A Tea Date with a Friend

Today I'm joining Erin and Amber for their bi-monthly linkup where bloggers pretend they're on an imaginary coffee date with a friend and sharing stories about work, family, life, or anything else that's going on in our life. 

...except I'm modifying things a bit because anyone who knows me at all knows how much I despise coffee. Tea's where it's at :)



Since we're pretending here, I'm choosing to believe that we'd be sitting at Starbucks and I would be drinking a Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte. I'd probably give a little happy sigh after I take my first sip of that pumpkiny goodness. 

Can you tell I'm missing it right now? :)

So if we were on a coffee/tea date, I'd want to fill you in on my life lately.

I'd tell you how I really, really miss Fall. I miss seeing the leaves changing colors. I miss the drop in temperature. I miss family. I miss it all... Anywho - I made a crockpot full of soup toward the end of last week. I think it was a way of pretending it's Fall :)

I'd also tell you that on top of that, I even baked cookies for my students. That may not seem like that big of a deal. But when it's this hot, I don't turn on my oven, as I don't want to heat up my entire apartment. But, you do what you've got to do. And sometimes that means baking cookies for your favorite group of 5th graders :)



And speaking of my 5th graders, I'd tell you how they are loving this science project we're doing. ...especially the research. Who knew that'd be their favorite part? :)

 

I'd tell you that a fun perk to teaching is watching them play basketball, or whatever else they're doing. It's so fun getting to watch them interacting with each other, outside of the classroom, and also getting to cheer them on at their games! 

 

I'd tell you that Kids Club is going well. It's so different this year, having so many adults available to help. There are times we're almost stepping over each other. But it works. And I'm so grateful to have so much help. And the kids are loving it each week! What a blessing we have to pour into the lives of our elementary kids, teaching them about the truth and love that is the one true God. I love it!

 

   

I'd tell you how I had slacked off on my book reading, but lately, I've started catching back up and that I've really really enjoyed doing so. I read One Plane Ticket from Normal over the course of a couple days last week and I loved it.

 

And speaking of reading... A friend sent me the book and complete Bible study guide set for Lysa Terkeurst's The Best Yes. I'm really looking forward to starting that soon.



I'm sure we'd both be hungry by this point, so I'd offer you some of this deliciousness...an incredibly rare treat in Senegal for sure.



And once we'd satisfied our sweet tooth, I'd get serious and ask you to help me pray about some things. Work (ministry), life, family, finances - There's just so much. I'd tell you that I know I need to just have faith in God, but I'd be honest with you and say that it's hard sometimes. God's teaching me a lesson in trust right now that's bigger than ever before and as even this morning I was presented with what seemed (and still seems) a bit like an impossible situation at the moment. But I know that I just have to remind myself, that my God is indeed a big God who can do so much. I just have to put my trust in Him.

Q & A

Are you a daydreamer? 

big time

When is your next vacation?

We have a couple off days in November for part of Thanksgiving Break. So I'm having a stay-cation. Does that count? If not, then my next vacation will be Christmas Break in sweet home Alabama :)

What was your last google search?

"th" articulation activities ...which, by the way, are really really hard to find. I mean, you can find all sorts of activities for younger kids. But older ones? Not so much.

What's on the menu for today?

Breakfast - Peach Applesauce
Lunch - Pepperoni & cheese sandwich and red peppers w/ranch
Supper - Taco Soup

What's the last thing you baked?

I haven't baked in what seems like forever. But I'm totally planning to make up for that tonight. I'm planning to make some Pumpkin Nutella Cookie Bars and I also promised my kids I'd make them some Chocolate Chip cookies. So I'm planning to make some with only chocolate chips and some with both chocolate chips and pecans. Yum! 

Procrastinate? Or get the job done right away?

I'm totally a procrastinator. I know it's bad, but I due my best work in a crunch.

When's the last time you spoke a foreign language?

I got one of my students to teach me how to sign "Go Cubs" today :)

If you had to give up chocolate for one month, could you do it?

Yep. Although the lack of good, chocolate ice cream would be sad :)

Finish this sentence. I sometimes wish _____.

...life were easier. Of course, then life would probably be boring :)

Heard any good quotes lately? 

It's the World Series this week. Who have you been cheering for?

Since I didn't have any "emotional ties" to either team, I chose to root for the Cubs. ...mostly because they're the underdogs and because it'd be so amazing for them to win after such a long non-winning streak!

What are 3 negatives about your job?

1. the constant "goodbyes"
2. being away from my family
3. Teaching is HARD.

Now, what are 3 positive about your job?

1. I'm helping to further the Kingdom of God. That's HUGE!
2. the challenge of teaching
3. (the biggest positive) the kids

Got any advice for someone going into your line of work?

Be flexible. 
Think outside the box. 
Advocate for the kids who need it. 

What's Up October

It's the last Wednesday of October I'm linking up with Mel, Shay, and Sheaffer for this month's What's Up Wednesday post.

 

Every month we answer the same few questions based on how things are currently going in our lives. 

The questions are...

 

What am I eating this?

I haven't had a hamburger in a while. This is a traditional Senegalese burger with fries served right inside the burger. Typically it has a fried egg on it too, which is good. But I passed on that part this time. Y'all, this is the best burger I've had in a while!



What am I reminiscing about?

My brother and sister-in-law have been married 8 years this month. It seems like just yesterday. My brother and sister-in-law were totally meant for each other. They make such an awesome couple. They really do!

What am I loving?

Oh my word, y'all... Do you want to see an answer to prayer? Look at that up there. It's an A/C. ...something I totally haven't been able to afford here, but thanks to the awesomeness of God, this heavenly coolness is now a permanent fixture in my bedroom. It's still Hot Season here in Dakar, so when you walk outside, you feel like you've stepped into a sauna. So yes, I am definitely loving the blessing of having an A/C at home!

What have I been up to?

Parent Teacher Conferences all week. And I am once again reminded of just how truly awesome it is to work with such good, easy to work with, parents. What a blessing!

What am I dreading?

I love spending Thanksgiving with my AGWM family here. They're awesome. They are. But I'm dreading being away from my family for Thanksgiving next month. Holidays are some of the times I miss my family the most.

What am I working on?

Each Monday, I introduce the week's spelling words to the class. We review them, clear up any misunderstandings. And then once everyone's started on our introductory assignment, I pull one of my friends back to my desk, so we can translate her list into Korean. This helps her understand the words so she can then go do the assignment, like everyone else, in English. If the roles were reversed, I know I'd be so confused! But her? She does it like a champ. This girl amazes me!

What am I excited about?

I'm super excited about a surprise I'm ordering for my 5th graders for a fun "rockstar" themed Christmas gift. I can't wait to see their faces when they open them :)

What am I watching?

I got hooked on Drop Dead Diva recently. It has had a couple fast forward worthy episodes, but other than that, it's been really good.

What am I reading?

I have been reading One Plane Ticket from Normal. What a great book! It's both entertaining and informative. I'll be blogging about it soon. 

What am listening to?

My kids are practicing for their Christmas program. So now all they hum or sing ALL throughout the day are songs from it. So I'm sure I'll have every single song memorized, myself, but the time December rolls around. I know their Music teacher will be happy to hear how often they're practicing :) 

What am I wearing?

Y'all... My clothes are all fitting looser/better. And that's awesome and great! It looks like I'll be hitting up a few thrift stores (saving money) when I get back to the States in December to get some more work clothes that don't fall off of me (I'm talking to you favorite pair of pants).

What am I doing this weekend?

Our school has Harvest Fest on Friday evening. So I'll come out and eat dinner to help support our Senior class fundraising. Then on Saturday, I'll spend some time working in my classroom and maybe even sneak a nap in, too. I'm living the life man :)

What am I looking forward to next month?

Women's Retreat is next month. Yay for a weekend away at a hotel with AC and a pool and delicious food and fun people and learning more about God and His Word and so on and so forth... And Thanksgiving will bring days off from school and a delicious meal with my AGWM family. ...all of which is pretty nice :)

What else is new?

My 5th graders are currently knee-deep in multiplication studies. I'm trying to find more fun activities for them to do to learn this semi-complicated mathematic skill. The majority of them know their facts. But it's when we move into multi-digit multiplication that they seem to struggle. So if any of my teacher friends (or non-teacher friends too) are reading this and have an idea for a teaching strategy or an activity I could use to help with this, please share. 

And then each month, there is a special question for the month.

This month's question is...

What is your favorite Halloween memory/picture/tradition?

Honestly, Halloween's not my thing. Growing up, we'd go to the Harvest Festival thing at church if they had one. Sure, it's cute to see the kids in their costumes. But that's it. I realize that Halloween isn't always all evil, but it's just not my thing. Halloween candy, though? Yes, please :)

Quirks = Awesomness

Tuesday was busy and then I had other thoughts on my blogging mind Wednesday. Yesterday was super busy. So I'm finally joining Andrea's Show and Tell Tuesday link-up. 

This week's prompt was...

Share about the quirks and other little things that make you, YOU.

* One *

I have a truly horrible memory when it comes to most books and movies. I can read a book or watch a movie and forget it shortly thereafter. That's why I don't mind reading the same books and watching the same movies over and over again.

But with that said... I can read a book for school (either as a student or a teacher) and I can remember it just fine. As for movies... I can totally remember and quote Sweet Home Alabama like nobody's business :) 

I know that seems strange. But it's true.

* Two *

I can remember names and dates better than anything. If I find out your name, I'll never forget it. If you tell me your birthday once, I'll never forget it. 

That worked well back in History class in school :)

* Three *



I'm a big ol' procrastinator. Seriously... I will wait 'til the last possible minute to get a job done. And honestly, 9.99999 times out of 10, that works out really well for me. So there ya go :)

* Four *

I can't stand to hear someone chew. And crunching on ice? Oh my word... That's the worst!

* Five *



I have issues with the texture of certain foods. Jello, cottage cheese, yogurt with fruit pieces in it, anything even remotely slimy... Ugh! I'm shuddering now. Seriously, I can't even handle writing about it right now. It's gross. It's disgusting. Yuck!

* Six * 



I am by no means fluent in French, but I do know enough to get by pretty well at stores, restaurants, church, etc. But if I'm with people who speak better than me, I freeze up and let them take control. I get embarrassed to speak. The same goes for any words/phrases I know in other languages. If I'm around someone who is more fluent than me, I freeze up. I'm so afraid of making a mistake. I want to be perfect before I communicate with them. It's THEIR language, after all. I don't want to mess up. 

And yes, I do realize these 6 (and oh so many more) quirks make me so very weird. But that's okay. After all, it's the quirks that make me awesome. Right? :)

Thoughts on Grief

*Disclaimer - Before reading this post, you should know that it's truly a hodgepodge of thoughts and is a bit random and kind of jumps around a bit...

It's been 1 year and 6 months since my dad passed away.

Actually, it's been 543 days, but who's counting?

And sometimes it feels as if it were only yesterday.

Not long after my dad died, someone told me that grief is like an ocean.

And I've found that statement to be true. It really does come and go like waves. You never really know when it's going to hit you.  Sometimes the wave of grief is so strong that it feels almost like a punch in the gut and it totally takes my breath away.

A truly well meaning person told me the other day that you have to eventually throw out the grief. You can't dwell on it forever. She wasn't even talking about my grief. She was talking about someone else she knows that lost a loved one a few years ago. 

And while I didn't actually respond to her RIDICULOUS comment, I so wanted to... I wanted to say, "Are you kidding me?! Have you ever lost someone close to you? Clearly not..."

Unfortunately, grief is something that will always be there deep down inside you. And just like those ocean waves, you never know when it's going to rear its ugly head.

While looking for a quote for this post, I found the one below. I thought it was a great explanation of the reality of grief. ...far better than I could have explained it myself.

Grief is hard. But we need to go easy on ourselves. 

It doesn't matter if it's been a month.

...or a year and a half like me.

...or if it's been 10 years. Or 20. Or 100. 

The point is simple.

We need to give ourselves (and others) permission to grieve.

Who? Me?

There's no way this post could be about me....

There's no way that earlier this week, I'd send a friend the meme below and then both of us would totally agree  on the fact that being an adult is hard sometimes. Who? Me? No way...

My crew had a basketball game yesterday. There's no way I'd get up early on a Saturday, the one day I could sleep late and go watch them play. Who me? Of course not... 

 

Oh and when that basketball game that may or may not have happened, there's no way I'd enjoy a Dr. Pepper while working on grading and report cards. There's no way I'd been saving this one can for just such a day. No... I'd never do that. Of course not...

There's no way I'm homesick for Fall in Alabama. The cooler temp's, the leaves changing colors, everything... Nope. Of course not. That'd be just silly...

There's no way KIDS CLUB this past week was about the Shoes of Peace, including a game where the kids have to put each other's shoes on. And past that, there's no way I caught this adorable sweetness during the game, making it a definite Aww moment :)

No. Lesson planning is surely not easier when candy's involved. Do you really think I would say that? :)

And I know these orange flowers didn't catch my eye on the way to the school yesterday. It's not like, in the midst of such a sandy place, God will still allow pretty flowers to grow. Surely not...

 

No. It's just not possible that I've fallen in love with these Rockstar themed numbers for my classroom. That'd be just pure silliness...

 

You know what else is silly? The idea that I'd love watching the teamwork between my students. Seeing them interacting, and learning with one another. Who would love that? :)

 

And there's no way this little cutie couldn't understand why she couldn't have my undivided attention the other day. I mean, it's not like she's saying... "What do you mean you have to do work? Why can't you just hold me?" :)

And there's surely no way that volunteers from each grade were asked to pray in chapel on Friday. And of course my heart didn't melt at the sweetness of their prayers...

 

Oh, and in case you made it through this entire post and didn't realize...

There's absolutely no way I'd ever be sarcastic in this post. Sarcastic? Who? Me? :)