8. Watch a musical on Broadway from a center seat.
9. Live in another country.
10. Visit every state in the United States.

(Those are the three things I want to do before I die that I left out last time.)

My classroom is trying to come together. There are some things that can't be finished until my kids get there, so I'm doing everything I can now. School starts a week from Thursday. I can't believe how fast summer came and went. That's what I had been looking forward to all last year and now it's almost over. Crazy. I'm SO excited about teaching Kindergarten. I expect that I'll have to stay later and prepare for class more, but that it'll be worth it when my kids can read at the end of the year. It's an amazing feeling knowing that, in some way, you have impacted 20 kids every year. I want to be an amzing teacher. I want people to see how excited I am and I want it to transfer to my students. I have some goals this year.

1. Be positive. I think that the praise pockets will force me to do this because I'll have to look for things to be postive about. Eventually, I'll think positively naturally.
2. Document everything. I'm still trying to come up with a way to do this so that it doesn't take up all my time.
3. Be consistent. The whole tone of the year is set in the first few days. I have to be consistent and expect my students to follow my rules. I'm not there to be their friends. That would just be a benefit.
4. Make more parent contacts. The only way to get parents to trust you is to let them know what's going on.

To people who aren't teachers, just take my word for it that this is all really difficult to do.

"Screw You!" Says My Checking Account

We have started watching "Heroes" in preparation for the new season that starts September 22. Neither of us have ever seen an episode so we started from episode one Saturday and stayed up watching the first two discs until 4 am. Then we returned them and got the second two discs. We watched all of them yesterday and I'll get the last two discs today. That's $19.20 in three days on movies. Our money just flies out of our pockets. I don't understand how we're always negative by the middle of the month. Neither of us have car notes, loans, or anything else like it, but we're still broke as a joke. I realized that I live at my parents income level because that's how I've been raised. I think that allowances are a key component to good money management. I got one and was really good at managing my money....until I got married. I've noticed that grownups who didn't get allowances as kids tend to not know how to spend their money. If you're married to one it's pretty much impossible to change. We have a budget, but it's just a piece of paper on our fridge.

Bottled Productivity

I hate when I get to this point in my day when I feel like I should do something prodcutive but have nothing to do. I want to clean, study, or organize something. I want to get ahead but I have nothing to get ahead of. It's times like these that I wish I could bottle up and use later. Of course, when I have laundry to do, dishes to clean, a floor to vacuum/sweep/mop, a dog to take out, or lesson plans to write I'll be so exhausted or unmotivated that I'll sit in my chair and watch episode after episode of Jon & Kate Plus 8.

I think I would work out more if someone went with me to a class, like bellydancing or something fun. I don't tell Eric, but sometimes I want to work out. I just don't want him to know he's right about me. That sounds very selfish and slightly vindictive doesn't it? I think I'll tell him that I want to work out by telling him about this blog. That'll make one reader. Let the fetters begin.

Admiration

First blog. Yay! I have nothing to write about like all the interesting blogs out there, so that's kind of inhibiting, but no one will ever read this so that's kind of freeing. I've always been jealous of the people who have things going on in their lives to write about. I thought that maybe if I got a blog, things would start happening so I could start writing. We'll see. Amelia left for Austraila yesterday to be a nanny for 9 months. I think she's so brave and am jealous of her. Haley is an anthropology major against all odds and advice. I'm going to do something that people will admire me for.

I have a bucket list. Let's see if I can remember them all.
1. Visit all of the new seven wonders.
2. Play a digiridoo.
3. Learn to write in shorthand.
4. Eat a chocolate eclair at a cafe in Paris.
5. Read every book on my list.
6. Master the mashed potato.
7. Be an extra in a movie. Preferably a musical.

Nope, I'm missing three.