Everything in life relates to Friends...

...I can't sleep. Typical beginning of year teacher syndrome. I know I should be asleep...I also have work I could do right now, however, since it's midnight, I don't think doing work is the best solution.

Tomorrow I'll be taking meds to help me sleep--all natural stuff of course, but I'll need it, and if my first year teaching is any indicator, I shouldn't wait longer before taking it! I remember sleeping 5 hours a night, at max, my first month of teaching, Finally my advisor laid down the law and told me I HAD to sleep and couldn't work all day everyday. Now, however, I have to be the one responsible enough to force myself to stop working sometimes and to make sure I am getting sleep.

So, instead of working into the middle of the night "because I'm awake," I put all my work away, will be closing my laptop in approximately 2 minutes (when I finish this post), and falling asleep while watching Friends. (I was not falling asleep while lying in the dark unfortunately. Stupid teacher insomnia.)

Enjoy the following clip (the one I wanted to post couldn't be embedded, but you can check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LguKobTU4eM)

If only all I had tomorrow was a meeting. I'll have 26 bright-eyed kindergarteners to keep me awake instead.

The New Place!

Woohoo!

The backyard for Chloe to run around in

Dining room

Kitchen! I may learn how to cook soon...

Kitchen! I may learn how to cook soon...

Kitchen table :)

Living room (with all my boxes of school stuff)

Living room (with all my boxes of school stuff)

Can you guess which side of the bookshelf is mine? Look at those wonderful shoes. :)

Can you guess which side of the bookshelf is mine? Look at those wonderful shoes. :)

I may or may not be OCD. My closet still doesn't feel neat enough for me, but it will do for now.

I may or may not be OCD. My closet still doesn't feel neat enough for me, but it will do for now.

New bedding is on its way, but look at my new lovely lamps  (love them!), and my owl friend of course hanging out on my bed.

New bedding is on its way, but look at my new lovely lamps  (love them!), and my owl friend of course hanging out on my bed.

You better believe I built that IKEA dresser by myself. Yes, it took 3 hours...and apparently Chris only took an hour to build his dresser, but you know what? I did it myself. Take that.

You better believe I built that IKEA dresser by myself. Yes, it took 3 hours...and apparently Chris only took an hour to build his dresser, but you know what? I did it myself. Take that.

Chloe hanging out in my beauteous new room. Much more to do to decorate, but it's getting there!

Picture this: Miss Magiera, diet coke in hand, enjoying some beautiful weather in her backyard

Yes, you read that correctly. I'm currently relaxing in my backyard, enjoying the nice weather (the sun is actually still out), and while my diet coke is no longer in hand since I'm typing, rest assured it is within arm's reach on a table.

Even more exciting than that diet coke being oh so cold and oh so close, I have a backyard. Again, yes you read that correctly. I have a place to live. On Thursday I moved into a house in Silver Lake, which is a part of Los Angeles. According to Wikipedia, Silver Lake  is "best known as an eclectic gathering of hipsters and the creative class." Not sure exactly where I fit in there, but I do love it here.

I'm living with the art teacher from school, and we're pretty darn lucky in a beautiful 2 bed, 2.5 bath house with a garage (yup! I'm loving this place!) and a nice little backyard for Chloe. Oh right, I have my dog again. She's pretty awesome. She's been befriending some dogs around here and making herself right at home. Though she's without her friends from our place in San Jose, I have no doubt once she realizes how nice it is to have the house to herself (and that I am not abandoning her and this is actually our home) she'll thoroughly enjoy when Maggie (the art teacher) and I are at work. So far though she seems to be liking not having to be on a leash every moment we step outside.

In other news, I have a bedroom...and a bathroom...and a closet...and all three of those things are mine! I don't have to share anymore. I'm still working on getting settled, which means I may have some furniture building in my future, so I'll be sure to report on how that goes. So far I do love my walk-in closet and my shoe display. I promise once I'm moved in I will take photos, but imagine this: a giant floor to ceiling bookcase, filled with my shoes. Oh it's glorious. For those familiar with my shoe cabinet in college (Lovernich, anyone? There was not nearly enough closet space!), the idea is very similar. What others may use for food, books, storage, I say is the perfect place to put all my shoes.

So there you have it. Relaxing at 7 p.m. on a Tuesday, diet coke nearby. I even made dinner. I made some pasta with vodka sauce...all very lovely, and then I added the finishing touches: a microwaved turkey hot dog, a string cheese, and two red peppers. At some point I may cook even more...but for now, let's just be happy with the fact that I didn't order food tonight from somewhere else.

Pienso que comiendo ceviche durante mi visita de casa mejoro mi español.

Hola Profesora,

No estoy seguro si Ud. me recuerda, pero yo estaba en dos de sus clases de español en Pepperdine. Me gradué en 2009, y comenzó a enseñar a kinder en San José. Yo quería escribir una nota, porque he estado enseñando a los estudiantes los últimos dos años que en su mayoría hablan español en casa. Este año, regresé a Los Ángeles, y estoy enseñando en una escuela en la que tengo que hacer visitas de casa. Estoy tan feliz que me llevó a sus clases en la Pepperdine, porque he ido a las visitas de casa sin una otra maestra para traducir. Mis estudiantes y sus familias son muy importantes para mí, y yo estoy practicando mi español todos los días para que pueda comunicarse mejor con ellos.  Sólo quería decir lo mucho que mi español me ha ayudado a ayudar a mis estudiantes. Yo sé que mi español no es perfecto, pero estoy trabajando duro para aprender! :) Si he hecho algún error, por favor, perdóname!

Muchas gracias, y que tenga un buen día!

I Used To Be a Gymnast...Shouldn't Balance Come Easily to Me?

Good news! Tomorrow I get to sleep in until 6:30.

I know, it sounds like a joke...but really, I am stoked! I have been getting up at 5 a.m. on the weekdays the past two weeks, so 6:30 really is sleeping in for me.

Incidentally, waking up at 5 a.m. and only having 15 minutes for lunch (which is spent putting homework in folders instead of eating) may or may not have contributed to my current cold. A cold is nothing new for me, however. Family and friends may recall the 8 billion times I have had laryngitis, pharyngitis, and/or bronchitis the past two years.

I fondly remember this past February break when I woke up to take Kristin to the airport and drove to her house, shaking because of my fever. While waiting for her, one of her housemates backed into my car (I still have yet to get the scratches fixed), and a couple hours later I found out it wasn't just bronchitis this time, nope, this time I had pneumonia.

I had to get a shot of antibiotics in my butt. I was not happy. My fear of needles became all the worse as a result of my 102 degree fever at the time. I tried to negotiate with the doctor...surely he could squirt the injection into my mouth, like a squirt gun, right? Nope. Shot in the butt. Thanks. I also got a lecture about resting. As in doing absolutely nothing for the next week. The doctor at Urgent Care gave me two options: rest at home, or, if I chose not to rest, come back in a couple days to rest in a hospital bed.

I rested. It was really tough, but I rested. I also gave my dog a haircut, but that's another story.

A couple weeks later I followed up with my doctor to make sure I had kicked the pneumonia and that my lungs were clear...and fortunately they were. I also made it a point to ask my doctor what was wrong with me. Really. Why do I always get sick, and how can I not get sick?

Apparently, the best thing I can do for my immune system is sleep more (and stress less if possible). This is pretty difficult, but I've been working on it. This weekend, I slept. A lot. I didn't work. That's not normal for me, but my cold is somewhat fading. I have a tough time with balance. My required work hours at 7:15 to 4:30 during the school year, but it's not as though I don't take my work home with me. I'm trying harder not to take my work with me...or at the very least to take less work home. It's a tough choice, though, because while I can't get in trouble for not taking my work home with me, if I'm not performing well enough at school, I can get in "trouble" for that.

However, for now, I'm praying that the impact of having balance in my life...of not working all day and all weekend long will be three-fold (yes, much like why Chandler was in a box):
1. I will be happier and healthier! I will sleep more and take time for myself and my friends.
2. I will be more productive at work (if I'm trying not to take things home, I need to get stuff done when I'm there).
3. I will be a better teacher...because I am happier and healthier. :)

I think I've failed at work-life balance in the past. I know I've failed at it. However, this year, new school, new location, new house...maybe I can do it? :)