I See the Light ~ Tangled

I love this song from "Tangled".  Savannah and I were able to watch this movie together, and we were both captivated.

It's good (every once in a while) to take a break from being an adult.  ;)

Princess Jewel Protection

While home over Christmas I stayed at my sister's home w/her family.  Every morning I noticed something that always made me chuckle.  I'd come back to my niece's room after getting ready in the morning and the three rings I almost always wear would be neatly aligned on her bookcase or dresser, whever I happened to take them off the night prior.

When I packed up to return home I could not find my rings anywhere.  I figured I left them at my mom's because I had checked everywhere else.  Since the time I was younger, I would always put my rings on a certain cabinet handle by the sink when I would wash the dishes.  But when I checked at my mom's house they were not there either.

Desperate to figure out where I left these rings, I thought maybe my sister-in-law had moved them b/c she had been at my parents' and helping where she could while visiting.  I called her but my brother said she hadn't seen them.

For 2 weeks now I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out what I did with them.  A few nights ago I was talking to my niece on the phone and I mentioned the rings.  I was just going to ask her to keep her eye out for them, but before I could get anything out she interupted me.  "Um, do you mean the three rings that are in my Princess Jewelry Box?  There's a gold one w/a little shiny center, and one with a square shiny thing, and then another one w/lots of little ones.  Is that it Aunt Jessica?  Is that what you are missing.  Because I will keep them for you.  I mean, I will keep them from getting lost.  I will not even take them out of my Princess Jewelry Box.  They will be safe in there.  I won't even take them out to touch them or anything."

Oh my.  I was crackin' up.  While on the phone I was thinking - Hmmm - I don't recall putting them In the Princess Jewelry Box!  ;)  hehehe  I'm sure she'll do a great job protecting them until my next visit.  I might have to take her to a jewelry store so she can pick out a ring of her own now.  Then her Princess Jewelry Box won't seem quite so empty.

Student Helps with Reality Check

Monday the Lower Academy went ice-skating.  The kids were all very excited.

This is my class.

All geared up and ready to go!

There was a lot of fun, had by all!

These were our two EMT-Ice Unit Volunteers

(as they were deemed)

They kept their boots on, so (w/out being asked) they shuffled over to help out any of the younger children who fell.  These are two of the most thoughtful, caring boys I have ever met.  :)

My class after a very exciting time on the ice.

(For a couple it was their first time w/skates on!)

A couple bruises to prove they had been out on the ice!  ;)

Skating was the highlight of our week, so today I had the kids draw pictures and write a couple of sentences about their experience.  All my grading was complete, so I decided to join them.  I wrote the story below.  Of course, I know the girl in the picture is not how I Really looked, but I didn't think it was too far fetched.  Then, one of my students came up to my desk and handed me their paper, and boy did I have a Reality-Check!

This is how I see myself:

 

This is how my Students see me!!!!

I had to laugh .... Quietly, in my head of course!  ;)

Slightly Ahead - for Once

For the past few weeks I have been going through my 'stuff' and weeding out what I don't use, or what I don't like to use.  I've had piles and bags lined up waiting for Thanksgiving break to come so I can take them down by my folks' and donate them to a 2nd hand store.  (If it's far away from me the chances of me buying my things 'back' are greatly decreased!)

This weekend is going to be quite busy, and the beginning of next week is much the same.  My plan is to leave for home Tuesday evening, but I wanted to be all packed and ready to go.  Then after my last meeting I can hit the road.

Today I was able to take everything I've set aside and load it up so all that's left now is to pack and then load my luggage in the car.  I'm so excited b/c usually I have great plans to go through my belongings and take a car load to Goodwill, but it always turns out to be one bag, or only a few choice items b/c I haven't had time to really dive in and purge.  I know I still have more, but I'm pleased with the progress made this time.

Now I'm that much 'less' stressed with what I need to do before I leave.  This is a weird feeling - being on top of things ..... I LIKE IT!!!  :D  :D

A Nail or Two

My Grandpa has been painting as a hobby since his retirement a few years ago.   I was able to visit him this summer and he let me view his collection.  There were a couple originals that caught my eye and he let me take them home.  They've been sitting in my office waiting for their moment to shine.

The painting below is one my mom chose for me and I absolutely fell in love with it.  For weeks it's been sitting 'on' the back of my piano.  I thought it would look lovely 'above' the piano, so I set it there as a reminder.  Today my roommie offered to help me hang it.  Pretty much I supervised - but regardless I'm extactic it is actually Up on the wall!!!  :D

Thank you Grandpa

I love this painting, and I think of you each time it greets me.

Love ~ Jessica

Fall Fun 2011

A few pictures from our fall celebration at school today.  It's hard to think of leaves, turkeys, and pilgrims when the trees are bare, snow greets you in the morning, and Christmas is popping up EVERYWHERE .... (*even in my own house!*)

K4 - K5 "How to Cook a Turkey"

I did not give them Any cooking tips - just so you know!  ;)

Casual Day!!  YEAH  We L♥ve these days!

~  Not 'Just' Classmates  -  Friends  ~

Our Yummy turkies!  Everyone did a fab-tacular job!   :D

These are Miss Orr's!!

(*I didn't mean for them to turn out looking like angry birds - But hey! If you were being hunted down for dinner you probably wouldn't be all smiles either!  hahahaha*)

Obviously, I Need to Run More

Once upon a time, in a rural, country community there lived two sweet teachers.  These teachers loved their classes very much and always tried to find fun activities for them to do.  One beautiful fall day they took their classes on a short nature walk to a park nearby.  The adventure started out with a great deal of excitement.

Paired with a buddy, each student walked two-by-two with an afternoon of fun awaiting them just down the road.  Upon arriving at the park each child ran with excitement to the activity of their choice: swings, slides, merry-go-rounds, etc..  The teachers rested on a bench and watched with happy hearts as their students' eyes lit up with happiness.

The youngest students were collecting little acorns to count in class later.  A lot of laughter and shouts were to be heard from all.

After a few minutes one boy came up to the teachers and said, "I think I'm bleeding."  The one teacher (yours truly) did not hear him.  She glanced up from her paperwork to see a shirt full of 'berry juice' with 'berry juice' also smeared on the palms of his hands he held out in front of her.  While trying to process where in the world he got into berries (B/c she had Just seen him at the merry-go-round), the other teacher was poking her arm and pointing upward.  As her eyes lifted she saw blood literally dropping from this child's head.  By the time her eyes reached his face she thought she was looking at something from a horror film.  His head was caked with blood - a clump of hair was matted with it, while a river was running down the side of his face.

This child was quite brave.  He had enough composer to come to his teacher and calmly say, "I think I'm bleeding."  Since they had taken a 'nature hike' to the park they did not have a vehicle.  The one teacher (yours truly) turned to the other and said, "I'm going to run and get my car."  After taking 3 steps she realized she would need her keys which were on the park bench.  Starting out again she started to give herself a little pep-talk.  She had been working out for quite a few weeks and knew she could run (even though it wasn't something she enjoyed). About 1/3 of the way there she was ridden w/guilt b/c her legs would not allow her to run.  The sun was incredibly hot, and she had just eaten a heavy lunch, and she felt terrible that in the midst of an extreme emergency she couldn't even run to save the life of her student.

Catching her breath she started at it again.  Almost to the school three cars passed this frantic teacher, yet none stopped.  Upon entering the school she started calling for help while gathering supplies.  Soon w/first aid kit and towels in hand, she and the boy's mom (who happened to teach at the school) climbed into the chariot and raced to land of accidents where her son was waiting.

Almost arriving at their destination the teacher could not believe her eyes.  All the students were lined up two-by-two, except for one brave leader, guiding the followers back to school.  The lone teacher was in the back of the line holding our brave student's head close to her side w/some form of clothing/material pressed to his head to contain the bleeding.

Come to find out those three cars had also passed them - all three drivers looked at the crew with inquisitive stares - yet none stopped!!!

The injury was caused from nothing more than a caring heart.  Our 'broken knight' had been pushing the peasants on the merry-go-round.  He saw one peasant beginning to fall and when he leaned in to help him the bar from the merry-go-round made direct impact with his head.  After cleaning him up there was no major wound to report.  As these teachers learned firsthand - head wounds bleed excessively!!!

The broken knight's teacher (yours truly) commended the other teacher on how organized she was in gathering all the children to line up and begin walking back to school.  She laughed and told the other teacher it was insane.  The young students went to collect their acorns quickly, but then they all fell, not wanting to leave them behind they started picking them up, but then they were rolling around and the kids ended up having to leave them behind anyways.  Then another student thought it would be a great time to tell a story, so he started talking about round-abouts in a far away land - which that story ended abruptly when the teacher cut him off so he would start walking.

The most humorous part of this tale is, the teacher who stayed behind had her cell phone with her the entire time.  She did not even think about it until after the broken knight was back at the Castle of Learning being bandaged.

*As an update:  The teacher who stopped running and felt guilty just recently ran 2 miles without stopping.  Running past the park was part of the route she took.  She knew she could do it ... it must have just been the conditions (extremem heat, and just eating a heavy lunch) that caused her to stop afterall.*

Shortly after the whole ordeal and already back to work.

(*At one point he said, 'Miss Orr, it only hurts when I do this.'  And he totally thumped his bandage incredibly hard.  Sheesh!  I said, 'Don't do that!!  It's trying to heal!'   (oy)  *)

Harvest Party 2011

This year for our Harvest Party we decided to go simple in our decorations.  I was happy b/c we were able to get everything up well before the festivities began, and everything was cleaned an hour after everything was done!  Woo-Hooo!!  :D

Musical chairs,

Candy Guessing Game,

Doughnut on a string races,

Find the Scarecrows,

and the best part

THE CANDY SCRAMBLE!!!!

Even some Moms participated!  :)

This really isn't as easy as it may look.

 

It doesn't look like much candy - - but that's b/c they had already 'cleaned up!'

Those bags were LOADED!

The Office

I just sat in front of my paper shredder for a Very long time!  Who knew I had so much to destroy!  ha.  I strategically placed my 'liquid-energy' in these shots.  ;)  Half-way through I thought maybe I should have just started a little bonfire outside.  It's very hard for me to get rid of stuff - as the pictures somewhat portray.  Now I'm just sitting back and praying noone calls and says they need verification of anything I just shredded!!  If I do receive that phone call, I'll be more than happy to send them my three bags of 'documents', and they can put together their very own puzzle.

Ahhh - finally finished!  Now on to my next task!