May

Erica the Great turned one year old this month. Did you know that? I didn't know that. I was probably in a stress-induced coma after eighteen hours of teaching/working/existing. I was missing it. I've been feeling that way about a lot of things lately.

One of my favorite bloggers recently wrote about getting "quiet" online when real life is happening, and I can closely identify with that. This semester has been one big whirlwind of life happening. And I've been so busy just trying to keep my head above water that I've hardly lived it, let alone blogged it.

As this semester comes to a close, I'm standing at a precipice. I've worked SO HARD to get here, and big things are finally starting to happen! I'm hesitant to write about them right now, in fear that they might not come to fruition; they're still too fragile. Have you ever felt that way before? Afraid to speak something into existence? For now, there will be lots of hoping, wishing, and finger-crossing. And praying-- lots of praying.

I've been waiting for May to get here all year, and it's officially minutes away. May means a lot of things-- the end of student teaching, the beginning of the job search, VACATION AND GRADUATION, and Landon's last month as a something-month-old. It's finally here and I feel like I can almost breathe. Almost.

Hoping that May also means time to write again. I'm a lot of things for a lot of people, but writing? That's just for me.

HAPPY MAY.

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"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life the laws of the universe will be simpler."
[Henry David Thoreau]

Friday Facts: Too White For Zumba

Fact #1 I am too white for Zumba. But I continue to go and make a fool out of myself because, well, someone has to be that white girl (and it's a lot more fun than running on the treadmill). Here I am! Enjoy the confidence boost while I awkwardly booty-drop on the off-beat.

Fact #2 If there were a Hoarders: Computer Edition, I would be the first person on the show. Assemble the intervention team now. In an effort to organize and protect my digital life, I invested in an external hard drive and attempted to backup all of my pictures/docs/MYLIFE last night and almost had a panic attack. Thank God for my husband for a) teaching me how to use it and b) not leaving me because I'm obsessive-compulsive and clearly a psycho.

Fact #3 I didn't just pass the Praxis, I KILLED IT. I've been freaking out for months about those tests and the results are finally in: 182, 192, 193, out of 200. Only needed a 160 to pass. BOOM.

Fact #4 As long as someone (please, for the love of God) hires me in the fall, I only have to work at Outback for 24 more weeks. There is a light at the end of the tunnel! I can almost see it! Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that I have a job and the money to support my family. HOWEVER, I've worked there for over three years now. It's time.

Fact #5 The last five pounds of baby weight, a.k.a. the spare tire around my waist, need to go! Summer is not very far away and it would be nice to wear a bikini without feeling like a whale. My historically-high metabolism is really failing me these days, and I'm basically too lazy to do real exercise (making a fool out of myself in Zumba doesn't exactly count). Do they make diet Nutella?

Fact #6 Since, let's face it, I probably won't get around to writing Landon's nine month post in the foreseeable future, you should know that his head is in the 99th percentile. In the words of our pediatrician, "If there was a 100th percentile, he would be in it." Big head = lots of brains? I knew he would be smart like his momma. Did I mention he's cruising the furniture these days? Watch out, world! Baby genius on the move.

P.S. Fact #7 This is ridiculous. I just cry-laughed while it played on repeat roughly seventy times. Happy weekend =]

BURSTING

HELLO, MARCH!

Is it just me, or are January and February the dreariest months of the year? There's just something about them-- like they're gray and cold and downright depressing. Not to wish the year away or anything, but I'm kind of really glad they're over! Spring is just around the corner, which means vacation is just around the corner, which means graduation is just around the corner, which means OHMYGOSHI'LLHAVEMYLIFEBACK!

At least, a little bit.

I've had zero time to breathe, let alone blog, recently, so I'm practically bursting with things to say.. which you may or may not care about, but this is my corner of the world so HA! you don't make the rules.

First, there's this:

I am recently obsessed with this little nugget, thanks to one of the awesome bloggers I regularly stalk-read. How can you not love this kid? This video is partly responsible for pulling me through the Jan/Feb slump. We were made to be awesome.

Which brings us to this:

While my time at Penn State only accounts for the first third of my college journey (and 100% of my student loans-- yikes), it is a community that will always have a special place in my heart-- particularly when it comes to THON. Penn State Dance Marathon is the single largest student-run philanthropy in the world, and has raised over $100 million since its conception in the 1970s to fund research and care for pediatric cancer patients through the Four Diamonds Fund. Fundraising efforts culminate in a 46-hour dance marathon every February. This year, we raised $12.3 million FOR THE KIDS! I can't help but be Penn State Proud =]

And then, on a totally unrelated note, there's this:

I am going absolutely CRAZY, waiting for JT to release his new CD! Slightly obsessed. I've also been doing a lot of The Lumineers and Alabama Shakes lately. The fact that windows-down jam-sesh season is only about two months away is SO EXCITING.

Then, there are my second grade rugrats-- love them! Almost halfway through this student-teaching experience and it's going really well. Definitely keeping me busy, hence the slacker-status in the blog department, but here's the bottom line-- this isn't just student-teaching. This is a 14-week long, live, in-person interview. This is my one and only shot at being the kind of teacher that will get hired in the fall. Let's hope I'm getting it right?

And then there's my mini. He isn't so mini anymore! He's 9 months old today and dying to conquer the standing and walking thing. He is a pretty unhappy camper these days, thanks to two front teeth coming in. His little life currently revolves around grilled cheese, baby jail, and the unicorn song (Good Night, Sleep Tight Kidsongs video, anyone?) and I promise I will share some pictures if/when I get around to his nine-month post. His first birthday is rapidly approaching, and this momma has lots of Seuss-themed ideas up her sleeve =]

And now.... it's 2:40 in the morning and I have to be up in four hours. Oops.

So what's new with you?

Happy Tuesday!

On Being M.I.A.

Student teaching has officially swallowed my life. I kind of just want to sleep for three days. Ok, not kind of, REALLY. And on top of it, I was struck down by the plague and have been feeling a lot like this lately:

Except less sexy and more sweatpants. There have been a lot of sweatpants.

Here's to crawling out from under it and reclaiming five minutes of my personal life?

Friday Facts

Fact #1 These aren't Friday Facts. They're actually Sunday Facts, which sounds stupid because it isn't an alliteration. 

Fact #2 It would be super awesome if we could somehow add five more hours to the day (then I might be able to write Friday Facts on Friday). With student teaching in full swing, it is becoming increasingly more apparent that twenty-four hours just isn't enough! I knew what I was in for when I signed on for this crazy year, but that doesn't change the fact that it sucks to be running at full-speed every minute of the day. I'm hitting the homestretch, though-- threemonthsandfifteendays threemonthsandfifteendays threemonthsandfifteendays!

Fact #3 Student loan payments are a real life-ruiner. This is the first official month of my repayment period, and it won't be over until Landon is twenty-one. TWENTY-ONE! Good thing I stole Doritos and toilet paper from a frat one time. Really got my money's worth.

Fact #4 Just kidding. If I hadn't taken two years to stumble through Penn State, and then another two to "find myself" at community college, I never would have ended up where I am today-- in more ways than one. Moral of the story? There's value in the journey (even if it's an expensive journey, with a variable interest rate). 

Fact #5 I'm really excited to explore these cool sites with my second graders in the coming weeks! I'm hoping to make my guided reading groups more tech-savvy, as an alternative to traditional classwork. I'll keep you posted on how it goes! I'm fortunate to have an awesome bunch of little people to experiment on :)

Fact #6 Little dude real-crawled for the first time this week! Up on his knees and everything. His motivation? Electrical cords. He has a basket full of toys, but it's the life-endangering things that grab his attention, naturally. So proud of him! I can hardly believe that he's going to be eight months old this week. 

Fact #7 I haven't posted real writing in a while, and I really really want to. If someone could find those extra five hours I mentioned earlier, maybe I can make that happen.

Happy weekend!

Friday Facts

Fact #1 IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN.

Three days of student teaching down, 67 to go. I wonder how many cans of aerosol hairspray made the ultimate sacrifice to produce that music video?

Fact #2 Speaking of aerosol hairspray...

Mom and Scuba Dad, circa 1995. Naturally, my brothers and I think this is the most heinous picture of all time. But then? They were cool. Scuba Dad was doing the metal thing with the big hair (while also maintaining an uncanny resemblance to Tim Curry), in blatant denial that the eighties were over, and Mom was rocking the Kelly Kapowski bangs. They were hot! They were fun! They were... my age?

I can't wait to see what Landon has to say about this in twenty years.

Fact #3 Best hair tutorials ever. Good things come to those who Pinterest (lesson planning, shmlesson planning).

Fact #4 Grab my cane and turn on The Price is Right, I've officially joined the Old and Lame Club. My mom kept Little Man Tuesday night so that we could have some grown-up time, and we didn't even do anything cool. Mostly, we watched bad TV in our sweatpants and ate popcorn until we passed out at 10PM. Who are we?! 

Fact #5 Someone is testing the waters...

         

What's next? A girlfriend? College? 

Happy weekend!

thank you, frostburg

Yesterday, we drove an hour into the middle of nowhere for a three-hour orientation, given mostly in monotone.

It was a really valuable experience.

Oh-- and you should also know that it was 4 degrees outside.

The end.