We're home again after a long day of craft shoes and driving. The craft shows in WV this morning weren't all that great. Nothing I simply couldn't live without. I'm going to try and make an effort to start purging items that we don't need/don't use. The clutter is getting to me.
Maybe I'll try the fly.lady 27 fling mantra. I would love to be clean and minimalist. Unfortunately, I'm a pack rat at heart. You never know when you might be able to use something in the future - especially as a teacher.
Showing posts with label NaBloPoMo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NaBloPoMo. Show all posts
So. We just got home from our little shopping trip. Innnnnnnnnnnnnteresting. I didn't get exactly everything I wanted, but I got what I wanted. What I wanted didn't technically include much for others, but what the hell.
I figured, "Hey, we're in Small Town, WV. The crowds won't be that bad. " HA! Wrong. Rednecks at 5 AM are skeery.
Had I not waited in the site 2 store line for 15 minutes I might have even gotten everything I wanted. It's the teacher in me, I see a line, I get in it. Obviously they're going where I'm going.
Great deals include:
- 26" LCD flat screen tv - $397
- HP All in One Printer, Scanner, Copier - $29
- Game chair for LMP - $30
- i.Flip camcorder - $79
- 12 piece stackable Tupperware - $9
- Tom Tom GPS - $129
* Actually, the woman rammed her. She remarkably kept her cool.
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours. We'll be at the family Thanksgiving celebration. LMP ought to be good and scared by the end of the day. Mwahahahaha!
We're in WV. I am out of town. YAY! I literally left as soon as humanly possible to get out of town. Seriously, I just need to get out of that town for a while. Even though I won't be seeing my parents for Thanksgiving, it will be nice to be with family - including LMP.
Happy Turkey Day people!
So one of my little darlings is terrified of storms. As part of our weather unit we talk about tornadoes, thunderstorms, and hurricanes. I did my best to give the kids the vital information while not scaring them. I made a point of talking about how in Ohio, we don't really have hurricanes to worry about, but we do have tornadoes. Then I gave them some basic tornado safety tips since we did have a tornado scare last year and the Fear of Storms kid was really scared then. As we're wrapping up our discussion, the following conversation occurred:
Me: "That’s why if you’re outside during a tornado, you need to get to the lowest place possible."
Kid #1: "What if there isn’t a ditch around?"
Kid #2: "Then you’re screwed, Kid #1."
Me: **snort** "Thanks Kid #1 for summing that up"
Three more days. I can do it.
The kids ought to be IN-SANE.
LMP is home for the week and has offered to help. They'll be thrilled to see her. That will make them even MORE insane.
LMP and LMK have the week off. Don't worry, they've got a list. Three and a half pages worth of list.
Mwahahahaha.
Sometimes I love having LMK work where he does. He gets really neat gifts including:
- hand made Korean Christmas ornament (last year)
- Olympic souvenir (complete with Chinese writing)
- Russian chocolates
I got an observation/walk-through by the AP yesterday.
My room was in chaos. The kids are finishing their book projects and there is stuff everywhere. My room is trashed. The janitors must hate me. I had kids on the floor coloring game boards, a group in the back designing the set of their puppet show, still others typing their script, some working on their model - chaos with a capital C. In fact, it was just getting to the "Mrs. is going to lose her shit if she doesn't get some order" point when AP walked in.
As she's leaving, AP looks at me and whispers, "Nice job!"
WTF!?
Did I mention I'm getting my Christmas/anniversary gift this weekend?
I didn't!? Well, shame on me.
This summer, I noticed that my wedding band had cracked. Honestly, I'm not all that surprised. It was a $100 ring (all we could afford at the time) and I'd bent it up. I never, never take off my wedding band. My engagement ring comes off nightly, but I don't take off the wedding band. Anyway, I mentioned it to LMK and didn't think any more about it.
This past weekend we were at the mall so he took me in to see about getting it fixed. It would have cost $75 more than we paid for the ring to get it fixed. For $25 more, I could get a new ring with bigger diamonds. Well! Hmmm... decisions.
We pick up the new one Saturday. I'm excited. :o) But I miss my old ring.
The program is done.
Thank goodness.
LMK and LMP helped me tear down the sound system. Where was my team? They left when the kids left. Thanks a frickin' lot.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
The play will finally be over tomorrow. The principal came in to watch the dress rehearsal today since she's going out of town tomorrow and won't be here to see the performance.
It was good...but.
We really need something in the back to break up the plain black curtain. So I've spent my evening making something to hang in the back to break up the plain black curtain.
Where's my team?
Gone. Next year, I'm not doing any part of the program. It's someone else's turn.
A little Friday recap.
- Ordered 6 pizzas for my kids since they had the highest percentage of students who tested out of the multiplication tests.
- Served 4 pizzas and drinks to 16 hyper children
- Cut them off after 6 pieces. We had play practice and I was picturing sick kids. Ick.
- Got vitually no teaching done due to bullying assemblies, book fair browsing, play practice, and pizza.
- Worked on play costumes after school
- Still have more to do on them
- Room is trashed
- Noticed LMP's new hickey. Ick.
- Went with LMP to get a cell phone.
- Waited while LMP purchased purple cell phone.
- Watched LMP play with her phone
- Realized LMP now has cuter phone than me - damn practicality
- Ate dinner at great new Mexican place
- Watched LMP play with her phone
- Watched Jeff Dun.ham special
- Watched LMP play with her phone
Tomorrow is a trip to the doctor (to see why I'm so frickin' tired) and Chipot.le and a movie.
Sans teenager.
It will be strange and different, yet fun.
Evidently I'm getting "that director voice". Heh. Sorry.
Or actually, no I'm not. I suck as a teacher, but I'm the one getting the newsletters churned out every month so that the others don't have to do them.
We also have a program to do for the PTA next Tuesday night. I pushed to get the program ordered. I made totally legal copies of the songs for everyone. Cough, cough. I nagged to get parts given to kids. I went and purchased stuff for costumes. I stand in front of the stage and run the practices while others sit and grade papers. I stayed after school to learn how to run the new sound system. I will be making up the sets. (Ok, glittering something up to hang on the back of the curtains). I will be the one running around like a chicken with my head cut off next Tuesday night trying to get everything right. It looks and sounds pretty damn good, if I must say so myself.
So yeah, maybe I am getting "that director voice." That happens when you're the DIRECTOR!
Christmas Around the World. Thoughts?
I'm thinking about a Christmas Around the World project for December. Partners or individual projects. Every student/pair gets a country to research. Then we need some sort of final project (God help me). I'm just in the beginning phases of the planning, but I'm thinking it could be cool. It would be neat to do some sort
The book projects are making me crazy, but I'm trying to deal with the chaos. I hate chaos in my room. Chaos = noise. Some days I can't take the noise, some days are ok. However I constantly live in fear that someone is going to walk into my room with a clipboard. I'm figuring they'll wait until the week of Thanksgiving and then they'll be annoyed that we're watching a movie or doing something that they don't think is "educationally relevant."
So, to recap. Thoughts on Christmas Around the World projects?
Did you? We got up early and didn't have to wait at all. I'm saving my sticker to show my kids tomorrow.
In other news, rumor is we're to note diff.erenti.ation EVERY DAY in our lesson plans. Seriously? Seriously! What happened to, "This is going to take time?" or "We're not expecting you to start doing this all at once."
I love it when people talk out of both sides of their mouth. Just one more reason to vote and make your voice heard.
Woohoo! I'm still in this.
Today was uneventful. We took the quarterly writing test in the morning and went to see LMK and LMP in their play in the afternoon. I also sent all my plans for the next week or two to the admin. and I met with the gifted coordinator just to play CYA. I'm learning CYA is a way of life around here.
The play? Very fun. There were minor mistakes here and there, but it was great and my students LOVED it. They've all got a crush on one of the cards now. Oy vey.
Have I mentioned the hamster? LMP got a hamster back in September. She's a cute little thing. Socks is in love with her. Actually, I think he just wants to eat her. Either way, he spends a heck of a lot of time mesmerized by Pheebs.
I know, I know it's been more than a month. I apologize. DRAMA.
What the hell. Let's give it another whirl.
Allow me to sum up my week.
I suck.
Wait, my mother doesn't read this. I'll use my away message for IM (that has since been banned by my mother). "LMQ sucks at her job. Tell your friends. "
No really, my meeting with the administration (both of them) after Wednesday's informal observation boiled down to you're sucking - we know you can do better. Do better!
Um. Thanks? I knew that last year.
It doesn't help that my friend got observed the day after doing the same thing with one minor tweak and received a glowing evaluation.
What the hell? Seriously. What. the. hell.
Anyone with great suggestions on "challenging the gifties" would be my bestest friend.
Now, it's back to googling.
Di.ffere.ntiation can bite my shiny metal ass.
It's going to be a long month.
Thursday I went back for my three month check with my doctor. Let me just take this moment to say, again, I love my doctor. Even though she had to reschedule this appointment twice due to emergencies. Even though she kept me waiting 45 minutes. (In all fairness, it sounds like she has a sick baby at home, so I be understanding.)
In terms of healthiness, I've gone the other way. Weight is up. (17 pounds - which I find hard to believe if not ALARMING) Blood pressure was way up (160/100). My A1C has gone up .6 - it's still below 7, but not it's a whole lot closer to 7 instead of being closer to 6 like it was. The only good news is my cholesterol looks good.
Well, yipee.
Luckily, my doctor is great. She knows that I know things are good. She doesn't yell at me or reprimand me - which would only cause me to be afraid of her and never return. All she said was, "in terms of your diabetes, you've started going in the wrong direction. You know what you need to do. I know you'll handle it." Didn't I mention how great she is?
Anyway, I'm using this appointment as a jump start/shock to get me back on track. Enough is enough. No more waiting until soccer season is over. It's over! No more, "oh I'll start on Sunday." That's it. Everyday from now on. I love my mother, but since she's retired and started cleaning out her recipe box she's not been very diet friendly. I refuse to continue to eat things I shouldn't just to "use it up." She doesn't need the sweets. My dad doesn't need the sweets. LMK and I don't need the sweets. I have no problem making them and sending them to someone else, but no more making them for no reason.
I've talked it over with LMK and he's agreed to help me. Until I develop a little willpower of my own, I need him to be strong for me. For a while, I need a food cop - so does he. (In fact, I wrestled a piece of caramel out of his hands Thursday night and threw it away. He got the message.) Today we are going to The College so LMK can meet with a recruit and after that, we're stopping at the produce stand I've been oogling since he started working at The College. I've found "diets" don't work for me. Lifestyle changes do. So I will be creating my own South Beach/Fat Smash Diet. Eliminating whole tiers of the food pyramid doesn't sound healthy - but I am definitely going to start watching what I eat. Making good food choices and recording every single cotton pickin' thing that enters my mouth. Just because I don't record it doesn't mean it doesn't count.
I'm even taking my before pictures. That ought to scare the hell out of a lot of people.
Today is a new day!
Once again, I am a day (or two) late and a dollar short. I missed the cut off to sign up for NaBloPoMo officially. However, I'm with Hillary. Who needs to be official!? I'm going to post every day for the month of November. I've been doing pretty well so far in posting at least three times a week, but I figured, why not up the ante.
Maybe Hillary and I can create our own following of NaBloPoMo rejects. Mwahahahahaha.