I knew it!

Another reason to hate Starbucks.

List for next weekend

1. Make gingerbread houses for kids to decorate
2. Work on article synthesis for master's class
3. Clean filter for ac/heating unit
4. Clean living and dining rooms, along with rest of house which will again be dirty by the weekend (ok, why again am I doing that?)
5. Lesson plan so I don't have to spend the week frantically planning day by day like I will be doing this week
6. Go to farmer's market for sweet potatoes and green beans, to make yummy thanksgiving dishes (southern style green beans, y'all!)

So the holiday weekend was largely successful. The trees are trimmed, the brush and bulky trash a distant memory (although the sore muscles of the trimming ordeal linger)
and the kitchen light bulbs are changed. The grocery shopping is done and the meals planned although it remains to be seen whether they will actually be cooked. The laundry is at least clean, if not folded or put away.

List for tomorrow

1. Lesson plan for next week, including a formal lesson plan for observation by cognitive coach (asst principal is NEXT week, not this week)
2. Think about working on article synthesis paper for Master's class
3. Clean living and dining rooms
4. Grocery shop
5. Make gingerbread houses for nieces and nephews to decorate on turkey day
6. Clean filter in ac/heating unit
7. fold and put away laundry done last week and this week

You know how it is when you spend three hours doing something you are not used to doing, and then your muscles scream in pain for the next three days? Yeah, I think that's what is coming. I pruned the rosebushes and the two trees in the front yard, and I hurt all over! I cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, and did some laundry. Now I absolutely have to lesson plan tomorrow. You would think I might choose that rather than the pruning, but I didn't. What does that tell ya??

List

Well, yesterday I went to the farmer's market and made the soup. Then I got a haircut, which I needed but was not on my list. I picked up my prescription and threw away the magazines I was going to exchange. I planned dinners for next week and started a grocery list. Then I read magazines for the rest of the day. Somehow I managed to add some more things to the list while I was laying around reading. Paving my road with good intentions I guess. Anyway now I have two days and here is my revised list:

1. Lesson plan for next week including a formal lesson plan for observation by cognitive coach (asst principal is NEXT week, not this week)
2. Work on article synthesis paper for Master's class
3. Trim trees and bushes, and put trimmings out for brush and bulky trash pick up
4. Clean house, clean house, clean house!!!!
5. Grocery shop
6. Make gingerbread houses for nieces and nephews to decorate on turkey day
7. Replace flourescent light bulbs in kitchen (this is a must)
8. Clean filter in ac/heating unit
9. Get rid of tomato plant and re-pot basil
10. fold and put away laundry done last week, do laundry from this week

Holiday Weekend

I have three uninterrupted days of alone time! So naturally, I have made a list of things I would like to accomplish, and most of them won't get done. But here is the list anyway:
1. Go to farmer's market for produce
2. Make soup with said produce (already made the chicken stock, yay!)
3. Lesson plan for next week including two formal lesson plans, one for
observation by asst. principal and the other for observation by cognitive coach
4. Work on and possibly finish article synthesis paper for Master's class
5. Trim trees and bushes, and put trimmings out for brush and bulky trash pick up
6. Clean house
7. Go to Bookman's to exchange magazines for credit
8. Pick up prescription at the drugstore
9. Grocery shop and plan dinners for the week
10. Make gingerbread houses for nieces and nephews to decorate on turkey day
Ok, so we'll see how much I get done.

The Saddest Song in the World

Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah

i heard there was a secret chord
that david played and it pleased the lord
but you don't really care for music, do you
well it goes like this the fourth, the fifth
the minor fall and the major lift
the baffled king composing hallelujah

hallelujah...

well your faith was strong but you needed proof
you saw her bathing on the roof
her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
she tied you to her kitchen chair
she broke your throne and she cut your hair
and from your lips she drew the hallelujah

hallelujah...

baby i've been here before
i've seen this room and i've walked this floor
i used to live alone before i knew you
i've seen your flag on the marble arch
but love is not a victory march
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

hallelujah...

well there was a time when you let me know
what's really going on below
but now you never show that to me do you
but remember when i moved in you
and the holy dove was moving too
and every breath we drew was hallelujah

well, maybe there's a god above
but all i've ever learned from love
was how to shoot somebody who outdrew you
it's not a cry that you hear at night
it's not somebody who's seen the light
it's a cold and it's a broken hallelujah

hallelujah...

stupid parents

I have about 125 students. Yesterday I noticed that one of them turned in a worksheet packet that was completely blank. This packet had been three days worth of class work and homework, and the kid hadn't done a single problem. So I went through the stack of papers I had graded but not yet returned, and found two more things of his that were incomplete, and by incomplete I mean practically blank. The kid isn't doing jack. So I wrote an email to the parent yesterday, explaining the situation and asking her to talk to her son about this. I want to know what the problem is. Does he not understand the work or is he being lazy? So the kid tells the mom that he did the packet and turned it in, and he thinks he remembers getting two of the same thing and handing one of them in finished and the other one in blank. And the mother believes him. So she writes back asking me to look for the other packet. What am I, @D*%& stupid? I take the time out of my day to investigate this situation, look at the grade book to make sure there's no mistake, and write to the parent asking for help. And this is what I get back. So I wrote again saying I think the three of us need to meet and look at the work he has been turning in. JESUS CARTWHEELING CHRIST I hate this job sometimes.

Ask Tionna

Need a good laugh?
It's like Dear Abby on crack.

FG

I am grateful for November. November means cooler weather, possibly precipitation, and time with my family.

Silver lining...

One good thing about having the stomach flu is that your stomach shrinks, and then afterward you can eat just a little bit and be full. Is that an unhealthy thought?

icky, icky

Icky germs! Now 2 students in my district have had staph infections! Won't these teenagers just take a shower? WHY NOT?

Friday Gratitude

Today I am thankful because I am an American, and in particular, a Tucsonan. My country has its faults and Lord knows I can't stand our leader - but I have grown up in a country where there is plenty of everything to go around. People aren't killing each other over religious differences. We have freedom of speech, and a working democracy. The part of our country and my city I am most thankful for is the people. I am thinking about this because of the fires in California that have destroyed people's homes and places of employment. I can already see the reactions of the people in my city. Someone in my school district is organizing a drive to collect toiletries for those people. I saw on the local news that other organizations are rallying to support those who have lost everything. I suspect it will be like when Katrina hit and the people of New Orleans were devastated. When the rest of America realized what was happening, there was an outpouring of time, money, material things, and a willingness to help. When people are in trouble, there are a whole lot of Americans who ask what they can do to help. I think that is a really great thing. It makes me proud.

I didn't walk.

I haven't exercised since last Thursday. Not only that but I ate a Big Mac and fries for dinner. Then some ice cream. Ugh.

Friday Gratitude

I am borrowing from the idea of Thursday Divinity from my sister, but changing it just a bit. I'm working to have a positive outlook and a big part of that is being grateful for the things that happen in everyday life. And yesterday was a biggie!
I had one of my math classes in groups yesterday and I was walking around, monitoring their conversations. I had given them some quite difficult percentage problems to do and they were just getting started. I heard one of the girls kind of sigh, "Man, I love this class." Her friend replied, "Yeah, it's pretty much my favorite."
TALK ABOUT IT, SISTER! Two girls, and 8th grade math is their favorite class! I am so grateful for the path that led me here. I spent many years kind of wondering about the reasons for my existence, besides perpetuating the species. Now I have something that I love doing, and on top of that I am actually pretty good at it! I'm grateful for the support of my family because I would not have got through college otherwise. I am also grateful to them for listening to me bitch and moan my way through my degree. I am grateful for all the perceived hardships along the way, because in hindsight, they gave me all the experiences I needed in order to be successful as a teacher. I'm grateful for my kids, because they always believed I could do it. You know that commercial where the mom is studying and the little boy brings her a peanut butter sandwich? That's how my kids were. I'm grateful for the chance every day to go to work and change some teenagers' ideas about school and math.
So, there you have it! My first Friday Gratitude.

So tired.

It's the end of the third day back. I started eating right again and working out again on Monday. So I'm really tired.

Back to the old grind.

I didn't work at all over break. Not once, not even for a minute. It's like riding a bike... when we come back it's like I never left except I have my patience back and I don't feel like I am going to die from being so tired. The kids are never as happy to see me as I am to see them!

Who am I kidding?

OMG, too much to do. Panicking. Want to do everything, want to be Wonder Woman. Knowing I have too much to do, I choose to blog about it instead of getting busy. Not very wonder-woman-ish.

The Big Idea

It takes two hours to get the windshield replaced, so my big idea was to work on my paper during that two hours. Clever, right? Great use of time. Well, turns out it's only clever if I actually work on my paper instead of f*cking off on the internet, which is what I am presently doing. Cursed free wireless access nearly everywhere I go! But really, now I'm going to get busy. Really, now. Seriously. Right now. *sigh* dammit

Last Day of Vacation

This vacation I cleaned out the garage, had surgery, spent quality time with family, cleaned my room and rearranged furniture, painted the shelving unit that's been on the back porch for eons, sprayed for bugs, and attended a math teacher's conference. I've worked on my project for my Master's class. I'm about to go get the windshield on my car replaced. Oh, and I bought and used local produce. Yeah! But there is still so much left to do! I have to write a four page paper, do the reading assignment for Monday night's class, clean the house so my BFF who is coming tomorrow doesn't see it like this, take my daughter halfway to PHx to see her dad, and I guess that's it. Maybe not so much after all. Oh wait, I am going to try a new gym and a different workout that includes kickboxing moves, and also go to the farmer's market.
Also my mental health homework is to start keeping a diary of when I set boundaries in my every day life. If someone asks me to do something, and I can't do it, and I tell the person I can't do it, that's setting a boundary. If I need help and I ask for it, that's somehow connected to boundaries but I don't remember how. So I am supposed to keep track of that. Reading over this I guess I understand why I am feeling just a bit overwhelmed. Better get started.

Things I should do today

1. Try different sushi restaurant with sister
2. Choose 3 papers and write synthesis paper on the papers
3. Clean disgusting bathroom
4. Take daughter to pediatrician's office for shot
5. Write stupid, boring and mundane blog entry (done)