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.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes.

    Happy Thursday!  It's been a crazy week so far, so I haven't had a lot of time to myself.  It's been super hectic at work, going from site to site, preparing to close down for the summer.  It is a meticulous process that will probably take me longer than the few hours they're giving me, but I will have to get it done by the end of next week.  All paperwork has to be filed, each child accounted for and everything inventoried and stored for the next year.  I have a two-sided check list I have to go through and it doesn't look easy, but I have faith that I'll get it done.  That being said, I'm also simultaneously preparing myself for summer camp.  Coordinating around that at the same time will be difficult, but doable for sure.  I'm excited and nervous at the same time, but I think I'm ready.

    My health has been steadily climbing and rebelling since joining the gym.  My Lupus is putting up one Hell of a fight, but I'm trying to take it in stride and work through it.  Despite my issues, I've been making obvious progress.  Between losing a little weight and building a little muscle, I'm getting there.  I enjoy going to the gym every week and look forward to my sessions with my personal trainer.  That's more than I ever could have hoped for in a gym membership.  I expect nothing but good things to come in the coming months as I continue my journey to a better self.

    I also learned a little more about my teaching internship next year.  My cooperating teacher got almost all Freshman classes for the upcoming 2014-2015 school year, so I will be taking on one of her English College Prep classes in tandem with her other one.  This means that she will teach one section of the class first, then I will follow.  I will also be helping her with her other classes, which are an American Lit. class as well as a reading specific course to help struggling students.  This looks like it's going to be a great upcoming year, so I'm super excited! (and extremely anxious, but that is to be expected)  I have another book to add to my summer reading list as well called, Book Love, by Penny Kittle, a well-known education author.  We will be using this book to help construct our English curriculum for next year, so I have to read it to get information regarding her teaching methods.  I was also thinking about reading Lord of the Flies, since we may be teaching that text as well, which I've never read.  Let me know in the comments what you thought of your experience with Lord of the Flies.
    TV this week was epic!  Game of Thrones didn't disappoint and the Bachelorette made it to New England FINALLY.  Here are my week recaps for those two shows, including SPOILERS:

    Game of Thrones really picked up this week.  I liked how they left Tyrion's trial by combat to the very end to build suspense.  I also loved Arya's laugh, which has been seriously lacking since the show started years ago.  It's nice to see the kids smile every once in awhile when they're not too busy killing everyone in sight.  I was mad that we didn't get to see Arya and the Hound make it inside the castle, but I'm sure we'll get a peek on Sunday.  It'll be interesting to see how Sansa feels about having her sister back in her life, but at this point I think she'd be ready to see any familiar face, even Arya's.  I'm desperate for a Stark reunion, so however it happens I hope it's soon.  I LOVED Sansa in this episode, the way she conned the council into believing she was a victim, (which she technically is, but lying for Baelish seems like a bad idea all around).  He was looking at her like he had taught her everything she knows, like a proud father, (even creepier...).  Then she kind of brushed him off when he went to thank her, proving she really has grown colder in the last few seasons.  She really looked like a grown woman and I'm actually beginning to like her now.  We'll see how long that lasts.  Obviously, everyone remembers the fight between the Viper and the Mountain being the most memorable, (and gruesome), part of this episode.  I had to walk away at the end because I couldn't take the gore, but the fight was spectacular.  I'm really sad to see Oberyn go like that, but at least he took the Mountain with him.  He finally got the revenge he wanted.  I'm looking forward to the last two episodes of this season to see if my predictions come true or if I'll be disappointed until next season comes around.  Praying for Lady Stoneheart!

    The Bachelorette had a two-parter this week and it definitely needed it.  The gang hung out in California for the Sunday night episode, alluding to drama between the guys and Andrew getting a waitress's number at a restaurant.  Nothing really exciting happened, besides singing a horrible rendition of a Boyz II Men song WITH Boyz II Men!  I was fan-girling wicked hard, but not for the guys and their terrible voices, (sorry Opera Guy, you still don't really get the R&B vibe).  Monday night saw the group enter New England territory by way of Mohegan Sun, an over-priced gambling hot-spot.  I'm glad Dylan got the first one-on-one date because it is his "hometown," (even though they're in Connecticut, not Massachusetts).  They went on a depressing train ride to talk about his siblings overdoses and it was difficult to watch, to be honest.  Luckily, he got a rose out of it so he's safe, for now.  Honestly, unless he starts showing some emotion, I don't see his stark, quiet persona lasting that much longer.  The date with Marcus was my favorite because you can tell she really likes him already.  If he's not in the final four, I'd be really surprised.  I also really liked Brian's chance to shine on the basketball court.  The nice, quiet, no-drama guys are winning this week!  The worst part of this episode was the fight between Eric and Andi.  It was really uncomfortable to watch, especially since we've only really seen good things from him so far.  It was sucky the way he left so quickly, but it was for the best.  I didn't stay to watch the memorial for him after the show, but I know Tasos went home.  So far, I've constructed a Top 5 based solely on what I've seen of the show so far, and they are: Marcus, Chris, Josh, Brian and Dylan.  Fingers crossed that most of them don't turn out to be assholes!
    That's it for TV.  For next week, and until further notice, in order to stay as relevant as possible with what's going on in my life at the moment, I've decided to move my blog entries back to just Tuesdays instead of Thursdays.  Thursdays are difficult for me because they're the end of the week and I don't want to do anything, so to stay on task with everything and be relevant to the shows I'm currently watching, we're moving to Tuesdays!  That being said, I hope everyone enjoys their weekends.  I'm planning on cooking dinner and dessert with my mother tomorrow night, spending the entirety of Saturday spoiling my husband for his birthday, (HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY BEAR!!), and Sunday I'm meeting up with a friend in town before hanging out with my dad.  This is why I look forward to the weekend!  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.