Everyday when I go to work, teaching Sophomore English, I have flashbacks to ten years ago when I had giant eyebrows and terrible fluffy hair I couldn't control. (Luckily, I bought my first chi iron just a year or so later).  Those were the years of my life that truly shaped me into who I am today, and that is what scares me about these students. When you're 16, the world revolves around you. I didn't hold that opinion for too long because I was lucky enough to have a fearless and adventurous sister to live up to who quietly challenged every norm of the "in crowd" of the day. 

 

She chose to go to private school. On top of that she cut off her long beautiful locks and died her hair blue and then later fire-truck red. But she had somehow decided the dream of "one day" going overseas was not enough. She joined a teen missions group called Teen Mania, raised money, and used up that sacred summer break on a missions trip where the food was weird, beds were hard, and showers were few. First she went to Australia, then Croatia.

 

As soon as school started she started raising money for the next trip. I didn't exactly have the nerve to chop off my hair, but I followed in her footsteps as closely as I could. In fact, my first missions trip was to Australia in 1999 when I was 14. My next one was to Romania when I was 15, just like Michelle had when she was 15. When I was 16 I took a bigger leap and went to South Africa. My sister went to Botswana that year as well. Michelle and I also took trips to Costa Rica and Kenya respectively. 

 

The point of these trips were to serve God and serve hurting people around the world. It was hard work raising the money and harder work training every summer in the boiling Texas heat in the red dirt fields of Garden Valley. Once in country the conditions were tough, but I got to see people in worse conditions every day. Comfort is definitely relative.

 

I'm not sure how much of the world I changed, but the world has permanently changed me. I really wish my students could have the same experiences I've had. They would be nicer and more understanding of each other and their differences. They'd work harder and be more thankful for everything they have and not expect things to be handed to them. The constant complaining would be re-thought.  

 

This Christmas I wish Santa existed so I could take 100 students, fill up a big jet, and drop them off for the summer around the world to do some good old fashioned hard work. I say we quit spending so much money on classroom technology and standardized testing and take these kids out into the real world. Then we'd have some productive members of society. 

One of the things I love about living in my 2nd story condo, and there are several, is feeling like I get a bird's eye view of nature. While lounging around I watched an afternoon storm blow in through the treetops. 

 Last summer my sister and I passed through Kingwood, dubbed the livable forest. It was pretty true to its name,, and after spending about 5 minutes in the Starbucks drive-through, I was ready to relocate. If I ever left Longview, I hope I would be trading one green city for another. And I mean green in the naturally landscaped aesthetic use of the word, not in the environmentally conscious way. We’re still behind the times when it comes to carbon footprint awareness. It’s sad, but the city has a few subtle redeeming qualities. Longview is one of those cities where although you’re living in the “city”, the wild is pretty much never out of sight. I love it.

 

Today the living forest around my area made the city a little livelier. A storm blew in and all sorts of living things took to the streets and sidewalks. On my walk around the Condo grounds I nearly ran over this little fellow.

I must say this snail was a much better wild encounter than the wild hog experience on John’s land, which I shudder even thinking about.  He was pretty big and I was kind of curious where he found his home so far from sea.  I looked it up, and silly me! I’m 25 years old and I’m just finding out that snails grow their own shells. I'm not sure where he was headed, but I picked him up and let him chill in the flower planter next to my front door. I thought he might enjoy a new perspective.

 

Check back soon, the next few posts are going to be about the wild natural treasures around my home that I’ve come to love. 

 

Easter came bounding on the hills of Spring this past weekend. There's just something about warmer weather that makes me want to create chaos on my kitchen countertops. Last year I went through a baking bread phase and then a canning phase. I've come full swing back to my bread phase.

For Easter I wanted to make something fun and traditional at the same time. When all else fails, google or search allrecipes. I came up with a traditional Italian Easter bread recipe where dyed Easter eggs are actually baked into the bread.

As it turns out, my mom grew up eating this very same bread when my Great Grandmother Mary Felice would bake it. Not only was I comfortable with this dough because of it's similarities to my favorite sweet Challah, this rich egg bread recipe has instantly become a new family favorite and tradition.

I'm on my first spring break as a teacher. I know this is a horrible way to announce to xanga that I changed careers almost 6 months ago, but this is the most free-time I've had in awhile to get bored enough to clean and then in turn procrastinate from cleaning to post on my abandoned xanga.

Back in October I got my big break in the teaching field when a teacher decided to quit mid-school year. It's a 30 minute commute that I love. The time has just sprung forward so when next Monday rolls around...I'll be driving to work in the dark again.

I teach about 100 students at the High School. About 25 of them are in my Speech/Teen Leadership in grades 9-12. The rest of them are in my 5 sections of English II. That means I spend the majority of my day with smelly 16 year old boys and girls. The boys for some reason just put off a lot of odor and the girls put on a lot of scented lotions and perfumes. Mix that with the coffee I brew in my room and the occasional candle I burn. I can't seem to get that charming "teacher" scent to stick in my room. My wing is pretty new, so I'm guessing it might take a few years to settle in.


So far I'm loving it! Every day is a different challenge and adventure. I'm learning right along with the kids, so I couldn't ask for much more in a job! Job joy is wonderful.

I've started a class website at http://www.hhsjackson.webs.com

Here is a picture of me between classes.




And as the title of this posts alludes, I'm on spring break vacation for a week, and I'm staying put. The list of things to do is long. I really have a fear of wasting this time off. A trip just didn't work out for me this year, so I'm managing my household where I've let things slip the last few months.


Day One of Spring Break was Saturday. I spent the majority of the day in a teaching workshop that I actually enjoyed. My sister is now in the teaching certification program WITH me, so this was our first workshop together. We watched Ruby Payne present over her research entitled, "A Framework for Understanding Poverty." It was fascinating.

Sunday John took me to the daffodil gardens. The weather was perfect for it. We got stuck in a traffic jam on a country road on the way. I found that very fun. Here's a picture of us to prove that fun and romantic dates can be free! I plan to print and frame these pictures sometime this week. That evening we went to my friend Emily's house for "Breakfast for Dinner." A big meal and a little friendly competition made for a fun evening.



Yesterday I worked all day with my sister Michelle and John and our friend Ben to clear out dad's storage building (yes again). I swear we spend all day there cleaning stuff out, putting things in the dumpster, divvying up random things we decide are sentimental, and selling things on ebay: AND THE BUILDING IS STILL FULL. We've finally gotten to the point that there are no "possessions" in the building. I think we've finally got all the equipment out as well. Yesterday we sold ALL the metal in the building to the scrapyard for about $140. What's left? Shelving, a basketball goal, pieces of a giant pool table, and a few cabinets and desks.

On a joyous note, I found another box of my long lost beloved childhood library! As a child I owned just as many books as I do now in my adulthood....too many. The good news is that I'm storing most of them in my classroom as a "class library". I just hope I don't regret it later when my books disappear or get damaged. Oh well.


Today is Tuesday, and I'm doing some Spring Cleaning. I think it might take me all week to complete. I still have my Christmas tree displayed in one of my window seats. John covered it up with the curtain, so I keep forgetting it's there.

This afternoon I'm taking the dogs to the vet and trying to get my glasses repaired. I stepped on them. They were the expensive nerdy transition lenses to top it off. I'm horrible at keeping paperwork, and I don't think I bought insurance on them. So that might be bad news. I need a stronger prescription anyway, I think. It seems I may be near-sighted in more than one way.

Tonight I promised myself I would bake some bread. I bought 25 lbs of flour. I need to start using it.

And now I leave you with the pups. I had a friend who went on a rant that it is ridiculous for women without children to treat their pets like babies. Well when I pick up after these two every day, clean up their poop and vomit, cart them around to their vet and grooming appts, and feed them constantly.... I really feel like a soccer mom.  Some of us 25 year olds are not on the minivan to menopause track, whether by chance or choice.  So until I get a chance to catch up, this is my little family.

Today I brought home a 2nd dog to my one bedroom condo. They are both rather small dogs, so I'm considering they take up about the same size as one big dog. A lady at work is going through a divorce and had to find new homes for 2 of her 3 dogs. Bonnie and Clyde are welsh pembroke corgis. Bonnie found a home first, so I took in Clyde. I find his name kind of awkward rolling off the tongue. He doesn't seem to answer to the name anyhow, so I'm calling him Sly short for Sylvester.

My family has had quite a few dogs, but recently we've been naming them "S" names. So it just fits. Sheena, Sebastian, Sophie, and now Sylvester.

Sebastian didn't get socialized much so he's a super anxious dog. I didn't want to make the same mistake with Sophie. She's got into two scuffles with two different dogs at the Condominium, so I thought getting her a playmate would get her used to the idea that the world doesn't revolve around her. Everyone is kind of skeptical of my decision, but I figured I'd at least try.

I researched how to introduce a new dog into the home, and how to take dominant dogs down a notch. So far it's been a success. We had Sly and Sophie meet at Teague park, a neutral area. They are still getting acquainted. If it turns out to be too much trouble taking care of two dogs, I've got the info on Sly from his breeder and can sell him or find him a good forever home.

One good thing has already come from it. Since Sophie saw Sly drink out of the water dish, she's actually been drinking from it today! She usually forgoes the water dish for the toilet.

I haven't been able to get them to sit close enough for a group shot, but here is one of me and Sly.