Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Where does the time go???

About 3 weeks ago, I was thinking to myself, "I really need to update my blog." Needless to say, that took a backburner to the tons of things happening and Greg's and my world lately. Here's a quick recap, just in case you were wondering:
  • Lots of little stuff in April and May. Nothing blog-worthy.
  • June 1-3: Officer retreat with my students. I could seriously write a whole post just about this, but I'll skip to the nitty gritty. We rented a house on Kelleys Island for two nights (it's an island about 20 minutes from the Lake Erie Coast by ferry.) The house had two huge rooms upstairs (one for los chicos and one for las chicas.) I had the master suite downstairs. 
  • We spent three hard-core days planning activities for next year. I cannot begin to describe how proud I am of that group of kids. The chapter had never had a program of activities (something us FFA nerds do to plan), and they cranked out the whole thing for next year. They have such a great outlook. On the first day, one of them said, "Just because we've always done it doesn't mean we have to do it next year." How mature is that?! For those of you that understand my situation, you know how much of a relief that was for me to hear. 
  • Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all work and no play. We had a great time toodling the island, rocking out in the school van. Plus, I don't brag too often, but I was pretty darn proud of the agenda I put together. I tried to attach it, just in case someone else can borrow it and put it to use, but I couldn't figure out how. Let me know if you're interested. Again, I can't say enough how the coolest part of my job is opening my students' eyes to new opportunities and experiences. Here are a few pictures from the trip:
After the challenging year this group has been through, they truly are united together.

Such a cool group of kids. 

I just really like this picture.

They've never had a mission statement before. They're going to make a nice poster and hang it in the ag room for everyone to see. They wrote this all on their own with just a little guidance!
  • From there, I headed to FFA Camp, where I came to realize that after my ninth year of chilling out at Camp Muskingum, it's still as great as ever. Such a special place!
  • HOT Conference (Hands-On Training) for ag teachers was a great time. It's wonderful knowing that I have such genuine colleagues in the teaching profession. It's truly a great career to have.
  • This week are SAE visits. My mission: visit 65 kids in one week. I'm a third of the way there. I'm seeing some pretty cool things, and the students are teaching me a lot.
That's takes me clear through my iCal, and now that I've bored you to death, allow me to direct your attention to one more interest/hobby of mine. I've began spending a lot of time promoting Greg's family's dairy farm. (It still seems weird to call it "my family farm." I mean, they're definitely my family, but I don't think it's my farm. I haven't poured years of sweat, tears, and labor into it yet. It doesn't seem right to claim it!) Anywho, check out my PR efforts thus far:


Alrighty, folks, that's all for now. I'll do my best to stay more current. Thanks for taking the time to read. And, just in case you'd like to know more, give me a call; it's much more personal. :)