What a long day!

What.A.Day. Oh my. I'm so stinkin exhausted.

Went to bed around 10.. fell asleep fairly quickly--I was pretty tired.

Woke up at 5:30... took me awhile to drag myself out of bed... did NOT want to get up that early. I showered and got ready to go. Was out the door by 6:45.

It was SO foggy this morning... pitch black and so foggy.. I went a little slower than 75 mph... and I was scanning like crazy... looking for animals and other cars.. it was even hard to see cars that were a bit in front of me with their lights on... kinda scary. I ended up getting to Madison around 7:30. Class didn't start til 8, so I just kind of stood around in the hall looking silly... haha

Class was alright. There are certain days that we don't have to go... we have to go tomorrow and Tuesday... and then we are free to stop coming if we are confident we can do the work--it's kind of a self-paced class.

So to get an A in the class, you have to get 555 points. The teacher has all kinds of assignments at different point values. Easy ones are 10... there are also 25, 50, 75, and 100 pt assignments. So I am going to do a couple of the easy ones on my own. A lot of the assignments require websites or software that I am not familiar with. 99% of the people in the class have had a class with Dr. Geary before and have used these programs/websites. Unfortunately, I haven't... so I'm a bit behind on that. But I will learn them... on my own or with his help. I will just keep working away until I have about 620 points (in case I have some assignments where I get, say, 23/25... I want to be sure to have 555 total...).

I'm quite excited about it.. I love classes where you can work at your own pace and choose what you want to do! I just wish I was more familiar with this stuff, because it is a bit intimidating.

My friend Sam is in that class (Samantha), and we decided to do a video... one of the assignments.. it's 100 points. We started working on it right away, and have several minutes of film. We will (hopefully) finish filming tomorrow after class. Then we'll edit it, probably next week. It has to be 30-100 seconds... we decided to do the assignment advertising DSU... promoting it and telling people why they should come there. It's the only assignment that really requires partners or a group, so after we are done editing, I will do the rest of the class alone.

I went and sat in the TC with my friends while they ate lunch. They ate chicken strips and burgers and pasta and pizza and fries and it all looked and smelled SO good. I ate about 1/5th of an apple... booo! I am SO hungry now... and can't wait til we cook supper. It's 7 pm already... we'll start cooking in just a few minutes.

I sat in the TC (Trojan Center, like a student union) until 2:20 and then walked to the Kennedy Center (KC--the education building where I spend most of my time) for my meeting. I met the lady who will be coming in to supervise me and watch me teach... she is SO SO SO nice. I've been blessed with an awesome teacher and an awesome supervisor. I can't wait! She has taught for 25 years (now just subs) and so I am looking forward to her feedback. I want her to tell me how I can improve! :)

Then we had our seminar. We went through the student teaching handbook and some general rules for teaching. I think it's sad when the person leading the seminar has to go over rules such as "follow the school rules", "don't let your boobs or butt hang out" (the B&B rule, as she called it), and "make sure you get your stuff handed in on time". Seriously? We're graduating in a few months... I don't think we should have to have those reminders. She said though that each semester there are peple she has to get after, so she has to keep telling us those things. I think it's ridiculous! (on the students' part.. I'm not calling her rediculous).

After the seminar, I ran to the bookstore to buy the one book that is required. I got the last one, and there are a lot of people who don't have it yet--hope the bookstore can get more in.

There is a woman named Patti who works at the bookstore. She has been SO helpful since I started at DSU. Voc Rehab pays for my tuition and fees... and books (except this summer and this semester). So it's not an easy process to get books. She's carried books out to my car in the snow so I didn't have to lift the heavy bags. She's talked on the phone with Voc Rehab to straighten things out. She's done the paperwork. She is just awesome. Well today I walked in and she was on the phone, but said "I'll be right with you!". I went and grabbed my book and paid, and went and stood somewhat close to her desk. She asked why I paid for my book and I explained what changed with Voc Rehab. She said "I haven't seen you in a long time!". I suppose she expected me this fall, and I never showed up. I told her that I had surgery, and she looked worried and asked if everything was okay. I said "yeah, I had gastric bypass surgery and have lost 109 lbs". Her jaw dropped and she came running around her desk and gave me a big hug. As we pulled away, she grabbed my chin, looked me in the eye, and said "You are beautiful". It was so touching. It's nice to hear "you look great!" from my mom and my friends... don't get my wrong... it's a nice compliment from anyone. But for someone who I see for about 20 minutes a semester... to be so kind and loving... it really touched me.

I decided at that point, that I was going to write some letters tonight. I am going to write a note/letter to Patti, thanking her for all she has done for me. I'm going to write a letter to Dr. Pauli for the same reason--thanking her. I'm also going to write a letter to Billie (the secretary in the college of education)--she's been great too. I just want to let them know (in words that will last forever instead of an e-mail or spoken words that can never be heard again) how much I appreciate them. :) I'm excited to work on that.

So after I left the bookstore, I headed home. I called my mom and we talked all the way home.. which is good because I was exhausted.

I got to Brookings and ran to Walmart quick. A friend of mine saw my planner and said she wanted one like it. She lives in a town between Brookings and Sioux Falls, but has 4 kids and doesn't make it to either town often. I was so happy to be able to do that for her. I got her the same kind I have... it's a fun tropical theme and really beautiful. My cover is teal--I got her the green. :)

I also got two Zhu Zhu hamsters for my great aunt's granddaughter Laci... she's the one we searched and searched for before... now, of course, the stores have them in stock because it's after Christmas. I bought the white one and the gray and white one... we'll send them to her and she'll pay us back. (We didn't just assume--my mom called her and asked and she told me what to buy.)

I got a few other things at Walmart and headed home. Now it's 7:33, and I just finished supper. I took a break to go eat... I ate one too many, and felt quite sick for a few minutes... but my stomach is finally starting to settle. It was good, anyway. I was hungry!

Tonight I am going to work on those letters... and maybe a few more letters for some friends that I will see tomorrow. Then I will probably try to either do a little homework, or read my book a bit. We'll see... I'm quite tired. Since it's already 7:34, who knows. I am getting up at 5:35 again tomorrow, so I need to get into bed early tonight. My legs are really sore, so I am going to go get some heat on them and try to be productive until I can take my medicine and head to bed!