Harumph.

    I apologize for being MIA for the last week or so, but it's become increasingly difficult for me to meet my Thursday post goal.  I have a lot going on right now with the holidays fast approaching and my education on the line, so unfortunately blogging hasn't been my top priority.  I haven't really been in the best mood and a lot has been getting me down lately.  I'm also very VERY behind in TV, (I've only been keeping up with Once Upon a Time at this point since it's the only one I can watch when it airs on Sundays).  I'll explain...
    As you know, I've been doing a year-long internship through my university at a local high school in the English department.  So far it's been an upward struggle, with my health declining and issues with overall teaching performance.  At this point, I've been given my class back and have been teaching mostly on my own for the last few weeks.  Unfortunately I have not been as successful as I would like to be at this point.  I'm still having noticeable issues with classroom management and the delivery of lessons.  I always think that I'm doing better than I actually am, which has hindered my progress.  Because of my substituting background, I've noticed that I tend to deliver lessons directly and methodically with little to no real explanation or real-world connection.  I need to work harder at humanizing the lessons for my students and making sure that we're using discussion adequately in class instead of just going through the motions.  I also need to start pulling the trigger with discipline.  I have a bunch of kids who talk over me during class and I need to take care of that as soon as possible before I lose them.  I wasn't expecting to have as much difficulty with this as I have been, but the reality is that my future is on the line at this point.  I'm not getting credit for this first semester until I prove myself worthy, so I really have to step it up and make these next few weeks count.  Luckily I still have some time, but I've been feeling really discouraged lately and uninspired.  My lack of progress and apparent noncompliance with the regulations set down by the program have made me doubt my abilities and it's really stressing me out, to be blunt.  Hopefully I can get my shit together soon or I'll be looking at repeating the internship next year and adding another year of school to my already mounting college debt.  I understand what's at stake and that's not making me any less anxious and stressed, but maybe that's what I need.  I don't want to panic, but I might be by the end of Christmas vacation, which is not what I want.  Keep your fingers crossed for me that I make it out of this alive and worth certifying, or I'm going to be looking for a new career path when it's too late...

    Besides the obvious problems I'm having with teaching, I really don't have a lot going on.  We recently moved, (another reason I haven't been on top of the blog lately), and have been unpacking for the last few weeks as we get settled in.  So far it's been really nice and comfortable and I really appreciate where we live now.  I don't come home to an empty, cold apartment and I have access to a great kitchen stocked with food, so I really can't complain.  Having animals again has been nice too!  Money has also been less of an issues, at least on my end, and I've been working on saving as much as I can already and reorganizing my finances so they fit my new needs.  My project for this weekend is finishing reorganizing my filing crate so I can fit all my bills, paperwork and other things in one accessible spot.  It's also been nice to have some extra help and expertise with these types of things because most of the time, when it comes to budgets and other adult things, I have NO idea what I'm doing yet.  Still trying to figure out a new routine for our new space, but so far I think we're settling in nicely and everything will eventually feel more natural.

    I'm looking forward to the holiday break mostly.  Next week is my birthday week, so I have that to look forward to.  I'm turning 25, which for some people is a big deal, but I feel like it'll just be another birthday for me.  I don't really know what age I actually feel like; sometimes I feel like I'm still 18 and other times I feel like I'm 30, so 25 should be interesting.  The following week there's a day and a half of school before break starts Wednesday.  After that, we don't come back until January 5th.  It will be nice to spend more time with my family and hopefully put the worries I have about my teaching future out of my mind for a few weeks.  My little sister is flying home from Texas on Saturday and I can't wait to see her!  Spending the holidays with family is greater than any gift I could receive.  It took me a long time to realize what Christmas should be about and I'm glad that we get to see everyone from both sides and spend a little time with each family.  It's worth it to me and that's all I really need.  That and lots of great food:)

    Once Upon a Time was really emotional last weekend!  I wasn't expecting what happened, and I love when shows do that because it keeps you on your toes.  With the last few episodes being very straightforward and predictable, it was nice to see a change.  I was getting pretty sick of the crazy family-hungry snow queen thing and it was heartbreaking to find out her sister really regretted her actions form the past.  The last time we saw that bottle was the very beginning of the season, so I had been curious to see what she had written in the letter, but I hadn't expected that.  I also wasn't expecting the flashbacks to Emma's past and the fact that Ingrid was very close to adopting her.  I can understand why Ingrid took Emma's memories upon her arrival to Storybrooke.  Now that the curse has been lifted due to Ingrid sacrificing herself, everything seems to be back to normal.  But wait!  Rumple is STILL a conniving bastard!  For next week's mid-season finale, I'm predicting Rumple attempting to take over the world one more time and get that dagger off his back, someone finding out about him lying to everyone, spreading that around and it getting back to Emma, who will have to stop him with the help of everyone else in town.  Elsa and Anna will probably help too before they go back to Arendelle to return those memories.  I'm hoping we at least see the Sorcerer or something because we've kind of taken a back-seat to the whole "author of the book" mystery, so that's the only other curiosity I had.  We'll see what happens, but I anticipate a lot of Rumple hatred next week.
    That's all I have for you this week.  I had to take some time and write this during school so I don't leave you guys hanging again.  I'm not sure if there will be continuous posts from me every week, but I will try to post at least one more time before Christmas break starts.  Hopefully I'll have some good updates for you.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Finally.

    Hey guys, sorry about the impromptu break last week, but I really needed a legitimate break.  I've been really busy lately with finals and moving that I just wanted to sit down for a bit without needing to to anything important.  That being said, exams are over and Thanksgiving break is upon us.  Not to mention we're officially moving on Saturday, so we'll be out of this apartment.  Everything is slowly coming together and I'm FINALLY looking forward to something coming up!
    In school, it's the start of a new trimester, (as I believe I've mentioned before, my high school has trimesters instead of the traditional semesters), which means that most teachers have new students in at least some of their classes.  My full-year freshman course is an exception, but I'm glad I still have them, for now...  They've been tough on me and I haven't exactly been helping myself, but I'm determined to get back in control this trimester.  Operation: Retake 5th Block has begun and I am confident in my abilities to successfully succeed.  So far we've started our poetry unit to introduce them to the Poetry Out Loud project.  Since Thanksgiving break starts a mere three days after today, we decided to give them a break from reading so much and watch a movie.  We will be starting The Dead Poet's Society tomorrow and I can honestly say that I am already way more excited than my kids are about watching it.  There is so much they can gain from this film, so I hope they take away at least something from it.  It will be awesome to get to experience their first exposure to good film.

    My first day back in charge didn't go as well as I had originally thought, but it still went better than I anticipated.  I improved my projection and volume and did a decent job maintaining classroom management before lunch, but after lunch it went to Hell in a hand basket...  I had some technical difficulties, which resulted in a rowdy and distracted group of Freshman and a flustered teacher.  Obviously I have to keep reminding myself that I still have plenty of time to improve my strategies and come up with new ones that work for me, but it's daunting sometimes to think about whether or not I will actually be able to run my own classroom at the end of this.  I don't want to be overconfident, but I want to be sure I'm making the right decision and not wasting my time.  The thing I gained the most out of this experience was actually listening to what my cooperating teacher had to say for feedback without trying to defend my actions.  I need to work on thinking more on my feet and stopping to think when I need a minute to collect my thoughts so that I don't panic.  I also need to work on explaining WHY we do things, introduce the unit and set it up so that the students understand what we'll be doing, how it will impact them and what they can expect to learn.  I'd rather take away some good advice and work on it than waste time defending my horrible ideas.  I also started another co-teaching opportunity this trimester with a different teacher in a World Literature class.  She just came back from maternity leave and needs to leave the classroom every day for the last 15 minutes or so, so I'm running the SSR, (Sustained Silent Reading), and writing program for her.  It will be great to get to see another teacher teach and also get a taste for what it's like to teach juniors.  World Lit. has never been one of my strong points, so I'm hoping to learn more about the genre myself in order to add more books to my repertoire.  I just had a thought: I can spell "repertoire" without a problem, but I still have to check to see if I spelt "possession" or "conceive" correctly...what is wrong with me?

    I had a really great out-of-school observation last week at the school I work at in the afternoons.  It's a combination elementary/middle school, so I went to visit some of the middle school language arts teachers there.  One in particular, an 8th grade language arts teacher, stuck out to me.  She was genuinely kind, upbeat and quirky.  I felt honored to be included in their classroom group and honestly, I had one of the best times in that class.  We sat in a circle and had a truly engaging discussion about the dystopian short stories they had read and journaled about the night before.  I've never been so impressed with a group of 13-year-olds and the way they handled that freedom.  This teacher reminded me of why I love the middle school environment and what kind of teacher I'd like to be able to be eventually.  She was an inspiration and I learned so much in the short time we were together, but that exposure will only further my career in the long run.  I will never forget that class.

    Since we've been so busy working, moving and such, my husband and I have not had a lot of time to devote to TV in the last week or so.  We JUST got caught up on everything we missed from LAST week, (which was almost everything, so it took awhile).  So for now, I'm only going to post on Once Upon a Time, which seems to be the only show at the moment that I can watch on time.  Things have taken a turn for the weird in Storybrooke...  I'm starting to understand all the pieces, but it still doesn't leave me with many answers to the questions I've been asking.  We still have no idea what the hell Rumple is trying to do, but I have a hunch that it has something to do with revenge for the death of Neal, (who I am still not convinced isn't coming back, since Rumple may be trying to resurrect him in his own twisted way).  After this episode, with the potential foreshadowing of Hook's imminent doom, we may want Neal to come back and pick up the pieces of Emma's already complicated heart.  But that's beside the point.  Ingrid already started the black plague of hatred and now we finally know that Anna is frozen with my poor Kristoff back in Arendelle, so at least that's settled.  For me, it seemed a bit anticlimactic to go through all that back story and hunting around just to have her be frozen across the sea for the last few years.  I'm glad Emma has found a friend in Elsa, but I'm a bit disappointed in Snow and Charming for losing a little faith in their daughter.  They've been kind of lack-luster this season, so I'm not really sure what's in store for them.  The one thing I was wondering about is who the sorcerer really is and who wrote the book, now that we know someone has been tampering with the pages.  I have a few different theories, but they could all be horribly wrong for all I know.  My first theory is that the apprentice is actually the sorcerer in disguise, considering the extreme longing way he looked at that box the second Ingrid gave it to him.  That one makes the most sense.  My second theory is that Henry is the sorcerer, but this is where it gets tricky.  Henry could have been the sorcerer back when everyone was still in the Enchanted Forest.  He may or may not have had a "past life," and obviously doesn't have any memory of it at this point, so we'll see if this comes up later.  My last theory is that Henry is the author of the book.  Again, this would play into the alternative life theory as well, but we'll see.  I have no idea either way, but it should be fun to see all these play out together.
    That's all I have for this week.  I'm so excited about watching Dead Poet's Society tomorrow and moving into our new place this weekend!  A lot of good things are happening right now and it's been nice to have things to look forward to besides doctor's appointments and hospital stays.  Hopefully this good vibe sticks around through the holiday season, because that's only making me more giddy:)  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Looking Forward to November

    Hey guys, sorry to post on a Friday, but I was desperately in need of a break this week.  The first three days were awful and long, so it felt nice to just sit and relax for a night without having to do anything.  I've also spent little to no time with my husband since he's been working so much, so it was great to get that alone time with him.  Needless to say I'm beyond ready for a weekend and a chance to sleep in tomorrow!
    Health-wise I've been feeling great.  Still no obvious side effects from the drugs and no pain in my joints or anywhere else.  The only thing I've been noticing lately has been cramping in my hands and feet.  I don't think it's supposed to be as frequent as it has been and that is a bit concerning, seeing as it can get quite painful.  Hopefully it's not a side effect but a lack of water consumption on my part, which I've been trying to improve on.  You wouldn't think it would be that difficult to down about 6-8 bottles of water a day, but it's definitely a struggle for someone like me who's always doing something.

    We are also still in the process of moving.  It's full-force now so we're packing up everything we can as quickly as we can in order to get everything out within the next two weeks.  We have been house-sitting for my parents this week, so neither of us have been at the apartment, but I'm going over there today after school to work on packing up the living room and our bedroom.  My short term goals are to have the living room and bedroom done by next weekend so we can start on packing up the kitchen, which will probably take us the longest time because of all our large and breakable items.  There is also a serious lack of newspaper and other packing supplies, so hopefully we are able to wrap everything properly.  Next week will be a bit crazy, but I feel confident that we can have everything out of our apartment by the 22nd.  We'll see how that goes, but right now we seem to be right on track!  It'll be nice not to have to worry about too much anymore after Thanksgiving break.  Then I can finally start planning to save up for the things I need!  I can't wait!
    As far as teaching goes, I had a meeting yesterday with my cooperating teacher and my professor about starting the transition back into a leadership role in the classroom for the start of Trimester 2, which starts in two weeks.  I believe I'm more ready and confident now than I was at the beginning of the year and that's partially due to the way my health has improved over the last month or so.  I'm feeling better, so I feel more focused on what's going on in my class rather than what's going on outside of school.  I've been giving myself little pep talks and trying to remember everything I've learned and observed so far from my observations, so hopefully that will help me discover what kind of teacher I will become as I try taking control again.  We'll be starting our "Poetry Out Loud" unit after exams, which I will be following with my cooperating teacher.  After that, I will be creating my own lessons and running a unit on my own, so I'll be prepping for that in the coming weeks.  I'm actually excited about planning again because I feel like I have some good ideas and I have easy access to other teacher's ideas as well, so I'm looking forward to teaching my own stuff soon.  I have a colloquium planning day next Thursday, which is a mandatory workshop for interns in the teaching program where you learn more about educational law, practice and your subject area.  I plan on taking full advantage of the day so I can better prepare myself for what's to come.  One of my previous professors is running the English seminar, so I'm excited to see and learn from her again.

    TV was sparse again this week, partially because I have to wait for my husband to watch most of our shows, but also because half of them didn't air this week.  I have Once Upon a Time and Arrow for this week, which were both pretty intense.  We finally find out that Elsa's mother had not one, but TWO sisters, Ingrid and Helga, at least one of which had the same ice powers as Elsa.  We also find out what Ingrid, (the Snow Queen), has been trying to plan this whole time- a chance to have her perfect family.  She wants to use the evil mirror to turn everyone in Storybrooke against each other, except for Elsa and Emma, (whom Ingrid believes would be a perfect replacement for Helga, since she apparently doesn't have the time to try to look for her too).  Those scary movies where the creepy stalker is dead-set on constructing his or her perfect family out of people they pull off the street at random really makes my skin crawl.  Despite the Snow Queen's plot to destroy everyone in Storybrooke being revealed, this episode was mainly focused on Belle and her relationship to Anna, as well as her role in her disappearance.  After Belle's mother is killed in the Ogre Wars and Belle loses her memory of the attack, she goes on a mission to Arendelle to find a way to get her memories back from the Rock Trolls, which Anna helps her do.  Unfortunately, through a series of events, Belle ends up choosing her memories over saving Anna from falling to her doom, causing Anna to be taken by the Snow Queen.  Belle is wracked with guilt over causing her disappearance, so she seeks out the Snow Queen to see if she can redeem herself, with the help of her lying, deceiving husband.  I still think everyone in Storybrooke is lying to each other, which bugs me, but I guess that's the theme in this season, so we'll have to go with it.  We still haven't found Anna, (it might just take the whole season), but at least we might get to meet Helga this Sunday.  We'll see!

    Arrow was pretty interesting this week, focusing on my favorite character, Felicity Smoak and her mysterious past as a "hacktivist" back in college.  Obviously Felicity's special skills were needed to solve this cyber terrorist attack on Starling City, but it wouldn't be that easy.  We got to see Felicity as a Gothic rebel with a fellow hacker boyfriend and awkward roommate.  This set up made me think of the Ted/Marshall/Lily dynamic from How I Met Your Mother.  Anyway, Felicity's sleazy mom stumbles into town unexpectedly, (which is all part of the plan, we later find out), Diggle gives her his baby to watch, (a complete stranger?!), and spends the whole episode basically in the dark while Felicity tries to help both her bosses tackle this cyber bully, who is using her own virus from five years ago to steal money from Starling.  Although this episode was great because we see a different side of Felicity and a reconciling between Ollie and his sister, (who now has a sweet new apartment), the REAL mind-blowing moment of this episode comes at the end, (figures), where we find out WHO killed Sara.  It was ROY!!  In a mirakuru-filled stupor he literally threw arrows into Sara's chest, which is weird because he should have it under control by now.  I don't think he's working with anyone in secret, but I do think he needs help, so who knows when everyone else will find out the awful truth and eventually turn on Roy.  Didn't see that coming!
    That's all for this week!  It's finally November, so that means I've slowly been turning into a holiday-crazed lunatic trying to find any excuse to buy Yankee Candles.  With moving into a more comfortable home, more school vacation days and Thanksgiving so close now, it's hard not to get excited about the holidays coming up.  It puts me in a great mood, so I'm not complaining!  I'm looking forward to everything I have coming up in the weeks to come, so hopefully that propels me forward to achieve everything I want to get done this month.  I'll be moving pretty much all weekend, both for myself and my uncle, who just bought a new house, so I'll be working my upper body strength this weekend.  What are you looking forward to this month, if anything?  Let me know in the comments below!  I also posted a new Book Review in my review tab, so check that out as well!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.
   

Can I Keep You?

    Hello all!  The end of another week is in sight and I have to say this one was a lot better than the last.  I got some much-needed answers to my kidney questions, a chance to substitute teach for my cooperating teacher and got some packing done for the move.  And there seems to be free candy in my future, so that's a plus.  I've been in an incredibly good mood lately so let's hope that holds!
    I finally got to meet with my Rheumatologist to go over the results of my biopsy on Tuesday.  Nothing good, but I at least know what's going on.  Apparently, my kidneys are in a state where they need to be treated aggressively in order to combat the Lupus nephritis.  I'm currently at stage four, which is worse than I thought... (stages from 1-5, one being the lowest)  I feel fine, but we're still taking this seriously.  It will take two years for a full repair and recovery, but I'm ready for it.  Hopefully some good will come out of this and I might be able to start a family at the end of all this.  Thank you everyone for the positive thoughts, I really appreciate it.  Spoonies unite!

    I think one of the things contributing to my stellar mood lately is the prospect of moving out of this Godforsaken apartment.  At the beginning of the week, when I thought someone had stolen our recycle bin for a SECOND time, I thought I might lose it.  Luckily it has been recovered, but my hesitation about this neighborhood only grows by the day.  I've noticed that after awhile certain places I've lived lose their appeal.  It's usually around the two year mark where I get antsy and need a change of scenery.  This time it lasted a little less than that, but I still think we made the right decision.  Soon enough we will be able to breathe a sigh of relief.  Until then, I'll be living out of boxes and hoarding all the newspaper I can find.
    In teaching news, I had probably the best class I've had in awhile today.  Figures it was the one day that I walked in on a surprise subbing opportunity.  I had fun with my own kids and absolutely no problems with the other classes on my own.  I felt great all day and the fact that I had concrete plans in front of me helped cement that confidence.  Needless to say I feel that my first solo mission was a success, so hopefully I'll get to do more of them in the near future.  I actually felt in control for the first time in awhile, so maybe this is a sign that I will be ready come Trimester 2 when I get to take over my class again.  In less than three weeks that will be my reality, so fingers crossed!

    For TV I've got Once Upon a Time, Agents of Shield, The Flash and the Face Off finale.  By now you know there's spoilers a-brewin...  First, I'm really glad that Dina won this season of Face Off!  She's definitely the most improved all around, even though I don't believe she ever did anything terrible.  Definitely well deserved.
    Once was crazy this weekend!  Emma and Regina working together, the Emma flashbacks, Mary Margaret's lingering pregnancy brain and the Snow Queen with her surprise connection to Emma.  I'm kind of glad that Elsa took a little bit of a back seat this episode so they could focus more on the dynamic between Emma and Regina.  I'm also really happy that Emma is starting to open up more to Hook, which means that they could become a more serious thing.  The most shocking part of that episode was for sure the end, when Emma casually decides to watch a video from her past which happens to have the Snow Queen in her alternative form.  Apparently she used to work at wherever Emma was staying in foster care, (I think), which is huge!  I guess we'll find out soon what her real connection is to everyone and why she's so desperate for the dark power and someone to love.  Isn't that everyone's evil intention in a fairy tale world?
    Agents of Shield was interesting this week.  I have a funny feeling at least one person is lying, manipulating and/or planning something without the others knowing.  Mainly just Coulson, but I feel like he's always one step ahead of everyone else or in cahoots with the right people at the right time.  I felt very confused by the energy around Skye, Coulson and Ward.  I can't tell what's going on with them anymore, but it'll be interesting to see where Ward goes from here, now that he's broken himself out of prison.  Where Coulson was working closely with May for the last few episodes, now he seems to be trusting Skye a little more, so they might have something planned that the other members of the team aren't privy to.  This season has started a bit slow for me, but we'll see how these issues work themselves out.  At least they seem to have the support of the army now.

    I know I haven't talked about this particular show yet, but The Flash has proven to be very successful in the wake of shows similar, like Arrow.  Obviously because we watch Arrow we had to start watching Flash, especially because of all the potential crossovers, which happened this episode.  Felicity Smoak, everyone's favorite sexy tech lady, ended up in Central City for one day and seemed to have all the fun.  She is by now an expert at keeping secrets and hacking anyone's computer system, almost as fast as Barry can run.  I loved seeing her outside of Starling City, but it did feel weird to not have Oliver or Diggle there with her.  We know that the events happening now in The Flash happened awhile back from the Arrow perspective, but it still felt relevant.  Barry and Felicity have a mutual understanding for each other, so I hope we see more of her and possibly Barry over in Starling City, once this whole League of Assassins thing blows over...
    That's it folks!  I have so much to do and less time to do it in.  Tomorrow my plans are a simple night in, by myself, packing and watching as many Halloween-themed movies as I can handle.  I usually save Casper for the 31st.  Luckily my dad is awesome and saved me all his leftover candy from tonight's trick-or-treating festivities:)  Looking forward to the nest few weeks and making November my bitch.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

The Equivalent of Screaming Into a Pillow

    Good evening everyone!  It has certainly been an exciting and hectic week...  I had lab work to get done Monday, baking and other preparations for the last few days for both parties taking place this afternoon, (hopefully the one I couldn't be at went well, or else I may be in trouble...), a team meeting during a delayed opening, finishing my pedagogy, (FINALLY), AND, to top it all off, we're officially moving in six weeks, which means they're starting to show our apartment tomorrow.  That is a long and very stressful list of things that I have had to get done without a lot of time to do any of them.

    Firstly, I did get my kidney biopsy results back with not a lot of good news, (not that I was expecting any).  My Lupus has spread to my kidneys, as we had thought, so now it's time to devise a plan for treatment.  Hopefully it won't be too difficult, but I'm anticipating at least some mildly uncomfortable side effects and/or long term damage to some other organ in my body.  It has been great feeling relatively normal these last few weeks, but I know that eventually I'm going to have to face whatever is coming and it won't be good.  Needless to say I have so much support it's ridiculous, so I wanted to publicly thank my husband for his understanding and his unrelenting patience when it comes to dealing with me when I'm needy.  I'd also like to thank my parents, both of whom have provided me with enough support, advice and love to last even the longest lifetime.  I honestly don't know what I would do without my family.

    Speaking of family, my mother has graciously offered us a place to stay.  We'll be moving back to my childhood home very soon, but it's a very different place.  We will practically have our own private apartment upstairs, complete with a full bathroom, bedroom, common area and even an office, (in the foreseeable future).  There is a lot of stigma surrounding adults moving back in with their parents, but in my situation it's actually a positive thing.  Moving back home does not always have to symbolize failure or disappointment.  It can actually be a great opportunity to get back on track, save money, live a healthier lifestyle and get in touch with your goals and aspirations.  Both my husband and I are very excited about this opportunity and this arrangement and look forward to reaching our goals so we can live the life we want to live.  If you told me six years ago that I would be living with my husband at my mother's house, I would've told you that you were crazy.  I'm very excited about the prospect of happiness and look forward to moving into a better environment.  Although, I'm not a huge fan of the moving process in general...  Boxing everything up and storing it for years at a time isn't my idea of fun, nor is moving said boxes from Point A to Point B in various vehicles.  I'm not looking forward to the process, but I am definitely looking forward to the end result.  We've already got a head start on cleaning because of all the scheduled showings, so it'll be easier to pick through the debris.  We're hoping to be out of here by Thanksgiving break at the latest.

    In teaching news, I've been working on setting up teacher observations anywhere and everywhere: within my school and subject area, outside my district, outside the state, etc.  Every opportunity is precious, so I have to make them count.  I'm looking forward to seeing how other professional teachers teach and the strategies I can take away to use in my own future teaching practices.  In seminar we've been asked to think about what constitutes a "professional teacher" and I'm hoping to find out through these observations.  If I've learned anything from this process so far, it's that the preconceived notions you may have going in aren't necessarily going to ring true by the end of your journey.  In other teaching news, I created this great lesson plan for a Halloween-themed "hero's journey" activity that I would really like to do with the kids, but don't think it'll happen because of time commitment issues, (and the fact that the 30th and 31st has already been planned...).  I just wanted to do something fun with the kids and take a break from the monotony of The Odyssey, but it may not be in the cards I guess.  I'll keep you posted on how it goes if it really does come to fruition, but I'm not holding my breath on this one.

    TV this week has been sparse, but I did get some Once in.  It was crazy confusing this past weekend.  The best part of the entire episode was Hook, (or Killian), and Emma's date, which was almost as awkward as I thought it would be.  Still very sweet, but we definitely need a second date in the near future.  That should give Hook time to sort out what the hell is going on with his hand.  I have absolutely no clue what's going on with Rumple at this point.  He seemed to have changed last season with his marriage to Belle, especially after he gave her back the real dagger.  But now, he's being a complete asshole to everyone for what seems like no reason.  The sorcerer's hat has triggered so many memories and events so far, so it's importance is imminent.  I'm excited about the prospect of introducing more elements of Fantasia into the mix, but when the poor apprentice got sucked into the depths of that black hole inside the hat I got a little scared.  The hat seemed so innocent and unknowing in Fantasia and now it's this evil black hole weapon thing...  I don't know how I feel about all this, but I do know by now that when Rumple wants something he will stop at nothing to get it.  Who knows what's going on with him ever?  I do think it's cute that Henry is attempting to infiltrate Rumple's "lair."  We'll see how well that works out.

    There's one more thing I've stumbled upon this week that I thought was interesting.  There's a community of book-loving readers on YouTube called "Booktube."  This community regularly posts videos and vlogs regarding book reviews, suggestions, book hauls, and more.  Each Booktube vlogger brings there own personal flair to their channel and I'm intrigued enough to explore this new community that might actually interest me.  I've been looking back into vlogging again and this might be an avenue I travel down, considering my profession.  Let me know what you think in the comments below.  I have everything I need to start, just need the time and the confidence to do it.

    That's all I got!  Even if I don't start my own Booktube channel, I will do my best to revamp my Book Reviews page on here and keep it updated as frequently as possible.  Now that I'm starting to read more for leisure it should be a lot easier.  Fingers crossed!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Back to the Grind

    Hello!  It has certainly been a nice week to come back to school.  I didn't realize that I would miss my students as much as I did, but it was terribly boring at home without them.  Unfortunately, it seems like they've been equally bored without me.  We're probably only a quarter through The Odyssey and they're already drowning in it.  Needless to say my cooperating teacher and I have our work cut out for us over the next few weeks.  But it is glad to be back.

    School has been a lot easier since we decided on co-teaching.  I've found that I'm able to get more work done, help out a little more around the room and get to know that kids a little better each day.  I already know them well enough, but just thinking about the rest of the year with them makes me feel great.  I'm looking forward to taking over come next Trimester, if I'm really ready.  I've already seen some massive improvements in some of the kids who were struggling before.  One in particular, one of my initial problem children, has proven to himself that reading isn't as bad as he thought it would be by actively seeking out books in a series he's loving right now.  Also, today actually, he was the only one in my class to get a 100% on our first grammar quiz!  I ran to catch up with him in the hallway outside my classroom after I graded all of them and he had the biggest smile!  It's stuff like this that makes me remember why I wanted to go into this profession and why I can't give up.  Right now I'm focusing on finishing my pedagogy statement that was supposed to be due last week, as well as other stuff for seminar a week from today.  Did I mention I'm hosting seminar next week too?  Time to decorate the classroom, bake a bunch of stuff to feed the masses and hope all goes well.

    As far as my health is concerned, nothing has really changed.  I feel that I've recovered better than expected from my biopsy and have had little to no complications.  That being said, I have noticed a few things I'm not happy about...like my hair falling out at a rapid rate and my feet and ankles swelling to abnormal sizes.  The fact that I now have cankles bothers me more than the fact that I'm slowly going bald.  The hair I can fix with a haircut, but when that might happen I have no idea.  I'm kind of looking forward to going back to short hair, as long as it looks like it did the last time I cut it.  I'm not sure how to fix the water retained in my lower extremities, but hopefully once we figure out what's wrong maybe it'll go away.  Now both doctors want me to get more blood work done by Monday, which is almost impossible considering I have NO time to run to both labs in one day, or even in two days really.  Plus it's not like the blood work will show anything different or anything that might help these side effects go away.  I'd rather not stay this way for longer than I have to...

    For TV this week, I'm going to focus on Once Upon a Time, Legend of Korra and Arrow, so put on your spoiler hats people.  So far Once has been juggling both the new Frozen storyline as well as the Regina plot to find her own happy ending.  I had a discussion today with a co-worker about possible angles and details that might give us viewers a clue as to what's really going on in Storybrooke, considering everyone apparently knows each other.  We know that Rumple is full of crap, the Snow Queen knows both Elsa and Emma, and Robin still has feelings for Regina.  Hook trying to blackmail Rumple was pretty cute, but I'm almost positive that Rumple will make him pay for that later on.  How is it Rumple is behind all of this stuff?  He knew that the house him and Belle spent their honeymoon in belonged to Merlin, (the hat from Fantasia gave it away), and he had contact with Anna, at least back in the Enchanted Forest, which he apparently doesn't remember, but I don't know if I buy that because he knows the Snow Queen, her relationship to Emma AND why she's here in the first place.  There's obviously something in it for him, so I guess we'll have to wait and see what happens.  What really bugs me is the relationship between Emma and the Snow Queen.  I think that Elsa's family tree might go a little further than she knew, but whether the Snow Queen is really her aunt or maybe someone a little closer is still up for debate.  They tend to drag these things out, so we may not even get an answer until the end of this season.  Also, did anyone else scream when they realized WILL IS BACK?!?  This won't be the last we see of him, but he was oddly familiar with the Snow Queen's business, so that's interesting...  So many questions, so little time!

    In Legend of Korra, we get to see where Korra has been this whole time, leading up to the big reveal at the end of TOPH!!  I was so excited to see someone from the original Avatar series other than Katara I almost fell off my chair.  We had been teased about a potential Toph/Avatar reunion last season, but I didn't think they would do it so soon.  Unfortunately, it looks like we'll have to wait a little longer for that conversation, considering that tomorrow's episode looks like it'll focus more on Mako and the new Earth kingdom.  I hate it when they do that...

    Arrow hasn't disappointed either as of late.  The murderous death of Sara came as a shock to me, honestly.  I didn't think they would kill her off at all.  We do know that she knew her attacker, so it's only a matter of time before Oliver connects the dots, probably with a little help from Laurel, who will most definitely take up a Canary alter-ego.  I hate the fact that Felicity was so close to bagging Oliver just to walk out on him to join The Atom, (unbeknownst to her, obviously).  I was really hoping for that connection, but I guess they just can't let it happen.  I am curious to see how they incorporate Thea back into the mix, now that she's been training heavily with her real father.  For what purpose still remains to be seen. but I sense a sibling cage match in our future at the very least.
    That's all from me for now.  I can't believe it's already the middle of October...  I feel like this month is moving by so fast and I don't have time to get everything done that I need to!  With everything I still have to do for school, work and my illness it's amazing I even find the energy to leave my bed every day.  Did I mention that my husband and I are crazy and we're thinking about moving soon?  When that'll be we have no idea, but hopefully it's before May.  We'd like to not freeze to death this winter or succumb to poverty, but who knows?  Everything in my life is still up in the air and it looks like it'll stay that way for awhile.  At this rate, I'm relieved to still have my sanity.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Health Update

    Hey everyone!  I'm currently on day two of my extra long weekend and I'm feeling much better.  I didn't want to post yesterday in order to give myself a little more time to recuperate after my operation, so I'm posting today instead.  Not a lot has happened in the last week or so, but I'll fill you in on the big things.

    My kidney biopsy went very well yesterday.  The staff at the hospital made me feel so much more comfortable about the whole situation that I would honestly do it again if I needed to.  I spent my entire day there, which was a bummer since it was the most perfect fall day outside.  Luckily I got to experience the outdoors today instead.  There were no immediate complications and I'm still a little sore and stuffed up, but otherwise I feel fine.  All my entry points are healing nicely without any discoloration and I've had almost no abdominal pain since I've been home.  The procedure, although initially very scary, wasn't as bad as I had imagined it to be.  The worst part of it all was probably putting in the IV and the distribution of the numbing agent through my back.  Overall it went well and I'm hoping that they got a decent sample to give me some answers in a week or two.
    As for teaching, I've been taking more of a back seat lately.  Due to my health issues and frequent absences, my professor and cooperating teacher thought it would be a good idea to follow a co-teaching model up until the end of the first trimester, (which will end up being sometime in November).  I'm hoping that I have my Lupus under control by that point where I can take on more of a leadership role.  I'm relieved to have a little more time to get some observations in, work on my pedagogy statement and focus more on following directions in the classroom so I can make sure I'm doing everything right.  Come spring I'd like to feel a little more confident in my teaching abilities and earn my cooperating teacher's trust back so that I can substitute and lead my class properly, but right now I know I'm not in a good spot to do that.  Sometimes in situations like mine you have to learn to be humble and take what you're given, even if you don't want to.

    It's also been awkward dealing with what I've come to recognize as my "new normal."  I've had Lupus for about 14 years now and for most of that time I was in remission.  I hadn't had to deal with any serious health problems since 8th grade, which was the last time I was hospitalized.  Now it seems that my body is changing rapidly in a negative way and I've never had to deal with something of this magnitude.  Over the last month or so since I've started teaching I've talked to my professor and cooperating teacher a lot about "accommodations" related to my health and I've never really thought about it like that before.  I've never thought of myself as someone who needed to be accommodated for and that makes me feel sort of fragile, like I'm not able to do the things I've always been able to do.  My "new normal" situation is sometimes frustrating and aggravating to the point where I just want to shut it all off.  Since I've been on the steroids it's been a lot easier to move around and do simple tasks like opening a bottle of water, but I'm afraid of what will happen when I'm done with them.  Will I be prescribed something that actually works for my whole body or will we ache through another month or two of trial and error until we find a combination that works for now?  There's a lot still up in the air and not a whole lot of explanation, but I guess that's what I've been given.  If I've learned anything from this experience, it's that sometimes you just have to roll with the punches.

    PREPARE FOR SPOILERS: As for TV for the last week, my husband and I ended up binge-watching everything we missed last week last Saturday so we're all caught up for now.  Bones made me cry and I really wish they didn't kill off Sweets...but it looks like it'll be a huge motivator for Booth and Brennan to catch whoever is behind it.  I also hope that Daisy doesn't name her child Seeley Sweets, but we'll see.  We watched the premier of Arrow last night and it was awesome for about two seconds.  I've wanted to see Oliver and Felicity together SO BADLY and then they're date was ruined and then he changed his mind and WHAT THE HELL OLIVER?!?  Also, killing off Sarah may or may not be a good move, but I guess we'll see how this plays out over the rest of the season.
    That's all I have for this week.  Monday is a holiday, hence the extra long weekend joyousness, so I'm back to school on Tuesday for an intern-friendly field trip.  Should be a nice, relaxing couple of days and I plan on taking full advantage of them:)  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Hulking Out and Parent/Teacher Conferences

    So far, so good!  Hope everyone's doing ok.  I'm glad I at least talked myself into typing this up tonight, even though it's been a really long day.  I literally JUST got home from my first round of parent/teacher conferences, (it's about 9:30pm), and I can honestly say it wasn't terrible.  Luckily the two kids who had signed up to see me who are failing my class didn't show, but I'll have to deal with them later.  Most of my kids are great, well-behaved and acing my class, so I'm not too worried.

    I was a little worried at the end of last week, on Friday, because I got some really negative and harsh criticism/feedback from my cooperating teacher about my progress so far:(  I guess I wasn't doing as well as I had hoped...  It really hurt to hear her honesty, but I appreciated that she had the heart to tell me.  I'm not connecting with the kids in the right way, I'm still too soft on them, they talk over me STILL, I have some trouble makers who think they're smart asses who test my patience, and I guess overall I'm still not delivering the curriculum correctly, (or at least adequately enough to help them comprehend what I'm talking about).  I know that her suggestions and opinions are only supposed to help me and make me better over time, so I hope I can improve to a point where I'm proud of myself again.  Just today I got over the "I don't think I want to be a teacher anymore" feeling, so here's to a new leaf turning.  We just started a new unit on The Odyssey and we're doing a research project about monsters and Greek gods, so this should be fun!

    On the health front, I'm feeling so much better!  I'm on my second day of steroids and I can safely say I can't remember the last time it was easy for me to get out of bed in the morning.  It's been nice feeling "normal" for awhile, even though it won't last forever.  I have a month to see what's going on, but for now I'm focusing mostly on my upcoming biopsy, which is Thursday.  I'll have a long weekend to recover, but I'm still really scared about the procedure and complications...  I have an ultrasound on Monday which isn't terrible, but I have to "fast" for it, which means I can't eat for 12 hours, (2am-2pm).  NOT fun.  I think I'm going to cheat a little and get some jello and/or pudding, (who WOULDN'T want pudding?!)  Getting through the day is hard enough as it is, but with no food and all these 'roids coursing through my veins it'll be hard to survive the day.  Until we get the results back from the kidney biopsy, they won't know how bad my Lupus Nephritis is, so we'll have to wait and see.  It's probably not that serious, but dialysis still scares me, so I hope it doesn't come to that.

    On TV this past week, I've started a new show called The Red Band Society, in which the series is narrated by a child in a coma as a part of a terminally ill or intensive care unit for kids and teens in a hospital in California.  The doctor/surgeon is wicked hot, the characters are snarky despite their conditions and Nurse Jackson is my new spirit animal.  I'm happy there's a show like this on Fox and I can't wait to see what they do with it.  Gotham is another show I've been loving recently that just started.  Obviously my husband and I had to watch this one solely based on the Batman references, but it's surprisingly engaging without the bat.  I'm also excited to see where they take this series because they have a lot to work with and many directions they could take this.  So far I like the guy playing Gordon and I've always liked Donal Logue, so there's a win-win team right there.  I'm still getting over him being a viking...  I love how they've portrayed Selena Kyle so far and I can't wait to see how Bruce and Selena become friends, (or enemies).

    Other shows that have started but I haven't been able to get caught up on are Castle, Bones, (I know who dies...I'm DEVASTATED), Face Off, Agents of Shield, Reign, and The Amazing Race.  I did catch the premiere of Once Upon a Time last Sunday and it was AMAZING!  I'm not turned off about the Frozen team being there, especially if it means that Scott Michael Foster is back in my life again.  I literally screamed when I saw the sorcerer's hat from Fantasia morph from that box at Belle and Rumple's house, but we'll see what he does/doesn't do with that.  Also, the kiss between Emma and Hook proves that Captain Swan is alive and well!  So excited for this season and what they have up their sleeves.
    Well, that's all I have for this week.  I really have to go to bed...  Even though I'm feeling better physically, I'm still suffering from fatigue and my kidney issues.  I've also been really itchy lately, all over, so I'm not sure if I'm allergic to my father's fabric softener or if it's a side effect from the steroids, but I'll figure it out this weekend I think.  I should have an update next week.  I may have to push back my post until Friday, depending on how I feel next Thursday after my procedure, but we'll play it by ear.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

PS: In other news, tomorrow is October 3rd.  I'm planning an impromptu Mean Girls Day celebration tomorrow in class.  You're welcome in advance kids:)

I'm BACK!

    Hello everyone!  Welcome back!  I know I said that I would be back at the beginning of September, but a lot has been going on and I honestly haven't found the time to post until now, so I apologize.  Things have been crazy lately and I have every intention of telling you all about what's been going on with me during the last few months.

    First of all, we've started school!  I spent the last months of summer at our local summer camp and it was so much fun!  It's been about a month since school, (and my internship), officially started and I'm just now getting more comfortable and relaxed with the kids.  I'm hoping this will kind of turn into a space where I can vent and discuss my internship experience in full and maybe work through some of my problems or concerns about my teaching future.  We'll see!  So far, so good though.  I was getting worried for awhile because they still have trouble listening to me and I have problems with projection, (which I initially found hard to believe given my naturally loud voice).  As of right now, they seem to be more comfortable with me, so we'll see how that keeps up.  I'm doing a rotating seating chart to help them quell the talking and to get them to meet each other as well.  I have a few students who insist on sitting near or next to each other and that's never a good idea.  We've been slowly progressing through our short story unit and they have a test on Friday, so we'll see how that goes.  Right now I'm more concerned about their writing and grammatical issues that I will have to address at some point...  The one main thing I have been loving about my class is the emphasis on Penny Kittle and independent reading choices.  The kids have really had fun picking out and reading their own books, and, even though this is a new curriculum for everyone, I think they're getting the hang of it.  So for now, that's what I've been doing in school, with plenty more to come.

    Part of my internship is a weekly seminar, which is a space where the interns can vent and voice their aggressions with the rest of the group.  It's been awesome so far to hear all the other stories from other departments.  I'm the only English intern, so I've felt sort of secluded from everyone else here at the school.  It's nice to talk and discuss with other like-minded college grads.  Our internship coordinator is pretty cool too I guess.  He's been more than a huge help, especially lately, so I will have to remember to get him a card as a thank you at the end of all this.  Especially if he helps me find a job too.  I will most likely post my blog entries every week after seminar on Thursdays because I still want it to be during the week so I can talk education, but I don't want to feel overwhelmed or pressured by it, so I'll try that out for next week.  I know it's Tuesday, but I have some downtime between periods so I figured what the heck.

    Now for the bad...  As you know, I've been struggling with random severe flares from my Lupus ever since last summer.  Lately, they have escalated to the point where I've had to seek alternative treatment back at Massachusetts General Hospital.  This summer, though very enjoyable, was also very tumultuous in the sense that I was very sick for most of the three months I worked and had to take some time off to recuperate.  I'm not the type of person to take time off because of sickness or anything like that, even though I probably should sometimes.  With the internship now, I have more flexibility and if I need to, I can take some time for myself and my health.  I've already had the discussion with my coordinator and my cooperating teacher and they are both on board with me getting my health back on track.  Last night was especially difficult for me...  In the last 13 years, I can never remember crying or getting emotionally upset over the pain I have.  Last night was the first time I just broke down and let all of my frustration out.  I could barely move and I'm actually surprised I made it to my apartment alone.  My left leg hurt so bad I had to physically lift it into and out of my car with my own arms, which also hurt a great deal, (obviously a little less than my leg).  It's gotten to the point where I'm literally sick and tired of feeling like this.  I've never had a flare last THIS long.  It's scary to think how badly this has progressed over the last year.  It makes me fearful of my future and what's to come.  On top of my body shutting down, I've also developed the butterfly rash on my face, been having trouble breathing due to my pericarditis, and had a resurgence of kidney problems that I'm currently working on with both my primary Rheumatologist and the clinical doctor at Mass Gen.  I'm hoping to get in to see a kidney doctor this week before I go back to Boston for my follow up a week from today.  I'm hoping to get this sorted out soon so I can finally have some relief.  I have found solace in a support group known as the "Spoonies," who are other people with chronic illnesses.  They call themselves "spoonies" because of a blog written by Christine Miserandino called "The Spoon Theory."  She writes about her experiences trying to explain how her illness works to her friend and the results are astounding.  It is a great piece of writing and I'll link it here.  I totally recommend it to anyone who wants to know more about chronic illness.

    That's basically it for me.  As far as TV goes, I'll try to keep my reviews to a minimum, but my shows are all starting up again, so we'll see how that goes.  I'm currently watching Face Off, but Gotham just premiered last night and I'll be watching that with my husband probably tonight.  Also, I have been on the fence about Dancing With the Stars this season, but I might watch just in case Bethany Mota wins.  I believe the only other shows I'm waiting to start again are Castle, Bones, and The Amazing Race.  I'm thinking about adding another page to my blog just for TV reviews, so let me know what you think about that in the comments below.  I would also like to revamp my book log and let you guys know what I'm reading right now and what I think about it, kind of like what I'm doing with my students and Book Talks.  Let me know!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Break Time

    Hello everyone.  Sorry the blog's late again, but I'll be getting to that issue shortly.  I've realized that since starting camp while simultaneously trying to plan at least the first couple weeks of classes before school starts I've had a hard time keeping to my blogging schedule.  I know I've cut down to only one day, but I think it's time to take a little break, only until September.  I will be working nonstop almost with almost no breaks, save for when I take a week off at the end of this month.  Needless to say I'll be sad, but I'm hoping to start back up again in the fall with a new perspective.  There will be more TV on and I would've started my first teaching internship, which I plan on chronicling through here.  The entire year should be really interesting, eye-opening and beneficial to my future career.  To put more focus on making sure I'm prepared, I'm giving up blogging for the remainder of the summer.  Come September I will hopefully be better prepared to blog more often about different things, including things of an educational nature.  I hope this doesn't disappoint any of my frequent readers, (if any), but I'd rather just take a break straight away rather than be late or non-existent every week.  This is for the good of everyone involved and I'll be re-energized to hop back on the blogging bandwagon in September.
    That being said, this will be my last entry for awhile, so I will try to update as much as I can, (including my past couple recaps for The Bachelorette!)  Camp has been great so far, with only a few hardships.  I've been having trouble adjusting to the constant heat and humidity so my body is rebelling in every way possible.  Right now my left knee is killing me and my joints in general have been terrible.  Unfortunately I'm currently out of meds, so I'll have to wait until my next shipment arrives, but I'll be fine until then.  I'm just hoping my breathing gets easier after the fact this time...  Although it's been mentally and physically draining at times, I've enjoyed coming back to camp.  I missed interacting with the kids and having fun during the summer.  I couldn't have done that behind a desk at a retail store, that's for sure.

    As for The Bachelorette, (SPOILERS PEOPLE), I'm pretty comfortable with my predictions this season.  So sorry about Dylan, but he really wasn't the right fit for her anyway.  I'm sure he'll find a nice Boston lady.  Anyway, the rest of my Top 5 seemed to have made the cut, save for Brian and Marcus.  Nick is completely unnecessary at this point seeing as he's just playing this game instead of actually falling in love, but knowing this show Andi will probably end up picking the guy everyone doesn't like.  I'm still rooting for Chris overall now that poor Marcus is gone...he really was a great guy.  I don't particularly like Josh at all and I find him incredibly dull.  I've barely been watching because the dates have been kind of repetitive, but I'm keeping track of who's left and I'm not surprised.  Can't wait to see who she actually ends up with!  GO CHRIS, THE SEXY FARMER GUY!!

    Besides The Bachelorette, my husband and I have been watching the third season of Legend of Korra, which is a spin off cartoon series based on Avatar.  It takes place years after Aang, the last Avatar.  It has been great so far and we've seen some familiar faces from the Avatar series, so I'm looking forward to seeing where they take this season.  It's one of the best cartoon series I've ever seen!  Other than that, I'll be eagerly waiting the premier of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie, coming out August 1st, and then the new TMNT movie on the 8th.  I will be getting midnight showing tickets and I could not be more excited!!
    Well that's it!  I hope everyone enjoys their summer and has time to get out and enjoy the sunshine!  I'll be counting the days until I can write back again.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

Sauce, Cheese and Anchovies

    Happy Tuesday everyone!  I hope everyone had a great weekend!  My husband and I went to go see How to Train Your Dragon 2 on Sunday night and it was AWESOME!  Even if you haven't seen the first one, go see it, (although it would be great if you could see the first one beforehand).  Even if you're an adult, it's still a great movie.

    We also went out to dinner with my parents for sushi, (one of our favorite foods), to chat about some things, one being moving in with them next year when our lease is up.  My husband and I had been discussing plans to build our own house and how we would go about doing that.  We don't want to settle and I'd like to make sure the next place we move to is at least somewhat more permanent.  In order to save up the money we'd need and plan out our strategy, we believe this is our best chance to really live our ideal life.  They would be converting almost the entire upstairs into a livable space, complete with a common area, full bathroom and bedroom.  We can even park in the same driveway, which we haven't been able to do for as long as we've known each other.  So by this time next year, we will be moving in with my mother in our own little "apartment" upstairs.  I'm excited about the opportunity and I can't wait to see what's in store for us in the future, as usual.

    So far my health has been much better, considering the conditions I've had to work in.  Camp has been stressful, but great these past few days.  Sometimes I can't wait until the weekend, but I've met a ton of cool kids and I will miss them next session.  The bus route has been the most stressful and problematic part of my day, what with all the kids, less help and constant noise and interruptions, (sometimes from fellow staff members...), sometimes it's difficult to sustain my patience.  I'm hoping this week will serve as somewhat of a practice round and I will be better prepared for the two week session that starts next week.  I'm hoping to find my camp spirit sometime soon, since it's been buried for several years.

    This week it's only The Bachelorette I have reviews for, so keep reading for some SPOILERS.  This week they were in Italy and I feel like they did every stereotypical thing you should do in Italy.  Nothing overly exciting, but Italy is still one of my top places to visit.  I was sad to see Cody go, (even though he's dull as dirt, he was still really cute with the way he hoped for love).  Nick annoyed me almost the entire time, as usual, and Josh made me regret putting him in my top 5 list.  I didn't like the lie detector test solely based on the fact that she didn't even bother reading the results.  Total waste of time!  I would've been all over that if I were her, but alas, I'm not.  I was also sad to see JJ go, but you really couldn't see him getting any farther anyway.  My top 3 is still Chris, Marcus and probably Brian or Josh, (I don't really like Brian either, but Josh seems to be more her type, so he's still in there, unfortunately).  I'm still holding out for Dylan to be a bit more interesting, or perhaps even less like a piece of wood, but just because he's my Bostonian guy.  We'll see what next week holds I guess.
    That's it for me this week.  I've been really busy again, (get used to hearing that all summer), so you're lucky I even posted.  I just didn't want to slack off on it again.  There is a brand new trailer, (FINALLY), for the new Ninja Turtle movie, so I've linked that video below.  It was the highlight of my day, so I hope it eases your suspicions just a little.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

My Bad.

    Hey guys, so I'm sorry that I took an unforeseen week off, but it ended up working out in my favor anyway, seeing as there was literally nothing going on, including no Bachelorette.  I have been really busy clearing out my site for the summer while simultaneously preparing myself for the first day of camp training, which was today.  Even though I still wasn't prepared, (no food or water, which we had to bring ourselves), I had a great first day!  Met a lot of my coworkers, (good and obnoxious), played some team-building games and took a tour of camp, which I hadn't seen in about 16 years.  It was nice to see things that have lasted that long along side newer structures and attractions.  Luckily I avoided the swim test because of the issues I've been having with my heart...

    I always anticipated that my pericarditis would come back, but not so soon.  I came home Sunday night, tired and not feeling well after a long day out with both my father and my father-in-law.  Monday morning I woke up around 1:30am sweating, shivering and writhing in pain, my chest tight.  I couldn't breathe and I didn't know what was wrong or how it happened.  Luckily it hasn't happened again, but the chest pain has increased, along with the temperature, so unfortunately I think I might have to make an impromptu call to my rheumatologist.  I didn't like the older medication she had me on because of the side effects related to reproduction, but it did work quickly to stem the pain from my chest.  At least I could breathe, without taking steroids or pain killers, (which also work, but are more dangerous to take for extended periods).  Needless to say I'm torn, but I do know I haven't been able to do as much because I haven't been able to breathe correctly.  I'll update you guys as soon as I know what's going to happen, but it looks like I might have to cave for the sake of my heart.

    I did have a great last week of school though, before all this crappy stuff came out of nowhere.  I even got gifts from some of the parents, which blew my mind because I've only been there since March.  It was nice to see everyone getting excited for summer and next year, especially the 5th graders moving on to middle school.  I told them I may run into them someday, but honestly I hope I don't.  Some of them I'd rather never seen again!  But in all seriousness, it's nice to know your patience and hard work is appreciated by the parents, even if you've only been there a short time.  I was even more glad to see parents whose kids weren't in our program ask when it would be ok to sign them up.  I can't wait to see how many kids we have next year and I look forward to switching off between my Freshman and my elementary school kids.

    One child I will miss terribly is Caroline.  I was drawn to her initially because she was about my height, (which is tall for her and short for me, being 5 feet tall), with glasses and very studious and quiet, much like myself.  I thought I could be someone she could actually relate to, unlike all the other more immature students around her.  Then I found out she had been diagnosed with juvenile arthritis.  I never thought I'd be a role model to anyone.  I remember a time when I was 11 years old, struggling with an uncommon diagnosis that is incurable and not knowing who to talk to except my mother.  I didn't have anybody I could relate to because I was the only one who had heard of what I had.  My friends didn't understand my illness, in fact, some were scared of me, thinking it might be contagious.  I had no one to talk to or vent to about any of my pain and I wish I had.  For me, being that person for another 11 year old girl struggling with a similar illness makes me the happiest person in the world.  I always wondered what it would be like to write my younger self a letter, explaining what was going to happen to me and how it will progress, how I'll feel and if I'll ever get a hold on it.  I've taken everything I would've told myself and gave that advice to Caroline, so that she might not feel so alone.  I wish I could meet more kids like Caroline and help them realize that they aren't alone, their pain is real and that they will overcome it someday, like I'm working on every day.

    Now that the sap story is done, let's get on to TV!  I've got Bachelorette and Game of Thrones finale SPOILERS for you today:

  First up is the Game of Thrones finale and, while it did not disappoint, left many fans disappointed.  I myself am guilty of this, but a lot of fans had expected the appearance of Lady Stoneheart, which never happened.  I thought the season ended on a very high note, so I'm even more excited now for the next season, which will most likely begin with Lady Stoneheart and her story, but we'll just have to wait and see.  I did enjoy the little funeral Jon had for his lady friend, the one who got ran through by an arrow-wielding child.  I don't know how Stanis' presence here at the Wall will effect comradery among the soldiers, but I can see the sorceress being a HUGE pain in the ass, as usual.  Jon seems to trust him for now, having found out Stanis supported his father, but I could see a look of unease about him, so I'm sure Stanis will screw everything up by being a crazy lunatic.  Is it sad that I cried too when Daenerys chained two of her dragons?  Those are not just dragons, they are her BABIES!  I'm also looking forward to Drogon's return and how devastating that will turn out to be.  Obviously I loved when Tyrion shot his father on the toilet, but that was clearly going to happen.  This episode had my favorite ending by far, which was when Arya, after watching the Hound get killed, (basically), by Brienne of Tarth, boarded a ship to Braavos to reunite with her assassin friends.  I'm so excited for her character to train with them more broadly and come back with a vengeance.  I'm starting to realize that a Stark reunion, although they came SO CLOSE this season, is inevitably not going to happen.  At least not any time soon.  I'll keep waiting, but next season should be awesome!

  The Bachelorette had it's ups and downs this week.  One "up" was that they were in the south of France, which is BEAUTIFUL!  I've wanted to travel to Europe for awhile now and France is definitely one of those places I'd love to visit, (even though I've heard from multiple sources that they are rude to Americans).  Marquel was SO GOOD at miming, I think he should do it full time, (especially now that he's been sent home...oops).  I'm still on the fence about Josh, but I think more of the truth will unfold between the next couple episodes.  I also didn't really like Brian's date either.  Both were rather boring with little to no sex appeal, so I kind of tuned out everything but the gorgeous scenery until the final rose ceremony.  I'm glad she got rid of Andrew and Patrick too because they were just taking up space for the other guys to breathe.  So far, I'm keep my Top 3 at Marcus, Chris and Brian, (only because Brian had a strong impression on Andi during their date), with Dylan and Josh taking up the rear as a close 4th and 5th pick.  We'll see how the lie detector pans out when they go to Venice next week.  I'm hoping for someone to have a girlfriend or a bad credit history.
    Well, that's about it.  Next week I should be posting, however it will probably not be up until later at night, considering I will have started camp and will not get home until close to 5pm.  I am excited to start my summer with a bunch of middle schoolers in my village and ready to have a great time.  I will also be attending my old Newmarket 8th graders' graduation ceremony this Thursday, which will be fun as well.  This may be the last time I might see any of them, so I'll have to make it count.  Hopefully I can find something to wear before then!  I've realized through cleaning out my closet that I have absolutely no cute sundresses or anything summer professional in my wardrobe, so there will have to be some sort of shopping trip in my future.  Summer vacation has officially started, so I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to spare!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.