Ten on Tuesday

I decided to get a head start since I'll probably forget tomorrow...

1. My first few weeks at OSU have been pretty much as good as the first! My classes are still going well, but are starting to pick up considerably. I suppose that it had to start sometime, right? I wouldn't say that I'm totally stressed, but if I don't keep up on it, I might be! I guess that's the joy of being in junior level classes, and all that I have to look forward to next year...and in Grad School. I'll try to just keep it in the here and now and not stress about what's to come, because it would do me absolutely no good to do so!

2. Since I didn't have classes a couple of Thursdays ago, I was able to jet over to Mimi's house to spend the day with her and my mom. We had a great day together, and I am pleased to say that Mimi is in WONDERFUL condition, all things considered. Now, she is able to stay at home without round-the-clock care, although it was recommended that someone drop in every day or so, just to check in and help her with meal preparation. She has stockpiled some freezer meals or food that people make while they're there, so all she has to do is pop it in the microwave. My mom made her a cheat sheet of everyone's phone numbers, and she is able to reference it to make calls. She has some minor speech lapses, but once you consider all she has gone through in the past month, it is a miracle she is still with us! We are truly blessed to have her with us!!

3. For Labor Day weekend, there was a flip-flop of the usual routine of my weekends. Usually, I go home to see everyone, but this weekend, everyone came to see me! (One of the perks of living at the lake!) Gina & Jeremy recently bought a boat, so Jeremy took some of us out tubing on Saturday. It was a lot of fun, although I think that I would have liked it better had he had a different tube at the time, only because it was hard to hold on to. Unfortunately, the boat motor was on the fritz by the end of the weekend, so that fun was put to a halt. In other good news, we are nearing the end of my deck construction, and all that we're lacking is the handrail to the steps! Okay, so this might not seem like a minor deal, but considering the fact that a month ago, I had to vault up the steps just to get into my trailer, I can live without handrails for another few weeks!

4. Another fun happening over break was Mr. Cody's 9th birthday. I, like you, am totally appalled by this, because I was eleven when he was born, which is officially starting to make me feel old!!! (Okay, I won't really get to that point until he gets his license or graduates, but still!) Cody had a beyond-awesome day, as he was able to go tubing, ride a jet-ski, go swimming, attend a concert, get a drumstick from said concert (there was an event at the lake, hence the last two), and get an amazing aircraft carrier cake from Gina. (I have pictures, but they aren't uploaded right now.) Seriously, all he could say after seeing his cake was, "Oh my gosh! Wow! This is AWESOME!! Thank you, Aunt Gina!! I don't want to eat it, because it looks too great! I LOVE it!" ...And so on for about ten-fifteen minutes, until he told us that "all fun has to end sometime", and he would eat the cake! You've gotta love that kid! For once, I was able to get him something he really liked since he is currently in love with OSU! I got him a Pistol Pete shirt and a poster that says "Orange Power" that was free at Lights on Stillwater two weeks ago. It was perfect and he loved it, so that makes me pretty happy!

5. I have not found a job, per se, but I'm still sticking to my previous philosophy, so I'm not terribly worried. I do have a babysitting gig that keeps me busy enough, though. We have a family friend who lives in Perry, and I have been babysitting her girls some in the past few weeks. That may or may not turn into a full-time-ish position, I'm not sure. All I know is that it is fun, pretty easy, and it IS a source of income, so I'm happy! Also, her girls are absolutely adorable and well-behaved...they're pretty much my adopted nieces! Good times there! :)

6. I am still loving all the good times there are at St. John's! I'm almost starting to feel like I live here, which I suppose isn't the worst thing in the world, because there's always something cool happening over here! I have started to settle into a group of friends here, which delights me immensely! How great it is to be friends with people who also bring me closer to God! (Okay, so I like to think that that has always been the case, but I'm glad that it's still happening here!) On a whim, I decided to join their intramural flag football team, which could be one of the more exciting things I've ever done in college. The main reason I joined was that they aren't intensely competitive and very few of us (myself included) knows how to actually play, so there isn't much pressure, just lots of fun! I'll have to tell you how that one goes...

7. This is a total example of first world problems...my iPod is on the fritz, and it's about to drive me crazy!!! I am so used to having it as a constant companion for walking to class, going running, trying to fall asleep, or in the car, etc. Now it isn't working, and I'm sad. I think I'm going to have to take it to the Apple store the next time I go to the city, but until then, I get to do all of the things I just mentioned, sans music :( Like I said, first world problems!

8. I started observations last week! I had a blast, and I love my cooperating teacher. It amazed me how much I learned from her in just six hours of sitting in her room! I'm pretty sure I took like 1-1/2 pages of notes (college-ruled notebook paper, btw), just from talking to her, if that tells you anything. I love a lot of the things she does in her classroom, but I think I have found two favorites. The first thing is that she gave up her planning period just to teach a class called STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics). It started when she attended an OSU summer seminar about it, and she ended up receiving a $500 stipend to buy materials to use in her classroom. At the time, she incorporated it into every class she taught, but then she started to run out of time to teach what she had to teach, and she was left with a bunch of STEM material she still wanted to use. That prompted her to approach her superintendent about the possibility of using her planning period to teach it as a separate class. Her superintendent loved the idea, and offered to pay her extra for doing so! I admire the fact that she wasn't motivated by money, she just did it because it was good for her students. Now they do projects with robotics, solar panels, and other things of that sort, and they all seem to have a blast with it! The other thing she does is that every few weeks, she opens up her classroom at 7 AM for students to come in for tutoring. At this time, they have the opportunity to re-do one assignment, that isn't a test, for a better grade. The only catch is that the door locks at 7:10, so students can't just flow in and out. Would you believe that every time she offers tutoring, at least fifty (50) students show?! Fifty students! That is amazing, and a testament as to how dedicated she is to her students!! That's the kind of teacher I want to be! I'll have plenty more to share as time goes on, I can't wait!

9. I'm not gonna lie, I hate not having internet at my trailer. I really, really don't like it. I guess I can't complain, because pretty much everywhere in Stillwater/on campus has free Wi-Fi...the church even has it!  I guess I just miss the convenience of having it at home, but it isn't the worst thing in the world, I suppose. I think it's one of those things that will build character over time, so I guess that's a plus! Life goes on..

10. I came to an odd realization last night, which might explain why I'm loving it so much over here. This is the first time in my life where I'm not totally surrounded by people who have attended school with me for a long time. (That's not the realization, stick with me for a minute..) Because of that, I am surrounded by people who really don't know much more about me than what they learn from talking to me or their personal observations. For the first time in a long time, people know me as more than "that girl with REALLY good grades". I mean, it's not a bad thing for people to regard you as being intelligent, but it's more of the fact that people are actually seeing me for who I really am, not who they assume I am. People actually see me as someone with a personality and feelings, instead of a girl who lives and breathes all things school-related. I have finally started to escape the "smart girl who doesn't have a life" stereotype that has followed me since grade school. It's incredibly freeing to still be the same person with the same values and study habits/grades, but to not be immediately labeled as something that doesn't necessarily align with my personality. I love that I am able to have more than just my "inner circle" of family and friends who know that there's more to me than that! It is a beautiful thing, I tell you!

Have a great week!