Pay it Forward

Friday morning started out just like any other day: I woke up, started the coffee, took a shower, and finished getting ready for my day.  Everything was going fine until I realized that I had left my travel mug at school the previous day and I wasn't going to be able to bring my coffee with me (I can't use a regular mug because, no matter what, I will spill).  I was counting on my caffeine to get through the morning, so I became irrationally frustrated with the situation.  I determined that if I wanted to be able to swing by Starbucks on my way into work, I would have to leave right then, and grab breakfast there while I was at it.  I knew that I shouldn't be spending $7 on coffee and a breakfast sandwich when we're trying to save money, but by that point, I had already justified the expense in my head.

Fast forward to about 35 minutes later, and I pull up to the intercom to place my order in the Drive Through line at Starbucks.  I decided to be adventurous and try a different drink other than my standard Grande Soy Chai Latte.  I got for the Caramel Macciato and a bacon, egg, and gouda breakfast sandwich, and drive forward.  Fortunately, the line was a short one and I only had to wait for 2 other orders ahead of mine.

Once the first car pulled away, the second one pulled up to the window and received their order.  I looked at the clock, pleased that I was going to be able to get in and out of the line as quickly as I did... until the car directly in front of me took forever to get the rest of their order.  Since I was already irrationally annoyed with the day so far, I became very peeved with the customer in front of me, especially when they finally got the rest of the order and their change and only pulled halfway out of the drive through window and stopped!  Eventually they moved on, and I bitterly pulled up to the window to pay and get out of there so I could be on time to get to school.

The lady at the window double checked my order, and as I was handing her my card, she told me "Your meal is actually free today.  The person in the car ahead of you paid for it!"  I was shocked, and immediately felt guilty for being annoyed with the customer who was taking so much time in front of me.  The lady gave me my drink and sandwich, and then also handed me a letter from the person who had kindly paid for my order explaining that it wasn't a gimmik and that hopefully I would be inspired.  Being the recipient of an act of paying it forward completely turned my day around.  I walked into school with a huge smile on my face and have been in a good mood ever since.  I told each of my classes about my experience and told them that I hoped that it would inspire them to do something giving as well.  I have also made the decision to show my advisory students the movie "Pay it Forward" and help them come up with their own act of paying it forward.

This weekend, my goal is to pay it forward somewhere in St. Paul and hope that I can make a random stranger feel as great as I did on Friday morning.

Blizzard!

Today, we have been officially snowed in. Thank goodness both Luke and I have the day off (well, my parents gave me the day off since there was no way that I would be able to make it from Saint Paul to Minnetonka today). They're predicting that it could be almost as bad as the Halloween blizzard of 1991 in some parts of the state. I'm not 100% sure of how many inches we've gotten so far, but I know that our snow reaches the top of Luke's wellies!

Yes, I know that the shorts weren't the best decision on my part :-)

Things I love right now

1.)  The fact that I just made kraft mac 'n cheese with half and half instead of milk (we ran out of milk this morning, so fortunately I had over estimated how much half and half I would need for cooking just before Thanksgiving).  I added a whole bag of peas to the one box of pasta, so that cancels out the half and half, right?
2.) Luke's LEGO mess all over the basement.  I feel like I have a little boy living in my basement :-)
3.) Soy Chai Lattes from Starbucks- I can't seem to get enough of them.
4.) That it's Christmas season, and it's time to start shopping for gifts!
5.) My job (especially that this upcoming week is the only full- 5 day week I have before winter break)
6.) The snow, even the shoveling isn't that bad
7.) My zoo

Things I don't like:
1.) Luke's new schedule (though it's supposed to be done by Christmas).  Only being able to see my best friend once or twice a week really sucks.  We basically just sleep next to each other, and talk on the phone about once a day, but I really don't enjoy not seeing him.  It's been a hard adjustment, going from seeing each other every day and doing everything together to trying to make the most of the day or so that we do get to see each other.
2.) Cooking for one.  I don't have any incentive to cook well-balanced meals (or at all).  The only thing keeping me cooking is the face that I need to have something for lunch the next day.

And it begins.

The weirdest thing for me regarding Luke starting 2nd shift this week is trying to figure out when to eat dinner.  If I wanted to, I could just make popcorn and peas, or eat a can of beets, or even make myself a real meal if I so desire, but I'm realizing very quickly that I do not like making meals for one...  I have a feeling that the next 5 weeks are going to go by very slowly...

Looks like salad and roll, followed by some coffee-heath bar ice cream is what's for dinner tonight!

Excellent!

Overall, this has been a most excellent week. 

Sunday, I had the opportunity to go see Wicked's last performance during their run here in Minneapolis with my Mom, Aunt and Grandmother.  My Grandma is a former English teacher, so it was great being able to update her on my experiences as an English teacher in a different type of setting.  The musical was amazing, and I am so grateful that I was able to go see it.  I need to go get the soundtrack now!  That night I only got about 3 hours of sleep due to L being up at his family's cabin and my fear of having another experience similar to the one I had on Friday.

Monday-Friday at school was good.  It's amazing how fast the weeks go by (despite the fact that I thought that Wednesday was Thursday- I was still surprised when Friday got here!).  One of the nice things about working PT at the school is that I get to roll into school at about 9:30am and then start teaching at 10.  That gives me time to get organized in the morning and mingle with some of the other teachers who have 2nd hr. prep time.  I really love the staff of my school, and they've been great at asking me if I need anything and readily give me advice when I ask for it.  The students have been great, and even those who were giving me a hard time for the first week or so in my 6th hr are doing much better and I don't spend as much time asking them to be quiet and keep their comments appropriate.

Friday was even more amazing because I finally got paid!  I signed my contract last week the day it was ready for me, so I was able to get paid this month rather than get 3 paychecks for the next payday in October (I received 2 checks yesterday to make up for the one I missed at the beginning of the month).  It was a huge stress reliever to see more than $100 in my bank account, and that I now have the ability to pay all of my bills and start putting money away into savings!

The last thing that I am going to mention that made this week excellent was the compliment that I received from a seasoned teacher at my school (I've made her my unofficial mentor... though I'm not sure that she knows this!).  She told me that I teach like someone with years of experience, not a first year teacher and that I'm doing a great job with the students so far!  It's amazing how good a small compliment like that can make one feel.  It really made the rest of my day, and I definitely feel more confident in my teaching :-)

Scariest moment of my life

I was 100% convinced that there was an intruder in our bedroom last night.

I don't know how it came about, but after watching netflix in bed (nothing scary-just old episodes of King of the Hill), I rolled over in an attempt to get to sleep early to cure my exhaustion from a week of teaching.  I was half asleep when I heard a sound like someone had tripped or stepped on something in the room (near the foot of my bed), and then I saw what looked like the light of a cellphone screen projected on the wall, as if someone was trying to find their way around the room without turning on a light.  Then, I swear I felt someone sit down at the foot of my side of the bed.  When I slowly moved my feet, it felt like there was a body that my foot was touching.  At that point, I froze completely.  I couldn't move, and I could barely breath.  Since I was rolled facing the wall, the most I could do to try to wake L up was to poke and pinch at his back, but it wasn't working.  In my mind, I thought that maybe he was faking being asleep too, so that whoever in the room would just take our stuff and walk away.

A few minutes later, I was still frozen, and I was convinced that whoever is sitting at the edge of my bed could hear my heart pounding.  I have never been so scared in my life (especially after I realized that I don't have an easily accessible knife on my bedside table anymore).  After about 30 minutes of being completely still with the sound of my pulse in my ears, I realized that I needed to move my feet a little because they were starting to cramp.  I feigned a sleepy stretch, and then realized that there wasn't a mass near my feet anymore.  I took a chance and swept my feet across the bottom of the bed, and what ever I had convinced myself was there minutes ago, definitely wasn't there anymore.

I don't know what made my brain create this elaborate situation, but it was real enough to me that I actually felt the intruder sit down on the bed, and I legitimately thought that something was going to happen to either L or me.  Though, what I have learned from this is that I need to find myself a new knife to keep near my bed, and put my cellphone closer to the edge of the bedside table if an emergency actually does occur!

My latest obsession

Mr Freezies/Otter pops/Pop Ice/Tubes of frozen goodness

And yes, I'm not ashamed to say that I purchased a giant box of these from Menards yesterday, but I will not confirm how many I've downed in the last 24 hours...

101 in 1001

Lately, I've seen a fair amount of people who are stepping up to the Day Zero: 101 in 1001 challenge and I've decided that it would be a good way to keep me motivated and active.  I've felt like I've been in somewhat of a rut as of recently, but I think that have a manageable list of 101 items/tasks to complete within 1001 days will help me remember things I want to do (plus just being able to check them off is a bit of motivation already for me!).  If you would like to follow my progress, I'll probably update this blog whenever I check off a new item, but just in case I don't... here's a link to my list of 101 items that I would like to complete by April 16, 2013!

Swedish Chef

Who doesn't enjoy the Swedish Chef from the muppets?  This is one of their latest videos featuring one of my favorite muppets.  Enjoy!