What’s Up December

  Happy Last Wednesday of 2021, 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?

My mom’s cooking - And here's the thing...I know how to cook. And I'm actually pretty good at doing so. But there is just something incredible about eating my Mama's good ol' Southern home cooking ;)

Oh, and I have enjoyed Chick-fil-a a time or two since being back in the States, too. So I'm totally counting this as well. Ha! :)

What am I reminiscing about?

My trip back to the States for Christmas Break… Boy was it a doozy. Flight delays, spending the night in the airport in New York, ridiculously swollen and painful ankles after all that traveling… It was a lot. But I was so glad to have friends with me, to chat and hang out with, and to laugh at the craziness of the trip. They made, what could’ve been an awfully boring time, so much nicer.

 What am I loving?

Being with my family and enjoying a much slower pace, and truly embracing the no work part of vacation.

What have I been up to?

I flew back to the States about a week and a half ago. So I've been spending a lot of time with my family, a bit of shopping for supplies to take back to Senegal, and celebrating Christmas. It's been nice. I must say. :)

What am I dreading? 

I'm already dreading the goodbyes/see ya laters that will be coming at the end of next week. Ugh, that is most definitely  not a fun part of my job.

What am I working on?

Nothing… I’m fully embracing the no work aspect of vacation :)

 What am I excited about?

I am no longer a student! Yay for graduating with my second Master's degree!! A couple weeks ago, our A/G co-workers in Dakar held a mini graduation party for two of us who were graduating. It was such a fun/sweet time, celebrating our accomplishments. I wrote a bit about graduation HERE.

What am I watching?

Very little 

What am I reading?

I read 37 books this year. At first, I was a little sad that I didn’t read as much as last year. But then I realized that number was still good. And I do plan to read more in 2022. Also, it’s not like there was a requirement of reading a certain number of books anyways :) Anywho, I found a good sale at the bookstore the other day. So I’ve got a few new reads to take back to Dakar with me next week…

What am I listening to?

Nothing new… 

What am I wearing?

It hasn’t been all that cool here. However, it’s supposed to drop to below freezing this upcoming weekend. So I imagine I’ll need all the layers and thick socks and all things necessary to keep me warm. It may not be snowing or truly freezing like in the northern US. But y'all... It is quite chilly for this not-used-to-the-cold girl. I’m not complaining though. I’ll take being cold over sweating any day. That’s for sure :)

 What am I doing this weekend?

One last sleepover with my nieces this Friday/Saturday… Then I’ll be visiting my home church this Sunday. 

What am I looking forward to next month?

I can’t say I’m 100% thrilled about having to go back to work and hearing that 5:30 AM alarm clock again. But I do miss my students and look forward to seeing their sweet faces again soon :)

What else is new?

Nothing, really…

Same ol’ Same ol’

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

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month? 

No Longer A Student

Guess what!

I turned in my last assignment earlier this morning.

I paid my graduation fee (which was frustratingly expensive in my opinion, especially considering I wasn't at the ceremony, but whatever). 

I still won't a lot of free time, this week because of work (both teaching and mission) responsibilities.

But still...

I'll be celebrating soon.

I'm also planning to read a book or two (for fun) this week in my "free" time.

I'm also planning to go to bed before midnight each night this week.

All because...

I am done.

I have graduated.

I now have my second M. Ed. degree. 

Here's something not everyone knows about me. 

I'm kind of a nerd. I love learning. I love taking classes and reading journal articles and doing research and writing papers and all of that. I love it. At one point, I even said I'd be a professional student if I could afford it. My dad was the same way, so I know I get that from him. And I meant that. I truly did. 

But even with how much I loved (and do still love) it...

I am so very happy to be finished with this degree program. 

The teaching part of my job (ministry) is a busy/challenging one. It requires me to put in many many hours after school and on the weekends. So add in completing a (second) Master's degree online while doing all the extra hours required by my teaching prep, along with the time required of me for my AGWM duties too... 

Well...

Most weeks, this semester, I have barely had time to just stop and breathe. 

So yes... 

I am so glad to finally be done!

I'm so grateful for the knowledge I gained through this program. I know that I will be able to take that knowledge and add it to the knowledge I gained with the others and continue striving to be the best possible teacher for the students that God has placed in my care. 

And now, for a little lightness to finish out this long post...

At this point, I feel like I'm at an awards show and I'm about to thank all the key figures, who helped in this accomplishment of mine. So, here we go.

Thank you to...

Caffeine keeping me awake all those late nights :)

Yum Yum for delivering pizza. YumYum pizza fed me almost every Tuesday night for the past few years. My classes all had assignments due each Tuesday night, so I'd let that to be my really late night each week. And since I had zero desire to cook on those nights, I got to know our local pizza restaurant's delivery guys pretty well.  

iTunes supplying the music that I played in the background while I studied since studying in silence doesn't work for me :)

Friends who were also taking classes who'd commiserate with me via text almost every Tuesday night for the past couple years :)

Southeastern University for giving me the chance to earn this degree :)

My students for being the reason I chose this particular degree path - I learned so much that has helped me to be a better teacher for them.

Stable electricity and internet, for allowing me to complete this degree while living overseas. And I know how important that is since our electricity/internet was most definitely not as great while I was working on my first Master's.

Friends who put up with me not socializing much in the evenings :)

And God for giving me the strength to get it done.

Y'all... I did it.

I'm done.

Currently

Happy Wednesday, Y'all

Can you believe it's already the first Wednesday of December?!

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. 

December's prompts are...

  * decorating * feeling * sending * smelling * wrapping *

I'm currently decorating (or rather making plans to decorate) my classroom door. Well, mostly my students will be decorating it. I'm just going to provide the supplies for it. We spent some time during one of my groups' study halls the other day, looking for ideas. And the plan is to start today, decorating it during "free time" during study halls and a bit after school. I can't wait to see their finished product. The picture below is the idea we got from a quick google search. But we've got a few other ideas on how to make it more "ours." :)

I'm currently feeling excited as I countdown the days 'til I can see my family again. And in case anyone is wondering... There are only 17 more days from today :)

I'm currently sending Christmas gifts to my brother's house via Amazon. I ordered a few things online since I found good deals. That way, once I'm there in a few weeks, I won't have to spend as much time in a store. Win, win! :)

I'm currently smelling nothing terribly exciting. Well, that's not true. I had this deliciously smelling goodness for a highly non-nutritious breakfast this morning. 

I'm currently wrapping up my very last grad school class. I'll finish in about a week and a half (or earlier if I can get more done this weekend). Y'all... I will be finished at the end of next week. I am so so very excited! Y'all have no idea! :)

And since it's my blog and I can, here are a few more...

I'm currently making plans for a writing project I started a while back and had to pause... I'm planning to start it back up in January (or maybe even over Christmas Break), since I won't have grad school work to do by that point. I'll still have to work late every day, due to the nature of my teaching position. But at least I'll have my nights free again :)

I'm currently looking forward to time with my family. I love my job. I love that I can follow the call God has placed on my life. But y'all... I miss my family. So whenever I'm gifted with the opportunity to see them I 100% take the chance 

I'm currently thinking about my dad. It's been 6 1/2 years since he passed away. And I miss him so much. ...especially at the holidays. He loved Christmas so much. It was always fun to watch his joy over the holiday and for preaching about the birth of our Savior. 

I'm currently starting to read through the book of Luke. My plan is to read one chapter a night through Christmas Eve. Then I have a Bible Study plan that will go along with it, to help as I read/study each chapter. 

And that's about it for me at the moment.

So what about you?

What are you currently up to?