my own place

it's been a very long weekend. while i relish the time i have to veg and stare blankly at the 200th+ episode of scrubs in a row (one of my all time favorite shows, and im finally on the 6th season and almost caught up to the new episodes!), brad and i were both pretty sick. he has a major sinus infection and has managed to cover my coffee table in snotty tissues and cranberry juice. i, on the other hand, have had major stomach issues lately and can eat barely anything before i get terrible stomach cramps and cannot move for long periods of time. needless to say, he came over after work and we both passed out. being with him calms me down and makes me feel better, but boy did i look frumpy today. anyway...the point is that we havent felt good.

so we camped out in the living room. i attempted to do lesson plans while intermittently running to the bathroom, while he sniffled his way through one math textbook chapter after another. we watched byu thrash wyoming (yay for shut outs!), and we even got to just relax for a bit. i started to feel better around 5:30 and brad went home to do homework while i ran some very necessary errands. as soon as i was done, he came back over. as we continued to work, we both started to not feel well again, so he fell asleep on the couch while i passed out on the floor.

and here is my problem. over the years, i have managed to have my share of roommates. not just any roommates, but BAD roommates. psycho ones, ones that got kicked out of school, dirty ones, awkward ones, you name it, i had it as a roommate. so as i looked for a new place to live this year, i was very determined to find a place where i might have normal roommates whom i could (heaven forbid) be friends with. and so far, so good. mostly. both of my roommates are very nice, but im just with brad and doing work so often that ive never really talked to them. my only complaint here is the fact that one of my roommates is CONSTANTLY rearranging everything in my kitchen. doesnt seem too odd, except that when i run into the kitchen to pack my lunch (and i usually have aout 20 seconds to do so), 90% of the time i cannot find my stupid lunchbox or tupperware because she moves them EVERY SINGLE DAY. i also have noticed that i will run out to my car and come back, and the food i had been eating was put away, dishes stacked and the table cleared off. a bit OCD, im learning.

so tonight i was extra irritable. i just wanted to cuddle with brad, but the stinking couch isnt even wide enough for one person, let alone 2. plus, when i get sick, im always freezing cold. when brad gets sick, he's always burning up, so cuddling isnt his first choice. i was admittedly sad about that. brad finally fell asleep and i was getting sleepy and turned off the tv when my one roommate came into the kitchen. if you dont know, my kitchen and living room are open into each other, so this means that she turned on all the kitchen lights. this woke both brad and me up. mind you, it was after 11PM. i figured she would put away some dishes and be done, but no. she continued to start cooking something very stinky (she isnt American, and she really makes stinky food and it bothers me) for the next hour! she just kept chopping and chopping....i was so mad!

i think what it comes down to is that im tired of having roommates that i dont want. nothing against them, but i want my own place where i can sleep on the couch if i darn well want to, and i dont want to have to worry about if they need to cook late at night. URGH! brad thought i was being ridiculous. really, i just want to choose my own roommate and not have to worry about anyone else reorganizing my kitchen in the middle of the night.

ketchup...or catch up

oops.

you know how you have all of these fun and awesome things you want to do during the summer and then one day.....summer is over? yeah. kinda happened to me this time, and it was a pretty big surprise. i spent the month of july (and the beginning of august) playing all over the country--utah, idaho, wyoming, montana, california, georgia, alabama, and texas to be exact--and then school started. and let me tell you, it's been trial by fire. two days after i got back from my last vacation, i started teaching in my very own classroom. my question is....why didnt i learn any of the stuff i've had to figure out in the past 3 weeks when i was in college for 4 years??

i suddenly have a much more enormous amount of appreciation for mom and dad (who have been teachers for as long as i can remember), because TEACHING IS HARD. all that stuff about teaching being the easy out in college.....yeah right! but, i love it. truly, this is the job for me. well, at least im still okay with it, and no children have been ruined or injured in the process. so far.

just so everyone knows, i am the teacher to the (arguably) best fourth graders in Utah. They are polite, they follow directions, and they are starting to pick up on some cool stuff. not to toot my own horn or anything, but they think im pretty hilarious, too, so we all work pretty well together. i only have 16 kids in my class, and we're all learning to make it work together. i havent taken pictures of my room yet, but i will try to post some soon.

highlight of the year:
i had a girl in my class who (long story short) was struggling and was feeling left out. in response, we did a character building activity--you know, read a story about a tiny dog who became a superhero, shared unique things about ourselves, same ol same ol. at the end of the activity, we taped a paper on everyone's back and the assignment was to write a compliment on everyone's paper without admitting who said what. the kids talked me into having one. after walking around, signing students' papers and having my paper signed, we started talking about how being complimented made them feel. i then told them that they could have one minute to read their papers and i began to read mine. there were a few 'you are my favorite teacher' and 'you teach well' comments, and then i saw it. right in the middle, bold and black, one student wrote:

'i like your shit'

i read it, stopped, and read it again. really? did some 8 year old just write that on my paper? and then i realized.....i had on a new, bright yellow shirt on. they meant i like your shirt! of course! i almost burst into laughter, but i controlled myself. of course, no one pointed it out or made any comments about my paper, so i just turned it over and placed it on my desk. i promptly showed all the other teachers during lunch. i will DEFINITELY be laminating that one and saving it for years to come.

anyway, i have lots to do. no matter how much i get done, i still find things i need to work on. blah. such is the life of an adult. i still say im not ready for it. i dont mind the paychecks, though...