Today

I told myself that I would go back to work today. That I would go down to my classroom to rearrange and organize everything. I would have done it last week but there was a class meeting in my room. I only spent two hours down there but I threw away a lot of papers. I went through a few drawers and kept asking the same question, "Why did I keep this?" I kept a lot of things just because I was so busy with school at the time that I just shoved it in a drawer to deal with this summer.

I have a lot to do in my classroom still, but I don't know exactly what I need to do. I want to redo my bulletin boards but I don't know what to replace what is up there now. I usually have at least an idea, but no.

Who Are You?

My brother showed me an interesting site on Google awhile back that lets you track how often people look at your blog. I like to look at it sometimes even though it really doesn't tell me that much. My favorite part is a map of the world that tells you how many people from each country look at your blog. I was a little worried when someone in Cuba started looking but then I remembered that I did know someone there. This map breaks down numbers to states and cities. There are some places that have been looking quite a bit and I have no idea who it is because no one ever leaves comments except for a few and they're from places that no one would be visiting from. I think it's also weird because right now, the map of Utah looks like a petri dish, it's kind of gross--it's just fresh on my mind because I teach my students about microorganisms and when I look at the map it reminds me of some of the cultures my students grew.

This wasn't even the worst petri dish, there were some that were even grosser!

School's out for summer!

My summer has officially started! I don't have to go to class again this summer and I am so excited about that! I still have a 5-page paper to write but that shouldn't be too hard especially with all of my free time...maybe I'll work on it this week to get it out of the way. I would go work on my classroom and decluttering my files except there's a class in there this week, so I either have to go at the end of the day after class or wait until next week.

I also got a new camera last week so I've been very excited to take pictures but haven't had many opportunities to do so yet...keep posted, I am on the lookout!

One Down, One to Go!

I finished my first Masters Degree class today! This class was on psychology and assessment in education. It was an okay class, but it really started driving me nuts in the end. We talked about the brain, its different parts, what each does, and the different stages the brain goes through as we age--I really enjoyed this part of the class and found it quite interesting. The book we had for this part of the class was a good read (not really a curl up in a blanket by the fire read, but good for being a text book). A majority of the class dealt with using assessment in teaching. I knew most of the information but it was a good reminder and made me think of things in different ways. I've already started new ideas to use next year in my classroom. I did go a little nuts over the instructor a few times. Every day we would have breaks so we could get up and move around a bit but then she would give us an hour or two every day in the middle to read a chapter or whatever. It was nice that she gave us the time to read and work on our assignments (class was 8 am to 3:30 pm each day and we then had homework) but she usually gave us too much time. I was frustrated because it didn't match my learning style. I am very much so a person who likes to be given information and as soon as I understand it, move on! I felt like we were beating a dead horse! Don't worry, I survived and I'm done with the class. I'm glad I'm taking the class with a good group of co-workers (they're making class more interesting), we got to work on most of the assignments together so we have a lot done for next year. On our overly long breaks we finished our homework two days in advance, played baseball, went out to eat, and Adam and Garrett even went to Garrett's house to wash their cars.

I have a new class starting on Monday, we'll see how that one goes.

:) :D :P ;)

Every time I see or hear the word "emoticons" it makes me think of Transformers. They're more than meets the eye!

Stupid aphids!

I could have been successful with my Zinnia if it wasn't for the aphids that attacked it! Miss Zinnie has gone the same way all the plants do that come into my house. She at least lasted longer than the others--1 1/2 weeks.

Some of the other broken things I'm experiencing right now include Jacob's wilting flowers and an adventure with a stove. Steven and I are almost done fixing the apartment for our parents and we went to move the stove. It was barely touched when this happened:
The door shattered! (No, the wooden door in the picture had nothing to do with it, it's just there because we were gluing something back together on it and didn't want glue on the carpet.) We bought a new stove that night, a pretty good deal in the RC Willey Scratch and Dent Outlet.

For good news, I went on a hike today with Jeff in rock Canyon. It was a good hike, I had fun. I like observing nature, especially mountains and canyons. I'm tired now and my knee aches a bit, but I already iced that down so it shouldn't really hurt since I took care of it before it did.

My Goal

I have set a new goal for myself and I am blogging about it because the more people you tell about a goal you have, the more likely you'll actually stick to it.

Background info: Lately I have been looking at my life now and my life five years ago and the biggest difference I see is that I am not as happy as I used to be. I used to goof around with my friends and just let myself be happy and care-free and I miss that. I think a lot of my friends have noticed a change too but they haven't said anything (come on people, speak up!), I have been telling myself it's because I've grown up and matured, but that's not it. I think we all know about a certain speedbump in my life that I will refer to as "Jerkface." I was devastated and didn't quite know how to pull myself back together. I felt like I didn't know who I was anymore because I let myself be someone I wasn't because of "Jerkface." I also had a big change in who I associated with because all of my closest friends had gotten married and moved away (mostly to Arizona and Layton). Subconsciously I decided to not let myself be worked up or sad over anything else so I wouldn't have to deal with those emotions again. In doing so I lost letting myself be happy as well. It's been awhile but I am finally putting everything together and making a decision.

My Goal: I was talking to my hometeachers tonight and realized what I've been doing. I was reminded of a conversation I had with a good friend of mine late one summer night in a stairwell when he was having problems. I remember that I was mad at him for thinking certain things and told him that we all need to have the lowest lows so we could recognize and feel the highest highs. My goal from here on out is that I will let myself start feeling again. I want to be able to have fun and be silly and laugh again. I don't want to have to worry about what may or may not happen. I want to be myself again and I will be myself again.

Your part: If you see me checking out on life, give me a good kick (it doesn't have to be a literal kick)! Please point it out to me, I can't let myself do this anymore. My friends don't recognize me and don't know how to act around me. I don't know how to act around them. People use to comment on my smile, I haven't heard that in awhile and it makes me sad. I can act pretty well so that those that don't know me as well think things are okay, but I know you can tell the difference.

Swimming!

Today was the first swim of my summer. I was accompanied by my cousin, Pam, and her two girls--it was actually her daughter's idea to go swimming at my house today. The weather was perfect for a dip in the pool, not too hot or cold, no wind, and a nice, sunny day. We had a lot of things to carry so we got creative when it came time to pack up and go back to my house.
Pam and I made cookies while one daughter napped and the other ate...
It was a good day. I should take breaks from school more often!