Bark, the Harold Angels Sing.

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year. Being in south Texas, I definitely miss the possibility of having a snow day or two like I used to when in north Texas. I listen to Christmas music all year long, struggle to wait to put up my Christmas decorations until the day after Thanksgiving, and buy any and all candles I find that remind me of Christmas. I. AM. OBSESSED. I'm also desperately trying to pass along said obsession to everyone in my life. (;

He's Not Allowed.

During class today, our professor had us work on "black-out poems". I had never made one before, and I really like how mine turned out. If you're lost, a black-out poem is where you take an original piece (poem, story, etc.), highlight the phrases, words, or sentences that stand out to you, and then 'black out' the rest of the words. Literally. You mark through the rest of the words with a black marker and leave only the highlighted ones standing. 

The original piece that we worked with was the book Freedom Summer by Deborah Wiles. After working through the black-out process, here is what I ended up with:

He's not allowed.

He's not allowed,

no matter what color.

Our feet felt stuck;

I know this job has made him angry.

I want to do everything you can do.

I want to see this town with John Henry's eyes.

I want to pick it out myself.

We look at each other,

then we walk through the front door together. 

Equal enjoyment.

Freedom Summer.

That was the summer I began to pay attention,

this story grew out of my feelings.

 

57 Days, by the way.

My parents came in for a couple of days. I haven't seen them in months! It made me think of my very first day of preschool being dropped off by them. My mom set me down, I took off into the vast amount of toys and same-height people and never looked  back. 

I missed them. I missed them so much and I'm so happy that I finally got to see and hug them. I'm already counting down the days until I get to see them again! 

(57 days, by the way)

Til the Very Last Sip.

I used to be uncoordinated. Used to be. For years I have considered myself quite coordinated. I was able to participate in sports, dancing, and other activities that required some serious hand-eye coordination. 

but,

not on Friday.

On Friday, I was in a great mood. The day before, in my fourth grade classroom, I really connected with many of the students which is such an important quality in a good teacher. That morning I was getting ready for work while jammin' to Tswift's new song (yes, I'm obsessed with Taylor) and simultaneously trying to keep my pup entertained. I headed out the door, shockingly ahead of time, and headed to treat myself to some coffee from Joe's down the street. I had to walk up some stairs but, no big deal, right? I've been coordinated for years, I can handle stairs.....right?

WRONG.

I. ate. it. bad. 

I slammed down onto concrete steps, sliding my elbow along the edge. My left knee is cut up and my right knee looks like it has a purple baseball growing on top of it. Buuuuuuut, I still got my coffee and it was completely worth it.

til the very last sip.

Something To Pray About.

I'm so torn. 

The more I learn about the Teacher Fellows Program through Texas State University, the more I want to apply for it. I think that having my Master's Degree would be very helpful throughout my teaching career as well as having a mentor to assist me throughout my first year of teaching because Lord knows that I am going to have so many questions. On the other hand, there is this summer camp that I learned about through a friend that I would love to be the counselor at. I don't think after I get into the swing of things with my teaching career that I will have the opportunity to do either of these again. 

Both of these opportunities would greatly help me. A Master's Degree will help expand my knowledge of educational matters and the potential of expanding my career if I were ever interested in administrative positions at a school. At the same time, being able to work with kiddos for an entire summer at a camp full of outdoor activities and disconnect from the busy world would help me connect deeper to the teacher that I strive to be. 

This is something that I definitely need to spend more time praying about. In the end, whatever happens, happens.

Can't Scratch This Itch.

I've been itching for a hike; I haven't been on one in what feels like a lifetime. Life has been keeping me so busy lately that I haven't been able to even consider the possibility of taking a hike. I'd even be down to take the hike that I've taken a million times at Purgatory, rather than finding the new trail that I'm longing for. But, nonetheless, I simply can't find the time.

Regardless, my dog is supposed to be resting her hurt leg for an entire week. I’ve been making her rest for the past three that she’s been limping, what’s another week, right? An entire month of no hikes, no walks, no dog park. The guilt would eat away at me if I went without her. After this week is up and Lyla is all healed up, we’re going to hike until we drop!

Side note: My roommate and I are planning a short weekend trip to Big Bend in November, though. Neither of us have ever been and I am so excited to take on this adventure. I can't wait to see all of the beauty that God has poured out in the form of cliffs, stars, and breathtaking views that go on for miles.

Better Check Your Work.

The fourth grade class in my field base block was working on long-division today. I can't remember the last time that  I had to use long-division to figure out the answer to a problem instead of grabbing the closest calculator to me. The teacher asked me to do a few examples with the class while she dealt with a boy that needed to call home for behavioral reasons. 

I made up a few problems and we worked them out, the kids got them right every time! Fourth graders are so insanely smart, it blows my mind more and more everyday. We used multiplication to check our work and make sure that we did the math correctly. The kiddos knew exactly how to do all of this and they just learned how to do it with larger numbers TODAY. Like, five minutes before. I'm telling you...crazy smart kids.