CHRISTMAS CARDS!!!

I entered a contest about 9823 weeks ago to get a Christmas card from Sophia Kinsella. You know, the one I talked about here, here, and here? [and a few other places, too] You see, I am slightly obsessed, and have read her series of books TWICE. Plus all the other books she has written that are NOT in the Shopaholic series. WELL, either they just decided to give everyone who entered one, OR I WON THE CONTEST! I got a personalized, handwritten, and autographed Christmas card from the lady, herself! <3

PLUS! Kate [who is recently, newly employed! congrats!] from Suburban Sweetheart took the time to send me one, too! I am in love with Christmas cards. Love, love, love! Thanks, Kate! <3

After a night of sitting in traffic for 40 minutes, arriving at the wrong church, and completely missing the visitation and the memorial service that I was supposed to attend, tonight, this was such an improvement. So happy to come home to these. Thanks for making my night, ladies! <3

Happy Tuesday!

First! Make sure you all catch my feature from this morning on Shawni from A Spoonful of Love here!

I am having a really great day, today! So far, I have just been at school, and I DO have class tonight, but I am still pretty chipper :) I just spent a good amount of time catching up on blogs and getting that infamous Google Reader bold number down to zero. It's one of my favorite things to be able to read excellent posts and "star" them to check out again, later! Especially when it comes to the 2398 vegan/vegetarian blogs I am subscribed to ;)

Here are just a few of the posts I have starred since I began using Google Reader. I am a huge fan of finding new recipes and trying things out, so that's mostly what they are:

I am really excited to try out the these three most recent of my starred posts: "How to make brown sugar," "Pumpkin pizza," and "zucchini and chickpea burgers!" I am lucky that Nick is so open to trying whatever I make, even if it's a bite or two. 

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking a lot about Sophie Kinsella and her Shopaholic series. Well, I finally finished it, and the final book was just as great as the previous five, and the end leave plenty of room for a seventh book, so I am really excited! After I finished that book, in about three days, I started on one of the other Madeline Wickham (Sophie Kinsella's pseudonym) books I own but haven't read: Sleeping Arrangements.

The book was pretty good, but not what I was expecting from SK. However, I would still recommend it :) 

Also: I am teaching The Crucible to my AA kids, as I said last week, and they are really struggling with it. However, this is the first time I have read it at all, and I am loving it. I think it's really eerie and perfect for the fall season - and it's really interesting! We are also watching the 2004 film version alongside it, to make sure that the kids are understanding what they are reading. 

Lastly - Petsmart called today to formally offer me the spot in.... their groom shop! It was between that and Pet Care, which is their umbrella term for the part of the store that deals with fish, birds, reptiles, etc. and while I would have accepted it graciously, I was really hoping for the groom shop position. This means I get to work with puppies - every day! I am SO excited, since animals would totally be my profession if I weren't teaching. Yay!! 

Hope you all have a lovely Tuesday, I am off to mail Jaelynn from Pardon My Ffrench a thank you package for sponsoring me this month! 

<3 S

Can I get a minute, please?!

Have you ever had the kind of day where you want to start scribbling in a journal right when you wake up and can't shake that flustered feeling? Have you had one of those days where anything and everything annoys you? And then you get to school for an 8 hour day with kids who have been taking standardized tests all week and don't want to listen/do any work for you whatsoever? Well. Today was THAT day for me. As you know, I have five bells of 11th grade english, straight through until lunch, then plan bell, then after school plan until 2:30. By the time lunch came around, I had a splitting headache and NO patience left. I gave FOUR Wednesday night schools today, totally skipping over detentions and warnings. I rarely give these... I mean rarely.

Apparently, Holly was feeling the same way because when I was walking towards the door to pick up a veggie sandwich from Subway, she told me to stay and that she would take me out to lunch. At first I though I was in trouble, but it turned out she needed a break, too. It was nice to get out of the building for thirty minutes!

Also, I finally finished Shopaholic and Baby today and began reading Mini Shopaholic! I am so excited and I have read 5% of the book on my Kindle already and it's so good! I am drinking it up. Sometimes, I get so discouraged about reading, but lately it has been such an escape for me. I snapped this picture quickly with my phone, today, during plan bell. (Yes, that IS the too-expensive Vera bag I said I wouldn't buy here, but I couldn't help myself! And I have promised myself [and Nick, for accountability purposes] that I won't have anymore splurges until I have to shop for Christmas presents!

Another awesome realization of the day? I have only SEVEN weeks of student teaching left! Yesterday, I applied for my teaching license, and I am SO excited. I have been working so hard for this for four and a half years and it's finally paying off!! Plus? Holly told me last week that I won't be teaching for the last two weeks of my placement because I have to spend that time catching students up on the work I assigned before I leave. I KNOW I shouldn't be excited about not teaching, but, really? This is exhausting, and I am doing it for free. I can't wait for the break. This will also allow me to observe some other awesome teachers in the building!

Today, amidst all of the chaos in every single one of my bells today, I got a phone calle from the manager of some gift shops in hospitals in Clifton for an interview! They are looking for someone who only needs a few hours, and I know they aren't open late. Since I have been hurting for cash lately, I have been applying to places left and right and I am SO relieved that it is paying off. I don't know what I'll do about FamVid, yet. Probably keep them for a while! Then, after school, I called PetsMart where they are looking for a bather in the grooming dept. I have been wanting to work at PetsMart for a while now because working with animals has been my backup plan for a while since the little worry that teaching might not work out entered my mind. They gave me an interview! So, tomorrow, after school I have two interviews right in a row! Wish me luck :)

Also, even though I want to look like that girl while drinking a nice, ice cold Coke, I have set this little goal for myself - no soda for a whole month. This is a short term goal I have set in the hopes of kicking the habit altogether, eventually. I know that my kidneys (oh, boy, have I been having a sore lower back lately) and my skin will thank me so much. Granted I only drink diet soda (regular usually makes me feel sick from all the sugar!) and usually only when I am out to eat, I still want to try to completely cut it out of my diet. So far, I have made it to day 4!

Basically, this is the longest nonsense post, ever, and I apologize. Hello; ramble much? Sorry, folks.

xoxo S

P.s. I have already started my Christmas list. :)

Books = omg.

At school this week, the kids are taking the OGT (Ohio Graduation Test) and I am left with only a few students each bell, and my Kindle. This is what most of today looked like :

[Sidenote: I am starting The Crucible with the kids on Wednesday and I cannot wait. My favorite part about teaching literature? The background notes I give before each new book or work. I love to research and learn more about what I am teaching, and it makes me feel so smart to tell the kids + especially when they answer questions!!] 

So. Here are my books of interested lately!! I know I did a book post a while back and these don't exactly match up - but I have an explanation for that. Ever since school started I have lost most of my motivation to read. Until recently! I have been reading like crazy the past two weeks, and have almost finished the Shopaholic series, like promised, ages ago. I am on the fifth book:

and am eagerly anticipating ordering the sixth and newest book via my Kindle and Whispernet! There are two covers that I found for this book. The first one matches all of the other books that I have in this series, and others by Sophie Kinsella/Madeline Wickham, but the second one? I think it's super cute.

[Disclaimer: I do have a brain, guys. I do read interesting, though provoking, deep literature. On occasion. But sometimes a girl just needs to be obsessed with British Chick Lit. Am I right?]

This is the book that we assigned to the kids today for their long independent portfolio piece. Granted, it's an 8th grade level book, and they are 11th graders, it is still about one of my favorite subjects to learn about: the Holocaust. I know this is morbid, and you would probably agree with Holly about me, but I am just fascinated by the hope that is involved in stories about the Holocaust. The survivors, the victims, and what they leave behind. It's so through provoking and intoxicating. 

This book is, apparently, pretty graphic. I know I have learned about the Holocaust and know basics, but not enough to introduce the book sufficiently to class, so Holly did that part today. She also read a few excerpts from the book and omg. It really sounds like a fantastic (although, not very uplifting) read. My understanding is that this author has written a sequel to this book called Dawn. 

I also have been wanted to read this book by Lauren Weisberger. If you didn't know, she is the author of The Devil Wears Prada, which is another of my favorite books, I have read it a few times, and love the movie just as much. 

That's it for my book post, tonight :) I hope you guys found something interesting to read! xoxo Stephanie

Oh, hello, weekend!!

It’s so hard to believe that the last time I wrote was a whole week before the school year started, but it’s not surprise that I haven’t had the time. Student teaching is EXHAUSTING. But, seeing that I have gained another follower inspired me to create another update.

On the same note, it’s been a rough few weeks. The school and my fellow teachers are fantastic, and they even came to me with a need for a professional tutor for the after school OGT (Ohio Graduation Test) preparation program. This is exciting because not only will I get to help tons of kids who need to pass the OGT to graduate, but I am being paid what they would pay a teacher for this type of duty – almost $30 and hour. AND it’s just one more thing that I can put on my resume for when the time comes to woo a school with an open position for the next school year.

Needless to say, I have been exhausted and am SO ready for this long weekend break!

This is what the end to my first day at the school looked like:

Also, I have been rereading the Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella in order to review for the latest book coming out in just a week or two, Mini Shopaholic. I am currently on the third book in the series, Shopaholic Takes Manhattan.

I would recommend this series for anyone who likes chick lit, especially of the British variety, and for those who love to read but don’t have much time to enjoy the more serious and lengthy literature.

I would love to make this post longer, but the boyfriend/husband just returned from work. There’s sure to be more updates over the long weekend!

Welcome! To me!

Welcome to my new blog. I decided that the one over at LiveJournal was riddled with posts that came from a harder time in my life and I needed a change!

SO, the things in my life.

I have such a great life right now. A completely FANTASTIC boyfriend, Nick; a BEAUTIFUL Chihuahua baby, Guillermo; and so many, many wonderful friends.

My birthday just passed, and I got an Amazon Kindle from my parents and boyfriend.

In one and a half weeks, I have read four and a half books. I have gotten really into Gemma Townley lately, and have read three of her books already. I am currently on the third book in a series by her.

Just your average British chick lit. It doesn't take a lot of concentration or effort to read and is amusing and entertaining. Much like one of my favorites, Sophie Kinsella. She wrote the Shopaholic series, which is one of the best. ;) Not your typical high school English teacher reads, I suppose, but still fun!

Next week I start my first full time teaching experience as a student teacher at one of our local public high schools. A little intimidating! Numerous updates as it progresses...!

xo