Grateful.

I apologize in advance for the length of this post. It's a novel.

I love November. I love the cute fall clothes, the beautiful fall colors, the snuggling, and of course Thanksgiving. I love reflecting on the many blessings that I have in my life and outwardly expressing thanks. This week at school has been the best first week of November ever to remind me of the many things that I have to be grateful for.

My school has a tradition of having a Make-A-Wish week. Basically we choose a kid to sponsor through the Make-A-Wish Foundation and have a week long fundraiser where we raise all of the money to grant that kid's wish. I have heard a lot about how amazing this week is, but honestly words cannot describe.

Tuesday, November 1st: The whole thing kicked off with an assembly where this year's Wish kid was introduced. We held a school-wide "Best Dress Day" for the assembly. I was absolutely shocked by the number of students that dressed in their finest clothes. Immediately I could tell that this was going to be something powerful. At the assembly there were several guest speakers who shared their own personal Make-A-Wish stories and the affect it had in their lives. Then the big moment...we got to meet Quinton! As him and his family approached the stage everyone in that auditorium were on their feet, erupting in cheers. For the record, I hate crying in public. But let me tell you, I was a hot mess sobbing all over the place. They told their story and offered their gratitude toward our school. As his mother recounted the painful summer they have had I was filled with emotions. At only 11 years old "Q" is one of only 7 people in the entire world to ever have had this certain type of tumor inside of his spinal cord. I couldn't even imagine the pain he must have went through to endure the surgery to attempt to remove it and then go through hours of therapy as he learned to walk again.

After hearing from Q and his family, one final guest speaker came to the stage. As he slowly got up and walked to the stage, immediately the crowd rose to their feet and began to cheer. I didn't know who he was, but I knew he was amazing. As he made it to center stage he simply stated, "I'm back!" He then told his story. Last year he played for the Salem Hills basketball team. He soon suffered from a "leg injury" which he attempted to treat in physical therapy. After that wasn't helping he got an x-ray that revealed a fractured fibula. A later MRI revealed a tumor in his leg. The news quickly spread around school and he prepared for his final basketball game before he began treatments. He told the story of walking into the gym for that final basketball game. The entire crowd was decked in white sporting his #5. The students, community, and friends and family chanted his name. He then went on to endure 18 chemo treatments this year, an amputated leg, and learned to walk on his new prosthetic leg. He spoke with such confidence, maturity, and poise. I just kept thinking to myself, this kid is a senior in high school?? He could have been bitter and angry about his situation, but rather he was positive and inspiring. After telling his story he invited Q back onto the stage and gave him a couple gifts and some words of encouragement. I sat there bawling my eyes out thinking how grateful I was to be a part of this.

Wednesday-Friday, November 3rd-5th: We held several spirit days in honor of Q's favorite things. Wednesday was "green day" for Q's favorite color. Thursday was "snow day" for Q's favorite season, winter. Friday was "superhero day" because Q is a huge fan of the Marvel comic book characters/movies. Each day there were fundraiser activities as well. All week we also sold t-shirts and dog tags for Q. The t-shirts were awesome! They have the green lantern symbol, but the circle in the middle was changed to a Q. I sold t-shirts with student council on Thursday and Friday. We sold out of shirts and then ordered 100 more, only to sell out again!

Monday, November 7th: Students and teachers all wore their Q t-shirts. Then that night was the annual Great Skyhawk Gorge. Basically all the clubs and organizations in the school have a booth set up throughout the school where they give out a food item related to their club. My club, the Basketball, Badminton, and Bacon club, gave out bacon. Students, families, and community members were invited to attend. They paid an entry fee and then enjoyed all of the food from the various clubs. Again, I was shocked by the support of the community.

Every event that I attended this week far exceeded my expectations. After this amazing week of participating in this amazing cause, one word comes to mind: grateful. I am so grateful to work in a community that is so supportive and so united in serving one of its members. I am so grateful for an amazing school with great traditions of service. I am so grateful for the strong youth I am surrounded with that go through so many challenges and teach me lessons everyday about perseverance. I am grateful for good health that I so often take for granted. I am grateful for a husband that is willing to come down to my school after his own long day and cook bacon with me in freezing temperatures and crazy wind to help support a worthy cause.

I could go on for paragraphs about the many things in my life that I am grateful for. After this amazing experience I've had this week, I'm offering myself (and any other willing person) a challenge. Complain a little less. Serve a little more. Offer gratitude everyday. WE ARE SO BLESSED.

So, I'm a Teacher...

...which is why I don't have time to blog anymore. Oh wait, I didn't blog very often before I was a teacher. Oh well.

Life as a teacher is CRAZY busy. Remember that one time when you were in high school and you turned in something late or after you were absent and you got so mad at your teacher because it took them forever to update the grade? Hopefully you've repented of those feelings of anger because I TOTALLY understand where that teacher was coming from. At all times, there are approximately 100 things to do. My life is a constant cycle of making worksheets, writing tests, making copies, taking attendance, emailing parents, calling parents, responding to parents, grading make-up work, updating grades, meetings, student council, oh and when I have time I write an occasional lesson plan. By the end of the day, I am EXHAUSTED.

However, I absolutely LOVE what I am doing. Everyday is a little bit different from the day before and I love that. I love being in the high school where the students are little (just a little) more mature and where there is constantly so many things going on (sports, activities, assemblies, etc.). Oh and can I just add that I LOVE math too? Yes it's true, I'm a nerd.

And I must attribute some of my happiness to the AWESOME school I work at. It's hard not to enjoy what you're doing at a school like Salem Hills. Let me try and paint a picture of this school. First of all, it's gorgeous. This is only the 4th year that it has been open. It's completely indoors, two stories, and huge. There are two faculty lounges (complete with flat screen TVs and leather couches) and two full size gyms. But that's not all, the student body is the perfect match for a perfect school. I have never seen a more respectful, spirited, and driven group of teenagers. They take pride in their traditions, are motivated in their schoolwork, and are so involved in extracurricular activities. Brock jokes that I work at the school from High School Musical...but it's kind of true! My co-worker and I were talking about it yesterday and comparing it from our past high school experiences. Me at Helix...enough said. She went to high school in Philadelphia and taught last year in Las Vegas at one of the worst schools in America...enough said. We honestly didn't think a school like this existed. But alas, IT DOES! And I work there! It's awesome!

I have never been more excited and passionate about teaching! What a great start to what I hope is a long career in education!

My AMAZING school.

Here is a picture of my classroom.
I took this the first time I ever saw it so it's way before I put anything up on the walls.

My plaque outside my door. It's official!

The Lady of the Mosquitoes

Well my summer is officially over. If there is one thing I have to remember this summer by, it's the scars. Don't worry, not emotional ones. No, instead I have hundreds of little scars all over me from the summer of the mosquitoes. In my lifetime I have definitely had my share of bug bites. Usually it was a couple from girls camp, a few from a bonfire, or maybe some from a picnic. This summer, however, my blood officially became the nectar of the mosquitoes. Whether it was Trek, or watching fireworks on the 4th, or just hanging out with friends, I got bug bites everywhere I went. And not a just a few at a time, we're talking a minimum of about 20 on any given occasion. My latest (and hopefully last) attack of the summer was this past week. I was at the senior pool party for student council collecting money at the gate. The second the sun went down, the mosquitoes were on the prowl. I was wearing long pants and a t-shirt so I figured I couldn't get it too bad. I was sorely mistaken. You see, mosquitoes adapt. If their victim's legs are covered, then they go for the feet! Yep, I have about 30+ bug bites on my feet (including the BOTTOM of my feet). Try getting up in front of a classroom full of teenagers all day long and teaching while your feet are itching and BURNING a fiery burn of a thousand suns. Yes, it sucks. Also to make things even more AWESOME, my feet are swollen like a nine-month-pregnant woman about to burst. Curse mosquitoes!


(I was going to post pictures of my lovely feet, but upon my better judgement decided to spare you all of the eyesores that they are. Just know, they're nasty.)

Where Has the Time Gone?

So remember that one time that I wanted summer to go by super fast so I could start teaching? Yeah, is it too late to take that back? This summer has been craaaaazy busy...in a nutshell: work, flood, New Teacher Induction, Student Council camp, Trek, trip home (that was unexpectedly made longer because of a death in the family), several Student Council meetings, preparing for my first year of teaching, and I've been bombarded with decisions about health care and retirement plans. Basically I feel like it FLEW by.

Now here I am 10 days away from being a big girl with a career. I feel so much pressure! I have to make grown up decisions about health care and retirement. I have to live up to all of the evaluations and letters of recommendation that I used to make me sound awesome. I have to be responsible for teenagers. AHH! I've decided that if nothing else, this career is going to give me major anxiety issues.

In all actuality, I am so so so incredibly excited to finally start a career that I have known I wanted for the past 10 years. There were times during it all that I felt like it would never come, and yet here it is. It's exciting to know that all my hard work has paid off and that I'm finally starting this chapter of my life. I have gone down to my classroom a few times now. The furniture is where I want it, posters are on the walls, and I finally have access to my computer! The more and more my room comes together, the more excited I am to spend everyday in there!

The DISASTER

Wednesday, June 8, 2011 started like any other day. Brock and I avoided exercising by turning off our alarms and sleeping the extra hour (in our defense, we were extremely sore from lunges the day before). We each went to work, came home, and had dinner- nothing out of the ordinary. Later that evening we decided to go to get frozen yogurt from our favorite place, Golden Spoon. This is where things go awry.

Before getting into the car, Brock mentioned that he was going to turn the sprinklers on to water the lawn. Because of Utah's marathon rain month of May, we had not previously had to water our lawn yet this year. He turned on the water and we left. We were gone no more than 15 minutes (drove there, got our yogurt, and brought it back). When we got home I walked by my bedroom door and told Brock that it sounded like the fan was on...but it wasn't. The hose spigot is right by our bedroom window, so Brock immediately ran outside and to turn the water off. While he was out there, I took one step in our bedroom and...SQUISH. That's right. Flooded bedroom. We realized the water went into our closet (which shares a wall with the closet of the second bedroom). Sure enough, two flooded bedrooms. We called our landlord who then called the carpet restoration guy.

The rest of our night was filled with a lot of waiting, obnoxious neighbors, and ZERO sleep. However, we do have some pretty awesome stories about that...I won't mention them here. We ended up having to completely empty our bedroom and half of our spare room. So where did we put everything, you might ask? Well we piled that second half of the spare room quite high and the rest is in our living room! Oh and I can't forget the awesome industrial fans that we have going in our two rooms...nonstop...for 3 days. Yes!

If you know me at all, then you'll know that the clutter, the mess, and the noise are driving me CRAZY. I live in a hoarder's dream house right now. Here are some pictures:

Just part of the living room. Not pictured: the king size mattress blocking the entrance to the kitchen, the 3 piles of shoes, and the rest of our bed frame by our front door.

Part of our empty bedroom with the restoration man's hoses to suck up the water. If you look closely, you can see how soaked the carpet is (especially below the hose).

Half of our second bedroom.

Our sweet white trash bed until this is all over.

We found out that the pipe that the hose is connected to burst in the wall. Supposedly it's getting fixed. And supposedly the carpet guy is coming back later today to see if carpet and pad is ready to be installed back in. Cross your fingers that we can put our house back together soon!!

Can't Wait for School!!!...wait, what?

So the worst part about the whole process of getting hired for a teaching position is the timing. I was hired May 11th. School starts in mid August. You know that feeling on Christmas Eve or the night before you go on vacation where you want so badly to fall asleep so the happiness of the next day comes faster, but you can't fall asleep because you just keep thinking about it? Yeah try having that for 3 months.

I had all these plans for summer like: complete all of my new hire paperwork, choose a benefits plan, write my syllabus, brainstorm ideas for my classroom, pick out posters for my classroom, make a rough calendar for lesson plans, etc. Unfortunately, I had completed each one of these within the first two weeks I was hired. Now what?

Here's how I've been filling my time lately:

1. I'm the Dallas Mavericks' newest fan. The only person in this world that I hate more than Kobe Bryant is LeBron James. He's an arrogant, selfish, self-proclaimed "king" that I would like to personally dethrone with physical force...nothing fatal, just career ending. Thus, Go Mavs! In my defense against those that would accuse me of being on a bandwagon, I have always liked Dirk Nowitski. The guy is an animal. In short, I would love to see Miami's infamous "Big 3" fall... hard. On a semi-related note, is it just me or is Rick Carlisle seriously Jim Carrey's long lost twin brother?

2. I have officially memorized all of my favorite channels- both in standard cable and in HD. This may not seem like any feat, but oh let me tell you, it is. I have experienced what I like to call Television Viewer Evolution. Phase 1: Beat the remote against something like a primate until the TV turns on. Phase 2: Learn where the power, volume, and menu buttons are on the remote. Phase 3: Scroll through the channels using the menu button-starting at channel 2 and working my way up- until finding something entertaining to watch. Phase 4: Learn such functions as "Info" and "Last" to increase viewer pleasure and channel maneuverability. Phase 5: Memorize channels' locations relative to ESPN HD since that is always the channel that the TV gets left on. For example, E! HD is about 15 channels up from ESPN. Phase 6: Begin to memorize frequently watched channels. Phase 7: Effortless transit throughout the cable world by combining memorized channels with functions of the remote for guaranteed entertainment pleasure.


3. I work...I'm not that pathetic.

4. I cook again! Brock did a great job of taking care of me that last year of school. Because of my job I didn't get home until about 7:30 each night which would have been a ridiculous time to start cooking our dinner. We would have been digesting dinner half way through our REM cycle...gross. However, now that it's summer and my work hours are in the morning, I have time to come home and provide some good home cookin' for the hub. Now I'm no Cat Cora, but I do enjoy cooking and being in the kitchen (not in a 1950's housewife sort of way, but as a hobby). Fun fact: my favorite chore is doing dishes.

5. I've been spending more time outdoors. As much as I hate Utah (I don't actually hate Utah, I just hate the way it pales in comparison to California), I have come to realize that it is beautiful. I'm trying to take advantage of the scenery while we're here. We went hiking last weekend to Battle Creek Falls. It's a short, easy hike but it was beautiful. The water levels are super high right now so the waterfall was gorgeous. We also go on bike rides quite often. The weather has been so nice and I know that soon it will be disgustingly hot, so we're enjoying it while we can. Also, we've started running...I hate running so I have nothing more to say of this.

Even though I want nothing more than to get in the classroom and start teaching, I'm trying to enjoy my summer. This is my last summer before I start my career...weird. I know that come fall, I'll be wondering where my time went. So for now, I'll take some time to soak up some sun, watch some TV, and just enjoy life!

Mrs. Coffey Reporting for Duty

So it's official...my hunt has come to a close and I couldn't be happier! My search began about a month or so ago. Since then, I had interviewed at five schools with no luck. Then a posting from the heavens showed up on the Nebo School District website. I have worked at Success Education Center for the past year and a half with students from Nebo and I also did my student teaching in that district. Several of the students that I tutor go to this particular school and several of the students that I just taught at the junior high will be attending it next year. Needless to say, I was excited. I immediately applied and then waited....about five seconds before I emailed the principal. What can I say? I wanted the job!
I interviewed at the school last Thursday. The interview went really well. They told me I should hear back by "early next week". Monday came and went. Tuesday came and went. Today (Wednesday) started with the ultimate break down because I was sure that I didn't get the job. I figured the longer it takes to hear back, the worse the news is. Here is my theory: they only call the person who is getting the job "early next week" and then wait to hear back from them. Only when that person accepts the job do they turn everyone else down, after all they need a plan B if plan A turns them down. By this morning, I figured I was about plan G on the list and felt rather discouraged. However...
I got a call late this morning from the principal himself that he wanted to meet with me for a second interview. After I suggested a couple of times for tomorrow and Friday, he asked, "What about today?" I said sure and set the appointment for 1:30pm. When I got there he brought me into his office and said, "I just want to talk a little bit about my philosophy of education. Don't worry, at the end of this I'll be offering you a job." The rest was a great discussion about education, mathematics, and the position I will be taking for the fall. I don't know if this really needs to be said, but I am elated!! It's still a little bit surreal but I cannot wait to get into my classroom. I have so many ideas for procedures and posters and the first day of school. I'm in math teacher heaven.
So what is this mystery school? Drum roll please........Salem Hills High School. I'll find out the exact classes that I'm teaching next week, but it will likely be some combination of Algebra 2, Geometry, and possibly some Algebra 1. Basically I'm just excited to be starting my career and continuing to do what I absolutely love: teach math!!

Go Skyhawks!

The Hunt

...no, not for Easter eggs...for my career!!

So I officially graduated last Friday! It feels wonderful!!! The whole family came and celebrated. It was such a nice time, nice weather, and it's good to be done. However, the end of college brings the beginning of career searching...

So I heard back from both Spanish Fork High School and Westlake High School...didn't get the jobs. It was my first official denial. I allowed myself some sulking time, but now I'm over it. Clearly, those are not the jobs where I am supposed to be...So the search continues.

Today, I had an interview at Albion Middle School. It went really well! They even called me back already and invited me to go teach a lesson there to be observed. That made me very happy, because while I may not be great at first impressions or interviews, I LOVE teaching and feel so comfortable doing that. I'll go teach the lesson this Thursday. The only down side to this job is that it's far away. Really far away. So maybe a move is in the cards...who knows?

Tomorrow I have an interview at Vista Heights Middle School in Saratoga Springs. I'm excited for that one because it's a little bit closer to where I live. I also got an email from the principal at Salem Hills High School saying that they'll begin interviews next week so I should have one there as well.

I am confident that I will find the right match for me...I just have to be patient. For me, this is easier said than done. But I am grateful to be having so many interviews. Let's hope some of them turn into job offers soon! The thought of having my own classroom with my own procedures gets more and more exciting each day. I'm so close!!

Glorious Comeback

So I've decided to blog again. Even though I know I probably read these posts more often than anyone else reads them, I just can't seem to walk away forever. Besides, with all of my new found time, redesigning my blog has never seemed so fun! So what's been going on with the Coffeys over the last four months or so?

This semester has been busy...to say the least. Even if I wasn't a half-hearted, non-commital blogger, I would not have had much time to devote to it. Student teaching took up the majority of my time. Straight from there I went to work each day. I was averaging about 12 hour days although there were several 13 and 14 hour days in there. It was rough. But sooo worth it!! I LOVED student teaching. I never thought I would enjoy the junior high as much as I did. And of course, I love my job too! So doing math like 60 hours a week was fun :) Student teaching came and went...(I wish all of my semesters at BYU went by that fast). My last day was last Friday. My cooperating teacher and my students did a little surprise celebration for me. They signed cards and brought treats...it was so fun! I'll really miss those kiddos! But it wasn't all sad...ending student teaching means: GRADUATION!!! I'm sooo excited to graduate! All the fam is coming up which is always fun and I can't wait to officially be DONE.

This semester has been crazy for Brock too. He's still working full time and this semester he started back to school full time at UVU. Most of his classes were evening classes since he was working. Full time job + night classes three days a week + plus mutual (he's in the Young Men's Presidency) + plus a Saturday class = BUSY. We basically saw each other for about a couple hours a day...it was kind of awful. Brock's last week of classes is this week and then finals are this weekend/next week. So he's almost done too!

So what's next for the Coffeys?

I've started the job hunt. In most cases, job searching sucks. But I must say, I've enjoyed it so far. There's something different between job hunting just for a job, and job hunting for your career. It's so exciting! Many districts still haven't posted the majority of their jobs, but some have gotten an early start. I've applied to several positions so far, but since this week was spring break, it has put a hold on the whole process. So far I've had 1 interview at Spanish Fork High School. The position was only part time (which I really don't want) but I figured it would be good interview experience. Monday I have an interview at Westlake High School. For fear of jinxing myself, I won't say that I REALLY, REALLY would love this job...oops. Fingers crossed! This coming week I expect to hear about more interviews. I'm hoping I have a job by like May or June so we'll see!

Brock is going to take the summer off from school and just work. He's going to start back at school this fall and cut back on work. Until he graduates he's going to focus on school and I'll be bringing home the bacon as a teacher (yeah right). I'll work through this summer at my current job. This summer should be nice. We'll hopefully get a couple trips down to San Diego in. I need my fix...and a tan. Overall I'm just excited to slow things down again for a little while. I'm excited to cook again, to clean again, to be a WIFE again.

Out With the Old, in With the New (Year)

Well I suppose it's time for my bi-annual blog update. I always swear I'm going to do better at this but oh well. It's been a busy busy time since my last update and so much has happened. Let's see, where to start...

I'm officially done with school at BYU! I finished my last classes, completed my last finals, and officially got my grades (I passed, phew!). It's kind of a weird feeling knowing I won't be back on campus until graduation...but I'm on to bigger and better things. I can't wait to start my student teaching this week! I'm so excited to meet my cooperating teacher, find out what classes I'll be teaching, and just get this whole thing rolling!

After finals were over, Brock and I got to go home to San Diego for a week and a half!! It was amazing!! We had so much fun with both of our families and friends. Everytime we go back to visit, we remember how many awesome people we know down there and that just gives us extra motivating to get back there quickly! Here's a few of the things we got to do down there:

We saw an Aztecs basketball game. They're ranked 7th in the country right now!

We got to eat real Mexican food!

Brock played in his annual alumni soccer game at Helix. He scored 2 goals!

We celebrated Christmas!

We went to Sea World!

And of course, we visited the beach.

We were also down there for my older sister Natalie's wedding. We had her bridal shower the day before, decorated for the reception, attended the sealing in the San Diego Temple, attended the reception where we got to see lots of friends, and finally got to do clean-up duties. Here are a few pictures from all of the wedding festivities:

Overall, our time spent in San Diego was wonderful. We can't wait to get back there to raise our family some day. When we got back to Provo, Brock and I were able to celebrate our first anniversary together. It's hard to believe it's already been an entire year! It has honestly been the best year of my life (definitely beat that year long engagement crap). I love Brock so much! He is my best friend in the entire world and I can't wait to start our family together.

2010 definitely ended with a bang for us. We were able to bring in the new year with some friends and now we're excited for what 2011 will bring. Happy New Year!