Cute Mother's Day School Project Idea

April 12, 2015

I know it's been forever since I posted anything on my blog. Sorry, first I didn't really have anything to write about. I was just whiling away the time until the good Lord saw fit to return me home to Oregon. Boy did He. I taught for five years in North Dakota then I finally got a teaching job in Oregon and my youngest son and I moved home. We had to wait awhile but God gave us a house that I had been praying for for five years. It's a three bedroom, two bath house four blocks from the beach in Seaside Oregon. Now you are caught up and I will be changing my blog to more of a teaching adventure focus. That said, here is my first ever teacher blog post.

I now teach a k2 blended class. I have been trying to figure out what project to have my students do for a Mothers Day project. I also teach at a school focused on the environment and we are encouraged to recycle/ reuse. I was trying to come up with a way to reuse k-cups. I finally came up with an idea that kills the two birds with one stone and here it is.


For the Mothers' Day Project

Materials

Decorative duct tape

Used k-cups

Scissors

Potting soil

Seeds

Decorate the outside of the used k-cups with the duct tape. I found the narrow tape was easier and smoother than the wider tape. 

  

Cut or peel off the lid to the k-cups. They are packed pretty full with coffee grounds so this part gets messy and you may want to lay down newspaper beforehand. I drink tea so I had the kids open them up and dump all the tea out. Coffee is a good nutrient for plants and you can leave all or a little in the cup if you choose. This is what an empty K-cup looks like inside.

If you have the kids empty the cups, then fill them 2/3 of the way, put in a couple of seeds. I used Nasturtiums because the seeds are big and they grow relatively quick.  I put in three seeds each. Then cover with more potting soil . Add a little water. K-cups already have hole in the bottom so be careful because water will drip out.

I found these cute little plastic plates for appetizers in the paper plate aisle of the grocery store that I used for a tray under our plants. They helped to keep my counter at school clean.

After I shared this idea with my sister and her husband, they went home and planted their seeds for their vegetable garden in k-cups to start the plants in their green house.

There you have it two ways to reuse the k-cups that are filling our garbage cans and land fills.

I Start a New Adventure

I know it has been quite a while since my last blog. Sorry, I need to be inspired to write and I had nothing happening in my life. At least not much since my last post. That however has changed. As most of you who have read my blog before know, I followed the Lord to a Native American reservation in North Dakota to teach. I surrendered my life to God there for five years. Well May 26, 2014 was the last day of my fifth year teaching in Mandaree. On June 16, 2014 the Lord blessed me by answering my prayers for a job in Oregon. In September, I will begin teaching a Kindergarten, first, and second grade blend in Vernonia. I am super excited as it is a positive atmosphere with a team of teachers I have met and love. But that is not the wow factor.

When I learned I got the job, I began to pray for a house at the beach. This was what I asked God for:

A two bedroom house though three bedrooms would be awesome
A secondary heat source like a wood stove or fireplace
More than one bathroom
A window in the kitchen (I have had this in most of my homes and prefer it)
Close to the beach but anywhere near the ocean would be awesome (this is a life long dream of mine)

And I began thanking God for provision and the house and answered prayers. I have been living for the last five years in hiddenness which means I did not feel God's presents, I stopped going to church because I couldn't find one that when I left I felt refreshed and renewed. God was silent. I did not get any messages from Him at all. That did not worry me because as a teacher I know "teachers are always quiet during a test," and God is the ultimate teacher. I knew that God did not abandon me in North Dakota but I still felt that way. I learned to trust God and seek His peace without feeling the warmth of His presents. I knew He was there. I lived under His favor and He stilled answered my prayers. Its just when I worshiped I felt like I was singing a song not praising my God. I lived by faith not be sight or feel.

Then when God started bringing school interviews into my life, I started feeling His manifestation. I could feel His presence, His love and things were moving. But He wasn't content with just bringing me back to Oregon.

First the move, I called U-Haul they wanted $1550.00 for a 14' truck and car dolly for four days and limited mileage. I called Budget and got a 16' truck with a car dolly and unlimited mileage plus six days for $530.00. But I had no place to move to and it was very frustrating and difficult to find a place near Vernonia online. So I gave up and decided to let God do the work. I just packed up my house and with my youngest son, James, and cat, Binks, we moved in on our family. I was thinking I would have a place to live within two weeks. God had other plans.

I spent two weeks not finding a place. Nothing was available in my price range even though I was very willing to throw my list of wants right out the window. I kept getting messages from odd places  (life has taught me that is how God communicates with me). I got a couple of fortune cookie messages that were too specific to my situation to not be from God and they were saying take a vacation and rest in God. So I took my grandson and my son to Seaside for a day of play. We had an awesome time. On our way home we stopped at a Dairy Queen (which is in the middle of nowhere) on the way home. I was waiting outside the bathroom for Zander and started a conversation with a woman who was waiting as well. Anyone who knows me knows that that is not unusual but what happened next was totally God by design. I explained I was moving back from North Dakota going to teach in Vernonia and was looking for a rental preferably in Seaside. She said she had a rental that would not be open until December, however the present tenants were looking to buy a house so they might move out sooner. Later she found me at my table and gave me her contact information. I called the next day and they told me to go check it out on the outside and call them if I liked what I saw. They said they would tell the tenants, "who are never home," that I would be there so I could feel free to go in the back yard and everything.

I get there and the tenants are home and they show me the house! Inside and out! So now is the Wow. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, window in a giant kitchen, a fireplace and is four blocks from the beach in Seaside!!! But God was not content with answering my prayer as it was, He wanted to do so much more. He added whipped  cream with a cherry on top!!! It was fully furnished including linen and dishes. I wouldn't need to unpack unless I wanted to use my things. Then I would only have to pack their things in the attic. But God still wasn't finished.

When I called the next day to talk to my new landlords they had discussed the move-in fees. They asked me what would work for me and I wasn't sure how to respond except to say I would clean the house myself as I moved in so if could they take whatever they would normally pay to clean the rental off the deposits that would be great. The husband said "Here is what I am thinking. We will wave the cleaning deposit since you are going to clean it. We will wave the move-in fees and we will wave the requirement of first and last months rent." So when the tenants move out and I move in I only need to come up with the first month's rent! WOW!! Oh and the rent includes the utilities including internet, TV and electricity.

I found out two days later that the old tenants purchased a house and they thought they could move out September 1st. However, they soon learned that repairs to the house would push the move-out date back to October. But the landlords have offered their personal vacation home for rent to me for the month of September! The Lord never ceases to amaze me on how much He loves me and how generous He is. He is truly awesome and I am very excited to see what else He has planned for me.

I am truly blessed. Thank You Father for EVERYTHING!!!!! What tops that is that James is seeing with his eyes how good the Lord is. I think another prayer will be answered soon .

Sorry there are no pictures in this post. I am not using my computer because it is packed for now.

Chicago

Whirl wind road trip to Chicago with Kendall a friend from Warner Pacific College, roommate and teacher. We left at 2:00pm on Thursday after school and drove straight through about 16 hours. We had a great time on Friday going around the city and sight seeing. We went to Lake Michigan and walked along the beach and got our feet wet. It was real foggy so we could not see much of the lake but it did have waves crashing on the shore like the ocean.

Saturday was our interview. We get ready and drive through downtown Chicago which is no easy feat. Man they drive crazy there. Got to the hotel only to have to call our contact and find that they had canceled Chicago interviews because they had hired all they needed, only we did not get that email. I emailed our contact before we left asking her to confirm and never got a response either. So we did a little shopping and headed home.

We did some sight seeing in Wisconsin and picked up some cheese, drove through Milwaukee on our way home. Got home around 11:30am Sunday and passed out for awhile. I am going back to bed shortly but I know everyone was waiting to hear if I was going overseas. Looks like God has other plans.

I am not really disappointed as I did not have high hopes for this job but God rewards those who take risks and that was a risk for me. Now I am putting applications in Oregon with little hope for getting anything, and organizing my room and planning for next year. Still not sure I am coming home for the summer. I need to fix my car and see what kind of money I have. Plus I think it will be hard to go home knowing I am not going to stay. Also there are a lot of things to do in North Dakota in the summer. I might just do some sight seeing and take small trips around the area. We shall see. I need to discuss things with my life planner (God). I will post pictures later.

Last Day of School

I am exhausted but I am so glad it's over again. I had a roommate from January until now and she is in the process of moving out. She is going to Williston ND to live. She will not be coming back to teach. Kendall is a teacher I went to college with that moved here this year and she is in the process of moving in. I haven't even had time to clean or anything and no time on my own. Oh well it will be nice to have Kendall around.

I am teaching summer school from May 31-June 30. James (my youngest son) got his GED so he will be starting trade school on June 30. I am so proud of him I never thought I would see this day. He is going to school to be a auto body repair and paint guy. Jeff is graduating this June from mechanic school and starting the same schooling with James.

I don't know what else I will be doing this summer except got to Chicago for an interview to go overseas. If I get the job I will pack and move all my stuff to Oregon. (better storage climate). Visit my friends and relatives. Then I will drive my car to Houston TX so my sons will have a reliable car and then fly out from Houston. If I don't get the job I will spend part of my summer planning out next year and reorganizing my room and who knows after that.

10 More Days of School!!!

Sorry I have not been blogging. I have been so busy that time has slipped away. There is nothing much to talk about but work because I have not done much of anything but work. There is only ten more days till school is out for the year.

I don't believe in coincidences but I do believe in signs. I just don't always interpret these signs correctly. First sign is I have had a roommate paying rent to me since January. The money has come in handy since I needed to go to the dentist recently for a root canal. While I have not been able to save very much money, I have had enough to not struggle. I was hoping that the extra money would mean provisions for moving this year but I see now that it was probably just living provisions.

The second sign is I have an interview with a company that will take me to Abu Dahbi, a country in the United Arab Emirate. It is located on the peninsula in the Persian Gulf. It is one of the riches countries in the world. If I get the job they pay for me to fly over, my pay would be almost 44,000 a year tax free. I would get a three bedroom apartment rent free, airfare to come home once a year, and great benefits. My interview is in Chicago in June. I have not given up on Oregon and I have three applications in for jobs there but so far nothing.

The third sign that I may be moving out of North Dakota is that we have not received any contracts as of today (5/10). This is good in that by law they have to give me 30 days to sign the contract. Last year I had to decide that I was coming back by 6/1/11. Now I will have till after my interview to sign my contract. Once I sign I have to buy myself out in order to break it so if I have another job it is nice to not have to pay off my old employer. Plus Oregon is just now starting to look for new teachers, so it is nice to have more time to look for a job there.

What will I do this summer? Well, I am going to teach summer school for the first month. Then it all depends on where I am going to work next year. If I have a job in Oregon, I will move back late July early August. If I get the job in Abu Dahbi, I will move my things to Oregon to store in a moderate climate and since in two years I will have paid off my student loans, I will be moving back to Oregon afterward (unless I fall in love with overseas teaching). After I move all my things to Oregon, I will drive to Texas to give my sons my car. Then I can see everyone before I go overseas. If I get this job I am spending Christmas in Bethlehem or Scotland or some place cool like that. If I am staying in North Dakota I will spend a large portion of my summer taking classes to renew my North Dakota license, and spend time reorganizing my room and planning my year so I am not struggling to keep on top of things.

If I stay for another year, there are some changes to prepare for. It has been decided by the school board that we are to give a pre-test and a post test and the student must past the post test in order to move on to the next grade at the end of the year. This means I must plan on what I am going to teach all year and test students on what they need to know to be a sixth grader by the end of next year. It might even help in discipline if the students realize they must learn or they will stay back until they do.

I started this year off with a cold and that is what I am ending it on as well. I have lost my voice and I have a sore throat but I will finish this year out and then....

Only 44 more school days!!!

I am so excited. This year is almost over. Only 44 more school day or 10 weeks. The school year is almost over. It is the thought that is keeping me motivated. I am tired of being a babysitter and then the administration turning around and asking me to justify everything I do because I am judged by my students test scores.

This weekend I went to Bismarck to take the Praxis II test. It is a series of tests for teachers. Oregon is one of the only states that does not require teaches to take this test. Only high school teachers need to pass it for their Oregon licence. It makes sense to have this test because it asks about theology of teaching and what are the proper things you should do in classroom management and all that. It was a tough test took four hours for two tests, a lot of writing.

Anyway my friend and I took Friday off so we could get to Bismarck (3 hour drive) and to the hotel. Then hopefully have time to play since it is the "big city" (maybe the size of Pendleton). So we drive there, it was clear as a bell. We can't check in to the hotel right away so we went to the mall to look at stuff. We are in there for about an hour and when we got out about an hour later it was a white out blizzard. We went to the store picked up some stuff to eat and went to the hotel and stayed in for the rest of the day. It closed down our school and the teachers at school got stuck there and had to spend the night with some of the teachers that live near the school. It was wild. Next day it was cold and sunny and on Sunday when we went home it was clear as a bell. You could not tell there had been a snow storm. Talk about freaky.

I am back to looking for a new job and praying that the Lord sees fit to move me somewhere else. I am tired of this school, I have totally lost my love of teaching. If it was not for being surrendered to God and the large student loan debt I would go back to being a secretary.

Bumbed

Sorry I have not been updating my blog but I have been extremely busy this year. I spend all evening on Monday's grading. Then I tutor on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays. I plan on Friday for what I will be teaching during the next week. The weekend I clean, shop and do laundry however my dryer is broken so laundry takes a little longer because I have to hang everything.

Now why I am bumbed. I was planning on taking a three day weekend starting this Friday. I was going to shop for a dryer and sleep in and rest. But I woke up this Monday with a tooth ache. I made it through the day teaching and then it got worse. I was in a lot of pain by night fall. I got to use my personal day to try to go to the dentist. ONLY I live in North Dakota and there are not enough dentists or doctors to go around. So I called several in the area and there is no way to see a dentist for at least two weeks. Luckily, I was able to get into a doctor and get antibiotics. Which is good since the whole side of my face is swollen. I look like I have been beaten without the "pretty" bruise coloring.

Now I am taking Multron, and major strong antibiotics. I can't eat a thing. I have been drinking soup. Funny thing the antibiotics require you to eat food with them. Only I had no soup so I stopped and got a bag of M & Ms to suck on so I could take my meds right away. Good thing because the roads are terrible right now and what should have taken me an hour to get to Dickinson took me an hour and forty-five minutes. Most of the way was up and down hills, round corners, and all covered in ice. A real nail bitter of a drive and I couldn't even grit my teeth. Ouch!!!

SO I have a sore mouth, I am hungry because drinking soup does not keep you fool and I am wore out from the awful drive. I am going to bed.