I scored an awesome five hours on Saturday while snowboarding with Grey, my parents, my sis and Kevin at Hidden Valley. It was Grey's first time snowboarding for real and my first time in ten years (!) Grey did awesome though and really got the hang of it by the end of the evening. It was cold, about 20 degrees and colder, but it was beautiful with snowflakes falling down all day. It was a great day to be with just one kid making memories (he was very sweet and thanked me a bunch of times for coming and snowboarding with him) and also to spend the time with my parents (who at nearly 60 can still hit the slopes like champs!) and my sis and Kev. #bestday Other than that, the only thing that is gaining any outdoor hours is trips to the chicken coop to replace frozen water and pick up the eggs before they freeze. It has been brutal around here between the low temperatures and the rain/ice.
Reading and finishing Room by Emma Donoghue which I borrowed from a student (thank you Abi!) I also caught the movie on Netflix after I read it - which (as always) the movie was good but not even close the incredible story from the book. I have a lot of feelings about the book and I'd love to talk about it and debrief if anyone else is interested (hah #booknerd so much). I started reading One Beautiful Dream by Jennifer Fulwiler which has been sitting on my shelf to read for months (maybe years) and I finally picked it up and it feels like exactly the right moment in my life to be reading it. I don't know that it would be effecting me so much in a positive way if I would have read it at a different moment in my life, but right this second - it feels like divine intervention (which is even more wild if you've read the book). Our books & brews book club also met up this week to (finally! missed you guys!) discuss our last two reads - The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman which we all agreed that we loved both. Next up for our book club is Educated by Tara Westover
Caring for our cold weather chicken girls. We have been trying to figure out what it right for them with the heat lamp on in the coop to make sure they're okay but also not to 'baby' them up so that the cold is a potentially deadly shock to their systems. Who knew someone could spend so many minutes a day thinking about their chickens (hah). We've decided that 10 or below warrants the lamp on, which has meant that the lamp has been on for quite a few days actually. They are still laying eggs (we just gave away 4 dozen eggs this week to friends and family) but it is slower than the summer. We get about 7-8 a day (plus 1-2 frozen eggs that we didn't get to in time). The walk down to the chicken coop to switch out the frozen water is basically an icy obstacle course; thankfully Brandon has been the best chicken daddy and switches the water almost every day (xxo)
Interviewing with a college via an internet face-to-face. We are still trying to figure out how to wrap up this PA certification. I got all my paperwork in order and requested letters of recommendations (thank you Nikki! thank you Renee!) and sent transcripts of my undergrad and masters only to discover that I already have met (nearly) all the requirements - hahahhahha. I'm going to lose my mind by the end of this process. Maybe I still have to do a student teaching practicum (LOL -meanwhile I'm teaching full time for year2) but even that seems to be questionable. Onward I continue in this quest to get this all sorted out.
Stretching our limbs after our snowboarding adventure. Whew, we worked muscles we don't normally work and my shoulder was totally out of whack. hurts so good though.
Feeling very supported and loved with what has felt like all hands on deck for several weeks now. This week Gigi and Pappy had a sleepover with Grey and Gem for MLK Jr day while Miss Hannah spent the day at our house with the babies so they could all stay home from school while B and I trekked out into the negative temps for our Act80 day. Heather scooped up Grey for a Chuck E Cheese trip with Caleb one evening. My Dad and Mom each got the big kids off the bus two separate days this week and on their early out day later that week, the big kids got off the bus at cousin Taush and Ariel's house. To top it all off, Grey has had bleachers full of faces cheering for him all basketball season. There is no truer statement than; it takes a village. thank you from the bottom of our tired hearts to ours.
Basketball season'ing with only one game this week for B (but all the way out in Turkeyfoot) and two games for Grey, both with his Duke Andrews league - including a tie breaker for 1st and 2nd place heading into the playoffs (Grey's team won!) We are already also preparing for the spring sports season; signing the girls up for soccer and working on the youth baseball league sponsor letters to be mailed out before the end of the month.
Teaching & guiding Spanish 1 through their first novel (Capibara con Botas) - they read capítulos 1-4 and are really starting to see that they can understand on their own what is happening. I must do a post soon about how I have seen first hand the benefit to teaching comprehensible content...soon to come. Spanish 1 honors started into the expansion cultural piece of Somos Unit 5 which is learning about bullfights. It is an interesting topic and one that really gives them the constant reminder that just because something is different than how we do it doesn't mean its weird or bad. Another blogpost to come on how seriously I take my role as a foreign language teacher in a small town and what a responsibility it is to open the world wide for students...soon to come. Spanish 2 worked through a packet about numbers and math in Spanish. Spanish 2 Honors read Billy y Las Botas graphic novel (!!) We are using the Wooly techniques to go through and practice the content. I am hardly waiting for Wooly Week!! Spanish 3 Honors finished their fluency unit with los 3 cerditos and started El Acosador Unit from Martina Bex (imperfect past tense)
Making cinnamon rolls and bacon in the oven (yum, best kind) on Sunday when CCD was cancelled due to low temperatures. We had our weekly standard fridge clean out dinner, chicken cordon bleu pasta casserole, frozen pizzas, ground beef tacos, and Brandon made sundowners on Friday night (hamburgers with chili and a fried egg) and spaghetti on Saturday!
