June 27th, 2013

Today, with a new sense of motivation and dedication, I felt extremely accomplished and thoroughly pampered. We've been getting a lot of things done around the house, and it's nice to see the progress! Then in the midst of it all, Rachel decides to start brushing my hair. I don't remember the last time someone else brushed my hair but it was fantastic :) Then mom and I went to go get pedicures! It was a great day :)

June 26th, 2013

Today, I had some crazy good reflections on my life and where I am now and where I want to be. Sometimes you just need to take that extra minute and reassess the situation. And I feel that doing so has made a lot of stress, some of which I'm not sure I knew existed, go away :)

June 25th, 2013

Today, I had some of the most enchanting conversation I have had in a long time. It's hard to find someone who can stimulate me on an intellectual level, and I most certainly appreciated that I was able to find that person :)

June 24th, 2013

Today, I realized how much I really needed this blog. I made it one full month without blogging and truly I failed, miserably. Constantly I felt the need to blog, but didn't because I had been told there were better uses of my time. Today I realize that was not true. Although the minutes that it takes to actually blog could be used doing something else, possibly something more contributing to society, but the short amount of time it takes me to blog gives me inner peace and stability, both which I need to be a productive and positive member in society. So I'm back with the daily blogs, and hopefully I'm back for good :)

May 23rd, 2013

Today, the day did not start out very well. I was in a bad mood up until right before my first class started. After that, the day was exponentially better! Today I am celebrating not giving up and succumbing to the mindset that it has to be a bad day. Things can turn around if you let them! :)

May 22nd, 2013

Today, I woke up at freakin' god-awful early to get to Perry-Meridian High School on time (I'm pretty sure it'll take a miracle for me to actually enjoy getting up early). I found out I'm going to be teaching there this next year! I got to meet the teacher and some of the students I'll have, and I got explained a lot of how things work around the school. It's crazy cool information and I'm definitely excited to be there starting in August!

May 21st, 2013

This is too beautiful not to celebrate. This story. Zach's story. I don't remember the last time something touched me this much. Today, between my classes, I watched this video. When I saw that he had passed *yesterday*...I nearly lost it right then and there. I had never heard of the guy before watching this, and this video made me feel like I had known him for years. Please PLEASE take the time to watch it...I promise you won't regret it.

Zach's Story

May 20th, 2013

Today was a fantastic do nothing day! No work or responsibilities to do today, so I spent the majority of my day animating a "hip hopera" with Dustin. It's crazy, I spent about six hours working on two minutes of animation. It was CRAZY!!!! This is why I could never be a full time animator...that's too much work for too little product! But I really do enjoy it, so for recreation I'm fine with spending the time when I have it. I'm just glad Dustin appreciates the work :P

May 19th, 2013

Today, Rachel and I decided to trade name tags at work. Although I didn't face any confrontations with it, I was walking to the concession stand and I heard one of our managers exclaim "but you're not Emma!" I had a huge grin when I walked out, it was fantastic! :)

May 18th, 2013

Today, I got to see my (nonbiological) big sister Ashley! Although I feel like I've seen her more recently than a year ago, I was definitely glad to be able to catch up with her! So much has happened since we last met up...it's always great seeing her! <3

May 17th, 2013

Today, I learned how to cool down an overheated dog. It's something that I hope I never desperately need, but it definitely came in use when Abby was panting so hard she was shaking. Sometimes it's just...good to know :)

May 16th, 2013

Today, I bonded very well with one of my classmates. He's actually in both of my classes, an education major, and student teaching in the fall in the same corporation I'm in! We were talking about all sorts of things...it was definitely nice to find something in common with someone I'll be spending so much time with this summer!

May 15th, 2013

Today was an awesome day! After class, I went to work because we had staff cook out before a staff meeting before I had to work tonight. It was so much fun to see everyone out of uniform and wanting to just socialize. We have such a great community established at work and I love being able to be a part of it :)

May 14th, 2013

Today, we actually were able to have a successful family dinner! It so rarely happens with all of our work schedules the way they are, but it was definitely nice that it happened tonight!

May 13th, 2013

Today, I got to train people at work! It was my first training shift in almost a year, and it's one of my favorite things to do! Well it was usher trainer, but a slow day at the theater, so we couldn't just throw them into a random theater and actually get a good gauge at what it's like to actually clean a theater. My solution? The projectionist and myself take some old popcorn, big trash, and booster seats, and make one of the theaters "realistically dirty". It was so much fun! And now I feel better about these new hires actually knowing how to clean a theater :)

May 12th, 2013

Today, my dog did the craziest thing! She loves laying on our couch, but the parents don't want her to because she sheds and it's a black couch so her hairs are very noticeable. Well, she tried to get up onto the couch and I told her to get down. What does she do next? She jumps off the couch and runs over to the chair where she promptly sits like the chair is made for her. I've never seen her do that before...but it was so in character I started cracking up. Day. Made :)

May 11th, 2013

Today, Rachel and I were watching some videos from our very first blog together, and we were CRACKING up! She also was able to deduce what song I was talking about by me saying a potential starting letter...and that's it. I love my sister sometimes...alright fine, all the time, but seriously though, she cracks me up :P

May 10th, 2013

Today, I was on register at work. Usually, I'm the supervisor in charge of the staff on register, but I was one of the registers that the supervisor was in charge of! Surprisingly...I really enjoyed myself! I don't know if it's the new inventory system they came up with or if it was who I was working with or if it was just...something else! But it was an amazing shift! Great success :)

May 9th, 2013

Today, my parents and I went to go see Big Wedding in theaters and it was such a good movie! It was the first movie I had seen since I've been back for the summer, and it was definitely a good choice!

May 8th, 2013

Today, I got to change a light bulb inside one of our projectors in the movie theater. It's a little nerve wracking, because if you mess up the light bulb can explode and if it scratches the reflector mirror, then all of a sudden you owe the theater a loooooot of money! However, I was confident in my abilities and was successful in my endeavors. Now to change another one on Friday xD

May 7th, 2013

Today, we had black angus bacon and cheddar burgers for dinner. They were delicious! It was a new brand that we hadn't tried before and they were a raging success! Not to mention it seemed that everything else I put on my burger just complimented it so well...it was fantastic! Maybe one day I'll be able to replicate the technique :)

May 6th, 2013

Today, I went to the eye doctor! I was one of those weird kids who actually enjoyed going to places like the dentist and eye doctor, and that still holds true today! I got to pick out new glasses and I gotta say, they look sharp!

May 5th, 2013

Today, was a nice relaxing day getting ready for the start of the week. It's going to be a busy summer, so having yesterday and today to just ease back into things was pretty nice :)

May 4th, 2013

Today, it being the first full day the entire family was here, we all went out for a family dinner! With as crazy as all of our schedules are, we might not get an opportunity to do that again anytime soon. It's always nice to spend quality time together like that :)

May 3rd, 2013

Today was my last day at the high school. I had such a great time; my students are amazing! I had students that I didn't think I bonded with so much come up to me, tell me how much they were going to miss me, and ask to stay in contact with me! Craziness! I've loved every moment of this opportunity...I wouldn't have traded it for anything :D

May 2nd, 2013

Today, one of my students let me know that she can quote almost all, if not all, of the Lorax movie. We had a total bonding moment, especially since both of us were quoting it while her class was watching it! I love being able to bond with my students on such an informal level.

May 1st, 2013

Today, I took a bunch of random ingredients from the fridge and pantry, threw them together, and made a pretty spectacular dish out of it all. That's one of my favorite ways to cook: Not knowing exactly what I'm doing but somehow getting everything to work out deliciously! Can't wait to do more of that over the summer :)

April 30th, 2013

Today, I was watching videos from 2010 that I made with my sister. We are absolutely crazy! I remember making some of them, and it feels like forever ago! But it's definitely a nice reflection and a great bonding experience between both of us :)

April 29th, 2013

Today, I had two students come up and ask if I had to leave after this week. HOW PRECIOUS?!? With everything that's gone on these past two months I didn't think (or at least wasn't expecting) that I made that kind of impression on them! I have to say it's one of the best feelings in the world! THIS is why I teach <3 <3 <3

April 28th, 2013

Today, I got to be a part of current culture and maybe even a little celebrity! Dustin has been tossing around ideas for a web comic strip, and he's been doing bits and pieces here and there to get it started. Well today, he let me help him finish the promo for the series which was awesome, but on top of that, we decided to make a cartoon music video for one of the bands he's produced! Of course he had ME do all the animating (for reasons unknown although now I'm starting to get the hang of it lol) and the finished product actually looks kind of awesome! The band watched it and actually really liked it! It's kind of spectacular to be able to take part in something like that!

April 27th, 2013

Today, my fantastic roommate informed me that he had the first five seasons of The Big Bang Theory! How have I lived with him for two months, been friends for who knows how long, and not known this?! Needless to say, this weekend consisted of a lot of marathon watching...well...because we could! :P

April 26th, 2013

Today, I had a lovely conversation with my principal. He really REALLY wants me to stay for the rest of the school year, and was trying to sell me on it. I'll be meeting with him again on Monday, but I have to say I don't remember the last time a supervisor made me feel like such an asset. He compliments my teaching styles every time we meet, he tells me how much he appreciates me and the fact that I was able to take this job at such late notice, and he's restored a lot of long lost faith in the education system. We need more administrators like him.

April 25th, 2013

Today, I got a little spring cleaning out of the way. I scoured the kitchen and reorganized the living room. It was one of those cleaning sprees that felt good and the results made it worth my time! Now I have a sleeping cat next to me and melatonin kicking in, only one more day until the weekend! My last weekend here...weird!

April 24th, 2013

Today, I got together with the teacher I've been subbing for and we started working on wrap up plans! It's crazy to think that I've been here for almost seven weeks! The time has definitely flown by! Even though I still have seven more days to teach, I already know how thankful I am for this experience and am so glad I was able to take the job!

April 23rd, 2013

Today, I remembered my umbrella! I remember seeing last night that it was expecting to rain today, but you know Indiana and it's "laxidasical" weather predictions, but I decided to take my umbrella to school with me anyway, deciding that it would rain if I didn't, so at least it wouldn't rain if I did. Well I got out of school and it was raining! I was definitely glad I remembered it!

April 22nd, 2013

Today, pardon my language, but the only word to classify how much grading I got done would be shit-ton. I got a shit-ton of grading done today, and let me tell you, it was a huge load off my chest! Weird to think I only have nine days left of teaching, but at least I'm not saving everything for the last minute!

April 21st, 2013

Today, I got to sit down and have a nice conversation with my roommate. With both of our social lives and both of us having significant others, and the fact that he usually doesn't get back from his work until about the time that I'm going to bed, and I leave before he gets up and come back after he's gone, we really haven't had a lot of time to just sit down and catch up. It was really really nice, I remember why we're rooming together...we're great friends :)

April 20th, 2013

Today, Dustin decided that he wanted to start a comic strip. He said he had been working on this idea for years but never knew how to get the ball rolling, and I actually knew a program that he could work with. So after suggesting the program and telling him about the basics, he tells me that he's almost done with the demo for his first cartoon! It was nice to help him out :)

April 19th, 2013

Today, instead of having a snow day, we had a flood day! School was cancelled! Granted, I couldn't go anywhere because everywhere near by was flooded, it was absolutely insane to have school cancelled in APRIL! This is the second time in my life that I've experienced a flood day!

April 18th, 2013

Today, my fourth year French students saw the icon for one of my blogs, and now they are insisting that I blog about them. Feel loved, mes cheries, there aren't many classes I'd comply to :P

April 17th, 2013

Today, I spent a nice chunk of time hauled up in my bedroom catching up on TV shows I enjoy to watch. I've been so crazy busy lately with school and grading, and trying to have a social/love life that I hadn't really been taking a lot of time just for/to me. So I did...and I loved it :)

April 16th, 2013

Today, I installed PowerTeacher onto my laptop. It's the program a lot of school systems (all three that I've worked for) use for attendance and grades. I feel like having it on my laptop will not only make my life easier for the remainder of this job, but for my future jobs as well :)

April 15th, 2013

Today, I got to explore downtown Anderson looking for the post office. They have a historical sector where through the street all of the houses are redone to look as they did when the town was first founded. The street itself has been revitalized and it's just a really pretty site. I'm sure I could spend a nice afternoon just strolling around there :)

April 14th, 2013

Today, all I feel like I did was watch movies. I suppose every now and again you need a day like that: to just recharge and breathe. It certainly was nice to not worry about things, no matter how brief it was :)

April 13th, 2013

Today, there was a period of time that I babysat the twin terrors by myself. I've always been good with kids so I wasn't necessarily worried about being with them alone, but it was a nice reassurance to realize that they aren't too much to handle in small quantities. Also a nice reassurance that I still want to wait quite a few years before I have kids myself :P

April 12th, 2013

Today, I got out of the apartment, went to the local library, and was productive for most of the afternoon. It felt amazing! I had no idea I missed sitting at a table so much, especially since I have two desks at school! I always thought I'd be most productive at school, and while it holds true that I'm *more* productive at school than I am at the apartment, it was Friday and I was ready to leave lol. Glad to still be productive though :)

April 11th, 2013

Today, we had an early release in school. Usually I detest not having enough time for each class, but oddly enough each class period was pretty perfectly proportioned. It was a nice change of pace and the afternoon off didn't hurt either! :)

April 10th, 2013

Today, we had a glorious storm roll through. It was absolutely spectacular and definitely needed :) I loved watching it!

April 9th, 2013

Today, I realized why I always have medicine with me. I woke up around 4:30 am with a crazy ridiculous migraine that made me nauseated and feverish. I took a couple over the counter pills and went back to sleep for two hours and POOF it was as if I had slept through the night! I can't imagine going through a day of work (with HIGH SCHOOLERS!) in that amount of pain, so I'm very thankful that medication helps take care of things :)

April 8th, 2013

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!! If that wasn't enough of something to celebrate, I had several students not only wish me happy birthday, but they brought me food/gifts to celebrate it with! I'm absolutely so blessed to have this experience at this school with such amazing students!

April 7th, 2013

Today, my parents came up to celebrate my birthday. We went to Scotty's Brewhouse, which is my absolute favorite restaurant right now. I got the exact meal that I wanted and it was beyond fantastic! Then, my parents got me not one, not two, but THREE Dr. Seuss books in French! I was ecstatic! It was definitely the best prelude to a birthday I could ask for <3

April 6th, 2013

Today, I got to cook dinner for Dustin. He went to culinary school, and he's very much a presence in the kitchen. I made him one of the chicken dishes my dad taught me, and he enjoyed it! It was nice to be able to do that for him :)

April 5th, 2013

Today, two of my classes watched Pitch Perfect in French. It's so amusing for all of us to know the English lines and see how they translate into French! There were several instances where we were laughing crazy hard because of the translations chosen. :)

April 4th, 2013

Today, I found out one of my favorite students has the same birthday (today) as one of my best friends. It's a very tiny thing, but the link made me smile because I miss my best friend very much! Happy Birthday, Jenna and Robby :)

April 3rd, 2013

Today, I left the school the earliest I've ever left since I've been subbing full time. It's crazy how much of a routine I've created and how easy ending the day is once you figure out you don't have to reinvent the wheel each time :D

April 2nd, 2013

Today, Dustin and my roommate met for the first time and bonded like none other. They started talking about different games and the rest was history because of how well they got along. And apparently they both like pushing my buttons and teasing me...lovely :P

April 1st, 2013

Today, I won the lottery!


...April Fools :P

Today I got all my classes to pass back alllllllllllllllllll the papers that have been graded. Each class had papers that were weeks, almost months old. The stacks of papers were driving me crazy! I was glad for them to be gone :)

March 31st, 2013

Today, I got to show Dustin some of the asdfmovie videos on YouTube. They are probably some of the funniest videos I have ever seen, as evidence by the fact that I STILL watch them, even though I probably have each one memorized. It was nice to see Dustin appreciate the humor that I find in them. I'm not the only crazy one ;)

March 30th, 2013

Today, I woke up at 6am with a migraine. All I had to do was pop two pills and go back to sleep for it to be taken care of. It's crazy to think how far modern medicine has improved, and I'm certain I take it for granted, because I remember how terrible it was when Excedrin had been recalled. As someone who suffers from headaches/migraines often, I'm certainly thankful for the medicine :)

March 29th, 2013

Today, the weather was absolutely gorgeous! I love when you can't tell that it was snowing less than a week ago! I love the promise of spring in the air!

March 28th, 2013

Today, I learned some new things at my job. Having worked there for almost three years, it's hard to think there's any aspect of this job that I don't know or understand. It was a nice breath of fresh air to learn something new and then put it immediately to use!

March 27th, 2013

Today, I spent the entire day with a very old friend. He himself is not old, but we've known each other since kindergarten! He was also my first boyfriend, and I love how we can some semblance of a friendship even after all the change and drama. It was a great day :)

March 26th, 2013

Today, I spent the day with my mom. We went out to lunch and then to a movie. Lots of talking and bonding. Since I moved for this job, we haven't been able to do that very often, and it was definitely nice to be able to reconnect and just gab. It was a great day! She said I was "animated" all day and I was definitely in a good mood! I love days like this :)

March 25th, 2013

Today, I came up with my own recipe for chicken taquitos. It was great! I love being able to create new things in the kitchen, and this is definitely a recipe I'll be keeping!

March 24th, 2013

Today, work was beyond boring. We've been hit with a snow storm and it was dead in the theater. However, it was a great way to help the managers out with some of the things they had to do tonight and it was a much better way to pass the time than sitting around doing nothing. AND I got paid for it! Much better day at work than yesterday :)

March 23nd, 2013

Today, I got to meet one of my mother's school friends. We just sat, drank coffee, and talked about education. Days like that are the reason why I love being in education. I love knowing the education systems and being able contribute to conversations in a constructive way :)

March 22nd, 2013

Today, I came home for my school's spring break. Even though I just saw my parents a week ago, it was a great feeling to see them. I had definitely missed them as well as my brother. We went out for Panda Express and then had a good night in catching up. I love coming home :)

March 21st, 2013

Today, I reached out to a friend going through a very tough time. I made it my goal to distract him from his work/family related stress and actually have a good time, and he said I succeeded. I'm glad that I've been blessed with the ability to be a friend to those who just need someone around. It's such an amazing feeling :D

March 20th, 2013

Today, I slept more than I had in the last two days combined. I'm usually anti-nap, but after the stress of the past couple of days, it was very nice to play catch up :)

March 19th, 2013

Today, I made burgers from scratch. I know my family used to have their own recipe but working with things only in the apartment, not to mention I don't remember the last time my family made burgers from scratch, I pretty much just winged it. But they turned out really good! I was happy about them :)

March 18th, 2013

Today, my students commented on how they felt like they were doing more work in my class than they ever did with their original teacher. I originally thought they meant that I was assigning them too much homework or going through things too quickly, but they continued on with how they actually felt like they were using the language in class instead of just talking about using it. I had three different classes make these similar comments. It was an awesome feeling!

March 17th, 2013

Today, I read Green Eggs and Ham in French. I'm not sure how they get "moi" and "jambon" to rhyme, but everything else was brilliantly done! I can't wait to show my students the book! :)

March 16th, 2013

Today, I got to see my parents! They came up to see my apartment and my roommate and then they took me out to lunch and shopping! It's strange sometimes: I've been on the other side of the world for weeks and survived, I've been away at college and only seeing my family once a month for almost four years, but being an hour away for less than two weeks, and coming home in less than a week, I had never been happier to see them <3

March 15th, 2013

Today, I was very anxious that my classes were not going to go well today because I was introducing a new set of seating charts. Well, the day didn't go so absolutely terribly, and I'd even say that it ended on a crazy good note! The perfect start to the weekend <3

March 14th, 2013

Today, I had a really good phone conversation with my sister. They don't happen nearly often enough, but when they do it reminds me why I call her my best friend :D

March 13th, 2013

Today, I got to play with some of the most adorable toddlers I had ever seen. I was hanging out with a friend who lives with his sister who has three kids, a three year old and two year old twins! I can't imagine having that many that soon on my own, but man were these kids adorable! Messy, and loud, and like my mother says I was glad to hand them over when I left, but boy up until then they were pretty spectacular haha

March 12th, 2013

Today, I realized why proper assessment technique is absolutely necessary when trying to see if your students have mastered a topic or not. I gave three different classes quizzes today. One class did really really well, one class averaged, and one did really really poorly. They were different levels with different quizzes, but because of the varying scores I feel the need to find out if it was just an easy assessment, they actually understand the material, or the complete opposite. I'm very thankful that I know these techniques because it makes my job easier!

March 11th, 2013

Today, the principal decided to pop into my classroom for a surprise visit! I'm used to teachers telling me that they were coming to observe so I'd make sure to have something planned. Well...he literally just opened my classroom door and sat down! I was in the middle of a lesson, and he left before I was finished, but when I went down to the office he said he was impressed and that I did a very good job! I believe his words were "awesome", but all the same, it was absolutely splendid :)

March 10th, 2013

Today, I heard back from my favorite professor. I had e-mailed her over a month ago talking about my situation, and she finally got back to me. Now, I know she's a busy person, so I really wasn't surprised about it, but it's always nice to hear from her. We've had a nice chain of e-mails going just talking about what's been going on, and each time I read her response I can hear her voice saying it. I miss her :)

March 9th, 2013

Today, Bisquik was on my grocery list, and I got to remember why I know that as long as I have that I can make anything edible. I had decided to make a "pain au chocolat" with whatever was in the apartment, and it turned out amazing! I'm excited :)

March 8th, 2013

Today, was a casual dress day at school. All teachers get to wear jeans on Friday! Let me tell you what, I like wearing dress clothes and heels as much as the next person, but to wear jeans and moccasins instead? Heaven :)

March 7th, 2013

Today, I met the teacher that I'm subbing for this year! She came in, just four days after giving birth, and helped me with where her classes are in the curriculum and what direction they're heading in the coming weeks. AND I got access to her computer so I can use the smartboard instead of just the one tiny blackboard in the room. AND she gave me a room key. So it was a very nice and productive day :)

March 6th, 2013

Today, we had a snow day! Usually the concept of having to make up school when the weather is actually nice doesn't appeal to me, but it gave me the opportunity to solidify my lesson plans and feel more prepared to teach. The timing could not have been more perfect :)

March 5th, 2013

Today, I made chocolate chip cookies without any utensil other than a fork. I honestly thought it was going to be harder than it was, but it actually wasn't that challenging. And they turned out really well, too! It was a recipe from Pinterest where you add cornstarch to keep the cookies chewy even once they've cooled. I'd definitely say it was a success!

March 4th, 2013

Today, I totally forgot it was already March. I definitely wanted to call it February all day. But today I got to have some really awesome conversations with a really good friend. These don't happen all the time, so it's awesome when they do :)

March 3rd, 2013

Today, the teacher that I'm subbing for had her baby! It moves up my sub start date as well as my moving date, but I'm glad that she delivered safely and they're all healthy!

March 2nd, 2013

Due to the hours I'm scheduled at the theater, there are some managers that I rarely work with. Because of this, when I do work with them, they don't yet know how much I understand about the theater business. So today, I feel that I earned the respect of three managers because I knew what I was supposed to do, knew what information they needed to do their job, and knew how to keep everything from completely falling apart.

A little bragging point: Yesterday I was the lead usher. We never got called for being behind and we did everything we were supposed to in a timely manner with no mishaps. Yesterday, the concession stand was crazy and unorganized and they were constantly running out of popcorn and pretzels and didn't have time to prep for closing. Today, I was supervising the concession stand. We never ran out of any product and even got a good head start on preclosing. Today, the ushers were constantly behind with people having to ask if certain theaters were clean yet. Managers were pulled to help the ushers, and they weren't using the best practices we're taught to use. I understand that there are many more factors than just ME, but it sounds like I know what I'm doing ;)

March 1st, 2013

Today, I accepted the position to teach French at the high school. I'll be moving in with a friend about a half hour away and I'm really really excited!

February 28th, 2013

Today, I got to see one of my best friends who I hadn't seen for over two months. It's always nice to catch up! We've known each other since 1st grade and through our ups and downs we've still been able to maintain a really nice friendship :)

February 27th, 2013

Today, a really good friend reached out to me. Even though nothing is set in stone, the fact that a friend cares enough to try and help make things work out means a lot to me. :)

February 26th, 2013

Today, I had a very productive day at work. Projection shifts are probably the easiest ones to not be productive with, but I made sure to stay busy and work throughout the shift, and it was really good! The managers appreciated my work and I enjoyed it. Definitely a good day :)

February 25th, 2013

I feel like whenever something big comes into my life, I feel the need to celebrate it in every media way possible. Even though I already posted this on my other blog as well as my Facebook, this is definitely what was worth celebrating today. I got offered a job to teach French in a high school while the teacher is on maternity leave. I got this offer not because I applied or interviewed for it, but because one of my professors recommended me. I didn't realize that stuff like this happened in real life, but I'm eternally grateful for it :)

February 24th, 2013

Today, my mother took me shopping. I had been down about some things earlier today, so it was just in time. There's very little that a shopping trip paid by a parent can cure :P

February 23, 2013

Today, I spent the entire afternoon on a date with a really amazing guy. It was a fantastic first date and I hope it to be the first of many :) One would say that I'm rather smitten right now!

February 22nd, 2013

Three things at work today just absolutely made my night:

1) I got to kick out six teens for insubordination in the theater.
2) I got to change a projector light bulb for the first time
3) I got to be part of taking down a pirate in one of our theaters.

Obviously the third is the most exciting, because pirating in a movie is a federal offense and is punishable by a $250,000 fine and up to 10 years in federal prison. The steps that we're supposed to take include contacting the FBI and detaining the culprit while we wait to hear from the studio to see what actions they want to take. But all three were high points in my night and helped make work just that little bit better :)

February 21st, 2013

Today, my mother made peanut butter cookies. I forget the last time I had homemade peanut butter cookies but MAN are they delicious! I also had leftover peanut butter frosting from when I made brownies so I definitely made a peanut butter frosting sandwich between two peanut butter cookies! It was definitely worth it haha

February 20th, 2013

Today, I made chili for the first time. Of all my years of cooking, and all the years we've made our own chili (at least 8 years if not more), I am fairly convinced that I had never made it before today. And today that all changed. Cool stuff haha

February 19th, 2013

Today, I read a new book. It's not very often that I find time to read at all, let alone have the interest to read a new one, but I did, and it was fantastic :)

February 18th, 2013

Today, I got to do my favorite thing at work: Spend work funds at Walmart! Because I'm a supervisor and over 18 I can run errands for my managers, and yesterday we were so slow that they just told me to take some money, buy some things, and take my time. That's how empty it was yesterday! Gotta love it :)

February 17th, 2013

Today my work shift was a thousand times better than the past two that I've had. I don't know if it was because the managers weren't breathing down my neck, or because we were staffed for it to be busier than it was, or because I got to do a little bit of everything instead of staying in one place the entire night. But whatever the reason, I'm not hating myself a little bit more.

February 16, 2013

Today, I made fudge brownies with homemade peanut butter frosting and they were just completely delicious and I loved it all haha.

February 15th 2013

Today, I felt the relieving power of lotion on deadly dry skin. At work we use a lot of salt on our popcorn, and my hands were cracking because of the dryness the salt was causing. Thanks to several rounds of lavender lotion, my hands no longer sting and they feel soft again! I love it haha

February 14th, 2013

Today, as my last day of adjustment before going back to work, I took it a tad easier than I had the past couple of days. I figured out how to get my wii to connect to the internet wirelessly, and that had been an issue in the past. even though I have no intention to use anything on the internet via the wii, it was still nice to be able to establish what I needed to for a connection.

February 13th, 2013

Today, I remembered the pure joy I get when I just have a yen to cook something. Living on campus means purchasing 95% of my food pre-made, with the exception of using a microwave at points. Today I decided I really wanted biscuits, and I was able to go to the kitchen and make them! It was a fantastic feeling :)

February 12th, 2013

Today, I got granted the ability to have a clean slate. Although I still have a lot of work to do before I get there, the fact that I have been given the ability to start over is something that I do not take for granted, and fully intend to make the most of.

February 11th, 2013

Today, I got to go over to Mrs. Palumbo's house. She showed me her studio, we sat down for tea (she called it tea, even though it was just apple cider haha) and we had a nice talk about everything that had gone on in the past week or so. I also got to meet her cat, who is also named Emma! It was nice to see her and know that she supports me 100% no matter what happens :)

February 10th, 2013

Today, I ran into a friend that I met when I was an Academic Peer Mentor. He was just a little freshman moving in through the Accelerate Program, and my co-apm and him got along extremely well. Today, he's a junior, an RA, a very involved member of his fraternity, and is running on a Student Government Association slate as the treasurer. Sometimes it's nice to see someone blossom from their very first steps on campus :)

February 9th, 2013

Today, I convinced a friend to buy the book "Freakonomics" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. It's a book (as well as a blog and documentary) about "a rogue economist explores the hidden side of everything". It's extremely interesting, a little conspiracy theorist-y, but I think my friend will enjoy it :)

February 8th, 2013

Today, I was in the best mood I had been in for almost a week, and for the life of me I have no idea why. But today I sought joy out in the fact that a guy I consider to be a very close friend doesn't know my real first name. I feel like it comes out with everyone at some point or another, and randomly made mention that my first name wasn't Emma and he thought it was Emily, and I just started laughing because he didn't know! I feel like Rumpelstiltskin by not telling him, but it seriously made my life haha

February 7th, 2013

Today, it felt amazing out! The one thing I love about going from winter to spring is any sign of warmth feels a thousand times better than whatever was considered cold. In October when it's 47 degrees, I have to wear a jacket or a sweater to stay warm. Yesterday when it was 47 degrees, after being below freezing for a few months, I had a 3/4 length sleeve shirt and thin shrug on. And I was sweating haha. I'm pretty sure most if not all midwestern states embody this image:

February 6th, 2013

Today I got a small joy out of seeing all the snow melt. I'm definitely ready for spring haha

February 5th, 2013

There are some days where some happiness can be found, but that happiness is paired with guilt because you feel that you shouldn't be happy. That's very close to where I am right now, but I am desperate to make sure that I still find something to be happy about, no matter how small it is. So today, I got to see how lucky I really am. I have some amazing friends and family members that want to make sure I'm ok. I had one friend, who I haven't communicated with in a few years even, reach out to me. As much as I dislike being in a position to need a support system, I am very blessed to have one so strong.

February 4th, 2013

So, today two things happened today that were pretty small but fairly celebratory. The first happened at school, because I realized that using hand sanitizer on a white board will clean it much quicker than an old eraser. It was bugging me that when I erased the board I could still see what I had written, so the hand sanitizer helped with that.

The other thing is that on the new episode of How I Met Your Mother, where Bob Saget is the narrator of the main character. The plot of this particular episode had one of the supporting characters obsess over a Canadian, and one of the ones they thought she was obsessing over was Dave Coulier. Bob and Dave were on Full House together, and on the episode Dave did one of the bits that his character on full house, Joey, always did (cut, it, out!) and Bob said as the narrator that he always loved that bit. They were referencing Full House! I loved that show growing up! It was a great moment haha

February 3rd, 2013

Today, I got to go shopping with my mother. In the summer whenever we're not working or at school, us girls of the family love to just spend the day out and about. All year when I would come home from school mom says we're going to go shopping but because of how our schedules work out we never have. Until today, and it was great to just be out and about with her. Every Sunday comes by and I don't want to leave her or the rest of my family. I love how close we are :)

February 2nd, 2013

Today, I got an amazing home cooked meal. My dad tried a new recipe: garlic lemon double stuffed chicken breast. We had it with mashed potatoes and stuffing and cottage cheese and salad and MAN was it amazingly delicious! I definitely missed that when I'm at school.

February 1st, 2013

Today, I came home. I know that sounds crazy ridiculous to post (even for a blog called Celebrate the Small Things) but sometimes...you just need to come home. So I did :)

January 31st, 2013

Today, I found spearmint Chapstick brand chapstick. I hadn't been able to find it for months! Definitely bought two tubes...just to be on the safe side haha. :)

January 30th, 2013

Each day, I'm getting more and more independence in the classrooms. I'm currently taking attendance, starting every lesson, helping teach throughout every lesson, grading every class, and putting in grades in the grade book. Teacher's College has this down to a science because I do not feel overwhelmed or inexperienced at all! Each day I learn something new and I grow more confidence with each class. I'm related better to students and I feel like I'm reaching a great deal of them. To be able to realize this, even after some pretty crappy days, makes me feel excellent :)

January 29th, 2013

Today, I outsmarted my 3rd and 4th year French students. Each day in all my French classes, I provide a French expression (provided by a calendar my parents got me for Christmas) and we translate it and then talk about a grammar point of sorts. Well my 3rd and 4th years thought they would be funny, and they took a picture of my calendar where the phrases were written, and they translated them before class so that when we did it in class they acted like they already knew the answers. Har har har, whatever :P So anyway, today I thought I would one up them by taking the expression for today and putting it in "verlan", a cultural dialect that started with the younger generations and grew into a cultural phenomenon. Essentially, it's an inverse of syllables (verlan is actually a prime example, being the inverse of "l'envers", meaning "inverse" in French) and it has certain rules as to which syllables you can invert and what sounds you can add or drop. So by doing this to the expression, I was able to keep my students from cheating with the expression as well as give them a cultural lesson. Their reaction was priceless--sometimes I love being a teacher! :)

January 28th, 2013

Today, my favorite little sister turned 20. It's sooo weird to think that's she's two decades old! And I know we've always had these two and a half months where there's "technically" only a year between us, but it just feels crazy weird thinking that she's 20 when I'm still 21. As in, I don't think it's allowed. I tried telling her to stop growing up years ago and she refused to listen, but I guess it's alright because I still think she's my best friend :)

January 27th, 2013

Today, I watched The Notebook after almost 22 years of abstaining from watching it. I had no idea that a movie could make me feel like a terrible person for NOT crying at it! But with that being said, it was a pretty good movie and I'm glad I can now say I've seen it. Now to tackle Titanic, Star Wars, all the Marvel releases, and God knows what else...haha :)

January 26th, 2013

Today, I went bowling for the first time in almost two years! Unfortunately, it was with a friend who has a season pass, plays for a league, has gotten a perfect game before, and has gotten above an 800 in three games (apparently that's harder than a 300? that's what I hear lol). Needless to say, the only time I beat him was when he bowled left handed :P It was still really fun though!

January 25th, 2013

Today, I went gambling! It was my first time in a casino since I turned 21, and it was a great experience! My date actually gave me $20 to start out with, and I still ended in the positive with $8.15 after giving him his $20 back :) I don't think it'll be something that I'll do habitually or even really in the near future, but it was definitely a good experience :)

January 24th, 2013

Today, I taught my first lesson with my teacher completely out of the room. It was such an awesome experience; I felt completely in control and the class seemed very responsive and respectful. I can't wait to have it happen more often :)

January 23rd, 2013

Today, we had a student in the first year class reach his snapping point. He was enraged that he had gotten his phone taken away in class, and then it started to vibrate on the teacher's desk. The teacher then went into his phone to turn the vibrate off, and the student snapped, grabbing his phone out of her hand, using an inappropriate tone, etc. This experience led me to doing some research on what teachers are and are not within their rights to do, and I definitely learned some new information! Although I'm not happy with how it came to be, I'm glad I was able to find out what I did!

(Curious? Check out the details in my other blog!)

January 22nd, 2013

Today, I got to go in depth about French pronunciation with my 3rd and 4th years. This is something that I absolutely love because it reminds me of the two linguistic courses that I took and loved. Of course, the French linguistics course I loved because Stan was in it, but I'm sure that's besides the point :P Anyway, my students were talking about different vowel sounds and I got to talk about how different regions pronounce the same words differently and they were just absolutely in awe. I felt like I was in my nitch and it was fantastic :)

January 21st, 2013

Today, I created my own seating charts in two of my classes. It's my first dabble with it, trying to not punish the good kids but separate the trouble ones...it's also the first chance for the students to actually resent me as a teacher for not letting them get their way. Tomorrow will be an interesting day :)

January 20th, 2013

Today, ABC family had a Disney movie marathon, and I got to see Cinderella and the Lion King, two of my favorite Disney movies, and it made me very happy :)

January 19th, 2013

Today, I got a decent amount of sleep, and it felt amazing. It was the first time I felt that well rested probably in a week, but it had felt like forever.

January 18th, 2013

Today, I had a good two or three students surprise me not only by participating in class, but volunteering correct answers. These are usually the students who would not repeat after me and when I called on them they'd just say "I don't know" or "I don't care". I don't know what changed today to where they wanted to volunteer or something, but it was fantastic!

January 17th, 2013

Today, I had the first sign that I might be getting less sick soon. Whenever I would swallow, it would not hurt as much. Obviously the sign was quite minute, but the fact that I could consciously notice it was absolutely fantastic :)

January 16th, 2013

Today, I got shoulder tapped for a lovely experience! There is a new student at one of the elementary schools who just came from China and knows absolutely no English. Some colleagues knew that I was going for ENL certification, and so they found ME and asked if I could help! I'm excited to see if it works out!

January 15th, 2013

Today, I realized that I have a wonderful network of friends who are there for me when I need them. I've had some great conversations today and it's made me extremely happy to know I'm not alone. It makes me feel better about everything that's happened this year :)

January 14th, 2013

Today, there was a two hour delay. Pretty sure it speaks for itself :)

January 13th, 2013

Today, I...was depressed. Like, the entire day. It sucked. Beyond sucked. However, I had two friends step up and go out of their way to make me feel better. And that has made the day bearable. Hopefully getting back to the daily grind teaching tomorrow will help get my head back on straight.

January 12th, 2013

Today, I did absolutely nothing. I didn't get out of bed until 3:30 pm, and then all I did was clean up a bit and settle back down to watch four movies. Best day off ever :)

January 11th, 2013

Today concluded my first week of student teaching! Although it wasn't much, it's the only first week I'll have, and I think it went pretty well. I'm starting to get to know a few other teachers as well as some of the administration staff, and I'm looking forward to establishing relationship that will make this semester just that much better!

January 10th, 2013

I'm fairly certain it will be hard to have something else to celebrate that will make me this happy today, even though it's only 8:30 am. Check out this screen shot:



That is the Smart Board Notebook and Smart Board Tools software. I got the license and product keys yesterday, but today I got to activate them (off of the 30-day free trial) today. The fact that it works and I'll always be able to have this software...I am absolutely stoked!

Oh, and I used peppermint mocha creamer in my coffee today instead of just vanilla...it's delicious!

January 9th, 2013

Today, it was hard to find something to celebrate because I lost a lot of faith in the education system. However, I got to spend some time with a really good friend and it was exactly what I needed. I got to cook on a real stove, watch Big Bang Theory, and just enjoy being in someone's company instead of alone, like I would have been if I had gone straight home after school. I'm definitely glad and certainly blessed to have this option.

January 8th, 2013

Today, I realized that there's no such thing as a comfortable pair of heels to wear for ten hours. However, the fact that I am now in a position to be wearing heels for ten hours makes me so excited. This was the first day of student teaching and it was amazing. I can't wait to see what the rest of the semester has in store :D

January 7th, 2013

Today, I got to prepare for my first day of student teaching, which is tomorrow. I went shopping for some small school supplies and got some great things prepared on top of having my student teaching orientation and meeting my supervising teacher, I'm definitely looking forward to actually student teaching this semester!

January 6th, 2013

Today, I got the opportunity to hang out with a friend for the vast majority of the day. I wasn't looking forward to being on my own in my room for the majority of the day, so having the opportunity to get out of my room and be social for once definitely helped with the feeling of solitude :)

January 5th, 2013

Today was my last day of holiday work at the movie theater. It was actually a pretty good shift, but I'm definitely glad to be done working there for a month. After the holiday season, I would have to say I am a tad bit burnt out from all of it and will take this break with open arms. On the bright side...my paycheck is going to look awesome next Friday... :)

January 4th, 2013

Today at work it was probably the best shift I've worked the entire month I've been back in town working. I don't know what it was about the shift, be it who I was working with or the amount of work that was necessary for the day, but everything just fit together so nicely that it didn't feel like the shift was dragging on or taking forever. There was no drama and no issues. I loved it :)

January 3rd, 2013

Today, I had a productive meeting with the other supervisors at the movie theater where I work. There had been so many misconceptions and misinformation going around through all the staff, it was nice to get everything out in the open and get everyone talking. I think things will be much better now that we've had this talk :)

January 2nd, 2013

Today, I was organizing parts of my room before I left for Muncie on Sunday. I found some crazy old things that I wrote, made, or studied. I had some papers from my sophomore year in high school, a couple journal entries from 2008, and all my yearbooks! Some of it was embarrassing, but there are some pieces I'm not ready to let go of yet :)

January 1st, 2013

Today, I was working at the movie theater and I was walking down one of the hallways when I was approached by a mother with her two kids. She told me that she was watching Monsters Inc. 3D, but her daughter didn't like the 3D. She wanted to know if it was ok for them to go see Rise of the Guardians since it was not in 3D and had just started. Normally for something like that we allow them to go in no problem, but 3D is $9 more expensive. I told the mother that it was fine, but I thought she'd want to exchange tickets so she could get her money back for the 3D showing. She said she just wanted to get her kids settled as soon as possible, so she didn't care about the money. I took her ticket stubs, told her to go in the movie, and I'd come and find her with the new stubs and her money back. She was so appreciative! And when I told my manager about the experience, he was very proud with how I handled the situation. It was a great feeling!