Reminiscing via music

This post will not be for those with little ears running around but on this fine New Year's evening I have been on a You Tube video kick with old school songs that really strike a code with me. Hope you enjoy some of them too....

A remix but hits on some others.....

Again a remix but still does it...

Well, I think that is enough for now.....seriously memories, some good, some not so good but still there.

Hey y'all...too funny

Interestingly sad....

Created by Online Education

Electromagnetic Spectrum in chart form

Totally geeking out here but this really is cool. How/why did I find it? Looking for rainbow images for my daughter's powerpoint.

Holding myself accountable....

This post will be somewhat embarrassing for those who know me personally but I am posting it b/c I am proud and I want to continue on my weight loss journey and I am hoping this will help me by celebrating my success so far. I love how the WW site allows me to track it with this cool graph too but maybe that is just the science nerd in me.

This is going to be bad......

A friend and IB/AP English teacher in my building posted this as a note on her FB. I do not have those kind of cajones as I know this is going to be ugly.....maybe the truth will scare me into doing something about it in my infinite spare time..... (mind you when copying from her site I had to take off about 90 of her Xs).


Books I have read:
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series (at least 2 count)- JK Rowling (Not yet but I own and plan to!)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee X (Junior year in high school and reread)
6 The Bible X
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell X (senior year HS)
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens X (senior year HS)
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo TolstoyX
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck X (senior year HS)
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled HosseiniX
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis de Bernières
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding X (Middle school)
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck X (senior year HS)
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Inferno – Dante
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave FlaubertX
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Did a lot of reading in Mr. Wheeler's class.
Why isn't the Twilight series on here? :P

MLIT

A friend pointed me in the direction of this site. (Thanks Chemguy!) I have been reading and cracking up all evening. Hope you like it too!

My next endeavor???

I have thought about doing this for years (even with a 5-ish year hiatus from Jazzercising) but after reading this, maybe becoming an instructor isn't worth it. Hmmm.....

Throwing myself another pity party....

I will try to make this a short post (lol).

After having my Mom here all of Thanksgiving break (which was actually a good time....post more later), school resumed this past week. The Mister left early Thursday morning to head up north to get our last Uhaul of belongings and place them in storage here. All that will be left to selling the house is actually signing on the dotted line by all parties (waiting on the loan/first time buyers stuff to go through - seems to be a clog in that paperwork, really? You're "giving" thousands of dollars away and everyone wants their cut, really Mr. President? duh.) I am playing the role of single parent which is stressful enough but of course in the true fashion of my life Thursday evening the oldest calls from gymnastics practice to tell me her throat is red and swollen and she cannot breathe through her nose. I go get her and decide to head to the dr. The twilight pediatrician with her office is cheaper than Urgent care so I decide to go that route but the office is in the next city about 30 minutes away. I got home and mapquest the directions. I realize I forgot to drop off the payment to the gym while picking up sicky girl. I then head to day care to get the two well girls since I knew there was no way I'd be back to get them before the daycare closed. Then back to the gym to drop off the check then finally on the road to the Dr. or so I thought. At that point the toddler says she needs to potty. I lost my mind for a brief moment. I pulled into McDonalds and the girls all went potty and I ordered dinner. (Sorry WW, the stress was too much. I was not sensible, nutritious or considerate in what I ordered and consumed. I biggie sized and devoured under shear survival mode. Not a proud moment on this healthy lifestyle change of mine but....it happens. I weighed in this morning and was down 4.3 lbs but last week I was up 3 so....I guess I am still winning on the deal.) Back on the road with mouths chewing artery clogging goodness. Made it to the office. Waiting about 15 minutes to see the Dr. She said the asthma sounds good but the gymnast has the "new germ" that is going around, no flu or strep, but a a head/nasal congestion, and terribly sore throat. Some kids have a cough to boot but not mine. I was told to treat the symptoms and have her rest (no school Friday) and would have to wait and see about the state competition Sunday. Came home and after a few melt downs by various and sundry ladies of the house every one was finally in bed (maybe not their own but a bed) by 9:30ish. Friday I taught all day, had an annoying parent conference after school (will vent about this singularly later....) and came home to sicky. She had only eaten 1/3 of a bowl of ramen instead of the chicken noodle soup I laid out for her. She had consumed NO liquids even after being told to drink as much as she possibly could (she claimed she could not find her water bottle...well, we only have 6 that are NOT being used in the cabinet right now. grrr....she also said she could only watch tv as the rain was too distracting to read. grrr....translation: I was sucked in my the Disney goodness on tv all day so she did not even sleep to help matters.) Early this morning as the toddler drug me out of bed to turn on Dora, I met the sicky in the bathroom. She said she was sick to her stomach now b/c she tried to drink so water. I tried to explain that is was b/c she has nothing else in her stomach but what do I know. Since then she has slept all day (no tv on by the mean Mommy that I am) but is still not getting any better. I have no idea if we'll be at the state gymnastics meet tomorrow or not nor how I will survive that 4ish hour drive with sicky (or pseudo-sicky if she is feeling decent enough to try), little drama and the toddler. I am stuck in what-do-I-do-now mode and can't accomplish anything b/c I don't know what I should try to do or get done because I don't know if I am leaving on a long car trip or not. ARGH!

Right now it sucks to be the Mommy. It sucks to be the only parent around. It always sucks to not be able to make things better especially when is has to do with a sick kid. And I hate to think of how hard she has worked all season in gymnastics to have this happen with such a stigmatic meet and the last one of the season, like her super bowl.

*sigh*

A Christmastime Survey

With in the past couple days and with the Mister going north to wrap up the final stuff at the old homestead, I have had some pretty dramatic happenings. I am trying not to only blog about my whines and complaints (maybe that is why my following is so small, lol) so I am trying to save those for another post (you know, everything turns out for the best and you can look back and laugh about it?). So today I am "re-gifting" this Christmastime survey from a blog I follow. Thanks Jo-lynne. Feel free to re-gift from me as well. :)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hands down, chocolate. It will always win. I like mine hot enough to metal the marshmallow's but cool enough to actually drink while leaving some cilia on the surface of my throat's cells.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? We have never taught our girls about Santa. A a personal choice we feel we need to teach the 'reason for the season' as Jesus's birth and there is no white man in a red suit who magically makes things appear. They know not to destroy other kid's thoughts on the subject so all you other parents reading this can rest easy. We also figured childhood was traumatic enough to not add to theirs with the my-parents-lied-to-me-about-Santa-and -here-is-how-I-found-out drama. As far as gift wrapping goes, due to the science teacher in me I choose not to wrap as it is really wasteful. Due to the laziness in my I choose not to wrap as it is too time consuming. And most importantly due to the cheapskate in me I choose not to wrap because it cost too much money to buy paper for the purpose of tearing and then throwing away. Each girls has a huge red velvet bag with their name embroidered on it and all their gifts are housed in there.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? When I am feeling uppity I would say white. When I am feeling redneck-ish I would say multicolored. Right now the only tree we have up in the 4ft pink monstrosity in the girls' room which my Mother bought while here for Thanksgiving (see I told you I have lots of happening to talk about....later....). So for now I say pink.

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No. I steal my fair share of kisses without it. :)

5. When do you put your decorations up? As soon as Thanksgiving festivities are over.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? Buckeyes or my aunt's red velvet cake.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child? Christmas was not really fun for me as a child being the youngest and only girl so it always ended with me being teased unmercifully and usually my favorite toy destroyed by my brothers during the teasing. In the last 6 years we started a tradition of taking a timed family picture. That has been fun and probably the highlight of the evening. Last year there were 13 people and 2 dogs. I am sure you can imagine - organized chaos.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? We always opened gift Christmas eve after church so I never bought into the whole Santa thing. It was not forced on me and another reason why I do not do it to my girls.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? See above question. We open ALL gifts then.

10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? This year (the only year we have had a Christmas tree, my grapevine tree substituted in years past) the pink monster has pink lights and princess lights with a silver star. Not really room for anything else. It is a tiny tree. Not to mention I have to be selective with the toddler tornado running around here.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it as long as I am home and no where to go. Hate it when I would have to drive to work as our school would be the only one NOT to close. Now....don't have to worry about snow. :P

12. Can you ice skate? Yes. Ever earend credit in classes for a series of 3 ice skating classes. I also took belly dancing in college.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Not really.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Spending time with family and friends and reflecting on the birth of our Savior. (Staling Jo-Lynne's answer here b/c I could have posted it myself.)

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? See #6.

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Church and opening gifts Christmas eve.

17. What tops your tree? Sparkly silver star.

18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Yes. Both please.

19. Candy Canes: Yuck or Yum? Ok. Filed under whatever.

20 Favorite Christmas Show? A Christmas Story. I remember seeing it in the theater (yes, I am that old) and my Mom laughing her butt off when the dogs took the turkey.

21. Saddest Christmas Song? ??????? Grandma got run over by a reindeer. ????

22. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Gosh, I can't pick one favorite....Carol of the Bells tops my list as well as O, Holy Night and Little Town of Bethlehem. I love the Nutcracker music as well.


Let me know if you take this survey....I am probably already stalking your blog anyway.....so I would know...like Santa. lol

FINALLY!!!!

I learned that earned National Board for Professional Teaching Standards today!!! Yea!!!! Again 3 years worth of work paying off. It took me longer to earn this that it dig my Master's degree and WAY more writing/revising than my thesis. Finally over....I can exhale now.

Meanial updates....

New Moon was FABULOUS!!!!

The mid-morning information I was waiting on says it will not be available until after 5pm. This concerns me. If my scoring body cannot "tell time", how can I trust them to score properly???? hmm....

Giggles....

Hoping I can stay awake to see the midnight New Moon opening. Then my next challenge will be teaching a full day...a pep rally day...a day before Thanksgiving break...

Wish me luck!

Colleagialness

30 school colleagues sharing a meal in a teacher workroom before Thanksgiving break. Ahhh....very nice. <3

I am thankful for the people I work with. :D

I'm old....

Today were we encouraged to wear a college (and or sorority/fraternity) shirt in honor of National Education Week and talk to the students about our college experience. First of all A few years back I turned the majority of my college shirts into a quilt which is up north as they are not as needed here in the south. Second the one I have is a slum around shirt and there are 2 small holes in the front. Well, being that I was encouraged (not just allowed but told) to wear my old shirt, I did. Being an older gray t-shirt the only pants suitable was jeans. If you would have told me to wear this to teach several years ago I would have been elated beyond ecstatic. This morning I felt awkward. Like something was wrong with the picture of "the teacher" wearing jeans and an old t-shirt to teach. I was always the person who would fight to say 'clothes don't make the teacher' but I can conclude that they do help. I hate to admit it but I am growing up.

3 years in the Making

In about 40 hours I will know if 3 years of hard work paid off.....stay tuned for more details.....

Get over it!

Southerners think they are going to die if the temperature drops below 60 degrees. Seriously. Wusses. Get over it!

An Ode to Art

Please keep in mind that I am simple country girl who was really not introduced to 'real art' until I took the required art history course in college. From what I didn't sleep through (it was a dark auditorium with cushy stadium like seating once a week in the afternoons....and the prof spoke softly and rather monotone...you would have too...don't judge me....) I learned a lot. Here are my all time favorites no matter how cliche - they really do speak to me.

Starry night - Van Gogh

I hope to have this print hanging in a navy blue/white/pale yellow themed master bedroom some day.

Dali - The Persistence of Memory

Eerily fascinating to me.

Edvard Munch _ The Scream

This is how I feel most days. I can relate.

The works of Edward Weston

I loved all his work. So simple yet liberating - almost like you are looking at something naughty.

These are the ones I recall off the top of my head so they must have made and impact b/c I knew what names to Google for the images.

Hope you like them as much as I do!

Vicious Cycle

The schools up north I taught at would have parent teacher conferences where us teacher people would meet with parents for 10-15 minutes each to give them a glimpse as to what we see from their student. We would do this for several hours into the night. Most of the time we saw parents who needed that extra pat on the back for good parenting and rarely saw the parents whom we needed/wanted to see to resolve issues. Those were truly exhausting nights. Down here the schools do not do marathon conference nights but have parents schedule a conference for just after the school day finishes at their convenience. I think I am stuck in a conference rut as all my after school days have a conference booked by parents unless there is a meeting of some sort (faculty, department, committee, etc.). So here is that ugly cycle: student feels they are doing poorly for (insert whatever reason here), they complain to Mom/Dad. Mom/Dad schedules a conference - my after school time gets booked. During said conference it is usually mentioned about teachers having office hours or when they are available to help struggling students. My reply is that I am available in the mornings since my after noons are booked with conferences or meetings. Student never comes in during the wee morning hours and nothing changes. :(

Fell off the Wagon....sorry

I was doing so well with blogging something everyday in honor of the 31 for 21 but then this past weekend happened. *Sigh* I have thoughts to blog but then the escape me as soon as I put my butt in the computer chair. One of these days I will carry around a little notepad to jot down the ideas so that my blog isn't so blah. Here is a rundown of my weekend....

Thursday evening the niecey and BF arrive. We do the kid taxi game.

Friday - School for me as usual. We were in the media center and had to write up a few referral for "violation of acceptable use of electronic resources" b/c some kids had a little too much fun with the discussion board on my page when signing up for a research topic. (Duh....you are posting with YOUR name....duh....no delete option). After school the niecey had picked up the two oldest and then me (since I left her my car to use) and we had an adventure looking for the free flu shots. We found them in the hood. Dropped the oldest off for some 'nastics make up since she missed 3 out of 4 days of practice this week since she was sick. The rest of us shopped a little, picked her back up, got some Chinese food for dinner and the niecey and BF were in bed before 9pm. WTH? What happened to 20 somethings these days? I remember being out until the clubs closed then sleeping until about noon but these two slept more that my now 70 year old Mother (birthday shout out to her as well - Holla!).

Saturday - My usual runnings: Jazzercise then WW. Then I had to run around to get ready for the 'nastics meet: gas, cash, drug store run (got shorter on the oldest's meds). 2:30 drive to meet. FREEZING in the venue. Yes, it is a warm state but no over compensation is required, really. People were going to the local gas station and getting hot chocolate and cappuccinos to drink for warm. Back home about midnight.

Sunday - Dropped them at the airport 6am. Church. Nap - YES, I got a nap!!! I tool it with the Beans. Sneaky Mom trick, right? :)Jazzercise. Grading. Got almost all of it finished before today's test.

Fairly uneventful, Huh? But now you know......

Curriculum Writing

That is what I did today at another high school in the county. It actually did not suck. We were putting things in a mighty useful Wiki. Then tour connection to the Internet died and thus our in-service ended....early. :)

Perusing Teacher tube

Cool (?) way to start the school year?



This would be very fun to make.....I'm totally geeking out, I know



Not as good as a recently submitted student rap about atoms I have (will post later) but kind of fun in its own right...


Hmmmm.....


This has been circulating the FB


Admin walk through...


Powerpoint how NOT to


If some people got this idea......

Sicky McSickerson

Ugh...oldest has the flu...no, not THE flu...just the flu.....grrr.....she has a meet this weekend....needs to get rid of the 103+ fever though....more prayers needed....:(

2 years ago today

I had my final installment in the girl trio that is heart of my little family. Due to being breech, it was a scheduled C-section and other than that and the gestational diabetes, it was a fairly uneventful pregnancy. I am very blessed with a healthy and happy (well, mostly happy most of the time) two year old. Happy Birthday, Beans!

TGIF

My colleagues here crack me up. Our Friday afternoon "choir practice" always brings a smile to my face even with out the caloric beverages. One teacher is a Southern Belle. She is certified as a clinical psychiatrist and teachers IB and AP psychology. She is the life of the party. Some of her favorite expressions are: Is the Pope Catholic? Does Chatty Cathy have a plastic heiny? Does a hobbyhorse have a wooden pecker? I could probably write several posts about our inside jokes but I will save them for "the book".

Who Dey PSA

These are bangles as in bracelets




These are bengals as in Who Dey


Questions?

One of those kinds of days.....

This morning as I checked my school mailbox I was looking for the county issued science assessment I have been ordered to administer but which really holds no weight for any one and therefore I am wasting as entire day in class with. It wasn't there even though I was supposed to give it on Tuesday but the county had not yet delivered them to the schools at that point. As I am mentally preparing a plan B for the day (more like a plan ZZ at this point but....) my brain connects the dots that I was supposed to pick up my testing stuff from a certain administrator. Thanks for kicking in there, neurons. I like to be at school early so it is about 6am at this point. We are not contracted to be there until 7 and that is most people get there just for that very reason. So I had about a hour before I expected to find said administrator or her secretary. I head off to my classroom and try to be productive.

I had a parent ask me the day before when I arrived at school so that her and her son could come by (son not behaving so well and I have contacted Mom a few times regarding the behavior). About 10 til 7 after seeing no parent, I head over again and anxiously wait to get to my test box. After standing outside a dark office I find the nearest adult, the very 'seasoned' guidance counselor for the building. After having to chat (well, listen) to him for about 7 minutes he finally keys me in and we get what I need. Off to first bell as the warning bell is signaling time for the kids to get to class.

First period begins and even on a good day this class just rubs me the wrong way. I don't think many teachers are at their best first bell of the day or at least they get better as the say goes on. Maybe I am just not a morning teacher/person. Maybe I should ask for 1st bell as plan next year. This first bell has a sense of entitlement to them. Everything is too hard or too much work. For example, when introducing a mini-"project" today a student says, "How many projects do we have in here?" My reply was to refer to the syllabus where I listed them all including this one. I think she felt like the one they turned in last week meant they were finished with projects forever. As a whole they constantly whine and want to exude as little energy as possible when actually thinking about things. Again this is the overall class demeanor. There are some really good, courteous and intelligent students there. They just get over shadowed by all the squeaky wheels. I make it through that class. Second bell comes in. This is a lower academic level that the prior so some students take this assessment so seriously that they personalize it with their drool. They did attempt all 23 questions first though. Third bell and fourth bells which are honors level are concerned where the data from this test is going, how it will affect them and their science classes in the future, etc. I am not at liberty to tell them all of the truth: doubt anyone is really going to look at the data and it means nothing or if they do look at the data it still really means nothing I am just doing what I am told because I need my job and this is what they told me to do. The rest of my classes were fairly uneventful in the same manner. I felt accomplished just to make it through my teaching day.

My last bell plan period has been interrupted by a floater. Yes, some other teacher is coming in my room to teach a different class (biology). I did my best PC whining to administration about how I am in a chemistry lab and I switch rooms when the neighboring chem teachers need the gas hook ups or fume hood and a floater is not a good idea with the access to the chemical stockroom, etc. Didn't work. I have a floater. What is worse right this moment is that I have a floater's class but the actually real teacher for this class is not yet 'legal' to be in the building - hired but needs the BCI and orientation and all. So this class of freshmen (a breed all their own....) were taken from another teacher about a week ago (school rearranging of courses due to high class numbers and we got funding to hire another teacher for the department to cover these classes) and have had a different sub everyday since then in a 'new to them' chemistry classroom. AS you teacher readers know any one of these things would cause chaos but to have all these issues at once....well, that is when you pray that everyone comes out alive. They are off the wall crazy. The sub they had today has worked in our department a lot and is a good sub but things were just not going my way today. I had a dentist appointment at what I was told by my DH at 1:30 (ahem, this plays in later). At lunch I agreed to help the sub for this class today by providing a video AND a set of questions on a worksheet to go with it already copied. I was cuing the Bill Nye as the classes changed from bell 6 to 7. The bell rings to start bell 7. No sub. I piddle and wait around trying to ignore the 28ish kids in front of me and about 4 minutes later (which seems like and eternity in teacher time with a group of kids you don't know) the sub shows up. I would have taken roll but there is no class list. Yeah, how many fine students are skipping this class..... The sub had been locked out of where her stuff was.

Finally I try to leave. A football coach and I pass on the stairs (me with my full backpack, large purse, box of projects to grade and over sized insulated water mug, He with his big self) and he runs into me almost causing me to drop everything not to mention fall down the stairs in my flowy skirt. I had to set down half of my load to unlock the gate to leave the school grounds. Get in my car. I then get a call from my dentist office asking where I am. I tell her the location. She says she is not familiar with that part of town. My appointment was at 1:20 and DH (not so dear at the moment) said 1:20 but figured that was close enough to 1:30 that it wouldn't matter. (HA!) She asks if I thought I'd be there in 5 minutes. I said yes. She told me she'd see if they could still take me for the cleaning when I got there. When I got there she asked the hygienist and the answer was no. WTH?????? I was SO livid. I guess the fact that she was waving the $75 cancellation fee was supposed to make me happy. So the CLEANING that I was trying to schedule during the summer is now rescheduled for the day before THANKSGIVING! I am thinking I need to find a new dentist b/c the latest appointment they have is a 3:30 on Wednesdays which she says is booked until March right now! ARGH!!!

Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Anticipation & Disappointment

Weird evening. Waiting on something that never happened. Wondering why. Was found but not followed through with. Strange.

I attended the Veteran's Memorial dedication and it was nice to be there to support some old and dear friends who lost loved ones in combat. I can't even imagine being in that situation. Hearing admirable stories from veterans was very surreal. They did not hold back any details and these men talked freely about how many they killed. They referred to their nationalities when talking about the killing ("shot that Chinese in the face", "used a grenade in the bunker and killed 7 Koreans"). I wonder how these men feel about immigrants from those countries. Another thought I had was how Christianity and military combat mix. You know, tho shalt not kill (then is fine print unless you are fighting for your country???). It was very surreal and got me thinking.

Home again

Going to do my best to post for the 31 for 21 but know most of my daily posts will be about nothing of importance to anyone but me. Sorry. I am pretty simple.

Loving being in my hometown. Seeing old friends. Reminiscing. Very nice. I don't think I could "come home" again if you know what I mean but it sure is a nice place to visit. I had a blessed childhood. The small town politics still exist which is the part I liked the least. As an adult I can turn my nose up at them but again not sure I could live here again. There is something to be said for living near the Grandmother and being able to dump the toddler there just because. :) I do miss my Mommy. <3

Southern Citizen

It's official. My state of mind has changed. Did not bring closed toed shoes to the 'noth (aka north in southern draw) for this weekend. Rainy and dipping down to the 40s = too cold to bare my piggies. Had to buy real shoes.

Also don't tell the WW people but I have been enjoying me some hometown cuisine of Giovanni's Pizza and Snak Shak hot dogs. I weighed in before partaking (down another pound) but am really going to have to moderate my choices to be down again next week.

31 for 21

Mmmm, like butter

Haggardly busy weekend for me. Directly after school got my hairs did then put a massive dent in the house cleaning (looked good doing so since my hairs were freshly did too). Saturday morning got up when I usually do on weekdays to get the oldest together for a gymnastics meet. I graded chem tests during the event warm ups. At noon the Mister picked her up then I was on the clock - volunteering for money for her account. I did wrapped flowers, took admissions and worked the high rollers table until the last gymnast left that night (about 10pm). Today I took the girls to church (yes, still loving the church I was introduced to) then went back to the meet to work another 4 hours. The Mister did set up and tear down Friday evening and this evening respectively. We should have some solid money in her account for next year. This year we had none and so all her meet fundage has been out of pocket b/c we were not with the gym the year prior.

So, what does this description have to do with butter? I suppose I could talk about the big buttery Jesus I used to live near but I am not I am talking about these pants. I had a pair of these as short PJ shorts and loved them but my cyber friend Mamalicious had talked so much about them and their buttery goodness that I rediscovered them. Well, Saturday I wore the 'capri' variety and today I wore the long pants (as pictured). Yes, I know they are really lounging pants (aka not supposed to leave the house in) but with the right top and presentation no one will ever know they are for nights. The feel SOOOO good too. Something that feels this good can't be wrong. :) I contribute my being able to survive this weekend to this line of bottoms. I have now vowed I will own all the pants in all colors. Trust me. I am not the only Mommy doing this. I can only hope that one day you will have your own buttery goodness to get you through a busy day.

Oh blog, how I have missed you.....

(Dang, it has been so long that I prematurely posted an empty update. Not like I have many readers any way.....)

I miss summer. The paid freedom to do what I want when I want. There has been exciting stuff going on. This is going to be some what of a ramble but I have so much to say in so little time.

*My tomato plant produced a cherry tomato. The toddler picked it before it was all the way ripe. Then threw it on the patio. I barely saved it from its two story demise of rolling under the rail. I sat it on the counter until it ripened. I wanted to take a picture of it but forgot and ate it. Tasty. There are 3 other green ones out there. Maybe I will get a pic of them to post.

* School is going great. Busy but good. Not sure if we are just still in the honeymoon period but the students have been well behaved. On the adult front, I have recruited some more colleagues for our Friday afternoon faculty "choir practice". I have been faithful to WW while enjoying the company.

*So far there is over 12 lbs less of me. Yea! Hasn't been too bad but I do miss the Philly Cheese steak and beer battered onion rings I would usually get. I guess something has got to give though. Ahh, sacrifice.

*Jazzercise is WONDERFUL! I have missed it so much. When I need another challenge I think I would like to try to become an instructor. The facility i go to has some phenomenal instructors. I am not sure I would be as good as them but I think I'd like to try it! It costs a pretty penny to become one so that would be the main obstacle.

*Speaking of money stuff...we have a strong nibble going on the house. If things keep going in this direction we will no longer be home owners by the end of next month. WOOO HOOO! Our lease is signed until next August so we have plenty of time but I have been drooling over houses. I am SOOO ready to go house shopping.

*My Mom is coming to spend the week with us for Thanksgiving. It is so not like her to travel away from home during a holiday and to stay for the whole week! I can't wait to hang out with her. I do miss being home.

*Heading north with the toddler the beginning of next month for a class reunion. This should be interesting on all accounts.

*Gymnastics season has begun. One meet down 6 more to go. This weekend is the one our gym hosts so I will be working my tail off to add money to ODD's account for next year. I guess some money for nothing is a good thing but I am not looking forward to working like a Hebrew slave with every waking hour of my weekend.

*St. Anthony has not brought my necklace back to me yet. :( Or my burgundy Mary Jane crocs. :(

*The Middie is a big Kindergartner now. She has had two notes home regarding behavior (hitting another kid b/c he would not stop stepping on her shoe laces) and playing not paying attention. We knew this day would come.

*Beans is now in the 3 year old room at day care even though she is not even two yet. She is potty trained with the exception of night time. They say she listens there and was a better fit into that room with the listening and pottying. Whatever.

*Really liking the new church even though it is the polar opposite of my church at home. I guess change is good.

Well, those are the super exciting happenings in my day to day world. Hope you have enjoyed reading. Maybe I can get a regular pattern going with the blog instead of continuing the posts of randomness.

Webkinz Bunny

We have MANY webkinz all with names. The oldest just got a white bunny webkinz for her birthday. She decided to name it Nibbles. I continue to tease her by 'mis-speaking' it's name to Nevil (an evil boy character on iCarly - one of the shows she watches and therefore I am forced to listen to frequently). In one of our banters about the name she mis-spoke and said "Her name is Nipples!" So now the bunny has a brand new name.

SO buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

I have been so busy since school starting I have really neglected my blog. Sorry, baby. :(

I am having a Bean free weekend. She is up north with her Daddy. I have about a half an hour to get things together and take my little gymnast to a BIG meet. We were already out late last night as we had a date with Disney on Ice. It was a great show.

My school world has gotten better since the first week (the post just before this one). It has achieved normalcy. I have a backpack full of grading, a test to revise and make a review sheet for and more planning to do. yep ,that's normal.

I am anticipating the arrival of November. NBPTS results and my Momma will be here around turkey day.

Yeah, I know kind of a small random post but I need to go get stuff together so I am ready to hit the road.

Mi Vida Loca

I said in my last post (about a week ago) that I joined WW, started Jazzercise again and have found a church that I want to call home here. Well, that just started the mass craziness the past week has been. Let me tell you about it.

Monday: First day of school with the students. The oldest starting 3rd and the Middie started Kindergarten (Gosh, where did the time go?) Only you teachers out there can empathize with the kind of insanity that goes along with the first day. As I return to my room from lunch I check my cell phone (thinking the Mister might have sent me a picture of the girls since he was left to be the camera man for the event) to find that I had a message from the school nurse saying I had a student in the clinic (actually two messages - the first neglected to say which one and why - the second one said it was the oldest but still no why). With my last few minutes of my lunch time I call the Mister. He emails me during class saying she puked and he was going to get her. I make it home about and hour and a half later. She is acting fine but still nauseated (ended up throwing again 2 more times that evening). She had a low grade fever near bed time which I medicated but I am getting ahead of myself in that evening's events. I called once I knew she was home to let 'nastics know that she was ill and would not be there. That didn't necessarily mean I would get out of the drive to the gym that evening since the Middie now has her recreational gymnastics class on Mondays. I had to leave the Oldest home while I go to the daycare to pick up the Middie to transport her directly to her class. I stand and wait in the reception area of the daycare for 45 minutes (about 20 minutes into her class time) while they are trying to sort out the first day of school busing issues (down here the daycares will pick up and drop off at school which is nice but very technical in routing since there are SO many schools around here - several of each public, private, and charter). Once she finally arrives I take her and the toddler home. My throat is scratchy from talking all day (again, I am sure you teachers can relate). Crisis over but geez what a day!

Tuesday: Everyone goes to school but I find out I made a mistake when buying groceries that past weekend and over drafted my account. Get REALLY tired by the end of the day and throat is getting ickier every time I talked. Went to see the doctor for maintence and as a follow up to my ER visit the week prior. Did get to enjoy Jazzercise after that though.Tanned - left my eye wear there. Made dinner AND set up the crock pot for the next evening's dinner (yea me!). Straightened the house back up before bed.

Wednesday: Itchy throat now has a hacking cough to go with it (too bad it wasn't anything this bad while I was seeing a doctor and could get some good meds to help). Planned to stick around after the early release time in order to catch up or get ahead on school stuff then go to Jazzercise. Realized as I was walking out that I can't go straight to Jazzercise as planned since I did pick up the bag of clothes I had packed for the occasion. Made a mad dash home, changed clothes, finally made it to Jazzercise so I decided to stay for two classes (ouch). After making sure all were fed I sat on the couch not planning on moving again until I transferred my body to my bed. I knew once I sat down there was no getting up. I did shift a load of laundry through the washer and dryer this evening so that is something.

Thursday: Hacked my way through the teaching day. I took the nastiest of all known medicines that morning my throat was so closed off. It is like straight eucalyptus and really burns a path for the air so you don't cough for awhile. Jazzercised - just on this time. Tanned - the lady had held back my goggles for me. Girls made it through their days but all three were VERY whiny. The Middie and I shared in our coughing and congestion. She was grumpy to go with it though. I shifted a load of laundry that evening too.

Friday: While at school my voice was crackling in and out. I took pills along with the syrup this morning. Helped some but still coughed a lot. Dabbled in "office politics" with a friend while at school. I notice during my plan the last bell of the day that a strange number had called. It was the Middie's teacher saying my poor Kinder girl had a headache and she was letting her lay her head down. I explained that at this point in the day I could not leave my school b/c I was trapped by the school buses and the earliest I could get there is after their time when they will allow student's to change their after school transportation so I told her to send her to the day care. I figured she'd sit and watch a movie there (forgetting her head was hurting b/c she is a tv junkie) so I could go and visit with colleagues at the local watering hole (our Friday afternoon ritual) while being faithful to WW (getting a salad instead of my much beloved Philly cheese steak and beer battered onion rings) then Jazzercise then pick her up to go to her make-up gymnastics class. That did NOT happen. I got a call about the time I finished up my salad from the day care that she had a fever of 103.7 (her head wasn't hurting any more...). So, I called the gym and let them know she would not be coming in tonight, got all 3 girls and came home. The Oldest got an invite to a friend's house for the night and I let her go so that maybe she doesn't get this ick. The toddler will not leave the Middie alone to rest.

So, this is where I am at right now. Even though I don't have real obligations this weekend (I do have to make it to a WW meeting and I WANT to go to Jazzercise and to church) I hope the Middie and myself can kick whatever this sickness it before Monday. If she has a fever after my morning Jazz and WW meeting I guess I will be visiting Urgent Care with her.

If you week can top mine, let me know. I REALLY hope none of you have had the kind of week I had.

Bad luck

Mine is the WORST luck. Not just bad but THE worst. Case in point, first day of school the now third grader throws up. Seriously? This early in the year? grrrrr

Too much too soon?

This past week I joined WW, Jazzercise, think I have found a church I like to attend here AND will start a new school year tomorrow with about 155 eager students. We'll see what sticks....

Randomness.....

*After fasting for 12 hours I went and had blood drawn for my 'official' physical next week. While sitting there freezing my arse off (seriously I was mentally going through my car looking for something else to put on my exposed skin - I rationalized that they HAVE to keep the facility that cold for the purposes of the fluids), I made the observation that 2 out of 3 people entering had on flip flops in some form. :)

*I am going to miss my morning coffee with Regis and Kelly when school starts. I think it is funny that my girls probably feel the same thing (except the coffee of course).

*I hate driving new places.

*I really, REALLY hate doggie diarrhea. YUCK! Next time she is boarded we WILL be taking her own food.

*Trying to get motivated to do something. I have a LONG list of things that need to be done and they are in several categories: family, school, friends, house, etc. I am being really lazy and NOT doing any of them.

Me likey!

Too cute

Most people don't believe I have PTE socks...until I wear them. :) I think I need this to complete the ensemble.

Good to know...

This place allows teachers to post projects and filters donations through to the teacher to fund various items at their request. Good to know. :)

What I learned this week....

(Hopefully I can post this correctly - I messed up the last time I tried to participate in this bloggy party. *blushes*) If you want to party at this carnival of knowledge click here.

My learnings have actually come from a culmination over the summer. Our 'vacations' have been visiting with family members in their homes. I admit I am a pack rat (kind of reformed being that I moved from a house into a smaller apartment last summer and had to purge a lot of stuff) and I am not saying that the people we have visited are pack rats but they have way more 'stuff' out and about than I do. So I could not help but be anxious in their homes as my toddler is very curious. She constantly worried that she was into something she should not be into. The relatives didn't mind but there was always the temptation of things she should not have with in her reach. I worried about choking or her ingesting things that are not meant to be consumed.

So what I have learned is.....visiting is fun, hard work but there is no place like your own home. <3

Really trying....

Why is it that every time I have tried to do some school work (other than the huge scanning pile - which i did get complete but have not organized into electronic files yet) something stops me? For instance I actually tried to work on my blackboard account but could not remember my log in password. Then I tried to look at the CD rom that goes with the Health oriented Chemistry textbook. Can't get my school laptop (read the only one I have that has a CD drive in it) to connect to my home internet. My last effort came today when I was trying to make a powerpoint showing that I know all the "hiding my cell phone behind obvious things" trick but I could not access the pictures I needed. Is God trying to tell me not to worry about school or is it the technology gnomes that are foiling my heroic attempts of getting ahead?

Things I love....

There are a gazillion reasons I love summer (and my break from teaching) but I know the thing I will miss the most is spending time with my girls (obviously).

The second most missed thing is staying up on the dishes and laundry. During the school year on Saturday mornings I wake up to clean an over run kitchen. Sometimes it it takes two dish washer loads to get all the dishes done. (Against the minimal environmentalist in me we have tried the paper dishes but that means there are bags of trash versus dirty dishes. A no win situation.) I realize that Wednesday/Thursday is when I tend to 'lose' control. When/if I ever have the money I will hire some one to come in on Thursdays to take things back to ground zero for me so that my every weekend does not start with a mass cleaning session.

I can't overly complain about the laundry during the school year as it becomes a chore of the Mister. He washes and dumps them on the couch (this drives me nuts but I usually don't have the energy to finish it myself or complain about it at that time). Then during the middle of the night (usually toward the end of the week or when his end of the couch gets full) he folds them. They still take over the entire couch but are neatly folded. At that point it is each man for himself on putting them away (except I get the bonuses to do mine, the general house stuff - towels, dish towels, etc. and the toddler's clothes). Again I am not the responsible party for the most of it so I really can't complain. I know he enjoys this aspect of the summer too.

So I am enjoying the upkeep of these things while I can. :)

Morning Mania

I have apparently failed in teaching any of my girls how to have a mellow Sunday morning. They know to let my get my coffee consumed before the chaos ensues but for some strange reason Sundays are the exception to this rule. (The toddler will even chant "Mommy's coffee" as I am sweetening my cup.) Sounded like I was on the right track. Where did I go wrong?

Potty Training

I cannot wait until she is fully trained! Right now she refuses to wear a diaper or big girl panties so she runs around naked. This makes for easy pottying but a nervous Mommy. I have decided to NOT do the pull-ups this go round. I think that should save money but I tell you an unsteady pottier in a set of cloth panties really makes a Mommy apprehensive.

As I mentioned in prior posts we have the portable potty chair and the potty seat insert (both in the Dora flavor) but she wants neither. She climbs onto the potty face first. Standing bear crawl style over the bowl she shoots a foot through to the other side and pieces her way to a sitting position. Then she scootches until she is forward facing. Still holding herself up from taking a swim by her little hands. It is funny to watch and if my video did not involve a naked toddler I might post it here.

I hope I can get her all the way trained before I go back to school. Meaning this could be the last set of diapers I ever buy....... <3

Current list of Wants....

Things I want a right now and reasons why....

*I want the Beans to all the way potty trained so I don't spend over half my remaining summer days in the potty with her.

*I want the Mister to pick me up a diamond anniversary band on his travels out of the country for out 10 year wedding anniversary. I think I deserve one!

*I want to sign up for Jazzercise. I did it years ago and really miss it but have not extra fundage for another monthly bill. :(

*I want my house up north to sell and to get a good deal on a house down here. Tired of apartment livin'. Not bad really but I am just too old for it.

*I want my lessons planned out and a lab fairy to visit for the set up and clean up of labs at the right time. I don't think I will mind teaching the same subject all day but I dread doing labs only b/c of the prep work that goes with them.

*I want a "good' camera so I can take artsy like pictures. I love extreme close up type pics but my camera always does them fuzzy.

*I want to find a home church here.

*I want a self cleaning kitchen.

*I want to be independently wealthy so I can stay home and be a Mom to my girls all year how I am in the summer. As they continue to grow I want to stay the most important person in their live.

*I want a girls weekend with some good friends. No kids, just fun.


I am sure I could think of more but these things would be an excellent start!

Hooked on Improving

This is another post for the Hooked on Fridays over here AND I am actually including house type stuff this time!

First, we all remember my tomato issues (click here for a refresher), I have upgraded my 'redneck patio garden'. We have two topsy turvy planters (as seen on tv) as well as several bigger pots - some with tomato cages! Don't be alarmed about the detergent bucket, this was the Hubby's idea to fill that with water (remember we are on the second story of our apartment = no hose) so that the girls can help water the plants from onew location instead of running through the apartment with water. We are uptown now! lol If only I get a tomato harvest..... Anybody with any other suggestions for survival of these plants, please let me know.


Second, my toddler whom I have nicknamed Spiderman as she can scale flat surfaces with ease, has found the 'treasures' that were on top of the older girls' desk (gymnastics trophies, medals, ribbons, Little Miss crown, etc.).

These momentos/awards needed to be moved to a safer location as they hold sentimental value to the Oldest and could potentially harm the toddler when she pulled them down on her head (hey, at least I am giving her a totally flat/clear surface to stand on once she scales her way to the tippy top of the bookshelf component). I had originally envisioned a wooden shelf with a dowel rod track jigsawed into the support but as we roamed through Home Depot (a shopping experience which I always detest - I never know where to find anything and it drives me nuts...) we stopped in the shelving aisle and came up with a better idea (of which we decided was very appropriate to test run in the apartment). The pre-fab shelving unit supports have openings that a dowel rod could be slipped through. For about $10 and very little effort, I think this looks nice. It has more room for medals and ribbons (although I have several without strings that are not displayed here....) but when more trophies come home there is only so much rearranging I can do. This will do for now, I suppose.





Next, even though we have lived here a full year now some things are still not the way I want them. You know, can't find them when needed, etc. My spices were one of those things. I found the perfect spot for them in baskets in a alcove type place on the wall dividing the kitchen/living room but they were in the baskets all willy nilly, no rhyme or reason, just there. Since I have to climb a chair or step stool to get to them, looking through multiple baskets while balancing on top of something was annoying. So, I had my big girls along with a friend who had spent the night do a little alphabetizing/categorizing of them. Ahhh.... now I know exactly where to look for what spices. Maybe this will help the multiples of the same spice I have. Maybe you can never have too much ground ginger but I have 4 different styles/brands.






These all transpired while doing repetative "normal" tasks like picking up the Leap Frog Word Whammer along with the 2 alphabet sets that go with it. For some reason in addition to climbing things the toddler prefers these strung all over the floor and not in the basket so she dumps them out when she passes. Yes, they really hurt when you step on them too. Probably not as bad as Legos but a close second.




At least you can say I haven't been bored this week! I wonder what all I will tackle next week. Stay tuned....

Am I a bad Mom?

One of my friends has something like the following in her bloggy header "She is probably a good mother just not a good advertisement for motherhood." I kind of feel like I might fit that description. As a species us women especially mothers constantly compare ourselves to one another. (This is a gender flaw that DH says makes women rarely win those voting reality shows as well as will not become president.)

Anyhoo....the first reason for my sub par maternal feeling is I don't feel the need to schedule every second of every day for my children. Seriously, a friend of mine has her children's days planned up to September and the kids are 4! I personally have been enjoying this summer of simplicity with mine. Maybe I am a homebody or maybe it is b/c I still do not have a large friend base here in my "new" state (new as in we have now been here a year and I still really don't have a large set of friends.....I guess that is another post in and of itself). The girls and I have been sharing household responsibilities as well as trying to cook a lot of different foods from scratch. Just made my first cheesecake from scratch the other day. :) So am I a bad Mommy for not planning daily outings or crafts every single day? Are my girls going to grow up lacking?

I have also come to the realization that this year we will not do birthday parties for the girls like we have in the past. With us still paying for the house up north at this point there is really just no room in the budget for us to do things like we have before. I hope this does not scar them for life. I know I am being dramatic but....I feel like I am failing them (yet again). I guess if the house sells this could change but with gymnastics season beginning on the oldest's birthday weekend, if I have not planned in advance it probably won't happen.


I don't sit around the 3 hours a day my oldest practices gymnastics. Does that mean I am a bad Mommy? Heck, I am even missing the transportation provided by the gym to get her from school to practice. I have to taxi it both ways. If it were just me I don't think I would mind too much but lugging the toddler and the Middie for the taxi run is just annoying.


I could be considered a bad Mommy b/c after the portable DVD player died after 5 long years of service and several trips (car and plane) I supported my DH when he purchased two portable DVD players (one for each big girl = no more arguing over what to watch). But even more so b/c this morning they have vegged out with their own player. How many movies are too many?

Am I a bad Mommy b/c i don't have the extra funds right now to put my soon to be 2 year old in a class of some sort? At this point in their lives my other two they had taken gymnastics (Mommy and me type class of course) and swimming. #3 is really missing out.....

Well, I think that is probably enough Mommy bashing of myself at this point. I will save this post no longer...posting and letting it all go...ooosa ooosa oosa