'Twas a Blast

So, it's officially my last day of summer, even though I've been to staff developments all last week. This week will be filled with campus training with discussions covering things such as discipline, grading, duties, etc. Yay!!!! (I hope you sense the underlying sarcasm.)

------------------------

House News: There's a house in Katy (well, technically the address is Richmond, but it's right on the line, so who'll ever tell?) and I put an offer on it, and last weekend the sellers signed the contract accepting it. However, now we're waiting on the bank to approve it because the house was supposed to be a foreclosure. It's hard... waiting. So please pray for me to have patience with this deal. Every day that passes, my patience seems to be wearing thinner and thinner. I know that if it's meant to be... it will happen. :o)

Well, I better get to cleaning my room since I probably won't be motivated to do so when I return to work. Plus, my computer is making me hot from sitting on my lap.

Classroom Photos :o)

Smart Board and my area.

My room is still a mess from unpacking (hence the boxes and schtuff everywhere), but I've got everything pretty much done. Student computer and student work board- it says "Check us out!" I think that sounds like something I would say...

Counter... with loads of junk still on it. But don't you love those colorful crates?? To the right is the make-up work folders.

Make-up work folders, "Bear news"- the border is made out of newspaper, and trays to turn work in. It took me so long to move that table here because I had to take the student computer off of it.

Back of the classroom is where the door is this year... that way the kids won't be distracted by people in the hallway. See, I'm learning. :o)

This is the chalkboard that I covered with butcher paper. So now I'm using it for its magnetic purposes to hold the calendar.

Decided to use the white board for objectives and homework assignments since I have the Smart Board.

My desk area. Not too much changed- I bought that shelf so I won't have stuff stacked on the ground next to my desk. Also, I moved the computer to the other side of that table so my back won't be facing the students. Who knows what they got away with last year! ;o)

I'm starting to get excited about this school year. It's going to be completely different from last year- I'm teaching one prep rather than two (just 7th PreAP); I'm teaching with someone new; there are new people in my hallway (no more TX history people); new teachers in general. I've got my district staff developments tomorrow and Friday. I'm actually presenting one of the sessions- it's going to be all about my group's experience at the Rice University Summer Mathematics Project (RUSMP). Hopefully it goes well and the teachers get something out of it!

Artistic Adventures

Since I only have a few days left of the summer, I've been trying to do things that I wouldn't normally do during the school year. Yesterday's activity? Canvas painting. I have had 2 canvases stored away for probably about 3 years. I bought them when they were on sale one time at Hobby Lobby, and I've always been hesitant to commit to painting them. That sounds strange, doesn't it. I guess I could never pinpoint anything that I wanted to paint. Finally, yesterday with the help of Sammi, I decided to take the plunge and paint them. (Wow, I'm really spontaneous, aren't I??)

This is what we came up with:

Sammi painted this one. We were inspired by another painting we found on Google. Very original, I know.

Our other friend, Megan, inspired this one. Roughly tranlated: Your Grace is Enough in French.

I have to say, we had so much fun doing this. I want to go buy more canvases and start getting the creative juices flowing again!

Space Fish

I had a few adventures this week, including Space Center Houston and fishing at Surfside Beach! I'm going to go ahead and count that as my "vacation" for the summer since I don't forsee my family and I deciding on somewhere to go on vacation (that's another story in itself).

Below are just a few pictures documenting our trips. I went with Sammi and her husband James and our friend Chris.

Sammi and I inside the Saturn V rocket viewing area. Yeah, this is our typical pose... it's what we do.

We all know of my (un)healthy obsession with celebrities, and it never fails that when I go somewhere out of the ordinary (like Space Center) I will see somebody famous. On this trip: Sherry Stringfield, a.k.a. Dr. Susan Lewis from ER. She wasn't very recognizable, which may be why there wasn't a swarm of fans surrounding her. So, the entire tram tour that we were on, Sammi and I "safely stalked" her, trying to figure out if it was indeed Sherry Stringfield. She was with her entire family and some friends, so I didn't really want to bother her with an autograph and a picture (any other occassion, you know I'd be all over a cheesy smile and rubbing elbows with someone from the television). Well, Chris and James got sick of us talking about it, so Chris finally went up to her and asked her if she was on ER. She, of course, said she was. So then I turn to her and say, "I knew it was you! I was just too chicken to say anything." Sherry (oh yes, we're on a first-name basis) BUSTED out laughing. Then we stood side-by-side and watched the launch of the space shuttle (we just happened to be at Space Center on that day... kinda cool, I think). So, we're pretty much old friends by now. :o)

After our celebrity conquest, Sammi and I decided we would commemorate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's landing on the Moon with a photo-op with Neil, Buzz, and Michael. Apparently, we went for the "shrug" pose in this one...

The next day we decided to go fishing down and Surfside Beach. Ok, let me preface this by saying: My name is Ashley White, and I'm a non-fisher. (That was your disclaimer, people.) So, you will notice that there really aren't any action shots of me below, and that's ok. You'll get the idea from the ones I've decided to post. :o)

His name is James Saunders, and not only can he catch fish, but he's a mean shark hunter too! Yes, he caught a baby shark. It was pretty awesome, I have to say.

Me with Sammi while she was fishing. I think, at this point, I kept losing my bait to greedy fish, and I felt bad for asking Sammi and Chris to put more bait on my hook, so I just observed the skill of everyone else.

Check out that skill. They all caught one fish (and don't forget about the baby shark).

And then there's me... sans fish. For a while, I was bound and determined to catch a fish, and then I finally realized... yeah, I don't fish. But it was still a fun time! :o)

-Ashley

Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is having fun BBQing/Fireworking/swimming. My family and I are going to be BBQing in a little while. During the summer, that's pretty much our standard of cooking. I love it.

The 4th of July is also the anniversary of my Mama's death. It was 12 years ago now. Wow, it seems like just yesterday! I loved visiting Mama and Papa in Mississippi. Mama was your typical Southern housewife. Everything was home-cooked: from the rolls, fried okra, and mashed potatoes to the coconut cake (my mom's personal favorite) and peanut butter cookies (my personal favorite), it was always so comforting. You could taste the love. And forget about having the recipes to continue on the traditions: Mama didn't use recipes. They were either memorized or she made them up herself. Amazing! I miss her terribly, but I am so thankful for all the wonderful memories we made. :o)

*******

Yesterday was my first day of house hunting with a realtor. It didn't start off too well- she was 40 minutes late to our appointment. Keep in mind, this was the realtor that was assigned to me through the LampLighterOne Program, so I had never met with her in person. However, once she got there she seemed very professional and like she knew what she was talking about. I don't think the Katy area is her strong-suit.

We looked at 3 houses: 1 one-story and 2 two-stories. They all seemed fairly nice, but like they needed a little bit of work. My favorite was the last house we visited, a two-story. It was vacant, but it looked like they are still in the process of upgrading the whole downstairs. The upstairs DEFINITELY needs new carpet... it's pretty much the grossest thing I've walked on.

But... on Monday I have an appointment with another realtor. She actually lives in my neighborhood and is friends with my parents. I used to babysit her daughters in fact. My dad got in touch with her last week and told her my situation. Come to find out she is VERY familiar with the Katy area. So, she gave me a call and asked me, down to the detail, what I'm looking for in a home, and we are going to house hunt on Monday. I'm really excited to see what she has to show. I hope I find something that's kind of ready to be lived in. I don't want to have to do a whole bunch of work. Cross your fingers!

Well, I'm off to help out in the kitchen! Have a great holiday weekend!

-Ashley

Food!

I love to cook. I wish I had more time in which to do it. I found my mom's copy of the Cooking Light cookbook, so I've been sitting and reading through it for the past... hour? Who knew reading recipes could be so intriguing. Of course, the recipes that I get excited about are all sweet things. There's a recipe for Coffee Cupcakes, Molasses Cookies, and Cream Cheese Brownies. Yum!

There's also some really delicious-looking salad recipes. Today, I was craving a salad for lunch. I think it must be because it's so HOT outside. Salads are so refreshing... like swimming!

*******

The funniest thing happened today with my parents' dog, Abbey. Abbey is a very... girly dog. If she were human, she would be the girl that says, "I don't like to sweat. I'd rather stay inside." So, all during the summer she stands at the back door, begging to come inside. My mom usually lets her and Amber inside during the hottest parts of the day so they can cool off on the tile floor.

This morning, Abbey was doing her usual begging, but my mom didn't want to let her in because we were going to be getting the carpets cleaned, so blah blah blah. At this point, my dad's in the garage getting some stuff ready to bottle his beer. So she told Abbey (yes, we talk to our dogs like their human), "You can't come inside right now. Tim (my dad) doesn't want you to come in right now." Abbey still stands at the door, her entire body wagging (because it's physically impossible for her to only wag her tail), so Mom says, "Go ask Tim if you can come inside." She was only joking, but Abbey new exactly what she was saying because she did an "about face" and RAN to the garage, as if screaming, "TIM! CAN I PLEASE GO INSIDE?!?! IT'S DREADFULLY HOT OUT HERE!" It was so cute. It's hilarious how big of personalities dogs have.

Look how cute!

Time to continue my Lazy Saturday! Later!

-Ashley

Yeah Yeah!

I got an email from the mortgage company that I've been pre-approved to buy a house! He said I have outstanding credit, and he'll be setting me up with a realtor soon so that I can start shopping! It's very exciting. I'll hopefully find a house in Katy around the Memorial Parkway area (which is south of I-10 around Mason).

-------------

So, on my drive home from school today (because right now, I have the "pleasure" of sitting in 290 rush hour traffic Monday-Thursday), I was listening to one of John Mayer's albums. And I thought to myself: "Self, if 'they' tried to make a Best Hits John Mayer album, it probably wouldn't be possible. Because every one of his songs is a best hit!" I remember last August I went to his concert in The Woodlands, and it was literally THE BEST concert I've ever been to, and that's because he's a TRUE musician... in my opinion. But who can disagree with that? If they made a Best Hits album, they would just have to put all of his albums in one case. Now, I don't think that's very efficient. So, maybe John Mayer should just continue writing new stuff and forget about a Best Hits album. He doesn't have one already, does he? (And I call myself a "big fan." Hmm...)

Ok, time to go help my mom clean out some of my old... schtuff. Yeah, I know you're jealous.

-Ashley

W-O-W

I should be smacked on the wrist for my inconsistency in writing on my blog. Shame on me.

*****
My mom and I are planning a vacation to New York City! I am so excited, yet overwhelmed at the same time. There are so many things in NYC that I want to do that I don't know how to pick my "Top 5"!

I definitely want to go to Magnolia Bakery and get a delicious cupcake. I also want to visit Serendipity3 and try some of their famous frrrrozen hot chocolate. Plus, this is the site of scenes from several different movies, including one of my favorites: Serendipity (go figure!). Sounds like I'm going to be ALL SUGARED UP! But I think that's ok...

Then of course I would like to visit Times Square at night to witness the magnamity of all the lights. I think it would be wrong if I didn't visit Ground Zero to really feel what happened there on that fateful day (although, I don't think anyone will ever be able to feel the same way it felt in the moment).

Well, I think that's all for now... I don't want to get TOO crazy as I re-train myself to the blogging world. ;) Actually, I have homework that I need to be doing before The Bachelorette comes on tonight. (Yes, I said homework. Come to find out, the workshop I'm taking through Rice University... yeah, I get a GRADE for it. We have homework, projects, presentations, and tests! So much for a relaxing first-half of the summer!)

Just call me the ghost of Christmas past...

I can't believe how long it's been. But that's ok, because it's a new year, and with new years come to-do lists. Here are some things that I would like to accomplish this ninth year of the 21st century.

1. Buy a townhome/condo/garden home.
2. Travel somewhere interesting. It doesn't necessarily have to be outside of the country (because, let's be realistic- if I wanted that to happen, I would have probably already needed to start planning that).
3. Use what I've learned during my first year of teaching to become that much better of a teacher next year.
4. Turn 23. I can remember years ago and thinking about people who were 23 and how "old" and "mature" I thought they were. I'm not quite sure that I will fit those two categories once my 22nd year is complete.
5. Stick with Jazzercise. It makes me feel so good, and I need that in my life.
6. Be a good friend. Be a better friend.
7. Completely let go of the reigns that I'm using to control my life and the plans that I have for my life. And with that comes...
8. ... commiting to a church community. I want to be actively involved.
9. Be a good maid of honor. I've never been one before.
10. I don't really have a 10th item, I just think lists look better in rounds of 10.