Recap of [2011]

January

The start of my final semester of classes. Student teaching interview. 
Continuing to work with my cardiac-electrophysiogist.
Researching the power of a healthy diet and it's effects on the body.
   

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February

Grandma turns 90! 

We had a big open house for her and all of her friends :)

**she has more friends than I do!**

Starting undergoing chiropractic care.

March 

Mom's birthday!

POTS Symptoms were running rather high :/

Spent hours and hours in sped classes learning how to administer the WRAT assessment.

(one long and lengthy comprehension test!)

One out of the many pages...
we scanned them as we had to practice administering this test on many a friends ;)
Extra copies just in case we needed a new sheet for mess ups!

April

Blizzard in mid April! Crazy!

POTS symptoms controlling my life :/ Not a fun month.

Countdown until geneticist appointment.

May

BUSY MONTH!!! THINGS START TO LOOK UP :)

Revelation of our family history and nationality -- received grandpa's old adoption papers.

Letter official: Fall Student Teaching Placement

Start my coupon craze!

Osama-Bin-Laden is dead!

Monday mom nights: The Bachelorette starts!

Here is a snippet of my grandpa's adoption summary.
He was brought to the agency is a suitcase!

June

Omaha/Iowa flooding worsens.

Chauffeuring Grandma and funny stories develop!

Pinterest became highly-addictive!

 Famous information about our family!!!

 July
Geneticist appointment is here! I have an amazing genetic counselor and specialist.
...after 6+ months of waiting
Official EDS (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) diagnosis is revealed.
Click here for more information regarding EDS!

August

Student teaching in 1st grade begins! 

Funny stories of past students!

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September

I turn twenty-three and received adorable gifts from the kiddos.

Husker football season is here!

How sweet is this?

Her and her mom baked the whole class homemade carrot-cake cupcakes :)
She was SO proud.

October

Fall Break is here!
Halloween parties in first grade.
A much needed rest and catch up picking pumpkins :)
Blog break for awhile and more awesome pictures from my lovely kiddos.

Acres and acres FULL of millions of pumpkins!

Mad skills for first grade! (especially the beginning of first grade!)

November

 Assessment presentation - Mom saves the day! Story here

(a.k.a. the big kicker for assessing your knowledge of teaching and assessment)

12-14 minutes. NO going over. 

You were graded on: confidence, oral presentation skills, knowledge of content, and more specific target areas.

CRAZY nervous.

Lesson for my project! 

Pictures were incorporated during my presentation

Introducing domino's to teach addition!

part-part-whole concept using manipulatives

Differentiation & Formative Assessment :)

Summative Assessment

December

Fall Elementary Education student teaching comes to an end :/ 

Bittersweet.. 

Spring 2012 special education placement received: Middle School. I have mixed emotions.

Currently: Applying for grad school & employment for August 2012!

What a year it has been. 

Primarily, it has been full of doctors appointments/health and teaching! 

I'm so proud of everything I was able to accomplish and am anxiously awaiting an even more busy 2012 year! SO much to look forward to :)

My blog has grown so much and amazing friendships have emerged.

I'm hoping these relationships continue throughout 2012 and beyond 

♥

Best wishes for a new year, friends!

See you in 2012.

xoxo

erinj0.

Last Chauffeur Day of the Year

It's Winter Break, and I have free time, so that means I'm back to being my Gram's chauffeur! 

Where to, you might ask?

To organ class, where else?!

And might I tell you, it's not just any organ class as my gram would put it, "there are no beginners in this class... we all play very well and are quite experienced!"

after all, it is the advanced class

Typically,  she has classes every Wednesday 

(but due to the Christmas holiday and all, it was moved to Friday ...just for this week!)

Pretty snazzy looking for pushing 92, eh?

It was too funny. Last night I got a call from her. 

"Erin, I'm just checking again, you can still take me and pick me up from Organ tomorrow, right?"

..."yes gram, I'll be there promptly at 10:00am!"

that was the fourth time she reminded me.

In one week.

So, I got to thinking. Which is never good. But really. Listen to this.

My gram has two hearing aids. Without them, she is deaf. literally. 

When she plays the organ at home, you can hear it from three houses down.

I wonder how loud it really must be in the building where they play...

oh dear. I can't imagine.

Any who.

After her organ class, she goes out to lunch "with the girls" 

(cute, huh?)

She calls me from her little jitterbug (a.k.a old persons cell phone!) and fills me in on her where-a-bouts. 

It's always one out of three places.

i Hop

Garden Cafe

Fernando's

Today it was good ol' i Hop :)

When I go to pick her up from one of those three locations, I always have to sit and chat with the girls for awhile. I mean really, old people LOVE to talk and hear stories. I always have to budget for at least a good 30 minute conversation before I can leave.

Today, I brought them some goodies in a cute little mason jar, pulled tightly with a bow, for a late Christmas treat!

Santa's Chex Mix

Craisins

Pretzels

Peanuts

Corn Chex

(drizzle white chocolate and let cool)

add M&M's and mix together.

Santa-Hat's

Buggles

white non-parcels decorations

red (white chocolate candy melts)

mini-mallows

Click here for the full recipe

It was good to see the gals, but some were missing due to Christmas parties, traveling and all. Stay tuned Wednesday for pictures of the girls and some funny stories!

Until then, check out some older posts and funny stories from my gram this summer here and here. 

Can you believe TOMORROW is New Year's Eve?

My recap of the year in tomorrow's post.

xoxo

Miss Indecisive

Hi Friends 

***

As you have probably noticed, I have changed my blog look. 

I want you to know that I am probably the most indecisive girl, so going as long as I did with my old layout was pretty darn good!
Is it great. Eh, no. Will it be perfect. Never.
That's something I always have to remember!

When I go to the shopping mall or just a store, I usually end up asking a random stranger their opinion on things; whether it be which color they would prefer or which flavor they like better. My friends and family are quite embarrassed by me at times. I know, I'm pathetic.

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Like most of you, I am on holiday break until I begin my last semester of student teaching. While it has only been a week or so, I am getting rather stir crazy having no concrete plans/lessons to write/things to plan. I am a person that likes to stay busy, so I had to accomplish something. 

What better than to work on my blog! 

I went back to somewhat of a previous look that I used to have...

AND

I added some pages and pepped things up a bit!

If you are new to my blog, perfect! If not, hopefully you can learn something new!

Click here to read about my best friend, my one and only and how we came to be.

♥

I am planning some new things for the "new year" so bare with me!

and during the next couple of days, I really want to catch up on some old blog friends :)

So, of course I have to ask...

what do you think of the new look? 

xoxo.

erinj0

Merry Christmas :)

Merry Christmas 
and Happy Holidays 

...from my blog to yours!

***

 Spending the morning sipping on some hot chocolate and playing some scrabble.

What a perfect start to Christmas! 

Next: family time, boyfriend time, lots of food, sharing memories, and gift exchanges :)

Best wishes for a wonderful day!

xoxo

erinj0.

The Power of Opinion

How many papers, articles, newsletters, or emails have you wrote to someone throughout your lifetime? Quickly, I want you to think about the formatting that you may have used. Most of you can recall without having to pull up some past writings, but if you need to quickly... look! Now, when you look at your writing, pay attention specifically to your spacing.

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I have written many papers throughout my high school and college career and never have I ever thought about the correct way to "space" after a period, until recently.

During my student teaching, I took on all major responsibilities of the teacher, such as writing the newsletters.  I was given the templates or on occasion, the copy from the previous year. These old newsletters provided me with insight on how they should be formulated, what is to be expected in a typical newsletter, and all that jazz. When I pulled up the word document on my computer, I was rather puzzled. All I could see were what it appeared to be as "gaps" and "holes" in the letter. I didn't understand. 

A couple weeks went by and I started to do some research on this particular topic. I asked my fellow friends and loved ones their thoughts on this matter of opinion and generated some facts. I was probing them with questions such as "which is the correct way to generate a letter...one space after a period, or two" and "which do you prefer, one space after a period or two". It was quite interesting to see how certain people responded to these questions and how they all fit together.

My findings informed me that most people 35 and older believed (and) preferred that double spacing was the proper way. Vice Versa for those under 30.

So what is really correct?

Here's my four-one-one

typeface: an interpretation of characters; the way a type(font) looks

Back when typewriters were a hot commodity, monospaced typefaces were utilized, as typewriters could only move forward on standard space per letter. Monospaced is when all the letters take up the same amount of space on a page. For example: the letter "w" in monospaced font will take up the same amount of space as the letter "i". When you give all letters the same amount of space, it can be difficult to detect where one sentence ends and a new one beings at times. 

See illustration below for an example.

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Now-a-days, most all widely used fonts (in the professional world) are proportionally-spaced typefaces, giving one space after each period sufficient visual cues for separating sentences. 

In all, the accurate, tride and true, professional and accurate way to space, is single spacing according to most all of the data I have found; however, this long standing debate still carries on and seems to more specifically come down to a matter of preference.

So which do you prefer?

SINGLE SPACED

 DOUBLE  SPACED

examples via

As I continued to teach in my assigning district, I brought up this very same topic. Their response; "Oh my, double space after the period! The principal would NOT accept single spaces!"

My question is this

When misconceptions of correct grammar and sentence formation are lingering and have yet to provide a solid, concrete answer... what do you do? 

What is your opinion?

...after all, isn't everything in our world based on a matter of opinion.

One door closed, another opened.

Wednesday, December 14th 2011.

My last day student teaching with first grade

Bittersweet.

A new chapter in my life is closed, leaving wonderful memories and a hopeful future.

Throughout the day, the kiddos were so sweet and loving saying things like 

"Miss Chase, please don't leave! Why do you have to go"

and the best one yet...

"Miss Chase, can I be your son?"

What do you say when a little first grade boy looks at you in all seriousness with big baby blues!?

Kids do say the darnest things. 

They were utterly convinced that I was not just leaving and moving on to different things, but that I was "retiring" 

The students would correct anyone who said different with 

{insert sassy first grade voice}"Um, NO. She is RETIRING!" {insert sassy first grade voice}

Too funny.

***

I was completely shocked at how well they kept a secret (for almost a MONTH) about my presents and surprises. They all put together a book of memories and brought in teacher goodies for me!

My handmade "Memory String Book"
(Based off the book "The Memory String")

 They all created a "bead" (circle) with their favorite memory of me 

and signed the hardback book of "The Memory String" for me to keep :)

Here are some of their memories...

She is a fabulous artist!!

I thought this one was SO cute!
It's always great to know they understand what you're teaching :)

I just bought the whole Junie B. Jones series for my future classroom!

:)

My Goodie Bin

This is the goodie bin I received that is full of gift cards, letters, drawings,
supplies and everything under the sun :)

I can't believe my time with all these lovely first graders has come to an end. This whole semester has made me realize that first grade is really where I want to be - I wouldn't mind a couple years older, but first grade is definitely my favorite! This coming January, I start my second semester of student teaching in a special education classroom at a local Middle School (talk about change!) I am looking forward to embracing this new opportunity and hope that I will enjoy it just as much :) 

You never know...

Until next semester, I am working hard applying for jobs and graduate school!

Eeeeek. 

Can you believe that applications need to be in THIS month for a job in AUGUST 2012?!

{insert jaw drop} I know, right? {insert jaw drop}

I will certainly be one busy bee this Christmas break!

What are your plans for the holiday season?

Any big events or things on the to-do list?

xoxo

-erin

Thoroughly Impressed

...and jealous.

 

I so totally wish I had their talent.

Kinda amazing.

New post, soon!
Until next time
xoxo

...and I laughed.

I'm sorry if this offends the many of Twilight fanatics out there.

...but I'm not going to lie.

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I saw Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 this weekend.

and I laughed.

Holy lordy it was pathetic. 

Right down to the talking wolves to the horrible filming. 

I mean, c'mon within the first couple minutes, Jacob was already taking off his shirt.

Now - I am a Jacob fan, but really...
oh yeah and what's up with the psychedelic birth?
that was pretty trippy...

You name it, it was pretty bad.

I'll take some me some Harry Potter, please!
:)

...even though I really disliked this third movie, I will still see Part II when it comes out.

I am still curious, despite how (not) interesting this one was.

Does anyone else agree with me?

EMBRACE your beauty

...especially your inner beauty

I'm not going to lie. I have (and currently still do) find it rather difficult at times to remain confident and see the true beauty in myself. It is something that I believe the majority of women face, whether they choose to admit it or not. Whether it's a minor flaw that's got you down or something that has always put a damper on that beautiful smile. Something so minuscule and absent to some of us, may present as the biggest flaw to others. 

Regardless, we are typically our biggest critic.  It is that little voice inside our head constantly whispering little nuisances... 

"If I could just loose that extra 5-10lbs" or "if only my teeth were more straight and white".

All of these imperfections are actually what make us special.

They make us unique :)

IMperfect = I'M PERFECT

Never forget that you are special. 

All of your individual characteristics are what make you shine. 

Don't be a copy, don't hide in others shadows...

stand out. be proud. be confident.

be YOU.

♥

xoxo
erinj0

Freakishly (Not-So) Awesome Gifts

Have you ever stayed up entirely too late, only to catch yourself watching ridiculous infomercials that are so stupid, they can be somewhat intriguing?

Well here are just a couple infomercials that you might get some fabulous Christmas gift ideas from!

...or not ;)

***

Doggy Time Treats

(at first, this made me think you ate the same treats as your dog!)
I don't even cook or bake for myself!

I am most certainly not going to bake and cut out "cute little shapes" for my dogs who honestly could care less what they are eating, let alone what it looks like!

ID  Blocker Stamp

This product is actually rather tempting...

Now, does it actually work. Who knows?

Show Stoppers

Now I will say...I have tried double sided tape & it does leave icky residue.

This is tempting, that's for sure!

Stompeez

As they claim, they are "Slippers with personality" and "make kids even cuter"

Hmm... interesting word usage there?

As you walk these slippers have eyes/ears/etc. that pop up and down.

Kind of funny and probably entertaining...for the first day or two.

Forever Lazy

The snuggie on drugs. It's gone a little too far.

These are NOT supposed to be worn in public!

The best part of this commercial...

"Zippered hatches for when duty calls"

I could not stop laughing. 

Tread Ahead

If you live in the Midwest, you would understand why this is slightly tempting...

My car is awful in the snow and I get stuck in the dang snow every year!

5lb Gummy Bear

Need a crazy, 10,000 calorie gift for someone?

Why not send them the largest gummy bear...

(I'm getting sick thinking about people really eating this)

"Magic" Milk Straws

(Actually, my family and I were just talking about these!)

They are in stores (not sure where exactly) but my cousin uses & LOVES them.

I guess they actually have edible ones now, like cookies and cream and cereal flavors!

This is something I might have to try!

...for more silly gifts, check out this website and this one :)

**I do not condone or verify either source!**

What do you think about crazy, silly, infomercial gifts?

Have you ever had luck with them or given them as a gift...

I have to admit, some are rather tempting!

xoxo

A Day to Give Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving

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As with every Thanksgiving, there is always something to look back upon and be thankful for. 

This year has been special for many different reasons...

*******

Fist, I am ever so grateful for all the friendships I have made via the blogging world.

I never imagined that I would meet such down to earth and inspirational people.

Connecting to others all around the world and sharing our experiences with others is a wonderful way to grow as a person and educate yourself about the many of things you may not have known before.

I just wanted to say thank you to all my readers and friends.

You all have had such an impact on my life (big or small) whether you know it or not!

THANK YOU for sharing your thoughts and words with me.

****** 

I am so thankful that God has finally blessed me with caring, and understanding doctors. 

When it comes to doctors, I have had quite the roller coaster ride.

Finally - I have one doctor that really, truly, understands Dysautonomia and everything that it entails. He doesn't think twice about referring me to specialists and collaborating with them to give me the best health care he can. 

What more could I ask for?

******

My family.

Family is the rock of my foundation and what keeps me positive through all the hardships.

The constant encouragement and support that I am given through certain people is outstanding.

Through the good, the bad, and the ugly, we are there for each other. 

It is crucial to have that support system in your life and I couldn't be more thankful that I have such a loving, supportive family.

******

My man.

 With just one look, he can tell if I'm having a good day or a bad day. 

I think finally after seven years, he just really gets it.

It's amazing how with one look at me, he can read my mind :)

I can't tell you how amazing this man is - The things he puts up with is out real...

'Cause let me tell you -

I am one hell of a stubborn woman

;)

love you hunny.

******

...and just to be blessed with amazing opportunities in my life.

I have food to eat, a roof over my head, clothes to keep me warm, and people that love me.

At the end of the day...

that's really all you need.

♥

I wish everyone a blessed and happy thanksgiving 

xoxo

Thankul Sunday

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{1}

I must give a huge thank you to Reni over at In Her Shoes for the lovely makeup collection. 

She hosted an amazing giveaway that I just happened to win. 

It came at the best time (I was SO busy and stressed with school). 

I am so sorry for this delayed, but sincere "thank you!"  

P.S. My favorite item is the Nyx lip stick ...it is a-ma-zing.

In love. 

[I was so excited]

{2}

I passed my assessment presentation! 

Not only did I pass, but I received a perfect score :)

(I don't mean to gloat, I'm just pretty stoked!)

A big thank you to: 

My friends for encouraging me, giving me advice, and support

&

My mom who had to hear ALL about the stressful times :/

...and for buying me a fabulous outfit!

{3}

I received encouraging news from my autonomic specialist :)

I will post more about this topic later! 

SO much to update about.

I will be starting b12 injections soon.

nay: for the super painful muscle injections

yay: for hopefully gaining energy! 

{4}

 I was able to go out last night and enjoy myself for awhile! 
If your new to my blog, I have some health conditions which typically make it difficult to feel well enough to have a night out with friends or let alone...do anything.
Last night I was able to stay out until MIDNIGHT! 
Whooooooo!
I slept until 1:00pm today and am pretty exhausted, but it was well worth it!
Heck.Yes.
:) 

 {5}

My cousin (who lives in London) is coming for Christmas! 
Yes, I do have favorites in my family & as far as cousins go, she is my fav :) 
I do not get to see her all too often and when I do, it makes the holidays even better!
 




What were YOU thankful for this week?

xoxo.

Mom Saves the Day!

{What's been going on}
...for the past two days, I have been home sick.
Feeling crappy and crazy busy, trying to tackle so many upcoming projects and tasks.
It is quite difficult to accomplish all your things when you suffer from a dang chronic illness.
It makes it even more difficult try and explain why you are under the weather or why you "always" get sick. That is the part I hate the most and I don't think it wil lever get any easier.

Today I had my update appointment with my autonomic neurologist.
SO much to say, so many interesting new insights
I will save that for another day...stay tuned!

{The Big Day}

TOMORROW is my big assessment presentation to wrap up my student teaching experience. The performance given will be ranked into categories: Excellent, Above Average, Average, Below, and Poor. You are graded on your confidence, knowledge, skills presented, content, and professional attire.

Here's the thing. I don't own any super "professional" clothes. I am really a sweat pants and cotton shirt kind of gal. Yes, I do "student teach" so I wear dress pants and cardigans, but nothing to spectacular. Honestly, most first grade teachers I know just stick to the business casual world of the target women's department! ;) If it gets dirty, torn, or tattered...no biggie!

Life in the big, fast lane of suits and snazzy outfits just doesn't fit me (nor my wallet). 

{The Story}
Get a load of what my AMAZING mother did for me tonight. As I am attempting to practice and perfect my 12 minute presentation, I am worrying about what to wear. The men are wearing suits and the ladies were told to wear your "best professional attire". I'm freaking out in my apartment thinking thoughts of "oh man, what am I going to do" "I don't feel good, I can't fathom going out and shopping right now". Well, my lovely old mother decided to get in the car and head to the store.

She purchased hundreds of dollars worth of clothing. Yes, hundreds. She came knocking on my door bearing gifts and was so excited. I attempted to try on all of the wonderful options; however, slowly but surely, one after another, they all became "no's. I was very thankful for everything she tried to do for me, but it is just very difficult for me to find clothes.

I assured her that I would make something work, but I just felt kind of nervous. Your self esteem kind of drops when you know that everyone around you will be wearing nice clothes and you...well, aren't.

She knew I was screwed (for lack of better words) and the little stinker drove all the way to more stores and purchased MORE outfits to try. I didn't know until she wasn't answering her home phone and I tried her cell. I couldn't believe that she went out of her way & went driving to ANOTHER store.

She came on over and showcased 15 more articles of clothing.
How special is she?! I was shocked and so grateful.

Luckily, I was able to find TWO pieces of clothing that would work perfectly.
She was elated and that pit in my stomach was put to ease.

On top of that. She even stay and ironed them all :)
Double bonus.

***

So now, I have the clothes...
All that's left is the infamous presentation tomorrow!
Wish me luck :)

What are your tips for easing your nerves before a big project/presentation or has anyone went completely out of their way to make sure you are completely confident and comfortable?

I am so happy to say I have the most amazing mother.
I love you mom,
xoxo