Ho hum

Just a normal post today. I haven't updated in a while, so I figured it's about time. I have not a clever thing in my head at the moment - so I will grace you with the day-to-day of little Miss Moody.
School is going well. That is if you consider "feeling like my head is barely above water as I plan lessons, IEP's, assess goals and manage behaviors... and parents..." as going well. There has never been a time in my life where I have needed a Christmas Break more than now! Good thing it is only 7 days away!! My students are great though. Let's see if I can think of any charming things they have done lately: 1) A little second grader enthusiastically wished me a 'Very Merry Christmas!' as he was leaving class. This was last Thursday. I guess some are much more anxious for the break than I! 2) I have one student who thinks it is so entertaining to wait outside the bathroom and scare me when I open the door. It wouldn't be so bad except he is a big 6th grade boy and is taller than me ... we have had a few talks about what is socially appropriate since then. Hmmm.. I'm sure more will come to me later.
How about some news from the dating scene, eh? I don't really talk about this on my blog much - but I have been on a few dates lately which is so nice! I feel like I have been in a humongous dating dry spell and to actually go on several dates within a week is very nice! Although there is nothing really fantastic blooming from any of them, I at least feel like I'm doing something about my lack of social life! ha. And a big thanks for those who have thought to set me up. It really makes me feel good when someone thinks enough about me to recommend me to a friend. Does that sound weird? Well, it is what it is. Anyway - that is what my life is about right now. The 'adventure' continues on! Peace.

I'm not that girl.

Yes, it's true. I went to the 12:31 showing of 'New Moon' the night it came out. Let me 'splain...no, no, let me sum up... My good friend, MJ we shall call her, has a cousin. This cousin has a friend. And this friend (I gather) is in love with Twilight. She rented out a theater for a private showing and then needed people to fill it up. So, MJ invited me to go, and I accepted. One month ago.
I liked the first movie; I've read the first two books; so I thought, "What the heck. I might as well!" Although I only got approximately 3 hours of sleep on a school night and was a walking Zombie the entire next day, I am glad I went. It was a lot of fun! But, lest you think any differently about me, I wanted to assure you that I am not one of "those" fans. And by "those" I of course mean these:

I do not buy ridiculously large blankets with Edwards' pale, pale face on them.

I do not enjoy standing in line for hours to get the newest Twilight book coordinating a black T-shirt and red sash with the rest of my crazy Twilight friends.

I also do not enjoy tatooing the three book logos to my back!!! EW!! Can you even imagine?! I apologize for even posting this image. ew.

That said, please do not be offended if you have done one or all of the above. I'm not judging you - just the crazy things you do.
And now, the favorite parts of the my midnight movie experience are as follows:

1. The 45 year old woman who screamed her head off every time Jacob took off his shirt. (I heard that this actor is only 18? yikes.)
2. Almost being trampled as we entered the theater (even though our tickets were numbered and given assigned seats.)
3. Eating those candy word-hearts (Twilight version) with things like, "I love you for eternity because I'm a vampire and I never die" and "Bite me" written on them. (Ok - so those were heavily paraphrased... I can't remember the exact wording, but you get the idea.)
4. Watching the scene where Alice's vision of Bella as a vampire shows them frolicking in the woods with flowy, pastel colored clothes. EVERYONE in the theater laughed there heads off at this... and I was pleased.
5. It was just fun. If I was going to watch the movie at all, this was for sure the night and the crowd to do it with. So, if you have not seen the movie, I recommend it honestly. Just make sure you go with some crazy fans. It makes it all a lot more entertaining!

I have a problem.

I was looking through some recent and not so recent pictures today and I discovered something tragic. It's a sensitive subject, so please don't make fun. My issue is... I have a dorky-picture-hand. You see, if ever a picture is taken wherein my left hand is visible, the darn thing doesn't know what to do. My hand gets nervous and instead of doing something normal - like hanging limply at the end of my arm - it convulses and moves until it hangs in a rather strange position. Observe:

** Here we see lefty with fingers slightly bent, not sure whether it wants to straighten all the way, or
curl up on itself. Tragedy.

I even tried to cover it with something more attractive, like beautiful Fall leaves.

**See. Weirdo-hand.

Even when I try to do something else, give it a chance to be supported by a hip or side, it still acts bewildered.**See what I mean!? Why must it just rest there as if injured and too sore to move.
Can't it grab a hold of something?

Here it is again. This time jutting out into nowhere for no reason at all!

This one is especially bad. Family photo shoot. Look closely, you'll see what I mean...
And again...**AHHH!

I would appreciate any advise you could give me. I am desperate for help.

And now, we will close this post with a little something from my right hand - who obviously also needs a different kind of help. This was purely accidental, I swear. It is hilarious that it was caught on camera though. And entering the MTC no less....

The Never Ending Story is such a great movie!

And that has nothing to do with this entry. I was just thinking about how much I love that movie.

I feel like I can't blog until I have something interesting to post so my blogging tends to be spread out. That said, I cannot say that I am writing due to something interesting happening - more that I haven't written anything in so dang long. Can my life possibly be that un-interesting? Guess so.

The least (or most rather) I can do is give you an update and exaggerate to make me sound cooler.

School takes up the majority of my time and all of my energy right now. I am learning how to better balance my life so I don't completely burn out which is good. That consists of leaving as soon as my contract time hits and not thinking about school until 5:30 the next morning, at which time I plan my days lessons. Leaving things to the last minute? Maybe. Does it work for me? Definitely yes. My students are super awesome. I love the constant prompting to get my ADD kiddos on task, the incessant re-directing of my always tuned out kids, and saying "no" over and over to my 'I'm-doing-everything-I-can-to-avoid-work' kids. It's fantastic! I actually mean that, though. I'm not trying to be all that sarcastic. It's a lot of work and you must have approximately 6 hands and 4 eyes to do it, but it can be done! This year compared to my last year is a million trillion times more manageable!

In life outside of school we have, well, life stuff. I'm very proud of myself as of late for my better exercising habits! I live about one minute away from the Provo river trail and I love, love to run it often! It has been difficult since my past knee surgery to find something to keep me in shape without playing soccer and running has been a great substitute. The other day while running the trail, I did happen to see a some deer on the trail. Then, right after that, I saw the biggest moose I've ever seen! I just ran on past and it didn't seem to mind. And then, that was my exaggeration ... I probably would have jumped into the river had I seen a moose! ok - I'm not so good at this exaggerating to make things more awesome so I guess it's time to close this post. Thanks for reading! Until next time.

Time Flies!

Whoa. I thought I had barely updated my blog a few days ago and as it turns out it's been more like a few weeks. I don't have a whole lot to report, but I'll try to think of some stuff anyway. Stuff #1) My dad is the bomb dot com. I was whining to him the other day after my car gifted me a big fatty "REJECTED" stamp on my safety and emissions test. It wasn't a gigantic fix, however it started me noticing all the imperfections in little Trudy (that's her name.) I would like to have fixed. My daddy loves to tinker with cars and decided to trade me for a couple of weeks to get it in better shape. Here is a list of the awesome things he helped me with:
- New Bumper! (I knocked a hole in it about 3 weeks after buying it...sad story for another day)
- Glued my "Civic" sign back on
- Fixed my back drivers side door so it now opens from the inside and the outside
- New Spark plugs
- Painted my windshield wiper arms
- New wipers
- New Windshield
- Tightened the oil pan
- Changed the oil
- Replaced sadly torn weather strip on the drivers side window
- Replaced the viser hook-thing that I busted due to an adrenaline rush after being smashed in the eye by a water balloon almost ripping my cornea (yet again, a story for another time...)
- And lastly, cleaned inside and out!

It's wonderful to see how the fixing the little details on an old car like mine could make such a difference. My dad is by far my favorite. I was able to pay for all the repairs, but I wouldn't have known where to take it or how to get the best deals - so for this I thank you dad!

Stuff #2) My principal is a funny guy. I was on a hike Saturday afternoon when suddenly a gray haired man with a big ole camera comes sauntering up the trail. I realized as he passed that it was my boss! I quickly yelled a friendly hello. Pretty sure he didn't even know who I was. Oh well - I'm still new to the school. Then, today at work, he comes wondering into my classroom. It was the tiniest bit awkward, but he proceeded to tell me how weird it was to see me outside of class. He said that it was like when our students see us in real life and think, "Hey! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at school?" Ya, I had a good laugh. Maybe it's just me. It is nice to think that other people actually do see me as a for-real teacher though! haha - it was weird. The End.

I was Robbed!

My car has been with my wonderful daddy this past week so he could give it a look over and price out parts I need to get it in better shape. He called me this morning to inform me that he was very sorry, he had left the drivers side door open last night. As he got in the car this morning, he noticed that my sunglasses had been moved and some papers had been rifled through. Someone had been in my car! He looked around the car, opened the glove box, checked the back seats to discover what had been stolen - and to our great humor the only thing gone was.........a bag of BBQ potato chips! hahaha - thanks robber, for making my day!

Students Say the Darndest Things...

This is a conversation I observed with two second graders in my classroom the other day:

Me: Sam, did you take my timer?

Sam: No I didn't

Isaac: He's lying! Don't lie Sam. Satan is a liar!

Sam: I'm not lying.

Isaac: Satan is a liar. Jesus loves us. Jesus doesn't lie. You need to be like Jesus.

*giggle* They continued this discussion for a moment before I finally composed myself and redirected the conversation. Even if they don't learn a darn thing with me, at least some parents are teaching them correct principles at home, eh?

A New Year! School year that is...

First week of school is officially over! It has been a successful beginning in my eyes. I have about 18 students that I work with - ranging in grades 2 through 6. Ability levels ranging from about 1st to 6th. Most I only see for 30 minutes daily and a few others anywhere from 1 hour to 3 hours a day. Scheduling is always a beast but I think I got it figured out! And it only took me a few days! Just so you know what scheduling involves I must take into account these things before grouping students in half hour blocks throughout the day: recess, PE, specialty classes, General Ed. teacher preferences, student ability level, student peer/age groups (don't want to group a 2nd with a 6th!), what they are serviced for (reading, writing, math), how long they are with me a day, IEP goals... and I think that's it.... haha. Pretty crazy right? Why did I go into this field!

I have fantastic students this year, though. I'm at a new school, new staff, new students - I'm very excited to get going with the curriculem and actually teaching! For these first few days we have only reviewed rules and routined of the classroom - necessary. Boring, but very necessary! So far I have yet to see any behaviors that I can't manage which puts a HUGE smile on my face. I have a lot of hope for a great year!!

I need to take some pictures or my quaint, cute room - hopefully soon. But, to give you an idea - the theme is "Flying High" using hot air balloons :) Love it!

Nothing else new to report really. Mostly my life as of late has been consumed with school preparations, testing, scheduling etc... That said, I actually have been a lot less stressed about everything than I expected! (so far... hope I didn't just curse myself... blast...) I can do my school work at school, do a little bit at home when neccessary and then have time for myself in the evening. It's fantastic!

School Days, school days

I'm not even sure that anyone actually reads my posts, but here is a brief update of whats going on anyway!!

I got back from a fantastic vacation to Saipan a couple of weeks ago. My trip included para sailing, snorkeling, laying on the beach, collecting seashells and eating great food! It was much needed - it was hard to come back to real life. Which brings me to the 'what's going on in real life' segment of my post.... School! I will begin teaching at Hillcrest Elementary school on August 17 so I have been preparing by attending all sorts of meetings! I went to Core Academny for three days of curriculum training in Math which was a lot of fun/gave me good ideas. Then I moved on to the New Teacher training provided by the district. Soo great! It took a lot of time and energy (8:30-3:30 for 7 days) but I was happy for the great training! I'm feeling a lot better about taking over the resource class at my new school and confident that I will be well prepared....or at least as well prepared as a first-and-a-half year teacher can be!
I have been in my classroom preparing for the past few days, but I still have a ton of things to do! I'm now down to about 10 days, so I hope I can squeeze in everything I need to!

I will be going on a campout in St. George this weekend with some friends - so I do get on last hoorah before hitting it hard in the classroom.

Well - I didn't promise anything exciting to say, so I hope no one is dissapointed! I'll try to post some pictures next time, or change my font, or something.....you know... to keep all my readers coming back for more... haha.

Pictures!

Saipan continues to be sunny, beautiful and so relaxing! Yesterday I saw the biggest blow fish I've seen yet! He was about the size of a football. He came lumbering out of the coral, took a lazy look around and after deciding there was nothing worth seeing, floated back into his hole. I also saw another bright blue star fish hugging on for dear life to the top of a spiny orange coral. All five arms were wrapped tightly around it as if the waves were going to sweep him away at any minute. Snorkeling is my favorite part of the vacation thus far! I wish I could take pictures of the things I see underwater. Here are some pictures of everything above the water!

Coral Shark swimming in the pond at the resort

The Palms Resort where we're starying

Palm tree :)

Boonie dogs (wild dogs) live all over the island

Heather and I at Tank Beach

Mom, Heather and I got manicures

The Saipanda! Not sure why the panda has a banana for a nose...

We went to a street market to get yummy island food and buy fun things

There's a lizard in there...

View from my beach chair... this is the life!

Can you believe that I'm at the beach everyday and I'm still this white? Ya, me too.

View of the island from it's highest point, Mt. Topachau

Heather, me and Aaron on Mt. Topachau

Sorry the pictures are small and kind of fuzzy... I couldn't get it to work right... I'll try to fix it.

I'm here!!

I finally made it to Saipan! Getting on the dang plane was a mess - but I managed (with the help of a feisty older sister with a baby) to get my ticket switched and I have been here now for a few days! For a brief recap of what happened at the airport: Got to the bag check-in 1 1/2 hours before scheduled flight, waited in line for a looong time (as airline was waayy understaffed), talked with bag check-in lady who didn't know what to do with my Northwest international flight due to recent merge with Delta, waited some more until she finally re-directed us back to the kiosk, got to the kiosk to scan ticket - was 2 minutes late and the system wouldn't check me in, talk to lady-who-knew-nothing again, redirected to first class where we were told "someone" could get me through, waited more, talked to super defensive ornery old guy, redirected again, missed my flight, rebooked with nice tongan lady (finally someone helpful!), got new tickets for the next day, cost me an extra $250. Whew...sorry that was probably a pain to read - but I didn't feel like rehashing the whole story. It was a blessing I had my big sister with me to help fight with the staff and get me where I needed to go! I couldn't believe how unhelpful everyone was. I only missed the check in by 2 minutes and wouldn't have missed it had the first lady known what she was doing. I guess what matters now is that I am here in Saipan safe and sound.

I don't have my camera to post pictures yet, but I will have some up soon. This place is beautiful! We are at The Palms Resort which has a botanical garden/jungle, tons of fish in a stream surrounding the resort, hibiscus/plumeria/fire tree flowers galore, and a big smimming pool all resting on the edge of the ocean shore. It could not get more perfect than this! I went snorkeling for the first time yesterday and saw soo many mutli-colored fish! There are also an abundance of sea slugs - my goal is to not step on one while I'm here. So far, so good! Today while snorkling my favorite was a whole school of tiny vibrant blue fish that floated out and in from the coral like a synchronized swimming act. Soo neat! There are also as many hermit crabs as there are grains of sand. Every shell I pick up to add to my collection must first be examined - 80% of the time there is a tiny crab still living inside.

We have mainly stayed at the resort so far - but soon we will go to other beaches and check out more of the island. Next time I will post pictures - promise!

Ads For Africa

You may notice that 'ad' bar on my blog now... here's the deal... Check out this website: http://ads4africa.org/
I just noticed this site and thought it was pretty great how even us small-time bloggers can help raise a little money for people in poverty who need the help. Visit the site to find out more.

And also.... two more days until I leave for Saipan!! Two!! This is how excited I am.



Yippee!!

If you like Pina Coladas...

K - don't ask about the title. I never know what to write in that little box - and since I will be discussing (or rather exclaiming!) about a tropical island today, and Pina Coloda's sound tropical to me... eh... just skip this part, ok? I'm not making any sense.

Can I just say that I am soo excited for Thursday! I may have to blog about it every day just to pass time and hope it comes faster. I leave on a jet plane Thursday afternoon for tropical paradise! For those of you who don't know, my father got a 'side' job (is that what to call it? I don't know...) working for a man who owns a resort on a little island called Saipan. Apparently the US owns this island (who knew! I sure didn't) and this man, we'll call him Russ (because that's his name) owns a gigantic resort. He had a couple telescopes installed sometime in January for locals and vacationers to enjoy, but he didn't exactly know how to work them. He needed an expert on telescope-working......enter my daddy.

(that's him...and me also...)

Since Professor Moody (that's my dad) is an astronomer and also is very cool, he decided he could sacrifice some of his time to live out there for a few weeks and get the scopes running. Sacrifice...that was a joke. Get it? Tropical Island? Anyway...

That was in February - and because Russ loved them so much, he wanted my dad back again! And this time, he agreed to pay for the rest of the family to fly out on our own time, too!! Isn't this fantastic? My turn comes this Thursday - I get to fly first to Tokyo where I will have a 4 hour layover and then on to Saipan. I believe the total trip will be around 24 hours. That's a long time - and I'm a little nervous about traveling alone - but I hear that the Japanese people are so anxious to talk to Americans and use their English that I won't have a problem finding someone to help me get to where I need to be. I've also heard that the information they give may not be accurate, but my plan is to talk to many people and follow the most common answer to get to my connecting flight. It's going to be soo great! This will practically be my first time going anywhere foreign! (an hour in Canada doesn't count.... Jersey almost counts, but...nah...) Wahoo!!

Here are a few pictures of Saipan just to get ya'll jelous:








*Sigh" I can't wait! Hey, do you guys want me to bring you back anything? I can totally do that. Let me know! And for real, I'll do it...

Visit to the Ohio!

Update. What's going on in my life? Well, not a whole lot at the moment. I did just get back from a trip to The Ohio to see my brother, Stephen. We got to do a bunch of things that only Ohio could provide such as: Tour around Ohio State Campus, visit the Columbus Zoo, scenic drive/visit to Amish country, hear my brother speak in church, celebrate Steve's birthday, visit a GIANT corn field (and it's not what you're thinking either), and eat at Jenny's (this great little ice cream shop with exotic flavors like Thai Chili and Salty Carmel) I got Lavender, Pear Sorbet, and one more... can't remember... It was an awesome trip! My cousin Katie and her husband and two cute kids were also visiting so I got to spend some time with them too! All in all, I had a lot of fun. My aunt and uncle let me stay at their place while they were, ironically, visiting Utah - that was sooo wonderful. I didn't have to worry about a hotel or food or anything like that. Made for a pretty stress free trip.
I was also very excited to ride a plane for the second time in my life! I know I am 24 and a college graduate - but I was pretty nervous to attempt a plane ride by myself. I am proud to announce that it was completely successful. I didn't even get lost once - even during my layover in the Chicago, O'Hare airport. That place is HUGE! I met some nice people on the my flights and one even gave my an Ohio State hat! Brand new, never been worn - he informed me that if I stepped onto Ohio soil without it, I would get beat up... *gulp* I accepted it graciously :)
What else can I blab about on here? I'm just relaxing and enjoying my free time this summer with no commitments and no school or work. I am trying to find ways to occupy my time until our family trip to Saipan. If you have any suggestions, let me know! I would like to find some humanitarian/service oriented type things to do - but I'm not sure what. Maybe I'll look up how to crochet those leaper bandages or something.... hmm...

Amish Country! Saw tons of little farms like this one

Horse and Buggy

Gorilla! They came right up to the glass!

Steve in some misty place at the zoo. I thought it was cool.

Penguins :)

Happy!

I love my roomates. I love my new ward. I love my apartment. I'm loving life!

Just had to post how good things are for me right now. I needed a change but was worried about where, when, if I was making the right choice. I just decided, went for it, and I know this is the place for me. It's only been a couple of days and one Sunday of meeting people, but I know...it's going to be a fantastic summer.

(thanks Em for helping me find this place. Perfect.)

Blog Title

I think I want a better name for my blog. I picked "Miss Moody" because that's who I was for the past year with my students. Does anyone have any other ideas? I'm still new to the blogging world and need all the help I can get :)

Change

I moved in to my new place yesterday. It's mixed feelings for me at the moment. I really loved being at home with the family for a while and my stake singles ward was the bomb.com. But, being 24, single and finished with school I felt like I needed to be more independent once again and make the courageous move to P-Town. I signed a contract here at Millrace Condos and so far it's great. My room is nice and big and PRIVATE (which is a must). Rent is doable. Roommates seem pretty cool (although I've only talked to them briefly). I've been hearing only good things about the ward and the place, so I'm psyched to finally be out again and doing my own thing.

Overall, I'm feeling good about the move. However, change always brings certain anxieties: Meet new people, establishing yourself in a new social scene, put yourself out there, make new friends, get involved with the ward, change your routines, live in a new and unfamiliar place etc.. I know what I'm getting myself into - I've done this too many times to be surprised - I just hope with this recent change, life can start taking off for me again and I can get to that happy place I'm looking for! So ready or not, here I come!

Time to go

I cleaned my house for 7 hours yesterday! That's a long time - but it was way worth it. My mom was working hard trying to get the yard into shape - so I worked on the inside all day. Don't you think it is the best feeling in the world to just dig in and get something really clean? It was a very satisfying day.

And that was probably my last time having a cleaning spree at my home home for a while. I've been living in AF with the family for far too long now. I love them to death - and for real it's awesome not to pay for rent or food and to have family around .... all the time .... but it's time to go now. I'm still not sure where I'm moving to, but I've heard a lot of good things about a place called Millrace Condos in Provo. My school next year is borderline Provo/Orem so this is a good place as it is located in North Provo. I have yet to go check out the place with my own eyes, but I'm thinking it will be the winner for now.

The Little Stinker

Babies are gross. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE babies and little kids, but sometimes baby stuff is still kind of "throw-up-in-my-mouth" disgusting. Here is a little story to show you what I mean.

I got to sit with my nephew the other day at Em and Mike's place. He woke up from his nap shortly after I got there and as I picked him up and took him to the living room I noticed he was a little soggy-bottomed. No big deal - I never mind changing diapers. I plopped him down on the floor thinking it was just a really wet one. WRONG. He had a complete blowout!! I only had wipes and a new diaper there with me in the living room so to prevent it from leaking all over the carpet, I hurriedly stripped the babe and wrapped the nastiness in the new diaper. Andrew was just enjoying the whole show! He was being squirmy and gabby but as soon as the clothes came off he went nuts! I attempted to grab him up (meanwhile getting baby poo all over my arm) and raced him to the bathroom sink. *Whew* Fortunately I found a towel quickly, got the sink turned on, and began wiping the excess from off his back etc. Now, Em's sink splashes pretty fiercely, so when I noticed the water on the floor I didn't think much of it .....until I began to feel wet warmth starting from the front of my shirt down to the knee of my pants. Turns out while I was worried about getting him cleaned off, he decided he wasn't done! Pee all over me. I looked at that little face and he let out a loud giggle! I let him finish his business (all over me), wrapped him in a towel, and got him diapered and dressed. Oh my grossness! But all too funny to care.

The culprit.

Teacher Thoughts

The end of the school year is finally here! These past few weeks have seriously been the longest weeks of my life - waiting for a break. My student teaching and this past semester as a "real teacher" have been quite a challenge for me. I've learned that teaching is nothing like what they told me it would be at BYU.

Classroom management is key to having a successful teaching experience and I have definitely not mastered this concept yet! For the past year my lack of management success has stressed me out big time. I have been unable to really enjoy the students and the teaching like I thought would. (I figured this would come naturally... not true...for me at least :) ) At times, I have been terrified to come to class worrying that I will lose control of the students, end up yelling at them, and then crying my eyes out as soon as they leave.

Now that the end is here, I have been able to finally relax. My students come sparatically, they are happy to almost be done, and class time is very low key as far as actual instruction goes. We mostly play 'educational' games. (I guess this is the nature of resource with end of the year activities, dance festival, assemblies, and field trips). I've had a chance to reflect on some of the good times and the moments that have made this struggle seem worth it. I mean, part of me thinks it is insanity that I have accepted a job this coming Fall despite my struggle to make it through this year! But somewhere deep in there I know that it is moments like these that make it all worth it:

Funny moments:
- "I scream like a girl. But that's only for emergencies." said by a third grade boy
- "Miss Moody! I have 34 scratches!" (said proudly) "But you have more than me!" "I do?" "Yep, on your face!" (referring to my acne!! hahah)
- "Miss Moody, are you still in high school?" I don't think I will ever look old enough to be teaching...
- "How old are you, Miss Moody?" "How old do you think I am?" Answers ranged from 17 to 40... oh man. I guess I look old enough to some students.
- "Why did you put your hair like that? You should wear it down."
- "I like it better when your hair is in your face." (meaning my bangs shouldn't be pinned up)
- "You are my most beautiful teacher!"
- "I like your class a lot Miss Moody!" "Oh, thank you!" "Ya, you give out lots of candy." (during my bribing phase. Not really proud of the reason why they liked me..haha)
- Written in a note: "Thanks for all you do. You teached us a lot!"

But really it's for these reasons:
- Seeing a student finally understand a concept
- When all students pay attention and answer questions at the same time! (Even if it only lasts for 2 minutes)
- Talking to a student about his behavior and seeing him make the effort to actually change!
- Laughing and joking
- When a lesson goes exactly the way I planned it to! (few and far between, but at least I know it can happen)
- Seeing one student help teach another a concept he just learned himself
- Being able to help my students see happiness in life when many of them struggle with so much outside of school

I don't know how much difference I have made this year, but I am grateful for the experiences I've had. Oh boy it's been hard! And I am glad to have a summer in between, but I really am excited to start fresh again at a new school, at the start of a school year, with all of this knowledge and new ideas of how to change for the better.

Fancy Blogs

I'm having a grand ole time searching through free backgrounds and finding out how to customize my blog.  If anyone has any tips for me, I'm all ears for advice! 

I've Succumbed

Well hello Blog World!  I've decided to join the craze and begin blogging.  I love blog stalking everyone else, so I figured it was about time I created one myself.  I have always felt like "blogs" are for young married couples and thus counted myself out - but it seems to be a fantastic way to keep up on my friends lives who live near and far and whom I don't hear from otherwise.  So, here I sit!  I hope I can find enough interesting things about my life to entertain those who might read this - otherwise ya'll are just going to get a whole lot of rambling.  I don't even know how well I will keep it up, but we'll see...