Whew!

Talk about a whirl wind weekend! Friday night I worked on my final, final Master's project. It was a late night, but Terry and I plowed through. Team Domination! On Saturday, we met some friends to work on one of our properties. The exterior needs painting and we went to prime, caulk, nail, scrape. Not in that order. It ended up almost all "primer white." Richard and I will spray it sometime this week...hopefully. The weather was great on Saturday and now we need to have that same weather to spray. On Sunday, I worked on my paper that was due today (got it done before lunch today!). Maggie and I also went to a meeting with the France kids. I got really excited! Even though the weekend was exhausting, it was really productive. Now I have a few days to gather my thoughts for class on Friday night! Whirl wind.

Love that "Job"

I have always said, "I teach for the entertainment." I have to say, much of my day I am entertained with personalities and lightbulb moments. To me, teaching doesn't seem like a "job" it's just what I do.

The past few days I have had a few "teacher moments" which other teachers really get. Yesterday, a student read a book to me and then I asked him to choose a friend to read it with as well. He is in resource room and has difficulty with simple words. He selected a student to read his book to; a student that is an exceptional in all areas. Now, the best part is how they interacted. The higher student accepted the lower student's abililties and assisted in reading the book in such a kind, gentle manner. Amazing. As I watched them together it took all I had to fight the tears from welling up. A magical moment in my eyes. Yet another reason I love being in a classroom. I shared this moment with the kind, gentle student's mom today. She was thrilled. Overwhelmed. Wanting to freeze time. Truly amazing parents that are raising an amazing child.

Believe me when I say this is just ONE of the many moments I have the opportunity to be a part of each day.

Shake, Shake! 4 Master Marathon Months Left!

Today marks the end of another Master's weekend marathon! Four class gatherings left (May, May, June and July). The past two months the course has been Music. I was dreading this class the most, but it actually turned out to be super fun and relevant to my classroom. One of our assignments was to create a musical instrument. Last week, I spent some time creating maracas using a lightbulb as a form. It started out just fine until I realized I could buy a plastic pear, drill a hole and fill. But no, I kept going. Once the plaster of paris was dry, I added the brown color using a paper napkin. It started out just fine until I realized it looked like a potato.(first picture) But, I kept going. Finally, I added the design. (second picture) Now, it just looks like a half painted potato. But, if you shake it, it doesn't sound like a potato, it sounds like a maraca! It was quite the process and the end result was another completed assignment!
This upcoming week is Spring Break. I have plans to work on my final Master's project. Even though it is not due until the end of July, I will be gone for 3 weeks in between classes. Might as well continue the Master's marathon!

Sunday Haps

The last few days have been refreshing. I am feeling so much better and haven't had any trouble with my side pain. Of course I am still cautious of what and how much I am eating, but I am optimistic about the surgery results.

Today Richard worked at the apartments in Parkland. He was there yesterday as well. I stayed home and did yet more relaxing and recovering. Today I was up and about much more than yesterday. I went for a short walk and made dinner tonight.

This afternoon my mom shared some pictures with me. I can't wait to show Richard! They are old photos of my grandparents in their younger years, family and friends. She sent them to me without captions and I recognized several out of the 80 she sent. It is always fun to take a trip down memory lane. My mom had some fun stories to share like her dog Skipper riding ON the top of the truck rather than inside, riding her horses, and the outfits in themselves tell the story of fashion! Below is one of my favorites. My mom is on the right. Adorable!

March Snow!

Last night we were surprised to see this white stuff fall from the sky! About 5 o'clock last night, heavy, wet flakes were falling and by the time I went to bed our backyard looked like this. Crazy! Schools started 2 hours late because of the icy roads. There have been several accidents and a fatal accident on HWY 18, the route I would normaly take to school.

A friend is coming over tonight (weather permitting) to visit and bring me dinner. I am anxious to see her as she is subbing in my class while I am recovering. I am sure she has some good stories!

Recovery

My surgery on Friday went well. Everyone was super nice and took excellent care of me. We were home Friday afternoon around 2pm. The most difficult tasks are getting up from the couch and sitting down, moving up and down the stairs and laying completely down in bed. Each of these has gotten easier as the days and hours pass.

I have enjoyed several tasty snacks with my pain pills every 4 hours. My stomach has grumbled for food, but it doesn't take much to quiet it down. I have had my share of bananas, trail mix and ice cream. Recently, I mixed a spoonful of peanut butter into my ice cream and it was quite delightful.

More unexpected naps and resting is in the forecast. In my world, naps just happen.

Surgery T-I-M-E

Tomorrow I go in for my gall bladder surgery. At this point, I have to admit I am a tad nervous. While driving home from school, I realized that I will be gone for 3 whole weeks! This is not new news, but I think I realized how much I will miss out on at school. My surgery is at 10 and we hope to be rolling by 1pm. I have a few things lined up for while I am recovering, but mostly have healing on my mind. Like Richard reminded me, I have been dealing with this for 9 years and two weeks out of school is nothing compared to the amount of thought I have given this over the years. I am mostly grossed out when I think about the cuts and having to actually see the tape on the eensy weensy incisions. Dumb. As I stop eating and drinking until after the surgery, I look at the most humongous balloon I have ever received and the bright flowers I got from one of my second grade students, I am anxious for the morning! I am not kidding, the balloon is huge!