off to a good start...

well, it's been a while. life has been chaotic, to say the least. i'm officially a teacher at Norman High. Go Tigers! and we finally have a nibble on the condo. i'm so lucky. things always happen when they're supposed to. i sometimes forget that i'm not in control of everything, and for good reason.

i have a great group of kids this year. some are a little chatty, but who wasn't at their age? no one has been disrespectful to me yet (unless you count the pom girl before school even started), which i'm so appreciative of. and i have some of the best (and most helpful) fellow teachers.

dustin and i are living life. my stepmom surprised us with a sweet gift so that he and i could go out and have a date night. we need one. life can get a little crazy sometimes and we need to remember to slow down and just enjoy being together. not that i don't enjoy him. i'm nuts about him. but to get back some of the carefree moments we had when we were first dating. he really is the best thing that has ever happened to me and i know that he's made me a better person. 

i suppose that's all for now. i have to go plan some non-boring math lessons... ;)

until next time,

heather

what to teach the children...?

well, this week marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. i start new teacher orientation on thursday. it's definitely a mixed bag of emotions. i'm excited, nervous, scared, happy, anxious...just to name a few. the first day will be fine. i won't have to teach math. ha! it's the days after that have me so nervous. will i be able to teach them? will they be little monsters? will i be able to keep up with all of my IEPs??

i've been by my classroom a few times and it feels a little "institutional" right now. i want to brighten it up...although technically, it's already bright, with lots of windows and two sky lights. but the walls...oh, the walls. i'm going to have the kids work on a personal shield the first day. that way, i'll get to learn more about them, and i'll also get to use their shields as decoration.

i've also got to get my class rules in order. the high school has a handbook that the students get that outlines  basic rules for them to follow. so obviously, i will expect those rules to be followed in my classroom too. but i was thinking about giving them "life guidelines" rather than rules. these are guidelines they can live by throughout their lives. something a little different from the norm...

1. be trustworthy
2. be truthful
3. do your personal best
4. show active listening
5. no put-downs

i think these cover pretty much everything. i want to instill in my students the need to be responsible citizens. i know that not all will succeed, but if i can get just a handful to follow these, i would be more than happy.

but maybe i've left something out. what do you think?

life is changing...and it's changing fast.

i have three and a half days left at work here at OU. i can't believe that three years has flown by so quickly. it's amazing to me how much life can change in such a short amount of time. i met the man of my dreams (thank you brooke for pressuring me into that blind date), december 4, 2006...

and married him on october 24, 2009...i can't believe it's been almost a year since we said our vows...

i'm so lucky to have some amazing family and friends. i'm fortunate that i'm reminded of them every day. 

my mom is so beautiful

 four of the sweetest, and not to mention gorgeous sisters anyone could ask for...

look at how beautiful my baby sisters are. and my husband isn't too bad himself ;)

my tidmore clan...love them!

i've also gained an awesome family...

my brother and sister-in-law...who are expecting a little one of their own in september!!!

my mom and mother-in-law

two new and fabulous grandmothers

just a few of my many new cousins! love them. :)

the whole bridal party (minus jessica :(  )...

and me and mrs. cunningham the night before the wedding :)

i started...and finished my masters and will now be teaching freshman algebra. wow. me teaching is crazy enough, but teaching math feels like insanity!!! i'm working on getting my classroom together. i want my kids to feel like when they come into my class, they're walking into a "homey" space. i mean, if i'm going to spend 8+ hours a day there, i want to enjoy the way it looks. so, i've been looking at designs, setups, and all sorts of things to get the "feeling" i want. i bought a chair from OU surplus and a fake ficus tree (his name is steve). i'll be decorating him with christmas lights...just to brighten the place up. 

i will miss everyone here at counseling and testing. they've been with me through thick and thin. ups and downs. i couldn't have asked for a better work family. yes, i consider them family. i can ask them anything and they'll be there for me. it was a big leap of faith, and a big cut in pay, to come work here. but it was absolutely worth not having as much money in the bank, because i have lifelong friends. 

we're putting our condo on the market. moving on to bigger and better things. house shopping is fun but so incredibly overwhelming at the same time. i've been clipping out pictures from magazines for months,  dreaming, imagining and trying to decide on what i like. i just want our home to feel like us. 

i've promised dustin that i won't stress about things like i used to. if i can't control it, that's probably for a reason...and i have to accept that. so i'm just going to wake up each day, thankful for what i have, the people i am fortunate enough to be able to surround myself with, and look forward to the all the wonderful things to come. 

until next time...

heather

oh the places we'll go...

yesterday was a great day. i received my teaching license in the mail. i'm officially certified in mild/moderate until 2015. that, my friends, is a great feeling. the studying for the math osat is almost complete and i have my confidence back. i know now that even if i don't get the score i'm looking for, i did my absolute best.


lately, dustin and i have been fortunate enough to have weekends where we're not completely rushed. we're going to start doing "date nights" twice a month. trade off and surprise each other with something we've never done before. i have a few ideas up my sleeve...

i also feel like there's a lot across this great state we haven't seen or done. i would love the opportunity to travel greater distances and i know that's not too far from our future. i mean, look at this beautiful state...

l

and when we save the money...i'd love to spend a week or so in montana...in a log cabin with no tv, electronics, or other outside "noise". look at this place...

but i do love a good tropical paradise too...i would move to aruba in a heartbeat. it's where dustin and i were fortunate enough to spend our honeymoon and we both agreed to spend at least a few of our anniversaries back there...


i've never posted the pictures from our honeymoon. not because they're racy but because it was just something for us. but to give everyone an idea of how awesome it was...this was the view from our lounge chairs on a daily basis. 

there was no one there. well, other than a few older guys in thongs (yikes!) and the occasional family or honeymooning couple. paradise, in my opinion.

don't we look happy? i mean, poor dustin looks pretty sunburned...but i think our skin could toughen up if we moved there ;)


so, i guess i'm saying that it's time for some travel...before we have some caram kiddos. 


until next time...


heather

house hunting and stress about life...

so dustin and i are starting our house hunting! we've found a really cute house that we want but we're kind of waiting to hear about what happens with my math OSAT. so, no pressure or anything.

i'm trying desperately to keep my stress levels under control...but it's kinda hard when your life and husband's hangs on YOUR test grade. if i don't pass this exam, my teaching contract becomes void, i have no health insurance, and i lose about a third of my pay. let's put it this way, i'm so stressed about this that my hair has started to fall out at an alarming rate. i've been tutoring 3-4 days a week but sometimes i get so frustrated with myself, that i feel like i'm in a fog. this is more stressful than any time during my masters program...

i've been working out, too. trying to get rid of the steroid weight. it's been a basically non-existent weight loss. it didn't help that i got rocky mountain spotted fever a few weeks ago and my joints still feel like those of an 80 year old. i'm just a hot mess!!! but i'm back to the workouts (even with the joint pain) so hopefully, i can keep it up and get this weight OFF.

soon, we'll be getting our condo ready to sell. i can't wait to move into a house!!! i'll be able to grow my own fruits and veggies, decorate my little heart out, have holiday celebrations at our house, be dog owners, start talking about little carams :) and just have a place to call our own.

and i'd like to say congratulations to all of my friends who are expecting or had little ones!!!

randi, naima, tonya, lauren, krystal, kara, cacie, glenna and anyone else i might have missed! goodness, that's a lot of new little faces to meet!!!

until next time...

I'm a MASTER

Well, this weekend, I officially became Heather Caram, M.Ed. I really can't put into words how exciting this is. I'm finally getting to do what I love, with the support and love from my family and friends...who are AMAZING.

I got to see my mom, who I hadn't seen since the wedding. We had a great time together and I realized that as I get older, the more I understand her, all she went through for me and my sister, and just how truly lucky I am to have the most fabulous mother in the world.

I did manage to fall during the big ceremony on Friday night...of course. It never fails. My ankle is a little blue but i think my ego was more bruised than anything else.

We also talked about the importance of health while she was here. She's basically gone vegetarian and with my UCD, I have to really start taking better care of myself too. She says I should stick to 1400 calories a day.  I've seen what the steroids have done to my upper body. I look like the stay-puff marshmallow man. It's pretty bad. So I HAVE to lose this weight. I couldn't most of my pictures from graduation, but I'll post one anyway....

I also was fortunate enough to have my husband, dad, mother-in-law, brooke, megan, and kerrie come to my hooding ceremony on Saturday. It was nice to have a little cheering section. Like I've said before, I'm blessed with amazing family and friends.

Now, I'm gearing for my birthday week!! I think I'll celebrate on my birthday by heading to the Norman Farmer's Market. Gotta get those fresh fruits and veggies.... ;)

Getting my Zen on...

So, I went and got my hair done yesterday by Aura at Studio Zen on Campus Corner. We took some art classes together as undergrads nearly 10 years ago. Yikes! Anywho, she did an amazing job and I highly recommend her. When I got back to work, I added her as my friend on Facebook and looked at her blog and I must say that I was completely inspired by her.

She has this way of looking at life that we really should all have. Loving everything you have in the moment. I am so truly blessed to have some of the most amazing people in my life and I want to be around for a long time to enjoy them. With this recent diagnosis of UCD, I've had to reevaluate a few things. I have to start taking better care of myself. I decided last night to try some yoga when I got home. I have to say that I felt completely refreshed and rejuvenated. As most of you know, I'm REALLY not into working out, but I really enjoyed the quiet time I had last night. I have to work on my stress levels as well as get some of this steroid weight off (ASAP). I just felt so calm when I was finished. It was wonderful. Here are some of the beginner poses I did last night...



I've also decided that I really have to start eating better. Sure, I'll still have my favorites (pizza, burgers, and fajitas). But I have to make an effort to throw in more salads, veggies, and fruits. Surprisingly, I've been doing better with that as well. I've discovered a new love for zucchini, squash, and mushrooms...which is really saying something for me.

And one more thing...I want to start taking pictures again. I loved photography in high school. It's such an awesome outlet. So I'm going to start saving up for a really nice camera. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them!