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? 

What's Up December

     Happy Tuesday, Y'all

Today, I'm joining Shay and Sheaffer for their What's Up Wednesday link-up. Except, I'm posting on Tuesday, since I'll be traveling most of tomorrow...

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 cooking/baking quite a bit since being out on Christmas Break. It's been nice to have the time to do it AND to actually not be exhausted while doing so. However, I really really just wanted a simple, "finger foods" type meal. So I made that happen... All sorts of fresh veggies, homemade sausage balls and some homemade chocolate chip/reeses pieces cookies (which didn't get pictured). So so good!

What am I reminiscing about?

Christmas with my students... The last couple weeks of school put me through the emotional ringer. But we took some time in between studying for exams and doing required classwork and the kids decorated the tree. Then we had the sweetest little Christmas party with the kids we see in our room each day. And then there were lots of times with various kids wanting to sit near the lit up Christmas tree and read or study or do their work. I love Christmas time as a teacher!

 What am I loving?

I must admit. I've been loving not having to set an alarm clock lately. I may still wake up super early each day. Not sure that'll ever change... But at least I don't have to hear an alarm clock blaring. Yay for breaks from school!

What have I been up to?

I finally started driving in Dakar. And while I found the picture below on Google images, I think I still could've taken one almost identical to it while out and about, driving, this past week. Y'all, traffic and driving in Dakar is no joke! But yay for independence!

What am I dreading? 

One of my students left. And if I'm being honest, I'm dreading the return in January with our classroom make-up being so different as a result of that departure. Boo to sad goodbyes :(

What am I working on?

I've been working on not working ;) Y'all... One of my main goals for the first week of Christmas Break was to rest/relax/take some time for me and just get refreshed. This past semester has been a doozy. And now I'm leaving today for a week and a half of meetings (with some fun times thrown in too, of course). So I knew I wanted to take some time at home, doing absolutely nothing. And it was glorious! :)

 What am I excited about?

I'm traveling. I'm leaving later today for a conference in South Africa. I'm looking forward to having time to fellowship with friends and colleagues, to worship together and hear about what God's doing all across Africa and let's be honest... I'm also looking forward to being able to visit a mall and maybe even McDonalds or Krispy Kreme, as well. :)

What am I watching?

I've always been a bit intrigued by the royal family. So even though I already have some pretty strong feelings about Harry & Meghan, I wanted to watch their Netflix series. So I downloaded all the episodes to watch while flying. I rarely can sleep on a plane anyway. So it'll give me something to do.

What am I reading?

It's Christmas Break so you'd think I would have had a lot of time to read. But I haven't read anything. I do have a few books downloaded (which have been downloaded for a while, actually, on my iPad to read while traveling tonight/tomorrow. So hopefully, that'll happen...

What am I listening to?

Nothing new or exciting... I will say, though, I think I've hit my limit of Christmas music. Which is odd because I am someone who can usually listen to some of it year around... Ah, how we change :)

What am I wearing?

As I was packing for my trip, I realized that I wear a lot of black. I mean, I already knew that. But wow, did I see just how much this is, indeed, true. Ha!

 What am I doing this weekend?

I'll be in South Africa for our AGWM West Africa and All Africa Conferences. So I'll be in meetings and such for that. It'll be nice seeing friends and co-workers I haven't seen in a while, hearing about what God's doing across this continent, worshipping and fellowshipping together, and staying in hotels/eating nice food/shopping a bit, etc. :)

What am I looking forward to next month?

Well, January starts off still in South Africa for a conference with all of my fellow AGWM co-workers serving in Africa. So that part will be nice. School will start back the second week of January. I can't say I'm thrilled about having to go back to school, but I will be happy to see my students again.

Favorite recent Amazon find?

A friend generously offered to bring me something back from the States, so I ordered some fun things to help me in my New Year's goal of Bible Journaling more. So I'm looking forward to putting those to use when she gets back and passed them on to me :)

What's new this month?

Normally, on Christmas Day, I go with my mom to my cousin's house. It's a fun day celebrating with my mom, her sister, and all of my cousins on that side of the family. I love that we all get together like this each year. Well, since I couldn't make it this year, my cousin set out one of my missions prayer cards so it was like I saw still there with them. It may seem like such a small thing, but to me, it meant so incredibly much. It definitely brought a smile to my face as I faced a "new" way of celebrating Christmas this year. 

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

What about you?

What are YOU up to this month?