Baby, it's cold outside

The first snowfall of the year marks the end of fall and the transition to a new bucket!

The early night fall, cold weather, and horrible driving conditions usually inspire me to stay in. This year, I don't want it to slow me down. 

Bake cupcakes- inspired by The Cake boss show I saw just last week!

this recipe blows. but it still counts!

Make chocolate covered pretzels, my favorite snack.

Go sledding -I haven't done that since I was a kid

Ice skate outside- I've been wanting to go to Rice Park!

A Christmas Carole- it's at the Guthrie, carried over from my fall bucket =)

I. Love. This. Theater.

Complete my Holiday Good Deeds list!

disney barbies for toysfortots

Cozy up with my tie blanket and hot chocolate for a movie

GIVE GIVE GIVE

Another Wild Game

Inspire

Entertain the idea of going back to school

Make a snow angel

Finish redecorating my bedroom

Make an ornament

Make good lasagna

Snowboard

Workout 3 times a week. bare minimum, i should be able to manage this.

Save money for trips!--having the travel bug ain't cheap!

Lion King

                                         Tis' the season to Eat, Drink and Be Merry! 
                                                   Cheers

Thanksgiving

Thankful for my family. I couldn't handpick them better myself. 

We've grown together,

Struggled together,

So long as we're united, there isn't anything that can beat us. 

Every Saturday for the first 16 years of my life, the family would come together and have dinner. I Birthday cakes were brought over, Christmases were warm and joyful, new years was always a riot. It sounds so ordinary, but what those Saturdays brought us is truly amazing.  I used to look around and see my family sprawled everywhere in the living room and feel secure, loved, and happy. Being around my family to this day brings me back to those happy moments of my childhood.  

I don't know if I could amount to much without the support of these girls. 

We're all a bit crazy. But we love each other for it. 

We all are known to be kinda shy, you would never guess it when we're together.

Second generation of intense women. lol. 

Apples don't fall far from the tree,

 what you lookin' at now represents the crazy Moms and aunts in the family.

God gives us our relatives, thank God we can still choose our friends- Ethel Watts Mumford

The best part is that I'd choose them to be my friends too.

“In the game of life, you cannot stumble around hoping for a lucky break. It simply isn’t going to happen. So every morning I grab life by the horns, throw it to the ground, and tell it how it’s going to be.”


I’ve been a victim of this game many times over, then volunteered myself to be benched for a while, but I’m suited up and ready to be back in the game with a vengeance. Life isn't just going to happen to me, from this point forward, I'm driving.


I hope the world is ready, for the wrath of Vu.

mistake " miiiiiiistaaake...steak.... OH I LOVE STEAK!"

He interrupts my explanation with, "Ann, can I tell you something?" and goes on to tell me a completely random story about his weekend or favorite video game. Our frustrations have been exercised, I  have almost fallen asleep while he worked through his math problems,and he's put up with crabby Ann a ton, but hard work never goes unpaid. 

The catch about what I do is that there is little to no instant gratification, you don't tend to see improvement right away to reaffirm what you're doing. Without that, working through the long days is completely draining. I do enjoy my time with him, there really isn't much of a dull moment, however, after a eight and half hour shift with 3/4 yr olds...two hours with Ethan becomes a real chore. ( I hate to admit that)

I've been working with him for about two months now, and I'm ecstatic to see some real improvement. I've recently noticed it, and his confidence tells me he's noticed as well. Granted he still has some learning difficulty, it gives me joy to see that these long 12 hr days between preschool and him have amounted to something. He's expanded his vocabulary and progresses along with the class in math. IT'S THIS MOMENT, that I work towards. 

 I asked him to include a turkey since we took his halloween picture down lol

The moment when I look at a student, and know that they've grown smarter and more confident now than they were before. 

Knowing that I played a part in it makes up for all the frustration and loss of patience I experience day to day.

Whether its a year or a few months ago, growth is what life is about. The students themselves don't see it the way I do, but that's okay, their mission is different than mine. 

I'm proud, and we're going on strong. By the end of this year he's going to be leaps and bounds away from where he started.

I just know it.