Does anyone know of any bloggers who are going to the Beth Moore conference December 3-4 in Birmingham, AL? I am planning to go with my Life Group {Sunday School} class and would love to meet bloggers who are there too!
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Last week was insane. I forgot how much I dispise the first few weeks of school...especially since I am not teaching a subject I really like. You might have seen on FB or Twitter that I was freaking out at the beginning of the week, well I was told I might get moved to Kindergarten. I personally don't care if I get transfered again, but I do care if the grade they want to put me in prevents me from participating in Internship and graduating in May. I'll cut a limb off of anyone who gets in the way of my completion of school. {I've been in school literally since I was 3 with no break other than a few summers...I want out asap!} Rumor has it that I will be left alone good/but not excited about it. Ya see, I am teaching Science and Social Studies and realized pretty quick like that I am a ELA {English Language Arts} gal all the way. I grew up with a grandmother who was a librarian and a mother who reads constantly and a whole shelf of every children's book you could think of...ofcourse I am a reading person and not a analytical math/science person.
Then mid week a friend of mine called to talk about something funny and we wound up talking about how our church was doing a baptism at the river Wednesday night. Her son was being baptized and she was going to be re-baptized and suggested I come along. You may not know this but I was saved quite some time ago and have attended church all my life, but due to my intense fear of public speaking/standing in front of a crowd and having anyone touch me in more than ankle deep water{a good friend of mine attempted to practice baptize me in high school and I nearly choked to death haha} I have shyed away from baptism. For some odd reason when she suggested I use this opportunity to finally go through with it I jumped on it and called the church. I was all excited too until I got there...then the anxiety set back in. Which led to me giggling like a mad woman for about 30 minutes. But I did it, and you know the oddest thing...I felt the weirdest sense of relief and calm after I came out of that river. Like something that had burdened me with mass guilt was finally gone, which it was in fact. My fear of baptism has plagued my mind for years.
Now for Sunday{today}...I decided to nix my old couples Sunday School class and search for a new women's class. {when we first got married we attended a newly wed class that was quickly merged into a young married class...then our original class disappeared...then Jer went to teach 7th grade boys, which left me alone in a world of not so twenty somethings an babies galore} But today I tried out a women's class who is studying the book of James and I just absolutely loved it! I am actually sad that I have to miss next Sunday to go home for the weekend. Our class is also going to a Beth Moore conference in December so I will have to search out any fellow bloggers who will also be there. Oh I can't wait!
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Last night when reading through my Google Reader I found a post that thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com did and featured jewlery by elephantine from Etsy. I saw this necklace and can't stop thinking about it.
It is called "the year of wonder" and is a silver necklace/pendant and the pendant is a sideways tear drop. I just keep looking at it and thinking how pretty and tiny it is and how much it describes this past year with starting grad school/teaching/transfers/Nanny dying/all the other big changes that have occurred. It has been a insane year, and I really think this necklace pretty much sums it up...a straight year wondering what is going to happen next and wondering why things happen the way they do. Let's just say that the new year's calendar starts in September for me this time. Where I stood today a year ago is completely different from where I am today in the present.
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I also cooked lunch today! So here is a Sunday Lunch post. Bet you thought I was never doing one of those again. Recipe from Simply Recipes.com
Croque Monsieur
Ingredients
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
A pinch each of salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or more to taste
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups grated)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (packed)
8 slices of French or Italian loaf bread
12 ounces ham, sliced
Dijon mustard
Method
1 Preheat oven to 400°F.
2 Make the béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously, cooking until thick. Remove from heat. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyère. Set aside.
3 Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, a few minutes each side, until lightly toasted. For extra flavor you can spread some butter on the bread slices before you toast them if you want.
(Alternatively, you can assemble the sandwiches as follows in step four and grill them on a skillet, finishing them in the broiler with the bechamel sauce.)
4 Lightly brush half of the toasted slices with mustard. Add the ham slices and about 1 cup of the remaining Gruyère cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slices.
5 Spoon on the béchamel sauce to the tops of the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère cheese. Place on a broiling pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned.
If you top this sandwich with a fried egg it becomes a Croque Madame.
Makes 4 sandwiches.
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Then mid week a friend of mine called to talk about something funny and we wound up talking about how our church was doing a baptism at the river Wednesday night. Her son was being baptized and she was going to be re-baptized and suggested I come along. You may not know this but I was saved quite some time ago and have attended church all my life, but due to my intense fear of public speaking/standing in front of a crowd and having anyone touch me in more than ankle deep water{a good friend of mine attempted to practice baptize me in high school and I nearly choked to death haha} I have shyed away from baptism. For some odd reason when she suggested I use this opportunity to finally go through with it I jumped on it and called the church. I was all excited too until I got there...then the anxiety set back in. Which led to me giggling like a mad woman for about 30 minutes. But I did it, and you know the oddest thing...I felt the weirdest sense of relief and calm after I came out of that river. Like something that had burdened me with mass guilt was finally gone, which it was in fact. My fear of baptism has plagued my mind for years.
Now for Sunday{today}...I decided to nix my old couples Sunday School class and search for a new women's class. {when we first got married we attended a newly wed class that was quickly merged into a young married class...then our original class disappeared...then Jer went to teach 7th grade boys, which left me alone in a world of not so twenty somethings an babies galore} But today I tried out a women's class who is studying the book of James and I just absolutely loved it! I am actually sad that I have to miss next Sunday to go home for the weekend. Our class is also going to a Beth Moore conference in December so I will have to search out any fellow bloggers who will also be there. Oh I can't wait!
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Last night when reading through my Google Reader I found a post that thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com did and featured jewlery by elephantine from Etsy. I saw this necklace and can't stop thinking about it.
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I also cooked lunch today! So here is a Sunday Lunch post. Bet you thought I was never doing one of those again. Recipe from Simply Recipes.com
Ingredients
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups milk
A pinch each of salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or more to taste
6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (about 1 1/2 cups grated)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese (packed)
8 slices of French or Italian loaf bread
12 ounces ham, sliced
Dijon mustard
Method
1 Preheat oven to 400°F.
2 Make the béchamel sauce. Melt butter in a small saucepan on medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring until smooth, about 2 minutes. Slowly add the milk, whisking continuously, cooking until thick. Remove from heat. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyère. Set aside.
3 Lay out the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast them in the oven, a few minutes each side, until lightly toasted. For extra flavor you can spread some butter on the bread slices before you toast them if you want.
(Alternatively, you can assemble the sandwiches as follows in step four and grill them on a skillet, finishing them in the broiler with the bechamel sauce.)
4 Lightly brush half of the toasted slices with mustard. Add the ham slices and about 1 cup of the remaining Gruyère cheese. Top with the other toasted bread slices.
5 Spoon on the béchamel sauce to the tops of the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère cheese. Place on a broiling pan. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned.
If you top this sandwich with a fried egg it becomes a Croque Madame.
Makes 4 sandwiches.
I can almost feel it...at least I can pretend to with the AC on. I want Fall to be here now! October is probably my favorite month of the year. I just love leaving the windows open, the lack of lizards, Halloween candy, Fall decorations, and the smell of apple cinnamon candles. I have been spraying apple cinnamon air freshener everywhere in an attempt to evoke the happiness Fall brings while we are in the middle of the Louisiana summer from Hell. I love the way it smells outside in the fall. Why does summer have to smell like old sweat and dirt. The disaster in our backyard isn't helping the dirt situation at all. Ellie is disgusting, but there is no point in bathing her...she will only get grodier.
Until October gets here I guess I'll just have to look at pictures of my happy place and huff any apple spice candle I can find laying around.
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Until October gets here I guess I'll just have to look at pictures of my happy place and huff any apple spice candle I can find laying around.
Okay, uploading Fall themed pictures only made me want the next month to fly by even more. If not for my sake for at least the sake of our electric bill. I can't wait for the Dec./Jan. $35 bill. Oh happiness.
Homemade Ice Cream::
makes 5 quarts
Ingredients:
2 cans sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/2 gallon milk
1 quart heavy cream
Directions:
Mix all ingredients in a 5 quart ice cream maker. Follow directions on the machine for freezing.
I also crushed up two Butterfinger bars and mixed in at the end, next time I am adding in three. You can also add anything you like, this is just the base recipe I use.
Do you know what the best thing in the world is?
It is when your sister's baby lunges to come sit in your lap and immediately passes out.
And he was out cold. That was 1 of 3 times Joshua passed out on me this past weekend. The second time was completely voluntary, but the third time he was getting on my nerves so I patted his butt and sang the ABC's along with Baby Einstein till he passed out...he tried to fight it by blowing raspberries, but it didn't work. Baby Einstein music and Meme win again
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It is when your sister's baby lunges to come sit in your lap and immediately passes out.
And he was out cold. That was 1 of 3 times Joshua passed out on me this past weekend. The second time was completely voluntary, but the third time he was getting on my nerves so I patted his butt and sang the ABC's along with Baby Einstein till he passed out...he tried to fight it by blowing raspberries, but it didn't work. Baby Einstein music and Meme win again
That was Saturday night while we watched Pop play music and my cousin Stephanie sing a few songs.
Sunday we celebrated my Mom's 26th anniversary of a 20 something birthday by eating Mexican food and Joshua decided to celebrate by doing this:
He has decided he loves to sit on Uncle Jeremy's shoulders. I personally think it is because he realizes the height affliction our family suffers from and enjoys being higher up on the giants shoulders. He also like to play with his hair and blow raspberries/spit in Jeremy's hair while up there, as you can see in the picture the little monster has his tongue out and two handful's of hair. He also loves his little fat rolls to be exposed to the open air. Jeremy put him on his shoulders at the wedding Saturday and Joshua laughed so hard at me and the other Emily C. (I'll explain later) and we weren't even doing anything...expect provoking him to spit in Jeremy's hair more...which led to him spitting up in his hair.
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Okay for the Emily explanation. My maiden name starts with a C. Got that? Well my sister's two good friends from preschool were Emily C. and Kendra K. I am also Emily C. and my little sister is Laura C. Her friend Emily C. also has a little sister who happens to be named Laura C. too. How weird is that?
I seriously love adding beans into any recipe that I can, they just work great for making something last longer. Needless to say my husband hates black beans...and I had a can I'd been attempting to sneak into something for a month. Hence the bean dip I made this afternoon. If you want you could also add a little sour cream and diced tomato...I just didn't happen to have any lying around. Even without that it turned out dang good. Then again, I'll eat anything with Tobasco in it.
Black Bean Dip
1 15oz can of black beans(mostly drained)
7 dashes of Tobasco sauce
1/4 tsp taco seasoning
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic
2 tbsp red onion
salt
Add all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth.
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Black Bean Dip
7 dashes of Tobasco sauce
1/4 tsp taco seasoning
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp garlic
2 tbsp red onion
salt
Add all ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth.
Which could only mean that we are attending the 8th (maybe 9th) and final one of these-
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-this summer. Thank the good Lord cause I am about sick of attending them. No offense, people we have attended this summer, but going out of town every weekend for something wedding related kinda sucked away my summer happiness...I'm a homebody who had a lot of grad work to do(that was all done on the road and in a car). Luckily I have one more week though until this-
-starts back. I am by no means excited about it either. The only happiness I can muster about it is that I start my internship which means I graduate in May. Hallelujah!
**side note:
I actually ran into someone a few weeks ago in this blasted town who when over hearing me complain about summer school said not to worry I'd graduate from undergrad eventually. Do what?!? I quickly said oh I did that last year, and that I was about to graduate with a masters...one of those things very few people in our graduating class know exist.
Sorry, it is very easy to get offended when people assumed for years that I would not be the type to go to grad school, much less make it through college. Other than one or two people from my class that I know of not a dang one of them graduated/pursed graduate work. Funny how our guidance consular only helped out certain people because they were the "smart"ones. I was one of the luck few to graduate without ever having a single scholarship or free anything.
I am stepping off the soap box now...slowly.
Well, I must go. I have to take Laura to get her nails done(and mine done)for the wedding today. Just so happens I found a site that told me what I have been wanting to know for a very long time, Giada ei Laurentiis's nail color. OPI Bubble Bath.
Have a good Saturday y'all!
Today Babbling Abby is sharing her online resources as teacher week is coming to an end. Here are a few of mine that I loved while teaching 5th grade ELA last year. All of the sites and games can be played on the SmartBoard. But at the same time the entire internet is SmartBoard compatible, I just don't understand teachers who don't use their board or say they only use sites people tell them to use on a SmartBoard. What I know about my board I learned before I ever attended a meeting. If you can pull it up on your computer it is SmartBoard compatible.
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Spelling City : this site allows you to enter your weekly spelling list (and save it) and play different games with the words. My students loved playing these games on the SmartBoard. This was also great because they usually got done with their spelling workbook page quick and we would play games until the bell rang to go home(spelling was out last subject).
United Streaming : I was a huge junkie to this site last year. It had tons of great videos that went along with out grammar lessons. Sadly though I hear our district isn't renewing our membership.
Waltke's Web : I love this site and am very sad I am not teaching ELA this year, but I have been sharing the site with other teachers I know. If you use the Scott Foresman Reading Street series this site has PowerPoints, Spelling City word list, Partner Read Sheets, and Weekly News Letters for every unit for K-5. It was heaven sent!
Brain Pop: This is another site our school used. I rarely used it, but I know several teachers who loved it. I just couldn't ever remember the password for it.
Ed Heads : My class loved the brain and hip surgery games on this site...did I mention I was ELA. Yeah, we used it to play and not for ELA purposes haha.
If y'all have any sites I can use teaching Social Studies and Science leave them in a comment, I am totally lost and have no idea what I am going to do this year.
Happy Birthday to our 2nd dachshund Maddie! I just realized it was her age today while we were walking around the block. Considering the popularity of the blog baby breakdown for every baby birthday in the blogosphere I am going to do one for our furbabies this year. If this dog was a human she would be classified mild/moderate...I am convinced there are special ed dogs out there.
Oh Maddie Moo how you have tormented and destroyed everything in your path for the past two years. I can't seem to get onto you enough for he carpet fiasco at my old apartment. Thanks for taking the carpet off the stairs.
{September 2008}
It is hard to believe that when we got you, you were so tiny that after taking a few steps outside (attempting to walk with me and Ellie) that you would start whining to be picked up. Now you would walk around the block all day until one of us passed out.
You love:
-eating cotton, pooping it back out is always interesting. You will sneak into any bathroom to take cotton balls and q-tips out of it.
-digging holes so you can eat dirt.
-biting Ellie, ramming into her with your chest to knock her over, pulling her tail and legs..and all around torture.
-putting your neck on other people's necks.
-treats, or as you know them, cookies. You only know them as cookies though because when I got Ellie Nanny gave me a big bag of dog cookies that Popeye wouldn't eat so we called everything a cookie.
-walking in a circle while you poop.
-Laura, now that she has the baby you don't really understand why you aren't being treated like the baby anymore though.
-being rubbed with a towel and having your ears cleaned out.
-getting a mouthful of food and taking it to the living room to spit out onto the carpet and eat piece by piece.
-laying in front of the amps while Jeremy plays guitar...even though it is so loud Ellie and I refuse to go in there.
-going walking
-bring big bugs into the house to play with them and setting them free to fly around while you chase them.
You hate:
-cats. It isn't that you hate them so much as you want to torment them too. You have never attempted to attack one, however, they have attempted to attack you.
-baths
-going to the vet, you are such a wuss.
-anything Ellie apparently tells you to bark at.
-being woke up before daylight. You looked at Jeremy pretty crazy when he got up at 6:30 to go biking this morning.
-wearing your harness after we have gone walking and usually roll around and act crazy until Jeremy will take it off of you.
Overall you are a very happy dog. Even though you get into a lot of trouble and have chewed a hole in my favorite chair, not to mention the wall at the old apartment, we still love you. You nails grow at an alarmingly fast rate, and you hate having them clipped but I can stand to be scratched by you every time your mad that we won't put you in the bed. If you didn't have a funny personality you persistence to destroy might have made us give you back...I sure thought about it a lot of times, especially since you only know two tricks(not for lack of trying) and refused to potty train for a long time. I seriously think you have auditory hallucinations. Calling one of the TV dog therapist probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Just know that if you were a human I am almost positive you would have been sent to the alternative school by now for your antics.
Happy Birthday to my only dog who only knows her name 75% of the time and is spaced out the other 25%.
You're an interesting little critter and I love your quirks dearly...now that most of them occur outside.
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Oh Maddie Moo how you have tormented and destroyed everything in your path for the past two years. I can't seem to get onto you enough for he carpet fiasco at my old apartment. Thanks for taking the carpet off the stairs.
It is hard to believe that when we got you, you were so tiny that after taking a few steps outside (attempting to walk with me and Ellie) that you would start whining to be picked up. Now you would walk around the block all day until one of us passed out.
You love:
-eating cotton, pooping it back out is always interesting. You will sneak into any bathroom to take cotton balls and q-tips out of it.
-digging holes so you can eat dirt.
-biting Ellie, ramming into her with your chest to knock her over, pulling her tail and legs..and all around torture.
-putting your neck on other people's necks.
-treats, or as you know them, cookies. You only know them as cookies though because when I got Ellie Nanny gave me a big bag of dog cookies that Popeye wouldn't eat so we called everything a cookie.
-walking in a circle while you poop.
-Laura, now that she has the baby you don't really understand why you aren't being treated like the baby anymore though.
-being rubbed with a towel and having your ears cleaned out.
-getting a mouthful of food and taking it to the living room to spit out onto the carpet and eat piece by piece.
-laying in front of the amps while Jeremy plays guitar...even though it is so loud Ellie and I refuse to go in there.
-going walking
-bring big bugs into the house to play with them and setting them free to fly around while you chase them.
You hate:
-cats. It isn't that you hate them so much as you want to torment them too. You have never attempted to attack one, however, they have attempted to attack you.
-baths
-going to the vet, you are such a wuss.
-anything Ellie apparently tells you to bark at.
-being woke up before daylight. You looked at Jeremy pretty crazy when he got up at 6:30 to go biking this morning.
-wearing your harness after we have gone walking and usually roll around and act crazy until Jeremy will take it off of you.
Overall you are a very happy dog. Even though you get into a lot of trouble and have chewed a hole in my favorite chair, not to mention the wall at the old apartment, we still love you. You nails grow at an alarmingly fast rate, and you hate having them clipped but I can stand to be scratched by you every time your mad that we won't put you in the bed. If you didn't have a funny personality you persistence to destroy might have made us give you back...I sure thought about it a lot of times, especially since you only know two tricks(not for lack of trying) and refused to potty train for a long time. I seriously think you have auditory hallucinations. Calling one of the TV dog therapist probably wouldn't be a bad idea. Just know that if you were a human I am almost positive you would have been sent to the alternative school by now for your antics.
Happy Birthday to my only dog who only knows her name 75% of the time and is spaced out the other 25%.
If you haven't checked out her blog yet you should! Go read some of Babbling Abby's posts, they are too funny!
Tuesday of teacher week = must haves. I didn't have a single "must have" until I was transfered. I'll skip adding it to my list but leaving your room spic and span for the upcoming year/teacher is vital. I left my room spotless...needless to say no one felt to do the same for my new room. At my old school I had everything I needed. I was in Smart Board heaven. And I thought classrooms didn't exist without a document camera and a laptop that played DVDs. I was wrong. So we will call this a wish list/must have list for now. I plan to raise hell to get my document camera back.
1. A Smartboard. I have one...I don't have my beloved document camera though. I loved using mine last year for roll, after the Saints win I had a huge football field on my board and the kids names were on fleur di lis's and when they came into class in the morning they had to move their name to the field to get counted present. Loved it! I seriously used my doc. camera and Smartboard constantly. I seriously wouldn't know what to do with out them.
2. Felt tip markers in different colors. I hated having things graded in red, and still do. So I figure if I don't like my papers being marked up with red then the kids probably don't either. So I use what ever crazy color I can get my hands on...and make sure to write nice notes on their papers!
3. A fridge. Without a mini fridge in my room I nearly died. I had to either stuff my food in a lunch box or pray someone didn't eat it out of the teacher's lounge.
4. Pencils. I got to my first teaching job only to discover pencils weren't on the supply list. Yay for me. We ran out of pencils quick and were not restocked with them in a timely manner. I literally told kids to write with crayons towards the end of the year because they had sharpened me out of house and home. I was so irritated by then I refused to buy pencils either.
5. Ziploc bags. I didn't know I needed them until I got to my first room and had a cabinet full of them. Now I am contemplating stocking this room up. They are great for kids who get some sort of minor injury, fill them up with ice and it is like noting bad ever happened.
6. My plastic drawers with week day labels. At the beginning of the week I print off everything thing I need and put the papers in the correct drawer according to what day they will be used. It works great if you don't know you'll be absent and haven't left anything for the sub to do. I also keep my lesson plans on my desk for that specific reason.
I am sure there are other things but it has been a super long meeting filled day and I am sleepy. I can't wait to read other bloggers must haves and steal some ideas!
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Tuesday of teacher week = must haves. I didn't have a single "must have" until I was transfered. I'll skip adding it to my list but leaving your room spic and span for the upcoming year/teacher is vital. I left my room spotless...needless to say no one felt to do the same for my new room. At my old school I had everything I needed. I was in Smart Board heaven. And I thought classrooms didn't exist without a document camera and a laptop that played DVDs. I was wrong. So we will call this a wish list/must have list for now. I plan to raise hell to get my document camera back.
1. A Smartboard. I have one...I don't have my beloved document camera though. I loved using mine last year for roll, after the Saints win I had a huge football field on my board and the kids names were on fleur di lis's and when they came into class in the morning they had to move their name to the field to get counted present. Loved it! I seriously used my doc. camera and Smartboard constantly. I seriously wouldn't know what to do with out them.
2. Felt tip markers in different colors. I hated having things graded in red, and still do. So I figure if I don't like my papers being marked up with red then the kids probably don't either. So I use what ever crazy color I can get my hands on...and make sure to write nice notes on their papers!
3. A fridge. Without a mini fridge in my room I nearly died. I had to either stuff my food in a lunch box or pray someone didn't eat it out of the teacher's lounge.
4. Pencils. I got to my first teaching job only to discover pencils weren't on the supply list. Yay for me. We ran out of pencils quick and were not restocked with them in a timely manner. I literally told kids to write with crayons towards the end of the year because they had sharpened me out of house and home. I was so irritated by then I refused to buy pencils either.
5. Ziploc bags. I didn't know I needed them until I got to my first room and had a cabinet full of them. Now I am contemplating stocking this room up. They are great for kids who get some sort of minor injury, fill them up with ice and it is like noting bad ever happened.
6. My plastic drawers with week day labels. At the beginning of the week I print off everything thing I need and put the papers in the correct drawer according to what day they will be used. It works great if you don't know you'll be absent and haven't left anything for the sub to do. I also keep my lesson plans on my desk for that specific reason.
I am sure there are other things but it has been a super long meeting filled day and I am sleepy. I can't wait to read other bloggers must haves and steal some ideas!
I just found this great blog, Babbling Abby. If your a teacher you should really check out her blog and participate in Teacher Week and link up to other teachers! She posted 10 things about her as a teacher, so I think I will follow along!
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10 Things About Me as a Teacher...
1. I steal things. I have stolen desk arrangements, teacher desk arrangements, test dates, tests, worksheets, bulletin board ideas, you name it and I can tell you where I got the idea.
2. Mess drives me insane. I can't stand trash on the floor or finding pencils in weird places. Which is why my new classroom is driving me insane...total clutter.
3. I love teacher meetings that get you out of school for the whole day. Feels like playing hooky, without playing hooky.
4. This will be my second year teaching. I am in the same grade but I got moved to Social Studies and Science, I have a feeling I will miss Reading.
5. I had no idea I wanted to be a teacher until I graduated with a B.A. in Psychology and had no idea what to do. As bad as it sounds this was my solution. 98% of the time I love it.
6. I want to go back to school to be a Diagnostician after I finish my Master's. It would be my way to get back towards Psychology while still keeping the teacher hours and time off.
7. I don't think teacher pay is as bad as everyone says it is. We make way more than other parishes, and it pays better than anything I'd be doing with just a Bachelor's in Psychology.
8. I have made a promise to myself to do things differently from last year. I had no idea what I was walking into because of my zero experience, and it showed. I have a massive procedures list I made in one of the block classes this summer and I think it will help me achieve the quiet and happy classroom. Hopefully it goes as I want it too.
9. I like teaching 5th grade so much that I am considering getting secondary certification in Psychology. I really enjoy the older kids and have no clue what to say to little kids. Of course, I am going to wait till after graduation before I take the test, for fear of having to take another class.
10. My mom is a teacher and my uncle is a school psychologist. I think I have basically gone the career path that is in the middle of them. Started like Uncle Skip, ended like Mom. Needless to say my husband is also in the same Master's of Arts in Teaching program I am in... and just got a job today! Yay! Sadly our children will suffer the same why I did but twice as bad...no hiding report cards or teacher conference days. Poor future kids. Our poor future kids will only suffer from being outside from 6:30 am to 4:00 pm. Yeah I have to clock in at 7:10 and don't get home till 4.
I can't wait to meet other blogger teachers! Hope everyone has a great first day of school!
I saw my classroom for the first time today.
It was hands down the messiest mess on the face of the earth.
Think of Super Dome after Katrina messy, minus a few dead people. I take that back, I have one of those hanging skeletons and a body you can take apart...so I do have dead bodies. I think the skeleton needs clothing or a hat or something. There is just to many naked bodies for me.
I wish I would have thought to take a before picture. It is bad.
After nearly two hours of moving things around it is still really bad.
BAD!
Before I can start cleaning or even thinking of putting up bulletin boards I have literally 20 something boxes to unload and attempt to organize. I think my room was the dumping ground for everyone else's crap they didn't want.
In the words of my Dad...Shoot.
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It was hands down the messiest mess on the face of the earth.
Think of Super Dome after Katrina messy, minus a few dead people. I take that back, I have one of those hanging skeletons and a body you can take apart...so I do have dead bodies. I think the skeleton needs clothing or a hat or something. There is just to many naked bodies for me.
I wish I would have thought to take a before picture. It is bad.
After nearly two hours of moving things around it is still really bad.
BAD!
Before I can start cleaning or even thinking of putting up bulletin boards I have literally 20 something boxes to unload and attempt to organize. I think my room was the dumping ground for everyone else's crap they didn't want.
In the words of my Dad...Shoot.
I don't know what has hit me lately, but I have not felt like blogging at all. I actually had a few recipes I did and really don't feel like putting them up right now. Maybe next week.
Anyway, last week, as you may have seen on Twitter, the band Jeremy is in played for a benefit concert. Don't ask me what it benefited, the lead singer of the headliner didn't say it clear or slow enough. What I did understand is that the money went to some Christian group that supports pre-term babies. Who knows.
That was last Friday. This past Wednesday was Jeremy's birthday. We ate sushi, I forgot my camera. But I also made a really good Banana's Foster cake. Only problem was that I had never frosted a layer cake before and it was so ugly that I called our friend whose husband was also one of the birthday boys and asked if everyone would just come by out house afterwards for cake. Thank goodness they agreed to it. It was dang ugly.
I forgot to buy candles for the cake so Ethan and Jeremy had to blow out my Creme Brulee candle from Lola's. Notice the ugly leaning cake with the frosting that is sliding off?
I asked Bekah to serve the hideous cake to everyone. Bekah and her sister make beautiful cakes, they actually made the one for Ethan and Bekah's wedding back in June. I figured if anyone could cut that sliding cake without it falling apart it was her. Side note- I put skewers in it so it wouldn't fall apart...that didn't stop the leaning.
........................................
I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Let me fill you in on what I've done.
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Anyway, last week, as you may have seen on Twitter, the band Jeremy is in played for a benefit concert. Don't ask me what it benefited, the lead singer of the headliner didn't say it clear or slow enough. What I did understand is that the money went to some Christian group that supports pre-term babies. Who knows.
Happy (late on the blog) 26th Birthday Jeremy!
Like I told you in your birthday card...only 24 more years until your first colonoscopy. Don't take them for granted. Love you.........................................
I hope everyone is having a great weekend. Let me fill you in on what I've done.
Nothing!
This is the second weekend of the summer that I haven't gone out of town for something wedding related(except the family reunion). Isn't it glorious to not do anything all day!
www.thelittlethingswedo.blogspot.com
1. Today for breakfast I ate a strawberry scone, I got the recipe from www.skinnytaste.com.
2. My go to/never fail recipe according to my husband...peanut butter balls. We eat totally different and he hates my health food. I always love my veggie soup or turkey sausage spaghetti .
3. Something I eat that other people think is weird is cucumbers with vinegar, soy sauce, splenda, salt, and cayenne pepper doesn't go ever well with Jeremy .
4. My worst cooking disaster ever was a Rachel Ray recipe for some asian soup. It was so nasty that I took two bites and threw the whole pot of soup out .
5. If I could only eat one flavor of ice cream the rest of my life it would be Cookies n' Cream. But if the question was frozen yogart I would say Menchies Vanilla .
6. One food I hate and avoid at all costs is country fried anything, collard greens, I run from anything country .
7. What is your favorite meal? Breakfast, lunch, or dinner? Breakfast if Nanny or Pop are cooking. I loved staying with them and waking up to Pop cooking breakfast. It has to be a really unhealthy one though. If I am going healthy, as usual, I'd say lunch .
I feel like I am behind on posting. I am in fact behind.
Last weekend Jeremy's Dad and Step-mom came to visit for the night after they dropped off a grandkid in Columbia. I just love them and we had a ton of fun. I also tried some new recipes that were awesome. I'll have to do a big post this weekend to catch up on stuff.
Yesterday was finals day. I was fine with this until (if you read FB or twitter you know what I am talking about) the professor said we would not be graced with the loveliness of a multiple choice final but instead a debate. She then split the class into Pro and Con for Inclusion and let us attack each other. I suck at arguing by the way. I am of Arnold decent, which according to Nanny means we are believers in the loudest one wins. I can't help it, I am not good at conveying points so I just get louder. Well without the proper setting to scream at people I was left to enter my thoughts for Pro Inclusion into a Moodle forum. Not fun. By the end of the day my post had the most replies (we only had to reply to 3 people), and the next person with the most only had half of what I had. I then decided to quit defending myself and called my sister to joke around about why Inclusion should be the norm. My conclusion after arguing for Co-Teaching and bringing up countless laws and acts that are in place: Special Ed kids should be included because the tiny metal building they keep them in don't fare well during a tornado. I had officially lost my mind an resorted to staying off the forum for the rest of the day.
We also celebrated J's 26th birthday yesterday. Brace yourself Mother, after a Caribbean Breeze at Samurai I was willing to sing "Happy Birthday". This is amazing to anyone who ever attended a childhood birthday party for me because I tend to cry every time I hear the song. I just hate it so much. Anyway afterwards we came back to our house for Banana's Foster cake and the guys attempted to break dance in the living room.
I am about to head to the gym. Guess I will have to do a decent update with pictures later. But whoo hoo for no summer school. Only two weeks till school starts back up again(sad face).
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Last weekend Jeremy's Dad and Step-mom came to visit for the night after they dropped off a grandkid in Columbia. I just love them and we had a ton of fun. I also tried some new recipes that were awesome. I'll have to do a big post this weekend to catch up on stuff.
Yesterday was finals day. I was fine with this until (if you read FB or twitter you know what I am talking about) the professor said we would not be graced with the loveliness of a multiple choice final but instead a debate. She then split the class into Pro and Con for Inclusion and let us attack each other. I suck at arguing by the way. I am of Arnold decent, which according to Nanny means we are believers in the loudest one wins. I can't help it, I am not good at conveying points so I just get louder. Well without the proper setting to scream at people I was left to enter my thoughts for Pro Inclusion into a Moodle forum. Not fun. By the end of the day my post had the most replies (we only had to reply to 3 people), and the next person with the most only had half of what I had. I then decided to quit defending myself and called my sister to joke around about why Inclusion should be the norm. My conclusion after arguing for Co-Teaching and bringing up countless laws and acts that are in place: Special Ed kids should be included because the tiny metal building they keep them in don't fare well during a tornado. I had officially lost my mind an resorted to staying off the forum for the rest of the day.
We also celebrated J's 26th birthday yesterday. Brace yourself Mother, after a Caribbean Breeze at Samurai I was willing to sing "Happy Birthday". This is amazing to anyone who ever attended a childhood birthday party for me because I tend to cry every time I hear the song. I just hate it so much. Anyway afterwards we came back to our house for Banana's Foster cake and the guys attempted to break dance in the living room.
I am about to head to the gym. Guess I will have to do a decent update with pictures later. But whoo hoo for no summer school. Only two weeks till school starts back up again(sad face).
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