Whirlwind

Whirlwind does not even begin to describe the past week. I've had this goofy looking smile pasted on my face since Wednesday and I don't think it's going to disappear or fade anywhere in the near future. At this point in time I'm very thankful for new friendships. Why? Because sometimes those friendships evolve and grow into very beautiful things.

And right now there is a red rose standing proudly on my kitchen table.

[Yes. Miss H has a boyfriend. ;) ]

I know I'm loved

It makes my day when:

• One of my students from the past two years comes back to see me for math help even though she's now taking Algebra II in the high school.
• An amazing group of my high school students from last year come back to visit me after school.
• I have a marvelously long surprise phone call with a close friend from college as she drives from MI to KY.
• My dinner plans include pesto cavatappi with grilled chicken, tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. Mmmmm... one of my favorites. :)
• I can enter school grades from my computer at home.
• I realize I've had nearly a week of consecutive wonderfully eventful evenings.
• There are only 15 days separating me, Colorado, and one of my dearest friends.
• Tomorrow is Friday, Colts day at work, and a long-awaited coffee date with none other than Mrs. V. :)

Siblings

Mine are the best. Hands down. No contest. They rock.

And once you've met all three of us I think each of us makes more sense as an individual. Once you know the whole it's easier to understand the part. :)

Love you guys!

Beginning of the Year Survey

Each year, on the first day of school, I have each of my students complete a "Beginning of the Year Survey" to help me get to know them. I include questions such as "Why are you taking this course?" and "What is your goal for this course?" to "One thing I must know about you is...". This last question is my favorite by far. Some students have the most clever responses- like the one below...

"One thing you should know about me is that I'm a dreamer. Sometimes my mind wanders off into total fantasy. If this happens, don't try to talk to me- snap in my face or hit my desk."

:) I love my job.

But perhaps the favorite moment of the first day involved a different student. He was an 8th grader when I first began teaching and was advanced in his math courses. Thus, he was taking Algebra (with another teacher) and Geometry that year. Last year he took Algebra 2 and this year he is now in Precalc. Apparently he's really been looking forward to being in one of my classes because when he walked through the door on Tuesday he looked at me with a great big grin and said "Finally!". Well I'm flattered you've been looking forward to this moment so much. :D

Here's to a great year 3 of teaching!

Unwelcome Eight-legged Guests

I recently spent two weeks with my family up at the lake. It was, as usual, marvelous family time. :) If I had one complaint, it would be the endless number of spiders that one couldn't help but notice walking along the water. And these weren't your flimsy spiders either. No, these were substantial nickel to quarter size spiders. Now, while I tolerated their presence, I was also looking forward to returning to my spider-free apartment. I had worked hard to keep my apartment free of such pests by regularly spraying a rather heavy duty repellent all over my deck, door frames, deck screen, and the screens to the windows I regularly opened.

So imagine my severe disappointment on Sunday afternoon when I return home and find a few eight-legged guests awaiting my arrival. I couldn't figure out how they found their way inside in two short weeks when a longer absence earlier in the summer left no such results. Over the next several days I dutifully killed an eight-legged being whenever it crossed my path. The fly swatter or a flip flop were never far away. Then today I had a little hint as to how the creatures were finding their way into a new 'home'. As it so happens, the window in my office is rather stubborn and sticky. In fact, it is INCREDIBLY stubborn and sticky. I sprayed it with bug repellent last year, but it then took me nearly a half hour and a hammer to actually close the window. So this year I decided to leave it closed and forgo spraying the screen with bug repellent. Apparently at some point before I left, I had opened the window and then thought I closed it completely and locked it. Well, the lock did not fully catch and the top half of the window slid down ever so slightly thus giving the critters a way in.

Today I yanked that window up and securely locked it in place. And then I began to vacuum. I took the vacuum hose and attachment and vacuumed against the baseboards. I vacuumed up the corners where two walls met. I vacuumed the corners of the ceiling. I vacuumed the corners where the ceiling met the wall. And I did that in every room. And then I vacuumed the floors. And then I swiffered the hard floors. And then I moped the wet floors. And then I was happy.

One other noteworthy moment. Today I spotted a rather sizable spider hanging out on the wall behind my kitchen table. I caught a glance of it out of the corner of my eye and, I'll be honest, I was slightly startled. So I quickly grabbed the fly swatter and sent up a quick prayer "Lord, please help me kill him quickly with one slap and find him afterwards". Swat. Plop. Trash. My prayer was answered. :) Unfortunately he did land on the table cloth. It's now in the laundry basket. :)

So, things you should've learned...
1) I don't like spiders but can kill them when the situation demands it.
2) Spraying spider repellent is effective... as long as you close windows where it was not used.

The end. :)

A Kalamazoo Weekend

I spent this past weekend visiting my second 'family' in Kalamazoo. It was phenomenal! I pulled up to the driveway, got out of my car, and Mama J exclaimed "There's my other daughter!". :) Awwww! Before I began my drive north Susan had commented "I'd share my room with you, but you've got your own room in the house. And of course 'my room' was just as it was when I left at the end of last summer. It was unexpectedly comforting. :) It truly is another home. I loved having girly chats while prepping food in the kitchen, eating family dinners (including Sunday lunch with the grandmas!) and joining in on night time conversations around the table. Incredible!

Saturday night Sarah, Susan, Steffi and I went to a local community theatre to see a production of "Peter Pan". It was extra special since they knew several of the cast members. What a great way to spend the evening! Church on Sunday was marvelous. Wedged between Steffi and Suz I felt right at home. :) Suz departs for med school again at the end of the month. Hopefully this will be the year that I make it out to CO to visit her. As I've never been west of Iowa, that trip will be especially monumental. She has her exam schedule, I have my cross country meet schedule... now we just need to find a weekend that coordinates with both schedules. ;)

Mama J sent me home with a giant cool-whip container of MI blueberries. They're delicious... and half-gone. ;) Thanks Mama J!

Cleaning the Inbox

I just cleaned out my e-mail inbox- I went from 746 to 75. Oh yeah. Another one of the items on my summer 'to do' list can now be crossed off. :)

I've spent this week being slightly productive and completely relaxed. It's been divine. My linens are all refolded and rearranged so the edges don't show. My car had an oil change and a bath. I cleaned out several binders from my bookcases. (The hallway bookcase still needs to be tackled. It has all the materials I gathered for textbook adoption this past year. On second thought, maybe it'll just stay like that this year until we actually complete the adoption process.) I applied for a passport, ordered more checks at the bank, painted, ran, biked, wrote letters, etc.

Despite the fact that I've spent the past 6 school years in IN, this is actually the first time I've spent any relatively significant portion of summer vacation in the state. During college I'd return to MI to see my family and work. Even this year I went to NC to work for a few weeks. But now I'm here, in IN, at my apartment, my official place of residence, just hanging out. And it's not at all odd. Perhaps it has something to do with how happy I was to see the corn fields when I returned to the state (yes, excited, and that is in no way an exaggeration) or how familiar, normal, and right it felt to be driving back into town and my apartment complex.

Home again, home again, clickity click

After traipsing about for the past month or so I once again find myself in the comforts of my IN apartment. While I was gone, IN experienced its fair share of summer storms. Naturally, the winds (and flimsy deck railing) knocked my satellite out of alignment. I've spent the past three days periodically shaking, twisting, and using all my usual tricks to make it work again. But to no avail. So this afternoon I resorted to calling tech support. The normal tech gal had me unplug the receiver, replug it, and then try to turn it on. It didn't work. So they transferred me to the advanced tech department. The gal there had me go through and check device numbers, satellite numbers, etc before determining that there wasn't anything she could do. She suggested that they send a tech person out to check the dish since it probably wasn't aligned (I could've told you that). Great, I like that idea. Except that it would cost $95. No thank you. I will gladly find new ways to contort the dish so that it points to the sky at precisely the correct angle. Two minutes after I hung up my TV was working. ;) Now, resetting the receiver probably helped the process, but I would like to say once again that I am a master at fixing the dish.

Since being back I've been to a hog roast (a-mazing!), went running with the gal I used to coach with (and stopped for an Ivanhoe's lunch), and helped a friend paint her and her husband's new apartment. Tonight is kickball and tomorrow morning I have a coffee date with another friend. Love it. Hopefully I can get my bike in for a tune-up so it'll be ready for the team tri in 2 weeks. Woo hoo!

Whelp, it's about time I get back to cleaning out the cupboards and reorganizing the closets. How in the world have I managed to collect so much in just the past two years? This is not good...

Bocci Ball and Lightning Bugs

Last night I played bocci ball with some friends and then sat in the twilight watching the lightning bugs come out. It was incredibly peaceful. During the course of the evening I had a glimpse of the landscape from a new angle. I saw the bell tower directly against the sky with a background unobstructed by any mountains or hills. It was beautiful. A part of me was reminded that I do miss my Indiana plains. As beautiful as the mountains are, I guess I really am a midwest girl at heart.

How else do you say "I care"?

me: [before erasing the whiteboard] Speak now or forever hold your peace.
my TA: Do you know they don't say that at weddings anymore?
me: What? Why?
my TA: I don't know. Too many divorces?
me: Well, I guess it's better to voice your opinions before the actual wedding day.
my TA: But then you can't make a big scene.
student: Yeah. How else do you say "I care"?

Hil-ar-i-ous! That last line will probably find its way onto the Algebra page of the students' termbook by the end of camp. ;) And this is why I love middle schoolers.

Appalachian Mts

My NC roommate and I went hiking Saturday after teaching in the morning. This is what we saw. Pictures simply can't do the view justice. It was my first hike through the mountains, and it was entirely worth it- even if I did have to deal with my fear of heights. ;) I love my life!

NOAA online streaming audio

I have found the most comforting piece of summer home life possible. It's the NOAA Weather Radio streaming audio of coastal marine forecasts. The automated voices are familiar and strangely comforting as I listen to them here in the mountains of NC and clearly picture myself on Lake Huron. The only downfall- they have yet to use the MAFOR code so I can't practice using that forecasting system. ;)

For any of you who may appreciate this... or simply marvel at my quirks...

www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/streamaudio.htm

Hillsong's "You'll Come"

This is my current favorite song. The first two lines are especially meaningful. I love the power behind the word "resolved". Enjoy! :)

I have decided I have resolved
To wait upon You, Lord
My Rock and Redeemer, Shield and Reward
I wait upon You, Lord

Surely as the sun will rise
You'll come to us
Certain as the dawn appears

You'll come. Let your glory fall as you respond to us
Spirit rain flood into our thirsty hearts again
You'll come. You'll come.

We are not shaken we are not moved
We wait upon You, Lord
The mighty Deliverer, the Triumph and Truth
We wait upon You, Lord

Surely as the sun will rise
You'll come to us
Certain as your word endures

You'll come. Let your glory fall as you respond to us
Spirit rain flood into our thirsty hearts again
You'll come. You'll come.

Chains be broken
Lives be healed
Eyes be opened
Christ is revealed

IN, OH, MI, NC, oh my!

The travels have ended... or at least paused for the next 3 weeks. I am now settled in a college apartment in the mountains of NC and the only traveling I anticipate doing is the walk up and down 390 steps on the way to and from my classroom multiple times a day. Oh, and don't worry, those steps are still separated by sufficient uphills too. Quite the difference from Indiana I dare say. I can see a windmill from my apartment window and many mountain tops from my classroom window. Beautiful. It rains quite frequently, or at least it did today. I've learned to always carry my umbrella and raincoat with me. And no, I didn't learn the hard way. I was just thankful the rain always fell while I was inside.

On a completely unrelated note... have you ever wondered what happens when you google your name? I had the sudden urge to do so this evening (while I was taking a break from lesson planning). The first link was for my blog and the second was for my facebook page. The fifth link went to my school's website and everything else on that first page was related to running- race times and such. The majority of the links on the following four pages were also for meet results. So there you are. I guess that's a pretty accurate picture of my life over the past 12 years.

While one can never truly have 'too much' planning time, I'm ready to have the students arrive tomorrow and get the ball rolling for this summer. I'm super excited to be teaching Algebra I- it's definitely a favorite of mine. Of course that may simply be because I've taught it the longest. Either way, it'll be grand. Hooray Duke TIP 2010!

Wrapping up the School Year

I am an expert on shaking and twisting my satellite dish back into alignment. Expert, I tell you.

Within the next month I will:
- have a crazy schedule at school. (Good-bye 47 minute periods. Hello 57 and 35 minute periods.)
- finish the track season.
- administer the Algebra ECA exam.
- celebrate the end of my sister's semester.
- spend a weekend with my college roommate.
- attend Taylor's graduation.
- administer 3 different exams to 5 different class periods.
- finish my second year teaching.
- [hopefully] locate the school's supply of Physics textbooks.
- attend a good friend's wedding in Ohio.
- proudly watch my brother graduate from high school.
- fly to North Carolina to teach for Duke TIP for a month.

Fun times ahead! :)

Movie marathon. On a school night.

Ok, so perhaps you wouldn't call two movies back-to-back a marathon, but on a weeknight it definitely feels like it.

I got home early this evening and was sitting by my open deck door enjoying a delicious ravioli dinner (thank you frozen Market Day) as I watched a beautiful storm roll in. The clouds darkened and hastened their movement and all could tell the storm was imminent. Suddenly the winds break loose and come rushing over the fields. Now, Indiana is quite windy, but I have not seen winds like this in quite some time. My kitchen window was open and items began flying across my table uncontrollably. I rushed over and fought the window into a secure position. And then I attempted to do the same with the deck door. Except it was slightly more difficult. Simply closing the door was not sufficient. The wind still forced its way through the tiniest cracks and crevices making the most awfully loud screeching and whistling noise. Thankfully once the deadbolt was secured it quieted down significantly.

Now, along with these shenanigans inside the apartment, my satellite dish outside was also getting a significant workout. The winds knocked it out of alignment. Now granted, this is not exactly a difficult feat to accomplish since it rests on a less than sturdy railing. Often a little wiggle will set things right again. Yet this was not to be this evening. Since I had a good deal of grading to do this evening I was slightly perturbed at the prospect of doing so without entertainment. At that moment I decided it was perfectly appropriate for me to pop in a movie. Wanting to be as productive as possible I knew it had to be a movie I knew fairly well so I would not become too involved with watching it but could be completely content listening to it as a little background noise. Enter "National Treasure". The first movie just ended, the second has just begun, and I am over half-way done with my grading for the evening. I think this will be a success- especially if it involves coffee and/or ice cream at some point. (It'll probably be both.) :D

4 years

It's been 4 years since the Taylor van accident on I-69. Time has passed so quickly, yet it feels like that evening happened a lifetime ago. I vividly remember first getting the news- then the panicked walk to the chapel, frantically searching each face I encountered so I could account for those closest to me. The wailing that evening is unequivocal to anything else I've experienced. But so is God's grace. Praise the Lord for His faithfulness in the midst of our immense grief!

Sometimes my life is just fun(ny)

During notes- in the middle of an example (and I mean the middle)!
"Miss H, are you always this excited about math?"
(Why yes, I do believe I am.)

Again, during notes, but between examples this time (thankfully).
"Miss H, you know what I think you should do? You should quit teaching and become that lady for the Orbit gum commercials."
(Again with the enthusiasm... and because I make them keep their mouths clean in class... at least with their language.)

During the Madison County meet last night.
High school boy: Hey there. How you doin' tonight?
(I'm the coach. Do not try to pick me up.)

Athletic director: That girl's running across the infield pretty quickly.
Assistant Principal: That's not a girl. That's Rebecca.
(I want to know how many times I was mistaken for an athlete that evening...)

81 on April 1st

I arrived back at my apartment just before 8 this evening (after a stop for takeout at B dubs- woo hoo!). My car thermometer still read 81. I coached in shorts and a tank top today- and I have the [dark] pink tan lines to prove it. Man, I missed the sun more than I realized! We had day 1 of time trials at practice today and we'll conclude with the 400 and 800 tomorrow. A local newspaper called this evening for information on the team to print in tomorrow's newspaper. Next Thursday is our first outdoor meet. I guess this is really happening. :)

This week a friend from Hartford City, John, very graciously agreed to drive over to Madison-Grant to coach our throwers. They've improved dramatically since Monday and their power stances are looking great! The glide is coming along and, for the time being, we've put a hold on the rotational spin method for shot. Baby steps. They've all enjoyed having a throws 'expert' hanging around and John has appreciated the chance to be around track and field again. It's a win-win situation.

This week began our 4th marking period. Eight more weeks in the school year. Where in the world did year 2 go?! The TUTF athletes come back from their spring break PCB trip late Easter Sunday. I may have a few of them over that night since dorms don't open again until Monday afternoon.

If the weather remains this beautiful through the weekend I just might have to take my bike out for a nice ride and get some good cycling miles in. And, on a semi-related note, if you're asthmatic, it's probably a good idea to use your inhaler before any given workout... just a thought ;)

And then it was March

January? Really? Has it really been that long? Well since I last left some tidbits here I've traveled to Indy to see my brother swim, been through more snow days than I ever anticipated (5 withing 2 weeks- 4 of them in 1 week alone), made more concrete plans to begin teaching physics next year, began my first track season as head coach (and had a record turnout- currently 28 girls!), hired 2 assistant track coaches, was sneaky sneaky and helped bring my best friend in to IN from CO for a mutual friend's bridal shower, got caught in a snow storm and had to ditch the surprise trip to MI to watch my brother's Super Leagues swim meet, traveled to MI to cheer my brother through State Finals (and to an 8th place all-state finish!), and made it to spring break. And yes, that's probably a run-on sentence. My apologies.

But for today... well today is simply marvelous. The sun is shining brightly, a slight breeze is coming through my windows, I made a fabulous strawberry-banana smoothie, my track girls had a blast playing Ultimate Frisbee for practice, and it's SPRING BREAK! I'd dare say my spring break plans trump all others. I'm staying in my apartment and relaxing. I'm catching up on work, cleaning, baking, and enjoying some down time. Of course next Thursday I'm leaving with two of my fellow DMS gals to visit another DMS member and her husband out in MO. We haven't seen them since their July wedding so it'll be an absolutely spectacular time! Spring is most definitely here and I'm finally getting over the ridiculous semi-cold that hung around for the entire week.

I think tonight is going to be an upside-down-orange-pecan-french-toast kind of night. :D

Beginning Spring Semester

I just over-popped my second straight bag of popcorn. I have no trouble with cooking and baking so you'd think I could master the popcorn thing. Maybe the snack-size bags are just throwing me off. Despite its overly-done state, I continue to pick through the kernels as I sit in my apartment with a heated blanket and raspberry lemonade listening to the train pass through town. Peaceful.

Christmas decorations are down both in my apartment and my classroom thanks to much help from my sister and students. However, the lights and snowflakes remain up in my classroom since winter is far from over in dear IN. Thursday brought continual snowfall throughout the day which resulted in a 2 hr early release. The snow continued long enough to give us our first snow day of the school year on Friday. That evening I met up with some old friends [and some new ones too] for dinner at b dubs. I had forgotten how simply wonderful it is to spend significant time with people who know you so incredibly well. It almost felt like a homecoming of sorts. We all had a marvelous time and are eagerly looking forward to the next opportunity we have to reconvene.

Saturday afternoon Kirstin came over and helped me with chores around the apartment while watching bits and pieces of "The Sound of Music". Classic. We made a valiant attempt at a semi-homemade pizza and decided that, while quite edible, we can make several improvements next time, the first of which being a fully cooked crust. (Oops. I missed the part where the Pillsbury can told me to precook the crust for 5 minutes before adding the toppings.)

This weekend I was convicted of how bare-boned my prayer life has become lately. It's a far cry from where I want to be in my conversations with my Savior. This summer I had begun reading "Intercessory Prayer" by Dutch Sheets but did not have the chance to finish it before the school year started up again. I want to pick that back up and continue picking away at the chapters until I finish. And then I'll go through and read it again. It's just that... packed and intense.

Track season is just about a month away. While excited for its arrival, I'm afraid it'll sneak up on me all too quickly.

By the way, my sister can carry 2 gallons of milk, 2 gallons of orange juice, creamer, bananas, cereal and other various groceries up the stairs to my apartment in one trip without breaking a sweat. (It was also 6 degrees outside when she did this...)