meet the teacher

Who doesn't love a good blog hop? I have seen many bloggy friends linking up to this, so I am jumping on the bandwagon!

Tell us a little something about you...

I am Mrs. Sneaker, or KT as I always sign my bloggy comments, and I currently (as of two days ago) live in Portland, OR. I spent the summer in Germany with my husband, who was working there for the past two years. I lived there with him during the 2009-2010 school year and worked at an international school as a SPED teacher, but returned to Oregon this past school year to keep my spot in my district (teaching jobs are a wee bit hard to get right now) and to continue working on my doctorate in Curriculum and Instruction. I am SO happy to be back in the US with my husband and reuniting with all my girlfriends! This will be my second year teaching Kindergarten (two half-day sessions) and I am excited for another year!

How long have you been teaching?

This will be my 7th year teaching. I started out teaching in a bilingual Head Start for migrant families when I first moved to Oregon. That year provided me lots of practice speaking in Spanish with my wonderful colleagues, so the following year I was able to snag a spot teaching first grade in the district I really wanted to work for since relocating to Oregon in 2005. I taught first grade for three years and then Mr. Sneaker and I moved to Germany where I worked first as a classroom assistant in third grade and then as a Support Services (SPED) teacher with kids in grades 3-9. I loved the opportunity to assist in so many different classrooms and watch fantastic teachers in action, but I really missed having my own classroom and my own group of kiddos. When I gave notice to my district in OR that I would be returning for the 2010-2011 school year, I was placed at a different school in Kindergarten. At first I was so sure about the assignment, but now I am hooked. Kindergarten is a special year and I am happy to be a part of it for so many kiddos.

You might not know...

Right now I am living in a hotel. Since we just moved back from Germany, Mr. Sneaker's company provides us temporary housing until we find a place. We own a home in Portland, but it is currently occupied by renters, so we have to wait until the lease is up in March to move back in. We are staying in a Residence Inn right now and will move to a different short term furnished apartment on Sept. 2nd. We'll stay there for 6 weeks and then we'll move to another apartment for the duration of our renters' lease. Lots of moving...We are living out of suitcases and awaiting our belongings which will arrive on a boat sometime in October. 

What are you looking most forward to this school year?

I'm really looking forward to the consistency that this year brings--same school as last year, same grade level as last year, same team as last year. It takes a year to figure things out, especially when joining a new staff and teaching a new grade, so I am happy to be returning to something I have already done rather than starting new again (which I did the previous two school years). I have been brainstorming all summer, so I am excited to put some new ideas into action!

What do you need to improve?

One of my big goals is to more effectively recruit and organize parent volunteers. This year I plan to write up some descriptions of weekly jobs that I need help with so that I can have parents coming more routinely for specific tasks. I know that not all parents can commit to coming weekly, but for the sake of being organized enough to actually benefit from the time the parents put in, I feel like having specific jobs will be helpful. I have a hard time asking for help, so I need to be better about really clarifying (for myself) what I need help with so I can ask for it. Sometimes I get frustrated when parents come in and don't really know how to effectively help, so I want to be more proactive about "training" them to do the jobs I want done. I suffer from the "I'd rather do it myself because it's a hassle to explain what I want done to this parent who arrived in the middle of my lesson," but truly, parents who help are so wonderful and it's nice to not do everything myself!!

I also would like to get better at moving my kiddos towards working more independently. I have visions of Daily5-esque classrooms with quiet children busily working, yet there always seems to be a bit too much noise pollution in my neck of the woods. I am tired of everything being whole group so that every kid is doing the same exact thing at the same exact time and I want my kiddos to have more opportunities to think for themselves and problem solve.

What teaching supplies can you *not* live without?

Teaching Books (picture books, idea books etc.)

Post-its

Sharpies

Document Camera (!!!)

White

BLOGS! (Not really a supply but a resource I heart!)

 

* * * * *

 Now it's your turn. Check out Blog Hoppin' and link up! Thanks for playing along!

10 Questions

Today for my last post from Germany, I am copying Kelly's 10 Questions from yesterday:

What are you really good at? What are you really bad at?
I am good at writing, being thoughtful, baking, being a perpetual student, working hard, and teaching.
 I am really bad at decorating, navigating/finding my way around,  team sports, and being spontaneous. 


 Have you ever been in a car accident? What happened?
I have been in a few car accidents, but nothing serious. One time my brother and I were driving to school on the narrow back roads of CT and we slid on some ice and hit another car. Another time, I was in the car with my friend Lauren and we got rear ended. Another time, I was turning right on my way home from class in college and I rear ended the driver in front of me. To be honest, the most damage I have done is hitting stationary things....my husband will never let me live down the fact that I drove into a telephone poll when I was taking him to the train station early in the morning. Not proud of that one because I did it in my brand new car.

Why did you attend your college?
Having grown up in Connecticut, Villanova was the perfect distance in order to be "away from home" but to still be close enough that I could make it home without a lot of hassle if I needed to be home.  I didn't really have a lot of guidance when selecting a college and I actually applied to 2 other schools that were strictly business schools (didn't really have it figured out that I wanted to be a teacher until after I was accepted to the Villanova Business School, so I requested to transfer to the School of Arts and Sciences a few months before school started). Looking back, there were aspects of Villanova that I didn't really love, but I honestly think it was fate that I ended up there because that is where I met Mr. Sneaker.

Describe your morning routine today.
Woke up to Mr. Sneaker's alarm around 8. Usually I go back to sleep when he leaves, but I got up this morning because he needed me to sign some tax papers. I wanted to go back to sleep after he left, but I was starving, so I made myself some scrambled eggs which I ate while checking email, facebook, and reading blogs.

Have you ever snooped through someone else’s things? Did you find anything interesting?
Right now I am staying at someone's house who is not here, so it's kind of hard not to "snoop" through his things in order to find what I need. It's not like I am looking through his closet or his desk or anything, but I have done a lot of searching in the kitchen to find utensils, plates etc. I have to say, one thing I am really looking forward to is having my own kitchen again. There is something about using someone else's stuff that I just don't care for.


What do you think happens when you die?
That is a really interesting question.  I don't really think about that often. I guess it's one of those things I figure I will find out when I get there....

Are you superstitious?
 In some ways, yes. I definitely fear the jinx. For example, I worry that if I ever called out of work and said I was sick when I wasn't truly sick, that I would then get sick for something important in return. I am not too worried about breaking mirrors or black cats crossing my path, but I do worry. I guess I could call myself more of a worrier than a superstitious person.


Do people think you are younger or older than you actually are?
I've never really had people comment either way. I think I look pretty much my age, but I hope I continue to look my age now as I get older. ::wink::


How did your parents’ relationship influence you?


1. I believe in the value of hard work.
2. I think family meals are important for the sake of good communication and family bonding.
3. I think marriage requires a lot of give and take, which means it requires effort and shouldn't be taken for granted.

What were the three happiest moments of your life?
 This is really tough to answer.... I have to alter this a little to make it the three happiest moments of this year because I can't process my entire life right now.


1. Passing my core paper/defense
2. Reuniting with Mr. Sneaker after being apart for so long
3. Crossing the finish line of my first half marathon

Answer one of the questions in a comment!!

We fly for a long time tomorrow. Wish us luck!!

 

Almost There

Tomorrow is our last day in Germany. I think it is much more difficult to leave for Mr. Sneaker because I already left once and the best friend I made in Germany is waiting for me back in Portland, but he is leaving a lot of friends and many truly wonderfully welcoming and kind people that kept him company while I was away.

We are both looking forward to being back in Portland, but there are a few things in particular that are on my mind:

• Target (particularly the dollar spot...and Michaels cause I got an email about some awesome sales)

• My car

• My girls who I cannot wait to hang out with!

• Chobani Greek yogurt (I just can't find good yogurt here)

• My classroom (it's time to put all of my summer ideas into effect)

Today is our 4th wedding anniversary, so I am dressed and waiting for Mr. Sneaker to come pick me up. We are going to his favorite steak place and I am hungry! Mr. Sneaker and I don't do anniversary gifts and this year I didn't even get him a card because they're just not the same in German, but we've got a lot of wonderful things in our life to celebrate and all that matters is that this year we are together for our special day :0)

Processing

I haven't fired up my laptop since relocating to our temporary housing #1 and it's difficult to post and comment with my ipad, so I am bringing out the big guns today to bring you this post--

I woke up to an email in my inbox from my lovely team partner Mrs. Bee this morning alerting me to the fact that we had received some scheduling info from our principal via district email. I immediately checked it out and Mrs. Bee's lament was confirmed--half day Kinder classes do not have specials this year.

::sigh::

With only 2 hours and 20 minutes to cram in everything we are mandated to do, it is challenging to find time for specials. Last year we started with 10 minutes each of Library, PE, and Music in our classrooms. The time flew by and it was a little cramped, especially for PE, but the kids loved that time of day and the activities were great to break up the very academic lessons that we do with them. By mid-year, we started doing 30 minutes of PE in the gym and the kids would just have PE once every 6 day rotation rather than twice. By the end of the year, we also added a 30 minute computer/library checkout session once every 6 days as well and we started bringing our kiddos to the Music room rather than having our Music teacher come to us since his room houses all the great instruments and it's literally just down the hall from us.

At the end of last year, our Librarian positions were cut, so I am guessing that the schedule change for our specials is a result of that. I am sure it will be more challenging to fit in specials now that we no longer have three different specials to attend, but we are still disappointed that specials have been entirely removed from half day Kinder.

The nature of Kindergarten has changed so much in recent years leaving the children with a very rigorous, fast-paced, academic session devoid of play time, recess, and daily snack. We are constantly rushed with our short half days and although as the teacher, I would love to gain the additional time with my kiddos, I know how much enjoyment they get from Mucic, PE, and Library, so I am sad for them. I am hoping we can arrange to have at least one PE session per rotation, but I understand that the master schedule for the entire school has undergone changes and it may not be simple to "just add us in once."

Bummer.

At least now, I have a copy of the schedule and I can start to figure out how my day will go. I still have 30 minutes of pull out ELD for some kiddos, so my day pretty much revolves around when those kids leave. The morning class is scheduled to have ELD from 9:30-10:00, which means I have 40 minutes with the kiddos once they return. Last year, there were only 10 minutes once they returned, so it was story time and then we got backpacks and headed for the bus. That was nice, so I am trying to process what activity I will save for last because it's difficult to get something productive accomplished once they return. I know this because my afternoon class had ELD last year from 1:15-1:45 and then we had ten minutes before specials followed by 20 more minutes of class time, which meant math at the end of the day was really tough to get through. Also, we frequently have issues with the children not being returned exactly on time, which makes it difficult to transition smoothly into a new activity upon their return.

Lots to think about.

I think the morning will go like this...

8:10-8:20 morning work at tables

8:20 Announcements immediately followed by good morning song and transition to morning greeting carpet.

8:20-8:30 Greeting time, review daily schedule, morning message of sorts, review of letter of the week/sight word of the week==> transition to the new carpet (fingers are crossed that our amazing new carpets will arrive in time for the first day of school!!!)

8:30-9:00 Fast Track Phonics lesson (first part at the carpet, writing part at tables)

9:00-9:30 Math- Start at the carpet for daily math routine, then go into lesson. The Daily Math routine has some movement and this year I am going to add music to it, so this can be a more active time prior to the lesson where the kiddos most likely sit.

9:30-10:00 ELD. This will be the time where I do my daily activity with the kids who remain (Math games on Monday, Travel Tuesdays, Words on Wednesdays, Thoughtful Thursdays, Flexible Fridays). Hopefully I can train the kiddos well enough so that as soon as the kids return from ELD, we can quickly clean up and transition to the last activity of the day.

10:00-10:30 Additional Reading/Sight Words. Last year in the PM class, I found it was much easier to have kids doing more hands on things during this last block as opposed to sitting and listening to a math lesson. During this time we do things like paste die cut letters to make our sight word of the week, letter looking, letter cut and paste etc.

10:30 Star of the Week

10:40 Dissmissal

I used to do star of the week at the beginning of the day after our greeting, but this year I am going to try it at the end of the day. Hopefully it doesn't feel as rushed.

The PM schedule will be different because the ELD block is closer to the end of the day leaving only 10 minutes after the kiddos return. I can do Star of the Week at that time, but only if the kiddos returning are on time. I guess I have a little bit of flexibility because the buses sit outside for 10 minutes after the bell, so it's not like we need to leave the room exactly at 2:25, but I prefer for my kiddos to get on the buses earlier than the older kids. I also have to figure out if I want to do straight Reading/Literacy and then Math or put Math in the middle to break up the phonics lesson and the sight word practice.

And, this is based on the schedule that was sent to us, which is subject to change....


What are your thoughts on half day Kindergartners not having specials? I waffle in my perspective...sometimes feeling like it's such a short day at school that they can certainly play when they are not at school, yet on the other hand, I feel like getting to know the specialists, being exposed to those classes, and walking in the hallway are all very important parts of school that might as well start in Kindergarten.


How do you configure your daily schedule? We are required to teach certain things for certain lengths of time, so I don't have a ton of say, but I do try to make sure that the kids have enough transitions and are not sitting for too long. My daily schedule works best (for me) when it is very consistent, especially since I have two different groups of kiddos with difference schedules). I can keep track better if we basically do the same thing at the same time each day. That inevitably gets interrupted, but for the most part, I try to keep things consistent.

Empty

Thank you for the sweet comments on yesterday's post. I appreciate the kind words about what I post and I know that the lack of comments doesn't mean that nobody is reading or that my posts aren't interesting. I also frequently read many blogs that I don't comment on, so I need to be better about that too. Sometimes even a simple comment makes me smile, so I need to do the same for all my bloggy friends out there.

Today I am back at my now almost completely empty apartment while a new team of movers takes apart our two very large wardrobes and moves out Mr. Sneaker's friend's stuff. Mr. Sneaker had a roommate for awhile when I was in the US, and that friend has since moved to Amsterdam. He postponed the move of his stuff so that he could buy some of our stuff and include it in the move with his stuff. Does that make sense? So, his movers are here today which means I need to be here while they do their work.

All I have to say is thank goodness for internet because it would be really boring here without the ability to go online, read blogs, check facebook, send and receive emails, and watch TV. Hubs is a major fan of TV, so we have been able to access all of our favorite American shows the entire time we've lived in Germany thanks to a Tivo at his parents house, a sling box, and a sling catcher. He set it up so that I can use my computer to access the Tivo, so I watched Project Runway this morning while sitting outside on the patio. Then it got really cold and started raining so I am sitting on the floor in the empty living room. I am getting so hungry, so when I am done posting I am going to head over to the closet store to buy a frozen pizza. I don't have any plates, utensils, or napkins...but I do have an oven, so I am going to make it work (as Tim Gunn says).

Other than my laptop, I also brought along my iPhone and my iPad for this day of solace. As I mentioned in a previous post, I really like reading books on the Kindle app on my phone. Yes, it's super tiny, but I have always loved very little books. When I was a child, I had several sets of very small books that I just adored. Some were fairy tales and then there was a Babar the elephant series about the different elements (earth, water, air, fire). I also collected miniature plastic Cabbage Patch dolls and little woodsy animals that had little families of animals like foxes, owls, etc. I can't think of the name right now, but I will ask my mom--she will know. I LOVED those little creatures and I think they are still up in mom's attic. I will have to dig those out when I go home for the holidays. Ok, I had to google it....they were called Sylvanian families...So cute. I had bears, rabbits, and maybe some others too.

 

Do you remember these toys?

Wow, that was a tangent.

Besides playing Words with Friends, reading The Life and Death of the American School System (which is very good and I am almost done with it), and watching some TV, if I am really honest with myself, I know that today is a great day for some paper writing. I have been slacking. One a day has been hard with so many trips and with moving, so it's time to get back into that groove. How many pages can I write in the next 6 hours??? If I really tried, I bet I could do 5. I'll get back to you on how that works out. I have been reading great stuff and I finally have  a decent outline, so I know there are good ideas floating around in my head--I just need to get them down on paper. It's really hard for me to just write without attention to minute details though, so I need to get over that and just get my ideas out. I can revise later. Does anyone else have a hard time separating composing from editing?? I always edit as I go and that majorly slows me down.

But, first it's time for some pizza. So I will leave you with a few questions....

What is your favorite kind of pizza? I like pizza with lots of veges on it, but I also like meat sometimes like sausage or ham. There are few things I won't eat on a pizza, but anchovies is one of them. None for me, thanks!

If you could bring three items with you to entertain you for the day in a boring place, what would they be? All I have to say is thank you to Steve Jobs for my three :0)

Did you collect anything when you were younger? I collected rocks (because my brother did), postcards (I did one of those chain letter projects in order to get postcards sent to me from people all over the world), little Cabbage Patch figures, and....I think that's it!

Wiped

I am wiped from a long day watching the movers pack up our life. Now I am left with nowhere to sit but the patio furniture. Thank goodness
The new tenants in our apartment bought
The chair I am sitting on or else
I would be on the floor.

So today's post is going to be a simple question...

What needs to be different on this blog in order for people to comment/say hello/give input??

I see many blogs that receive insane amounts of comments on every single post.

I feel like I hear crickets chirp...

I am just not on the giveaway
Bandwagon nor do I make really cute teachery things for people to snag, but that's just me. It doesn't mean I don't love you guys!

So your challenge for today... Talk to me! I want to know who you are so I can check out your blogs too!

Change of Plans

What was supposed to be moving day turned into everything is packed up and all of my clothes and personal belongings are moved to Mr. Sneaker's friend's house but the movers are no longer coming day.

::sigh::

We got up early to put the finishing touches on our sorting, organizing, and prepping and after a few hours of waiting for the movers, Mr. Sneaker called the company to ask of their whereabouts.

Apparently, they are coming tomorrow.

Apparently, while we were out of town, they sent an email to Mr. Sneaker at work, after which they received an immediate out of office reply email, yet they did not make any effort to try contacting us again to ensure that we got the message regarding the changed packing date.

We didn't get the message.

So, we woke up this morning and kicked it into gear...for nothing.

Mr. Sneaker has since gone off to work and I am sitting here amidst a lot of piles of our belongings in front of the TV that has decided today of all days to not work.

Fun times.

Because I now have a lot of time on my hands today I downloaded and am reading this:

good stuff
Have you read it?

Travel Reads

Hi bloggy friends! I know I promised photos from Barcelona, but I am so exhausted today and have tons to do in order to prepare for the movers, so those will have to wait. This morning I packed the clothes I want to take with me on the plane and now my next goal is to get to work on Mr. Sneaker's closet. Since he travels a lot for work, he has some kind of snazzy airline status that allows him a few more bags, which is nice. I think he said between the two of us, we can bring 5 bags and the weight allowance is higher (75 pounds compared to 50). Since I left pretty much my whole teaching wardrobe in Portland, I think one bag for me will do it. I just have my summer stuff. I shouldn't say just as if that is not a lot because I discovered once again that I have way too much stuff. I made another bag of stuff to give away because I just can't deal with everything I have in the closet.

So...this is going to be a quick post with a few of my recent travel reads. I mentioned that I was reading an interesting book about reading instruction while putting in time on the elliptical and Kelly was interested to know what it is. I will preface by saying that when I say these books are "interesting" I am reading them for my paper, so interesting probably gets co-mingled with informative and useful.I do find them very interesting, but they might not hold your attention like The Daily Five or The First Six Weeks of School.

 For starters....I bit the bullet and got this book for the plane rides. I found it for 12.99 on ibooks which was cheaper than Kindle for once. I read it in about 3 days (cheated a little and started it before we left) and I really liked it. I have to say though that despite many reviewers who said it was so sad and they cried throughout a lot of it, I didn't shed a single tear. Heart of stone.... It was different than the other books in the series, but I thought that it has a nice little ending and it was worth reading. I wasn't gonna be able to wait until it arrived at the library. Not to mention, there are typically 20-30 holds on any books I want to try and get through the digital lending library for my Kindle, so I thought it was better to read it now instead of 2014.

 I also spent quite a bit of time reading this little gem on my phone. Yes, my teeny tiny iPhone was where I read most of this book. For some reason I preferred to take Kohn's commentary on tiny pages because a lot of what he said kind of ruffled my feathers. I truly think it is a great read for teachers, despite the fact that I disagree with a lot of what he said, because although his words irked me, at the same time, I found the book to be inspiring and it motivated me to rethink some aspects of my classroom. And that, my friends, was a long sentence!

Bottom line: Alfie Kohn is against behavioristic practices that reward and punish children in order to motivate them. He cites many studies that indicate when people (of all ages) are rewarded for doing something it results in decreased internal motivation to perform that task. So, he thinks that we should ditch grades, incentives, prizes etc. and focus more on Content, Collaboration, and Choices.  I don't disagree that these elements are important in any classroom, but I had a very naughty little thought while I was reading this.  He spoke to the fact that incentives and rewards result in short term compliance rather than life long character development of important social skills and understandings. I guess I view this differently in terms of teaching and parenting, but in terms of what happens in my classroom each year....I am sorry to say, but it IS short term. My students are with me for 10 months. So, during that 10 months, I am ok with rewards for certain behaviors (hello positive behavior support), I am in favor of praise, I am okay with giving consequences for poor behavior, and I do think that telling a child they can choose to behave and stay on the carpet and behave or they can choose to go back to their seat until they are ready to join is legit. Kohn would disagree. I am not saying that I don't give a rip what students do when they go on to the next classroom in the next grade level--not at all. BUT, summer happens, during which time routines and rules are different outside of school and then children enter a new classroom where rules might be different, discipline style might be different etc. So, I think teachers using behavior incentives, rewards, token economy systems etc. are all viable methods of keeping control in the classroom. Yes, I also want to help my students develop strong social skills and good moral character, but when I have 2 hours and 20 minutes to teach everything on my agenda, making sure that the kids behave is a big priority. When good behavior is a given (for most kids) we can do a lot more with the content and lessons. Kids just can't have choice in everything, especially in a classroom with 20+ other children. Choices have their place, yet there are also times when children need to do things that they just aren't internally motivated to do, but that doesn't mean those things aren't good for them. 

 

Thoughts?

Finally, I dove back into this book while working at the hotel in Barcelona. The author gives a brief history of reading instruction, which might not fascinate everyone, but is really pertinent to my paper and interesting to me. He also talks about why we teach reading, what we teach when we teach reading, and how we go about teaching reading. He talks about the difference between instruction and education and speaks of these as polar opposites. In a nutshell, when we instruct, we put knowledge into our students, but when we education, we draw learning out from within.

I really liked this diagram the author included when he talked about different approaches to teaching reading. If you divide this chart on a diagonal from the top right to the bottom left, you can separate out a very skills centered approach to reading instruction from a more holistic approach (author's term). To me, I kind of think of it as Treasures on one side, The Daily Five on the other. And, as the author points out, a balanced approach is best. 

 

Here's to being more balanced this year!

Barcelona

Hola from Barcelona! We are staying at the Diagonal Zero Hotel and it's a really cool place. It scored major points for having an incredible breakfast spread. The hotel restaurant is very nice and the food included in the buffet breakfast is far superior to others we have had in our travels. There is an entire spread of fresh fruit that is already cut up (pineapple, cantaloupe, strawberries, and watermelon). Also a bowl of other whole fruits like apples and bananas. Usually the fruit options are not that great with not a lot to choose from or less than ripe choices, but it's great here. And, the fruit is just one section. There is also a spread of cheeses and meats, which is typical of a European breakfast, two sections of hot trays with eggs prepared different ways, bacon, sausages, some kind of cooked tomatoes, and Spanish tortillas. Another table has crepes with a divine chocolatey sauce. Yet another table has an assortment of breads and rolls with doughnuts and even some cakes. There is a fridge with yogurt and they even had Greek yogurt (my favorite!). YUM! And this is only breakfast people! We had some paella last night at a restaurant by the water last night that was seriously amazing. It took us about an hour to find the place and we were starving upon arrival, but it was so worth it.

We also enjoyed the hotel gym yesterday before we headed out to see a few sights and Mr. Sneaker is scheduled for a deep tissue massage later today at the hotel spa. Life is good. I am not really big on massages so I am going to hit the gym again while he gets in a little relaxation. I am reading a really interesting book about reading instruction so that makes the elliptical time go by pretty fast.

Today we are headed to a chocolate museum that tells the history of chocolate and has art pieces made of chocolate. Free samples? Yes please! Then we'll head to the Picasso Museum, which I am excited about. I am discovering that I am not huge on museums unless I have a decent amount of background knowledge on the subject matter, so Picasso should be fun and interesting. Yesterday we went to Parc Guell, which was designed by Gaudi and it was very cool. He does a lot of mosaic work in his structures and in a little shop nearby the park, I found some cool mosaic tiles with all of the letters of the alphabet. I got tiles with the letters of my last name for a sign to put outside my classroom. It will be a nice little reminder of our European adventures.

We are enjoying a variety of tapas (of course vacation food always ranks high on things to share) and I am excited to take in a few more cafes and sights today. I will post some pics when I get back so stay tuned!

Looking Back

I just realized that right around this time last summer, I was getting ready to leave my husband.

Well, not like that!

I was getting ready to return to Portland for the school year, while he stayed behind in Germany.

I am so glad that is over.

Thinking back, I can remembering practically bursting into tears every time I even thought about being apart from Mr. Sneaker for 10 months. Not to mention I was getting ready to start teaching at a new school in a new grade level--Kindergarten, which added to the fear/uncertainty/worry of being away from my man.

What I didn't know was that...

Living with Janine would create a special friendship that I am very thankful for.

Being apart from Mr. Sneaker would actually bring us closer together as a couple.

Teaching Kindergarten is actually quite awesome.

I would complete my first half marathon.

and

I would fall totally in love with a dog (given my tendency to not really like dogs all that much).

Don't get me wrong...it was a hell of a crazy year with lots of husband missing, paper writing, stressing, and working what felt like all the time, but following with the theme of this summer, time felt like it was on continual fast forward (and not just the one arrow fast forward, I'm talking the super speediest three arrow fast forward!).

When I think about what I did--what Mr. Sneaker and I did--I think we must have been crazy. Yet, I don't regret it. It was such a productive year that meant the difference between moving back to Portland in a few weeks and having a classroom and a job to return to and being out of work. Had I not returned and kept my place in the district, I guarantee I would not be able to find a job upon returning because they are very scarce. It meant the difference between being DONE with my core defense/year 2 of classes and just starting those classes this fall. Can I get a woot woot for being done with those classes?! If I hadn't gone back, I never would have gotten to know and work with Mrs. Bee (and that would be tragic!).

I am so happy that this year, although once again I am preparing to move back to Portland, Mr. Sneaker is coming along this time! It requires a lot more effort on the moving front, major furniture and life possession moving compared to just packing my own clothing to bring along, but I am so excited to re-establish a life in the US with my husband. Our house is still being rented and the tenants' lease goes until April, so we will probably not move back in until the school year is out (moving mid-year just doesn't sound fun). That means we are going to get an apartment in a fun area for the meantime and enjoy a new area.

Before we choose our new place, we will have temporary housing, and we just found out that one of the choices is the building Janine moved into a few weeks ago. I couldn't be happier that she and I (and Bailey!) will get to be neighbors for a few months. Her building has a fitness center and a really nice movie room with a movie theater seats and a huge screen that you can hang out in or reserve if you want to have friends over. It also has great views from the rooftop, so Mr. Sneaker and I are excited. He already has some travel back to Germany on his schedule in early September, so I see some major girl time in with Janine and our other friend Jill in the future. I can't wait to reunite with my girlies!

I feel like my life has involved moving every 9 months to a year since I started college. The task of selling furniture has come again. The pressure to eat all the non perishables that have accumulated in our pantry is back. I told Mr. Sneaker that tonight he will have a choice of boxed mac and cheese, canned chili, or frozen pizza. But, soon enough, our little European adventure will be over, so despite the stresses of once again having to move, it's probably better just to soak it in while I still can.

P.S. We leave for Barcelona tomorrow!

keep on keepin' on

It's officially starting to scare me how fast time is flying by. I was working on our itinerary for Barcelona earlier and when I looked up at the clock I realize an entire hour had gone by in what felt like no more than 5 minutes.

Jeesh!

Yesterday one of the new teachers who will be joining the staff at the international school where I used to work came over and bought a ton of our stuff as she recently moved to Germany for the new job. I sent a list of the items we wanted to sell to HR at the school to send out to new teachers and it worked out really well because this teacher needed a whole lot of stuff. She bought our guest bed, two cabinets, one set of bathroom drawers, the vacuum, hand mixer, iron, and ironing board. We are still trying to get rid of sell some more stuff, but aside from new teachers who just moved here, I don't know a lot of people who are in need of furniture. We get a 40 foot container to move our belongings back to the US, but we are shipping our car in that, so we only really want to bring back the furniture we originally brought with us in order for the car to fit. We are willing to part with most of the IKEA stuff we bought here, but it always sucks to sell stuff for a fraction of the price we paid...

The apartment is starting to look like a disaster zone because in order to sell cabinets, I had to empty them which makes for a lot of piles and bags of stuff sitting around not having a home. I can't stand the clutter and it's starting to stress me out. Not to mention, I can't even vacuum because I sold it. haha. The movers come next week on the 10th, so I only have to endure the clutter for a few more days (since we'll be away this weekend enjoying the sun in Spain). Once our stuff is moved out, we are moving into a different place for our last week here. One of Mr. Sneaker's friends is out of town working for the time being, so we are going to stay at his place.

I just got a new 10 punch card for the gym (which was easier than restarting my membership for just two months). I pay €50 for 10 visits to the gym which isn't awful, but since I got a brand new card on Sunday, I now have to hit the gym daily until we move to the next place because once we are there the gym is too far and I don't have a car. I am really not feeling up for a workout today, but I feel like I should go and make use of my daily punch! Hubs and I are supposed to meet up with a couple from the states who are considering making the move to Germany, so hubs will actually be home early from work today. That gives me about three hours until he is home in which time ideally I would like to workout, shower, and work on my paper. That's not gonna happen.

Ever since we got back I have been off the one a day bandwagon and haven't worked on my paper at all. Major fail! I have been reading a lot and some good ideas are floating around, but I  have just been off and haven't gotten it done. I am going through a phase with the mindset--it will get done when it gets done and I want to enjoy my last few weeks in Europe. But, I know once I get back to OR I have to hit the ground running in order to get ready for school, so I am hoping that I don't fall really far behind. Right now I have six pages, so I feel like I need to at least double that before I go back. Maybe once I get back from Spain I will change my MO to 2 a day....that way I could get 22 pages before I leave in addition to the 6 or so that I already wrote--not bad. There was something really serene about only feeling obligated to write one page a day and that was helpful. Now that I am behind I feel pressured and that makes me feel stuck in a rut.

Anyway, it's time to do something because I can't be lazy all day.

Have you been to Barcelona? Any tips on fun things to see or do would be greatly appreciated!