I've been getting my classroom ready this week...and wow is it a job!! Seriously. The teacher who was there before me had the class loaded with textbooks, something I very seldom use in my classes. Let's face it, how often did you have fun using a textbook at school?

That's what I thought. ;-)

So here are a few pics of my classroom in the works...it is far from finished. I have to get more color in there!!!




Education can take you anywhere in the world...




I'll post more later...I'm tired.

A great day on the river

I am utterly and completely exhausted! Scott and I went kayaking again today and the water was up higher than last time...well, I was being silly and spent much of my time spinning the kayak around and around in the river. It was great fun, but requires a lot of energy. I also thought it would be funny, since the water was cruising us right along, with very little help from paddling, to paddle with my arms, so I did this or several minutes...it actually worked too! lol However, it was exhausting! Ha!

So anyway, I'm TIRED! It was great fun though.

Tomorrow I will begin summer school at my new school. I'm terribly nervous, so it's probably good that I'm so utterly exhausted...maybe I won't toss and turn tonight.

There is nothing like sitting on the deck in the heat & humidity. Truly, I love it. I know it's nuts, but i love it. :)

I think blogging on the go will be super fun...especially while on vacation & such! If you've not signed up yet you should! :)

Testing 123 testing...

Summertime

It's only 1:42 in the afternoon and I really want a glass of red wine. Is that bad? Possibly...am I going to indulge myself? Probably. I mean, it's the weekend for me and this is my only week off before summer school, which starts Monday and I'll be doing that through July 9th. I think a little glass of red wine sounds divine.

*pours self a glass of red wine*

I know this is going to sounds really strange, but I'm wearing my bikini. Does anyone else do this? Run around the house in your bikini just for the hell of it? I do. I don't know why, but in summer I literally live in mine and this one is new....it's a cute new Roxy that's charcoal gray with bright green tie-dye. I love it. You know, that's one thing I am sooooooo very thankful for with having kicked my ED away. I actually love buying and wearing bikinis nowadays. I'm not going to say I don't feel insecure sometimes...I do. I think everyone does, unless they look like Heidi Klum, but we all know she's a digital creation.....right? ;-) I mean, how on earth does that woman have children and then walk the runway in two months?! Wow. So anyway, back to me....far less interesting and certainly less toned and, shall we say, endowed??? hehe.

I've been planning for summer school via email with the teacher I'll be co-teaching with. She's fabulous and while I though it was going to be difficult to plan without meeting in person, it's actually been really great! It helps that we both have the same basic ideas for teaching the class, so that means all we have to do is gather the materials to enhance learning. We're reading a book entitled Night John by Paulsen. It's a great little short book with a powerful message. I also bought the movie and Shakira (the Social Studies teacher) found primary sources online so the kids can do an activity with that and the sources go so perfectly with the book! I also have some primary sources and we'll use those as well. We're going to teach about the Underground Railroad throughout the class and the dean of students said we will have a period actor come who is playing a slave who belonged to Lincoln...she said, "I've tried to contact Lincoln, but he has not returned the call." (hahaha!) We are also taking the kids on a field trip using charter buses...can you believe this???? For summer school!! I'm totally blown away, because my last school had so little by way of funds that we could barely muster two field trips and they couldn't afford summer school. It's sad for them, really...but I'm so happy to be in a school with some funds! :)

Other than summer school planning, I've spent most of my free time either on the river kayaking or rolling around in my inline skates. It's been great fun. My plan for the summer after summer school is to be on the river as much as possible. I love it. I dare say I love it more than the ocean....which surprises me. I do though. There is something special about paddling a river. You see things you wouldn't see otherwise. The world slows down...you become more alive than you knew you could be. I truly love it and wish I could spend days at a time out there. I want to visit other rivers though. I want to get on some whitewater this year...I'd like to get the boys out in a big family raft so they can have a safe first experience, where I won't have to worry about them. I think I'll take them out on the Big South Fork for their first time out solo...because it's like a class 3 (with only occasional) 4 rapids and that's only at certain times of the year. Not bad for learning. They are naturals...you should see them in a kayak!!! I was blown away & so proud of them. :)

So anyway, the summer is going to be great. I'm truly looking forward to it.

Joy Ache

At this very moment, I am both extremely happy and extremely sad.

I'm happy because my life is just what I always hoped for as far as my marriage, career and kiddos go. I swear...it's wonderful and actually it might be better than what I hoped for, because I had no idea how good married life could be. I'd never met anyone who was truly happily married, so I had no idea it could happen.

I'm extremely sad because I miss my siblings. I really do. For whatever reason, they dislike me...have said they hate me and well, there is nothing I can do about that. I've chosen to keep my distance and I plan to continue with that, because what else is there to do? I'm tired of being hurt. The thing is, it hurts to keep a distance. Then again, you can't close a distance if the other person doesn't want it and they don't want it.

Today I watched the movie Coco before Coco Chanel and I loved it. Her story inspires me. I'm not saying I want to be like her...as in what she accomplished, although I have had that dream (funny because I am a self-taught seamstress and unable to make clothes). I have said things like, "People should be wearing my name on their clothes." Why? I have no idea...

I want to be successful in whatever I endeavor to do. I have no idea where this life will take me. I have no idea what I truly want in my life. I know for now I am focused on my career...possibly even more than my family. I'm good at my job. I love it. I also have plans to get better and venture out to do new things concerning my career. At present I'm working on a manuscript for a NCTE publication. I hope it will make the publication. I don't know if it will, but I hope it does! I have also been asked to participate in a presentation at an upcoming conference. I've accepted and should the proposal be approved, I'll be dealing with the nerves of presenting to other professionals! Yikes. It'll be really cool, but extremely scary.

I don't know why I even agreed to do it...I just thought, "What the hell? Why not?" At this moment though...I'm freaking out a little bit. Why did I say yes? Yikes...The closer it gets, the higher my anxiety will get, I'm sure. I just figured...this is my one life, why not take chances and see what will happen? I think I owe it to myself to see what comes of it. :)