The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It is a weekly news post to recap the past week on your blog, showcase the books and other goodies you’ve received, and share news about upcoming events on your blog. Be creative and personalize it! To get in on the Sunday fun day, see the rules here: Suday Post Meme.
I have been gone again. I think this is going to be my life until something changes for me at work. As in teaching a different subject. And I have a plan for that. It was a light bulb moment on Tuesday. If this change ends up happening for me next year, it will solve all of my problems with the struggle between professional and personal life and I wouldn’t have to sacrifice my beloved yearbook kids and could walk out the door at 4:00 every day. And with this change, the 6th ELA team can have full classes instead of one less due to one of mine having to be yearbook, so smaller classes! Win for everybody.
I have been very overwhelmed the past two or three weeks with my admin and the 938202 things I have to do in the behind-the-scenes parts of my job as a teacher. I have all the advanced classes, one on-level class (that in reality NEEDS to be a co-teach class), and my yearbook class. I am struggling planning on my own because what I do for my ELA kids is different than my partner, who does have almost all co-teach classes, and don’t feel as connected with teaching anymore. I feel like an island under attack – and I’m fed up with feeling this way again. I thought that was gone with our last principal. As an elective, nobody cares what you’re doing or critically critiquing every second of your lesson and interaction with your students. That’s the direction I want to go in in the media world because I love yearbook and that is where my passion now lies.
I am in love with my kids this year, mostly. My advanced students are really motivated and enthusiastic and just fun. My non-advanced class is like a zoo full of monkeys in paper cages with their tails on fair in the middle of a tsunami. And then I have my yerds who are fabulous. Sadly, I am losing two of my staff soon due to moves. I have also lost two advanced students and one moved classes. Thankfully, that now makes my max number of students in two classes 33. I was able to move out two desks on Friday. People will actually be able to get around my room!
I recently saw one of my favorite bands, Restless Heart, with my mom. We are also traveling – with all my doggies – to Tennessee for Thanksgiving with my middle brother. We have the Suburban booked. I can’t wait! I took my mom out for her birthday Friday night and spoiled her with gray Isotoner gloves like she had when I was growing up and an opal necklace to match the ring we bought in Mexico last summer.
My coworkers at school keep making fun of me (and complimenting me) because I’ve lost 40 pounds and my pants won’t stay on! I want to continue to lose 45 more and get with my doctor about a new medication for my anxiety and depression that might also aide in weight loss.
I am continuing to try to make improvements with my house. By divine intervention, yesterday morning I was able to get an entire pallet of emerald zoysia sod for $175. My dad and I spent the day laying it. He pulled out two of the bushes my mom hates, but the rest have to be removed with the chainsaw at a later date. He also pulled out the oleander that I’ve wanted gone. My mom and I have already made plans and done finally measurements on fixing (and expanding) the fence for the backyard and adding a 10’x10′ dog kennel so I can put the crazies outside for a few hours at a time in a safe, enclosed space. The next thing on my list is really pushing my landlord to remove the two dead trees – both alarmingly close to the house. One will definitely require a professional, as the limbs are all entangled in 8 different power lines that run alongside my house. And it is leaning, so eventually it’s going to rip down those lines.
I have been so bogged down this year that I haven’t even picked up my book since I don’t know when. I want to finish this novel, but it was a bit of a struggle for me getting through the beginning. Our school also received some free copies of Gordon Korman’s novel RESTART. I am planning on reading it because he is coming to our school on October 29th!
The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimba @ 
My classes read more of HOLES, so they are *so close* to being done with the book. I will have to catch up since I am a few chapters behind.
I made no progress on The Vintage Summer Wedding.
My Kindle died. I was torn about buying a new one, but I forged ahead and bought a Kindle Oasis. It is not like my Kindle Fire at all. More like a Paperwhite. I have started reading on it, but I’m having trouble finding my books and docs like I could on my Kindle Fire. I guess that’s the new tech learning curve.
I ordered 3 cherry blossom bare roots to plant on the side of the house. I love those trees so much and I hope they’ll turn out just as pretty as pictures once they’re grown.
My dad’s best friend passed away. My second brother is named after this man, who my dad has known since he was 8 years old. Ken had a heart attack an hour after leaving the VA hospital. (Don’t even get me started on THAT. I am so angry at the VA for not taking care of the men I care about. Two are now dead because of their negligence.) He was Starflighted from his house and was unresponsive afterward. His son kept a tight lid on it and didn’t even tell my dad until 4 days later, and only because they were going to take him off life support the next morning. It was so hard seeing my dad broken over the loss of a man who he has been so close to for over 50 years. They would go on boys trips to Vegas every year for several years when I was younger. This is the only person I can think of that is important to my dad outside of our family. He has buried his parents, his sister, and now his best friend.
Girl of 1000 Wonders 