it only took me a month

what up, y'all!

i had to take a month long hiatus. sorry!

but this is what I have done in the last month...

moved

threw a baby shower

went to a couple of weddings

a lot of meetings

early mornings, late nights

wrote lesson plans for 9 grades

started school!!!

here are the afters of my classroom transformation... my mother still has the before pictures.

view to the door from my desk

from my desk to the front

another wall

view from the door and yes the whole room was that yellow

bulletin board that im really proud of :)

kiln "room"

ahhhhh!

i'm still weirded out that i am the teacher. what? i felt like i was "playing school" on wednesday. i haven't given any spankings yet... just a couple of "talking to-s."

and you can see my classroom blog at cornerartk8.blogspot.com

ok, so i'll try to be better about posting now that i'm getting things under control... but thanks for your patience! ha

weekend scenes :: trip home

i went home for the fourth of july.

the fourth of july is one of my favorite holidays.

i love fireworks. i love being outside. i love america.

my sister, brother in-law, and nephew came home too.

unfortunately, the weather wasn't always cooperative. 

we played by the pool when we got the chance.

now feast your eyes on a bunch of pictures of boom boom:

he loves to swing.

he loves to eat.

fruit salad. 

he loves tiny b.

he loves his car.

he and uncle geg make the same faces...

he loves to fly!

he loves us!

boom!

weekend scenes :: party trick

this weekend... i laid by the pool. got a tad bit burnt.

i purged a lot of my belongings... 

and learned how to make that amazing heart out of money.

i feel accomplished.

sunny and i went to mama jo and papa jack's for dinner on sunday. 

sunny played pretty sweet with my two younger (6 and 2 year old) cousins.

sunny doesn't often see people under 5 feet.
therefore, she doesn't know how to act.

but she made me pretty proud. she only made the 2 year old cry once.

yay, sunny!

she's had a lot of exposure to the little people lately... tina brought her niece over last week to help me make a pie and sunny barked her little face off.... for 2 hours straight... 2 days in a row.

baby steps.

t.m.i. tuesday

there was nothing on tv sunday night....

so i made the decision to watch....

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR

yep.

let's just say i havent watched the disney channel in some time.
and...
it was enchanting.

i sent my friend christina a text asking her if it was ok for me to be watching this movie ( you know there are rules to being a teacher, like touching students or buying them alcohol... i didnt want to cross those lines, since these ARE real high school students in the movie ). she relieved me that it was indeed ok for me to watch but not to learn any of the dance sequences (too late).

i then told her i had already rationalized that it was ok for me to have a crush on zac effron... she confirmed it. 

unfortunately, my bed time is 10 and the movie didnt get over until 11 so i have no idea what happened at the prom!! what about gabriella? and sharpei????
so many questions!

another good thing about the disney channel... 

the commercials.

they are so informative. i had no idea demi lavato was so passionate about dance!

im definitely team demi. 

she's so more real than selena gomez.

by the way, selena and nick broke up.

theyre trying to focus on their careers.

tears.

weekend scenes

from two weekends ago...

we took these cuties to the alabama gymnastics meet. they did an exhibition before the meet began and it was super cute. they also got to see the alabama gymnasts and their coach came and spoke to them.
alabama gymnasts = rockstars to these kids

greg came and we went to see alice in wonderland! finally!

it was really fun in 3D. the mad hatter's eyes kept freaking me out!

then greg and i made our restaurant quality meal.

i was clearly excited about it.

ps. that is not my good side.

t.m.i. tuesday

because its my blog... and i do what i want.

i am going to tell the tale of a very painful, nerve racking, disturbing experience yesterday and surprisingly it has nothing to do with kids...

so after teaching all day and baking cookies for my teachers bday, i had to go to my bi-monthly torture session aka student teaching seminar. we were moved from our spacious room fit with desks and arm room to a cramp mini-theater style suffocation holding chamber. i chose the seat second from the end by this guy i know (i thought it would be awkward if i chose the end seat bc it would be me saying "i really dont want to sit beside you" and chose the second to the end seat beside him which now that i think about it is probably more awkward, but i digress). so anyway, this red-headed fellow comes in late and naturally the only open seat is the one i didnt choose to my left. i would say he had an awkwardness about him but it was subtle. 

this is when the disturbing event takes place...

said fellow chews and i mean GNAWS his fingernails for the next TWO HOURS STRAIGHT. and when i say two hours... i mean CONSTANTLY. it was so ridiculous, i looked on my watch to time him. 

he was using his other hand to position the thumb nail so that he could get the best gnawing angle. he was spitting fingernail pieces on the floor, wiping them on his shirt and pants. he was making noises kind of like when sunny licks and chews her feet. he was turning his head to get the best advantage on his nails, i mean he was really getting down on them! i kept thinking, "there is no way he has anything left to chew" but how wrong was i! i am not exaggerating for the sake of a story on this one... he really did chew his nails the ENTIRE time. cant you tell how disturbed i am???

so not only being grossed out by the noises and the flicking of chewed fingernail shards, the only thing i could think of was, "he's been at a school all day." if you havent been to a school lately, they are like living petri dishes. kids coughing, spitting, picking noses, using the bathroom... and turning the same door knob as him. i wanted so badly to bring someone else's attention to the situation so that they could suffer with me. i kept looking at the dude to give him a hint but he was in the zone. i really contemplated just telling him but im not heartless.

we had two guest speakers... one of which was very interesting and enjoyable but i couldnt fully concentrate on them because red to my left was having the thanksgiving dinner of nail chewing.

still completely disturbed... and grossed out.

____________________________________

text message conversation:

me: pants on the ground, pants on the ground.

greg: yep.

greg: what made you think of that?

me: well i wanted to send you a text though i had nothing to say. so it was either pants on the ground or you are my sunshine. the choice was obvious.

greg: yes it was...

mid-week jam

ive had a day of teaching and kids. this song doesnt neccessarily reflect my day. it is a depressing song but it makes me happy. ha!

now im going to rot my brain with toddlers and tiaras. night night!

whew

as you can tell by the frequency of posts... i have been busy with student teaching!

i am now known as "miss blackwood."

moments to note:

- handmade card addressed to MRS blackwood

- kindergarten students proclaim i have "hannah montana nails"

- impromptu teaching on second day due to student fight

- new buddy named Mar'Keith

- ive been told about dad's hairy armpits (yes, really)

- and most importantly, lots of hugs!

the kids are sweet (for the most part) and everyone has been so nice. i am tired but its not as bad as i thought it was going to be waking up at 6 everyday and still working at the gym. i cant wear jeans and i have to wear comfortable shoes which are not the cutest ones ever. but i start teaching next week and then i have to teach for two weeks straight! ahhhhhh!

in other news, project runway is back so i must take a shower now because as soon as its over at 10, i must be in bed. ha.