Seeya later, Summer!

Summer. What summer? It seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye. I love summer and now another one has come and gone. This one was filled with job searching, getting at job---teaching third grade!! Yay!, Gatlinburg, laying out by the pool, Holiday World, getting my classroom ready, Orange Leaf, putt-putt, movies, girl time, watermelon, cookouts, weddings, and other fun memories.*Sigh* and now tomorrow is back to reality, but I am excited to start a new chapter as a Third Grade teacher with an awesome staff and great kids at a local Elementary School! Bring it on!

I plan to use my blog to document the good, bad, and ugly of my first year as a classroom teacher. I'm excited for what is in store for me this year, and I want to be able to remember the happenings of my first (official) year as a teacher for many years to come. So tomorrow it begins, 5:15 mornings, late afternoons, busyness, craziness, but finally I am doing what I went to school to do and what I am passionate about doing. I couldn't be more excited!

Beginning to look more like a classroom . . .

Today was a very productive day. I woke up early and went into school to work on my classroom. I found 42 desks in my room, for the 15 kids that will be in my class. I kept a few extra and put the rest out in the hallway. I know there is a chance that I will be getting more kiddos from the Vogel district, but I am hoping that I do not get 27 more kids....I felt much better about my room with all of the desks gone. I also have tables now and chairs. Woo. This may seem like a small thing, but I am feeling very good about things, since I started out with an empty room (well it had a teacher desk) and now I have made some progress. 9 more school work days left. I won't lie, I had a slight panic attack in my mind when I saw that all of the school supplies were out at Wal-Mart. Where did this summer go, and why did it go so fast?

After working on my room, I laid out by the pool for a little bit, mowed the grass, and did an abs workout. Oh how I love summer . . . Turonis tonight with Josh, Ashlee, and Robert.

Hello Again

Hello again, blog! I apologize that it has been way too long. Life does have a way of getting away sometimes.

I just got back from a trip to Gatlinburg with Josh and the extended Kerkhof/Bowman/Jackson/Miller family. It was a good, relaxing time. Most of it anyway. I learned that not all people vacation the way my family did growing up---not nearly as much relaxing/napping/lounging. Also not nearly as much eating out which is good for the whole healthy eating thing... We hiked a four mile trail to Chimney tops in The Great Smoky Mountain National Park. It was so hot that my hair was dripping sweat onto my shoulders by the time that we were done, but the view at the top was amazing! I posted the hiking pictures on facebook. Other highlights of the trip were Apple Barn, the Old Mill, relaxing in the hot tub, hilly walks, shopping at the Tanger Outlet, although I didn't find too many good deals. putt-putt, Gatlinburg. I also learned  that I really, really, really hate heights, especially when in a big tram going over the mountains. What should have been a beautiful sight, was not. Don't worry though, I was reassured/encouraged by a fifth grader on the way down the mountain, and I am sure that she thought it was funny that I am supposed to be teaching third grade in the fall . . ..

About that, I will be teaching third grade at Evans in the fall. Well, I guess Fall starts on August first, because that is when I will be going back. 11 school days until Back to School time. 11 school days to finish getting my classroom ready. Ahh.. . I know it will all come together, although it is slightly overwhelming.

Well, I wanted to give an update. Off to get ready for Spanish Club tonight. Like I need Mexican food after the day I had today--breakfast on the road at Hardees, a frappe for a snack, and lunch at Culvers--oh my!! It is back to healthy eating tomorrow for sure!!

Candy . . .

So this is how I have been feeling this week. . . Or maybe, every week. I absolutely cannot stop eating the m&m's that I have at school for my students. HELP!

Rainy, stormy, dreary Monday

Today was a good day, even though it was a rainy, cloudy, stormy, dreary Monday, and Howard Roosa was humid and hot inside, even with some of the windows open. I was dripping with sweat while teaching, especially in my third grade classroom--pleasant, I know. I don't know if it was the weather or my smell, but half of that class felt the desire to sleep, while I was teaching. We were reviewing our tests from Friday and kids were nodding off left and right. Were they bored? Maybe! But did they know the stuff? No! Not sure how I could have made it more exciting without singing and dancing in the front of the room. Maybe I could have stood on my head? Who knows...

Four of the fourth graders that I work with today told me that they had put together a committee to talk to the principal about letting me stay when the teacher who is on maternity leave comes back. I was proud of them for coming up with the word 'committee.' I will have to go back and visit them once my time at HR comes to an end.

I have come to the conclusion that married life is, at times, not good for my healthy eating habits. Slushies and Papa Johns Pizza just to name a few reasons.. I gotta kick the 'I'll do better tomorrow' attitude out of my head, and I need to do better now. Tracking my eating habits has helped me to realize that my eating habits are fine until after school and after my workout. Then I just want to eat everything in my sight, and sometimes even in my house. So, I am trying to figure out what to do to stop the ravenous afternoon eating. Any ideas? I would say I eat close to 2/3 of my daily calories at night. Woah!!

Anyway, today was a good day. Tonight Josh and I ordered pizza, and I did some house work. We also just sat around and did nothing. This is not something that normally happens for us. We are not as busy as we were in Seymour, but in some ways, I miss the busyness of spending time with the littles, helping with AWANA, and such. I am ready to begin serving here, and excited to get more involved in our church.

Anyway,
Have a good week everyone!

Natalie

Day 17

This weekend was wonderful. Not only was it wonderful, but I actually feel rested and ready for teaching tomorrow. Yay.

Here is a snapshot of the weekend...
*Heather Jo came and spent the whole weekend with us!
*Went to Illinois and spent some time with family. . sadly, did not get to see Katie E.
*Saw HOP with Josh, Beth, Ashlee, Sunny, and Heather Jo.
*31 party at Erin's house
*Hacienda with friends
*Church at Crossroads
*Grilling out and hiking with Josh
*Marriage small group
Okay, So I know it is way past day 17, but for blogging purposes, since the last day I did the Made to Crave blog was Day 17.

Day 17: Don’t Fence Me In!

Based on Chapter 15 of Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst

 Thought for the Day: Boundaries are not restrictive fences meant to keep you from enjoying life, but gifts from a God who cares about your well-being.

When you think of the words no, boundaries, and limitation, do they stir up feelings of deprivation and resistance in you? I know that is how I feel sometimes. Lysa speaks of how she has learned to embrace the boundaries of the healthy eating plan that she chose. She has chosen to see these limits as parameters that define her freedom. It does seem much more pleasant when you look at it that way. Here is a story that Lysa shares in her book:

"I learned this principle through my sweet, little dog, Chelsea, who isn’t the brightest canine around cars. She’s obsessed with trying to attack the tires crunching against our gravel driveway inside our fenced-in yard. As a result, she had an unfortunate encounter with a moving vehicle about the same time I started my healthy eating plan.

 After Chelsea’s injury, the vet informed us that helping her heal meant we’d have to keep her calm for three weeks. This recommendation sounded crazy considering it’s hard to keep Chelsea still for three minutes! Worse, she was forbidden to bite or pull at her bandages and stitches. So, the dreaded cone was placed around her neck to keep her injuries out of reach. 

As Chelsea healed, I was the master of her new limitations. She punished me with hours of whining and crying. She constantly tried to escape through our fence and kept snapping at her bandages. However, my love for this dog wouldn’t permit me to let her to harm herself. Her brokenness couldn't handle that kind of freedom. Not yet.

 As I watched Chelsea struggle, I was struck by the way her situation applied to my issues with eating healthy. My brokenness couldn’t handle freedom with food outside the boundaries of my plan. Not yet. Eventually I would be able to add some things back into my diet in small quantities. But not yet." 

As women, our brokeness with food, often runs deep, so our healthy eating habits have to run even deeper.

Here are a few of the boundaries I’ve created to ensure success on my healthy eating adventures.

I can find ways to celebrate that don’t involve blowing my healthy eating plan.

If I am in a situation where the temptation is overwhelming, I will have to choose either to remove the temptation or remove myself from the situation.

Struggling with my weight isn’t a curse from God. Being overweight is an outside indication that internal changes are needed for my body to function properly and for me to feel well.

"I’ve learned that boundaries aren’t restrictive fences meant to keep us from enjoying life, but gifts from a God who cares about our well-being. Whether you are staring at a party hors d’oeuvre table of all things cheesy, or ready to bite your friend’s head off as she reminds you of the healthy eating plan you chose, I pray these boundaries help you like they’ve helped me."

Oh, Riley

Riley had his one year birthday this month, and he is still chewing, destroying, and demolishing things on a regular basis.  When does it ever end? I thought he would be growing out of it by now. Last week, he chewed up a stuffed squirrel. Tore it to shreds all over the living room. (Pictures on facebook.) Then, today he chewed a pillow, tore it even more to shreds than the squirrel with stuffing everywhere. He also knocked a plant over on the carpet, chewed part of a razor and some other random papers, all while I was taking a  much-needed nap and all with his muzzle on!! What do we do? I think we need to go back to obedience school. Pronto.

This morning, when Ashlee and I were taking showers, we both heard Riley barking, growling, and sounding all vicious. At first I thought that maybe he was barking because Ashlee was in the bathroom with the door closed, but after walking into the hallway, I could see that he was standing in the guest bedroom barking, which freaked me out. Ashlee and I decided to get a knife from the kitchen (just to be safe?...I don't know) Anyway, we walked slowly into the guest bedroom to see that Riley was barking at an empty room. (Well, empty of predators that is) It appeared that Riley was barking at  a pair of Ashlee's pants laying on the guest bed, and the feeling was confirmed when he jumped back a couple feet when Ashlee went to move the pants. It's okay though, we let him sniff them, and he is no longer afraid of Ashlee's pants.

Below is a popular video circulating around right now---I found out about it via Bridgett Nelson. It's currently on Youtube. Sure wish Riley reacted with this kind of remorse.

Last night, I had a girl's night with Ashlee, Bridgett, Erin, and Cassie. It was a great time! We had dinner, drinks, lots of girl talk, and painted our nails. This weekend I am excited for Heather Jo to visit, seeing Katie E. and Beth Heisler, and for a 31 party with my girls. This week has been a long one, but I guess it is to be expected for the week after Spring Break!