Uncle Kracker

<--- Me in front of Bev's Burger Cafe. Just one of many gems in small-town High Springs. Meg and I walked in and sat ourselves in a booth. She pointed two the next two guys who entered and aptly said "I think this booth is permanently reserved for those two guys... we've upset the balance". They did give us The Eyes. Maybe thats just because we are female.

Anyway, Bev's didn't dissapoint. Then again, it didn't excite me like I predicted it would. The burgers seemed home made... which was a good thing. The fries were average. The water was sub par. All in all, it was simply decent. The atmosphere, AKA loud southern women who sat in the booth next to us and meatloaf advertisements, made the experience worthwhile.

Anyway....

I am laying in my bed watching The Office Season 4. It is such a treat. I love watching t.v. in the dark. I wish that I could stay up all night sometimes... but it's hard when you have to get up super early!

Mrs. R was sick today so we had a sub. We will also have a sub tmr. Subs= us doing lots of work.. which is fine by me. Today the kids were out of control.. and there was An Incident with some punching. Well, not some punching. A punch in the nose from one by to another. Gotta love that! I wasn't in the room because it happened at lunch. It's for the best that I wasn't there... I don't know what I would have done. I guess it would have been a learning experience. I'm sure there are plenty of brawls in my future. I just didn't think it was going to happen with second graders...

I feel as though I am getting better at classroom management. Our field advisor said that L and I were very adept at managing behavior. This is going to sound silly, but I think that part of what makes me feel more confident is that I have been singing a lot in my car and my voice has been getting less... weary. You have to have a commanding voice to gain attention. People with weak voices get eaten alive! Though, I do have to work on differentiating between my commanding voice and my conversational voice... sometimes I end up talking to one child in the voice I should be using to talk to 20. "KAYLEE, IS THAT WHAT WE SHOULD BE WORKING ON?"

Mrs. R has such a talent for getting attention. The way I felt about her teaching in the beginning is so different than how I feel now. I used to think she was so intense. Now I understand why she is the way she is... however, I do believe that the only way to teach children how to handle freedom is to give it to them. That balance what I am still working on.

Today I tried a new thing: A rolling suitcase instead of giant, shoulder-destroying bags. I'll let you know if this proves to be a successful system.

I have been working on relaxing lately. Not so much doing less (but I am), but focusing on my body and how tense I feel. Sometimes you have to make an effort to relax! Haha. I am also cleaning out my car, and trying to do less at once. Spreading yourself too thin is never a good thing.

Today I had a little incident of my own. I went to Winn-Dixie to purchase groceries and almost had to leave them at the register because my cards were declined. Except one, which I knew had zero funds... so now I am over drafted! Hooray! I really need to learn how to manage my money. I can't wait to move back home... it'll be nice to have a break from rent.

Note to self: Start a "Finer Things" club. It looks like a good time ;)