It's Almost Febraury!

 Phew, I made it! Ha. As the week went on I calmed down a bit and was okay. I had my meeting with my mentor teacher and I cried and I was totally embarrassed. Ha. But oh well, considering the school year that I jumped into it's kind of amazing it took me this long to cry. She helped me get my stipend which was a relief. My schedule ended up without really have a prep time and I was supposed to be compensated for it and I had emailed the principal many times over it he was never very helpful with any information about it and it was SO awkward. My mentor teacher had me reach out to someone in HR and it turns out I am getting the full stipend over the next few months. I'm so relieved and that felt like a big win. It feels good to be  compensated and helps me deal with the lack of time I have been given. The lucky thing about my schedule is that with my Junior High classes it's a lot of initial prep work but then I get to repeat it and it lasts for two weeks. So bit by bit I will plan as I go. This week is a big week.I have to write some really detailed lesson plans and be recorded and observed by the principal twice for a stupid ISU class. I will be a new woman Friday at 10:00. Can't wait. Wish me luck.

We are almost in February. Hip hooray. I hate January for real. I got my first dose of the covid shot today. We will see if I become radioactive or if I've had a chip implanted. Ha.

Ryan left this note on my bed stand. So cute!

I helped Gabby make a hand warmer and then she made one for Piper and Ryan by herself. When I get brave enough this will be the first sewing project I have my students do.

Adjusting

Well, this last week was crazy. I will hopefully adjust soon and get into a new groove. Luckily the way the schedule is set up the kids at home and in-person switch so this coming week I get to repeat what I did last week. Phew, but it's still a lot. I'm teaching three different classes so planning and keeping track of the different things on top of planning and grading in-person lessons and assignments and at-home lessons and assignments. Woof. Plus I see my high school students twice as often (weird schedule at the junior high) and I have to plan double for them (although they are kind of a slacker bunch in general and I have to cut back the material, ha). It's a lot. For my praxis test, I found a website with flashcards. I'm 16 minutes into a 55-minute video and I have over 100 flashcards already. I try to write 10 a day. I might need to up it to 20 since there are so many and I need time to actually study them as well. Hopefully, they will help. The praxis is such a big comprehensive test. At least it's something I feel like I can do to prepare for it. Hopefully, it will be beneficial. 

It is better to have students come in-person it's just harder and more complicated. It's so fun teaching a class kids like. They love to cook. I've been cutting back this month since Christmas and I'm so proud of myself because last week I resisted lemon cookies, chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls, and donuts. Oy. This job is testing my self-control. Ha.

Scott's latest OCD project has been compiling favorite quotes. He's been working on it for about 1 1/2 years and I thought he was done. He narrowed it down from 56 pages to one that he wants to print and make into a poster board. But upon finishing he realized he had hardly any quotes from women so he went back to work and starting going down many rabbit holes. To date he is through the medieval philosophers and the project is now at 221 pages. He can be seen on his computer reading through quotes and picking his favorite whenever he isn't at work. I mean he has to do something while he waits to obsess about his fruit trees.  

Piper really wanted to make a recipe from the Cheerios box. She made honeycomb bars. She was so proud of herself! 

Ha Scott took a picture of me while in the kitchen. I have a habit of leaving all the cupboards open while cooking. Ha. 

Love this thing! 

Piper and Ryan helping me with roblox again. 

Gabby made a cover for her Kleenex box and fancied up her tape dispenser. She can do a lot with hot glue!

 

New Semester

 This last week was kind of crazy. I was a pile of stress all week trying to jump back in and do all the things. We started a new semester so I had new students and new classes and I was trying to figure out how to sign up for some classes from ISU. Their website is not user friendly. I finally ended up being able to sign up for 1 class and I signed up to take the Praxis in March. I'm really nervous about getting ready for it. It covers so much material and so many different subjects psychology, nutrition, and food science, textiles, interior design, finance, FCS history. Not to mention I am not good at tests like that. I did find a youtube video with a bunch of flashcards to help me study. I hope it helps. I hope I pass! Luckily school was online so I had a lot of time to get some things figured out for the week and next week. Students are coming back in person this week. I'm excited but it's a lot more work. I don't have a lot of prep time plus I have to go to the grocery store and fabric store after school to buy the stuff I will need in class.  I think things will be a little chaotic this week getting used to the transition. Luckily my ISU class this semester seems pretty dumb and simple so that's good. I just have to jump through a bunch of hoops for a bit. I will be excited to get through this next week and get into a groove. 

Nothing new going on with Scott and the kids. Work and school. Gabby was sick so she missed the whole week which was annoying. She didn't seem that sick and I would have made her go back to school but I couldn't do that because of the rules dealing with coronavirus. We got a doctor's note for her to go back to school next week. We are halfway through January. I'm so glad. It's my least favorite month! 

We decided we wanted a bean bag for the shed. We went and ordered a love sac (they are spendy) and then my friend offered her bean bag to us. We went and picked it up and put it in the shed. We decided to just wait and see how the love sac was before we decided what to do. We got the love sac and it's so much more comfortable. We don't know what we are going to do. Maybe keep them both. Ha. 

Gabby fell asleep on the way home from picking up my friend's bean bag.

Gabby painted this picture for an art competition. (Escape through art).  

Piper and Ryan trying to help me play roblox. Murder me!

Gabby's baby Yoda.

I made the kids help me make dinner.

 

Winter Break is Over

This week went pretty quickly. It was nice but I'm ready to go back to work...except not really. It will be crazy this week getting back in the groove of working and all the things. Plus it's a new semester and new students and I didn't really lesson plan. I just can't do it. I have to do it bit by bit. I know what I'm doing in my classes tomorrow though! 

I did some sewing and I set up my sewing stuff in my old "classroom" aka my closet. It's nice to be able to leave my sewing machine out. Maybe that will help me sew more, but maybe it won't.  I started a quilt but I'm unsure of my fabric choices. I will slowly plug along and see how it looks. I'm wondering if I will work on it while I'm working. We will see. I also made some cookies for my friend. Her daughter is getting married. She wanted 2-inch cookies. That's so small! I made several batches too big. I finally got the size figured out. Now I have tons of cookies in the freezer that are the wrong size. I'm not eating any! I have to reset after the holidays. Oy.

The capital being under siege was super upsetting on Wednesday and then getting on Facebook afterwards was upsetting as well. Hopefully, Trump supporters can stand down and accept defeat. It's all pretty upsetting especially when I have friends and family on both sides. I hope it will settle down. 

The first square of my quilt. If I finish it will take FOREVER! Ha.

Set up the card table to cut some fabric and watch The Bachelor. 

My new sewing machine on my desk in my closet.

2-inch cookies! 

Top 10 in 2020

 2020 was such a hard and stressful year for many. A lot of country stress with Covid-19, quarantining, Black Lives Matter movements and protests, the election. It's been a lot! For me, personally, 2020 for the most part has been a year with a lot of personal achievements and home improvements. So here it goes, my top 10 in chronological order. (Don't forget to check my weekly update as well). 

1. Bathroom makeovers! 

Before

After

Before

After

2. Quit VIPKID after 3 years and took a full-time para job at Centennial. 

Some of the teaching props I got rid of after I quit VIPKID.

3. Quarantine/Home School: Lots of time for games, cooking, and bonding.

4. Teaching Licence Reinstated 

5. Scott becomes obsessed with gardening (fruit trees and bushes in particular) 

6. New floors! 

Too lazy to repost here is a link to the videos.

7. Finally painted the exterior of our house!

8. Got a job at Target 

9. Family trips (City of Rocks, and Oregon Coast) 

10. I got a teaching job! 

What a year! 

Cannons visit the Cannons

We went down to Utah to visit the Cannons on Wednesday. That night we got to open our presents. On Thursday Nana took the grandkids to Gardner village to do an elf hunt and later they went to a park to spot some wild foxes. That evening we ate dinner and played some games. Rustin put on a firework show that night. It was freezing but fun. Oh, we also had lunch at Hires. Yum!  On New Years Day we also celebrated Corbin's birthday again. He opened presents and we played some more games. Scott and I went down to visit Carole that night since she was hunkering down with Hannah who had her tonsils out on Tuesday. Saturday we got packed up and headed home. Today I spent a lot of hours putting up the Christmas stuff and cleaning the house It's always bittersweet for me. A part of me is ready to move on and a part of me isn't. I do appreciate having less clutter and things cleaned up but I am really missing my Christmas tree right about now. It's also time to cut out all the junk. I have a few Christmas pounds to lose! Ha. The kids have school tomorrow but I don't start until the 11th! I'm excited! I need to do some serious lesson planning and practice sewing on the school sewing machine. I wish I could start working on my new machine but I need to get comfortable with the school model. 

Corbin made banana bread by himself.

I love this picture of Nana and Papa! 

Freezing fireworks! 

Cute cousins 

New Years Eve Tripoly

Fox hunt

Elf Hunt

Opening presents

Sleepover

Birthday Sushi

Spa day?

Saying goodbye