The Way I See It

I don't know if it's a nation-wide thing, but here in Seattle, all disposable Starbucks cups come with quotes on them, called "The Way I See It." Here are some interesting ones I've collected this weekend:

The Way I See It #37

"Embrace this right now life whilte it's dripping, while the flavors are excellently woesome. Take your bits with bravery and boldness since the learning and growing are here in these times, these exact right nows. Capture these times. Hold and kiss them because it will soon be very different."
- Jill Scott, musician

The Way I See It #58

"I have faith. Faith in our wondrous capacity for hope and good, love and trust, healing and forgiveness. Faith in the blessing of our infinite ability to wonder, question, pray, feel, think, and learn. I have faith. Faith in the infinite possibilities of the human spirit."
-James Brown, emmy-winning sportscaster

Icky

Last night the inevitable happened. I should have known that someday it would occur, what with all the babysitting and nannying I do. Last night Lauren (14 mos) peed all over my lap. I still can't figure out exactly how she did it either, because when I went to change her pj's, her pants were dry. Yet my lap was very wet and very warm. (gross gross gross) I couldn't get a hold of any of my roomies to bring me sweats, so I blow-dryed myself off and promptly threw my jeans in the wash when I got home. Good thing that little girl is a cutie :)

Kids. Ya gotta love 'em!

A smooth day in kindergarten!

Ahh, finally, a nice, smooth day in kindergarten! Everyone kept all of their clothing on (as far as I know, anyway), no one missed the bus, not a single student cried today, Ryleigh came up to me and told me he likes me, and three little girls fought over who could sit by me at lunch. I tested all the kids on their knowledge of upper and lower-case letters, along with the sounds each one makes. It was encouraging to see their improvement from when they were tested in September. True, some kids only did a tiny bit better while others nailed every letter, but it was still good. It was also interesting to notice trends among the kids, for example, most kids still think that the letter "G" makes a "j" sound, rather than a hard "g." I loved testing Ben. He had trouble pronoucing the labial-dentals (v and f), even though he was trying so hard. I finally figured it out when I noticed that he's missing his two front teeth, therefore making it impossible for him to put his front teeth to his bottom lip to say "fff" or "vvv." Too cute!!

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday. I'm hoping to get many errands done, such as having someone check my power steering fluid in my car, replacing my two back tires, and going to the DMV to get my WA driver's license! I'll be one step closer to becoming a WA resident :)

Oh, a funny thing. Oliver (2 yrs) refused to nap for me yesterday. It was so strange, since he normally zonks out three minutes after I put him in his crib. I tried everything - rubbing his back, rocking him, walking him around his room, singing, all with no luck. He was incredibly hyper and bouncing off the walls. I told his mom, Lisa, about it when she got home. She promptly looked at her calendar and said, "Oh, I forgot to tell you about that. There's a full moon today, and Oliver never naps when there is a full moon." She was dead serious. She said that she didn't buy it at first, but then she kept track of his naps on the calendar, and sure enough, the kid doesn't take a nap when there's a full moon. And I thought my sleeping habits were wacky.

Kids (and parents!) never cease to surprise me.

The fruit of my procrastination....

Katharine Hepburn
You scored 23% grit, 14% wit, 47% flair, and 26% class!

You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.

Student Intern Interview

I just left my interview for my student teaching placement for winter and spring quarters. The interview went really well, and I think I clearly articulated what I'm looking for as far as grade level, location, mentor teacher, etc. And I find out in a few weeks where I'm going to be placed - yay!

Here are a few pictures of Whidbey Island, where I hope to be placed for student teaching.
Random tid bit: The movie "Double Jeopardy" was filmed on Whidbey Island :)

Kindergarten, Convicts, and Bethany Bootcamp

It's been a very busy and interesting week, to say the least.

I had my first Methods Lab on Thursday. I'm in a kindergarten classroom at John Hay Elementary, just five minutes from SPU. John Hay is one of the best schools in Seattle, and my mentor teacher, Caitlin Collins, is excellent. I must admit that I was apprehensive about kindergarten. My day was really wonderful, though. All of the kids took to me right away and I had a lot of fun with them. I can't wait to take pictures of all of them! One little boy, Salvatore, has dread locks. I'd never witnessed a five-year-old with dreads before, and it's really cute! Even though I had a really great day and no longer dread going into kindergarten, I'm still not so sure that kindergarten is where I want to end up. It's really close to preschool, and I've noticed that there really is a huge difference between a kindergartener and a first grader. We'll see what this coming Thursday brings...

Convicts. Well, actually just one convict, and he's our next-door neighbor. Turns out that Nick, who lives right next to us, is wanted by the Seattle police for many things, including breaking and entering and burglary. He harrassed my friend's mom Saturday, and another friend of ours reported it. So now we are supposed to be on the look out for this guy, and call the police when/if he returns home. No, that's not creepy or anything....!

Yesterday I took the all day membership class at church, which I like to refer to as "Bethany Bootcamp." It was a really long day, but I am nearly finished with the membership process! I still need to talk with Pastor Dan about Presbyterianism and then have coffee with my assigned elder. I'm being "inducted" on December 11th, and can't wait!

Nannying has been going really well. I nannied for 21 hours this past week. There was one point in which I felt like I lived at Gracie and Oliver's house. I am also quite tired of kid food - mac and cheese and anything that can be eaten without utensils. All of my kids were really great this past week, though. I love them so much and really look forward to watching them every week.

I've been pretty productive so far this weekend. Gotten lots of homework done (but still have lots to do tomorrow), talked to my best friend for the first time in three weeks (she was in Ireland for two weeks), took the membership class, did some chores, and got caught up on emails. I actually don't have to nanny tomorrow morning, so I am going to be able to finish everything else up before class on Tuesday. Tomorrow is going to be one long day of homework and studying...

The C.S. Lewis of Our Time

His official title is "The Right Reverend Father in God Nicholas Thomas Wright, by Divine Providence Lord Bishop of Durham." Only the Archbishop of York, Archbishop of Canterbury, and Bishop of London outrank him. He sits in the United Kingdom's House of Lords. He is the one responsible for escorting the sovereign at coronation. And he is the leading advocate for the relevance of Christianity in a postmodern world.

"We won't build the kingdom of God by our own efforts in the present; it remains God's gift by his grace and his power. But we can produce signs of the kingdom in love and justice and beauty and healing and fresh community of all sorts - internationally, locally, all over the place - and thereby celebrate the whole biblical story."

Isaiah 11:9
"For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

"We, my friends, are called to live between the vision of the world which is already filled with the glory of God, and a world which is yet to be filled with the glory of God, as the waters cover the sea."

(quotes taken from N.T. Wright's lectures given at the President's Symposium on the Gospel and Cultural Engagement at Seattle Pacific University)