Currently

  Happy Sunday, Y'all

Today 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 * picturing * craving * wishing * collecting *

So what am I currently up to?

I'm currently loving the incredible kids God has entrusted into my care this school year. It's not always easy. But our days are almost always full of excitement and are rarely ever boring. We have so much fun together. And we might even learn a bit here and there, too. ;) I'm just so thankful for the kids I am able to call "mine." 

I'm currently picturing my last few weeks of school being a little crazy... There's 4.5 weeks of teaching, followed by 1 week of exams. There's a big banquet that the class I sponsor is responsible for putting on (sort of like proms back in the US). There is graduation and all sorts of other events for our current seniors. There are 3 of my full-time kiddos who will be moving on away from our school, so I have to emotionally prepare for that. And that's on top of the normal day to day teaching, lesson prep, class sponsor responsibilities, Special Ed paperwork, grading, etc. etc. etc. At least it won't be boring. Right? ;)

I'm currently craving Taco Bell, which doesn't exist here in Dakar. I do realize that I could easily make my own tacos. But it's just not the same. Soon... ;)

I'm currently wishing that life came with an "easy button." Remember the old Staples commercials that included an "easy button"

I'm currently collecting a random assortment of drink mix packets. I'm finding that mixing these with water make it so much easier for me to drink more water...

 So what about you?

What are you currently up to?

What's Up January

 Happy Wednesday, Y'all

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. 

The questions are...

 

What am I eating?

I had big plans to cook this past weekend. But due to various reasons (some within my control and some out), I ended up not cooking. Plus this week and next week, I'm working through lunch each day. And I may or may not be eating a big breakfast and then just skipping lunch OR eating a late lunch. ...or taking a bag of goldfish like the image below, and calling it a day. Ha! :)

What am I reminiscing about?

Christmas Break with my family - It was such a nice trip. I enjoyed spending time with them, taking it easy, and having some down time, too. One of the hardest parts of my job is being away from family so much. So when my ministry work is "on pause," so to speak (i.e. school breaks), and I can afford to (since it's 100% a personal expense and I never use ministry funds for it), I definitely choose to spend time with my family. It's such a blessing.

 What am I loving?

I love that I can follow the call God placed on my life - to teach some of the most incredible kids I have ever met. I love that!

What have I been up to?

We started back to school a couple weeks ago, so I’ve been busy with that. I plan for 16 lessons, fit into 8 class periods (some happening simultaneously). Granted, two of those aren't daily classes. But still... It obviously takes a lot of time to plan for all of that. So, it seems to take up a lot of my time. I actually do like lesson planning, for the most part, though. So it's not all bad :)

What am I dreading? 

I've been dealing with a fairly persistent headache. It's not a migraine, thankfully. It's more like a tension headache. And while it's not going on all the time, it is happening at some point almost every single day. Obviously, it's getting old and my brain, both literally and figuratively, is tired of dealing with it. 

What am I working on?

I’m one of the class sponsors for our 10th grade class. And we're in the middle of our big fundraiser of the year. It makes for a super busy month or so for them/me. But I’ve enjoyed it. These kids are awesome!

 What am I excited about?

My students, typically, are unable to complete assignments in the traditional way. So I'm excited when I find resources and ideas that work for my students. Whether it's a new way of practicing our Spelling Words using the computer or an interactive slideshow on the various organ systems or creating a Boys vs Girls game with a Q&A video series on all things genetics or breaking out the multi-colored markers to help us as we analyze a passage from the Bible. 

What am I watching?

Nothing new - Honestly, by the end of the day, I have zero desire to watch a screen. Plus, I'm a big fan of quiet once I get home in the evenings. So if I'm being honest, watching TV/movies holds little to no appeal for me at the moment. 

What am I reading?

The other day, I started reading my 3rd book of 2022 - The Little Antique

Also - I'm reading The Incredible Journey with a couple of my students. It's been fun re-reading this story, whose movie version was one of my absolute favorites as a child. My guys are loving it. So I am too :)

What am I listening to?

I may have said this earlier... But honestly, by the time I get home each evening, my brain just wants some quiet time. So I'm not playing a lot of music these days. I do typically put on worship music while lesson planning/prepping in the afternoons or on the weekends, though. So I suppose I am listening to some music every now and then :)

What am I wearing?

Nothing terribly exciting :)

 What am I doing this weekend?

Lesson Planning

Church

Shopping for the 10th Grade Class

Paperwork for the AG

And hopefully resting at some point too

What am I looking forward to next month?

Lots of things happening at school... The culmination of our big fundraiser for the 10th graders happens on Valentines Day. Then there are a couple other events or projects happening next month that I'm looking forward to.

What else is new?

Nothing that I can think of :)

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

Today I'm joining Anne from In Residence for her monthly link-up, where we share what's currently going on in our lives. And each month, Anne gives us a list of prompts to use to guide our posts. 

April's prompts are...

  * arranging *  craving * discussing * enjoying * preparing *

I'm currently arranging plans for this summer. And part of that includes arranging to take the 3 Praxis exams I need to retake to renew my AL Teaching certificate. 4, if you count the one I need for my current program... Fun times y'all ;)

I'm currently craving Chick-fil-A, which is kind of sad since I’m obviously nowhere near one... But I found a copycat recipe that is supposedly pretty awesome. So I’m going to try it out later this week. If it turns out to be good, I’ll share it on here.

I'm currently discussing this book with anyone who will listen... While the author was “transplanted” into the bush of Alaska, the lessons she learned can easily be applied anywhere...

I'm currently enjoying still being on Spring Break. Ah, alarm clock, I do not miss you :)

I'm currently preparing my lessons for the next few weeks of school. I decided to spend one day of my Spring Break working in my classroom. That way I could get things done, but still be able to enjoy my time off from work. And today is that day... 

 And since it's my blog and I can, I thought I'd share a couple more :)

I'm currently planning to publish a blog post on this topic soon. I’ve been slowly adding to it and I think it’s almost ready...

I'm currently researching a fun topic for grad school. I printed off a huge stack of journal articles to pour through. And since I would prefer to highlight, notate, etc., directly on paper (versus reading them online), I’m willing to spend the money it takes to print all these journal articles. Sorry about that trees... At any rate, the teacher/learner nerd in me is loving this ;)

I'm currently thinking back to this time 6 years ago and missing this guy... 

I’m currently telling myself I should listen to this fridge magnet a bit more...

 

And that's about it for me.

So what about you?

What are you currently up to?

What's Up January

  Happy Wednesday, Y'all

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. 

The questions are...

 

What am I eating?

Thanks to a gift card from a friend I’ve been enjoying my fill of Taco Bell during this trip. A couple nights ago, I finished out the gift card by treating my mom and nieces to a yummy dinner after we sent the girls’ mom and dad out on a date night.

What am I reminiscing about?

Memories with my dad... I so miss him.

 What am I loving?

I have loved the extra time spent with my family. I hate it took an injury to make it happen. But I have definitely loved it!

What have I been up to?

I've been doing a few intensive Physical Therapy sessions each week. Oh my word, y'all... They've hurt. But it's been good. And I can definitely tell a difference. I'm still not at 100%. And according to my Physical Therapist, it's possible that I may never be. But it's definitely much better than it was. So for that, I am definitely grateful.

What am I dreading? 

30ish hours of travel... Sitting is not ideal for me at the moment. Even with the improvement I’ve made, my ankles still do not like me sitting for long periods of time with my feet hanging down. And lots of walking still hurts too. So long flights/layovers when I can't really prop my feet up for very long are a (literal) pain.

What am I working on?

Giving myself permission to rest... My goal is to do better at this in 2021. 

 What am I excited about?

Seeing my students’ faces again next week...

What am I watching?

Very little...

What am I reading?

I'm currently reading my 5th book of the year. Having lots of "down time" helps with that. That's for sure... I'm hoping I can keep it up when I get back to work. We'll see. :)

What am I listening to?

I’ve been listening to one of my most favorite sounds in the world... I love hearing these girls’ sweet little voices/giggles. They’re growing up so much. It hurts my heart to miss out on so much of their sweet little lives. But I am so grateful for all the time I have with them, listening to them chat about all the things. It definitely does my aunt heart good. 

What am I wearing?

Two of these bracelets...

 What am I doing this weekend?

I leave early Friday morning, heading back to Senegal. I’ll arrive there on Saturday morning. So I imagine I’ll be spending the weekend, unpacking, working at the school, and at some point... Crashing from jet lag.

What am I looking forward to next month?

Not sure what February will hold... So we’ll see.

What else is new?

Lesson planning across two continents... My sub is still in Senegal, being awesome and working with my students, checking in with them, sending me texts full of information and pictures of various textbook pages and worksheets, grading their assignments, holding video chat meetings for students to present their projects, emailing back and forth with them, etc. I’m here in the US for the rest of this week, so I did what I'd ordinarily do in modifying my original sub plans to upload/create virtual learning lessons instead, since our school is doing that this week. And my sub and I will chat each day about how things are going and see if we need to make any changes as we go. I've said it before and I'll say it again... This woman has been a lifesaver. My teacher heart is so happy, knowing my people are taken care of. And I can continue to enjoy my last few days in the States with my family, and not have to officially work while still being on unpaid leave for the rest of the week.

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

 
 
Today I'm joining Anne from In Residence for her monthly link-up, where we share what's currently going on in our lives. And each month, Anne gives us a list of prompts to use to guide our posts. 

April's prompts are...

  * sharing *  writing * wishing * investigating * buying * 

So what am I currently up to?
 

I'm currently sharing more on finding the positives from my day during this extended break from school. Thankfully, my school already had a 2 week long Spring Break. So we ended up letting our students have an extended Spring Break. And teachers were able to have an extra week of mandated lesson planning. ...which was nice. Anywho - In the midst of all the wide range of emotions brought on by living in a foreign country in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, I've found that taking a bit of time each day to focus on the positives has been helpful.

I'm currently writing, typing, highlighting, and reading a lot, as I work on my grad school assignments. That was my plan all along for Spring Break... I knew it was an ideal time to work ahead on assignments, so I wouldn't have so much to do when we went back to school. So I've been a good student and have knocked out quite a few assignments, as a result. Go me! :)

I'm currently wishing (praying) COVID-19 would go away. I'm wishing things could get back to normal. I'm wishing the fear of the unknown wasn't such a prevalent thing. And the fears are amplified when living in a foreign country, with family so far away. I worry about my family, friends, church family, students, etc. Even though I know I shouldn't worry. I know I should stop and just give complete control to God. But it's hard sometimes. So yeah... I am definitely wishing COVID-19 would go away.

I'm currently investigating topics I could study for an upcoming research paper for my class. Y'all... I love writing papers. I know it's probably weird. Make me take a test and I'll tense up, freak out, and probably not do so well. But let me write a paper and that's where you'll see me shine. I love it :)

I'm currently buying nothing (other than some fresh produce last week). Self-quarantining will definitely help with saving money. Although, now that I think about it, I did order some books for my nieces through a sale a friend was running. 

 And since it's my blog and I can, I thought I'd share a few more...

I'm currently feeling grateful for the gift of some beaded necklaces. Y'all, all Special Ed. Teachers know a good fidget/stimming tool is HUGE. And since a couple of my kids are absolutely OBSESSED with these, I quickly said a big YES when a co-worker asked if I'd like them! It may seem like a small thing. But it's huge for me!

I'm currently laughing at a lot of the COVID-19 themed memes floating around online lately. It's such a welcome distraction from the doom and gloom posts sometimes. After all, they do say laughter is the best medicine. Right? :)

I'm currently rotating through emotions here. And do you want to know something? That's okay. We're human. We're not robots. We're meant to feel things. But I will say... I'm thankful that the happy face/good days far outweigh the alternatives.

I'm currently clinging to the promises in this book. I'm thankful for the ability to read and study and then read and study some more. I'm thankful that I teach in a Christian school and am able to integrate little nuggets of Truth into the lessons I teach.

  So what about you?

What are your currently up to?