I'm back...

It has been far to long since I have blogged about anything to do with my life. This will be a quick catch-up blog for those who are interested.

I finished up with my student teaching. YAY! It was a wonderful experience in the long run. Even though it was one of the most stressful and difficult things I have ever had to do, it proved to me how much I love teaching. I had such an amazing class and each and every one of them touched my heart in some way. I could not have asked for more. They were a handful at times(to prove to me that teaching is hard work and you have to be a disciplinarian), they were hysterical at times (to prove to me how great it is to be around children all day), and they were challenging at times (to prove to me that I have to be on top of my game if I am going to succeed). On the last day of student teaching my kids surprised me with a tee-shirt that they had all signed the back of, a book of letters they had each written to say good-bye, and a little going-away party. Knowing I would be an emotional wreck by the end of the day, the last thing Casey had said to me that morning was, "Don't cry. It's not good for the kids." Well, I was doing quit well until my mentor had me sit in a circle of my students and asked them each to say one thing they liked about me. I was a mess by the end. They had the greatest comments for me...everything from, "You have the coolest shoes" to "You are the greatest teacher I have ever had." Needless to say the waterworks came and as soon as they all saw me crying, they started to cry. I made 22 8 year olds cry in a matter of seconds. I'm a MONSTER!

Since student teaching ended I've gone back to work full-time and am trying to substitute for my school district whenever possible. It is a great way to get your name out there and to network. So far I have been back four times to sub and it is going well. Substituting is far different than student teaching. As a student teacher the kids took me serious and treated me with respect. As a "substitute" all rules go out the window. Even the classes I taught as a student teacher treat me differently now. What is it about the word "substitute" and the need to push the boundaries of human decency? It is crazy what these kids will try to get away with. I'm not in love with substituting. Perhaps if the money was better I would try to do it more often, but for now once or twice a week will suffice.





Christmas is just around the corner and I must say that I am on fire this year. I already have Casey completely gifted and wrapped sitting underneath the tree with the exception of one additional gift I had to purchase because of poor decision making on my behalf. I'm still waiting for this said gift to show up at my door from China. Christmas is my favorite time of year and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE gift wrap, ribbons, tags, and wrapping. Wrapping presents is therapeutic to me. It is honestly one of my great loves in life. I would love to work in the mall wrapping presents for people, but unfortunately the free gift wrap they supply you with is not up to my standards. I believe in beautiful packages...not paper covered in "Barnes and Noble" or "Layton Hills Mall" logos. It just doesn't do it for me. With that said this year I am hand making tags and doing a whole black and white theme for each gift. They look fantastic sitting together under the tree. Yes...my tree is up already! As controversial as it may sound, it has been up for almost a week now. We are hosting Thanksgiving this year for my family and I didn't have time to get it up the night before so that it could look festive for this lame holiday, nor would I have time to do it ON Thanksgiving (which is usually the standard) since we'd have everyone to deal with, and food to cook and clean up, so we put it up early. Besides, if I didn't have a tree then all of Casey's gifts would still be sitting on the new bench we bought for the kitchen. Not a cute look.

(Not mine...but you sort of get the idea)

Oh yeah...we updated our kitchen in the last few months. We finally got some color in there to help make our semi-newly painted cabinets pop. We went with a Restoration Grey and Blue scheme and it looks great. We also hung a chandelier, some new art work, and bought a bench and table to make the wall across from our dinning table a little more cozy and useful. The changes look great and we couldn't be happier with them. All that is left is new counter tops, a back splash, and updated appliances and the kitchen will be practically perfect. All in good time.


Well, there is not much left to talk about. At least not in this blog.

HaPpY hOlIdAyS fRiEnDs!