I've gone sixteen days without a day off. That being said, I'm having a great semester. Student teaching is so much fun. I love the students. My cooperating teacher focuses on grades K-2. For those of you that don't know, I will be teaching English as a Second Language (ESL). Once I finish school, I will be certified to teach K-12. She's an excellent, caring teacher that really puts a lot of time and effort into those kids.
I'm already teaching the students, but my main focus is a little boy who just came here to this country in August with no knowledge of his native language. Teaching him is like teaching a two year old the alphabet, except he's 7 years old. He couldn't even write his own name back in September. I am happy to report that that has changed and his writing is improving. Letter recognition has been difficult, but there is progress everyday.
I must cut this very short because my son is begging me to read to him and it's bedtime.
Nine more weeks left of this semester and one more semester till I graduate!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Blast from the Past!
It's been almost 9 months since I've last written a post. School got the best of me. I can't promise to write frequently during the next 9 months because graduate school is kicking my butt. That said, I begin my internship this fall. I'm looking forward to it and hoping it passes in the blink of an eye.
My patience level for juggling school, work, and a home is wearing thin. I need some kind of normalcy to return. Two more semesters and I'm done. Well, I'll probably return to work on more certifications, but in due time. For now, let me work on this Master's.
On to other stuff.
My son will be THREE next month. Can you believe it? I sure can't. He's a little man that looks exactly like his daddy. Not only do they look alike, but they act alike even in their sleep. It's quite funny. He's a little chatter box beginning to switch between English and Spanish (that makes me happy since I speak more English than Spanish). He fully understands Spanish, but mostly he'll answer in English. Either way, I'm happy.
I just celebrated ten years of marriage with my hubby. I have to say the years have flown by. We celebrated by visiting the Shawangunk Wine Trail. Excellent trip! We hit up three of the eleven wineries (Stoutridge, Benmarl, & Adair). The views and the delicious wine sure made this trip out of this world. We tried eighteen different wines and came home with six bottles (I restrained myself to only six).
There's more stuff going on, but too much to write. Maybe I'll start keeping my posts short and sweet so that I could write more often. Until next time!
My patience level for juggling school, work, and a home is wearing thin. I need some kind of normalcy to return. Two more semesters and I'm done. Well, I'll probably return to work on more certifications, but in due time. For now, let me work on this Master's.
On to other stuff.
My son will be THREE next month. Can you believe it? I sure can't. He's a little man that looks exactly like his daddy. Not only do they look alike, but they act alike even in their sleep. It's quite funny. He's a little chatter box beginning to switch between English and Spanish (that makes me happy since I speak more English than Spanish). He fully understands Spanish, but mostly he'll answer in English. Either way, I'm happy.
I just celebrated ten years of marriage with my hubby. I have to say the years have flown by. We celebrated by visiting the Shawangunk Wine Trail. Excellent trip! We hit up three of the eleven wineries (Stoutridge, Benmarl, & Adair). The views and the delicious wine sure made this trip out of this world. We tried eighteen different wines and came home with six bottles (I restrained myself to only six).
There's more stuff going on, but too much to write. Maybe I'll start keeping my posts short and sweet so that I could write more often. Until next time!
Monday, January 18, 2010
And the new semester begins...
My month of freedom is done with. I did manage a week off from work and did absolutely nothing and worked like a maniac the rest of my break. However, I did escape to North Carolina for a weekend getaway, read seven books, and started some crocheting. Not bad, I'm impressed with all that I accomplished.
This semester is another crazy one with four courses. Two of those are linguistic classes which are pretty difficult. The month of May can't come soon enough! After this year, my school load lessens. I have two more semesters left and I graduate! Wish me luck!
To add to my tight schedule, I will begin an exercise regime. Dan and I will be going to the Grand Canyon in the summer for our ten year wedding anniversary and we want to be able to do several long, strenuous hikes. As long as I manage my time, I think I'll be able to pull it off. I want to have strength and stamina come July to fully enjoy our second honeymoon. Wish me luck on this too!
Let the challenges begin!
This semester is another crazy one with four courses. Two of those are linguistic classes which are pretty difficult. The month of May can't come soon enough! After this year, my school load lessens. I have two more semesters left and I graduate! Wish me luck!
To add to my tight schedule, I will begin an exercise regime. Dan and I will be going to the Grand Canyon in the summer for our ten year wedding anniversary and we want to be able to do several long, strenuous hikes. As long as I manage my time, I think I'll be able to pull it off. I want to have strength and stamina come July to fully enjoy our second honeymoon. Wish me luck on this too!
Let the challenges begin!
Sunday, January 03, 2010
The Benefits of the Great Recession
As I was reading the news this morning, I came across this NY Times article about how Americans are changing spending habits by buying less and doing more. Dan and I must have been experiencing this recession for the last ten years because we have always tried spending less and doing more. Not that it's always worked. We still have credit card debt and struggle every month, but we try not to over do it.
For instance, I have not gotten a manicure or pedicure in about three years. Why? I just can't bring myself to spend $20-$30 every two weeks when I could do it myself. I give myself a mani-pedi as part of me time and I enjoy it more than sitting at the salon for an hour.
Haircuts come around every four to five months instead of two. I dye my own hair. I haven't changed my hair color in a really long time and only cover my grays (yes I have tons of them). I don't buy clothes unless they are on sale and I also get a lot of my clothes altered when they no longer fit me properly.
We don't go on vacations. Actually, Dan and I have never been on a vacation. We go away for weekend getaways, but that's the extent of it. Since we are celebrating our ten year anniversary this year, we are going on a "real" vacation. I am so excited about this!
I bake a lot of my own cakes and cookies instead of buying them at the store. We go out to eat about once a month and not to anywhere expensive (this might change to every two months and to a place that has better quality food; we're tired of the so-so food). We have a decent stock of wine and liquor at home for whenever we're in the mood to have a drink. It's cheaper than going to a bar and with a two year old at home, that doesn't happen often anyway.
We hold off on buying expensive stuff until it's absolutely necessary. For instance, we desperately need new living room furniture. And honestly, I get a little annoyed when people mention to me that so and so is having a sale and we could do a payment plan. The reason we haven't gotten new furniture is because I don't want to pay for it monthly. I want to pay for it in full. When Dan and I get enough money in our savings account where if one of us lost our job or anything else that could happen, we would be fine financially, then we'll get new furniture.
We splurge on plenty. This past summer, we went to numerous state parks to hike, picnic, and absorb the scenery. We take little day trips into the city or anywhere where we could do lots of walking. We buy plenty of books and read all the time. We spend more time with each other. I have to say, I wouldn't change that for anything.
Our frugal ways have helped us tremendously now that I'm in school and can't work as often as I should. We've been able to float by. Our savings has shrunk substantially, but we haven't gone under. We enjoy plenty of quality time together and nothing is missing in our household. Can we use more money? Sure anybody can, but for now we're content. When times are better, which they will be, we'll work on the stuff we need. For now, it is what it is.
For instance, I have not gotten a manicure or pedicure in about three years. Why? I just can't bring myself to spend $20-$30 every two weeks when I could do it myself. I give myself a mani-pedi as part of me time and I enjoy it more than sitting at the salon for an hour.
Haircuts come around every four to five months instead of two. I dye my own hair. I haven't changed my hair color in a really long time and only cover my grays (yes I have tons of them). I don't buy clothes unless they are on sale and I also get a lot of my clothes altered when they no longer fit me properly.
We don't go on vacations. Actually, Dan and I have never been on a vacation. We go away for weekend getaways, but that's the extent of it. Since we are celebrating our ten year anniversary this year, we are going on a "real" vacation. I am so excited about this!
I bake a lot of my own cakes and cookies instead of buying them at the store. We go out to eat about once a month and not to anywhere expensive (this might change to every two months and to a place that has better quality food; we're tired of the so-so food). We have a decent stock of wine and liquor at home for whenever we're in the mood to have a drink. It's cheaper than going to a bar and with a two year old at home, that doesn't happen often anyway.
We hold off on buying expensive stuff until it's absolutely necessary. For instance, we desperately need new living room furniture. And honestly, I get a little annoyed when people mention to me that so and so is having a sale and we could do a payment plan. The reason we haven't gotten new furniture is because I don't want to pay for it monthly. I want to pay for it in full. When Dan and I get enough money in our savings account where if one of us lost our job or anything else that could happen, we would be fine financially, then we'll get new furniture.
We splurge on plenty. This past summer, we went to numerous state parks to hike, picnic, and absorb the scenery. We take little day trips into the city or anywhere where we could do lots of walking. We buy plenty of books and read all the time. We spend more time with each other. I have to say, I wouldn't change that for anything.
Our frugal ways have helped us tremendously now that I'm in school and can't work as often as I should. We've been able to float by. Our savings has shrunk substantially, but we haven't gone under. We enjoy plenty of quality time together and nothing is missing in our household. Can we use more money? Sure anybody can, but for now we're content. When times are better, which they will be, we'll work on the stuff we need. For now, it is what it is.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Happy New Year!
The 00's were interesting. I got married, graduated college, lived in three different states, had a son, and started graduate school. What a ride! The 00's were better than the 90's. So I am hoping the 10's are even better and with such wonderful people in my life, I have no doubt that will be the case.
Last year's resolution was getting rid of my bye-bye arms by working out more. That did not happen at all. No working out for me in 09. Oh well.
Here are my New Year's resolutions:
1. Proactive: I need to be more proactive in my life. I have been in the last few months adhering to this and I want to continue this trend for the new year.
2. Clutter-free: This is another thing I have been practicing for a year now. Every three months, I go through my stuff and get rid of what I no longer use. My wish is to maintain clutter-free by getting rid of unwanted stuff on a weekly basis.
3. Going through my mail: This should be a part of No. 2, but it does deserve it's own number. Dan and I let the mail pile up for months and it sits on our dining room table. Yesterday, I went through it all and shredded for hours. No more of this. My table actually looks like an area where we could have dinner on instead of a storage space. I want to keep it this way.
4. Time Management: I desperately need to work on this. Lately, I've been having a difficult time concentrating and get distracted very easily. I need to focus better.
I wish all of you a very wonderful new year. May it bring plenty of joy and happiness!
Last year's resolution was getting rid of my bye-bye arms by working out more. That did not happen at all. No working out for me in 09. Oh well.
Here are my New Year's resolutions:
1. Proactive: I need to be more proactive in my life. I have been in the last few months adhering to this and I want to continue this trend for the new year.
2. Clutter-free: This is another thing I have been practicing for a year now. Every three months, I go through my stuff and get rid of what I no longer use. My wish is to maintain clutter-free by getting rid of unwanted stuff on a weekly basis.
3. Going through my mail: This should be a part of No. 2, but it does deserve it's own number. Dan and I let the mail pile up for months and it sits on our dining room table. Yesterday, I went through it all and shredded for hours. No more of this. My table actually looks like an area where we could have dinner on instead of a storage space. I want to keep it this way.
4. Time Management: I desperately need to work on this. Lately, I've been having a difficult time concentrating and get distracted very easily. I need to focus better.
I wish all of you a very wonderful new year. May it bring plenty of joy and happiness!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Happy Thanksgiving!!
Things I'm grateful for:
1. Family: They make my existence much better with the kindness and love that is always shown to me.
2. Job: Need I say more!
3. The doors that always seem to open when I need it the most.
Everyone enjoy your Thanksgiving and eat plenty of food!!
1. Family: They make my existence much better with the kindness and love that is always shown to me.
2. Job: Need I say more!
3. The doors that always seem to open when I need it the most.
Everyone enjoy your Thanksgiving and eat plenty of food!!
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Happy Halloween!!
Halloween was fun! We went to the Museum of Natural History, where they sponsor a trick-or-treat event filled with treat stations, crafts, and live musical performances. Will had a terrific time and even said trick-or-treat.
I love this place! Dan and I want to go back to check out the entire museum. It was too chaotic to check out some of the exhibits with all the children running around. Will seemed to like the Asian Mammals Exhibit because he stopped to look at the animals. Great place!
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