December 2024 Dump featuing the Holidays and the Future

So, we made it. And I don't know about you, but 2024 kind of sucked. Like, this past month was nice, but overall, not a spectacular year.

But let's start with the good. Tay-ronto was a great start to a relatively nice last six weeks of 2024. There were no major family emergencies (thank goodness), I finally got to meet my cousin's child, and winter break has been calm and restful. Here are some pictures.

My Model UN students did a great job!

The Christmas Carol

The Christmas Carol 2

Got to see the Lady Vols play!

The baby!

Nap time

A water view

Chopped twelve inches of hair!

Enchanted Forest 1

Enchanted Forest 2

So the holidays were good! 2024 as a whole? Not so much. 

Looking back, it was quite awful for me. First and foremost, I experienced two family deaths in a month in a half. That sucked. Second, I was constantly overworking myself. Overworking in terms of doing my usual full-time job and then a million side hustles. And my full-time job is teaching middle school, which takes it toll mentally, emotionally, and physically. I then overcommitted myself to side jobs and ended up eating dinner in my car 4/5 weekdays. That sucked. Third, outside influences (i.e. US politics) have made it really difficult to be optimistic about the future. That sucked, and continues to suck.

I have decided that 2025 will not suck. I'm calling it the year of self-care. I won't go into details here, but basically I want to take time for myself and maybe try something new. Less resolutions, more continuations and additions to things I already try and do. And I will try to keep myself accountable by posting in various places. This avenue will mostly stay monthly updates. But maybe I'll return to TikTok. And I'm trying Substack:

https://open.substack.com/pub/bterry/p/the-year-of-self-care?r=2uk1sh&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=false

Please let me know if you would like to join the year of self-care. I hope it goes well. And no matter what, I hope you have a wonderful 2025.

November 2024 (the rest) featuring Taylor and Toronto (TAY-ronto)

I love traveling. I love meeting new people and discovering new places. I love trying new food and learning new things. I love museums, and monuments, and national parks. 

Toronto had all of those things. I got to meet lots of new people (mainly Swifties!) and hang out with others I haven't see in a while. I tried poutine (10/10), maple syrup (10/10) and Tim Hortons (6/10), and I learned about the indigenous people of Canada and hockey. I visited a couple of very nice museums, went to the top of the CN Tower, and observed the power of Niagara Falls.

And I saw Taylor Swift in one of her last performance of The Eras Tour. Top moments: trading friendship bracelets, how much Toronto leaned into the Swiftie theme, meeting a former Smokey in the merch line, the mocktail, discovering Gracie Abrams, the fantastic dancers, and, of course, basically the entire time Taylor was onstage.

And while the concert was certainly the highlight of the trip, another favorite moment was Friday night. I had finished a city tour and I had visited the extensive Art Gallery of Ontario. From there, I wandered around Chinatown and Kensington Market. I got a latte and a massage. I even got asked where a bus stop was, which of course I had no idea about. I enjoy a good wander and seeing all the wonderful things each individual city/country/place has to offer.

Then I got home, we had Thanksgiving, and now we are back at school. We've almost made it to winter break!

Enjoy these pictures and have a wonderful holiday season.

The Power of Niagara Falls

Toronto Harbor

Casa Loma

Art Gallery of Ontario

Poutine!

The Spirit of TAY-ronto

The Friendship Bracelets

Hockey

The CN Tower

November 2024- An Interlude

Along with rainy weather, a flat tire, and some less than positive election results, November has also brought another lose to the Terry family.

My grandfather, Ronald Shelton Terry, passed away on Wednesday, November 6 at St. Francis Hospital after an extended illness.

There will be a visitation and service Friday, November 15 at Memorial Park Funeral Home at 5668 Poplar Avenue starting at noon. 

October 2024 Dump featuring Football and Spooks

Thankfully, October was not as eventful as September, but it certainly had its ups and downs.

Ups: Fall break was lovely. The first weekend, I went to Knoxville to go to the UT vs. Florida game. We won! Yay! The rest of the break was devoted to deep cleaning my apartment, which was definitely needed!

Later in the month, I was able to go to the Haunted Corn Maze, which I always really enjoy! The scariest part was how many former students I saw.

Downs: There have been some things at work that have just been really getting to me in a negative way. I feel that I try to help out, and I am then criticized and picked apart over something I volunteered to do. And it relates to how I felt at the football game. It was fun, but it did show me that some of these fans need a bit of an attitude adjustment. It's not the end of the world if your favorite groups of young players occasionally mess up. And that goes for young players at all levels: elementary school, middle school, and high school. It's also not the end of the world if people make mistakes. 

That being said, I was going to make second semester my "self-care" semester anyway, where I tried to focus on me and take a break for once. For real, I feel like I eat dinner in my car at least three days a week, and that can't be good for my mental or physical health. So we're just going to start my self-care semester a little early. Focus on me, and my family a friends. 

And that self-care is starting with a trip to Toronto to see Taylor Swift over Thanksgiving! I'm super excited!

It also means working less outside of contract hours and doing more fun stuff, so hit me up if you want to do anything fun or just hang out!

Anyway, here are some pictures from the month and I hope everyone is doing well!

Meh...

Scarily lifelike

Go Vols 1

Go Vols 2

Yay for early voting!

A thriller!

We survived!

On Wednesdays, IYKYK!

I got my Orange Theory Hell Week shirt!

September 2024

September was not easy. I got sick over Labor Day, there was a ton of rain thanks to various hurricanes, and it was, at times, a struggle to handle all of the responsibilities of work and life.

Then, at the end of September, we lost a member of the Terry family.

My Uncle Trent has had heart problems for a few years now, and the last full week of September he developed a bad fever. He was eventually admitted to the hospital, but was unresponsive from Wednesday, September 25th. He showed no brain activity and passed away in the afternoon of Friday, September 27th. 

Memorial services will be held October 5th.

My immediate family is fairly small, so Uncle Trent was a big part of my childhood. He loved Harry Potter just as much as I did and was very difficult to shop for. I know he is in a better place.

August 2024 Dump featuring School and Tina

Yes, school is back in session. And I am already exhausted, as I'm sure most teachers are!

But it's been a solid school year so far. I'm excited to be back teaching a core subject and my 7th graders are hard workers (so far...). I'm teaching 7th grade science, which is a lot of difficult material. I told the kids that we were choosing joy this year. Yes, sometimes school and life can be difficult, but we are going to accept that, not complain, and take everything as a positive or learning experience. That's something we are all going to need to work on.

In other news, I got a new car. With Apple CarPlay, a backup camera, and working air conditioning! I am with the times. It's also a hybrid, which has already made quite the positive impact on my gas spending. I am naming her Tina because she is a tiny Toyota.

Also, I went to cat yoga. There were three precious kittens.

And that was August. Not as exciting as Portugal, but we are getting into a routine for the school year. 

I hope everyone has a happy Labor Day and a wonderful September!

Kitten!

Another kitten!

Cat!

Tina

Happy 1st Day of School!

The beverage girlies know.

July 2024 Dump featuring St. Louis and Animal Friends

Summer 2024 has officially come to end. It was a lovely summer, with adventures and animal friends, but now it is time to get back to work.

And fortunately, I feel (mostly) ready for the school year. My classroom is set up and our lessons are coming on nicely! I am excited to meet my new students and get back into a routine. My goals for the school year are to be intentional with my teaching and to choose joy. And what I mean by that is that I'm going to focus on the good things, and encourage my students to do the same. 

But first, I must reflect on this lovely summer. Working at the zoo as a camp counselor was super fun, and I highly recommend the Memphis Zoo in any capacity. If you have kids and are able, send them to zoo camp. If you're a teacher looking for a fantastic summer job, become a counselor. And if neither of those things apply to you, you can still visit our incredible zoo. Their focus is so much on research, education, and conservation that I learned something new every day, and I'm sure I will continue to learn as I visit and work there in the future.

My favorite camp to work was the Zoo Insider Program (ZIP). This camp got to see a lot of what goes on behind the scenes with the animals, and I got to take pictures. Please enjoy.

Julia is not my friend.

Maggie is a sweetie.

I wish I could pet.

Hagrid is a big boy.

Jeff is our older, arthritic komodo dragon. 

Lua!

Me as a prairie dog

Snack time!

Grogu!

Daisy likes to eat shorts.

Liza!

Peter is the softest boy.

Donny- my main man.

Me as a capybara

I also got to go to St. Louis with my grandmother. She wanted to visit a friend and I wanted to visit the Arch. And the Arch certainly was impressive. There is an excellent museum to explore, and the views are spectacular. The time slots to go up fill up fast though, so I recommend booking ahead. We also went to the Cardinals-Cubs game and the St. Louis Art Museum (SLAM). SLAM was free, and one of the best art museums I have ever been to. The collection has both a breadth and depth of art that is really impressive and fun to wander through. SLAM is part of the bigger Forest park in St. Louis, which is also home to a science museum, the zoo, and much more. And it's all free! Way to go St. Louis. 

I caught a roll.

So cool!

The views are nice!

A view of the courthouse

A marvel of engineering!

We left early, but the cardinals won!

Such art, many sculptures

Monet

I also read some books and saw Mamma Mia!

And finally, two links:

My Classroom Wish List: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/30HO0E8Z0B5G3?ref_=wl_share

Sign Up for Germantown Education Fund 5K and Color Run: https://gefrun2024.raceroster.com/ 

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer!