Time sure has been going by rather quickly these past few days in Boomin Newman, my first home. I've had a whole list of things I hoped to get accomplished. I have gotten many done, but some projects have yet to begin. I've been rolling out of bed about 8am each morning, and then it's 7pm before I know it. Guess that means I'm keeping busy and enjoying myself for the most part, when I don't even notice the clock a turning.
First thing worth noting, a few of my students from American Samoa have been sending me little messages via the Internet since I left. One of the boys even has been sending some voice messages. He says things like "We miss you teacher." "When are you coming back?" "Please come back." "We love you teacher." "How are things up there?" "Thanks for everything." This particular student wasn't even actually in my class. He would visit every now and then, was one of my football boys, came on a few field trips, and just enjoyed stopping by my room. Isaiah. His messages are fun to listen to, and I need to figure out how to save them. He also sends me pictures. Particularly ones from graduation or ones that I have posted online. I have received 5 voice messages from him so far.
My fresh fruit, piece of toast with Dad's homemade tomato jelly, and a cup of coffee for Monday morning breakfast. Great way to start the day.
Found myself a tad chilled as I was sitting at the breakfast table, but I didn't feel like putting long pants on or covering my legs with a blanket. Instead what I did was throw a little Samoa fashion into my morning, Nebraska style. I tied a little fleece blanket around like an i'e. I found myself laughing a bit. Old habits do die hard some times.
Made my way up to the City Cafe, where I worked all through high school and then some while in college. Pretty much the same looks and the same people in for their coffee the same time of the day. That's the charm of a small town for you. Chatted with some of the community members I used to serve, and then had a chance to catch up with Phyllis. My first boss, who taught me so much and helped me grow as a person. I am not the super shy girl that walked into her door 9 years ago. I've grown so much since then, and it's always a joy to pop in and visit.
While I was sitting and chatting with some of the customers and enjoying a few cups of coffee myself, I put myself at a table with some of the men. Not every day a lady sits at their tables. haha I plopped down at a table with Mr. Seier, my high school biology and chemistry teacher. He is retiring. Not too long after I sat down, Mr. Wissenburg joined the table. Mr. Wissenburg was Dad's ag teacher and FFA advisor. We chatted about a bunch of things including a bit of my teaching experience in American Samoa. This was a bit of a cool moment for me, and I found myself smiling. Here I was with a year of high school teaching under my belt talking with these two great teachers.
Walked toward the South end of town after that. As I was walking a couple pewny dogs decided they weren't too happy about me walking in front of their house. Followed me and were biting at my ankles. Maybe I didn't leave Samoa after all. Dogs that chase after you for no good reason and try to bite you. Gah. haha
Paid a visit to the sweetest babysitter - Mrs. Katherine Becher. She babysat for my brother and me for many years. She's going on 93 and still looks as healthy as a horse. She's one impressive lady still managing to live at home. I had paid her one surprise phone call while I was off island, and I know she has been looking forward to seeing me home safe and sound.
Headed back home for a little lunch - some more fruits and veggies. I felt like donning an i'e again for a while, and I chose my National Park one this time. :-) Samoa fashion in Nebraska.
I spent most of my afternoon then going through my entire wardrobe. Yes, my entire wardrobe. It's one of those things I will do mini overhauls on from time to time. This time, though, it was time for a major clean through. I figured it might be a little easier to just decide to pass things on or donate them when a large portion may no longer fit thanks to my healthy lifestyle and slimming down. I may have had a little too much fun playing music, dancing around, looking in the mirror, laughing at some of the things I apparently thought looked good at some point, and revisiting some memories as I went through my stash of clothing. Filled up five cardboard boxes of some clothes to pass on to others and donate.
A handful of my dresses still work for me, as they just hang a little longer on my body now since I'm more streamlined. Many of my pants and jeans went, but I have plenty of time to pick up a few cheap pairs of those. Was pretty happy with my wardrobe size down. Haha so many puns in this portion if you're paying attention ;-)
A healthy breakfast and a little healthy reading to start my Tuesday morning. Greek yogurt, kiwi, watermelon, toast with tomato jelly, a few cups of coffee, and Women's Health magazine. Also notice I felt like drinking out of my "color outside the lines" coffe mug this morning rather than the Disney one. I'm really digging the Greek yogurt. I like it better than regular yogurt, and it has some extra protein in it. For those of you who worry that I don't get any protein when I don't eat meat, don't worry; I've got it covered. ;-)
Headed up to Jodi's Hair Classic for a perm I have been looking forward to for a couple of months. Jodi has been cutting my hair for as long as I can remember. The past couple of years before moving to American Samoa, I had been going with a curly look. I've been missing my curls and had Mom set me up an appointment with Jodi my first week back.
Always fun to chat with her as she's rinsing my hair, rolling it up, and trimming it. The shop has gotten a little makeover since I've been away, and I asked if her if she would mind me taking a few photos. I explained my little interest in photo journalling lately, and she happily obliged.
Made it home and had to take a photo of my new curls to send to my mom quick and post up on Facebook. haha Here's the winner :-) The curls should relax a bit over the next few days, but I'm loving them! Feels good to have them back on my head. A fun change.
Time for lunch, and I decided to make myself a little smoothie. Spent more time than necessary I suppose. Perhaps that's where my time is going, I'm spending it chopping up fruits and veggies. haha This smoothie here contained frozen fruits (mango, strawberries, grapes, and pineapple), fresh garden lettuce (from Dad's garden), soymilk, and one teaspoon of peanut butter. Not too shabby.
Up to school I went to visit Mr. Seier. He asked me to come pay him another visit before I left for my Texas trip and discuss a bit more about my year as a teacher and living in American Samoa. He decided to wear a t-shirt I had given him a few years ago that I had picked up on the Galapagos Islands for him. Funny he wore that today. He thought it might be a good choice. ;-)
Mr. Seier taught at Newman Grove Public Schools for 38 years, and has now come to the day where he is retiring. Hard to picture a Newman Grove School without Mr. Seier in the science classroom. He was one of the greatest teachers and an inspiration for me in so many ways. Many times I found myself thinking about how Mr. Seier would have explained something as I was standing in front of my own classroom of students. Very thankful for him, and it is always nice to chat with him in person for a couple of hours each time I find myself back in the hometown. He actually lives just a few doors down the street from me, too.
He also was my photography teacher in high school. As I was sharing some photos and stories from my year in American Samoa, we discussed my little interest in photo journalling lately. I snapped a few of those in the classroom. Not much longer will it belong to Mr. Seier.
Mr. Seier vision. haha
Then, before I knew it... it was 4pm. We walked home together after I stopped in to say hello to a few more people I connected well with at school. I came up with this idea to make some fruit salsa. That led me to thinking we should have veggie tacos for dinner. A nice family dinner using up some of the produce we had on hand before heading to Texas. Spent some time chopping all the things up for that and making it look all nice for our family dinner.
Some veggie toppings for the tacos.
Chips with my fruit salsa. I mixed pineapple, mango, kiwi, red pepper, orange pepper, onion, a little lemon juice, and a little sugar. Mmmm. This was yummy. I was quite proud of this little experiment.
Everyone ate veggie tacos with me, too. I had Mom and Dad pick up a can of refried beans to use as our base. Didn't feel like browning hamburger for taco meat. Although my brother made of scoffed a bit at the beginning, the veggie tacos with a side of fruit salsa was quite satisfying if I do say so myself. I also brewed a batch of tea, and we each enjoyed a glass of iced tea with our dinner. For dessert, Mom and I decided to experiment with the homemade vegan ice cream using frozen ripe banans as the base. Yum yum. Dad enjoyed it quite a lot, too, which was exciting. Just frozen ripe banans, some soymilk, and I threw in some mango chunks. All blended in the blender.
After dinner as I was working on my computer, I noticed this photo posted by one of my students on Facebook. I left a few of my t-shirts that no longer fit with some of my boys. A way of remembering me, I guess. Filipo here posted a photo of himself wearing this Nebraska shirt. His caption read, "We are Nebraska.... in American Samoa :)" haha Represent, sir! Made me smile.
Now it is 11:30pm Tuesday night. Once again, where does the time go. I spent a while working on a snapshot of my year photo book, responding to a few e-mails, and now finishing up this blog post. My blog really has become my journal, and there are so many things that happen throughout the day I enjoy journaling about. We are off on a family adventure as I mentioned. Heading South to Texas for Cousin Seth's wedding. Hope you all are having a good week so far. I'm sure there will be lots of fun had on this family road trip, and I shall be writing about it soon. Take care!
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