Only Half a Day to Go!

And then it's Christmas Break! That's right: two whole weeks without my kids! I'm so HAPPY! Not that I don't love (most of) my students, but they have been as itchy and hyper as monkeys on sugar! They're more than ready for an extended break, and I can't say I disagree! Of course, I am a bit sad...I'm losing some really good kids to families moving, home schooling, and school transfers/dropping out. That's tough. I hope their lives end up being fulfilling and happy, whichever path they have to walk.

But still, I can't believe I've been a teacher for a full semester! It's gone by so quickly! Before I know it, it will be summer, and I'll have taught a full academic year! Of course, I need to buckle down and get my alternative certification paperwork done so that I'll get certified on time...but there's still plenty of time for that.

All in all, I'm really looking forward to the break. Tonight we're going to dinner with some friends, and then I'll only have the kids til 11:30 tomorrow. Since today was the final long day, we had Christmas parties...so tomorrow we basically do nothing but finishing watching A Christmas Story. Then, the faculty has a Chili cookoff/mandatory meeting. THEN I get to see my best friend!!! Hubby and I are gonna take her to see the HOUSE! and then we're gonna spend the evening hanging out. THEN Saturday morning, its up early for a long drive for a family Christmas, then back the next day for dinner with some other friends. Next week, we're going through some key HOUSE! closing procedures plus Christmas! I'm thinking that maybe the second week of the break will be more of a true break than the first lol.

I can't wait to close on our house though...for it to truly and officially be ours (and the bank's lol).

We Have a HOUSE!!!

And it's a beautiful house!!! It's located only a little bit farther south from where we are right now! It was originally a model home, and they finished building it in 2007, but it's never been lived in! Here's the specs:

approx. 2,200 sq ft
2 stories
4 bdrms, 2.5 baths
a gameroom, living room, kitchen (with an island!), formal dining, and breakfast room AND the utility room is inside!
2 car garage, with an extension
upgraded paint, carpet, tile, there's a sprinkler system

Because it's a model home, they're going to paint over all the random designs in the bedrooms, AND it's already FULLY landscaped!
(...with a magnolia tree in the back yard...sigh...I love magnolia trees...there was one at my grandparents' house growing up and we climbed it all the time...)

All in all, it a wonderful home, basically ideal for us in every way! Granted, there's more room in it than we technically need right at this moment, but it's a house we can grow in to, and still have plenty of space! More, it's a house we can be in for the next 15-20 years +.

We're currently planning on turning one bedroom into a library, one into a guest room, and then the third upstairs room will be a multipurpose/storage room until we have a baby, in around 4-5 years lol. For now, we're give the apartment complex notice for the end of January, giving us a month after our close date (which, by the way, is December 30th...yikes!) to move. But February 1, we'll be in the new place!

I AM SO EXCITED!!!

Big News!!!

I'm not going to say much until after tomorrow, but suffice it to say I'm REALLY, REALLY EXCITED!





And no, I'm not pregnant. :-P

Life and Perceptions

Whew life has been busy lately! Thanksgiving was wonderful. The hubby and I went up to the Ranch in the Hill Country and pitched our tent. We camped out from Saturday til Wednesday, and then moved into the trailer for the rest of the trip...it got cold and rain kept being predicted, even if it never showed up lol. It was great! The tent was fantastic, and us plus the dogs plus a small space heater kept things warm enough at night, and then the trailer was all kinds of cozy! It was great having time to ourselves. During the day we read together and chopped wood and went on a walk or two. In the mornings and evenings, the hubby would go hunt and I'd build up the fire and either get the camp ready for the day or the night, as the case warranted, read and go on hikes. The hunting paid off early--he shot a good-sized 8 point buck on his first morning hunt!!! He saw other deer and critters moving in the subsequent days, but he'd already killed enough meat to fill out pot for the next year. That pattern held til Wednesday night, when family started showing up. Then we spent a lot more time over at the cabin on my aunt's land, catching up.

It's funny how your perception of people changes when you get older. For example, my 3 older second cousins. I used to think they were the coolest people ever! And in some ways, I still do. Growing up, the middle sister was my favorite...she was very go with the flow and had time to spend with me. The older sister was close behind...but she was always busy, and a bit less chill. The youngest sister I loved to death (and still do) but she was always on the go, and we didn't really have a whole lot in common. That part hasn't really changed, though the reason for a lack of things in common has: previously it was because she was a partier, but now it's because she's gone the other extreme. That is to say, she is a highly conservative Christian of the Baptist denomination. There was a time back in high school where I would have been able to be of a similar mindset, but now extreme religiosity grates on my nerves and ostentatious religiosity bothers me. I think that religion is a private, personal issue. That's not to say that I don't agree with living by your religious beliefs or that I don't like discussing my beliefs with others...I'm just not comfortable shoving them up their noses with my every action. That and the "we'll just have faith" attitude towards life, without any visible practical steps or awareness, bothers the pragmatic side of myself.

Anyways, back to the other sisters. While I still love the middle sister to death, I find myself able to better relate to the older sister. The middle sister and I are both laid back, but motherhood has made her more of a worrier and more overprotective than I foresee myself to be. Also, she has no problem with just taking things on faith, without questioning anything. As I've said before, questioning is of utmost importance in figuring out what you believe as well as the strength of those beliefs. Beliefs that can't withstand questioning need to be reexamined. Anyway, the self-imposed rose-colored glasses didn't bother me in high school as much as they do now. The older sister has renounced her religion (Christianity). She and her husband learned some things about the origins of the religion that shook their faith. I learned these same things in college, but my faith was already flexible at that point and was able to bend and adjust. Their faith has been built up into this untouchable, incontrovertible thing, and lacked the suppleness to withstand a shattering blow. I don't blame them, and can understand their point of view, even if I still do consider myself a Christian (albeit an atypical one). But that decision, the questioning they are doing, the open mindedness they exhibit, and the search for their truth in which they have engaged speak to me on a deep level, and make me much more comfortable talking with them than with pretty much any other family member on that subject (other than my husband and my little brother).

So maybe favorites is an outgrown term. I love them each for who they are, what they were to me when I was a child, and for what they are to me now. However, I definitely relate to the oldest the most.

Well, moving on from reflection time and on to real life, school has less than two weeks til Christmas Break! This week my kids are working on a project combo: dialogue dealing with customer/employee interactions and poster representing a clothing store. They'll present on Monday, we'll have a review on Tuesday, and then they'll take their Ch. 3 Pt. 2 test on Wednesday. Thursday will be Christmas Party day! And Friday, the kids have early release! So basically, one week of babysitting, half a week of grading, food, then 2 weeks of freedom!!! Whoohoo!
Whoohoo-ing aside, I really do enjoy teaching...I'm just ready for a break.

As far as the house hunting plan goes, we're kinda in a holding pattern. We're definitely going to buy a house by May (because come to find out, our lease is up MAY 31st, not JUNE 30th...heehee), but we're trying to time the buying process so that we don't have to pay a fee...which may or may not be possible. Basically, we need to decide if the chance of paying the full buyout fee is worth taking, when we might only have to pay a reletting fee anyway. Hubby and I have some thinking to do.

Other than that, hubby might be marching in the Inauguration Day parade in January!!! Which is SO EXCITING!!!! Needless to say, work is going well for him too. Oh look he's home! I'm gonna go spend time with him now! Ttyl!

So Close! Only Two Days!

Then Thanksgiving Break is officially here! And let me tell you, I am ready for it. I've been told that there's an emotional curve that goes along with teaching. Emotions start off high, with excitement and optimism, then somewhere around hmm...THANKSGIVING...the cycle reaches an all-time low with stress, being tired, and disillusion (see my last post for evidence lol).

PS: Sons of Anarchy is a great series...but episode 13 is about to FREAKING PISS ME OFF!!!! Aww crap.

So I'm at the low part of the cycle, and am looking forward to the break. And that's all for now. SoA just officially pissed me off. Now I'm going to be mad. Crap. Stupid freaking Sam and Tig. DAMMIT. Arg. OK, I'm going to bed.

Frustrations of A First Year Teacher

My students don't care. Literally.

Ok, it's not all of them--I do actually have a few bright, driven, hard-working, diligent kids in my classes. And I thank God every day that I do, otherwise this first year of teaching would be the beginning of the end.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job. I enjoy teaching the subject matter, and my colleagues kick ass. I'm just sick of the attitude of the majority of my students.

To prove my case with one example: Last Wednesday I gave my students the answer key to the quiz they would take Friday. On Friday, I left the posters that had the answers on them on the wall, uncovered.

AND THEY MADE ZEROS!!!! AND TWENTIES!!!!!

Some passed and made good grades. But the MAJORITY, yes the MAJORITY, of my students made Cs and below. And THEN they asked me WHEN (not IF, but WHEN) they could RETAKE the quiz!!!

WHAT THE HELL?!?!?

Gah. It's enough to truly and completely terrify me. THESE KIDS are the future of our country?!?

Ok, so I know this has been said about pretty much every generation to come up through the educational system, including my own. And I realize that there are some in every generation who could fit into the same mold as many of the kids I'm teaching now. That said, in my generation at least, the majority of us still did what we had to to get the job done, to make the grade. These kids do not take notes, do not study, do not ask questions, do not show up for tutoring, FAIL, and THEN ask for RETAKES!!!

Really, I know it's not as dire as it appears. Really, one of two things will happen to these kids. They will either grow up and learn that they have to be accountable for their actions the first time, OR the rest of us will be paying for them for the rest of our lives because we will be funding the welfare programs that they spend their entire lives on. It'll be one or the other.

As for me, I'll go on teaching, approaching my subject matter in as many ways as possible so that as many students as possible can understand, helping those who ask for it, and doing my part to educate these kids. Somehow, I'll have to hold up under the pressures to be everything for these kids from motivator to counselor to the source of motivation for their parents' involvement in their lives. All of which I'm supposed to do in the 50 mins a day the kids are in my classroom. Easy, right? Heh.

I know the cycle will continue. Eventually there will be a re-emphasis on individual accountability FOR THE STUDENTS and a move away from teachers being expected to be everything to these kids. So until then, I'll keep trying. And blogging here whenever I get too pissed off to hold it in anymore :-P.

P.S.> If I ever meet the teacher who put it in these kids' heads that they automatically get a retake when they fail something due to their lack of effort, I will HIT them over the head with a large STICK!!!

Gotta Love Halloween Surprises

After dark on Halloween, I had just finished carving Charlie (my jack-o-lantern), was watching Resident Evil AND it was dark outside. The undead were chasing the group of survivors through the catacombs that was the Hive (which still sounds like a stupid idea to me) and Charlie's pumpkin eyes were glowing eerily (mostly because of the tea light candles I put in his gut). Suddenly a loud, insistent knock sounds on my door. Due to the ambiance, I jumped and then proceeded to walk quickly to the door (hey, I wasn't scared, not even a little bit...nevermind it was too late for trick-or-treaters...and the fact that I hadn't had any all night...). I looked throught the peep hole.

Noone was there.

I start walking away from the door, figuring it was just some kid prank knocking on doors and a bit irritated that I'd just missed some zombies getting their heads blown in.

The knock came again. Louder. More insistent.

I turn back around, this time with a bit more trepidation. I peer through the peep hole a second time, and there stands.....




My husband!!! Lol.



My wonderful hubby, besides giving me a minor case of Halloween heebie geebies, caught a flight 24 hours earlier than planned and surprised me with an early homecoming! It really was a wonderful surprise! He also surprised me a pretty necklace (which just happens to go perfectly with a pair of my favorite earrings!). We got to spend a wonderful evening together, catching up on TV shows and a few other things. It is so good to have him back!

Like I said in my other post, I could definitely manage the whole post-college, single 20-something lifestyle, but I am so thankful to have found my match and be married to my best friend! I really was kinda lonely without him. It is so wonderful to be able to cook him dinner, crawl into bed together, snuggle on the couch, smell his cologne, and feel his arms around me!

Of course, now the challenge of maintaining good eating and excercise habits comes back. The past two weeks, I had gotten into a pretty good routine. Now, that routine is going to change a bit, and I've just gotta figure out a way to merge the "two weeks alone routine" with the "hubby's back routine". By the way, I was down to 160.6 lbs on my bathroom scale this morning! I haven't used the Wii Fit today, so that number will have to suffice.

Anyways, back to my nap on the couch with my wonderful man!