Back to School...Again 85/365 & 86/365

And here we go again...back to school (back to school...to prove to dad I'm not a fool. Anyone?) but at least this is my last full academic quarter--and then all I have left is my student teaching! (Whoaa) This quarter I'm taking two English classes, my science practicum, and the final eled math class (besides the internship class)--I'm excited (and a little nervous) to teach science! One of my English classes is called "Utopias and Dystopias"...hmm...we'll see about this one.


Day 85 of 365...

Mmm...this delicious mess is called Sour Cream Noodle Bake and if you want to know how to make it (and you really do) you can check out this amazing website/woman: The Pioneer Woman. If you haven't already heard of her, you're in for a treat! (The recipe is under the Cooking tab in the recent recipes) Andy and I made this last night and it was soo good. Ohmygoodness good. I almost want to go get a plateful of leftovers right now just thinking about it...

Day 86 of 365...

Oh, books. These are (almost) all of my textbooks for the quarter...significantly fewer than last quarters' load! I'm just missing one...Brave New World by Huxley, which I'm trying to borrow rather than buy, because I know that somebody I know must own it.  Didn't everybody read this in high school? Well, I didn't, but I know just about every other high school English class did. Better late than never? I guess...

I'm going to try to go to bed earlier this quarter...hahahaaaa yeaahh, right, we'll see how long that lasts. 

Winding Down 82, 83, & 84/365

Well, spring break is unfortunately winding down and I have to get back into school/reality mode tomorrow, bummer.  I really did mean to post Friday night and last night...but I got home too late both nights and was way too tired to do it, so there ;)  

Day 82 of 365...(Fri. 3/25)

This is my Andy's mom's boyfriend...in bobble-head form! Who knew you could have bobble-heads made of yourself!? Well, apparently you can.  And this looks so much like him! It's kind of creepy actually, but still pretty awesome. 

Day 83 of 365...(Sat. 3/26)

Yesterday was this guy's birthday! This guy happens to be my best friend's older sister's fiance, we call him McMillen and he's basically an all around good guy. We went downtown to The Triple Door Musicquarium Lounge to hear the funk band How Now Brown Cow play, and then did some karaoke--so much fun!

Day 83 of 365...(today)

Umm, hello? Miniature red cowboy boots? So. Stinkin. Cute.  One of the little girls at church today was wearing them--I almost died; way too adorable, so obviously I had to take a photo! I'm still kind of dying over the cuteness...

I'm heading back up to school tomorrow...classes don't start until Tuesday, but I need to get my life in order before I get back on the grind.  I'm hoping (wishing, praying) that this quarter will not be as hellish as the last--I don't think it will be, but it's impossible to say until I have all of the syllabuses (syllabi?) and have met all of the profs...Keep your fingers crossed for me! 

Kid at Heart 81/365

By now there's a long list of reasons why I should and am going to be an elementary school teacher...there's the "usual"...love kids, want to make a difference, blahblahblah...and here's another:

Day 81 of 365...

Tonight my mom and I babysat some darling little girls from church, they're 2 and about 4 months old. I tried to engage the 2-year-old with the blocks, but she wasn't having it, so I built a mansion! Which she proceeded to knock down...baby Godzilla-style...well, at least she kind of played with them! 

Just another reason I should probably be teaching kindergarten :) even though I probably won't be building mansions out of giant Legos while teaching...

Before/After 79/365 & 80/365

Okay, I have a good excuse for not posting yesterday...I couldn't get online! And therefore, could not update my blog, so I'm doing it now! (And it's late still...sorry)


Day 79 of 365...(Tues. 3/22)

I love this kid!

This is my 2nd cousins' littlest one, Jason, and he's probably the sweetest baby I've ever met-

seriously-this kid is so happy! (Okay, he doesn't look super happy in this photo...I think he was a little shell shocked from the flash on the camera haha) 

Ahh I can't wait to have one of these little buggers...okay, no, I can (and will) wait...but it will be fun when it happens! 

Day 80 of 365...(Wed. 3/23)

I finally got my hair cut!!! WOOO HOOO!!

I literally haven't cut it since last March--and I cut it to right below my chin that time! 

So here's my before and after--I didn't do anything too drastic, just cut off the nasty split ends and put some layers in so it wasn't so boring anymore. Love it. My hair feels so much better now--it's amazing what a haircut can do for a girl ;) 

I wish I could change the date on this post...it's going to bug me tomorrow when I have two posts that say they're from Thursday, March 24, when really this one was supposed to be on Wednesday the 23rd. Ah well, that's just my neurotic self coming out ;)

Heartstrings 78/365

I almost didn't make it tonight, I was too busy taking photos! (And I still might not make it before midnight if my photos don't start uploading faster!) Well, at least I made the effort to actually do it tonight ;)


Day 78 of 365...(Mon. 3/21)

This used to belong to my Grandma Merrill, and now it belongs to my daddy--I wish I could have heard her play (or at least remember hearing her play), from what I understand she was pretty dang good!

I just love the simple design on it, I don't think I've seen another guitar like it-not that I'm any kind of guitar connoisseur. 

I attempted to teach myself to play in high school, but I'm not quite that musically inclined...and my hands are little so it's a bit of a stretch to reach all of the strings...I would still love to learn though! 

I really want to learn before I start teaching--music can go a long way in a classroom. 

Ah well, 12 minutes late on this post--at least it's not 12 days! ;)

Oh, Sweet Freedom 74, 75, 76, 77/365

Yeah, yeah, I know, I suck. So much for getting back to posting daily... I've just been enjoying my free time so much! ;)  It's so nice to not have to worry about class/homework/school in general for at least a couple of days.

Day 74 of 365...(Thurs-St. Patty's Day!)

And this is what I did for my super exciting St. Patty's Day festivities.

At least my toes look good now ;) 

I probably should have painted them green, just to be festive, but green toenail polish kind of makes it look like you just have nasty, infected toes, so I decided against it. 

Day 75 of 365...(Fri, 3/18)

I was planning to drive home for Spring Break on Friday, but when I got to the gas station to fill my little lady up I found out that she was leaking coolant really bad--green goo everywhere. 

Great.  Top radiator hose has a giant hole in it. 

Luckily, My Andy was able to fix it for me! He's so handy :) 

Day 75 of 365...(Sat. 3/19)

Sisterly love. 

?

Day 77 of 365...(today)

Uhh...you'd think I'd moved back home for good, the way I pack.

This is what my room tends to look like every time I come back...even if it's only for 2 days.

I'd rather pack too much than not enough! 

Okay, I'm really really going to try to post daily this week! Hopefully the 'rents will keep me on top of it ;) 

I will definitely have the time haha I just need to stop being so lazy! 

The Bay 73/365

It was (relatively) nice today, so Andy and I took a drive along the Bay to take some pictures. We pulled off to a pretty sweet spot and I got some cool shots :) hooray!

Day 73 of 365...

It was so still out on the water today, it was crazy! It looked like a mirror almost.

Note the train tracks waaaaaay down there! (Yikes!)

Also, are you proud of me for posting today?

Good, me too ;)

Oh, Sweet Freedom 71, 72, 73/365

Ahh...finally...winter quarter is over!!!  I. am. so. relieved.
And I have no excuse for not posting last night, I was just being lazy, sorry :\  But now I have lots of free time (at least for a week) so (hopefully) I'll get my act together and start posting every day again--I was doing so well for a while!

Day 71 of 365...(Sun. 3/13)

It was super windy on Sunday night and this tree looked like it was about to snap off! 

(Right on top of my car!)

Day 72 of 365...(Mon. 3/14)

Andy and I went to Red Robin for dinner on Monday because I finished (and aced) my math final! 

Woohoo! It was so gooood--I always love Red Robin (yummm) 

Day 73 of 365...(Tues. 3/15)

With some of my newfound free time, Andy and I crocheted a little! This is the very first hat I've ever made, (not that you can tell it's a hat in this photo) and it actually turned out alright!

New hobby?

(Ha. Who has time for a hobby?)

I'm so happy to have a week free of school--I do kind of wish I was going somewhere nice tho! However, I am excited to go home :)

Dead Week 66, 67, 68, 69, 70/365

Well...at least I have a good excuse for missing five days in a row (yeah, I'm terrible)...this week has certainly lived up to its name, as I knew it would.  But, I'm almost done!

This week I finished: my last literacy lesson plan and 4-page analysis, a literacy minilesson and chapter synthesis, a letter to the teacher of my practicum student, a math lesson plan, and final projects for both of my English classes.  And now I just have a (cumulative) math final on Monday morning (8 a.m., ouch), and a final reflection letter for one of the English classes. Also, I need to finish my internship application essay so that I can start student teaching in the fall. I love college?

Yeaahhh...

Day 66 of 365...(Tues. 3/8)

Mmm...food. 

Fuel for the week.

Day 67 of 365...(Wed. 3/9)

I got all kinds of craft nasty this week.

The makings of one of my English projects...

Day 68 of 365...(Thurs. 3/10)

The finished product! 

It's a little book of a poem that I wrote/revised throughout the quarter...

and it's made out of paper bags! I told you...craft nasty. 

I actually Stumbled on this bad boy one night, so unfortunately (for me) it's not an original idea 

You can find the whole tutorial here, if you're interested!

Day 69 of 365...(Fri. 3/11)

Sorry, horrible photo... 

This is yet another craft project I did this week...but this one I did with the kiddos on Friday night.

It's a ladybug card! Which was actually mostly Maddie's idea--ahh to have the imagination of a 3-year-old...

Day 70 of 365...(Sat. 3/12)

 I only have one thing to say about these fortunes...

"Budget fortune cookies?"

I'll try to post a picture from today later tonight--but I do have an 8 a.m. math final tomorrow, so don't hold your breath. 

I think I can...I think I can...I think I can... 

Super Fail 62, 63, 64, 65/365

Well, I won't explain why I've been so lame about posting recently, since I did that last night, but I am sorry! And here are my photos from the last four days...

Day 62 of 365... (Friday March 4, 2011)

Aww sleeping babies :) 

They passed out on the couch watching a movie...Zachary was snoring AND drooling, too funny. 

Day 63 of 365... (Saturday March 5, 2011)

Saturday was the Children's Literature (alternative) Conference at WWU, and I volunteered at the event for a class. But really, I love going to this conference because I love children's literature! My "position" was to be author Kirby Larson's host in the morning! Fun! This woman is amazing, I got to hear her speak three different times and I was in awe every time--also, she's from Kenmore, just like me! 

I highly recommend her most recent novel, Hattie Big Sky--loved it!

I also got to briefly meet author/illustrator Chris Raschka, who was also a fantastic speaker! 

I love his work--it's really fun and energetic--I would recommend the picture book, Yo! Yes? written and illustrated by him. 

Day 64 of 365...(Sunday March 6, 2011)

I did homework. And then I ate lots of food with these lovely ladies (Eled potluck). And then I did more homework. 

At least I got this nice little break :) I don't know where I'd be without my Eled family!

Day 65 of 365...(today!)

Cookies will get me through this week.

I hope.

Today I got one project/class out of the way...only to make room for what feels like 1000000 more things.

Ah well, I'm in the home stretch! (Hallelujah)

Exactly ONE WEEK until this hellish quarter is over. 

Whoops :/

Yikes, sorry about the delay in updates! This weekend has been busy, busy, busy because this coming week is Dead Week. Oh, how I hate dead week...mostly because it always lives up to its name. I have been taking pictures every day, but I've either forgotten or haven't had time to even upload them onto my laptop...let alone post them!
That includes tonight...I've been doing homework all day, interrupted by an Eled potluck this evening, and back to more homework. I promise I'll post all the pictures tomorrow!

Here's hoping next quarter won't be so crazy! (Or that I'll be more on top of it...but that seems to be impossible with the amount of work my classes have)

Circular Things 61/365

Can I be honest? I could not think of a more creative title having to do with circles and my photo for this post...just wasn't happening...I think I need to go to sleep...ha anyway...

Day 61 of 365...more circles!

Mmm I love candles...as you can see, most of mine have been burned down to the end of their lives.

Time for some new ones I think! 

This weekend I'm volunteering at the Children's Literature (alternative) Conference at school and I'm so excited (nerd?)--tonight for my class we went and listened to children/young adult author Kirby Larson talk about her writing process and how it might be applied in an elementary classroom, which was really interesting...for me! But some of you might read that and think I'm losing my mind (which may be true regardless).  Anyway, tomorrow (for the same class) we're helping out at the Author's Reception and then on Saturday is the actual conference--Kirby Larson and Chris Raschka are the speakers this year, and from what I've read of their work I think it will be really interesting to hear them talk. Ahh..such a teacher (kind of).

Yes, I am 22-years-old, in college, and my weekend consists of nannying and volunteering at a children's lit conference...and homework.  Jealous?

Going in Circles 59/365 & 60/365

And going, going, going in circles I am! Chugging along to the end of the quarter--I can see the light! Barely, but it's there ;)

Keeping up with my circle theme for the week...
Day 59 of 365...

The Blockbuster in town is going out of business so they had a big clearance sale, this is one of my new purchases :) I love this movie, it always makes me happy and I've seen it countless times. I can't believe I didn't own it before now!

Day 60 of 365...(Holy cow! 60 days in already! Time is flying by.)

Lots of circles in this one...the teacher in me wants to ask if you can count them? :)

This was the first time I braved the paints with Miss Maddie (remember...she's 3) and she did surprisingly well! Also, the apron was her idea...someone trained her well.

Maddie has been big on singing lately...this is one of her latest gems:
Lollipop! Lollipop!  (to the tune of "My Girl Lollipop")
Baker's man, bake me a cake as fast as you can! 
Roll it... (to the "Baker's Man" tune)