A Quick Stop at Work

Woah! It's snowing like crazy out there, but I'm here at work with a cup of tea and a mini muffin. I thought I'd drop by and give a few thoughts from my life.

I just finished a really thought provoking book entitled A Prayer for Owen Meany. It had a lot of commentary on political events from the 60s and religious faith. At the heart of it was a story about two boys who became best friends in spite of the fact that one boy's baseball killed the other's mother. I'd recommend this book to anyone in for a long haul with a book. It has some language and risque topics, so it's for 20 somethings and above. Keep your eye on my personal blog for a book review soon.

Searching for a book cover image made me realize that there are many iconic symbols in this book. This cover is the one that I read from. The dollmakers dummy respresents the mother and the Mary Magdalene statue. I can't really say much else without giving away plot points. Other iconic images that have made covers include an armadillo, a tomato-red truck, a baseball, and a boy. 

There is a movie based slightly off of the book. In my blog post, I will discuss how Simon Birch does and does not represent Owen Meany.

Right now at work, I am helping the tutoring team think through their training. I also have been hosting transition meetings to help acclimate our newest team member to the programs that work with children. In the future, there is potential that I will be leading trainings for volunteers and students. I'll get to teach!

Very soon, I'll begin the job search for my first teaching position. I'm excited to be in a classroom. This time away has only reinforced my desire to work with teenagers. I'm also itching to know where I'll be living next. I'm open to most anywhere in Kentucky. I want to stay close to family and friends, and I already somewhat understand the Kentucky school systems. As far as grade level goes, I'm not sure yet. I can see positives for both younger and older high school students.

Now that you've gotten a small glimpse into my life, I must get back to work. Today I am spending my morning doing research about tutoring best practices. This afternoon I have several meetings.

Cheers!

Updates

Work Life
I'm finishing up my last week at the elementary school this week as an interventionist. The sad part is that I feel like I'm just figuring out how to do my job effectively. I'm also going to miss my kids. Yesterday, one of my fourth graders gave me a little note on a scrap of paper saying he really liked my class. Today another of my fourth graders gave me a rock. Hey, it's a gift, right?
I won't be leaving the school though because I've been asked to stay on to do some modified testing for the school. I was trained today. It's a bit intimidating because if you do something wrong, they can put you in prison! Yikes. This is serious business.

Home Life
Things at the house are going fine. I'm never quite sure when to expect to see my housemate, but we get along fine.

Social Life
Last night I went to watch some of the senior presentations at Model. It was cool to be back and to see how far these kids have come. When I left, they were struggling to understand the purpose of a thesis statement and it was pulling teeth to get them to talk in class. They are now writing 20 page papers and giving formal presentations. It's kinda cool. I think I'm going to go back for some more of the presentations.

I'm not really sure that I have anything else to report.

Granny Eyre

Goodbyes

As graduation is slowing creeping up and real life is starting to hit I am hit with a sudden wave of goodbyes. I dislike goodbyes though, they seem too permanent. I like to think of a better way to depart from a person would be to say see you later alligator, after while crocodile. You know like children do. This way it leaves things open to possibilities and potential. Today I had to say goodbye to the CDL. I almost cried which is very unusual for me. I am sure going to miss those wonderful children a whole lot. Not to mention the other teachers and my fellow labor students, it was just an all around good work environment. This weekend is going to be full of goodbyes, some more permanent than others but that is okay. I keep thinking about that verse in Jeremiah 29:11  For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope." Even though God was talking to the Israelite people, I think this verse is still applicable to His children today. No matter what lies ahead of me God will always be with me so as Paul says, " I will press on and keep fighting the good fight until that day comes when I am called home" (that is Amanda paraphrasation for you there). It has not really hit me yet that I am graduating from college in less than 48 hours. Maybe by the time Sunday rolls around it will, but there are still lots of goodbyes to be said, moving to be done, and lives to be lead. It has been a busy week and it's going to be an even busier weekend.
In other news as some of you may remember from last year, there have been goodwill bins placed in many of the dorms on campus. So this afternoon/evening I have been dorm hoping. I have to say that I have seen and found some pretty interesting things. I also gained a few extra things along the way like a huge duffle bag, a new backpack, and a trash  bag full of clothes. This should be an interesting addition to my current wardrobe.
In other other news I have unofficially but officially yet, gotten a duplex apartment with a trust worthy acquaintance It is exciting and will be officially moving in on the 15th. So yall should be on the lookout for me, for a bed and dresser?
I have been looking forward to this summer and what this next chapter in my life has in store. I am quiet excited to see what God has planned for me. My new job at the daycare starts on Monday so that will be fun I do believe. Also am thinking we should all meet up sometime soon I miss seeing you all. Sometimes I wish life would slow down a little bit and maybe even have a rewind button so to go back when we were all in one place and didn't have to travel very far to see one another.
I am getting sleepy so I should stop while I am ahead. But I'm sure I'll be making another post soon about graduating and starting my new job so be on the lookout. Captain Something Fun signing off.

I remembered a story from school.

We were talking about Santa Claus. I was very careful around this subject since these were fourth graders and I couldn't remember when kids stopped believing in Santa.

No fears though.

One girl told me she didn't believe because she hid under the tree and scared her parents when they put the presents under there from Santa.

Oh children.

I'm still feeling 22...

So as you might have guessed from the title of this post, I am currently jamming out to some T. Swift while finishing up some of psychology homework. The perks of being an undergrad I suppose. I would probably be up dancing right now if it weren't for the fact that there are people besides me in the dorm common area. I have not made a post in a while. I know, I know The Farmer's Daughter is probably very disappointed in me...
So since my last post a great deal of awesomeness has happened. Instead of writing in paragraph form, like Granny Eyre would probably prefer I am going to start listing.
1. I turned 23. WOAH. Exciting right? I am losing focusing writing I got distracted ahhhh.
2. The Lego movie is AWESOME, Seriously I enjoyed the movie for the most part. I had my hesitations about it but those were overcome.
3. I have officially been offered a real job that is not the mart of wal! Woot! I have had two interviews today one lasted 3 hours and the director did not even watch me she just let me loose in the center which was actually very exciting. I would really enjoy working with children even if it is not the CDL. But the job offer I got is working with mentally disabled individuals just helping them learn basic every day things that we might take for granted. I am kind of excited about the potential of this job because it is different individuals than what I am use to but I think I am up for it if God calls me to do this. I also applied at 2 other daycare's here but have not heard much back from them and I am not sure how much more harassing them I should do.
4.  There is a new little friend in my two year old classroom at work. I can't say much more except that they are super cute and adorable.
5. There are so many song lyrics I could insert in this post but, I can make the bad guys good for a weekend... , I better not though... But I'm FEELING 22!
6. I should not become a statistician, like ever. It is all gibberish to me.
7. I graduate in 16 days HOORAY!!! Finally
Okay that's all folks no more news on my end. Until next time Captain Something Fun signing off.

Moving, Moving, Moving...Gotta Keep Myself Moving

Sing the title of this blog to the Walmart theme song, "Rolling, Rolling, Rolling, gotta keep those prices rolling."

I have moved, not far though. Now I am staying in a house just north of Richmond with a lady who works with the WMU. She is a music teacher at an elementary school, full of energy and very talkative. As of last night, I am staying in her upstairs bedroom, which also has a half bath. The house is much bigger than the last place at which I was. To put it in perspective, my upstairs is almost as big as that last house.

So far the stay has been eventful. That morning I had prayed that the rain would hold off until I had a chance to unload all of my stuff. Boy did that feel good! I've been loaded down for over a week now. The rain did hold off but about the time we finished eating dinner, the weather sirens went off. I thought I left those things in Berea. Tornadoes were spotted! The next two hours were spent either in the basement or watching the news upstairs. If I had been on my own, I might not have gone to a basement, but since I was with someone else, I followed suit. Wonder what that says about me?
It wasn't unpleasant though, besides the fact that the basement was cold and basement-y. We read the Bible together and looked at some of her stuff.

Other than moving, my life has been pretty much the same. My middle two groups of kids are whiny and sometimes unruly as usual, while my first and last group are fairly cooperative. I do need to figure out how to make writing paragraphs more entertaining. It's hard to make a paragraph into a game.

Check back soon for my thoughts on this conference I'm attending this weekend!

Granny Eyre.

Snow Cream and other fun things

It is Wednesday. I didn't have class today for the third day in a row, which has been surprisingly not cool. I miss class and work and people and sunshine. The first snow day of my college career I was feeling a bit more optimistic about the whole not having class and work thing but now it's just getting old. I have had ample amounts of time to study though which has proven to be a good thing. Hopefully my exam score will further prove that. I made snow cream for the first time ever on Monday night it was yummy! I put chocolate milk powder in it and it was like eating a chocolate frosty from Wendy's. You all should try it sometime. Monday's adventures were hard because of all the snow and it just kept coming down. But yesterday was better. The snow was pact down really well and nice and slick so sledding was super awesome. Mr. President had sleds lying on his back patio that were free to use for students as long as we returned them back. It was very thoughtful of him. Something I have yet to do in this snow is build a snow man. Maybe tomorrow morning that can be a goal. And clean my room. Not having a roommate has not been good for my cleaning habits. In other news the CDL opened back up today. It was good to see my little friends even though most of them were home with their parents steal do to this weather. I shoveled snow with a child size shovel and a small broom today while at work. The broom seemed to do a lot better than the shovel. So now for some pictures of the great outdoors of Berea College.

Snow Day...and other news!

Today has been a long day. I have been somewhat productive..but it's been unusual because of all the snow and my mother has been in the house too because of course, she was off school. As I was thinking of making some coffee this morning shortly after getting up, I was also considering making some scones. I really enjoy scones and I think they're especially good with coffee. I have some raspberries I froze a couple months ago and I was thinking of making some more raspberry scones. I found a new recipe from Martha Stewart (the original Martha, not to be confused with our very own Martha S. on the blog) that looked pretty tasty so I decided to try it. I think they turned out nicely, but I don't know that I would use the exact same recipe again. The only reason I say that is that the raspberries were supposed to be kneaded into the dough, I think I would have preferred to mix them in or fold them in because by kneading them in, I had a couple of the scones with layers of berry on the bottom. The individual scones didn't want to stick together as well this way and didn't bake as nicely. I didn't actually end up eating any of them for breakfast because by the time they got out of the oven I was done with breakfast! But they'll be there for tomorrow...and hopefully the next day. Yum, scones!

Before they went onto the oven..I made them rectangular instead of triangular

I also tried to take a walk today...Ever since I can remember, I don't have any recollection of the snow being so high that I couldn't take a walk. Today I went outside with plenty of layers on and I wore my rain-boots since the snow was so high. I have snow boots which are more insulted but I thought the snow too deep for my shorter insulated boots (as opposed to my tall, cold rain-boots). Although I didn't get any snow inside my boots with the rain-boots, the rubber easily transferred all the cold from the snow onto my legs and feet. Nova also tried to come out in the snow and of course, she couldn't walk very easily. From her vantage point it was probably like trying to walk straight through the side of a mountain with every step she took. Unfortunately my walk was very short. I was also hoping to get the toboggan out and sled down the hill a few times, but I was discouraged with how deep the snow was and went back inside. I needed some friendly encouragement and camaraderie to get me going...but since I was by myself I couldn't seem to encourage myself enough. Since the temperatures aren't supposed to get any warmer, I should have another chance to go sledding tomorrow or even the next day. I'm planning on it!

Like Martha S., I also worked on catching up on some homework today. I finished some math home work that needed to be done and I have also been working on editing more of the wedding photos for the Ramsay's. Perhaps I can motivate myself to study a bit on my time off tomorrow. I'm not sure about you all...but my school has been called off for tomorrow too! It's a good thing...because I wouldn't be able to make it out if they did have class. I've heard prediction that the public K-12 schools in the area may be closed all week. Of course that means no work for me either...but we shall see what happens, they may go back Thursday or Friday.

In other news:

• I attended my first tractor/truck pull on Saturday. It was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. Even though they tried to control it, there were alot of fumes in that building. It was also REALLY loud. The beau and I wore earplugs the whole time. It was quite an experience. I think I would prefer to watch my next tractor/truck pull outside! We also went to the National Farm Machinery Show to look around, before the pull.  
  
• The weekend before last I tried The B.O.M.B. at Sonny's barbecue. I read an article on Facebook that Miss Ellaneous' sister had shared about a man from Richmond creating a sandwich for the Annual Pitmaster Showdown. The sandwich has a patty of macaroni & cheese, brisket, onion straws and sweet barbecue sauce, all on a bun. It was an unusual sandwich, but it was very tasty!  



You can't see it very well here, but this is the only photo I took

• I'm sorta getting the hang of the whole substitute teaching routine. I've now substituted for two kindergarten classrooms (once as the regular classroom teacher and once as the teacher's aid), one middle school special education teacher and one elementary school special education teacher. Each day presents new challenges, but I haven't been too overwhelmed with any of the classrooms yet. 
• It's Girl Scout cookie season!!

I know these as Samoas...they're my favorite!  

Adios for now!
The Farmer's Daughter

School, and Work!

I haven't made a post in a while which is not out of character for me but it gives me an excuse to tell you all about my many adventures. So it is now almost the end of week three in my final term as an under grad (SWEET!) only fourteen more weeks to go! It has been a very busy three weeks to say the least. The biggest change for me is in my job. I have worked with three year olds and one year olds a lot but very limited experience with two year olds. Now I am in the classroom full time working with a bunch of cute looking two year olds and one, twenty month old. It has been a daring adventure so far. It seems at first glance that there is no structure to their lives at school but after a couple days I think I figured it out. Two year olds have very short attention spans, except when it comes to bubbles, so they are always running from one center to the next and back and forth. It is hard to keep up. It is so much fun though listening  to them talk and play with each other. I really like how they are almost always willing to help with jobs like picking up toys and especially running the vacuum cleaner. There is one child in particular every evening who wants to help me clean the rugs and is always telling their parents how they are being helpers. I thought that it would be really hard adjusting to the new classroom teacher but it turns out that it was not that big of a deal as I originally thought it would be. The lead teacher is super nice and very willing so it has turned out very well so far.
On a different but similar note, it has been quiet an adjustment going from always having had a roommate to not having a roommate. I find myself talking out loud a lot more than usual and I am not as neat as I would be if there was some one else living in my room too. Meal times are the hardest for me because all of you have graduated and it gets kind of lonely sitting by yourself when there are hundreds of people around.
A cool story from last night during my AWANA class I got to explain to a child who Adam and Eve and how God made him, and everyone else here. It was very heart warming for me because it has only been three years ago when I was in the little boys place asking the same questions. I have hope that God will help him go far.
As far as classes go I am in five but they aren't super difficult this semester I am trying this new thing out called actually reading for class and doing my homework. So far I think it is working out for me. By far my favorite class is play throughout the lifespan. It is a fun class and very interesting topic to learn more about.

Stepping Out

**Sorry, this is a double post from my personal blog, but there are different people reading each site.**

School starts this week, and for the first time in my life, I will not be attending. When I first started planning this post in my head last week, I thought I would feel sad at this moment. I imagined an empty ache would ring in my heart. But that's not the feeling I am experiencing. Yes, it's odd, but it's also strangely exciting. There won't be any papers to stress me out or discussions to attempt to stay awake during. Of course there also won't be any friends to meet on the sidewalk or crazy late night study sessions. I can't just waltz over across the hall to my friend's room or tell someone to meet me for dinner in five minutes. Things get a bit more complicated from now on, but I've always liked a good complication to struggle with. 

The most exciting part of this new step in my life is the possibility. My entire life lies before me. Yes, I kind of have a sense of what I want to do, but who knows where God might take me. In the immediate present, I am super excited about working with the BCM. I met with the leader today to discuss ideas and we are chock full. I sure hope those college students are ready for us. The elementary tutoring job is a bit daunting, but I am starting to realize that God can use me and mold me during this experience as well. He can teach me about being out of my comfort zone and give me an opportunity to share his love with some kids who might feel a bit unloved. 

I do expect some loneliness and nostalgia simply because I'm not living in a dorm room with my best friend or going to classes every day. The pay is much better but the drive is farther. There are ups and downs to this next part of my life, but I think I'm ready to take it all in. God has so much in store for me and I'm just ready to be used for his purpose. After all, what else matters?

Graduation

I'm currently at school right now, but the students are writing essays. It's going to be a long day considering all of the classes have work days today for various projects. Tomorrow is my last day here. It's a bittersweet feeling; part of me is ready to go and part of me will miss these teenagers. I'm so excited to have some free time, but I'm also worried about feeling purposeless. It will be great the first couple of weeks, but by the time Christmas "break" is over I'll be ready to get back to doing something productive.

Meanwhile, I'm preparing for graduation. People keep asking me if I'm nervous or excited. I'm sure other Tidbits writers can relate. I'm both. It's a big milestone in my life which is exciting to finally reach, but it's also a scary idea to think that now I'm expected to figure out my life. I don't know what to do with my life. I've got ideas, but I don't know how to start acting on these ideas.

A List of Things I'd Like to Do (in no particular order)
1. Learn ASL
2. Read a ton of books.
3. Get closer to God
4. Get closer to my friends
5. Be crafty
6. Sing a solo
7. Open a after-school center
8. Get married (eh maybe)
9. Be an amazing teacher
10. Write a book
11. Own rocking chairs
12. Travel to London again
13. ....It could keep going.

How am I supposed to know where to start first?

Those are my current musings. For now I'm just finishing these last two days here, completing the exit portfolio, and watching Netflix.

-Granny Eyre

Sir George

This is Sir George and his Dr. Seuss bird friend. Sir George changes his attire occasionally but he always stands ready to greet our students as they enter the classroom. He also holds our "word of the day" which typically ends up being a word of the week.

Recapitulate.

It appears to be my turn to make a blog post since everyone has made one since I made my last post. Honestly, there haven't been many exciting adventures in my life minus the ones I've had with ya'll since my last post. I go to school, come back to campus in order to plan/grade for the next day, and then try to get some sort of sleep. It's a schedule that's wearing on me and making me reconsider my plan to teach in a public school. More on that later once I've figured out my life. Right now, I just wanna recap some of the small milestones in my life.

Today my car stopped functioning...again. Poor Roxie is back in the shop. I went to start it this morning to drive to our book/Bible study for the girls of BCM. It didn't even turn over. After much deliberation, prayer, and searching for a four leaf clover, I got it started...with a little help from some friends. Julie and her husband came back for the second time and were able to get it jumped enough to drive it to the mechanic's house. When we got to the mechanic's house, we were standing behind the car discussing details when we noticed that the brake lights were still on even though the keys were in my hand. Hmm...that's a problem. So right now my car is sitting at a mechanic's house and it seems the problem is a faulty switch causing the brake lights to remain on and drain my battery. Here's to hoping Roxie gets better soon and that the hospital bill is not too much.

My emotions are up and down about my time at the school. It's difficult to motivate myself to get up and go some mornings but some days I am super enthusiastic. The day always leaves me feeling drained. It takes me a couple of hours to recuperate each day and then it's time to go to sleep. The days that I really enjoy my time at school though make it all worth it. It's those moments when a student acknowledges me in the hallway or shows that he really learned something. Sometimes the lessons aren't exciting and I feel that my teaching is lackluster but a student says something that just makes me smile. Then the reflections and grading and regulations and hoops and stuff seems just a bit smaller.

Earlier this week in a teacher's meeting I heard about a new law passed in Kentucky that irks me. Apparently now in the state of Kentucky students can choose to take a path that allows them to graduate early even if they have not met the school's graduation requirements. As long as a student has passed all four end-of-course exams and met benchmark on all areas of the ACT, the student can graduate. These exams happen around sophomore year and the ACT can be taken anytime. This means that a student could effectively skip the last two years of high school, receive a diploma, and be accepted at any state school in Kentucky. For some students, this could be just the out they need. For some students though this could be devastating. They could take this path and then find they are not ready for college or a job. How can a 15 year old make this kind of life choice? It amazes me that the state would pass this law when they are so focused right now on making teachers better with PGES.

Now it's 10:30 which is when my body starts getting tired these days (the name Granny Eyre wasn't arbitrarily chosen). I'll sign off now.

Fun fact: The word capitulate means to surrender and give in. The word recapitulate does not mean to re-surrender. Know the word "recap" that we hear so often at ball games? Yep. You got it. That comes from recapitulate.

Granny Eyre

I've accomplished almost every thing on my list of things to do while I'm at home, except the fact that I can always read more and spend more time with Jesus. I'm currently reading The Castle by Franz Kafka. It is true Kafka style. Even though it wasn't supposed to be published (he told his friend in his will to burn the manuscript), it's intriguing. It's about a surveyor who is summoned to a castle but once he gets there the count won't see him and the peasants think he doesn't belong. The entire book so far has been about his struggle to meet with the count, whose name is Klamm. This guy is a true clan because no one ever sees him, not even the castle officials. And did I mention the main character simply goes by K.? He never gets another name. I almost quit reading it because it is a slow read but now that I'm over halfway through I'm want to finish it.

In addition to cleaning and organizing, I have been cooking some as well. When I left call I copied down some recipes with the intention of making them while I'm here. The problem is that the recipes are intended for large groups so I have to cut them. Here's what I started with when I made bread:

Well no pictures because I'm having terrible trouble getting pictures to come off my phone onto anything else.

In summary, I've made bread from scratch, meatloaf (this is not a camp recipe but my own recipe) from deer meat, mashed potatoes (with sour cream), and extra good no bake cookies.

It turns out that I will be at Model next semester for at least part of the semester. My cooperating teacher is leaving October 14 but hopefully the teacher they hire to replace her will have enough experience that I can stay there and finish the semester with those students. It's going to be an interesting, challenging, and exciting semester.

I wonder if there is an app for blogging from my phone. It's strange to do this on the phone.

Granny Eyre