Poor blog. I've been so negligent lately...
The past couple of weeks have been ridiculously crazy and tiring.
For a little over a week, Darryl was in Australia. That's right. Australia. And, of course, after he left all sorts of things came crashing down. Nothing tragic happened--and I'm probably being a wee bit melodramatic--but it was lots of little things just piling on top of one another.
Here's just a list of some of the things that went on:
--I help sponsor an academic club at school (we put on a program every year and give out money for scholarships and stuff), and we found out that a local business that gives us most of our money is having to cut their donation in half because of the economy. That's completely understandable, but what isn't understandable is that some higher-ups knew about this back in January and didn't tell us.
--My students started to have their typical attitudes toward work at the end of the school year. Need I say more?
--It seems that I had a meeting of some sort every day after school.
--I got brave (or stupid) and decided to take Amelia to Moe's by myself for dinner. It was AFTER I had gotten our food that I realized none of the high chairs had working safety belts, so I spent the entire meal trying to get her to stay seated in her chair. I finally gave up and took the rest of our food home.
--The same night after Moe's, I gave Amelia a bath and was putting her to bed, and she had her first puking incident ever...all over me, her, the glider, the floor. I had to clean that up and bathe her again. Good times!
--I took Friday off to--get this!--grade papers. More good times!
--I took Amelia to the doctor Friday afternoon to make sure she didn't have an ear infection. If you've ever had to keep an active child entertained in a doctor's office while you wait to see the doctor, you understand how that was stressful. (I had also been informed by the daycare that every kid except one little girl and Amelia had been sent home with pink eye, so I was fully expecting for pink eye to rear its ugly head over the weekend. Fortunately, we were spared.)
--Saturday night, Amelia acted like one of those horrible kids you see on Supernanny. There was kicking, screaming, shrieking, crying, hitting, scratching. I was really wondering what happened to my child. (Sunday, she was sweet again.)
--Sunday just involved a lot of coming and going.
It was just one of those weeks, you know? Now D is back safe and sound, and this week--though better--seems to be d-r-a-g-g-i-n-g by. The one thing getting me through, however, is that the end is definitely in sight.
And not a moment too soon.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
I'm still around
I will probably blog some this week. Last week was just crazy, and I just didn't feel like blogging. I'm hoping things will get back to normal--at least somewhat--this week, and then I can blog about what's been going on. (Don't get too excited--it's mostly just overwhelmed working mom kind of stuff.)
Twenty more days of school, people.
Twenty more days of school, people.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Meltdown Time
I think I've written about 30 blog posts in my head last week but never got around to sitting down to type them out.
I was going to post about how I've been in a better mood lately and felt like things were going well.
And then today I became fully aware of everything I need to do in such a short amount of time. I have a stack of grading up to my eyeballs. Every time I knock a little off the stack, something gets added on. I want to say, "Okay, no one is turning in anything else until I finish grading what I already have!" But I can't do that.
I say I'm going to grade after I get Amelia to bed, but then I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.
I try to grade in the afternoons, but interruptions--people, meetings, students, parent emails--keep happening.
Okay. I'm going now. It's ridiculous for me to post about how I don't have any time and then spend time blogging. :)
I was going to post about how I've been in a better mood lately and felt like things were going well.
And then today I became fully aware of everything I need to do in such a short amount of time. I have a stack of grading up to my eyeballs. Every time I knock a little off the stack, something gets added on. I want to say, "Okay, no one is turning in anything else until I finish grading what I already have!" But I can't do that.
I say I'm going to grade after I get Amelia to bed, but then I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open.
I try to grade in the afternoons, but interruptions--people, meetings, students, parent emails--keep happening.
Okay. I'm going now. It's ridiculous for me to post about how I don't have any time and then spend time blogging. :)
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Easter!!
Here's Amelia, enjoying the gifts left by the Easter Bunny:
And here she is outside the Smith House, where the three of us had lunch after church:
And here she is outside the Smith House, where the three of us had lunch after church:
London, Days 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7
Obviously my plan to update every day about our trip never reached fruition. Oh, well. We're now back in the good ol' USA, and we had a great time in London. I'll give you a very Spark Notes version of our trip, and if you have any questions about any of the things I mentioned, feel free to ask. (By the way, Jen is the only one showing me any comment love lately. What's up with that?? And thanks, Jen, for commenting!)
Monday, we...
...went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. It was pretty cool, but we didn't have a good enough place to stand to see/hear everything. We got the gist of it, though. Darryl and I would have been okay with it being about 20 minutes shorter.
...went to Trafalgar Square and ate lunch at Cafe in the Crypt.
...went to Harrod's. Y'all, that place is insanely ridiculous. Where else can you buy a 6-carat diamond and pick up a 10 pounds of shrimp at the same time? We had a dessert there (surprise, surprise) in a big frou-frou cafe.
Tuesday, we...
...went to the Tower of London. This was probably one of my favorite touristy places that we visited. So much sick and twisted history there. We saw the Crown Jewels, of course, but what I was fascinated most by was the exact location where Anne Boleyn literally lost her head.
...went to the British Museum. Darryl and I were both disappointed by this museum, but primarily because we didn't really understand what it was all about. We thought the museum housed collections from the ancient past to the present, but we were wrong. It is room after room of Mesopotamian pottery, Egyptian tombs, and such. Now if you're into the artifacts of ancient civilizations, you will love this place. If not (and I'm in this group), it is just like one long 10th Grade World History video. The building is impressive, however...and I did see the real Rosetta Stone.
...walked along the Thames to see Big Ben and the House of Parliament "lit up" at night. Beautiful.
Wednesday, we...
...went to Westminster Abbey. I loved this as well. I think you could spend a full day here and still not see everything.
...kind of saw St. Paul's Cathedral. The only reason I wanted to go there was that Charles and Diana were married there. (It was a wedding I reenacted MANY times with my Barbie dolls.) There was a long line, however, and we were both tired, so we pretty much just stuck our heads in the door, looked around as far as the eye could see, and ducked out.
...went to the area known as Piccadilly Circus and bought some souvenirs.
...saw the musical Billy Elliott at Victoria Palace Theatre. I love, love, love musicals, and this one was wonderful. The choreography alone makes this production worth seeing. It is based on the movie of the same name that came out about seven years ago. So, so good.
Thursday, we...
...did the London Eye, which is a huge ferris-wheel type contraption that allows you to see London from "way up high."
...took a train to Oxford. I really wanted to see the school (which is sprawling and all over the place). We also had "cream tea" at a little tea room called The Rose and had some awesome scones with clotted cream and jam. (I agree, Tim..."clotted cream" is a really gross name for something that tastes that divine.)
...did NOT go to Stratford-upon-Avon. It was in our plan all along to take a tour of Shakespeare's birthplace, but by Thursday, I wasn't up to it. Will my English degree be revoked because I was in London and failed to make that pilgrimage??!?
Friday, we...
...walked around the area where our hotel was, soaking in the last bit of London.
And then we left.
A little something extra that probably isn't covered in any tour guide manuals...The public restrooms in London are nothing short of amazing. Spotlessly clean, and, AND...you get your own little "closet" with floor to ceiling walls. (I really had nowhere to work that in earlier, but it is something I thought y'all should know.)
We really had a wonderful time. We missed Amelia terribly, of course, but it was also nice to spend time just the two of us in such an interesting place. I've wanted to go to London since I was in college, so I'm thrilled we had the opportunity. We're also very grateful to my parents, who kept a very, very active 17-month-old girl for a week. I think they may need weeks to recover. :)
Monday, we...
...went to Buckingham Palace to see the changing of the guard. It was pretty cool, but we didn't have a good enough place to stand to see/hear everything. We got the gist of it, though. Darryl and I would have been okay with it being about 20 minutes shorter.
...went to Trafalgar Square and ate lunch at Cafe in the Crypt.
...went to Harrod's. Y'all, that place is insanely ridiculous. Where else can you buy a 6-carat diamond and pick up a 10 pounds of shrimp at the same time? We had a dessert there (surprise, surprise) in a big frou-frou cafe.
Tuesday, we...
...went to the Tower of London. This was probably one of my favorite touristy places that we visited. So much sick and twisted history there. We saw the Crown Jewels, of course, but what I was fascinated most by was the exact location where Anne Boleyn literally lost her head.
...went to the British Museum. Darryl and I were both disappointed by this museum, but primarily because we didn't really understand what it was all about. We thought the museum housed collections from the ancient past to the present, but we were wrong. It is room after room of Mesopotamian pottery, Egyptian tombs, and such. Now if you're into the artifacts of ancient civilizations, you will love this place. If not (and I'm in this group), it is just like one long 10th Grade World History video. The building is impressive, however...and I did see the real Rosetta Stone.
...walked along the Thames to see Big Ben and the House of Parliament "lit up" at night. Beautiful.
Wednesday, we...
...went to Westminster Abbey. I loved this as well. I think you could spend a full day here and still not see everything.
...kind of saw St. Paul's Cathedral. The only reason I wanted to go there was that Charles and Diana were married there. (It was a wedding I reenacted MANY times with my Barbie dolls.) There was a long line, however, and we were both tired, so we pretty much just stuck our heads in the door, looked around as far as the eye could see, and ducked out.
...went to the area known as Piccadilly Circus and bought some souvenirs.
...saw the musical Billy Elliott at Victoria Palace Theatre. I love, love, love musicals, and this one was wonderful. The choreography alone makes this production worth seeing. It is based on the movie of the same name that came out about seven years ago. So, so good.
Thursday, we...
...did the London Eye, which is a huge ferris-wheel type contraption that allows you to see London from "way up high."
...took a train to Oxford. I really wanted to see the school (which is sprawling and all over the place). We also had "cream tea" at a little tea room called The Rose and had some awesome scones with clotted cream and jam. (I agree, Tim..."clotted cream" is a really gross name for something that tastes that divine.)
...did NOT go to Stratford-upon-Avon. It was in our plan all along to take a tour of Shakespeare's birthplace, but by Thursday, I wasn't up to it. Will my English degree be revoked because I was in London and failed to make that pilgrimage??!?
Friday, we...
...walked around the area where our hotel was, soaking in the last bit of London.
And then we left.
A little something extra that probably isn't covered in any tour guide manuals...The public restrooms in London are nothing short of amazing. Spotlessly clean, and, AND...you get your own little "closet" with floor to ceiling walls. (I really had nowhere to work that in earlier, but it is something I thought y'all should know.)
We really had a wonderful time. We missed Amelia terribly, of course, but it was also nice to spend time just the two of us in such an interesting place. I've wanted to go to London since I was in college, so I'm thrilled we had the opportunity. We're also very grateful to my parents, who kept a very, very active 17-month-old girl for a week. I think they may need weeks to recover. :)
Sunday, April 05, 2009
London, Days 1 & 2
First, I need to assure my mother that London is so big and sprawling that I feel perfectly okay in revealing that's where we are.
Yep, Darryl and I are in London. We left Friday evening and arrived in London late Saturday morning.
Saturday-- When we arrived in London and got to our hotel and showered (because we felt nasty, y'all), we went to the Tate Modern museum, which features modern art pieces. Darryl and I aren't necessarily art buffs, but we'd heard the museum was cool from a couple of people, and we wanted to do something that was interesting but not necessarily on the top of our list--we wanted to be more awake and enthusiastic for our "must see" attractions. Anyway, I have to hand it to Dr. Hockett (or Hackett?), my one and only art history teacher, who taught me enough so that I don't feel like a complete moron in an art gallery. We saw some Picassos, some Matisses, Rodin's The Kiss, as well as some images that were a little, for lack of a better word, disturbing. There was also a room that reminded me of the episode of Designing Women when Charlene tries to make a phone call on a pay phone and is asked to hang up because the phone is actually an art piece. (Seriously...a string of bars of soap...that's art?)
We also walked a lot around that area of London, primarily because certain lines of the Tube (subway) were closed, and here is where I'd like to add this request:
Dear London,
If a portion of the Tube line is closed, could you please post a sign at the bottom of the stairs instead of the top so maybe we could see it BEFORE we climb all the stairs instead of AFTER? My quads are killing me!
Sincerely,
Amy, an American Tourist
Sunday--Today we did quite a few things. We started out at the National Portrait Gallery, which contains painted portraits and some photographs of everyone important to British history, beginning with the Tudors. Darryl was thoroughly bored with this (which surprised me, as he is such a history buff), but I enjoyed it. (In his defense, I probably would have been bored, too, if I didn't teach a good bit of British history and literature.) I particularly enjoyed looking at the portraits of the writers like Jane Austen (whose drawing is a small sketch done by...oops, I forgot...her sister? her niece?), the Brontes, John Donne, and such.
Afterward, we went to the Covent Garden Market area, which is basically a bunch of shops, street vendors, and a collection of various entertainers like magicians, living statues, and such. After a leisurely lunch at a French cafe there, we headed to Kensington Palace and Gardens. The coolest part of that, to me, was the exhibit of some of Diana's dresses. At some point in my commentary on this London trip, I'll probably get into the mild obsession I had with Diana off and on over the years, but it was cool to see some of the dresses I recognized from over the years, like the black dress she is wearing in all the pics of her dancing with John Travolta when she came to the U.S. She was obviously very tall and thin.
We also went into Hyde Park and saw the fountain that was built to memorialize Diana. (Had we realized how far the walk was from the palace to the fountain, we probably wouldn't have gone. I've noticed some of the London signs can be very misleading for how near or far something is.)
We stopped at a French pastry shop and I had a delicious espresso chocolate tart that was to die for. We're walking so much that I feel absolutely zero guilt for anything I'm eating.
I know I should probably post pictures and links, but that takes more time, and I'm very tired. Maybe later this week...
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Nothing like a good scare
Last week at school, some teachers' contracts were not renewed for one reason or another, so there has been a feeling of ominous doom throughout the hallways. (We got our contracts the other day, however, so that's a good sign.)
During 6th period today, one of the assistant principals came to my classroom and told me the "main" principal needed to see me. Right now.
Let me add that our principal is BIG on not interrupting class time, so this had to be pretty important.
As I walked to the office, my heart was beating triple-time. "This is it," I thought. "They have found some reason to fire me." I immediately tried to think of what I had done that would validate my dismissal. (For the record, nothing came to mind.) Or maybe a parent had complained about me. I had no clue.
When I arrived at the principal's office, the superintendent AND the assistant superintendent were there.
I was about to wet my pants.
Fastforward to the end of the story...basically, they discovered that several employees had been overpaid or underpaid for the past five or six years. I had been overpaid by $100 a year. Apparently, the higher-up peeps had come by to apologize in person.
Really?
So for not even $10 a month, I about lost my lunch right then and there?
My theory is that it was one of those tactics where you make someone think a situation is really bad, so when you tell the person the "real" story, it's a relief, kind of like the teenager who says, "Mom and Day, I'm pregnant. No, just kidding...I failed my chemistry test today."
During 6th period today, one of the assistant principals came to my classroom and told me the "main" principal needed to see me. Right now.
Let me add that our principal is BIG on not interrupting class time, so this had to be pretty important.
As I walked to the office, my heart was beating triple-time. "This is it," I thought. "They have found some reason to fire me." I immediately tried to think of what I had done that would validate my dismissal. (For the record, nothing came to mind.) Or maybe a parent had complained about me. I had no clue.
When I arrived at the principal's office, the superintendent AND the assistant superintendent were there.
I was about to wet my pants.
Fastforward to the end of the story...basically, they discovered that several employees had been overpaid or underpaid for the past five or six years. I had been overpaid by $100 a year. Apparently, the higher-up peeps had come by to apologize in person.
Really?
So for not even $10 a month, I about lost my lunch right then and there?
My theory is that it was one of those tactics where you make someone think a situation is really bad, so when you tell the person the "real" story, it's a relief, kind of like the teenager who says, "Mom and Day, I'm pregnant. No, just kidding...I failed my chemistry test today."
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Breaking Dawn and Resolutions
I'm beginning to think that Breaking Dawn, the fourth (and right now, last) book in the Twilight series, is the book that simply won't end. I feel that for every page I read, two more are added to the end. While some interesting stuff happens in the book, it is REALLY drawn out. I want to finish it before our trip Friday so I can take something new to read with me, and I refuse to lug that huge book with me. (I have to finish one book before I can go on to the next. I'm weird that way.)
As for my resolutions that I proposed last Sunday, here's the report:
I give myself an A for walking. I walked Monday and Tuesday, even though I didn't want to, but then the rain came Wednesday and stayed for the week.
I give myself a C for Internet time. I did great Monday, but then I got caught up in a blog story (I'll mention it at the end) that compelled me to keep checking people's blogs all week.
I give myself a B for going to bed early. I did this Monday and Tuesday, and I felt great because of the seven hours of sleep I was getting. Wednesday and Thursday, however, I stayed up a little later to grade papers. Okay, I confess...Thursday I stayed up to watch Grey's Anatomy.
I give myself a B- for working diligently after school. I did get a good bit done this week, but I also killed a lot of time talking, mostly because of some school drama that I don't feel comfortable discussing here.
This week's resolutions:
Because of the trip Darryl and I are leaving on Friday, my main priority is to get stuff ready for the trip and to get some grading done. I don't need to worry about walking in the afternoons...I just need to get stuff done.
I need to go back to the 15 minutes of Internet surf time.
I need to work at school until I pick up Amelia.
And that's it as far as the resolutions go this week.
About the blog story that has consumed my attention...Several months ago, I mentioned a baby named Stellan who was a "miracle baby" who was having a rough time with RSV. Well, he survived that and appeared to be doing fine. Now, he's in the hospital again, this time for the heart condition that caused problems when he was in the womb. The doctors appear to be stumped. Anyway, if you are a praying person, keep him and his family in your prayers. You can read more here.
As for my resolutions that I proposed last Sunday, here's the report:
I give myself an A for walking. I walked Monday and Tuesday, even though I didn't want to, but then the rain came Wednesday and stayed for the week.
I give myself a C for Internet time. I did great Monday, but then I got caught up in a blog story (I'll mention it at the end) that compelled me to keep checking people's blogs all week.
I give myself a B for going to bed early. I did this Monday and Tuesday, and I felt great because of the seven hours of sleep I was getting. Wednesday and Thursday, however, I stayed up a little later to grade papers. Okay, I confess...Thursday I stayed up to watch Grey's Anatomy.
I give myself a B- for working diligently after school. I did get a good bit done this week, but I also killed a lot of time talking, mostly because of some school drama that I don't feel comfortable discussing here.
This week's resolutions:
Because of the trip Darryl and I are leaving on Friday, my main priority is to get stuff ready for the trip and to get some grading done. I don't need to worry about walking in the afternoons...I just need to get stuff done.
I need to go back to the 15 minutes of Internet surf time.
I need to work at school until I pick up Amelia.
And that's it as far as the resolutions go this week.
About the blog story that has consumed my attention...Several months ago, I mentioned a baby named Stellan who was a "miracle baby" who was having a rough time with RSV. Well, he survived that and appeared to be doing fine. Now, he's in the hospital again, this time for the heart condition that caused problems when he was in the womb. The doctors appear to be stumped. Anyway, if you are a praying person, keep him and his family in your prayers. You can read more here.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Long week
I kept meaning to blog some over the past week, but I never got around to it. Here's a quick recap...
- Yesterday, the 27th, was our 10th Wedding Anniversary. Darryl has been gone all week and was gone most of yesterday, too, so we didn't really do anything to celebrate, but...we are going on a week-long trip next Friday. I would tell you where we're going, but my mother is convinced a crazy blog stalker will follow us there, so I won't tell you now. We're very excited about it, but we will definitely miss Amelia. :)
- I had my teaching observation/evaluation this week. I was so glad to get that done. I hate being observed. It isn't that I'm doing anything that I shouldn't be doing, but you know how sometimes you have one of "those" days, and I always fear that I will be evaluated on one of those days. Glad that's behind me.
- Amelia has been spending some time in timeout at her daycare this week. Apparently she likes to pull kids' hair. My favorite account of this is that apparently one day she and her buddy Jake were playing in a playhouse on the playground. Jake tried to leave, and she pulled him back by the hair. Oops.
- I took Friday off as a personal day but still took Amelia to daycare. Unfortunately, I spent most of the time trying to catch up some on my grading. The pile never ends.
- I missed having Darryl around this week. I don't know how single moms do it. Amelia was pretty good, though, so I can't complain too much. Little else got done, hence the personal day Friday.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Weekly Resolutions
New Year's Resolutions apparently don't work for me. The weight I'd hope to drop by mid-March is still on my body. I kill a lot of time doing things like surfing the net and talking with co-workers after school instead of grading and getting work done. (I definitely think talking with co-workers is a good thing, but sometimes I probably do it because I'm procrastinating with the work that needs to get done.) On top of it all, I'm tired most of the time. Darryl marvels at how I start snoring (yes, I just admitted to that) within a minute of my head hitting the pillow.
I'm going to try these things this week:
I'm going to try these things this week:
- I am going to make an effort to walk/exercise every weekday this week, weather permitting. I've actually been pretty good with this lately.
- Along the health and fitness line...I'm trying these exercises that are supposed to minimize the "mummy tummy," which I still have 16 months after Amelia was born. Basically, the exercises--from what I gather--consist of repetitions of sucking in my gut (thinking belly button to backbone) 500 times a day. I think I've done 300 today and I can feel it. We'll see if it works.
- I'm going to try to be in bed, lights out, by 9:30.
- I'm going to focus on work in the afternoons until I pick up Amelia.
- I'm minimizing my Internet surf time to maybe 15 minutes a day. This is HUGE, people.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Standardized Testing :(
Sorry to be Debbie Downer, but I'm not looking forward to this week.
The juniors are taking the state graduation tests this week (and for you non-teachers out there, the reason the tests are taken the junior year instead of the senior year is so that students can have multiple chances to pass...). We've been required to review, review, review the tar out of these tests. Our pass rate, especially in Language Arts, has always been pretty high, but the administration wants us to have more students with scores that exceed the standards. These juniors are notorious for not doing that well on standardized tests, so I'm curious to see what the scores will be. Last week, I pretty much turned the review into a competition and awarded candy to winning teams. I'm not too good to resort to bribery.
Anyway, testing typically throws everything off kilter. Gotta love it.
I can't believe I'm quoting Forrest Gump here, but "that's all I've got to say about that."
The juniors are taking the state graduation tests this week (and for you non-teachers out there, the reason the tests are taken the junior year instead of the senior year is so that students can have multiple chances to pass...). We've been required to review, review, review the tar out of these tests. Our pass rate, especially in Language Arts, has always been pretty high, but the administration wants us to have more students with scores that exceed the standards. These juniors are notorious for not doing that well on standardized tests, so I'm curious to see what the scores will be. Last week, I pretty much turned the review into a competition and awarded candy to winning teams. I'm not too good to resort to bribery.
Anyway, testing typically throws everything off kilter. Gotta love it.
I can't believe I'm quoting Forrest Gump here, but "that's all I've got to say about that."
Sunday, March 15, 2009
LOST
I am finally caught up on Lost. I thought I had two episodes to watch, but apparently last week's was a rerun. (Am I crazy, or was the whole point of the show's starting in January so that they would not run repeats?)
Anyway...I'm completely confused. What do you do to make a show that is already confusing even more confusing? Have them jump through time, that's what. I'm glad they are finally stuck somewhere, though, even if it appears to be the 1970s.
I did enjoy the last episode, however. I may be in the minority, but (spoiler alert) I think I like Sawyer with Juliet instead of Kate. I thought the way they had kind of "joined" the Dharma Initiative was cool, too. I think we'll find out some interesting things...or in typical Lost fashion, we'll probably get some questions answered but then have a dozen more questions to ask.
One last thing: This last episode did answer a question I'd had this entire season, which was whether or not 3 years had passed on the island as was the case for the Oceanic 6.
Any thoughts from the Lost viewers?
Anyway...I'm completely confused. What do you do to make a show that is already confusing even more confusing? Have them jump through time, that's what. I'm glad they are finally stuck somewhere, though, even if it appears to be the 1970s.
I did enjoy the last episode, however. I may be in the minority, but (spoiler alert) I think I like Sawyer with Juliet instead of Kate. I thought the way they had kind of "joined" the Dharma Initiative was cool, too. I think we'll find out some interesting things...or in typical Lost fashion, we'll probably get some questions answered but then have a dozen more questions to ask.
One last thing: This last episode did answer a question I'd had this entire season, which was whether or not 3 years had passed on the island as was the case for the Oceanic 6.
Any thoughts from the Lost viewers?
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Not a whole lot to report
Well, as the title of this blog post suggests, not a whole lot has been going on with us lately. We enjoyed some warm weather for a few days and Amelia and I went walking some in the afternoons, and then by the time I had gotten in the routine of doing it, the weather turned cool and rainy.
School has been hectic as usual. I need to grade but have no motivation to. My "bad" class has been a little better since the post I now will call the "post of despair." They're no angels, mind you, but they haven't driven me to the brink of insanity again.
I caved and bought some Girl Scout Cookies today--Thin Mints and, because they were out of Samoas, I settled for some Tagalongs. Then later we went to Barnes and Nobles, and lo and behold, the Girl Scouts there had Samoas. Now we have three boxes of GS cookies. This isn't good, y'all.
Let's see...I really have nothing to report. I'll end with a cute pic of Amelia. I was doing a couple of things in the kitchen this afternoon while she watched Sesame Street, and when I looked over at her, this is what I saw:
School has been hectic as usual. I need to grade but have no motivation to. My "bad" class has been a little better since the post I now will call the "post of despair." They're no angels, mind you, but they haven't driven me to the brink of insanity again.
I caved and bought some Girl Scout Cookies today--Thin Mints and, because they were out of Samoas, I settled for some Tagalongs. Then later we went to Barnes and Nobles, and lo and behold, the Girl Scouts there had Samoas. Now we have three boxes of GS cookies. This isn't good, y'all.
Let's see...I really have nothing to report. I'll end with a cute pic of Amelia. I was doing a couple of things in the kitchen this afternoon while she watched Sesame Street, and when I looked over at her, this is what I saw:
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
A little entertainment news talk
I haven't blogged about TV or celebrity stuff in a while, but two events this week have prompted me to do so:
--The trainwreck known as The Bachelor. Up until the finale Monday night, I think I had seen, oh, maybe 20 minutes or so of this season. I didn't even watch the whole finale, just the last 40 minutes. Then I felt compelled to watch the After the Final Rose special because it promised "the most dramatic twist ever." For once, ABC was right. This was the most dramatic twist ever. As I'm sure you've heard, not only did the dude break up with his "fiancee," but he then had the audacity to ask the girl he dumped to take him back. Are you kidding me?
There's nothing I can say that hasn't already been posted and blogged. I know one person who is probably glad how this turned out: Brad Womack, the dude a couple of bachelors/bachelorettes ago who dumped both finalists at the last rose ceremony because he didn't see himself with either one, and he got a lot of flack for that. Compared to Jason, Brad comes out smelling like a rose. (I couldn't resist. Get it? Smelling like a rose? Ha!)
--Oh, Rihanna. Seriously, you are taking Chris Brown back? Sadly, I know this is probably the case of many abusive relationships. Can someone talk some sense into this girl, though? She's cute, has an already impressive career...is this the best she can do???
Okay, time to get ready for school now...
--The trainwreck known as The Bachelor. Up until the finale Monday night, I think I had seen, oh, maybe 20 minutes or so of this season. I didn't even watch the whole finale, just the last 40 minutes. Then I felt compelled to watch the After the Final Rose special because it promised "the most dramatic twist ever." For once, ABC was right. This was the most dramatic twist ever. As I'm sure you've heard, not only did the dude break up with his "fiancee," but he then had the audacity to ask the girl he dumped to take him back. Are you kidding me?
There's nothing I can say that hasn't already been posted and blogged. I know one person who is probably glad how this turned out: Brad Womack, the dude a couple of bachelors/bachelorettes ago who dumped both finalists at the last rose ceremony because he didn't see himself with either one, and he got a lot of flack for that. Compared to Jason, Brad comes out smelling like a rose. (I couldn't resist. Get it? Smelling like a rose? Ha!)
--Oh, Rihanna. Seriously, you are taking Chris Brown back? Sadly, I know this is probably the case of many abusive relationships. Can someone talk some sense into this girl, though? She's cute, has an already impressive career...is this the best she can do???
Okay, time to get ready for school now...
Monday, March 02, 2009
A Day for Two
Darryl had to have an upper-GI test done early this morning (he's fine, no worries), and--thank goodness!--the daycare was open, so Darryl and I had kind of a nice day (medical procedure aside) just the two of us. I was able to get a good bit graded while he was at the doctor, and then we did a little shopping, had lunch at La Madeleine's, and came home. I was able to finish up laundry, fix dinner, and take a nap before picking up Amelia. It was a nice day.
In other news...I'm seriously considering watching the finale of The Bachelor. Y'all, the most "dramatic twist" is supposed to take place tonight. Tonight!!
In other news...I'm seriously considering watching the finale of The Bachelor. Y'all, the most "dramatic twist" is supposed to take place tonight. Tonight!!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Food, Glorious Food!
We've had a good weekend so far. Technically, this is going to be a 3-day weekend for me because I'm taking Darryl to have an upper GI test done tomorrow.
There's talk of a snow day Monday, and for once, I'm hoping it doesn't happen because that would mean that Amelia's daycare would likely be closed and I would end up trying to entertain a 15-month-old for probably at least an hour and a half in a waiting room. That would not be good.
We've been trying to be better about eating out so much lately, but we failed miserably this weekend. We went to three new restaurants, and all were really good and places we would go again.
Friday night, we went to Gladys and Ron's Chicken & Waffles. I had actually been to a different location before and enjoyed it, but this was Darryl's first time eating there, period, and it was the first time for all of us at this location. Darryl enjoyed some fried chicken with the "fixins," and I had the smothered chicken and while it was good, I think my arteries might still be a little clogged. Amelia gave their waffles and their black-eyed peas the thumbs up. That girl LOVES black-eyed peas something fierce.
Saturday morning, we got up pretty early (meaning we were out of the house before eight) to eat breakfast at a place called J. Christopher's. Darryl's office had a breakfast catered from there, and he's been talking about it ever since Tuesday, when he found out the name of the restaurant. The breakfast was super yummy. We both had their Blueberry Crunchcakes, which are these delicious blueberry pancakes with some granola thrown in the batter. Yum! I want to go back and try their Coca-Cola ham served on a bed of cheese grits.
Yesterday afternoon, we ventured out once again to eat, this time to an English pub whose name I can't remember. The funniest thing about this restaurant is that Amelia had some mac n' cheese that she rocked her world. She'd stuff it in with both hands and throw her head back and laugh and go "mmmmm." And it was super cheesy, so she had it EVERYWHERE. Our food was good, too, but not as good as Amelia's, apparently.
Then last night, I made chicken pot pie. After all out gluttonous eating out, I've decided to try to cook for the next four or five days at least. And it was good too.
Then last night, I decided to do the Wii Fit. Probably a good move, right?
There's talk of a snow day Monday, and for once, I'm hoping it doesn't happen because that would mean that Amelia's daycare would likely be closed and I would end up trying to entertain a 15-month-old for probably at least an hour and a half in a waiting room. That would not be good.
We've been trying to be better about eating out so much lately, but we failed miserably this weekend. We went to three new restaurants, and all were really good and places we would go again.
Friday night, we went to Gladys and Ron's Chicken & Waffles. I had actually been to a different location before and enjoyed it, but this was Darryl's first time eating there, period, and it was the first time for all of us at this location. Darryl enjoyed some fried chicken with the "fixins," and I had the smothered chicken and while it was good, I think my arteries might still be a little clogged. Amelia gave their waffles and their black-eyed peas the thumbs up. That girl LOVES black-eyed peas something fierce.
Saturday morning, we got up pretty early (meaning we were out of the house before eight) to eat breakfast at a place called J. Christopher's. Darryl's office had a breakfast catered from there, and he's been talking about it ever since Tuesday, when he found out the name of the restaurant. The breakfast was super yummy. We both had their Blueberry Crunchcakes, which are these delicious blueberry pancakes with some granola thrown in the batter. Yum! I want to go back and try their Coca-Cola ham served on a bed of cheese grits.
Yesterday afternoon, we ventured out once again to eat, this time to an English pub whose name I can't remember. The funniest thing about this restaurant is that Amelia had some mac n' cheese that she rocked her world. She'd stuff it in with both hands and throw her head back and laugh and go "mmmmm." And it was super cheesy, so she had it EVERYWHERE. Our food was good, too, but not as good as Amelia's, apparently.
Then last night, I made chicken pot pie. After all out gluttonous eating out, I've decided to try to cook for the next four or five days at least. And it was good too.
Then last night, I decided to do the Wii Fit. Probably a good move, right?
Friday, February 27, 2009
I'm down from the ledge
So I got a couple of emails after my last post, basically from dear loved ones who think I may be "going off the deep end." (Now that I type that, does that expression make any sense? How do you "go off" the deep end?)
Anyway, I assure you I'm not going off the deep end. Do I have a bad class? Um, yes. Perhaps the worst I've ever taught. My plan is to start writing these kids up, and if that doesn't work, I might have to bring out the big guns. (I'm not really sure what the "big guns" will be. Too bad it can't be actual big guns.)
Some other questions I've been asked are these...
1. Have you considered a career change?
Yes, I have. However, before I completely change careers, I'm willing to try teaching in another, ahem, environment. But, hello, economy--hello, teacher hiring freezes. That kind of knocks out teaching somewhere else AND doing something other than teaching.
2. Have you considered being a stay-at-home mom?
I'm going to say something that I hope is not taken the wrong way, but I don't think I could be a 100% stay-at-home mom. I think I would go nuts. I love my daughter, and I really, truly admire women who are stay-at-home moms, but I also think I need a "task" outside the home.
It's also true that while I'm not really rolling in the dough, I do bring in a decent income to supplement Darryl's main income, and that has allowed us to do some pretty cool things. Could we change our lifestyle so that Darryl's income would be enough? Probably, but may I remind you...hello, bad economy. Not exactly the right time to ditch a career.
3. When did you stop loving teaching?
I don't think my love for teaching has stopped. I've told Darryl that if I could go in a teach a class like my fabulous 5th period (not to be confused with the horrible 6th period I wrote about yesterday) all day long, I would look forward to going in to work everyday.
There's an expression that I've heard teachers use on occasion that goes something like, "Teaching would be awesome if it weren't for the students." Sadly, there is some truth to that. I'm finding that apathy is reigning supreme with most of my students. And that, my friends, is a problem that I think originates at home, and there isn't much I can do about that.
So there you have it. I promise I'm better. Today is a new day. Even better, tomorrow is the weekend.
Anyway, I assure you I'm not going off the deep end. Do I have a bad class? Um, yes. Perhaps the worst I've ever taught. My plan is to start writing these kids up, and if that doesn't work, I might have to bring out the big guns. (I'm not really sure what the "big guns" will be. Too bad it can't be actual big guns.)
Some other questions I've been asked are these...
1. Have you considered a career change?
Yes, I have. However, before I completely change careers, I'm willing to try teaching in another, ahem, environment. But, hello, economy--hello, teacher hiring freezes. That kind of knocks out teaching somewhere else AND doing something other than teaching.
2. Have you considered being a stay-at-home mom?
I'm going to say something that I hope is not taken the wrong way, but I don't think I could be a 100% stay-at-home mom. I think I would go nuts. I love my daughter, and I really, truly admire women who are stay-at-home moms, but I also think I need a "task" outside the home.
It's also true that while I'm not really rolling in the dough, I do bring in a decent income to supplement Darryl's main income, and that has allowed us to do some pretty cool things. Could we change our lifestyle so that Darryl's income would be enough? Probably, but may I remind you...hello, bad economy. Not exactly the right time to ditch a career.
3. When did you stop loving teaching?
I don't think my love for teaching has stopped. I've told Darryl that if I could go in a teach a class like my fabulous 5th period (not to be confused with the horrible 6th period I wrote about yesterday) all day long, I would look forward to going in to work everyday.
There's an expression that I've heard teachers use on occasion that goes something like, "Teaching would be awesome if it weren't for the students." Sadly, there is some truth to that. I'm finding that apathy is reigning supreme with most of my students. And that, my friends, is a problem that I think originates at home, and there isn't much I can do about that.
So there you have it. I promise I'm better. Today is a new day. Even better, tomorrow is the weekend.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Teaching Woes
That's right, two blog posts in one day.
This one--I'm hoping, anyway--is more cathartic than anything else. Read it if you want. If you don't, I don't blame you.
Here's the deal: I have a class that is killing me. I would say of the 25 students in there, perhaps 3 of them actually care about their performance in the class. The others appear to hate my class and me and are even at the point that they are doing whatever they can to annoy me and take me closer and closer to "the edge." Some of them come in and immediately put their heads down on their desks before we've even started, so it doesn't matter what we're doing; they just simply don't care or aren't interested. And they have attitude..."this is stupid," and "why do you make us do this stuff," and "this class is pointless" are frequent comments. It isn't like I'm giving them busy work or anything like that; I try to make assignments meaningful. But I'd also like to add that we don't do a whole lot of "outside the box" things because they wouldn't do them. I had all kinds of cool things to do with the novel Huck Finn last semester, but only about 4 of them read the book...so what do you do? Punish the 4 who read by making them do all the work?
So this week, we tried something new. I divided them into groups, and each group looked at two poems by the same poet and had to do a tic-tac-toe-type grid that required them to look at lit elements, theme, and other things, and then each group would teach the poem to the class. The group time went somewhat okay (not as well as my other two English 3 classes, though), and I was a bit encouraged because at least they seemed to be working. Today for the presentation part, however, the first group went, and their presentation was, in a word, crap. Flat-out crap.
When they were done, I just berated the class, but my tirades have no effect because this now happens once every couple of weeks. I know a lot of this is my fault because I didn't follow the good ole teacher rule about starting out tough and easing up later. I think I'm going to have to start writing them up, but I honestly think it will do nothing except make them hate me more. But then again, what do I have to lose?
And here's the big kicker...at the end of the day, I use this class to evaluate my worth as a teacher. It doesn't matter if every other class has gone well or if I've had a great discussion the period before. I remember this class, and this class makes me feel like a failure.
Today it was so bad that when the bell rang, I went to the restroom because I could feel tears swelling up in my eyes. I spent my time in the restroom fanning my eyes so I wouldn't cry and then face my 7th period with red-rimmed eyes. I got my act together and finished my day (and thank goodness my 7th period is a fun bunch), but still...I'm dwelling on this 6th period class.
Oh, and with these feelings comes the thought that every day I take my daughter--someone whose life I can have a true impact on--to a daycare for someone else to keep so I can teach kids who don't give a rip. Yeah, that makes me feel golden.
So, I'm not posting this for a pat on the back and a "there, there...you're not a bad teacher" kind of comment. But if you've been there or know an obvious solution that I'm missing, let me know.
And I promise I'm not about to jump off a bridge or anything. I'm just kind of hating the teacher in me right now.
This one--I'm hoping, anyway--is more cathartic than anything else. Read it if you want. If you don't, I don't blame you.
Here's the deal: I have a class that is killing me. I would say of the 25 students in there, perhaps 3 of them actually care about their performance in the class. The others appear to hate my class and me and are even at the point that they are doing whatever they can to annoy me and take me closer and closer to "the edge." Some of them come in and immediately put their heads down on their desks before we've even started, so it doesn't matter what we're doing; they just simply don't care or aren't interested. And they have attitude..."this is stupid," and "why do you make us do this stuff," and "this class is pointless" are frequent comments. It isn't like I'm giving them busy work or anything like that; I try to make assignments meaningful. But I'd also like to add that we don't do a whole lot of "outside the box" things because they wouldn't do them. I had all kinds of cool things to do with the novel Huck Finn last semester, but only about 4 of them read the book...so what do you do? Punish the 4 who read by making them do all the work?
So this week, we tried something new. I divided them into groups, and each group looked at two poems by the same poet and had to do a tic-tac-toe-type grid that required them to look at lit elements, theme, and other things, and then each group would teach the poem to the class. The group time went somewhat okay (not as well as my other two English 3 classes, though), and I was a bit encouraged because at least they seemed to be working. Today for the presentation part, however, the first group went, and their presentation was, in a word, crap. Flat-out crap.
When they were done, I just berated the class, but my tirades have no effect because this now happens once every couple of weeks. I know a lot of this is my fault because I didn't follow the good ole teacher rule about starting out tough and easing up later. I think I'm going to have to start writing them up, but I honestly think it will do nothing except make them hate me more. But then again, what do I have to lose?
And here's the big kicker...at the end of the day, I use this class to evaluate my worth as a teacher. It doesn't matter if every other class has gone well or if I've had a great discussion the period before. I remember this class, and this class makes me feel like a failure.
Today it was so bad that when the bell rang, I went to the restroom because I could feel tears swelling up in my eyes. I spent my time in the restroom fanning my eyes so I wouldn't cry and then face my 7th period with red-rimmed eyes. I got my act together and finished my day (and thank goodness my 7th period is a fun bunch), but still...I'm dwelling on this 6th period class.
Oh, and with these feelings comes the thought that every day I take my daughter--someone whose life I can have a true impact on--to a daycare for someone else to keep so I can teach kids who don't give a rip. Yeah, that makes me feel golden.
So, I'm not posting this for a pat on the back and a "there, there...you're not a bad teacher" kind of comment. But if you've been there or know an obvious solution that I'm missing, let me know.
And I promise I'm not about to jump off a bridge or anything. I'm just kind of hating the teacher in me right now.
Emerging from the craziness
I didn't blog yesterday. At 9:00, I realized I could either go to bed or blog, and I chose bed. Sorry.
I'm realizing that I'm in a better mood and that things don't get to me as easily if I'm somewhat well rested, so I'm really making an effort to be in bed by 9:30. Anyway...
I mentioned in my last post that things have been crazy. As far as work goes, we've been getting ready for a visit from these people. Now, I don't know to what lengths your school prepares for these visits, but our extremely Type-A principal (and I feel okay typing that because I would say that to his face, and he knows it anyway) has been treating it as though President Obama himself were going to be coming into each and every classroom. Anyway, the visit was Tuesday, and apparently we "passed," so that's good news. I spent all last Saturday cleaning and organizing my classroom which is something that needed to be done anyway, but I felt I needed to do it before the committee came.
In addition, my juniors have been writing research papers. Any teacher who reads this blog knows what a painful process that can be. I was somewhat encouraged when we started the assignment and my students all acted that they were fully aware of what parenthetical citations and a works cited page were (they usually act as though I'm speaking a foreign language), but when drafts were handed to me with neither of those, I just wanted to bang my head against the wall. The papers are done now, thank goodness, but I realize that I now have 80 research papers waiting for me to grade. Yippee!
On the home front...Darryl's good. Amelia has been a little sickly and irritable lately, but we have discovered that she is cutting her molars, and a doctor's visit revealed she has an ear infection. For the record, I'd like to say the child never has an ear infection when she shows all the signs--pulling the ears, refusing to eat, etc.--but has one when she shows no signs whatsoever. Last night she really started seeming like her happier self; I'm wondering if it has something to do with the fact that she tried cheesecake for the first time. Man, she loved that stuff. Goodness knows cheesecake can put a smile on my face.
So anyway, add all that stuff to the normal routine of having to get up early, teaching all day, doing laundry, emptying and loading the dishwasher, trying to keep the house in a somewhat decent presentable fashion, spending some quality time with family, catching up on TV (which deserves another post soon), and such, and life has just been busy.
And this update wasn't really all that exciting, was it?
I'm realizing that I'm in a better mood and that things don't get to me as easily if I'm somewhat well rested, so I'm really making an effort to be in bed by 9:30. Anyway...
I mentioned in my last post that things have been crazy. As far as work goes, we've been getting ready for a visit from these people. Now, I don't know to what lengths your school prepares for these visits, but our extremely Type-A principal (and I feel okay typing that because I would say that to his face, and he knows it anyway) has been treating it as though President Obama himself were going to be coming into each and every classroom. Anyway, the visit was Tuesday, and apparently we "passed," so that's good news. I spent all last Saturday cleaning and organizing my classroom which is something that needed to be done anyway, but I felt I needed to do it before the committee came.
In addition, my juniors have been writing research papers. Any teacher who reads this blog knows what a painful process that can be. I was somewhat encouraged when we started the assignment and my students all acted that they were fully aware of what parenthetical citations and a works cited page were (they usually act as though I'm speaking a foreign language), but when drafts were handed to me with neither of those, I just wanted to bang my head against the wall. The papers are done now, thank goodness, but I realize that I now have 80 research papers waiting for me to grade. Yippee!
On the home front...Darryl's good. Amelia has been a little sickly and irritable lately, but we have discovered that she is cutting her molars, and a doctor's visit revealed she has an ear infection. For the record, I'd like to say the child never has an ear infection when she shows all the signs--pulling the ears, refusing to eat, etc.--but has one when she shows no signs whatsoever. Last night she really started seeming like her happier self; I'm wondering if it has something to do with the fact that she tried cheesecake for the first time. Man, she loved that stuff. Goodness knows cheesecake can put a smile on my face.
So anyway, add all that stuff to the normal routine of having to get up early, teaching all day, doing laundry, emptying and loading the dishwasher, trying to keep the house in a somewhat decent presentable fashion, spending some quality time with family, catching up on TV (which deserves another post soon), and such, and life has just been busy.
And this update wasn't really all that exciting, was it?
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