My Corner of the Forest

You can't stay in your corner of the Forest waiting for others to come to you. 

You have to go to them sometimes. 

I love being home.

Blessing #86: Peanut M&Ms
I am so blessed... that my mom bought many bags of peanut M&Ms to have on hand this Christmas. I love that candy. A hard chocolate shell hiding a crunchy peanut... doesn't get better! Plus, they come in festive holiday colors! Love it.

Blessing #87: SLO days
I am so blessed... to have gone to college in a great town that I can't wait to visit when I come home! SLO holds so many wonderful memories, and being back there makes me so happy. Plus, around the holidays I usually get to see other friends on their ways home; that makes SLO even better! Firestones, Bishop's Peak, Linnea's... yep, I love SLO!

Blessing #88: Christmas Cookies
I am so blessed... to continue a childhood tradition of making Christmas cookies with my mom. Another thing that defines the holidays for me: frosted cookies in holiday shapes... snowflakes, gingerbread men, angels, trees, stars, candy canes, snowmen. Yum!

♥

No Place

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, 
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home. 


Sometimes, what one really needs is to walk in a door and be greeted by a dog so thrilled and happy he doesn't know what to do, so he picks up a shoe and runs around the kitchen, and parents who hug for longer than 2 minutes.

At least, that's what I needed! Last night, that's just what I received. There's no place like home.

The last school day of 2009 was mostly good, though the afternoon left me near tears as I dealt with one student stealing a Christmas present from another in the middle of class and not admitting to it. Eventually the gift was found, but not until after the probation officer at our school came and started searching backpacks did the missing gift miraculously "appear" on the floor by one table. It was a startling and grievous reminder of how, for these students, basic needs are not met; the gift was not taken out of maliciousness, but the resulting interrogation and investigation tainted our afternoon together. For some of the students in my classroom, those gifts -- an amazing group donated enough toys for each and every student in our school to get one -- will be their only present this season. Moments like that both fuel and douse the fire that motivates me to invest hours and emotion into these students: I realize with greater conviction how much they need guidance and encouragement, but I just want to give up because I feel like we take giant leaps backwards when instances such as that occur.

Yep, I definitely need a two-week break.

Blessing #84: Home
I am so blessed... to have a loving, caring, comfy home to return to at Christmas time. Though it is beyond bizarre to walk into my bedroom and find a "guest room," it's also pretty fun. Not to mention, all the good food and spending time with my family!

Blessing #85: Fiesta
I am so blessed... to work at a school that puts on a huge holiday fiesta the last week of school. There are crafts, snacks, a teacher who dresses up as Santa and takes pictures, raffles, face painting, pizza, and a dance. I spearheaded a revamping of the dance committee this year, and saw great results: the students and parents (sometimes the least behaved...) were respectful and had fun! Plus, I got a little bit of a power trip from walking around with my sharpie, busting kids for running.

♥

Something Good

Nothing comes from nothing 
Nothing ever could 
So somewhere in my youth or childhood 
I must have done something good

Blessing #81: Notes 
I am so blessed... that again today the students wrote notes to me on my whiteboard during their free time. Who am I to be cared for by these little angels?

Blessing #82: Simple Things
I am so blessed... that simple things amuse simple open minds and hearts. Childlike wonder and thankfulness is under-appreciated. Cynics scoff and laugh at those who find joy in "simple" things: bubbles, flowers, staring at a fire, giggling, or hot chocolate. I hope I appreciate my students' love of simple things enough, because their enthusiasm about something as simple as hot chocolate and a $1 box of gingersnap cookies made my day. In an attempt to teach them about holidays other than Christmas, I infused our week with a study of: winter solstice, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and Las Posadas. Today we talked about Las Posadas; we made luminarias and had hot cocoa with cookies, as those who celebrate Las Posadas do. They were so excited; so, I was excited, too. I hope they know how much I love them.

Blessing #83: Brother
I am so blessed... to have my brother here with me for the last two days of school before we drive HOME to be with our family over the holidays! He is going to visit my classroom; I can't wait for him to see the kiddos in all their 7 year-old glory.  Plus, I am just happy happy happy happy to have had such a great brother to have grown up with, and now to be friends with!

♥

A Little Bit More

And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more. 

Christmas is so much bigger than the holiday decorations in our school and the Fiesta on Thursday night. Today, I saw a glimpse of true Christmas: love. Love reveals itself in many ways. Today, Christmas and love was watching the students in my classroom use their earned free time to write sweet notes to me on the whiteboard. I don't see how anyone's heart wouldn't grow after witnessing that.

Blessing #79: Secret Santa
I am so blessed... to have co-workers willing to get in the holiday spirit and participate in Secret Santa. Yesterday I received some beautiful flowers, and today I got a box of cookies -- just what I needed! Thank goodness for Secret Santa!

Blessing #80: the Sing-Off
I am so blessed... that someone in Hollywood thought up the idea of creating the ultimate TV mash-up: Glee/American Idol. A show where a-capella groups compete without any instruments. The singers use their voices to create all of the sounds you hear: The Sing Off. Amazing.

♥

What the World Needs Now

General opinion's starting to make out that we live in a world of hatred and greed, but I don't see that. It seems to me that love is everywhere. Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there - fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers, as far as I know, none of the phone calls from the people on board were messages of hate or revenge - they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaking suspicion... love actually is all around. 


Sometimes relaxing is the best medicine for... anything. I am thankful to have had a very relaxing, friend-filled weekend. Tonight I get to do another thing I love: dress up! TFA Holiday Cocktail Party is tonight; good times are bound to be had. How can an evening that requires everyone to be dressed up be that bad? I am almost finished with my Christmas shopping, too. Wooo! Feeling pretty good about that. 


Blessing #77: Love Actually
I am so blessed... that someone wrote and directed a stellar cast in this wonderful film. "Feel-good" doesn't even begin to describe it. If you've never seen Love Actually, you should. Great British cast, good music, amazing story lines... It's a holiday favorite of mine for sure! 


Blessing #78: Berry Cobbler
I am so blessed... to have a wonderful auntie who passes on delicious, simple, dessert recipes to me! Last night I tried this berry cobbler recipe she shared, and I was not disappointed. Yum yum yum. 


♥ 

Reject

New goal for winter break: learn how to jerk. (See video below.) Not gonna lie, I am definitely addicted to that song right now.



You know you want to learn how to jerk, too... (Side note: notice all the guys wearing skinny jeans? I love that hip-hop culture took on that trend.)

Blessing #73: Homemade Dinner with Friends
I am so blessed... to have a roommate who makes amazing lasagna, and fun friends to spend a Friday evening dinner with! Laughter, food, and great YouTube videos make for a wonderful night.

Blessing #74: Ugly Sweater Party
I am so blessed... to have had a legitimate excuse to wear ridiculously cheesy Holiday attire. I mean, who doesn't love an outfit that causes a friend to greet you with, "Hi, MOM." Ugly sweaters + other Holiday cheesiness + Christmas music + friends = a good time.

Blessing  #75: One More Week
I am so blessed... 5 Days 15 Hours 11 Minutes 52 Seconds to Winter break!!! Not that I'm excited about it or anything.

Blessing #76: Hot Chocolate
I am so blessed... that someone decided to gift my roommie with hot chocolate, and I got to enjoy it as well! Thursday night we set up our tree, watched The Office, and enjoyed some hot chocolate. Perfect evening.

♥

Back on Track

I seem to be falling off the blessings wagon. Time to get myself back on track. At least a little bit...

Blessing #70: wheresgeorge.com
I am so blessed... that someone thought up the idea of creating a website to track where money travels to when you spend it! We have been learning about money the last two weeks, and the other day we started tracking a dollar bill I brought in to share. We cannot wait to see where our dollar goes! I am spending it tomorrow... somewhere like McDonald's, I think, so that it really starts to travel.

Blessing #71: Skype
I am so blessed... to be able to communicate with family and friends around the country with Skype! Last night I got to see my amazing aunt and uncle who are currently living in Montana. How cool is that?! I am thankful for how technology allows me to feel closer than I otherwise would to my family and friends. Teaching can be consuming and oddly isolating at times; I take refuge in the fact that I'm never more than a cell phone call, email, text, or Skype away from my loved ones.

Blessing #72: Fresh & Easy Jell-o
I am so blessed... that Fresh & Easy makes yummy Jell-o! It just makes me happy. Especially the pear flavor. Mmmmmmm.

♥

BFF

It is better to hide ignorance, but it is hard to do this when we relax over wine.

So true.

Blessing #69: BFF Visits
I am so blessed... to have been spending the last few days here with one of my very best friends! She got to visit my classroom and meet [most] of my TFA friends.

♥

Present Tense

Be present, not tense.

Ah, the first Monday of the three weeks until Christmas Break... They had four days off, but the wiggles have already set in again. Sigh. I'm just holding on for the ride until after Christmas Break and they return with the first week of school behavior. I love those weeks. I am trying not to be tense about the craziness the next few weeks, and just be present to enjoy them. I won't get them back, and every moment with these students is precious.

Blessing #68: BrainPop Jr. 
I am so blessed... that the website BrainPop Jr. exists. My kiddos love the characters in the movies, Annie and Moby. They are great for introducing new information and building background. Plus, they often come with quizzes and lesson activities. One of the 5th grade teachers even made a Moby costume out of a cardboard box and every once in a while he puts it on to make my kids smile. Good websites and resources are a teacher's best friends.

♥

2 + 1 + 1 = Listening

You have two ears, one mouth, and one behind. Sit down, shut up, and listen. 

Those words were shared tonight at church by the guest pastor. Just what I needed to hear. I have stopped questioning the occurrence of such God-incidences and am working on just living them.

Blessing #67: Listening
I am so blessed... to have two ears which allow me to listen to the counsel of others. I do not mean to imply that I regularly use them to listen; in fact, most of the time I'm "listening," I am merely waiting impatiently for my chance to share some ideas and thoughts of my own. Fooled you, didn't I? That intent look on my face does not show my deep interest in the words coming out of your mouth, oh no! That's the "I'm formulating my response" look. How sad for me to learn then, tonight, that in order to honor others and mature myself, I need to listen. Not talk. Listen. Uh-oh. Which means I have to work on actually using my ears to hear the words being said. Wisdom, maturity, and the gift of honoring others awaits me if I do, though. I suppose, in that case, it's worth it... Something new for me to work on! I believe I've already been successful at consistently achieving two personal goals this year: keeping my room/bathroom/apartment clean and blogging my blessings [almost] daily. I feel ready to take on a new goal: to honor others and mature myself by listening. Here goes nothing...

♥