Meme Monday

Five Old Things About Me
1) When I was little I used to think that little men lived inside of stoplights and controlled when the lights turned red, yellow and green. I was convinced they came out only at night to change shifts.
2) I knocked out my top and bottom teeth while playing tag with my Dad and talked with a lisp for quite some time. My speech teacher's name was Mrs. Zilvetti, which was hell to say when you couldn't say your S's. She used to tell me "keep the bird in the cage!" Translation: keep your tongue behind your teeth when saying s.
3) I sucked at P.E. Last picked for the team and all that jazz.
4) I had long hair to my waist, and braces and pimples. I did not peak in high school and for that I am forever grateful.
5) My sister was my role model and my friend and my brother was my playmate. We used to fight like cats and dogs, my brother and I, but couldn't stand it when the other was away or busy.

Five New Things About Me
1) I'm getting far more opinionated the older I get. And a little meaner, although some might say I'm not being mean, just developing a tougher skin. Frankly it's about time I think.
2) I love accessories. I was never much of a shopper (just ask my Mom, I used to be OK for about an hour and then I'd be all done), and I am still not, although I enjoy it more now than I used to, but still in small doses. But I do love accessories. Shoes, bags, jewelry....
3) I love cooking. I'm not very good at it--that is to say, like many things in my life I'm not a natural. I can read a recipe and follow directions but I'm not one of those people that can think about ingredients and know how they will or won't fit together. But I love to cook. It is calming and satisfying.
4) Aliza is my world. It is a struggle to be the person and the teacher I always was, and to be the mom I want to be. But she is my world and the struggle is a joyous one.
5) I hate confrontation. It makes me sick to my stomach.

Five Things I’m Still Working On
1) Balance. I've become good at separating school from home. I bring school home, the way I always did, but I don't touch it every night. And I don't touch it when I am with Aliza. Of course, while I am at school I stress out over everything I am not doing, the education my students are not getting, the teacher I am not being. But the second I am home, that flies out of my head when I see Aliza. Because when I am home, all I can think about is her.
2) Confrontation. I am getting tired of being taken advantage of. Walked all over. My kindness being mistaken for a weakness and people treating me like crap because of it. People who call themselves my friend not acting like that at all. I am getting more and more fed up with it and feeling like those people don't deserve my time or energy. I would rather devote it to people who care about me. But I also don't want those people to be let off the hook so easily. So, I am working on confrontation. Letting people know how I feel before it builds to the breaking point.
3) Believing in myself. I am still, to this day, astonished when my principal looks to me to lead. Or asks my opinion honestly. I forget that I am a leader in the building. That I have been a teacher for nine years and have a little bit of an idea about what I'm doing. I still think of myself as someone who has so much to learn, so far to grow.....that I forget that I'm doing a darn good job right now.
4) Gardening. I love to garden but I'm struggling with finding the time to do it. Hopefully this spring we'll turn over a new leaf and grow some awesome veggies!
5) Reading consistently. I want to build it into my day so that Aliza sees that her Mom and Dad are readers. When I'm into a book I'm better about it. If I'm not then I won't be as good. I have to be more consistent....I used to be more consistent. I need to get back to that.