I love lists and I love summer. So what better to do than make a list about my summer plans?
Here are my goals for this summer:
1) Go to Kenneth and Tammy's wedding.
2) Turn thirty.
3) Go to Hoboken, New Jersey. Why, you ask? Why not, I say! It's cheap.
4) Sleep in... a lot!
5) Read a book or two.
6) Play with Madison and Michael and Natalie.
7) Clean out my garage. This is quite a task. Somehow my garage has exploded a little bit at a time. I have half empty storage boxes and stuff from the bathroom project at church all over. And somehow I squeeze my car in. What a relief it will be to have it clean!
8) I want to buy myself something from Tiffany's. This is a ridiculous expenditure. Do I need diamonds? No! Pearls?No. Something pretty that comes in a little blue box?...no? Yeah, I can maybe be convinced that spending money that could feed starving children is worth it. It's a pretty, blue box!
9) Go to Stanton Park. Now that I've finally found the entrance (it took my three years of curiosity to find it), I have to go. It looks so pretty.
10) Play Uno with my grandma once a week. Or any other card games. My grandma loves games and she consistently wins while seeming to not understand how to play. I especially love to play Oh,Nuts! with her. She's so good and gets way into it.
11) Go to Vegas to visit Dana's sister and see the Cirque de Solei : Love. It's crazy French circus performers doing crazy French circus performances to Beatles music. That's what I call awesome!
12) I want to learn how to cook something cool. I don't know what yet, but it will be impressive, probably made with lots of sugar, and expensive. If you're lucky, I'll let you try it.
13) Teach VBS. In person! I was out of town for our church's vacation Bible school last year and had to record my lessons. Recording was fun, but it will be more fun live.
14) I will be in town for Natalie's birthday!! I was in Switzerland when Natalie was born and Uganda for her first birthday. As exotic as that sounds, I'm really very sad that I wasn't there for those two important days. I'm going to spoil her rotten that day (shocking, I know!).
15) 4th of July picnic!! The best picnic of the year. We have games and sing songs and have the yearly egg toss that always ends well.
16) Celebrate Bastille day...and my mom's birthday...simultaneously.
So there's my jam packed summer :)
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
My summer reading list
Every summer I decide to read a lot of different books. I usually start many of them and finish the easy ones. Here is a partial list for this summer:
1) David Copperfield (It's my summer classic...it was my summer classic from a few summers ago. I finally got past the first chapter)
2) The Percy Jackson series - it's a series of books that mixes a little bit of Harry Potter with Greek mythology.
3) Conspiracy in Kiev - a suspense novel
4) Something Borrowed - no comment
5) Miss Match - see above
6) Things Not Seen - a junior novel about a kid who just turns invisible one day.
7) Gone with the Wind - a perennial on my list because I once did a book report on it with out actually reading it and I've felt guilty ever since. One day I will finish it.
8) Midnight in Madrid - the sequel to Conspiracy in Kiev
9) Broken Angel - a loan from my dad
10) Turning the Paige - a sequel to another CCRN I read this year.
11) The Secret Life of Bees - on loan from Hannah
12) Breakfast at Tiffany's - ibid
13) Sovay - a robin hood story only with a girl
14) Life of Pi - on loan from Jane
15) The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
16) Idols of the Heart - a great book so far about how we make other things gods in our lives
17) The Land - the is the sequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry and the book that my students read for Academic Pentathlon.
18) Just Jane - a first-person telling of a Jane Austen pseudo-autobiography.
19) The Invisible Wall - Shannon Vincent loaned it to me and it will be depressing. I think I'll surround this one with very fluffy books.
20) Against All Odds - the heroes of Quantico series: FBI agents, romance, the ultimate in Cheesy Christian Romance Novels.
I've got a lot of reading to do. I bet that I'll not read half of them and then find some new series that I devour instead. I love summer reading!
1) David Copperfield (It's my summer classic...it was my summer classic from a few summers ago. I finally got past the first chapter)
2) The Percy Jackson series - it's a series of books that mixes a little bit of Harry Potter with Greek mythology.
3) Conspiracy in Kiev - a suspense novel
4) Something Borrowed - no comment
5) Miss Match - see above
6) Things Not Seen - a junior novel about a kid who just turns invisible one day.
7) Gone with the Wind - a perennial on my list because I once did a book report on it with out actually reading it and I've felt guilty ever since. One day I will finish it.
8) Midnight in Madrid - the sequel to Conspiracy in Kiev
9) Broken Angel - a loan from my dad
10) Turning the Paige - a sequel to another CCRN I read this year.
11) The Secret Life of Bees - on loan from Hannah
12) Breakfast at Tiffany's - ibid
13) Sovay - a robin hood story only with a girl
14) Life of Pi - on loan from Jane
15) The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
16) Idols of the Heart - a great book so far about how we make other things gods in our lives
17) The Land - the is the sequel to Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry and the book that my students read for Academic Pentathlon.
18) Just Jane - a first-person telling of a Jane Austen pseudo-autobiography.
19) The Invisible Wall - Shannon Vincent loaned it to me and it will be depressing. I think I'll surround this one with very fluffy books.
20) Against All Odds - the heroes of Quantico series: FBI agents, romance, the ultimate in Cheesy Christian Romance Novels.
I've got a lot of reading to do. I bet that I'll not read half of them and then find some new series that I devour instead. I love summer reading!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Visa and medicine
It's getting closer and closer to the date I actually leave for Uganda. I'm still in a state of disbelief about even going to Africa. It's kind of like when I was a kid and I designed my own house using shoe boxes and I picked all of the furniture out of the IKEA catalogue and made a budget for the cost of furnishing each room (yep, even then I was a dork). I did all of this planning and I enjoyed it, but I never expected to actually furnish the house. I was just planning.
So I've spent all of the money and I've filled out all of this paperwork and I've made phone calls and such, but my heart doesn't believe that I'm really going. I am certainly not emotionally prepared to go yet.
But I keep trekking on. So this week, Tuesday, I (with the wonderful help of my parents) filled out the application for my Visa to go to Uganda. I was particularly careful about each detail of the application and I made copies of all of my paperwork I had to send in (including my passport and yellow fever card).
Included in the package I sent I had to have two passport photos. I went to Kinkos and had the guy take my picture. I was without make-up and particularly feeling ugly. I had this flash to my mother's green card picture in which she was unable to smile and looked very much like a criminal. I thought that I couldn't smile for this one either. So I didn't and I looked like a criminal. An ugly one at that. After the pictures were printed, I looked at my passport picture and saw my big smile. What a dork! Of course I can smile for this. Why not! So I sent two of the ugliest pictures of me to the Ugandan consulate, hoping that they wouldn't be permanently added to any documentation I might need.
$100 later, I was forced to simply trust the USPS and the Ugandan consulate to not lose my passport and to return everything before the end of July.
I was then off to get my prescription filled for my anti-malaria pills that I chose to get. Previously I mentioned why I chose this particular brand of drugs - they were expensive, but had the least amount of side effects. I turned in the paper to the Wallgreens guy and asked him to call me back to the counter when he discovered the cost of my pills.
Five minutes later, while perusing some wonderful birthday cards, I was called over to the counter. "Your insurance doesn't cover this," He said, flinching. "It's rather expensive," he continued.
"Yes, I know. How much?"
"$246..." he looked like I was about to hit him or cry or pass out in shock.
"I suspected. Ok."
"You still want us to fill it?"
"Yep."
I was reminded of the time I was buying my house and you're dealing with numbers like $350,000 and $70,000 and someone says the price of the inspection is $100 and it instantly feels like the cheapest thing in the world. I'm in a similar state of mind. So my prescription is filled and all I have to do is wait for my visa...ding dong...(my impersonation of the door bell). At the door today was my package from the Ugandan consulate containing my passport with my yellow fever paper stapled inside and a beautiful Visa sticker on page 17! I have a VISA!!! I cannot believe the turnaround. I mailed it on Tuesday and it arrived on Wednesday in DC. Friday was a holiday and it arrived today in CA! Amazing! I will have to take back my distrust of the USPS. All that's left to do is pack.
So I've spent all of the money and I've filled out all of this paperwork and I've made phone calls and such, but my heart doesn't believe that I'm really going. I am certainly not emotionally prepared to go yet.
But I keep trekking on. So this week, Tuesday, I (with the wonderful help of my parents) filled out the application for my Visa to go to Uganda. I was particularly careful about each detail of the application and I made copies of all of my paperwork I had to send in (including my passport and yellow fever card).
Included in the package I sent I had to have two passport photos. I went to Kinkos and had the guy take my picture. I was without make-up and particularly feeling ugly. I had this flash to my mother's green card picture in which she was unable to smile and looked very much like a criminal. I thought that I couldn't smile for this one either. So I didn't and I looked like a criminal. An ugly one at that. After the pictures were printed, I looked at my passport picture and saw my big smile. What a dork! Of course I can smile for this. Why not! So I sent two of the ugliest pictures of me to the Ugandan consulate, hoping that they wouldn't be permanently added to any documentation I might need.
$100 later, I was forced to simply trust the USPS and the Ugandan consulate to not lose my passport and to return everything before the end of July.
I was then off to get my prescription filled for my anti-malaria pills that I chose to get. Previously I mentioned why I chose this particular brand of drugs - they were expensive, but had the least amount of side effects. I turned in the paper to the Wallgreens guy and asked him to call me back to the counter when he discovered the cost of my pills.
Five minutes later, while perusing some wonderful birthday cards, I was called over to the counter. "Your insurance doesn't cover this," He said, flinching. "It's rather expensive," he continued.
"Yes, I know. How much?"
"$246..." he looked like I was about to hit him or cry or pass out in shock.
"I suspected. Ok."
"You still want us to fill it?"
"Yep."
I was reminded of the time I was buying my house and you're dealing with numbers like $350,000 and $70,000 and someone says the price of the inspection is $100 and it instantly feels like the cheapest thing in the world. I'm in a similar state of mind. So my prescription is filled and all I have to do is wait for my visa...ding dong...(my impersonation of the door bell). At the door today was my package from the Ugandan consulate containing my passport with my yellow fever paper stapled inside and a beautiful Visa sticker on page 17! I have a VISA!!! I cannot believe the turnaround. I mailed it on Tuesday and it arrived on Wednesday in DC. Friday was a holiday and it arrived today in CA! Amazing! I will have to take back my distrust of the USPS. All that's left to do is pack.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
What time is it?
SUMMERTIME! It's our vacation (all HSM2 fans know what I'm talking about and if you're asking yourself "What's HSM2?" you're not one of them). Today was my last day of work until the end of August and it's not real yet. This year has been the toughest of my teaching career and I certainly learned a lot. Here is a list of lessons I've learned:
1) I am a good teacher, but I still need to work on discipline. I need to realize that all kids aren't like me, so some don't need reminders of what to do, but need to be told, every day, several times.
2) When reading the names at commencement (my first year doing this). I looked at the faces of each kid as I said his/her name. I was overwhelmed by the number of kids that I had somehow been a part of. What an amazing job I have! I get to be a part of thousands of lives. Whether they remember me or not, I still can make a difference. That sounds cheesy and I know it is, but it’s still cool.
3) I need sleep. I've been working on about 5 or 6 hours for the past two weeks and I'm cranky and moody and unmotivated. Well, as cranky as I get.
4) Respect is really important. I have students that respect me because I've poured respect on them. I have two students who don't because after constant disrespect from them, I caved and was rude back. That was when the battle was lost. I could no longer say, "I've never been disrespectful to you..." That is sometimes the hardest part of my job.
5) Words are powerful. My students have encouraged me so much in these last few days. They have written me letters, signed my yearbook, or said to me how much I've helped them. What a great job! People say that teachers don't get appreciated and maybe in some ways that's true. People outside of education may look down on teachers as a group (those that can do, those that can’t….). Yet in my job I get accolades every day from coworkers and from students. How many people have jobs where the people they work for cry because your job is finished? They give you gifts in thanks and say that you've changed their life for the better? Maybe Dr.'s and the people from Extreme Home Makeover.
6) Kids can change for the better. One student who was a particular challenge this year actually ended the year with a wonderful showing of maturity and leadership. He got an A in my class and was so respectful. I have hope.
7) Teachers need summer to remind them that they love their job. They also need to experience life without homework. And for those of you with 'real' jobs who are still working and are complaining about the cush 3 months off we get, let me tell you some things. First, it's only 2 months. Second, we don't get paid time off. Third, have you ever spent 7 hours a day with 168 Jr. Highers for 180 days? Trust me, you'd need the break too.
Well, don't call me at 6:15 in the morning tomorrow, because I will be sleeping. I'm free as a bird for 5 days and then my crazy summer starts. I'm going to enjoy every minute.
1) I am a good teacher, but I still need to work on discipline. I need to realize that all kids aren't like me, so some don't need reminders of what to do, but need to be told, every day, several times.
2) When reading the names at commencement (my first year doing this). I looked at the faces of each kid as I said his/her name. I was overwhelmed by the number of kids that I had somehow been a part of. What an amazing job I have! I get to be a part of thousands of lives. Whether they remember me or not, I still can make a difference. That sounds cheesy and I know it is, but it’s still cool.
3) I need sleep. I've been working on about 5 or 6 hours for the past two weeks and I'm cranky and moody and unmotivated. Well, as cranky as I get.
4) Respect is really important. I have students that respect me because I've poured respect on them. I have two students who don't because after constant disrespect from them, I caved and was rude back. That was when the battle was lost. I could no longer say, "I've never been disrespectful to you..." That is sometimes the hardest part of my job.
5) Words are powerful. My students have encouraged me so much in these last few days. They have written me letters, signed my yearbook, or said to me how much I've helped them. What a great job! People say that teachers don't get appreciated and maybe in some ways that's true. People outside of education may look down on teachers as a group (those that can do, those that can’t….). Yet in my job I get accolades every day from coworkers and from students. How many people have jobs where the people they work for cry because your job is finished? They give you gifts in thanks and say that you've changed their life for the better? Maybe Dr.'s and the people from Extreme Home Makeover.
6) Kids can change for the better. One student who was a particular challenge this year actually ended the year with a wonderful showing of maturity and leadership. He got an A in my class and was so respectful. I have hope.
7) Teachers need summer to remind them that they love their job. They also need to experience life without homework. And for those of you with 'real' jobs who are still working and are complaining about the cush 3 months off we get, let me tell you some things. First, it's only 2 months. Second, we don't get paid time off. Third, have you ever spent 7 hours a day with 168 Jr. Highers for 180 days? Trust me, you'd need the break too.
Well, don't call me at 6:15 in the morning tomorrow, because I will be sleeping. I'm free as a bird for 5 days and then my crazy summer starts. I'm going to enjoy every minute.
Monday, May 19, 2008
My crazy summer!
I have a tendancy to overbook. I fill each moment of every day with some plans. I usually like this kind of life. I am reminded by the sane people around me that I need to take time to rest and recouperate, etc. and I am glad for them. I will totally ignore them when it comes to this summer.
School gets out on the 19th (a Thursday). I will be on summer vacation from the 20th through the 24th - 5 glorious days. On the 25th of June, I will fly in an airplane with 19 teenagers and 3 other adults to Washington D.C. It's the first time I've been on a D.C. trip with kids and I cannot wait. It should be pretty wonderful with tons of supervision and other people planning the details. I'm just there to make sure the great kids don't kill each other. Also, my dear friend Laura (who lives in Montana), will happen to be in Washington, D.C. at the same time. We'll get to see eachother and that makes me happy.
I will fly home on the 29th of June (it was supposed to be on the 28th, my birthday, but plans changed and now I'm not going to be with family on my birthday and I'll miss another week of church!). I should arrive late in the evening.
I will get the 30th - July 11th off. I plan to use that time having birthday parties, picnics, recording for VBS, seeing Wicked, and packing. On the 12th, I'll be driving with my parents, brothers, Erin, and the kids to visit the aforementioned Laura in Montana. Yes, I'm driving with my whole immediate family to a state far far away. During the trip we may also get to visit Opa and his new wife in Yellowstone (my first time going). We are taking two vehicles and a trailer. We'll be camping all the way. This may sound like torture to some of you, but that's only if you've never been on one of my mom's trips. She can make every trip educational, amazingly fun, and so well planned that she can tell you the time of every stop to the minute (+/- 3 minutes). Seriously, she's the best!
We should come home on the 25th of July, a Friday, just in time to go to Danny and Katybeth's wedding on the 26th. I plan to go to church on the 27th. On the 28th, I plan to leave for Uganda until the 22nd of August. I'm going there to teach in the Karamoja region. I'm really excited about the trip and I only have moments of fear. I just learned that I will be there when the Goodheart sisters (at least Laura and Karen Goodheart) will be in Uganda. We overlap about 12 days!
When I come home, I have the weekend to recover and then I have superweek at school. Superweek is the week before classes start where teachers can take all sorts of classes and seminars for free on various topics. I was invited to actually speak at one seminar, but I decided that I was a little busy this summer to plan that too. Yes, I actually turned something down! I'm growing.
So, this is my crazy summer. You know, as busy as it sounds, I'll actually probably have more rest than usual. Think about it, I'll be far away from my usual activities and friends. I'll be spending much of my time either in a car, at a campsite, or in a remote African village (with internet access). Except for the jet lag, I should be very rested this summer. I'll keep you all updated. And I'll appreciate your prayers for safety and health during my Africa trip (and I suppose all the other ones too!)
School gets out on the 19th (a Thursday). I will be on summer vacation from the 20th through the 24th - 5 glorious days. On the 25th of June, I will fly in an airplane with 19 teenagers and 3 other adults to Washington D.C. It's the first time I've been on a D.C. trip with kids and I cannot wait. It should be pretty wonderful with tons of supervision and other people planning the details. I'm just there to make sure the great kids don't kill each other. Also, my dear friend Laura (who lives in Montana), will happen to be in Washington, D.C. at the same time. We'll get to see eachother and that makes me happy.
I will fly home on the 29th of June (it was supposed to be on the 28th, my birthday, but plans changed and now I'm not going to be with family on my birthday and I'll miss another week of church!). I should arrive late in the evening.
I will get the 30th - July 11th off. I plan to use that time having birthday parties, picnics, recording for VBS, seeing Wicked, and packing. On the 12th, I'll be driving with my parents, brothers, Erin, and the kids to visit the aforementioned Laura in Montana. Yes, I'm driving with my whole immediate family to a state far far away. During the trip we may also get to visit Opa and his new wife in Yellowstone (my first time going). We are taking two vehicles and a trailer. We'll be camping all the way. This may sound like torture to some of you, but that's only if you've never been on one of my mom's trips. She can make every trip educational, amazingly fun, and so well planned that she can tell you the time of every stop to the minute (+/- 3 minutes). Seriously, she's the best!
We should come home on the 25th of July, a Friday, just in time to go to Danny and Katybeth's wedding on the 26th. I plan to go to church on the 27th. On the 28th, I plan to leave for Uganda until the 22nd of August. I'm going there to teach in the Karamoja region. I'm really excited about the trip and I only have moments of fear. I just learned that I will be there when the Goodheart sisters (at least Laura and Karen Goodheart) will be in Uganda. We overlap about 12 days!
When I come home, I have the weekend to recover and then I have superweek at school. Superweek is the week before classes start where teachers can take all sorts of classes and seminars for free on various topics. I was invited to actually speak at one seminar, but I decided that I was a little busy this summer to plan that too. Yes, I actually turned something down! I'm growing.
So, this is my crazy summer. You know, as busy as it sounds, I'll actually probably have more rest than usual. Think about it, I'll be far away from my usual activities and friends. I'll be spending much of my time either in a car, at a campsite, or in a remote African village (with internet access). Except for the jet lag, I should be very rested this summer. I'll keep you all updated. And I'll appreciate your prayers for safety and health during my Africa trip (and I suppose all the other ones too!)
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