WHITE AND ORANGE

PH - Happy New Year

I'll be honest. New Year's hasn't really been much a big deal to me. I'm not a big partier and, like Ebeneezer Scrooge feel that a night of unbroken rest is more conductive to my welfare. I'm a big sleeper, I guess.

Growing up, we didn't stay up so much as get up in the morning to watch the parade. Not just any old parade, THE parade was the Pasadena Rose Parade. Sometimes there would be treats or Martinelli's sparkling apple cider, but the big thing was the parade. No, we never went to see it. That would have meant camping out amongst a bunch of strangers in the cold (remember Scrooge?). We could see it just fine (probably better) from our living room. I never went. Sorry, ME. I'm kind of a party poop about it.

As a Young Adult, I did go to dances and parties. Jumping between two parties one year (and by parties, I mean "Mormon" parties - no alcohol - just fun, music, and games) I actually found a boyfriend. But they were never the highlight of my life.

Now is not much different, except I'm not finding any more boyfriends (wink). Even my kids prefer to stay home, though at least one admits to staying up to midnight (I READ your blog, girl!). The smart ones go to bed. Usually, people have work the next day anyway.

The parade? Ken isn't into parades. I've watched them with my kids, especially when we were in California. But we don't have cable here and I generally don't think about it. I do try to serve some kind of special thing. Analiese made punch this year.

It Came All the Same

Around here, there's a lot of build up for the next "storm." Remember "Snowmaggedon," the snow that wasn't? This week, the weather caught up, just in time for the kids to have fun in it before school starts up again.

Wednesday the clouds rolled in. That night, it rained and rained and rained. Buckets. I woke up briefly at five a.m. and spoke with Ken - and it was still raining. I went back to bed and arose a little after eight. This time, the snow was coming down in huge flaky clumps! Which it did - all day!

Back porch, snow falling

Pretty, but cold

Analiese was charmed by it; I knew it was deceptive. Under that sweet, innocent snow was the buckets of water from the previous rain. Read: Ice. My winter nemesis. But she needed to get to TB to get her work schedule. Hmmm. When to go? Decision: Mid-day. If I waited too late, the night would fall and temps would drop and it would be treacherous going.

Not only did I have to brush 3-4 inches of snow off of the windshield, side windows and the back,

There's a van under there!

but I had to break off thick SHEETS of ice off of them as well. We may have walked out of the house around noon, but it took us a good twenty minutes before we were ready to drive out!

Honestly, the roads weren't that bad, but I took the well-driven main roads just to be safe. We made it to TB and even a stop at Walmart. I was surprised how busy both places were. I guess I'm the only wary one in the snow.

But...I strayed not from the hearth once I returned. I do not tempt fate.

The next day, Analiese & I stayed snuggley at home while Ken & Jonathan went off to work. I bit my nails a little in worry with Jonathan facing icy streets with not much experience, but he made it there and back okay. We girls just listed to the constant drip-drip-drip as the sun came out and the snow slowly succumbed to it's warm rays. It was a very pretty day and many children were out enjoying it!

Back porch again, pretty

Bright sunny day

Saturday, I had to drive to Norman for the January Seminary Inservice. I took the back roads (to avoid the tolls), but all was clear. If anything, the day was even more beautiful - temps in the 50's - and it was a lovely drive. No ice on the roads at all, lots of snow melting. My kind of day!

My First Class

VIPKid tells you it can take up to two months to get settled into a regular teaching schedule. But I'm not sitting there, waiting for it to happen. In the meantime, I'm busy taking workshops, studying for my International TESOL (ESL teaching) certificate, and trying to certify for more teaching levels. Since I didn't have Seminary to study for this week, I took a workshop every day...on Thursday I even took two!

Tuesday evening, I received an update from VIPKid. I got my first booking! I would be teaching a level 3 student on Friday evening. I was so excited, it took me forever to go to sleep. In retrospect, I should have just got up and looked at everything, because that's what I wanted to do, but told myself I could wait until morning. Seriously, I should know myself better by now!

Now, on top of the workshops, I was prepping for my first class. I can't go into too many details due to copyright laws, but let's just say there were animals involved. I had to scour the house for things, I even borrowed something from Jonathan (which I will not elaborate on so as to not embarrass him!). I made this shark "puppet" on a popsicle stick:

Friday evening came and I added nervousness to my excitement. I was alone in the back - I'd shushed everyone out, though Ken listened to my side (I had headphones) from his recliner in the livingroom. As the clocked ticked to 7:30...there she was! A giggly little seven-year-old...all the way in China! Was this real?

We had fun. She showed me her stickers, told me she liked dolphins better than sharks, and giggled at my funny face when she mistakenly read "Mommy" as "monkey." Then she continued to do it, silly girl! She was a very good reader and I enjoyed her just as much as I think she did me.

The hardest part was the mandatory feedback. I had to tell these parents in China (the company translates it) what she learned and what she needed to work on. I wanted it just right: she did a good job, but could work on her pronunciation of words ending in -s. It's a common issue in Chinese learners. Also, parents EXPECT suggestions from improvement, otherwise you're not a good teacher! I hope I gave just the amount of positive encouragement along with some constructive ideas for improvement.

Ken hearing it, said I was a little fast sometimes (nervous me), but it sounded like I knew what I was doing. And I liked it. It is really up my alley. The parents might leave me feedback - I hope they will, but they don't always. Still, it was a good first experience. I learned a lot, I can only get better, and I can't wait for the next one!