What's Up December

 Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay and Sheaffer for the last What's Up Wednesday link-up of the year. 2023 was a wild ride. Here's hoping 2024 is amazing!

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 eating all sorts of deliciousness... There's been Chick-fil-a and Mexican food from restaurants, the yummy spread we had on Christmas Day, an amazing baked potato topped with BBQ beef brisket I had last week, and so on. But one of my favorite things to eat (and make) was pancakes with my nieces. It's become a bit of tradition anytime I'm here visiting, to make chocolate chip pancakes with my nieces. And as they've gotten older, they've taken over more and more of the responsibility of making them. It's so fun to see how they've grown and to spend this time with them. Such precious memories for sure!

What am I reminiscing about?

My dad always loved the old trucks, especially red ones. So any time I see one I think of him. I think that's why I love how often you see them on Christmas decor. It makes me think of him. And of course, I always spend time at the holidays reminiscing about days gone by, thinking about my dad and wishing he was still with us, enjoying the family memories we're making together.

 What am I loving?

Being with my family :)

What have I been up to?

I mean, technically, the same answer from the last question could easily go here too. Seriously, being with my family is great. And this was the first time in a long time that we were able to actually celebrate Christmas together on Christmas Day and not a day before/after in a long long time, so that was special!

What am I dreading?

Nothing

What am I working on?

I finally mailed out my long overdue newsletters, along with Christmas cards, a couple days after landing in Alabama. Thankfully, I had my sweet mama to help me address/stamp the big stack of envelopes.

 What am I excited about?

I got some graduation cards in the mail the other day. How is it possible that there is only 5.5 more months 'til some of my favorite kiddos graduate? I know I'll cry when the day comes to deliver those cards. But boy am I so incredibly excited for, and proud of, each and every one of those incredible kids. I have known some of them since elementary school, some since middle school, and some for just a year or two. But I feel the same about them all. It's been such a joy working with their class! And it truly is exciting to think about what might be next for them all!

What am I watching?

Very little.

What am I reading?

I haven't been reading much. But I do have a couple books downloaded on my iPad, ready to read on my return flight to Dakar next week, thanks to a Christmas gift of an Amazon gift card.

What am I listening to?

I'm still listening to Christmas music. Although, I suppose that I should stop, since Christmas is over. However, my mom's family's Christmas get-together is this weekend coming up, so technically Christmas isn't over for us yet. So I can still listen to Christmas music a bit longer. Right? ;)

What am I wearing?

All the cold weather clothes... Oh my word is it cold here! I recognize it's only in the 50s here and that's nothing compared to some parts of the US (and beyond). But for this girl who's used to Dakar's temps, the 50s is freezing! :)

 What am I doing this weekend?

Meeting up with friends on Friday, dinner with my aunt and uncle (dad's brother and wife) Friday, celebrating Christmas with my mom's side of the family on Saturday, church somewhere on Sunday, and I'll need to make a Wal-Mart run at some point this weekend to buy a few food items to take back to Dakar with me too. Then past that, who knows what mischief I'll get into :)

What am I looking forward to next month?

The first couple days of the month, I'll still be in Alabama with my family. So that'll be nice. I leave on the 3rd, heading back to Senegal. And, past that... I typically love the return back to my students in January. I love hearing about their December Breaks with their families. I love hearing from those who celebrate Christmas on how that went. I love seeing their excitement over being back together again. It's a fun time as a teacher :)

Favorite recent Amazon find?

I ordered myself this shirt. Now when I'm all emotional over the thought of my people graduating or stressed over all the busy-ness of second semester, which will be include even more this year for me than in the past, I can wear this shirt and pretend it is (and I am) all fine. ha! :)

What's new this month?

Nothing much...

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

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month? 

Currently

  Happy Thursday, 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. However, I'm ignoring the prompts for this month and instead just writing about some of the random "currentlys" floating around in my head.

So what's currently on my mind?

I'm currently thinking about Christmas. I found the cutest shirts on Amazon for my nieces. Each one has something on it that I know they'll love. I wasn't even looking for them. I was looking for a dress for myself and for some reason, Amazon showed me these shirts. And the best part was that they were on sale because of an extended Cyber Monday deal. So that helped! And on the off chance, they're reading this over someone's shoulder, which could indeed happen knowing them, I don't want to post the pictures of them just yet ;)

I'm currently smiling over (about?) the sweetness of my students. One of my girls mentioned wanting to mail a birthday card to a friend in the States. So I quickly found a card design on Etsy, printed it out, and asked a fellow teacher if this student's classmates could sign it during his class the next day, and then a person visiting took it later that night to mail once he got back to the States. Then there was another student who helped me plan a snack theme for our Christmas party that all students could enjoy, including the one friend that has fairly significant food allergies. There was another student who asked to borrow my colored pens to write a birthday note to her mom, asking me how to spell certain words as she wrote. And yet another who excitedly told me all about his plans for an upcoming project he’ll be doing with his parents and the mission work they’re doing, because "I just love getting to help other people, especially when they don't know that I'm helping. It's all about them and nothing about me!" :)

I'm currently shifting into study mode with most of my people, as we prepare for their midterms next week. I told someone the other day that it's somewhat surreal... For so many years, as an elementary teacher, at this point in the school year, I would have been planning all sorts of Christmas crafts and coloring sheets and all of that. But for the last few years, I've been creating, helping kids study for, and administering exams. And while I do miss the fun Christmasy activities, I do so love what I'm doing now too :)

I'm currently enjoying this casserole I made the other day, with shredded pre-cooked rotisserie chicken, rotel, cream of chicken, a bit of chicken broth, cilantro, some random seasonings, and topped with grated cheddar cheese. And it lasted a while too! Y'all... It was so good!

I'm currently feeling happy that at the end of next week, I'll be able to see my family again, for the start of my Christmas Break vacation :)

I'm currently looking forward to Friday's lunchtime party with my students. We're having ice cream (or sorbet) and juice. Then they can either eat lunch and hang out in my room or take it with them when they come pick up their Christmas gifts. I enjoy this day each year. We get to "party" before the craziness of the last week gets here - when my younger students get out early since they don't take exams and my older ones will be busy studying for their exams.

And lastly, I'm currently planning to pick up this journal that I ordered for myself a few weeks ago when I arrive in the States next week. I like that there are 366 pages in it, so my plan is to take a page a day in my efforts to journal all year and also, to intentionally notice/show gratitude for all the ways God is working in my life in 2024. P.S. How is it almost 2024 already?! Is that crazy to anyone else besides me?! :)

And that’s about it for me.

What  about you?

What are you currently up to?