State of Merin

Okay, how did it get to be February already? Sorry for basically falling off the blogosphere; I didn’t intend for my hiatus to go past January 6th, but then we were inundated with snow, and it caused a whole upheaval in my plans – particularly regarding work – and everything just got jumbled and out of sorts. It was also kind of hard to get back into the work swing of things – that extra week off really did me in, I think – and we’ve had a couple of snow days since, so my students are out of sorts as well, and it’s just made for quite a huge adjustment – or re-adjustment, I guess – in all aspects of my life.

Anyway, that’s just a really long-winded way of apologizing for disappearing. I very much plan on sticking around and getting back to blogging more frequently this month, and actually have two reviews scheduled that I’d initially planned on posting last month before my complete and utter failure at blogging. I will also be hosting a blog tour stop for a book I’m pretty excited to read, so be on the lookout for that as well. That post will go up on February 14th. I’m glad to have a couple of things ready to go because it will give me a bit of a cushion as I get fully back into the blogging swing of things.

Which brings me to my confession: I haven’t read ANYTHING since before Christmas. I have just been completely and utterly apathetic towards books in general and just haven’t been able to force myself to pick one up. I did read 50 pages during yesterday’s Super Bowl Game – I am not necessarily a football fan and wasn’t terribly invested in the outcome – so at least that’s a start in the right direction. I just really found myself pulling away from all things internet, with one huge exception:

I have discovered Tumblr.

Honestly I am going to blame Tumblr for my complete lack of focus. There is just so much STUFF available there, and I find myself captivated with the gif sets and fanart (from any fandom imaginable, even things I know NOTHING about) and literally fell into its depths and haven’t quite resurfaced yet. I now know why I resisted the site for so long because I have a tendency to get hyper-focused on things (with little rhyme or reason) and Tumblr makes that extremely easy. I am particularly enamored with the Lord of the Rings/Silmarillion fanart that various folks have been posting and reblogging because it’s all utterly gorgeous and just truly amazing. I am also loving all the behind the scenes/extended edition footage from the first Hobbit film, because I can’t help but love the whole LotR/Hobbit franchise and all of those little glimpses into how things were filmed and the cast’s interactions with each other. You might even throw the word “obsessed” around. It is a truly sad state of affairs!

As for work, today is the 100th day of school, which means I have been teaching first grade for 100 days. I feel like I’ve finally gotten the hang of pretty much anything, which is good because I have to be observed by my principal at some point soon and it’s always better to feel confident that you actually know what you’re doing. I am having to get my students back to where we were prior to Christmas Break, though, in terms of their behaviors. I’ve had to do a lot of re-teaching expectations and explaining and general management because many seem to have forgotten how they’re supposed to act at school!

So, anyway, that’s a little peek into my headspace at the moment. It’s quite jumbled and a bit of a mess, but I’m getting things figured out once again and just want to say thanks to those of you who have stuck around while I took my unintended time off. Here’s to a wonderful February for everyone!