Love and Appreciation :-)

Today at school, I had the honor of hearing about Rachel Joy Scott.  Rachel Scott was the first of the thirteen Columbine victims, and although she was a mere 16 when she passed, her legacy lives on.  Rachel was invested in making the world a better place through compassion and kindness.  

To sum a 6 hour retreat in honor of Rachel up in a few words, my school is trying to make a chain reaction.  A chain of kindness and compassion for everyone, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, age, religion and so forth.  Several of us were called "leaders" today (as you saw me post yesterday!), meaning we are essentially in charge of the FOR (Friends of Rachel) Club.  This club does various community service activities in and around our communities. I am actually pretty excited to join!

While yes the speaker was awesome and of course the leaders training was beneficial, the biggest thing I got from today was how much we should appreciate all those around us.  You never know when someone will be snatched away from you, so let the people you do have know that you love and care about them.  It doesn't have to be a family member or close friend.  Let EVERYONE know.  Everyone played some role in your life, rather it is a classmate you hardly speak to or a long lost elementary school friend.  Not everyone may have written a chapter in your book of life, but they have all at least written a sentence.  Appreciate them.

I think I am on such an appreciate roll because of not only Rachel's club, but because the last few days have really made me understand that everything can change in a second.  I called a former coworker this weekend to ask to meet up for dinner.  While on the phone, I heard that another former coworker has been diagnosed with lymphoma at the age of 45.  She just happened to find it, and luckily it seems that she'll be okay.  On Friday night, my roommate (who is my future sister-in-law), had a friend over.  They hung out, talked, watched TV, did the usual laid-back Friday activities.  On Saturday, the friend was diagnosed with leukemia.  In a blink of an eye, the friend's life changed forever.  What's saying that tomorrow my life won't change (even if for the best)?  What's saying that I am guaranteed to be here for my Maine trip this weekend?  What's saying that my family & friends are as healthy as they appear?  You just NEVER know what tomorrow brings, or what tonight brings, or what the next five minutes bring.  Love those around you and make everyday count.

Whew, with all that off my chest, I am off to bed!  5:30 comes way too soon, although I count my blessings everyday for being employed <3.

Chili Cookoff!

Wow, it's been a few days since I've updated.  I have been swamped with correcting papers, writing my own papers, finding articles and so on. As much as I hate being overwhelmed with work, I must say that the days and weeks go by considerably faster when I am preoccupied with getting things done!

So this is an exciting and busy week for me!  Tomorrow at school we are having an all day retreat instead of classes. I honestly am lost as to what exactly the retreat consists of, but all the other teachers are confused too so I don't feel as bad. Apparently I was assigned to be a leader?  I do not know what I am leading exactly, but I am sure you'll read more about my leadership as the week continues.  When the week ends, I will be in Maine!!!  I am going up Friday-Sunday and I am beyond excited. I have already made reservations to take a haunted ghost tour and to visit the Pumpkin Festival.  My fiance and I prefer going to Maine during this time of year instead of the local Topsfield Fair. Yes, we pay for the room, gas, food, etc., but I swear that all comes out to be as much as 5 hours of the fair costs. It's INSANE how much the Topsfield Fair costs now!! My niece went last night with a group of friends and apparently 51 ride tickets cost $38.  $38!? In other words, $38 for rides, $10 for parking, $12 to get in....that's 60 bucks just for one person without playing games or eating! Insane.

I went to the Chili Cookoff in Manchester today with my niece and brother.  I wasn't suppose to go considering I have a ridiculous amount of work to do, but being the procrastinator that I am, I went anyways.  It was delicious, and very filling. I swear I had the equivalent of ten cups of chili.  It's amazing how one type of food can be prepared so differently.  I liked the smokey one, my niece liked the green one, my brother liked the spicy one.  It goes to show that everyone has such different tastes! I am seriously considering entering next year...that is until it slips my mind :-).

I am off to do laundry, make lunches for tomorrow, correct, write...sleep maybe?

Halloween at Danvers State...

My home sweet home...

Ever heard of the Danvers State Insane Asylum?  Yeah, I live there.  Well, not there, but the newly-built apartments from Avalon Communities. Living at a former mental hospital which is notorious for being haunted by the spirits who were tortured and even passed here was not my idea of a perfect first apartment.  However, I have to admit that the community is pretty amazing!  It is nicely landscaped, has great service, includes a fitness center (which needless to say I don't use), has a beautiful pool, hosts several community events throughout the year and so much more.  I do enjoy living in this world-known location, and if you're wondering, no, I haven't had an encounter with any ghosts. 

Considering movies and television shows like Session 9 and Ghost Hunters have filmed here, there is no doubt that the eerie main builing and the grave yard would make a perfect setting for entertainment purposes.  People of all ages have come to Danvers State to see if they can catch a glimpse of a spirit, and in many cases, people have "seen" things (kind of funny considering I've LIVED here 24/7 for nearly 7 months haven't heard a peep).  Therefore, with all the hype of haunted happenings in the vicinity of Danvers State, there is no doubt that Halloween is sure to be a prime time for spectators. 

With Halloween being a month or so away, I am anticipating crowds of people checking out the grave yard and driving through the complex to get a glimpse of ghosts, or better yet, the crazy people who actually pay money to live here.

Rockland, Maine :)

I know I already updated today, but here I am again!  I just need to share my excitment for booking my vacation to Maine!

I absolutely LOVE Maine.  It's kind of sad considering I am able to get there in an hour and most people would favor tropical places, but to me, Maine is a little piece of Heaven.

It all began about 6 years ago.  My fiance Pat and his family have a summer camp way up near Canada, and when he started asking me to visit there, I swore he was insane.  I went to college in Boston, and the wilderness just wasn't my thing - or so I thought.  When we originally went up in June 2006, I immediately fell in love.  The area his family vacations in is quiet, peaceful, beautiful and has about 800 residents. I soon realized there wasn't much to do up there besides talk, play games and enjoy the camp fire.  No TV, no cell phone signal, no radio, no communication with the outside world.  Simply amazing.

To make a long story short, Pat and I visit his family's camp every May, July and November.  Considering it takes 8 hours to get to, we take a mini-trip to Rockland, Maine every October to get a quick get-a-way.  We started visiting Rockland in October 2007 and it has been our tradition every Columbus Day since.  Rockland is a "big town" compared to where his family owns a house.  There are 7,000 people!  All the people are beyond friendly and share smiles and kind words with you, regardless of if you're a year-round resident or complete stranger.  Pat and I typically stay at one particular hotel in the downtown during this two night, three day vacation.  However, this year we will be staying in a different hotel due to drastic price differences.  When we are up there, we are planning on doing out typical Columbus Day routine - enjoying dinner at our favorite Rockland restaurant, bowling at the "cute" and resonably-priced alley, taking dozens of photographs and shopping at the nearby gift shops.  Also, we plan on checking out houses while there.  While we are not financially ready to buy a house quite yet, we love looking in Rockland because we have decided that in a few years, we are moving there.  We feel at home in Rockland, and we feel as if we belong there.  It's the strangest, yet best, feeling ever.

Hurry up October 7th!  We cannot wait any longer.

Whew! Saturday already!?

Does anyone else notice how quickly the days and weeks fly by?! I get excited every Friday for the weekend then suddenly it's Monday at 5:30A.M. and my alarm is buzzing that annoying sound.  I love work, don't get me wrong, but GEEZ, can't the time slow down?

This past week was the second full week of school for the students.  I discussed the Civil War briefly with the kids in 8th grade because our upcoming story was about some involved soldiers. It was crazy to see how many 13 and 14 year olds thought the Civil War was the "One with the British" and that Adolf Hitler was involved.  It goes to show how important social studies is!!!

I also let my students work on their personal narrative this week during class.  I know that they're in middle school so big projects should be completed at home, but I figured I'd be nice. I'd hate to see a student leave the project for last minute and not be able to ask me any questions that they may have. I did read some early submissions and they were awesome!! One 7th grader wrote about her first time flying.  She was so detailed and her descriptive language was beyond amazing.  I seriously felt like I was on the plane with her!  I couldn't help but praise her on her near-perfect assignment.

I think this coming week I am going to have the students debate on a current controversial topic.  I am thinking maybe dress code, standardized testing or a political topic. The kids could use some knowledge of current events and have the opportunity to share their opinions.  We'll see how it goes.

I'm off to take my Husky Juno for his favorite time of day - a walk. See you soon, readers!

Weekend News

Sundays come far too quickly. We wait & wait for the weekend to arrive and it's done within the blink of an eye!

Nothing too exciting or entertaining happened to me this weekend (but what's new?). On Friday I went to my parents' house and just hung out. It felt good to relax and unwind, but the overwhelming amount of school and work responsibilities I had to do was in the back of my mind!  While I was relaxing, all I could think about was the 100+ papers I had to correct, the discussions I had to respond to and the chapters I had to read.  But, being the procrastinator that I am, I didn't do an ounce of work or school material on Friday - or Saturday.  Instead, I spent Saturday having lunch and catching up with my college roommate, Meghan. Meghan is one of my closest friends but unfortunately lives about an hour away.  We met up for lunch at a half-way point and spent a few hours talking about what we've been up to, what's new and how are lives are post-undergrad. After Meghan and I parted, my fiance, brother and I attempted to checkout Oktoberfest in a nearby town.  It was fortunately sold out!! I say fortunately because I am not a beer drinker, and I wasn't really in the mood to spend $20 "just because".  Instead, we went to grab a bite to eat at a local restaurant and now I have a new favorite food, fried pickles! :) As usual, today, Sunday, was my stay-in-pajamas and be lazy day.  While I did do work and got my 100+ corrected (thanks to the help of my niece), I pretty much just lounged around.

I want there to be a weekend where something fun actually happens! Maybe next weekend I'll win the lottery or a mystery vacation! Wishful thinking....


Happy almost Monday everyone!

Hamster

A few nights ago, my hamster Goldie passed away.  Goldie was the class pet that I had last year when I was a long-term substitute for a majority of the school year.  Goldie was very special to me because my former students & I raised money through a can drive to purchase him and his neccessary supplies.  It took a lot of hard work and dedication to earn "Gold", and I remember the look on the kids' faces when he arrived in their classroom for the first time.

You may be wondering why I had Goldie if he was a class pet.  Why did I not raffle him off?  Why did I not give him away?  The answers are simple - fair is fair.  How could I give such an adorable animal to one child and not the other?  With that, I decided to keep Goldie as my own, but have him as a reminder of the good times I shared with my 20 children.

When Goldie passed away, I literally cried!  Some may consider that silly, especially since he basically ran around a small cage day in and day out.  However, a hamster can be just as lovable as a dog or cat.  Goldie would make me smile when he climbed his cage, and was a reminder of the first classroom I ever ran on my own.  I may get another hamster in the near future, but nobody will replace the original Goldie :-).