My First Black Friday

My First Black Friday

There once was a time when I thought that those who ventured out on the wee hours of the morning on that Friday after Thanksgiving were insane. Why did they go out while most of us were still sleeping out our turkey comas? Was anything really worth waiting in line for those doors to be unlocked?

Well Thursday morning, I woke up and went downstairs. The paper was massive, all those catalogs beckoning shoppers to doorbuster deals that looked so enticing.

I pulled out the three that caught my eye. JC Penny had a great luggage set on sell for $39.00 (original price valued at $200). Bealls had a pair of gloves that are sensor touch so I can use my phone without taking my gloves off. And then there were some books on sell at Books-a-Million that I wanted to look at (even though I have a kindle).

My Plan:

1. Get some sleep and go when ever I wake up.

2. Hit JC Penny first, they opened the earliest and I knew I had to get there fast if I wanted the luggage.

3. Bealls would be next, because it was also at the mall.

4. Then hit BAM, if I was still in the mood.

So I was set, I went to sleep late because I was watching a movie. However, I woke up at 5:00. I got up and got dressed. Penny's had only been open for an hour, I had a chance. I got in my car and headed over. I luckily got a great parking spot as someone else (one of those aforementioned insane people) was just leaving.

I asked a sales person where the luggage was, showing a picture from that catalog. He walked me right to them, and they not only still had it, but I had my choice of colors. I was so excited.

That meant it was time for Bealls. As a drove around to the other side of the mall ( as the mall doesn't open until 9) I noticed a line formed outside. When I pulled out the catalog, I noticed they didn't open until 6 and I had like 5 min, so I got in line. Guess that make me one of the insane. When the doors opened I knew exactly where to go. I got the gloves and went to get in line. That is when the best Black Friday experience comes. I was in line at the cashier and I was the one who made the line start to curve. As I was standing there, ladies started joining behind me. That is when I noticed a woman had gotten on the other side of the line and intended to cut in line. I didn't mind, I was only getting the gloves. But the older lady behind me did mind and she says something about it. And then this other woman (a large black woman) starts getting an attitude back at her and it almost went to blows. I was almost in the middle of one of those things that would have made the morning news. But I did get the gloves.

On my way to BAM, I stopped into Sears, just to look at the electronics. I met a former classmate from college, and we got to talking. I told him I wanted to look at the tvs. So he showed them to me. And I got one (not on my list, but a major want). He told me about some that were on sale, but not out on the floor. Thank goodness for old friends.

I never made it to BAM, but I had a very great morning and was home before 7.

Call me Insane.

The "Joy" of Being Sick

As with every change of the weather here in Texas, those nasty little bugs are starting to go around. Working with kids, it is just bound to happen that one of those bugs will find me. In past years, if I got sick I was able to just stay at home and not worry about going to work or even getting out of bed for that matter. But now that I am an official teacher and with that only a limited number of days a year to miss school, I have to fight through what I am feeling and try to make it one day at a time.

On Tuesday night I started feeling it. By Wednesday, my cold was full blown and getting worse. However, since this week was the last in this grading period, I had to go to school. Each day it was a struggle to stay on top of my kids to get all their work finished and corrected. But i made it. At 5:00 on Friday I was going home, grades finalized and no planning needed to be done.

That is when the worst hit. Last night I was up every two hours, coughing up a lung and not being able to swallow anything. I was miserable. And because I couldn't sleep, I started to read. I rarely get to read anymore because of school and it was a pleasure to get to do that this morning. I fell asleep reading and had one of the best dreams I had head in a while.

Maybe it was the book, or maybe the medicine that I am taking, but I have had a Joy being sick!

Let's Go Rangers!!!

You would only have to spend like 3 seconds with me to know that I am a huge sports fan. Not just a sports fan, but a Dallas Sports Fan. Rangers, Cowboys, Mavericks, Stars, I love them all. This past spring we saw the first NBA Championship to the Big-D, and tonight, the Rangers have once again given us hope of our first ever MLB Championship.

I have been a Ranger fan for as long as I can remember. I really started following them at the age of seven when, in July of 1994 Kenny Rodgers pitched a perfect game because a rookie right fielder laid out to rob a hit from the first hitter of the top of the ninth. The Rangers made it to the post-season for the first time in 1996, 1998, and 1999. Each time they faced the Yankees in the first round and were shut down. Last year, we made it all the way. Only to be shut down by the Giants when they got there.

This year just feels different. With Cruz, Beltre, Young, Hamilton, Napoli and many many more, the line-up is hard to navigate through. Then there are Wilson, Feldman, Ogando, Feliz and a few more arms that have been lights out on the mound.

This is our Year...

LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!

Another Day in this Wild and Crazy Week

So is get to add another day to this wild week that I have already had.

Friday morning at about 2am, I woke up with excruciating paint in my lower back and abdomen. I didn't know what was wrong. I was scared that after the fall I had on Wednesday morning, the doctors had missed something.

After I started trowing up at 3:00, I told my grandparents that I wanted to go somewhere. I was scared and in so much pain. So we headed to the ER. I had to email my principal and the teachers on my team at school to let them know I wouldn't be at school and where my sub stuff was. Then we were off.

After 3 hours, they told me that the pain was from a kidney stone that was trying to pass. I have four of them, three are still in the top of my right kidney and that one was probably knocked loose during the fall I had on Wednesday morning.

I spent all day yesterday sleeping, and with the pain med they have me on, the dreams I was having were crazy.

I can't wait to get this week behind me and start anew, but until this stone passes, the pain will be a reminder of the week that was.

How a Shower Curtain Saved my Life

If you were to ask my grandparents, they would probably tell you that I am a very accident proved person. I am also very sickly. I get hurt and get sick often. Therefore if you know me, the following story isn't that out of the ordinary. But for those of you that don't know me, you are in for a treat.

Yesterday morning I woke up at 4:45 so that I could get in the shower. Why so early you may ask? Well, my grandmother and I both work at the same school, me as a teacher and her in the office as a secretary. That means we both have to get up and ready to go to school in the mornings using the same shower. So I got in the shower.

Being a girl, I thought that it was time for me to shave my legs again (I wanted to wear my favorite dress and jeans jacket, which meant I needed smooth legs). Leg up, stroke, leg down, rinse razor, repeat. The first few strokes went just as planned. Then came the fourth rotation. Leg up, then another leg starts to come up and I began to fall. I was thinking to my self, "Be ready, this is going to hurt!" As I began to fall, I grabbed behind me. The shower curtain was what my hands found. The entire curtain and rod came down (Even the part that was attached to the wall). I landed on my back while my left side slammed into the sink and toilet.

Knowing that my grandmother was awake and reading the paper in the living room, and that my grandfather had probably heard and woke up, I grabbed a towel to cover up. I was so embarrassed, I didn't even think about what was hurting. The first thing my grandmother asked was if I was alive, and if I could move. I said, "I don't know." She stepped back out of the bathroom and let me get myself up and somewhat dressed so her and my grandpa could come in. I was worried about the curtain rod, they were worried about me.

I went to school because we were giving an all day test and I knew that I wouldn't have much to do other than facilitate. As the day wore on, all those little nicks started to make themselves known. I was hurting all over. My shoulder was killing me and my back was not far behind. I went to the doctor after school was over. He said nothing was broken or torn, just really swollen and really bruised. After looking at the X-ray of my back, he said that I have arthritis in my lower back, which is probably why it started hurting after I fell. His last words," Go home and thank your shower curtain, it probably saved your life."

That my friends is how a shower curtain saved my life!

Ten Years Later and it Still Hits Hard...

I walked into the school on just another Tuesday that morning. A few of my friends and I had missed a Spanish quiz and had gone to Senor Hoof's room to make it up. We started 15 min before 8 and I was almost finished when Senor Hoof ran into the room and told us to go ahead and turn the quiz in, we would be able to finish it later. He went straight to the television and turned it on.

I really wasn't sure what I was looking at when the screen faded into a crisp picture of the NY skyline. Then one by one, my classmates and I noticed the smoke billowing from one of the World Trade Center towers. We were dumb struck almost. As more students filed in for class to begin, the news anchors were just as dumb founded as we were, trying to make since of the picture we were seeing. Then we saw a dark figure, that looked like a large plane, fly in the shot from the right of the screen and a huge explosion rocked the second WTC tower. There was screaming, shouting and chaos going on all around me and I was frozen in all my emotions. Fear, anger, and grief were running though my veins. about ten minutes later the word terrorism was being mentioned, and we couldn't believe it. My classmates and I had been alive for the Pan Am flight 103 bombing in 1988, WTC bombing of 1993, and the OKC Bombing 1995, but this was the first time we were really old enough to understand what was going on. None of us said a word after the initial shock of seeing the plane hit, we just watched.

After about 20 minutes, Senor Hoof said we needed to get to work. He told us that probably nothing else would happen. About 15 min before the class was scheduled to end, the principal walked in and handed a memo to Senor Hoof. As he read it silently to himself, you could see the disbelief in his face. Then he started to read:

"Students and Teachers, as you have probably heard by now, the United States has suffered a great tragedy this Tuesday morning. Three planes have hit the WTC towers 1 and 2 and the Pentagon. Just moments ago, both towers fell. There is no telling the loss of life that has occurred this morning. As much as this news will affect all of you in different ways, there is no cause for alarm here. We will keep you updated on events throughout the day. May God Bless America"

I was crying before he finished reading the letter. I thought there would be more attacks that day. We didn't know what to think. The rest of the day was eerie. The hallways were silent all day. We tried to hurry from class to class, so that we could still watch the news as it was unfolding. President Bush spoke from Barksdale that afternoon (which is less that an hour away). On the band field shortly after his speech, we could have sworn those fighter jets scrambling in the sky were leading Air Force One to its undisclosed location. I went to Softball practice that evening still in a daze. September 11, 2001 will be a day I will never forget.

Ten years later, and I can still see those images. I can still see the football player that sat in front of me trying to hide his tears as they replayed the second plane hit. Ten years ago the United States was united under a banner of hope and sorrow for those lost in this horrendous tragedy that happened on our watch. So many times, I wonder where that America went. Have we forgotten the unity that occurred, or have we, like those after the 1993 bombing, just gotten so far removed from the tragedy that we no longer sense the urgency that is still prevalent today?

As I remember my experiences, the emotions still hit hard. The fear, the anger and the sorrow are all still so raw for me. The tears running down my face right now (that make it rather difficult to pen my last few words) show those emotions rather well.

Have the last ten year changed you life? Because they sure did change mine!

Week One Down...

So my very first week as an official teacher has come and gone, and it has been a rather interesting one to say the least.

After the first day fireworks that I experienced, the rest of the week almost went off without a hitch. I have a great group of students. There is only one class right now that is trying as hard as they can to test the waters. It's like no matter what I do, they are not going to do what I ask of them. I don't want to react...I want to be proactive with this group, but that is becoming rather difficult.

Friday night we had a welcome back to school dance. I went to help out and had a good time. Let me just say that i went "Low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low" and then it was hard to get back up. Some of my students were excited to see me there. And the entire night went without a hitch and every student was picked up on time.

Hoping that this week is just as great as my last one!!!

A Very Peculiar First Day

Too say that this day went off without a hitch would almost be a lie.

Today was my first official day as an 8th grade math teacher at TMS. I was a little nervous about actually having my own classroom, but I was also excited and ready. My classes are amazing. I can't wait to see how we are all going to mesh this year. There are very strong personalities, and very humbles personalities. After having each student fill out a 'Get to Know You' questionnaire, I realized that I have some very unique individuals in my classes.

Like I said, my classes were amazing and I had an awesome first day of school, at least is was until I went to leave.

At 4:30 I headed to my car, but my things in the back seat and got in the drivers seat. I put my key in the ignition and it went "ch ch ch ch ch ch ch" but didn't start. So I turned the key again "ch ch ch ch ch' was the sound I heard, yet again it wouldn't start. SO I got out of the sauna and called my grandfather. He asked me what it was doing and I said "ch ch ch ch ch ch" but it wont start. Some how our communication was misinterpreted because he thought automatically that the battery was out. However, that was not the case.

He stood there and looked under the hood for awhile (really just looked, we had no clue what to do). He asked me how much gas I had. I knew that I had over a quarter of a tank, but he went and got gas anyway to put in the tank. That wasn't the problem either.

So we went home. He kept saying over and over again, "Some how fuel isn't getting to your engine" So he called a tow truck. After relaying the make and model of my car on the phone, to guy says "I know exactly what's wrong, meet me at your car in 5 minutes"

Drum Roll........................................

It was my anti theft system. It turned itself on which disables the fuel injector. No fuel, no start. 10 minutes later he had the car running. Any my grandfather and I were perplexed.

What a way to end a great day!

A Whirlwind of Information

On July 19, 2011 I was offered a wonderful opportunity. I was given a position to teach 8th grade mat at Texas Middle School.

Since that day I have been on information overload. Workshops for math, instructional services, Aware, TEAMS/Gradebook, Instructional Technology, IEP's and ARDS, Orientation, Benefits, and many more. Not to mention those workshops that all the teachers go to during our campus instructional planning the next week.

Any down time I have between all those workshops is spent getting my classroom together. Bulletin boards, student desks, teacher desks, rules, procedures, making sure each student will be able to see the board...it is so overwhelming.

I made a comment to my grandmother yesterday that I never want to be a first year teacher in another district for the rest of my life...there is just too much to learn. Hopefully all those notes and handouts will be repeatedly reread and looked over (because I won't remember everything).

I have a great team and a great mentor teacher.

Bring on those kids!!!!!

Back to the Heart of Worship

I read somewhere that if you hear a song 20 times, you stop thinking about the words. The book went on to say that this is affecting our worship to God. I would have to agree. I go to church and the music starts. Usually I don't even have to look at the screens, the words are already coming out. The melodies and harmonies are finding their way through my vocal chords. Then my mind starts to wander "What am I going to do after church today? What will the students be like tomorrow? Man I hope I get that job. Etc." Is that what my worship looks like to God. Can you even consider that worship? Even though I am singing the song, the words are not coming from my heart.

Yesterday I decided to do something about it. I grabbed a notebook and wrote the very words that you have read so far. I decided that I really needed to think about the way I worship. I have started writing down the words that I sing all the time and then figuring out if I really want to pledge that to the Lord of all.

I want to get back to the heart of worship. I don't want to go through the motions anymore. I want to worship in Spirit and in Truth.

A Night Of Greenbeans

Kids' Camp ended a little over a week ago. Usually this is the last time that I get to see all my friends from the Northwest. I say goodbye to all the kids, the counselors, the staff, and usually there are hopes for seeing each other again in a year when we all converge on the Latvian Camp we call home for a week.

Luckily for me, the 'year' came rather quickly. As I was starting on my journey home on July 4 through the air, another journey had already begun by land. Pastor Jamie, Kim, Chelsea, and Phoebe were on vacation. The Greenings were headed to my neck of the woods.

We ate dinner at Two Senoritas in Mt. Pleasant. It was here that I heard first hand of the upcoming Light Bulb Apocalypse. We had a great visit, a lot of laughs. Somehow we decided that we were going to go to a movie. This was great for me, I have a rule that I have to spent more time in a place then the time it takes to drive there and back. On the way to the movie, we had to stop and get coffee for Jamie's mom's house. We stopped at Super 1 (apparently our first mistake) where they didn't have the 'classic roast' so we got Colombian, but we did grab a package of light bulbs (which made our mistake not seem as bad). On the way to the Movie Theater I learned a new meaning for 'Cheese'. Then we watched Car's 2 (which I loved again).

So now it's another year before I get to hang out with the Greenings again. But until then, last night will have to hold me over until then.

Some Pool Side Faith

Once again I have been granted the privilege of serving as the lifeguard at Kids’ Camp. Being able to work with the kids, building on relationships and starting new ones has been a blessing that will last a life time. I enjoy every minute that I spent at Camp Kursa each year and each year, I get more out of that time.

This week, our theme was “Driven by Faith in Jesus”. Each chapel time we delved into who God is and what is means to really be driven by our faith in him. It just so happened that my personal study each morning was learning about the Holy Spirit and how to trust in Him. That being said, Faith has been on my mind a lot this week.

Tuesday afternoon during pool time, I really started watching the kids. When I announced it was time for swim time to start, some just ran and jumped in. I call these kids Plungers. They didn’t know if the water was cold or warm, they just knew that I said go and they wanted to be in the water, so they jumped. Then there were the Toe Touchers. When I said it was time to get in, they ran to the stairs and put their feet in. Then after a while they might get wet to their waists. Then their choice must be mad “Do I keep going, do I go back, or do I just stay here where I am comfortable?”

As I was watching this, I couldn’t help but think how much this resembles Christians and their response to the Spirit. The Plungers are those who hear the Spirit say go and then run and jump. They know that once they get there it may be hard, but they also know that the Spirit is going with them and they are willing to follow (no matter what), their faith is strong. The Toe Touchers are those who hear the Spirit say go and then respond by only going a little ways to try it out, then they may go deeper. But all too often Toe Touchers stay where they are comfortable or they even give up all together. I want to have the faith of a Plunger, but I tend to find myself acting like a Toe Toucher. However there is hope for us Toe Touchers.

Going back to the pool, after awhile, I saw pastor Jim go over to those at the stairs. He would ask them if they wanted to go for a swim, and they trusted him. The kids, one by one, would jump on his back and he would swim them around the pool. The smiles on their faces told it all, they were experiencing the land of the Plungers and loving every minute of it. To Toe Touchers, those Plungers who are willing to come aside with reassurance and encouragement are priceless.

I know a lot of plungers (a few right here serving at Camp). I also know a few Toe Touchers. My prayer for the Toe Touchers is that God will continue to show you more of his Spirit and that your faith will continue to grow until you are ready to jump in (head or feet first). For the Plungers, I pray that your faith remains strong. I pray that every once and awhile you’ll turn back to a Toe Toucher and say, “Come on in and swim with me, the waters fine.”