Another long update

Well, I'm 24 now. My birthday was this last Monday. I don't feel different, though I wonder if I should because people keep asking me if I feel different or if it's weird. I haven't yet had a real birthday bash or anything. Bry and I are waiting to get paid so that we can do a little thing for my birthday. 

I got my GRE scores back, I don't know what to think of them. I just hope it's all good enough for the grad school. That's all I care. :) I did better on the writing analysis, a lot better, than I thought I would. The other two scores, I was just average. 

I just found out that I did pass my Teacher Work Sample, basically the final project for me to do before I graduate. So now all I have left are three observations which are coming up. One this coming week, and two the next week. After that, my two supervisors write up their final evluations, then I'm all set to graduate. I just make sure everything is in my career placement file. 

I'm turning in my application to the U of U grad school next week. Kind of nerve wracking since I won't know until at least March whether or not I got accepted. I just have to finish up my resume and my personal career statement, and get my transcripts sent in, then I'm all set. 

I got a second calling at church last week. I'm co-teaching Bryan's primary class three Sundays a month, then the third Sunday, I teach Relief Society. So truly, Saturdays are the ONLY days where I'm not doing something teaching related. :) I was definitely meant to be teaching :) 

On Monday, I'll finally get a girls night out with to of my gal friends. I'm very very excited for that. Like, REALLY. :) I miss them a lot. 

Bryan's been busy with school. He has night classes on Monday and Wednesday and is basically at the library all night on Tuesday and Thursday. We spend Friday nights together, then he spends all day Saturday at the library. It get skind of lonely around here when he's gone the only time I'm home, but one must do what they must do eh?

I suppose I should get back to cleaning and working on my resume and my other job. I just don't feel like it. The darn cold has been making me tired very easily. I slept for about 12 hours last night because of it. I work work work all week, then when I get home, I sleep. The house has become a mess because of this...oops. :) 

Not a very exciting update, but it is one at least.

Kids are creative

OK, ok, I know I've complained about it a million times. This time, I have something good to say about it. 

Wow, you get to see a different side of the kids once they get used to inside recess. So amazing ow creative tey are. A girl just made a horse and a person riding a horse out of cubes, the boys of course have been making spaceships. I'm also surprised at how many know how to play Othello (I think that's what it's called). 

We made masks today, They look awesome, hopefully I'll remember my camera tomorrow.

The best students

oh what fun it is to have a power outage in an elementary school. 

Luckily, my kids weren't screaming or freaking out. I had run to the copy room really fast to make copies, and it went out while I was there. I hurried back and just found my kids standing up and waiting for me to tell them what to do. They really are good kids. :)

Scattered Thoughts

A little breathing room and very random scattered thoughts
Finally, I have just a LITTLE breathing room for a bit, heh.

I spent most of Christmas break working on my teaching portfolio and studying for the GRE. Teaching portfolio mostly done, just waiting for feedback from my supervisor, then I can scan the pics I need in and put in my references, then PAH! FINISH! I'm excited to have it done and to be able to just focus on teaching instead of worrying about my grades alongside with teaching. This has to be in by Wednesday, I'm ecstatic to have it done.

I took the GRE today. It's done, I've taken it, and now to finish my application for grad school. Prospects look good so far, we shall see. I'll have the application turned in by January 31st, but I won't know if I'm accepted until April or May. I hate waiting. I'm having a hard enough time waiting for the rest of GRE scores to be done.

I have grades to enter in that are due on Thursday. All just right after we get back from Christmas break. It's insane.

Come next Friday, January 12th. I'll have a lot more room to breathe. Will just have to focus on teaching and finishing up my grad application. Still very excited for it. :)

Students are awesome, seirously could not ask for a better class. I love them all and cannot thing of anything else I would rather do for a job. I wouldn't even model, I hate attention. Yeah, I know, I'm weird that way.

Night at the Musem movie, I loved it. I am a sucker for that kind of comedy. I am entertained quite easily. I have at least 5 DVD's of Laurel and Hardy if that tells you how easily I am entertained :)

Saw the magazine with Caridee on it, the Seventeen magazine. Yes, I do love the ANTM show.

I miss being social...hmph. I would love a rootbeer freeze from A&W right now. Yum.

impossible or no?

When you set on accomplishing a major task, and a pretty important one too. Ever feel like you're gonna get it done without a problem, then one day, during preparation for accomplishing said task, you feel like you're the biggest failure around? 
I haven't felt this in a very very long time, probably not since my first harp concert 4 years ago. And in that case, I really did suck my performance up, but at least I was in the beginning group where it was somewhat expected, or at least there were no high expectations anyway, and other people were loud enough to cover up my lousy mistakes. I literally had a mental break down after it because of so many other things going on at the same time. I feel like I'm at that point again. I just finished, well 90% finished my teacher work sample (others know it as a portfolio), it was hard to analyze my teaching at some points, and it was just long and took up a lot of itme. I just have to polish it up by having more people edit it, have my teacher look at it make sure I did the write thins, since this is pass or fail. Now, within today until Tuesday, I need to come up with my lesson plans for next week. normally, this wouldn't be a problem, but because of other things I have to do (work this weekend and study for the GRE). It's getting difficult. I also hav eno motivation to do it. I've been pretty much somehwats stressed over my whole winter break, and I just want a break, which I don't think I'll ever get until I'm done with grad school (IF I get in), which won't be ntil summer of 2009. Seems so far away. I just took a diagnostic quiz thing for the GRE last night, and my heart just fell as I was going through it realizing how much I don't know, it was a real blow to the self-esteem and confidence in my intelligence. I always thought I was pretty smart and able to get by, but this test, wow, I suck. After that quiz, I have no motivation to even try and study anymore, I keep telling myself "what's the point? you suck so badon the diagnostics and you're not gonna get any better in a week!"I'm taking it a week from Friday (tomorrow). Just now studying for it, yes, only because I hadn't planned on taking it so soon, and I hadn't planned on applying for grad school until recently. I have to take the GRE by Jan 5th for the scores to sent with my application in time. 

It's just really discouraging, and I'm just not sure what to do other than just sit and zone out and stare at a tv screen.

....off to studying I go.

Go Dave!

My brother got into Med School! YAY! I'm VERY excited for him :) 

Next stop, me getting accepted into grad school (at the same university :) )

Another real update

Wow, so time flies by so fast when you're working your butt off!

As Bryan posted in his livejournal, I had an interview with the director for a masters program at the University of Utah. I'm hoping to get into the special education masters program with an emphasis in hearing impairment and early childhood education (0-5 years). My dream is to one day have a preschool/kindergarten that allows for several ways of communication rather than an emphasis in just one or only promoting one or two methods out of many options out there. I'm excited about it! The meeting with the director went VERY well. Turns out she knows pretty much who I am as she already knew my mom. She didn't realize who I was because of my married last name :) Once I told her I was a Burrow, she knew exactly who I was and was excited that I wanted to apply for the program. I may be able to get my scholarship to pay for my tuition and books AS WELL as applying for a grant that pretty much is a stipend (books and tuition as well), so that means work would be at a minimal. This is ideal as I would like to go full-time so that I may be able to graduate ASAP (2009). It's just crazy. I'm currently in the process of registering for the GRE and getting accommodations with that, hopefully I will be able to take it in January. We shall see, I don't see why not. 

Next, teaching second grade. I seriously cannot express how much I love this job. I love seeing the kids learn, I love seeing them explore many different books, math ideas, I love seeing the light click. I just love it. I can't wait to have my own school and do this with younger kids. It's hard for me to think of teaching any other grade right now, but then again I felt the same way when I was student teaching my Kindergraten classes. Kids are just amazing with what kind of capacity they have for learning!


My teacher work sample is tough to keep on top of. I have lessons to plan everyday, and things change everyday, I change homework assignments mid day half the time, so it's hard to get everything prepared the right way. I am supposed to have my teacher work sample done before Christmas break...yeah, we'll see how that goes :). I hope to finish planning out the assessments and lesson plans by the m iddle of this week so that I can do my pre-assessment Friday and then just teach rocks all of next week and do data collection the week after that. I'me xcited, yet nervous, and stressed abotu getting this done. But one good thing about all of this, it will show proof that my kids actually do learn in my classroom!....at least I hope.... :) 

I need to write more often so I can tell what kinds of cool lesson plans I do and fun things we do :). 

I'm also trying to keep up with organization stuff. I'm on the CLNA board, and that's been kind of slow lately due to lack of board members that we need to help keep things going, hopefully that will be taken care of this week though! *Crossees fingers* A local state coalition that I'm on is doing well, not too much to keep my busy, so that's nice. The student advisory council isn't bad either. 

I can't believe I graduate from BYU at the end of April. I'll be a graduate! Amazing. I'll still be a second grade teacher until school is out,t hen I pack up my things and enjoy the summer and hopefully start grad school in September at my current rival school, the U of U. One super nice thing about that is that I'm actually possibly going to be going to school with...my husband! YAY! How exciting is that? Makes me all giggly inside. 

I'm also a relief society teacher for the 2nd sunday of every month for my church. That's fun as well, I'm still trying to get back int he groove of teaching adults though. I like my classees to be very interactive and hands on, so I have yet to figure out a style that satisfies my need of itneraction but yet is reverent and quiet enough for church and much older ladies. 

Ah, the bell has rung and my class is coming. Plus the entry is way too long by now :) 
Hope all is going well!