I'm Back!!!

Hi there!

How have you been?  

Soooo...I've been gone a long time. 

(Awkward silence)

I am a very fickle and indecisive person. I am a flip-flopper who has ADD.  But I am trying to get better.  

Anyway, I wanted to fill you in on what I have been up to.  Not a whole lot has changed, really.  Still married.  Still have only one kid.  Still working full-time.  The biggest difference would have to be my job.  I am a teacher, but have switched from general education (I have taught second and third grade) to special education. And it is kicking my butt.  This change has been much harder than I had ever anticipated as the challenges are far greater than I had ever dreamed.  I love helping others, and this is truly a job for those who love to help those who really need it.  Enough about my job.  I spend too much time thinking about it, worrying about it, planning for it, doing it. 

So to get my mind off all of the stress I am getting back into blogging and vlogging on YouTube.  I am excited to be back, and even more excited to catch up with my internet buddies whom I abandoned.  I've been around, watching videos and reading blogs.  I just haven't been commenting :) 

I am glad to be back!!!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christephanie5288/454008817999716?ref=ts&fref=ts

What I've Been Up To

It's been forever since I've blogged!  Here's what I've been doing:

1. I changed positions at work and I have been needing to learn my new job.  I've also gotten a lot more responsibility (new committees and such), which means more time devoted to work.  

2. I've picked up a couple of new hobbies: sewing and guitar.  I am teaching myself, so I am failing miserably at both, but still having fun.

3. I was recently the matron of honor in my sister-in-law's wedding.  She was engaged for all of four months, so that has kept me pretty busy.

4. Chris and I have tried to make it a priority to get out of the house more. We've been exploring our city and spending more time with friends and family.  I am horrible at taking pictures of our adventures (note to self: get better at this! Those memories are precious!), but I think I should start taking pictures and posting them...We shall see.

5. Plain old life. And my unrealistic expectations that I can be superwoman and get everything done that I want to get done in a day.  I've really got to get over having those.  

Thank you to those who have kept in touch and wondered where I was.  This meant more to me than you realize.  

Hope to blog again very soon!

Childhood Memories: Christmas Eve Surprise

I have been teaching my students how to write personal narratives and part of that teaching is modeling writing.  I have enjoyed writing my own stories so much and would like to share some of them with you. Here is one of my favorite memories:

Christmas Eve Surprise

As a child I spent every Christmas with my grandparents, and the Christmas that I was four years old was no exception.  My mom packed our car full of gifts, our overnight bags, and of course our two cats Kiki and Tarrat. 

            Soon after arriving at Grandma and Grandpa’s old farmhouse Mom and I settled in by putting the gifts under the small tree in the living room and chatting with Grandma and Grandpa in the kitchen in front of the wood-burning stove. 

            Merrroowww! Crash!  The sound came from the living room.  More specifically it came from the Christmas tree in the living room.  The four of us rushed in to see Kiki attacking the tree as if it were the last fish on earth.  The tiny tree swung around, ornaments flew off, and Kiki had a look on his face of pure crazed kitty ecstasy.  If Kiki could have said “weeeee!” I swear he would have. Tarrat was quietly observing, in awe of her feline friend.  Grandma panicked, “Get that cat off my tree!” she yelled. Grandpa found the sight hysterical.  My mother and I were too shocked to do anything but watch the poor, defenseless tree pivot dangerously with our crazy cat barely holding on by a paw.

            The tree finally tipped over, bringing Kiki down with it.  Grandma chased the cat, which ran and hid under the couch.  Mom and I cleaned up the mess, noticing that all the presents were intact.  And Grandpa?  He was still chuckling. 

Missing My Dad

He was my favorite person in the world.  And then one day, out of the blue, he was gone.  Try explaining death to a two-year-old.  "Daddy is gone and never coming back," is what my mother would tell me when I would ask for my father (which I'm told was quite often).  I wasn't allowed to attend his funeral for fear that I would wiggle out of the arms of whoever was holding me and into the casket with my favorite parent.
It's amazing how that love never goes away.  To this day I adore my father.  I barely remember him, but the love I have for him is immense.  It's idealized: he will always be perfect in my mind. I will never know his faults, never have bad memories to tarnish the good, well, there are a lot of nevers.
Insensitive and/or ignorant people have told me "At least you were so young."  Others have flat out argued with me, "There's no way you could love someone you lost when you were a two."  It's amazing how people can tell you how to feel when they have never lived through your experiences.  The truth is I do love him and I think of him every day.
Bottom line: it doesn't matter how old you are when you lose someone you love.

I'm Back!

I've been back at work for about four weeks, which I am hoping is just enough time to adjust to new routines.  Therefore I am back to blogging at least three times per week.  This one's gonna be simple: Music Monday. I stole this idea from Courtney of http://www.kyleandcourt.com/.  I miss her Music Mondays so much!  Anyway, here's my first song: Evening Kitchen by Band of Horses.  I scoured YouTube for an actual music video only to find fan recorded live versions.  This is the best I could find.  Enjoy!!!

Just an Update

I am officially back at work.  I have mixed emotions about this.  On the one hand I miss Claire like crazy!  On the other hand I do enjoy my job; it is challenging and rewarding.  However, I am not giving up my hopes of winning the lottery so that I can afford to become a SAHM, haha.

I will post more this weekend!

My Nightstand

I must admit that I have a bit of a voyeuristic side.  I enjoy watching house tours, those "What's in My Purse" videos, and hauls (I especially love grocery hauls, though these are not too common).  Since I enjoy these things I assume others do as well.  Therefore I thought I'd give you a peek at what's on my nightstand.

1. Alarm clock
This alarm clock is amazing!  I can't stand really loud alarms, so I bought one that wakes me up to birds chirping.  It also has a little sun on top that lights up and then rises.  I love it!

2. Magazines

These change pretty often, but right now I have InStyle, Popular Science, Martha Stewart Living, and a teacher supply catalog. 

3. Books

I am always reading a book, and the two I'm working on right now are both nonfiction.  One is a biography of John Adams, the other a self-help book titled Creating Your Best Life Now.  

4. A movie

This is by far the most embarrassing item.  It is one of my favorite movies, but I hate to admit it, because the thing is so darn cheesy!  Oh well.  Everyone needs a little cheese in their life.  The movie is called The Good Witch.  There is a whole series of them shown on the Hallmark Channel, which I don't get because I have stupid Uverse.  Anyway, this is the only one available on DVD.  And I love it.  

There are a few other things: a lamp, a coaster (that I made myself!), and three tealight holders (all of which are empty with the exception of some Chapstick).