Someone Pinch Me...

Have you ever had so many wonderful things happen to you that you fear something bad must happen to knock you down a little? That's kinda how I feel right now. I received a call yesterday with an offer to teach ELEMENTARY art! Yay!! What I have been wanting for so long! Now I will be teaching at a small elementary school four days a week, and another elementary school one day a week. Both schools are 8-3 which is also a huge perk! I can't wait to teach the little ones! Now, I just have a lot of work to do with lesson plans and wrapping my mind around teaching such a younger age. I am willing to put in the hard work because I think the reward will definitely be worth it! The one bad part is that there are people at both of the middle schools that I will miss. Hopefully I will still keep in touch with them all and make just as good of friends at my new schools.

As if that wasn't good enough, Randy and I got a puppy!! Did I say puppy? Yes. Months ago when I started looking for a dog, Randy said "as long as it's not a puppy"....hmmm. Well, after four failed adoptions and an extremely emotional rollercoaster for me, I was ready to give up on finding a dog for our lifestyle. Then I read a Craigslist ad for Great Pyrenees/Lab mix puppies. I knew a little about the Great Pyr breed only because I had been researching "gentle giants", and after emailing the owner, decided this would be a perfect Hartman match! ....I better remind myself of that thought days from now when I have puppy horror stories to tell...

Anyways, here is our puppy. He doesn't have a name yet because Randy hasn't met him. He is 10 weeks old and should be about 90 lbs when he is full grown. His momma was 100 lbs, and dad was 70 lbs. So far him and Jack are doing much better than Jack has ever done with any other animal, and I hope that means good things for the future.

I literally just picked him up this morning and the most monumental step has been his first successful trip urinating outside! Don't worry, I'll have plenty of good stories to share with you guys! And those of you that worried I might start wanting a kid too soon, you can rest assured that this puppy will be the best form of birth control for the time being!

Isn't he adorable! Look at those paws! And the reason I'm wet in the picture below is because me and Amanda had just given him a 2 hour long flea bath! I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't been with me. She has already deemed herself his "godmother".

Jack wanted to drink out of the same water bowl.

He's already a fan of baseball like his master Randy.

Here I have included a photo of what this mixed breed looks like full grown. This dog is actually 8 months old, so not quite there. If he gets a little of both breeds, he should be a very good guard dog that has a docile temperament. The lab will hopefully bring out his energetic side. Randy's 2 musts are docile and disciplined, so let's hope he is both of those!

Updates!

The last day of March madness is here! Randy is DONE with his boards! A man of few words, when asked how the test went, he only said "It is what it is". I translate to mean that it went well, but now we have to wait 3+ weeks to hear results! You'd think after seven and a half hours in front of a computerized test it could just spit out the results, but no. I am just happy he can relax now!

Remember the post about the little things and my sweet hubby digging through the recycling bin for bottles? Well, here is our Message in a Bottle art history project! Each one is of a different artist and each contains a letter from the student! Cute, huh?

Last weekend I ran in a 5K. Now I have not run in YEARS! I guess I kinda got burned out of being Coach Tucker's daughter who everyone thought would be super fast and barely finished the race without wheezing uncontrollably. Well, I'm back! Ha! Not really, but I did participate in a 5K in Millington with three of my good friends here in Memphis. The race was for Mitochondrial disease, and since most people don't know what that is, it was named the Mito-What? 5K. The exciting part is that I got a medal...yes, a medal! A third place medal to be exact! Did I do that well? Not really compared to cross country time (I did break 30 minutes which is kinda what I wanted to do in my head) but it felt great to me! I was so proud of myself, and Randy saw me finish (well, actually he was talking so missed me run past him) and said it was "inspiring"..yeah, right! Now, I have a bronze medal to show for it and he wants me to run more! Don't think I'll run much more, especially in Memphis heat, but fun to know that I still have a (little) runner left in me!

I am so proud of us girls, we did it!
Last update: I've been sewing a lot more. I've been inspired by Phyllis and a teacher at school who does quilts, and so this weekend I sewed a quilt top (one row still left and then I'll have pictures), a surprise for a birthday coming up, and pillows out of some fabric I fell in love with when I picked out the fabric for the parsons chairs. It reminds me of a batik (when you go to church with 12 Burundis, you fall in love with their wild colorful batik prints) but has such subtle color. I used the fabric from the parsons chairs for welting and voila! I still have a LOT to learn, but am getting there!

Note: I do not advise sewing when you only have one room available (Randy was still locked up studying at this point) and a JACK CAT on the loose. He almost lost his paw several times!

Sewing perfectionists, please don't start too long at this pic! :) The tiny bit of a pillow in the top right doesn't have a pillow form in it yet, that's why it looks so flat!

The Little Things

Okay, so it's time I post this story before it gets forgotten, and it's too good to get forgotten. Randy and I have a saying that it's the little things that matter. Randy did the biggest little thing I can think of for me the other day...

I was getting evaluated on a lesson at school, and we were turning recycled wine bottles into art history projects. I had been collecting wine bottles for a while, but found that I had been generously giving them away to other art teachers who thought they could use them as well. So, two days before my lesson and I am NINE wine bottles short. Now, I have gotten better at my past tendency to procrastinate, but it came back here to bite me in the butt. To top it all off I had a bad day at school. When I beat Randy home I just sat on the couch, shoes and school clothes still on (rare because I normally change to pajamas the second I get home) and with a blank stare on my face. Randy came through the door and could immediately see something was wrong. I sorta panicked when telling him what was wrong, it was like all the stress was coming down at once.

What did my husband do? He said, "Come on, let's go." Not having any idea what he meant, I see him go over to the fireplace and get the large fireplace tongs and put on his coat. I got an idea when he told me to get our recycling bucket.

Two minutes later we were at the recycling bin, and if you've ever seen one you know that the hole to throw away the recycling is very small. (I guess to keep animals and trash from getting in) Here goes my husband poking his shoulders, arms, and head through with the fireplace tongs. Kinda like a giant game of Operation without the buzzing when he missed, he individually took out not nine, but FOURTEEN WINE BOTTLES! I guess we hit jackpot because it was after Valentine's Day and everyone had recycled their bottles.

Now that's a true gentleman.

And my lesson went well thanks to him!

A Good Week

There are a few reasons why this was a good week...a week that started on a Tuesday due to another snow day in Shelby County, woohoo!

The first is...

RANDY is a HANDYman! He fixed the garbage disposal all by himself this week! Yes, we live in an apartment and could have gotten management to do it for us, but we also have an "illegal" cat and could have been charged a ridiculous amount of money for going against the apartment rules. You don't realize how wonderful garbage disposals are until yours breaks, and you smell...well, you understand. But my handyman Randy got it fixed in 20 minutes! He has recently changed the spark plugs on my car all by himself, too. I'm so proud! You might think this is a minor detail and not blog-worthy, but believe me, I am so relieved to know I can now make a honey-do list that will actually get done!

Next is...

I got a projector for my art room! Some of you do not see how this is exciting, so let me explain. As an art teacher, students must see visuals...plain and simple. Do we have text books? No. Do middle schoolers want to read all the art books I own that are geared towards elementary students? No. Technology is the best way to reach middle schoolers, and until now, I have had to put my name on a list in the library way ahead of time to make sure one was reserved...but, now I have one. A brand NEW one! I am crossing my fingers that this is a sign that I just might get to stay full time next year. Until then, I will enjoy exposing my students to the wonderful world of art. Now I just have to become more tech-savvy. Once I learn how, the sky's the limit! We can do virtual tours of art museums like the Louvre in Paris. (Enough art talk, I know)

Last.... this week was good because my mind was on service. Thanks to the faculty and student participation, we will be sending about $1,000 to a group of doctors in Haiti, and it wouldn't have happened if I had not took the lead and gotten it together. My role was only in the planning, so most credit goes to those who contributed money. However, it did make the work week so much better knowing that we were helping, and putting things into perspective. It is so easy to get bogged down with the little details of the day, but so refreshing to focus on something more important--helping others. Now, if I can just have this outlook every week of the year, I might be on to something!

I hope the "good" continues the next couple of days with things like the Super Bowl, my birthday, and Valentine's Day coming up!

Reality

I've always thought January is one of the most boring months. It's not only after the big hype of the holidays, but it is bitterly cold....and unless there is snow, cold doesn't have too much of a purpose. Thankfully, I have already been granted a snow day. If I DID go in to teach that day, I probably would have crashed by 10 because I got (maybe) three hours of sleep since I was too excited about the possibility of a snow day. Pathetic? Yes.

The good part was that Randy was off, too...not due to snow, just his schedule, so we spent the entire day eating, being lazy, and then finally working out (and felt a little better about ourselves). But minus the snow day, the reality is that it is the start of a new semester, and a couple of things recently have reminded me why I never wanted to teach middle schoolers.

For starters, my elementary-school-teacher-friends talk about how many hugs they get in a day (not that I want hugs from big 8th grade boys) and how many "thank you's" they get. Thank you? Yeah, right. I don't think I have heard that once this year! In fact, I believe I say thank you to the students just so that I hear it!

Secondly, I got my first "insult" recently. In my classroom, I write "HARTMAN" on all the rulers in black sharpie in hopes that they will stay in the room. Well, just the other day a sweet, adorable sixth grade girl said, "Mrs. Hartman, I wanted you to know that someone has written on your ruler." There in big black letters was the word "SUCKS" after Hartman.

Hartman SUCKS.

No hugs or thank you's for me, just the nice message that I apparently suck as a teacher. Ugh.

Lastly, a sixth grader had on the same sweater that my mom got me from Macy's for Christmas. I'm already told I look young, but now matching 11 year-olds? Enough said.

I guess it's true that you have to take the good with the bad, and there is plenty of good to my job...so I suppose I can bear down and continue attempting to tame the middle school beasts. Meanwhile, I've told Randy that when our kids reach middle school, they're getting shipped off to boarding school!

Little Tidbits

Over a week has gone by since my last post, and a lot has happened. Trying to keep a somewhat short post, I'll highlight the important tidbits from the last several days...

Halloween:

Halloween weekend was a big study weekend for Randy, so I carpooled with two of my Memphis friends, Julie (who was headed to Chattanooga) and Kayla (who was headed to Kingston). I got dropped off in Nashville on Friday night, which also happened to be my mom's bIrThDaY!! I missed out on the steaks but made it for the best part....cake! We gave my mom her presents and spent some time just hanging out with each other. The next morning I went to Puffy Muffin with some of my besties, and then got to go see the adorable nephews, Grayden and Luke, at Rob and Jen's house. Grayden was a pirate (argggg) and Luke was a turtle. They didn't seem too into their costumes or playing with each other a lot, but boy were they cute! I also got to see my two sister-in-laws and we always have fun together...especially when the boys aren't around! Randy and I wish so badly that we could see them all more, but hopefully we can all spend more time together in the future.

Fights:

One of the schools I teach at (which will remain nameless) had four, yes four, fights on Tuesday. The school was in a lockdown and the cops had to come and take away two of the students off to juvenile jail. The students recapping the event is quite dramatic and scary. Luckily, I was at the other school that day and missed out on all the action.

Jack:

No redbox dvd yet, but I did realize that Jack stole a piece of pizza from the top of the stove. Who knows what all we'll find when we move out of this apartment!

Hunting:

Randy...a hunter? It's true! Randy and his friend Josh (who has hunted for most of his life) went hunting on Saturday which was the first open day. He woke up at 4:30 am, dressed in camo from head to toe with a bright orange hat, and spent the entire morning at Shelby Forrest. When I asked how it was, he said "We saw a buck". That doesn't sound like a lot of success to me, but apparently it is (Josh hadn't seen a buck all of last year). If it wasn't muzzle loading we might have lots of venison to dish out, but no such luck. They said they didn't hear a single shot all morning. Those crazy boys are going back on Monday, so we'll see if we ever get our meat!

Girls Night:

I bet nobody else spent their Saturday night at a bonfire playing games and singing swahili songs with eight Burundi girls, all of whom are sisters. The girls from our house church got together for a cookout and had burgers, chips, and made yummy smores in a friends backyard. One other girl and I were trying to keep the fire burning when the Burundis walked up and took over....in about 2 minutes they had a blazing fire going, then proceeded to tell us how its done in Africa and fired some corn on the cob straight from the fire. Later in the night we played goofy games like a jello slurping relay race, an over-under relay, and Ships in the Ocean. Then the girls taught us an African game called meat and rice, which didn't make too much sense but was fun nonetheless. We then sat around the fire singing songs and then walked all eight girls home while they were still hyped up on leftover Halloween candy. It was a night filled with silly but fun games and great bonds formed between two cultures.

They sang my favorite Swahili song, and I got some of it on camera to share, but I stayed on the fire so they wouldn't know I was taping them and get embarrassed.

Day Makers

So, lately I have discovered that even on a bad day, something happens where you just have to laugh. Teaching middle schoolers gives me more stress, anxiety, and headaches then I ever would have thought, but there are also those moments that are "day makers"...

I thought I would share with you a few.

It has been Red Ribbon Week at both schools now and it is a whole week dedicated to talking about the effects of drugs and alcohol. The big kicker is that each day the students get to dress up. Well, one day was Team Spirit day and I decided to wear Randy's Carson Palmer jersey (Bengals). I was getting lots of grief for wearing it, and assumed I was the only one in the school supporting the Cincinnati team. Well, first period 8th grade comes in and the biggest boy in the class (who has really put forth effort and grown as an artist, and is the most unlikely person to like art) came in wearing a Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson jersey yelling and giving me high fives like we had just been a part of a scoring drive on the field. He LOVED the fact that we were the "duo" all day, which in doing so, made my day.

Since Halloween is coming up, I have asked the students what they are going to dress up as for Halloween. One 8th grade boy told me he was going to dress up as an open toilet. I laughed a little then said I didn't think that was very appropriate. Then I got to another student (and I should have known better because he's quite a character) and he looked at the other kid, pointed, and said "I'm going to go with him and be a giant terd!"

Last day of Red Ribbon Week is Celebrity day, but the catch is that students have to dress up as a celebrity who was NOT influenced by drugs....hmmmm. Anyways, this one boy looked at me and goes, "Mrs. Hartman, was Michael Jackson influenced by drugs?" Um, how do you answer that one?? Michael Jackson is this kid's IDOL..he keeps a sequin glove in his coat pocket at all times, and his portfolio is full of Jackson drawings.

Oh, and this picture is for Jen and Rob who sent Randy a birthday card that somehow got completely destroyed while making its way to Memphis. At least they put it in a nice new envelope for us! WHAT happened to this letter.....?

Count Your Blessings

Since it is now officially fall, and fall is a season to 'count your blessings', I thought I would include some things I am thankful for...

First of all, Randy is finally enjoying some (and I mean "SOME") downtime from all those tests. His schedule has been a little better recently, and it makes me very happy for him. That boy works so hard, and he deserves a little break every now and then. And he unloaded the dishwasher last night...for that I am very thankful!

Most of you know that I have had some difficult days teaching. Well, yesterday one of my 7th grade students talked about the city school she attended last year. (I won't mention the name of it, just in case...). Anyways, she said students would slash the tires of their teachers' cars, threaten to harm them, etc. One teacher had her weave pulled out so many times that she finally got a wig and would pull it off herself to show the students that that particular mean trick was not going to work anymore. She also told me about one day when one of the middle schoolers, yes middle schoolers, got into a fight (a physical fight) with a substitute teacher! Wow. By the time she told me that most of her friends served time in juvenile court for things that happened at school, I was saying a million thanks in my head for the teaching position I have. The students were even saying how grateful THEY are to be in such a great school.

And, finally, I am thankful for Jack. He is the epitome of a stinker, but at the same time greets me every morning in the cutest way possible. What I am most thankful of with Jack is that he has been attacking Randy more than me lately...and that he can no longer eat my bamboo plant! :)

Communication Mishaps

#1.

"Mrs. Hartman, you have a new student. Meet Patel."

Ok...raise your hand if you would have thought that you're new student's name is Patel. Well, after saying the name "Patel" over and over and repeating "Nice to meet you, Patel" twice, I saw on the boy's class schedule that at the very top it said 'Patel, Meet'. Poor kid...I don't know if he was more embarrassed or me. In the next five minutes I found that Meet is actually a great English speaker who just moved to Memphis from India. Glad I could make his first day interesting.

#2.

I think I mentioned a student who doesn't speak any English at all and only Chinese. Well the students were making portfolios to carry and store their artwork and I had a demonstration on the board for the students using the name "Maddie" to show a right and wrong way of writing their name. The boy started out doing everything exactly right for his portfolio...his border looked the best out of all of them...Unfortunately when I walked by his desk five minutes later I saw that he had written in the biggest, best-written block letters the name "Maddie".

I then wasted a piece of posterboard to write his name big in the center, took it to his desk, and then saw a big smile go across his face as he ferociously erased the name "Maddie" from his portfolio.

#3.

This weekend I got a text message saying "Hey, so I think we're gonna go running about 1 o'clock and then watch a movie later if you're interested". I responded that I would go running but probably not the movie. A couple of hours later, I show up at the friend's house in my running gear, no makeup, and the lovely elastic headband that takes care of my bangs but accentuates my too-large forehead. As I walked in the door I saw all of my friends all dressed in cute sundresses and such, hair done with makeup. I give the confused look and then they explain that instead of physically running, they were in fact running around...like errands and shopping. Could I be any more stupid? Yes....when I went back and looked at the text there was the @ symbol before the "running around" and the "1 o'clock".

Obviously I need to pay more attention when communicating with people these days!

I hope to...

So the first week with my students I always ask them to write down one or more art goal that they hope to accomplish during the year. I have the students the complete year so I have lots of time to try and fit in as many things as possible. Being (big) kids, I got some pretty funny answers. I don't know how I'm going to do some of these...

"I hope to learn how to write in a hardcore lettering. Like on a Heavy Metal CD."

"I want to make a large cup with a built-in straw."

"My goal is to draw the '3' the exactly same way as Mercedes-Benz within two months."

"I really want to get better as a designer because one of my goals in life is to become a famous car designer so if you could help me out some I'd love that."

"I want to help fill the recycling bin more full than the big trash can."

"I'd like to draw me my own vet to work at when I grow up!"

"I want to make a sculpture of myself."

"I would like to make a life size deer out of clay."

"I want to draw Michael Jackson."

"I want to use clay. I want it to be something big like a rollercoaster."

"My goal is to make a vase for my mom since she just got out of the hospital."

"I want to design a life size sculpture of Lamborghini."

"I don't like art but I want to learn."

"I hate to draw flowers."

"I wish that I can become better at the art part of art."

"I want to use shrinky-dinks."

(I couldn't bare to copy the original spelling but did try to keep the original grammar)

Sounds like I've got lots to keep me occupied this year, huh?

Round Two

Summer has officially ended and although it is just as hot, school is in session. For me, this is my second round of teaching art at the middle school level in Shelby County, and I also like to think of it as a second chance. If I could sum up my teaching motto last year in one word it would be survival....hopefully this year I will get past simply surviving and actually do what I know I am good at doing. (That would be teaching)

Last year I questioned myself a lot, but this year I am prepared. I know the schools, the administration, the faculty, the crazy schedule of being at two different schools and sharing classes with another art teacher, and I also know the type of student I am dealing with. I saw some familiar faces this week and was happy about seeing most, scared about seeing a few. I had to learn names like Charlesiah, Jochebed, and Schaffer. (to name a few)

I was sad to hear I will not get to keep one of my favorite students from last year (one with cerebral palsy who lost her hair, ability to talk and ability to walk, but was the first person to remember the name of my cat and that my husband was going to be a dentist)...But found that this year I will get to teach a younger student with the exact same condition. There is something about teaching students with special needs and seeing them smile that I find to be more rewarding than anything else. And one thing I will be learning how to handle this year is a student who knows NO english. None. It is beyond me why a sixth grader who speaks only chinese is in a class with 26 students...he actually came to my class twice. Since I couldn't communicate with him, he stayed. I still don't know which name is his first and which is his last...I guess I'll learn.

Cheer squad was interesting. These girls mean business. Every girl has a back handspring down (apparently it is required) and most can do back tucks. They pay something close to $3,000 a year to be on the squad because of all of the competition costs...like Florida for Nationals...Disney World included. They cannot under any circumstance wear their hair down, or even have bangs down, even at practice. All this is under the coaching of a professional cheerleader-man (no, he is not gay...he is engaged and extremely nice). And then there I am just watching and trying to figure out the littlest bit I can about this strange world of "professional, competitive, obsessive" cheerleading. The girls treat me as though we will become best friends...which could either be a good thing or a very bad thing.

All in all, I am ready for the year and all that it will bring me...

Well, not everything, I'm sure.

Give Me a 'G', Give Me an 'O'...

GOOO Bobcats!  

Well, although I might be an energetic person, I have never, ever in my life been a cheerleader.  At the ripe, old age of 24, however, I am becoming one.  Actually my title is only "cheer sponsor" and I am splitting the job with another coach and only committing to two practices a week.  I not only feel it is my "civil duty" to the school, but I think it sounds like a little bit of fun.  Sure, I will complain some nights when I get home at 7 o'clock and Randy and Jack are lounging on the couch, but all in all, I think it will be good for me.  I feel a little bit as though I have 'sold my soul to the devil' because if you think about all the drama of middle school...and multiply it times a million... you have middle school cheerleaders.  It will make for good posts I'm sure, and probably enough drama to fill an issue of Star magazine.  More to come on this whole cheer business...

But for now, we must talk about TRIVIA.  Last night, some dental students and wives got together at Swanky's Taco Shop in Germantown for a night of trivia.  I had never really been a part of something like this, and boy was it packed.  We got to chow down on some Mexican food while playing which was a definite perk.  The boys decided on a name that I still do not know the meaning of, but it is supposedly a dental term...thus 'Furcation Invasion' became our team name.  Two of my favorite team names of the night were 'I Poked Your Mom on Facebook' and 'Fat Kids Win in Seesaw'.  

Let the games begin...

We started out doing really well...We went into half time at tenth place out of about 28 teams.  After halftime we found out a category would be art...(I had told the team that the only two areas I could contribute to were art and food, so I started feeling some pressure).  We wagered the full 9 points on the question about which famous artist made VanGogh cut off his left ear.  Well, I immediately wrote my answer and had the first name right but the last name WRONG!  I failed my teammates and my many years of art history.  Good thing I don't have to teach it in middle school.  Anyways, after several other questions like "Name 4 out of the 5 hosts of Family Feud" and such, it was time for the final question.  We wagered the full 20 points on our final answer, got it right, and the game came to an end.  Team Furcation Invasion did not win but did get FIFTH place!!  Out of 28!!  We decided that on weeks that the boys don't have a test we will be back to Swanky's and eventually win.  The prize?  $75 dollars to spend at the restaurant...which split 8 ways is less than $10 dollars a person.  But we do it for the sheer satisfaction of knowing random trivia.

Here are some pictures:

Back Pain & Back-to-School Pain

Well, Randy has been slaving away in the dental lab working on a set of dentures and it has taken a toll on the poor guy.  He has been having lots of problems with his back lately, which apparently is the number one reason for dentists to go into early retirement or stop practicing.  When Randy got his brother, Doctor Danny, on the phone, his prescription was for me to give him a 10-15 minute back massage DAILY!!  Great prescription, huh?  Luckily it's been getting a little better... probably due to my awesome massages.

I have been experiencing pains of my own....the pains of knowing it is almost time to go back to school!  Seeing the stupid "back to school" commercials on TV about what cute outfit your child will wear, etc. make it sound like such a fun thing....but I have thoroughly enjoyed my summer and not quite ready for it to end.  I start inservice tomorrow (it lasts a complete week... waaaay too long if you ask me) and then on August 10th will welcome my little students (actually, not little....some are twice my size).  It could be an interesting year, too.  The school is on my case to help sponsor cheerleading.  They think just because I'm young and under 150 lbs that I was a cheerleader...quite the contrary.  Anyways, it would have some perks: possible job security at the school I would like to be at full time, some extra money, and a free week of substitutes while I went to Florida for Nationals and Disney World with the team.  There is a lot to consider before I commit to it, and I would like to not have the responsibility while my time is spent at two schools...but, who knows?  

To end on a good note, while the Hartmans are experiencing pain, the Wileys are celebrating promotions!! Congrats to Matthew and Jodi BOTH who have gotten recognized for all their hard work and many, many hours they put into their jobs.  And watch out for some awesome new additions to Kirklands in the future since Jodi gets to start putting her good taste to work!

LOVING my Job!

(All those reading this that are currently working, please don't hate me.)

I have recently discovered how teachers end up teaching for so long after enduring so many days of just barely staying alive.  The answer to the mystery of teaching is simple: SUMMER.  Just when you don't think you can handle one more inappropriate comment from a middle schooler, you get to choose your own daily schedule and go on vacations while the county still mails in the paychecks.  I have to admit, it feels pretty good....really good.  And, at the same time, I do think I have deserved it!  I know that other teachers feel the same way too, and that anyone who is not a teacher despises us during the summer months.  I would probably despise us too.  

Anyways, I will be going back to work the first of August so I have to live it up while I still can.  The best part of June has been that Randy is off too!  Our days consist of TV, movies, laying out at the pool, and playing with Jack.  After gorging ourselves at the lake, Randy decided we should do something productive, so we have been doing a workout five days a week.  For the first time since high school (and even then I found some way to cheat) I am lifting weights and using the actual "machines" that are in the weight room.  I'm so proud of myself!  I still fear I might get "big"...even though both Randy and my dad say that won't happen.  Our friend Heather has started to do the workout too and we were saying how we wish we had taken 'before and after' pictures...or maybe not.  In addition to all that, I've also gotten to read more than usual which I have enjoyed.  I finished Marley&Me and have now started the Shack.  If anyone is reading this that has a fun beach read suggestion, I will need one when we go to Mexico!  

And, of course, I have to share my favorite picture of our handsome son, Jack.  Randy and I joke that he would be worthy of a kitty calendar with this shot!

Memphis in May

May has been one busy month for Randy and I here in Memphis!

He finished his first year of dental school pretty early, and the first picture is of him and his friend Josh.  Josh is a D1 too who happens to live in the Estates and whose wife happens to be a Shelby County teacher...needless to say, they have become good friends.  I have had a rollercoaster ride this month with my job as a teacher.  First of all I didn't know what next year would hold and had to go through transfer applications and interviews.  I am still not out of options completely, but it looks as though I will be doing the same thing next year (that is, traveling between two different middle schools each week).  It took a LOT of patience, trust, and faith in God that His will would be done for my job.  I might not be happy with the outcome, but at least I know that it was prayed about and that it is where I am meant to be.  For those of you who don't know, I interviewed for a full time position at the one school that I have had trouble with this year.  All through the interview I wondered if I even wanted or could handle the job, but hearing that it was given to someone else was a hard thing to hear.  No one ever likes to fail at something, regardless if it is the "best" thing or not.  Now that it is over I can honestly say that it was an answer to my prayers.  I am still waiting to hear if a full-time position opens up at Arlington, the school that I would love to be at (and who would love to have a job available for me).  Until now, it's all about faith...

Well, May has apparently always been a damp and soggy month, and this year has been no exception.  The Music Festival was at the beginning of the month and my sister and brother-in-law came in town for the long line-up of bands.  Unfortunately, it rained non-stop Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  It was still great to see family and spend time with them, and the rain was actually kind of fun...except for the fact that Sunday was not only rainy but cold.  Until this year, I do not think I have ever drunk hot chocolate in May.  With all the rain came a flooded Mississippi, which most of the pictures show above.  Randy and I live on Mud "Island" which is technically not an island but along the Mighty Mississippi River.  In the pictures, look at the trees in the water because those trees are normally way up on shore with benches underneath the shade of the tree.  Randy got curious about the depth and strength of the river and waded out one afternoon...thankfully, he didn't get washed down the Gulf.

This past weekend, Randy went to Cincinnati for a friend's wedding (and of course Reds games) and then also got to help his brother and sister-in-law move into their new home in Louisville.  To keep me company, my bestest friend and big sister came to Memphis.  We had so much fun just sitting around and talking..and eating.  On Saturday we took a fancy picnic to the Sunset Symphony, which unfortunately was also soggy.  It never rained during the show (a plus) but the ground was wet and it kinda smelled.  Still, it was a very neat experience to sit on the river and listen to a symphony...and we also heard the oldies band Three Dog Night ("Joooy to the world, all the boys and girls, Joy to the fishies in the deep blue sea, Joy to you and Me").  The night was perfectly topped off with fireworks, and Joda and I went and got the best cheesecake ever to take home.  On Sunday she came to church with me, we did the usual Central meal, and then went shopping.  The weekend could not have been any better...it was exactly what I needed.

Randy came home on Monday night and helped me clean out my classroom the next day when he found several brown recluse spiders.  Tomorrow is my last official day of my first year teaching!! All I have is inservice and then I will take much advantage of summer BREAK!

Oh, and I also took a "Senior Portrait" photo session today with the PE teacher at Bon Lin who is working on building her portfolio to pursue photography.  So if any of you stumble across pictures of just me on Facebook, there's the explanation.  And just remember that I had a FULL day of school before taking those pictures.  They're not the best (of me that is) but I was happy to help out a friend.

Oh, Middle Schoolers

Picturing my career as an Art Teacher, I never once saw myself teaching middle school...yet here I am with 12 days left of my first year teaching.....middle schoolers.  If you can all think back to when you were in middle school, it was probably the worst three years of your life.  Girls are mean, boys are perverted, and everyone just feels plain awkward.  Well here are some funny things, quotes, etc. that I have gathered from my middle schoolers...

This quote was said by an eighth grader to another student- "If my nose were running money, I'd blow it all on you"

One of my sixth grade students who lived in India until the past couple of years informed me that his family gets a tax break because of the movie Slumdog Millionaire....um, can this be true?

One seventh grade girl looooooves the movie Wall-E (and dinosaurs) and now every time she hears my computer make the "on" sound, she perks up, points her finger and says "Wall-E's all charged up!"

Student elections just took place at school and when I asked the class "Who won the elections?" I had a sweet, bubbly girl say "Mrs. Hartman....Obama won the election!"

When asking students to write about what they would do if they could switch places with the president, here is some of what I got...

throw people with bad fashion in jail

legalize pant sagging (is it even banned?)

stop writing (I think this was said in a defiant manner, but I should not have been the one to receive this angry statement because I make students write like once a year)

destroy the color red...huh?

It is amazing how much students want to know about your life.  I have been asked everything from "How is your husband doing, Mrs. Hartman?" to "Are you going clubbing tonight?"

Middle Schoolers pick up on EVERYTHING!  Cut your hair, pluck your eyebrows, put on a couple pounds, Jack scratches, you name it.

I get mistaken for a middle schooler at least once a week, maybe it is because I have several of the same Old Navy shirts that I see my sixth graders wearing. (Luckily I haven't been wearing the same shirt on the same day yet)

Last but not least, I think everyone should experience being a chaperone at a middle school dance.  Especially if the dance is at a school in Memphis.  The new "electric slide" is Soulja Boy.