Happy Birthday, Grace!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmk9iZhU4Q8

Sorry about the camera set-up! I couldn't figure out how to make the file editable. :)

25 Things About Me (in addition to my list on Facebook)

1. Not that it currently matters...I have decided that I do not want a "real" diamond engagement ring. Watch the movie Blood Diamond. You might change your mind, too. "People back home would not buy a diamond if they knew it cost someone their hand." -Jennifer Connelly in Blood Diamond
2. I had chicken pox as a toddler. I have a scar on the right side of my nose because my mother (not me, the toddler) knocked off a scab.
3. I am my mother's only child but not my father's.
4. I may buy a house between now and August.
5. I want to learn to play the piano.
6. I had to have 6 baby teeth pulled before I got braces in the 6th grade.
7. I don't think I will continue to get my Master's in Education...maybe in English - not Education.
8. My favorite movie is It's A Wonderful Life. Dangerous Minds is a close second.
9. I still want to be Mac from the TV show JAG.
10. I have been to the Bahamas twice.
11. I have parasailed.
12. I started babysitting when I was 11 years old. Ricky was 5 months old. What were my aunt and uncle thinking?!
13. Incorrectly used punctuation drives me nuts. See my "Punctuation Peeve" post.
    
14. I made an 800 on the verbal section of the SAT.
15. I almost majored in political science in college.
16. I paged in the Mississippi Senate my junior year of high school.
17. I tutored my school's football team in every core subject during my senior year.
18. I was a teacher's pet and loved it.
19. I hated my kindergarten teacher because she refused to call me "Kristy" and instead called me "Kristin" for the entire year.
20. My dating life peaked in the 7th grade. Looking back, I'm kind of grateful.
21. If I get married and have kids, I totally plan on being a white version of the Huxtables from The Cosby Show.
22. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is my favorite book.
    
23. I like to make s'mores in the microwave. I have Bess to thank for this.
24. I usually get up before 8:00 a.m. on the weekends.
25. I have never broken a bone. Just wait...it'll happen this week! LOL.
    

Bummed

So, today was a pretty good day at school. But then I had to go to my first night of my 2nd graduate class. For the first half, I loved it. The teacher is hilarious (but she has no idea). She's very quirky. I could've sat and observed her for hours. And then she started handing out the assignments. No big deal until we had to pick groups for a big project. I am in a group with the two most annoying, racist women in the class. What's our topic? Ethnicity! You've got to be kidding me. Sadly, the presentation is due the day after my birthday. The day before my birthday will be spent judging Destination Imagination (but I'm excited about that). Two days after my b'day is the state English test. I'm so disappointed. I was all pumped about my 25th birthday, but now I'm feeling quite deflated. :(

I know it will all work out. I know this is an opportunity for God to work. I'm just not happy about it at the moment. ;)

I'm Exhausted

One of my grad classes started back last night. :(

I'm exhausted because of it and how it made my schedule go yesterday:
5:30 - Wake Up!
6:40 - Leave for school
7:35-2:35 - Teach
2:35-4:00 - Counsel/tutor students
4:30-7:15 - Scary graduate class
7:30-8:45 - Bible study (home group)
9:00 - DINNER
9:45ish - Bedtime! I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

It's not that horrible, but I am so tired today! And 9:45 is definitely earlier than my usual bedtime! I wouldn't be quite so worried except for two things: 1) this class is a research-heavy class (lots of work!) and 2) my other class begins Monday!

Please pray for me whenever you think about it. I have less than six weeks before my students take the state exam for English. (Unfortunately, it falls during my birthday week. Boo.) Jasmine is still having problems. Alex is supposed to be released back to school this week. I have LOTS of homework for Wednesday's class already. Oh, yeah - update your blogs! Some of you are slacking! :)

Punctuation Peeve

It's exam week, and all is quiet on the classroom front. So, what is Ms. Watkins doing? Grading? Planning? Nope; she's blog-stalking!

And while I have been perusing friends' blogs (and their friends' blogs, etc.), I keep noticing the same punctuation error. However, before I bust some folks out, I would like to say that none of my friends that are listed on my blog roll are guilty of this error. :) So, what's the error, you ask. Misuse of apostrophes!!! Guys, when you get married that means there are TWO of you with the last name. Not that one of you suddenly has possession of something. Here are some examples with made up names.

It should be: The Garcias - not The Garcia's
The Lees - not The Lee's
The Longs - not The Long's

So, dear friends, if you know someone who is making this mistake, either direct them to this post or tell them yourselves! Thank you. That is all.

Breaking News...

I don't know if anyone actually reads this during the day (I know I usually check my blog list at night!), but there has been a development with a student from my previous post.

Alex, my sweet, disturbed Alex (student #1 from yesterday's post) just came by to let me know that he's going to a mental hospital today. This could be either just what he needs or a nightmare. Please, please pray that he encounters godly men and women at this place who will take him seriously. He has consistently written in his journal about demon voices for the last 5 months. I'm not into all the hocus-pocus stuff, but I do believe that there is spiritual warfare going on all around us that we have no idea about. Alex may very well be hearing from demonic voices. Who am I to say? If not, there may be some health issues going on (mild schizophrenia, anyone?). At any rate, he comes from a family of Jehovah's witnesses who have excommunicated him but won't let him leave his family or believe his story. He needs someone to listen to him before he does something he can't take back. He has been on my heart for a while, and I've tried to share the Jesus I know with him as best I can without compromising my job.

Please pray for him when you have a second...like now. :)

Good Day :)

Today has been such a great day at school that I just need to share. It's not that anything really exceptional happened, but it has been better than most of the days in a while. I have been feeling a little burnt out about the whole teaching thing lately. Maybe the break just ruined me for work. LOL.

Anyway - today was good. My "disturbed" (for lack of a better word) student, who writes very dark things in his journal, came by and discussed the possibility of talking to the counselor about his negative thoughts. Most of the time he seems depressed and according to his journal, suicidal. At any rate, discussing counseling is a huge step for him. Pray that he follows through.

Sandy, the student whose mother pulled her out of school, returned today - a month early. She was so excited to be back! I hope she stays on the straight and narrow. :) I thought she would be back this week, since I talked to her on the phone Monday. It was so dramatic: her ex comes to my door during 4th period, knocks, and then waves for me to go outside. He's like, "Ms. Watkins, Sandy said to call her at this number," and hands me his phone. So I walk back inside to copy down the number. When I take his phone back, I ask, "Is something wrong? Do I need to call her right now?" He shrugs, "I dunno. She just told me to give you the number." Then why the heck didn't she just email me the number?! LOL. Turns out the principal wasn't returning her calls. No idea what she wanted me to do about it. :)

Then Jasmine (my recovering cutter) stopped by during lunch. We didn't stay in touch over the two-week break. She was in Houston, and I was consciously trying to wean her from my attention (for both of our sakes!). She stayed the whole 30 minutes catching me up on everything. She said she was ready to be "done" with Larissa. I think she's beginning to realize how toxic that "relationship" is. God seems to be answering that prayer "slowly" but surely! (I know he's never late!)

Anywho...that was my day. Thanks for letting me share! :)