Hello Monday

     Happy Monday

Today I'm joining Holly and Sarah, and a few other bloggers, for today's Hello Monday link-up, where we say Hello to Monday with a look at what's going on in our lives at the moment.  

 So what's on my mind?

A lot. But 'tis the norm with me, I suppose.

Anywho, on with the post...

 I've been saying Hello to all sorts of things in America. Or rather, I guess technically, I've been saying “Nice to see you again.”  Anywho…

Back in November 2009, after having lived in Senegal for a few months, I wrote a list of random things I said that were so "foreign" to my American mind, which you can read HERE. And now here I am, having been back in my passport country, and I'm saying Hello to all the things I love most about this place I call home. Things like...

~ one ~

Convenience - I'm a big fan of a drive-thru/curbside pick-up at restaurants after a long day. Also, there's all the pre-shredded/chopped version of things for sale at the store? Do I always get them? No, because I can't always afford them. But I am a big fan of saying Hello to them at times. Convenience is indeed nice.

~ two ~

Good medical care. I know what it's like to have a serious injury while living in a foreign country and to not have it properly treated. While the orthopedic doc who saw it was amazing and did a great job, even he, himself, said, "I wish you could have been in America when this happened so you could have possibly had surgery done. Then it would have healed better." But alas, it happened right at the height of the pandemic and the airport in Senegal was shut down and even if it would have been open, with two broken feet (one with nerve damage) that were badly swelling when I'd move, flying for that distance would not have been a wise choice anyway. Not to mention the risk it would have been to fly during that time and potentially bring the germs associated with that pandemic back to my family Although, let's be honest. There were more cases here in America than there were in Senegal. But I digress.

All that to say, the difference between that time and then me breaking my wrist/arm in 2 places in March, and having a subsequent surgery on it and going through the doctor visits/recovery after was like night and day. And things are so much easier here. English is spoken, so I didn’t have to beg a friend to go with me and help me translate the medical terms I don't know. So yes, it's not just the fact that I can easily go to doctors/dentists/eye doctors again... It's just that I appreciate being able to say Hello to the feeling of gratitude for how good we, as Americans, have it. Plus, I have incredible insurance now. So there's that too. :)

~ three ~ 

I've also said Hello to the good and bad of teaching Special Education in a public school in America again. I didn’t always have a big team of people I was working with in Dakar. Some years I did. But for a while, it was just me. So that meant I was not just the teacher. But I also researched how to help my students in areas that normally would’ve been served by SLPs, PTs, OTs, etc. Not to mention, for a couple years I was even the only SPED Teacher for K-12 & beyond. So having the guarantee of bring able to say Hello a team is (and has been) definitely nice.

And the resources available… Oh my word, that has been such a blessing too. Hello textbooks and teaching materials I didn’t have to create from scratch. My first year of teaching SPED in Dakar, I literally had to create everything from scratch. It was so hard. But I did it. Thankfully, I would get books for the majority of my subjects every subsequent year. But still…

But it’s not just books... It’s being close enough to Walmart or Target or even a Dollar Store when I need to pick up something for a project or an upcoming lesson. Saying Hello to that again has been such a blessing - one I definitely don’t take for granted.

~ four ~

Of course, everything’s not all sunshine and rainbows and perfect little unicorns. I’ve had to say Hello again to some of the parts of education (especially in teaching SPED) that I’m not the biggest fan of. Paperwork is a necessary evil in this field. And while I definitely had a ton of it in Dakar, it wasn't nearly as much as it is being back in a public school system in the US. Y'all... Sometimes, I feel like I spend more time in a week on paperwork/documentation/planning than I do actually teaching. And I know that's technically not true. But it just feels so overwhelming at times. And past that, there are some other things I've had to say Hello to again that absolutely 100% frustrate me. And if you want to have a discussion with me about this one, let me know and I’ll be happy to chat. But I see no benefit to airing those thoughts here on the blog. Just sayin' :)

~ five ~

Anywho, back to the less serious ones…

Ice that's safe to drink and comes with free refills? Yes, please! I will always say Hello to that! One of my local restaurants knows me by name now because I'm the girl that buys a cup of ice every couple days on my way home from work. Usually, I’ll buy a cup of water to drink that night and then a cup of ice for the next day. Because their crushed ice is the best! And yes, I'm now saving up my money to buy my own countertop ice maker :)

~ six ~ 

Pumping my own gas again... If I'm being honest, this is something I do not enjoy having to say Hello to again. I've never enjoyed it. But after living in Senegal for so many years, where the gas station attendants pumped your gas for you, to have to come back and have to do it myself... Boo. So not fun. And yes, I do recognize this 100% is a first world problem ;)

~ seven ~

Family. It's been so nice to say Hello to living near family again. It's such a blessing to be able to go up for a weekend visit or have them come down for a beach trip and stay with us or to pop in for birthday parties and school musicals or to go for a family reunion or a big family Christmas get together and all of that. After living so far away for so many years and missing so many family events, I know I will never ever take the gift of family time for granted. What a blessing it is to be so close to my people again! I love it!

~ eight ~

I've had to say Hello to NOT having the community that I had in Dakar. That's probably the thing I miss most about living life here in America again. I miss the deep friendships I had. I miss community living. I miss hanging out with friends and doing life together. It was such a blessing. And to come back to America to a school where I knew no one to a city I hadn't lived in since I was a little girl... It's been hard. I have plenty of people at work I get along with. But I do so miss having those friendships. I miss regular dinner invites. I miss sitting at home and chatting for hours. I miss sitting together at ball games and chatting while watching our students play. I miss community potlucks and game nights and movies on the roof. I miss going to church with people I knew well and going to lunch or on a grocery store run together after. I just miss community. That has been so very hard.

~ nine ~

On a less serious note, want to know something I enjoy saying Hello to again? I love having access to Walmart and Target and bookstores with rows & rows of English books and TJ Maxx and even having a Dollar General on every corner. Oh, and Amazon and free 2 day shipping too. However, let's be honest. I don't say Hello to it as often as I'd like because my wallet says a big ol' NO to that. But still... It is nice to have the option when I do need/want it. And the best part? I don't have to do the math in my head needed to convert CFA to USD and vice versa. So my tired brain is happy about that too. Haha :)

~ ten ~

I saved the best for last. I've enjoyed getting to say Hello to living with my mom again. When I made the decision to leave Senegal, I texted my mom and asked her if she'd be willing to move in with me. When I took the job in Mobile and I called her to share the news, I asked if she'd be willing to move down here with me. She didn't hesitate. My mom sold her house and her truck and packed up all her stuff and came down with me. Do we butt heads at time? Yes, of course. We're both very stubborn/strong willed individuals who have lived by ourselves for many years. BUT at the same time... I would not trade this time with my mom for anything in the world. It's been such a blessing to move her in with me and to be around to help her out when she needs it. And when the roles reversed and I needed her help after my freak injury and subsequent surgery this past Spring, she helped me too. We make a good team - my mom and me. And it's such an honor and privilege and gift to have this time with her.

And that’s about it for my scattered brain today. 

What about you?

 What’s on your mind today? 

What's Up August

      Happy Wednesday Thursday Friday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay and Sheaffer for their monthly What's Up Wednesday link-up. However, my brain is fried from working and running off of very little sleep because my brain has decided there’s no need to sleep past between 2:30-3:30 am each day, so I kind of forgot to post this 'til today...

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?

Mom and I tried a new (to us) Mexican restaurant in our city last weekend. Y'all, it was so good. The food was fresh and full of flavor and it even looked pretty too. And y'all... That dessert crepe was so delicious! It took me back to eating crepes in Paris. So so good!

What am I reminiscing about?

I've been thinking about my childhood a lot. One of my childhood best friends' mom died last week. So ever since, I've been thinking about all the memories I have while living there (here, actually). We lived in the Mobile area longer than anywhere else when I was little, so it was only natural to have more memories of my life in this area. Then throw in the fact that this friend was my next door neighbor during that time and I probably spent more time at her house than my own sometimes... It's a lot of memories for sure. And what a gift memories are! Please help me pray for my friend and her family as they grieve the loss of her sweet and precious Mama. Our loss is most definitely Heaven's gain.

What am I loving?

I'm still loving taking my daily picture on my way to work. And typically, it's a photo of the sky, too. There's just something so beautiful about these God-painted skies and the reminder they give me of how His mercies are new every morning. When I'm feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders, I love this seemingly simple reminder to start my day.

What have I been up to?

Work. It basically consumes the majority of time and brain power.

What am I dreading?

Going outside. Y'all, it's hot! Alabama (and most places in the South) are in the midst of a heat wave and having record breaking high temps/heat indexes - like in the triple digits. So yes, I definitely dread going outside at the moment :)

What am I working on?

Trying to get my life together at work. There's so much that goes into the beginning of the school year. All the usual decorating and teacher/lesson planning type prep, of course. But also, all the documentation and things too. And you can't fall behind (even if there aren't enough hours in the day and you lose your planning time like I do most days). Because if you fall behind, you'll never catch up. So yeah... I'm working on that :)

 What am I excited about?

Is it bad to say, Labor Day? Because I am. I love my students. They are sweet and hilarious and lots of fun to be around/to teach. But boy does their 100% energy (at all times) make me leave work exhausted basically every single night. So yeah, an extra day off? Yes, please.

What am I watching?

My students have fallen in love with these Hamster Maze videos on Youtube. We'll usually watch a short one while they're eating lunch or snack and occasionally as a quick 2 minute reward too. It's one of the few things they can all agree on as something they love. And they'll sit so still and are just absolutely mesmerized by them. It's cute :)

What am I reading?

For fun? Nothing. I need to get back into reading though...

My students, however, are all HUGE fans of books. I got this bookshelf from a teacher at my school and set out some books before school started. They are LOVING them. 9 times out of 10, during free choice time, they will almost all choose to read books or look at the pictures in books. They love them! And of course, it makes my teacher heart so happy to see their love for reading!

What am I listening to?

Forrest Frank's "Good Day" has been on repeat for me....

What am I wearing?

The strap on one of my sandals that I wear most days broke last week. My poor feet don't take kindly to many shoes. Having a major injury to both feet 6 years ago that results in major swelling by the end of the day with major muscle/nerve pain too means I can't wear just any shoe. So when I find one in my shoe size that is comfy and doesn't look too ugly too, I wear them a lot! I probably need to invest into a proper shoe fitting and some good tennis shoes which would actually be better for my feet. But, y'all, have you seen the prices for those services and those shoes? I can't afford that. It's crazy! So I'm going to keep going with my Amazon sandals that haven't broke the bank - and won't if I ever need to replace them... :)

 What am I doing this weekend?

Nothing terribly exciting. I need to work this weekend. I've got some paperwork to catch up on. I need to finish setting up my gradebooks (all gazillions of them) and input grades. I need to do some more long range lesson planning for my people. And I need to reattach all the nametags on desks and cubbies that my sweet little friends have pulled off this week. So I'll be working in my classroom during the hours our school is open at least one of the weekend days. Possibly both. We'll see what I can get done in the first day, I suppose.

What am I looking forward to next month?

Labor Day ;)

But really, just the fact that I will be able to stay home in my PJs all day if I want OR actually, what I'd really like to do is go hang out at the beach and watch the sunrise and then stay there all day reading or even just sitting there enjoying the peacefulness of the water/waves crashing (if I find someone to go with). It's a toss up at this point :)

Favorite recent Amazon find?

I ordered some new scrunchie lanyards off Amazon earlier this month and after being delayed a bit, they finally arrived the other day.

What's new this month?

School started back. I have 15 students this year and boy oh boy are they full of energy. They are a fun group of kids and I'm grateful for the opportunity to teach and work with them. :)

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

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?  

What's Up July

      Happy Wednesday Friday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay and Sheaffer for their monthly What's Up Wednesday link-up. I can't believe over half of the year is already over. Can you?

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?

My mom and my nieces helped me in my classroom the other day. So I treated them to a Subway lunch when we finished. And while yes, there are so very many restaurants at our disposable, we all 4 love a good Subway sandwich (or pizza). That's for sure :)

What am I reminiscing about?

I went to my family reunion on Sunday. My dad's family has expanded and has new people joining each year via marriage or birth. But what I noticed most this time, was how many of our family members have passed away. I will always love the opportunity to get together with family. But it really does make you think of days gone by and all the loved ones you've lost over the years...

What am I loving?

My nieces have been at my house the past week 

 and I am 100% loving that! Then their mom & dad (otherwise known as my brother and sister-in-law) joined us the other dayy. Y'all, I know I've said it a lot on here, but it's always worth repeating. After living overseas and being a few thousand miles and an ocean away for so long, I love living close enough to family to have these frequent visits. I will never ever take that for granted. That is for sure!

What have I been up to?

Trying to get my classroom set up and ready for my new (and returning) friends to return in a few weeks. And I must admit... I do definitely, 100% love Summer Break. But I really do miss my students :)

My nieces came and helped one day!

What am I dreading?

Ok, let's be honest. I know I literally just said I miss my students. And I do. I truly do miss them. BUT with that said... I kind of dread going back to a "no time for a daily nap" schedule again. I've still woken up at the same ridiculously early time each day that my internal alarm clock wakes me up for school. But, I really have enjoyed my mid-day nap each day to make up for that. So as lame as it makes me sound, I really think I'm going to miss that.

What am I working on?

Our new Self-Contained Special Ed Teacher and I were able to get together for a curriculum planning day last week. And then, I was able to get in my room to work on a bit of the "behind the scenes" organization prep the other day. And then my nieces were amazing and helped me in my room a bit the day before yesterday. So, all of those put together has left me feeling so much more ready to officially go back to work next week, especially knowing we'll have Professional Development the majority of next week with very little work time during the school day hours. So yeah... Thank goodness for time to get stuff done, having another teacher this year where I haven't had that for a year and a half, and then also for my super sweet and hardworking nieces who helped me moving furniture.

 What am I excited about?

Did I mention that my two favorite humans are visiting me at the moment? Because that will always be an exciting thing :)

What am I watching?

Does sunrise at the beach count? :)

What am I reading?

Very little…

I did add a couple books to my Amazon cart the other day with plans to buy them after payday. So we’ll see.

What am I listening to?

What am I wearing?

All the comfy clothes for a few more days :)

 What am I doing this weekend?

My family is here visiting this week and will be here through this weekend. So that'll be the cause of the bulk of my fun this weekend :) Past that, though, I'll need to do a little shopping for my classroom (since I'll get paid today - thank the Lord for that) and I'll need to do a little meal prep since teachers go back to work next week. Then, we'll see what else I end up getting up to at that point. 

What am I looking forward to next month?

School starts back next month. I've missed my crew. So, I'm looking forward to seeing all of them again. And my birthday is next month (next week, actually). So there’s that :)

Favorite recent Amazon find?

I have been blessed by the incredible generosity of people purchasing things off of my Amazon classroom wishlist. Such a gift!

What's new this month?

We started an organization project in my classroom at the end of the school year and I’m finally finishing it up now. …since I needed to wait til I could buy more plastic bins to complete it. At any rate, here’s the midpoint view of my biggest cabinet. I’m planning to finish up today but still… I love it!

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

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month? 

What’s Up June

      Happy Wednesday Thursday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay and Sheaffer for their monthly What's Up Wednesday link-up. …even if I’m a day late doing so :)

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’ve been trying to be a bit more creative with my cooking, in an effort to use up a surplus of food in the freezer/pantry and to not have to buy more just yet. Among other things, I made pancakes from a pumpkin & chocolate chip muffin mix and then I made “homemade” sour cream using whipping cream and vinegar.

What am I reminiscing about?

I met up with a friend for dinner last night. A friend I worked with in Senegal and I hadn’t seen in 9 years. It was such a sweet time reminiscing/catching up. I often find myself reminiscing about the “good ol’ days” of life back then. So much has changed since then. And it’s not all bad changes, of course… It just felt simpler back then. 

What am I loving?

Family time :)

What have I been up to?

Enjoying summer break :)

What am I dreading?

I had been dreading getting my last bill for my ER + surgery + ortho visits. But y’all… I have never been more grateful to have such good insurance! What an incredible blessing that has been through all of this! 

What am I working on?

I love my job. I truly do. But this summer, while school’s not in session and while I can’t get in to my classroom anyway, I’ve really been trying to intentionally build good rest time into my days…

 What am I excited about?

Spending time with my nieces the next few days…

What am I watching?

All I’ve been watching lately is World Cup matches and all the fun social media posts, too, from foreigners experiencing life in the US for the first time and not only that… They’re experience so much of the good that the US has to offer. It’s been so fun reading their posts, seeing videos, etc. I love it! 

What am I reading?

I’ve been reading back through Psalms a lot lately. Good stuff, y’all.

What am I listening to?

I’ve been trying to better at embracing the silence and just listening to the Lord. I’m a major external/verbal processor. I just want to get it all out. But sometimes, I just need to sit there and shut up and allow God to do what He’s going to do anyway… Lead me in His will for my life. Why is that so hard sometimes?

What am I wearing?

I ordered this shirt from Amazon to bring me to wear this weekend while spending time with my nieces. Isn’t it fun?

 What am I doing this weekend?

More family time… My oldest niece has a wrestling tournament so I’ll be watching that. Then I’ll be hanging out with my family. And on our way home Sunday, my mom and I will stop by the cemetery to drop off some new flowers at my dad’s headstone as well.

What am I looking forward to next month?

It’ll still be Summer Break. So there’s that :)

Favorite recent Amazon find?

I ordered the shirt I shared earlier in this post. And then they recommended this hat. So I then  ordered it off Amazon as well.

What's new this month?

Have y’all had Peach flavored milk tea. Yum! It is seriously so very good!

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

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?

What’s Up May

      Happy Wednesday Thursday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay and Sheaffer for their monthly What's Up Wednesday link-up. And yes, I am, indeed, a day late. But 'tis the norm with these monthly posts with me, I suppose.

Anywho, on with the post.

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 did a bit of meal prepping for this week. I prepped breakfasts and snacks for the three days I’d have work. And it works out well because it 1) saves me time in the morning and 2) helps me not want to make a pit stop before work to buy breakfast. So, win win :)

What am I reminiscing about?

This school year... It was challenging for sure. Being a Special Ed Teacher is hard enough, in general. But this year, I was responsible for 2 classes, comprised of students spam I g 6 different grade levels and a wide variety of ability levels too. So it was even more so. Not to mention, me being out on medical leave for 6 weeks (actually 7 weeks if you count Spring Break) which threw a major wrench into the school year. So that left me quite stressed and semi scrambling to get all the things done at the end of the year. And I did get it all done and done well, I might add. ;)

BUT with all that said, the best part of my job is the kids. I so love teaching and working with the incredible humans God has placed in my classroom. I got to see such amazing growth out of each and every one of them this year. And I made such incredible memories this year. I wish I could show pictures of each one, but since I won't do that, I'll instead share my own first day of this school year picture…

What am I loving?

School's out for the summer. Today was our last Teacher Workday. I ended up working basically right up until the last possible minute too. Did I mention that I am a Special Ed Teacher who had to go out on medical leave for 6 weeks? Yeah, I don't recommend that. It puts you too far behind on your EOY paperwork and makes you have to take full advantage of every single minute of the EOY teacher workdays too... ;)

What have I been up to?

Work. That's about it.

What am I dreading?

Y’all, the arthritis brought on by rain this week has made me have another reason to dread the rain. And we've had nonstop rain and based on the extended forecast, that won’t change for quite a while. Oh my word has my wrist been so achy! So that, combined, with a whole lot of typing for all of my end of year paperwork is killing me!

What am I working on?

Nothing now… It’s finally Summer Break!

And starting tomorrow... 

I have a new Bible Study I'm going to be working on. And I've actually really been looking forward to starting that.

 What am I excited about?

Have I mentioned Summer Break is here? That's pretty exciting, in itself. But past that, one of my favorite people (my oldest niece), has joined her school's wrestling team. And they're going to have a summer match? tournament? Whatever it's called... They're having one in a few weeks. So I'm looking forward to going and watching that and cheering her on. I'm going to be totally clueless since I know nothing about wrestling. But I do know how to cheer on my people. So that part, I can handle :)

What am I watching?

Nothing... I've been so consumed with work that I haven't really had time for anything else. But, with that said, I am finally going to work on getting TV service set up at home this summer. Yep, after 1.5 years of living here, I'm finally going to do it.

What am I reading?

I'm still reading Remarkably Bright Creatures. I tend to stop reading (for fun) books when I'm busiest at work. That's probably because by the time I sit down in the evenings and try to read, I'm so tired that I can't enjoy it without falling asleep. Ha! And yes, I do realize how lame that sounds. :)

But hey, Summer's almost here. So I forsee some reading in my near future!

What am I listening to?

I’ve had Okay by Forrest Frank on repeat in my head lately. It's such a catchy song with a good reminder to focus on the positives too. I really like it!

What am I wearing?

One of the ladies I work with has a little screen-printing business on the side and makes the cutest shirts, tote bags, and more. They're all well-made, good quality, and super affordable too. I've loved the 3 shirts I've had made (and the tote bags I had made for end of year gifts for the ladies I work with too). If you're local, let me know, and I'll give you her info.

 What am I doing this weekend?

I have appointments with both my orthopedic surgeon and occupational therapist bright and early tomorrow morning for follow-ups on my wrist. Then after that, my brain has decided that Summer Break may officially begin. Anywho, I don't really have anything super big planned for this weekend. I'll go to church on Sunday. And I'll need to buy groceries at some point this weekend. But it's kind of nice to actually NOT have anything major scheduled. It really is.

What am I looking forward to next month?

Summer Break and seeing family :)

Favorite recent Amazon find?

I haven't ordered anything off Amazon lately. And to that, my wallet has said a very big thank you. Ha! :)

What's new this month?

Nothing blog worthy.

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

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?