145/365 - Make Money Make Money

My first paycheck as a teacher! Need I say anything else?!



145/365
My apartment - Fayetteville, NC

144/365 - Define This

Friends. It's a word that everyone knows and everyone has an understanding of. It's also one of those words that no two people probably define in the same way. I have had many friends come and go throughout my life, and I'm one to believe that everyone comes into our lives for a reason. I love this picture because it signifies how simple friendship can be. Friendship is made to be treasured, cherished--not something to take for granted. I miss the days when it didn't matter who you were friends with. You could be friends with boys and girls and rich people and poor people and black people and white people and everything in between and it just didn't matter. For some people, as we grow older, things change and suddenly these things that never mattered before take over and we find our closest friends slipping through our fingers. Sometimes it is over the silliest things and sometimes these reasons are more deep, but it's always sad to lose a friend in any way.

This is how I look at friendship. I think of every single person who crosses paths with me as a single thread in the fabric of my life. As I look at this tapestry, some colors of thread are much more pronounced, more significant. Others are there, but barely noticeable. However, without any of them, my tapestry would fall apart. Each and every person who has been in my life (for any amount of time) was put there for a reason. Sometimes it's hard to see why things are the way they are, but in retrospect it's amazing how clear things become. Everything happens for a reason, whether we are prepared to accept them or not, but it all works out in the end. I like to think of every moment as an opportunity to learn and to grow. Think back to a challenge in your life and how difficult it might have been. Fast forward to now. Do you see how you've grown or changed for the better because of it?

I'm the kind of person who likes getting to know other people. I cherish the fact that each one of us in unique and I like to find out why. Why we are the way we are and what along the way may have made us that way. I have friends who are every age imaginable. I have friends who aren't even in double digits yet and I have friends who are in their teens, twenties, thirties, and forties. Sometimes I get to thinking and I feel that my purpose on this earth is just to be the best friend I can be to everyone in my life. I've been told more times than I can recollect that I need to stop wasting so much time and energy on other people and their feelings and worry more about me, but I can't. I've tried and tried and I always put everyone else before me. People say I care too much but I don't see it that way. Nor do I think it's a bad thing. I try to make as many people laugh and smile every day as I possibly can, it's just how I am.

To every single one of my friends, past and present, I am so grateful for you in my life. I hope you all know this.



144/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary School - Raeford, NC

143/365 - Flippy McFlipperson

Today at recess one of my students was showing me how to do backflips off the bars. I've also learned how to play around with textures in Photoshop. I've found a ton of free ones on flickr and I think most of my future photos will have textures to enhance them a little bit.



143/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary School - Raeford, NC

142/365 - Hide and Seek

Ella was being silly today and hiding in my comforter so I thought it was a perfect photo opp.



142/365
My apartment - Fayetteville, NC

141/365 - Pampered Chef

Tonight Meagan had a Pampered Chef Party. One of the things we made was an artichoke dip in a bread bowl and boy was it yummy!



141/365
My apartment - Fayetteville, NC

140/365 - Friday Funnies

This morning while we were waiting for a few more students to come back from breakfast, I decided to take a group picture, then I played my "1-2-3" game with the kids and Mrs. Shively. I got a few funny pictures. I am a fan of first grade.



143/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

139/365 - Energy Release

The kids were ANTSY this afternoon so I lined them up without telling them where I was taking them. I took them out to the older kids' playground and had them run down to the playground and back to burn some energy. When they got back some of them were tired and I asked if anyone wanted to go again and quite a bit did and I told them I'd run with them. I had on my dress clothes and little flats but I still easily outran them. If I had real shoes on I would have been there and back before they even made it halfway. They were like "daaaang Ms. Clark, you're fast!" Little do they know it's simply due to the fact that my legs are much longer than theirs. :o)



142/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

138/365 - Carefree Pleasures

I love bringing my camera outside to recess to capture pictures of the kids (if you haven't noticed most of my pictures during the week are from school/recess.) I got a great angle of one of my students swinging and I think this is the coolest picture I've taken in a while. I was showing it to EVERYONE!



141/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

137/365 - Brilliant Breakfast

While at Food Lion the other night, I re-discovered that they make stuffed waffles again. I ate them all the time in college and they just stopped making them out of the blue and I was very upset. I freaked out when I saw them in the store and had to buy a box. I popped them in the toaster this morning and made two. I used to eat them plain but I knew I had some whipped cream so I made a sandwich and it was the best thing I've had in forever. Num num num!



140/365
My apartment - Fayetteville, NC

136/365 - All Knotted Up

At recess today I taught my kids how to do the Human Knot (which didn't go so well--little arms aren't easy to work with) but it was fun. Now they try to do it all the time and it's cute. I love being a teacher!



139/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

135/365 - Wooooowwww

Today I went with Laura and Brenda over to Cheryl's house to be there for her daughter to eat cake and open presents. She was so cute. Every single thing she got, she'd old up, look at it for a second, say "Wooooooowwww" and put it down. Repeat over and over. It was adorable.



138/365
Cheryl's House - Hope Mills, NC

134/365 - Working on the Weekend

Today I spent my Saturday at school at a workshop. It was pretty cool and I got a lot out of it. I got some good ideas for my classroom and got to chat with some other teachers I've only really been able to talk to in passing. So far this school year is off to a good start.



137/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

133/365 - Friday Friends

Today was a long day at work. After work, once I finally left school, I hung out with Meagan and Zada and we watching a movie and enjoyed some mudslides. I love mudslides. It was a good Friday night activity to mellow down after the week at school.



126/365
Zada's Apartment - Fayetteville, NC

132/365 - Gobble Gobble

This evening was the parade for the Turkey Festival. Each classroom got to put a kid on the float and then there were a lot of teachers there too. Ashley and Jeremy brought Henderson and I played with him for a while. He was really attached with me today and it was cool. He's so cute! I love kids. I can't wait to be a mommy.



135/365
Turkey Festival - Raeford, NC

131/365 - A Circle of Friends

At recess today I taught some kids how to play a fun teamwork game. You stand in a circle and hold hand. I then put a hula hoop in it and it needs to get passed all the way around the circle without letting go. It was fun!



134/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

130/365 - Walk the Line

When my kids are hanging all over me at recess I give them suggestions of things to do. This time it was so see if they could walk the entire perimeter of the playground without falling off. Works for me!



133/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

129/365 - After School Sunset

I drive to school when it's dark out and it's almost always dark out when I get home. I thought this was a semi-cool sunset.



132/365
Gillis Hill Rd. - Raeford, NC

128/365 - Scentsy!

Today I went to Ashley's house for a Scentsy party. It was fun and I'm excited for some smell goods in my apartment!



131/365
The Teets Residence - Raeford, NC

127/365 - Grape Stomping Madness

This afternoon a few of us went to the winery for their annual Fall Festival and grape stomp. I've always wanted to stomp grapes and I totally got to do it. It was awesome and I'd do it again. I was in first place for getting the most juice into my jar for those in my group, and 2nd place overall, but someone ended up beating me. It was still way fun though. Who actually stomps grapes! This girl does!



130/365
Cypress Bend - Wagram, NC

126/365 - Cinnamon Roll Goodbyes

Today was one of my student's last day. She is moving and I'm sad to see her go so soon. Her mom wrote me a nice e-mail saying how much her daughter loved class (all 4 days of it) and that she was going to miss me. I definitely printed it and plan on saving it to look at on days when I need a pick me upper.



128/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

125/365 - Hard Workers

Some of my kiddos reading on the carpet during free time. They love reading time, which is wonderful. Books are the best! I love reading to them too!



128/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

124/365 - Classroom

It's blurry because my camera doesn't like the windows very much, but I didn't take any other pictures today. It was one of those days...



127/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

123/365 - Teamwork

Today was my first day as a teacher! It went so well! Here are two of my little ones working on a math game! :o) I hope this is going to be a wonderful year.



126/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

122/365 - Life as a Teacher

Can you tell what I do on the weekends? Better yet, where do I sit?



125/365
My apartment - Fayetteville, NC

121/365 - Fun With Friends

Tonight a bunch of us went out to Skip's for karaoke night. It was packed, which has NEVER been the case. It was a blast! Of course I had to make everyone play my game! :o)



124/365
Skip's - Fayetteville, NC

120/365 - The Best Surprise EVER!

My mom sent me a Cookies by Design bouquet as a surprise! It made my day! I love her!



123/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

119/365 - Love At First Sight

Today I got to spend 2 hours in the afternoon with those kiddos in my class that were at school. It was only 12, but it was a good day!

122/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

118/365 - How Do You Like Them Apples?

The apple outside of my room finally got painted with my name!! Yay this is really happening!



121/365
Rockfish Hoke Elementary - Raeford, NC

117/365 - Love Me Some Grits

GRITS = Girls Raised in the South. Hahahaha WTF?



120/365
Raeford Rd - Fayetteville, NC

116/365 - Climbing Cat

Yes, she climbed up there all on her own. She's lovely.



119/365
My closet - Fayetteville, NC