holy moly

Several exciting things this fine Wednesday afternoon:

1. We booked our honeymoon! Leaving CA on Tuesday, July 28 we will fly to Maui, drive the Road to Hana, and stay at the beautiful Hana's Heaven until Thursday. Then, we will check into my family's condo on Ka'anapali and stay for another beautiful week full of snorkeling and sun and all around fabulous good times. I am so excited already!

2. Spring Break. Cruise to Mexico. Enough said.

3. Last night I purchased software for my computer for the first time ever. I am so unbelievably obsessed with MacGourmet, it's kind of ridiculous. Brian watched in amazement as I clipped (hundreds of!) recipes that I have saved in my Delicious into the most ingenious software that is, essentially, iTunes for foodies. I am in heaven. The best $25 I have ever spent, hands down.

4. I should be expecting my photography contract to arrive in the mail any day now! Two months until engagement photos - hooray!

5. I have been running with my soccer team and I feel like I will look hotter in my dress already.

6. Brian updated our wedding website (which I cannot access on the school server- lame). "His story" is pretty adorable.

this rut that i fell into

A first-year teacher from Iberia, Missouri just emailed me to ask for my point-of-view worksheets which she found the instructions on my student-teaching webpage through Google. Also, I just realized that the abstract for my thesis has been published on the School of Education Inquiry Projects page. I'm like a famous teacher person or something.

sweetness

Some cute things from my students yesterday.

Adri left this note on my board while I was heating up my lunch:


And Sonja made this in MS Paint during 5th period while the rest of the class watched Goonies (it was Career Fair Day, so no actual teaching got done):
Alright, so the grammar and spelling leave something to be desired. Perhaps more time should be spent teaching and less time introducing my culturally deprived students to works of cinematic genius from the 80s? Oh well. All together now: "Aawww."

sledgehammer

This year I want to simplify my life and I am trying to do so by being more organized. Consequently, I spent much of today's work day in my classroom cleaning, and filing, and organizing, and throwing away crap I don't need. I have also cleaned my bathroom, put away all my laundry immediately after washing it, loaded the dishwasher, and decided that I do not have to grade every single assignment my students turn in.

I feel better already.

this could be

New wedding-related posts up at Weddinged! Mom and I have accomplished a lot in these last two weeks. I'm so excited for July!

My time in the Bay Area is up and I have to drive back to Sacramento tomorrow morning. Unpacking, lesson planning, and finals grading will take up Sunday afternoon and all day Monday, and then I see students again (including my brand-new 1st period with 32 new students!) on Tuesday. I am trying to psyche myself up to be back in the classroom after the debacle that was the last two weeks of last semester. At first, I was telling myself, "Only 18 more weeks, and then you can get a new job in a new school with new students and new co-workers," but I realized that that's not the best attitude to take. I do, after all, have to teach this job at this school with these students and these co-workers for another 18 weeks and I don't want to be miserable and counting down the whole time. I need to remind myself why I enjoy teaching and remember that second semester is so much easier and way more fun. Poetry, Odyssey, and Romeo & Juliet, plus a unit on Brave New World for the Advanced kids. Honestly, second semester is my dream job. Plus, I'll be coaching and it's always nice to see students in a context outside of the classroom.

Brian is stressed out about his Master's (but wasn't I at this time last year too?), so I'll be in charge of cooking comfort food dinners and orchestrating coffee house weekends coming up. Plus, you know, planning my wedding.