First Day of Winter!

On December 21st, (the first day of Winter AND my Aunt Renee's birthday), Grant asked me to spend the rest of my life with him!

On one knee, he asked me here (my parent's backyard) at sunset:



And slipped this beauty on my finger.



We are so blessed! No date set yet... :) I will be sure to keep you in the loop!



Merry Christmas!

Feliz Thanksgiving...?

I teach my students one or two Spanish phrases at the end of each school day and they always try to come up with some crazy word or phrase to stump Miss Henderson.

Well. Yesterday, one sweet child asked me if we could learn how to say "Happy Thanksgiving"...
I replied that there is not an exact Spanish phrase because the Thanksgiving holiday and tradition began in America.

Their faces turned to gloom. It was as if I just told them that they would never have recess again, as long as they lived.

Perturbed and reflecting on how we had been discussing the importance of the Thanksgiving holiday and origin, I reiterated to the class that other countries do not celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. And...then I taught them the Spanish word for turkey. El pavo.

The bell rang as I was shaking my head, in disbelief, that my students were heart broken over the fact that the Pilgrims did not sail to Mexico. Or Spain. Or Ecuador.

Whew. I am ready for Thanksgiving break with my family and Grant!

Burp.

Robby: BuuuuuRP.

Me: Robby!

Robby: Oops. Sorry Miss Henderson. But it's been trying to get out since lunch.

Perfect.

The reunion weekend with Grant was perfect.

His family and I got him off the plane,



fed him Bojangles (per request), cleaned up and went down the road a bit to CH so he could catch up with brothers at UNC-CH's homecoming game versus Duke.


Great game on Saturday evening followed up by a perfect autumn Sunday afternoon together and with family.

He is coming to visit my students this week as well -- he is bringing them Ethiopian lollipops :) Grant returned with many sweet gifts for us all. I got a Carolina blue handwoven scarf, Carolina blue Longchamp, and Carolina blue and silver handcrafted earrings. Do you see a theme there?

Pennsylvania.

The last few weeks have been fun-filled in our third grade classroom! Report cards went home with the little ones, Book Character Day, parent/teacher conferences, Honors Assembly, Board Game Reward Day, and Picture Day!

In the usual organized chaos of packing up to go home on Friday afternoon,
Little Luke, out of the blue asks me:
Miss Henderson, why do they call it Pennsylvania? Do they sell a lot of pencils there?

Good question.

I love this child. I will never forget him. See picture below. You will find Luke in his book character costume, dressed as Will from the children's book, "Will, God's Mighty Warrior". He is definitely "in character" striking a warrior pose in the back row with his homemade sword and shield! Such a sweet, sweet child.



I was Junie B. Jones... :)

And SUPER important side note: Grant returns from Africa today! His plane arrives in DC in just an hour! YAHOOOO!
Welcome home to my wonderful boyfriend!

Costume.

Lacking in creativity right now. I need Halloween costume ideas.
Nothing scandalous, something easy to put together, and relatively cheap.

Come on friends, help me out :)

Blast from the Past.

Rewind to this same upcoming weekend in 2008. I found this email in my inbox -- some of you have read this account. It would only happen to me... haha. Warning: It's a long account but worth every word. Enjoy...


Picture Averi in a black ruffled tie tank with a red pencil skirt and black flats from by BFF Old Navy.. Classy and fabulous. Full of sass.
We're at Carter Finley tailgating nicely when I run into a friend of mine from freshmen year -- he had graduated my senior year and hadn't seen him since the State/BC game my sophomore year -- needless to say with the Blue Moon in my system and my excited state, I was giddy.

Still keeping it together, I'm a great fan during the first and second quarter. The fan beside me, not so much. He decides to send the contents of his tummy all over the ground right next to my beautiful handbag and sassy feet. ew. Decided it was in my best interest to leave the premises and or that might just be me. So I called up the parental unit and joined them in their exclusive seats for the rest of the game. Watched State lose. Again. We leave the stadium after the game with the 50,000 other people, making our trek practically to Meredith College because we had to park so far away. When we return to the car, my parents share with me their opinion of my need to NOT drive all the way to CC that night. So they drop me off a mi casa where my car is already packed for the weekend...

12 am -- Got a call from a friend, Nelson, who wants a play-by-play of the game? or maybe just wants to make small-talk? not sure. REGARDLESS, I talk to him while I'm UNpacking my car (finding my necessities for the evening). Bags, phone conversation and all, I make it upstairs and into bed. With the alarm set (for 5:30 am), teeth brushed, and hair managed, I'm asleep by 1am.

5:30 am comes FAST -- I shower, get cute, and packed again for the road for my car appointment in MHC. Enjoyed some cereal and GMA and head out to the garage to load up my car. Go to put my bags in the car. Wait. No keys. Donde esta mis llaves? Tu sabes? No se. ergh. I search my bags. I scour my super-tidy (in all honesty, my room was spotless) room and no keys to be found. I searched the driveway. No keys. My first instinct is to call Daddy -- but I withhold that urge and call the little sister, Jenna Beth. Jenna answers and says that she has a spare key for me so no worries. She'll bring my key to me. Wait. She doesn't have her car. It was left at UVillage (5 miles away) with the keys with her roommate who didn't come home last night? SKETCH. So...I knock on my rooommate's door because her car is home. I could use her car to go get my spare key... Is she home? (Sometimes she stays with the boy) I call her cell, no answer. I knock on her door, no answer. Do I open the door? Turn on the light? No, that's creepy. At this point, I'm already late for my car appointment in MHC at 9:00 am. So, I take a deep breath and brainstorm the "awake" people of Raleigh that could deliver my spare to me. No one reallly pops in my head. I call Raleigh Cab. They will come to get me. Oops. Averi has no cash. Nor does Jenna. Perfect.

7:00 am -- Roommate wakes up and hands over her keys! yahoo! I head downstairs to try out her vehicle. Doesn't start at first. Seriously? She comes outside in her cute pjs and works her magic...? I guess the car didn't like me. I drive to campus, meet little Jenna to get my spare key. Get home and realize I'm locked out. Gross. Ring the doorbell and Gracious Roommate lets me in :)
I use my key to pop open the car to access the KEYS and EW, they aren't inside. Well, I'm so late at this point, I might as well search for the dern keys. I replay every moment of my home arrival from the night before and remember a detail I had not thought of. I was hungry last night. I wanted a snack. Oh yes, Oreos, Halloween ones with orange creme...yummy...so I head to the pantry, the place of goodies. And there they are, nestled neatly on the shelf along with the Oreos. My keys.

7:30 am -- Seatbelt up, say a prayer, and drive to Newport.

I digress. I'm safe and sound, nestled at Coffee Affair in MHC, "doing work".

Talking.

Third graders LOVE to talk.
Most of my students undertand when it's appropriate to talk with their neighbor.
One of my little darlings does not. He would talk to a brick wall. Seriously.

Me: Luke, will you PLEASE read your book instead of talking?
Luke: Good point, Miss Henderson, good point.

I don't know what kind of "point" I made but he was quiet for the rest of the afternoon. Praise the Lord.

Laughter.

Third grade has been a lot of fun. I love how enthusiastic each child is about learning and they continue to crack me up. There are moments that I think I'm going to freak out from stress and then I end up just laughing.

Check this out:

Me: Okay, Kiddo, if every student decided to talk as much as you do and continued to talk even when I ask you to be quiet, what do you think would happen to this classroom?!

Kiddo: Um...welll Miss Henderson, it would be a disaster.

Me: Okay. Good. I'm glad we are on the same page.

Homework.

So I would like to think that I am a fair teacher who expects the most of her students. Today, I was flabbergasted (what a funny word...) by one of my students.
Enter the 8 year old boy. Check out his responses as to why he didn't do his homework:

1) His living room is too small.
2) He could not find a pencil.
3) Soccer practice always comes before homework.

??????
I didn't even try to process those excuses.
My response: Really? Are you being serious?

I followed up with: Do you think David Beckham did his homework? What about Mia Hamm?
FAIL Miss Henderson because this child had no idea who those athletes are. That comparison did not work. I sent him out to recess. I needed to take a deep breath.

Happy Thoughts

Grant and Company made it to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia! YAY!!! I patiently await a sweet email or two every afternoon (the 8 hour time difference is tricky so we haven't gotten to talk on the phone yet). He is a talented writer and I enjoy the updates so much.

My students continue to crack me up. I was super sore at school today from last night's ballet class (took dance all throughout high school but not during college so it's been over four years and I am back at it!) and when I got up from my chair after Read Aloud (Ramona Quimby, Age 8), I winced (and may have gasped from the pain). My student who will remain nameless but let's call him Class Clown...responds with:

"Miss H, are you getting old ALREADY?! My mom makes that face a lot and she says it's because she is older than the hills...!"

I think my students want to believe I am still a teenager (read: their bestest friend). One of my little Taylor Swift or Hannah Montana (take your pick) "Wanna-Be"s invited me to her sleepover last weekend.

I hated to decline...but I didn't think they could hang with me for an all night girl bash. Sad truth: I had to explain that I am their teacher and would love to hear about their weekend once we return to school on Monday. BORING. And I hated to burst their bubble.

But something sweet to end on this evening...

Staying Busy

The Boy has left for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with his best friend and two buddies from college. They are going with the Cherokee Gives Back program. I am waiting patiently to hear whether he has made it safely.


Meanwhile, I am enjoying teaching in the third grade and staying busy until he returns on November 7th. Hopefully, I will have time to keep you all posted on the silly things that 8 year olds say. :)

Romans 8:28.

third grade.

Well blog friends, I am officially hired as a third grade teacher! I will be residing in my parent's new home in just a few short weeks and then begin learning the ropes of third grade in August. How exciting! I was honestly hoping for kindergarten or first grade job offer but a job is a job! And I am thrilled. I hope to post pictures of my new residence and classroom as soon as everything is presentable for blog world.

On the fashion front, I found three Lilly tops today at a consignment shop in MHC that I absolutely adore. Super excited. Headed to Raleigh tonight to move out some more things from Grant's parent's home and pick up my sister from the airport. She is returning from Belize!

Here is a picture of me from our recent "family vacation"...I put that phrase in quotes because our vacations to the mountains of North Carolina are typically the furthest away from what most folks would coin a vacation. We hike, dress up in kilts, wake up way too early to go to the Scottish games, and eat hurried meals.
But yes, we all went to the Grandfather Mountain Swinging Bridge and we all crossed it :)

Summertime...

and the livin' is easy. And fun. Check out this kiddo enjoying his summer afternoon in the sprinkler.

sweet image found at The Bottom of the Ironing Basket.


What have you all been up to this summer? Can you believe July is already here?!

Moving.

Welp kiddos, I'm leaving Raleigh/Cary officially on Sunday.
I will be moving back to Carteret County to live with my parents
in their new home that will be finished circa July. Let's pray
that I'm offered a legitimate teaching job near home.
I'm excited about moving back to the beach but will certainly
miss Raleigh, Grant's family in Cary, and the family that I've
babysat for over the past two years in Apex.

Grant is recovering nicely from his surgery. Thank you for
the thoughts and prayers!
My favorite quote of his over
the last few weeks: "Sweetheart, when I breathe through my
mouth, air goes into my nose!!!"
My response: "Yes darlin, that is normal..." -- Yay for this little nose!

Picture from Memorial Day Weekend at Peaks of Otter, VA (Yes, Grant recovered soon enough to travel to Smith Mountain Lake for the holiday! yay!)



Ready for the beach and a fun summer with the Boy. He will be a camp counselor near my home. Perfect :)

sinuses...

I've been blessed with lovely sinuses and never had trouble with them before -- even experienced my first allergy issues this spring. However, the Boy has had trouble with his sinuses since birth. Poor thing.

He had surgery this past Tuesday at WakeMed and the doctor did an amazing job. If anyone out in the blog world knows about sinus reconstruction surgery, they know how painful the recovery process is. To him and anyone who has experienced this before, bless your heart -- although I can't begin to fathom the pain.

While he is recovering, I've been able to stay in the guest room at his parent's home -- it has been great to help take care of him but difficult to see him in so much constant pain and enduring the fever associated with healing. Word from the doctor is that the pain will peak this weekend.

Here's what I need: I would love for you all to lift us up in prayer this week and as he recovers during May. Pray that Grant (I figured you should know his God given name!) will be comforted by the Lord's strength and be covered in love and healing. Pray that his family and I will be able to ideally care for him and provide him the most love, patience, and comfort that we can.

I am thankful for this time to spend with Grant's family and I can see how my love for him has grown during this time of recovery and pain. I am blessed!

In transition.

I have graduated from college.
I am patiently awaiting a job offer in MHC while staying in Cary.
I miss my kindergarten students.
I hope to slowly re-enter the blogging world.
I love the Boy.

For a visual of my life in the last few weeks, please visit the Boy's photography blog. He has been better about documenting our lives...

I had to...

Formal weekend with Chi Psi in Williamsburg, VA.
one word: legitimate.

This is simply a sneak preview until I have time to breathe (read: compose a more appropriate post and become a better blogger...)

PS -- my student, fondly known as Rat Tail, got a buzz cut. Big changes for this little guy.

PSS -- I have 3 little days left with these kiddos. super sad!

Scout.

I had the privilege to meet the Boy's family dog, Scout, back in November before our memorable road trip. Our time together included walks on the golf course, cozy weekends by the fire, and a field trip to the flea market. Well...this chocolate lab, old and wise has been in a lot of pain and was sadly put to sleep yesterday.
It's been a sad little week. We loved him!
Aren't they handsome?

in love.

I fell in love with Smith Mountain Lake, VA, on Friday. Stayed for the Easter weekend with the Boy and his family. {Image by CGL II}


Trying to prepare for a week of parent conferences, teaching the kiddos, portfolio, resume, and gearing up for formal weekend in Williamsburg.

Been an awful blog friend...will check up on everyone soon. Promise.

Good Times

I've been busy with:














while the Boy has been sailing here:













{Image by CGL II}

So, following his safe return, we had a wonderful, relaxing weekend. And we found a new favorite dinner dish...it turned out to be prettttty yummy! :)

Island Spice Salmon

4 salmon fillets, 1/2 pound each
2 cups pineapple juice
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the salmon in a shallow dish. Pour pineapple juice over the fish. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour, but no more than 3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil.

In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, coriander, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Remove salmon from the marinade and discard the juice. Put salmon on the baking sheet. Season the fish with salt and pepper. Evenly distribute sugar spice mixture all over the top of the fish.

Bake for 10 to 20 minutes, depending on thickness, until the fish is cooked to the desired doneness. -Recipe by Katie Lee Joel



Good times :)

eek.

This greeting card says it all.




of Luxe Paperie







Excuse my obscene absence. Hopefully you all still love me!

wonderful weekend.

I'm still blown away at how perfect this past weekend was. After an extremely stressful week, I enjoyed the following:


Valentine Card Swap with the kiddos on Friday afternoon, complete with the following quote from Wanna Be Jay-Z: "Ms. Henderson, you smell sooo goooood. Not everyone can smell as good as you. Wow!" I felt honored. Truly, ha ha.




Lovely dinner at Crook's Corner and Valentine's Day fraternity cocktail with the Boy. Splendid time. I'm so blessed!


Brunch at my favorite place in Raleigh. Strawberry waffle! yum!

Piddled with the Boy and his chocolate lab, Scout. Scout was in heaven as we ventured to the flea market at the NC State Fairgrounds. I saw so many wonderful antiques and treasures. And the weather was beautiful!

Dinner with the Boy's parents and then a late night movie...followed up with the hilarious home movies of him and his little brother. So precious. I almost died of laughter. He was a wild child. End. of. story.

Lovely church service at Hope Community Church. Today's sermon was The Case of the Devoted Church. Acts 2:42-47.

2009 is going to be a great year. I can just tell!

Love.

Yahoo! We're having a Valentine's Day Card Swap tomorrow for the little munchkins. In preparation for our fun afternoon, today our students decorated big folders for their itty bitty Valentine's cards, candy, stickers, and HSM tattoos (yes, I'm making that prediction).

While gluing his pink, purple, and white hearts, onto his bright red folder, Rat Tail proclaims: "Ms. Henderson, I'm just a-workin' for love." Oh boy.

AND

Amidst the gluing, cutting, and coloring, 5 year old who insists he is the next Jay-Z was being absolutely absurd and I went over and quietly asked him what was going on today and why he was having such a hard time making good choices. He replied: "Oh I just don't know...I think I need to go back on that behavior contract, Ms. Henderson...I need more support you know. I need to be able to tell my mommy and daddy when I have good days...you know, when I get all smileys."

No surprise, but the same two little boys were sweetly featured here.

PS -- Valentine's Cocktail tomorrow evening with the Boy. Pretty dresses and bow ties. yessssss. love love love.

Yes please.

There is just something so sweet and classic about this ring. Thoughts?

Forget Me Knot


Gold or Sterling Silver? I say go for the gold.

Valentine's Cocktail on Friday. Get excited.

ridiculous.

Life is ridiculously good right now. Random thoughts/purchases...get ready.


Longchamp Le Pliage. Yep. I finally did it. And I'm thrilled. I couldn't turn down the Green Pistachio.

Going home to the beach this weekend and bringing the Boy (so thrilled to see my family!). Sadly, we won't be dressed in such attire from last weekend. See below :)


Attended a cocktail at his fraternity house. Those ridiculous boys had putt putt holes set up all throughout the Lodge and of course we had to dress accordingly. I loved his green blazer and my argyle socks. Later in the evening I sported his Masters visor. I may have looked like I could golf. Not truth. But it was all so much fun!

Fell in love with a pea coat while being silly with kWb on Saturday. Cream wool blend with sweet buttons and it's just precious. Sadly, cannot find a picture on the internet in the cream color. Trust me, it's gorgeous. AND because I loved it so much, I called a Banana Republic in VA and the toasty coat arrived on my doorstep today.

Bible study tomorrow night and we are starting to study the book of James. yay! Love that precious book. Favorite verse: James 1:2-4.

My students are finally getting used to 2009. None of that "Today is...Tuesday, January 27th, Two thousand Eiigh Ninnnnnne"....ha ha. But seriously, I'm not as tired as I was in the beginning of the semester and the class is going smoothly. Just finished up second quarter and report cards go home on Tuesday, next week. My supervising teacher and I are working well together and we are getting those five and six year olds to write their first AND last name. Big step.

And finally, I stayed around after school today with some other kindergarten teachers and experienced my first P90X workout. We don't mess around. Bring it.

The truth comes out...

Such an eventful week: new jeans from my lovely sunrise sale experience (a blog post in itself...be patient with me), a new president, two snow days, field trip tomorrow and rush cocktail tomorrow evening. whew! The clever and beautiful cBr sent me a teeny award a few days ago and I'm just getting around to it...so here it goes!



Soooo I've chosen a few blogs that I think are simply sweet as pie :)

With Love from New Orleans
Mrs. Bliss
Monogrammed Teacher

You get to play!

-Choose a few blogs that you find brilliant in content or design.

-Show the winners names and links on your blog, and leave a comment informing them that they were prized with "Honest Scrap." Well, there's no prize, but you can keep the nifty icon :)

-List at least 10 honest things about yourself.

1) I'm obsessed with Special K cereal. Fruit and yogurt. Vanilla almond. I could eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Sometimes I have it for dessert. Makes me feel like I'm eating healthy...?

2) When my alarm goes off, you can usually find me leaping out of bed. I'm not one to press the snooze.

3) I always make my bed before leaving mi casa.


{Wish my bed was adorned in such a classic way. I've got one monogrammed pillow. Note to self: I need to work on that.}

4) I have a strange obsession with pretty paper. Stationery and I are pretty much bff.

5) I love everything single thing about a wedding. Anyone who knows me well...already knows this. What's not to love?
“Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. Love still stands when all else has fallen.” -1 Corinthians 13:7

6) I'm a sucker for a bow ties...'nough said.



7) the Boy says that I'm "ridiculous", "absurd", and "legit". And I like that. It suits me.

8) I was a ballet dancer for a grand total of eleven years. Saut de chat anyone?

9) Throughout high school and the first three semesters of college, I was dead set on being a pediatrician. Then Organic Chemistry and I met and sealed my fate to become a teacher. I could not be happier in Elementary Education.

10) Even though Organic Chemistry kicked my tail and I decided that majoring in Biology was not my cup of tea, I truly believe that it was the Lord working in my life as I found my calling to be a teacher. I was had been so focused on the wordly needs in life instead of living a life that brings glory to God. So...play dough, dry erase markers, band aids, journal writing, IEPs, profile cards...ta da! And I'm immersed in Elementary Education. Even though there are stressful days, I honestly love being a light in the classroom and the children make my day! I want my students (and the world!) to know that my heart is sold out for Christ by the way I walk, talk, and breathe for my Lord. And well...since I'm being honest...it's a hard thing to do! But who doesn't like a challenge?!


Well kiddos, there you have it. Southern Sunshine at her finest. hah.

Sunrise

Roommate and I are off to Chapel Hill on this FREEZING cold Saturday for a sunrise sale at Uniquities. I love this store. Big sale on phenomenal jeans. It's a must.
Wish me luck!

The Side Pony

I love that my kindergarten students are easily able to communicate their opinions with me about my hair do.

Example:

Studentwhothinkssheistheteacher: Um...(long pause)....Ms.__________, your hair is wacked up.

Me: No, missy, I'm rockin out the side ponytail. It's stylish.

Studentwhothinkssheistheteacher: Well...I think it looks crooked.

Thought I was going to die of laughter.
See below for a visual. I think it's cute and I'm sticking to it.



I mean, at the end of the day with a bunch of five year olds, if I can't find anything to laugh about, I should quit. I don't see that happening any time soon. :)

Waist Watchers

Another reason why I love kindergarten:

"Look Ms. ____________! My mommy gave me a Waist Watchers snack!

oh my :)


PS - The Boy is amazing.


PSS - Please excuse the short posts and lack of comments. Life is crazy.

Since I'm swamped...

One week ago today I was perusing J.Crew and Vineyard Vines websites, stationery goodness, and photography blogs. Basically, I was relishing in all picture perfect things.

Now, I'm crazy tired and swamped with snotty noses, journal writing, teaching them how to correctly write the number 18 (the figure 8 gets them every time...), and attempting to prevent temper tantrums. But I do love my job.

So readers, I'll most likely be leaving you with quotes from my hectic day...instead of beautiful, pleasing images to the eye or daily goodness from Southern Proper. sad day.

So here we go...

5 year old student with rat tail: Ms., you know about Super Mario Brothers?!
Me: Yes, I sure do, good 'ol Mario and Luigi...
Rat tail: oh...you must have played that game when you were a girrrrrrrrrrrrl...
(I just walked away thinking...what am I now?...)

And one more to complete y'all's day...

5 year old who insists he is the next Jay-Z: I am God.
5 year old who tries to be the teacher (but I love her): No, Jay-Z, you are not....there's only one God (pointing up to the sky)
Jay-Z: OH yeah? because my last name is King!

Really?...I can't make this stuff up...

Kindergarten Love

Some of you may already now but FYI I'm currently student teaching in Kindergarten at a legit public school in Raleigh. Today was our first day back after the holidays.

Five year olds today were not ready for such a HUGE day of Kindergarten. Apparently.
They whined about missing their Wii, Spiderman paraphernalia, PlayStation 3, and new Princess dolls. Lots of waiting in line for the potty, not knowing how to walk in the hallway, or how keep their voices below a dull roar. However, the girls were donning their manicured nails (loved it) and the boys had new haircuts (except one poor kid whose mother apparently thinks it's "cool" to have a rat tail...)

It was a good day.
1 kid puked on the playground.
1 kid told me he loved me.
1 kid spit on another girl.
1 kid kept asking me what I got for Christmas.

As for the kiddo who professed his love for me (which he does often), it breaks my heart because I know that he comes from a broken home where he is always competing for attention and to be loved. Today he said, "Do you know that I love you?" I said, "Yes, _________, you tell me almost every day!" He responds, "Don't you LOVE that I love you?"...... I just laughed. And nodded my head.

On another note, my good friend, bragged about here, has finally started a super legit blog! yay! Everyone go visit Polka Dots and Protein Bars :)