Me ... From A to Z

As always, it has been awhile since my last post. I find myself reading blogs more than coming up with ideas for my own blogs. But, I stumbled across this cute survey that Sara from You, Me and Anthropologie posted and I had to steal it.

A. Age: Slowly creeping towards 27

B. Bed Size: Queen. I don't think I would want to upgrade to a king, but I wouldn't mind a new bed.

C. Chore you dislike: I really don't like vacuuming.

D. Dogs: Rocky, our little miniature dachsaund

This is the Rock, in his carseat

E. Essential start to your day: Shower. Make coffee to take to work. Check FB, blogs, The Nest and my emails. Change my outfit (or some piece of it) at least three times.

F. Favorite color: I tell my students that it's pink, but it's more my default answer. I tend to gravitate towards blues in my clothes and decorating choices.

G. Gold or silver: Platinum.

H. Height: 5'4" (technically "and a half" but I don't claim it)

I. Instruments you play(ed): I used to play the piano and I can still plunk out a few notes. I keep telling myself I will learn how to play the violin, but it has yet to happen.

J. Jelly bean flavor: Buttered popcorn

K. Kids: Eventually I want one, but for now, I am happy to be childless. At family parties, however, I can almost always be found hanging out with the kids - I love kids.

L. Lucky number: 16

M. Month: July. It's my birth month, plus I love the 4th of July.

N. Nicknames: Betha-nerd. Betha. Bunky. Bert. Bertly. Baif. Bethie.

O. Overnight hospital stays: Never

P. Pet peeves: Bad grammar - it's the teacher in me and I have an awful habit of correcting people

Q. Quote from a movie: I love the opening monologue from "Love Actually" - it was the reading we had at our wedding. I love the part where Hugh Grant says, "Often, it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy, but it's always there."

In terms of things that I actually quote, I tend to quote How I Met Your Mother and Forgetting Sarah Marshall constantly.

R. Righty or lefty: Righty.

S. Siblings: I have two sisters, two half-brothers (whom I never see), one sister-in-law and I recently acquired 4 step-sisters. (I should probably also mention my psuedo-brother, in case he stumbles onto my blog.)

My sisters and I (and friend Anne, in blue) at my mom's wedding. Libby (on the far left) was adopted and Melanie is my full-biological sister.

T. Time you wake up: On work days, I am up by 6am. When I don't have to work, I will sleep in until 8 usually.

U. Underwear: Yes, please.

V. Vegetables you don't like: There are veggies that I have never tried - okra comes to mind - but I have never met a veggie I don't like. I don't like many fruits so I make up for it by liking most veggies.

W. What makes you run late: Technology. I waste way too much time online.

X. X-rays you've had: Just my teeth

Y. Yummy food you make: Recently, I made really delicious Irish soda bread, chocolate stout cupcakes and a taco macaroni and cheese. But, I don't have a signature dish … yet.

Z. Zoo animal favorites: I love hippos. I also really like giraffes - they look so peaceful.

Packing for a vacation ...

So I have been super neglectful of the blog for the past two and a half months. I started realizing that I was repeating different variations of the same outfit over and over and was bored with my own outfits. I'm done with student teaching and applications are in .... Now the waiting game begins.

While I wait, I will be going out of town. My cousin is getting married in Southern California on the 2nd of July. So I will be spending 4th of July weekend with my California family and friends. I am driving down with my mom and grandma but I will be flying back alone. I am trying to pack 5 days worth of outfits (including wedding wear) into a small carry-on suitcase. I decided to take pictures to show my technique.

I started by making a list of the days I will be in California and the activities I will be doing each day.

Then I set each piece of clothing on my bed:

Once everything was laid out, I layered shoes and jackets on the bottom.

Finally, I layered all the clothes in. The shirts that wrinkle easily, I rolled. Everything else I folded in. I connected necklaces to the zipper in hopes that they won't tangle in transit. I bought tiny travel toiletries and stuck them in baggies. i even stuffed my curling iron and straightener in there.

I'm a little nervous about the trip home. I wasn't able to pack my running shoes or dress in there. I will definitely be packing and repacking before the trip home.

I will make sure to update with vacation pictures when I get back. Have a great 4th!

The week after Spring Break ...

It's been a crazy one. One of our students had a pretty tragic spring break so it's been kind of a tough week back. Couple that with trying to get students used to school after a whole ten days off and their transition back to their old teacher as the main teacher ... I feel fairly ready for the weekend.

Despite all of that, this week really affirmed my love of my future/current (?) profession. I am absolutely where I need to be. I have one student who really exhausts me. It is hard to keep him on task and he tends to shout on in the middle of class (lately, it's been to tell me how much he loves me or what a great teacher I am so it is really hard to not smile). But I go to school every day confident that it will be a great day and every evening, I leave smiling.

I am so relieved it's the weekend, but I am so very excited to head into my last week in the first grade. It is going to be a sad one but I am really looking forward to it.

A Girl's Night Out Outfit

Last night, my closest girl friends and I went out. We did pizza and wine at one of the girl's houses and then went to watch the musical at the high school they attended (I went to a nearby high school). It was fun, but I was reminded of the importance of almost-constant professionalism.

When we got to our seats, I looked over to see one of my first graders, standing in front of the pit, waving at whoever he was there to see. I live right across from the school I student teach at and, so, inevitably, I frequently run into students. It's definitely made me more aware of how I dress, act and talk whenever I leave the house.

Anyways, here's my OOTD:

(I apologize for my lack of OOTDs from the work week. I had a couple of observations and excuses for being way too lazy to take pictures of my outfits. I've already set out this week's outfits. I may be really good and post something every day...)

What a Week ...

I am firmly entrenched in my full-time solo student teaching and first graders keep me laughing. I swear, I leave every day with a gigantic, exhausted smile on my face. I hope my students do the same. I am so happy to be going into a career that brings me so much joy.

This week has been a bit of a roller coaster - the first two days, I was so tired by the time I headed home that all I could do was fall onto the couch and veg. But, by Thursday, my energy levels were back up. And on Friday, I found myself laughing a lot at work. Kids are funny.

On Monday, I took one of my students Pokemon cards away (they are not supposed to have them at school). On Thursday, he told me that he would do anything if I would just give him back his card and, later, that he would not write about anything but Pokemon until I give him back his card (a 1st grade protester ... Gotta love it!). Yesterday, when I finally relented and told him that if he finished all of his work, he could have the card back, he proclaimed the day Pokemon Strikes Back! This whole ordeal was, by far, the highlight of my week.

Anyways, I only took pictures of two of my outfits. Here they are:

My best friend from middle school is getting married in August. So, on Thursday, we went bridesmaid dress shopping. I thought I would include a picture of the dress I chose. I love it! I have not been a huge fan of bubble hems but I really love this one.

The dresses will be in the pink color I am wearing.

Finally, I decided to do a Three Things About Me that Andi from Saltwater Dreams posted in the interest of procrastinating this job application I don't want to fill out.

Three names I go by:
1. Bethie
2. Betha
3. Bunky

Three jobs I have had:
1. Haunt Monster at Knott's Scary Farm
2. Special Education I.A.
3. Cashier at a bookstore

Three places I have lived:
1. Los Alamitos, California
2. Long Beach, California
3. Portland, Oregon

Three favorite drinks:
1. Water
2. Pinot Grigio
3. Cinnamon Dolce latte with soy milk from Starbucks

Three TV shows I watch:
1. Project Runway
2. How I Met Your Mother
3. The Office

Three places I have been:
1. Washington, D.C.
2. Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
3. Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Three places I would like to visit:
1. Costa Rica
2. Rome, Italy
3. Sofia, Bulgaria (my little sister was adopted from there)

Three people who text me regularly:
1. my mom
2. my best friend
3. my little cousin

Three favorite old TV shows:
1. Boy Meets World
2. Full House
3. Saved By The Bell

Three favorite dishes: (I'm tweaking this to be my favorite foods)
1. Honey Bunches of Oats cereal
2. Crunchy Bean Curd from Chen's in Long Beach, California
3. Gorgonzola fries from Henry's in Portland, Oregon

Three makeup/beauty products I cannot live without:
1. Clinique Happy
2. Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer
3. Clinique High Impact mascera

Three things I'm looking forward too:
1. Graduation
2. Anne and Jerrod's wedding
3. (Fingers crossed) Getting a new job

My New Idea

I've decided that, because I am failing at being a student teacher AND an everyday blogger at the same time, that my goal is to post at least once a week. My outfits are becoming variations of the same basic idea so I feel like they are kind of uninspiring. However, I will try to post at least one or two of my outfits at the end of every week. These are my two favorites from last week:

Cardigan: LC Lauren Conrad (similar here)

Tee shirt: Merona Target

Tank: Banana Republic (not-so-similar here)

Pants: Anthropologie (similar here)

Necklace: American Eagle (similar here)

Cardigan: LC Lauren Conrad (similar here)

Shirt: Gap

Dress: Ann Taylor Loft (kind of similar here)

Tights: Apt. 9 (Kohls)

Shoes: Madden Girl

In student teaching news, it is my first week of full time soloing and it has been quite the adventure. The kids were very high energy this week so we had a lot of talks about when a good time to talk was and when they needed to just listen and treat me just like they would their regular teacher. We will see how next week goes ....

My Students Rock!

Today was my first real attempt at casual Friday. I wore my school shirt (with the letters blurred out) and a pink sweater, my nod to the Valentine's Day party. Here's my outfit of the day:

One of the student's moms told me that her daughter, who I guess has never really cared much about clothes, comments every day on my outfits when she gets home. That was exciting to hear. Even if it's bad, it makes an impression.

Anyways, today my kids were total rock stars! We have been working on making quiet transitions - to our desks, in line, while we wait on the carpet. So I started a point system where, as a class, they get a piece of a picture. When the picture is done, they get 10 extra minutes of recess. Today was the craziest day - lots of changes in schedule, a party and an assembly. They were quieter than the older students. They were quieter than the other classes. They were loud when it was a good time to be loud. I just think they are the best.

I got some great Valentines - including one that told me my future students are very lucky to have me as a teacher. I left feeling so energized and ready to come back on Tuesday!