http://www.pleonast.com/user/ktay recent pleonast.com entries by user ktay en-us http://www.pleonast.com/user/ktay?l=5&entryID=604134 I have a niece! Eva Kate Velez was born November 25th at 2:40 pm. She is absolutely beautiful and healthy. Emily and Alex did great (especially Emily) :) and they are wonderful parents already. I got to stay with them at the hospital the night after Eva was born to help with diaper changes and holding her while Emily and Alex slept (tough, I know). ;) Molly is home for the weekend and it has been so much fun spending time with her! I haven't seen her since June, and I've missed her terribly. She always laughs at my jokes. :) This morning I got up at 3:30 and got to JC Penney by 4:30. It was fun, but I will probaly never get up that early again to shop. I think 6:00 gives you just as good deals, and you won't have to take a nap when you get home. I did get some Christmas shopping done, and the excitement of driving on the icy roads that early in the morning definitely woke me up. I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving! 2008-11-28 http://www.pleonast.com/user/ktay?l=5&entryID=602153 The test is OVER and I am so happy. I feel pretty confident that I passed, so I don't have to even think about this crazy thing for the next 3 weeks until I get my scores. Hooray!!! Thank you for your encouraging words and especially your prayers. Tonight we have a potluck and singing and I am so excited! It's been too long since I've been to a singing. I am also going to see Twilight tonight with my sister and some friends! I finished the fourth book 2 weeks ago, and I am really looking forward to the movie. Next week, Monday and Tuesday are dedicated to teacher inservices, interviews for CFA, and another movie with a friend. The rest of the week will be filled with a return of a long-lost sister (Molly!), much eating, sleeping, time with family, and possibly the arrival of my new niece.... I am thankful for too many things to start one of my famous lists, but I know that every good and perfect gift comes from above and I love that this time of year reminds me just how much God g... 2008-11-22 http://www.pleonast.com/user/ktay?l=5&entryID=599615 That's pretty much all I can think about. My PLACE test to be a "highly qualified" music teacher and keep my job is this Saturday. Please pray for me. Really. 2008-11-15 http://www.pleonast.com/user/ktay?l=5&entryID=595039 This is my new saying to my kiddos each day at school. I say it more to remind myself that I set the tone for the class, but I think it helps them too. I ended up dressing like a punk rocker for Halloween. Thanks for your great ideas! :) How have you been blessed today? 2008-11-04 http://www.pleonast.com/user/ktay?l=5&entryID=591723 I need a Halloween costume idea. One that's creative. One that people won't expect from me. One that's cheap. Any suggestions? 2008-10-26 http://www.pleonast.com/user/ktay?l=5&entryID=589779 Lame. I love fall. Wait... I love fall when I get to enjoy it. I'll be honest with you all... I don't think I'm built to be a working girl. Working over 40 hours a week is not my style. I do love teaching, but I think I'm wearing myself out with everything that I'm doing. Another lame thing: My principal just found out that in order for me to keep my job, I have to take the music PLACE test before December 1st. Here's the catch... it's only offered ONE TIME before December 1st. I take the stupid, 4 and a half hour test on November 22nd up in Denver. The test starts at 7:30am. And if I don't pass, I get fired. Lame. That's all I have to say about that. So, complaints about working, hoping that I keep my job, what a confusing post! P.S. If anyone has taken this music PLACE test, please give me some idea how to study for it! 2008-10-21 http://www.pleonast.com/user/ktay?l=5&entryID=583406 Yesterday when I was playing flag football with my 8th graders, one of them yelled, "Coach! Go long!"..... I never, EVER thought I would hear those words refer to me... (P.S. I caught the throw and made a touchdown.) Just one of the many things this week that made me smile. :) 2008-10-04 http://www.pleonast.com/user/ktay?l=5&entryID=580934 1) My favorite foods are dill pickles and watermelon. Not together. :) 2) When I was younger, I was tone-deaf. 3) I have to fall asleep to some type of noise. (Books on tape, a fan, etc.) 4) My dream car is a motorhome. 5) If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to China. 6) I hate feet. They gross me out. 7) Snow days are some of the happiest days of my life! 8) I think I will feel like a grown-up when I have my own dog and coffee-maker. 2008-09-28 http://www.pleonast.com/user/ktay?l=5&entryID=579747 The teaching is still going well. I have to start writing down all of the funny things kids say during class. For example... when explaining how Beethoven went deaf, but he could still compose music by feeling the vibrations of sound, one of my second graders asked, "Uh, Miss Taylor, were vibrations even INVENTED back then?" The interviewing is going great. So far, I've made 2 people cry in their interviews. I guess interviews are stressful situations for people, and when I ask about their heros and their biggest accomplishments, the flood gates burst open. The marketing is also swell. I'm not doing too much of it yet, and I'm finding that I get tongue-tied when I try to sound too professional. I need to work on that... Our big dodgeball charity event is on November 1st, so things are moving quickly to put that together. If everything comes together like we hope, we will end up donating $20,000 to Special Olympics! The piano lessons start next week. I have 2 students with ... 2008-09-25 http://www.pleonast.com/user/ktay?l=5&entryID=573978 I've decided. 2008-09-11