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! 

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!!

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.