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 |  Newest Entry: July 24 - New Contest |
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I used to have this wonderful long description here of exactly what this journal would be... but I cannot say that it was entirely accurate. The journal has taken a mind of its own, so I guess the only description I can really give it is: A Collection Of My Thoughts As I have discovered many times in my writing, as well as in my life - things don't always go the way you plan them to. I am still happy with this journal, however. It gives me a place to lay down how I am feeling, or even just to document what I've been doing. Not bad, huh? Feel free to putter through the entries, and come back to visit often! You never know what you might find here. Newest entries are at the top of the list. ** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only **
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| After deleting probably nearly 100 or more of the "Update Your Blog" emails, I figure I ought to update my blog. First and foremost - I'm back. A lot has happened this summer, some good, and some heartbreaking. The time away from here was good for me, though, I think - and with everything going on, I couldn't have juggled it along with everything else. Sometimes stepping away for a while is the best thing to do, you know? Last week I got the rejection letter for the university where I wanted to get my MFA in Creative Writing. It is the only program (other than UoP) that I could actually get it online, and not have to move to someplace way out of the way. I was told... that I needed more experience with experienced writers - so I can join a program that creates experienced writers. I suppose I have gotten overconfident throughout the years. I've gotten every job I've ever had the opportunity to interview for (to the point of having to turn them down, on occasion), and I've gotten into both other universities I've applied to without so much as a blink... so this came as a complete and total shock. A slap in the face... I was, quite literally, nothing for days. Irritable, etc. I'm better now. Adjusting to the fact that I won't get the guidance I expected to get. But, I've decided I can do it anyway, and that I can dedicate my first book to the asses who declined my application, and only gave me that much more drive to succeed without them. |
| So... my husband got himself a new laptop, and I should be getting one of my own in about two weeks or so. I'm vera excited. Windows Vista has been annoying him, though. There are actually websites that the operating system WON'T ALLOW, and he hasn't yet figured out a way around it. For example. In our rinky-dink little town, we only get the paper once a week. That means... we only get the comics once a week. ::Gasp, grab throat, suck for air, PANIC:: To make up for this, he reads his comics online at www.comics.com. Windows Vista won't let him go there... yeah... As for myself, I've been taking up my sword and hacking my way through a migraine... again. I'll make it, I will! And... kinda wishing candy corn was a year round treat. What's with this only around October and November thing? So unfair. |
| Honestly, I think I'm feeling a little better now. So much has been weighing on me lately that I think I've actually been MAKING myself sick with worry over it all. 1. Problem with friend is resolved... feel MUCH better. 2. Missing equipment will be replaced within a week or two. HUGE weight off of my mind. I guess I won't be charged with theft after all. 3. I'm pretty confident about the test my kids will be taking next week. 4. Financial problems resolved by turning in timesheets that I should have turned in months ago to get paid for work I have been doing. 5. I'm slowly plodding through my "list of things to do yesterday", and not doing so badly. ... it's going to be okay. Sorry I haven't really updated here very often. I write here for the.. joy of writing here every so often. To rant, or to be silly... not to weigh any of my readers down with my problems. Thanks for those who have stuck with me, despite my lack of attentiveness to this little blog. My problems are mine - I was trying to keep them that way. |
| Well, I've got so much on my plate lately it's just about unreal. Most of the things I have on my plate also have very strict deadlines... which makes my life even more fun. I'll not bore you with the details, though. Honestly, I'm not as overwhelmed as I could be. My students really have learned a lot this year, even if they don't realize it. I'm pretty confident about the state test coming up next week. Working in groups, the kids really are doing pretty well. I can now just only hope that when they're working as individuals, they will do equally well. I plan on starting my Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing in August, so I need to get all of the materials ready for that. I'm excited... VERY excited. I'm kinda wondering now, though, how I'll be able to get it done. I already have a huge list of things to do, add graduate classes to that next year, and I'm going to be a zombie. I guess it just means that some of my playtime at night will have to go to school time. Set aside a time and DO it, every day, without fail. Even if it is 9 - 11 pm. ----- Can't forget those I've been tempting with food lately. Hrm... what to talk about today? Eh, I dunno. I'm tired. |
| Okay, so apparently someone is upset that I've not updated my journal, because I had five (count them... five) notifications, all sent about 8:36 this morning, that I needed to update my journal. So here I am... updating. I love Dove milk chocolate. I don't know why, but it is definitely one of my favorites. People say that all chocolate is the same, but that is entirely not true. Dove is so... smooth, and creamy... melt in your mouth love every second of it gotta have more... good. It's rich, though, so if I eat too much, I'll get a tummy ache. Gotta hate how your body protests on the most tasty things. Same thing will happen to me if I have too many Gummi Bears... Skittles... all of them! So unfair. So, I have a sweet tooth. Sue me... or pay for my cavities. Whichever you choose. |
| Okay, so in my profession, I use the term pi all the time - I am a math teacher, so it rather comes with the job. However, I have (quite literally) not had much pie in the last few years. Pie is my favorite part of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Especially when it is made by my Aunt Dorothy, who is an amazing baker. For some people, it's the turkey or the family... I'll admit, for me, it is all about the pie. Usually, though, it is pumpkin pie. Yesterday, at about 8:30, I got the whim to bake this pie that I had picked up at the store earlier that day. Yes, yes... I know, it's not the same as homemade... but while I love eating the stuff, it doesn't like me when I try to bake it myself. So anyway, I baked this pie, took it out of the oven, let it cool, then cut it and slapped some whipped cream on top. I... was... in... HEAVEN! Maybe it's just been far too long since I've had it, but I have a feeling I am not going to let that happen again. It was cherry pie, and it was absolutely delightful. I was a very good girl and only had one piece, but I have a good feeling that I'll be scrambling home today during lunch to have another one. I'm pathetic.. I know. Oh yes, and it has been a while since I posted in here. Sorry about that... Spring Break happened, and a lot of other things have been going on to keep me rather busy. I'll do better now.  |
| So I went into the "big city" with a friend of mine on Saturday, and we got a lot done. I feel like a girl again! I got my hair cut, my nails done, bought a bit of jewelry (cheap jewelry - but jewelry just the same), that sort of thing. Now, this might not seem like much to some, but considering the fact that I've not done any of this for about two years... it's really nice to have it done. Honestly, though, I think if I did it every week - the novelty would wear off. I don't mind it being a rarity. While out, we saw an advertisement for an adorable daschund (sp?). Simply adorable. I decided to call, and we ended up bringing him home with us. ... yes, I did call my husband first to warn him, though I thought about making it a surprise. We honestly thought that this dog was going to be a problem - but the only problem he's caused is that he whines whenever I'm not in the room. (This morning when I was taking my shower, I had to put him outside so he wouldn't wake my husband and children by yowling outside my door.) The kids adore him, I think my husband is warming up to him, and I just think he's the cutest thing. I think he's a keeper! Now, in about 20 years, maybe we can find my daughter's husband the same way, you think? Someone's moving, so they just can't take their husband with them - would someone please take him for free and give him a good home? |
| Well then, between sick children (constantly for the last month or so), migraines, work, and many other factors - I've not written in here for a very long time. I'll fix that, honest! I ended up making a PowerPoint for today's Algebra II lesson. Even though it's the same dull material, adding that little touch of technology helps keep the kiddos focus, so I don't mind spending the time to do it. Add in square root symbols and it gets confusing, but I'll just make one up on paint or something, and drag it along to each powerpoint with me.  Sorry I don't have much interesting to say, I just kinda wanted to get started again. I promise to have some funny info tomorrow. Oh! Wanna know next week's holidays? Monday - Blue Jeans Day Tuesday - No Brainer Day Wednesday - Inconvenience Yourself Day Thursday - Peace Corps Anniversary and National Pig Day Friday - Read Across America Day Saturday - National Anthem Day Sunday - Hug a GI Day Hehe... I love getting those every week. I should probably put them in here more often. |
| Have you ever had weeks that are so bad, you decide you are going to smile whether life wants you to or not? That was last week. I didn't even write in here, because I didn't want to look back and remember all of the crap I'd been put through when I read this a year from now, or three years from now, or maybe even ten. At some point last week, though - I think on Thursday - I decided that I just wasn't going to let anyone get me upset anymore. I was determined to smile, no matter what the cost. So... when only 5 of my Algebra students (out of over 50) passed their quiz - I took it in stride. I tore the quiz apart for them, allowed them to joke around and find their own mistakes, laugh at themselves for being silly. Today, I had huge coordinate planes drawn on the floor, and they were able to use the things that they'd learned and move around on this huge coordinate plane, graphing lines and points and all sorts of stuff. Tomorrow they retake the quiz. We'll see if my positive attitude worked, I guess. |
| I hate migraines... hate them with a passion, to be truthful. I didn't have my first until I got pregnant. I thought it was morning sickness making me throw everything up 24 hours a day. Nope, doctor said it was a migraine... I decided that I hated them then, and I've not changed my mind. I don't get them all that often, to be truthful. When I do, it just feels like I have the flu. My sinuses feel like they are going to explode, my stomach lets loose all of its contents randomly throughout the day, and I can hardly move without getting ready to heave. Is there much of a headache? Truthfully... no. So I went through the list. Maybe I have the flu? Nope. Pregnant? Nope... So I was downing Pepto all day yesterday hoping it'd help me keep something down. I was wrong. About 8:15 last night (right after we put the kids to bed) I asked my husband to go to the store for me and get some Excedrin Migraine. I'd seen the commercials, thought they were full of shit, and never tried them. I was wrong!!! Within an hour after taking the medication, I was able to move without calling to the great porcelain god Ralph, I could bend over without begin hit by pounding pain when I sat back up, and my nausia was mostly gone. It's not completely gone still, but mostly. When you've been feeling like that all day, that medication is a miracle. Amazing... I recommend it to anyone who has migraines. |
| Okay, so I'll admit it (again). I live in the middle of Podunkville, Texas. Our grocery store is tiny, we don't have any department or clothing stores, nor do we have a prescription shop. Usually this isn't so bad. We send off to this place in a city about an hour and a half away, and they deliver. Friday, my son needed some antibiotics for Bronchitis, so we sent off for it, and got it. By Monday, my daughter was also feeling grody, I took her in, and the doctor assigned her the same antibiotics. They are, of course, the exact same age - and they weight VERY nearly the same. So we send off for it on Monday, and I get a call about 7:30 at night that it had arrived here. It was very late because of the weather. There had already been several accidents on the snowy roads - I was overjoyed that they even showed up. I was like... Yeah! At least my kiddos will maybe feel better by the time this weather is over. So I went to the place to pick up my prescription, sliding twice on the way, but easily gaining control. I walk inside and find out that my antibiotics are there for my sinus infection, and my daughter's cough suppressant was there. What about her antibiotics? On the prescription was a note. "Filled Friday. Too soon for a refill." I hit the ROOF! A prescription for my daughter was NOT filled on Friday, the one on Friday was for my son. So now we're snowed in, I'm hoping and praying that I have enough antibiotic of my son's to make it through until the snow clears up and another truck can come through, and I'm just waiting until I can call the pharmacy and chew them out for not recognizing the difference in the names "Samuel" and "Hannah". Looks pretty obvious to me! I'm seething... I'm STILL seething... I'm waiting to chew someone out and threaten that if my children end up getting worse for their idiotic mistake, then they are going to be paying some legal fees. Granted - probably all I need to do is call the hospital and explain the problem. Maybe they'll be able to fix it? |
| Did you ever see those old commercials where they would have someone standing in a bank line, or sitting in a locker room after practice listening to a coach. Something would happen to make everyone groan, and then you'd hear: "Going to be a while? Grab a snickers." Then the person lovingly unwraps their Snickers candy bar, puts it in their mouth in slow motion, and takes a bite - making sure that the caramel string is as LONG as they can possibly make it before they let it break off to fall to their chin. They close their eyes and "mmmmm", as if it is the most wonderful thing they've ever tasted in their life. All the while ignoring exactly what was keeping them there for so long in the first place. (Either that or it's causing them to orgasm. Wait! No... those commercials were for a shampoo...) Well, I'd like you to know that I experienced this sensation today. I am sure a lot of things lead up to the actual savoring... but, that's alright. It's been about forever since I've had a Snickers bar, I was really hungry, and I swear at the time it was the best thing I'd ever tasted. About halfway through the candy bar I was over this sensation, but I just thought I'd share. |
| The new semester is always a bit of a hassle. Students coming into the class that passed the first semester last year, but not the second - students leaving because they passed the second, but not the first - schedules being changed so students change the class period that they were in and shift to another. Losing students isn't so bad. I get to still bug them in the hallways. The hard part is gaining them. Not because I mind the kids (I don't), but because getting them used to what is going on in my classroom is a little difficult sometimes. For example, I had a student today who didn't understand a problem. Her partner next to her got the answer, and so she was about to just write it down and move on to the next problem. Did she understand where the answer came from? Absolutely not! I had to explain the difference between "What did you get for that problem?" and "How did you get that answer?" The second question is a valid question in my class. Peer tutoring is encouraged, and my students usually strive on it. They are able to put it into the language of the people sitting next to them better than I can. So the question, "How did you get that answer?" is one that I always allow people to answer - unless it's a test or a quiz. The question "What did you get on that problem?" will get a student immediately removed from a group to work on their own. If they're not going to put the effort in with the group, why should they get the group's grade? My new students, of course, are not used to this rule. They have tried to get away with copying as much as possible - which has earned them nice little lectures. Copying is usually the reason they are taking algebra for a second time in the first place! They copy the homework and classwork, half-ass pay attention in class, and then wonder why they can't pass the tests or quizzes (that count more). They are learning, though. The student was actually working with her group members today after her lecture, rather than sitting and taking their answers. She will learn this way - it's a good thing. I will brain was.... er, I mean... they will learn my policies. Yes, they will. |
| ... I want to post this letter here. It's actually the letter that I wrote to myself for the contest "Dear Me". You get to read it and enjoy - and in the future, I'll get to look back and remember. --------------------- Dear me, As I enter into the portal of the year 2007, it seems much like the year that has just passed. I still have the things that I love the most. I have my daughter and my son, and I have my husband. Without these in my life, there is little that I would even be worth, if anything. What I still have not accomplished is something that I have been wishing for several years now. Each year I find an excuse (or several). Excuses are good for very little, and even though I know this with my entire being, I still make them. Whether it is that the children are not at the babysitter's during the summer, because we could not afford it. Or whether it is because I simply do not feel the motivation that I really should, and so all of the excuses I find are only ways I try to justify to myself why I am not completing what I have so dreamed for. What is my dream? I want to be published. With my entire being, I want to be published, but not only that! I want to be published, and I want people to like what they read. That alone might make it all worth it. I don't know why I have this indistinguishable desire... need... to be liked. It's not that I want the life of a celebrity, or even that I want the money. I just want to make a difference in this world. That is why I became a teacher, and that is why I wish to be an author. If I could find a way to lead one person who hates reading along a path where they will discover the magic of literature, it would all be worth it! Just one. So why don't I do it? Why don't I finally finish the book I have been working on since before my children were even born? ...I don't know... This year, I wish to change that. It is my time to accomplish my goal in life. At one time, I wished to be a professional singer. That did not happen. At one time, I wished to be a physical therapist. That did not happen. At this time, I wish to be an author. This will happen. By the end of this year, I will have that novel written. It will be written, it will be detail driven, and it will have all of the spice, love, and true effort that I can put into it. I have other goals for the new year, of course. Simple ones. 1. Keeping up with my grading so I do not have to work day and night at the end of the grading period to get it all done last minute. 2. Keep the house in better order. Doesn't take long, just a few minutes a day. 3. Stop spending so randomly. Allow some of it to accumulate. 4. Pay more attention to what is going on around me, so I can laugh a bit more. See? All little ones that will improve my life - but the novel - the novel I want badly. I will finish it. Sincerely, Myself |
| Man what a week. Tuesday, I could have sworn it was Friday. This week was amazingly busy, and exceedingly slow. From parent meetings, to students flip flopping classes, to arguments about how many students will fit in my classroom, to children waking up at night... well, it was everything! I think, at this point, I deserve one huge nap, but now I have basketball games tonight that I need to worry about. Selling hats, monitoring cheerleaders, etc. Hm. Anyone want to take my place for a week? Perhaps if I switch lives with someone, I'll appreciate my own more. Maybe they'll appreciate theirs more. You know, that whole "walk a mile in someone else's shoes"... maybe it's a doable experiment sometime. |
| It has been quite some time since I've taken a moment or two to update this blog - partially because I was out of town for over a week, and partially because once I got back, I had other things on my mind. I'll tell you a bit, though. First, I met John Madden. You know, the football announcer guy that kinda rambles when he's bored? Yeah. Him. First thought! Wow, his voice is kinda loud. Probably don't need the microphone turned up much to hear him. (This because I heard him before I saw him.) Once I saw him, my thought was... WOW, I didn't realize he was so tall!!! I really didn't. He's huge, but seems to be a very patient and nice fellow. The couple sitting at the table next to us was very excited, and the owner of the restaurant was running around like a madman. He's so cute! (The owner, not Madden.) Cute in a... uhm... cute sort of way, not sexy. An older man, my across the street neighbor, and all around nice guy. John Madden visits this restaurant every time he comes through, you'd think he'd be used to it by now. Anyway, the couple next to us just HAD to go tell John Madden about how the wife sprained her wrist, and then her ankle, and according to his rules, once you get another injury, the first one doesn't hurt anymore. ::groans:: The man actually sat through it. He must be a saint... or just really nice. My husband and I didn't bother the man. We let him eat, even though the owner would have introduced us if we'd wanted. That's my fun story for the day. Hope you enjoyed it! |
| I swear, every time I settle on a favorite candy, they make a new one. Granted, the one I am about to talk about has been around for quite some time, but it is still worth mentioning because I'm munching on some for the first time in a very long time today. To be honest, they should taste just like M&Ms. Same milk chocolate on the inside... same lovely candy shell that melts in your mouth but not in your hands. (Which is wrong, by the way. My son can hold them long enough that it'll melt in his hands and make a very nice gooey mess.) Despite all the similarities, they are so much better! Maybe it's the hershey kiss shape. Maybe... just maybe... it's the fact that there is the word "kiss" in the name - and I am very fond of kisses. Kisses on the cheek, kisses on the forehead, LOVE for someone to kiss me on my hair. (Don't ask, I don't know either, I just like when they kiss my head.) Kisses on the nether regions... all of them, wonderful. Even better when I can return them, but I am getting distracted. I think the key is simply... chocolate. I have always loved the phrase, "Give me all of your chocolate and no one gets hurt!" So... give it! |
| I think I just realized how much information people can learn about me by reading my blog! Granted, you can't learn the really really important stuff like - where I live in Texas, what my full name is, what school I work at, etc. - but there is plenty that you can. You can probably figure out how many children I have, how old they are, what sorts of things I'm sensitive to... all SORTS of stuff. Man am I open! That's alright, I don't want to be closed... that's no fun. So, here's your challenge (if you are up to it). Scan through my blog and figure out all of the things that you can about me, then comment to this entry with a list of them. The person who finds out the most info and lists it correctly here will get 10,000 GPs. This can be for someone who has been a long time reader, or someone new - take a chance! Here's the catch (for those few of you who know me really well). Anything you put in the list must have been justified here in the blog. It can't be something you know from somewhere else. That'll be hard. Here's the other catch - the first person that points something out is the only one who gets points for that item. No fair reading other people's comments and taking their ideas. Find your own. This means, the faster you post, the better your chances of winning, because you'll be the first to state things. You can submit more than one comment with things you discover - but please don't put EVERY item on different comments. That would get irritating. You have until the 15th of January. Have fun! Oh yeah! No copying and pasting. I'm going to go hide my surveys now. That's just no fun if you don't have to read much. ::winks:: |
| I've been getting emails for a while to update this little thingy, so I think I'll go ahead and update. Now, it's not that I haven't updated because I haven't had things to update it with. I have, they have just been rather sensitive matters that I don't know if I'd like online and accessible, whether visible or not. It's not often I run into this sort of situation, really. I am usually very open about what is going on in my life - hiding things usually makes no difference. I don't hide them, because I've no need to. Now granted, I've not done anything WRONG, so I am not hiding these things for my sake, I am hiding them for someone else on the off chance that someone that knows this person would actually read this journal. (HIGHLY unlikely, but one never knows, really.) So now, that begs the question whether or not the other person is doing something wrong. In my eyes, yes, though the person won't get what they are looking for - I guess it's the challenge that lures everyone, hmm? Well, yeah, so that's why I haven't updated. I have thought about telling all of you about my 19th year (because it was a fun one), but... I haven't decided how much I want to reveal yet. We'll see how it goes. |
| Okay, so my husband asked me to make cookies for their Solo and Ensamble competition judges. He asked me on Thursday, the competition was for Saturday. I actually had intended to make a bunch of cookies - and really I did, but I pooped out after making a double batch of my favorite. They filled three large bowls, though, so I suppose there were quite a few. Before I get into the amusing part of this story, I'll tell you about my favorite kind of cookie. It's not actually all that big of a deal. I use a regular chocolate chip cookie recipe - but I put in both chocolate chip and peanut butter chips. Sometimes some walnuts, which make them even more yummy, but overall they are very simple to make. Maybe it's the addition of the peanut butter chips? Anyway, I made a bunch of these things, sealed them all up, and hubby took them with him. He also made a vegetable plate, some plain half-sandwiches, and these rolls he makes with flour tortillas and the flavored cream cheeses. (Very yummy.) There were college students that were judging, along with other band directors. The college students found my cookies first... and hid them from everyone else. Stuck them behind other stuff while still in their bowl. I guess they intended to sneak them out later. Well, my husband found them first and put them back out - but not until near the end of the day. As a result, I ended up with almost all of the cookies back at my house. The good news: I get to have my favorite cookies. The bad news: I didn't want three bowls of them back! Ah well, I hope those who were able to snatch some before the college students hid them liked them. |
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This is absolutely hilarious! My kind of humor.
My life's been busier than normal, too, but NOTHING like yours. 
Hope everything's okay.
