dumbest idea i've ever had

curly hair on a windy day.

i'm so dumb.

extra sleep

i have to be at school early again today (go me) but i didn't want to get up early. instead i decided to leave my hair curly and sleep in a little more. i don't think this was a good idea. i just checked weatherbug, and it's supposed to be windy. great. and i wonder what my students will say. they've not seen my hair curly ever, and i can just see them saying, "what happened to your hair?"

oh man.

we're down to 200

i don't think i'm gonna get that 500-word essay on squanto.

this morning, he asked me if i could make it a 400-word essay. as they left for spanish, he informed me that it will probably be only 200 words. his hand was very cramped, he told me.

that was about 5 minutes ago, right before he lept out of his chair for no reason while he was supposed to be working on his language.

if he doesn't watch it, it's going to be end up being a 700-word essay.

3rd graders-gotta love 'em

i have this student-a boy-who is so hyper. i mean, he really tries my patience. he's cute and incredibly smart, but i'm constantly getting onto him for being silly and disrupting the class. when he gave me my christmas present, one of the items was a bear ornament. he said, "and this is from my christmas tree. DON'T TELL MY MOM!" then today he asked me to assign him a 500-word essay on squanto. he was heartbroken when i told him that i wouldn't tell his mom that he HAD to do it (did i mention that his mom is my principal? yeah...). anyway, he has these moments where he redeems himself. i never walk through a door when he's not holding it open for me. he is one of the few that says "yes ma'am" and "no ma'am." he is very bright-so much so that he really, really wants to do that 500-word essay on squanto.

i told him he could work on it during his free time. maybe then the class will be a little quieter.

but then today while i was sitting at my desk grading papers, i looked up to see him standing there. i had to stop myself from sighing out loud because i'm also always telling him to stay in his seat. when i asked him if he needed anything he responded, "nothing. i just want to give you a hug."

i melted. after i gave him the hug, of course! isn't that cute?! it just made my day.

see what i mean about being smart? he knows how to get on my good side, and he didn't even have to bring me chocolate!

my day keeps gettin' better and better

there's this couple who goes to our church, mac and betty. they have 3 adorable children and are just an awesome family. betty always has funny stories about her kids...always. jared, the middle one, is the one we hear the most about. some of us have suggested to betty that she start a blog for all these stories so that everyone else can enjoy them too. lo and behold, she listened! her title is hilarious!

i even have my own "jared" story. now, jared is one of those kids who always speaks his mind. it doesn't matter where we are (church) or what we're doing (praying), jared will make his opinion known. a few years ago, when jared was about 4 or 5 i think, we were in church and my dad was praying. i don't remember exactly why we were praying, but dad was starting to get a little long-winded. kelli and i have a plan in place for alerting my dad when this happens when he's preaching, but not when he's praying (aren't we good little pks?). anyway, jared had had enough, and in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone, he said, "AMEN, PASTOR! AMEN."

that taught my dad to say long prayers, especially when jared's around.

what are you waiting for?! go take a peek...

here are mac and betty's kids at our christmas banquet just last month. cute, yes?

who knew?

i had the most wonderful monday EVER. i wasn't sure how great it was going to be since i had to be at school earlier than usual, but oh my word, God smiled down on me today.

to start off, i didn't get to my room until 8:15 this morning because we were signing up 2nd and 3rd graders for a program that we do here called live museum. i usually write on the board what i like for my students to do for the first 15 minutes of the day before i actually start teaching. the last thing written on the board for today was "sit in your seat and wait for class to begin."

i was nervous that i would arrive at my room to find utter chaos. instead, i walked in and saw my class playing heads up, 7 up to occupy themselves until i got there. were they loud? no. were they jumping off the walls? no. were they out of their seats? well, only those that were "it". the rest had their hands down and their thumbs up.

holy cow! my kids were being so good! i was in shock. total shock. and i was so happy. i went on and on about how great they already made my day because they were being good and NOT TALKING (that's huge in our class). i was so stinkin' proud. i even gave them 30 minutes of free time this afternoon because they were so good. they informed me today that they're going to try to do this every day. we'll see how that goes....

after that, we went to lunch, and i had completely forgotten that today was our teacher's luncheon. oh it was so good.

then, i got home and my grandmother was cleaning my house! yes, cleaning my house! does it get any better than this? i don't think so.

also, kelli got a job today! woo hoo! i am very excited about this job. that means that she can pay for stuff now!

and on top of all of that, kelli also updated her blog. it's almost too much for me to take in.

the only fly in this day was that the internet didn't work at school, but i refused to let it ruin my day.

now i'm off to cook chicken fried steak and green beans with bacon. we like to eat healthy around here.

yummo!

today's sunday school class

the teacher: me

the students: teenage boys (no girls showed up-lovely)

the topic: sex

i should get some sort of award for this.

i am officially an old woman

i'm one of those people who HATES to get up early. i'll stay up late and wake up late any day. the morning and i just don't get along. a couple of weeks ago my dad was preaching on mark 1:35, where it says that Jesus got up very early in the morning to pray, while it was still dark. he pointed out that the reason that the Bible was very specific about it being still dark is because some people think that very early in the morning is 10.

i am one of those people.

and then i chose a profession where i not only have to be up early, but i have to plan for my days and be awake throughout the day. i am so smart.

i really do like teaching. and i love where i'm teaching (who wouldn't after a day like yesterday?!). but the dawning of a new era in my life has brought about the sad death of another era: staying up late.

i want to stay up late and talk with my friends. i love doing that. and for some reason we can't ever do anything earlier in the evening. but we don't even have to do anything these days. i just want to hang out. but can i do that? um, apparently not. case in point:

kelli and i went over to sarah's house last night about 10:30. i hadn't seen here since monday night, so i was wanting to catch up on how her nursing class was going. we hadn't even been there an hour when i fell asleep on her couch. that's right-i couldn't keep my eyes open so i closed them and fell asleep. the next thing i heard was kelli saying, "um, beth? are you ready to go?"

i guess so. i came home and crashed.

i'm an old lady.

=(

i should be teaching right now

but because of the icy weather, school doesn't start until 10! imagine my joy when i got out of the shower, turned on the news, and saw my school's name on the bottom of the screen under "school delays." i crawled back into bed and slept another 1 1/2 hours.

it's gonna be a great friday!

haha

click here to read the air 1 verse of the day for today. i laughed out loud when i read it because i thought of myself.

it's days like these i'm glad i'm not in college anymore

i just walked back from the cafeteria with my kids.

it's stinkin' cold!

i feel so sorry for all of the elementary grades because they haven't been able to play outside since sometime last week. right now they are at recess watching yet another movie. one of my boys asked me, "but please, miss hernandez, couldn't we go outside for just a little while? please?

i want to say yes just to save what little sanity i have left.

but i'm so thankful i'm not walking around the asu campus having to get to class. i can stay in a warm building for the whole day. well, except when we have to go to lunch, but at least that's over with.

and tomorrow is supposed to be worse.

i'm praying for a snow day.

brrrrrrrr

it's freezing outside.

literally.

like 31 degrees.

yes i know, i'm a baby.

again with the waiting

i woke up this morning with a prayer request on my mind. it's something i've been praying for for over 3 1/2 years. there's more of an urgency today though. i don't know why, because honestly i don't even know all of the details. but it's heavy on my mind. when i got out of bed praying, i had a sudden thought. i asked God, "are you tired of me asking you to do this?" then i smiled to myself and said, "forget i asked, it's really early." i don't know what prompted me to think that, but rest assured that God does not get tired of us asking. God has been speaking to me through devotions and sermons about how important my perserverance is, and i'm not about to quit now.

but it reminded of another prayer request i have before the Lord. unlike the one before, it's a new one. but it's a desire i truly have. in my mind, God will have to work a miracle for this to happen the way i want it. maybe it's not God's will. maybe it is. maybe i'm being too analytical on a tuesday morning. whatever the case, one thing has become perfectly clear to me this morning:

God does hear my prayers, and He will make things known to me in His own timing, not in mine-especially since the uncanny ability to mess things up. but His answer right now is to WAIT.

are you kidding me?

i just finished reading some creative writing stories my students were supposed to write today. we are working on word usage, so they had to use five words correctly in their writing: grown, knew, sang, gone, and begun. here's what one boy turned in-

a boy had to write a story with these words in it grown, knew, sang, gone, begun.

this is not the first time we've been over this. he wanted to do the same thing with his spelling story last week and i said no. maybe i should have been more specific and said that he couldn't do that EVER.

somebody take me out of my misery.

is it friday yet?

oh man, it's been a day.

a really loooooong day.

i'm treating myself to a bag of m&ms. either they're exceptionally good, or i'm just tired. maybe it's both =)

other than being long, it was a pretty good day. the internet is now working here (HALLELUJAH!!!!), i got to wear jeans and i get to wear them again tomorrow, and i got to see 3 friends that i graduated with. one of them doesn't even live here, so that was a treat.

tomorrow-another day, probably another bag of m&ms.

whatever gets me through the day.

you NEED to listen to this

two weeks ago my cousin, araceli, preached at church. she is a phenomenal speaker and is always a blessing to those who hear her.

this past sermon was definitely God speaking to me. i sat there, convicted, the whole time because what she was saying applied directly to me. i'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it has applied to all of us at one time or another.

so humor me and go listen to this sermon. i realized that i am just a little bit biased, but i truly believe that it will be a blessing to you.

one amazing nurse

i have this really good friend, sarah. she's so great. she works as a nurse at one of the hospitals here, and i know she loves her job (she gets to take care of babies all day long-i'm extremely jealous).

anyway, she's always been an encouragement to me. after my first day of student teaching, i announced that there was no way i could be a teacher. she said that i was probably just overwhelmed and to stick it out. then a couple of months later i had a really bad day. i went home and said that i no longer wanted to be a teacher. she quickly answered, "oh yes you do!" she even came to my graduation ceremony (now there's a true friend!). i just love her.

and now it's her turn. it wasn't enough to get her bachelor's degree as a nurse. she in the process of getting her master's so she can teach others to be wonderful nurses. this semester she's required to teach a class there at asu, something like student teaching. i'm so proud of her. i know she'll do great.

so if she comes to your mind, would you pray for her? i know she'll appreciate it.

another observation

i noticed something today.

i have very white feet. i do! if someone were to look at just my feet, they would probably think that i'm white.

is that weird?

all basketball-ed out

it was a basketball weekend.

i watched 5 games. yes, five games. and i'm tired. just sitting there takes a lot of you. i need another weekend to recover from all this basketball.

i would say pictures are coming soon, but we all recognize that for the lie that it is. pictures are coming, just not soon.

=)

waiting

i woke up this morning with one thing on my mind.

a new phone.

i really, really want one. i want one soooooo bad. so i got out of bed early this morning (as you can see) and looked at new phones on the internet. i found a super cool one, and kelli even gave it her approval. i then checked my eligibility and was greatly saddened. i can get a small discount right now, but if i wait until june i'll get a bigger discount.

yes, i know what the smart choice is. and i'm sure the price of my new phone will go down by june, meaning i'll save even more money.

but i want the phone NOW! i don't want to wait....

but i would also like to eat, keep my car, and have little things like electricity, water, and other small things like that.

so here i wait. patiently.

or not.

mmmmmm.....

i just made brownies.

mmmmm......

i deliberately bought the box with the extra fudge pouch.

mmmmm......

i decided to add a few chocolate chips in the mix.

mmmmm.......

i just took my first bite.

MMMMMMMMM!

maybe i should go running with kelli, bekah and erin.







nah.

i'm trying, guys

i really am.

but kelli still hasn't posted in FOREVER.

she says she's sorry. she's says she's been really busy lately. but trust me, she hasn't been that busy. i know for a fact that she only has morning classes. ask her what she did this afternoon. or any other afternoon this week, for that matter.

she's so gonna kill me for this post.

but if she updates her blog, it'll be worth it.

heb is the new wal-mart

i just pulled a wal-mart.

at heb.

i was needing to go for awhile to get stuff like lunch meat (oh goodness no), bread, chicken, dr. pepper. you know, all the necessities. i even had "the list." i was gonna stick to my list no matter what.

whatever.

i got there and promptly put two things in my basket that weren't on the list. i also decided that i didn't really need half of the stuff on my list. a normal person would just go on about their business, but instead i just replaced my old list for a new and longer list. i'm so smart.

then i walked over to the lunch meat section. i stood there forever. and stood there. and stood there. i couldn't do it. i couldn't buy one more package of lunch meat. i know i should. it's cheap. and cheap is good right now. but i just couldn't bear to buy something that i knew i wouldn't enjoy. finally i walked away. no sandwiches for this girl!

i did get some snacks to keep in my room for whenever i get hungry. i even remembered to buy myself a new toothbrush since i'll be needing a new one when this cold decides to go away.

so here i am, oj and sprite mix in hand (recently bought, of course), in shock that i managed to do at heb what has only been done at wal-mart.

at least i have dr. pepper in my fridge. that's all that matters.

update

i'm feeling a little better. about midday yesterday i started sneezing up a storm. i finally gave up teaching and told them to read their history books while i sat at my desk and attempted to grade papers. poor kids. i took some nyquil last night so i could sleep and breathe at the same time, so that was good. this morning i woke up feeling a little better, but sounding horrible. i checked-no fever. darn it.

while i was in the middle of teaching this morning, i had to stop a couple of times to cough or sneeze. one sweet girl brought me a couple of tissues. less than a minute later, another boy who tends to drift toward the dramatic side brought me a couple more. when i just looked at him, he said, "you know, just in case." i wanted to laugh out loud, especially since i hadn't even had a chance to use the other tissues. i guess he couldn't let the girl outdo him. how sweet are they?!

then this afternoon everything fell apart. the class as a whole tends to be on the talkative side (i'm so getting paid back for junior high). i was reading a book to them called chocolate fever. it's a cute book and has funny parts, but my kids act like its the funniest thing they've ever heard. remember my dramatic one? he was rolling on the floor laughing. it wasn't that funny. i had already warned them about getting too loud and silly, but after two warnings, i had had enough. i finally shut the book and told them to put their heads on their desk. wide eyes just stared back at me as though i had suddenly sprouted another head. i put the book up, walked over to my desk, and said, "i thought we could have a few minutes of relaxing at the end of the day, but obviously not. i don't want to hear any noises until i say you can sit up."

ten minutes later (the best ten minutes EVER) i gave them a lecture about acting like 3rd graders and not being silly all the time. i told them that i was disappointed in them because i had to ask them twice to quit talking while i was reading, especially when they knew i was sick and couldn't speak that loudly in the first place. i also told them that tomorrow would be a brand new day, and they could show me that they knew how to act. it was a somber 3rd grade class that left my classroom today. still, on the way out the door, my drama king had to ask,

"so no prizes today?"

oh sweet Jesus-hold me up.

one small week of teaching

and i already came down with something. sheesh.

my throat hurts. my eyes sting. i have no energy. my body is sore.

okay, my body's sore because of yesterday. oh man is it sore. i've had to keep myself from literally groaning out loud today in church, but i'm definitely groaning in my mind.

i'm the biggest baby when i'm sick. i can sneeze once, and i'll be in bed under the covers and in my pajamas the rest of the day. i HATE being sick, mostly because i hardly ever am. it just messes with my whole daily balance. and i can't really call in sick tomorrow, since i've only been working about, oh, 5 days. the thing is, i'm really not that sick. at least that's what i keep telling myself. but my body is crying for my bed right now.

oh, my sweet, wonderful bed...

groans

i played basketball and volleyball today. and yes, i am an idiot. i'm sore. i'm tired. i really wish i hadn't played. everyone always says, "oh but after you work out you'll be so energized and you'll love it!" they lied. i'm sticking to swimming. i can do that on my own and no one makes fun of me.

i'm off to get my sore body in bed. maybe the soreness won't be so bad tomorrow. ha.

and the paper trail begins...

when i was student teaching in 4th grade, the teacher would always sit at her desk at the end of the day and say, "and the paper trail begins." she meant that she had a mountain of papers to grade or go through before they went home to the parents. she would look at me and say, "this is the part of the job you won't enjoy."

she wasn't kidding.

after working in my classroom for about an hour doing lesson plans and grading papers, i packed my school bag with my to do list for tonight-finish lesson plans and grade reading and history questions. am i finished? not even close. i got home at 9:30 tonight, and it's the earliest i've been home all week.

who wants to come over and help me grade? anyone?

nice try, sweetie

today in reading, the kids had to answer some questions about a story set in the civil war. the first question was, "what war were they fighting?" according to one cute little girl, the answer is....

the silver war

apparently i have work to do.

something i thought would never happen...

sister is now a blogger! kelli has joined the blogging world, and i for one can't wait to keep reading. i live with the girl and i still cracked up reading her first post. and to give you some insight into my precious, precious life with kelli and roddick, enjoy these quotes that come out of kelli's mouth, either to or about roddick-

"GO AWAY! I MEAN IT, RODDICK, GO AWAY!"

"bethany, tell him to get off me!"

"i think roddick's heavier than me."

"you're making me mad, roddick"

"roddick, RODDICK! COME OVER HERE NOW! GET OVER HERE!"

"do you want to go in your crate?"

"bethany, make him listen to me."

"i'm just trying to relax, roddick, and you're not even letting me do that!"

"i'm not playing with you-you're in trouble!"

"stop growling at me. bethany, he's growling at me."

"don't bite mommy!"

oh yes, you're in a for a rare treat, friend.

why i love 3rd grade

MY KIDS ARE AWESOME! i mean, i already knew that but they have made my past two days really great.

yesterday went pretty smoothly. there are definitely some changes, but overall the students are adjusting very well. all the other teachers and staff have been so supportive. someone left me some paper clips and a cute stamp on my desk yesterday. one of the room moms came and decorated our door. seriously, this is wonderful.

and then today i got a new student. the other kids were so cute as they were showing her around the classroom and helping her with various things. i overheard another girl tell her, "and after lunch we have recess. you can play with me at recess." i'm so proud of my class-they're so friendly and helpful.

thanks to all of you who prayed for me. i had a few people tell me that they were thinking and praying for me. that means a whole lot. i love you guys.

well, tomorrow's another day and i've got to go to bed. and yes, it's past my bedtime.

monday, monday...

so...i'm a little nervous. tomorrow little third graders are expecting me to teach them-to know what i'm talking about. one small problem: when have i ever known what i'm talking about?

i need prayer. would you do the honors? my class thanks you.

i'm so creative

i got tired of black, so i decided to go with a little more color. i chose grey. huge difference, eh?

welcome to third grade

here are the pictures that i took today. i realized that i never got a view from the back of the room, but oh well. oh, and that ginormous computer won't be there after monday. that means i'll have more room on my desk...woohoo...

embarrassing moment #7531

yes it's true-i've managed to embarrass myself yet again.

i had a eye doctor's appointment today. i assured my mom that i had the insurance card, so when i got to the office, i handed it to the lady. she made a copy of it and gave it back to me. i went through the whole exam, which took A LOT longer than i expected but was still pretty painless, then got ready to pay. as i handed the lady the card, i asked her some questions about how much my insurance would cover if i decided to go back and get a new pair of frames (i really, really want new frames). she looked at the copy of my card, looked at it again, then finally asked someone else to help her. another lady came, glanced at my chart, then looked up at me. with a big grin on her face she said,

"this is your dental plan!"

um...what?! i, bethany hernandez-TEACHER-gave the lady my dental insurance card at the eye doctor's. obviously this visit was overdue. waaaaay overdue.

ironically, i want to get my master's as a reading specialist. that cannot happen soon enough.

both ladies were very gracious. i'm sure they laughed at me, but at least they waited until i left.

and i walked out with new contacts. everyone can breathe easier now.

how annoying

annoying things about today:

• the appearance of two new pimples on my face. lovely.
• less than 8 hours of sleep.
• no money. well, really close to no money.
• people who wear revealing underclothes. my now-empty stomach thanks you.
• the fact that i'm exhausted, yet here i am still blogging away.

i totally had more things to complain about, but i forgot what they were. maybe it's God's way of telling me to quit complaining. i hear you, God. thank you for everything you've already blessed me with. but really, are the pimples necessary?

she works hard for the money

i've spent the last two days working in my classroom. it's actually been fun. i was dreading it because i knew there was so much cleaning to do, but my family, especially kelli and my mom, have helped me so much. even my grandmother came today to clean the room (muchas gracias, wita). now all i have to do tomorrow is put up the rest of the bulletin board stuff and finish my lesson plans (eek! they might have been due earlier-i'm not sure). i've been super blessed with gift certificates to the teacher store and with an aunt and uncle who bought me some more stuff in dallas (lewisville? hurst? plano?). in fact, when i handed my gift certificates to the lady at the teacher store, she looked at both of them and said, "wow, somebody must love you." how incredibly true.

i really didn't think the room would come together this quickly, but it has. it helps that the room is small too. even my mom, tia sandy, and cheli helped me cut out some stuff that i laminated today. AND cheli's making me some curtains for my room (brown and turquoise-super cute). could i be any more blessed?

i'm planning to take my camera tomorrow to take pictures after i'm completely finished. just don't expect them any time soon. i'm waaaay behind on pictures. i know you're sad. i know you've been looking forward to these pictures. i just know it. don't lose heart.

they're coming.

really.

happy new year!

i love the beginning of a new year. yes, i'm one of those people who loves new things-new year, new school year, new everything. and i am completely looking forward to this year. i have no clue what's going to happen, but i know that God is with me every step of the way.

happy new year to you!