Oh, Hello.

Taking a quick minute to let you know that yes, in fact, I am still alive.

Last night (or should I say this morning), we finished up Homecoming Week.  As the Student Council Advisor, I have spent the last month or so planning, organizing, and preparing everything for the week.  Countless hours have gone into it, and finally, the week arrived.

Each day held a different spirit day with different dress-up clothes required.  We put on a huge bonfire, held a Powder Puff game where (only) three girls got (minorly) hurt.  We spent hours transforming the gym into a "theater" for an assembly, the likes of which you've probably never seen.  We then spent even more hours re-transforming the gym into a dance floor and the cafeteria into space, complete with a huge 3D moon, MARS rover, and hundreds of stars hanging from the ceiling.  And then we spent one hour cleaning it all up and putting it all away.

It was an AMAZING week.  My kids did an incredible job.  There were tons of students dressed up each day, hundreds at the bonfire, and at least 1,000 at the dance.  Many said the assembly and dance were the best of their high school career so far.  I'm so proud of my team.

Needless to say, I'm pretty tired.  I barely saw Will all week, but I am happy to report that he and Husband connected a lot and that things went well overall.

In theory, I might have a little more free time now.  You know, time to actually get on the computer and/or even blog.  What?  Impossible, you say?

Well, it might not happen, but I'm going to try.

To hold you over until I post Will's (overdue) 6 month update, here we are last weekend at his first big football game.

I'll be back (soon, I hope!)

What a Monday "Off" Looked Like for Me

In the last two months, we've had two Monday's off - first for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January, and then yesterday for President's Day.  Public school is, of course, closed.  Both of these Monday's off have been a nice change of pace for me, although I wouldn't actually call them days off, because I still did quite a bit. 

Last month, for MLK Day, I pretty much spent the entire day cleaning and organizing.  I needed to move things out of the nursery's closet and into the office's closet, as well as do some serious organizing and sorting in the office.  I had hoped to get to the storage closets in the basement, too, but I just didn't make it.  I'm pretty sure I also had breakfast or lunch with either my mom or my sister, but I just can't remember at this point.  I felt pretty productive and, although I wanted to do more, was proud of what I'd accomplished. 

The newly "organized" office closet - three quarters of those clothes and all the shoes had been in the other closet before (yes, we were using three closets for our clothes).  I got rid of tons of shoes and clothes we don't wear anymore.  This closet also doubles as our "linen" closet, as we don't have one, so in those bags up top are comforters, etc., and in the bins below, sheets and towels.  It's actually much more organized than it looks.



The leftover stuff to do in the office - a trash bag to take out, some bins for Husband to take down to the other storage closets, and some now-empty bins thanks to some serious purging of crap we didn't need anymore.



The stuff for Goodwill.  A TV, printer, bags of clothes and knicknacks and other such stuff that we'd pack-ratted over the last several years.

The trash - things that were broken (including a leaky air mattress), yucky, or un-usable.



Yesterday, also, was not a typical "day off," at least in my opinion.

I did get to sleep in.  You know, until 7 am.  That's the lastest I've slept in a while, actually, so I was proud.  I drank coffee in bed (that was lovely) before heading into the shower.

At 8:15, I was out the door and headed to school.  Yes, to school, yes, on a day when school was closed.  I met several of my StuCo kids who wanted to get a head start on making decorations for our big Sadie's Dance that's coming up soon.  We were there until about 12:30.  Normally I help with the work, but something about sitting on the floor and painting didn't seem appealing to me this time, so I encouraged, advised, and did some grading.

Hard at work!  More to come soon on Sadie's Week, which is next week!

I then headed over to my mom and dad's house, to hang out with the family in town.  We ended up not quite having the afternoon we expected.  Trips to the pharmacy took Sister and Meg away, the kiddos took naps, and Dad was out getting Grandpa to bring him over to hang out.  So I used that time to grade some more tests.  At least I got them all done!  Everyone got home around the same time, and that's when things really started to get interesting.  Poor Grandpa (who is 96 years old) ended up being sick - let's just say it resulted in him needing a shower and Mom cleaning the Powder Room bathroom ... three times.  Walls, door, everywhere.  It was awful.  That pretty much sent us into a tizzy for a while, trying to figure out if he was sick, to take care of him, to help Mom (who, by the way, is the absolute best).  Finally it was taken care of, Dad took him back home to assisted living (where he's just moved recently), and my uncle and sister went to pick us up take-out Olive Garden.  We had a lovely dinner at that point, truly, but the whole afternoon and experience was a bit crazy and surreal.

I did remember to take a couple of quick shots of the cousins - they are so cute - before I left, and thanked my cousin Meg for bringing them here now, as the timing let me see how fun and adorable little boys can be, having grown up with all girls pretty much.  It was so fun to hang out with them.

I'm not sure why this came out blurry, but it did.  Alex, age 4 and a half, Sister, and Husband were all cuddled onto the couch watching WordWorld.  We watched a few episodes this week - it's cute - and Alex loves it!  When we left last night, Alex made sure to give Husband and I hugs AND kisses and was very adament that we see each other again soon.

This little man, Gabe, is 18 months, and oh-my-goodness the cutest thing ever.  So friendly, so sweet, so baby-talk talkative, and with THE best smile ever. 

Husband and I had to leave after dinner to head to our last birth class at the hospital before we go for real, so we said our goodbyes (they leave today) and got our hugs and kisses. 

At birth class, we reviewed about types of medications and made a pro-con list for epidurals (what a hot topic!).  We practiced some different labor positions and breathing (a little awkward with people that are strangers, even though we were in class together for a month - I laughed a lot).  We practiced different types of breathing for pushing, but, as the nurse said, did NOT push at all as we wanted no babies born there last night.  At the end, she asked if there were any more questions, so I of course, was myself.

Me: Yeah, I have one.  Can we skip the labor and delivery part and just get straight to the baby?" 

Nurse: Um... No.

Well, it was worth a shot. :)

After doing our evaluation of the class, we headed home, tidied up the house, and got ready for bed.

Pretty sure I was alseep by 10.  Another great Monday off, even if it wasn't really off.

Probably the best part about a Monday off, I think, is the fact that it makes Tuesday feel like Monday, but it's really Tuesday, so you're a whole day ahead of where you think you are.  Which makes Friday come all the more quickly.  Lovely.





Midweek Confessions

Taking a quick minute from the huge amount of work I'm supposed to be doing to join in with E and others for Midweek Confessions. 

- At least once a week I sit and stare at an empty blog post and will myself to come up with something funny or witty or amazing, and feel like a failure when I can't.  It's also hard not to get sucked into the super lame world of "I don't have many followers" or "no one commented on my post" sometimes.  I read blogs (like E's) and think, "what am I doing wrong?"  (Note: isn't it interesting how insecurities and the need to be "liked," even in cyberspace, still pervades our very cores?  I'm a pretty confident in-real life person, so it's silly that I want blog-world acknowledgement.  God's working with me on this.)

- I didn't really watch the Superbowl at all, and not even the commercials, because I was working at the kitchen table.  But I pretended I was watching.  I did, however, totally watch Madonna during half-time.  I did get slightly irritated when Husband's pre-teen "cousin" said that Madonna was trying to be like Lady Gaga.  Umm, no.  And I absolutely loved my friend's Facebook post that said, "Gaga's grandma is KILLING it!"  (A compliment, by the way, in case you didn't know.)

- I totally took a donut at the staff breakfast this morning and then decided I wanted a bagel instead, so I made sure everyone knew I took the donut by accident and offered it around since I didn't want it.  I then, in the privacy of my classroom, scarfed down the donut anyway.  And the bagel.  And then a banana.

- I have a Student Council retreat this weekend (which I'm looking forward to), but I'm still only half-way planned for it and haven't even begun to get the supplies gathered/bought.  Tomorrow night's gonna result in a long shopping trip, since of course, tonight I'm not even sure what I will need to buy since I haven't finished planning yet.


These next two are kind of awkward-but-so-funny to me pregnancy related things, so feel free to skip them if you want. :)

- I was late to a meeting this morning because I had to go to the bathroom and make sure it didn't look like I'd peed my pants - because the reality was that I sort of had...  Upon entering my classroom I sneezed... and being 7 months pregnant, I sneeze-peed a little.  So awkward, yet so hilarious.

- I have started calling Life Savers Peppermints "Cervixes," because at birth class on Monday, the teacher had us all suck on LifeSavers and then described to us that what was happening to the mint would happen to our cervixes during labor (a.k.a. the thinning of effacement and the widening of dilation).  I have a bowl of "cervixes" on my desk, and yes, I have called them that with one or two select students who would appreciate the joke.  Husband and I wondered what it means if you're the type of person who bites the peppermint in half instead of letting it melt.

Seriously, I just shared that.  More seriously, I do that.  Please don't judge me or leave grossed out comments, lol - despite the fact that I also confessed I'm a comment-glutton.


Happy Wednesday, and may your confessions be as refreshing and fun for you to share as I feel about mine.

30 Thankful Days - Day 21

Thankful Thing #19:

Husband passed his test!  He is now a licensed Journeyman Electrician!  It is so exciting to see him feeling a sense of accomplishment and being proud of himself - as he should be!

He called a few hours after I wrote my post Friday to tell me the news, and even though Student Council and I were hustling and bustling around on a big project (see Thing #20), I stopped to answer the phone and was so excited and proud of him I nearly cried.

While this license means a few more dollars an hour, it more importantly represents Husband's hard work, perseverance, and growth over the last few years.  I'm so proud to be the wife of a Journeyman.  :)

Thankful Thing #20:
A Student Council who Cares.

For the last month or so, Student Council has been working their behinds off planning the annual food drive we do the two weeks before Thanksgiving Break in conjunction with a city-wide food drive.

We've participated in Harvest of Love for as long as I have been at our school, and some years have been more successful than others.  A few years ago we had a Council that was determined to do it right, and because of their creativity and fresh ideas, we went from raising 8,000 lbs of food the previous year to 80,000.  It was amazing.  Since then, we've usually pulled in 30 - 40,000 lbs of food each year.  The economy has been hard.  Those Councils weren't as passionate.  We didn't come up with new ideas.  Whatever the reason, we hadn't been able to hit that 80,000 lbs again.

Until this year. 

I'm pretty passionate about this topic.  I'm wealthy, by all standards, but Husband and I sometimes eat cereal for dinner for a week to save money.  I haven't had to make the choices many families make - we've always paid our mortgage, our utilities, had food.  But many families have to choose.  And many, many kids in our city go without food often.   And that should never happen.

So I talked to my Executive Council (the five kids who pretty much run the Council).  We did this amazing activity together (http://playspent.org) to catch a glimpse of what the choices people face are.  We brainstormed.  And they agreed they that cared.  That they wanted to do this right. 

So they talked to Student Council.  We all did the activity.  We talked for a long time about WHY we would want to do this right.  We had a speaker from the food bank.  They understood that if they weren't passionate about it, then the rest of our school wouldn't be, either.  That if we are more excited and put more thought and preparation into Homecoming than into this, then we have our priorities seriously mixed up. 

And we planned.  We made videos, like this one. 



We went to each homeroom and we did the playspent activity with them.  We taught our students about why we were doing this.  We had a neon dance, a dodgeball tournament, a Senior Sibling Day, boys vs girls competitions, themed spirit days with matching dress up and food items, and more. 

And we raised about 80,000 lbs of food again.  Our goal was 70,000.  We didn't think we could double our normal, but we were wrong.  Because we cared, others cared.  Several of my students went above and beyond and did things on their own.   We saw and felt generosity that surpassed previous years.  One autistic boy went door to door in his neighborhood and got his neighbors to give him their change.  He collected $150. 

80,000 lbs of food.   According to the way the food bank can run things, that means that our school contributed to providing 560,000 meals.  560,000 people can eat because of my students. 

I am so proud of them.  And so excited to be a part of a group of teenagers who care.  I told you they did.

Thankful Thing #21:
Food.

And, with the people we fed in Thankful Thing #20 on my mind and heart, I am thankful for food.
Yes, sometimes we eat cereal for lunch and dinner for a few days.  But we have a pantry full of food.  We waste food sometimes.  We get take-out at least once a week.  We're rich with food.

I remember talking to my friend Brooke a while back about the idea that so often, we eat as if we're never going to eat again.  We stuff ourselves to the point of feeling sick, because we paid for it, it's on our plates, or for whatever other reason.  We don't enjoy, don't savor.  We just eat and keep eating.

What if I were to remember that, at this point in my life, I am fortunate enough to not have to worry about my next meal?  What if I were to only eat what I really need, and to savor each bite?  What if I were to be thankful, instead of wasteful?

Just thinking "out loud." 

I know I'm blessed.  I have lots of choices when it comes to what I eat.  I don't have to pick from whatever canned veggies people felt like donating.   On Thursday, I'll be eating all my Thanksgiving favorites, instead of scraping together a dinner with what I can find. 

I don't feel guilty.

But I do feel thankful.  And I want to try to remember that each and every time I eat something.

5 Minutes on a Homecoming Friday

Today we're supposed to write about connecting in real life.  Well, today is Friday of our Homecoming week, which means in about two hours, the whole school will traipse upstairs to our gymnasium-converted-theater for our Homecoming Assembly, a big deal with games, costumes, and props, all put together by my wonderful Student Council kids.

This week, more than even a normal week, they are with whom I am connecting.  They are this group of 45 amazing, talented, super involved, passionate teenagers who are desperate to make this school a place where people feel welcome.  I've spent hours talking and listening as they figure out how to try to engage people, how to reach the unreached, how to get people to laugh and enjoy being at school.  Then hours as they detail their lives, their over-committed, complicated, high-pressure lives, and try to learn how to find balance and joy in all the things they do. 

It's these students that are my mission - not necessarily an evangelical mission, since I'm a public school teacher - but my mission nonetheless.  They are passionate about all they do, and I am passionate about them and their growth as people.   I feel called every day to be here with them, giving of my time and my life to spend with them. 

And I learn more from them than they know.

And now, my five minutes are up, and I have to go upstairs anyway to get ready for this big dang deal of an assembly.  More to come from me another day when Homecoming is over and I've gotten some sleep.

May your day be full of real connections!

Mad as a Hatter

It's Homecoming Week at our school, and today is Mad Hatter Day.  Turns out Husband has like two or three of this style of hat in a "keepsake" box in the basement.  Apparently, he says, he was a nerd.   Either way, it worked out for me as I got to borrow this ridiculous hat.  I can't teach in it, though - it distracts even me.

Homecoming Week is early this year, a mixed blessing.  We've been working our tails off in Student Council (I have an AMAZING group of students this year, I can't even begin to tell you), but when it's over, we'll have most of the semester to still do some amazing things.  If you don't remember, our StuCo is a class that does a lot to develop leadership in our members, as well as serves the school in many different ways, events being one of them.

Our theme this year is Through the Looking Glass.  We're combining the book, the Disney movie, and the new-ish Johnny Depp version as our sources of inspiration.  Each spirit day focuses on something from the movie - Mad Hatter Monday, Quarrel of the Queens Wednesday (upperclassmen in white, lowerclassmen in red), Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee Thursday (twin day).  Regular school spirit day on Friday. 

This afternoon we have our Powder Puff football game - the girls are all proudly sporting their jerseys.  One poor girl wanted hers to say "C-Rock" as her nickname, but due to illegible handwriting, says "C-Rack."  At least it doesn't say DD, was all I could think.  (ha.  Sorry, that was a little bad of me to actually write.)  We have official officials so no one can say the game was rigged so that seniors would win.... but they will.

After the game we'll head over to where the bonfire is set up to take place.  We're shooting for no rain tonight, even though it's predicted.  Join me in saying a little no-rain prayer, please, because we'd have to cancel the bonfire completely, with no chance of rescheduling.  Why students like to stand around a large fire and listen to music and talk I've never understood.  Oh wait, it's because it's like out of a movie, the epitome of being young.

Thursday night we'll come to set up our assembly.  Stages, decorations, and sound system will be brought to the gym as we change it from a basketball court to a theater.

We'll put on a huge assembly on Friday, complete with props and acts, and then announce our royalty winners on the red carpet at the Homecoming football game halftime show.  They'll ride in on golf carts, receive roses, sashes, and be escorted out onto the field.

Saturday we'll show up bright and early to start transforming our cafeteria and gym into Wonderland.  We'll use props, gossamer, and glitter.  So much gossamer and glitter.   The DJ and his massive light and sound system will come in at about 5:30 to set up, and then, after re-hanging a few fallen down decorations, I'll wait for students to come and ooh and ahh over how nice it looks.  Of course, there will be a few grumblers, but I'll ignore them.  Sometime after midnight (more like 1), I'll fall into my bed with visions of decorations, dancers, and dresses in my head.

Oh, Homecoming Week.  Love it, but it's clear why Mad Hatter Day fits me well.

End of Year Madness

A five minute post on where I've been and where I'm going:

1. We're in the last three weeks of school.  Seniors finish this Friday (yes, Friday the 13th, how fitting) and everyone else finishes the 27th.   With Seniors done this week, I have to get all their grades entered asap.  Underclassmen need to know what they are missing so they can scramble to get their grades up.  I've been doing a lot of grading.

2. StuCo is wrapping up, but that doesn't mean it's slowing down.  We threw a big evening of fun last Friday, had an end of year senior evening called Senior Sunrise, have a dance for incoming 9th graders, an assembly, a end of year shin dig, and Induction.  Not to mention having to attend Senior awards night, which lasts three hours usually.

3.  I have to go to at least 3 graduations, if not 4.  My sister's college graduation, my school's graduation, and one or two graduations of the girls I have been mentoring.  Oh, and that's all within two days.

4. I have to finish teaching.  And finish online teaching.  And create, give, and grade final exams.

Wanna brief glimpse at my calendar as of late?   I'll only go back to last Friday.

Friday the 6th: Spring Fling event at school, 6 - 10 pm (home at 11)

Monday the 9th: State StuCo Camp Meeting in Denver at 3 pm, Senior Sunset at school 7 - 8:30 pm (home at 9, after having left the house at 6:30 am)

Tuesday the 10th: Choir Concert at school, 7 - 9 pm

Wednesday the 11th: Sister-in-law's birthday dinner

Thursday the 12th: Senior Awards night at school, 6:30 - 9:30 ish.

Friday the 13th: Assembly during school, hosting the 8th grade passage dance from 4 - 6 pm, Church Small group from 6:30 - whenever.

Saturday the 14th: StuCo End of Year Farewell Retreat, 9 - 4 pm at my parents', but I have to shop before and clean up after.

Monday the 16th: StuCo Induction, 5 - 8:30 ish at school, including set up and clean up.

Tuesday the 17th: Choir Concert at my mom's school, 7 - 9 pm.

Thursday the 19th: My school's graduation

Friday the 20th: My sister's college graduation at 10 am, and my mentee's high school graduation at 6 pm.

Saturday the 21st: U2 Concert.

Monday - Friday the 23rd - 27th: Finals Week

Friday the 27th: My other mentee's graduation and a friend's wedding, at the same time.  Husband is going to the wedding, me to the graduation.  I'll try to make it to the reception.

I kind of feel like this......Do you blame me?

I'm thinking Husband and I need a romantic night away after all of this.

But please note - I love almost everything about my job.  It's just that this time of the year is INSANE.  Someone asked me recently if things were winding down. Ha.  They speed up and then come to a screeching halt.  But I love it, I really do - at least, the part with the kids.  The grading and planning I could use a break from. :)

What I'd Really Tell You Over Coffee

Sipping on a now cooling cup of coffee, listening to a mix on Pandora, and being thankful it's Friday.  Some weeks, although not bad ones, just seem to last longer.  This has been one of them...

I wrote last Friday a quick post about Student Council elections and telling students they did or did not make it... it was definitely not fun to see the absolute dejection on some of their faces.  And we're not done - this week was regular class officer elections, so I'll get to, as I told Husband this morning, crush some more students' hopes today.  Fun!  But the good news is, it's high school, and it's character building, right?  (Tell that to them, see if it makes a difference....)  Truthfully though, it will be exciting to get to see who I'll have in class next year, thus beginning the awkward limbo of finishing this year well and looking forward to the future.

Before I go into anything serious, I should tell you I have an addiction, and a pretty big one, at that. It almost rivals my love for Gingerbread Lattes..... I eagerly anticipate the arrival of these bags of goodness each year, and everyone knows it - I got facebook posts and text messages from college friends about how the purple bags were back in the holiday aisle.

Mmmm..  Delicious.  Cadbury Mini Eggs, my favorite Easter candy.

I've eaten a few so far.... umm, yes, I mean a few bags.  To be fair, Husband has helped me quite a bit - but I believe we've gone through 5 bags....... (and I have two more hidden away for later).  Oh Cadbury Mini Eggs, how I love thee.

And on to the more serious things.

Are you ready for this?  It's kind of big.  I'm a little bit surprised at myself for even thinking about blogging it, but then I figured, so few people read this anyway, what's the difference?  Husband and I have decided that we are no longer going to skirt around the issue of kids.  For several months we've been in the "we're not trying but we're not not trying" phase of life, and it's been nice.  No pressure, no worries.  But over Spring Break and some more in-depth conversations, we decided it's time to be committed. 

We're going to start trying to have kids.

Shoot, I'm stressed just typing those eight words.

It's a little intimidating, to be sure, for a lot of reasons.  I mean, we're only just really trying to step into our grown-up selves.  Kids?  Are we nuts?  I love sleeping.  Am I ready to not do that?  (I know, right, how silly is that?  I'm worried about sleep?) I have to work a full -time job (not just have to - want to - I LOVE my job).  How will I do that and still be there a lot?  (And sleep, when will I sleep?)  And I teach high school - I see what these kids go through!  Will we be able to prepare them to live in this world and to do it while loving God?  (I'll be awake at night wondering if they are making good choices....)  I could write for hours all the big things this decision implies, but that would be borrowing a lot of trouble, and I'm not even pregnant.

But, a friend of mine, who isn't even a Christian, told it to me straight a while back.  "If good people," she said (insert "people who really love God"), "don't have children, then there isn't any hope for the future."  And I know that God is with us, and if He wants us to be parents, He'll allow it, and He'll walk through parenthood with us.  So deep breaths, Beth.

While I'm being honest, I am going to tell you another truth.  (You may not want to read this part - I'm going to be a little blunt and write something my mother definitely would not think I should blog about.) 

Seriously, you might want to skip it, I'm just saying.  It's not bad, it's just very real and very non-talked about it public circles.

Did you know that in order to have children naturally, you have to have sex?  It's true, in case you didn't know.  And that becomes an issue for me, if I'm being real.  I have some residual emotional issues left over from a time of life that wasn't so good, and I have an incredibly low libido, and while I like being close to my husband and making him happy, I don't love sex.  And I don't desire it.  And I could go forever without it. 

And that won't work, if I want to have kids.  And it won't work even if I don't want to have kids, because I'm learning that sex is pretty dang vital in a healthy marriage.   I've read a couple of great books on the topic, but nothing has really changed.  Right now, though, I'm reading the book Sheet Music by Dr. Kevin Lehman because a friend who empathizes with me recommended it. It's intense. I mean, intense.  And scary, and blunt, and full of things that you don't normally read in a Christian book.  And it's challenging me to think about sex differently and to think about being with Husband differently, to try things I've not done, to work towards things I've not yet experienced in three years of marriage.....

Hoo-eee, can't believe I'm typing this.  I'd talk to you about it over coffee, sure, but umm... right now I can't see your face and gauge how you're responding.  Let me sip my coffee here and imagine we're best friends and you are sitting across from me sipping your coffee and nodding that you understand.

That's about all the "real" I can throw out for now.  I'll have to garner up a little more courage another day.

Can I just say this?  It's a bit scary to be real, but I can't help it right now.  It's who I am, and this is what is on my heart.  God has been growing me a lot recently, and this week, these have been some of the thoughts.  I don't ever want to not share what God has been saying, because I don't ever want to come close to shutting Him out or ignoring Him.  And I'm excited.  I haven't felt so stretched and good in a long time. 

I like it.

Happy Friday, friends.  May your weekends be restful, blessed, and beautiful.

Participating in our weekly Coffee Company Blog Hop over at Home Sanctuary.

Editor's Note:  Just so you know, I was never abused or mistreated sexually in any way in my childhood or at any time - in fact, I think my parents raised me with a pretty healthy view of sex.  When I referenced some residual emotional issues, they are the result of my own willful disobedience during a dark time of life, nothing else.  I think we as women come to the marriage bed with a variety of issues, some worse than others, and while it sex a BIG struggle for me, I would never want to minimalize the true issues that come from abuse or indicate that I have overcome something like that, because the women who have done so are worthy of my respect and admiration.

Eeeeek

I have to tell the students who ran for Executive Council (basically our top Council- Student Body Presdident, etc.) who won and who did not win today after school.  And it's no April Fool's joke to them. 

I just finished counting the votes and now know who I'll be spending excessive amounts of time with next year.... and also know who is going to be absolutely crushed when I tell them.  Boo, that's my least favorite part.

Normally I can encourage them by saying that we really need strong Seniors on Senior Class Council, and normally the people who don't make Exec do make Senior.... but I can't say that confidently this year because there will be 12 people running for 6 slots.  This is a record for us, I think.  I can't remember ever having more than 8 or 9 people running for a class Council.  It's good, and exciting, because we're doing something right that people want to be a part of......

But I hate telling people they lost.  I lost StuCo elections when I was in high school, first when I ran my sophomore year for Junior Council, and then when I ran to be on Exec.  Fortunately I still made Senior Secretary, but I remember how awful I felt those first few days between the two elections. 

Yuck.

After we get all the elections over, I can be excited for who will be on Council next year.  Until then, I hate this part.  And that is not an April Fool's Day joke, either.

Backlogged

You know how you sometimes start composing blog posts in your head when you can't get to the computer?  Or you snap some pictures of something you know you'll want to blog about later?  

I've been doing that a lot recently.  When I say a lot, I mean my blog-brain is backlogged.   Seriously backlogged. 

(Okay, random aside.  I'm looking at the word backlogged and thinking, "did I spell that right?  wait, is that even a real word?  do I need to change it to something else?"  I mean it, I'm having a total self-doubt moment about that word.)

If I wait to find the time to post all my brain-blog posts, you'll never get to read them, and it will be a looooong time before I blog again. 
So, instead, I'll give the Spark Notes version of the posts I would have written.  And, if, as I summarize, something really sticks with me, I might write a whole post on it soon.  We'll see.

Backlogged Post #1: Spring Cleaning Round 1.  Last week I was on Spring Break from school and decided to tackle some of the mess in my house.  I started reading Organized Simplicity, by Tsh Oxenreider.  I haven't finished yet, but I am looking forward to continuing more.  I picked up all the crap on the main floor, in the master bedroom, in the bathrooms, and in the upstairs guest room.  I put stuff away in the basement TV room.  I dusted and vacuumed everything, cleaned the kitchen and all the bathrooms.  I did laundry and put it away, and I even vacummed the screens and washed the windows.  I took before pictures on Husband's camera (alas, mine really does appear to have been stolen), but forgot to get around to taking the after pictures.   (editor's note: several days have gone by - things are still mostly uncluttered and looking good, but the trick will be keeping it that way and clean.)

Backlogged Post #2: Being a Grown Up.  I feel like God is really calling me to embrace the fact that I am a "grown up."  A couple of weeks ago I realized that somewhere I learned to take "you're so young" as "you're inferior and incompetent."  No one said that of course, I just heard it.  Anyway, it has been a bit scary but a lot freeing to attempt to embrace my grown up self.  Husband started hearing it, too, and we went from talking about it to hearing a sermon that spoke to our hearts immediately within an hour.  Clear as a whistle, God.  In embrace-your-grown-up-self attempt #1, we invited our church small group over for dinner.  It didn't turn out the way we expected, but we still ended up having a great time getting to know one family we didn't really know yet.  There was definitely a moment when everything seemed like it was falling apart - but I was so convinced God is trying to grow me that I refused to give in to the lies I was hearing.

Backlogged Post #3: Time.  You know me, I don't have a lot of it.  But over Spring Break, I intentionally chose to not go anywhere (well, I don't have any money to do that, anyway) or to fill my schedule with lots of coffee and lunch dates.  I knew I wanted to clean my house (see #1) and do some work, but I also knew I wanted to have Time.  I spent some quality time with my mom over coffee and lunch a couple of times, which was much needed.  I slept in every day until 8:30.  And I read.  I read four and a half books.  I finished The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins.  I went to the library and got eight books, and read four of them in four or five days.  Invitation to Provence, by Elizabeth Adler, Angel Harp, by Michael Phillips, Faces of the Gone, by Brad Parks, and The Lost Gate, by Orson Scott Card.  I wouldn't really recommend Invitation to Provence, but Angel Harp was a great Christian Historical Fiction set in Scotland.  Faces of the Gone was a mystery.  Good, but not great.  The Lost Gate was really intriguing, but has an intresting twist on gods and magic, so if you aren't into that, you won't like it.   Now that school is back in session, it will probably take me a few days each at least to read the other four books.   Having time to do that was so life-giving.

Backlogged Post #4: March Madness.  That's right, I have been paying attention to the March Madness basketball tournament.  A friend of mine's hubby is an assistant coach at the University of Richmond who ended up playing in Round 2 and 3 nearby us.  I couldn't pass that up, could I?  St Patty's day, the day before our Spring Break, my dad, friend, and Husband and I headed to Denver for a day of basketball.  (this is hush hush since I took a day off work for it.... I had a "once in a lifetime family committment") to watch the Louisville-Morehead game and the Richmond-Vanderbilt game.  We sat waaaay up high, almost as far as you could go, but it was awesome.  As the Spiders won (woohoo), they played again in Round 3 on Saturday.  That time we were given tickets in the 5th row from the court, right behind the Richmond bench.  Dad, Sister, Husband, and I were freaking stoked to watch Richmond beat Morehead, and then stayed to watch BYU beat Gonzaga.  Richmond went onto the Sweet 16, but sadly lost to Kansas.

Backlogged Post #5: Student Council Elections.  I'm running elections for the next three weeks or so.  This week, the five Executive Council positions. Next week, the 18 Class Officer positions.  The next two weeks, the 12 teacher-nominated Class Representatives positions.  My thoughts are swimming with recently-read cover letters, personal view questions, teacher recommendations, and interview questionnaires.  It's a bit odd to think about next year already, when we have two months of this year left, but it's also really exciting.  There are some great candidates running and I can't help but be excited for next year, a chance to do some things a little differently and to continue serving our school.

Backlogged Post #6: My heart.  It's full.  It's been learning a lot.  I can't really share it all in a mini-post, but I think you'll get the point, anyway.  God's been teaching me things - I've shared some of them in past posts - and it's been amazing.  I definitely feel like it could be easy to be attacked or side-tracked if I'm not careful and not committed to continuing the conversations He and I have been having, but for now, I'm just amazed with how great He is and how, even though things are not easy, they are Good.  And how much He's been speaking to me.  And really, it makes my heart full.


Okay, that's it for now.  I am sure there were more, but really, you don't want to read any more, and I think I am going to go work on finishing the fifth library book before bed.

Sadie's Week

It's Sadie's Week at my high school.

You know, Sadie Hawkins. The dance where the girls ask the guys. Except for at my school, it's a big dang deal. Sure, girls ask guys, but also groups of people go together for fun, like Homecoming. We have lots of events going on during the week and a huge assembly and big decorations at the dance.... and spirit dress up days all week.

Our theme this year? Time Warp. It's a Back to the Future meets Grease meets Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (which none of my students have ever heard of) meets all the decades, including "the future."

How do we get to dress up?

Well, yesterday was Hippie Day. Lots of peace signs, flowing skirts, headbands, peasant blouses, and more.

Today, 50s Day. Most girls are more for the "Pink Lady" kind of a look since they seem to all have outgrown their poodle skirts from elementary school. The boys are rocking the slicked back hair, white tees, and leather jackets.

Tomorrow, 80s Workout Day. I fully anticipate seeing a plethora of spandex and neon colors. Oh dear.

Friday we journey back to the present and have a school colors spirit day, which could result in outfits of all sorts.

For the dance itself, kids can wear whatever decade they want - I've already heard that several cavemen are attending.

Anyway, each day I've been putting on Pandora and setting it to the approximate decade of the day. Yesterday we rocked out to a lot of Simon and Garfunkel. Today, it's a lot of doo-wop and motown. Tomorrow, some Cindy Lauper.

I'm having THE best week. It turns out that I grew up listenting to 50s and 60s music because my dad is (old). Please note, my mom is not old - in fact, she's several years younger than Dad.

Regardless, I feel like I'm back in my childhood, especially today. I know ALL the words to ALL the songs. I just want to dance around and sing and be happy and silly. Forget teaching!





The downside to Sadie's week? I'll be here pretty much from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm on Thursday and from 8 am until midnight on Saturday.

But right now, I'm not thinking about that.

I'm just doing the hand jive.

Picture This: Coffee Company 9/24

Picture this:

Who: 20 - 30 high school boys and girls, myself, and Husband

When: Tonight and Tomorrow

What: sleeping over in the school, playing Sardines, having a dance party, cooking breakfast, and working on pre-Homecoming decoration stuff. 

That's right, StuCo is having a lock-in tonight.  We'll get together here tonight, play a bunch of fun games, be silly, and eventually, go to sleep (boys in one room with Husband, girls in the other with me).  Tomorrow morning we'll get up and cook breakfast: pancakes, bacon, cereal, and fruit are on the menu.  Once we've cleaned up, we'll head to the cafeteria where we'll start painting, building, and doing other preparation tasks for next week's Homecoming Dance.  The more we do tomorrow, the less we do next Saturday, when we're here again (minus the sleepover).

Wish us luck!  (Especially Husband - this is his first lock -in. :)

And, for those of you who had trouble "picturing this," I will try to get some real pictures today and tomorrow and share them with you all next week!