Destructive Behavior

I posted 10 days ago about some items I had ordered as end-of-the-year gifts to myself. We were in Branson last Thursday when my items arrived from Amazon. We had asked some neighbors to watch Bailey, and I thought about asking them to go down and get the box off our porch, but decided against it, since I thought the package wouldn't be bothered. Wrong! The mangy, in-bred dogs owned by our other neighbors apparently consider book and DVD cases food, and this is what was strewn about our yard when we got home:






The actual DVD still works, and I don't need the case, so that was okay. The book was a complete loss though, but my spoiled self has already received another. :) Normally we have items shipped to Jason's work, but I shipped these to the house since I am off for the summer. That mistake will not be made again.

And we're back!

Internet is up and running and regular posts will begin again on Monday!

Technical Difficulties

Last week our home was hit by lightning. Nothing was hurt except for our little satellite internet receiver, which needs to be replaced. This has been incredibly inconvenient for us as our grad classes depend on internet access. Plus, I haven't gotten to blog. I have been keeping a list of all I want to blog about, but it will all have to wait. I am writing this entry from the Harding library, where I am doing all my work until our internet is back up and running, which will be either Friday or Monday. Thanks for your patience!

Kind-Hearted Kids

Sometimes people ask me why I chose to teach high school. They are surely picturing a roomful of belligerent kids wearing saggy pants while smacking their gum and telling me, "WhatEVER." The truth is, high school students can be thoughtful, and kind, and surprisingly sweet. Three examples from the last week:

One of my girls brought me a gift: a three-pack of Carmex and some gourmet coffee. These were not only very thoughtful gifts, but she bought these things with her own money, which made it even more special.

One policy I have is that I generally do not hug students. If this sounds harsh, teach high school for a month and then tell me why that's a policy. I will allow hugs occasionally, but it's a rare occurrence. They can give me all the high fives they want though. :) On the last student day (last Friday), one of my boys came into my room after school and said with his thick Southern drawl, "AWRIGHT, Mrs. White, you have GOT to give me a hug." I couldn't tell him no, especially since he had just made my day.

Today was Teacher Work Day, and I was buried in dust and boxes and old papers for the majority of the day. In the midst of all this, I realized that I had forgotten to do something important, and was bellowing my version of an expletive ("CRAP!!!") when I turned around and saw two of my junior (well, senior now) boys standing there. They had come to school just to see me and say hello, and they thought it hilarious to find me in the middle of a hissy fit. Once they stopped laughing, I took advantage of their visit and put them to work in my room for a little bit. They were very helpful!


Yes, occasionally teaching teenagers is comparable to taming moths, but there are few jobs as rewarding as the one I am lucky enough to have.

And a quick note: I should have mentioned that all my purchases from Wednesday's post were bought online. The nearest Old Navy is a 45 minute drive away, and the website usually has better deals than the actual store anyway.

End of the Year Gifts

Elementary teachers usually get end-of-the-year gifts from their students. High school teachers, though, are less likely to receive these kinds of things. After all, if a student has 7 teachers, and their parent spends $10 on each gift... I understand why I am not showered with gifts the way my elementary friends are. I was excited this year when a student went out on her own and bought me some coffee and a three-pack of Carmex. I don't expect gifts, nor do I need them. But I do like to reward myself at the end of each year, and I took advantage of the Memorial sales this weekend and got myself a few little things to honor another year without a mental breakdown (if you're new, you should know that I'm exaggerating. I love my job!). Here's the loot:

I have heard good things about this exercise DVD, and thought I'd try it for myself. Expect reviews later.

I always enjoy collections of essays, and I 've had this one on my wish list for over a year. I am excited to finally read it!

I think this looks like a fun summery shirt, plus it was only $10 at Old Navy.

These will match everything, and I have been looking for a pair like this for a while now. They are on sale for $8, also at Old Navy.

I chose this with our Charleston trip in mind, even though Jason thinks I need another bag like a hole in the head. I do have many purses, but done that are cross-body, perfect-for-walking-and-touring bags. I think my purchase is justified, especially since it was on sale at Old Navy for $7.99.

Update

Since I haven't blogged in three months, I feel the need to share what activities have been keeping us so busy.

I am about to wrap up my third year of teaching. I can't believe how quickly this year went. It was such a great year teaching-wise. I had an outstanding group of kids, and I really feel like I know what I am doing now (finally!). Last year ended on a rough note for me because we experienced a big drop in our literacy scores, which makes the administration VERY unhappy. Because of that, the English department spent a great deal of this year focused on raising our scores. We hoped to go from our low 62% to perhaps 72 or 74% percent. Imagine how excited were were when our scores came back this year and our literacy rate was at 81% !!! Like I said, this was an outstanding group of kids and I am really going to miss them.

Jason is the assistant director now, which was an exciting promotion he received back in February. He really enjoys his new position and I am so impressed by the way he deals with the challenges and demands of his job. He is truly being prepared for something great in the future!

Both of us are still in grad school. I will be done in December, and Jason will finish his MBA next summer. We are so thankful for the grad school opportunity we have been given, but we are both so ready to have it behind us. We stay very busy between our jobs and our classes, Jason especially. I miss cooking, weekend trips, and blogging~ those things have all fallen to the wayside because of our classes. Needless to say, I am really looking forward to December.

This July is our five year wedding anniversary. I am in denial about this a little, because it does not feel like we have been married that long. We are planning an anniversary trip to Charleston, South Carolina. The destination for this trip was hotly debated for a while, because I wanted relaxation and Jason wanted to SEE things. Charleston was the compromise we agreed upon, and we are both very excited.

Bailey is still our spoiled doggie. She was stung by something back in March, and she swelled up so big that we took her to the vet. She scared us that day, but has been her normal doggie self ever since.

That's a quick summary of our life at the moment. We are so blessed!

For the faithful readers...

I have missed blogging, and I was thinking the other day about how I may be going about this the wrong way. I started this blog with the intention of keeping people up-to-date on our life here at the White House. The problem with that is that there isn't much to report on a daily basis, or even a weekly basis. Work, grad school, church... we love our life, but I have a hard time thinking of things to report that loved ones may find interesting.

I plan to blog more often this summer, partly because I have a little more time on my hands, and partly because we have some fun events coming up. That being said, the blog may change a little. It may be less about our daily life and more about... well, whatever is going on in my head. This will be more fun for me, because I won't be worrying about locating something blog-worthy in my day, and it will more fun for you (the reader), because you never know what you may see when you stop by. So thanks for sticking with me, and keep checking in~ I have blog posts lined up in my head, and I am excited about updating on a more regular basis.

Trisha