What's Up August

         Happy Wednesday, Y'all!

Can you believe it's already the end of August? That means this year is half over! I feel like time is just flying by this year. Does anyone else feel that way?

Anywho - On with today's post...

Today, I'm joining Shay and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up. 

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

So let's get started...

What am I eating?

I ignored the leftovers in my fridge last night and in search of a comfort food type of meal, decided to, instead, make some tomato gravy to go with the last few biscuits I had from this weekend. And it definitely hit the spot. Yum!

What am I reminiscing about?

I've been doing a lot of thinking, lately, on what brought me to Senegal back in 2009. I mean, obviously, God called me here. Obviously I signed on with the Assemblies of God World Missions Department to be a Missionary Associate. Obviously, I'm doing this because I love Jesus and I want to honor Him. But what I mean... I've been doing a lot of thinking/reminiscing about the kids I've worked with over the years. The memories this work has produced are big and I'm so incredibly grateful to have been able to work with such incredible kids over the years. 

 What am I loving?

I'm loving being back at school, in my classroom, with my people. I'm loving planning lessons for the classes I'm teaching. I'm loving prepping activities and helping with homework and tutoring certain ones in all the random subjects they need help in. I'm loving chatting with them during their small bits of down time in their study halls with me, and hearing about their lives. I'm loving being back in the role of Class (co-) Sponsor, sitting in meetings and hearing them give speeches on how they'll lead their class, having seniors stop by my room to ask a question about an upcoming event, and seeing them wearing their Class of '24 t-shirt every now and then. The kids are the best part of the job, after all. And I love being able to work with them.

What have I been up to?

Well, the thing that has taken up the majority of my time the last few weeks (outside of teaching, of course), has been trips to the dentist. And after 3 visits, I finally was finished, thanks to a fabulous dentist (who spoke English! yay!) here in Senegal, doing a root canal and helping me get rid of some pretty nasty pain in my mouth. And now here's hoping I don't have to see him for quite a while :)

What am I dreading?

Y'all... The heat (and more than that, the humidity) here in Senegal during Rainy Season/Hot Season is no joke. I try really hard to wear my hair down. But thanks to the humidity, it ends up looking like a lion's mane most days. So up into a high bun it goes. 

What am I working on?

One of the classes I'm teaching this year is a section of English. One of our first projects is working on properly analyzing literature. And what better way to start by introducing literature analysis with fun children's books. 

 What am I excited about?

I must say ... My teaching schedule this year is pretty excitement-worthy. I love that I actually have a planning period for the first time since 2017. And not just one... I have 2! It's been pretty nice to leave at 4ish almost every day, and I don't have to work on lesson planning/prep every evening after school and every weekend too. I think I could get used to this, y'all!

What am I watching?

Nothing lately... I need to find a new show to watch. Anyone have a suggestion for me? I'm not a fan of cop/law shows. But past that, I'm pretty flexible in my tastes.

What am I reading?

A friend and I are both reading The Power of One and planning to get together and chat about it each week. I've only read a little of it so far, but so far so good.

What am I listening to?

I've been on a hymns kick lately. Ironically, I think it started with going to the dentist. I couldn't put my earbuds in to listen to music (and drown out the drilling noise). So I found myself singing (in my head, of course). And what was I singing? "When peace like a river attendeth my way..." I really do love hymns. And I must admit... As I get older, I find myself gravitating more and more back to them. 

 What am I doing this weekend?

On Saturday, I'll be getting with a friend to discuss the book we're reading. And then on Sunday, I'll be going to church and meal prepping for the week. But that's all I have planned. We'll see if I get into anything else or not :)

What am I looking forward to next month?

Nothing out of the norm

Favorite recent Amazon find?

I haven't bought anything on Amazon since leaving the US last month. But a missionary friend recently published a devotional, based on Psalm 27. So I have it currently sitting in my Amazon "saved" cart, waiting for payday to hit so I can buy it. I'm going to have my mom stick it in a box I fixed up to mail to myself after payday. But then 3 dentist visits happened, so I decided to wait until a second payday to send that box of stuff to myself. Anywho - I digress. The point is, I'm excited to both buy this devotional and to read it, too!

What's new this month?

The other day, I posted the picture of children's books on my social media, talking about the fun reads I have for one of my classes. Then yesterday, at lunchtime, a friend asked if I was taking classes again (as a student). I assured her I definitely wasn't. I'm not sure my brain could handle a 4th degree (especially another one online) at this point. Now, if I ever go back to the States, and can take classes in person again, I do see a doctorate as being a possibility. But anywho, I digress. Back to that conversation with my friend... Later last evening, I texted her, saying that my Instagram feed was full of ads about going back to school/getting a degree from various universities. Y'all, it is crazy how much our phones are "listening" to us. Crazy, for sure! :)

And that's what I'm up to this month.

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, Y'all

 In an effort to be more intentionally grateful, I'm going to start rejoining Erika and Andrea for their weekly Friday Favorites linkup and sharing a few of my favorites (and maybe some of my not so favorites too) from the week.

First up, are these shirts and water bottle stickers which my fellow co-Senior Class Sponsor and I got as a back to school gift for our crew...

 

It was so fun passing these out, and making the kids pose for a commemorative first day of school photo which we sent to their parents, telling them moms and dads always appreciate pictures of their babies, no matter how old they are ;)

And of course, we wore our shirts too :)

And speaking of the first day of school, I was pleased to be back in my save, favorite classroom, ready to see all my favorite people back again for the new school year.

I added this little quote, of sorts, to my computer as a daily reminder of my reason for being here... I love my students and the fact that I get the opportunity to work with them each day. They're such an incredible blessing!

Another favorite of the week was walking home to the smell of freshly cut grass on our soccer field, which is on my walk home. I love that smell! I also love seeing grass on our field. For so many years, it was a dusty field, with no grass whatsoever. Just brown dirt/sand as far as the eye could see. So it's fun to see it so beautifully green now :)

I wish I could show you pictures of my students back at school, working on the latest literature analysis or discussing theology or me helping with various homework assignments or upcoming projects. But since I can't, I'll say that while my job might be tiring at times, I do love what I do. I love working with these incredible individuals that God has called me to work with. That's a definite favorite of mine - this week and every week.

And since it's my blog, and I can, I'll share one last item. Only this one is not a favorite and is, instead, a not so favorite item...

I posted the picture above on Facebook earlier in the week, saying, Chubby chipmunk cheeks are cute 'til they're on you. On Sunday morning, I woke up to intense pain most of the day on the right side of my mouth. I knew what it was. I had a tooth that had broken this summer and a filling came out. By that evening, my cheek started swelling a bit. I barely slept that night. The Aleve I took barely touched the pain. Then, Monday morning, I woke up and my entire right side of my face was swollen - even my upper lip was swelling. So thankfully, my principal is great and told me I could skip the morning meeting. I ran to the pharmacy to pick up antibiotics. And then a friend went with me to the dentist to have it checked out. He confirmed what I was expecting... I needed to have a root canal. So I'll be going this Saturday (tomorrow) to have that done. The thought of having that done and the thought of going by myself is definitely not so favorite one too. But I'm going to be a grown up about it and go, get it done, and then afterwards, go by ice cream to treat myself to later that evening when I'm up to eating again ;)

And that's about it for me this week.

What about you?

What's been your favorite part of your week?