A Kentucky Classroom

It's Sunday evening, the Cats are handling UIC and the Hoops team (aka the UK women's b-ball team) won their game earlier today.  Yesterday I celebrated my cousins' 50th wedding anniversary (I guess I should clarify that-my cousin married his bride 50 years ago, not two of my cousins got married.) and found the perfect Christmas gift for a friend.  Thanksgiving was good, though there was one less chair at our table this year and my uncle Jack was definitely missed.  As Thanksgiving dies down, the holiday season barrels in, ready or not.   I know tomorrow will scarcely begin before it seems as though we had no break at all.  I also don't typically listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving, so I'm trying to remember where all my favorite Christmas CDs are.  (Yes, I said CDs.  I feel ancient because even as I type those words spell check doesn't recognize them.  Oh, well.)  Some of the tunes are pretty traditional, others are little more...random.  But I

Welcome to the inaugural post in a new series known as Favorite Scripture Friday, where I share a particular verse or passage that speaks to me.  (Yes, I just explained that.  With such a misleading title as Favorite Scripture Friday, I'm sure you were completely puzzled as to its contents.) For years, whenever I heard the word Psalms, my mind immediately thought of David, the 23rd Psalm, and poems of thanksgiving.  However, as I've read the Psalms I realized that there is so much more to Psalms than David, poems, and thanksgiving. And there's one psalm that consistently speaks to me every time I read it: Psalm 27.                                                   Psalm 27  1 The  Lord  is my light and my salvation—           whom shall I fear?                The  Lord  is the stronghold of my life—          of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When the wicked advance against me to devour 27:2  Or  slander  me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble

So, my usual m.o. involves posting my list after the entire week's complete, simply because I rarely know what kind of mood I'm in or exactly what music will speak to me on that given day.  However, since next week is a short week for everyone (my district only goes 2 days and some of the other districts aren't even holding class once), I figured I'd avoid grading papers on a Saturday night be proactive and at least look productive.  This week differs slightly as I'm including multiple options-one list is simply for the last day before the break and the other is good anytime.  Thanksgiving Week: "Why Me, Lord?" by Willie Nelson or Kris Kristofferson.  Love this song because it takes a question so many have posed to God (Why?) and simply offers thanks and praise for the blessings given.  It's a really nice twist on a vulnerable question. "The Nerve" by George Strait.  There's a reason why George Strait is called "King Geo

The following story is shamefully true. So I'm not a 21st century woman. I have various social media accounts (you can follow me on Pinterest, Twitter, or Facebook and as soon as I figure how to link Instagram to all the other things I plan to flood the internet with something other than selfies) but don't use them a ton. Probably because I have a day job and lead a pretty boring life. I follow less than 50 people on Twitter. Which means that 90% of my Twitter feed is University of Kentucky sports, especially this time of year when football's winding down, basketball's gearing up, and our volleyball team has an extremely impressive and deserving #6 ranking. Because of this, any non-athletic tweets stick out like white shoes after Labor Day. And every now and again I am reminded I really have no business teaching impressionable, inquisitive minds how to read. Case in point: I saw the following pic and hashtag. And read it as Niall X Llamas. And got rea

(Want to go back to the beginning?  Read  this  .) So after leaving work a half day on Thursday and being out on Friday, I was not 100% but knew if I didn't get back in my classroom there would be no telling what I'd find upon my return.  I fully expected to be out of classroom staples such as pencils, paper, and cooperative children.  What I didn't anticipate was that the week would be the longest, most arduous week I can remember in a long time. (Seriously.  The last time I remember being that overwhelmed and exhausted was the week one of my dear friends got married and I was in the wedding, followed by my father being involved in a car accident and subsequently suffering his first stroke.  The easy part was actually getting him to the hospital-the hard part was carrying on with normal life, which included a graduate level Shakespeare course, and trying to make sure my father followed his doctor's orders.  Don't know if you've ever had to try and care for

(No clue what Walk Up Music is?  Start  here  .) Nothing excites me less than Halloween falling on weeknight.  Unless you include basketball tip offs at 9:06 p.m. or later.  Or a full moon on a Monday. Knowing that, I knew I would have to seriously bring it this week.  So without further delay... Monday -"Enter Sandman" by Metallica.  From the opening notes, you can't help but feel large and in charge, especially when you're walking down an empty school hallway at 6:30 in the morning.  And if you're not a Metallica purist, go to YouTube and search for Luke Bryan's version.  My bestie and I went and saw him a few years ago in Cincy.  He did "Enter Sandman" in a medley that included "Fishin' in the Dark" by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.  Three words: Off.  The.  Hook.) Tuesday -"Munster Rag" by Brad Paisley.  Yes, it was Halloween.  Which meant I heard a lot of the Halloween staples ("Monster Mash", "Somebody