So I've noticed this pattern in my posting. I start really strong at the start of the week and then drop off on Thursday. I'm not too sure why. Maybe I just get so ready for Friday that I don't want to talk about Thursday. Anyway, last Thursday I was busy baking cookies and talking on the phone so I am pretty sure that was the main reason I did not post. Time to play catch-up now:
On Friday, we got out of school early so the day went faster than usual. I was bound and determined to get my students' pen pal letters completed so after they were done with their typical Friday tests, we spent the remainder of the time writing letters. We finished them though! After lots of prying and urging them to write and focus on the task at hand, all 30 letters are written and on their way to Kansas. They were all very excited to finish and have been asking if their pen pal is going to be on our field trip this week. My class does not quite grasp how far away Kansas is I guess. After the students were dismissed, we had a staff meeting for about an hour and a half over teacher-bullying and what we can do to best serve our students' needs. There were many comments said that made me think about my plans for next year and also solidified what I think I am supposed to do for next year. After the meeting was over, Patricia and I did a few more school-related tasks and headed back to the apartment for the weekend. Friday night we watched 27 Dresses and grilled burgers. From my experience this weekend, grilling is virtually impossible to do in the dark but not completely. I managed to cook 3 delicious burgers on the grill outside in the dark while the other two prepped the rest inside. We ate fairly well that night and were able to relax as a whole. Amanda was finally getting over being sick (she stayed back from service two days this week) but sadly, Patricia is starting to get sick. We think she might have strep and is going to the doctor tomorrow.
Saturday I woke up early to go to Mass at St. Maurice's in memory of Mark and Ryan Sagesar. Mark and Ryan died in a plane crash five years ago on Saturday. (If you want to know the rest of the story, feel free to ask.) Ryan was a classmate of mine at Carroll. Both of them lived great lives though and so I decided I wanted to remember them on this anniversary by celebrating their lives and accomplishments instead of being sad. Mass was very fulfilling that morning and then when it was over, I had two people that had attended Mass approach me and tell me they were glad I was there. It made me feel really good inside to know that these two strangers had gone out of their way to make me feel welcome. I had discussed with the girls the night before that I don't feel very welcomed at my school. No one is rude to me but they also do not talk to me at all or make us feel like we are apart of their community. Anyway, this man and woman just made me feel really welcome. That was a good start to my Saturday I felt. After, I worked out and relaxed for the morning. I started on my lessons and organizing everything for the week. My afternoon was pretty non-eventful. Come to think of it, I don't really remember what else I did. I went to Mass at 4:30 and was able to get some information about helping at their country fair this coming weekend. All of the other volunteers are coming down this weekend to celebrate birthdays and they can get reimbursed for gas if we do some form of volunteer work so that's our plan. Hopefully they have space for 12 young adults to help! Saturday evening, I watched K-State play and was able to catch up on the phone with my friend Hannah that got married over the summer. Sadly, K-State lost but it was a good game to watch. Slowly but surely, I have been getting my roommates to watch more sports. They might not like it but they watch anyway! Right before I was about to go to bed, I received a text from my little sister saying there was an earthquake back in Kansas! I was shocked but grateful it did not cause any damage. Along with everyone else, I still cannot believe there was an earthquake back home! My roommates commented that maybe the world really is coming to an end. Silly roommates.
Today was another relaxing and productive day. I woke up after having a dream about Kansas and starting a church out in the country. It didn't really make sense to me either. Neither did the dream I had last week about meeting Will Smith in the ESU cafeteria with Jenae. Maybe that means my celebrity sighting item on my bucket list will come true! Anyway, I did my grading this morning and then did some more lessons planning in the afternoon. I watched the Chiefs get dominated by the Dolphins and am preparing myself for a few comments from some of my boys. They asked me about the Chiefs last week and we talked about the game so we will see what they say tomorrow. Eventually, I decided I needed to take advantage of the nice weather so I went to go read by the pool for awhile. I'm not sure why I do not do that more often. It's been in the upper 70's and low 80's here recently which is nothing compared to back home. It's things like the weather that make me feel like I am in a completely different world from everyone back in Kansas. Then I realize that I am almost in a completely different world because of how different my experiences are from Kansas. I was feeling very Kansas oriented today after hanging up some photos and drawings so I colored a picture of a sunflower and hung it on my wall. My roommates thought it looked very pretty! The rest of my evening has been spent cleaning and organizing for my week.
My week ahead has the following activities planned: a field trip on Wednesday, dance on Thursday at school, no school on Friday, and company coming for the weekend on Friday. So many exciting events this week! I hope I'm ready for it all! Well, I hope you set your clocks correctly today. It seems a lot later than 8:15 here. That means I still have time to squeeze in a workout. I am going to start setting goals for different aspects of my life this week. For example, I am going to work out 4-5 times a week and start portioning my food when I bring it back from the store. Since I really enjoyed Mass on Saturday, I want to start making it a habit to go to Mass on Saturdays when I can. I've also recently started reading the daily Mass readings online and reflecting on them. As for school, I want to work on my time during lessons and really focus on making sure I am helping all of my students, not just a few. I think I am overlooking some that probably need more attention than what I'm giving them.
Fingers crossed I can achieve a few of these goals this week! You will have to wait til the end of the week to find out! Have a marvelous Monday and I hope you accomplish some goals this week as well!
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