What's Up November

 Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Can you believe that it's almost December?! I feel like this year has just flown by! It's hard to believe that it'll be 2024 in just a little over a month. I feel like I blinked and this year just zoomed on by. 

Anywho...

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'm currently eating through my freezer/pantry, in an effort to clean out/up and also, to not have to go grocery shopping again (minus a bit of fresh fruits/veggies) before leaving for Christmas Break in a few weeks. So since there's nothing terribly exciting to show for that, I'll instead show some of the deliciousness we had on Thanksgiving...

 

What am I reminiscing about?

In November 2016, I wrote THIS blog post. In it, I wrote about a dream God had laid on my heart, to reach a group of kids that had no other schooling option in our country, including at our own school. I wrote about the excitement I was feeling, knowing this was about to happen in the upcoming school year. And I asked for prayer for all the logistics to be worked out. And it did. I remember being told that I'd have to raise the funds necessary to outfit the class and I said "no problem." And in just 2 months (actually less), I raised close to $8000 which I used to buy books, supplies, shelves, games/toys, chromebooks/ipads, and more for this class. I remember that first day of class in August 2017, taking a first day of school picture in front of the door hanger that said "Miss Nichols," and then stepping inside to wipe my eyes because I was crying. While the dynamic of this program and my classroom have changed since that day, I can still think back and remember the joy I felt in welcoming 3 incredible students into my room that school year. And to think of how we went from only 3 that first year to eventually "overflowing" with students. Ah, what a truly incredible gift it has been to be the teacher of those three originals and all the others who have joined them along the way. It's such a blessing to take the time to look back and reminisce on how God's hand has been so evident in this all the years.

 What am I loving?

I put up the Christmas tree in my classroom earlier this month. I'm loving being able to enjoy the multicolored lights brightening up my classroom. And I might have even gone home after school a time or two and then brought dinner back to my classroom to work there, just so I could enjoy the lights a bit more. I typically will not decorate my apartment for Christmas if I know I'm going back to the US for the actual holiday. So I really am loving having it in my classroom, seeing the lights shining in the background while we’re going about our day.

What have I been up to?

We had a senior class lock-in a couple weeks ago. And boy did I realize (or maybe not realize) just how tiring it could be staying up almost all night with a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds. Ha! In all seriousness, it really was a fun night! I loved seeing how happy/excited they were to have this time together, to hang out and play games, make attaya (a hot, super sugary tea), eat together, sing karaoke, watch a movie, and stay up all night long. Well, not all made it the entire night. But still... We have such a truly great group of kids. And I love that I have the opportunity to be able to work (and have fun) with them.

What am I dreading?

I have a bit of a cold. It's nothing major. But if I talk a lot and/or my throat gets dry, I cough. Makes teaching a bit difficult. So I guess I'm dreading the symptoms of that. And just in case anyone is wondering, it's not C*vid :)

What am I working on?

This morning, I worked on mapping out the midterm exams my high schoolers will be taking. I only have to administer two exams of my own. But since many of my people will take their exams in my room, I need to know who's coming/going when. That way when exam week comes, I'll be ready. Plus, by keeping track of who's taking which exams, I'm able to better help them study in the days before exam week. It's hard to believe that we're almost at this time. I feel like time has just flown by this semester!

 What am I excited about?

I bought my plane tickets for Christmas Break. I'll leave in just 16 days (from the day I post this). I will only have a short time and will be using this as a vacation time. So I won't be able to see many people while there. But, I am grateful for the chance to take a mini vacation and visit my family, to put some thank you cards in the mail to my amazing supporters, and to buy a few supplies I will need for the last few months of school.

What am I watching?

I've been re-watching old episodes of Guy's Grocery Games from the Food Network. I watch very little TV anymore. But that show is still a fun one. I'm planning to start watching some Christmas movies though :)

What am I reading?

I'm currently reading Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I saw a preview for the movie version on Facebook a week or two ago and thought it looked interesting. So I decided to read the book first. It's not, necessarily, the type of book I normally go for. But it's a good read so far...

What am I listening to?

Christmas music, of course :)

What am I wearing?

I'm still wearing tennis shoes. Every now and then (mostly just to church or to take out garbage or for a quick trip to the store or something like that), I'll wear my sandals. But I'm finding the only relief I get is when I wear tennis shoes. So alas, I believe these will be a regular addition to my wardrobe from now on... 

 What am I doing this weekend?

At this point, I have nothing definite planned, other than going to church on Sunday and doing any last minute lesson prep and meal prep for the week ahead. I might go to watch some of our kids play basketball on Friday night or some of our guys play softball on Saturday. But I'm not sure. If I'm being honest, the thought of staying home and doing nothing sounds pretty appealing too. I love having that option, after all. So we'll see.

What am I looking forward to next month?

Christmas, of course - Christmas fun in my classroom, seeing Christmas lights and decorations, various Christmas parties with classes and small group and friends, the actual holiday of course, Christmas Break (no alarm clock), traveling to see my family... All the things! I love Christmas time! :)

Favorite recent Amazon find?

I haven't ordered anything on Amazon lately. However, I am looking for a dress I could wear at either the Junior Senior Banquet (our school's version of a prom) or Graduation this year or maybe both since the dates are further apart this year. So I might order that if I can find one on there. Shopping online isn't always the easiest, though... So I actually might just wait 'til I'm back in the US over Christmas Break and can shop in person. We'll see.

What's new this month?

Starting Friday (which I realize is actually not this month, but whatever...), I'm going to be doing my annual study of the "Christmas Story" from the book of Luke. I love reading a chapter a day, reminding myself of the goodness surrounding the story of the birth of our Savior.

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

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?

Currently

 Happy Wednesday, Y'all

I'm joining Jennifer from Overflowing with Thankfulness, along with a few other bloggers, and sharing a look at what's currently going on in my life. 

The prompts for this month's post are:

* loving * buying * prepping * borrowing * planning *

So what am I currently up to?

I'm currently loving that it's almost Christmas time and I'm loving the knowledge that this upcoming weekend, I'm planning to put up the Christmas tree in my classroom. Yes, it’s early. Earlier than I’ll have ever put up a Christmas tree… But that’s ok because seeing the joy on so many kiddo’s faces (and mine too - let's be honest) will make it 100% worth it :)

Christmas Time last year

I'm currently buying nothing. My goal is to buy my Christmas Break plane ticket by the end of the month, though. Here's hoping I can actually do that.

I'm currently prepping nothing really... We had our big fundraiser for our seniors this past Friday. It went amazingly well. However, it required a lot of prep leading up to it. So I'm kind of glad to not have to be prepping anything for a little while, to be honest :)

I'm currently borrowing this meme I found online, as a way of discussing what makes a hero a hero in one of my classes. We actually ended up having quite an interesting discussion on it too. So... Who's your favorite hero? Does Jesus make your list? ;)

I'm currently planning very little for this upcoming weekend. I think my brain is still tired from last week's super full (busy) schedule. I've gotten spoiled this school year, having such a better/less full schedule than I had the years prior. So last week was tough, y'all. Anywho - I'm going to put up the Christmas tree in my classroom Friday afternoon and then go watch our school's musical version of Frozen JR that night. And that's all I've got planned, besides church and lesson prep / meal prep for the week ahead. 

And since it's my blog, and I can, I'm throwing in a few more Currently's...

I'm currently reading/studying through Genesis with one of my classes. We've been discussing a lot around Creation and science and evolution and all sorts of interesting-ness. I love reading God's Word and seeing proof, over and over again, to back up why I believe what I believe. I love that God gives us this proof in His Word and makes it abundantly clear.

I'm currently nursing a sore foot (actually it's my heel/achilles?). It's been hurting for a week or so. Then this weekend, it got way worse. It's not as awful as this weekend, but still annoyingly painful, and it appears that I'll probably need to continue babying it for at least a few more weeks. I mean, I live with a somewhat constant bit of dull pain, so I'm used to that. But this pain was new and so not fun. I talked with a doctor friend in the US and per her instructions, I'm taking meds and doing some stretches that should help it. And I'm also propping it up and icing it as much as I can.  Y'all... My poor feet. When I fell 3.5 years ago, I did a number on both of them and I don't think they'll ever be back to normal :(

I'm currently trying to focus my heart/mind into more of an attitude of gratitude lately. Trying to look at the seemingly little things (or sometimes big things) in my day that I'm thankful for... Things I sometimes take for granted. So when I get frustrated/annoyed, instead of focusing on that, ideally, I'll do better at focusing on the good. I don't always succeed. But I'm trying.

So what about you?

What are you currently up to?