i think she really means it…

Still Here…

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | No Comments

The month of July has just flown by!   One would think from the lack of posts this month I’ve been a bit busy.  It’s true.  Between a trip to Tahoe for a week, visits and lunches with friends, a weekend at Grandma’s house, a wedding in New York, and some time spent with our friends from Germany, I’ve barely had time to check my email let alone formulate a blog entry!  (Did I mention we’re also training for a half marathon in August?!)  Whew!  I’d like to think the last month of summer will hold many days of relaxation and blog posting but I’m afraid that won’t be true.  However, I’ve got lots and lots of things to tell you my friends, and there should be a series of posts coming in the near future!

Too Deep for Daytime TV

Thursday, July 10th, 2008 | Sara the Wife | No Comments

I have *really* been enjoying my time off this past week.  My days have been filled with “junk” TV and one, simple productive task a day.  I feel like it’s okay to watch some silly court show if I’ve made the bed or unloaded the dishwasher.  In fact, I often make a game of it seeing just how much I can get done during the commercial breaks.  After all, there’s only so many UEI and Law Offices of Larry H. Parker commercials a girl can take in a given day!

Of course, filling my mind with junk isn’t the only thing I’ve been doing lately.  I’ve had a chance to visit a few friends, make cookies, and use my breadmachine too.  In fact, in a hour or so I will be heading out to take my favorite cousin lunch at her work!  The smell of warm garlic herb bread currently fills the house…

As much as junk TV (by that I mean talkshows, court shows, etc.) can turn my mind to mush, it sure gives me a great deal to think about.  For example, the first segment of the Rachel Ray Show this morning was a “kitchen table” debate about women and casual sex.  It was all very interesting and stimulated many, many opinions in my mind.  Dakota may have gotten an earful!  The next segment was about a stay-at-home mom with 4 absolutely unruly boys who have destroyed much of the house (damaged the outside of the garage with golf clubs, wrote on furniture and walls, tore up the carpet, etc.).  Rachel was sending in an “expert” to help the mom fix all of the damaged pieces and safeguard them against any future beatings.  Fortunately, I got a phone call before I got too into the segment.  I was enraged!!!!   The  issue isn’t the damage to the house, it’s the lack of discipline!  And yet, everyone seemed to laugh (uncomfortably, I might add) as one of the boys continued to pull up the carpet while talking to the expert about a home makeover.  Please!  Woe to the teachers who will have the little twerps in their classrooms next year!

All this to say, that perhaps I think a little too deeply for these types of programs.  And I don’t even know if most of them warrant the time it takes to develop an opinion.  Are there really people out there that think casual sex and safeguarding your stuff against unruly children are important enough to talk about?

(yes, yes, I see the irony!)

Looking Through the Window

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 | Sara the Wife | 6 Comments

Lately, I’ve been keeping up with several blogs written about pregnancy and “mommy-ing.”  It’s not that I’m entering the stage of life anytime real soon, it’s just that I know A LOT of people who are starting families (there are 7 people “expecting” at my work alone, and 2 at Nate’s).

(Me and my beautiful niece, Sophie)

I guess we are at that age.  Like when we were at the age when everyone seemed to be getting braces (I was a late bloomer on that one; I didn’t get mine until high school).  Then it seemed everyone was graduating and going away to college.  That stage was soon followed by the era of starting careers and marriages.  And now here I stand smack dab in the middle of the “starting a family” stage.

I’m a rather introspective person.  I enjoy learning from other people through reading, conversations, and observations.  I like to reflect on my learning and make future decisions based on my conclusions.  I’ve always had pretty high expectations of myself and I greatly fear failure.  The point of learning from others is so I won’t have to make the same mistakes they made but can beat myself up royally when I do.  On the converse, if I learn from others how to do something correctly, perhaps I can have the same positive results they had.

I tend to approach most of life this way.  “Learn from the teachers you observe in the credential program,” I told myself, “that way you can be a great teacher when you get into your own classroom.”  “Watch the ‘good wives’ in the church so you’ll know how to take good care of your husband someday.”  And now, here I stand peeking through the window of motherhood.  “Read all the books and blogs you can,” I tell myself now.  “Learn from the new moms at church and work.”  I fill my head with all kinds of knowledge of experiences, but no actual mommy experience.

It’s quite overwhelming!  I mean, the ladies I’ve been watching and keeping up with are amazing! The more I learn, the more inadequate I feel.  How did they make it through 9 long months of an extreme body makeover followed by 20 hours of excruciating labor and many long weeks of adjustment to a new life.  The sleepless nights, the morning sickness, the awkwardness of their own body.  The bringing home of a little person totally dependent on you, the new relationship you have with your spouse, the constant schedule changes, the new experiences…

HEAVEN HELP ME!

How will I ever be able to be a mommy!?

I’m simply peeking through the window.  I know my view is limited.  After all, I can’t hear what’s going on on the other side.  I can’t taste or smell or touch all that mommyhood entails.  I can only use one of the senses God has given me.  And while I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from others, I must know in my heart that my experiences are coming.  That God, in His amazing love, will give me the wisdom and strength I need when that time comes and I open the window, ever so gently, and step through it myself.

Someone’s in the Kitchen With…

Wednesday, June 11th, 2008 | Sara the Teacher | No Comments

Mrs. Jones is making a special treat for her students to enjoy tomorrow. Can you guess what it is?

Here are the ingredients.

Step 1

Step 2 (this is Mr. Jones’ job)

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5 (This was Mr. Jones’ idea…isn’t it great!?)

Step 6

Finished…dirt cups!

Nate and I made 96 dirt cups this evening (that’s a little more than 5 times the original recipe!). It was a lot of fun and a great way to show off the new picture plug-in for my blog.

My Totally Awesome, Super Cool Husband

Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 | Sara the Teacher, Sara the Wife | No Comments

It’s the time off year most teachers dread…4 more weeks of school! I mean, we’ve already taken the state tests, what more could we possibly teach? Lots! In fact, there aren’t enough days in the school year to get it all in. However, this is also the time of year most students have checked-out. Their brains are full and all they can focus on is summer vacation. Especially 8th graders!

This creates a particularly interesting challenge for me. I teach the 8th graders who hate math (and usually school in general). If I thought the first 10 months of school weren’t challenging enough, June is definitely going to push me to my limit! I’m running low on patience, and my creativity is in short supply. Yet, I still have 4 more weeks of 90-minute periods with rambunctious teenagers. What ever am I going to do?!

Games. That’s what I’ll do! I’ll find a way to trick them into learning for at least 3 more weeks (it really is hopeless to do anything productive the last week of school!). This week, we’re doing a bit of geometry review. If only there was a bingo game that practiced geometric terms and definitions. Well, there isn’t one appropriate for teenagers (I teach remedial kids, but they’re still 13, they’re not going to play “baby” games). Alas, Lakeshore had nothing worth buying. Like most materials I store in my classroom, I’ll have to make it myself.

Have you ever made a Bingo game before? It really isn’t difficult…unless of course you want to make 20 unique game boards. I mean, you can only cut and paste so many times before Microsoft Word freaks out and asks for the rest of the afternoon off.

Enter my Totally Awesome, Super Cool Husband…

He created a program, a computer program, that generates 20 unique game boards…and he did it in one evening! WOW!! No more cut and paste for me! No need to create 20 different tables and cut-and-paste each square. Now I have a computer program to do all the work and an exciting Geometry Bingo game for my students to play tomorrow.

The last three weeks are definitely looking up…just think of the possibilities! Algebra Bingo, Decimal Bingo, Fraction Bingo, Percent Bingo, Division Bingo, Place Value Bingo…

Thanks, Nate…you’re my hero!

What’s New?

Tuesday, May 20th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | No Comments

Well, it’s been a lot more than a few days, but I’m finally getting around to let you all in on the happenings in the Jones’ household… (sorry there are no pictures yet)

Nate and I are in the midst of training for the San Diego Rock N’ Roll Marathon. We run three mornings a week before work (that means our alarm goes off at 4:15, and we’re usually out running a little after 5:00). It’s quite something to cram a 7 mile run in before going to work, but it works for us. This past weekend we ran 21 miles. Whew! Since I’ve not ever had a baby, I wonder if it’s anything like training for a marathon. I mean, even though I’ve done it 4 times before, I’ve forgotten the pain, and it isn’t any easier this time around!

Speaking of babies, Nate’s sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on March 17th. Little Sophie is perfect in every little way, and we are thrilled to have a new niece to love! Sydney is turning out to be such a well-mannered, helpful young girl. I can’t believe she’ll be starting kindergarten this September! She is one smart cookie! I *love* being her “Auntie Sara.”

Speaking of school, my students just finished taking their California Standards Tests. Our regular school schedule was altered, and I found fun and interesting activities to keep my students busy during the minutes they were in my classroom. There was no need to teach them any lessons at that point as their brains were usually mush after the 2 hours of testing each morning. I made 100 little fabric bags on my new sewing machine and filled them with “test prep goodies.” It was just my way of encouraging them to do their best on their tests this year. Many of my kids have grown a great deal in their math understanding, and I know they can be successful.

In March we celebrated “Pi Day” (March 14–you know–3/14–3.14–yeah, it’s math nerd day). The students did all kinds of fun activities with the digits of pi including a pi chain (with each number represented by color), a pi bar graph, creating a picture out of the symbol for pi, creating a pi-mobile, and learning a little history about pi. We also enjoyed a few oatmeal creme “pi”s. It was a fun activity and definitely a celebration I plan to repeat in the years to come!

Nate and I have taken several more walks through L.A. using our “Walk L.A.” book. We’ve walked the canals of Venice (a mere 5 miles from our front door!) and explored some incredibly steep stairs in northwestern Santa Monica. We were blown away by the number of “local” running up and down the side of the mountain!

A few weeks ago, after reading an amazing story from a missionary’s blog in Kenya, God placed a mini project on my heart. A few months ago, this missionary was called in the middle of the night to rush to the clinic where a young woman was having a miscarriage. She was loosing a great deal of blood and the workers at the clinic used many towels to stop the bleeding. When they were finally able to keep her from loosing any more blood, they had her re-dress in the bloody clothes she arrived in for a drive to the hospital. As tears filled my eyes and my heart broke, I couldn’t help but think of the hemorrhaging woman in the gospel of Luke. My heart was stirred to compassion, and I just knew there was something I needed to do to provide dignity and modesty to a sister half a world away. With the help of some friends from our 2006 Kenya Missions team, we purchased 36 hospital gowns and several packs of women’s underwear to send to the ELI clinic in Kipkaren. I am so grateful for the work of our missionary friends in that small Kenyan village, and hope that even from so far away, we can still make a difference in the lives of the people they touch daily.

Finally, Nate and I made a new purchase recently. Our little 1997 Jetta was a faithful friend these past 5 years, but it was finally time to put her to rest. About a week and a half ago, Nate and I drove up to San Jose on a Thursday afternoon after work. We got up early Friday morning to run our “long” run for the week (19 miles) and then headed over to Capitol Honda, where Jeremy, Nate’s brother, works. We test-drove a fun 2005 Audi A4 and two different 2008 Honda Accords. A mere 5 hours later we decided to purchase a brand new car. Our black Accord is perfect and we feel like grown-ups with automatic doors and windows, cruise control, 6-disc CD change, and air-conditioning!

For those of you who have stayed with me through this extremely long update, thank you! My heart overflows with joy as I relive the many blessings God has given to use over these past couple of months.

Busy…

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008 | Random Thoughts | 2 Comments

My dear readers, it has been nearly a month since my last post.  Life has been very busy, to say the least!  But the weeks have been good…filled with walks around Los Angeles, miles (and miles, and miles) of running through the local neighborhoods, a couple of visits with my precious nieces, stories from Kenya, and of course, my lovely 8th graders.

An update is coming.  And pictures to boot!  Just give me a few more days…

Friendships

Monday, March 24th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | 1 Comment

I’ve had a lot of neat friendships in my life. I had good friends throughout elementary school and a special group of 5 girlfriends in high school. When I got to college, however, God blessed me with a small group of women who taught me what it truly means to be “friends.”

Jen, Sandra, and I hung out constantly. We met together once a week to have veggie burgers at Take 5. Jen and I ran our first marathon together. Sandra and I were roommates in Bowles. We studied together, prayed together, we even spent the night in each other’s rooms. We found that simply being in one another’s presence was refreshing. We didn’t have to talk or have deep conversations (although, we certainly had many of those), we simply enjoyed one another’s company. We sent each other encouraging notes through the inter-campus mail, met together on Friday afternoons for “hot tea” parties. Those were some precious times. They are amazing women.

I don’t know if it was the community life of college or the time and place in life that we were in together, but I’ve had a hard time finding friendship like that since. For a while, Taryn and I had a special bond (while they were living in West LA, and Steve was attending USC). But it sure didn’t last long enough.

Living in LA certainly has it perks. Nate and I feel like we’re living a dream…we live so close to the city and the beach…who could ask for anything better! Yet, one of the downfalls to city life is the lack of lasting relationships. This is such a transient area. People come and go frequently. Lots of people come to the city to go to school or start a career, but when they reach the point in life we’re reaching (that is, having a family), they’re ready to move on. It’s nearly impossible to raise a family on one income and live in anything bigger than a one bedroom apartment in our neighborhood. Especially if you have the type of career that serves the community (on staff at a church, school, or social service center). Therefore, most of our friends have moved away. Dan and Sandra are in Germany, Jen and her soon-to-be-husband are in Philadelphia, Steve and Taryn go to school in Loma Linda, Tim and Kelley work for CSM in Chicago. We’ve known so many amazing couples and have been blessed with their friendships.

I guess I just have a longing in my heart for a good girlfriend again. Someone who is close-by and in a similar life situation. Someone who is also on a journey with God, longing to live the life He’s called her to. Someone who I can call up and bring with me when I need to take a quick trip to Trader Joe’s. Someone who I can cook dinner for, or who can cook dinner for me when we’ve had a long, awful day. Someone who understands some of my same struggles. Someone who I can encourage and who can encourage me.

My heart is lonely. I have known good friends, and am a better woman for the experiences. I pray that in the months to come God will bring a special friend across my path, and that we can experience a new and growing relationship as we revel in God’s blessings in the city of Los Angeles.

10 Miles of Bliss!

Monday, March 17th, 2008 | Random Thoughts | 1 Comment

As mentioned in a previous post, I had a very difficult long run last weekend. This past Saturday’s run certainly redeemed running for me!

Because we had a very busy day planned, Nate and I got up and started running at 5:00 am. It was still dark and there were very few people out that early on a Saturday morning. However, the air was crisp and clean. Both of us turned our ipods up loud and ran. We ran tirelessly for 4 miles, “gu-ed” up at home, then went out for another 6. It was incredible to see the sun come up over the buildings of Century City. It was an amazing run. We got back and felt great! What a great opportunity to enjoy the beauty of nature and the city of Los Angeles. We *love* our home!

A New Haircut

Monday, March 17th, 2008 | Sara the Teacher | 2 Comments

I got a haircut this past Friday. It’s shorter than I had planned, but I really like it. Of course, the first thing I heard this morning from the students was, “Mrs. Jones, you cut your hair!” I explained to them that I didn’t actually cut my hair, but had someone else do it for me. Several of them told me they liked the cut except for one girl in first period. She tactfully informed me that it looked better long. Oh well, you can’t please them all…