Apologizes.

Well, I am officially horrible at this.

Life is C-R-A-Z-Y right now. School is back in full swing. Baby showers and wedding showers are everywhere. I am, of course, still surrounded by these wonderful ladies and gentleman I get to call my friends and family. Football season is here (hence the pretty pic from our pressbox). Fall weather is in the air, and I am one happy girl. Details to follow.

The Intimidation Factor

Thank you LeBron for ending the agony of wait. Stupid..........

Summer is coming to a screeching halt for the DC area. Students and teachers alike are preparing for the big comeback on August 2nd. Some people in other professions have strong opinions about teachers and our complaints about salaries and time off. My thoughts on these opinions (put nicely) are #1. Give it a try it and see how much recovery time you need. #2. Even though it seems like we work from 8-3 during school, trust me, that is NOT the case. Some days I will come home and grade papers until midnight. That's not including Homecoming week where I only get close to 7 hours of sleep in 5 days. (Why do I do this again? Oh yeah. That's right. B/c I pretty much love it.) Most people work hard regardless of their profession, but I feel like I have to defend mine sometimes due to the negative connotation surrounding the large amount of vacation time. Teachers will be returning a full week earlier for in-service. I had no clue what in-service actually was as a student. I've come to realize I really don't know now, as a teacher what it is. J/k. Sort of. Truth be told, I actually enjoy working with students way more than adults. (Sidenote: I LOVE my teaching family. Kids are just easier for me to deal with. Hence why I'm a teacher.) Because I have been a Peggy Procrastinator ALL summer I will be working round the clock next week getting my classroom and curriculum ready. I am usually really on top of things as far as my curriculum is concerned. I have been trying to figure out why that has NOT been the case with English 3. I have come to the conclusion that it is because I am SO intimidated by these standards and curriculum. I'm teaching Gatsby and persuasive writing for goodness sake! 11th grade is my dream job. I just didn't think I would have it year 3 of teaching. Fear of failure is a huge issue for me, and this class is highlighting that fact. Whine much? Apparently. Looking forward to the challenges to come though.

The good. The bad. The ugly.

It's been forever since I blogged, so here's a quick synopsis. I'll try to do better. Promise.

The good:

PURCHASING AN AMAZON KINDLE. vacation. being home from vacation. seeing my grandmother and my mom. the iPhone 4 even though I don't own one. new home decor from Hobby Lobby. having Mazatlan after having none for 2 weeks. making up for lost time with understanding, loving, true blue friends. Victoria's Secret AND Bath and Body Works Semi-Annual Sales. The Rescue Me AND the Entourage season premieres: genius.

The bad:

a dear friend's loss. recovering from cellulitis. Pugh's recovery from her emergency surgery. family reunions (I mean that in the nicest way possible.) not doing lesson plans while on vacation which was the plan. the 1st 2 episodes of the new True Blood season.

The ugly:

no more World Cup for Team USA. a sneaky, quick mouse in my living room. my bank account due to vacation and other irresponsible decisions (see Kindle.) painting 2 bathrooms. trying to hang pictures but really only leaving holes in the wall. the awful dish water blonde color the sun has turned my hair.

Bittersweetness

It's been awhile so prepare for a doozy (oh yeah. it's a word. google it.) of a blog. Recent updates: #1. graduation was great. Emotional but great. Jordan got all of her hair cut off, so she looks more like me now. Just like old times. #2. last week of school=depressing b/c I get too attached. #3. got my tax return FINALLY. #4. Sex and the City 2 premiere is this week!

Further explanations follow:

I am now celebrating the end of the school year with my Literature counterpart Candy (calling her this is way more fun than her real name anyways.) Mexican food, episodes of The Big Bang Theory, along with each other and Jose's company is a pretty sweet closing of work for the next 2 months. We finished out the school year with students ALL day yesterday at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. Not a bad trip I must say. Holiday World is SO clean and economically pleasing. Stations with free drinks and free sunscreen AND lunch and dinner combined was only $10. The majority of us old folk were serious fans of the water park which is where we spent the majority of our time. I am sad to see these kids go on, and I have enjoyed them so much, but I am also happy for them to begin their high school journey.

Not only are they leaving but so am I. This time last year I was absolutely devastated to be leaving DCHS. I began my teaching career surrounded by teachers I had admired so much in high school. Not only are they great teachers, but they're even better colleagues and friends. Due to schedule changes and all the craziness that was the DC school system this year, I was placed at Dickson Middle School 8th grade Language Arts. I was determined to make the best of it. Little did I know it would introduce me to my "mammasita," a new best friend, and an amazing group of 8th grade kids. I have learned so much about myself as a person and a teacher. I know this year has made me better at being both. Basically lost my mind emotionally during lunch Monday when Candy gave me a notebook of letters (pictured above) that our kids wrote to me. Tear? Oh to say the least. She also made me a picture book from pictures throughout the year. Awesome.

3 years teaching=2 different schools and 3 different classes, so it's only natural that I will be heading back to the hill next year to teach 11th grade English. I'm a little nervous to say the least. I plan on spending the majority of my 2 week vacay at Rosemary Beach working on lesson plans and trying to be as prepared as possible. We'll see if that actually happens. Regardless of the stress involved, I feel like this is the best thing for me right now.

Absolutely obsessed with the new B.O.B and Hayley Williams (Paramore) song "Airplanes."

On a balcony in summer air...

Attended the movies with close to 300 8th graders yesterday. Just in case anyone EVER thinks that's a good idea, DON'T. It was re-donkulous. Regardless of how stressful it was, it was a celebratory field trip. Explanation: 8th graders take a state TCAP Writing Assessment every year. This was one of the defining reasons why I was super stressed about being an 8th grade teacher. Dickson Middle has some of the best test scores in the state. Big shoes to fill? Absolutely. Long story short: for 2 straight months my kids and I worked our tails off to prepare for the Feb. test. To make a stressful situation 10 times worse, we were out for snow a full week before the test, and the test was rescheduled. Test taken. Fast forward 2 MONTHS, which was how long we had to wait for test scores. (Drum roll please........)

25 scores of 6 (the most EVER at DMS) 43 scores of 5, 49 scores of 4, and only 2 scores of 3. I'm never one to feel comfortable enough to toot my own horn, but seriously? Who would've thought? Definitely not me. So, toot toot. Whatev.

(Eventually I will get to the purpose of this babbling.)

Anywho, back to the movies. All students who made a 4,5,or 6 got to go to the movies. Hence, how I ended up there w/ the entire 8th grade. A teacher needed to be in every theatre for chaperoning purposes. Because of this, I ended up in "Letters to Juliet." Really? Lame. SPOILER ALERT-Regardless of the romantic comedy BS that made up this movie, there was a really nice historical basis that I, as an English teacher, especially appreciate. Really cool aspect of the movie: women flock to Verona, Italy to visit Juliet Capulet's (THE Juliet of "Romeo and Juliet") former estate so they can write letters to Juliet about love and lose. There are then a group of women dubbed Juliet's Secretaries that write all of these women a return letter from "Juliet." As if my need to go to Italy and the rest of Europe wasn't overpowering enough. I need some romantic European customs in my life to rid myself of my realist attitude.

"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I never saw true beauty till this night." -Romeo and Juliet

My Top 10 Obsessions at the Moment

#10. Coke Zero

#9. Holiday World. Explanation: we're taking our kids May 25th, and I LOVE amusement parks, so I am technically more excited than they are.

#8. Fossil watches. They're my drug of choice along with sunglasses. I need an intervention.

#7. The outdoor fire pit my bro recently constructed. It's small and inexpensive, but it has accounted for some good chats and good times. Unfortunately, it is at his house not mine.

#6. The J. Crew bathing suit shown. Need it in my life.

#5. MUSIC in general, but especially the following right now: Old school John Mayer (i.e. "Back to you," "Man on the Side," "Love Soon," and "Love Song for No one")

Angel Taylor (if you don't know her, iTunes her)

Lady Antebellum (I'm pretty sure their new CD was written for/about me)

The new Usher CD (don't judge.)

#4. The 11th grade English standards, which I will be eating, sleeping, and breathing until next Fall. 3 years of teaching=3 different classes/grades. Why would next year be any different?

#3. Since I have been teaching I have not had a ton of time for t.v. That has changed lately. The following shows and their characters have become a serious part of my life:

True Blood- don't.even.get.me.started. That is a whole blog in itself

Parenthood- even though I feel like a middle-aged soccer mom for liking it, I can't help it. Good, quality entertainment.

American Idol-duh?

Mercy-gotta give props to KP for bringing this into my life. However, SUPER po'ed about the season finale last night.

#2. The Sookie Stackhouse novels, the books that True Blood is based on. OMG. They are such a guilty pleasure, but I'm a pushover anyways.

#1. So cliche, but I am a sucker for quality time w/ those who know and love me these days. Friends, fam, co-workers, etc. Instead of a lot of going out, friends and I have been spending quite a bit of down time together just chatting and sorting out our lives :) Good times. Love these people.

This blog is making me realize how unnecessarily wordy I am. My students must hate me.

The reason I teach...

Something a student of mine wrote:

What happens when I get mad.

Keep the anger flowing near like whiskey, liquor, and your beer. Take me down the beaten path. Try to destroy me with your wrath. Tie me up and shut me down. Through your doors my fists will pound. A psycho lonely and depressed. Till you're satisfied will not rest. Ever corresponding with evil's work. Around the corners your henchmen lirk. You can't defy the great I AM. Apologize as loudly as you can. Your time is coming, drawing near. Your "friends" conveniently disappear. Justice shall and has always prevailed. The land and even where I've sailed. Mighty thunder crashes in. He's now aware of all your sins. You hurt me once, can't do it again.

School appropriate? Not at all. This amazes me because I'm pretty sure I couldn't produce this at 24, and an 8th grader wrote this. I. LOVE. IT.

Rude Boy

So I was walking into a local department store today, and there was an older gentleman in front of me. As he opened the door to enter the store, I was digging in my purse for my cell phone while not paying a bit of attention. I assumed (incorrectly) that this gentleman would hold the door for me. However, I was wrong, and I basically ran head first into the door. Seriously?

To say that I am "old-fashion" is ridiculously far-fetched. On the other hand, I am a southern girl who appreciates the small things. I do not need car doors to be opened/closed, nor do I demand that meals always be paid for by males. However, I'm a huge fan of chivalry in the form of door opening. In other words, doors NOT slamming in my face.

I pride myself in passing this characteristic on to my 8th grade boys I teach. The only reason they do it is because I tell them that it impresses girls. Now that we're approaching the end of the year I LOVE seeing them be gentleman. Doing my small part to keep chivalry alive.

Day #3 of being out of school due to flood waters. Still CANNOT believe this has happened.