Day #3

today i went into my future job site and organized my future office. this basically means that i organized/threw away 30 years worth of papers that had never been filed. really fun. i love cleaning up other people's messes.

lee taught his summer enrichment course again today. he dropped me off and picked me up. what a nice guy. i was especially happy he did this since it was raining and COLD all day.

on a more positive note, today is our 3 year wedding anniversary. :) i love this boy soooo much!

happy anniversary, lee thomas. :)

Day #2

Lee molded more minds, I actually did something productive (learned a bit more about my job next year), and then we sat on the front porch in our new rocking chairs during a summer rain storm. it was quite lovely....lee, however, couldn't believe that we were doing this WITHOUT being retired.....

rockin' chairs

"I WANNA ROCK!"

overall, these were the cheapest, the easiest to get home, the easiest to "assemble" and pretty stinkin' cute. they were actually the comfiest, too. :)

also, i was hangin around my old stomping grounds (38th Street) and couldn't resist taking a picture of the most clever signage, ever.

in case you can't read it, it says, "BABES The Name Says It All!". let me remind you that this "gentelmen's establishment" is located at 38th and Lafeyette directly between a KFC and an Eyeglass World.

yikes.

Summer - Day #1

so here's the scoop....i'm going to try to update this thing once a day ALL summer. i want to at least take 1 picture a day, too. that way, i can remember EXACTLY what we did the last summer before i become a working-woman! :)

today, lee's going to be molding more minds at Speedway thanks to a summer school grant. since we're down to one car, i'll be driving him up there and then visiting Lafeyette Scare Mall and Garden Ridge...and probably Goodwill. so, once again, while lee is being a productive, wonderful citizen, i'll be shopping. :)

i'm hoping to score a couple of rocking chairs for the front porch....these are at Garden Ridge:

we'll see...i'm sure i'll find something!

early summer walk

buck LOVES walks. we took him to the Monon Trail today. he was a very good boy - he didn't bark at people or dogs! :) i think we walked a good 2 miles. he was so thirsty that when we went down to the creek, he drank right from the water....not sure how great of an idea that was, but he's usually too much of a scardey-cat to get next to the water - so we were proud to say the least! lee and i had fun, too. it's nice to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather together. :) our anniversary is next week - 3 YEARS! can't believe it!

here are some photos we took while visiting the Broadripple Art Center on a little side-adventure from the trail. i MUST have these flowers at my house. anyone know what they are?!

i'm officially a Butler University alum!

so, i graduated. yep. i'm a proud owner of a Master's degree from Butler University.
following is a picture journey of the evening at Butler...

me about to walk on stage...

me on stage

me getting "hooded"

me lookin so proud

all my "fans" - thanks for coming!

and the real icing on the cake is that i got a job the next week. i will officially be a Beech Grove Middle School Hornet next year! it'll be a whole 30-second drive every morning! :)

i can't believe it...

I'M DONE! :)

it feels great! i am waiting to hear how my licensing/graduation requirement exam went...i don't feel too great about it, but i'm hoping for the best. i'm turning my portfolio in on wednesday. THAT'S IT! i'll be done forever! i'm not thinking of getting a PhD anymore. i'll be happy with a masters level of education.

so what's next....well, job searching. FUN. oh wait, it's a terribly lengthy and depressing process. but it'll be worth it when i can finally start my career next fall.

also, yard work. we did all of the inside stuff on our house already. moving on to the yards. they need LOTS of work. my favorite upcoming fix - the pergola on the back porch that we built last summer. i can't wait til that's done, and i actually think it'll be fun building that with lee.

lovin the weather, too.

progress....

is being made.... (see previous post!)

AAAAAH! what was i thinking?!?!?!

how the next month-and-a-half looks for brianne....

• complete a research project: collect the data, analyze the data, write chapters 4-6; prepare a presentation - in this class, we really only have one grade which is our final product of our research paper. PRAY FOR ME! :) i know i have LOADS of research experience from marian, but still, i could potentially get a non-A grade in this class b/c of silly mistakes...blah.
• complete diversity critical project: study "refugees in schools" (through media, society and counseling related issues) and find at least 5 sources to back up a lit review section of the paper; prepare a presentation
• complete my butler portfolio: create lesson plans, do guidance work (individual, classroom and group), collect data, analyze data, reflect on the outcome/relevance of each piece (i have 4 left to do); organize into a binder to submit
• study for the comprehensive exam that i'm now taking in april instead of in july (YIKES!): 8 sections spanning from human growth to research and appraisal (YUCK!)
• complete about 150 more internship hours (this is actually the fun part :))
• organize a college visit trip for high school juniors; collect data; reflect
• finish a "mean girls" group at the middle school; collect data; reflect
• do a mini-group on culture shock at the high school; collect data; reflect
• do two (only need ONE) more videos for my internship class
• not make lee want to divorce me for being oober stressed and kind of mean/bossy/pissy all the time (love you honey!)
• find time to eat/sleep/shower
• figure out how i can enjoy the amazing spring weather when i'm in buildings all day --> not to worry, the weather has SUCKED!
• try not to freak myself out about not making ANY money for this entire semester
• ...who knows what else will come up...

as you can see, my stress level may be higher than it ever has before. i got myself into this situation, so i'll live through it...but i'm scared a little about how this will all get done in less than two months. eek. lee has been amazing through all of this. he's really just been taking care of everything b/c all i can take care of is my school work and my sanity! :)

an update....

this one's for gennie. if it wasn't for her disappointed, "so you don't have time to update your blog..." comment - i would have forgotten i had one! i've been ridiculously busy the past month and a half. butler OWNS me. i'm coming to a point in the semester where it's sort of like i'm on cruise control. i can't say i hate it....but it makes me nervous since there's only a month and a half left in the semester. anyhoo, things are good. busy, but good. i'll look through some recent pictures and see if there's anything worth posting. otherwise, glad if you're still reading. i'll try to update more often! :)