The 14th Dear ________ Post

Dear Report Cards, You have to be finished in a few days. I only have a little bit of you left to work on when I go to my classroom tonight. I actually didn't leave you 'til the last minute like usual this time. But still, I need to be honest with you. I think you are my least favorite part of my job. ...just sayin'.

Dear Fresh Fruit, I couldn't seem to get enough of you this week. Apples, oranges, mangoes, pineapple, cantaloupe...Yum!

Dear Staff Dinner, You were so nice Monday night. It was nice to get a chance to sit and chat with my fellow DA teacher friends, enjoy beautiful scenery, and eat delicious food. ...and the fact that the meal was free was nice too. :)

Dear Internship for Grad School, I don't understand why you had to thoroughly mess up my summer plans. I don't understand why you had to be longer than my advisor has told me all along. I don't understand why you couldn't be nice and cooperative. BUT with that said, I know this is the time God wants me to complete you. I know that God has a plan for everything. And I know that I'm going to enjoy my time in good ol' Mobile.

Dear Pumice Stone, I love how you work diligently to clean away the Senegalese dirt from the bottom of my feet. In a sandy place where walking is my primary mode of transportation, you, pumice stone, are a much needed and valued product to me.

Dear Hurt Feelings, Your'e not fun at all. I experienced you towards the end of this week. Why do I let myself get to that point, though? Why do I get my hopes up about something someone says? Why do I let someone else's actions disappoint me and hurt my feelings? Why can't I just ignore it and let it go?

Dear Dr. Pepper, You've never been my #1 choice of soft drinks, but I do tolerate you. I had an ice cold can of you yesterday and oh my goodness...you were amazing, absolutely amazing!

Dear Friend (the word, not a certain person), You are a word I don't use lightly. I don't call just anyone my friend. So,  when I consider someone my friend, or when someone considers me their friend, that means something to me. It's so weird for me to hear people (teenagers and adults alike - both in every day life and on Facebook) calling people their friends and then not treating them that way. I don't understand that.

Dear Vendor at the Market, You may call me "your sister," "nice lady," and my oh-so-NOT-personal favorite, "pretty mama." You may try to lure me into your shop with English words and flattery, but Vendor Man, even though it doesn't work, I will give you an A for effort. :)

Dear Cute African Baby Dress, I bought you today for my soon-to-be-born niece. You are so adorable! I can't wait 'til she's born and can wear it! :)

Dear Hot Dogs and French Fries, I have been wanting you for a while now. So I broke my "not buying any new food 'til I leave" rule today and bought you. Yay for what will be a yummy supper tonight!

Dear Nap Time, When I was a child, I never appreciated your awesomeness. But now that I'm older, let me tell you nap time, I think you are just tops! You are a much anticipated weekend event. I look forward to Saturday or Sunday afternoons when I'm able to experience your sleepy-time goodness. :) 

The 13th Dear ___________ Post

Dear Picture Sent to me by a Friend, You made me smile! 

Dear Day Off From School, You happened yesterday. And you, day off, are quite awesome! It was so nice to be able to lounge around in my pj's most of the morning, get some packing done, get some studying done, take a nap, etc. I must say - I could definitely get used to days like this! :)

Dear The Vow, You were an amazingly wonderful book! Oh my word - It was so refreshing to read an inspirational love story - a story based off love between two Christians, who based their lives off of God and His Holy Word. BUT then I watched the movie. Oh my word - so disappointing! It was nothing like the book. It was incredibly inappropriate! Boo Hollywood!

Dear Ladies Movie Night, You were last night. You were so much fun! It was so nice to kick back, relax, eat yummy goodies, and watch a movie with the ladies I work with. I loved it!

Dear M&Ms, I think you're awesome. I've been slowly rationing your milk chocolatey goodness ever since I bought a big bag of you. Sadly, you're slowly dwindling away. Don't worry though. Our relationship isn't over. I'll be in the USA soon and will buy more of you. :)

Dear Patience, Late this week I finally saw a little of the results of having you for so long about a certain situation. While I would've preferred it to not have taken this long, it was nice to finally "see" this one answered.

Dear Sorting and Packing, I FINALLY started you this week. I really haven't been looking forward to you. However, it was nice to finally get started. Now my goal is to make a BIG dent in you throughout the rest of this weekend. Wish me luck Bloggerland. Wish me luck.

Dear Choosing Hope, You were the topic of a blog post I read this week. I opened this post on one of my hardest days, at a point when I'd been (literally) crying out to God, about some things in my life in which I felt there was no hope. You, blog post, came at just the right time. (FYI...The post I'm referring to, was written by a missionary friend, and can be found here.)

Dear Praxis Test, I registered for you this week. I'll be taking you 2 (yes, two) days after I land this summer. Let's hope jet lag and standardized testing mix well. :)

Dear Cherry Coke, I treated myself by buying a bottle of you yesterday. Thanks for the yummy-ness :)

Dear 19, You are the number of days left 'til I get to Sweet Home Alabama. I just love how low this number is now! :)

Dear Pennies, While teaching about you this week, I accidentally mispronounced you and said "panties" instead. Oh my! I was totally embarrassed due to the comments that came out of my first graders' mouths, especially when one sweet innocent girl decides to show off hers to the boy that didn't know what they were. Ah...Pennies, thanks for the laugh this week.

Dear 5 a.m., Thanks to my internal alarm clock being seemingly permanently set to you, I've gotten a lot of work done this weekend. While I would have preferred to sleep a little (or a lot) later, I must admit that the productivity that came from those few extra hours was pretty nice.

Dear Summer Internship, I should've known everything about you a few weeks ago, but your details keep changing. It's getting a little frustrating that planning my summer is on hold since I don't know yet when I'll be where. So, internship, if you could get yourself worked out soon, I'd really really appreciate it. Thank you.

Dear God, I'll be honest. I've always wondered why you don't answer prayers right away. In fact, at this point in my life, I have quite a few prayers waiting to be answered. And as I was praying the other night, crying out to you, asking why you're not answering them, you revealed something to me. Yes I may be going through a rough patch right now. Yes, my family members have not yet been healed. Yes I may still be feeling hurt about a certain situation, but You Oh God are still in control. What about David or Zechariah or Abraham and Sarah? They all waited LONG times (...years, even) for their prayers to be answered. God, you changed my perspective. You have a reason for everything. And you have a reason for choosing to not answer my prayers right now. I just have to trust in you God. And I do. God, I trust in you completely.

Randomness

Why a post on randomness? Well, I'm feeling the need to write, but would like it to be something semi-brainless so my frazzled mind doesn't have to think so much... :) So without further ado here is one of those surveys you see on Facebook...

‎1. A job I want to have when I'm older: I'm already fulfilling 2 of my dream jobs - teacher and missionary in Africa. But I would like to one day work in/help run an orphanage. AND I'd also like to be a wife and mommy :)

2: My favorite book: I rarely have time to read for fun. BUT I did just finish The Circle Maker and LOVED it! 

3: A random fact about myself: i went to 10 different schools from Kindergarten through 12th grade 

4: A description of my self-esteem: um... it's been better. 

5: My relationship(s) with my sibling(s): We get along really well and are pretty close... pretty nice if you ask me...especially since we're a few thousand miles and an ocean away from each other :)

6: Relationship status: single

7: A map of my day yesterday: I woke up at 5 to go walking. Go me! :) ...came back, got ready, had breakfast and did my morning devo, went to work, taught all day, came home, took a nap, ate supper, watched an episode of survivor, killed time on facebook, called my mom to cry "on her shoulder" about a situation i'm going through, read most of Proverbs, went to bed

8: My big plans for today? umm...the day's almost over. but my biggest plan for today was to find a way to get my students to understand adding American coins.

9: What I'm doing tomorrow: wake up at 5 & go walking, then work, meeting with one of my student's parent, work/eat supper in my classroom, small group/bible study, sleep

10: Most recent embarrassing moment: trying to say "pennies" to my 1st graders and accidentally saying "panties" ...yeah, 9 six year olds - imagine the immature giggling and comments :)

11: What I last ate/drank: dirty rice and salad...and water

12: Biggest pet peeve: people crunching ice 

13: Plans for my weekend: a day off from school friday (early weekend - woohoo!), movie night (The Vow) with staff ladies Fri. night, party for one of my kids Sat. morning, fine arts festival Sat. night, church Sun. morning, A/G mission dinner Sun. night

14: Most recent accomplishment: losing weight - 32 pounds since Jan. - go me! :)

15: Bedtime: between 9:30 and 10 usually

16: Wakeup time: dark and early - 5:00

17: Last thing you bought: lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers from the veggie stand

18: Last piece of advice you got: Just give it to God. I know that's easier said than done, but you just have to do it.

19: Favorite Movie: The Notebook

20: Something you miss: when I was a kid and life was super easy and Mom and Dad took care of everything :)

Top 10 TV/Movie Moms

In honor of today being Mother's Day, I thought I'd do a post on my top 10 favorite moms from tv shows and movies. So here goes...

1. Clair Huxtable - The Cosby Show

2. Carol Brady - The Brady Bunch

3. Jill Taylor - Home Improvement

4. Leigh Anne Tuohy - Behind the Lines

5. Jackie Harrison and 6. Isabel Kelly - Stepmom

7. Reba Hart - Reba

8. Lucy Ricardo - I Love Lucy

9. Mrs. Gump - Forrest Gump

10. Sophia - The Golden Girls

The 12th Dear __________ Post

Dear Mama, Tomorrow's Mother's Day. I don't know where to begin in thanking you. You have been the best mother, role model, friend, confidant, EVERYTHING, to me. I couldn't have hand-picked a better mother. You're my best friend, my shoulder to cry on (even when we're separated by an ocean), my rock to lean on. I pray that one day I can be just half the mother you are. I love you and thank you so very much for the godly example you've shown me my entire life. You're my hero. You're my mom.

Dear Haircut, Your shortness shocked me a little at first. But I so love you! You make my life easier and cooler.

Dear EDM 510 Final Exam, You were a doozy. I was so nervous going into you. I'd studied and studied and studied for you, but still didn't feel ready. But while you were definitely hard, finishing you with a score of 92 made this girl happy, happy, happy! :)

Dear Less than a Month, That's how long it is before I see my family. And I am soooooo ready!

Dear Little League Baseball, My school just started you. I got to watch the tail end of the practice this past week. Oh my word! ...BEST THING EVER! :) ...so funny!

Dear President Obama, I realize you and I haven't agreed on a lot of things. ...especially your latest admission. I don't understand how you can call yourself a Christian and support something that is clearly a sin. And Sir, the Bible says I'm supposed to respect those in authority over me, so I will respect you. But I can guarantee I won't be voting for you.

Dear Roller Coaster of Life, I'm on you right now, or so it feels. It seems like as soon as I get to the top of you and all is going well, something comes along and pushes me hard to the bottom. I'm not going to lie. It's not easy. I sometimes feel like I'm struggling so hard that I can't get my head above water. BUT with that said, Roller Coaster, I will conquer you. I am working to get back to the top slowly but surely. And you know what, I'm going to be happy whether I'm at the top or the bottom. So take that Roller Coaster of Life!

Dear Hot Season, You stink! I don't like you one bit. Why? 1) incredibly high temps 2) incredibly high humidity 3) power cuts. ...not to mention how H - O - T it is! Boo to hot season! :(

Dear 32, You are the number of pounds I've lost since January. ...which is AWESOMENESS, just sayin'. :)

Dear 2, You are the number of sizes I've gone down. Can I just say that that feels so incredibly awesome?! :) I can? Good. That feels so incredibly awesome! :)

The 11th Dear _______ Post

Dear Friends That Let Me Watch Their Kids While They Were Gone,  I'm not sure if you'll see this, but thanks for trusting me with your children. Someone told me this week to consider it an honor for someone to trust you with their children. And I definitely do. Thanks for giving me the chance to hang out with them, to get to chat with them, to get to know them even better. I loved it! You have awesome kids and I really enjoyed myself!

Dear Chipwrecked, You are the third Chipmunks movie. I watched you this past Sunday. You were quite hilarious! I love a good kids' movie every now and then. It's fun to just sit back and laugh like a kid :)

Dear Bed, Oh how I've missed you this past week and a half while I was staying at a friend's house. I was so happy to be reunited with you Thursday that I went to bed at 8:00.  ...or maybe that was because I was so tired. Either way, I'm happy to be back home and in my own bed. :)

Dear Hair, I'm considering cutting you. But every time I make up my mind to set up an appointment, I chicken out again. Who would've ever thought that I, eternal loather of long hair, would consider not cutting my hair? :) Decisions, decisions...

Dear "I'm in the Lord's Army," I sang you in Children's Church when I was growing up and loved you! You were such a fun song back then and I remember all of us kids loving when that would be on the Children's Church Worship line-up. So, imagine my delight when my first graders fell in love with you too! :)

Dear 2011-2012 School Year, You are almost over. It's hard to believe that. It seems like time has just flown by. I've really enjoyed you and the students you brought into my life. It's a bittersweet feeling right now. I'm happy and excited to be getting closer to summer vacation but at the same time, I'm sad to be leaving my kiddos. :)

Dear Sorting and Packing, I'm not looking forward to you. I've got a zillion other things to do that are soooo much more fun. But alas, I don't have a choice. I have to start working on you soon. P.S. Did you realize that SORT and PACK (oh, and MOVE too) are all 4-letter words. Just sayin'...

Dear The Long Run, I just finished reading you. You were an amazing book that tells an incredibly inspiring story. ...which I would recommend to anyone to read. (...so to anyone reading this blog post: If you like "good guy overcoming incredible obstacles" type stories, you'd love this book!)

Dear EDM 510 Final Exam, I have to take you this week. Please be kind to me.

Dear Frustration, I've found a new way to combat you. I saw someone post on Facebook that you should always turn your frustration into a prayer. So that's what I'm doing. The minute I feel frustrated over something (or even someone), I immediately pray about it. It's "funny" how quickly my mood can change after that.

Dear Colorful Bags and Fabrics Available in Dakar, You make for nice shopping trips and beautiful photo ops too. :)