Day In My Life (Wed, 9-20-17)

My alarm went off at 5:30. I felt Jelly at my feet, so I sat up in bed to pet him while I stretched my feet and ankles. This happens every morning, sort of like Groundhog Day!

I made my way to the kitchen, where I discovered there was absolutely NO COFFEE in our house! The horror! I had to drive down to McDonald's and get a large coffee. Boy are the workers at the McDonald's on Rossmoyne Road polite! It was 5:37am but they were as chipper as can be!

I only had a little bit of time to drink my coffee before my run. This was my first run after the Dam Half so I was nervous to see how I felt. My legs were tired and a little sore, but that's it. I ran a 1.5 mile loop around my neighborhood 4 times. More Groundhog Day!

When I got home, the kitties were waiting for me! I stretched, got ready for work, threw some treats at the boys, brushed Chrissy's teeth and out the door I went. I ate my cereal in the car.

Teachers arrive at school at 7:55 and the kids get there at 8:40. In the morning, we have meetings, duties, or planning time. I didn't have any meetings today, so I had time to get my room ready for the morning! I had to move a lot of chairs, set up instruments and get out music stands. I got all ready for my first couple classes before I had duty.

My duty is standing at the bottom of the main stairwell while the 3rd and 4th graders head to their classrooms. I just make sure they don't run or jump down the steps. Yet every morning, there is at least one kid that jumps down the steps... right in front of me! "Go up and try again," I say to them. Every morning. Groundhog Day!

All of my classes, regardless of grade level, are 40 minutes long. My first class of the day was 3rd Grade. They're singing 50 Nifty United States and doing a dance to it. I made the dance up YEARS ago and it is a tradition that I teach the song and dance to the 3rd graders. It is fun because if they have older siblings, they learned the same routine. Then we did a fun activity where we wrote rhythms to chant our names.

Somewhere in here I had a banana for a snack...

Then 4th grade came in and it was time to do the Boomin' Blues! I got out the boomwhackers, drums, egg shakers, and rhythm sticks. We learned the song and then the students took turns switching and doing different instruments. We recorded their performance for my classroom's Facebook page- "EP Music Kids". So if you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall in my room, "like" the page and you can see what we do!

11:15 = LUNCH TIME! (BBQ chicken and baby carrots.) I know, my lunch is early. My lunch and plan were back to back this day so it felt like I had a nice long break. Sometimes I eat lunch in the faculty room so I can talk with my colleagues and sometimes I eat at my desk. Today I sat in the faculty room for about 10 minutes but then I had to go get ready for chorus and set up my lessons for the rest of the afternoon. Oh, I also squeezed in time to sign up for a race!

My chorus is so nice this year. It's on the smaller side (50 kids), but I won't complain about it. I have had 80 kids in chorus before, and obviously that's a lot harder to manage! I think more kids will sign up after they see our winter concert and then I'll have 60-70.

After chorus, I had a little break because the 1st graders went on a field trip to the apple orchard. I used my time productively by getting "Emergency Sub Plans" ready. I always have lesson plans and materials out for a sub, but what if it's not a music certified sub, or someone who is not comfortable teaching my music lesson plans? I like to have emergency plans ready so the day goes smoothly. For a teacher, it's a lot of work to not be at school!

I'm sure this isn't totally true!

Then it was an afternoon of first grade classes and 4th grade classes. I had a little extra time with first grade so they did some dance along videos on the Smartboard. It was so funny to watch them dance.

I dismissed a 4th grade class for another teacher, but at 3:40 I was out of there! I leave right when the school day is over. My philosophy: There is ALWAYS more to do. It doesn't matter if I stay an extra hour or an extra four hours... so I may as well go home and recharge for the next day!

I stopped by Aldi, the liquor store, and the beer distributor on my way home... just to do some general stocking up. I surprised Paul with some Sierra Nevadas!

Then it was CHILLAX time! I got on my computer, put on a podcast, and just did whatever. I had a small bowl of white chicken chili and some corn chips. My kitties chilled with me.

Later, while Paul and I were playing cards, he got some good news from Johns Hopkins. Every four months he gets an MRI, and he just had one two days ago. The results came back and all is good. Yay!!!!

We still hadn't had dinner so it was time to eat. Christmas is always up in my business when I make food. He wonders, could it be for him!? I had a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, shredded cheddar, cheese curls, and lite ranch dressing. No dessert. I was too invested in the Big Brother Finale!

That's right, it was the two hour season finale of Big Brother 19! I was sure Paul would win (vomit) but JOSH PULLED IT OUT!!! I was so happy! In fact, by the end of the episode, my voice was raw from screaming with joy and I had a pounding headache... even though I drank 4 cans of seltzer water! You gotta hydrate during reality TV finales...

Paul and I were both so pumped. We didn't finish the finale until 10:30 and then I just had to watch the backyard interviews because Dr. Will was interviewing the house guests. Guys, I was up waaaaay too late... past midnight! But I had to see the after show!

Today was a typical Wednesday except for staying up super late for the finale. I love the days I don't have piano lessons and I can run errands after work and then just relax!

Is there a day of the week you can come home from work and just chill? I live for Wednesdays! Well, and Fridays. :)

Are there any TV shows you would be willing to stay up past midnight on a work night for?