Best Friends

Amy & Paul came to visit last night! We oo'd and ah'd at the lights downtown, had sangria and ate dinner at Harry's. (MMMM she crab soup!) I'm so thankful for my best friend and am so happy that she found the love of her life that she gets to marry in a mere 3 months!.

Amy & I have been best friends since 8th grade... don't really remember how it happened although I'm sure she knows... I think we met at youth group and then played each other's volleyball teams a short while later. We hit it off and were quickly inseparable! Kelly joined us not long after that and together we created the trifecta known as the "Weenie Sisterhood" which may or may not have been inspired by the YaYas or "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" movies that came out in high school. We've been through a lot together and they know me a lot better than I know myself. They are beautiful, wonderful people whom I'm so proud of for pursuing their dreams, even if that meant picking up and moving across the world... I praise God for these girls to keep me accountable and know we will be friends the rest of our lives!

"A cord of three strands is not quickly broken..."

Yes, it's a picture of a picture. So what.

Yay for weddings!

Just wanted to document this moment. Amy asked the guy why he was wearing a fur coat, and he promptly put it on her and proceeded to dance next to her. 

<3 them! (but NOT loving how seafoam green the walls look in this picture. Need to repaint for the third time!) 

Mmmm.... PJs....

I think I could get used to this whole not-working thing. Having a week off by myself allows time for exercising, eating well and even reading grown-up books. It forces me to tackle projects, like organizing the clutter that has accumulated in the back bedrooms and putting up things on the walls that have been sitting around since we moved here. And finally, not working creates time for socializing and drinking wine, which I will do with Amy and Paul tonight when they arrive. 

Mike thinks we should be retired now, then work later. I think I'm beginning to agree. Too bad he doesn't have the week off with me. 

Lazy Aftermath

      Christmas in Melbourne was everything a girl could ask for, chock full of sappy moments & laughter.

    I loved when my mom reached for my hand while laughing over my favorite Sesame Street episodes on YouTube (does anyone else remember this? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANQPlGmhAmA)

    I enjoyed spending time with my cousins & their precious baby boys on Christmas morning. I have to admit watching them open presents and screaming with delight stirred the baby itch that's hidden somewhere within me (but no worries- it was suppressed quickly.)

   I'll cherish the laughter we shared as Mike spent 15 minutes unwrapping his new fishing pole that I meticulously covered with tape and small shreds of paper, or as Bryan serenaded us with made-up accordion music, and Mike's mom schooled us all in "Sorry." 

   I was overwhelmed with memories and love as I spent time with friends who will always be in my heart, no matter how far away we end up or how much time passes between seeing each other. It was wonderful to share a Panera breakfast with Cheree, catch up with Jessica as our dogs played tug-a-war, and run around Amy's house with Paul as if I were in high school again. Kelly was missed but we'll see her soon at Amy's WEDDING!!

   It was topped off by the promise of a road bike from Mike so that we can go on long rides together. I love my husband and look forward to new adventures in 2011.

Diego didn't know what to do with the stuffed dead animals in Amy's den...

Oh December

Let's just recap the last couple of weeks with pictures.

Live nativity with the besties, complete with donkeys and camels and a real baby Jesus.

Gingerbread competition inspired us to recreate the birth of Jesus.

Amy's home! And is that Tim Tebow?

Annie's home! Did the old lady at Walmart know that asking Annie to take the cart back for her was the most exciting thing that will happen to her all week long?

I caught something on fire for the first time. Good thing Mike was there to stomp on it, cause apparently waving it in the air only made the fire bigger...

Love my 8th graders! 

I thank God for the loves of my life <3

Happiness is:

a warm cuddly lab

chili on the stove

Michael walking through the door 

tomorrow being Friday

conversations with best friends 

Secret Santa gifts and Christmas cards

teacher friends

old Christmas pictures:

 

no worries

Only good things to speak of tonight! Full of smiles as I sit here wrapped in a homemade quilt, sifting through endless sites on "A Christmas Carol" which I am starting tomorrow. I'm looking forward to working on it with the kiddos, but also am feeling slightly overwhelmed at the enormity of its theme. I feel like the story is an awesome opportunity to impart fantastic life lessons that will alter their very existences! Okay, maybe not, but it does share an important message that we are quick to overlook once the holidays approach. 

I feel like Britney on Glee when she loses her holiday spirit... like Cindy Lou Who when she sings, "Where Are you Christmas? I cannot find you!" I've been consumed with thinking about the perfect gifts, experiencing the right amount of holiday cheer and making my house look Christmas-worthy. But I can't help thinking about how much money is spent during the holidays on large quantities of gifts for people, most who don't need a single thing in the world. When I find myself grumbling that the heater's not kicking in soon enough in the old truck, my mind wanders to the homeless who are spending the nights outside. And my heart hurts because I feel like I'm not doing anything to acknowledge these injustices. Nothing's wrong with dropping x amount of money on a light-up penguin for the front yard, but donating to a toy drive will make me think twice. 

Let's face it; I'm a Grinch in need of a Savior. Thank God for grace. 

On a lighter note, last night I attended a redneck Christmas party:

Other good things? 

When I went to watch last night's "Glee" episode, I realized I forgot to watch last week's, too! Double whammy!

Our annual Christmas wreath from Antigen & Horace was waiting on the doorstep!

I got to talk to Annie twice today!

I ate my favorite dinner (pasta, olive oil, steak seasoning) 

and now i'm doing nothing but sitting on the couch.

Decorating with Sensory Details

Sounds: Charlie Brown's Christmas, following by Emmy Lou Harris

Sights: Ornaments commemorating my Christmases spent with Mike so far. All 2 of them. Needless to say, the tree is a little sparse. Can't take my childhood ones just yet from home. 

Tastes: Chocolate chip cookies

Touches: Christmas lights on house, tree picked out from the lot

Smells: Christmas candles pulled out of storage (partly melted?) & our tree

Let the Christmas festivities begin!!

Kicking the season off right!

It all began with assembling and decorating Ashley's tree in her new home! Who knew that there'd be that many "that's what she said" moments with something so tame? A new all-time record was set. Love the girls that God has blessed my life with!

The following days brought ice on the truck. We may live in Florida, but we live in the COLD part. It was exciting this week, but I know I'll be over it next month when I'm still freezing my buns off in a truck that refuses to heat up in an efficient amount of time.

And I think my fingers just accidently purchased Sufjan Steven's Christmas album that I randomly discovered this morning. His strange use of random instruments used to irk me, but apparently my tastes have changed. 40 Christmas songs for $16? I'll take it. Listen here to see what I'm talking about.

Today promises decorating the house & tree for Christmas, lots of holiday music, the fireplace hooked up, and plenty of time playing outside with Mike & Diego in the gorgeous Florida sunshine. 

This Week's Happenings

So far, so good.

There's Thanksgiving leftovers still in the fridge. Mike was embarrassed to have to take them to work today for lunch. Can't be wasteful, so I put all the ham in a pot and am currently making black bean soup... mmmmm.

Started a new devotional this week-- attempting to get up a wee bit earlier to start my day off right. So far, fantastic! Diego even gets to go on a walk before school, which makes us all happy.

So this weekend, Mike, his dad, and his brother constructed a cornhole game. I've been put in charge of making the beanbags, which required me to teach myself how to use a sewing machine. Currently my dining room table looks something like this:

 I pulled out the Singer from the bottom of the storage closet (thanks to Mrs. Suey, who also bequeathed me with the phenomenal square dancing dresses) and watched a whole lotta youtube videos to refresh my memory. Everything was going great and I kept announcing, "I LOVE SEWING! This is the GREATEST!" 

... then the dang thing stopped working. 

Needless to say, after taking it to a random sewing shop, it was user-error. Production should be up and running tomorrow. 

Thankful for Thanksgiving

Ahhh, Thanksgiving. 

Had a fantastic time with my parents and the Checchias, ate tons of food, attempted mini projects, and even had time to read a book (Half Broke Horses.) It's about the author's grandmother growing up on a ranch in Arizona-- made me a little sad that there are NO similarities between my world and that of someone growing up in the Depression. Everything is easy for me, obtained at the click of a button. I love air conditioning, dish washers, and indoor plumbing and cannot even imagine skinning cows, gelding horses, or using an outhouse. Maybe one day Mike & will find property in the middle of no where and live off the land. 

Anyways, Thanksgiving was wonderful and I did not ruin it. We all pitched in to create a yummy spread of traditional food. 

The only thing missing was Annie, who is currently hiking Patagonia and is coming home in a couple of weeks. Back to school-- 3 more weeks until another break! Can't wait!

Day-Off Bliss

Preparing for Thanksgiving at your house requires ample preparation, including (but not limited to...)

Grocery Shopping

Last-Minute Decorating

Wearing Diego Out 

(so he's not a complete SPAZZ when company arrives)

& most importantly, thanking God for life <3

thankful for a purpose

God has put me on this earth for a short time for a purpose. This purpose changes over time, but the idea remains; I am here to love & serve. No matter how overwhelmed I feel when thinking about where our education system is heading, or whether or not my kids can determine if a sentence is interrogative, or even if teaching becomes a scripted program that cannot be deviated from... I WILL reach out to my students. I WILL make my teaching relevant and engaging. And I WILL offer life lessons that were given to me by my parents, teachers, and other prominent adults in my life who love me.

You know what else? I AM a lifelong writer, just like I profess to be a lifelong reader. I will be confident in my ability to communicate through writing. I will stop blaming teachers for 'not teaching me how to write' and will start doing something about it. I'll make more time for writing in different styles. Even choosing to maintain blog was a huge step for me because I feel incompetent as a writer. But who cares? I'm not writing with the intention of entertaining an audience; I'm documenting my life.

Thankful for the weekend, for a principal who believes in me (and professional development,) for an amazing media specialist who is pretty much my St. Augustine Mom, and for incredible teachers/friends who love and care for our kids no matter what.

Every bag is maxed out with free books!! English teacher's DREAM!!

Space Mountain - BEST RIDE EVER. 

It came it came!!

This week's highlights:

#1

After 2 years of searching I found the perfect stocking! (Does it matter that I got it off a kids' site?) Mike got an abominable snowman one, and Diego, the classic bone. 

#2 

asking students to turn someone on their team into an astronaut 

#3

First flag football practice.

No pictures necessary.

Still sore 3 days later. 

#4

Tomorrow I'm going to a conference here:

oh how I've missed thee

Yay for National Council of Teachers of English!!! Yay for meeting up with old teacher friends from college!!! Yay for learning how to be a better teacher!! Yay for collaborating with colleagues!!

and yay for hosting our first Thanksgiving next week!!

Not Enough Time

This weekend was a ridiculous blur. I'm all for doing exciting things on your days off, but there's gotta be some time to recuperate. Thankful, though, for friends and family and fun times. Looking forward to attending the NCTE conference this weekend which equals a 3 day work week!

The weekend was kicked off with a short but sweet camping trip with Younglife Leaders. Upon arriving at camp, Mike & I quickly realized we were supposed to bring our own tent- oops! But the night was saved as the boys figured out how to set up an extra one. Mike & I enjoyed our palace-sized accommodations for the night, and a phenomenal sunrise in the morning.

Saturday, my Mom came up. We made a quick town center run, then went to see Garrison Keillor's "Prairie Home Companion" recorded live under the stars. It was FANTASTIC! Much to Annie and my dismay, we grew up listening to the show every Sunday if we were in the car. We hated it. But as I got older, it found a special place in my heart. When I saw they were in St. Auggie it was destiny!! Had a wonderful time with my mom-- truly something we'll never forget.

I was then dropped off at Kristin's house to celebrate her momentous birthday occasion. Beverages were consumed, games were played. Good times for all.

Today delivered a much needed connection with God at church this morning. And a 3 hour flag football practice, which I'm already feeling sore from. We then found a new park on the river that is a promising spot for future picnics. 

Even though this weekend was full of activities, I miss my husband. I feel like we didn't connect much... and I'll be gone this upcoming weekend. Then the fam's in town for Thanksgiving. Hopefully we'll make up for missed time this week!

What a Week!

Well, this week was an emotional roller coaster. It went from "Wow, I'm pretty worthless" to "Okay, I guess I have some worth!" I had the opportunity to work with Danielle this week on paperwork and while it was a little stressful, I have to admit I had fun doing it.

I've never thought of myself as possessing any writing capabilities. It's pretty silly to be an English teacher while feeling like a horrible writer. But this week I kind of got over it and just kinda threw myself out there.  Not gonna lie, kind of proud of what came out of it.

Other highlights of the week, brought to you by the letter 'B': 

La Nopalera... but then I found out the following day they just had 30 health violations!! No wonder it was empty. At least they have frosty beverages.

Found my inner baker-- and relived fond memories of getting to help granny bake cakes when I was little. She'd let me use the hand mixer from time to time. 

Cold weather means it's time to bust out the booties! These were a gift from when I was 5 years old. I still wear them every winter and they're amazing. Don't hate. 

Looking forward to camping tonight, "Prairie Home Companion" tomorrow, and Kristin's Birthday tomorrow night! 

By the Grace of God...

Cheree, how I've missed you. Let's never let distance or our mutual dislike for talking on the phone for long periods of time get in the way again. Thank you for visiting!!

Today I was named "Rookie Teacher of the Year." I'm honored, humbled, and so blessed to be at the best school on the face of the planet! Love you all dearly. You keep me sane and help me find joy. 

I look to the creepy mannequin teacher (first teacher EVER) for inspiration.

Fresh Start

It's difficult to receive constructive criticism lightly. I'm only human; I love to be praised and told that I'm doing a good job. When I'm told anything less, it's easy for my pride to be deflated like a popped balloon. But receiving feedback is a great place to assess how I can be better at my job. I was beautifully reminded by a coworker to reflect on why my heart is in teaching; I'm not there merely to raise test scores and teach my kids how to read and write. Ultimately my desire is to help them along their journey and let them know they're valued, loved, and a vital part of this world. 

I've been so wrapped up in stressing myself over meeting every requirement. While this is okay and a part of life, I need to keep in mind who I should be trying to please. 

Galatians 1:10 says "Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ."

This is my life-verse for the week :)

Dear Fall,

I have to be honest; once October hits, my mind turns to Christmas. I'm forced to think about the gifts that could be purchased and how I'll spend my 2 week break. But let's be serious... it's not entirely my fault. Starbucks pulls out the red cups, radio commercials have jingle bells in the background... a girl can't help herself. But this year, Autumn, I promise to enjoy you the short time you choose to stick around. I'll keep my mind off Christmas until after Thanksgiving, just like I used to long ago. 

Today I made it as 'Fall' as possible in the Checchia household. In consisted of:

-Open windows

-NickelCreek on Pandora (bluegrass)

-New sweater wearing that's been waiting for usage

- And of course, Dad's famous chili recipe!!

I

Thanksgiving Spirit

I've been in a whiny, cranky funk all week. But after reading a friend of mine's blog from today (thanks, Hilary!) about how thankful we should be for our lives, I'm choosing joy! God did not create us to be alone, or to feel worthless and unloved. We were created to love Him and through this love, to pursue others. Every day we have a decision to make-- I must admit this week I've chosen to beat myself up over trivial things, to feel inept and incompetent at my job, and to give God no more than a fleeting glance.

But as of now, I'm choosing be joyful, thankful, and full of love.

I'm blessed to have a loving, hard-working husband who keeps me in line and makes me a better person (and the family that came with him!) For our jobs, our house, Diego. For my phenomenal parents who raised me right. For my sister who is awesome and way cooler than I'll ever be. For my best friends who are on opposite ends of the globe. And for God providing me with amazing people at work!

What are you thankful for today?