Until next time,
Meagan
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Tonight we went to the KISD Spring Art Show that my littlest sister had a piece entered in. Not only was she one of only 7 students from her school who had a piece entered but she also won a judges award AND her piece was one of two from the whole show that was selected to be entered into the districts permanent student art collection! I'm so proud right now! We thought we were just going to see her piece on display with all the other kids in the district but nope, she got ALL the awards! There were so many great pieces of art there and i'm so proud of all the talent in our district. One of my students had a piece in the show too and it was awesome to see the finished project after seeing her cart the thing around for forever. Not to mention there were some really cool sculptures there that may or may not have given me an idea for a summer art project. It helps that Pigeon's art teacher is our friend. It's been a pretty good week so far and i've been feeling pretty good too, I can even sit down after the second day of bootcamp yesterday. Gearing up for another hot as hell afternoon workout tomorrow. It was 95 degrees out on Monday and we were outside for an hour. I definitely have a sunburn but at least i'm starting to feel not as sluggish and i've only done it twice! I'm already looking forward to coming home and going swimming tomorrow though.
Until next time, Meagan
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Some thoughts for the day:
In other news:
Currently:
That's it for my quick update! How were your weeks? What are your weekend plans? Until next time, Meagan I don't so much want to write out my lesson plan today but I thought i'd share what i'm doing and then update this post as it unfolds because right now i'm flying by the seat of my pants on this one.
Essentially i'm trying to teach my Tech Writing (misleading name for a remedial writing class) students how to do research, format, and write both expository and persuasive essays all at the same time. Like I said this is an experiment. I have 6 weeks left with these kids and i'm hoping to instill some actual applicable writing skills in them now that test prep is over. Yesterday we reviewed what we have learned so far: how to brainstorm, how to pick paragraph topics that actually make sense in terms of the whole paper, how to write a thesis, how to outline a paper using CEC format, all that good stuff. Today I introduced the five topics that they can pick from to research. I kept it at five to make it easier on me and I kept it around issues i'm at least somewhat educated about like out of country adoptions, spay and neutering pets, vegan/vegetarianism, private vs. public schools, and the death penalty. Stage one is for them to choose one of these topics and then research them as much as possible. I had planned on giving them 2 days to do this but given how much time the project intro took today I think I might actually extend it to 4 days so it will run until Friday. Each day their closing task is to record three new facts they've learned about the topic and towards the end it will be to record points of contention in the arguments for and against. Step two is going to be to plan and write, and revise, and revise, and revise, and revise, an expository essay on their topic. Currently i'm planning on taking a week for them to complete this first essay and that includes a lesson on properly formatting a paper using MLA format. So we'll see if that is accurate. Step three will be to do the same thing but with a persuasive essay. So i'm very liberally giving them a week of in class lab time per essay and i'm hoping that will be enough but then again i've got an entire 6 weeks to do this so we'll see! That's an incredibly vague plan I know but i'm hoping it will be somewhat effective in teaching them how papers *should* be written. I did this to a certain extent last semester but this is a much more intense unit on the same skills so i'm hoping they transfer well. Do you have any resources or suggestions you think would be helpful? Any tips on creating a successful cumulative unit like this? Until next time, Meagan I haven't updated in like a week but I promise I have the best excuse, my best friend got married! It was an incredibly beautiful wedding and I even managed not to ugly cry too much! But needless to say it was probably the most tiring 3 1/2 day holiday weekend of my life! Thursday was a half day for me (because sometimes being a teacher has perks) but it was still full to the brim with activities! Luckily the main activity was catching up with my second family and introducing them to Mando. Driving them around, eating froyo, and generally being fed delicious cuban pastries and feeling loved and excited for the coming festivities. Friday was the day of venue prep and all of the rehearsal shenanigans and just generally being very excited but also super nervous! But with all the stress and preparation that came with Friday, we also had the rehearsal dinner which was pretty small and DELICIOUS. Los Cucos catered which is incredibly fitting because so many important events in our friend's lives have been punctuated by a trip to Los Cucos. The rehearsal dinner was also the night of my MoH speech. I'm just glad that I didn't have to give it at the wedding because while I may have done an okay job of not being a sobbing mess, I was still a little bit of a mess. Okay I completely lost my shit at the end, but I kept my composure really well until then! Saturday was the big day! I woke up at 7 to be at the salon by 9 and after a few hair fiascos (I won't even begin to tell that story now), we were off to the venue and the rest of the day went off beautifully, and I do truly feel like I earned my title. I worked my ass off at that wedding and it was all so worth it! Brooke and Chris had a gorgeous day and they deserved it after all of their hard work. I was honored to be there and stand up for them, to help them start this new chapter in their lives together, and to hopefully relieve a little stress from their families and from them.
Once we get all the 'real' pictures in from both the ceremony and the rehearsal dinner I think i'll write another post but for now I just wanted to share how happy I was this weekend. I may be tired now but it was SO worth it. So of those three dresses I may or may not have bought on Saturday (I reiterate my 'whoops') I wore one yesterday and one today. I decided to document my outfit today because I thought I looked pretty dang cute. I really never pegged myself as the mullet dress type yet here I am. It's kind of impossible to be anywhere without the dogs being right there too so they're in pretty much every photo. At least they were polite and sat when I told them to. We deleted a lot of blurry furball photos. For work purposes I wore full length black leggings to cover those unseemly tattoos of mine but I got a pedicure after work so those babies came off when I left the building. Pedicures are kind of the best and now my toes are adorable and ready for the wedding. I did however attempt to be as trashy as possible and I kept those little foam sandals they give you on when I left and tried to walk to my car in them. I very quickly found out that well lotioned feet + foam sandals + rain= almost falling all over the place in the parking lot. I can only imagine my pedicurist laughing behind me. I was too embarrassed to actually turn around and look. At least my outfit was preserved and my hair only needed minor adjustments when I got home. We're about to go out to see the final community performance of my school's One Act Play so i'm trying to convince myself to put my leggings back on because that's 'professional' but now that my hairy legs are free they don't want to be caged again. Plus it's almost equivalent to having to put back on pants and pants are the worst. The struggle continues to be very real over here. Obviously. So i'm gone to eat some Chik-Fil-A for dinner despite the fact that yesterday was grocery day and then going to see the play. I leave you with this final image of me being a total idiot before we started taking the "serious business fashion" photos.
This week was much less eventful than last week but somehow equally as tiring. Monday and Tuesday were utterly uneventful, school especially. I started the Naming Unit with my Technical Writing class but used the poems to not only talk about names and naming, but also for finding and identifying metaphors and similes. I might write a follow up lesson plan post on that soon. Monday night I also had ComedySportz practice which was super fun. The kids ran over basics and scene building which they are in sore need of and I talked over my plans to open auditions next year to non-theatre kids. I definitely think i'm going to need to do a little more convincing in order for the directors to be on board, but honestly I think it's what is best for our program and the kids. I'm excited about next year's team and season. If this year was any indication of the changes i've made working then next year is looking AWESOME. I'm still currently trying to figure out if i'm going to audition for the pro league or not, but ultimately my goal would be to be a better sponsor and teacher for my kids and maybe one day teach an improv class at the high school. Dreaming big I know! Wednesday was the day that got me. I was exhausted after that! Not only was it a test day but I left at 12 to chaperon a theatre trip to the Area UIL One Act Play performances. Our kids made it through to Area and oh my god did they deserve it! Their performance was phenomenal and i'm so proud! Their UIL journey ended that day as they were in a super tough division and only 2 of the 6 plays advanced but man am I proud of those kids. They did The Angelina Project and I had never seen the show or read it before so I don't think I was emotionally prepared for what I saw, it was an amazing drama and gutted me completely. Not only was the day draining because I watched 6 amazing shows by very talented young people in our area, but because it was TWELVE HOURS LONG. We got home at 11:15/30ish and man I passed right out. Well, I actually passed out after I told Mando alllll about my day. When I was done I inhaled and he was like "Wow. Long day." I guess i'm just not used to sitting quietly in a theatre all day only able to text people for communication. That is if a show isn't on, theatre etiquette! Thursday was a seriously lazy school day for me. I showed my EIV kids 2081 which is a short film about Harrison Bergeron and then led discussion about it but that was all I could muster that day. Thank goodness i'd been setting up a writing project in Tech Writing for the previous few days so my kids wrote quietly and I would conference with them and that was it. After school I *intended* to go on a walk with Mando and the pups because I was jealous of their walk on Wednesday while I was gone, however in reality all that happened was I fell asleep and napped until 6pm. So Thursday was basically a 'hangover' day. Friday I finally got to go on that walk! It was an awesome day to end the week. I then went to bed super early and slept in until 11:30 on Saturday. Saturday I FINALLY met Brooke's college roommate and my fellow Bridesmaid, Sarah. I feel like i've missed her every time she's been in town and I finally met her! I went with them to lunch at Panera Bread after Brooke and Chris's crazy 'weekend before the wedding' garage sale and later we went to JCPenney's and got shapewear for the wedding. Oh my god I love shapewear, but it's really sad when you take it off and then you're not all smooth anymore. Getting it on is also hilarious but damn did I look good in my dress! Wedding weekend i'm coming for you! Mando and I went and got some froyo when I got home because really I just didn't want to be in the house anymore. We also went back to JCPenney so I could do actual shopping and then I accidentally bought 3 dresses. Whoops. Sunday was well spent. Cleaned the house did, laundry, woke up at 11:30, went grocery shopping, hung out with my mom and sisters when they got back from the lake and had dinner and dessert with my friend and my favorite tiny baby. More macarons for me! And a delicious peanut butter cupcake. I mostly finished my meal prep but i'll take care of that tomorrow after school and before the play. I'm ready to face this gloriously short week with my head held high now. Let's do it! That's all for this week. How was yours?
Until next time, Meagan One thing i've really missed about Austin is all of the hiking available to us. The greenbelt, Mt. Bonnell, all of the parks and nameless trails and all of the natural water sources! Creeks and lakes and rivers. Ugh. I miss Austin for the adventures. We've found a few spots here and there in the Houston area but nothing really compares. Still we make do and then go to Austin when we can. That's something I can't wait for this summer, dying my hair teal and adventuring. We just moved into a new apartment complex that's behind my parent's neighborhood. The area is in the middle of being developed so there's a lot of bulldozed paths in-between patches of overgrown thickets of trees so it makes for a nice little walking area where the dogs can run around off leash. We went for a walk after school got out yesterday and it was gorgeous out! Low 80s, breezy, and sunny. The pups had a blast. We took the opportunity to get some seasonal wild flower pictures of the pups in. There weren't any blue bonnets but there are Indian Paintbrushes everywhere back there, mainly next to all of the drainage ravines. The pups found a few little patches of mud in the truck tire tracks back there and of course made terrible messes of themselves which was fine til we got home and had to give them a bath. Penny is always fine in baths even though she does always look like she's the most maligned girl in the whole world, moping about and just generally looking shamed and depressed while you soap her up in the tub. Fenriz however is a FREAK. He HATES baths and acts like you're scalding him and trying to kill him. Yesterday he scratched up my entire body and tore a hole in the plastic shower curtain lining. He's a real calm dude obviously. He chilled out eventually after he was well enough restrained but damn can that tiny puppy do some real damage. Overall it was a fun but exhausting afternoon and a good way to end a really tiring two weeks. Until next time!
-Meagan I love TILT posts on other blogs so I thought I would share my own here. Things I find throughout the week while i'm spending a million hours on the internet. *I just ordered a cardigan chain from Dapper and Swag's etsy shop and i'm eyeballing these brooches real hard. They say they're bees but they look pretty mothy to me! *Oh my god i'm in love with these guys and these videos. *I definitely have photos like this, it's hard not too. But this blog is perfect. *Trying to keep it short: THIS. Just everything about this. Links
*Teaching consent to small children- this is an awesome read, such a simple idea and it's really just taken for granted. *I've finally started reading Meaty Yogurt after following Rosalarion on tumblr for well over a year now. I love her art and her outlook. *Kate Beaton is also a favorite comic artist of mine and her new series 'Ducks' is wonderful. That's all for this week. What have some of your favorite things been? -Meagan So apparently i'm not good about updating my week on Sunday like i'm supposed to. But better late than never. Last week was abysmally busy. I did absolutely nothing during my off time (aka when i'm at home) because I just couldn't muster the energy to do anything. I'm still feeling worn out, and possibly a little sick right now on top of my already present allergies, but this week ahead should be better. My week started out on Sunday grocery shopping and apparently buying too many veggies. Meal prepped like a boss at home. Meal prep saves my life during the school week, i'm pretty sure I would have just straight up starved to death last week if I hadn't prepped Sunday. Too busy to live. In case you can't tell, yes that is STAAR essay practice paper aka the stuff that has taken over my life for the past 6 weeks that i've been teaching my remediation class. I can't decide if this is a new high or a new low. We may never know. Tuesday i've already gone over previously and i'd like to not revisit that stress ball of yuck. Wednesday was my treat day and I was a big ball of nothing and I didn't CARE. The dogs were pretty done by then too as you can see. Thursday I was back at it with the CSz shenanigans. This was a local match and I had at least mustered the courage to shower beforehand this time so at least I looked cute and the ref for this match was my coach in High school and I love her to freaking pieces. Being around her is just so comfortably and friendly, she never fails to put me in a better mood. The match was at a 'rich school' and some of the houses I drove past look like freaking country clubs. I spent the night pondering how successful a door to door campaign asking for loan reimbursement money would be. My city is a huge wealth disparity mecca it's ridiculous to drive through some of these neighborhoods and think that these are single family homes. I'm still trying to make up my mind about if I want to try out for the pro CSz league or not and hanging around the really tiring but really restorative CSz environment this week did not make the decision easier. I realize what a time grab it is already but I just love watching my kids perform already and I want to be a part of it myself too. Who knows, I have another month until auditions and i'll take that time to decide. Friday and Saturday I spent bridal shower slumber partying, writing notes to people that will be snail mailed, and being a total boss at 2048. Notice I got a 4096. I double won. (My life is sooooo boring sometimes)
Overall the week was successful, the slumber party was a nice button to the week and something I ended up enjoying a lot despite how worried I was about it. I can't be bitching about my lack of social interaction and then on the other hand bitching about how I dislike social interaction, so i'm glad I bucked up and powered through because I had a really good time. It's getting closer to the actual wedding and i'm FREAKING OUT. But those are feelings for another time. Until next time, Meagan This week has been exhausting and it's only Wednesday!
Monday was fine, but Tuesday was STAAR testing and I had to be Proctor B. While not as boring as being proctor A, my feet hurt and my back hurt and it was ALL DAY. I'm just glad it's over honestly. I'm sure everyone else feels the same way. If you enjoy standardized testing then there is probably something medically wrong with you. Just sayin'. I also had a Comedy Sportz match last night that went from 5-930 and while that was long and I was tired, the match was amazing and i'm so glad we had enough kids to go and we didn't have to cancel because of UIL stuff. I also really got along with their sponsor and that was pretty cool. It also was a pretty good pick me up because damn making friends as an adult is freaking hard y'all! Outside of co-workers, there's not much room for making friends when you're a layabout like I am. I don't party, I don't do clubs, i'm not in an "activity" outside of going to the dog park and even that isn't happening lately. Basically i've been a lazy bum and I should probably take a class or something because i've started to believe i'm the only 20-something in this town who is interested in things besides cross walls and The Eli Young Band. I mean, if only I had a 'Live, Laugh, Love' plaque in kitchen! I'd have so many friends! Seriously i've been so mopey about that lately! I see all these younger people in this town with their likeminded non-denominational, rhine-stoned friends and I want that! Except with unshaved legs and a penchant for marxism or something (even though I just can't reconcile that whole 'violent revolution' thing. That's my qualm) I basically want Austin but in Katy where I have well paying job and a supportive administration and great co-workers. Like I love my professional life but dang is my personal life boring. My closest friends are in some cases people i've never met and while that's fine, it's getting annoying only having one friend to go do things with and when that friend is married with a child, it makes planning hard sometimes. I'm just glad my sister and I are so close. Like physically, she lives around the corner from me. It's great. She also is a student at my school and is pretty much down to hang all the time, unless she has AP homework of course. But she graduates next year and after that i'm SOL. I need friends my age who are also raging intersectional feminists. Bring them to me. I need conversations! Welp. That's my week. Today I had nothing after school except a hang out with that one friend I made since I graduated. And we had delicious macarons and cupcakes and I played with said baby (I have TERRIBLE baby fever right now and i'm thanking my birth control like crazy), then I came home and literally did nothing. I started the dishwasher and we had cereal for dinner. I could not muster enough emotional strength to clean things. Tomorrow is another csz match that'll keep me out all evening. I'm just ready for the weekend and our (well, my rare) trip to church! Headscarf time y'all! I feel like I should have a sign off or something cute but instead you just get this. Goodnight and good luck. (ripping off a classic) -Meagan |