Summer Break?

Well, summer break is already in full swing, and while it's not been quite as crazy as last summer, it has definitely not been what you might call "laid-back". For those of you that don't already know, Andrew has been in Columbus (Georgia) for the past six weeks so I've been missing him like crazy. My sister in-law and her boyfriend have been keeping me entertained and kept me from being too lonely, but I'm still glad he'll be back in town come Wednesday evening.

I have been in class intermittently since May 25th, so I've been trying to keep up with homework and housework and keeping the garden from going to pot while Andrew is at the other end of the state. I've been doing the wedding and baby shower circuit and loving every minute of it...it's always fun to get together with the people you love to celebrate new seasons in life. In all of this, I've been tagging along house-hunting with my parents, gone to Disney (WOO-HOO), and will be going to Asheville, NC and Florida back-to back.

Even though the summer stays incredibly busy, it's still great to have a mental break from teaching...unless you are a teacher, it's hard to understand how much concentration it takes to plan lessons and make them fun and keep the kids from being crazy all at once. Much as I love it, I also love the built-in vacation time in order to regroup and prepare for the next group of little darlings. One day I'll sit down and write a bunch of stories that all come from teaching elementary school.

With all that said, hopefully this summer I will learn how to keep my blog up to date (sorry, Lindsay for being so delinquent...)! I guess it's like when you buy a brand new diary and fill up ten pages before putting it on the shelf and letting it gather dust.

Finally Time to Update

See, this is the problem with starting a blog...you have to update it once in a while! I am thoroughly enjoying my Spring Break and the beautiful weather, although feeling somewhat lonely since Andrew is off camping with his Dad. It's hard to believe that this time next year we will know where he'll do his residency! It is still a little weird to think about being married to a doctor, but I am so happy to be partners with someone who will have the chance to be a positive influence on so many lives. Being a doctor is a little like being a teacher I guess, although you can't exactly say that teachers deal with life or death situations on a daily basis; I guess pathologists don't either (which is what Andrew intends to do). Still, it's nice to know the chance to do some good is right there in front of you, if you'll just grab at it.

Read an amazing book, "The Secret Life of Bees" over the break (finished it about an hour ago). Very well written and once I sat down and got into the meat of the book, I couldn't put it down. I think when I retire and when the children are all grown, I want to do nothing more than read and scrapbook every day. There is something about reading and forming your own images of what is happening in your book that will never be replaced by watching film adaptations of books. I almost never like a movie that is based on a book if I read the book first, it is always best to watch the movie first, and then read the book.

OK, enough rambling...off to find the next book to devour before my break is over!

Clean House = Peace

It has taken me a long time to realize what a neat freak I can really be. Growing up, I was anything but neat as anyone who lived with me would tell you. Even for most of my college career, it was the norm to walk into my room and not be able to see the floor. But something happened my senior year (I have no idea what) that turned me into the kind of person that is really bothered by little things that clutter up floors and counter spaces. This morning, while putting away the groceries I had just bought, I was suddenly very bothered by the state of chaos in my tupperware cabinet. Therefore, I had to stop everything just so I could purge and organize everything in the cabinet...and the feeling of peace that I felt after it was done...well it actually is kind of freaky to me that such a little thing could make me feel so happy...especially when I have a paper due Thursday that I haven't started. But, those of you who know me also know one of the other things that makes me happy...procrastinating.

Yes, I'm a Blog Virgin

OK, here's my first official blog post for my brand spanking new blog. I figure writing in a blog is kind of like writing in a journal...I never know what to write in a journal and those of you who know me know I can be a little random. And if you didn't know that about me, you do now, so don't complain that I'm too random when I write. I'm sitting in class right now learning all about the Foundations of Education (after finishing the only midterm I've ever had in my graduate school career), and am so bored that I decided now was as good a time as any to start a blog. (Also I've decided this is the best time to update Facebook). Hopefully this new hobby won't take too much time away from this high quality lecture I'm listening to about how poverty affects education. Sorry that there's nothing more exciting to talk about, but I'm just excited to get on the bandwagon!