Ramblings of a Thirty-Something

Can you believe that Wednesday is the first day of 2020? 2019 has certainly been a year... And as people are hurrying to make plans for New Year's Eve, an equal number of people have already started thinking about their resolutions. You know, those things we all make and very few of us see through? I've tried all kinds of New Year's resolutions. I even wrote a blog post about it a hundred years ago. You can read past Kaitlin's thoughts on this whole thing here . Well, the last two years, I decided to do the same four resolutions. They are going to be the same resolutions I strive toward in 2020 as well, even though my progress may not have been what I wanted it to be. Which begs the question:  if you didn't accomplish those resolutions, why are you doing the same ones again? Wouldn't it be smarter to make different resolutions? {And don't worry, I'm going to tell you what those resolutions are in a moment} The answer to those questions is not as

There are seven days until Christmas, and I'm freaking out. We are two school days away from Christmas break. 16 learning hours left. Might as well be zero. Today was A DAY. We couldn't put our names on papers. We didn't bring the same supplies we've been bringing since August. We admitted we hadn't done our homework for four days and couldn't understand why Miss Fink looked like she was going to explode. And I know that every teacher in America is currently dealing with the same. At any grade level, in any town, kids are just done. They know it's almost time, and they're done. And I'll be honest, I want to be done, too. I don't want to grade those papers that I HAVE TO GET GRADED BECAUSE I'M NOT DOING IT OVER BREAK. I don't want to put in grades and plan for the first week of January and take down my Christmas decorations and freshen up my classroom for 2020. I want to stay home with a hot cup of something and watch Christmas

So, good news everyone! I am, in fact, still alive. I survived NaNoWriMo {50,000 words...not a complete novel, but it's close}. I survived my class {there was some doubt near the end}. I have survived the first eight teaching days in December. Halfway to winter break....I think I can make it, I think I can make it, I think I can make it... And since, once again, I am making my first blog post of the month nearly halfway in, we'll stick with a list. However, I have plans...glorious plans for coming posts. Maybe I'll be really productive over winter break and write several posts like a real blogger should. That's a big "maybe." My Current Books I'm reading two, actually. Are you really surprised? The first is an unfinished novel by Jane Austen, Sanditon . I was able to attend my very first JASNA event this past Saturday {that would be the Jane Austen Society of North America, in case you were wondering}. It was a birthday tea to celebrate the great a