Here 'goes nothing!

So, do you ever have those days at work where you feel like you aren't quite sure what you're doing? I always feel a little bit that way on the first day of school. All of these little ones come traipsing into my room....some speak English, some don't...some have had a wealth of experiences in their lives already, while some have never gone outside of their neighborhood.... There is such a variety of families, countries, backgrounds, and experiences represented. That's when I take a big GULP! and think, "Oh man...I'm supposed to teach them all to read? do math? be socially and emotionally developed?" YIKES! Here in lies the miracle of teaching; with so many wonderful professionals in my building, we somehow go from having 25 little ones in September who aren't quite sure how to read and write, to 25 not-so-little ones in June who are reading and writing so fast I can hardly keep up! It happens every year, though sometimes I'm not sure how! My students will be the source of many postings and updates to come, as we get to know each other and learn together this school year. However, on the first day of school, I know the phrase running through my mind will be "Here 'goes nothing!" Followed by a little prayer for strength, patience, and a hope that the best is yet to come! :)

House Hunting Stories

We have loved our apartment since day one. (Especially sharing recipes with our cute little neighbor downstairs!) However, since June, we have been on "the house hunt". This is quite the process! With the market being the way it is, and us not having a home to sell, we've been looking at a lot of great deals....unfortunately, everyone else thinks they're great deals too! We've been to about 20 showings, and so far we have had one house get "swiped" 10 hours before us, 3 others that got "swiped" before we made it to the showing, and another that we just put an offer on (but so did the other 2 people that saw it last week!).

Another unique part of house hunting is the, shall we say, extras that we encounter in each of these homes. Our favorite example: as we were wandering around one house we headed down to the basement. Much to our surprise, there was a strange man lying on a mattress in the middle of the basement living room. He was watching a battery operated TV (because of course there's no power in the house), had a month's worth of non-perishable food lined up around the room (because of course he can't use a fridge or a stove), and just sat and watched us look around the basement. YIKES! When asked if he knew there was a showing scheduled, his response was, "Uh yeah. They said somethin' 'bout that, but I didn't know when people were comin' so I thought I'd just stay here". WOW!

Needless to say, we've really enjoyed the house hunting so far, and are learning a LOT! We're also getting some very good lessons in communication and patience as this process continues. We'll keep you up to date as the process continues...

What's in a name?

So many people have been urging me to get a blog, and today I finally caved. I find the pressure of starting this a little overwhelming. Like picking a title...this is the name that everyone will see when they come and check for updates. What should it be called? The layout of the site...colors, fonts, and style? Postings....when to write a post? what to write? what type of post should it be? funny? serious? contemplative? So many choices, SO LITTLE TIME! Needless to say, I'm VERY new to "the blogger world" and I'm sure it will take me a while to get the hang of this. BUT, I'm so excited to be more connected to so many of you now--here's to many more postings to come!