A few days away...

It's been a few days since I've written. It's not that I didn't think about it.  It's that the time I had was so valuable I didn't want to spend any of it at my computer.

Thursday after school, Seth and I loaded up into the truck for the long drive to Ohio.  While usually I dread long drives, this one I was far from dreading.  Saturday we would be celebrating the life of my Uncle Bill and I would be surrounded by my wonderful family - some of whom I had not seen in years.

While I could give you the play by play, I couldn't begin to do it justice. From the wonderful celebration service on Saturday, to the amazing feeling it was for Seth and I to be with our family, right now I want to keep those memories close.

Yesterday, on our way to Beckley, West Virginia - where we are now - Seth and I visited some of my favorite places - the Gauley and the New River.  I'll share those with you in my next post. 

Til then...

New Zealand - First Accounts of the Quake in Christchurch

New Zealand will always hold a very special place in my heart.  I have been to Christchurch multiple times and have great memories from being there. 

Adrian and Amy Pratt are an FSO family posted in New Zealand.  Their accounts of Tuesday's events brought me to tears.  You can read Adrian's post here and read Amy's post and see her video here. 

Thanks to Small Bits for passing on to me and others. 

"Gadhafi's son: Army to restore security 'at any price'"

Just what we need...

Interesting thing is...I remember Ghadafi and his antics when I was in 6th grade (back in 1986 when Reagan ordered Libya to be bombed and Ghadafi's daughter was killed).  How is this guy still alive?

Link to CNN story

Stubborn about Cheese

There are a few things I am stubborn about...one of them is cheese.  You're probably wondering how I can be stubborn about cheese?  Let me explain...

When I think about cheese, I don't think Kraft American slices or Velveeta...I think Gouda, Dill Havarti, Aged Swiss, Vermont White Cheddar, Edam, Boursin, Bleu de Termignon Alpage, Gruyere, Lyonnais, White Stilton with Blueberries, Aragon, Bierkast.  Double cream brie with a warm fresh baguette and a bottle of wine.  A Ploughman's Lunch with heavy wheat, fruit preserves and a pint. 

Yes, I love cheese...the rarer, the older, the stinkier the better.  But there is a problem...I am lactose intolerant.  I haven't always been, it came to be when I was pregnant with Seth.  All of a sudden I couldn't handle any kind of cream or cheese or milk or ice cream.  It would wreck me.

So I tried every lactose-intolerance pill on the market.  I gave up ice cream (I don't miss it :-), no chocolate milk for this girl (no hot chocolate with milk either :-( .  But I won't give up my cheese. 

Last night while doing our taxes, I had a few glasses of wine and wonderful gouda and a sharp white Vermont cheddar with sea salt and olive oil crackers .  It was a wonderful trio - and I'm not talking about the taxes.  I bet you can guess what happened late last night.

Stubborn.  Yes I am.  But it was good while it lasted.

My Cousin Beth

My cousin Beth is a 2nd or 3rd or 4th cousin...I'm not sure...I just think of her as my cousin.  I've know her since I was little...we don't see each other often, but I am thankful she is in my life. 

Let me tell you what an amazing woman she is:

Beth is a cancer survivor.  Twice over.  Twice a fighter...twice a winner. 

She is an amazing mother of two energetic boys and she is an amazing wife.  The wife of wonderful man in the military, she has conquered every deployment of her dear husband Tommy.  She is flying solo once again while Tommy is in the Middle East.  I don't know how she does it.

Beth is beautiful both inside and out. 

Beth is not afraid to stand for what she believes in.  She will tell you when she doesn't agree with you...she does it with such grace...you'll find that you can't help but agree with her.  She knows her stuff...she has amazing worldly knowledge. 

Beth recently lost her father Bill to cancer...it was not an easy struggle..  Bill was an amazing man and loved by more than I could ever count.  Whenever I spent time with Uncle Bill, he told me how proud Beth and Matt (her brother) made him.  She will forever make him proud.  A week and a half from now we will honor him and the lives he has touched.

Beth is one of the most thankful people I know.  She has an amazing group of women who support her and whom she supports.  Beth is the girlfriend you'd love to have.

Thank you for making this world brighter my friend!

xoxo Bethany

Terrible Tuesday

My friend Melissa at Brand New Day in Vienna, Austria has a kick butt Top Ten Tuesday every week.  This week was a bit tough for her.  Sending her love and good thoughts.

For me...this week it was a Terrible Tuesday.  Here are my terrible reasons:

1) The Nissan dealership said my tire was bent and so was the tire arm - due to my recent encounter with a huge ass pothole. 
2) Said bent tire and bent tire arm are NOT under warranty on our less than a year old Nissan Maxima - ugghh!  They can't fix it...need to take to a collision shop.  (if only I was back in MI - Bob and Jason could fix it!)
3) Realized we took the wrong bag of valentines home yesterday (I didn't have my glasses on and the tiny didn't write very large), therefore a little girl in the other class did not have any valentines to open at home yesterday :-(  .Very sad day!!! Switcheroo will commence tomorrow asap.
4) Taxes...need I say more? 
5) Dinner sucked - so much for trying the recipe for cheesy herb chicken on the Campbell's label.  Seth ended up eating only the garlic bread and Will made microwave Kraft Mac and Cheese.
6) Kentucky won basketball.  I do not like Kentucky.  AT ALL! 
7) My car is still in the same physical state it was this morning...still bent...still clonking....ugh!
8) I woke up at 5am this morning, should have gotten up and done yoga...then taxes....like the thoughts that crossed my mind.  Instead fell back asleep, woke up an hour later, and was dead tired...hit snooze 4 times. I never knew what snooze was before I met Will!

Great things about Tuesday -
My family is healthy
I am loved
I have wonderful friends around the world
We are financially stable
Tomorrow is a new day

Really puts things in perspective doesn't it?

Love to all both near and far!

xoxo Bethany

A lesson while history was being made...

On Friday, history was made when Hosni Murabak stepped down as President of Egypt after a 30+ year rule as a dictator.  It's one of those moments that will forever change the world and we will look back on that day and remember where we were when freedom was gained peacefully in the Middle East.

On this day I was at one of my schools, my most urban of my urban schools.  This school has 100% of its students living in poverty (and extreme poverty for many) and the percentage of students for whom English is their second language is over 50%.  On Friday I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share this history-making moment with my gifted students.  I wanted them to see history being made as it was happening - not just read about it in history books.  We spent the better part of an hour watching CNN and they were amazed by what they were seeing.  They had never seen anything like the celebrations taking place in Egypt.  The kids had question after question for me and were amazed to hear what life was like for Egyptians under a dictatorship.  We talked about what it means for a country to have freedom and the importance it holds for its people.  We talked about how and why our own country gained its freedom and how Egypt had done so peacefully.

The kids at this school get very little social studies if any as the teachers are working so hard to get them to achieve basic skills in Math and Reading (that's what is tested for NCLB), so most of them didn't know how a president was elected or how laws were made, so it was a great opportunity to cover this as well.

We talked about how the road to democracy is a bumpy one and what challenges they could face.  We also talked about other countries in the region and how this is the first step of other countries gaining freedom.

This is what educators call a Teachable Moment and by golly there is no way I was going to let this one pass me by!   I remember where I was when the Berlin Wall fell and I watched it happening.  These kids will one day remember when freedom from dictatorship was gained for Egypt, leading to major changes in the Middle East...and they will have watched it as it was happening.

Egypt is Free!

Egypt is Free!  Egypt is Free!

The cheers of freedom are being shouted both near and far!

Egypt is Free!  Egypt is Free!

Lockdown

Who says teaching isn't a dangerous job?

The school I am teaching at today is considered "in the sticks" here in Knox County.  So "in the sticks" that I have to walk around outside to get cell service on my iPhone.  Don't get me wrong...it's beautiful here...it's just - out here.

2:00PM Anyways, we went on lockdown over an hour ago.  First it was a "hard" lockdown, which means all doors and windows must be locked, all lights off, and all children behind the teachers desk or somewhere else out of sight.  After 15 minutes we went to a "soft" lockdown which means the perimeter is still locked, but children can move within the classroom, or be escorted within the building to another room.

From speaking with our friendly school police officer Cobe, there was a home invasion a couple of blocks away and only one guy was caught.  The other is running around out here "in the sticks" and it's unknown if he is armed or not.  The roads surrounding the area have been blocked off and we are just waiting it out.

I teach Gifted and Talented students grades 1st - 5th at four schools in Knox County - 3 urban and 1 rural.  Lockdown happens more often at the urban schools, simply because of the communities surrounding the school or the prevalence of more pissed off threatening parents (another reason for lockdowns).

So many incidents happen at schools all over the country, urban and rural schools alike.  Yes there are guns in schools, yes there are knives in schools, and not just at the high school level.  I'd be lying if I said there weren't.  It's a sad reality.  School can be a scary place to be for teachers and students alike.

I, for one, am thankful that our schools have procedures in place to keep myself and our kids safe!



2:23 PM UPDATE:  No longer on lockdown.

So apparently the odds are NOT in my favor...well...they're actually totally against me...

Apparently it's just as hard (if not harder) to become a DoDDS teacher as it is to get into the FS.  They have something like 70k+ apps of certified teachers on file and only fill 300 spots per year...ay yay yay.  Add to that the fact that they're closing 3 schools in Germany this year and will have to transfer those teachers to other schools.  The DoDDS school system is the 2nd highest rated school system in the country.  Now as most of you know, I'm new to the public school systems and honestly have issues with a lot that goes on in them.  From what I've heard, the DoDDS system is not run like your typical public school system, so there is hope yet!

I've decided not to wait around for a call that may or may not ever come, so I have taken the advice of seasoned DOD teachers and have reached out to principals in DoDDS - Europe via email to tout my qualifications (it all comes down to networking!).  The responses I have received have all been positive, including one from a former UT Volunteer who still loves Big Orange as much as we do.  When stateside hiring begins in early June, the principals have said they'd like to talk more, so until then it should be pretty quiet on the job front.  Until then, still loving my job here in Knoxville...and spring is coming!

Happy 35th Birthday!

Happy 35th Birthday to my wonderful husband Will.  This year is sure to be full of new adventures and surprises!

When Daddy's Away...

Will has been traveling a lot lately, and it's only going to become more frequent and for longer spells for the next 6 months or longer.  With the transfer to his new job at AT&T comes new trainings and even more time in HotLanta and other random places in the US than before.  Not just days at a time, but weeks at a time, and sometimes every other week. 

I believe it is good for our marriage to have a few days apart once in awhile and it reminds me how fortunate I am to share a home with my amazing best friend and partner in life.  It also reminds me that no matter how much you love someone, we need a break from each other once in awhile to relax and decompress on our own.  

Those of you who have known me for years know that when it comes to organization in the house, Will and I are on two different ends of the spectrum.  We're getting closer to meeting in the middle, but when we are apart, we go back to our comfortable end of the spectrum that we both know and love.

Will was in the Air Force and much of the lifestyle has never quite been left behind.  He believes that everything (like shoes) has a place and should be located in its designated place (except for extenuating circumstances of course - like when they're on your feet).  I, on the other hand, believe in the the credo: "if you can't see it, you can't find it."  You can see what a problem this might cause.

So when we're both here, we have learned to show grace towards the other when it comes to our differing ideas of what home organization entails.  I try hard to put my shoes in my closet when I'm not wearing them.  They may not necessarily be on the shelf where HE says they belong, but at least they're in the closet!  He learns to bite his lip when instead he'd rather be saying, "why is this here, and why is this here?"  He puts things away in my closet instead of waiting for me to do so, and I don't leave full laundry baskets lying around to irk him.

When we're apart, it's back to the our pre-marriage ways.  His hotel room is impeccably neat and organized, while the playroom at home looks like a bomb when off in it (popcorn may or may not be crushed into the carpet and toys may or may not be scattered everywhere).  When we're all here together, it's all about Grace and Compromise. 

Grace and Compromise are so important for our son to learn at his young age, therefore Will and I both try very hard to set good examples.  Tolerance and patience are extremely important too (a post for another time).

While we miss Daddy when he's away, I am thankful for the time we get to relax and revert to our ends of the spectrum.  We all need time to relax and decompress on our own.