Bummer

Today The Other Boleyn Girl came out in theaters today, but, we didn't get it at any one of our theaters!!!! Such a bummer! Nancy was really bummed to because I was going to tag along with her and her in-laws. Now it looks like we won't get it for a couple of weeks! Bummer, bummer, bummer.

So I (or rather Dennis and I) did the next best thing....we went over to our friends house (Chinese food in tow) to hang out and see baby Caleb. We had a really great time and the Chinese food was really good. We brought home the leftovers and I'm totally going to inhale them.....not TJ's BBQ inhale, but close enough.

Tomorrow Dennis is going to work on installing a new light fixture in the dining room. I'm really nervous because I don't want him to get hurt or even worse, fall through the ceiling!!! Wish him luck!

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To be continued.......

Funny Story

But first some background information:

First, if you didn't know already, I have a fear of snakes (not as bad as my mother's though). I can be in the same room as a pet snake, but I like about 5 feet of space (at least) between me and the snake....the distance gets much further if it is a real snake....you know, one found in nature.....I don't want to be anywhere near one AT ALL. Second, the second grade teacher at our school as a room full of animals like lizards, birds, and snakes. All students may hold the animals as long as they are kind to them....this happens all throughout the day.

Now, the story:

I was walking down the hallway about 15 minutes before school started. It drives me batty to have kids hanging out in the hallway (a school rule, not just my craziness) so I am constantly reminding them to head outside or be in a classroom with a teacher present. So today I approached a group of boys to tell them they needed to go outside. Well, I had stopped about 2 inches from one of the boys (whose back was to me) and then he turned around and was holding the snake!!!! It totally freaked me out and I yelped and jumped back. The boys got a good chuckle out of it as I walked away as FAST AS I COULD....I hid out in Nancy's room. Anyway, I walked down the middle of the hallway to go to my room after the bell had rung and the same boy (still holding the snake) was walking directly toward me. I veered right to get as far away from the snake as possible and the boy (seeing my discomfort) moved to the other side of the hallway too. This was a very sweet move and thanked him several times. When I told the second grade teacher what happened she thought it was so funny.......she has also witnessed my freakouts when faced with a reptile.

Freaky I say.

First GATE Newsletter Meeting

Today we held our very first GATE newsletter meeting. I chose a representative from the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. We (or rather they) hashed out what should be in the newsletter, how long it should be, and who will do what. They came up with great ideas and seem really dedicated to the project. For the next week, the will also be working on a name for the newsletter and a motto.....The motto thing was their idea and I thought it was absolutely fabulous! I'm so interested in what they are going to come up with. We plan on having our first issue go out at the end of March. The newsletter will basically be made up of current GATE classes and how they are going, up coming events (both GATE and school wide), a photo section, and a fun page that will include crossword puzzles, jokes, games, and a contest. They also want to have a section for questions and comments....this too I thought was awesome. I told them that this is their project and I am only there to support them and give guidance when needed. I also let them know they will be on the committee until the end of school. I thought about switching kids around, but since it's so new, I wanted to get a strong foundation for the newsletter before having a variety of kids write it. As soon as we have a finished copy, I'll have to post it. I'm just so excited about this project and can't believe I didn't think of is sooner!

All in all, another great and busy day!......So busy that I didn't get home until 5:45 and we didn't eat dinner until 7pm!!!!

Glad to be back at work

Oh, it was so nice to be back at work today! I'm feeling better and actually had something to do for the first time in almost a week! I hope this will help my sleeping because last night (due to my inactivity from being sick and without Nyquil) it took me forever to fall asleep and stay asleep! However, my day was packed!....which means I should be pretty tired by my bedtime. Also, I got my scholastic book order in today and added 3 more books to my list of books to read. Once I finish The Constant Princess, I'm moving on to all the chapter books I want to read. Because I ordered a set of Shakespeare's Necklace I may choose that for my next GATE novel rather than Letters from Rifka.....but I have to read both to see which one fits better. Ooooo, I also got a good chunk of work done on the GATE application too. I'm not nearly finished, but it feels good just to get anything written out. Plus, I formally decided I am going to be teaching the middle grade summer school (this years 2nd-4th graders) and the theme will be "World Cuisine." I'm pretty excited because I'm stepping out of my box and this will give me new challenges. Alright, that's enough blogging for tonight. My DVR and rice crispy treats are calling my name!!!

Tootle loo!

Feeling Better

I can breathe!!!!! Although, my ears are still plugged and I have an annoying cough. But I feel like I can actually teach tomorrow. You can actually tell I'm feeling better just by walking into my kitchen. I've made peanut butter cookies AND rice crispy treats.....yum-o. I'm even going to make dinner tonight...vegetable pasta. I didn't think I would feel up to chicken fajitas yet.

So Klitschko was victorious last night....woo hoo!!!....but it wasn't that great of a fight. It was almost boring because Klitschko just single jabbed this guy instead of throwing a lot of right hand power punches....therefore you never saw a big explosion resulting in a knockdown (which Klitschko is known to do a LOT). Plus the other guy was about 6 inches shorter and 20 or so pounds lighter so they really looked mismatched. Oh well, I just have to look forward to the next fight.....not sure when it is yet, but I'll keep you posted.

Until tomorrow!

Still Under the Weather

.....but I can see the sunshine through the clouds! Today is the first day I actually could fake that I feel okay.....that is until I talk. I got coffee today from starbucks, and I had to repeat myself so many times I almost gave up on my tall, non-fat, decaf mocha with vanilla.....that's a lot to remember let alone say when I sound like "one of those old ladies with the raspy smoker's voices"...quote thanks to Nancy :) But it was all worth it because my voice and throat are better thanks to the hot liquid goodness. I have only 1 more day to feel like crap before I have to buck up and go back to work. I just hope I don't have a set back like my sister did.....or everyone else I've been hearing about for that matter.

Anyway, tonights another exciting night for boxing. Wladimir Klitschko (my favorite boxer if you didn't already know, and the man on the left) is taking on Sultan Ibragimov on HBO at 6:30. I suggest you tune in for some exciting action! I don't think I've seen Ibragimov fight, but I can tell you without a doubt, Klitschko will be kicking some heavyweight ass! Woo hoo (cough cough)!!!!!!!

Yucky

I'm still under the weather and feel yucky. Today I went to Target, the bank, and the post office to get out of the house.....However, I think Dennis was right, I don't think that was the best idea. After I got out of Target I just wanted to go home and crash on the couch.....but I had checks to deposit and our tax return to mail. I'm hoping this cold goes away soon and doesn't develop into anything worse....like pneumonia, which is what 2 of Dennis's coworkers have now. I'm certain I'll be just fine in a day or so......thank goodness I had this week off. Just like most of the students at our school, I needed this week to recover from a sickness.

Wishing everyone a healthy Friday!

Head Cold

Unfortunately, I have one. I felt it coming on yesterday morning and hoped it wouldn't fully develop.....but it has. Regardless, I went clothes shopping my friend, a fellow teacher at my school. She's super tiny and cannot find clothes that fit her. But today, she was successful. We also ran into Nancy while we were at the mall. Afterwards, Kris got a pair of really cute dress shoes AND a super fabulous pink purse!!! It is so adorable!!!

My Nyquil hasn't kicked in yet, so I'm gonna go lay back on the couch.

Remember to take your vitamin C!!!

Presidents Week

No school this week!!! Woo hoo!!! I'm planning on working on some GATE class stuff. In May I'll have a watercolor class so today I got a gardening book with pretty flowers in it so the kids can recreate them in watercolor. I've made one example so far which looks decent, actually. I'm also working on a second one that is more involved. Maybe I'll figure out how to scan them in or something. I might have to talk to Nancy about how that works.

On a sad note, my very good friend's husband was recently diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. They don't know how far it has spread yet, and let's hope to God that it hasn't gotten too far. Her and her husband need your thoughts and prayers to get through this.

Happy Valentine's Day

A day filled with cupcakes, chocolate, and sugar galore! Each room had a different aroma depending on what treat was being served. Our teacher's lunch room smelled of frosting from all the cupcakes being stored there....mmmmm. The third grade classroom smelled so strongly of chocolate (from the chocolate fountain) you could almost taste it in the air. Then in the kindergarten class, it was all about the strawberries! Oh, it was wonderful! The energy level was so high, you really didn't need any coffee or caffeine......you could just absorb the energy from the kids!

Tonight Dennis and I made homemade pizza which turned out pretty good. For a V-day present, Dennis let me place an order on scholastic.com for books for my classroom. :)

Hugs and Kisses!

Good Observation

That's what it came down to today. My principal said I did a good job and the only critique he gave me was that I need to some how wrap up the lesson.....I didn't think that's too bad considering how nervous I was. Plus, 3 of my most vocal students were out sick and the remaining 4 were pretty nervous having the principal watching them do the lesson with me. Needless to say, it was a pretty quiet and uneventful lesson.

On another note, today was also the day for the 3rd grade cupcake sale. I've been looking forward to this since yesterday because I have been craving cupcakes. And to my surprise and delight, I discovered that Costco makes GIANORMOUS cupcakes!!! I bought one for the bargain price of $1 and savored every last crumb! Their regular cakes are my favorite and the cupcake was exactly the same, just without the cream cheese filling. YUM-O!!!!

Due to the rather large cupcake at lunch, I wasn't quite hungry when I got home and really didn't want to cook dinner. So we grabbed some food from Stars and went to our friends house to visit them and baby Caleb. He's 5 weeks old now and has begun to loose his hair and has filled out a bit. He looks so much bigger and he's even snugglier than before!

Till tomorrow (my Friday, hehehe).

Parking Wars

That's the new show I've been watching. Dennis actually turned it on a few weeks ago and it's pretty addicting. So after Jon and Kate Plus 8, I turned it on. Tomorrow my principal is doing an observation of one of my lessons. My anxiety level is so high that I've been having nightmares for the last 3 nights.....They're mostly about my class not listening and being completely out of control. I know it'll all be fine, but I'm so nervous!

Wish me luck!

Productive Day!

One of my goals I set in early January was to plan out all my GATE classes for the rest of the year....And today, I accomplished that goal!!!! I even have the sign ups ready to give to the students. I was so excited I was woo hooing up and down the hallway and in my room! This was a great accomplishment today and I really didn't think that I would have gotten it finished.....with the GATE renewal application and all. But now that I've reached that goal, I'm moving on to completing the GATE renewal application. This is a huge undertaking and I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing......after all, I've never written anything like that. I think I need to talk with Kris our current 4th grade teacher and the former GATE teacher. She wrote the application last time, so I'm hoping I can use her experience to help me. There's a new addition to the renewal as well. I have to write about the strengths, weaknesses, and improvements since the last renewal for 8 different categories! Yikes! Oooooo, that's a word I haven't used in ages.

To productivity!......Cheers!!!

Zzzzzzzzz

That is what I will be doing soon. I already had a catnap, but after I sleep on a couch for 2 days I'm suffering from a wee bit of sleep. We used to sleep on the hide-a-bed (where I slept like a baby), but Dennis gets super hot so we've switched to separate couches. Thus, I welcome my bed with open arms!

I made another new recipe tonight for dinner. It was from the latest issue of Rachael Ray. The recipe was for a BBQ pork burger with apple slaw, smoked bacon, and smoked cheddar. I replaced the pork with ground turkey and substituted microwave bacon for the real stuff (I didn't necessarily want our house to smell like bacon for the next 3 days). It turned out pretty well, plus I think our BBQ likes all the recent attention. Later in the week I'll be testing out a shallot spaghetti from the same issue. I really hope it doesn't suck. :)

Happy Sunday.

BBQ and Racing

I've never eaten (or rather attacked) meat like I did tonight! We got dinner from the BBQ place again, except we got the family sampler. It included a slab of pork and beef ribs, 1lb of tri-tip, half a chicken, BBQ baked beans, macaroni and cheese (with bacon), coleslaw, chili verde, and 7 cornbread muffins w/ honey butter. I don't remember the last time I ate that much meat! It was soooo good......and the fact that I thought it was good says a lot.......just ask my family. Typically, I'm the one making the weird face when a chunk of meat is placed in front of me. I don't know what got into me tonight, but it was fabulous!!! The tri-tip and the BBQ baked beans were my favorite. MMmmmmmm!!!!!!

Tonight, Dennis discovered the indoor racing track here. He absolutely loves racing go-carts and does so when ever he has the opportunity. So when his brother told him about the track, we couldn't get there fast enough. He had so much fun and it was a blast to watch him! I'm sure we'll make a trip there every time we visit. Here's a pic!

Brady Town

Yes, that is where we are!!! We got here around 6pm and headed straight to dinner. We were starving and looking forward to the BBQ place we hadn't tried yet. Dennis had tri-tip and I had a chicken sammy. Very yum-o!!!

Brady is getting so big!!! He's walking even better than he was back in December (he no longer looks like a zombie trying to attack you). He's also trying to talk a lot more and has a drool river running down his chest! I'll get pics up as soon as we get back.

8pm Already!?

Tonight has flown by. With my Tuesday staff meeting, voting, and cooking dinner this evening has gone by in a blink of an eye. Thank goodness because I'm so sleepy......I've been nodding off and on for the past hour now......just like my father. It's so funny to watch him sit in his chair and move in and out of sleep just after dinner, all while sitting in his chair. Then, around 10pm, he'll head up for bed.....but really he has been sleeping for at least the past hour......it's just so funny.....it makes me smile and chuckle to myself every time I observe his evening routine.

Well, as I am preoccupied by the election results on MSNBC, I must be headed back to the couch to give both of them (the couch and the news) my utmost attention.

I bid you good evening.

Whoa...Caffeine!

Rather than making my own (half caf) coffee today, I stopped by the local coffee shop and bought one of theirs with a shot of hazelnut...mmmmmm. Anyway, my body was in shock from the full amount of caffeine in my cup. So by lunch time, my foot was twitchin' away under the table. It wasn't bad enough to create a Jurasic Park water effect, but close. Tomorrow, I think I'll stick with decaf!

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be at school on Wednesday or Thursday and will therefore miss the 100th day of school! It's a wonderful celebration (especially in Kindergarten and 1st grade) where the concept of 100 is explored in every which way possible. Some projects include putting together 100 piece puzzles, decorating hats with 100 things, and counting to 100! I'm sorry I'll miss it. :(

Only 4 more hours till Monday's over!

Super Bowl Sunday

Since the weather kept us from visiting J, K, and the B-man, Dennis and I had our own little super bowl party hear. Our friends Scott and Carie came over with their son Caleb. Dennis pretty much held him the entire night.....even while he ate a chicken and apple sausage......that was an interesting event. I used my Crockpot for BBQ meatballs....it's been neglected for the past oh, let's say, 12 months or so. It's a gianormous Crockpot, not fit for 2 people really. I also made stuffed mushrooms for the first time. They turned out pretty well considering I didn't even have a recipe. I didn't really watch the game....I was too preoccupied with watching Caleb. Babies are oh so cute....now that he's a bit older he's taking in his surroundings too.....super adorable! If the weather holds out, I think we are gonna try to go out and see the Brady man next weekend.

See ya!

Happy Anniversary.....Oh, and Groundhog Day!

Today is my 6th wedding anniversary! Six years ago I married a wonderful man.....and man oh man did he look good! My dress was more of an evening gown (navy blue with sparkles from head to toe, plus it was backless and had a very very small train). I just love that dress! Funny thing was, I was so sick on our wedding day. Luckily, I didn't feel it until we got home later that night.....but I had no voice. Miraculously, I had just enough voice to say my vows and then it was gone for the next 36 hours. We had ice cream cake and Italian sodas. To go with our winter theme, we had made a Gingerbread house out of graham crackers.....it even had a candy Lego drive way and a Jello pond (shark and all). It was a fabulous and wonderful day!!!!