i think of writing in my livejournal when i unexpectantly do not have to do anything during the day
today school was canceled, right in the middle of TAKS testing! it rained all night and this morning when the city woke up, all of the major highways were flooded. thank God i was sleeping in a little late and did not get up til 6, because otherwise i could have been stuck on a highway behind a bunch of cars that can't drive through an impromptu lake. but, because jose got up early and i was waiting for him to get out of the shower, i was watching the news when my school district decided to cancel for the day ... what a pleasant surprise! i have to admit, however, that this week is not going to be very stressful for me, because i am in charge of the first-year ESL students who are exempt from all tests. that means we will be working on puzzle packets and watching movies. it also means i am with 12 very polite and generally hard-working students. of course there is always the stress of hoping my other students will do their best, do everything i told them, and pass the tests, but at this point, the buck is passed and it is up to them.
so i spent today being domestic and working from home. i am working on a side project for TFA and i used pretty much the entire day to get it done. it gave me the idea that working from home would be pretty dang swell. i worked for several hours, took a lunch break, worked for several more hours, went to the grocery store, worked for a few more hours, got dinner ready, and now i am waiting for it to finish cooking and jose to get home so that we can enjoy my spinach and black bean multigrain lasagna! (tangent: aside from the obvious romantic, togetherness and lifelong companionship aspects of marriage, one of my favorite parts of being married is finding new recipes and trying them out on my captive audience.) maybe someday when i have kids that are preschool age, i will take a break from teaching and open a home day care. jose and i were daydreaming about this possibility and he pointed out that an ESL / Special Ed. certified teacher with a master's degree and CPR training would be a good-looking prospect to parents seeking out a day care. i could write a curriculum and probably make decent money, plus watch my own kids at the same time. and i think my good old friend michelle (st. thomas michelle, not michigan state michelle, although both are welcome) would be the perfect person to help me. let's see if she is reading this and approves of this plan. anyway, put that in the "pipe dream" category. (tangent #2 - what does "pipe dream" really mean?)
my graduate class was also canceled for tonight, which is fabulous. two more classes and i will have my master's degree in education! not a moment too soon! although i have truly enjoyed getting to know my cohort and having classes with a fun group of people. remember when i was debating what to do and i chose this program? that was a good decision. i am glad i stayed in houston, for multiple and somewhat obvious reasons. i do not regret that decision at all. God does have a plan and He does put us in the right spot at the right time. six years ago, i never would have put myself where i am, but i love it right now and i know it is right. if my brother got a job here and my parents retired to houston that would be even more fabulous, but things are pretty good for me.
as for school, it is a little crazy and bizarre to be finishing up my time at one school and simultaneously wondering what it will be like at the next one. i start at my new school june 8 for the summer school term, so that is rapidly approaching! that also means that by june 5 i need to be done at my current school and have everything packed up and at my house waiting to go to my new school. that is a big task, but i cannot really think about it right now until TAKS is over and i am finished with the 8th grade dance. speaking of, the 8th grade dance is somewhat taking over my life. i had a lot of fun with student council, but i am glad to be passing the baton on that one, even though i am sure there will be many more responsibilities awaiting me at my new school. i think this dance is going to be a success though. i have already sold about half of the tickets (the dance is may 8), i have door prizes, decorations, and souvenir photo keychains for all attendees. oh also a crown for the king and a tiara for the queen ... which reminds me i have to have the kids vote on the winner so that i can announce it at the dance. currently student council members are projecting silhouettes of celebrities on to my wall so that they can trace them on to butcher paper. we are going to put the white silhouettes on big black portable bulletin boards and shine spotlights on them. we also have a red "carpet" complete with paparazzi (7th grade hand picked volunteers), about a million foil stars to hang from the ceiling, more stars glued to more black butcher paper to decorate the walls, a walk of fame with stars that have the names of 8th grade athletes and honor students, and a few store bought backgrounds that look like hollywood at night for the photographer and some other key spots. i think it will be cool. yes, i think this much about the 8th grade dance. on a daily basis, i am thinking about things such as: decorations for the 8th grade dance, when to schedule detentions, whose parents i am going to call in the evening, who needs extra credit because they are failing, who will be student of the month, who is exempt from TAKS or taking language accommodated TAKS or taking regular TAKS ... and this has ceased to be weird.
ok that was a lot of rambling. i hope you enjoyed this once-a-month entry!
so i spent today being domestic and working from home. i am working on a side project for TFA and i used pretty much the entire day to get it done. it gave me the idea that working from home would be pretty dang swell. i worked for several hours, took a lunch break, worked for several more hours, went to the grocery store, worked for a few more hours, got dinner ready, and now i am waiting for it to finish cooking and jose to get home so that we can enjoy my spinach and black bean multigrain lasagna! (tangent: aside from the obvious romantic, togetherness and lifelong companionship aspects of marriage, one of my favorite parts of being married is finding new recipes and trying them out on my captive audience.) maybe someday when i have kids that are preschool age, i will take a break from teaching and open a home day care. jose and i were daydreaming about this possibility and he pointed out that an ESL / Special Ed. certified teacher with a master's degree and CPR training would be a good-looking prospect to parents seeking out a day care. i could write a curriculum and probably make decent money, plus watch my own kids at the same time. and i think my good old friend michelle (st. thomas michelle, not michigan state michelle, although both are welcome) would be the perfect person to help me. let's see if she is reading this and approves of this plan. anyway, put that in the "pipe dream" category. (tangent #2 - what does "pipe dream" really mean?)
my graduate class was also canceled for tonight, which is fabulous. two more classes and i will have my master's degree in education! not a moment too soon! although i have truly enjoyed getting to know my cohort and having classes with a fun group of people. remember when i was debating what to do and i chose this program? that was a good decision. i am glad i stayed in houston, for multiple and somewhat obvious reasons. i do not regret that decision at all. God does have a plan and He does put us in the right spot at the right time. six years ago, i never would have put myself where i am, but i love it right now and i know it is right. if my brother got a job here and my parents retired to houston that would be even more fabulous, but things are pretty good for me.
as for school, it is a little crazy and bizarre to be finishing up my time at one school and simultaneously wondering what it will be like at the next one. i start at my new school june 8 for the summer school term, so that is rapidly approaching! that also means that by june 5 i need to be done at my current school and have everything packed up and at my house waiting to go to my new school. that is a big task, but i cannot really think about it right now until TAKS is over and i am finished with the 8th grade dance. speaking of, the 8th grade dance is somewhat taking over my life. i had a lot of fun with student council, but i am glad to be passing the baton on that one, even though i am sure there will be many more responsibilities awaiting me at my new school. i think this dance is going to be a success though. i have already sold about half of the tickets (the dance is may 8), i have door prizes, decorations, and souvenir photo keychains for all attendees. oh also a crown for the king and a tiara for the queen ... which reminds me i have to have the kids vote on the winner so that i can announce it at the dance. currently student council members are projecting silhouettes of celebrities on to my wall so that they can trace them on to butcher paper. we are going to put the white silhouettes on big black portable bulletin boards and shine spotlights on them. we also have a red "carpet" complete with paparazzi (7th grade hand picked volunteers), about a million foil stars to hang from the ceiling, more stars glued to more black butcher paper to decorate the walls, a walk of fame with stars that have the names of 8th grade athletes and honor students, and a few store bought backgrounds that look like hollywood at night for the photographer and some other key spots. i think it will be cool. yes, i think this much about the 8th grade dance. on a daily basis, i am thinking about things such as: decorations for the 8th grade dance, when to schedule detentions, whose parents i am going to call in the evening, who needs extra credit because they are failing, who will be student of the month, who is exempt from TAKS or taking language accommodated TAKS or taking regular TAKS ... and this has ceased to be weird.
ok that was a lot of rambling. i hope you enjoyed this once-a-month entry!