Commence Freak Out.... Now!

I have been in a bit of a sour mood today and I finally know why - school starts in a little over 2 weeks! Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see the kids again and all that jazz - but this is about the time I commence official freak out every year. There is so much I wanted to get accomplished for school over the summer, but I kept saying "Oh, I'll do that next week." Well, I've almost run out of weeks! I know in the back of my mind that I still have time to get everything done, but the irrational side of me still remains in panic mode.

I'm one of those people that likes to have all my ducks in a row before I start something. For example, I usually decide what to wear the night before. In school I always had my papers done one or two days before they were due (what if the printer decided to break the day of??) I try to pay my bills as soon as I get them so I won't forget later. Etc, etc.

You can call me anal, obsessive, or a nervous nelly - but I like to think I'm just efficient. I know we get a work day before school starts, but come on - everyone knows one day is not enough! Plus, teachers usually spend so much time chatting that day because we haven't seen one another for 2 months!

Breathe in, Breathe out. It will all be okay.

Still Learning

It's been awhile since I've posted. I kept waiting for some discussion on "The Shack" post - feel free to discuss at anytime people :)

Cameron is doing awesome. He has been so patient throughout his entire recovery and I could not be more proud of him. He has been able to get in the pool and actually practice walking without crutches which has given him a lot of confidence.

I abandoned Cam last week (after being a paranoid freak and making sure he could get to everything he could possible ever want to reach in the house). I had the opportunity to go to the Nuts and Bolts conference in Colorado. Even though it was so hard to leave Cam at home, I am so glad I made the trip! I learned so much in the two and a half days there. I am really excited to share what I learned with the rest of my faculty. I also got to learn a lot about my co-workers :) Probably too much info- 12 hours in a school van makes you spill a lot!!

I also had the chance to present twice during the conference with a coworker. That was a great experience and gave me some confidence that I am doing the right thing in my life right now. We were presenting the same time as nationally known authors in education, but still managed to attract 20 or so people to our sessions. Not too shabby!

Some of the sessions I attended made me realize how many things I currently do right in teaching- but mostly I learned a lot about what I'm doing completely wrong!! I should probably send out apology letters to all my former students.

This will be my third year of teaching and I feel like I carry the responsibility of a ten year veteran! This year I will be math department chair, internal coach on the PBIS team, and learning cadre representative for our school. It seems overwhelming at times, but honestly I've found that responsibility makes me happy. Now I just need someone to remind me of that statement come January!

The Shack

I'm not too sure who I am anymore! My two most recent posts are about books... this is crazy and totally not like me. It's been a week since I finished reading The Shack. First of all, I loved it! I am not a person who typically reads for fun, but I was completely engaged from page to page (hey that rhymes) on our whirlwind trip to St. Louis.

I don't want to give away too much for those that haven't read it, but I will give you a little taste. The first part of the book is extremely difficult to read. It's like living inside an episode of Law and Order: SVU. The main character, Mack, suffers through a horrific tragedy and three years later gets a note asking him to visit the scene of the tragedy once again. I will warn you - have a box of tissues ready. Men, you too.

Once Mack gets to the Shack (rhyming again here), he is greeted by God. The author of this book portrays the trinity in a way that really makes sense to me. Growing up in the church, the trinity was attempted to be explained in many different ways (remember the egg, the apple, etc.) Good times. The author gives specific character traits to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit which I feel truly makes sense. All three of them together create God, but they play separate roles. They are bonded together through an unconditional loving relationship. Their wholeness is based upon loving one another. Isn't that the perfect model for us? In the story, Mack gets to know each part of the trinity in a distinct way that really helped me see God in a new light. The book deals with so many issues, but focuses strongly on helping people who are struggling with the question "Why do bad things happen to good people?"

If you haven't read it yet - I HIGHLY recommend going to get a copy today! The link above has the first part of the book online so you can get a taste for what it is like. I could go on and on talking about what I thought, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the book. What did you think?

On a side note, props to Mom who found the author of my quote:
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail. - Abraham Maslow (1908-1970)

Quote of the Day

"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

I have been reading a book to prepare for the Nuts and Bolts conference that I'm going to in a couple of weeks. Nuts and Bolts is a conference for Middle School teachers. I was not excited about reading this at first because I knew it would inspire me to want to change many of the ways I currently run my classroom. I'm totally not one of those "change is bad" people. I truly believe that change is good and necessary in all aspects of life, but by-golly it's hard! 

I finished the book a couple of weeks ago and did my highlighting and writing in the margin routine, but I went back this morning (while sitting in class with Cameron) and looked through it again. I was right - it did make me want to change! Right now I'm feeling overwhelmed with everything I already want to do differently coupled with all the new things I am anticipating to learn at the conference. I also, realistically, know that I cannot change everything without losing my sanity! I need another month of summer to figure this out :) 

The quote - "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail" is one that I want to use a lot in my classroom next year. Not only do you need lots of "tools" to solve math problems, but it applies to all areas of life. 

I could go deeper here but I'll save it for another post... 

Happy Saturday!

Twice a Year Whether You Need It or Not

Thanks to my semi-hypochondriasis - a self diagnosis from my two years of counseling training - I go to the doctor very regularly. Once a year to the you-know-who doctor for the "oh so fun" check up, once a year to the eye doctor, and twice a year to the dentist. There are also the other occasional visits for weird rashes, unexplainable dizziness, chronic ear aches, etc. If there is something not right with my body, I'm at the doctor within two days max. 

So, the time came for my bi-annual trip to the dentist. I usually look forward to these visits because they tell me how perfect my teeth are, that everything looks great, and therefore I can go on for the next six months feeling that at least my teeth are in good condition. These visits are also my reminder that I need to start flossing. I've probably been to these cleaning appointments since I was 5 or 6. I guess the 42 reminders I've been given to floss regularly just haven't been enough. So despite that small panic that the hygienist will yell at me for not flossing AGAIN, these visits are usually a small ego boost for me letting me know that I take pretty good care of these pearly whites. 

Well this year was different. Unfortunately, I have one of those permanent retainers connecting the 6 middle lower teeth. I don't normally notice it unless food gets caught in it. Anyways, this year it seemed to take the hygienist forever to clean around this stupid thing. I almost wanted to throw the metal tools across the room and have her take the metal monster out so the cleaning could progress more quickly! I held my patience, and finally she was finished - with that area.

Next she moved on to the inside part of my lower teeth. By this time, I am cringing every time the tiny metal torture device scrapes across my teeth and gums. That noise ranks up there with nails on a chalkboard making the arm hairs stand at attention. As she ever so carefully glided the metal thing (technical term) across that part of my gums it began to feel like a razor blade and I could taste the blood starting to seep out. OH it was horrible. She then proceeds to tell me that I have the beginnings of gingivitis in that area. WHAT? Isn't that something old people get? Well there goes my perfect record. One less star on my dentist report card. What's the use in trying anymore? 

When she moves on to the other part of my mouth a part of me felt like she was intentionally trying to hurt me as a punishment for having that metal thing that was so hard to clean around and for having gingivitis. I had to keep refocusing on the 3 year old poster on the ceiling to distract myself from wanting to grab the metal tools and throw them again. 

So I guess I won't go to the dentist as cheerfully in January now that my long running record is tainted. Maybe they spread out the appointments every six months so that gives you enough time to forget how horrible the experience can be. I guess I will try to start flossing more to hopefully rid this ugly gingivitis - I can beat this!

Candy Crazy

We had a great weekend with lots of lazing around and LOTS of food! We had a cookout on Friday and Saturday night then our life group went to Ted's tonight to celebrate Ryan and Sherry being in town. I have a case of food overload - sorry "pact"-ers, I'm not good at this diet thing.

In an attempt to justify all that eating, cousin Mandy decided we should start our half-marathon training this weekend. Let's just say I have a long way to go before I make it 13.1 miles! We did more walking than running (by running I mean glorified fast-paced walking) followed by some walking lunges. My legs are killing me, but I dare not complain because my husband just had his leg detached and put back together!

Something that always seems to make Cameron and I feel better is candy (however this null and voids any progress I made during the workout). I'm so glad that my husband is as obsessed with processed sugar products as I am. We have been going on "candy runs" to the store ever since we started dating. We usually each pick out one or two types of candy to share. I love a good piece of chocolate every once and awhile, but the real key to my heart is sugar candy. The gummies, skittles, sour patch kids, etc.

I would like to announce my latest candy obsession - Peppermint Taffy. Christie bought some at Wal-Mart (because they were packaged in Red, White, and Blue of course) and I almost depleted the bag this weekend. I bought 3 more bags today and I'm not sure if that will be enough to tide me over till next summer. Is this a seasonal item? I've always been a fan of Laffy Taffy, but peppermint taffy has opened up a whole new world to me! I'd love to hear about your favorite candy - what else have I been missing out on for 26 years?

The Dryer Saga Part 2 and The Staple Remover

I'm not sure if I ever mentioned that when the repair man came to look at our dryer several weeks ago, he said that everything looked good and that it wasn't getting enough power to it (aka, the outside breaker had flipped - $50 later, I now know we have an additional breaker box outside...) Sigh. 

So this morning I am getting ready to do some laundry (Molly decided to throw up three times last night, once on the bed!) and I'm noticing that I cannot get the darn dryer to start! I have this "You have got to be kidding me moment" and start looking for the candid camera. I check the plug - everything looks good. I switch the setting on the dial - nope that didn't work either. So I trek outside to the breaker box I recently established a relationship with - flip the switches. I come back inside to give it another go. No response. I almost screamed, but as I look down to begin kicking the dryer, I realize I did not shut the door all the way. Burn. 

Why I tell these stories on myself, I don't know. Maybe to boost the egos of my friends. Hope that knocked you a notch higher on the esteem ladder today. 

In my ramblings about my hunt for a hobby (thanks for the input by the way) I forgot to tell you that Cameron got his staples out yesterday! I miscounted the first time - I believe there were 44 of those suckers pulled from his flesh. It was completely fascinating to watch. I usually get grossed out by that kind of stuff. It helped that Cameron was not in pain so I could stare in awe without feeling sorry for him. The nurse said his incision looks healed so one less thing to worry about. Hallelujah! 

We are continuing to be blessed with meal after meal from our church family. We have not had to cook at all since we've been back home! I do feel a little guilty because I am perfectly capable of making food for Cameron, but so many people have been wanting to help in some way and this is more that I ever imagined. To all of you who have prayed for us, fed us, emailed, called, texted, or come by to visit - THANK YOU! We are surely feeling the love around here :)