Monday, September 13, 2010

A Day of Firsts

Today was my first teacher observation. As far as teaching goes it went well. My supervisor did not have any issues or suggestions for improving. Which I guess is good it means I taught well and was in control, but on the other hand it doesn't give me much to build on. Observation is always a stressful time though. It's completely awkward to have someone judging you while you teach and pretty much just staring you down. Here's the best part though. I had gotten aobut 95% through the lesson with little issue. The kids were understanding the concept well, they were getting the answers correctly, and they were listening the best that 2nd graders can. I was answering a question for the class when all of the sudden a little girl comes up and says "Ms. Williams, I puked." Not only did she puke she caught it in her hands and brought it up to the front of the room with her. I responded quickly yet very caught off guard telling her to "throw it away and go to the office." Luckily I did not witness the actual puking action or I may have had an issue as well. Also I was at a decent stopping point so I had the other kids leave the room for a bathroom break (avoiding the remnants in the process). This allowed for some clean up and disinfecting courtesy of the janitor. And soon normalcy resumed:) I'm sure this will be something I won't forget!

Carrie Out

Friday, September 10, 2010

Another list

More lessons learned:

1. Children will continuously "make" you cards, crafts, and other things of which you must guess what they are supposed to be. An appropriate response is as follows: smile, say something along the lines of "thank you so much, this is very neat," and then stash it in your bag to either a. accidentally forget about or b. throw away.

2. Glasses cases are not simply made for holding glasses if you are a little boy. They also serve as hat's, pencil holders, things to pinch your classmates with, and if all else fails a nice football.

3. Apparently having a nice, quiet, straight line, is the highest aspiration of all elementary teachers.

4. Student teaching makes you go to bed at 11 on a weekend and "sleep in" til 9. What happend to 9 being early?

5. The kids that can't focus on anything will be the ones who pick up on the most discrete things. Like the fact that you can't make your number 8 correctly.

6. For students who cannot sit still in class, it is utterly shocking how much they complain when out playing games and exercising in P.E. that they are tired.

7. After skipping breakfast for most of college, it is once again the most important meal of the day...that is if you don't want to pass out from starvation before you make it to 11:20 lunch (which used to be the time I got out of bed).

8. It is amazing the amount of kids who can't read their own handwriting, even when all the words are spelled correctly.

9. If you really want to understand a kid, watch them in music, lunchtime, and P.E. A less structured enviroment is like a whole new world.

10. It is perfectly acceptable to watch youtube videos during class, your lunch break, or after school. These can range from School House Rock to a lovely video of your superintendent rolling down the street on a motorcycle.

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Random

Todays random and unorganized thoughts. I had a honey nut Cherrio's milk and ceral bar for breakfast. I don't like honey nut Cherrio's. It was delicious. I am becoming more comfortable when student teaching, I am starting to loosen up more around the other teachers and am having more fun. Little kids don't hold back when it comes to being sick. I think I was sneezed on 5 times today...it kinda grosses me out. Lunch time was hotdogs and pretzels today I felt like I really was back in second grade. I taught my first lesson today that I had planned. It went well and the kids did a great job with it. Funniest moment of the day: We had our kids fill out an ABC paper on friendship and caring. Each letter of the alphabet needed a phrase about how to be a friend or caring. They were really cute and the kids came up with some neat stuff. The best one was I asked if someone could tell me what they wrote down for "I" a little boy raised his hand and in all innocence said "You could say "I like your body."" I busted out laughing, I couldn't help it Mrs. S was cracking up too. Ahh second graders. I took my car to get checked out at AutoZone the check engine light has been on this week, turns out the gas cap just wasn't on right. Yeah free fixes! Oh and my dog still has fleas.

Carrie Out

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Learning

Things I have learned in 2nd grade...in all of 11 days.

1. M comes before N
2. I still do not know how to tell time
3. It is perfectly acceptable to bust into Hannah Montana songs regardless of gender
4. How to use the lamination machine
5. How to use, break, and repair the copier
6. No clock in the building ever says the same (or right) time
7. Wash your hands 1000 times a day
8. Go to bed early
9. Wearing a watch is the mark of an older person
10.7 year olds don't know what VCR's are
11. Kid's make up innapropriate words without knowing they are innapropriate
12. Teacher's don't eat lunch (at least not in the teacher's lounge)
13. Make friends with the secretary
14. Be prepared to laugh
15. P.E., lunch, recess, and Music are every teachers best friend

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Sub

They it takes 21 times of doing something for it to become a habit. Well I've made it to 2 in a row lets see if it sticks. Started off the morning with AR testing (which I secretly loathe), D.O.L., and some calander work. I got to lead all three which was nice. The kids were well behaved all morning, even our kids who are usually in trouble for something. It was nice. I made 2 strange (or maybe not so uncommon) observations in my school today. 1. For it being such a small building and school, most teachers go all day without seeing another teacher aside from the other one that shares their grade. This I find odd and I can't think it's too good for staff unity. 2. No one eats in the teachers lounge...actually I'm not sure they eat at all. I eat in there every day per IWU teacher and Aunt advice. Today I ate with one other person an aide named Tammy something. I honestly don't know how the teachers do it by my 11:20 lunch time I am famished, I think I'd pass out by the end of the day if I didn't eat. We had a sub this afternoon which meant I had to hold down the fort. The sub is actually a retired teacher from the district so she knew how things operated. I taught the math lesson today then had our kids do their worksheet, only to find out when they were at PE that I had them do the wrong one. No worries though post PE we got back aboard the Math express and did the right one. All in all I think the day went well, I don't think I did too bad on my own. The evening was spent on homework and then bike riding. I also went to Hopedale to walk with Jodi, Trey, Mom, and Julie around a lakeish thing I never knew existed. But it's getting late and well it's bed time.

Carrie Out

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Students and Fleas

Greetings out there! I have decided to return to the blogosphere after a long graduation and summer hiatus. The more I have thought about it the more journaling my daily experiences as a student teacher seemed like a good idea. It will help me keep a log of what I do every day as well as I am sure offer some laughs if I am ever to look back on it as a much more experienced teacher. The experience so far has been great. I never knew such joy could come out of an exclamation point at the end of a D.O.L. sentance. Or that hitting the Staples "easy button" could make an 8 year old (who would rather dilly dally) race through a math page. Who would have guessed that the simple reward of having a stuffed dog on your desk would inspire pristine behavior...at least in some of the students. I have transformed my life into that of the elderly. I am up early, I eat early, and I am in bed early. Apparently just being on your feet all day can take all your desire for night time craziness right out of your body and make you long for the time where you can simply sit down. It has been a good learning opportunity and I hope to continue to make it one throughout the semester.

In other news I had my first encounter with fleas today. I am convinced my dog has them. She has been itchy for about a month. Bren and I thought it may be dry skin because we were bathing her almost daily due to her desire to roll in gross things and dive in water. As a precaution I bought her a flea collar 3 weeks ago hoping if there were bugs on her they would move along. No such luck. Last night as I was cleaning her ears I spied one. It looked like it was swimming on her ear fur, and, well, it was disgusting. Seriously thinking about it all day gave me the willies. So I decided that right after school we needed to go to the store and get some kind of bug be gone. I bought flea shampoo and flea spray. It was an all night ordeal. I cleaned her pen, sprayed her basket, washed her blankets, and her toys. I washed her, massaged the shampoo as instructed, and let it soak. I rinsed her dried her and waited for her fur to dry. Then I sprayed her, rubbed in the liquid, and again let it soak. This was followed by more drying and a final brush through. Who knew tiny little bugs could be so involved. Anyways here's to hoping it did the trick!

Carrie Out

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Library

It is 11:30 and I just got in. This would not be shocking, actually it would be considered early...except for the fact that I was at the library. Yuck. Cam and I just spent 2 hours working on our 8 week Unit for 4th grade and we are only half done. All of us are feeling stressed we have a bunch of projects due and only 2 1/2 more weeks of classes. The thing is these are all new projects just given to us so it isn't even like we put them off. It's frustrating. Spent the whole day in 4th grade, this one didn't seem as long as last time but I still don't like it. I was given own math group this morning, all the kids who struggle with math. We counted money the whole time. I get frustrated with the teacher because she constantly puts this one boy who is very smart in the low groups because he acts up sometimes and she doesn't really like him. It's not fair. I ate lunch with Kelsey Porter who is placed at the same school as me. I had a haphazard lunch made up of whatever I could find. She lives in Bloomington her mom packed her extra cookies and fruit snacks to give to me, they were awesome. The afternoon was spent on science and writing. I did get to go to art class which sped up the day. I got back to school and had to go to a Senior Exit Loan Meeting. All it did was reinforce the fact that I owe thousands of dollars I don't have, awesome. Then I went for a nice 3 mile run outside and biked at Shirk for a cool down. Met Karen and Christina for dinner then went to watch intramural volleyball. The upper classmen basketball girls have a team with Sean and Roman, I am their "Coach." It's pretty entertaining. From there I hit the library where I shall be every day til the end of April. Oh the Joys!

Carrie Out

Monday, April 05, 2010

Monday

Ahh life sometimes just gets out of control and I don't write sorry bout that:) Today I rolled out of bed at the fresh time of 11:15 and loved it. I went to my 4th grade class for 2 hours. I hate it. My kids are great the teachers nice but I just don't like it. I did get to read aloud to them though so that made it a little more entertaining. I got home and was starving so I grabbed a lunch made up of PB & J and juice. I eat like a 5 year old. I was bored so I called Kelsey and told her to come up. I have homework but it's all group work and none of my group members were free today, frustrating. Anyways Kels came up and we wasted the day away like only we can. We ended up at our favorite place, the movie theater. We saw "The Last Song," and I must say for Nicholas Sparks it wasn't too bad. All these girly movies lately are cluttering my mind. Then we met Justin for dinner at El Toro. As much as he pretends to hate it, he loves eating with us, even if we do embarass him. Most shocking thing of the evening? I didn't watch the NCAA championship game. I haven't missed a televised game all tournament and I chose tonight to skip out. The girls were all out and I hadn't been to Encounter in a while so I chose to go to church. It was a good service and I needed it but after seeing the score of the game I'm a little sore I missed it. Oh well!

Carrie Out

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Tired

I am currently caught up in the Xavier/Kansas State game. Double OT it is a crazy good game. I have missed March Madness all week, I welcome it's return:) I have not felt well all week, at first I thought it was allergies but it isn't going away. I'm not real sick just head congestion and my body feels exhausted at all times, strange. Did not want to go to class this morning...but we all know I did. Teacher brought in Panera bagels for breakfast which were a welcome surprise and very tasty. We spent the morning doing station rotations on the Civil Rights movement. We looked at some issues of the "Saturday Evening Post," they were hilariously entertaining. The smoking adds were funny as were the ones with women. The best one though was an article describing hot dogs as a health food full of protein. We mad our own Civil Rights book as a class ala Eric Carle. We used papers we had painted from art class on our studio night cut them and collaged them to make illustrations. Kelsey and I did the march on Washington it turned out good. I wasn't hungry at lunch I drank some orange juice and ate a grilled cheese. I spent the rest of my lunch break laying in bed. The afternoon of class was a real bore, I don't even really know what we did or were supposed to do. After class I was exhausted I literally laid on my bed for two hours and did nothing. It's not that I am sleeping it's just that my body feels like it has zero energy. Met Christina, Sean, and Karen for dinner and enjoyed the laughter. Night class went surprisingly quick tonight which was nice. We have a lot to do in 2 weeks its quite overwhelming. Hit up Bible Study after class which is always a good time. Now I must refocus on the game!

Carrie Out

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Lots of Events

Life as of late has gotten crazy I've been all over the place. We lost in basketball, it sucked, A LOT. I don't like finality or the end of things at all. I just keep thinking I will never again put on a uniform, yuck. The upperclassmen road tripped to Wisconsin to watch our guys play, they lost. The trip was a blast and way out of control. We got a flat on the way there. I changed it with my handy skills. Spent an evening in Atlanta with the Finchum's just playing with the girls. Went to Grandma's for an afternoon. Then spent that evening in Morton at Fender's and eventually McKee's playing with Clay. That kid cracks me up. Worked in the office one day and taught youth group. Decided to road trip on my own in my old car to Park Ridge (Chicago) to see Karen, Christina, and Sean. Made it there and back without problem, car or attention related. Visited the Museum of Science and Industry, and happend to be there on free admission day! Hung out with the Solari family watching sweet NCAA games. Came back to school early to work the Final Four and National Championship games. Watching someone win on your home court is terrible. All the upperclassman came back early too so we chilled. Went home Sunday morning for church. Spent the afternoon battling the nasty bugs that live at home. Went to the Wild Game feed where I had phesant and duck for dinner, suprisingly good. Talked to the Case's for a bit. Went to see "Shutter Island," with Trey and Garrett, good movie. Skipped work Monday morning because I could. Slept till lunch. Spent the afternoon at Shirk implementing our new plan of getting in real life shape. Decided to go see "Sherlock Holmes" at the Dollar Theater, awesome movie. Tuesday was eaten up by class. Did abs with Karen after my learning was over. We all went to Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner, yum. Today I got up and worked for 3 hours. Wrote an entire lesson plan and a reflection paper. Then went with Meggit to Varna to spend the day with the Mintus family. Played Wii, wrestled with the kids, had some good conversation, ate a lot, then headed on home. Now I am tired so rest it is!

Carrie Williams

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Senior Sem. Work

How awesome was the weather today? I almost forgot for a moment that it was March. Too bad I spent most of the day locked in doors thanks to lifes daily demands. Started the day off with some good old fashioned work, I am a dedicated employee of the Shirk center. I tell my boos that I should earn a reward, he laughs at me. Got some homework done during my shift which was nice and shot the breeze with the old men cause they love me. I was very tired so when I got off I took a nap until lunch. Met Karen, Christina, and Sean for dining. There wasn't much good to eat I had a bowl of some kind of stew and cottage cheese, fulfilling ha. Right after lunch I had a meeting with my senior sem teacher. She helped me complete the edits on two of my papers that I was confused on. Then I made myself go up to the second floor and write the rest of my edits. I also have to create a visual representation of my journey to becoming a teacher, while up there inspiration struck. I was going to draw my hand six times from a fist progressing all the way to all five fingers out. Then I learned it could only be on sixe 11X8 paper, no longer a good idea. Since it was nice out I decided to walk around campus and photograph my hand in each of the 6 positions against different backdrops. This worked much better and I made a cool collage. Practice came next we started with relays which are a fun way to get things moving. It was a hard practice but quick paced so no one was complaining. Dinner was lasagna which the cafeteria makes suprisingly well. Came home and wrote the paper to accompany my visual representation. New SVU was on tonight so of course I had to watch it, I wasn't disappointed. When it was over I walked to the girls house to watch the rest of "2012" which we started yesterday, cheesy destruction but it worked.

Carrie Out

Monday, March 08, 2010

5 years old

Today for the most part I lived the life of a five year old child. Woke up at 5:30 for the ever glorious work. At least I got the desk so I didn't have to sit in a folding chair and wipe other peoples diseases off of machines, yummy. I did some home work and read a children's novel for class. After work I was tired so I took a nap until lunch. For lunch I had peanut butter and jelly and cereal because I could. I spent the next 3 hours of my time in the children's literature section at the ISU library reading picture books. I had to write a 5 page annotated bibliography on children's books and 4 lesson plans on children's lit. I got it all done but felt like a little kid. When I was done I met up with Karen to do our weekly Monday bike riding. Before we started we sat in Coach's office for a half hour sorting through t-shirt money and orders, fun times. After our ride and a shower we met Christina and Sean for dinner. It was pretty disapointing I once again dined on cereal. Then we decided since we had some free time we should rent a movie, except no one else had free time. So instead we went to the dollar theater and watched "The Princess and the Frog," it was awesome. I love Disney Cartoons. Then we went to the library to do more work. I read Eric Carle books and wrote more lessons. It has been a thrilling day but I must be off.

Carrie Out

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Free Dinner

Twas another Thursday full of learning. The morning was spent studying the civil rights movement. I am honestly a little shocked at how little my classmates know about it. I get that I am a bit of a history nerd but there are some major events I feel people should at least know about. Anyways we watched a documentary on Rosa Parks called Mighty Times, it was good told by her relatives and friends. It was similar to the Eyes on the Prize series I watched in my CRM class last year. We got out of class 5 minutes early which equaled no lunch lines, it was awesome. Had myself a little New York Deli sandwich and some Nacho bar, double yum. Then it was back to the learning. We had more presentations in fine arts today. The first one was on a blind painter, we got to practice being blind painters, it was sweet. I got paint on my finger tips and it turned my whole hands black. I literally had to wash them for 10 minutes to get it off, it was crazy. Then we learned about Louis Armstrong who I thoroughly enjoy. The last presentation was on Indian dances and we had to dance, always an adventure. We had practice at 4:30 today. Now that all the teams are here for the weekend we have timed practice and representatives that sit in on them so no one breaks the rules. After practice Coach ordered us in Avanti's for dinner because we never travel we convinced them to buy us dinner. Our NCAA tournament fund gets spent on nothing because we don't leave. The food was much better than cafeteria. I showered then went to the library for a quick minute to write a paper before Bible study. Bible study was on the good samaritan which is always good for discussion.

Carrie Out

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Ten List

1. I got all the final art work for our tshirts done as well as a printer for them thanks to Coach Wagners help.
2. We sold 115 t-shirts within 3 hours. It was crazy, I wasn't expecting such a large number so quickly.
3. I finally paid my tuition for this semester.
4. Found out that Cal Ripken Jr. is the speaker this year for "An Evening With the Stars" (the event I worked last year and got to meet Coach K at). I LOVE Cal, I am going to beg Coach Wag's over and over to get us in.
5. Lunch wasn't good but I wasn't suprised, this is cafeteria food we are talking about.
6. I slept terribly last night first thing I did when I went home was take a nap.
7. Finished some of the thousands of homework assignments I have but I am far from being out of the woods.
8. Youth group went well, not a ton of kids but a decent number.
9. Brent's team lost in the first round of Sectionals. Mom says the refs were horrible.
10. There were 2 hours of new SVU on tonight. It was like a post Christmas miracle:)

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Learning

Tis been a busy Tuesday. Started off with 3 hours worth of Language Arts and Social Studies. We began with some reading of children's books in celebration of Dr.Seuss birthday. The teacher read us "Happy Diffendoofer Day!," as well. A lot of our focus today was on multicultural literature, specifically African American. We learned some stuff about Ruby Bridges which was neat. It was breakfast for lunch today so eating was enjoyed, then it was back to class for 3 more hours of fun. We did artist presentations today. I learned about Middle Eastern Mosaic and some kind of Spanish dance. We got to try out both of them which was cool. The crazy thing is apparently I am very good at learning Spanish dancing hah! I gave my presentation today too, I think it went well. I taught on Romare Bearden, read "The Block," and then had the class create their own collage. After class it led straight to practice which was a little slow. We were having a hard time going full boat but it will get better. I had dinner with Christina and Sean and eventually Karen, Britt, and Amy at the Dugout. I had a BBQ crispy chicken sub and it was awesome. Then I went to the library with Holly and Stacey. I had planned on writing a few papers I got one done and that was it. The rest of the time was spent picking out a t-shirt logo for our tournament shirts. I don't think there is any way we will get them in time, this should have been done a week ago. Anyways it was frustrating but I got a design done and will call around tomorrow for prices and time estimations.

Carrie Out

Monday, March 01, 2010

Monday Already?

The weekends seem to be flying by around here. We won both of our games this weekend. It was exciting and now we are the undisputed champions of the CCIW. Yesterday was also a full day. I went home then to Pekin with Mom to get our phones fixed and look for new shoes. I found a pair of black dress shoes for teaching, I can finally wear my black pants! Then Mom dropped me off at Kelsey's and we went to Lincoln. We went to watch Alexis basketball game. It was her 9th birthday and we both were free so we decided we should go. The game was terrible but she appreciated that we came and it was good to see everybody. I got home just in time for youth. We studied Elijah and Elisha this week by ways of the cartoon Bible, the kids loved it. Trey got a 2010 Midnight Blue Mustang, I made him drive me around. I am extremely jealous, it's not becoming. Today I awoke at an unappreciated 5:30 am. I spent the morning cleaning machines, mixing cleaners, and reading smart people magazines. When I got off I was very tired so I slept. Got up at 11:30 met Karen and walked to Shirk. We all met up to watch the NCAA selection show online. We play Franklin College in the first round. Our guys got in the Men's tournament so we are all pretty excited. We went to lunch it wasn't too tasty. I spent the next 3 hours in the library, shocking I know. I had to find and research an artist. Then create a presentation, lesson plan, and activity to teach it to my class. I chose Romare Bearden, I love anything based in Harlem. I checked out a book called "The Block," using his paintings and Langston Hughes poems. It is fascinating I want to buy it. When I was done Karen and I went to Shirk and worked out until we met Sean and Christina for dinner. Post dinner called for the Bachelor finale which we all hated and then Encounter. Kale is talking to me and it's distracting so I must be off.

Carrie Out

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Homework Homework

I have been running a homework marathon the last two days. Not having a Tuesday night game this week was a God send, it allowed me to do some work prior to Wednesday. I actually went to the library yesterday for 2 hours. Cam and I had to write up a report on a 4th grade Basal reader. It wasn't hard just legnthy and time consuming but we got it done. After it took 2 hours to do I was even more grateful that we didn't have a game because we wouldn't have had the time to do it today. Got up this morning to head off to 8am work. It was snowing when I walked, slippery sidewalks are tricky. I have yet to fall this year (knock on wood) but have often slipped but corrected myself. I don't like it. At work I once again worked on homework. I am teaching a Social Studies lesson on Friday and have lots of materials to type up and get together. After work I continued on homework until lunch. That's a lot of time dedicated to learning for me. Lunch consisted of organic baked potatos, always a crowd pleaser. After lunch I went to the library to print off all of my lesson materials as well as all my completed assignments for the week. I counted and I printed off over 100 sheets. I have killed a small rainforest this week, it's quite sad. Then I ventured to the Bloomington Public Library. I got my first ever library card, it's a big deal:) Anyways I used it to check out picture books on professional baseball teams in the Midwest and then I had to leave. I am such a nerd all the other books were tempting me so I had to get out. Although I did check out a Walter D. Myers book simply for reading. Then it was onward to home. I spent my time before work tying up homework, I got everything done just in time. Chilled with Brent and Monique for awhile ate some dinner then headed to church. We were short on kids and sponsors tonight but we managed. I have spent the rest of my night organizing the thousands of assignments I have completed. Oh studenthood.

Carrie Out

Monday, February 22, 2010

Carrie and Karen's Day of Fun

I woke up at 5:3o am. I hate morning work. Spent the morning lowering and raising basketball hoops and curtains, collecting towels, and talking to the old men. I have quite a fan club in the 65 year old and up age range they love an early talk session. I was starving at work but didn't have any more breakfast bars. Hope had to work at 8 so she graciously brought me some food. I was grateful. After work I decided to sleep because I was tired. Got up and met Karen and Christina for lunch. It was chicken patty for like the 15th time this month, yuck. After lunch I went to my room and put away a months worth of laundry and cleaned up my room. I finished up a few bits of homework left over from the morning. Then Karen called after her class and we meandered over to the girls house. She brought me a smoothie and we spent the next hour vegging on their couch watching the Olympics and this crazy weird documentary called "Jesus Camp," about Evangelists. I needed to buy breakfast food and she needed to get a gift for her boyfriends birthday so we eventually wandered out to the store. We came back and decided to work out since we didn't have practice. A nice 30 minutes on the bike then we met Christina and Sean for dinner. Dinner was gross as well we made up for it by eating a bag of popcorn while watching the Bachelor at the girls house. Kare and I decided we spend too much time together ha. Then it was off to Encounter. I hadn't been in 2 weeks so it was nice to be back.

Carrie Out

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Learned

Top 10 Things I learned today:

1. I can get ready for class in under 10 minutes, all I need is a tooth brush and a hairbrush.
2. No one really ever drinks anything hot, so I don't know why we say it. Warm sure but hot well it burns your mouth right up. Not pleasant.
3. When Cam isn't in class, I don't get in trouble as much.
4. Talking about the same topic for 3 consecutive hours is never engaging.
5. Processed chicken, or any meat for that matter, is sketchy.
6. Abe Lincoln's Mom died when he was young. His father brought home, not bought a new wife.
7. Stuffed Ground Hog's are Internet sensations.
8. Sleepy bear's need caves to hibernate in.
9. Practice's with 10 people and all full court drills are quite tiring.
10. Thursdays without night class are the BEST!

Carrie Out

Low Key

Ahh Wednesday. Today was low key as far as midweeks go for me and I loved it. We got in late last night from Augustana. We won by a lot. I had to work this morning and be up by 7:30, not fun. I was a sleepy bear but on I trudged. I started work with a little cleaning. Then I wrote 2 papers. The 3 hours drug on like no other today. I spent so me time shooting the breeze in the training room. I read the entire Pantagraph. Finally 11:00 graced me with its presence and I was liberated. Chilled for a little bit then went to meet the girls for lunch. I had some organic salad, looked like weeds, tasted like yum. After lunch I loaded up and headed home, I didn't have much to do around here. I spent the afternoon running around outside with Sammy and playing with Maddy and Roger. Went to youth, we had lots of kids and very few helpers tonight. Everything went suprisingly well. We worked on ironing out the details for Jr. High CIY this weekend we are taking a group of 36. I can't go because of basketball:( Came back to school and Karen and I headed over to the girls house. Only Stacey was home so we bothered her for a bit. She went and did homework and we hung out by ourselves in their house. It's kinda weird that we hang out there without them all the time...I think they just expect it of us. We watched some basketball and the Olympics before heading back to our abodes. No night class tomorrow means Thursday shouldn't be too bad!

Carrie Out

Monday, February 15, 2010

Great Weekend

Today was a tired day. I had a great and busy weekend. Friday I worked, went to 4th grade practiced and then went home for Bren's senior night. After the game I met my teammates at the movies to see "Valentine's Day," it wasn't bad. Saturday was senior day and Pink Zone festivities. I spent the whole afternoon before the game with Christina, it was our day of fun. Mal, Elyse, Sarah, Roman, and Jason all got in a little before we had to head to the gym so we hung with them for a bit. The game was ugly but we won and there were a lot of people there which made it worth it. Christina and I got some neat gifts and videos from our teammates and after dinner with the parents the true celebrating began. It was a great night with great friends that led to me going to bed at 4:30 am yesterday morning, but it was worth it. Yesterday was spent at the church we had a youth fundraiser. After 6 hours of work we made a decent amount of money for the youth fund which is awesome. Woke up at 5:30 this morning and hated it. 6 am's suck. I didn't do much at work, really I can't remember what I did at all for those 3 hours, ha. When I got off I do remember taking a 2 hour nap, awesome. Met Karen and Christina for lunch, Mac n' Cheese never disappoints. I had a 1pm meeting with my Senior Sem teacher, she never came. This was frustrating because I the meeting was about our papers that are due this week. I can't start them until I meet with her and today I actually had free time to work on them. Wasted away the afternoon in utterly boring fashion. Practice was a marathon today and Coach was getting on everyones nerves. Showered and grabbed some food then headed across town to BCC for Bren's basketball game. They lost by a few but it was a decent game. Ate some yums at Avanti's then came back here. Tomorrow I only have class in the morning then it's on to Augustana.

Carrie Out

Thursday, February 11, 2010

Long Day

Tis been a long day. Started off with a rousing two hours of teaching language arts class. We read some books and did some writing. All kinds of exciting. We did listen to some good music though by the Avett Brothers, check one of their songs out here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDYq8-3wta0. Took a break for lunch grilled cheese and tomato soup, lovely snow day meal. Art class was held in the dance studio. We were nervous about this haha. It actually was quite fun. We had to do all these silly dances and then discuss how they could be used to enhance the language arts. We took imaginary journeys and pretended to be snowflakes. Then we moved into drama. We had to make objects out of our bodies, act out stories as they were read, and pretend to be props. All in all it was hilarious. We got out of class early. I ran home and changed my clothes then waited for Christina to pick me up. The whole team went to the Bloomington Cancer Center to donate the blankets we made. We toured the place and saw all kinds of treatment equipment. They can do some amazing things now. The money we raise this weekend and from selling t-shirts goes to support the cancer center. Then we headed straight back to practice. Coach Smith had to be at a recruits game so the assistants were in charge, it was interesting. I left early for class and spent most of the time lost per the usual. I am very tired right now, this is the first time I have been in my room all day and I think I may just go to sleep. I have a stress test first thing in the morning, hope it goes well.

Carrie Out

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Papers, Papers, Every Where

Last night was a late one we played a game at Milikin and thanks to the weather a short trip was turned into a long way. No worries though we won and we got there and back without incident. Chris Gregory my friend from Lincoln goes to Milikin now so he came to see me. It was nice to see him and catch up, some days I miss the LC gang. Started the day off tired and not wanting to go to work, much like every Wednesday. Shirk was quite busy this morning which was a little surprising. I did some work and I also did some homework, fun times. When I got off I came home and did some more homework before meeting Karen, Christina, and Sean for lunch. An hour with those three is always interesting and entertaining. After lunch I decided to take a short nap. My eyes were tired and I couldn't focus any more so I figured it was the best option. I never got to sleep but my eyes appreciated the rest. Beth and Taylor came by to pay me for their PinkZone t-shirts so I spent some time talking with them. Then I loaded up the wagons and headed home. I left late today on purpose just in case the weather caused cancellation, but that equates me not having time to see Jodi and Trey whom I miss. Got home about an hour before I had to go to work. I ate some dinner, worked on my paper, and petted the animals. We had a lot of kids at youth tonight. February is a busy month for us we are gearing up for a youth fundraiser on Sunday and the next weekend we have CIY. I think we have the most activities in the shortest month. After youth Lys and I had a meeting with Norv just to gauge how things were going. When we were done I came straight back to school to finish my paper. Well it was done 45 minutes ago which left me enough time for a shower. Yeah! Four papers and four chapters of reading done, Wednesday nights always bring homework relief...or at least the illusion of it.

Carrie Out

Monday, February 08, 2010

Stressed

I woke up this morning just knowing the day wasn't going to be a good one. I couldn't sleep last night, I think I finally dozed off around 2 only to have to get up at 5:30 for work. Not pleasant. So it was snowing but I decided to drive to work because I had a cardiologist appointment right after my shift. I literally got 100 feet down the road and while stopping to turn onto main street going probably 5mph I skidded out. Luckily it was just into the grass on the side not out into main street but still. At work I got the main desk which was nice. I did some homework and got all my assignments for tomorrow done, it's the ones that are due Thursday that are killing me. While at work I got a call from Dr. Paul's office telling me they couldn't order my orthotics until I paid for them. They told me three times last week they were covered. Well they aren't and I don't have 500$ to buy new ones so for now I have to do without. Decided to walk to the cardiologist instead of drive. I got halfway there and realized I had left all my paperwork in the trainers office when I had stopped in there before I left to get my insurance forms. Walked all the way back then back to BroMen just in time. Today I had an EKG ran the Dr. said it looked pretty normal but he ordered an echo cardiogram and a stress test. He said that abnormal heart beats are something some people are born with but can lay dormant for years. He thinks that now that it has happened twice it will continue to happen and possibly more frequently until we find out why it is occurring. Once we find out why he said we should be able to fix it without any problems. I came back ate lunch with Karen and Britt and then went to a meeting with my Senior Sem teacher. I have four papers due Thursday for that class and am struggling. I spent the hour I had left of my day before practice laying on my bed with nothing on. Life is stressing me out lately. In a world so heavily based on money not having it can make life rough. Practice was alright today not a usual pregame one but survivable. I grabbed some dinner then headed to the girls house to watch the Bachelor. It was too snowy to drive across town to church and I should have done homework but after the day I had I wanted nothing more than to just be. I am going to bed now hoping for a better tomorrow and if I'm lucky....a snow day:)

Carrie Out

Friday, February 05, 2010

Full day Friday

I accomplished a lot of nothing at work this morning. My focus was broken. I read part of a novel for my class it's called "Heat," by Mike Lupica. I like juvenile literature and it's about baseball so it's not bad. After work I called the foot doctor to get new orthotics made. I was worried my coverage on getting them fixed had run out. I was very relieved that it hasn't. Then I made my way through the snow to dust my car off and head to 4th grade. The kids had a sub today so everything was a little hectic. It didn't help that they are always wound up on Friday's either. They spent almost all the time I was there doing ISAT prep tests. I hate that they learn that way. Got back and had 15 minutes to spare before I had to meet Christina for senior pictures. I grabbed a quick lunch and ate it very quickly. Then we took pictures, they are for the senior day game sheets. We decided that simply standing next to each other was too boring we took some funny one. I am interested to see how it turns out. We went to Karen's room for a bit when we were done instead of walking back home because we had early practice today. Practice wasn't bad and it actually seemed to go by quickly. After practice they ordered us pizza and we spent an hour and a half making "tie-blankets" to donate to the cancer center for chemo patients. When we were done we decided to go see the movie "Dear John," we drove halfway to the Starplex and then found out it was sold out. We went home waited a bit and then drove to the Galaxy to catch a later show. A group of my highschool kids were there so I stood in line and talked to them while we waited. The movie wasn't too bad. I am not a fan of Nicolas Sparks at all but I tolerated this movie, even if it was predictable.

Carrie Out

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Eating Habits

Thursdays are both my least and most favorite days of the week. I hate them because I have class for 9 hours and a 2 hour practice thrown in there. I love them, well the evenings really about 10pm, because they signal the end of my school week. Started the day off with a little learning about reading and writing. It was exceptionally boring this morning and the fact that I was tired didn't help. I have come to the conclusion that we eat far too much in our first class of the day because when lunch time rolls around I am never hungry. This creates problems because by only eating a little at lunch I am starving about halfway through my second afternoon class so I eat. And then I'm not hungry at dinner but starving by the time my night class is over. Oh the dilema. Anywhosit, our afternoon class was a lot less boring. We illustrated concepts of integrating art as well as the goals of "best practice" teaching. We talked about some projects and artists. I had to give an impromptu 30 second commerical for Raspberry Lemonade Crystal Light. I am still not sure why she had me do it but it was funny. Apparently next week we are having class in the dance studio, it is sure to be entertaining. I grabbed a quick lay down before practice, it was needed. Practice actually seemed to fly by today which was crazy. I got dinner from Tommy's which took forever longer than I expected and barely made it to class on time. Night class was out of control boring, I was really struggling with focusing. We got out early enough that I made it to Bible study though which was nice. Tonight we did John 10:1-18 and had some solid discussion.

Carrie Out

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

List

I'm feeling a little stressed right now so I am gonna work on the postives of the day.

1. I wrote four lesson plans while at work this morning, meaning I had very little homework for the rest of the day.
2. Angel and Hope visited me at work and made me laugh.
3. I got fingerprinted to be cleared to work in the schools. The machine was cool very CSI.
4. I was home in Minier by 12:15.
5. I had time to go to the bank.
6. I watched "Last Chance Harvey," which I have wanted to see.
7. Ate half a box of popsicles. I had been craving them badly and we happend to have a box.
8. Played with the animals.
9. Got the rest of my homework done before dinner.
10. Had roast, potatoes, and carrots for dinner, yum.
11. We had a lot of kids at youth group tonight and there were no major problems.
12. Actually had time to shave my legs:)
13. Will be in bed before midnight.

Carrie Out

Happy Sammy Day

Started the day off with a little fourth grade. Today I taught my own math group. We were working on factor trees, I hadn't seen those in forever. The kids that went with me were actually the ones that were struggling, but they were so excited to stay behind like it was a privilage. I thought they might feel excluded, it was a pleasant suprise. It actually went well and by the end of the half hour almost all of them had a grasp on what they were doing. I didn't have class until 2:15 today. I spent my two hours of free time on lunch, a little tv, and a nap. We had Jen's class today and discussed kids in our placements that have learning disabilities. It is interesting to see all the different types of kids out there and how they are dealt with in the public schools. After class I headed to the girls house. Stacey had called to talk to me about something and it was the perfect opportunity for a little Sammy the Groundhog time. I took him outside to see if he could see his shadow, he didn't. Stacey lent me her supplies and we created him a nice collared shirt, tie, and crown, so that he could dress nicely for the occasion. I took him to dinner with us, it was quite funny to see peoples reactions. Then we went to Shirk, Sammy did too. The team was very excited to see him, but we hid him in the showers when coach came in. We won our game but quiet a lot and I played a decent amount. I even got to go in with the normal players instead of the freshman which was nice. When the game was over I went back to the girls house for Tuesday night TiVo of the Bachelor. I hate that I watch that show but I just can't stop.

Carrie Out

Sunday, January 31, 2010

A loss?

Let's get a little weekend wrap-up. Friday consisted of work, grade schools, and basketball. I roller skated with my fourth graders in P.E. I was a bit nervous having not done it in forever but I didn't fall. Friday night movie night was "I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell," interesting with a few hilarious scenes. Saturday was spent in Wisconsin playing Carthage. Let's just say it was a bad day to be a Titan. We lost our first regular season game in 2 1/2 years. We didn't play well and the whole game was a struggle we just couldn't get going. Still we learned from last year that being undefeated does not make you a National Champion. It is better to lose now and gain motivation because nothing has ended. We got in at about 1:30 this morning and had to be back at the gym at 9:30 for practice because of work schedules. We watched a lot of film and had a very productive 45 minutes on the floor. For some reason I was craving Taco Bell and off handedly mentioned it during warm ups, that started a ruckus. Taco Bell is poor college kid paradise a bunch of us hit it up for lunch and twas delicious. After lunch I ran to the library and printed some stuff off before heading home. At home I wrote a Literature Review for Senior Sem, and yes I am still majorly lost in that class. Then it was off to youth group tonight we played balloon hide n seek and had queso with chips, yum. We studied Deborah for our lesson, very interesting, Judges 4 look it up. Then we made some root beer floats before sending the kiddies home. I came back here soon after to put away a months worth of clothes and finish up some work. Mission accomplished now for some zzzz's.

Carrie Out

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Kale's Back!

I woke up with crusty blood under my left thumb nail. Apparently I scratched up my right hand in the night. My nails aren't even long, or jagged for that matter. I am strange. Had teaching children fine arts all day today. Started the day off with Panera bagels courtesy of our teacher Jen. Chocolate chip with hazelnut cream cheese was my pick, yum yum. We spent the whole day discussing learning disorders. The morning was spent watching yet another exciting video from the early 90's. Good information, bad hair. Then we did a simulation. We had to paint a picture of somewhere we would like to be...only we couldn't use our hands at all. Most of us put the brush in our mouths some used their toes. My picture wasn't actually bad, I'm quite proud. Still it was a neat experience. Lunch break came a little early which was nice and gave me a whole hour out of class. The afternoon was spent learning about dyslexia and all that comes with it. I learned some neat reading tricks. After class I went to Shirk to see if they had heard anything back from the Dr. No such luck. Emily (our trainer) was still freaking out she took my pulse and blood pressure, I told her I was fine. She agreed to let me do some light exercise if someone went with me. Kale called this afternoon and we talked for awhile while he was lost somewhere in California. He told me he wants a tatto of Jesus face on his chest. I told him it would be awesome if he got it placed where his chest hair could grow on Jesus head like real hair, ha. Christina met me and we spent about an hour in the gym. We shot and I jogged around a bit just to test it out. No problem. We met Karen and Sean for dinner and then proceeded to spend two hours laughing and shooting the breeze. Watched Monday's Bachelor on TiVo then went to Bible study. We are doing Parables this semester good stuff.

Carrie Out

Halftime Dr.

I was tired earlier. I should be tired now. I am not tired, yuck. Started the day off with a little Shirky Worky. I was stationed at the desk today, no Coach Eash following me around. Spent the first hour drawing a detailed map of my fourth grade classroom for class. I would rather draw then write any day. Then I went to the trainers office to get my medical records released. I met with a Dr. yesterday at our game. It was really random I had to talk to him in the stands at halftime of our game. He was in the crowd and the trainers made me. Anyways he wants the results from my EKG and Echo I had run my sophomore year so we had to request them from my doctor. He wants to run some more tests and other things so we'll see what happens next. After work I came back to my room and finished up some homework. Then I met Karen, Christina, and Sean for lunch. It was actually edible some kind of cheesy chicken pasta. We sat and shot the breeze for about an hour then I loaded up and headed home. I went to see Jodi and Trey first because they missed me. Okay I missed them. Trey is getting so big, he is trying to learn to crawl. I adventured to the bank next to deposit 4 paychecks. I am not so good at putting them in. Went home and did laundry and homework until youth group. Youth group went alright tonight the kids were wound up but we managed. I brought Sammy and Ferdinand in per request. The little kids were loving it it was too funny. Went home and showered and sat around then headed back here. I was supposed to go out tonight but opted for staying in my warm room. I think it was a smart decision.

Carrie Out

Monday, January 25, 2010

Crazy Heart

Tis been a long day. Woke up at the lovely time of 5:30 for a little worky. There were actually quite a few people there when I started my shift. I usually wait for them to leave then tidy up the mess they leave behind. Not this morning. The football Coach (who is widely known for being awkward and rude) followed me around the weight room for half an hour making me perform ridiculous tasks. I told him I clean up after the first wave leaves, he didn't care. I had to move a platform because it wasn't perfectly straight, restack all the floor weights into stacks of the same height and other dumb things. Not fun. When he left I did some homework. I had planned on doing more but was so tired that my brain could not function. I walked home only to realize I left my computer charger at Shirk so I walked back, yeah frostbite! When I got back I vegged on my bed until lunch. I really wanted to and needed to sleep but it wasn't coming ugh. Lunch was lunch the usual laughter and less than desirable foods. After lunch I jumped back on the homework train. I wrote an essay for my Senior Sem then went to the library in hunt for research articles. I realized while there I really have no idea how to locate items in Ames, I should probably go more often. Next came practice. Weird thing I didn't actually get to practice today. About 20 minutes into drills I felt my heart start beating really funny and fast. I thought maybe it was just gonna last a few seconds so I let it go but it didn't stop. I had Christina feel it and then our assistant coach and they both sent me to the trainer. It beat like that for about five minutes it made me dizzy and hard to breathe. After I sat for a while it stopped but then it just felt like someone was sitting on my chest there was this strange pressure. As long as I was sitting it didn't bother me much so that is what the trainer forced me to do the rest of practice, yuck. Grabbed dinner then headed to Encounter in the snow. Tonights sermon was on the third commandment and was quality with some good jokes thrown in. Tomorrow I go back to the fourth grade so tonight I need to sleep.

Carrie Out

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Sad day to be a Viking

I believe I suffered a strange mix of an anxiety and heart attack tonight. I really have got to learn to not get so involved in football. The Vikings lost in a nail biter to the Saints. If it was the Packers with Brett at the reigns losing I probably would have cried. Critics are already jumping on the Favre hating band wagon because of the last interception. That makes me very angry. Yes he threw the interception but that did NOT lose the game in any way shape or form. The four fumbles leading up to that did, the Vikings had multiple opportunities to score which were lost on these turnovers. Also I think the idea of running a passing play at that time anyways was a dumb decision that was not made by Favre. Yes I am biased but in this situation I do not feel I am wrong in my opinion. Enough venting. We played North Park today the game was incredibly boring and long. North Park isn't very good and once we got up on them we coasted along. The guys played after us, one of the guys who was on the basketball team at Lincoln played for North Park. It was cool to see him. This game was much closer but we pulled it out in the end. North Park's mascot is the Viking. I think it was an omen.

Carrie Out

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Fiesta

Yesterday was pack full of fun...or at least packed full. Started the day off with some work, hurray! Then I went to my 4th grade class again. I liked it MUCH better this time, I hope it keeps getting better. Next I met Polly for some catching up at Fusion Brew. After an hour of conversing it was off to practice. After practice Mark's team was playing again so I stood and talked with Grandma, Kathy, and Ron. Grabbed some dinner then headed to the girls for Friday Night movie night. We watched a NetFlix Stacey had, she doesn't always have the best taste. We watched "The Reaping," with Hilary Swank. It was strange but the kind of strange that keeps you intrigued, not too bad. Today started with a lovely 2 hour practice, it wasn't bad it was easy. We showered then headed to the cafeteria for lunch. Keeping with the weekly trend the food was gross. I walked home and ordered some articles online for my Senior Sem class. I had never done that before I felt like such an accomplished student. Then I took Karen to the mall to look for a birthday present for her sister, we had no success. When we got back a bunch of us went to watch the ISU women's basketball team. Nicole, one of their players, helped us all summer with camp and stuff so we went to see her. They won by a lot so we left early because we were starving. We had crock pot chicken tacos with all the fixings I even made some guacamole, it was a fiesta. Post dinner we watched U of I play. Tonight's agenda centered on watching a Lifetime movie called "The Pregnancy Pact," it was all kinds of ridiculous, as was expected. Came home earlyish to do some laundry. I am fresh outta clean clothes but this is taking forever.

Carrie Out

Thursday, January 21, 2010

I love class]

Ahh the week has gotten away with me. Tuesday was a really really late night because of basketball but we won so I suppose it was worth it:) Wednesday was swallowed up with homework and shenanigans, it went by quickly. Today is my least favorite day of the week. I actually got adequate sleep last night first time in awhile. Woke up and skied to class careful not to fall. We spent the morning discussing proper reading and writing tactics then watched some boring video from what seemed to be the 1980's. High points of class: We got snacks (trail mix) and I practice my left handed and backwards writing skills instead of watching the video. Lunch break was not very appetizing today but I went to the cafeteria anyways. I checked my mail before heading back to class and one more textbook came, I am still waiting on quite a few. Class number two was stock full of presentations. 8 different learning disorders in 3 hours of the joys. Actually they weren't too bad people did a good job of keeping the class engaged and entertained. Cam and I did a presentation on AD/HD the teacher thought it was fitting. I didn't complain we did little research I already knew all the stuff about it. After class I had 2 hours till dinner and returning to class. I swiftly jumped aboard the homework train. One paper and one reading later it was dinner time, which again disappointed. Class was short today less than 2 hours but still confusing. I am hoping to catch on sometime soon. Went to the girls house to chill out for a bit and watch bad tv. I have to work at 8 am I am hoping not to fall on the ice.

Carrie Out

Monday, January 18, 2010

Winning Weekend

Once again the weekend evaded my writing. It was pumped full of food, friends, football, and the weekend favorite movies! I usually write on Sundays but the whole thing was thrown off with a Sunday basketball game. Due to our budget cuts we now do conference double headers with the guys which leads to loooong days and Sunday games. Bummer. But on a good note we both won so at least it was a pleasant ride home. In other great but not at all shocking news Brett Favre is amazing and the Vikings won:) I did not sleep well last night apparently it was a common theme for everyone on the team, weird. Anyways I had to be up and at work by 6. To make it even better the streets were covered in black ice and I slipped twice in the pitch black at 5:45 awesome. At work I actually had to work it was crazy. The place was hoping for 6 am we had a softball team in training and all sorts of people running about making me do things. I did get to watch a movie though which always makes me happy. This mornings pick came from Stacey and was called "My Life as a House," it was an intriguing and fresh look at life, I enjoyed it. After work I slept until lunch because I was exhausted. Lunch was full of foolishness and laughter. The afternoon was spent doing some homework and watching SVU, fun times. Practice was an easy one today since we have a game tomorrow I did run a mile after though just to get a workout in. Marks team played at Shirk so I watched his game with Grandma and Aunt Kathy before heading to Encounter. We just started a series on the Ten Commandments and I like it. I start 4th grade tomorrow here's to hoping it goes well.

Carrie Out

Thursday, January 14, 2010

9 hours!

Oh how I love Thursdays, I just wish I could find a way to get more class time into my day, ha. Morning class was all about Social Studies today. Well not literally we just discussed some text book readings. At break time Ana brought all these delicious mix-in's and baggies so we could make our own trail mix. She also brought us some yummy Fuji apples. I love snack time. The rest of the class period was spent on discussing how to set and establish classroom rules. Then it was onto our 1 hour lunch break. I wasn't real hungry per the morning snacks so I ate a quick grilled cheese. The lines today were short so I actually had about 20 minutes after lunch before class. I used it to run back to my room and check if my text books had come in the mail...they didn't. The first half of the afternoon class was also taught by Ana but I don't really remember what we did. Then Jen Crider our art teacher taught the second half of class. We discussed critiquing childrens art and then had to give a summary of an article we wrote in a song all young children know. My group did ours to London Bridge is falling down it was high quality. I had a half hour between class and practice I spent it repacking my backpack and sitting on my bed. Practice was actually fun today we did a lot of competition drills. I had to leave early for class and am told I missed our least favorite conditioning drill, oh darn. Senior Sem. was confusing per usual, I don't really understand why we have class we don't seem to accomplish anything. Maybe when I catch on to what we are doing the 3 hours will be meaningful, I won't hold my breath. After class I went to the girls house to visit and chill. I have to work at 7:30 so to bed I go.

Carrie Out

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Crazy

Yesterdays blogging took a back seat to Tivo Tuesdays, otherwise known as the Bachelor without commercials. The whole team, well all the upperclassmen, watch the show every week and whoever can't watch it on Monday's watches it Tuesdays. The show is soooo cheesy and scripted yet so entertaining to make fun of. We like it. So anyways this led to late bed time which was bad because I was up by 7:30 this morning. I hate a.m. shifts at Shirk, darn you Coach Wagner. This morning I read the newspaper and then started on the book "The Great Expectations School." It is written by Dan Brown whom I meet and listened to speak last year very interesting and intriguing stuff. After work I took a nap cause I was tired. Then I met Christina, Sean, and Karen for lunch. It was soup bar day only they ran out of bowls in the first 15 minutes, very sketchy. Christina's classes for the day were cancelled so we decided to spend the afternoon in the library doing homework. I had a paper for my senior seminary class to write which took me a lot longer than expected but it is done. Left straight from the library to head to the church office. We had to film a skit for Sunday's service and do other work. It was a crazy night. We had a lot of kids and they all were wired, our junior highers were especially out of control. Talked to Dustin for a bit after youth then headed home for new SVU, you know I love it. Now I am thinking bed would be best seeing as I have 9 hours of class tomorrow and 2 hours of practice. Yeah I know what was I thinking.

Carrie Out

Monday, January 11, 2010

Catching Up


I awoke at 5:30 this morning and was not loving it. Much to my happiness thought when I went to start my car it was not covered in ice and started right up. No scraping and no hassle. At work I actually did my homework. A little reading, a response, and a 2 page paper. Done, done, and done. Then I watched the movie "Taken" and was utterly engrossed. It was so suspenseful and actiony I really really liked it...minus the fact the premise of it is quite frightening. Let's just say I shall never travel overseas alone. After work I must have been tired because I fell asleep for 2 hours! That is a real real long time in my world. Woke up and went to lunch with Karen. Then I met Kelsey Coker at Fusion Brew for an afternoon of catching up. She studied in Spain all first semester and is going back this semester but came home for Christmas. I really missed her and selfishly wish that she was staying here but Spain is calling. Funny part though she really wanted to see Sammy the Ground Hog so I may have brought him into Fusion Brew and received many laughs and bewildered stares. We enjoyed it hah. We talked for so long that I finally had to make myself leave at 4:30 so I could go to basketball practice. Practice wasn't bad today everyone was in a decent mood so it moved along nicely. After practice I grabbed a shower and some food before heading to Encounter. I missed having it over break, it's just nice to go to a service that is completely tailored to you, very fulfilling. Well I am thinking tomorrow's full day of classes shall require me to get some rest.
Carrie Out


Sunday, January 10, 2010

Go Vikings?

Saturday nights get real out of control around here so don't be expecting many weekend posts. Today I woke up and walked three blocks across campus to my car. It was 10 below zero and I was carrying my laundry basket. Gotta love the terrible parking at my dorm. I made it there with minimal frost bite to fight with my car to get it to start and then scrape it so I could see. All that being said I did make it to church just not exactly on time but 10 minutes late isn't too late. I sat with Matthew and as usual he was cracking me up. I went to highschool Sunday school because I can and then I went home. Spent the afternoon doing laundry and watching football. The Packers have let me down so now I shall cling to my only hope that is Brett Favre and the Vikings. Went to youth where I cooked some pizza's and did a little learning about the book of Daniel. There are stories in there that I had no idea were from the book of Daniel, like the fiery furnance. How did I not know that? Did some chatting with Sam and Lys then went back home. I helped Brent with his government homework then watched some Brothers and Sisters before heading back. Tomorrow I work at 6 am tonight I go to sleep.

Carrie Out

Friday, January 08, 2010

Movies

Started the day off with a rousing three hours of work. Actually it wasn't bad Shirk was dead because one, it was early, and two, no one wants to walk in this weather to work out. I spent my time reading the Pantagraph and watching "Ladder 49." This took up all three hours which I appreciated. After work I decided I should probably buy my textbooks for class. I had forgotten that these were necessary for class, maybe because I never ever read them. Still never know if I may need them. Anyways I looked at the bookstore and bought nothing then I bought a few online. Books are so expensive. This time of year is killing me. LA, the towing of my car, tuition, and books, all within 2 weeks, rough stuff. I met Karen for lunch at the cafeteria. It was a disappointment, grilled cheese won out. Then it was back to online book browsing before I took a pre practice nap. I was tired for some reason. Practice was alright actually seemed to go by fairly quickly which is always nice. Showered then grabbed dinner and headed to the girls house. We decided to go see "Up in the Air." We had wanted to see it awhile ago and now that it is getting all kinds of great reviews we chose to go check it out. It was really good and even funny although the topic on it's own is quite depressing. Very poignant view of how our culture is currently operating. After the movie we started to watch "Fight Club" on TV. Surprisingly I have never seen it. I made it the first half then walked home because I am tired. Tomorrow we play Carthage another Top Ten team should be interesting.

Carrie Out

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Return of Me

I have returned! With the onslaught of finals, the holidays, and basketball I left the world of internet behind for a bit, but now I am back. School started today, well actually yesterday, but with my new schedule I only attend class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They will be long days but the three days off will be nice and allow time to keep up. I was really hoping the snow would ward off class today but it did not, bummer. I technically have 4 classes but only 3 teachers, and every class is in the same room. Each teacher has a 3 hour block I think CLA 100 will become my new home. This morning I had teaching social studies and teaching language arts. Dr. Floriani teaches both of them so it really is up to her what subject we learn about about. Today was language arts. The class actually flew by. I really like her she is my advisor and taught my Childrens Lit class last May term. Doesn't hurt either that my classmatese are the same education majors from last semester either. After class I ate lunch with Karen and Britt, nacho bar day never disappoints. My afternoon class was cancelled due to weather, I planned to spend it relaxing, I planned wrong. My car was towed because I was apparently parked along a snow route. There is no parking lots for my dorm so I have to park on the street. Anyways it was a long and stressful afternoon of Stacey driving me around and attempting to keep me sane. We had to go to the police station where I payed 10$ to find out where my car was. Then I got a 50$ parking ticket. Next we had to go to Joe's Towing to get my car which was an adventure in itself. We got there and I realized I left my license at the police station. So after we got my car and I gave them 130$ we had to go back and get my license. This all took 2 hours and we got back just in time for practice. Practice wasn't too bad, I had to leave early for class. On Thursdays I have senior seminar class from 7-10pm. I was lost and confused the whole time but am trying to catch on. No class tomorrow but I do work in the morning so I'm going to go lay in bed.

Carrie Out