Snapshot.

current guilty pleasure: white cheddar cheese popcorn
current nail color: hotttt pink
current playlist: Sia Furler’s early stuff.
current read: Mud, Sweat, & Tears by Bear Grylls
current drink: ice water
current food: Baja chili salad
current favorite show: Ellen
current wish list: A new laptop, a bigger bed
current needs: to rearrange my classroom seating arrangement
current triumphs: not taking a nap after work!
current bane of my existence: My bum knee. No skating.
current celebrity crush: …probably Johnny Weir.
current indulgence: intermittent hibernating.
current blessing: a friend who understands my first year teacherness
current outfit: college tee, pajama pants, neon socks.
current excitement: finally moving into our townhome SOON
current mood: kinda blah. Would you agree that Jan-March are the blah-est months of the year?
current link: http://pinterest.com/kimber_wimber/

The year has begun.

So most bloggers write a really self-reflective post on January 1st or shortly after thinking through what the previous year has brought, and what they would like to see come out of the new year. Welp, we are already halfway through January (like 1/24 through the whole year actually!) and I still haven’t produced one of those posts. But I should probably try. Here’s a break-down of 2012…

January- Began student teaching in 3rd grade and moved back in with my parents.

February- Learned about the chaos that is Valentine’s Day in an elementary school setting.

March- Started my second student teaching placement in 9-12 ESL

April- Applied for a gazillion jobs! Played the waiting game.

May- Graduated! Got a job! Found out I was moving to another state!

June- Started teaching summer school (3rd grade & K-1st drama).

July- Went to every garage sale in town. Did the Color Run! Went to the farmer’s market every week.

August- Started teaching a new grade level (Kdg) in a new state (CO). Met all new people. Made new friends.

September- Went Colorado camping for the first time ever! Hiking, too.

October- Turned 23. Had my first parent-teacher conferences. Learned how to party it up Halloween-style in Kindergarten.

November- Deepened my new friendships. Tried new things.

December: Went Colorado skiing for the first time ever!

 

It’s funny the things that stick out to me as I sit here typing this. I feel like these were the “big” things in my life this past year, but really? A lot of times it’s the small things that are bigger. So while I may have summed it up with a couple of grander events, a lot of the in-between things helped make 2012. Things I like to record on this blog, whenever that is.

I still hold to my (un)resolution of a few years ago, here. I can’t say I’ve excelled, but the least I can do is renew my resolve. To seek God more and ask him the hard questions.

And soon enough I’ll be back to feeling the pressures of new year’s/determination/resolutions/reflections, to post again while looking back. I just hope I do that oftener than January 1st. Here’s to 2013!

People.

Moving to a new place where you know no one is interesting. I’ve liked the anonymity, the chance to be free from obligations besides work. I can explore my new city at my own leisure without seeming anti-social.

It’s been so nice, too, having a roommate who is in the same boat as me. We are both first year teachers new to the district, let alone the state. We are actually very alike, which is crazy for being set-up without knowing each other! Both of us love hiking and the Colorado outdoors. We both like beer, but hate bananas and tomatoes. Neither of us is super extroverted, but we like going out and staying busy. We are perfectly content to both sit on the couch after school, but not talk at all. It’s not awkward, because we both need non-people time to recharge. It’s good.

It’s always a process when getting to know someone new. My roommate have reached several levels of “closeness,” if you want to call it that. It’s okay now to take each other’s laundry out of the dryer if the other person needs it. We occasionally eat each other’s food without asking, too. But we aren’t so close that we pee with the bathroom door open yet. Not sure if that’ll ever happen. I’m okay with it, but she might be too classy. :)

My teammates at work are so great! Seriously, I can’t imagine my first year teaching anywhere else. They laugh with me, sometimes at me, too. I keep them updated with all the lessons I’ve learned since moving here. We even hang out on the weekends, that’s how much we like each other. These fun people make me excited to wake up and come to work!

I’m glad I have my Nebraska people to stay in touch with, in addition to all this new people craziness. (Thank goodness we live in the days of texting and facebook.) One of my best people is even coming to visit at the end of this week! Excitement!

Living life.

I’ve realized lately that I’m really bad at watching TV. And talking on the phone.

I think I my attention span is shortening. It could have to do with the fact that usually I try doing these things after a full day of wrangling 5-year-olds, but I think there’s more to it. My personal theory: modern technology has shortened the length of time I can focus on one thing. I’m naturally a multi-tasker, but with my smartphone I can be texting, uploading photos to instagram, playing Words with Friends, checking the weather, and more all at once. I think my brain is used to being over-stimulated, or something. When I can’t see a person’s face while talking on the phone, I have a hard time focusing on only what they are saying. I try to do so many other things because I feel like I’m not being productive, and then I end up with a lot of “uh-huh”, “mmhmm”, and the like. The same goes with watching TV- I feel like I have to be doing something else while I’m watching it that I don’t really pay attention. I guess that’s not as horrible, though, because no one’s feelings could get hurt. Just some thoughts.

Here is a snapshot of my life, currently.

On any given day at work, you will find me with:

* some color of ink on my hands

* at least 5 pieces of gum in my pocket for my kiddo who constantly needs to chew

* at least 2 paper cuts

* enough hair bands, head bands, hair clips, and jewelry on my desk to open an accessory shop (all confiscated from fidgety kids)

* Songs like this or this stuck in my head

At home, you will find:

* a mountainous pile of clothes on my floor. Why do I even have a dresser?? I should be cleaning that instead of posting this, probably.

* me listening to Sia. Her music is like crack. There hasn’t been a day the past week that I haven’t listened to her…seriously addicted. Why has no one told me about her before?! She is weird and beyond wonderful.

* dessert. Always. Once the chocolate cake was gone, there was peach crisp, and then root beer floats and brownies, and now chocolate chip cookies. My roommate and I clearly have our priorities straight.

* a pile of poop on the sidewalk near our door. We thought it was bear poop, because it definitely didn’t look like it was from a cat or dog…and a week later it’s still there. Lovely.

* a pumpkin, ready for carving this weekend! It was strange going to a pumpkin patch other than Vala’s, but fun nonetheless. I know Vala’s doesn’t have that view in the background!

Creativity.

I am so thankful I have a  job that requires creativity. Oh boy, can I deliver. After years of wearing oversized forest-green polos and standing in front of a cash register, it’s a little unreal that I actually get paid to do the things that I love. Not that my summer jobs during college had to be dull…my cousin and I still found ways to spice things up.

I guess business must have been slow…

Coloring on the job.

Are those Lion King decorations on the cash register? Your eyes don’t lie.

That was “work” for us. All $7.25-an-hour of it.

Now everything’s amped up—a bigger salary, more responsibility (and consequently more stress), but also more fun. This summer I’ve had quite a few opportunities to exercise my right-brainedness.

The kids calculated the area of their hand by counting whole and half squares. I think it turned out well!

This week we made our own farms in a glove. Each finger section of the plastic glove has different seeds with a wet cotton ball, and then the glove is tied shut to keep the moisture in. They look pretty crazy hanging up in the window here. I wonder which seeds will sprout first???

Going along with the plant theme, the kids got to make the crayon leaf art that never gets old. I loved doing this as a kid.

In preparation for this upcoming school year, I decided to add cuteness to some of my essential classroom items. Presenting mod-podged clothespins…

And here’s a sort of refurbished lamp. Look at all the kindergarten cuteness.

All I can say is that it’s a win-win situation when I get to be creative and encourage kids to be creative, too!

Thoughts on garage sales…

Today was a garage sale-ing day.

I think my weekends this summer will be filled with lesson planning, looking for Kindergarten ideas on blogs, and going to garage sales. Using a teacher’s classroom filled with stuff as I teach summer school has made me realize how much stuff I don’t have. I need more books, more storage/bins/baskets/bookshelves, and even small things like binder clips. I want my students to have the best possible year- I don’t want to cheat them because I’m a first year teacher and haven’t accumulated all that stuff yet! So I’m working on it. It’s a process. If you have any teacher things you would like to give me, or know of anyone who has things they don’t need anymore, hit me up. I would greatly appreciate it!

So I just want to say how much fun it is to take a morning and go to garage sales. I know they usually have ads in the paper so you can plan your route beforehand, but I like to leave it up to spontaneity. I just drive around and stop at pretty much every one I see. Sometimes you can judge from the road whether or not it’s a good one, but sometimes the most treasured possessions are hidden at the most unexpected places. My favorite things to buy are children’s books! I love when people price them reasonably. I feel ripped off when I have to pay a dollar for a book…I just want to say “You know, SOME places I could get 6 books with this dollar!” It’s true. You’ve gotta be on the lookout. Sometimes, though, I almost pull up to a house only to realize that, um, it’s not a garage sale. They’ve just got a lot of junk in their yard. And their garage is open. With more junk in it. Ooops…

Despite those instances, most places are easy to find. Just follow the maze of neon pink signs with writing so small you have to pull out eyeglasses to read the address. Thankfully most have at least a big black arrow pointing in the general direction. Once you find a location, then the scouting begins. Even though mullets are out of style, and most people generally don’t wear light-washed, high-rise jeans, it’ almost inevitable to see the 1990s dust itself off and come out of hiding at a garage sale. And really, sometimes I’m tempted to buy those $3 roller blades or that Mary-Kate & Ashley VHS or those Lion King McDonald’s toys. It takes me back! I resist, though. I’m saving my pennies for classroom stuff.

It’s been a lovely day of sifting through junk to find treasures (a lamp I’m going to redecorate, quite a few books, and some paper trays)! Add to that some crisp, home-grown cucumbers from the farmer’s market, and smelling the freshly cut grass while on a run through the neighborhood. That sounds like summer to me. :)