More on the tonsillectomy

I thought that my tonsillectomy recovery was going to be a-typical. I read a LOT of horror stories prior to having this procedure done about how horrible the recovery was going to be, etc. The frist three days of my recovery were a breeze. Sure, my throat hurt a little and I was very tired due to the pain medications that I was on, but it wasnt unbearable. Yesterday, I was in some pain... and today, I am in even more pain. My scabs have started to come off, which is a good thing, it means that my throat is healing, but it hurts horribly bad! So today has been pretty painful, and I hope this is about the worst of it.

To top it off, Meredith was very needy last night. I dont know if she was not feeling well herself, she was worried about me, or what, but I could not get her to settle down! Something you should know about Meredith is that she LOVES to go to bed. If it is past her bedtime and I am still awake, she will not stop harassing me until I am in bed with the lights out. She will groan, get in my way, or whatever else she can until I am settled in bed and she can curl up on her bed. However, last night she would not go to sleep! She kept sitting near my bed, resting her head next to me, and waking me up! It was like she was keeping guard over me or something, which is very cute, but it was very annoying when all I wanted to do was sleep!!!

So let's hope for a night full of rest tonight and some relief from my painful throat issues!

11 in 2011: Favorite Memory of 2010

Favorite Memory of 2010

Perhaps one of the most bittersweet days of my life, one of my fondest memories of 2010 was the day that I graduated from Meredith College. I loved my time at Meredith, all of the traditions I experienced and the memories that were formed there, and I was sad to see my time there come to an end.

11 in 2011: Best Organization Tips

I have a sick obssession where I LOVE to organize things, so this topic really caught my eye! My BEST organization tip, which sounds a little weird, is micro-manage!

For example, the books on my book shelf are divided into several categories:
- American Lit
- British Lit
- World Lit
- Contemporary Lit
- Children's Lit
- Teaching Books
- Teaching of English Books
- etc

Then, each shelf is alphabetized by author's last name. A bit obsessive? Maybe.

My files on my computer are also micro-managed, into folders, but even more micro-managed than my book shelves.

For example, I have one large "Teaching Materials" file. That file is then divided into the following folders: assessment, class beginnings, epics, grammar, lesson planning, lit activities, lit elements, miscellaneous, novels, plays, poetry, short stories, student resources, and writing. Each of those folders have folders inside of them (and some of those folders have even more folders inside of them) so that I can pinpoint my materials at a moment's notice.

This is pretty much my most valuable tip when it comes to organization, because it is the tip that I live by when I organize anything. All of my stuff is organized in this way!!!

11 in 2011: Places you Hope to Go This Year

This post was a little difficult because I don't really have any long-term plans other than finishing my Master's program and (hopefully) getting a job. I would like to take a few vacations this year, but I dont have any places in mind specifically yet. One place that I would really like to go, that I have been wanting to go to for a few years now, is the mountains during the fall. Its been several years since I have been to the mountains, and I dont necessarily have a specific destination picked out, but I would still like to go. Stay tuned to see if there are any surprise places I end up in 2011!

Tonsillectomy recovery

I had my tonsillectomy on Monday and I was pretty nervous going into it. I have never had any sort of procedure/surgery before and I didn't really know what to expect. My Mom took me in and my Grandma was there prior to and during the procedure to keep my Mom company.
All I remember was being taken into the operating room and being told to take 2.5 breaths of the anesthesia. I took 2.5 more breaths and thought "well that didn't work out..." and that was it until I was in the recovery room! I was in the recovery room for a little over an hour and then sent home.
I actually havent felt as bad and run down as I thought that I would. Monday night I managed to eat some ramen for dinner, but slept for most of the afternoon. Monday night wasn't very fun because I woke up every 1-1.5 hours to hydrate or pop some medicine in me. Yesterday I felt very nauseous and lightheaded all day long. I took several naps and just tried to rest as much as possible. Last night I didn't wake up quite as often as I had on Monday night. I just hope to continue getting better! My tonsils look pretty disgusting I am not going to lie, but overall it hasn't been as bad as I had feared! I will keep updating on my progress until I am all better :)

11 in 2011: Best Leftover Recipe

While I LOVE to cook, I haven't had much time to spread my wings as a Chef yet. Last year, I lived in an apartment with a roommate, but we didn't really eat dinner together so I cooked mainly for myself. Cooking for one is a lot different than cooking for more than one! This year, I am living with my Grandparents and Aunt and Uncle in order to finish my Master's program and I dont really have time to cook dinner.

So, while this technically doesn't count as a recipe, one of my favorite things to do with "left-overs" is make fried rice out of left-over rice. Whenever we have plain rice left over from the night before, I like to heat it up in a cast-iron pan on the stove, throw in a little onion flakes, soy sauce, butter, and hot sauce, and viola!

11 in 2011: Favorite Work-Out Tips

I just recently tried to make exercise a regular part of my life. I tried a few times throughout my time in college to go to the gym, but I really started to "get into it" in August with the Couch to 5k program. I didn't actually COMPLETE the Couch to 5k program due to illness, school, and other unforseen circumstances, but I really did enjoy doing what I DID do of the program!

At the beginning of December, my family joined SNAP Fitness and I LOVE my gym membership! I love the flexibility of a membership at Snap and how I can go where I want, when I want!

Without further ado, here are my favorite work out tips:

* Keep it hydrated!!!!- I have found that keeping myself hydrated is the key to a good workout. If I dont have the proper amount of hydration, I find it really hard to get through the workout and keep myself motivated.

* Keep it fun (fun playlists all the way!)- I am always searching for fun songs and playlists to work out to. If I have the right music, I will definitely last longer!

* Keep it social- since my whole family joined Snap, we like to get together to work out. Whether it is the accountability or a little bit of a sense of competition, keeping it social really helps!

* Have a goal!- One of the reasons I really enjoyed the Couch to 5k program was because it had an attainable end goal. I do plan to re-start the Couch to 5k program on the treadmill at the gym to prep for warmer weather and being able to run outside again!

11 in 2011: Favorite Holiday Memory

Favorite Holiday Memory

(please forgive my bangs in this picture!)

This topic is sort of hard to write about just because I just LOVE the holidays. I love shopping for other people, I love baking, I love the smells, I love being with family, and I love all of our family traditions.

So, I guess my favorite holiday memory would have to be any of the many memories of Christmas pasts. Every Christmas morning, my family wakes up (fairly early) to exchange presents and have a big home-made breakfast made by my Dad. This Christmas was no exception, my sister and I decided to spend the night on Christmas Eve despite the fact that neither of us live "at home" any more. This year also had the added addition of two furry friends, my beloved Mere Bear and my parent's dog Penny. Meredith and Penny get along wonderfully :)

Every Christmas my Dad makes a couple of batches of home made egg nog, we always eat Christmas dinner at my Grandma's, and we always ask what ever happens to those pictures we take every year?

I think this year was a little more special just because Cassandra and I dont live with my parents and we made the effort to keep our Christmas traditions in tact. I also loved having my Mere Bear to spoil a little this Christmas season!

So I found a fun "blog carnival" type of thing to do...

It's called '11 in 2011' and so I am going to go ahead and catch up!

Day 1: New Year's Resolutions

SInce I already did a similar post to this, I will make this brief. I dont really DO New Year's Resolutions, but I do like to start out the year with goals, hopes, aspirations, and the like.

For 2011, I hope that:
* my internship is successful and I complete my Master's In Teaching Successfully
* I find a full time job for the 2011- 2012 school year
* I find time to read more for pleasure
* I develop my photography skills more
* I spend some more time with my dog and get healthier

What are your resolutions?

It's not too late to link up!

What a way to start the new year!

Happy 2011!

I am excited to start what is sure to be a fantastic year; however, it isnt going to start out so fantastic. Last night I had to babysit so there were no fun bringing in the new year festivities for me and Monday I am having surgery! Monday I am having my tonsils taken out and I have heard a LOT of horror stories about adults having a hard time recovering from this. I am pretty nervous because the TYPICAL recovery period is 7-10 days with some people reporting trouble eating/talking/etc for several weeks. I have done a ton of research though and I think I have found some good tips on how to help along the recovery process. I went to the store yesterday and got completely prepared for post-op with children's tylenol (liquid), pudding, applesauce, apple juice, gatorade, popsicles, chicken broth, beef broth, jello, ramen noodles, and gum. Apparently I am going to have to wake up every hour to hydrate my throat and keep a humidifier on while I am sleeping so the area doesnt dry out. I have heard the key to this thing is to shoot for about 100 oz of water a day and just keep the wounds moist so the scabs are thin.

But on the bright side, 2011 will bring:
* a new internship with a wonderful mentor teacher.
* the completion of my masters
* a new (big girl) job (hopefully)
... and endless possibilities.

I have a few hopes for the new year, not necessarily new resolutions, but things I hope to accomplish
* get healthier (more fit)- hoping to get on the road to losing at least 40 lbs
* read more (for pleasure)
* develop my photography skills more
and there are some other, more personal things I will be working on as well.

Hope the new year brings you great joy and happiness!

I havent been the faithful blogger

I know I promised more updates to this thing while over break and I have yet to actually follow through with that promise. I have had an extremely busy schedule for it being break and all. For about a week of the break, I was busy car shopping and battling a cold that was trying to come on- plus all the christmas celebrating/preparations and so forth.

I finally found a BEAUTIFUL new car on Monday. I am super stoked and super in love with it. Its an '01 Honda Civic and I love love love it. Have I mentioned I love it? There are a few minor things that I want/need to fix with it, but we got one heck of a deal on it. Since I dont have pictures of my new car yet, I figured I would share the pictures of my old car post deer incident!

The deer that ran into my car.

"The biggest deer I've ever seen in Eastern NC" according to the hunter who stopped to help me move my car.... so glad the deer managed to find MY car to jump into!

Passenger side where the deer hit my car.

Notice the deer feces remaining on my car.

Hood of the car.

Driver's side (just to show how far up the hood was bent because of the impact).

Overall, I guess if it had to happen I am glad it happened the way it did. I wasnt hurt (nor was anyone else other than the deer) and I got a sweet new ride out of the deal (even though I did have to go three weeks without one).

It's done, over, finito!

Today I officially finished up the most challenging semester of my academic career. Five grad classes- wow! So far *crosses fingers* I have managed to maintain my 4.0 but I still have three classes to hear back from.

So now the question is, what in the world do I do with all of this time off? The first and most pressing priority for me is to shop for a new car. I was originally driving around my Grandpa's 20 year old truck, but that kicked the bucket while under my care. I swear I have the worst luck ever with vehicles. So the day that "old blue" died, they got a 2006 truck and I have been driving that. I must admit that I enjoy driving something that sits up high and makes me feel all powerful and whatnot, but I do not enjoy putting gas in that thing and I do not enjoy the massive blindspots that it has. So getting a car is top priority for me right now and tomorrow the hard-core search begins. I have a couple of options that I am looking at right now so hopefully something will come to fruition.

After the whole car shopping thing, I plan to do a lot of time at the gym. My family just got a membership at Snap Fitness and I LOVE it! I also plan to read for pleasure, catch up on my sleep, and veg out with some Gilmore Girls and Friends. I do want to do some planning for next semester and some job searching (or at least preparation for it) too. I have a month. A glorious month, but I am sure it will pass far too quickly.

Crazy Life

Life has been rather crazy lately. I dont even know where to begin to update things! School is wrapping up: I had my last class of the semester this week and I am currently working on getting my finals in order and sent off to the appropriate professors. So far I have completely finished with 2 of my five classes. Hopefully by the end of today I can say that I have finished with three, but by Tuesday of next week everything should be done and submitted. I have a (researched) short story to write for my Children's Lit class that has to be on some cultural custom, I have a writing portfolio, and a unit plan due. I have most of my unit plan done, but I have to put finishing touches on it and make some of the worksheets, etc and then upload it all to my wikispace (more about that later). I have 2/3 of my writing portfolio pieces finished (I think), so I need to edit the last piece and make my letter to the reader for that final. And for my short story, well I have researched. I have researched, but I havent read any of that research and I havent even begun to write the story so this final will be my most time consuming, and the one that is due first of course!

Meredith is doing great. She is completely spoiled, but I am ok with that. I bought her a cute doggy coat for cold/rainy weather for Christmas from Land's End. I also want to get her a big rawhide and some new treats and a toy or something. Yes, I know, I know. I still have several people to shop for, but I cant even begin to think about that until finals are over. I also have Christmas cards to write, and I think I want to send out a picture of me with Mere Bear, but that will have to wait too. I need to update some of the people who helped me through Meredith and into this MAT program on my life, but again, it will have to wait.

My birthday is coming up. The big 22. woo. I cant wait.

Last week, I hit a deer with my car. My poor car is totaled. The poor deer is dead. I will upload pics of that at a later date.

So basically, thats my life in a nutshell at this point in time. I am busy currently car shopping and working on finishing up my finals. I have some babysitting jobs lined up for December- yay money. I also have some projects in mind for the break so I am sure I will update more often over my time off with what I am doing. I also plan on reading a lot of books because I miss reading for the joy of reading- so expect some book reviews! As for now, it's back to the grind!

School Pride

Tonight I stumbled upon a new TV series called School Pride and I was shocked, saddened, and also slightly hopeful. In this series, the School Pride team is going to different schools around the nation and renovating them. The schools that they are showcasing are so run down that it is hard to believe that they are still in operation! I dont know when America is going to wake up and realize that the majority of our problems that this country has can be directly traced back to the state of our educational system. We cant move forward as a country without a proper education system to produce smart, innovative, intelligent, critical thinking, 21st century literate graduates.

On the other hand, I know that there is at least one other show out there with a similar mission: to shed light on the biggest problem our nation has. Shows and specials like this that highlight our schools abismal state give me hope that one day America will wake up and stop taking money and resources away from our education system and start funneling more money, more resources, and more time into it.

Education is one of my main passions. I firmly believe that a good education will get you wherever you want to go. I hope that some day the rest of our country recognizes this and puts stock in something that can save us.

100th post, and its a grad school update... woooo....

Ok, so maybe this isnt so exciting, but oh well, what can I say?

Grad school is crazy. I somehow managed to skate through the summer and think that this program was going to be a breeze, but boy was I wrong! Let me give you a piece of advice, if you ever EVER go to grad school, never NEVER take five classes in one semester. Granted, my program dictated that I take said 5 classes, but it isnt a good idea. I wonder what these people were thinking?

Just to give you a little insight into my life: I have a 12 page paper due on Friday and I am still looking for sources. I havent even begun to write this paper yet and I have a VERY pitiful outline, if it even qualifies as an outline at that. This thing is due at noon on Friday, meaning I have roughly 72 hours until it is due. I have 5 hours of class between now and then, cutting it down to 68 hours. I will spend about 8 hours at the high school, cutting it down to 60 hours. I have about 8 hours of driving (to Greenville back and forth, to the high school back and forth, etc) in there, cutting it down to 52 hours. I am supposed to be in Raleigh on Thursday night after class and any work I hope to accomplish between Thursday night class and noon on Friday can be forgotten, cutting it back about 15 hours, making that approximately 38 hours. Now 38 hours sounds like a lot of time, but when you factor in things such as sleeping, eating, and normal life activities, it is cut down to virtually nothing. Then why, do you ask, am I sitting here BLOGGING? Everything that I need to move forward is in Greenville and I am not leaving for another hour to go. So I am stuck and decided to fill you in on the joys of grad school life. We shall see how this thing turns out, I am sure it wont be a pretty show.

On top of this paper, I had a mini freak out for all of the work that I need to get done between now and the end of the semester. Its a lot. I have a writing portfolio that I need to put together, an activities folder that I have to put together (and that will be extensive work), a Mock Thesis Prospectus (whatever the heck that is), a semester project (needs research and writing), a unit plan (this thing is massive), and a "serious" revision of this paper that I just discussed way up there ^ that hasnt even been written yet and he is already calling for a major overhaul. The next 39 days are not looking pretty.

I mean I am doing well so far. I currently have all A's and I made it into some fancy honors society thingymajig that I am pretty stoked about, but these next few weeks are going to be a true testament to my strength, or they will be a true testament to how I crack under pressure, we shall see!