It's back!

Yes, yes, it's true. The plague has followed me to Michigan. I woke up yesterday with the sore throat again. The congestion never left me, it's been a month now. And it's back in full force again. So I am going to try resting and Comtrex and hot tea (echenacia from my aunt and uncle) and drink juice and eat good food and not stress because apparently it's a virus and my mom says virus just go away when they're ready. Lovely.
I hope everyone's excited getting ready for Christmas. I know I am. I've wrapped the presents, the trees are up, we're going to make cookies today, well I'll eat them at least:-)
I'm just glad to be home and on vacation and although there's no snow (in fact it was 50 degrees yesterday) it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!

Reporting from Michigan....

I am back in the mitten state! My travels went as planned Saturday and after a day in the air I made it home. The flight was fine although I learned I cannot use my laptop in the air because my arms are apparently too long and the little table is too close to me. It was impossible to type. So I read. And read. And read. And ate my pb&j sandwich which luckily I had packed because we were offered no snacks on our flight and they ran out of the crappy food you can buy for fifty bucks (okay, not that much but still...).
Yesterday I visited the grandparents, went to the Christmas cantata at church and then went caroling to the shut-ins, it was just like the old days. Except it was warm! Crazy!! I wore gloves but it was still relatively warm for MI.
Today we're still in our pjs waiting for a call from Chicago to see if Ang is headed back to the hospital. She rebounded Thursday and has been getting progressively worse all weekend. So I may be visiting the windy city this week!

Leavin' on a jet plane...tomorrow

It's done! We survived this crazy pre-three-week-vacation week at school and it was pretty smooth. Today was the holiday assembly and we sang, we slimed a teacher (not me thank goodness), wrapped teachers in paper, heard the band, and sat through a lot of screaming. But the kids seemed to really enjoy it and there were no big to-dos!
I came home after and crashed, slept a while and now am getting ready for my flight tomorrow! Off to good old Michigan - woohoo!
Okay, I need to get some traveling rest, goodnight all!
TGIF!

Snowflake Bentley

Today I read a story to my kids, the book Snowflake Bentley about this guy who first photographed snowflakes. They were really into it which was pretty cool. Over half of them have never seen real snow. They couldn't believe snowflakes were a.)so small and b.)actually shaped like they are and c.)no two are exactly the same.
After we read it we began coloring this intricate snowflakes I copied from a book and they were really getting into it. I put on Christmas music and we were all in good moods. We're also decorating our classroom door for the door-decorating contest and I think we have an awesome theme (though the kids are a bit skeptical). I have them put blue paper on the back and then I printed out a sign that reads "Each of us in this room is unique, just like every snowflake." Then we're going to put our snowflakes up on it. I am not sure we'll win, there are some teachers with lights and wrapping paper and crazy chains of red and green but I love our door so far and it can stay up well into January!
So yeah, we aren't doing much in class these next two days which rocks. We'll finish our snowflakes (and our origin myths for those slower students), read a bit more, and listen to more Christmas music. They really like the James Tayor Jingle Bells I got free off of itunes last week! There was even some spontaneous dancing! And in seventh hour we played the song five times.
So yeah, today was a good day! We had a fun (gasp!) staff meeting during which we played a white elephant game (I got a cool wooden snowman) and then I had my monthly new teachers' meeting which even though I usually dread the extra time after work, was good today. Basically we just talked about what's working and what's not in our classrooms and that was pretty cool. Plus it's nice to catch up with the people I went through induction with and don't always see on a regular basis as they aren't in my hallway, on my team, or in my department.
So tomorrow it's bus duty, more snowflakes, maybe we'll read Stranger in the Woods, and then more packing because I head to Michigan in 57 hours! Woohoo! Oh, and Ang is home in Howell, released from the hospital. Today rocks!

Three days

It's getting to me and the kids - Christmasitis. I'm playing Christmas music at school and spending a ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out how to fold paper to make snowflakes. Tomorrow I will give up and just have us color some. We are all counting down the days until vacation. Me in my head, them on their papers and in their handbooks in big colored letters. And they have this weird obsession with wearing gloves all the time. Those silly little 99 cent gloves that really protect your hands against nothing (well in Michigan at least, here there's nothing to protect against really). I threw a pair in the trash today that I found lying in my room. When the owner came looking for them I denied knowing anything and did not feel bad about it.
Today I had my kids journal about what they'd like for Christmas that couldn't be bought with money. Some had a difficult time. Others surprised me with their thoughts. One girl wants a job for her grandpa because he's angry he can't find one. Another wants time with an uncle who died a few years back. Others want world peace and Osama bin Laden captured. Some want no one to be hungry on Christmas day others want boy/girlfriends and people who've moved away to come back. One wants to fly into outer space (I didn't have the heart to tell him you can now buy that). Another wants her mom and dad back together for good. One wants a mom off drugs. One wanted the mall. These are my kids and I love them. Even when they won't stop talking.
Sometimes they show such maturity. Today I explained that a classmate has pnemonia and a collapsed lung and will be hospitalized all week and that her dad would love a few visitors for her. Some kids were joking about it but a few others shushed them and reminded them this was serious. And that pnemonia was a spelling work last week. That's making learning relevant in my book!
And to top off this crazy Christmas week (the Christmas music still drifts through the halls) we are having a slime-the-teacher assembly on Friday yet I doubt my kids will shell out the money to move me to the top of the list (thank goodness) and we're supposed to decorate our doors for a contest and bring in canned goods and change for the veterans. And tomorrow is the staff potluck and white elephant exchange. Oh yeah, and we're supposed to be teaching them something this week.
Three days, I only need to make it three more days!

Random ramblings

-Today was one of those days where I got a lot accomplished and it feels good. I got the house cleaned, the beds changed, laundry done, candy made for the Christmas potluck Wednesday, calls accepted and made, trash taken out, a movie watched (Nine Lives which was very good if you like independents (i.e., not Angela) - it was like looking in the window at a moment in a person's life, well nine persons to be exact), some cross-stitch done (though doubtfully finished by Christmas like I had hoped when I started it less than a month ago), and even a little writing mixed it.
-Angela is still in the hospital. She was threatening to escape tomorrow, to give up but I think I persuaded her to stick it out with a stuffed pig named Beans delivered to her room tied to a balloon.
-For a while this afternoon I thought we were being attacked. Huge helios were flying overhead but then I remembered that this is the week of Desert Talon, the huge training drill here when soliders from all over the country come to train in preparation for deployment. According to the news tonight they come here because our climate is very much like that of Iraq's. Good to know.
-This is the last week of school before our three-week Christmas vacation. I am very excited. We're going to read Snowflake Bentley and cut out snowflakes to hang all over the room. We're also going to take a big unit test and finish writing our origin myths (inspiration=the Greek myth Echo and Narcissus).
-I got my hair cut yesterday and the stylist went a bit crazy. Well insane really. I wanted a few inches off and my hair is now just below my ears. I am still in shock. Tomorrow I'll wash it and see how it curls up (she straightened it yesterday) and see what the damage is. Figures, just as we go into a big family photo-op time.
-Christmas is 2 weeks away! I can't wait. I get like a little kid this time of year. Today I was talking to my dad on the phone about our annual Christmas shopping outing to buy mom's gifts and I got really excited. I watched Rudolph Friday night, and have been downloading new Christmas itunes. (By the way It Came Upon a Midnight Clear by Sixpence None the Richer rocks. And it doesn't hurt it was featured in last year's Christmas episode of Grey's Anatomy.) The fact that it was 70 degrees here today was a bit weird as I am having a hard time remembering it's December but I lit candles anyway!

An amendment

So maybe I don't really want to be on myspace.com after all. After researching a bit I came across the pages of some of my cousins. Cousins who are young, still in public school. And now I know a little too much about them. I wonder how much they (in the collective everyone sense) realize that this stuff is OUT THERE. For everyone to read. Including my 80 year old grandmother. And college administrators. And parents. And the cops.
Just a thought. Guess I'll stick to my blog, which I "publish" and send out there.

So I guess I'm not cool enough...

I decided tonight to sign up on myspace.com - mostly so I can peep the pages of my friends who've set their's as private and require a sign-in to view.
But no.
I am not cool enough.
That's the only thing I can figure out.
I have tried and tried to sign up for an account. It doesn't seem that difficult. Enter an email address and some basic info. Hit enter. Bam - it keeps telling me that according to the information entered I am ineligible for an account. So I change my email address to a different one, yet still mine.
Same message.
So I am going to bed. I have cleaned off my desk. I have balanced my checkbook. I have paid my bills and figured out I will be in debt until I am 145 years old. I have eaten my dinner alone while watching Rudolph. And now I am going to bed.
Yeah. So not cool:-)

Mull this over

I belong to a daily listserv (www.mikeysFunnies.com) that supplies me with laughs and "thots" every day. This was today's offering and I thought it was very cool; something to ponder as we approach this holiday season.

CHRISTMAS THOUGHTS FOR ALL THE YEAR
By the Editors of McCall's magazine, December, 1959

CHRISTMAS is celebration; and celebration is instinct in the heart. With gift and feast, with scarlet ribbon and fresh green bough, with merriment and the sound of music, we commend the day--oasis in the long, long landscape of the commonplace. Through how many centuries, through how may threatening circumstances, has Christmas been celebrated, since that cry came ringing down the ages, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring yougood tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." (Luke2:10-11 KJV)

Christmas is celebration, but the traditions that cluster sweetly aroundthe day have significance only if they translate the heart's intention--the yearning of the human spirit to compass and express faith and hope and love. Without this intention, the gift is bare, and the celebration a touch of tinsel, and the time without meaning. As these attributes, exemplifying the divine spark in mankind, informed the first Christmas and have survived the onslaughts of relentless time, so do they shine untarnished in this present year of our Lord.

Faith and hope and love, which cannot be bought or sold or bartered, but only given away are the wellsprings, firm and deep of Christmas celebration. These are the gifts without price, the ornaments in capableof imitation, discovered only within oneself and therefore unique. They are not always easy to come by, but they are in unlimited supply ever inthe province of all.

THIS CHRISTMAS mend a quarrel. Seek out a forgotten friend. Dismiss suspicion, and replace it with trust. Write a love letter. Share some treasure. Give a soft answer. Encourage youth. Manifest your loyalty in word and deed. Keep a promise. Find the time. Forgo a grudge. Forgive an enemy. Listen. Apologize if you were wrong. Try to understand. Flout envy.

Examine your demands on others. Think first of someone else. Appreciate. Be kind; be gentle. Laugh a little. Laugh a little more. Deserve confidence.

Take up arms against malice. Decry complacency. Express your gratitude. Go to church. Welcome a stranger. Gladden the heart of a child. Take pleasure in the beauty and wonder of the earth. Speak your love. Speak it again. Speak it still once again.

These are but inklings of a vast category; a mere scratching of thesurface. They are simple things; you have heard them all before; but their influence has never been measured.

Christmas is celebration, and there is no celebration that compares with the realization of its true meaning—with the sudden stirring of the heart that has extended itself toward the core of life. Then, only then, is it possible to grasp the significance of the first Christmas--to savor in the inward ear the wild, sweet music of the angel choir; to envision the star-struck sky, and glimpse, behind the eyelids the ray of light that feel athwart a darkened path and changed the world.

Weekday update

Just a little note to let all of you know the what's what and who's who!
Angela made it to Chicago safe and sound. She's staying with our cousin John who apparently has a kickin' apartment. She had an appointment at the Diamond Headache Clinic today, got a couple of shots and is awaiting admission into St. Joseph's Hospital. There's a waiting list so it will likely be tomorrow or Friday before she can get a room.
Not much else is going on. I am back at work after my 2-day hiatus for the upper respiratory infection. I am slowly mending though I still feel like I go through the days in slow-motion. And I come home and crash. Though tonight I did manage to write out all my Christmas cards. So that was an accomplishment. Though not much of one since it is now 9:30 and I am heading to bed, exhausted.
I did watch some Netflix tonight, The Aristocrats and Sarah Silverman's Jesus is Magic. Both were pretty funny.
Okay, off to bed. I'll try to be more entertaining tomorrow.

Solidarity, sister!

Angela is requesting I blog in support of her outrage and so I am. We just got back from the United States Post Office. Where, in big, bold, bright letters the sign proclaims you can do all your mailing 24/7. Yet, this is not true. It was 10:45pm when we got there and guess what - yep, that's right. We couldn't mail a darn thing. The computer that allows you to mail packages was down for daily maintenance. The machine that sells stamps was out of service. Now you might ask why in the world we were trying to mail things at 10:30 on a Sunday night. Well you see, we are both sick. And this weekend was trashed because of that. I have done little more than lie in bed the last 3 days and I will continue to do so tomorrow. But I did manage to get 2 Christmas packages ready to mail this weekend and they need to go out. And since the post office is only open 8am-5pm, the exact hours we work just about, we decided to go tonight. But alas, our plan was foiled.
When does life ever get easier?!?!?!
Angela fought with Sprint on the phone this morning over our wireless bill and still, nothing is fixed. They charged me 10 bucks for a roaming call from Tijanuana. Yet I have never been to Tijanuana. And that day when they said I called my parents from there I distinctly remember driving on a road here in Yuma county. Interesting! Oh yeah, and every month they forget our educator's discount and no, they certainly can't make it retroactive because then everyone could call up and claim to work for a public school. Even though they made us bring pay stubs in back in June! And then they keep tacking on this Sprint vision charge for the internet yet we emphatically said we didn't want the internet on our phones! Oy vay!!!
It's all a conspiracy to make our lives difficult.
So yeah, there you go. Those are my rants for today. I am heading to bed with my Kleenex and water bottle and homemade cough syrup. And I plan on staying there tomorrow!

The Short Short

I did it! I just entered one of Patricia's chapters into a contest. It was Writer's Digests' Short Short Story Contest (1500 words or less) and of course the deadline is Dec. 1st. And that is in 52 minutes. It's true what "they" say, if it weren't for the last minute, nothing would ever get done.
I feel excited by this! I know it's probably not a big deal and it's $12 down the drain but still - you never know. (Well, I'll know in February).
Okay - it's off to bed. The elves were busy tonight wrapping Christmas baskets of cookies and candy for work tomorrow. Being Dec. 1st we figured we should kick the gift giving off. Plus, Ang is leaving us very soon.
In other news -
1. I am still feeling sickly. Very sickly. And my students fear one of my lungs will go careening through the air every time I attempt a cough. It was a great day!
2. I love the writing on Grey's Anatomy. Love, love, love it. Can I please, oh please, have a writing job for Christmas? Pretty please Santa?!!?!
3. It was 32 degrees this morning and silly me - without a proper winter coat. That's right. When I moved to the south side of the sun I was told not to bring anything heavier than an Old Navy sweatshirt. "It never gets cool here." Well bull! It gets downright cold. Brrrr!!! So I wore my lined suit with a long sleeved shirt underneath and my trench coat buttoned up to the top. And I was still cold!

A case of the Mondays

Yes, it's true. It was a pretty great weekend. We ate, we hung out with friends, we went shopping, we saw a movie, we brunched, we baked, we read, we played Christmas music loudly with the doors open because it's 80 degrees here.
And then Monday morning happened.
Angela woke up sick. And kept getting sicker. She's been tossing her cookies into my trash can (hers is mesh) for over 12 hours now.
And I have the plauge. The common sore throat, achy thing you catch from a building of kids and bad air circulation. Lovely.
So I'll depart after a few random thoughts:
- The movie we saw this weekend was Casino Royale, the new James Bond flick. It was good. Very good. It was my first Bond and I am sure Daniel Craig will forever be my Bond. Go see it, it's a great way to spend a few hours on a Saturday afternoon.
- There's this obsession out here with riding four-wheelers or quads over the sand dunes. It seems insane but thousands do it every weekend with their RVs and their campfires. And 4 people died this weekend around Yuma in dune accidents. People are STUPID.
- We've been engaged over in Iraq longer than WWII. And now it's being deemed a civil war. Who's running this show and what's the plan? Seriously.
- My grandma turned 81 today and I am really missing home. And not just because I want someone to take care of me when I'm sick.
- I need a B-12 shot like they were handing out on Studio 60 tonight.

A day to be thankful

On Thursday Angela and I went down to the Crossroads Mission on the river. It was a hot day, in the 80s and they had this whole empty lot set up with tables and chairs, a "store" with clothes and stuffed animals and tons of people. There were so many volunteers that some even left their food and went home, promising to come back at Christmas. We're guessing that they served around 1000 people. We went through a lot of turkey, that was our station. This group that fights child abuse, the Rough Riders, cooked most of the food and were there (with their motorcycles!) to serve. It was very humbling to see so many people, so hungry, but also thankful for what they were getting. We saw a lot of kids too, which was sad. But they made us smile too. They ate their pie first, they ran around with the whipped cream and squirted it in the mouths, they were too shy to carry their own plates, they were covered in dirt and grime. There were women who looked tired and were carrying babies and bags of their belongings. There were men who looked hard, tired, old, who talked of living 2o years in the institution. Angela helped one man carry meals down to the boys on the corner who were too embarrassed to come up for food because they were drinking.
It was hot and dusty and no one seemed to notice. There was prayer and music and so much food. We gave out heaping platefuls and seconds and thirds. We encouraged people to take food to their families and to take some for later. We sent plates in to the people in the detox center next door. And there were so many volunteers. Many were "snowbirds" and it was great to see them sharing their holiday in that way. There were also members of the Marines and Navy there spending their time away from family with other people's families.
I was glad we could do this. I was glad that these people, every single one of them, got food on at least that day. A day when so many of us have too much food (including Ang and I - we still have leftovers!). It was an awesome reminder of how thankful I need to be. I have a roof over my head, I have a job that pays me, I have things, I want for very little that I actually need. I am grateful because I was on the other side of the line Thursday. I am also grateful because those people I met Thursday taught me a lot about cherishing what is most important and helping no matter what.

A midnight crisis

Okay, so it wasn't exactly midnight. It was 10:30 tonight, on a Sunday, when you are supposed to be getting ready for bed and for the week to come. Another busy week. This week has been hectic enough: formal observations and evaluations at work, dealing with a team member leaving, Angela's still sick and getting worse, Christmas shopping - Oy!
So we went Walmarting today and a few other stops and ever since I've had this nagging feeling. So I came up to check my checking account balance and low-and-behold I apparently had a stroke this week and didn't write down several charges from the debit card, including last week's Walmarting and Christmas shopping! All the receipts were there but I had "forgotten" to put the numbers down. Ugh. And I wonder why my stomach is hurting right now (thus the blogging and not sleeping).
So yeah - after a tense half hour I finally figured it all out and bam! I have $14.40 left until payday (thank goodness for savings accounts hooked up to transfer funds! The internet is amazing!). Sometimes life seems so easy but it never is, is it?!?!
So yeah, I have my third formal observation first thing tomorrow morning. Third in as many weeks. It's fine, I know everyone goes through it but it's a bit nerve wracking. The good news is my bosses said I did a great job during my last two and I got all the "points" possible. (If anyone knows T4S speak, I got my 5 out of 8!)
But on the upside I have stuck to my guns and have not charged Christmas gifts or any recent groceries. I almost did today but held back. And it was a lot of groceries. We are making a turkey here on Thursday for just us and we are making cookies for everyone we work with for Christmas presents so we had to stock up!
Also tonight Angela and I made a blanket! Yep - one of those no-sew fleece throws. It was fun and it only took about an hour and a half. We made it for our friend Shannon for Christmas, it's a mauvey-purple and sagey-light-green.
Also, I'm well on my way to being done with most of my Christmas shopping. A few more things to get and/or order online and voila! done before it's even December. Woohoo. We went to Mexico yesterday and picked up some awesome gifts (for some of you!!!) and got good deals. And a 12-pack of Coca Light! Which we then proceeded to drag almost an hour in line to get back into the U.S. That was fun. I even got a little sunburned, it was about 90 out and very sunny!
Okay, my stomach's settling and I am tired! Happy new week everyone!

Weekend Update

Some ramblings from my three days "off":
- I got a pedicure yesterday and the color of my toes is I'm not a dirty mistress. Once we saw it we just had to get it. You Grey's fans will know what I'm talking about;-)
- There is nothing worse than being at Walmart and having the cart with the bum steering. It felt like I was pulling a mule around the store. Ugh.
- Last night when we walked back over the border we saw the giant photos of our pres and vp. Bush looked normal (for him) but Cheney had this evil smirk. I swear! We were commenting on it in line. It was rather annoying to be forced to look at his mug while waiting.
- We got a three day weekend from school yet I have managed to put in almost over 7 hours this weekend. What a bargin!
- Friday night I was introduced to several of Yuma's finest establishments. At one there was a man and a woman in the woman's restroom, in another there was a girl who couldn't pull her pants up. Ah, big city Yuma!
- I did some Christmas shopping this weekend even though it feels far from Christmasy here. But the songs and snacks and sights in Hallmark helped:-)
- Know that a turkey breast and a turkey loaf are so not the same thing!
- Funny story: While walking back to our car last night (we parked at a Del Sol grocery store half a mile from the Mexican border) I mentioned to Ang that I wanted to get some Coca Light next week when we went to Algodones (it's Diet Coke but it's SO SO SO much better than the stuff her in the states, it's insane!). She said, "Let's go into the store and get some right now." I said, "We're not in Mexico weirdo." Yep, that's right. Even where you're in America here, it feels, looks, sounds and is very much like Mexico (we like to call it 'Wee Mexico').
- And finally, I've been minding the federal government's and all the healthcare officials warnings and have been trying to get at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. I've walked a total of 14 miles in 7 days, done Tae Bo and weights and right now my body feels like crap. My muscles hurt, my joints hurt, and I feel old. Great.
- All in all quite the weekend. And tomorrow it starts all over again!

Just when I thought today couldn't get any better...

OMG! (This is the standard opening line for most of my girls papers - OMG is the best in 7th grade slang)
It started off as a pretty good day (for a day that included work and 3 meetings and walking 4 miles). I woke up to the glorious news that we, the Democrats, had taken control of the House back. I was elated. Nancy Pelosi and her list of things to do in her first 100 hours. I can't wait! Christmas in November. It begins to make up for 2004. Especially if something happens to the president and vice president - hello President Pelosi!
And then I went to lunch, where we have rather spirited conversations even though we're all on the same "side". And there I learned that Rumsfeld had resigned! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
So that was great. And then when I got home we learned that the Democrats had also taken the Senate! Could I be any happier?
So I turned off the political stuff and watched this week's episode of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The show that is well written, well acted, funny, and interesting I'd like to reiterate. So that was a nice capstone to the evening - even though it's been rumored to be on the chopping block at NBC.
BUT WAIT -
I retire to my bedroom, click on some of my favorite blogs and newsites and low and behold, I have received yet one more gift today - on what I thought would be a random Wednesday in November.
Studio 60 has been picked up for a FULL SEASON!
Life is good. Things are returning to normal in the world. And I am happy.
So I am going to sleep:-)

Mini Moe

On Saturday I added a new member to our household - Mini Moe. Yep, I broke down and bought a television. The giant moster that was Angela's 27 inch died recently. Well it was a slow death actually. It started with the screen blanking out and then it took a while to warm up. And then it died completely. After a morning of trying to do my walking tape with no picture I gave up. We thought about moving hers downstairs but then I decided to bite the bullet. We really wanted one of those nice plasmas but alas we ended up at Walmart purchasing a nice, flat screen (not to be confused with a flat panel we quickly discovered) 20 inch. And at a mere 99 dollars it fit nicely into my budget. (Well if you call having literally $16 to my name right now fitting nicely then yes.) So there it is - my guilty pleasure, tv. My must have - Mini Moe. So named because it's half the size of Ang's Mightly Millie (okay, I just made that up but whatever - it was a freakin' huge tv, we both have hernias from putting it in the dumpster. And a mere 20 minutes later when I took more trash out it was already gone from said dumpster!).
So that was my exciting weekend. It's not nearly as big as the pretty silver tv Chris helped me pick out at Best Buy but I can carry this one and I don't need a computer science degree to hook it up. In about 40 seconds we were already watching the Food Network. With a picture this time. And I'm hoping I don't have to sell this one for gas money:-)

A very quiet night in Stars Hollow

So yeah - we scheduled our first games night for tonight and while the invitations were readily accepted on Monday, when it got to today, it was a whole different story. That's right - Angela and I spent the night alone, well not completely alone if you count the fabulous cast of Gilmore Girls. So yeah, that was disappointing. But I will survive. I've vented, I've eaten too many chocolate chip cookies and tomorrow is another day. A day full of promise, of excitement, of things not yet realized. That's what's so great about every single new day. It's NEW!
School was pretty good this week. Except there is a student I am VERY angry with. He got 3 referrals today, including being kicked out of in school suspension. So that's annoying. But I am trying to remember he's 12 and I'm not. So I've got that going for me.
But we're reading a hilarious book in class and the kids love it. So much so that I was reading to them when the final bell rang today and no one realized it was time to leave! How great is that.
Alrighty, I am off to bed. I am happy and ready to start anew. To start with exercise and writing and doing stuff and having fun regardless of how many friends come to my game night!

Halloween

Here we are in all our Halloween glory. I was the spider witch and Ang was very official in her doctor scrubs. She ran around all day announcing she was late for rounds and using her real stethescope to listen for brains in students' heads:-)
It was a good day, my kids seemed to really like the movie I showed them - 1931's Frankenstein, in black and white, which threw them a bit. Then we read a poem based on the movie and talked about how the moster was really just lonely and sad. All and all a great educational holiday!
Then we hurried home to pass out treats. We didn't think we'd have many kids as Ang had hardly any last year but we had tons. Our 30 carmel apple suckers were gone before 7 and we had to tell several kids we were out (even though we'd taken down the sign already!).
So happy halloween, hope you ate some candy for me!

Fall

Today feels like fall officially. When we left this morning it was cool. And when we got out of work tonight it was warm but that warm that is just sun and not heat. I wore a sweater to school today, thank goodness, the air conditioning made my room a freezer all day!
Tomorrow is Halloween, I can't believe October is done already. I'm showing the 1931 version of Frankenstein in class tomorrow so we'll see how that goes over. The kids will be confused when it's in black and white:-)
Also, I am back writing again. I had a bit of a slump after finishing Patricia but I'm back at it with Molly's story so don't fear. I plan to be on your local Barnes and Noble shelves in no time!
Happy Halloween everyone! Eat some treats for me:-)

My birthday!

Here's a pic of me on my 29th birthday. Note the jade necklace I am wearing, compliments of Angela. We found it in Mexico for a song!

My new glasses

After several years (maybe 4 or so) I finally have vision insurance again and was able to get new glasses with my new prescription, which oddly, went down meaning my eyesight is improving with age. Interesting. So here they are - my new specs. My students told me on Friday they make me look smart. I wonder how I looked before:-)

The day of the faux pas

Thursday was quite the day in seventh grade for me. I was feeling good about things. We did spelling review, we did a unit test review, and we began the very arduous process of learning to write an outline, complete with a thesis statement. This will be a year-long process and I was happy we got several sentences nailed out. It didn't matter that they didn't start with capital letters or end with any punctuation but we did it!
But there was also tribulation in my day - surprise! shock! awe!
First off, I had a form to give back to my students. The problem was the forms only had parent names on them. So I was being a super slueth and silly me, I thought if the last name was the same, it must be that student's. Nope. I asked a girl if the form was hers, if this was her father's name and she informed me her father had passed away. And this was in the first five minutes of the school day.
I made it all the way to the end of the day without another faux pas. It was seventh hour when we all started to lose it. We were all tired, I love my seventh hour kids but I was tired of them, of it all by this point. Coming back from vacation was taking its' toll on us all. And I was trying to teach outlining to them. Nothing exciting about this. And they were giggling. Even the boys. I couldn't keep their attention to save my soul. It had been this way for a good hour. So I started our new activity when one of my favorite students yells at his best friend across the room, "Shut up Retardo!" And I lost it. Because the boys name is Ricardo and this was funny. I was up in front of the class, with their attention (supposedly) focused on me. And my face betrayed me. My muscles took over and began to form a smile much to my desire to frown. But I could NOT help it. And everyone's looking at me now, of course. And I chuckle. (Aside - I laughed so hard I cried when I told this story to Shannon and Angela after school and I am laughing again now, outloud as I write this!)
And then Ricardo looks at me and says, "You're laughing at me?" with this little smile. And I say, "No, you all just are so weird. Let's get going." But they all knew I was laughing and I knew it and let's just say, I was glad when the bell rang:-)
Now I have to be vigilant every time I see Ricardo not to call him by his unsavory, but hilarious, nickname. :-)

It's a tough job Charlie Brown

Within three weeks of the new school year we lost our first teacher. She packed up and moved back to New York City where, apparently, the pay is better even if the walls don't have paint. She was my across the hall neighbor, taught special ed, and her name is still above the door. This may be why I cannot ever remember the long term sub's name. Ever. Even though she talks to me ten times a day. I know, I am a horrible person.
Then today, one quarter and one day into the school year, we lost our second new teacher. This time an eighth grade math teacher who's been having troubles with classroom management. The interesting thing is he's resigned (so we hear) but requested to stay on as an aide in his classroom, with a permanent sub who's barely out of college. Weird. I say good for him for wanting to learn but I doubt I could do that. That takes guts. To go from being the teacher to being the aide. For the kids, and eighth graders at that, to see that. Wow. It makes sense, because they'll fulfill their contract to him but I would have probably requested a different school.
So yeah, two down. I think I'll make it but I am bound to get some static this week. That's just who I am:-) I like to ruffle the feathers a bit.
On a brighter note, we just finished watching Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. If you are not watching this show and you care anything about good writing and interesting, intelligent entertainment, PLEASE WATCH THIS SHOW. It's endangered but it's smart and engaging and I love it. It's so fast and you have to pay attention and you'll want to, I promise. I promise or I'll refund your money. Now that's a bargin. Also do it for me because the television drama and comedy shows as we know them are highly endangered. NBC just announced huge pay cuts all across the board and announced they'll no longer buy any new dramas or comedies for their eight o'clock hour. It's all going to be reality programming. And while I know those shows are also written, it's just not the same. And because I want to work on a really good show someday, please watch them now so I'll have the chance. Please please please.
Ok - getting off my soapbox. I'm stuffing it under my bed with the boxes of every card and letter I've ever received. I'm heading to bed. Five fifteen comes very early here in the west:-)

Issues

Apparently my blog is having issues - i.e., being invisible to all of my loyal readers (i.e., Mom!) so if you are reading this without your x-ray glasses, please let me know.
On the up side, Ang and I spent a leisurely day in the car today, driving to San Diego and back home again, picking up my car on the turn. It is all better and best of all - it was all free! All under warranty. Which seemed suspicious at first, seeing it's over 50,000 miles but I am not one to question ANYTHING free:-)
Have a super Sunday everyone. Love to all!

Another year older

Is it possible to grow older without feeling older? Because that may be what's happened this year. I certainly don't feel wiser but I suppose that's par for the course...
Nevertheless I had a wonderful birthday! I talked to my parents on and off all day:-) and I got some lovely gifts, gifts that were so thoughtful. Whoever would have thought I would be so excited to get scissors for my birthday!?!? But I was, they are beautiful, handmade sewing scissors for my cross-stitch work. And I am wearing the goregous jade necklace Angela picked up for me south of the border;-)
So another year older, another new beginning. And many wishes to come true...

The city of angels

I've officially been there. The place that is idolized in television and films, the mecca of plastic surgery and surfers, la-la land. And let me tell you. It was pretty great. It reminded me of other big cities, like Chicago, there was a lot of traffic and there were a lot of pretty people. But there seemed to be a lot of normal people and I heard tons of non-English speakers (and not much Spanish).
Friday we drove up and got there around 3. We found Santa Monica pretty quickly and our hostile was right where it was supposed to be:-) with a parking lot directly across the street. The hostel was a great experience, relatively inexpensive (we had a private room with 2 twin beds and it was $164 for 2 nights) and very clean. There was a kitchen area where we could buy breakfast ($1.75 for a bowl of cereal but hey - we figured it was the cheapest breakfast in town), a movie room, quite a few open spaces to relax in, and friendly staff (not at all hostile like the guidebook warned).
Friday night we had dinner at Buca di Beppo which was scrumcious! The best green beans and ravioli and tiramisu! Then we walked all along the 3rd Street Promenade (tons of people and great shops) and the Santa Monica mall (not too prosperous on a Friday night). We also rode the ferris wheel (even though it was cloudy) on the pier.
Saturday we took an L.A. bus tour. We left at 9:30 and got to see some stars' homes (Bill Cosby, Steven Spielberg, Drew Barrymore), and then they dropped us off at the Getty museum. The Getty was something, sprawling and beautifully designed. We saw a great photograph exhibit and some Impressionist works and the amazing garden and then laid on the grass a while, and ate what may have been the best sandwich I ever had - ham and brie.
Then the bus picked us back up and took us to Rodeo Drive where we had 40 minutes to window shop, the air even feels expensive there, and buy 3 dollar diet cokes. Then it was onto Sunset Blvd and then Grauman's Chinese Theater and the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We took pictures of Big Bird's star and Penny Marshall's star and then ate gelato across the street. Then we headed up to Mullholand Drive and took photos with the famous Hollywood sign (which I didn't know used to say Hollywood Land, and was a for sale sign, and then they took the Land part off and left the rest! trivia for the day).
All in all a busy day and then we went back to the promenade and paid $10.75 for a ticket to see Man of the Year, which was pretty funny.
All in all, L.A. wasn't too expensive. We managed to eat for about $10 a meal (except for Buca) and most of the sightseeing was free (our tour was $64 and we got a $12 discount for staying at the hostile) and the best part is the ocean is free:-)
I can't wait to go back...and see where the magic happens;-)

Me and my car

And so the saga continues.... (I'll post about the L.A. trip in the next post)
This morning I ran into Angela's room victorious, and announced, "My car and I do not have Munchausen Syndrome!"
But let me back up a bit.
Sunday morning we left L.A. and were almost to San Diego when - guess what! - the service engine soon light came on, again. So I hemmed and hawed and decided not to leave my car in San Diego after leaving it last week and the Saturn guys telling me they could find nothing wrong with it.
So we kept driving. We got about 20 minutes outside of San Diego when - boom! - the cruise control goes out. So of course I am frustrated and just a little angry and we decide to turn around and leave the car in San Diego with a note that says please fix it or give me an appraisal. I won't take a broken car 3 hours home again.
Then I got a call this morning, and surprise! My car is really broken. They found some "codes" in the computer and apparently the transmission case is not working and needs to be half-replaced. Something about torque and who knows what else. The only part I concentrated on was Jesus, the service guy, telling me that the part is under warranty from Saturn. Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!
So I still have to get it this week but maybe we'll make a day of it and go to the beach again or Fashion Valley and window shop:-) I just love semi-happy endings.

Another weekend at the beach

But a different beach (okay, same water, same seaweed, but different locale). We're heading to L.A. in the morning to the international hostel in Santa Monica. Yep! Another adventure! We got a private room (shared bath) for 2 nights/2 people and it's only $64! Woohoo! And sheets are included (though Ang is worried about pillows so we'll throw ours in). It's on 2nd Ave right near the beach and the Santa Monica pier with it's solar powered ferris wheel (which Ang is also worried about as it's supposed to be cloudy this weekend).
I am excited. It's about a 4 hour drive to L.A. and Santa Monica's half an hour north. We're hoping to take a bus tour and go to the pier and walk the beach in Venice and go to the farmer's market and just have fun and relax!
I'll write if we don't stay in the sand:-)

The West Coast

We returned last night, after two days in San Diego. We had a great time and only got a little lost:-) But that's the fun of a road trip, right?!? That and the snacks you get to buy at the truck stops.
Sunday we got to town and headed straight for the beach, a different beach this time, but still the beach. We found a great little restaurant where we got to eat outside that had huge salads (this was pre-lettuce recall, oh joy), called The Green Flash. Then we walked in the ocean.
It was a little cool but not bad once you were in the water. It was sunny and the tide was out. And we found sand dollars! It was so cool. There they were, just like you see in the shops or on the necklaces. We found a ton of them. We washed them off and laid them in my sandals and carefully brought them home. Very cool. We brought cracked ones home to, to break, to find the doves, which we did. God amazes me so much. To think that he put these here just for us to find. I mean why did they wash up but not the other shells of animals? Amazing!
Then we walked around the gaslamp district which was hopping because the Padres were in town. We ate at Buca di Beppo which had the most awesome Italian food and tons of it then we ended up in this restaurant/bar called Dick's Last Resort. We had drinks and a great brownie ice cream dish and lots of laughs. The band was funny, and not bad. They all had black afro wigs on and sang a lot of 80s/90s favorites. And the waiters are all obnoxious and scream and throw napkins and wrap the children in paper table cloth paper and make them giant hats that say things like "I fart a lot" or "I pee in the bathtub". It was pretty great. Also, the party behind us was 3 women and 3 kids. And the one woman had her little boy deliver a "note" to our cute waiter with her phone number on it. Gotta love moms who use their kids to hit on the nice waitstaff.
Monday we hit the Zoo. Highlights: the baby panda sleeping in the tree, the huge brown bear taking a soak in his pond, the polar bears jumpin in for a mid-morning splash, the dancing elephant (she just stood there swaying back and forth as if she had her ipod on!), the koalas lunching on leaves, the baby meerkats playing, the lionnesses chasing after lunch (which was being thrown by a zookeeper), the baby giraffe posing for a picture. It was a great zoo day, warm but not sunny. And the animals were pretty active which rocked.
All in all, a great weekend on the coast. I can't wait to go back! (Which we have to do since we left Ang's car there at the Saturn dealership. Oh and a note for all of you following my ongoing VUE saga: after driving it 3 hours to San Diego and the techs there driving it 30 miles on Monday, they can't find anything wrong with it! So I brought it home. Lovely.)

Vacation!!!!

It's official, we made it to intercession. What that means for us teachers is that we don't go back to school for 2 whole weeks. I am mighty excited. We started the break off right yesterday, Susie came into town from Michigan and we met Shannon and Pedro in Algodones for lunch and some shopping. It was fun to have some who speaks Spainish there to haggle for us. (But we did have to walk away a lot, Pedro is pretty particular and knows when they're robbing us blind.)
In a few minutes we are off to San Diego. Today I think we're going to be beach bums and walk along the coast and just hang. Tomorrow we'll go to the Zoo and maybe hit the outlet mall on the way back. That is if my car doesn't cost me an arm and a leg. I am going to drive it to San Diego and leave it at the Saturn dealership so say a prayer for it. I am hoping we don't have to put her down:-)
In other news - woohoo Tigers. It's been a long time coming since '84. Oh, I also survived my first parent/teacher conferences. I had less than 3o parents come and of course none of the ones I really needed to or wanted to see about behavior issues. Go figure.
Ok - we're heading to Southern California;-) Aren't you jealous. It's 80 degrees and perfect here!

Europe is champion!

That's right, this afternoon North America was relegated to second place when Angela's team Europe won two out of three spell offs to become the first ever Spell Off champion team! Congrats to all the kids. It was pretty great to watch the kids spell all day, to hear and see what they know, to watch them cheer for one another and try so hard. They had 126 spelling words this quarter and their practice paid off. It was especially impressive because Angela's kids are all in intervention classes while mine are on-level. So I am doubly proud of the Europeans today and will start making my kids work all that much harder tomorrow:-)
In other seventh grade news tomorrow I have my first parent teacher conferences, 1-6:30pm. And we have to be to school for a 7:30am meeting so tomorrow will be a very long day. But it will all pay off Friday at three when we go on vacation for SIXTEEN whole days!!! I'm just a wee bit excited. We're going to Mexico Saturday, then to San Diego when Susie visits then to L.A. I can't wait!!
Now it's off to bed early so I am bright-eyed and busy-tailed for my families tomorrow.

Patricia

I know it's morning because there's a morning dove outside my window singing. Not so much singing I guess as warbling. But it is morning nonetheless. It's Sunday morning at 12:37. And I am excited because I have just finished part one of my novel. I've finished Patricia's story. Fifty-three pages. So tomorrow it's time to move on to someone else. I'm not sure who yet, maybe David or Harold or Molly or Crystal. All their stories have begun but they have a ways to go.
I know this isn't a big deal to anyone else but it's big to me. It's been a project I have been working on for ten months. It's been a lot of late nights and sitting down to write when I'd rather have been out playing or on the couch or reading a book. But I'm excited for it. For what it might become.

Thursdays

I just love Thursdays, I always have and it's odd, I know. It's not the weekend yet but it's a day that holds so much promise. Maybe something will happen this weekend, maybe you'll have a great few days off. It's a day that gets you ready for what will come. It's a good night to watch television, to assess how the week's been, to figure out what comes next, to prepare. I can't really explain it any more than that. It's just the knowing that the week's almost complete but there's just that little bit left that can salvage it, that can make it a good week or a really good week.
I don't know what this weekend will bring. There are no plans for Friday night or Saturday (besides cleaning) or Sunday. It's all about the anticipation. I love that word.
Anticipation.

The Mad Dash

That's right, it's crunch time for us teachers here in the year-round school system. Next week report cards come out so that means this week grades are due. Possibly Wednesday though no one seems to know for sure. But anyway I graded tonight. All night. Stopping only long enough for popcorn and some popcorn TV (The New Adventures of Old Christine which is funny). And then we tried to watch Studio 60 but it wouldn't work! That's right, the NBC station seemed broken so I have to find out how to catch it on Bravo or online this week - ugh!!!
Anyway, I've been grading rough drafts of my students short stories all day and night and am overwhelmed. Ang graded 120 tests for me. I have spelling packets and homework waiting for me in the morning. And all of this paperwork is from Thurs, Fri and today. Good lord!
But my kids are cute, and some are great writers. I had one student who woke up as George Bush. One whose family sidetracked to a town called Cockaroachie;-) Another who created her very own Shrek-like story complete with every storybook character I could think of.
So now it's off to bed before I get up and do it all again in 8 hours. Oh yeah - and I'm being evaluated tomorrow which means an 8am preconference, a 2:17pm observation, and a 4pm postconference. Let the fun begin!

Inspiration

This week has been a good writing week. It has also been a good television week. I believe the two are connected. I am inspired by what I see on the small screen and what I read on writer's blogs and in my screenwriting magazines, etc. So I have been writing. Big stuff happened to Patricia (the character who's story I'm finishing up) this week and she and I are figuring out what comes next. I'll keep you posted! (No, I am not crazy but I truly believe in Virginia Woolf's quote as it pertains to writing: "Arrange whatever pieces come your way." When they come, I arrange them. And add my own twist of course.
As for TV, goodness it was a good week. A light week which is good. Here's my rundown so far:
Monday was Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip which I have already raved about here.
Tuesday was NCIS which we just finished. Donald Bellisario (of Jag fame) does such a great job mixing the military/federal agent stories with humor and personal stuff that it's just fun to watch. And who doesn't love Mark Harmon, I mean come on! Haven't seen the Unit or Smith yet but will give reviews when I do:-) I know you are all waiting with baited breath.
Then there was Thursday night. The night that has belonged to CSI for years. But now belongs to our crew at Seattle Grace. Rock on Grey's Anatomy! What an awesome, anticipated premiere. Such well developed characters, great laughs and then tears when Cristina told Burke to never die. So good. So good.
The Office was hilarious. Proof, once again, that it deserved it's Emmy win. How great was Michael and that kiss and I love how we feel for these characters, especially Jim. So so good. Haven't watched anything else yet but taped Earl and ER and CSI so we'll watch those soon. But we did peep Six Degrees after Grey's and can I just say - JJ Abrahms should get his name taken off the promos. It was no better than this summer's ill-fated Windfall which had at least an interesting lottery-winners premise. It was boring and did not keep my attention at all. Let's hope next week's Ugly Betty before Grey's can be something brighter.
Okay - enough of the fictional world. Time to meet our friend Shannon's parents and then head to my massage and run some errands. And then write some more!

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

They've done it again. Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme, writer/creator and director. Their new show, Studio 60, premiered tonight and, according to me, was an instant classic. Full of Sorkin's legendary speeches, quips, comebacks and snappy asides, not to mention Schlamme's walk and talks, and beautifully shot art, Studio 60 was true television brillance. And this coming for a writer who thinks a lot of what makes it onto the airwaves is crap. Pure, undiluted crap.
But this was good. It was pull you in, forget about everything else for 60 minutes, eyes glued, ears perked, good television.
So take my advice - check it out as it repeats this week on Bravo and then watch it. Fans of Sportsnight, The West Wing, and just plain great writing and fun filmmaking won't be sorry.

Almost a no go

I did it. I drug my butt out of bed this morning and exercised. I had plenty of excuses this morning as to why I shouldn't: I woke up at 5:25am, 5 minutes before my alarm, so I decided I deserved to sleep in. Then I thought about the nightmare I'd had and decided I deserved to stay in bed instead, then I thought about writing instead, I eventually did get up, and decided to check my email, more procrastination. Then as I walked downstairs, my knee hurt and I thought - maybe I shouldn't exercise because it might do permanent damage. But I finally ran out of excuses and walked 2 miles and did weights and did 25 crunches and a few sit-ups. And guess what?
My knee felt better, I felt better, and tonight I wasn't tired. Yeah so everything they say about exercise...
It's true.
Just do it. :-)

The Week in Review

It's been a busy one here at Camelot. My mom was here until yesterday which was great. She cooked and took care of Ang and hung out with me at night. It was so nice to have her here so I wasn't worried about everything myself (and coming home one night to sugar cookies, turkey crunch, and cheesey potatoes wasn't bad either!).
I also got my permanent crown and have had to retrain myself to eat on that side of my mouth which sounds ridiculous but is true. Still doesn't work all the time.
Then I had to give midterm grades and tell 3 of my students they got Fs in my class and a BUNCH more they got Ds and Cs. That was received well, let me tell you.
Then there's the saga of my VUE. My red VUE that I have loved and cared for since the first day I got it in 2002 right after graduation. The red VUE I have only 10 more payments on and then it's mine, all mine. The VUE that has had every maintenance request and every service job done that has been required, that has had it's oil changed religiously almost to the mile according to those little stickers they put up in the corner of the windshield.
When I was driving it across country this summer, the 'service engine soon' light came on in St. Louis (yes, on the first day of our multiple-week trip). Now remember, I am fanatical about my car. I had it checked out and serviced just before I left.
So the light comes on and no one will look at it. The GM dealership I find doesn't have time but tells me it's probably just the gas cap not on correctly. So I drive on. It has gas and oil and doesn't seem to be overheating, though I am by this point. It goes off eventually and we move on.
Then once I get to Arizona it starts it again so I take it to the GM dealership here in town as the closest Saturn dealer is 3 hours north (Phoneix) or 3 hours west (San Diego) of here. They say the sensor is broken and they order a new one and voila! 7 days later I get my car back and it only costs me 300 some bucks. Fine.
Then last Friday morning I pick my mom up at the airport and as I pull into the hospital, it starts to chug ("Like a Model-T," according to my mom) and the light pops back on. I am MAD.
Of course the service tech's out till Monday, blah blah so I take it back. They call me on Thursday and report that it's something to do with the transmission and they can't go any further. They don't have the code books and suggest I take it to a Saturn dealer or a transmission specialist. I ask if I can drive it the 3 hrs to a dealer and the guy says "I'd only drive it in town." Great, lovely, terrific. I call the Saturn of San Diego and they can't help me over the phone. All my codes tell them is it's something internal having to do with the transmission. Wonderful.
So here's my plan - I'm going to drive my little red VUE until it dies. I'm just going to forget about it until October when we have our break and pretend like my VUE is fine. Then in Oct we'll caravan to San Diego, Ang following me the whole way, wasting tons of gas and time, to leave it at the Saturn of El Cajon. And I may just go back for it. Or cut my losses.
All I know is the car's 4 years old and I don't think 4 year old cars should give you this kind of headache. But apparently I know nothing:-)
So then there's the saga of the dryer. Some of you already know how Ang bought a brand-new washer and dryer last year when she moved in. Well from moment one the dryer has never worked correctly. It leaves grease marks on EVERYTHING (see my new sheets, my pjs, my tank tops, my shorts, everything). So after 2 servicemen have reported there's not much they can do (oh wait - the last one, who I paid 60 bucks to this week said he could fix it for over 200 dollars, great!) Ang and my mom went and bought a new one. To be delivered yesterday between 8 and 12. So Ang stayed and waited while I took my mom to the airport. I came home and we waited. And waited. And waited.
And at 4:10 they arrived. Nice. Isn't life just peachy at times?
But the excellent news is that we washed towels and no new grease marks! WOO HOO!!!
Other excitement from the week:
Netflix reviews: We watched Akeelah and the Bee again, with my mom and it's still so good. Rent it! We also watched Friends with Money, an independent that wasn't as good as I'd heard which was disappointing with so many wonderful actresses in it. And we saw In Her Shoes which is a great sister/chick flick. I loved the old ladies, they were fabulous (esp. Shirley MacLaine and her friend). Friday we saw RV with Robin Williams which was pretty funny too. So a good movie week. Oh, and Grey's Anatomy season 2 came out which we picked up (thanks to Ang's birthday gift certificates) and are moving swiftly through. AND my mom got me a gift this week, the Grey's Anatomy Soundtrack, Vol. 2 which ROCKS! Thanks Mom.
In other news:
We played Scrabble Friday night and my mom beat both Ang and I twice! You go Mom! And we found out Ang is a rules nazi and won't let us read the dictionary during non-turns. I tried and tried and got yelled at and yelled at.
Ok, so that's the week. This week should be a little less crazy we hope. Though I do have to make chicken chili for the Crane Chili Cook-Off on Wed at school. And the new TV season kicks off this week.
More later....

The Chaos Theory

Yes, last Thursday and Friday was an experiment in the chaos theory for me and I am happy to report that I, and everyone else in my reach, survived.
I'll start from the beginning to keep everyone up on what's been happening:
It begins Wednesday night really. We had a huge rain and electrical storm about 2am. It woke us up and the power went off for a bit and I didn't realize that my alarm has no backup battery. So around 6am Ang came in my room to wake me up. She crawled into my bed, which is oh so comfortable since I have a twin bed, and tells me she is sick. Her stomach hurts and she hasn't slept since the storm. I offer to call the sub line but she says she can make it and we head to school. I know she's not well (she makes oatmeal but doesn't attempt to eat much of it and she has zero energy, less than usual in the morning) but we plug along. We hang out at school in Antartica for a while (our friend Shannon's room) discussing the movie we watched the night before and want her to watch Akeelah and the Bee (an awesome movie, rent it tonight! make your kids watch it and start drilling them with the dictionary!). We head back to our respective European and North American continents and I don't really register the fact that Ang has veered off to the nurse's office. Moments later she comes into my classroom and wants me to press down on her abdomen, hard. So she lies on the floor and I do, just a tad bit irritated that the medical professional in the building couldn't have handled this. Once I do it though, she nearly passes out from pain and can't get off the floor without help. So we decide to go to the emergency room.
All of this happens before 8:30am. And I am not ready for the school day to start yet.
So we go, I drop her off, call my mom, go back in to check on her, and before 8:55 she is taken back to an ER room. I leave her, worried but knowing I need to handle things at school for a bit.
So all day there is chaos in my brain, not necessarily in my outward appearance but in my brain nonetheless. I have my cell phone on, something I never do, and explain to the kids I'll have to take calls during their time. They seem okay and very worried about the other Miss Knapp. They behave so well - I am so proud of them. I only have to bring on kid into the hall when I am on my phone, for throwing a paper ball but I lecture him and he returns to work quietly. My kids are unusually quiet today, which is a relief. They spend the majority of the time reading with each other, cuddling the stuffed animals I have just introduced to our room. They are happy. So am I. But I am worried.
Ang calls around 11 and tells me they are doing a CAT scan and blood work. Then I don't hear from her again. I am getting calls from my parents, inquires from work and friends and I know nothing. I make it through the day and it goes well. Despite the fact 1) that we have a surprise lockdown drill and 2) the air conditioning in my room has broken. Life is insane isn't it?
At 4 o'clock I bust out of school and am to the hospital by 4:10. Ang calls as I am driving into the parking lot to tell me they are sending a surgeon in shortly. I find her and we sit in the ER room, waiting.
Then her surgeon, Dr. Fletcher who is awesome, comes in and says that her appendix is enlarged despite what the radiologist and the ER doc say and he wants to do surgery. So he says they'll send us to pre-op. I call friends and my parents and we wait some more. By this point she's in pretty heavy pain but has been on morophine most of the day (thus the no calls for 6 hrs). They also won't give her anything to drink which pisses her off. Adding insult to injury;-)
We head up to pre-op and we wait. They get her ready and we wait some more. She sleeps a lot. I read stories from my kid's textbook which I stuck in my bag to pass the time. (Can I tell you I am not a fan of dragon stories and the one we have to read next is like 10 pages long? Ugh!)
At this point I just want to say how great our new Yuma friends are. My team leader from school brings me a sandwich so I can keep my strength up and sits with me while I eat and Ang sleeps. That was so great. I hadn't even thought of food and it was already 8 o'clock.
At 10 o'clock they wheel her away and I head to the waiting room. The surgeon promises to find me in an hour or an hour and a half.
I sit. Animal Planet is blaring out of the TV I can't reach to turn off. A 7th grader from my school, from Ang's team, is there too with her family - her older sister is having the same surgery. She tells me all about her classes and asks me random questions about the word of the week. She's so cute. Nervous but obviously glad to have found someone who will pay attention to her for a little bit.
The doctor comes out in less than an hour, about 55 minutes and tells me Angela has done excellently! She did have appendicitis so it's good he went in. There is no definitive test so he wasn't 100% sure when he cut her but he says it was getting infected and needed to come out now. Whew!
Around midnight I get to go back and see her in her room. She's been put in the new part of the hospital, the cardiac unit, as surgery's full. She has her own room and it's nice. There's a chair that reclines and I am invited to spend the night.
For a while I help her get some water and she's a bit out of it. The funny thing is that they make you sign all these papers and listen to all this crap and you've just had surgery! The nurse is reviewing paperwork and then asks Ang if she has a living will. She says yes. The woman says do you have paperwork on whether you want to be revived. Ang says she has a DNR. The nurse turns and looks at me and I look and Ang and I say no.
At this point Ang gets a bit beligerent. She says she has a DNR, she doesn't want to be revived. I say, yes you do. If something happens tonight we want them to do all they can to save you. She shakes her head. I look at the nurse and say yes, save her. We decide that the DNR is only for it you are in a permanent vegetative state or 99 years old. It's not for tonight. Ang says fine and resigns herself to our decision:-) Wow. Life is never dull!
At 1:30 Ang and I are figuring out her lesson plans for Friday and discussing what I need to do to take care of her kids. Luckily I have already done mine and called for subs for us both. I've also read 3 stories and graded 60 unit tests. Guess I was a bit nervous!
I hang out until 2:30 but can't sleep and am terribly uncomfortable so I head home.
At 7am Ang calls me and tells me she's ok but in a lot of pain. Last night she thought she was ready to go home, not today.
Friday was crazy as well. I attend a staff meeting, prep both our rooms, brief the subs who will teach our kids for the day, go home get Ang clothes, head to the hospital, then pick my mom up from the airport at 12:30.
People were so great though - thank you to all of you for well wishes, prayers and your love!
Friends brought her flowers and visited her, our pastor came by the hospital and prayed with all 3 of us. The calls and emails have meant so much.
Today I had a sub too. I think we are all exhausted and there was still a bunch of little stuff to do and help Ang with. I'll head back to work tomorrow but my mom will be here all week. Thank God for moms!
So yeah - the chaos theory. Gotta love it!

A good kind of labor

I did nothing of note this weekend. I read Newsweeks and Entertainment Weeklies that had been piling up. I watched more than my fair share of 24 episodes (we have finished season 3! and it was so amazing, so terrifying!!!). I wrote quite a bit. I did laundry. I made a crustless pumpkin pie. I went grocery shopping. I hung up a copper sun Angela and I got for the front porch of our apartment. I cleaned my closet and my room. I sent some letters and made some phone calls. I balanced my checkbook (with the help of my mom! thank goodness for scanners and IM and online banking). I slept in (it's so sad that 8:30 is now sleeping in to me).
Yep, pretty much it. No ocean, no trips to exotic places or even barbeques. We had taco salad and guacamole for lunch. I'm making a tuna casserole for dinner so we can eat leftovers all week. We're back to watching season one of Grey's Anatomy (funny stuff!) as we've exhausted this week's supply of Netflix DVDs.
And I'm happy! I feel rested and relaxed and comfortable in my world again. After over 3 months of transition I feel settled. And that's all I can ask for.
P.S. - If you're one of my novel readers, I'm almost finished with Patricia's story so I'll be in contact and can send more pages soon!!!!

Another day in seventh grade

It's been a busy few days since I last posted. We're having fun, that's for sure. We've had 3 tests in 4 days and we're gearing up for the big collection test on Thursday (it's a unit test, covering everything we've learned since school started from the textbook). My kids are a bit nervous, as they should be, and I am too. I had about half my students fail their first test last week and about half of those stay after school the last 2 days to retake it. Good news though - almost all of them got As on the retest! Woohoo! Our hard work is paying off.
But I've decided I really really really do not like staying after school. The bell rings at 3:57 and they have to be back in my room by 4. Then the activities bus doesn't come until 5:25. That's a long time to be after school. Luckily today everyone had an alternate ride home so they left a little earlier but still - no fun! After a long day it was a long afternoon.
I had a parent meeting last week where the parents yelled in Spainish for a while, so I guess I need to brush up on that in my spare time. Oh yeah - and I had my first evaluation today.
In our district they have the T4S form, Teach 4 Success. It's a 20-minute evaluation and you are graded on what's up in your room, what you are teaching, how you do it, etc. My principal surprised me today in 4th period by coming in and taking a seat. I was pretty nervous but luckily we were doing a great activity that involved all the students, discussion, me drawing plot graphs on the board, and them periodically standing and sitting depending on their level of understanding. When she got up to leave she said I was a natural and I did great so that was reassuring. Especially for my first time!
Tomorrow I have meetings both before and after school, this is my least favorite part of the job, my most favorite is being in the classroom with the kids talking and learning. Today we learned about putting things in context and that words have multiple meanings.
Along with all of that today we had our first lockdown drill. Teachers knew it was coming but we didn't know when exactly. My class did very well and I did too, though I was a bit nervous. I have very important responsibilities when the announcement comes over the PA for teachers to secure their classrooms. I have to go out into the hall (potentially in the line of fire) and lock my door, pull down and fasten my makeshift door window shade, shut the blinds, turn off the light, and get my kids (silently) into the corner of the room, seated. It went well today though, only a few giggles and cracked knuckles on their part. I stood sternly over them with my arms crossed and afterwards reminded them that we all could be in danger when that happens and my life is on the line too. Can't wait for the earthquake drill.
Ok - it's off to bed, tomorrow's our short day of classes, as Wednesdays are early release days (2:28 instead of 3:57) so us teachers can go to even more meetings, and we're going to the library! Woohoo, our first "field trip".

Minimum Wage

The federal minimum wage is $5.15/hour. This is not much money. I figured it out last week - I BRING HOME (which is WAY different than what they say your salary will be) $7.28/hour. I find this absurb. Especially since I have to jump through hoops every single day, since I work an average, if not above, 50 hours a week. Since my supposed benefits don't even come close to making up for this terrible pay rate. Health insurance - yeah, great coverage. Yes. Find a doctor who actually charges what the insurance will pay and I'll talk to you. Days off - yeah, ask me when I am here on Saturday and Sundays or am grading tests until 11:30. Planning time - yep. Talk to me on Wednesdays when I have meetings at 8:05 until the bell rings at 8:55 and then meetings again from 2:40 (the bell rings at 2:29) until 4pm.
Can you tell it's a nonpay week. Can you tell we're all a little bitter we have to order pizza tonight and stay in instead of hitting the town. Can you tell I have $29 left in my checkbook:-)
So that's my rant.
PAY TEACHERS MORE MONEY!!!!!!!!!!

Firsts

Today was a day of firsts! It started right off. It was the first day I have arrived at school and felt like I knew what was going to happen. I was prepared, organized, even have Wednesday's plans laid out. I didn't know what to do with myself. There were no papers to grade, nothing! I got to check my email even!!!
Then another first - it was the first time we have had a team (mini staff) meeting I enjoyed. It went quickly, we got our stuff done, laughed a bit, made a decision and were done in 10 minutes flat! Nice!
Another first - I had a substitute in my room today. I was nervouse. I typed 2 pages of instructions and the kids were taking a test. But lucky girl that I am, I got who I hear is the best sub in the building, and when Ang brought home my tests and sub report, I was overjoyed. I had students who wrote killer essays and I had an awesome sub report! Woo hoo! (Granted I had kids who put a big question mark on the essay page as well but I am not focusing on that right now.)
Yet another first - I went to the dentist (not even close to being a first, not even the first time this month) and had the dentist clean my teeth. I've never had the dentist do it, always a hygenist. Ang thought maybe it was because she wanted to be extra careful of my root canal, I think it's because she had a slow afternoon. Who knows. Also, it was the first time I had my teeth cleaned with the water pick, no scraping involved and it was so quick! It rocks!
I was in the dentist chair over 3 hours. I dropped over five hundred dollars there as well. It was a very long day - a cleaning, an old filling torn out (it felt like it, the novicane had worn off) and refilled, and a temporary crown put in. Not to mention a full set of x-rays and 2 molds taken off (20 minutes of goop sitting in my mouth, it's a good thing I don't throw up easily). I think of it all the x-rays hurt the most. By then time they were done, I was literally bleeding from those stupid little plastic films. Ugh. And I get to go back to the dentist on September 14th. Yippee! So now I have a nice silver tooth in the back of my mouth, I think it looks cool. I'll see what the kids think tomorrow. They wanted me to get a bright white tooth for my crown but I chose dingy white to match the rest. Apparently they thought I should get bright white and have my other teeth whitened. I told them I didn't think I would ever choose to have elective dental work. EVER.

The Plague part 2

I am still not feeling well. I am determined not to let it get me down but it's hard not to be upset when your stomach is;-) Ah well - I've decided that instead of injections they should just send people who need to be immunized to seventh grade for a few months and nothin' will touch them then.
We had open house this Thursday, it went well - I had a whole script worked out, 2 pages and I went through it 3 times. Our students' families followed their schedules for the night. I was anticipating open houses like I'd been to when I was younger but this was very different. I had 14 parents over the course of the whole night. Not exactly standing room only. But I figure work with what you have! And we did.
My kids are reading "Rikki-tikki-tavi" by Rudyard Kipling right now, it's about snakes and mongooses and little birds who all talk to each other - not exactly my favorite type of story but they seem to be enjoying that. And they all passed their spelling tests yesterday which rocks!
I am really enjoying my time in the classroom with them, really. I thought I would be terrified and not know what to do but I am surprising myself. I am confident with the kids, I discipline them in what I think is an effective manner and fairly, and I think they are learning stuff. Though we still are working on what constitutes a noun and what doesn't. Things move a lot slower in seventh grade than I imagined.
Ok, it's back to hanging out in Ang's comfy bed. We're watching Entourage right now, the HBO show. It's pretty funny. Gotta love lazy Saturday afternoons. It's too hot to go outside so we're using the excuse to lay around!

The Seventh Grade Plague

Yes I've got it. The seventh grade plague. This week has included a stomach bug that kept me in the bathroom all night, the sniffles, and now allergy eyes. Add that to the infestation of crickets in my classroom and I am sure it's a plague - just for me (by the way, plague is one of our spelling words this week!).
So I wore my glasses today and dealt with the barrage of questions that all went like this: "Miss Knapp, you wear glasses?" or and I quote - "Yo teach, what's up with the glasses?" as if I was just wearing them for high fashion or to keep the sun out of my eyes.
But I'm feeling better so the plague may be passing, I lucked out on this one. I can hope to only be so lucky this time.
But in a week that also included a root canal, let's just say God is pressing his luck with me;-)

The root canal

I survived, quite well actually. Today was D-Day. I had my kids line up in our last class, I had my purse over my shoulder and the lights off and explained to them that Ms. Knapp had a dentist appointment and they needed to leave immediately when the bell rang. And they did! I made it with 5 minutes to spare to my appointment!
The actual procedure took a mere 40 minutes, which is awesome because my dad tells tales of 5 plus hours in the chair for some of his. Mine was painless, really and the folks at the endontics office were great. We'll see how the crown goes next Tuesday - that I have to take the whole afternoon off for.
School went relatively well today, considering I think my students gave me a stomach bug and I was sure I might pass out in 5th period. The other Ms. Knapp popped in on her prep and gave me a ten-second breather in the hallway and I went back at it. I'm sure all the kids noticed today was that I kept track of tardies (though they aren't going in the computer just yet - shhhh!), I had to ask them to be quiet A LOT, and I draw not-so-great looking stick people on the white board.
Oh yes - then there's the cricket problem in our school. You might call it an infestation. Apparently crickets love bug bombs and when the one was set off last week in school, they all came running toward it. I've gotten quite adept at stomping them as I read to the kids, trying to keep their attention on my and not the critters running around the room. They make a slight crunching noise though when I step on them and then there's always the dead bodies lying around after but ah well.
Ok, off to bed - tomorrow's another day. Classes and then a meeting after school with the principal about evaluation systems with all the new teachers.
Oh yeah - good news! I was evaluated again yesterday while teaching and was told my class was awesome. We did transitions while the woman was there and they were so quiet so quick! They rock!!!!

Another country

Today is the first time I've felt out of place, like I am living in a foreign land. Mind you I technically live in the United States. But I do live in a border city. I know this and I knew some of what to expect. But it's still crazy to me that when I go to Walmart, hearing English is rare. Today I was standing at the register and I didn't hear a word of English until the woman waiting on me said hello. She'd had a lengthy conversation with the woman in front of me in line, in Spanish. I got a hello and a thank you. You know, it's fine really, but it's just that I don't feel like I belong at times. I feel like because I don't speak their language or because I'm the white girl, I am an outsider. I know I am but it's still odd to me.
We went to Mexico Friday night and I didn't even feel like this there - there I expect it. I'm in another country. I don't expect to hear English.
I've also been introduced to this culture shock at school, particulary a lesson in cholos. Cholo is the word for Mexican gangster or gangbanger. And because I'm a white girl, I apparently shouldn't really say Cholo (though Shannon does and this makes me laugh! The white Irish Catholic from Wisconsin calling out Cholos in her class - but I suppose marrying a Mexican gives her the cred needed).
We have wannabe Cholos and real Cholos, in seventh grade. Yeah - welcome to our life.
So that's all I wanted to say - I got annoyed at first but there's nothing I can do about it. But it really pisses me off when there are billboards in MY neighborhood that I can't read because they're in Spanish. Guess I'd better get some Berlitz tapes;-)

News Flash!

It's raining in Yuma, Arizona!!!!!! Yep - it's true. It's down to 89 degrees and we have thunder and lightening!
It's such a rare occurance here in the desert that I made Angela go outside and stand on the patio in the dark and watch it with me. It's even a full moon tonight. We watched it rain and the water splash on our feet until the thunder came. Then Ang said she'd had enough.
Off to bed - seventh grade comes very early!

Day Three and Counting...

Today was my best day so far as a seventh grade teacher. I know, I know. It's not hard to imagine since it's only my third day but I thought today went really well. I only forgot to do one major thing (walk my kids to lunch because there's a new schedule already and they have a new door to go in - but I figure they'll end up eating something either way) and we accomplished quite a bit in each of my three classes!
I had them read a poem today and write a three paragraph response. Some did so great. Some tried really hard. Some have a lot of work to do. But I am not giving up, in fact, we're going to push straight ahead! We're going to start a novel tomorrow, Lois Lowry's The Giver. I checked a class set out from the library today and I can't wait to read to with them tomorrow. We're also going to dive into the textbook tomorrow and start studying plot and conflict in fiction writing.
It was just an overall good day in the room, there were my students - all working away, classical music playing in the background, and I got to read their work and even organize my attendance.
And then I went to our department meeting.
Let's just say meetings never end up well when someone is in tears, someone shows their passive aggressive side, and someone else acts like a donkey (you know what I'm saying).
So yeah - that was a downer. But then we had the meeting after the meeting (you Wesley folks know what I'm talkin' about) and I felt better, like I knew what I needed to do tomorrow (at least) and then I came home.
And guess what - tonight I'm not tired!
I did laundry, I made dinner. I cleaned up. I even got to EMPTY my inbox (there were 29 messages earlier today). And I got to read the news.
So yeah - it does get better. I might not die of exhaustion.
But I sure am glad tomorrow's Thursday!

The First Day

I survived. It's really just a big blur in my mind. The first 2 and 1/2 hours specifically. There was a 55 minute locker crash course. No one could open them. I forgot to give out lunch letters and PINs. Oh well - no one looked hungry after lunch. I forgot to tell them to have the team letter signed. Maybe they'll read it. We got through maybe one page of my 5 page lesson plan.
And guess what?
We're going to try it again today!
I think that was my biggest lesson learned from yesterday. I get to try again tomorrow. And the next day and the next. And it's going to be okay.
Sure it is:-)
I am alive, for those of you who haven't heard from me in a while. I went home last night at 5 with grand intentions of answering emails, blogging, reading a magazine. I heated up dinner and fell asleep on the couch. Yeah.
So I guess what I'm trying to tell you is I'll talk to you in June:-) Or maybe October when we get our first 2 week break - I'm already counting the days!

The weekend

Ohmygosh. It has been a whirlwind. We had open house Friday morning. I met a TON of kids and their parents. And their grandparents. And their aunts. And their siblings. And their siblings friends. And their puppies. I am not making this up.
I had mothers who couldn't understand anything I said but hello. I had families already wanting conferences with me. I had kids who overachieve. Kids who are busybodies. Kids who are not well. Kids who need glasses. Kids who are writing books. Kids who don't read well. Kids who can't be quiet or sit still. And all of this is just what people told me about their kids.
Friday was also payday. A joyous occassion - until I realized that I really still don't make enough to live off of. The 200 dollar savings I thought I'd tuck away every month - it is now 20 bucks. And the minimums are still only being met on payments. Sometimes life doesn't change very much.
Then Friday night we went on base and were the "experts" for the SemperFit Friday night activity - scrapbooking. A bunch of military wives getting a night out. It was fun, and crazy to be considered experts but they were sweet and funny and gave us cookies!
Then Saturday we worked at school some more, it never ends - and I mean this literally. There is always something more to do. Then we decided to go with Shannon on a little road trip. To Phoneix. At 4:30. To buy "professional" work clothes per the new mandate by our boss. No more tank tops. No more casual. It's professional attire now. So we hopped in the car and went. Not realizing that the trip is really 3 hrs. So we had 2 hrs to shop once we got there and then headed home. But it was a great ride, great conversation, lots of fun. Stopping at the Waffle House, to see it full of scary looking men and leaving before even shutting off the car. Then stopping in Gila Bend at 12:30 am for hot fudge sundaes. Good times!
Then there was today. A very long day. We got home at 2am yet made it to church at 10! Then we did some grocery shopping - Ang's favorite store, Walmart! Then we went back to school. For 5 and 1/2 hrs. I wrote out a 5 page lesson plan for TOMORROW. Yeah. Haven't even touched Tuesday. And the copier is broken. Never fails. But here's the cutest thing.
As we were leaving tonight it was about 8 o'clock, just dusk. And there was this boy and his father walking around the outside of the school. The dad asked us if the schedules were still posted on the windows. We said no but come back tomorrow and they will be. He told us they would. The little boy looked so scared. He had his notebook with him and his dad's arm around him. It was just too cute. He is getting ready for middle school. Just like me.
In my classroom I framed this and posted it just inside the door. It's our classroom motto:
Breathe deep and jump in.
That's what I'll do...in seven hours!
Goodnight:-)

Open House

I have been awake since 5am. I have been ready to go since 6:05. The reason? I am pretty terrified. Today I will meet the actual living, breathing children everyone has been talking about for the past 2 weeks. It's open house this morning.
We have to be there at 7 because apparently parents line up out the doors to meet us. This goes on for 4 hours. Then we get to get back to work.
Should be interesting. And I'm going to start today just as my students will start Monday morning, reading our class motto:
Take a deep breath and jump in.
Here goes nothin'!

Exhausted...

This is gonna be short. This morning started out with a 140 minute meeting without a break. Yeah - good sign, I know. But it wasn't all boring. I learned that one of the wonderful janitors we have at our school likes rice krispie treats (during a get-to-know-you activity) so now we have a new bribery system in place.
But now I am exhausted. This afternoon we had more meetings and a little time to work in our rooms. I learned about the 6 traits for writing. I numbered popsicle sticks. I made 2 bulletin boards. I wrote out my first week's agenda. I drew my seating chart. FIVE times.
And at 6:30 we called it a day.
Tomorrow it starts all over again with an 8am team meeting.
I'm going to bed.

Catch a wave!

Yesterday Angela and I did something we've never done before - swam in the Pacific Ocean! And it was exciting. We went to San Diego bright and early in the morning, even though it was rainy and foggy in the mountains and found our way to La Jolla, a beautiful suburb city of San Diego. This is where Ang's new neurologist is located and we were doing a dry run for her appointment in 2 weeks. It's a good thing we did this as La Jolla's a much bigger place than we anticipated - so big that they have 2 roads with the exact same name. Which is where the hospital is, go figure!
We also found IKEA, and got some fun stuff for our classrooms then wound our way to Seaport Village downtown San Diego. There were ships and fishermen and just this ocean smell, it was great. Popcorn and fish and sun cotton candy and relaxation.
Then we went on our quest to find the beach. The map stated 4 larges beaches on the coast in SD. We couldn't find any of them. We did find ourselves back in La Jolla and eventually found a beach. It was a beautiful place, right in a middle of what looked to be a very high-end neighborhood.
And we went swimming.
There was sand and all these colorful umbrellas and the water was 87 degrees and the sun was hot but not too hot and it was perfect.
And the water tasted like salt. It was a shock when I first got hit with it. I haven't been in the ocean in a very long time. Maybe 12 or 14 years. But it was great. And there were these huge mounds of seaweed that I kept throwing toward Angela (who was a great sport but not terribly impressed at all to be in the ocean - a body of water that contains whales and sharks and all sorts of things).
We played for an hour and a half and then got out, it was already cooling down and as we were leaving folks were heading toward the beach with firewood.
This morning I told Ang I want to go back, soon! Maybe this weekend or next:-) It's hard to believe just how beautiful it is there. She said maybe, but there was that 8 year old there at the beach who kept yelling about seeing a stingray and that did not impress Ang. But I think I'll wear her down:-)

It rained today

I know, I know, for most of you this is a normal, every day occurence. But here in Yuma, it's a big deal. And it rained for all of 15 seconds. Seriously. Like 10 drops. We were driving or I probably would never have known. It was cooler this morning, 85, so we had the sunroof open and by the time we got it closed it had stopped raining. Go figure. Life in the southwest.
Other than that today was a pretty quiet day. The house is all organized, the spider room (aka the shed outside) is all organized, the laundry is done and I did some scrapbooking. Trying to finish my Kalamazoo book so I can start on my Arizona book.
Ok - I have to run, Ang is having a crisis. I think we have a gnome who's a thief in our house. Last night she misplaced a necklace, today it's the cord for her digital camera. If anyone knows how to talk to such gnomes, please let me know!

Cockroaches

Yesterday was my best day as a teacher so far. I know, I know, no students yet so they are all good days (haha!) but I got to work in my room for 9 hrs and it felt good, and it feels like my room now! Angela helped me so much and I made 2 friends! This was pretty exciting, they are both first year teachers just like me and we went through induction together and our rooms are all in the same hallway. It's great. We boosted each other up and gave each other hugs and our phone numbers.
And then the day took a turn.
Angela and I went back to school after dinner and continued working. We were alone in the building and it was dark for the most part. I wanted to get my first activity for the first day of school all set before we left for our four day weekend and that required making copies of the crest I am going to have all the students fill in, and we needed to make an overhead transparency. So we went to the copier room. It was dark and we unlocked the door and I kicked something as I reached for the light, I looked down to see I'd actually kicked 2 things: the doorstop and a giant cockroach. I screamed a little, Ang screamed a lot and jumped and we were both freaked out. He ran around in circles for a bit under a table and I was the lookout while Ang made my copies. He was about as big and as long as my thumb with giant antenna - just a big bug. I named him Fred but then changed his name to Joe (Fred is one of our janitors and we love Fred so the name didn't fit). Joe eventually ran under the copy machine and we hurried up our work. I sat on the counter and Ang stood in the middle of the room while the machine ran.
Then she took the copies to the other counter, by the sink, to stack them when she screamed - not quietly mind you but SCREAMED! She ran out of the room and I looked over and there was Joe's friend peeking out of the sink. Apparently he had climbed right up on her arm. She said never in her life had she ever almost peed her pants, until right then. I took another look at Joe's friend, grabbed our stuff and slammed the door. Wondering how many more of them there were.
We knew there were cockroaches in the school, they had bug bombed this summer and the week before there had been a row of dead cockroaches in this darker hallway. We had joked that it was a great sight to see, especially since our school is where induction was held - where all 65 of the brand new teachers come on their first day of work and where the big wigs come to be introduced. But we didn't know there were still live ones.
Needless to say, we didn't stay very long after that. I got my room picked up and we left at 9:30, much to Angela's delight. She had a very long night after that. I had to make some cinnamon ice cream to get her calmed down.
She has devised a plan though - she's never going in the copier room again. She's going to get all that she needs copied together every Monday morning and leave it on our boss's desk, the principal. At least until she's assured there are no more cockroaches in the building.
I was pretty freaked out by them too - I've never seen a live cockroach in all my 28 years. But I was a bit fascinated by them too. I kept sneaking looks at them. And this morning I googled them, and found out they can bite, they can't grow to be more than a quarter of a pound big, and people write poems about them. Yep, you can find just about anything on the internet.
So yeah. Cockroaches. What more can I say. Come visit!

My first week

I graduated from induction this morning! Woohoo - I got a certificate, a handbook, and a compass (that doesn't work so much). It was pretty exciting. The best part is I get to work in my classroom now! That's what I'm headed to do after lunch today. I've already got the chairs arranged so I can walk in front, behind, and around all my students.
Said students arrive a week from Monday which is pretty exciting. Next week we have meetings Wed and Thurs and open house on Friday. Mon and Tues are non-compensation days which means...LONG WEEKEND:-)
Angela and I will be going to San Diego Monday!
Ok, I am off to the bank and then to school. I'll update you all more this weekend!

The weather

Since I have been in Arizona I've seen my car reach a temperature of 125 degrees. This was Monday. Yesterday when I woke up and looked at Weatherbug on my computer I told Angela Weatherbug was broken because it read only 87 degrees. And this morning it's only 85 degrees with a heat index of 97. This is downright balmy for us folks. Seriously!
Yesterday I barely sweated and was almost comfortable walking out of the house at 7:30. It's an odd sensation since it's been 105 even in the middle of the night since I got here.
I'm off to my 3rd day of work - more tales of that later. But can I just say that yesterday I think I really began to feel like a teacher as I rearranged my desks and pulled staples out of the wall!

Clerks II

Opening night Ang and I were there. Us and a theater full of teenage boys. It was quite the crowd and quite the flick. Well written I have to say, Kevin Smith has a certain way with words that is true talent, and full of the usual crude, in very poor taste albeit very funny jokes we have come to expect from him. And the bit about the racial slurs - hilarious, really. You gotta see it to understand it.
I really loved the ending, how it all wrapped up and it was nice to see how these characters changed over the past 10 years.
All in all, worth my 8 bucks. Also, it's the first movie I've been to in a while where these 2 things happened: 1) I heard honest-to-goodness laugh out loud laughter throughout the film, including my own (didn't laugh hardly at all in The Devil Wears Prada) and 2) the audience applauded at the end of the movie, and a good portion of us stayed through the last of the credits - including the 30-something woman who sat, alone, in front of us in the theater.
However, I was bothered by one thing I did see (and not just Jay flashing the camera):
As the crowd filed out there were 2 boys who couldn't have been more than SEVEN walking out with what appeared to be their mothers. They had popcorn and soda and seemed to have enjoyed the film. I was sickened by this. As I said to Ang then, "I don't feel old enough to be seeing this movie." Sometimes I have to wonder what parents think. What adults in general think. This was not a movie for children, in my opinion. I can't imagine what these children will take away from this film.
Overall, a good experience. Ninety-seven minutes of laughter.