I'm feeling fairly accomplished that I have kept up with every day of the picture challenge while teaching and planning for six classes a day. It usually makes for 10+ hours of work a day. Whew. I'm tired, and it's only Tuesday. Unfortunately all of my pictures were taken inside of my house because in this land of no-cell signal, I forget I even have a cell phone at school. #ain'tgotnotimeforthat.
Here's the highlight:
Light- It's a video of my oh-so-adorable cat Scout playing with her favorite laser light.
Tradition- This one was kind of lame. I took a video of our daily grammar practice for class. We do have a "tradition" of doing it every day. Basically the students have one sentence a week and do something different with the sentence each day. They dislike it, but I see them learning very slowly.
Morning- I didn't get out of bed early enough to get a sunrise like I wanted to since this was a weekend morning.
Winter beauty- It hasn't exactly been winter like outside yet, except for some dreary cold and rainy days, so I took a video of my newly "planted" Christmas tree. I'm extremely proud of Scout for not destroying it yet, although I caught her in it today.
Homemade- I would love to say I made some homemade cookies for this day, but alas that didn't happen. I was admiring my homemade ornaments that I'm finally able to hang on a tree.
To-Do List- I always have a to-do list. Sadly I didn't have a written one this time, but I do have an on-going list of vocabulary and classroom management techniques to try.
I've been at Oneida for over a month now, so it would seem logical that I would have made a blog post by now. Alas, it hasn't happened. Overall, I'm extremely grateful for the opportunity to be here and to serve Jesus.
I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service (1 Timothy 1:12)
I realize that my first year of teaching anywhere would be difficult, but being here is just a little bit better because I am surrounded by like-minded people and I'm able to freely share my faith. I also really enjoy the break after 3rd period for chapel, which definitely wouldn't happen at a public school.
This is not to say that my time here has not been met with its own share of difficulties. I've had to adjust to a different pace of life, learn to live with less internet and cell coverage, find my niche in an established community, balance the demands of first-year teaching, try to say no to some opportunities, build a support system, learn two curriculum, develop tougher skin, and make time to simply rest. If you know me even a little bit, that last one is very difficult for me because I tend to run myself dry.
Through it all, God has provided. I have found ways to communicate with the outside world, learned to appreciate the good conversations and the loneliness, learned to keep the books for volleyball games, given up on creating everything from scratch, listened to student complaints without second-guessing my decision, and found a good walking path. I'm still learning every day and finding that the best advice about the classroom and adjusting to this life comes at the least expected moments.
It's been a journey thus far, and I expect the journey will continue throughout this year and for however long God keeps me here in Oneida. If you're looking for something to pray about, ask God to continually give me patience, tenacity, love, and his eyes as I teach these students about English and God.
This poem is for Martha S. and anyone else who loves the elderly.
Old Folks Laugh
They have spent their content of simpering, holding their lips this and that way, winding the lines between their brows. Old folks allow their bellies to jiggle like slow tambourines. The hollers rise up and spill over any way they want. When old folks laugh, they free the world. They turn slowly, slyly knowing the best and the worst of remembering. Saliva glistens in the corners of their mouths, their heads wobble on brittle necks, but their laps are filled with memories. When old folks laugh, they consider the promise of dear painless death, and generously forgive life for happening to them.
The latest craze is Pokemon Go. Just as I didn't give in to Flappy Bird, Yik Yak, or any of those dating apps, I don't plan to download Pokemon Go. Anyway, I can understand the game vicariously through my friends. Other people can feel free to play the game (power to them), but I'm going to choose to let this phase pass me by (or I'll jump on it a few months down the road like I did with SnapChat and Instagram).
Here are my reasons for not downloading the app at this moment:
(just to be clear, I did enjoy playing the Gameboy Pokemon games as a child. I still am intrigued by the world known as Pokemon.)
1. I don't know how people have time to be on the app. It seems that you'd have to invest time into this. Everyone is different about how they choose to spend their time, but I have other ways I'd rather spend my free time.
2. I love taking walks, but I don't like to be on my phone when I'm walking. I want to enjoy the world around me and the people with me.
3. It seems kind of dangerous. Walking and being on your phone is dangerous period, but this is extended amounts of time walking and staring at a screen. It could be very easy to walk into the road or a stationary object. Also, trainers, be sure to walk with a buddy and pay attention to your surroundings. There have already been stories of people getting lured into dangerous situations because someone is taking advantage of an innocent game.
4. It dominates conversation, even when it's not being played. "Have you caught a Pikachu?" "Which team did you choose?" "Where did you find that Jigglypuff?"
5. It would drain my phone battery.
6. I'm kind of anti-phones anyway. Granted I use it quite a bit on a daily basis, but I'd rather not add another reason to use it.
7. It creates a new reality. "There's a Squirtle over there!" Umm, no, that's a tree. I do love fiction and imagination, but I need a line between fiction and reality. This app pushes the line just a bit too much for me.
8. There are some security concerns. Do a quick search about security concerns with Pokemon Go and you'll find concerns about Google access, tracking, and hostile attacks. It's a little early in the game's release to know how accurate they are, but I'd rather not take the risk until they definitely clear those up.
9. It's going to cause problems with trespassing. People be smart about where you're going to catch Pokemon. Remember the person whose yard you're walking through may not see the Pokemon that show up on your screen.
10. It seems that right now the demand is so high that it just keeps freezing on people. I don't need that kind of frustration in my life.
None of this is to say that others shouldn't play the game. I'm sure it's enjoyable once you start, and I'll probably talk with you about it if you're playing. I just don't plan to download one more app that could cause one more addition. I already have plenty of technology addictions.
Maybe the bottom line is that I'm just a bit of a Granny.
Cheers!
The quality isn't great, but here's a protest song that I found on YouTube.
I've been dogsitting this week, and it's always an adventure and a test of patience. My family didn't have a dog after my Kindergarten year. Before that, the dog was my brother's dog. Even though its name was Happy, I didn't like to get near it because it was bigger than me and barked. I have a distinct memory of waking up late on a Saturday morning and finding no one in my house. I went outside and the dog was out of its pen because someone was mowing the pen. I was not a happy child that morning.
Anyway, back to the present. The dogs I'm sitting for are nowhere near as big as Happy was (he died sometime while I was in middle school at my grandma's house in North Carolina). Also I've conquered my fear of dogs for the most part.
Peanut is a poodle. He gets really excited when I head toward the couch.
He's a bit older so he sleeps quite a bit. A little old man without the snores.
This is Riley's favorite spot. Even though he doesn't live in this house on a regular basis, this is his favorite spot.
I brought some laundry over to wash. He claimed this blanket as his own.
For the most part, they are good dogs. They do like to bark at cats incessantly in the yard, and they beg for my food like they haven't eaten for days. I enjoy their cuddles and kisses though.
We had another exciting adventure this weekend, and we didn't even have to leave home. The TwentySomethings have entered into the world of business, yard sale business that is. We combined our extra stuff and set up shop at Martha S.'s house. Some of us are quite the yard sale shoppers, so we had a few ideas of things we definitely wanted to be sure happened.
1. Everything needed a price clearly labeled.
2. Keep the prices low, low, low...
3. Items needed to be organized and displayed.
4. Improve the atmosphere with good music and friendly conversation.
We started with a bunch of boxes in the basement.
Now I know every yard sale shopper has seen yard sales where this would have been how things were put out on the driveway. That was not the case for the TwentySomethings. After a highly nutritious dinner of pizza and a salad, we set to work organizing and labeling all of our items. Thankfully the weather was cooperating so that we could put items outside the night before the sale. A couple of hours later, we ended up with some fairly organized shelves and tables. Our reward? S'mores rice krispies and strawberry cake, of course!
Turns out we had more stuff than we thought we would. It's amazing to me that five twenty somethings have already accumulated so much stuff in our few short years of life.
For me, it was a lesson of trust. Since I had to work on Friday and couldn't be at the sale, I couldn't decide every time a customer wanted to ask a lower price for one of my items. I had to trust my fellow TwentySomethings to use good judgement on which items to lower the prices I had set and how low to go. It's not that I don't trust my friends; it's more that I like to be in control. They did a fine job by the way.
I tried so hard to sell this sombrero on Saturday. I'm sad to say that no one bought it. It came from Goodwill and returned to Goodwill.
While we didn't sell everything and Saturday was terribly slow, we did have good laughs and enjoyed one another's company. The total came close to $400.
I don't think we'll do one next week or anything, but there might be another Five Friends yard sale in the (long-term) future.
Marvel adequately displays how we all felt after the end of the two days.
Throwback Thursday (on Wednesday) to fulfill today's post about I Am Who I Am. Here are a compilation of photos ranging from baby Cathy to senior in high school Cathy. I think I've always had a great sense of style.
The weather this week has been glorious. I hope it stays like this through the weekend while we camp. Every day this week, I have taken my lunch outside to Fee Glade. I sit in the sunshine and warm up while I eat. My office is like an icebox, so the sunshine feels wonderful.
This post today is supposed to be where I stand. Metaphorically, I stand with one foot in the door of my present position and one foot poised on the ledge ready to step out into the next adventure of my life. I captured this by having one foot inside my apartment door and one foot outside.
(Also, please take note of my gorgeous Chaco tan lines.)
I think some of my other twenty somethings will appreciate what I'm currently reading because they have read it before. It's called Saving Grace by Lee Smith. It tells the story of Grace Shepherd, daughter of a Holiness preacher. Without having finished it yet, I think it could be called a coming of age story, which is odd because I usually really enjoy those stories. This book is going slowly for me because I'm not motivated to open it. I think it's because I find the narrator's voice unappealing. There are certain aspects to like such as the lyrical writing and the sense of place. I'll withhold any more judgement until I finish it. I'm a little over halfway, so watch for my full opinion on my personal blog in a few days.
Yesterday was fairly happy. It was sunny and I got to eat lunch at the Pinnacles. I was productive at work. I really don't think I have an unhappiness from yesterday. One unhappiness is the lack of posts on this photo challenge. C'mon friends!
My Favorite Word
I've known what word I would put on this post as soon as I saw this on the challenge.
This word is very fun sounding. I don't particularly like this definition because I've always seen this word with more of a positive connotation. I think of lackadaisical as a laid-back, care-free daisy chilling in the sunshine.
Another fun word that I learned in AP Language in high school is floccinaucinihilipilification. It is pronounced "floxi-noxi-neh-hila-pila-fa-cation". It is a noun to describe the act of declaring something worthless. Hehe. This word itself could be argued to be worthless. I might floccinaucinihilipilificate it. According to Google, this word is mostly used in books about words. Fun fact: I used this word on my AP Language exam, and I think I even spelled it correctly. I got a 5 out of 5 score.
Need a wake-me-up tea? Try breakfast tea or assam.
Craving something warm but it's almost time for bed? Try chamomile or an herbal tea.
Hot and you're parched? Try a watermelon cooler or watermelon, lime, and basil iced blend.
(These are new for me.)
Have an upset stomach? Try something with ginger (I like lemongrass ginger.)
I get most of my tea from the tea shop up the road a piece. Every month I send them $16 and they send me four bags of organic loose leaf tea. By the end of the year, I will have tried all of their 52 flavors of tea.
I am inspired by many people for different reasons, but today I want to highlight how these lovely ladies inspire me.
It's an old picture.
Miss Ellaneous: You are so good at finding sales and re-creating items. When I come over to your house or hear of your latest up-cycle, I am inspired to see the world the way you see it. You see value in every little piece. You pay such close attention to detail, and you have a knack for finding the beauty in something. The same way you do with things, you also see the value in every person you meet. I think you're everybody's friend and you're always willing to help other people.
Martha S.: You are so conscientious about your health, physically and mentally. You eat foods that are good for you, but you also mix in a few taste-good foods as well. You're also really brave about trying new foods and places to eat. You inspire me to look for the good-for-me foods because those are probably better for me than the cheap processed stuff I tend to get. While I may never be a healthy eater, I admire your self-discipline and drive.
Captain Something Fun: You've had your fair share (or possibly more than your fair share) of set-backs and troubles, but you're still here and you still have hope. You are also a loyal friend, and you appreciate the friendships you have. You inspire me to be a better friend and to show my appreciation to my friends. You have taught me to lean on friends when times are hard and to allow others to lean on me.
The Farmer's Daughter: You have such a positive outlook on life, and you take things in stride. I'm not sure I've ever seen you truly get angry at anyone. You inspire me to keep smiling and have patience with people. You also have a knack for decorating small spaces that always makes me re-evaluate how I'm using my small space.
I'm glad each of you are my friends, and I'm happy we're all still going to be locationally close for at least the foreseeable future. I look forward to more adventures and getting to know each of you better.
Normally when I think "fun", I think of roller coasters, friends, baking, crafting, games, hiking, reading, etc., but today I had a different kind of fun at work.
I am finishing up a year long project this summer. I and the tutoring team created these resource binders, which list all of the standards and the resources we have in the room. Now that tutoring is over I'm putting the finishing touches on them. I spread them across my desk in order to sort a huge binder of misplaced items into the six grade level binders. It was enjoyable to me because it was active and had a very concrete finish.
I specifically picked out this outfit because I knew I needed to make this post. I chose to wear the hat that I "borrowed" (permanently) from Captain. I rarely wear hats, so this is the only one that I wear. Since I had dirty hair, it was a perfect day to wear a hat.
Sunday: My favorite thing to do on a Sunday?
This one is an easy post to make. My favorite thing to do on a Sunday is go to church and read about God. I like the people in my church, and I enjoy having specific time dedicated to talking about God. Today's sermon was from Psalm 145 about how great God is. It showed me that I need to let my actions always be a form of praise to God because he is worthy of praise all of the time.
A show I'm currently obsessed with? Easy peasy. Gilmore Girls. I'm not currently watching it, but I have seen the entire series straight through twice and I'm anxiously awaiting the reunion on Netflix. Now to answer a few of the shows most pertinent questions.
Rory's Man?
Rory and Marty. I kind of wish this one had been explored more thoroughly. He seemed decent except for the whole being naked on the floor thing. Although he might have just been a repeat of Dean. We'll never know though because Logan swept in.
Rory and Logan. I liked this coupling. He was smart and really cared about her. He did have a bit of temper but he always came back to apologize. He also was a bit clingy at times. He was the only one to propose, but I think I'm okay that Rory turned him down. He's the one I'd root for though in the reunion.
Rory and Jess. This was a fun pair, but it wasn't meant to be forever. Jess helped Rory grow into herself a little bit. He's also the only one who ever really got her reading side, but that's just as good in a friend. As a boyfriend though, he was kind of horrible; granted, he had his good moments. I hope they remain friends.
Rory and Dean. To be honest, Dean kind of annoyed me. In the fight between Dean and Jess, I was torn, though, because Dean was better for Rory stability wise. He was a high school thing though. I think she needs to steer clear of him in the reunion.
Lorelai's Man?
Lorelai and Christopher. This just needs to end. I know he's the father of her child, but even the child doesn't really want to have a relationship with him. He's arrogant and flighty. Don't bring him back except as the father of Rory. He just kept messing up the best relationship.
Lorelai and Luke. C'mon. This is the obvious choice. Yes, he's moody and not very good with communication, but he's great. He's stable and loyal. He gets her and won't ask her to move. The whole scenario where he married someone else was bizarre.
Lorelai and Max. This was good while it lasted, but it wasn't meant to last forever. They were headed different directions. Did anyone notice though that Lauren Graham Bell's character in Parenthood also dated a teacher and had relationship issues with her daughter's father?
Lorelei and Jason. Honestly, this one was just weird. I think it was all about getting on her parent's nerves.
Rory's Best Friend Who's Not Her Mom?
Honestly, this choice is difficult. I think the show itself leans more toward Paris after Rory goes to college. Lane sort of disappears except for some situations. I like each of them for different reasons, but for a long-lasting friendship, I think Paris will stick around longer. That's odd to say, but Lane has her own family now. Paris and Rory complement each other no matter how much they drive each other crazy.
Ultimately, though, Lorelai will always be Rory's best friend.
