A night for ice cream

So today has just been one of those days. Here are some reasons why ice cream is essential to my mental well-being tonight.

1. Teaching is mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting.
2. My students are realizing that I'm not an assistant teacher, I am THE teacher and they have to mind what I say. Results? They resent me and refuse to do their work.
3. My weaknesses are exposed constantly. It seems like I can never do anything right.
4. I have so much on my mind: Teaching, planning, Teacher Work Sample, resume, applying for jobs, figuring out where I want to teach and settle, men, graduation, people's health problems, family, thinking about my students, figuring out my life after April and the list goes on...
5. I am trying to juggle a million things at once and it seems like I can never get everything done or do what I want to do.
6. I miss close friends and family who truly get me and see where I'm coming from. I miss people who appreciate the person I am.
7. I chose the hardest profession and now I have to live with the consequences.

And so with all of these feelings, I start to feel like my whole world is crashing down on me when in reality it isn't. I just feel like being over dramatic and so I am.

Therefore, I declare this night a night for ice cream. Though I cannot fix all of these frustrations I can at least wallow away in a carton of ice cream.

Cheers.

Ain't goin' be stopped by nobody

For a long time I used to let people decide my sociality. With many social activities, I used to go or not go depending on whether or not my friends went to those social events. I remember times when I was so excited to go to a dance and then I learned that none of my close friends were going to go anymore. Crushed, I usually ended up settling for a mediocre movie rather than go to a dance that I looked forward to for weeks. Essentially I let others determine my sociality, not myself.

Well out with the old and in with the new. Since I've been in college, I have been much better about doing things that I want to do. However, I still felt held back to a degree until this past year. Suddenly I realized that I have interests that not all of my friends share; but I still wanted to do them. Now if I want to do something that is not agreeable by the masses, I still go. It's not easy by any means, but I am proud to say that every time I end up doing something that I really enjoy, I am ALWAYS happy that I did it and that I didn't let anyone stop me from doing it.

Tonight my ward had a Valentine's Day party (yes, one week late). I had planned on going for a few weeks. Well, today we went to Gettysburg and I knew I would be tired. I figured that many of my roommates wouldn't want to go because of the long day. I knew I had a choice: I could not go and stay with the roomies and fall into a homebody slumber or I could do what I originally wanted--go to the ward party.

I went to the party and it was a blast. I made new friends, enriched acquaintances, and danced the night away. I have a renewed testimony that I am the one that determines my happiness and my sociality.

No one is going to stop me from doing what I want to do; the only person who will stop me from doing what I want is myself.

Amen.

PreZident's Day weekend

I couldn't think of a more clever title...that's why I went for the lame misspelling instead.

This past weekend was spent mostly trying to recover from the busy school week. Teaching is an exhausting profession (more on that later in another blog post). However, I did get to do a few fun things. Wanna know what's going down in DC? Well here you go!

First stop: Eastern Market. This place is a big DC attraction for flea market goers. They even make crepes and pancakes right on the street! I felt momentarily transported back to Paris. However, my flashback only lasted as long as the American flag waving in the background. I bought a purse from India in DC. Kind of ridiculous.

There's me and a random dude, we'll call him Leonard. I like the artsiness that Leonard and I create in this picture.


Then I decided to play it cool against this orange-ish building. Sassy, I know. And in reality, it was a wall painted like a building...but it would be cool if that were the case.


I haven't even told you the best part! The best part was hanging out with my friend, Andrea for the afternoon. After heading to the Eastern Market, we went to this used book store that was filled with books galore.


Andrea loved all the books she found. I, however, felt a bit overwhelmed by the small space and the myriad of books. Little do you know that I was about to have a nervous breakdown with all of these books. The cause? Incessant fear that an earthquake would occur at that precise moment and all the books would crush me to death. Luckily that didn't happen and here I am still writing this blog.



After the book store we headed over to the Mall and walked around for a bit. It was a nice day so we took our time and reminisced about London. That's where Andrea and I met. tear.

I have to have a picture in front of the Capitol, so here I am with a pretty typical stance.

Then we met up with our beloved friend Tasha, who visited from BYU for the weekend. This was our first time seeing her since London in 2005. We went out to this delicious burger place and had the best malt ever. Holy cow! Hahahaha (get it??!!).

Second Stop: Old Town Alexandria. I met up with my chum, Sarah Johnson, for some laughs and drinks (lemon water). We went over to the Masonic temple. We actually didn't go on a tour because we were a bit mislead, but we did talk to some funny guys and found out a little bit about the Masons. Yet, I still have no real understanding of Masons in general...so I guess I am feeling the way many non-LDS people feel when they don't get all the info they want on the temple. We still had fun though!

Looking gangsta in front of the Masonic temple. (Not like the Masonic temple really inspires me to be gangsta).


Here's George and I (George Washington). I am on a first named basis with all of these presidents.


Then there was this cool mural with the founding fathers, so I got a picture of it. Oh, and I wanted to remind myself to watch my step.


After our confusing trip to the Masonic temple we decided to go for some food that we knew we could count on: Mexican. Ok, so we actually ate out at this Cuban/Puerto Rican restaurant but it gave us the comfort food we enjoyed. So here I am sporting my delicious chicken, rice, and asparagus dish. So tasty!


That concludes President's Day weekend. I definitely feel a closer bond to the U.S. presidents now that I teach about them, live in the nation's capitol, and have see their places of worship. What more could a girl ask for on such a momentous holiday?

I may be Valentine-less but I can still be happy

With all of the Valentine hooplah, it's easy to feel down if you don't have a significant other to celebrate with. The lack of candy or flowers or a homemade pillow may not disappoint you but the lack of sheer companionship can be hard to swallow. Honestly, I haven't thought too much about it until this week. Who reminded me of Valentine's Day?? My students, of all people. They bombarded me with a million questions, "Ms. Baer, do you have a valentine this weekend?" "Ms. Baer, what are your plans for Valentine's Day?" "What, you don't have a date? Well, I'll go out with you." Ummm...no thanks, that would be illegal.

Anyway, all of this hype over Valentine's Day has reminded me of a very important lesson I have learned this last year. It's one my mother has taught me time and time again. It's simple: Be happy where you're planted. It's not an easy task by any means. But I have learned that I have the choice to be happy in whatever circumstance I'm in. So as a singleton, I can love and thrive in my environment. I can enjoy each moment that single life brings me. Even when I do have a valentine (miracle of miracles), it will not automatically equate into blissful and eternal happiness. Once I do find that person, life will still be hard and I will still have to make the effort to be happy in a relationship or in my marriage.

So if you're like me and you are alone on this Valentine's Day, don't fret. Do something fun today. Be with people who love and appreciate you. Or just ignore it and pretend it's any other day. But most of all, choose to be happy.

And take comfort in the fact that students won't be bugging you at school next week, asking you what you did this past weekend with your valentine. (Diane, you may be the only exception to that!)

Lastly, if it helps and it should...the Lord loves you and He will forever be your valentine.

Your eyes are so big you could swim in them.

Thanks, Luis, for that compliment. I'm glad that my students recognize my beauty (though their comments are a bit on the sketchy side at times).

P.S. Doesn't my hair look awesome?

Remember that one time when I went to NY on the China Bus and we got a flat tire on the way there AND on the way back??

Yah, well that was this past weekend. We all decided to take a quick rendezvous up to New York City to have a break from DC life.

My time in New York was fabulous! It was just the trip up there and back that proved trying for my impatient soul. We decided to take the China Bus because it was a whopping $35 round trip ticket. Can't get any better than that, right? Well, you get what you pay for I suppose. On Friday night we left for NY at 4pm. An hour or so outside of Baltimore we hear a "thunk" and lo and behold...a flat tire. The bus driver pulled us over somewhere in Delaware or whatever forsaken land it was and we sit there for 2 hours while the bus driver (who can barely speak a lick of English) reassures us that the tire will be changed in a half hour to an hour. WRONG. Think again, it took 2 hours.

In the meantime we got restless so we all hopped off the bus and started running around to get some wiggles out.

Here's a picture of all of us in front of MVP bus. The ironic thing is that this bus service is definitely NOT the Most Valuable Player of any kind. Kristen, Meggie, Me, Amber, and Carolyn.


I think everyone thought we were some crazies on something...but I assure you that the only thing that could make us act like that is a few pieces of chocolate and a restless body that wanted to scream out in frustration.

We even had a race to pass the time. You can barely see us but we did race. I lost.



Anyway, the rest of New York was wonderful! Once we got to NYC, I immediately hopped off the bus, hailed a taxi, shared the Gospel with the taxi driver, and caught the 11:45 train to Tuckahoe within 20 minutes. I am so proud of my city-savvy skills. Pat on the back.

Kathryn graciously picked me up around midnight. The next morning, I helped out with Matty's B-day party, caught up with Kim and Gavin, then headed over to the city to see my friend, Greg, who currently lives there. We went out to a Belgian restaurant, an indoor flea market, and walked the Brooklyn Bridge.

Here we are on the Brooklyn Bridge at sunset. Notice the Statue of Liberty in the background. Dang, I look short in this picture (if you thought I was going to say, "Dang I look hot in this picture" you can insert that sentiment too).

Kathryn then met up with me at Grand Central. We walked around Times Square and thought about buying Wicked tickets from a scalper but after we walked after him we realized that they were very possibly fake so we bagged the idea.

Here I am in Times Square in my usual attire. I didn't even take a picture with Kath! Sorry Kath!

Sunday was spent going to church with the Newmans and seeing Mark play Bishop. I had a wonderful time seeing them and it was oh so short! Sammy asked me (with a mouthful of M&M's) if I was going to visit again and I reassured him that I would. Thanks for hosting me!

Oh...and of course, the China Bus once again; it did not fail us in getting yet another flat tire an hour outside of Baltimore. I swear, these things must be planned or something. Luckily this time we were actually at a rest stop where toilet paper actually existed in the bathrooms. You gotta see the silver lining in all things. Oh...but the scary thing was not the sketchy bus driver this time, no. The scary thing is that we never got the flat fixed so we drove for 2 hours on a bus with a flat tire back to DC. I said many prayers that night. I blasted my ipod with Enya in hopes that I could ignore the raucous. It worked.

Bottom Line: NYC was incredibly fun and I had a glorious time with friends and family. However, China Bus...not so fabulous. I will never require your services again, thank you...I will not come again.

For the record...

I hate cats.

I hate how they smell. I hate that they shed. I hate that they jump on me when I sleep. I hate that they lick me. I hate that their feces reeks in the kitty litter. I hate how they make me sneeze.

I think God should have rethought His creation of cats. Blasphemous? Maybe so.

I just had to get that off my chest.

The adventures continue...don't you fret.

So the weeks are getting busier and busier as student teaching is becoming more and more demanding. This means that my blog posts are getting fewer and my thought processes more scatterbrained. I feel like all my creativity is getting sucked into my lesson plans.

Here are some things I've done in the last couple of weeks. WARNING: This is very informational, not so much hysterical.

PHILADELPHIA

We spent a day in Philly with the whole gang. We saw the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall (where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were signed), Ben Franklin's print shop, and visited The Constitution Center (basically a big museum about the Constitution). It was a fun-filled day with a lot of historical sites to be seen. We even grabbed a philly cheesteak which was not my favorite.

Here are some highlights:

Me and my cheesesteak. Can you tell that I'm not that impressed? Definitely a forced excitement on my part. P.S. I feel bored just looking at this picture.

Ben Franklin and I. Did you know he was a womanizer?? Yah, that's what I learned in Philadelphia.All of us with the founding fathers at The Constitution Center. We look beautiful in comparison.

The teacher crew in front of Independence Hall...you can barely see us but we're there.


And the adventure then continued when I hooked up with Sarah J. once again a few days ago. Oh the fun. We went to the National Portrait Gallery and look what we found!

A donut? Too bad it's not edible.


LBJ and I...I am getting tight with these presidents. He held a book in his hand so I decided to hold my own, The Book of Mormon (to find out more go to www.mormon.org).

I was then briefly transported back to Europe...ok, far from Europe but they had this piazza place in between the two wings of the museum. I thought it was cool, so ta-da...here I am!

And then Sarah took more pictures that I did not get so the adventure ends here. This looks like a Susie adventure but I can promise that I did have Sarah with me. Care to testify, Sarah?