Planes, MARTAs, and Home Projects

Wow!  It is so good to be home!  I just got home from Atlanta for High Schools that Work and Orlando for Teen Trendsetters Leadership Summit.  I learned a lot about helping my students discover their purpose and continuing to help them with their literacy skills.  We were able to enjoy a lot of what Atlanta had to offer, including CNN Headquarters, great shopping and some interesting karaoke at Cheeseburger in Paradise.  I will only say this, I love my colleagues and know how lucky I am to work with them.  We had a nightmare plane experience to Orlando.  If I had not had a student with me, I think the trip would have gotten the best of me but luckily it did not.  In Orlando, besides spending the afternoon at Universal Studios, my student and I got trained for our reading mentorship program.  I am teaching a new course this fall called Service Learning.  I think it is imperative my students graduate Springdale High School with a sense of service and community.  We will be working with Jones Elementary, Head Start, and many other community groups.  I am starting to get excited about the upcoming school year. However, the summer is going entirely too fast so I am starting to slightly panic for not having finished all the projects I planned.  Andrew came home yesterday and was shocked to see the yard had been totally made over and a bedroom upstairs and been painted and decorated all in one day!:)  I have goals and I want to get them done before the school year starts again.  My parents and sister Celia were kind enough to come up yesterday to help me with those projects.  I have a few more to go but feel confident I can make it happen.  I am in the process of trying to make important decision pertaining to work and Andrew and I's personal lives.  Please say some prayers that I can make the best decisions possible.  Time to start packing for the next trip: Cozumel with my amazing hubby and our friends Matt and Jake.  I am sure I will have a lot to blog about when I get home.  

Lots of Love,

Ali