iLike (stuff i don't have to have)

our new blue wall (and the green ones and the brown one...i just don't have a pic yet). someday soon i'd like to have a design painted on the brown one...a dandelion or something, possibly.


these new penguin books. i love pretty books.

peonies in a blue-green jar. what's not to like?

this jeep looks pretty sweet. it might have something to do with the fact that the mountains look pretty fun, but i've seen one of these around town, and i've grown to like it quite a bit. i'm in a green-loving phase.

this house is out near my parents', and the moment i saw it "i fell in love with it" (such a woman thing to say, isn't it?). if i were to live in it one day, i would change a few things. to start off with, it would not be so close to other houses. secondly, the porch would be even more "open" and the windows would get some shutters or something to soften them up. my tastes have changed quite a bit since college. i used to want to live in a really modern house with sleek lines. those are still cool to me, but they seem a bit unpractical.



note: please forgive me for not giving credit to the sources from where i pulled some of these pics. i forgot to save the pages, then got too lazy to try finding them again.

carry on.

oh boy

i will try to keep this quick, but i have a lot of things to record so i make no promises.

first of all, i made it through the first four days of school. i wrote 7 referrals in one class (over the course of two class periods) and was accused (by some students in that class) of being racist because most of the students who got in trouble were not the same color as i. i will say this to address the situation, then move on with my life:
1 - approximately 75% of the kids in that class are not the same color as i, which increases the odds that kids of that color will get into trouble, all things being equal. make sense??
2 - the kids who got in trouble FULLY deserved to get in trouble, as did several other kids in the class; i just ran out of time and energy to write them up. i have a long year ahead of me unless i can figure this class out.
3 - the rest of my classes are little darlings(!), and they are made of the same racial ratios.

that is all about that. here's what's going on this semester:
1 - teaching english 3 and reading classes (different from last year)
2 - head coaching volleyball (track in spring)
3 - helping with the college ministry at church. big things are happening there, and i don't want to miss out!
4 - fca at school.
5 - writing my master's thesis paper, which will take a LOT of time and energy. i found out on tuesday that my research proposal and applications for doing the research should have basically been done in july because of the school district in which i teach and their ridiculous procedures for research (they tend to reject most proposals, just for kicks.). i might not finish my master's program this semester, but that will be okay, because i would like to be a pleasant, non-anxious, non-tense person to spend time with, particularly for my husband. that is worth the 1,500-something raise i would get if i finished by december.

very soon i plan to cut down on the amount of "stuff" i do, but for now it is what it is.

now for some more fun things:
1 - applebutter-making day is coming up.
2 - our church is planning a trip to africa in december, which means i might need to look into tattoo designs.
3 - it's almost fall, and the weather is already crisp and cool, perfect for riding in coacher's jeep or a black mustang convertible.
4 - lr's football team should be pretty good, and i plan to watch them get some wins.
5 - babies are popping up and growing up everywhere, and the best part is we get to play with them, then send them home when they get cranky (or tired of us).
6 - in the past two weeks, i have gotten recertified in belaying for rock climbing and learned to golf. am i really good at those two things? not so much. but they are pretty fun.
7 - i have successfully made meatballs, and they were not too bad.

my blog name will change soon, but i'm still looking for ideas. all for now...

adios days

there's no getting around it: summer is basically over for the lotz family. volleyball and cross country practices start tomorrow, followed closely by the first days of school, first competitions, a large number of college kids coming back to 'the vine' at church (and several events to take place because of that), and my completion of a lengthy research thesis paper for a bump up on the pay scale.

i'll also be attempting to teach freshman reading and english 3 this year, as opposed to the at-risk classes i taught last year. this was a change i was not expecting and a change i was not too happy about, but i'm sure God has a purpose for it so i'll give it my best (without stressing too much, as i am apt to do).

now for the good news: fall also includes fresh temperatures, jeep-top-down rides, fiery leaves, back-to-school purchases, applebutter-making day "down home," and of course new episodes of the office and other favs.

two t-shirt slogan ideas for the vb team: "fresh and fiery" (we are really young, but i'm hoping that translates into something good) and "live like ladies, compete like dawgs" (i just think it's funny, and it should be true).

i'm done.