"To Do" tidbits

Mom, stop reading now.



No, really. Don't read this post.



Ok, I warned you! :)



So I just saw that one of the items on my checklist of things to do is to make a will. You know, in case of death. Goodie.

Ok, so it's not on MOST maps

Yeah, yeah, I know. Korr has to be on SOME maps. A blog reader known to me only as "naclydogg" found it (though I think he had to work pretty hard at it!). He was clearly more dedicated than I in the search! BUT, my original shot in the dark google maps pin point was pretty darn close. On the Google map below, the blue one was the original, the red one is the updated one. Booyeah! hehehe

So all you map heads... enjoy! :) Click on either image to enlarge. Thanks, naclydogg!

Korr is outside of the central area on this one, right near the green word "Marsabit"

And here's good ol' Google Maps

View Larger Map

AAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

IT'S IN! IT'S HERE! IT'S OFFICIAL!
I HAVE MY ASSIGNMENT FOR AFRICA!!!!!!!!!!!!(finally!)

Pardon me while I take a minute to squeal like a girl and jump up and down.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got the call about five minutes ago. They don't have a partner for me yet (something to keep praying for) but they figure I'm more mature (read: older) than many short termers and there are a few couples there (not just one) so if one has to leave I won't be left on my own, so they've ok'ed me to go.

I'll be going to Korr, which is where I thought I'd be going initially. (See my first prayer letter for a few details and pics!) It's in North Central Kenya in the middle of the desert! I'll be teaching in the primary/elementary school there.

The little blue flag is only the very approximate location - Korr is on no map! Hehehe!

View Larger Map

Now begins the fun task of finding out all the little details of living - what clothes should I bring? What kind of house will I live in? What will the school be like? Will there be electricity? What will I eat? What are the answers to the bajillion questions that I don't even know I should ask?

And oh yeah, how the heck am I gonna raise all my funds in five weeks??? (Holy cow! FIVE WEEKS?!?!?!?!??! AAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!) Smaller time frame makes bigger God stories.... right?

IT'S OFFICIAL!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!!

Let the freak out commence!

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If you're not already on my Africa email list and would like to get my letters, updates, etc, email me using the link in the sidebar and I'll get you on my list! :)

But on the bright side...

Today was a gong show. Absolute, total gong show. The past two weeks, things have been escalating in my class to a point where I am on the verge of l-o-s-i-n-g it. Kids who run away and hide in the school. Kids who just decide to wander the class, play with toys, and bang on instruments in the middle of a lesson... aaaaand, I could go on for days, but you know what, I wasn't going to focus on that.

Instead I was going to focus on the two things that brightened my day. Cause that's always a better way to go!

The social committee (of which I am a part) decided last month to do a "Secret Angel" program for anyone who wanted to participate. So I made up a questionnaire and asked whoever would like to participate to fill it out nad return it to me. Then we did a secret draw and everybody got thier recipient. The idea is that you use the questionnaire and pay attention to the person you have andthroughout the year, you give little gifts - just little, no breaking the bank necessary - or notes or whatever to that person to encourage them and to just genreally brighten their day.

It got off to a bit of a rocky start (asking the change the person you drew cause you've had a conflict with them? Not quite the point. Oy vey.), but it's underway, and I've seen thank you's "to my secret angel" popping up in the communication book. Hooray! I'm really glad it got of the ground!

So today, in the middle of all the insanity - behavoiurs, runaways, meetings (straight through my prep, straight through recess, straight through between recess and lunch, and all the way through lunch - I'd had to pee since 10am. I got to at 4. And I have yet to eat my lunch... but right, I wasn't going to rant!)... where was I? Oh yes. In the middle of the insanity. I checked my box for a form I needed forone of the meetings, only to find something from MY secret angel. Three somethings, in fact.

Once I had a chance to breathe, I took them back to my room and opened them up. When I think "Secret Angel program" I think notes, maybe a candy bar here or there, little stuff like that. But what I recieved was way above and beyond. I was truly overwhelmed by the thoughfulness of my secret angel.

First, I opened up a little mini book called "The Little Book of African Wisdom." It's full of sayings and proverbs from Africa and the African diaspora. Second, I opened a large, decadent dark chocolate bar (that I'm trying very hard not to just scoff down right here and now!) called "Divine - Heavenly chocolate with a heart," a fair trade chocolate company. Third, I recieved a CD from one of my favourite music publishers, Putumayo, called African Playground. It's a collection of kids songs by African artists from all over the continent. I have their "World Playground" CD and LOVE it. I'm listening to my new CD right now, and it, too, is FABULOUS. How blessed am I!

And then of course, the kids... they always give me lots to laugh about, but sometimes there are gems that just need to be shared...

We had all gathered on the carpet to begin the day and before I could get out a "good morning," grade two "Kianna" asked the question that would make me giggle all day long:

"Miss Hillary, are you having a bad hair day, or is that just a new look for you?"

(The difference? I had actually had enough time to both wash and blow dry my hair this morning. I actually thought it looked ok for once in my life! Ha!)

Realism or lack of faith?

So it's now six weeks exactly until January 1st, the approximate date I had in my head that I would be leaving for Africa, and I still don't even have my assignment yet. This means that no official fund raising has begun (and I'll be needing to raise, in my best estimate, $8000 - $10,000 BEFORE I'm allowed to leave). No visas have been applied for (cause I don't even know for sure what country I'm going to). No plane tickets have been bought (don't they get more and more expensive closer to the date?). There's a heck of a lot that has to happen AFTER I get my assignment.

I'm starting to accept the possibility that I won't be going first thing in January. But then there's a little voice inside my head that says, "Oh you of little faith, why do you doubt?" I know God CAN do it, but I guess I'm just starting to wonder if he WILL.

Prayers are much appreciated!!! That assignment needs to come through SOON!

Ridiculous

Anyone think it's really silly to do NaBloPoMo if you're just posting things like this to make the deadline?

Yep, I thought so, too. Especially since I didn't really make the deadline and I'm backdating this post.

Meh. NaBloPoMo. Who needs it? ;)

Chopped Liver No More? You be the judge!

Buah ha ha! I got a card today!!! ('Member my complex from last week?)

The kids were cleaning out their desks today, and one girl found a crumpled up card she had made for Miss LastYearTeacher that had been squished up against the back wall of her junk-stuffed desk. She looked at me, drew a big X over the felt-pen-written bubble letters spelling "Miss LastYearTeacher" and wrote my name on top in skinny little pencil lines. Spelled incorrectly.

She looked up with a smile and said, "Here, Miss Hillary, this is for you!"



Ah, these munchkins. They crack. me. up.

Clear communication

In my class, we have something called a "Problem Solving Sheet." If there is a behaviour issue (hitting, running away, refusal to work, etc) we sit down with the student and have a little talk about what happened, how they were feeling, and what the better option would be the next time.

Well, one student was up to her usual tricks last week - getting down on the floor and crawling away/around the classroom. She tries to get us to chase her, but we just ignore her. Sometimes she settles down and can be coaxed back to whatever was going on or to a quiet carol in the hall for a calm-down break (though usually it escalates, she runs away, and we have to scour the school and playground and page her on the PA to get her back. Buuuut, that's another story.)

There are lots of reasons for this, a few that we know and many that we don't. But this time, she was frustrated because the work she was doing was too hard.

Here is her version of what happened.




Yep, that's pretty much EXACTLY what happened. Facing AWAY from the teacher. Under the table. Her name already on #1 of the stoplight I use. She's even got the pigtails of one of the other girls in the group. And for how she was feeling? I'm not really sure, do you think you can help me decipher it??? Hehehe! Pencil clenched in her hand, a scowl on her face, she drew the eyebrows first. No confusion here, people! As for what should happen next time instead of crawling away? Yep, she sure knows! There she is, with the support worker, at her carol in the hallway taking a drawing break to calm down.

I love it! She's such a talented artist, and she's a smart one! This Problem Solver just cracks me up!


... Coincidentally, comedian Brian Regan knows something about this process: check out this clip (and also, it's just hilarious!)

Surprises surprises!!!

So my friend Jean's hubby gets a nomination from me (and I'm sure from Jean!) for the husband of the year award for. sure.

In mid-August, Ed and Jean moved from (more or less) their home town in Grand Rapids to Seattle so Ed could go to grad school. I can only imagine how hard it must be to be away from friends and family, and how much they must be missing them.

So Ed decided, as a surprise for Jean, to fly out one of Jean's best friends, Anne, and her daughter for a surprise visit for nearly a week! He orchestrated it perfectly, and Jean was SHOCKED when Ed came home from school last Wednesday with two extra people in the van!

Ed graciously invited me to come down and join them yesterday, so of course I jumped at the chance! I headed down to Seattle early Saturday morning and got to spend the day with Jean, Anne, Sam, Alina, and Randi! In the evening, Ed came home from working on his paper and two of Anne's friends who live in Seattle came over, too, and we all had Thanksgiving dinner together! (I had invited Ed and Jean up for Canadian Thanksgiving, but it just didn't work out, and they have spent the last few - many? - American Thanksgivings with Anne and Andy, so we did it in the middle and they got to do both! ... well, minus Andy, who was holding down the fort in Grand Rapids! :) )

These two women (and Sarah, too! I'm not forgetting about you, just because you couldn't be there!) are such a blessing to me! Their friendship goes far beyond our blogs, where we first met, to the (way better!) realm of real life, where we keep in touch, pray for each other, and enjoy spending time together when time and travel allow. It's for days like yesterday that I'm so thankful for the creative ways (like the internet!) that God brings beauty and friendship into our lives!

Thanks, ladies! I'm so glad you're my friends! :)

Don't mind the weird blue colour... my camera was doing funny things. And also, what you don't see are the oodles of candy wrappers from our late night Brian Regan watching Halloween candy feed! Ah, good times! :)

What is happiness?

You'll have to wait till tomorrow to find out! Muah hahahaha!

Also, check THIS out...

Africa Update

Arh! I feel like everything is at a standstill (I know it's not, it just feels that way)! I've done everything I possible can on my checklist. I'm waiting for my next round of vaccinations. I'm waiting for all my forms to get to the office to get my medical and police clearance. I'm waiting to send out a reminder email about my fundraiser. I'm waiting to prepare a slideshow for the fundraiser and I'm waiting to officially begin my fundraising because I'm still waiting to hear about my assignment.

Perhaps God's trying to teach me something about waiting, what do you think??? :)

They're working on it as fast as they can, I know that. The lady in charge of short term assignments has been in Africa, so it's been difficult to work on it. They know time is short, and actually, I've been really pleased with how they've kept me informed, and I know that they are pretty much scrambling to find something for me.

One little complication is that they are trying to find another person for me to go with - the long term missionaries are requesting - for a variety of reasons - that no short termer comes to them on their own, that they at least have a partner. Now this is a pretty big answer to prayer, cause overly-dependent-on-other-people-for-interaction extroverted Hillary was getting a wee tad worried about not having a lot of peer interaction while I was gone. I know the long term missionaries would be there, but I was cautious about how much I wanted to rely on them 0 they've got their own families and lives, after all (though I know they'd be very welcoming and helpful, too). So in one sense, I'm really relieved to know that there will be another short termer wherever I am.

But that creates... shall we say, two opportunities for prayer? :) One is that now they have to find someone who wants to go on the same timeline as I do to the same place (doing the same thing? I'm not sure about that one). So, logistically, it's harder, hence a bit of the delay. So if you're the praying type, I'd love it if you'd pray that something comes together soon!

And the second opportunity for prayer is that, well, the unknown is always pretty scary. Immediately I wonder, what will this person be like? Will we get along? What if we don't? What if they don't like me? What if I don't like them? (which is kind of ridiculous, because very rarely do I meet someone I don't like!) But of course, I worry. I'll be in the middle of nowhere, paired with a total stranger, most likely living and working closely in a really intense environment for seven months. So I'm trusting that God is leading them to the right partner for me and that soon I'll have another lifelong friend and fabulous girlfriend to share my experience in Africa with.

So basically, that's where things are at. I'm waiting. Thank you, God, for the waiting time??? Haha!

Here's hoping a jubilant post is coming very soon in which I can tell you just what I'll be doing in six weeks time.

Oh yes, my friends. SIX WEEKS!!! Crikey!

Phew! What a day!

Ok, so yes. I could say that at the end of every day (and more often than not, I do). These kids kill me. It never ceases to amaze me how one day can run the gammut of awesome to tear my hair out to that calm slow speaking tone that they all know means I am about to LOSE IT to pride in my kidlets to furious to fun and carefree. And that's all before the recess bell!

As challenging as it is working at this school, I have got some NEAT kids. I keep saying it to other teachers and - most importantly - to the KIDS: I really like these little guys and gals. They are teaching me SO much about how to be a better teacher (in part because you HAVE to learn or you DIE, but hey...) and even about myself. They are stretching me thinner than I ever thought I could be stretched, but I'm getting creative, building positive relationships with these kids, making all kinds of blunders along the way, and learning lots from my fabulous support worker.

But it's these kids that get me every time. Those little moments when I can get a little talk in with one of them, show them something they didn't know before, see their face light up when I tell them what a great job they're doing... They crave this love, this attention SO much. They need it. Many of them get so little of it among homes where parents are stretched thin and everybody is just doing what they need to do to make it through another day. My heart breaks for some of these little ones.

My lovelies, do you know that I go home and weep for you? You are precious. You are loved. You are a source of so much joy for your creator - who I hope one day you'll know. You are important. You matter. You say you can't, but I know you can - you are able. You are special. You are unique - made to be like no-one but you. You are creative. You are kind-hearted. You have eyes and smiles that light up the room. You are funny. You are smart. You are doing your very best.

You are precious. You are loved.

I'll say it again, because you need to hear it: You are precious. You are loved. And I am so lucky to be your teacher.

What am I, chopped liver???

Every week my kids go to the library while I have my prep. The librarian has a great little transition activity for them when they get there - she's got puzzles, paper, and colouring supplies out for them and gives them some time to come in and get settled before she begins her lesson.

And every week, without fail, my kids make cards. They REALLY like making cards. Finished their work early? They make cards. Centres time? They make cards. Library time? They make cards. Sometimes the cards are for other students in the class (those ones are always birthday cards - whether or not it's actually that student's birthday or not!), but more often than not, they are really cute little cards expressing love from a student to their teacher. "I love you!" "You're the best teacher!" "You're so nice." "Thank you!"

I know! Melt-your-heart-sweet, hey?

Except there's only one thing. The cards are always for LAST YEAR'S TEACHER!!!

"Look Miss Hillary, we made a card for Miss L!"

Ooooh, well isn't THAT nice? What about ME? Don't you love ME TOO? WHY WON'T YOU MAKE CARDS FOR MEEEEEEE?????? WAAAAHHHH! You don't looooove me!

Just you wait till I leave for Africa! Then all their cards will be for ME!

MUAH HA HA HAAAAAAA!!!!

__________________
* Just for anyone without a sense of humour out there, I'm KIDDING! I'm LAUGHING. I think it's CUTE. I *don't* actually depend on the approval of seven and eight year olds for my self worth.

They shall not grow old as we who are left grow old.
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

In the poem In Flanders Fields, we are given the charge to hold high the torch, lest those who gave their lives have died for naught. This year I watched the Remembrance Ceremonies in Ottawa on TV. They began a new tradition - the passing of torch of Remembrance. It began with 108 year old John Babcock, the last remaining Canadian veteran of World War I passing a torch to first a World War II veteran, to a Korean War vet, to a peacekeeper, and finally to a modern day veteran from Afghanistan.

Something about that really struck me. Mr Babcock. He is the last. remaining. veteran. of World War I. After he's gone, after the World War II vets are gone, then what? The importance of remembrance struck me today. Very soon e will not have those faces at our cenotaphs. Those wrinkled faces, once strong, still brave men and women who put our country, our freedom, our way of life above their fear, above their own lives. How often to I forget to be thankful for the place I live, the freedom I have. I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't been to a Remembrance ceremony for a number of years. I do remember - assemblies, and I usually watch a ceremony on TV, but what? I can't be bothered to get in my car and go stand for an hour in honour of these?

And so I watched the torch of remembrance being passed. A small symbol, yes, but significant. May that torch never extinguish.

The do's and don'ts (but mostly don'ts!) of prayer cards

HA! AIM has a little tutorial for making up prayer cards. The tips are good, but the (fictional) examples of all the things NOT to do are better. Much, much better.



*UPDATE* This is probably the 6th time I've sat here staring at these prayer cards. The seconds one gets me EVERY. TIME. I'm laughing hysterically out loud here all by myself. I can't help it! "Committed to celibacy in Kenya with Africa Inland Mission. - She really needs your prayers!" Tears! There are tears of laughter flowing! (And the first "do" tip above the card is "Smile! You're going to Africa! That's a GOOD thing!" Somebody really needs to tell Miss Korbel!)

aaaah hahahahaha!

"I like big butts" like you've never seen it before

Just another reason why I *heart* Myles and Tessa...

Marian Call

Marian is a friend of my friend Tora, and she's AMAZING! She's got some great songs that totally make me giggle! Hope you enjoy...

Vanilla (I'm not sexy)

(The song begins at 30 seconds)


I wish I were a Real Alaskan Girl

(The song begins at 1 minute)

Like babysitting for my blog...

I'm going away for the weekend - hooray! After this week, I SO need it! - but it's NaBloPoMo, so I'm still gonna post. This is where youTube comes in so very handy! I'll amuse and amaze with videos that make me smile, and I hope they make you smile, too!

Video numero uno... school kids! In the middle of nowhere somewhere in Kenya! Singing! I l-o-v-e their accents! It took me two or three verses to figure out what they were saying, but they're SO adorable! :)

I love my little lovelies, yes. But some days... some days. They wear. me. out. Today was one of those days. But only about 1:30 I had already reached the quiet measured tone that told them that was *this close* to losing it. I dunno what's up with me. Am I just over tired or what? I had HAD it. It was one of those days that I had planned to stay late to get some work done, but it took me TWO HOURS to be able to wrap my head around ANYTHING after school. Now how's that for efficient?

Ok... good sleep tonight, tomorrow's a new day. Hopefully my raging headache will be gone by then... Oy.

Ok, NOW save the date! :)

Woohoo! I've got the date set!!! If you're in the Greater Vancouver area (or even if you're not!)and would like to come to Africa Bound, a coffee house fundrasier benefitting my trip to Kenya, then consider yourself invited! It's going to be a great night!

Please RSVP to the email address listed on the invite below. Click the image if it's hard to read and you can see a bigger version.

When it's time to change...

(Thanks, Christine!)

The Big Cheery Post About Lots Of Things!

Ahhhh. Feeling much better now. Pulled most of the prickles out. Yeesh. So, onward! And upward!

Yesterday? It was glorious! I got SO. MUCH. DONE. it's not even funny (and the fact that I had to take the day off from work for a few appointments made it feel kinda like I was playing (legitimate!) hooky!

So, Saturday night I was at a costume/birthday party, and as I was leaving (in my high heels, which is a big deal for me cause I NEVER wear them. Like, NEVER.) I started to drive away and I was like, "ummm... my car sounds funny." So I pulled over and sure enough, the front passenger side was dipped down waaaay farther than it should be. Dangit! I had a super-dee-duper-ly flat tire. Shooot! Of course, it was 11:30 or 12:00, and I figured I could walk home quicker than waiting for a bus (it was only 15 blocks or so). Turns out I was right. It was actually a really nice walk hone - it was really warm, and a nice night, and other than bruises and blisters and cuts on my feet from my stupid shoes, I had a very pleasant walk home.

Of course, no-one is open on Sunday, so I decided to just bus it to all my crazy places and fix it on Monday after my first appointment (luckily there was a mechanic/tire shop just three blocks away!).

So Sunday, I got lots done: went to an East African restaurant to look into catering my fundraiser, went to a goodbye party for a friend, went to church, and had a knight in shining armour friend try to help me get my spare on ym car so it was ready to roll (ha! Get it? Roll? I kill me!) on Monday. Armed with his expertise and camera phone flash as a light, we emptied my trunk and went at the tire. Spare tire? Check. Jack? Check. Tire iron? Nowhere to be found.

WHAT CAR DOESN'T HAVE A TIRE IRON???

Oh right. MY car. Of course.

Oh well. He still gets knight in shining armour points for being willing to help me!

So how is my flat tire relevant to Monday, you ask? Well, all the running around I had to do now on the bus, I got in lots of reading time and I finished reading my AIDS and You book, sent to me by AIM as part of the prep for my trip.

Side note: When I got this book, I was laughing about the cover: a dark background with big red letters AIDS AND YOU. I joked that this wasn't really the book you wanted to be reading on the bus, though it may help you get your own seat. (People still have SO many misconceptions about this disease!) Little did I know I'd read almost the entire thing on the bus! Haha!

Ok. So Monday. I felt SO awesome at the end of Monday! I had:
- Gotten four of my eight or nine shots at the travel clinic (my arms hurt like a sonofamonkey!)
- Gotten my tire fixed (and ended up with three new ones. I knew they needed replacing, but ouch! Nearly $350 was NOT was I was planning on spending that day on some fancy rubber!)
- Gone to the police station to request my crim check
- Read up on all the shots I had gotten and will be getting
- Made up the invitation for my coffee house/fundraiser night
- Gotten confirmation that the location was available for said fundraiser night
- Emailed 200 people the details and an electronic version of the invite
- Called the caterer to confirm the date
- ordered and had the invites printed
- Finished my AIDS and You book
- Put the finishing touches on my Christmas gifts and ordered them (My Christmas shopping and wedding-gift-catch-up shopping is now DONE! ALL of it! MUCH better than the frantic December 22 shopping blitz I usually do! I so wish I was kidding!)
- Went grocery shopping
- Went to small group
- Emailed someone about subletting my house while I'm gone
- Did my dishes
- Swept up cat fuzz
- replied (kindly, I hope) to the prickly email
- cried
- Blogged
- fell into bed exhausted but exhilarated at getting so much crammed in to one day!

Getting my invites out and my Christmas gifts ordered were big BIG things on my list of stuff to do, and they are DONE!

YES!

Good thing, cause yesterday I noticed that my trip ticker had reached the "one month and something" point until I leave and I NEARLY DIED. It's really closer to two months still, but that dang thing says ONE MONTH when you look at at and it's FREAKIN' ME OUT!

I haven't even been able to really start fundraising yet cause I don't have my assignment! AK!

BUT? Life is good! It's a beautiful day, my yard is full of gorgeous yellow leaves that I don't want to rake up yet cause they're so pretty, my Africa plans are progressing (well, some of them are!), and I was really overwhelmed on the weekend with feeling SO blessed by people I really never expected to do so offer their prayers, their funds, and their time to support me and my trip to Africa. I feel pretty overwhelmed and loved, and it's a good place to be!

Off I go! I have a friend I haven't seen in nearly six months arriving any minute for dinner!

Life is good! :)

Change in plans

I was gonna write a big cheery post about lots of fun things, but I just got a pretty upsetting email and it took all the pep out of me for tonight (I'll be fine, just somebody was having a bad day and got all prickly on me). For now, I'll just show you this, cause it still makes me smile!

Mark your calendars!

Ok, ok, so I don't actually know the date yet. Is it selfish to ask people to hold TWO Saturday nights open for a coffee house/fundraiser/Africa night? Ha! Maybe. But, um, it's November 29 or December 6. So if you're anywhere close to Vancouver, you're invited! (You're invited even if you're NOT close to Vancouver, but, well, airfare is pretty pricey these days... ;) )

So I emailed the lady at my church who is in charge of room bookings on Monday to see if she had November 29th (my preferred date) free. She emailed back to say that she was really busy planning our church's Halloween carnival and that she'd get back to me early next week.

AK! But there are "save the date" emails to send out and caterers to book and musicians to invite and planning to do and I really really really need to get moving on this! So I called her and told her of the situation, and she was TOTALLY my HERO, pushed the application through even though she was CRAZY busy, and told me that the room was available on the 29th, and we'd work out the details next week.

And so I sent out the emails asking people to save the date. Perhaps you got one (if not, and you want to come, let me know!). And I also emailed some people I know who are musically inclined and who I'd talked to previously about playing.

And then disaster struck! Three of the four or five "main acts" I was hoping to come play are out of town that weekend! GAAAAAK!

Horrified, cause the facilities manager had done me SUCH a huge favour, I had to email her back and ask.... "Errrr... so, actually how 'bout Dec 6?" And she has to go through the whole process again. Eeeeeek!

AND I get to re-harass nearly two hundred people with an "Actually, ignore that date and save THIS one" email, if indeed the December 6th date is still available. Either that or have a coffee house with very little music. Ummm, yay?

Oh yes. Professional event planner I am not. But I figure it's good to have the wrinkles at the beginning, cause it means the rest will go off without a hitch.

... Right?

NaBloPoMo

It's that time of year again... National Blog Posting Month! You know, November. When report cards are due. When I'm right in the thick of big teaching units. When I'm trying my darndest to get my Christmas gifts done (home-made gifts this year - less expensive and more personal, but WAY more time consuming!). And, this year, when I'm preparing to go to Africa: planning a fundraiser, reading a stack of books that AIM has sent me, sending off prayer letters, going to all manner of appointments, networking, planning, shopping, organizing my house to move out (temporarily)...

Why SUUURE! I've got some spare time to blog EVERY DAY! Why the heck not?

It should be rather entertaining for you to watch me slowly go INSANE.

Here's to day one of the craziness...