Bread Pizza?

Directions:
Chop some onion.
Chop some green peper.
Chop a few mushrooms.
Slice some sausage (hot dogs in reality).
Spread ketchup on a slice of bread.
Put all the ingredients on top.
Scatter chopped cheese on the top.
Microwave for 7 minutes.
And what do you get? A Korean English class delicacy! (gag)

Snow Canyon Half

Finishing the Snow Canyon Half Marathon was probably one of the most surprising accomplishments of my life. I never thought I would run a half marathon-- let alone WANT to run one. And I doubt I would have done it on my own.

In fact, when my roommate Annika (the one in orange) told me about the race, I thought, "No way." But when she mentioned it again, this incredible feeling came over me: you can do it! And I committed before I could stop myself.

Training was hard. I looked up a schedule online: three 4 miles runs, two days of cross training, one long run, one rest day. Every week. I didn't follow the schedule exactly, but I did run about 4 times a week. And I did four long runs before the race (6 miles, 6 miles, 7 miles, and 9.5 miles). Some days, I thought, "Why am I doing this?" My mom wondered the same thing. I told her that I felt like Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde. One part of me really wanted to do it and the other part did not.

The truth is, I didn't really realize much I wanted to run it, until I thought I couldn't. On the Tuesday before the race, I hurt my foot. I'm not really sure how, but it was bad enough that I limped around Wednesday and Thursday. I was so upset about it, I refused to even talk about whether or not I would run the race. But I thought I probably wouldn't be able to. On Friday, I decided I would go down to St. George prepared to run and just see. After talking to Georgia and Becca I thought I probably wouldn't do it. I didn't want to injure myself. One race is not worth months of injury.

It wasn't until 10 o'clock Friday night that I decided what I would do. I went for a grandma run up and down the street in front of Annelies's grandma's house where we were staying. And my foot felt okay. I decided that I would talk to the race officials in the morning, and ask them what they thought. But really in the back of my mind I knew I had to start that race. There was no way I could get this far without at least trying.

So the next morning, we woke up at 6 am, ate breakfast, drank tons of water and gatorade, and stretched out. At 7:30 we left for the high school, which was conveniently only 4 blocks away. I talked to the race officials, and they said that if I couldn't finish the race, they could pick me up at an aid station in a golf cart. Sounded good to me. So, we got on the bus that drove us to the starting line.

Driving 13 miles is not a good feeling when you know you will be running the whole thing back. But we tried not to think about that. And to be honest, at that point, I still kind of thought I wouldn't have to worry about it. Ha!

When we got to the top, there was a 1/4 mile long line for the port-a-potties and we all had to GO! So it was only as the gun went off that I made it to the start. No time to think, just time to start. Annika ran the first mile with me--down, down, down hill. And my foot felt okay, so I told her she could take off. And she did-- and finished 30 minutes before me! Yeah Anni!

The second mile was good too, and so was the third. By the first aid station, I knew I could finish the race. The two miles uphill were even fine because I was focused on looking for Julianne, Annika, and Allison who were ahead of me coming back down the other direction. I got to high-five all three!

It was the best run of my life: red cliffs, blue sky, and lots of endorphins! I crossed the finish line happy and strong at 2:31:27.

Painting for Grandma

A year ago Grandma O asked me to paint a picture of barn that is near her house in Springville. It only took me a year to get around to it! (sorry grandma) I like this painting because that is the same mountain I can see from Diamond Fork Jr. High where I teach.

Classroom Dynamics

Something that I've learned since becoming a teacher is that you can't judge a teacher based on one class. Some of my classes go so well... and others do not. The mix of personalities in a classroom really makes a difference. So if there is a teacher you hate, take a look around. It might be more than just the teacher's fault.

Timpanogos Temple

I had some requests to post this on my blog, so here it is. This was my summer art project and wedding gift for my cousin Max. I had so much fun painting it. I copied a photograph I found on lds.org and was worried about doing the sky and mountains, but it turned out great! Thanks to Grandma O to helping me pay for the framing!

Miss Sheranian

Here is a picture of me on my first day of school. My roommates were so cute and said I needed to take a picture. Now it's been four weeks since school started, and everything has gone well. I really, really enjoyed the first three weeks. Last week was kind of hard. . . but what do you expect from a bunch of 13 year olds?

Teaching part time is perfect for me, because part-time teaching really means 6-8 hours of work day even though I'm only contracted to work 4-5. So, I'm still very busy working 35 hours a week for this job, plus I started with Eleutian thisweek (teaching Korean kids two nights a week).

And I try to squeeze in a couple hours doing writing/editing. I finally am wrapping up that debtor education course I've been working on for almost 1.5 years. The course is written and under final edit. I just have to write some supplemental materials.

Amazingly, I still feel like I have lots of free time. I run with Lia on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday and go to Institute on Tuesday and Family Home Evening on Monday. . . and hang out with my new roommates in between.

On the down side, I've already gotten sick twice. That cycle needs to stop! I was my hands a lot, but germs seem inescapable at a Jr. High School!!!

These Is My Words

The book club I'm a part of decided, mostly on a whim, to read this novel by Nancy E. Turner. I didn't know anything about the book besides the subtitle, but it turned out to be one of the best books I have read in a very, very long time. Never have I read a novel that taught me so much about life, death, pain, love, marriage, and motherhood. I came away wanting to write more beautifully in my own journal and to live stronger and better. And how could I not love a book with a heroine named Sarah? This is a MUST READ! The love story puts Twilight to shame!

Dinner Group

This summer my roommate Annelies, who is a dietetics major, suggested that we start a dinner group. So we asked around in our ward and formed a nice little group of 3 guys and 5 girls-- that is now 2 guys and 6 girls. Although, a little low on men, this dinner group has been fabulous! We eat together 4 days a week and only have to cook once every 2 weeks. Some highlights have been homemade manicotti, pulled pork sandwiches, enchilada soup, gingerbread waffles, and last night's Hawaiian themed meal. I really enjoy cooking once every 2 weeks. And it's much more fun to cook for a group than just for yourself. Plus, it's a great opportunity to  try new recipes that I know I love, but have never made myself.... like last night's special, Teri Chicken. I think next time, I'm going to make California Roll Sushi! Yum! And then I want to try Chicken Tikka Masala. But both of these are complicated-- and especially with the sushi, difficult to feed 8 people. Do you have any easy, yummy recipes that feed 8?

Sitting in Utah While Teaching in Korea!

For the last month I have been teaching for Eleutian Technology. I co-teach an English class with Jeong Hyunjin (a Korean English teacher) using a program that is similar to Skpe. It is so much fun!

Gangsta Rollin'

So the other day, some friends were over at our house deciding what to do and one suggested Gangsta Rollin'. I'd never heard of it myself, but I guess it consists of riding around the neighborhood on bikes, scooters, or skate boards acting like gangstas in a very un-gangsta sort of way. They needed a boom box though, so I let them borrow mine--an antique from my 12th or 13th birthday, if I remember correctly.

They would need batteries of course, but lo and behold, there were 6 DD Energizer batteries already in place-- from about 10 years ago at family camp! And they still worked!! I didn't actually go on the roll, but I was so amused by the whole ordeal, I had to take a picture (which I hope they don't mind I'm posing here). Honestly, I don't know what to say. It's so bizarre, I'm now speechless.

Smells So Good You Could Eat It!

One thing I love about summer is the roses. A velvety, sweet rose feels so good on my face, I almost want to take a bite! Don't worry, I didn't do it. But I do know you can buy edible flowers to decorate wedding cakes with. And rose oil is supposed to be pretty healthy. They even make supplements from rose hips. So maybe it's not such a crazy idea after all.

P.S. I have 4 blogs on my dashboard and accidentally posted this on the wrong one-- a shared teaching blog with English majors at BYU. Luckily, I caught the mistake quickly! That could have been bad!!

Update

For any of you who care to hear about my life and for some reason may not already know this information, here's the quick update:

• I got a job teaching 8th grade English part-time at Diamond Fork Jr. High in Spanish Fork, UT
• I'm working for a company called Eleutian teaching English to Korean students over the internet.
  
• I'm also working as a technical writer again--still trying to finish up that personal finance course!
• This spring I learned to geocache with my friend Brian and we've found about 20 caches around Provo. (On Friday we went on the Provo river trail and now I have 25 mosquito bites on my legs!)
  
• I got called to be 1st counselor in the Relief Society Presidency in my ward, which I'm really enjoying.
  
• After running a 5k I lost motivation to run, but hope to regain it this week. (The picture is of me on a hike to Stuart falls the same day as the race.)
  
• I'm in a book club with a bunch of really great people.
• After training with Nebo District for 3 days, I'm very excited to become a professional teacher!
• This summer I hope to hike to the top of Y Mountain and Timp and go to Timp caves and maybe even swing another camping trip!
  
• I feel myself changing, growing, and moving forward.
  
• I love my roommates, my friends, my family, my ward, my town, my life!

Job Hunting

Supposedly 2009 is the worst year to graduate from college since the 80s. What luck! I now can empathize with anyone who has looked for a job longer than a month, because that's where I am. Interview 6 and 7 are this week, and I'm hoping they will bring good luck.

It's funny to go to so many interviews because sometimes I wonder if I'm getting better at this game or not. And it really is a game. I swear they try to trick you. In my last interview, the principal asked me, "If you were in our shoes, what would you look for in a teacher?" Fair enough. That's a good question, and I answered it. But then he asked, "How would you be able to tell? How would you know from an interview whether or not the person was what you were looking for?" What would you say? I hesitated and then said, "I don't know." Luckily, he took over from there and didn't force an answer. Whew!

The truth is, that question targeted exactly what I've been thinking about: how well does an interview represent me as a teacher anyway?! I come in, sit down, answer questions as well as I can. But does that mean I'm a good teacher? Really teaching takes so much more: planning, assessing, multi-tasking, classroom management, the ability to understand 13-year-olds. Can you really tell if someone can do that or not from an interview? I'm glad I'm not a principal!

Seven Years of Plenty

On Thursday and Friday of last week I graduated from BYU with a B.A. in English Teaching. Wow! The time since I first arrived as a freshman has flown by! Of course I did have a two-year break when I served a mission in South Africa-- but that included, these past seven years have been unquestionably the best of my life!

I remember being a wide-eyed freshman and thinking there could be nothing so wonderful as college. I lived with my friends, I chose my classes, and I did my homework wherever I wanted. I loved walking around campus, eating lunch by myself in the sun, and meeting friends to study in the library (we had a special spot on the 4th floor in the Asian section). I learned quickly that if you were smart, BYU campus offered lots of free food, interesting lectures, and a million ways to have fun (the best was the Honors Great Works discount cards-- $2 for any show in the HFAC!!). That first year my most memorable classes were HP 200 Freshman Writing with Deirdre Paulsen, MFHD 210 Human Development, and Book of Mormon. I would come home from class every day SO excited to tell my roommates what I had learned. I was such a nerd! :-)

BYU is also the place where I have grown the most spiritually-- as much as my mission or more. It is the place I first seriously studied the Book of Mormon, where I learned that there is no line between study and faith, and where I learned from the lives of those who lived as Christian scholars. I always had faith, but at BYU I learned how to live my faith.

More than anything I will remember the people of BYU. My roommates: Becca, Kelli, Tiff, Aubrey, Abby, Sabrina, Lia, Ashley, Annelies, Amanda B., Amanda S., Jessica, Sarah, Julianne, Jenny, and now Allison. Whew! That is a lot of people!! And each one touched my life and taught me important lessons. At the Humanities Convocation on Friday morning, one of the speakers did a tribute to her roommates at BYU. I thought about how my roommates are tribute worthy and how I will keep in touch with them for the rest of my life.

I will always treasure my two years with Becca, Tiff and Kelli (I was a bridesmaid for all three of their weddings)-- and my third year with Kelli. We had so much fun and got through a lot together. The girls really are fine in 99! And my 2nd year in the Colony (342) with Kelli, Lia, and Ashley was one of the best at BYU. I learned SO much from Lia and Ashley about faith, confidence, and prayer.

My roommates at BYU before my mission were so wonderful, I was worried about returning after all of them had moved on. But I was blessed with even more treasured friends. Annelies who I had served with me in ZA wanted to room together, and that was the best thing ever! I tell Annelies all the time that she's such an easy roommate, my future husband has quite the standard to live up to. Living with her for 2 years straight has taught me so much about listening, love, and letting things go because she listens to me, loves me even when I'm stressed, and lets every dumb thing I do go.

Then there is Jenny. I invited her to live with Annelies and I a year ago, and I had no idea what a blessing for me that would be. We're in the same major, and Jenny started her internship teaching 7th grade 4 months before I began my student teaching. Jenny was my advisor, coach, and counselor as I got through student teaching. She's my current empowerment partner!

The two "random" roommates I've gotten the past two years--Amanda Bagley Lewis and Julianne Dana are both kindred spirits. I don't understand how you can find friends that fit you so perfectly, but these girls do. I feel so strongly we were destined to be friends. I lived with Amanda in Wellington II #32 and then Julianne in Victoria Place II #13, and each holds a special place in my heart. They are "forever friends"!!

And this is just skimming the surface. There have been SO many more dear friends, ward members, co-workers, and professors that have changed my life. BYU has made me who I am today, and just like the student who spoke at commencmenet said, I will never be able to "move on" from BYU. It will always be a part of me. I know there are lots of great univserities in the world, but I can' t think of any that would fit me better than BYU. Go Cougars!


(Note: The title of this blog does suggest that the next seven years of my life will be lived in famine. However, my life before these past seven years was also wonderful, so I really don't think the cycle of bounty and famine is at work in my life.)

Where Does Your Food Come From?

So today I was in line buying groceries at the Walmart in Payson, and the couple behind me had a cart FULL of food. I mean full! It was stacked very neatly about two feet above the edge of the cart. I complimented them on their nice stacking job, and we started chatting. I found out they were from Delta and had family coming into town, hence the abnormally large purchase.

For those of you who may not know, Delta is a small town about 1.5 hours south of Payson, and has no discount stores. In fact, the Walmart in Payson is the closest one. But this is not a blog about the evils of Walmart or large bargain chain stores (sorry Ben).

The guy told me he works at an egg farm (I can't remember if he actually used the word farm or not... maybe it was an egg plant?....wait that's the vegetable. Never mind.). Then he pointed to my Sunny Meadow Farm eggs on the conveyor belt and said, "Those are our eggs." Wow! I had no idea my eggs came from Delta. I told him I ate his eggs all the time and asked him if they supplied all of Utah. He said, "All of Utah and most of California. We process about 900,000 to 1,000,000 eggs a day." At this point my mouth dropped. I asked, "So how many chickens are there?" He said, "We have about 1.2 million birds." (I like how he said birds instead of chickens, lol!) I thought there would have been fewer birds than eggs, but I guess you can't work the chickens too hard.

Anyway, this just got me thinking about how little I think about where my food comes from. I know I ate strawberries from California today, and an Saturday I ate blackberries from Mexico. But where do my bananas come from? Where is my yogurt made? And where are the cows that give the milk to make that yogurt? Something to think about the next time you're at the grocery store.

What Girls Do Best

Recently, Julianne, Annelies, and I threw a bridal shower for Jenny. And we had so much fun doing it! The menu included glazed pears, blackberry chocolate cake, a cheese ball and crackers, apple cinnamon bread, and lemon water. (You really should click on the picture so you can get a better look at that cake!) There were coordinating cups, plates, utensils, and the room was nicely decorated. As we were enjoying the shower, we talked about how boys would NEVER do this. And, in fact, later a friend reported that when she told some guy friends about the party, they said, "Wow, the poor girls that had to plan it!!" She said, "No, they had fun planning it!"

This relates to another idea I've been thinking about-- the power women have to create beauty and show compassion. Elder Uchtdorf talked to the Relief Society about this last conference:

"The more you trust and rely upon the Spirit, the greater your capacity to create. That is your opportunity in this life and your destiny in the life to come. Sisters, trust and rely on the Spirit. As you take the normal opportunities of your daily life and create something of beauty and helpfulness, you improve not only the world around you but also the world within you....You are choice daughters of our Heavenly Father, and through the things you create and by your compassionate service, you are a great power for good. You will make the world a better place."

I don't intend to imply that men cannot be creative and compassion. Indeed some of the most creative and compassionate people I know are men. However, I believe woman have natural capacities to be creative and compassionate in unique ways. i am so grateful to be a woman. There is nothing I find greater happiness in than being creative and compassionate.

A Slice of Humanity

I keep thinking over and over again about how I see a slice of humanity every time I step into my classroom. For 45 minutes at a time, I share lives with 110 other human beings. I'm not sure if my students' lives necessarily represent those of the whole human race, but even though they are 13 and 14 years old, they face the challenges of the world: sickness, pain, death, violence, drug abuse, crime. Usually I feel pretty unaware of the suffering in the world-- or at least I feel like it's far away. But ever since I started teaching, I feel it near.

They have taught me so much. One of my students' mom passed away last week. I didn't know what to do or say, especially when she walked into class for the first time after it happened. But her guy friend, who sits a couple desks behind her just said, "Hey Cherie (name has been changed), Mr. Soandso is really mad at your class for..... blah blah." And they went on to have a friendly conversation about guitar class. I just watched and thought, "Wow! He knows exactly how to act--NORMAL!" And yet, I, a supposedly older and wiser 24-year-old, just stood there awkwardly.

It's just amazing to me how I really do see the whole spectrum of emotion, maturity, and life's problems in my little Payson classroom.

Cell Phone Saga

Since my mission, I have had precisely six cell phones. Six cell phones in less than two years. That is an average of one cell phone every 3.6 months. It has been a blessing and a curse, the consequence of having a company phone (the company my dad works for), but not being part of the company.

The amazing thing is that only one of these six phones was damaged--phone #1. That phone died when it fell out of my pocket as I got out of my car on a stormy day. I didn't know I had lost it until I came back to my car, and it was sitting in the door handle. A kindly person, intending to help, had put it there. But unfortunately, it was the prefect spot to get permanent rain damage.

So I got phone #2. But only a few months later, the company switched from Verison to Sprint. Thanks to my dad, I got a really cute, hot pink Sprint LG. I sold phone #2 to my roommate, who still uses it to this day.

I loved phone #3 with all my heart. It was small. It was pink. It received love texts from a few summer flings. Okay... maybe that's an exaggeration. But after about 6 months of phone #3, the company switched back to Verison, and got us Blackberries--phone #4. Great, right? Well, sort of. I'm not the technosavvy type and was tired of having to reload my contacts into my phone every 3 months. But, hey, it was free. What do you do? So, I buckled down and learned how to use a Blackberry. I gave phone #3 back to Sprint to recycle it. If I only I had known what an ironically tragic mistake that was.

So after a couple months of Blackberry, I find out that, because I'm at the end of the totum pole and the company needs to switch out some numbers, my number AND phone are going to be swapped out. So, I get another blackberry--phone #5, with a new number (luckily only phone number change 1).

So, then we come to phone 6. After two and a half months of phone #5, it turns out that the company needs to terminate my service. So, I signed up for my own cell phone plan with..... Sprint. Yes, back to Sprint. And I got a free phone with the service, luckily. Yes, I was the one who decided to change numbers. I mostly did it because I thought it's time I have an 801 number if I plan on teaching in Utah. But it's such a shame I hadn't kept phone #3, because it was a lot nicer than phone #6.

So that is my cell phone saga. And, ironically, even though it was annoying to change phones so many times in two years, now that I'm locked into a two year contract and am looking towards two solid years with phone #6, it feels like much too long to wait to get a new phone. :-)

Things That Make Me Feel Old

• Two of my students are writing biographies about a famous person who is one year older than I am.
• A guy at FHE told a story about how he and his friends started a school-wide food fight, and I felt sympathy for the administration.
  
• When I went to check out a DVD in the LRC I almost passed as a professor (I wished I could have because then I could have checked it out).
  
• I clearly remember events from 15 years ago.
  

40 Things You May Not Know About Me.. But Probably Do :-)

So, I couldn't think of 100 things. KaRynn did, which is amazing. Forty will do for me. Besides, isn't 40 a symbolic number that signifies completeness or something?

1. I am the only member of my family born outside California. I was born in Utah Vally Hospital-- a BYU baby.
2. In middle school I played the French Horn, and when I was in 8th grade I took tap dance lessons.
3. I did a study abroad program in Nauvoo studying 19th century American lit. We drove from Utah and then toured the east coast starting at Williamsburg and ending in Kirtland, OH.
4. I have had 15 roommates at BYU.
5. I make my bed almost every day. Even if I don't make it in the morning, I make it when I get home from work... sometimes I even make it at night. It's just so much better to get into bed at night when it has been made.
6. I have been an ordinance worker at the Provo Temple every Saturday morning for the past year.
7. In the last couple years I took up oil painting as a hobby.
8. Even though (and perhaps because) I am an English major, I hardly ever read in my free time...unless you count other peoples' blogs or Church magazines.
9. My Grandma Sheranian taught me to knit, but the only project I ever completed was a 1 foot square doll blanket.
10. During the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002, I went to Washington D.C. I went with my mom and my cousin Becca and her mom. Every day we went to museums and memorials, every evening we went to a different mall in the VA suburb we were staying in, and every night we watched the olympics.
11. I haven't lived with TV (meaning standard channels or cable) in the past 3.75 years... and even before that it was on and off.
12. I am closer in age to my mom's youngest brother than she is to him. He's 8 years older than me, and she is 14 years older than he. So I'm good friends with my aunts.
13. I only read the first Twilight book and feel just fine about that.
14. I have to get enough sleep. Or I get mean.
15. I have two quilts on my bed. I pieced one for my laurel project and my mom pieced the other as a post-mission gift.
16. I have been in 5 countries besides the U.S.: Canada (Niagra Falls), England (London airport), Senegal (Dakar airport), South Africa, Swaziland. I know England and Senegal don't really count.... to bad, because I wish I could have seen both those countries. Even my claim to seeing Canada is sketchy....
17. That's right, I've never been to Mexico, even though I grew up a 2 hour drive from the border.
18. I resisted joining facebook for 6 months after my mission, but finally gave in.
19. On my dresser I have a cute picture of my dad kissing my mom on the cheek. I really like it.
20. The other day I bought 5 pairs of shoes at Payless (for $100) but later returned two pairs.
21. I wrote a course on personal finance, but have never balanced my checkbook. Ha ha!
22. Just so you don't get the wrong idea, I have good money sense and have always been a natural saver. I even put birthday money, when I was a kid, into my bank account instead of buying toys.
23. I hate the taste of papaya. It takes like my vomit.
24. Fourteen is my lucky number. I decided it would be when, as a 5th grader, I won a cake walk by standing on the number 14.... but later found out that it's a lucky number according to J.R.R. Tolkein as well.
25. I love animals. If an animal gets hurt, I cry. And puppies, kittens, and bunnies make me more excited than anything.
26. I owe my mother a lot. While pregnant with me, she was put on bed rest for a long time. Then, after I was born, I had really, really bad colic for 3 months and didn't stop crying except to eat or sleep. I hope karma doesn't work in this case.
27. Even though I have lived in my apartment for 9 months, I still can't help but take pictures of Mount Timpanogous. I have taken picture off my balcony probably over 15 different times. The view always changes.
28. I love, love, love dark, dark chocolate. 80% coacoa content Lindt bars are what I'm talking about. It's the real deal.
29. My mind usually works in efficiency mode. I alwasy think about how I can streamline, save time, save resources, save energy, save trouble, make things easier.
30. When I was born, my parents lived on 50 South and 700ish East in Provo... less than a mile from where I live now.
31. I may have been named Rebecca except for the fact that my cousin who was born 2 months before me got that name. :-)
32. Since I began student teaching, I get to practice my Spanish every day with a woman name Alceira who vacuums my room. She barely speaks any English at all. It's funny because I will forget and ask her to leave the door open, or something. Then I realize she didn't understand me at all, and we laugh. She teaches me Spanish, and I teach her English
33. I couldn't enjoy a roller coaster (meaning I refused to ride them) until I was about 16. Even now, I have my limits.
34. I have never gotten a ticket for a moving traffic violation.
35. I did get a $50 parking ticket when I was in L.A. over winter break.
36. I have never fallen asleep in class, watching a movie, or reading a book. Literally. If I'm that tired, I either don't go, or stop reading or watching, and go to bed.
37. I usually drink warm or hot water instead of cold.
38. The only time I was ever hospitalized was when I had my tonsils taken out when I was 7 years old.
39. One of my favorite genres of literature is Latino American lit, especially YA Latino American Lit.
40. My favorite food combination is bananas, chocolate, and peanut butter. Try melting a few chocolate chips, stirring in some peanut butter, and dipping a banana in it. I tell you, it's heaven!

Exahustion

Teaching is so physically exhausting! I told my roommate the other day it's the only profession for which you need a degree to perform manual labor. I was so wiped out during prep, it was only the thought of dirty shoes that kept me from lying down on the floor. Luckly, there was a faculty party after school today. So after some chicken, potato salad, and homemade ice cream, I sprung back to life so I could write two lesson plans and prep my classroom for tomorrow.

But the day brought success. I love the sound of 27 pencils moving on paper. I love it when students show me their work to get approval. I love it when I realize that every single person in the room actually listening to what I say. (It doesn't happen very often and is scary when it does.)

Some of my challenges:
--Teaching enthusiastically after lunch, when I feel more like a nap.
--Knowing how to respond to student behavior.
--Using time effectively if there is an extra 10 minutes at the end of class.
--Giving enough time for the slow students while keeping the fast ones busy! (If you have an answer, please let me know... reading and homework don't seem to work, at least not yet.)
--Feeling confident in front of the class I feel least connected to and most threatened by.

Some things I've learned:
--You can't take your goat to school or all the kids will ride it around. (If you leave it at home, they can' t get your goat.) That one Jenny told me.
--Spelling on a white board is not the same as on a piece of paper.

Now and Then

Now that I have started student teaching, I'm back in middle school/ jr. high every day. It has been quite interesting. It's fun to see what's different... and what is exactly the same.

Different....

• iPods (we thought walk-mans were cool)
  
• cell phones (my friends had pagers)
  
• boys in tight jeans (they were baggy in my day)

Same....

• they still play hacky sack!!
• passing notes
• drama-- oh so much drama!
• people still like Korn
• the boys are still smaller than the girls