I hope and pray those lessons I can live out in front of them now will follow them into their future.

Answer Key: Slang

2008-11-01T16:09:00.000-07:00

Ok, it feels like more than six days ago that I blogged last. It feels like several weeks. This last week has been very full with my husband working to finish this class (Only two left after this!!! Whoo-hoo!!)...and his (therefore, my) involvement with Election Day just around the corner. Anyway, my point to the "Sling the Slang" blog was that these kids all used slang as their answers to what was supposed to be "current-day" slang. Of course, I couldn't bring myself to count them wrong because they're so used to this language that I don't even think they realize it's slang. They're funny! And that's all I wanted to share.

Can You Sling the Slang?

2008-10-25T19:12:00.000-07:00

Ok, I know my title is cheesy, but that was the name of one of the assignments I gave my kids when I had to teach slang and jargon and dialect recently. (And let me just add that in the whole scheme of things, I wonder why the state thinks it's necessary to teach this to 8th grade...and puts it on "The Test," especially when we have kids who struggle with simply reading, writing, and spelling!) Anyway, I spent my week-and-a-half or so teaching this, then gave the quiz over it. Part of the test was to give current-day slang terms and their meanings. Some of the students' answers made me laugh. Here are some of the better ones.

Slang: Kewl / Meaning: Cool
Slang: What's happenin'? / Meaning: What's up?
Slang: Tight / Meaning: Awesome
Slang: Cool / Meaning: Sweet
Slang: Sweet / Meaning: Tight or cool
Slang: Sick-nasty / Meaning: Gross

Does anyone else notice a trend here? Five bonus points if you figure it out!

Hand Check

2008-10-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

Today was a crazy day. I was trying to get all the last-minute details worked out for my National Junior Honor Society float this weekend (which basically meant I had a bunch of kids in and out of my room using the die cut machine to cut out the bazillion letters we needed for posters and decoration). Meanwhile, Friday is quiz day in my classroom, so I'm trying to figure out how to keep kids who aren't even "my" students to stay quiet and remind the other kids that they still have to work on their quiz, and not comment on things like "It's not just an exclamation mark - turn it upside down for an "i" dummy!"

So, when 2nd hour came in, it didn't take them long to notice that I had left the answers to the quiz up on the board. I quickly erased them, but a student commented that I should make sure no one had written any answers on their hands. So I yelled "hand check." Almost every kid immediately put his/her hands up, which was just comical to me. I was taken back to our many youth group trips on the church van. Without even thinking of the implications, I told the kids, "When I was your age, on church trips in the big church van, 'hand check' had a whole different meaning." Of course, one kid had to ask why, so here's how the rest of the conversation went:

Me: "Well imagine a bunch of teenagers on a long trip together, some of which would be sitting in the back seat."

Sweet, innocent but somewhat valley-girl: "I still don't get it. Why would your hands have to be checked?"

Too-smart-for-his-own-good in the back of class: "Ooooh. You mean in case they're feeling each other up?"

Me: Exclamation of student's name, accompanied by an immediate reddening of my face

Too-smart-for-his-own-good: "Mrs. Shirrell, you're blushing, really bad."

So I covered by saying that it was because I couldn't believe he would say such a thing in the middle of class. But really what I was thinking was that I was so naive at that age that I'm sure I only thought my adult youth sponsors were merely checking to make sure we weren't holding hands. Any more, naivete at this age is a breath of fresh air. But I know that many are not...so...I probably should've known better than to even start this conversation!

A day in the life of an 8th grade classroom!

Pantyhose 101

2008-10-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

I have to laugh sometimes when I discover (more each day) how 8th graders have just not been exposed to some things in life. Today was probably the first time I've worn pantyhose since last spring. (I just laugh writing that word!) I was wearing dressy capri pants and high heels, so there were maybe two inches of my legs plus ankles showing. Third hour is wrapping up, I'm collecting papers, and a boy looks down and asks, "What happened to your feet?" It took me a moment to figure out what he meant, but I responded, "Oh, it's just my pantyhose." I think that the first part of that word threw him, too. But I could tell by the look on his face he had no idea what I was talking about. I didn't have time to try and describe the purpose of this undergarment, nor did I really want to, so I just told him they're like stockings (which I'm sure caused him even more confusion), and then without even thinking, I reached down and "popped" my hose to show him how they cover my skin.

To be honest, I forbid myself to wear hose from about April to at least September. But here are the few purposes I do find for pantyhose:

1. To protect my feet from blisters from certain shoes
2. When I need a little "control" up "top"
3. I really like the way the shiny black ones make my legs look if I'm wearing a black skirt.
4. Hmmm...I think I have seen people tie plants and trees up with them
5. Maybe my sister could come up with a costume that requires pantyhose

In reality, I don't think these "purposes" are enough to ever make me really WANT to wear this item of clothing if I don't absolutely have to.

Tax-Free Oculist

2008-10-17T11:11:00.001-07:00

So would any of you have known what an "oculist" is without looking it up? I had to look it up, but I'm telling on myself a bit here. I just finished filling out my claim forms for one year's worth of receipts for my cafeteria plan. (You know, the plan where you can set money aside from your paycheck, pre-tax, and get reimbursed. I don't really understand how it all works, and last year was my first year to have my own plan for this, so of course, I collected receipts, and since I was a bit intimidated, I put off actually taking care of turning anything in until the very last minute!)

When I went to print the claim form off from the website, a second sheet printed with instructions and a list of qualifying expenses. At first glance, I thought that "oculist" was actually "occultist." Oops! So, after I realized my mistake, I looked up "oculist," and found that it's basically an ophthalmologist or optometrist.

I had to laugh at myself, though, because just the other day, I heard one of my Honor Society students joking about how his dad gets manicures. The boy's words were, "He says they're good for his cubicles."

Occultist/oculist....cubicles/cuticles - big difference!

"Lazy" or "Relaxed"?

2008-10-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I was going to go on a little "me" retreat today, tonight, and then come back tomorrow. I'm not really sure why I decided not to go, except that everything seemed like it was going to be a hassle. My in-laws have this great cabin about 3 hours from here, and I love it because it's away from everything civilized. However, I was having to figure out what food they had & didn't have, how to take the dog and still be back in time for volleyball tomorrow night, among other details. Then, I was thinking about how the rest of our weekend is completely jam-packed with activities. All this, plus my husband was out of town for a conference Monday through last evening, so I was thinking I really just wanted to have an evening home with him tonight...especially since it's our tv-and-dinner-at-home night!

So I thought I could just stay home and get the same result since I had already taken off today (for a doctor's appointment that was canceled VERY last minute!). I can relax at home, right? Hmmm...I'm wondering how this happens. I went ahead and watched one of the movies I had gotten to take with me, but somehow, lying around on the couch at my house in the middle of a week day just feels completely LAZY! How is it that if I were at the cabin I would be feeling relaxed right now? I could read on the porch swing, in the hammock in the front yard, or watch my movie in the rocking chair in front of the fire. It's just not the same! Oh well, some other time.

All About Me

2008-10-14T19:35:00.001-07:00

Be warned: This post is a little personal, but it's a victory for me, so I wanted to share.

It is very easy to be selfish in our day and age. I usually think of myself as a giving person. But I'm realizing that even as a third child of four, I can still tend to be selfish. I tend to act more like an only child at times, the spoiled ones anyway. (If you look at birth order statistics, I really could be one with the age difference between the sister just older than I, and my brother younger than I.) Lately, though, I've been challenged by what I've been reading and listening to to "walk in love" and to be "selfless." It's not easy, especially when I feel I "deserve" something...anything...like "me" time, time to BE served instead of serving, or just my way. But I noticed something: the new way makes relationships easier. As I mentioned in a previous blog, this past week was positively a crazy week for my husband. I've really had to work at not nagging, hold my tongue, etc. Please know that I'm not boasting on myself - I'm just making an observation of how much what I've been trying has made a difference in our marriage just in the past week or so. For the first time in a long while, my husband sent me a beautiful bouquet of roses completely out of the blue on Monday. When my mom heard, she jokingly asked what he had done wrong. But I've been thinking that maybe it's because I've done something right. My hard-working, ambitious husband really deserves this "me" all the time, as do my students, my family, my church, my friends, my neighbors, etc. I think I'd like to make this a habit, the new "me."

Maybe there really is something to this "Love Revolution" Joyce was talking about at her conference. You should join me in spreading it around!

To Be Young Again

2008-10-13T19:06:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, I'm not that old. But I've thought many times about the different stages in my life and tried to decide if there was a "best" time. My faithful readers (those who know me best) know that even though I had a good childhood, it was overshadowed with the trials of my health. Most of my school days were more of a chore than anything to me. In college, there was another stint of bad health and surgery half-way through. So what I've decided is if I had to go back and repeat any part of my past, I think I would choose my first couple of years in college when I was in community college. I was making new friends, trying to come out of my sheltered and shy "shell," and pursuing God's call to ministry on my life. I was constantly busy, but without the stress of true adulthood.

Because of this conclusion, I guess it should come as no surprise to me that I've also decided that my favorite age-group of people I like to hang out with right now (in my church family) are the early-college-aged adults. I guess it should also not surprise me that I can act completely uninhibited and, well, act that age when I'm with these friends. Here are a couple of pictures of what I got roped into with these friends at the conclusion of our Fall Fest at church the other night. I guess you could say I played my first-ever drinking game - with Capri-Sun! How it got started, I'm not sure. (Well, I'm pretty sure I know WHO started it.) But I was there, was asked to join, and a little fun was just what I needed after a long, busy day. I paid the price very soon after with quite a stomachache, but it was still worth it!

(I guess the pictures are so little because I stole them from the "initiator's" Facebook, and he took them on his mobile phone.)

Fall Fest '08

2008-10-13T18:33:00.001-07:00

This last week is annually one of the busiest weeks for my husband. That's because we had our big Community Fall Fest Sunday afternoon and evening. Just a few years ago (6 to be exact), this was the night I showed up to my church in a skirt (because that's what I wore to church!) at 6:00 on a Sunday night, but it was in September. This was only my second time to visit my now-church, and I remember feeling completely overwhelmed because it seemed like there were people everywhere! Back then it was called our "Friend and Neighbor Day Picnic," and there were probably about 200-300 people there that night. In just those few short years, my now-husband (and the other staff) have really worked to build this into a great community event/outreach. I haven't heard what our estimated numbers were for this year, but I believe last year's estimated number for the crowd was somewhere around 1200! And I am certain that this year was even bigger!

So, I'm sure I could get a hold of some pictures from the church camera to show you all, but for now, I'll just have to tell you about it. I actually just started to type out all the preparations that go into this event, and decided there's just way too much to even begin to describe. So I'll just give you the picture of the end result: when you, the average person, walks up at 4:30, what you'll hear is the live (and lively) music of our fabulous youth band combined with the excited voices of an already-growing crowd. Right in the center of all the commotion, you'll see a booth to register for door prizes such as a Wii, Rams tickets, or some gift cards to various restaurants. All around this same tent are tables set up to display some of our most active ministries. You can have dessert before you even go through the food line because the funnel cakes are hot and just calling your name. The pony rides, inflatables, and the church's new playground are just a quick walk across the creek. About every ten minutes, you'll see a balloon that's been accidentally released (and my trusty crew of teenagers who worked so hard to inflate all 200 cringing). There's face painting, snow cones, another children's area roped off on the blacktop, a fire truck for the kids to explore. The food line is brimming with fresh and hot food prepared by dozens of men out at the grills and other men and women in the kitchen. And you have to fit all this in in two hours' time because at 6:30, all of the activities shut down so there can be a time of worship, followed by a visiting Master's Commission presenting a couple of short dramas. And finally, my father-in-law and pastor gives a quick devotional. Oh, and the night's not over just because the preacher says "amen." There's a stunning display of fireworks at dusk to commence the evening.

I think I'm just so proud of this event because I'm extremely proud of all the work my husband (and his trusty assistant) put into it and also, I'm just proud to be part of such an active church. It takes the cooperation of our staff and many, many volunteers to pull this off, and I think we would not have been able to grow this event to the magnitude it is now without each and every person.

(I'll post some pictures at a later date.)

School Tales

2008-10-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

This will be a lengthy post, but I get to post only occasionally, so I just wanted to share. Here are just a few funny or thought-provoking things that have happened at school lately, from most recent to least recent(is that even proper - "least recent"?):

1. In class, we read a fictional story about a young girl who takes care of her mentally challenged older brother. The young girl is a very talented runner, and a May pole plays a very minor role in this story because her race is on May Day. (I know, I know, May poles can symbolize many other things, but I promise it didn't in this story). In the story, young children dance around the May pole as part of the May Day celebration, which the character refuses to do because that's not "what she's all about." But just think what an eighth grader (especially the boys) thought of when they read about dancing around a pole. Needless to say, I had to put a halt to a few comments and conversations!

2. A sweet, but very quiet girl, missed nearly a week because of a death in the family. When she came back, I told her she was responsible for getting the notes that she missed from a classmate. Fast-forward about a week-and-a-half to when I finally finish this unit, review with the students, all the while, asking them all to make sure they have all the notes. Two days later, they take an "open-note" test over what we've covered. This girl comes to me when she gets to a certain point in the test and says, "I never got the notes for this." This really shocked me because she's such a good girl, and a very bright student. When I asked her why she had never gotten them from someone in the class, she responded, "Well, I don't really know anyone in here." I think it's just so hard for me to relate to the students like this because I tend to gravitate to the leaders, the really out-going or friendly students. But if I'm quite honest with myself, I WAS that girl when I was her age. I was shy and easily intimidated...but I still think I would've taken some initiative to do what the teacher asked me to do! And in case you're wondering, the child did just fine on the test even without one-third of the notes.

3. Last week, we had Team Impact come present at an assembly for our school. You've heard of these guys, I'm sure. They're the ones that tear phone books in half, bend pipes over their bald heads, and perform other great feats of strength, all while presenting a positive message. And yes, they're Christians, but no, they can not share the gospel in our school assembly. One of the athletes told two stories to encourage kids to make positive choices: one involved a kid who started drinking in 6th grade and ended up in prison right out of high school for vehicular manslaughter. The second was of a girl who let her boyfriend convince her to have sex with him, even though she had committed to herself that she would save herself for her husband. In the end, the result was devastating because within two weeks, he had broken up with her, she found out he was HIV-positive, and then she found out she was as well. She died within just a few months. The staff had noticed that during our previous assemblies that our 8th grade class was not demonstrating the best behavior, but in this assembly, you could've heard a pin drop! These stories had a ripple effect because almost every class after that brought it up. Here's one exchange in my class:

Girl: I can't believe they said THAT word in school.

Me: What word?

Girl: You know, the "S" word.

Student #2: What word, (student's name)?

Student #3: SEX!

Girl: Yeah, that one.

So I was able to just insert that what really bothered me about that story was that she had made a commitment to herself, and because she broke that commitment, she paid the ultimate price.

Then in another class, a student said this: "That man was such a good speaker. Those stories went right THROUGH me!" I just had to believe that this was God's spirit quietly speaking to that girl, even if the team never used God's name. So, thank you, Team Impact!

Is it over already/yet?

2008-10-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

Wow! I have had a busy week, but I guess I often do. Monday of last week seems like so long ago that I'm not even sure what I did that day or evening. I think the real action started on Tuesday. I went to work as normal, but then I had a curriculum (of sorts - not sure how else to describe it) meeting until after 5:00. From there, I went straight to meet my mom and sisters at St. Louis Mills Mall for one of our girls' nights. These are always fun for me, but for some reason, this one seemed especially relaxed and uplifting to me. We basically ate some good Tex-Mex food, went into two stores in the mall, and then the really fun part - eating chocolate-covered strawberries in Mom's car. (Dad sent Mom a great "bouquet" from Edible Arrangements since he's gone for a while - Go Dad!) And of course, we talked and laughed a lot!

Wednesday, I stayed at work and tried to get caught up on some grading (which I've still not accomplished) until I had just enough time to get to church.

Thursday was a staff meeting after school until almost 4:00, and then instead of grading when I got home, I crashed on the couch. I woke up just in time to make it to my kickboxing class at church, then home to watch to debate and grade papers (which I did until 11:30 p.m.).

Friday, I stayed a bit late to get some things ready for next week, came home, skipped cooking again, and changed my clothes just in time for my friend to come pick me up so we could head Downtown for the Joyce Meyer annual women's conference (my first time to attend). When we got home after 10:30, said friend's son was hanging out in his pj's since Hubby had babysat and graciously offered to let friend's son stay the night. So of course, I had to hang out with the boys a bit before I could go to bed.

Bright and early Saturday, the same friend came to pick me up and see her son for a while (and help dress him for soccer practice, I think) before we took off to the conference for Saturday's sessions. We finally arrived back home around 5:00, and I made our first home-cooked meal of the week. Since Jon had school work to accomplish, he left for a while, and I deep-cleaned the kitchen for about two hours before bed.

Today was church as usual. Then, our Life Group (our small group for church) plus a few others met for lunch before heading to the movie theater to see the new Christian film, Fireproof. When we got home, Hubby and I ate some leftovers, and attempted to watch our recorded episode of Survivor from two weeks ago that we hadn't had time to watch while we both worked on "school work."

I've enjoyed almost every minutes of this past week, but now, the weekend is over, and I look around. My house is still messy and unorganized, and I still have so many ungraded papers. So I'm just wondering... Does life ever slow down? And will I ever be completely caught up? I may not have an answer to that, but I'm just wondering!

Jeans Rule

2008-09-29T17:53:00.000-07:00

Teaching 8th grade is always an adventure. I don't have quite as many cute and funny stories as when I taught elementary grades, but I still see day in and day out that these kids are still just that - kids.

I have a no-gum policy in my classroom. This is a school policy, too (at least, the student agenda has it listed as one), but I run into problems with this when other teachers don't enforce the rule. So I TRY and always remember to "remind" the kids of my policy at the beginning of each class so they'll spit their gum out. But the first time I ran into a defiance issue with this (meaning a kid chose to continue to chew gum even after being asked specifically to spit his out), I decided I needed to lay down the law. I spelled out the consequences for every class. I tried to give an analogy to the kids about how as they get older, different teachers, and even bosses, will have different expectations.

I used the example of how my bosses at this school don't allow teachers to wear jeans except for on Fridays. However, at my past school, there was no set rule for dress code when it came to jeans. Now, for the first month or so of school, I pretty much ignored the casual dress code on Fridays because I was trying to maintain my professional rapport with the kids by dressing somewhat professionally, even on Fridays. Not only that, but my professional wardrobe in the spring and summer months consists of many more skirts than pants, capris, etc. So for the first month of school, I'm sure I had worn a skirt almost every day. Well, my 7th hour really took an issue with this jeans rule. They asked all kinds of questions about why it was this way. One sweet girl really came to my defense on this right away, and I understood a whole lot better a week or so later. Last Friday - when I was wearing jeans - she asked quite out of the blue (no pun intended), "But what will you wear when it gets colder? Will you just have to wear skirts all the time?" She had thought all that time that I was not allowed to wear pants at all except for on Fridays. She really felt awful for me!

Now I have no qualms about wearing jeans on Fridays; I'm all about the comfort after a long week. I've even paid my one dollar the last couple of Mondays for the privilege to be a part of "Monday Blues" (all proceeds going toward Sunshine Fund). That's really thrown the kids off, and even more so when we got to wear jeans last Thursday on our "early out" day! I just have to love their sincerity, though.

Something Old, Something New

2008-09-28T19:28:00.000-07:00

Well, this is what I was afraid of - that I would start this blog and then not have time to keep up with it. My sister told me this weekend that she was so excited to come home from her family vacation and catch up with everyone by reading their blogs...and of course, mine had no new posts since she had left. Sorry! Like I've said before, I have lots of ideas and many things I'd LIKE to write about. I even write them in my head. But when it comes down do it, I probably need to wash dishes instead. Or do laundry. Or grade papers, papers, and more papers! Or I just don't have the energy to get it all typed and posted.

I am excited about something new in my life, though. This past Friday night was our first monthly meeting for a women's mentoring group I'm going to be a part of for the next year. I absolutely love the lady who's leading it. My father-in-law/pastor has had a men's group for the last couple of years. He selects about a dozen men, a book to read a month, and then they have a monthly meeting/discussion. When he told me that he had asked this lady to start a similar women's group, I was thrilled. For 3-4 years, I feel like God had laid her on my heart as someone who could mentor me. But, I wondered, how do I go about asking someone to be my mentor? "Hey, Judy. I really like you. I think you're great. Would you be my mentor?" It all sounded so weird and "official" to me, so I never pursued that. I thought it might be better to build a real friendship with her first, etc. It strikes me that for the six years I have been at my church, I have sadly missed a relationship where I can be mentored. Because yes, I still have areas in my life where I can use a little help!

I've been thinking about the whole mentor/mentored issue, and I realize how valuable a church family can be a in young person's life. Growing up in church gave me opportunities to be mentored by many different people in many different areas of my life. Of course, I had wonderful Christian parents who raised us to love and serve God. But when I didn't want to talk to those wonderful parents (because I probably didn't think they were so wonderful at certain times in my life), I had so many other people, especially older women I could go to. Strangely, none of them were even pastor's or youth pastor's wives. Just women who took time to speak into my life. There was Carole, who let me hang out at her house as a teenager, taught me a few things about being a good hostess, and eventually invited to me observe her in her classroom when I knew I wanted to follow that career path. There was Mona who just loved on me any time I needed it. She even did my hair in an up-do once after Missionettes on a Wednesday night; I think it was just to spend a little extra time with me. JoAnn watched me grow in the JBQ program, and then mentored me to become a coach of kids in that same program. There was Debi who would let me come hang out and help get ready for Supper at Six before church. And of course, there were some great chats in those times. Sherry, the church secretary when I was a little older, tolerated my barging in on her work time when I had a question about one policy or another regarding the nursery I was in charge of. And she always took time to check in on my life's activities. And as a young adult, there was Lorraine who was faithful to encourage me and let me know I was special to her. There are so many more that I haven't mentioned here - Sunday school teachers, parents and grandparents of friends, and the list could go on. I wish I could put in more eloquent terms what these people still mean to me. But I thank God for each of these special women. I believe they will be honored in the spiritual realm for pouring into my life. And if I feel that way, I know that they all touched many more lives than just mine.

I know that there are a few people that God has specifically put in my life for me to invest in. I just pray that I can do it in such an honorable way as these ladies did.

Grand They Are

2008-09-11T07:18:00.000-07:00

How many people my age are blessed enough to have three living grandparents? I never knew people grew up without all of their grandparents in their lives until I got older. My Grandpa Ellis (my mom's dad) went to be with Jesus in March of 2000 when I was in college. Until that time, I had all four of my grandparents; Grandpa and Grandma Simmons lived about 15 minutes away, and Grandpa and Grandma Ellis lived about a half-hour away.

Here are a few of my favorite memories of my grandparents:

Grandma and Grandpa Ellis piling all of my age-group cousins in their car and taking us all the way to Springfield, Missouri, to go to the drive-through jungle/zoo. Even my baby brother went, riding between Grandma and Grandpa in the front seat while we bigger ones enjoyed the view from the back.

Grandma Simmons taking me to the mall for almost every birthday and giving each grandkid the same number of one-dollar bills to match our age in our birthday cards.

Grandpa Simmons's quote of "You're almost as pretty as me." (I just KNEW that one day, I'd attain the goal of being as "pretty" as he.)

Grandpa Ellis's "If you had a brain..." jokes.

Game nights at Grandma and Grandpa Ellis's house: Phase 10, Rummikub, Skip-Bo, and many more. The board games were always stashed under their bed in their tiny bedroom; the "card" games in the dresser drawer, right along with the Fat Albert and Pretty Birdy (their cb radio names) postcards we loved to color. The postcards never seemed to run out!

Grandma Ellis's peanut butter balls at Christmas.

Grandma Simmons's pecan pies.

Trips to the country with Grandma and Grandpa Ellis.

Grandma's "book of funnies" on her and Grandpa. My favorite funny was when I was in the "country" with them and we were taking the down-memory-lane scenic drive. Grandma says "Mmmm, I love the smell of fresh honesuckle," and Grandpa says, "You do? Well, I'll do that again, then." I still always think of them when the honeysuckle across the road from my house starts to bloom...or when I use my Wild Honeysuckle soap.

Trips "down home" with Grandma and Grandpa Simmons.

My Grandpa Simmons encouraging me to get some rest by telling me the story of the prophet, Elijah, from his hospital bed after his awful accident. And he's telling me this because I had a bad headache.

Most of all, I'm grateful for the spiritual heritage our family has because of my grandparents' faithfulness to God and to pass their knowledge of a loving God down to their children and their children's children. This past Sunday, the service was run by the Golden Agers at our church to commemorate Grandparents' Day. My Simmons grandparents have come the last few years because they like the music. Plus, we always go to Cracker Barrel afterward. This year, my my mom and dad came and brought all of my grandparents. (Grandma Ellis had never been to my church before.) The special speaker spoke of grandparents in the Bible whose families reaped God's blessings because of the older generations' commitment to God and family. I believe our family will reap those blessings for many generations to come. We have a lot to live up to, though, to keep that spiritual legacy going!

Me with Grandpa Simmons

Grandma Simmons, me, and Grandma Ellis
(Can you tell I'm ducking?)

The Teacher in Me

2008-09-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

I have many ideas for blogs, some even from back during the Olympics. I just don't have time to get them all written and posted. I'm a bit too much of a perfectionist when it comes to writing. I have to do my pre-write, revise, and edit all while I'm sitting at the computer. Anyway, here's a short one. And it just goes to show that I have a hard time shutting my "teacher mode" off.

Jon and I were leaving the gym where we play volleyball with some friends this past Friday night. I was walking out with my friend and her fiance, walking slightly backwards to talk to them. Just as I turned around to go forward, I nearly ran into and fell over a huge "wet floor" sign. So the fiance says, "Hey, there's a big, green sign there" to give me a hard time. I responded, "Big AND green," not meaning it as a correction or anything; I just felt like a fool because I almost ran into it. Then I started laughing. They wanted to know what was so funny, and I told them that my teacher's brain automatically thought, "And there should be a comma between those two adjectives because you can use 'and.'" At least I didn't spout my punctuation knowledge off without thinking. I'm sure my friends thought I was quite the grammar freak as it was!

Toys Now and Then

2008-09-05T21:02:00.000-07:00

Tonight, I went to Target to do some birthday shopping for one of my (now) three little buddies next door. He turned three last weekend, but his mommy decided she'd rather have a small party for him this weekend with a newborn as opposed to last weekend when she was nine months pregnant. (Honestly, I'm not sure which I would choose!) Toy aisles. Wow! Now, I love the big toy stores because there are so many things to browse through. But for some reason, the toy aisles at Target intimidated me, especially all these "brands" of toys. How does one know which super hero a three-year-old likes if you don't play with him every day? How do I figure out which of the Planet Heroes he doesn't already have? Or which Imaginext dinosaur? I finally just had to move out of those aisles to lower my blood pressure. I ended up in the technology toys aisle. I saw the Fridge Phonics toys, but there are so many more "Fridge" learning toys now than even when my niece got her first one a couple of years ago. I went with the new-and-improved phonics set. It makes three-letter words and teaches letter-sound correspondence. On the way home, though, I got to thinking about the 32 letters that came with the toy. I wondered how they are stored. (I looked when I got home, and apparently, they are just stored ON the fridge. Sorry, Shari!) But then my mind went to a childhood toy that I loved. Do you remember the portable chalkboard set? The one that had magnet letters, chalk (of course), and the foamy eraser? I thought I was so special because I could take my letters and writing tools with me. (Yes, it DOES run in our family, and we all got started very early!) Now, I'm not going to start a monologue on the benefits or drawbacks of toys with technology. I can see both the good and the bad. But here are a few of the toys/activities that I remember enjoying - without too much technology.

My Sit N Spin (but with my own sound track - no buttons to push for music, just my own voice singing my ABC's at the top of my lungs)

My ballet bar that attached to the back of my door, complete with a cassette tape and fancy ribbons to exercise with

My Strawberry Shortcake exercise record in the basement

Chinese jump rope

Regular jump rope, especially with chants

Mom and Dad's office supplies, especially that sharp tool that held receipts and/or messages (Does that thing have a name?)

My Little Pony and all the accessories

Swinging - I still think there's something exhilarating about flying high on a good, sturdy swing set.

Roller skating in the "concrete room" under the garage

Magnet letters

Anything I could play school with, especially if I got to be the teacher

The games TriOminoes (a three-sided version of Dominoes); Got-a-Minute (an older version of Boggle); Uno; Hungry, Hungry Hippos; Trouble; Disney Yahtzee; Operation; Pick-up Sticks; Twister; Kerplunk

And of course, any book I could get my hands on, especially Nancy Drew or The Babysitters Club.

This may come as a surprise to some readers, but I don't really think I played with baby dolls very often. I guess they just weren't real enough for me. :o)

Now I want to hear what your favorites were!

Calling all Creative Ones

2008-08-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

In case I haven't already told you, I'm taking over National Junior Honor Society at my school this year. Apparently, it's the group that requires the least work and has some of the best kids in it. At least, that's what I've been told so far. But to start the year, we are building a float for the Arnold Days Parade. The theme of the entire parade is "A Salute to Character." So, rather than having seventy students come up with ideas, vote on them, agree, etc., I thought I'd come up with three or so and then let them choose from that. The problem is, I don't think of myself as very creative. If this were an assignment and I was a student, I would still be staring at my paper trying to think of float ideas a week later. Well, figuratively, I'm still staring at the paper. The only theme I've come up with for the actual float so far is "We tip our hats to good character"...or something about tipping a hat. I liked this idea because the kids could wear a school t-shirt or something and then just all wear some sort of crazy hat. I'm just not sure what they'd come up with for the actual float. I know, I know. Kids can surprise me. They may have some great ideas and really run with this. But just so that I have a few other options for them to choose from, I could use your ideas. (Please no military ideas - there will be enough of that in this parade, I'm sure!) Send them to me by e-mail, comment, text message, telegram, etc. Thanks. I knew I could count on my 4-5 loyal readers.

In with the New, Out with the Old

2008-08-26T19:34:00.000-07:00

So over the summer, I painted my classroom. Yes, I had to do it myself, but at least the school pays for the paint and supplies...plus, I've heard of worse things teachers have to do or spend money on themselves! The result is astounding. I'm in such a better mood just seeing my three new blue walls. The one wall I didn't paint is actually a divider and was already a certain not-so-great shade of blue, but I figured it was better than the white, chipping walls. And the room will look even better when the art club gets up and running and can come to paint the Aurora Borealis on the dark blue wall! It helps, too, that I rearranged in a way that makes it feel like I have a lot more space. Then, on the last day that teachers were REQUIRED to be at school before students came (we get one day in between off), at the very last minute, the custodians gave me a great gift. They brought me the "good" student desks - the ones that have plenty of space on which the students can write and stash their books, no half-attached book racks on the bottom, and no carvings of favorite bands and curse words, although there was some ABC gum concealed under a few. (Thank you, God! I hadn't even though to ask for better desks.)

Students have been in school for four days now, and I'm amazed at how many former students have come by already. (We are on the same campus as the high school, though, and the elementary school.) Most of them have come because of a sibling or because they are waiting for a ride. (I guess the middle school is more in their comfort zone than the humongous high school that's so new to them.) The first few that I saw commented on how nice my classroom looks now. But then the first words out of the two that came by today were, "Why didn't you do this for us last year?" Uggh! I just told them, "Well, I just didn't have time last year," and left it at that. They don't have a clue how stressful the white walls with chipping paint were for me. But posters can work wonders temporarily, even if "temporarily" means an entire school year. Needless to say, you can imagine which of those students I actually enjoyed having in my class last year and which ones tried my patience!

Observations on My Way to Work

2008-08-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Today, I observed two things that moved me one way or another on my way to work. And these two are completely and utterly unrelated - I just have about 25 minutes in my car to observe things each morning and afternoon.

The first observation was very soon after I left my house; I hadn't even gotten out of "town" yet. There was a vehicle in front of me at the stop sign and my initial observation of the car was the Icthys (Jesus fish) on the right side of the bumper. Then, my eyes immediately drifted to the left side of the bumper where there was a bumper sticker advertising, "Horn Broke - Watch for Finger!" My first reaction was to be offended (something I'm working on in my own spiritual walk). I thought, "It's people like this that give Christians a bad name!" But then I started getting amused thinking of all the stories that could be behind this - what I would consider - contradiction. Maybe the current owner bought the car, couldn't get the bumper sticker off, and decided to put the Icthys on. Or vice versa. Or maybe there are multiple drivers and one claims the Icthys; the other, the bumper sticker. So I decided to be amused instead of offended.

Then I got onto one of my windy-curvy roads that I take to get to work (I take quite a few). As soon as I turned, there was a rather large canine who seemed to be somewhat elderly in dog years. At least, I thought it seemed this way because he sure didn't seem to be in any hurry to get out of the road. Again, I considered being annoyed, but as I am a proud dog momma now, dogs don't annoy me too much. Then, I noticed a young man who's probably about the age I teach standing at the end of the driveway. I noticed the dog had returned right to his side. The boy nodded his thanks to me and smiled, but he seemed to have a certain look of relief on his face. I'm still trying to figure out why this touched me so much. Was it because I am a "dog person" now and I, too, was relieved the dog hadn't been hurt? Was it because it was so endearing for a boy his age to be so protective of his dog/friend? Was it because I've been sentimental lately and can only imagine my child waiting for his bus with his trusty pal, Biscuit, by his side. (We'll just have to train Biscuit to not run away by then!) Or maybe it was even because I'm falling in love with teenagers and this moment showed me once again that teenagers are human too, and not the rough, irresponsible bunch that popular media seems to make them out to be. It was probably a combination of all of the above.

By the way, I really love my group of students this year. Many of you know that last year was rough for me, but I'm excited about a new year and have been so impressed with these kids so far! Pray that that will continue for me, will you?

Prospering our "cities"

2008-08-18T19:04:00.000-07:00

Many of you are probably familiar with the scripture in the book of Jeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11, where God tells the people, "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." And it goes on to declare God's promises IF and WHEN the people call on Him and seek him with ALL their hearts. Recently, a missionary couple who desire to plant a church in South St. Louis city spoke at my church. The husband revealed his vision and passion for the city by preaching out of the same chapter of Jeremiah, and I now believe that this scripture has just as much meaning and promise in it...and it's just as conditional.

In verses 5-7, the prophet Jeremiah is sending a message to the exiles who were taken from Jerusalem to Babylon. In this message, God tells them, (5)"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. (6) Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. (7) Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

So, according to this scripture, are we supposed to just settle in and wait for the city to prosper? I don't believe so. I believe that what God was commanding the people to do here was to - yes, settle in the land - but by settling there and taking root there, they HELP the city prosper. As the missionary talked about some of the things he and his wife and their team have been doing to help local businesses in the city, I thought about how much this principle can be applied to wherever any of us are in life. No matter where that might be, I believe God has put us in that place for a time and a season. As many of you know, last year was my first year teaching at the middle school. I felt like a new teacher all over again, but worse. I felt completely overwhelmed, stressed, and even out of my element. So was I an effective teacher? Maybe to a certain extent. Did I help "prosper" the school I was in? Again, maybe I did at some level. But overall, I think I was too occupied with my "self" and what I was going through. As the year came to a close, though, I feel like God taught me a few things about learning to be content "whatever the circumstances." (I also learned that contentment is the key to having true joy!) So my goal this year is to jump in with both feet; help wherever I can (without overdoing it, of course); learn from other good teachers; treat each student as an individual and with the respect he or she deserves; and generally live my life in such a way that shows that no matter my stress level, God's light can still shine through me. We already have a great staff at my school and many blossoming programs, so I'd rather be a part of helping "prosper" my school than to isolate myself and later wonder why I didn't grow that year.

Hear are a few ideas from me to you on how to help prosper your job:

1. Offer your gifts and talents to your place of employment.
2. Take pride in what you do, not matter what that is.
3. Take time to get to know the people you work with.
4. Be kinder than necessary, and when you can, go the extra mile to help.
5. Be a team player
6. In general, take ownership.

So maybe you don't feel you have the time to get involved in your community (outside of work) because your job is so demanding. Or maybe you are a stay-at-home mom and feel like there is no "job" for you to help prosper or to prosper in. Well, all you can do is to plant roots and "grow" those God has entrusted you with now - your co-workers, boss, or employees - your spouse and children. Maybe it's even that one neighbor you keep running into or that clerk you see every time you go to the grocery store. I believe God will honor each of us as we desire to help our "cities" prosper. And as my sister wrote in her insightful blog about Michael Phelps' teammate, YOU may not shine. But God's promise was that as your surroundings prosper, you too will prosper. However, you can't forget that part in verse 7: "Pray to the Lord for it." This is key, too! Cover your city, your workplace, your families in prayer!

Things I'm NOT good at

2008-08-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

Things I'm not good at - taming the "wild lime" soup...and teaching my dog to speak.

First the soup: the story here is that when Jon and I were at the resort in Mexico for vacation this year, we both really liked the wild lime soup at the Mexican restaurant. Now, I've never been one to experiment too much in the kitchen. Give me a recipe and I can make just about anything well. But I decided I wanted to try and mimic the wild lime soup. It can't be that hard. There aren't that many ingredients...start with some chicken broth, add some onion, green and red peppers, some cooked chicken, and then add the "wild lime" for that bit of citrus. Or so I thought. Yeah! My soup tasted something similar to fermented lime juice with a hint of chicken broth, onions, green and red peppers, and chicken. Jon said that the wild lime "got out" in this soup. So, I may try this again and just add the limes toward the end to add a HINT of citrus. Anyone have an actual recipe for this one?

Teaching my dog to speak: for those of you who know me well, you know that I have a dog named Biscuit. Jon and I have had him for about a year-and-a-half now. Those of you who know me even better know that I never had ANY kind of pet before Biscuit (unless you count those numerous goldfish I won somehow or other from VBS - and why goldfish were good prizes at VBS, I'm not sure). So when we first got Biscuit, he and I did not get along very well. He was about 7 months old when we got him, and he was SUPPOSED to be an outdoor dog. However, we tried to let him in and hang out with us when we were home. I, being dog-owner rookie, thought that I would be able to teach him some boundaries. Don't go in this room, stay on the hardwood, etc. (I didn't know you could use baby gates for dogs!) That wasn't going so well, so Biscuit and I took a 6-week dog training class through the community college. The part of that story that fits here is that I was able to teach him some of the basic commands as a result - sit, stay, off, and all of those. Did he learn all the boundaries? No, but I learned that we get along a lot better now that he's part of the family when he's inside and not confined to one area or restricted from more areas than he's allowed into.

One thing that we have learned about Biscuit is that he doesn't bark much at all. This is really nice since there's quite a chorus from the neighborhood dogs at times. Of course, it also helps that Biscuit sleeps inside at night now. Really, he only barks when someone suspicious is outside or coming near the house. I know that he's really quite smart (sound like a proud dog mom, don't I?), so tonight, I was trying to figure out how to make him speak. I was eating some Pringles, which he loves, so I thought the "treat" would work. Oh my goodness. I wish we had had a video camera on us (Jon, Biscuit AND me) tonight. Jon decided that we should role play to try and remind Biscuit how to bark. Here's how it went:

Jon: "Now tell me to sit."

Me: "Sit!"

Jon: Goes from knees to more of a sitting position

Me: "Speak!"

Jon: "Woof, woof"

Me: "Good dog" as I feed JON a Pringle

And what is Biscuit doing throughout all of this? Looking from Jon to me and back to Jon, wondering why he doesn't get the treat. He's sitting after all! So...I try it with Biscuit. No luck.

Repeat above scene 4-5 times and still no luck with teaching my dog who rarely barks to speak. In case you're wondering, I did go ahead and give Biscuit some Pringles. He was a very patient dog through this whole process! Oh, to be a fly on the wall in our house, right?

Next time, I'll write about my lunch with the ladies from church today. That's something I'm GOOD at - lunch!

If You're Not From a Big Family...

2008-08-12T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today, I went to the second day of training for the "Six Trait" writing model. Even though it was tough to be focusing on school when I'd mentally like to still be on the beach, I enjoyed the training. (Plus, it was provided by my school district, I will be paid a stipend for both days, AND it will benefit me in my classroom.) So, in case you're not familiar with these six traits that all good writers should demonstrate, they are as follows: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions. Yes!! Conventions are considered the LOWEST in this list. And yes, that really bothers me, but I see the point of teaching the former areas first. Plus, as the trainer pointed out, conventions (punctuation, capitalization, etc.) are taught ALL THE TIME in most classrooms.

One aspect of this training that I really enjoyed was that the trainer used lots and lots of literature of varying levels to demonstrate each trait. I love being able to teach anything in context and not just out of a textbook. There were even several picture books that I can use with my 8th graders. And of course, with each activity, we had to have "hands-on" practice and write on our own. One of the picture books was titled If You're Not from the Prairie.... Basically, the narrator tells the reader all the things he or she is missing out on by NOT being from the prairie. So our application activity was to write an "If You're Not" piece. Here is what I wrote, and please keep in mind that it IS my rough draft, so I could add much, much more.

If You're Not from a Big Family...

...you'll never know sibling rivalry, whether healthy or not.

...you may never know what it's like to be one of the tallest siblings but be forced to sit in the tightest, back-most spot at dinner because you ARE one of the youngest.

...you may never know the joy (and sometimes chaos) of family dinner together every night.

...you'll never know how much it teaches you about sharing your toys, your space, and your life.

...you may not know what a hand-me-down is.

...you may never know the grandfather who has too many grandkids and great-grandkids to count but makes each one feel like he or she is the "favorite."

...you may never have aunts who make memories with you by doing fun activities with you, taking you places, cooking with you, letting you stay the night...only to become that aunt one day.

...you may never have a gathering of 40-or-so people only to lament the fact that everyone was not able to make it!

...you may never revel in Dad's one-on-one outings with you because for once, you have him to yourself (and his shift work schedule allowed him some time take you to Hardee's for breakfast before school).

...you may never make reading all three of your siblings' blogs a bedtime routine since they all live at least an hour away and you just want a way to feel connected.

...you may never outgrow the insecurities of being a "middle" child.

...you may never wonder if it is possible to love your someday children as much as you love your nieces and nephews.

...you may never know the sense of security when you awake to all of the smiling, but concerned, faces after Brain Surgery numbers one, two, AND three.

..you will never know how hard it is to leave them after each visit.

(P.S. This activity was all about "voice." What do you think my "voice" was?)

So Here I Go...

2008-08-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

Well, probably out of all of my siblings, I am the least savvy with technology. But I have learned that reading their blogs is a way to stay connected with them. If you had asked me even two weeks ago if I was interested in blogging, I would've been adamant about the fact that I have nothing to blog about. I've told my sisters that since I have no adorable to children to report on and since I'm not young and single any more (like my brother), I doubt I'd even have any readers. Since then, though, I've decided I'd like to try the blogging scene. I think what's done it for me is that I am absolutely AWFUL at keeping a journal. I have a cousin who has kept a diary for as long as I can remember, and she still has all of them archived by date and stored away. I've tried, and what do I end up with? One journal after another with just a few pages filled in at the beginning of each! Now, I know that I won't be able to write very personal feelings or experiences on here, but at least I'm putting some of it in writing. I figured, too, that since I teach writing, I could practice my skill on here. Plus, I can write for an audience other than 130 8th graders this way. And every once in a while, something happens in my life or I think of something that just MIGHT be worth sharing.