Summer Plans

 Summer is quickly approaching. My last day of school is June 6, which feels like forever away! I bet it'll come quickly though. My team has a lot of fun things planned for the last week of school. Our third graders are going to love it! 

Monday is Harry Potter Day. We'll sort our students into the four Hogwarts houses and do fun rotations. Then they get to watch the first movie and have treats. I spent today decorating my classroom for the event (we don't have school on Fridays) - I've got floating candles, flying keys, special cupcake wrappers and toppers, portraits, and a trail of mysterious footprints around the room. I'm excited to see my kids' reactions on Monday!

I think I'll probably crash on June 7th, and then I'm headed to California to visit my aunt and uncle, and then Nevada to visit my brother and his family. It will be so nice to get out of town for awhile. This year has been tough health-wise, and going down to third grade after so long in fourth was a hard transition. Developmentally, there's basically a canyon between the two grades. I had to remind myself all year long that the things that were driving me nuts were developmentally appropriate. I think next year will be better because I've gotten more acclimated to third grade. I have a lot of plans for next year to support a much higher level of learning. Fingers crossed that it all works!

I've got a little porch garden going, and my lettuce and spinach are looking fantastic. I need to replant basil, lavender, and catnip. I'm not sure why those didn't come up. I'm now living on the ground floor, so it's a little weird to hang out on my patio, but I may just sit out there and read anyway. 

I'm getting a cat after my vacation. I'm so excited about this! It'll be an emotional support animal. My therapist thinks that would be a good thing for me, and I have to agree. I tried once before and it was a disaster. Mostly because I rushed into it without a lot of prep and my cat was an elderly man who was very set in his ways. I'd had him for years, but he was an outdoor cat and used to having a lot of yard to roam around in. It ended up being a disaster. This time, I decided I needed to take it slower and really make sure I get the right animal. I've also got the cat furniture, toys, and other supplies set up in my apartment already. I figured it would be a good way to get used to the idea before it became a reality. It's feeling normal now to have all the cat stuff around. I can't wait until the end of June!

Of course, I'll spend some time working on new things for the next school year. I've got a ton of task cards to laminate and organize, along with writing conferences and finishing up an outline of my plans. I want to be super ready for next year and my new class. I'm considering flexible seating instead of desks, so I'm working on a DonorsChoose project grant. I hope it gets funded!

I want to read a lot more and get back into cross-stitching and embroidery. It's been hard to do those because it hurts my hands. I've got nodules growing because of the autoimmune diseases, and they hurt. Holding a needle is awful. But, I'm on a new medication (Enbrel) that I'm really hoping will help. I'd love to get back into my hobbies.

That's it for me. I'm looking forward to a relaxing summer!

Deadlines and roadblocks

 The last couple of months have been full of deadlines and roadblocks. I'm in my last term of grad school (for the second time - I know I'm insane for doing this twice) and I've hit so many brick walls. I had one class that had to be moved over to this term from the last, because I wasn't able to finish it in the term. So instead of only having my capstone projects to do, I had that class (and its 3 projects) in addition. I've been dealing with health issues for such a long time, and last fall, it all kind of came to a head. I just wasn't well and I was getting nowhere with doctors. (On the positive side, I finally saw a doctor who listened, believed, and got me in to someone who could help.) Grad school had to take a back seat.

I got the carryover class finished up, thankfully, and got started on my capstone. It's the compilation of research that I've conducted and an analysis of the data. I was doing really well! Then I hit yet another wall. In addition to the Axial Spondyloarthritis, I tested positive and have symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis. My doctor said I'm Stage 3, meaning that I've started developing nodules in the joints where my fingers attach to my palms. It's pretty gross, so definitely don't google. I did and I regret it. Damage is permanent, but progression can be slowed.

Over the last few weeks, I've been jumping through hoops and have spent HOURS on the phone with insurance, pharmaceutical companies, and doctors. I finally got everything done and approved, so I'm able to continue treatment. It means twice monthly injections, but the needle is so tiny that I can't even feel it. And, since I've been on samples from the doctor for the last month and a half, I think I'm starting to notice a difference. The nodules in my hands have actually shrunk a little. I'm hopeful that I can make it into remission, which would mean a much lower level of chronic pain. It's a future that I honestly hadn't considered, so I'm excited that it's even a possibility.

Anyway, all that to say that I've been so overwhelmed between health and grad school that I've neglected to do anything here. I know it seems to be a pattern, and honestly? It is. I'll do really well for a bit and then fall off. So really, this is just an update and a disclaimer that I'm definitely likely to drop off again. Such is life.

Am I back?

 It's been over a year since I last updated here. I came pretty close to just deleting everything and giving up entirely. I'm glad I didn't, because I feel like I'm ready to start back up. Like me, it'll be eclectic and quirky. Book reviews, recipes that I like, musings, school...basically whatever I feel like.

To start, I've started my eleventh year of teaching. It's my ninth year in 4th grade. My group this year is made up of really nice kids. Chatty, but nice. They're adjusting to being back in school, and I'm adjusting to being with people all day long. We've come up with some systems to curtail the chatting when it's inappropriate, and I think we'll be successful. So far, I've noticed that they WANT to learn. That's half the battle right there. We're going to have a great year!

Working my way backwards, at the end of July, I went to Disneyland with my brother Lynn and his family, and my youngest sister Shelley. We were supposed to go as an entire family last Christmas, but our flight got canceled because of thick fog. We rescheduled for July, but things didn't work out then either. We ended up having to split. We still had a fantastic time though, and I was so happy to get to spend time with my siblings, niece, and nephews. It was so much fun! The rest of the family is going at the beginning of November, and GUESS WHO IS GOING WITH THEM. Yep, me. I'm going again! I can't wait! I love Disneyland.

Going further back, on the last day of school in May, I took off right from school and headed to the airport. I was supposed to be flying to Denver, then Frankfurt, and then PARIS!! After 24 years, I was finally headed back to my beloved France. Things didn't work out with that flight, and it got canceled because of bad weather in Denver. UGH!!! When I finally got to Denver several hours late, I'd missed my connection to Frankfurt, meaning I wasn't going to get to Paris as scheduled. I spent the night in Denver, then flew to Washington DC, then on to Paris. I got there a day late, but I got there! I immediately acclimated back into French life. It was just as I remembered it, just as beloved. I was so happy to be there!

I got to do some of the things that I'd done as a missionary, plus some things I didn't get to do. I loved revisiting the Louvre, Notre Dame (under construction because of the fire, but they have bleachers set up outside where you can sit and watch), Sainte Chappelle, the Conciergerie, Sacre Coeur, Place du Tertre, and walking along the banks of the Seine to visit the bouquinistes. I had my favorite crepe (sucre citron) at my favorite creperie (I don't know what it's called, but I can tell you where it is), a delicious quiche near the Eiffel Tower, and pastries. Oh, the pastries! No one does pastry like the French.

I got to do some new things! As a missionary, I didn't get to go up the Eiffel Tower. We just walked around the area. This time, I went up! The very top was closed due to mechanical issues, but we went up to the middle stage. It was incredible! The views are spectacular. I was surprised that it was so windy, because it hadn't been on the ground. It makes sense though, because it's still very high up, even though it's not clear to the top. Air currents would be different up there. I loved walking around and looking at Paris from so many different angles. I loved seeing landmarks that I know so well.

I was brave and visited the catacombs! The catacombs are tunnels deep under Paris that go for miles. They're lined with the bones of thousands. Maybe hundreds of thousands. Centuries ago, the graveyards were overflowing and there was nowhere to bury the newly deceased. The answer was to exhume all the bodies and rebury them in the catacombs. The tunnels already existed, so it was just a matter of transporting the bones and organize them. There are bones that are hundreds of years old. It's creepy and eerie, but also fascinating. They line the walls and are even fashioned into designs. There are message placards all along the way, telling where and when the bones came from. I learned that back in the 1800s, they used to hold concerts down there! They'd bring an entire orchestra down and play creepy music. That's hardcore!

I finally got to go to the Musee D'Orsay. It's the museum I was on my way to when I blew my knee on my mission. That derailed everything. I was so happy to be there! I started at the top with the Impressionists. So. Many. Masterpieces. It was glorious! I saw paintings that I've admired my entire life, paintings I'd never seen before, and the best part, my favorite painting in the entire world: Coquelicots by Claude Monet. I stood in front of it for probably 15 minutes just weeping with joy. Honestly, it was transcendent for me. I also got to see Olympia by Edouard Manet. There was a huge long line to get into the exhibit, but I got to bypass the line because of my cane (If I'm going to be walking or standing for long periods of time, I have to use a cane due to fibromyalgia). I wasn't going to turn that opportunity down!

There's more to the trip than Paris, and I'll get to that in another post. This was truly the best summer of my life. I can't believe it all actually happened. It seems like more of a dream than anything. Now I'd like to go back and just soak it all in.

As I go along, I'll try to be more consistent with posting.