Wishing and Hoping and Thinking and Praying

(Finally got my Georgia Tech shirts in the mail!!)

My week started off pretty good when I snagged the lodge TV for a few hours on Sunday. It was the pink zone games, where the teams wear pink uniforms and shoes while they play in order to show their support for breast cancer research and awareness. Watching all the teams gave me chills. Plus the commercials with Kay Yow....call me sappy but it was all so inspiring and touching.
So there I was sitting in the lodge with my Georgia Tech shirt on, waiting for ESPN2 to show the GT game. I waited and waited but it never came. Luckily, I had my computer with me and was able to log onto ESPN3 where there was live streaming coverage of the game. Did I leave the lodge TV? NO! I sat there watching the games on both the TV and on my computer and it was heaven. (And GT won, which put me in a great mood!)

Moving right along, we are over half way through the month of February and just passed the lovely holiday of Valentines Day. My Vday was excellent! I am not sure that I have ever had a better Valentines day. Did it consist of flowers? No. Did I get chocolates from a mysteriously unknown crush. Heck no! I spent the entire day catching up on homework. I wrote a 14 page single spaced paper, then a four page single spaced paper and submitted those online. Ah the feeling of accomplishment, better than flowers or chocolate ANY DAY!
The following day, yesterday, I woke up feeling a bit under the weather. Luckily, I had a weight lifting class and was forced to get out of bed. Otherwise I may have stayed in bed all day. After class I took a trip to the store to get some Popsicles for my sore throat and some soup. Then, again, I got busy with homework. The first paper I turned in last night was 11 pages long, single spaced. The second was five pages and wasn't submitted until 12:30 AM. I did take a break to stop by the lodge with some friends and watch Glee. The show is great for a good laugh and was exactly what I needed. Unfortunately, that is the reason I had to stay up so late finishing the last paper.
Today, my goal is to finish one more of these ridiculously long assignments. Then I will be completely caught up. I usually am never behind in classes but, in typical Juneau fashion, it took me longer than expected to receive my books. Part of me is tempted to take all these expensive books and burn them at the end of the semester, like a celebration for surviving. That is, IF I survive the semester.
Back to business, today I finish one more assignment. I may start on the next lesson just to get ahead, or perhaps work on homework for another class. It all depends on how long this first assignment takes to complete. At 1PM I have a meeting with SAA to talk about upcoming events. It should only last an hour at the most and I am planning on picking up some coffee along the way. It will do me some good to get out of the house. It has been gorgeous outside the past few days. I managed to get a few pictures while driving back from class:


I'm going to end on some exciting and nerve-racking news. I had my first meeting with my advisor about student teaching. He said that my file is out in the local schools and we are waiting to hear back on which teachers are willing to host me for next year. That's exciting! He covered everything that is expected of us during our year of student teaching. We will have classes while we are student teaching so it's going to be a lot to juggle. I can't wait to hear back on where I will be placed. Praying that I get a great host teacher!

"Perhaps the reason it never worked in the past will be the reason it finally works in the future."

(I got this ball to workout and relieve stress. I find it more fun to play with! It Keeps me sane!)

Time flies when you're having fun, or just super busy! In my case it is the latter. I have been up to my neck in school work. Never have I had a semester this busy. I can't complain too much because the weather has been pretty cold, so it's not like I am missing getting outside. Lately, I have been sitting in front of my happy lamp, yes I have a lamp that makes me happy, and working on art projects, lesson plans, and child psychology. My life is all kinds of exciting right now.(Art projects-hehe)
I can't believe it has been so long since I last updated. I guess my school work has kept me busy. So how about that Superbowl? Go Pack! I watched the game at the Recreation Center on campus. I knew it was going to be a good game from the moment Christina messed up the words to the Nation Anthem. (To my surprise, I was the only one who noticed it. Sad right?) You know if someone would have done that in China, they may have been stoned. Ha! Anyways, I got a great laugh out of it because, believe it or not, the words can get a little tricky sometimes. (I have experience with this one!)
The game was great fun though. As always, there were tons of pizzas and stuffed footballs to throw at the opposing teams fans (the footballs, not the pizzas). And you know everyone loves those commercials. It was a blast and a great break from school work.
(Big screen=Awesome!)

Back to business.
There are a few upcoming events that are very exciting to me. First off, I have a meeting about student teaching and graduation on Monday. I'm nervous and excited but mostly anxious to find out what classroom I will be in for a year. Depending on which teacher takes me, I could have an awesome first experience or a horrible one. Secondly, I have finally received my financial aid refund check and can now take the Praxis II test. After passing that test I can get certified to teach. Yay.
Overall, the semester is going alright. It is a lot of work like I suspected but I am slowly making progress. I have a few classes which I am still behind in but the circumstances are beyond my control. While I don't get out of the house much, I have managed to meet some new people and keep up with the old friends too. Unfortunately, several of my friends from last year moved out of Juneau and no longer keep in touch. It has been for the best though because I have made some new hilarious friends. People that help me instead of hurt me. Friends who know when to tell me to get to work and when to take a break. They rock.

(Susie and I have frequent study sessions)

(Heather just got a Nintendo!)


Tomorrow is my free day, where I will work endlessly on my homework. But first, I am heading to the gym early in the morning for a nice run. And I can't forget the Georgia Tech women's basketball game! I'm not promising anything, but I have a good feeling about tomorrow. I have a good feeling about this weekend in general!
(But then again, I have been in front of my happy lamp. My opinion might change in a few hours.)

"God places the heaviest burden on those who can carry its weight"

(Worked in some time to get to the Mendenhall glacier for a few minutes.)

It has been a great semester so far! I have to admit that the snow and rain has worn down my spirit a little but there is no rain or snow today and I think I might have seen a glimpse of the sun. Getting to know my new roommates has been fun. It's always great to meet new people. Last night was SAA dinner and a movie so I went to meet the new SAA board members and watch the movie Easy A. It was funny but a little weird not having my normal SAA people around. Other than that, I have just been plugging away at homework. I am waiting for a few books to arrive still that are on back order. Right now I have homework in every class to do. I took the day off Friday to relax a bit since I didn't have class. Yesterday I worked on art homework and Multicultural Education. Today I am listening to Georgia Tech kick butt against Boston College, while preparing to tackle some Educational Psychology.


(This is my car on the fourth day of snow AFTER I had cleaned it completely of snow the day before.)
As far as financial aid and all that fun stuff goes, I think things are finally coming together. The exchange kind of messed up everything but I think that it has all worked itself out. I should be getting a bit back that I will put towards my Praxis II. I have a few classes that will end in February and one class that starts in February. It will be nice to get rid of a few of these one credit classes that take up a lot of free time with busy work.
So that's pretty much all the updates for now. I have to get back to the endless amounts of homework I have left.