A long March...to Spring Break

I'm over school. Over it. Over my students, over fixing a lunch for me every day, over having 20 minutes to eat it, over getting up at 4:45 every morning, over wearing "work" clothes (that don't fit, by the way--either too big or too small)...just over it. OVER it.

Nothing can make you have these feelings like doing research papers with your students. Seriously. It's like starting from scratch every single time. "What are quotation marks?" "What are parenthetical citations?" "What is a Works Cited page?" "Why do I have to have three sources?" "Why are you making us do this? Are you mad at us?" (Yes, I'm doing this because I'm mad at you and I want to grade 80+ bad research papers.) Either a) students are not writing research papers for their previous classes, or b) they didn't pay attention when they did write them. I think either is quite plausible. Sometimes I think Tim and I are the only ones teaching any kind of writing at all. (Usually I'm too chicken to write something like that because even though none of my colleagues know about this blog except Kim and Tim, I have this fear that someone will just "stumble" upon it. I don't care. I'm calling people out...the 9th and 10th grade teachers teach NO writing.) I digress.

It's just that time of year, that seemingly endless stretch between the random January/February holidays we get and Spring Break. It's going to be a long March, people.

Mmm...Cereal!

I don't like oatmeal...and other thoughts

I just tried oatmeal for probably the 10th time. I don't like it. Doggone it, I've tried to like it because most people seem to love it, but I think it is gross. It's the consistency. Emerson would applaud my stance on oatmeal...I don't have to like it because the crowd does. (Sorry...I have transcendentalism on the brain lately, unlike my students who apparently bombed the test I gave Friday.)

Well, today I see further evidence of how a baby has changed my life...I really care nothing about the Academy Awards. I may not even watch. (Gasp!) I do like see what people wear, though, so who knows? The only nominated movie I've seen is Juno, and it was such a sweet, well-done movie, so I guess I'll "pull" for that one.

I was fairly good yesterday for my lunch with Casi. I did have a slice of pizza from Fellini's, but for dessert, I had a Starbucks Light Frappuccino. For two friends who can take down a slice of chocolate cake that is the size of a small person, this is progress, people.

Oh, one more thing...I bought some shoes yesterday that are so NOT me, but I love them. Inspired by the wardrobe overhaul show on Oprah the other day, I bought a pair of leopard print patent flats. (The fashion guru said, "Wear flats like you want to, not like you have to." He also said all women should own a pair of white jeans; I'm not sure I'm following that advice.) When I received shoe gift cards for Christmas, I made a promise to myself that I would buy only "fun" shoes with them...so I did.

Saturday again...

...but I know Monday will be here in a blink of an eye.

My thoughts are better managed these days through bullet points, so here you go:

--I've done better with my diet this week. I hope there are results on the scale Monday. I'm supposed to eat lunch with my friend Casi today--I hope I keep things under control. Casi and I are known to demolish all things chocolate, so...

--I've been a bit disgruntled with my job lately. There are some things going on at our school that I'm not entirely happy with, but I don't feel comfortable posting them here. I'm also discouraged by the lack of motivation and ETHICS I see in my students. I told Darryl that on days when teaching goes well and the kids are involved and interested, I feel as though I have the best job in the world. But 90% of my days (probably more than that, if I'm being honest), I just feel defeated. On the other hand, I get two months off in the summer, a week in the Spring, a week in the fall, and two weeks at Christmas that I get to spend with my daughter (and sometimes my husband--he's important, too!)...so does that make up for all the yuckiness I deal with the other 180 days of the year? Maybe... What bothers me as I'm typing this is that in all honesty, probably 80% of my kids are really good kids whom I like. I think I'm looking at the glass half empty.

(Oh, Jen...I think my students may be watching Dead Poets Society week after next so I can grade essays. :) If you did anything really cool with your students after watching it, let me know!)

--Did anyone watch Lost Thursday? Holy cow! (Also...is anyone watching the hour before, when the previous week's episode airs with special notes and hints on the bottom of the screen? I typically have it on while I'm packing my lunch and fixing bottles and such, but it's pretty cool.) This past Thursday reminded me why I love this show...and maybe it will help me accept the fact that Friday Night Lights is probably over.

--I think Amelia is hitting a growth spurt...again. She's getting hungry more often. I've tried giving her more formula, but she drinks pretty much the same amount she has been drinking. She's also getting sleepy at about 7:30 at night (sometimes earlier), but she wakes up about two to eat. We're supposed to start rice cereal this week, so maybe that will help with keeping her full.

Well, my bullet points ended up being quite long. Sorry. Well, I'm off to eat my 3 points worth of waffles. :)

Edited later: Tim (or any other Lost fans), if you happen to read this post and haven't watched Lost, don't read the comments because there's a big spoiler...unless you want to be "spoiled."

One of the great mysteries...

Why do three-day weekends (or any weekend, for that matter) seem to fly by while three days at school can seem like an eternity???

I've had a good weekend, just hanging out with Darryl and Amelia. Here are some highlights:

--I bought some tennis shoes! This was a "must have" purchase, as the only pair that fit anymore were my ugly Dr. Scholl's pregnancy tennis shoes.

--Amelia charmed us with her smiles and chatter. Look, I know every mother thinks this about her own baby, but Amelia is stinkin' cute.

--I took a two-day vacation, well, really more like three-day vacation, from my Weight Watchers diet. Thus, I am not going for my "weigh in" today. I'm back on the wagon today and will weigh in next week. But you know how diets are...you're all gung-ho for a while, and then it just gets old. Friday is when it just got old for me. I wanted to eat some good food without wondering how many points it had.

--To help counteract some of the damage, I did go for two long walks this weekend in my new tennis shoes. :)

--I'm getting a massage this evening! Darryl told me to book one to help rejuvenate me for the coming week. I'm very excited.

That's about all that went on here. Today I'm going to attempt to finish up some school stuff and laundry while Darryl is at work...not really fun, but needs to be done anyway.

It's Friday! And it's a long weekend!!!

I thought today would never get here. :)

Darryl has been out of town all week, so I've been on Amelia duty 24-7. (Well, except for the time she's in daycare.) I love my girl, but I will definitely be taking a NAP this weekend. A long one. I'll also be catching up on some Fake-Tivo: I have two Friday Night Lights episodes to watch, last night's Lost, and...the Jesse/Angie reunion on All My Children. There. I said it. I'm not ashamed.

I've been a bit over school lately. Little things are annoying me. The big thing that is bothering me this week is students' disinterest. They act annoyed that we have to read in English class. They act annoyed when I ask them to read three pages on their own and answer three questions. This past week, we were reading Thoreau. Now, I remember reading Thoreau in high school and thinking that it wasn't the most exciting reading ever, but I did think it was cool that this dude moved into the woods and built a cabin for $28.12 and lived alone for a little over two years. None of this interests my students. Aargh.

I would continue with my petty thoughts, but Amelia has let me know she is tired of swinging. More later.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweetness

I Like Thursdays

I like Thursdays. Usually there is something good on TV (although I record most of my shows these days), and there is this feeling of "ah, tomorrow is Friday."

This week has been better. Darryl's dad recovered from his surgery very quickly and went home today. Amelia has been feeling better and is more like her usual self. I've had several nights of decent sleep. Hooray!

Has anyone seen the movie Life is Beautiful? I'm currently obsessed with it. It's one I've always wanted to see, but I just never got around to it until a couple of weeks ago, and I decided to show it to my Honors students as they are reading Night. (I know...another movie, but I am going to make them write an essay about it and/or Night, so I feel like it is serving a more academic purpose.) I was a bit hesitant to show it because my 10th graders can be a bit on the immature side, but they really seem to be liking it. I've also discovered that subtitles keep them focused. Seriously, this movie may be in my Top 5. I love it.

Last week (ugh)

So I said I would post more about last week--the sucky week--but now I'm too tired to go into detail. This is the "barebones" version:

--Darryl's dad was diagnosed with inoperable cancer of the bile duct of his gall bladder. The family is pursuing some treatment options, however, that could--we hope--shrink the cancer or keep it from spreading.
--Darryl was gone to Florida most of the week, which meant I was winging it with Amelia on my own. (Now, let me clarify that I was all for Darryl being in Florida because that is where he needed to be--I'm not bitter about that in the least. Let's just say, though, that I have a whole new respect for single mothers and fathers and spouses of military personnel.)
--Amelia, while under my sole care, went through--and is still going through--her first baby illness, which started out as a cold but now, according to the nurse I spoke to on the phone this afternoon, could be an ear infection. We'll find out tomorrow when Darryl takes her to the doctor. This all translates into little sleep for Amy and Darryl...this also stinks because she had just started honest-to-goodness sleeping through the night.
--My students--specifically, my 7th period sophomores--really yanked my chain (probably because I was so tired) Thursday. That was how I ended my "school week" because I was out Friday.
--I drove to Florida Friday with Amelia. Fortunately, she was very good, but it was still stressful.

Yeah...so last week stunk. Things can improve any day now. That would be good.