how i spent my spring break...

this is what my closet currently looks like in preparation for this years wedding season...

On Wednesday, I shopped and shopped and found presents for almost all of the weddings and showers I have coming up. I should only need to pick up two or three more gifts which is awesome. I went ahead and wrapped everything up today because I know how busy I have been this spring, and it doesn't look like it's getting less busy any time soon!

Spring Break

Things I've done this week:

• Spent time with wonderful people
• Bought a heckofalotta wedding/bridal shower presents
• met new people
• created an awesome desert
• discovered that homemade tortilla chips kick store bought chips butt! :)
• work on my group project

Things I've not done this week: (hopefully yet!)

• grade papers
• read my textbooks
• work on my (2) individual projects
• find the missing w-2 form
• clean my house
• get my oil changed
• do my lesson plans for next week
• do laundry

So, yeah, fun week, but quite unproductive. Here's hoping I am magically productive this weekend! :)

spinning wheels...

Do you ever feel like a hamster on a wheel spinning your wheels yet going nowhere? That pretty much sums up my life right now. Two or three days a week I walk outside to find the sun has gone down and my car is the only one out there besides the janitors. And yet, I feel like I have absolutely nothing to show for it. My room is still a mess, my planning is still not done, there's a stack of paper a foot high of papers I need to grade. It's just so disheartening.

I get home and just can not bring myself to even look at my work. I cart it to and from work all too often without touching it. It's just hard.

Don't get me wrong- I have a great job. For the most part, the kids are great. They are sweet and eager to learn. They do have quite a bit more mood swings than I am used to, but overall, they are survivors. I love watching them show their attitude.

It's just a lot of change and adaptations when I really didn't ask for it.

update

Do you ever feel like you closed your eyes and three months flew by? This summer's been one of the hardest I've ever had. Here's a quick rundown of "How I Spent my Summer Vacation".

Late May/Early June- Move out of apartment with Beth, move into parents house
June- director of summer camp, threw huge anniversary party for the parents, run away to Louisiana for a few days
July- School, school, school! Month long intensive writing class for teachers. Oh, yeah, and I decided to move in to the new apartment in the middle of that.
August 1- Found out I lost my job
August 1-16- Frantically looking for job/Move out of old classroom
August 17- Hired!
August 18- Start work full time! Move into new classroom

It was a crazy summer full of trials, stress, and yes, some very good moments. It's now mid-September and I am just now feeling like I actually live in my apartment. This past week, I got satellite and internet! Yeah! I also had a maintenance guy come check out the washing machine that decided it didn't need to work upon moving into said new place. It's still not fixed yet, so I am just praising God that I am a clotheshorse! ;)

I'm coming along with the job transition. I really like where I work, but my heart was with St. Alban's. It's hard to just let go of that. The kids are great, though, and that definitely helps.

I had my first breakdown of the year, though. One of the kids was being a stinker and making me quite cranky. Finally, I got fed up and had him put his notebook on my desk for me to sign. (It's essentially a bad note home.) He was really upset, but did as he was told. The next period, he didn't have his homework in math class. When the teacher asked why, he told the teacher it was because he and his dad had slept in their truck. My heart broke. St. Alban's was not by any means a rich school, but I never worried about my kiddos not having a place to stay at night. At my new school, that's a totally different story. The majority are living paycheck to paycheck and not always making it.

It makes me once again realize how lucky I was these past two years. My salary at STA was small- I qualified for section 8 housing- but I always made it. I did heavily count on my savings, but I didn't get overrun with debt. Furthermore, I skipped a paycheck this month and survived! Now, granted, I now have to rebuild my savings, but still! I did it!

That's it for now.