it's been a while

AH! The Sunday before finals started back in December, Jacksonville had the WORST ice storm I have ever seen!!! I knew it would be bad when I went to bed and it was thundering and lightning outside while it was 26 degrees out!! I woke up the next morning to power lines snapping and exploding from the ice-covered tree branches falling on them! Shortly after I woke up we lost power and were out for four or five days. It was a quick dash to get the cars into the garage before the branches over them fell- since everything was breaking under all the weight of the ice. No more than five minutes after getting my car into the garage, the two or three branches above my car all fell to the ground! I basically slept under layers of blankets at night, showered and quickly got dressed to go to school, then walked to campus and lived in Parker for the rest of the day with only snack foods like Wheat Thins to eat! Still, I managed to get all my math assignments done! The first picture is right after we moved the cars. The big branch hanging down in the center of the picture is basically where my car was. The second picture is just a few minutes later when the branch gave out!!!

I ended my horrible semester in December to yet another lost assignment. The worst part is that this time, it didn't disappear from my notebook.... it disappeared from INSIDE the professor's office while the professor was not there! And yes, I had to redo the assignment- AGAIN!

While I was home over Christmas Break, I had probably the best Christmas ever. I woke up with what I thought was heartburn at 4am Christmas morning and after trying several antacids, throwing up everything I took (and then some), and the pain not going away by 10 am, my neighbor (who is a doctor) came over and sent my dad and me to the hospital with what he thought might be appendicitis. So, my dad and I packed up and got into the ER about 11 am and admitted into the hospital about 5 pm with gallstones! The best part of the whole day was the pain medicine they gave me through the IV.... no wonder people get addicted to those things!! December 26 I met with the doctor and decided to have the surgery to remove the gall bladder. The thing with gallstones is that they never go away. Kidney stones get broken down enough to pass, but the gallstones are just kinda stuck there. I was able to have the laprascopic (spelling??) surgery so I only have four small scars and was able to get on an air plane to see Jon five days later! My family and I were finally able to have our Christmas three days late while I was still in pain and a little drugged. Post surgery, we found out that NEEDED the gall bladder taken out when I did because it was three times the normal size with about 20 gallstones each a little bigger than a small marble! No wonder I was in pain!! I have since recovered well and have had no more problems with "heartburn."

I was able to go to Colorado for a week after Christmas. I must say, it will be a little sad to not be able to watch the Chicago New Year's Eve celebration on TV from CO! Jon and I made the most of our New Year's eve since we had spent the day traveling. The rest of the trip basically consisted of me working on my management plan and the two of us playing and beating the Super Mario Galaxy game on the Wii!!! (it's a lot more fun than I had anticipated!)

From the fall semester, I had an incomplete in two classes to finish projects. One was my classroom management class and the other was my math class. I worked very hard on my classroom management plan, got it done and turned in and got another A from the toughest professor I ever have had!!! He really liked my plan and thought it was one of the best that was turned in from my class! I also got my math project/paper/presentation done on time. It was definitely a weight lifted off my shoulders to get those in. (However- the other person in my class did not get the math project done until six weeks after the late-due-date!!......)

Unfortunately, the second week of class my education professor (the really hard one mentioned above) had a massive stroke and ended up passing away for days later. It was sad when it happened, but I have really been missing him lately. I did not like him at first last semester and did not want to think he was helping us by making us do all the crap we had to do. However, this semester in my student teaching and starting to do interviews, I have seen/used SO much of what he taught us! I wish I could thank him and tell him he was right, but I'm sure he knows and is just laughing with me at how prepared I really am.

Currently, I have been student teaching at a high school near Jacksonville and have been LOVING IT! It is a lot of work, but I'm having so much fun getting to know the students, getting to know my teacher, and just being involved in planning and teaching lessons to watch students grow! Also, my supervisor and cooperating teacher both think I'm doing very well as a rookie and will be an amazing teacher with more practice!!

A few weeks into the semester I also took my last test for the state of Illinois to become certified. There are three tests you have to take (a basic skills test, content area test- or a math test, and an APT test over the theory of teaching) and I passed all three on the first try!!! Now all I have to do is finish student teaching and get my IL certificate to be able to apply for my CO teaching license.


OH- and I have officially decided to move to Colorado to be with Jon when I graduate! I'm going out there next week to visit and have some interviews with several school districts!!!! Wish me luck!

One more thing- the week after finals I decided to get out of my living situation and have moved and am basically living by my self now in a really nice apartment! This is so much better than what I had before!!!