It's offish.

I'm going on a blogging hiatus. Obvs this is not news, seeing as my last post was weeks ago. However, before we address that...

Finally, the semester is over, grades have been posted, and the last few days of work are winding to a close as we prepare to leave Lubbs for the holidays. But the break will be short and sweet; I have to be back in town for student teaching orientation on January 4th. After which begins the whirlwind of my LAST. SEMESTER. Here are a few thoughts and updates for now:

- My heart is continuously breaking with every new story from Newtown. My most sincere prayers and love are extended to every soul affected.

- On a lighter note, I passed my teacher certification exam with flying colors. Insert lifting of biggest weight off my shoulders here.

- I'll begin student teaching at Smith Elementary on January 7th and will finish on April 22nd. And then graduate on May 17th.

- I'll start applying for jobs in Denver, Boulder and Tyler sometime around the middle of the semester. We'll be packing up our things and heading out of Lubbock this summer to, honestly, wherever I can get a job. Fingers and toes crossed that it's in Boulder.

- Rex will start technical mountaineering guide classes this June and will finish in November.

Lastly, I'll be putting the blog world on hold for the semester while I finish my college career. It's been fun, y'all. And I'll be back once life has settled down after the move this summer. Have a beautiful, wonderful, blessed holiday, and a happy new year, and a bright and sunny spring semester, and a fun summer! 

Hey y'all

Just a little photo dump from the last couple weekends. Too busy writing papers, composing portfolios, finalizing lesson plans, writing reflections, and detailing case studies to even think about a real blog post. Or even write in full sentences. Best wishes!

(Family photos and Christmas tree shopping)

(Palo Duro)

(Carlsbad Caverns)

(Hueco Tanks)

Iceland vs. John Adams

Oh, you know. Just editing an eBook on John Adams and rewarding myself every two slides with five minutes of Pinterest browsing. Operant conditioning, we call that in the early childhood world. Yes, it works on twenty year olds.

Sooo... can we talk about how almost every possible beautiful thing is in Iceland? 

(via)

I just want to travel everywhere that's this wondrous. Why don't they have a degree in exploring? Rex and I could easily get a doctorate. And Murph and Bear would be the first pups as college graduates! 

One Question:

Why would a store ever need to carry twenty different varieties of simple, black, scissors?

The Usual...

Watching Louis C.K. stand up and drinking Italian beer while I suffer through hour number 12 spent working on my final project for Language and Literacy Instruction....

oh, the life of a college student.

Also, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to the BEST. MOM. EVER. I really am just the luckiest daughter ever and I'm thankful for you each and every day. Thank you for blessing my life more than I could ever imagine. I hope to one day be half the mother that you have always been to me and my sister. I love you and I can't wait to spend this weekend with you!!

Happy Friday!

Praise the Lord, Spring Break is finally here. 

(via)

We are just so excited to be heading home to visit the fam, eat good food, teach little Taylor how to shoot the shotgun, and NOT design any lesson plans/write up any Business Law case studies for at least 6 whole days.

Do you have any plans for the week, those out there who get a break? I have to admit, I think spring is my favorite season. Iced coffee and shorts and baseball...what's not to love?

Anyway, enjoy your weekend, wherever you are and whatever you're doing!

Life As An (almost) Teacher

This is what my life looks like:

 This is what my desktop looks like:

...and this is what I look like:

Good thing I really really really like my students. Tomorrow is my first full-class, planned-and-taught-all-by-myself LESSON. So ^that^ is what I will look like for another 20-ish hours. At which point I'll get in the classroom and everything will be fine. Because, SURPRISE, 10-year-olds don't care if you have it all together, as long as you make jokes and they get to use the SmartBoard.

One of Those

(Is anyone out there a Pinecove-r? "One of those WHATS?!")

Anywho, I'm talking about one of those days. Or weeks. You know, where it just feels like too much. Too much work, too much class, too much homework, too much whatever. 

I have a feeling this is going to be one of those semesters. Not in a negative way. Just in a "falling-into-bed-totally-zonked-every-single-night" kind of way. "Absolutely-no-social-life-because-homework-is-my-best-friend-and-they-are-really-jealous" kind of way. Which means that it'll be very rewarding to make it through this semester of 19 hours of class, and 25 hours of work a week. It'll be trying, rewarding, educating, and faith-stretching. But that's okay, because sometimes that's what you need.

Happy weekend, y'all!

Hooray!!

Sorry for the hiatus, but...

The semester is over!  

Thank the good Lord! And the year is almost over too! Another "thank the good Lord". 


What do you have planned for the Christmas break? Going home to family? Staying wherever you are? Going on vacation? Visiting friends? Luckily, we get a little of all of the above. Tyler, Abilene, Dallas, and....

Destin, Florida!

Hooray! You bet your bottom I am more excited for this Christmas break than I have been for anything in a very, very long time. Rex and I both have a few more days of work, and then we're heading home for Christmas! 

I hope you're excited about your plans as well, even if you're not traveling!  A good break can do wonders for the soul! 

Have fun making plans!!

Counting Down

My final final is in T-minus 6.5 hours! Now all I have to do is not sleep through my alarm...

(not as easy as you'd think)

Good luck to all of you out there with finals still to go! 

Short But Sweet

Gi^vIng^ Thanks^: 

-Hot coffee on a cold night with a lot of studying yet to come

-Good company for study breaks

-Iron & Wine radio on Pandora 

Busy Bee

My apologies for my absence as of late; it seems that school takes up a lot of my time this semester! Add in nannying and puppies and relationships....phew. Sometimes I get tired just planning everything out.

But this weekend, we made an impromptu trip to Tyler to visit Rex's second family as they welcomed a new baby! Little Dawson Knox, 7 lbs 12 oz, 21.5 inches long. Presh! However, that meant 15 hours of driving in less than 60 hours of weekend. Including driving through the night on Friday! I don't even remember the last time I stayed up all night (And the Most Boring College Student Ever Award goes to ..... me!!). So much fun.

Other than that, it's just school and school and school over here! Second round of tests are coming up here pretty quick...so don't worry if you don't here from me for a while. Just means I'm drowning in books/notes/study guides!


Happy Wednesday to all!

More Excuses

So you already know that I don't have internet at the house (should be coming very soon, fingers crossed!). But here are a few other reasons why I've been a horrible blogger lately. 

-School school school! My Summer II class is very work intensive. 

-Work work work! My nannying is very work intensive! Keeping up with Chew (Chase+Drew, heehee) is so exhausting sometimes. Chase is just a whirlwind of activity. Sometimes when I get home, I'm just ready to sleep!

-I'm still trying to get settled in the new house. With my mess, it's like moving in + deep cleaning an already moved into room. 

-Sickness. Getting better and better every day, but the intensive antibiotics I'm on sometimes makes me feel like laying around all. day. 

But, internet is coming soon, and I'm getting into the swing of things with class and work, so hopefully I'll be back to a normal schedule once more!!

Happy Tuesday!