Thursday, May 8, 2008

life...

...is good because God is good!
As of late -
  • House-sitting for the 'rents this past weekend

  • Preparing to spend Mother's Day with the Simmons family...which means we're also celebrating May birthdays. There are at least 6!

  • Jamie graduated from Westmont over the weekend (M & D attended the festivities in Santa Barbara and that's why Ben and I were at their house). CONGRATS TO HER FOR GRADUATING EARLY WITH A DOUBLE MAJOR!

  • I finished my Professional Certification classes! My original teaching certificate (issued in July of 2004) expires in June of 2010. So, in the lovely state of Washington I have 3 options. I could have applied for an extension, earned my Professional Certification, or worked towards my National Board Certification. Since I'm guessing we'll have kids someday, I decided to get this out of the way now. An extension wasn't an option for me. Instead, Pro-Cert was my route of choice. It's a class divided into 3 parts. The Pre-Assessment class was something I completed last year at this time. In the middle, I had to take 9 credits that were aimed at my goal (I used classes from my Master's Program), and then Culminating piece is the class I just finished. By the end of this summer I should have my Master's completed and then I'll be good to go for another 2 years. After that, I'll have to be sure that I'm earning 15 credits every 5 years. DOESN'T THE FIELD OF EDUCATION SOUND SO ENTICING?

  • Searching for Dessert Auction documents - I know they're around here somewhere.

  • Loving my marriage - Ben and I are communicating well, focused on what matters most, and things are running smoothly these days. I am just enjoying him more than ever...he's the best! He's so thoughtful these days. Every time I turn around he's surprising me with the little things (making sure there's gas in both cars, taking out the garbage, helping with laundry and the dishes, working lots of extra hours washing windows, washing the cars, and playing endless rounds of Ticket to Ride). He's the best!

  • <-- He is so stinkin' cute!

  • Enjoying each day with my students - we've had a lot of fun reading about Japan between the 9th and 12th centuries (samurai warriors, ninjas, foot binding, aristocrat homes, cosmetics, manners, beauty, shallow societies, etc.) The kids are soaking it all up and realizing that life exists outside of "their world."




  • Mid-term grades for the students = entering late work, updating grades, tracking down missing work, printing out grades, responding to parent emails ("he/she said they turned in this assignment"), collecting signed Progress Reports

  • Preparing for the Maywood Middle School Talent Show...the auditions are so much fun! I wish I could make a video of these and post them. They're so sweet (often funny too).

  • Being spoiled this week (Teacher Appreciation Week) by our PTSA - they had gifts donated and each day several teachers have their name drawn. My name has yet to be pulled and I'm okay with that...the big gifts are still out there (a weekend at Chelan, a day at the spa, etc.). They have also arranged to feed us lunch each day. These parents are amazing! I guess you could say that this kind of appreciation makes up for the endless credits I am supposed to be earning.

  • End-of-the-year stuff - Ordering supplies for my team, finalizing elections for next year's ASB officers, putting together the packet for potential Leadership students, trying to squeeze as much curriculum into the next few weeks, working around chaotic school schedules, attempting to make progress on my work-to-do list, hanging out on Tuesdays and Thursdays to help kids with their failing grades (and credit retrieval for failed classes throughout the year), waiting for next year's master schedule (to see who will stay and who will leave), filling out recommendations for the potential Leadership students, looking into nannying part-time for the summer, trying to find a time to squeeze in a trip to NY to see my best friend (who still needs to start a blog)

  • Annoyed by Brianna and Joey - these are 2 of the individuals on this season's Real World. Joey has a drinking problem, but he's getting help from Dr. Drew, so that's good. However, Brianna is a mess...I don't even know where to start. Although these characters frustrate me, I still watch this crazy show (and I love it).

  • It's a great season in my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything (although, I could use more than the 3 hours of sleep I got last night).

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ok... So when I have something to talk about I will work on getting a blog! Miss you!
Laura

Robica said...

Hi Anne! You are crazy busy! And your teaching credentials sound complicated, but congrats on your accomplishments. Miss you lots too.

samandpeteVDP said...

hello! I just waded through the myriad of places to comment on all our various forums. I think I found all the ones you left me, so now, the hunt is on for you! I decided to comment on this post b/c I puked a little in my mouth when I saw these foot binding pics. I read a book a while back..."Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" that graphically explained foot binding but I had never seen pictures. I'm happy with my size 8 clod hoppers thank you very much!
Also.....do you watch The Hills? I am OBSESSED with Heidi and Spencer. They are terrible people, but I can't look away.
~Sam

anne said...

Laura, I know you had a busy weekend, but you have plenty of down-time normally to be working on a blog. Make it happen! :)

Robica, thanks for your kind words. I will take any sort of encouragement at this point. We miss you up here in Washington. Any plans to visit the Puget Sound area?

Sam, I love all sorts of trashy television (some things never change)...the Hills is among my favorites! I detest "Speidi" and yet I can't get enough.

I'm glad you found me here. Between the two blogs (yours and mine), Facebook, and email, we should have no trouble keeping tabs on each other. Technology can be pretty stellar. :)

Hey, when in August do you guys come back into town? I would love to put in on my schedule now in hopes of seeing you.

kel said...

Hey thanks for the foot-binding pictures. Just ate breakfast. :)

I'm so glad to hear everything's going well for you! And I'd love to hear how you train the hubby to take out the trash... :)