Let the Games Begin...

I received an email from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing last week. It said the following:

Congratulations, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing issued you the following document:

Preliminary Single Subject Teaching Credential
Issuance Date: 12/30/2011
Expiration Date: 01/01/2017
Authorized Subjects: Social Science (Examination)


I am OFFICIALLY a teacher. Yikes. That's a scary thought.
Today was my last day of student teaching. It's bittersweet. I don't want to be done with these kids. I'll miss my students, and hopefully, they'll miss me too. Amongst the many hugs, well-wishes, and complimentary comments, I had a student tell me as he was leaving today:
"Mrs. Russell, I just want you to know that you're the best teacher I've ever had, and I'm really going to miss you." 
I may or may not have gotten teary-eyed.

I gave a cumulative final today: 70 questions along with a 3-5 paragraph essay. It took most of them about an hour and forty-five minutes to finish it.  It was tough.
But guess what?
I have 80 students. Their average score was 85%.
Not too shabby.
I did a little victory dance at the scantron reading machine, not even caring that the teachers in line behind me looked at me like I was a crazy woman. With scores like that, I felt like celebrating.
I just wish I was there on Monday to tell them how wonderfully, fabulously, smart they are.
But as much as I don't want to, I have to wave goodbye and face what the future has to offer me. Let the games begin.

Forgetful

I have startling similarities to poor Dory in Finding Nemo. I forget...all the time.

Perfect example:

On the first of January, I gave a talk at church. I prepared my talk well in advance, and was feeling confident in its content. However, with it being the new year, my ward's start time went from 11:00 am (in 2011) to 9:00 am (in 2012). Me, being the forgetful person I am, FORGOT to set my alarm for the earlier start time. Oops. Luckily, I woke up about 20 minutes before I was supposed to be on the stand to speak, and I made it with a couple of minutes to spare. Saved.

But the story doesn't end there. 

As we were singing the opening hymn, I realized that I had forgotten the book from which a LARGE portion of my talk needed to be read. Crap.

I panicked...and then realized that wouldn't get me anywhere. So, I got up on the stand, and *somehow* managed to speak for the full 15 minutes without sputtering out sentence fragments. It was a close call.

But, do you see what I mean? Forgetful. I do stuff like this ALL THE TIME! So, I decided to do something about it...and made myself a calendar of sorts so that I can keep track of all of the little responsibilities that I too often let slip through the cracks.

Here's my list of "ingredients:"
- A calendar grid (for mine, I simply made a grid on the computer, printed it out onto four pieces of cardstock, and then "connected" them together)
- A cute header (Which I simply titled "The Russells")
- A place to write the month
- Labels (printed onto cardstock)
      *A "To do" list sheet
      *A "Notes" sheet
      *A "Don't Forget!" section
- Tape (I used the roll on stuff)
- Lots of card stock
- Fabric (for the backgound)
- Ribbon
- Spray adhesive
- A paper cutter
Optional
- A Cricut (to cut out the letters on the header, the header itself, and the labels)
- A corner rounder

Here's the process:
I used a "Trendsetter" poster frame from Michaels. Mine is 23x35...quite a bit bigger than the one pictured below. It usually runs for $30, but I snagged it for $7.99. Sweet.

Then, I used some spray adhesive to attach the fabric that I got at yardage town for $3.98. It looked like this.

 Then I started playing around with the "layout" of all of the pieces, and the ribbon. This was what I decided on, and simply taped the pieces onto the background using the "roll-on" tape.

Then, I treated like a "dry-erase" board, and filled it out for this month.

Now I can no longer use the excuse..."I forgot."

LUCKY

I've been accused of being starkly unemotional. On MANY occasions. My brother calls me "CHBW." It stands for, "cold, heartless 'B' word." Literally. I like to pretend he calls me this as a joke, but I know there's a figment of truth to it. I'm just overly logical, and I rarely see things from an emotional standpoint. It's just not in my biology, I guess.

But when it comes to this boy...

I'm a goner. 

The logical, unemotional Whitney flees the scene, to be replaced by a sappy, (purely ridiculous), gushing, blushing, ball of emotion. I often feel the need to pinch myself; to make sure that our life together is real. But it's understandable...he's kind of the bee's knees. 

Take today for example.

Our first conversation upon awakening, went something like this:

Whitney: I'm going to go make breakfast.

Graham. Nope. It's snuggle time.

Or this one:

Graham: Hey Whit, why have you never made me sleep on the couch?

Whitney: Because we've never gotten in a fight bad enough to necessitate you having to sleep on the couch. 

Graham: Well, we should.

Whitney: Why, do you want to sleep on the couch?

Graham: Yeah. It might be interesting.

Or this one, a couple of hours later:

Whitney: Do you like my outfit?

Graham: Love it, Babe. (After much experience, I have come to find out that this statement, in reference to my outfit, actually indicates that he hates it.)

Whitney: What's wrong with it?

Graham: I don't understand it. It looks like a bathrobe.

Whitney: It's a poncho!

Graham: Well, that's even worse.

If you're scratching your head, wondering how these conversations reveal the sheer awesomeness that is my husband, then let me explain: life with this boy is fun. From his ridiculous pronouncements and thought processes, to his incessant teasing, I'm in constant laughter...and from my point of view, that makes me pretty dang lucky. My brother reminds me on a regular basis (including today) that Graham is way too good for me. I tend to agree.
I even spent my trip to Costco today laughing too...

* Note: After reading this blog post to Graham, this was his response:


Graham: Well it's true.
Whitney: What's true?
Graham: (While laughing) You're an idiot.
Whitney: What is that supposed to mean?
Graham. I'm cooler than you.


I don't know what these statements meant...but they made me laugh. Again. See what I mean? I'm a sucker.

Life, Lately

My life has taken on a decidedly easier pace as of late. With both the boy and I out of school, we have actually had time to devote to hobbies, interests, and one another. It's been wonderful. This year started off with a renewed determination to get back to the gym, and eat healthy. Our hectic schedules, coupled with the holidays have turned us into over-eating slugs. It's not a good feeling.
In the last week, we have worked out five times, and made a concerted effort to eat healthy meals (minus our pizza binge on Friday night...oops. Although, to be fair, I only ate one piece). It's going very well so far.
We hiked Iron Mountain this Saturday (and Thursday, and Sunday...let's just say my legs are aching), and the view was SPECTACULAR. All of the fog sitting on top of SD in the distance was seriously breathtaking.

We then quickly showered, and headed down to enjoy the zoo. After a seven mile hike in the morning, and walking around the zoo all day, my feet had had enough! Here are a few pictures from the day: