Giving up Control?

I have to be honest here, I'm a little bit of a control freak. I like things to go my way and know what is going to happen at all times. I like to have my expectations met and know that things are going to run the way that I have envisioned them.

Unfortunately, life is not that way. I can't be in control all of the time and there are many situations that there is nothing that I can do to change them. The thought of having chaos in my classroom makes me anxious and I have a hard time letting go of the control.

The truth is that middle schoolers need some time to be themselves and to express themselves in a way that I may not be thrilled with. Sometimes they talk too much or too loudly and don't follow rules....and you know what, that's ok. I need to learn to modify my expectations and work with them instead of against them. Middle school is a difficult time for so many kids and it's my job to educate and nurture them, not be a drill sergeant!

This is something that I will be working on. I need a lot of prayer and support to be able to look outside of myself and give the students what they need. I know that I can do this especially with God's help.

Pain

It's incredible that I seriously thought that all of the pain that I experience on a regular basis was "normal". It's not uncommon for me to hurt if someone pokes me in the arm or for my back to hurt, but I just recently found out that this is not ok. It turns out that my body is incredibly inflammed and that is why I hurt so much all over. I seriously was beginning to think that I was just lazy and the weight that I have gained was the culprit itself. Fortunately, that's not true! Sure, the weight gain hasn't helped, but when I'm feeling good physically I actually enjoy doing things...go figure!

I am working with a chiropractor to get better. I see them three times a week and have changed my diet to eating gluten free and reducing my dairy intake to help the inflammation go down. I am hoping that soon enough I will feel up to working out again and be able to enjoy it. For now, I am taking it one day at a time.

I never thought that I would have to change my diet to manage my pain. Believe it or not, I thought that I was just sensitive to pain and that it was normal for my body to feel the way it does. It wasn't until recently that I even considered going gluten free. I read a blog about it and it sparked my interest, but even that want enough to make me try it full-time. It really wasn't until my chiropractor suggested it that I really wanted to give it a go.

The goal is to be gluten free for two weeks to see how my body reacts. Hopefully it will take down the inflammation and will help me heal completely. I have a positive attitude about it and am prepared with meal options for the next couple of days. If the inflammation does not go down very much, the next step is to remove dairy also. I am mentally prepared for that as a hopeful temporary solution, but you never know. Either way, I am going to give it my best and see how it turns out.

On some recent good news...

This week has been a great week for me. I was able to make more clutches and decided to start sewing and selling the things that I make! It has been something that I have thought about for a while and with all of the positive feedback from family and friends, I've decided to take the plunge and just do it!

The other good news that was received this week was that after over a year and a half of dealing with pain in my right wrist, I am officially scheduled for surgery!

I have been waiting for the doctor to come to that conclusion FOREVER and after the failed cortisone injection, he decided to not make me go through it again and do the surgery!

The surgery is scheduled for this coming Thursday (Aug. 18) super early in the morning. It was a miracle to get it done before school starts as I was told that there was really no way that was going to happen!

So, this basically means that I have a little less than a week with the use of both of my hands! I am going to be sewing up a storm (hopefully) while I can enjoy doing it until I recover enough to be able to do it again. I was told that the recovery time is 90 days total, but many people feel much better in 3 weeks. I'm not sure where that will put me, but I'm happy to feel better nevertheless.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I'm sure the next few weeks/months will be challenging (and a blessing) both for myself and my husband.

I can tell my husband loves me when....

He puts on Glee radio just because he knows I like it.

He lets me spend too much on glasses because he knows it's so hard to find frames to fit right.

He does the dishes, laundry, and takes out the trash without complaining.

He listens to me go on and on and on about teaching, sewing, my cricut, and any and every show I watch.

He brings in all of the groceries every time we go shopping.

He changes the date on the calendar when I'm gone so that when I come back it's right.

He lets me use his iPod touch on a daily basis to play games instead of taking it to work with him.

He explains politics and the weather to me and puts them in terms I can understand.

He brings me ice cream when I'm not feeling well.

He takes off of work to go to the wrist doctor with me so I don't have to do it alone.

He puts gas in my car for me.

He drives so I can sit back and relax.

He sets his alarm on Sundays and sweetly wakes me up for church.

My husband is so incredible, it blows my mind every day. I thank God all.the.time for bringing him into my life!

Summer is Almost Over

Truth be told, I would love to be a stay-at-home wife. While that may not be in our best interest at the moment financially, I am fortunate enough to have a job that I love.

I started teaching last year after a five year stint of nannying. Teaching has been something I have wanted to do my entire life and I'm blessed to have this opportunity. When talking to most young people who want to teach, it's obvious that there is a favored age group that they want to teach. Usually, this falls into the elementary-age category.

When people ask me what I teach I happily tell them middle and high school English. This is the point where I usually get a groan! But, seriously, I love that age group. It's challenging, but  the great thing is that they are at the age where they can really think for themselves and are so insightful. Can they be a handful? Yes. However, so can any age. It's all about what you're comfortable with and how you relate with your students.

I have just under a month left until we go back to school and I'm already working on some things for my classroom. It's been nice to have the time off, but since I have to work right now, I am so grateful to have this job that allows me to grow and not be complacent. It's a good fit and I'm sure this year will be even better than the last.

Summer Projects

One of the (many) perks of teaching is having the summers off. You work for most of the year and get an extended "break" to recover, get new ideas for next year, and have a little fun.

This summer marks the first summer where I have officially had off and let me tell you, it has been glorious! I have been doing a number of projects around the house that has been occupying a good part of my time. 

The first project that I did was to redecorate our apartment. Since Phil and I didn't live together until after we were married, it was a bit of a struggle to have to merge together all of our stuff. I mean, seriously, I have enough stuff to keep the apartment full on my own, but we had to bring some of his belongings over and we needed to make some space for it all. This project has really been more of an on-going task as new things come and go, but it has allowed me to not only go through and organize things, but to decorate as well. 

The next project was to cook more at home and eat out less. It's really unhealthy and expensive to eat out all the time and cooking is really something that I enjoy...so I was able to sign up at e-mealz.com and have an affordable meal plan with recipes that we can choose from each night for dinner. Score!

The most recent project has been a favorite of mine. I am in the process of fixing up a chair for my sewing table. I found a cute chair for $8 at the Goodwill and was able to repaint it to a nicer color and I'm going to change the wicker seat to a cushion seat. I have everything I need except for the wood for the seat itself, which I plan to get *hopefully* this weekend.

As you can see, this summer has been great for getting things done around the house and I'm so happy to have another month until we go back to school. I've already started shopping and planning for my classroom, but I am thoroughly loving getting things done around the house.

What have you been up to this summer?