Bittersweet...

Mixed emotions about the Olympics being over...Matt and I were AVID watchers this year. More so than I've ever been in the past. You know why? (Well, the real reason probably is because we just got DVR and we taped everything then watched it all while fast-forwarding through the commercials...and any other competitors besides the Chinese and the Americans...beside the point...maybe a whole post later will be dedicated to how DVR has changed my life...)

The reason why the Olympics are awesome? Because it's watching people compete for something they want SO bad. You know? And I LOVE when it comes down to the last minute...the last second, the last tenth of a second...the last dive, the last event, the last competitor. Even if it's randomly awkward men's diving...I love it! I'm going to miss it. The hub-bub of the students talking about it the next day. However, I can now get back to my regular viewing schedule, and possibly head to bed a little earlier. But the Olympics have definitely inspired me, at the very least, to be passionate about life and to dig down deep and be tough, no matter the challenge.

Didn't you learn that from watching? :)

Don't Worry...

Just wanted to let you know I survived the first two weeks of school! Really, it's been a bit of a writer's block that's been keeping me from posting. Nothing to write about...except school. And, come on, I exhausted the subject of school well before it even started! I'm just going through the typical "first-year teacher" things that many of my readers have themselves experienced. They always told us in school that teaching would be harder than we thought. And I really thought they were talking to everyone but me. I'll be able to survive the long days, I'll be able to wear cute uncomfortable shoes, I'll be able to sponsor clubs & activities my first year...I'm tough, I'm organized, I want this so bad...I can do this. Okay, so I'm not as infallible as I thought. I'm tired...my feet hurt...and there are definitely times when I think I do NOT have time to go to practice or organize this meeting...I need to plan for school!!! There were a couple times this week when I felt like I was treading water...while holding a pile of bricks. But I've made it through to the weekend, and I have to keep repeating the advice my co-worker (also named Jana)says to me each day as she leaves school at 3:31 (this is her 13th year of teaching)..."you'll be fine...take it one day at a time."

What the heck is that?

"That" is my attempt at making potato cakes. What's a potato cake, you ask? It's what our family does with leftover mashed potatoes. "Our family" meaning everyone but me. This did not go well. I had tons of leftover mashed potatoes so I called Grandmama to get instructions and set out to broaden Matt's horizons with our family secret. Obviously I missed something somewhere because we just ended up with charcoaled potato blobs...and a ruined bowl of leftover mashed potatoes.

Ewww.

School Time!

My sister, Gentry, wrote me a cute little back-to-school poem entitled "School Time!" No kidding, she really wrote me a poem. It was hilarious!! All about teacher sweaters, the other staff thinking I look young but how I need to hold my tongue, etc (I get angry when people say I look like a student!). It was great. I'm thinking of laminating it. If I typed it on here without her permission is that some sort of copyright infringement? We had an inservice on that...
As promised, the "after" pictures of my classroom. We're ready to go, good thing, since school is 4 days away!!!
I stood in the doorway and kind of pivoted around taking pics.



The cabinets in the front of the room...decided to cover them.

A shot of the front of the room. Red letters were bigger than I thought, it's kinda like I'm yelling MRS. KEELEY!!! at the class.

My little area up front.

Side wall

Back wall

Other side wall. Hard to see because of the glare. This wall is quite busy! It says Process Skills, The "how to" of everything you do!

Process skills are emphasized heavily in FACS curriculum. It's not about the final product of a cake or a purse or whatever anymore. It's about the skills used and developing the skills to make kids better wage earners, family members and citizens. :)

Process skills on the wall: Creativity, Management, Teamwork, Leadership, Critical thinking, Decision Making, Problem solving, & Goal Setting.

This is my class mascot. Isn't he welcoming? We will have a contest to name him the first week of school. (He cost $4 at Hobby Lobby).

WaRu Cheer Corner

Letters in the back of the room. They may be my favorite...

Another view of my desk area in the classroom. I also have a desk in the FACS office, but there's nothing in there now, I barely have enough stuff to fill one desk area!


I think I'm ready to roll! Getting the classroom ready was the easy part...the rest is taking some time. So many decisions to make in regards to class routines, procedures, discipline plan, LESSON PLANS, etc!!

The to-do list goes on and on! This will be an exciting journey...don't worry, I'll keep you posted. :)

End of Summer Bash!!

Luau!! Matt's sister, Christy, is a fabulous event planner (in her spare time--she's an accounting specialist for her "daytime" job). She always goes "all out" when she's hosting an event. So when she & Mitch decided to throw an end of summer luau (aka Hawaii at the Hills) it was nothing less than fancy themed invitations in a bottle, tiki torches, costumes, great food, and even a pineapple punch fountain!

The boys...I guess I'll claim the skinny one in the coconut bra!!!



What do these next 3 pictures have in common?



Yep, Cindy & Erin's wedding decorations + water & baby oil = summer fun! The highlight of the luau...the HUGE slip & slide. I guess we should apologize for heckling Mike & Jan so much about saving the white plastic. (I'm thinking they have enough that we could make a slip & slide every year for the rest of our lives...)

Wish I had more pics to share...but I figured not everyone (including me) wants pictures of themselves slip & sliding in swimming suits all over the internet? I may be in trouble just with these!

Another great time thanks to Christy and her excellent party-planning!!

Stay tuned...COMING SOON: Pictures of my finished classroom. I've had too much actual work to do to stop & take pics of the room...imagine that! But I'm promising the cyber-world that I'll get it done soon...Friday?

Brad Paisley Concert

Matt surprised me with tickets to the Brad Paisley concert at the Sprint Center so I booked us a room at the Hyatt Regency and we decided to make a weekend get-away of it. Matt LOVES concerts. I've never been a huge concert go-er but I'm so glad he's always getting us tickets to shows because I always underestimate how fun they will be. Brad Paisley's concert did not disappoint.

Jewel opened for him which may seem random, but we LOVED it. I forgot what a huge Jewel fan I was in 8th grade. :) Seriously, her "Pieces of Me" album? Knew every word to every song. Wonder where that CD is...

Oddly enough, the rest of the crowd wasn't as huge of Jewel fans as Matt and I. Come on people! And, in case anyone was wondering, she does still have the snaggle-tooth/gap thing in her teeth. You have to admire that she's held strong and not gotten her teeth fixed. Right? Matt's favorite thing about Jewel was that she yodeled a song. Can't say this impressed the rest of the crowd...but we were in awe.

Brad Paisley's stage/back drop was so cool. Huge video board with screens all around. Can you tell what song this is?

Yep, Mud on the Tires.

He probably played a dozen different guitars throughout the concert. Most of them have a paisley print on them in various colors. I love that. I love it when people are clever like that.


The cutest cowboy at the concert.

We got to meet Brad before the show...ok we just stood next to this life-size poster...but it was still cool.

Concert was a blast! Then after swinging by the Power & Light district we walked back to our hotel. We were definitely paying for location because I was not impressed with the hotel at all. The most expensive room we've stayed in all summer and you really couldn't tell if it was the Holiday Inn or the Hyatt! However, the trip to the concert was a great way to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. Concert-going has become our "thing." I know I'm so lucky to have a wonderful husband like Matt who I love sharing experiences with. He's great!!!

The First of the Firsts

Well, one "first" down. First day of New Staff Academy was on Friday. We were greeted with gifts and name tags from school board members and district office staff. I am eager to learn about the district and excited to meet people so I (nearly) enjoyed the day of meetings. (Got a little long at the end). The staff is very impressive--from the curriculum specialists to the superintendent. Matt says I've been "drinking the Kool-aid" but from as far as I can tell, this is a great district to be a part of!