Erik & Becca

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace and you trust in Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Monday, March 17, 2008

4 Days to Go...

Well, we are moving on Friday... Our bed is now in the living room because boxes have slowly overtaken our bedroom. it is a bit of a treat because we get to watch TV or a movie in bed, that is always fun.

Yesterday, my boss at the coffee shop had a going away party for me. That was fun... It is always interesting when work people hang out outside of work. Hmmm.

Everything is basically packed (just all the odds and ends that you have to wait for).

Erik is in a final right now and has another one tonight at 6. Then one more on Thursday at 9:30. I do not have finals but am in the library trying to do my work sample for next term. I am teaching a unit on poetry. OH boy.

We are antsy, stressed, and tired! We just want to be up in Gresham unpacking our massive amounts of boxes and have a few days of "spring break."

I will post some pictures of the tornado that came to visit... : )

Have a great great week!

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Odd Things About Me... : )

Tarah and Katie tagged me to write about ten weird/odd/random things or facts/habits about myself. I don't know if I have ten, and there are only a handful of people reading this but here it goes:

1. Erik refers to my toes as "bottle openers" I admit that they are a little weird but they curve up just a bit.

2. When I was little, my sister and I were painting a huge pumpkin on a cardboard box for a carnival at school. My mom left us in the kitchen to paint and came back and we managed to take off all our clothes and cover ourselves from head to toe in black and orange.

3. When I was 6, my best friend dared me to take an m & m out of the bulk candy in Safeway. Then she turned around and told my mom. My mom made me go PAY for the thing and the lady said I needed to pay 1/2 a cent. I was so confused.

4. I have Terrien's Marginal Corneal Degeneration. Its an eye condition that happens to men over 45. Its where one of my eye's cornea degenerates over time. Yes, I know...

5. When I was in middle school, my friend and I flew by ourselves to California. In the Burbank airport, we met and took a picture with Bruce Vilanche, he was the rather large guy on Hollywood Squares with blond curly hair and red glasses.

6. My mom wanted to instill good financial habits in me when I was young, so she signed me up for a credit card at 10 years old. She would wait in the car and I would grocery shop. We both loved it. I went to the bank the first time when I was 5 to get my first savings account.

7. I started working in my family's toy store (The Zoo) in Sunriver when I was 7 years old. I stocked all the toys and did the cash register.

8. I had Lasik eye surgery two years ago. I don't have to wear glasses or contacts anymore, YAY!!!!!!

9. When I was 14 I got my belly button pierced with a friend. We drove to Salem with her older sister. We were so rebellious.

10. I ice skated competitively for several years when I was young. My mom made all my outfits and I would go to practice before elementary school and after school until bed. I loved it.

I have no one to tag because I only read Tarah and Katie's blogs. So, girls, wanna do it again!? : ) Just kidding!

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Moving part 2...

I realized that I have not written for three weeks... (Thanks Katie!)

We are moving in two weeks from yesterday (Friday). We went to Gresham two weeks ago and found apartments. It was an odd process because we drove through the down over 10 times going from place to place. We were so defeated by the end of the day so we went to Outback for dinner. We decided to drive around a little more that night (it was SO dark!) and stumbled upon these great apartments that were in our price range and had more than what we were looking for. There is a pool, hot tub, and fitness center. We found a one bedroom on the third floor which is great because we won't have anyone above us. I realized it is not so great because I struggle horribly with stairs because of my knee. Oops.

If you are interested in where we are living... the website is www.carlaprop.com and then on the left hand side you click on Aspen Highlands and it shows pictures, etc... ;)

Erik found out his hours are M-F from 6 am to 2:30pm which I was thrilled about, but he is a night person! I am slowly converting him (devious, I know). If he is not out studying until the wee hours of the morning, he is in bed with me around 9:30. Yes, I am only 21 and go to bed at 9:30. I need lots of beauty rest!

The drive for Erik will be 10-15 minutes (no traffic at 5:45 AM!) For me, it will be about the same. Yesterday we drove back up to Gresham so that I could find a teacher that I can student teach with full-time. I more or less "interviewed" two different teachers. One is a male, who I really liked and one was a female. I got along really well with the lady and found out half way through our conversation that she is a Christian and she even invited Erik and I to church when we move up there... (whole other post). I have thought and prayed and thought and I think I am going to go with the man. I think I will learn more from him, and he is pretty organized (I am crazy organized).

Katie asked the difference between student teaching and a work sample here is the scoop...

Student teaching- I have spent this whole year in the classroom. I teach lessons, do things with the kids, etc. It is the hardest experience because I am always being critiqued. Starting March 31, I will be in the classroom ALL DAY long every day of the week. I will teach full-time for three weeks (so, I teach all day everyday, which at this point is a big deal). Then for the rest of the term I teach at least half-days... During these 11 weeks, I will teach my second work sample.

Work Sample- A compilation of ten related lessons on the same topic (not necessarily same subject) You can integrate math, PE, writing, etc. You have to assess the students in the beginning (pre-test) and at the end to show learning gains (post-test). I just finished my first one, which took hours and hours and it is now 75 pages. I will do another one of these next term.

I graduate on June 15 which only a hop, skip, and jump away! Who Hoo!!

Other news... I go to the surgeon again (who did my knee surgery) on Monday to figure out what is next in the knee saga. I have more pain now than before surgery and it is continually swollen. The physical therapist can't figure out why. Hopefully the doctor will have some answers.

Our house is a disaster with boxes. We had to buy them, unfortunately. My mom got us several free ones in Bend and Chuck and Debbie brought them over when we saw them two weekends ago. Then we found some for sale on Craigslist. It doesn't matter if they all say "Cat Food" right? : ) I am so happy that we will be unpacking them in just two short weeks.

Okay, obviously I should post more because this is a novel.

I will try and be better. : )

Have a great weekend everyone! Happy Birthday Chuck!!!! We love you!