xoxo,
Ally & Scuttle
happy...
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Saturday, October 26, 2013
One thing you should know about me: I love cats. I always have, and always will. No one will ever convince me that there is a more suitable pet for all different lifestyles. Now before you go hating on cats, know that I also like dogs. Just not nearly as much as I like cats.
I will save my dog v. cat argument for another post but this fine Caturday, I would like to show you some of my favorite cat items I have stumbled upon via the internet.
enjoy & happy Caturday.
1. I included this little gem of a shirt because one of my favorite things are cats & one of my husbands favorite things is beer. Although I would neverwear buy this, I thought it was pretty funny. Buy Here.
2. I found these super cute cards flapperdoodle, an Etsy shop that you can download some super cute cards for almost anything you can think of. I used her design for some bachlorette invites this summer & I absolutely loved how they turned out! These little cat cards are the perfect way to say hello- from both Scuttle & myself!
3. I have been swooning over two cat cases for my iPhone- I love the colors on this one, it is bold yet suttle all at once.
4. Confession: I actually own a pet food mat made by Diggity Dawg and I love it! I was looking at her site and noticed this mustard yellow one and could not help but think how cute it would look in my home full of mustard yellow [side note: yellow is my favorite color, I do not wear it often because it washes me out, but I LOVE decorating with it!] Anyways, these pet food mats are great for kitties that like to splash in their water (*cough*cough*Scuttle!) They are wipeable and look super cute!
5. These little cat buttons are just adorable... I own a couple cat buttons that currently adorn my winter coat and I love adding a little flare to my wardrobe!
6. Currently, I cannot decide which cat shirt to get... this one by BurgerAndFriends is so catchy...
7.... But this one is just too funny...
8. Yet another cat iPhone case I just can't help but love... I mean the cat is the spitting image of Scuttle. Plus I love the artists inspiration for the design.
9. How cute would this ring look on my skinny, bony finger?
10. Last, but certainly not least, these little girls tights are just too much for me to handle. I mean come on, if I had a little girl I would order them in every size so she would have them continually as she grows.
I will save my dog v. cat argument for another post but this fine Caturday, I would like to show you some of my favorite cat items I have stumbled upon via the internet.
enjoy & happy Caturday.
1. I included this little gem of a shirt because one of my favorite things are cats & one of my husbands favorite things is beer. Although I would never
2. I found these super cute cards flapperdoodle, an Etsy shop that you can download some super cute cards for almost anything you can think of. I used her design for some bachlorette invites this summer & I absolutely loved how they turned out! These little cat cards are the perfect way to say hello- from both Scuttle & myself!
3. I have been swooning over two cat cases for my iPhone- I love the colors on this one, it is bold yet suttle all at once.
4. Confession: I actually own a pet food mat made by Diggity Dawg and I love it! I was looking at her site and noticed this mustard yellow one and could not help but think how cute it would look in my home full of mustard yellow [side note: yellow is my favorite color, I do not wear it often because it washes me out, but I LOVE decorating with it!] Anyways, these pet food mats are great for kitties that like to splash in their water (*cough*cough*Scuttle!) They are wipeable and look super cute!
5. These little cat buttons are just adorable... I own a couple cat buttons that currently adorn my winter coat and I love adding a little flare to my wardrobe!
6. Currently, I cannot decide which cat shirt to get... this one by BurgerAndFriends is so catchy...
7.... But this one is just too funny...
8. Yet another cat iPhone case I just can't help but love... I mean the cat is the spitting image of Scuttle. Plus I love the artists inspiration for the design.
9. How cute would this ring look on my skinny, bony finger?
10. Last, but certainly not least, these little girls tights are just too much for me to handle. I mean come on, if I had a little girl I would order them in every size so she would have them continually as she grows.
Friday, October 25, 2013
please note I do not want anyone to take pity on me for this post... I am just writing for sympathy to other urban teachers, to make others aware, and for my own personal record...
Working in an urban school is much harder than I thought it would be. I anticipated the school year to be tough. Josh worked at the school last year and I saw how exhausted he was every day and heard the dramatic stories and witnessed the defeat all last year. It was certainly hard for me to watch it happen.
So I thought I knew what I was getting myself into.
However, urban education has literally been the most exhausting thing I have ever done.
I am working on average 12 hours a day.
This obviously creates physical exhaustion that is unexplainable- plain and simple, the first thing I think about when I wake up is how much I will look forward to meeting my bed back again when I return. I absolutely hate that- but my early school day and late nights have driven me to that madness.
Physical exhaustion only adds to my overall exhaustion; My emotional exhaustion is the kind that literally drains me to my bones. Teaching is an emotionally exhausting job and working in an urban school only heightens the fact.
I am constantly giving and giving and giving attention to students- some of these students really do appreciate that. But it is especially emotionally exhausting to give and give and give to students who simply do not care and are not aware that you want them to succeed in life. All I want for my students is for them to acquire the knowledge and skills to succeed in life, so it reallypulls yanks on my heart strings to see my students simply not care.
The majority of my students do not read or write on the level that they should be. They are heavily influenced by the culture that surrounds them- a culture that (in general) glorifies drugs, sex, and gang violence. I have volunteered to work in project neighborhoods before. I know the culture well- I know the values. Sadly, education and getting out of poverty is not always one of them. It is emotionally exhausting to see my students come to school with loads of real life issues on their shoulders- my students experience- and have experienced- things that no child should ever have to.
It breaks my heart and at the end of the day, in all honesty, I often feel defeated, my heart feels broken, and my soul is weary.
A dear friend of mine who I look up to so much asked me in the midst of my complaining if there was anything that was good about teaching- This made me stop in the midst of my heated ranting and truly think. Yes the majority of my day is pretty crappy and exhausting and if I hear "This is too much to write" about a single simple sentence one more time I may blow up- but her question made me realize that no matter how emotionally and physically exhausting my day is, I still have moments that make my heart warm again and I see God working. When a student has a light bulb turn on or smiles and tells me "Good Morning Mrs. Hendy," I remember that no, I will not have a Freedom Writers story, but this is my own story and I cling to the fact that no matter how weak I am- HE is strong. And HE is working.
I do not remind myself of this often enough. Hoping one day it will be second nature to do so...
Here is a picture of this week at school- Josh & I dressed up for "Throwback Thursday" for homecoming week...
I gathered up some of my hippie clothes, threw on a hair band & a Vietnam War" jacket, played a little Marvin Gay for my students and called it a day... Josh grabbed his normal clothes & labeled it "grunge 90's" ...
enjoy the weekend!
ally
Working in an urban school is much harder than I thought it would be. I anticipated the school year to be tough. Josh worked at the school last year and I saw how exhausted he was every day and heard the dramatic stories and witnessed the defeat all last year. It was certainly hard for me to watch it happen.
So I thought I knew what I was getting myself into.
However, urban education has literally been the most exhausting thing I have ever done.
I am working on average 12 hours a day.
This obviously creates physical exhaustion that is unexplainable- plain and simple, the first thing I think about when I wake up is how much I will look forward to meeting my bed back again when I return. I absolutely hate that- but my early school day and late nights have driven me to that madness.
Physical exhaustion only adds to my overall exhaustion; My emotional exhaustion is the kind that literally drains me to my bones. Teaching is an emotionally exhausting job and working in an urban school only heightens the fact.
I am constantly giving and giving and giving attention to students- some of these students really do appreciate that. But it is especially emotionally exhausting to give and give and give to students who simply do not care and are not aware that you want them to succeed in life. All I want for my students is for them to acquire the knowledge and skills to succeed in life, so it really
The majority of my students do not read or write on the level that they should be. They are heavily influenced by the culture that surrounds them- a culture that (in general) glorifies drugs, sex, and gang violence. I have volunteered to work in project neighborhoods before. I know the culture well- I know the values. Sadly, education and getting out of poverty is not always one of them. It is emotionally exhausting to see my students come to school with loads of real life issues on their shoulders- my students experience- and have experienced- things that no child should ever have to.
It breaks my heart and at the end of the day, in all honesty, I often feel defeated, my heart feels broken, and my soul is weary.
A dear friend of mine who I look up to so much asked me in the midst of my complaining if there was anything that was good about teaching- This made me stop in the midst of my heated ranting and truly think. Yes the majority of my day is pretty crappy and exhausting and if I hear "This is too much to write" about a single simple sentence one more time I may blow up- but her question made me realize that no matter how emotionally and physically exhausting my day is, I still have moments that make my heart warm again and I see God working. When a student has a light bulb turn on or smiles and tells me "Good Morning Mrs. Hendy," I remember that no, I will not have a Freedom Writers story, but this is my own story and I cling to the fact that no matter how weak I am- HE is strong. And HE is working.
I do not remind myself of this often enough. Hoping one day it will be second nature to do so...
Here is a picture of this week at school- Josh & I dressed up for "Throwback Thursday" for homecoming week...
I gathered up some of my hippie clothes, threw on a hair band & a Vietnam War" jacket, played a little Marvin Gay for my students and called it a day... Josh grabbed his normal clothes & labeled it "grunge 90's" ...
enjoy the weekend!
ally
Friday, October 18, 2013
Things have been busy around the Hendy household for the past two months. (note: that was an understatement... we've actually been the most busy a person can be.) With school started up, we are knee deep underwater in work. It certainly has been a crazy start-up to our fiscal year.
To catch you all up, Josh & I are both teaching at the same high school this year. We work in the same department. In fact, we have rooms right next to each other. [insert a resounding "awwww"] I know, I know; adorable. It has actually been awesome to work so close to him, but we'll save that for another post. After all, we are just playing catch up.
The school we work at is tough. (yet again, a severe understatement.) It's ranked one of the "worst" in VA. But I do not like thinking of it that way- otherwise myday year is ruined. It is all about outlook. I prefer to view the high school as one of the biggest projects for VA public school. With endless paperwork, a tough student population, and logistical teaching "stuff," I am constantly writing sticky-note after sticky-note of how I need to play catch-up on work. And yet no matter how much I scratch off of my to-do list, there are always things being added. It can sometimes (mostly) feel like a daunting task. I still sometimes question myself on whether or not this is actually feasible for little ol' me. But we keep pushing through.
That is really all I have right now to catch you up on... It has been a crazy two months. And I forsee my future to be pretty insane until June 17.
More to come. Hope you enjoy the new design & look. Hoping to blog a lot about this year, DIYs, teaching, life, & cats- I want to document this crazy season because I often find in the business of it all, I forget to slow down & reflect.
To catch you all up, Josh & I are both teaching at the same high school this year. We work in the same department. In fact, we have rooms right next to each other. [insert a resounding "awwww"] I know, I know; adorable. It has actually been awesome to work so close to him, but we'll save that for another post. After all, we are just playing catch up.
The school we work at is tough. (yet again, a severe understatement.) It's ranked one of the "worst" in VA. But I do not like thinking of it that way- otherwise my
That is really all I have right now to catch you up on... It has been a crazy two months. And I forsee my future to be pretty insane until June 17.
More to come. Hope you enjoy the new design & look. Hoping to blog a lot about this year, DIYs, teaching, life, & cats- I want to document this crazy season because I often find in the business of it all, I forget to slow down & reflect.
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