The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly... or something like that

Well, I had an excellent weekend! Started it off by going to dinner/movie with Jamey Friday night. We went and saw "Confessions of a Shopaholic" which was really hilarious, and sadly I could relate to some parts! :( lol We had a good time, and after I was done I headed home and started packing. Saturday morning, I got up bright and early at 7am and took a shower, then got all the rest of my stuff ready to go to Port Aransas, TX for the night. I swung by the grocery store for a couple things I needed and got cash back so I'd be ready for the weekend! We rolled outta SA around 10am, and got into Port Aransas, TX (after only 1 stop with two 4 year olds, that's AMAZING!!!) around 1pm! We got a little scared on our drive because about 5 places we called inquiring about vacancies said they had none! UH-OH! But we finally found a 3 bedroom gulf view room at La Mirage, and held it with my credit card! We really came away with a very reasonable price! For the room and all our groceries, etc. out of the 7 adults we came away having paid $57 each! Not to mention we had an absolute BLAST together, and it was fun to see D-boy and Nico playing all day/night!

We headed back Sunday afternoon (checked out of the room around noon) and headed to eat some lunch. Afterwards, the D3's and I hit up some of the shops in town and finally made it out of Port Aransas around 3:30. When we got back in town, I headed home and proceeded to do a lot of nothing (I SHOULD have been doing some laundry so that I wasn't left with 2 loads tonight!).

Today was a Prof. Develop. day for all of us... the kiddos weren't there, and we had a late start (thank GOODNESS!) to the day. Then we got an hour lunch and came back for a meeting in the cafe. It was all about how things will be changing in the district and more specifically our campus... and I have to say I was very excited about the changes I heard them discussing... some of which could possibly be having "Saturday School" for extra tutoring from 9-noon on Saturdays... Not to mention they want to crack down on students' behavior and hold them more accountable for things... they also want the teachers to deal more with the kids' behavior rather than sending them to the office with a referral. It's so foreign to me, because I dealt with some DIFFICULT behavior at the other ES I worked at in MY CLASSROOM... I NEVER sent a kid to the office, and honestly wouldn't have unless it involved violence (like fighting, or some sort of weapon)... I think that our dynamic is different on our campus though... we don't have street-wise kids... we have kids that are spoon-fed and expect to have everything handed to them. I think our campus needs to implement a "self-managers" program where kids checklist things everyday (based on 5-7 virtues, depending on the chosen program)... it seemed to really work at the other school I was at. We'll see what happens. At any rate, I really think there's a good chance a lot of teachers will leave our campus because they don't want the change that will happen at our campus... which means more opportunity for me to get my chance since I'm so willing! WOOHOO!

That's the other good news. I got an email from my principal the other day letting me know that my not being chosen for that Kindergarten position I interviewed for was NOT a reflection of my interview, or how they felt about my teaching abilities, etc. That they are very proud and happy to have me on their campus doing the work I do with the students and are happy with how hard I work. I was glad to hear this, because I was really over-analyzing how the interview went and was VERY afraid that I may have screwed my chances for a position next school year with something I said in my interview. But I think that I'm VERY MUCH on the same page with the administration based off what I said in my interview, which will help me GREATLY for a job next year. Hopefully they'll remember some of the things I said about my behavior management and all actions having consequences and very consistent ones... and that I like to hit all the different learning styles of kids in my class. SO... anyhow, I look forward to having a good conversation with my AP about her trip to Beaumont to observe a school there (she shared her experience with us today) and what she saw sounds a LOT like what I experienced at my student teaching campus. :-D

Another good note (and the last one tonight as this post is getting REALLY long)... I'm going to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo tomorrow night... to see JOSH TURNER with Jamey! We're SO excited! YAY! Anyhow... until next time...

Peace, love, happiness,
Kels

So...

I'm a 'tard and I forgot my camera yesterday for the rodeo fun. Fortunately Daughn and Damian brought theirs... so, once I get pics from her transported on my handy-dandy flash drive and to my computer, then I shall post up some pictures from the day. Truthfully we only took a couple pictures... but there are some fun ones of Dustin (their 2 year old... well, 3 in about a month) riding various carnival rides that are quite entertaining... and we did get a few of Craig Morgan performing. He put on a REALLY good show... and then we went and walked around a bit more on the grounds.

After the rodeo we headed out (it took us awhile to get outta that place... JEEZ San Antonio... you have this thing every year and have for 59 years! You think you'd have a handle on the parking situation by now!) and when we got back to the house, Daughn and Damian had asked if I wanted to go grab a bite and see Juno. Of course I said yes! We went to TX Roadhouse.... I had already decided I was going to count yesterday as a "holiday" on my WW Points... because I knew there was little chance I'd find anything to eat out at the rodeo that wasn't bad... although, I did quite well... my splurge was a few bites of funnel cake. Anyhow, I got that country fried chicken at TX Roadhouse... and JEEZ... I think I only ate like 3 or 4 bites because I got SO FULL on bread and salad before my meal came! I sent all my leftovers home with D&D because I knew there was NO WAY I could eat those leftovers once I was back on today anyway... ;) I've done very well... I've almost lost 10 pounds in about a month.... and the fact that I could hardly eat more than a salad and some bread at one sitting was proof to me that I have truly begun making a life style change. I've totally changed the amount of food I need to feel full for a meal because I eat smaller meals and more often throughout the day rather than putting a pile of food in my stomach at one time.

Anyhow, Juno was such a good movie! I was really happy I got to see it while it's still in theaters... sometimes I keep saying I'm going to see something and never actually make time to do so... and then I miss it and have to wait for the DVD. Speaking of DVDs... Across the Universe came out on Tuesday (Feb 5) and I need to go buy it today... perhaps I'll swing by Circuit City after I run into Petsmart... I need to get more cat food... and I want to try some of that "Boundary" spray to keep Mozart (my cat) from scratching on the furniture. I really think she's been doing so more here at my parents' because their cat is also marking the furniture. It's an outright war between the 2 of them of marking their areas back and forth! lol

Anyhow, this is all the update I have in me for now... come back again and perhaps I'll have something else for you...

Welp

Can I just say that I'm completely and utterly TIRED of the allergies here? Today marked the 4th day that I woke up with a SPLITTING sinus headache! All of the pain/pressure is on the left side of my head... what's worse is it makes me feel VERY drowsy; like I'm walking around in a fog. I'm really hoping that A) it clears up before I go to the SA Stock Show and Rodeo tomorrow to see Craig Morgan... and B) it definitely clears up before Sunday because I'm reading scriptures at church... and C) it's totally gone by next week Thurs/Fri because I'm subbing for one of the band directors at the middle school (TMEA Music Convention is here in town, and thus pretty much EVERY music educator will be there... I think from the whole state of TX, actually)... anyhow, there's a LOT going on and I seriously can't feel this way much longer. If I wake up this way tomorrow I'm actually considering using a clamp on my head to just pressurize the entire thing rather than having half of my head feeling this way...! It's about to drive me bananas!!!

In other news, today is my Dad's 60th birthday! It's also Jamey Lynn's 26th, and Olive's 26th! I hope they all have a Happy Birthday! Next one up, my Mom's 60th (on the 26th of Feb). I can't believe I'll be turning 27 this summer... I don't feel that old, that's for sure... I still feel like I'm an early 20-something. Hopefully this year will go better, and I'm truly hoping I'll have more than my impending agedness to celebrate this summer (a new job would be a nice thing to celebrate, too!) Anyhow, hope that everyone has a great weekend. I'll probably try and get another post on here tomorrow after the rodeo fun takes place... hopefully I can get some good photos of the grounds and all... :)