Reunited and it Feels So Gooood

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls...

I present to you, back in the virtual flesh (I think that's a toy at the Adult Store, actually) for your reading pleasure the previously absent, always amazing Ms. Peaches!

(This is the part where you go wild, Dear Reader!)

Confession: I have been only superficially blogging lately.  A picture and a caption every four days, just to maintain the promise to myself.   I know it, and you know it.  That post about the ice cream?  Totally true, and I wrote it while enjoying a scoop- or two- of delicious Butter Pecan (pronounce Puh-cahn, thankyouverymuch), but bor-ing.  And The Doors post had more exclamation points than content.  (Although, isn't that pretty much the most exciting thing you have ever read?)  

I have missed you, Dear Reader, and I have missed writing even more.  There were days that I yearned to write something, anything with meaning, but was struggling to keep my eyes open at 7:45.  PM.  I get a lot of sleep each night, but the days drain, drain, drain me. 

I have been a busy little bee.  Since Easter I have been studying for (and taking) the Praxis, writing a research paper, teaching forty hour weeks, writing lesson plans, sick, attending class and being a tutor at the University three nights a week, and writing about ten small papers.  I haven't cooked dinner in over a week.  One day I even crossed the line about what I think is appropriate alcohol consumption.  Last night I had a dream I smoked a cigarette and I haven't had one- or been terribly tempted to do so- in about four months.  Life has been seriously stressful.

But now everything is so.much.easier.  I finish teaching eighth grade today and I only have eleven school days remaining.  May is going to be such an exciting month and I can't wait to get my writing fingers a-typin'.  (You know, like "running legs"?  Come ON.)

I haven't even had a cup of coffee yet.

Cheers.

This is the End

Today was my LAST DAY teaching the 7th graders.

Friday is my LAST DAY teaching the 8th graders.


!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I will have so much more time for blogging!!

Can't wait.

The Final Stretch

Sometimes seeing the glass half empty IS being optimistic.

I Don't Wanna Be Premature, But...

We haven't signed a lease yet, but Mr. Peaches and I may have found an apartment after a long, grueling search.

Wish us luck!

(Also, I should be back to the regularly-scheduled posting next week, with details about why I have been so absent...)

Lately

In addition to a very exciting Law School Admitted Students Weekend I attended with Mr. Peaches, which is not to be undervalued, these two pictures sum up my weekend:

And the evil Praxis is in 6 days.  

Help.

Titleless

I don't know if I can eat 31 more of these, but that is how many are left.  I may have to take out the candy that symbolizes the weekends...  Only 23 more school days!  And next week is testing, so my life is pretty easy.  It's going to go fast, it just doesn't feel like it yet.

Also, please excuse the lack of light in the above picture.  

The room Mr. Peaches and I spend most of our time in is the living room, which also happens to be the room in the house that gets the least amount of light.  It has two windows that face west, but there are trees nearby and so we see little sun.  That's why when two of the light bulbs in the fan went out three weeks ago, we were pretty quick to replace them.  Well, I was pretty quick to take them out of the light fixture in the room that gets the most light and stick 'em in the living room.  

Except look what happened just a few days later:

Mr. Peaches and I refuse to purchase more light bulbs, even though we now have FOUR that don't function in the house... all because we are moving in 4-10 weeks.  Worth it?

YES.

You Know What I Love?

Sweet and Salty.

Happy Friday!

Easter 2010

I am not religious.  I do not really do Easter.  However, Mr. Peaches is religious.  Catholic, to be precise, and he became Catholic as an adult, which I think comprises .0028% of all Catholics.  He goes to Mass each week and changes his life around for Lent.  Although I don't share it, I'm proud of his commitment and so last weekend we decided to share a special Easter meal.  

It began in the kitchen, and I was very excited because we have three large windows in our kitchen, a ceiling fan, and a back door.  It was bright and beautiful and I wore flips.

Mr. Peaches stuffed our pork tenderloin with fresh cilantro and tons just the right amount of garlic.  Then, just a like a pro, Mr. Peaches tied it all up with Butcher's twine.

My only job, besides dancing with Mr. Peaches in the kitchen on demand, was to peel the sweet potatoes.  I realize how ridiculous this sounds, but my name is Ms. Peaches and I had never used a potato peeler.

Hello, Ms. Peaches.

Hi, everyone.

I mention this because here's what happened next:

You see, apparently potato peelers are sharp.  It's difficult to see here, but I considered myself lucky when I only cut off 1/3 of my fingernail- instead of 1/3 of my thumb.


After recovering from my injury, I- like the champ that I am- even finished the potatoes.  With marshmallows and everything.

Here's what the final meal looked like:

And we finished every bite.

A few hours later I got a brownie craving- so we made our first-ever batch from scratch and they were phenomenal.  Ask me to use a potato peeler and no-can-do, but give me some flour and sugar and I can do some damage in the kitchen- the good kind for once.

If you celebrate, I hope you had a Happy Easter, Dear Reader- and if not, I hope you enjoyed your Sunday.  

Expiration- March 19, 2010

Due to various neurosis of mine, Mr. Peaches and I have separate gallons of milk.  And since I was out of town, the milk was not drank.  This was the state of the milk on March 27.

Be careful out there, Dear Reader.  Be careful.

When Señorita Peaches Becomes Peach

Today was the third beautiful day in a row in our normally cold, cold city.  To celebrate, Mr. Peaches, Holden, and I walked to the park down by the nearby lake.  We spread out a big old blanket, took off our shoes, and basked in the sunlight and warmth.  We spent hours throwing the ball while Mr. Holden brought it back enthusiastically, which happens to be his favorite pastime.  It was beautiful.  It was serene.  It was perfect.

As we were about to pack up to leave I saw one of my students ride his bicycle past me on the grass.  Shocked, I yelled out his name and shortly after his younger sister (he's in eighth grade; she's in sixth and also my student) appeared as well.

I introduced them to Holden, and to Mr. Peaches- who I referred to by first name- and we made awkward conversation for about three minutes until his sister- thankfully- called him back for one reason or another.

This was the first time I saw any of my students outside of school and I laughed all the way home.  No one teaches you how to treat students when you see them outside of school.  Should I have introduced Mr. Peaches as Mr. LastName instead?  These kids don't even know my first name, so it seems strange that they would know his.

It also made me laugh to remember what it was like to run into my own teachers at that age.  "She looked so different!"  "I can't believe her boyfriend was there!  Do you think they live together?"  "Her dog was so small!"  Too cute.

Here are some more fetch photos for your enjoyment:

!Feliz Pascua¡

An Outlook Changes Everything

 I've been teaching for eight weeks.

When I wrote that just now, I couldn't suppress a groan.  Eight weeks?  It feels like eight years.

Anyway, I have been teaching for eight weeks and I'm just now starting to love it- finally.  I guess it's a combination of things that have occurred in the last few days that have really created a turning point for me.

Partly, I think the turning point has come as I am feeling more confident in what I am doing with most of the classes.  I feel like I have a good rapport with most of the kids.  I'm not too humble to tell you that Monday's formal observation by my University supervisor was STELLAR.

Most importantly, I started to acquiesce to the eighth graders.  They will always be talkers.  They will never like Spanish; or at least I cannot undue the last seven months in the next few weeks.  I will probably be frustrated for the first fifty minutes of my day each day for the next twenty-one (TWENTY-ONE!!) times I have them.

However in a new twist I have finally learned to leave my frustration and occasional negativity at the door.  After the bell rings I go to the next class consciously leaving them behind.  I walk into the new classroom with my little black cart holding all of my Spanish belongings (Hello!  I'm a traveling teacher!) with a smile.  I dance and sing and laugh.  Sometimes the kids dance and sing and laugh with me.  Sometimes they laugh at me.  Either way, I move on with my day.

Since then, each day has been a good day.  I finally love what I'm doing.