Painted Princes
Icy sparks slide down my face
As I remember them and that grin
He wore so proudly and so fake.
Never trust faith’s fortune
Especially the kind that passes
Through twilight skies, so real.
Stop trying to catch it.
Deny his prophecies and your intellect,
Interrupt his laughter with screams.
Painted princes cast stones on the lowly,
Broadcasting their splendor
After showering their loves with roses, lilacs, champagne.
The dreams we illustrate
Are plastic mugs of milk compared
To the moons we have in store.
Painted princes never satisfy.
He’ll melt in the heat of the day.
Like all the thieves before.
Monday, September 27, 2004
Friday, September 24, 2004
Growly Teachers!
I growled at my students today. Seriously. I made claws with my fingers and went "grrrr!" They were just being so dumb today. Now of course I did not say dumb. But really, people. Come on.
One of the top three most intelligent girls asked me when she got her math worksheet..."Do we put our names on it?" Duh! What do we do EVERYDAY? Hello. I just looked at her and said "What?!"
This other kid asked me, "Can I have some money?" Um....NO! My response to that question was, "Why would you ask something like that? That is a bit inappropriate, don't you think?" I mean, they ALL get free lunch, so it's not like they are starving or anything. Greedy. One of the other kids said, "That's greedy!" Thank you Joy Cowley for all those Greedy Cat books. Now my kids know what greedy means.
"Miss, can we watch tv?" What???!!! What the heck are these kids thinking and why do they ask stupid, stupid questions like that just to ask, just to talk? Grrr!
They asked SO many questions today that at the end of the day I just said "Give me TWO minutes! Two minutes without any questions!"
And then two of the boys were sexually harassing one of the little girls! Blowing her kisses! What sickos :-p The poor little girl told them to stop and they wouldn't and she sits right in between them...and I know that she has abuse in her past. I just wanted to arrest them. :) Okay, maybe not really. But I was really upset that they made her feel that way.
And WHERE the heck am I supposed to put the trouble maker in my class? No matter who he sits by, he gets them in trouble! Poor Amy. Dear sweet Amy that never does anything wrong got on yellow yesterday :-( I felt so bad for her. And it was all Tony's fault, the little punk. So Amy didn't get a Fun Friday and she deserves it more than anyone for sure. Sigh. Teachers aren't fair, are they?
One of the top three most intelligent girls asked me when she got her math worksheet..."Do we put our names on it?" Duh! What do we do EVERYDAY? Hello. I just looked at her and said "What?!"
This other kid asked me, "Can I have some money?" Um....NO! My response to that question was, "Why would you ask something like that? That is a bit inappropriate, don't you think?" I mean, they ALL get free lunch, so it's not like they are starving or anything. Greedy. One of the other kids said, "That's greedy!" Thank you Joy Cowley for all those Greedy Cat books. Now my kids know what greedy means.
"Miss, can we watch tv?" What???!!! What the heck are these kids thinking and why do they ask stupid, stupid questions like that just to ask, just to talk? Grrr!
They asked SO many questions today that at the end of the day I just said "Give me TWO minutes! Two minutes without any questions!"
And then two of the boys were sexually harassing one of the little girls! Blowing her kisses! What sickos :-p The poor little girl told them to stop and they wouldn't and she sits right in between them...and I know that she has abuse in her past. I just wanted to arrest them. :) Okay, maybe not really. But I was really upset that they made her feel that way.
And WHERE the heck am I supposed to put the trouble maker in my class? No matter who he sits by, he gets them in trouble! Poor Amy. Dear sweet Amy that never does anything wrong got on yellow yesterday :-( I felt so bad for her. And it was all Tony's fault, the little punk. So Amy didn't get a Fun Friday and she deserves it more than anyone for sure. Sigh. Teachers aren't fair, are they?
Monday, September 20, 2004
Pocket Charts are Expensive
I bought a new pocket chart so that I could introduce our pocket chart workstation. Well, I didn't realize it but the 60 dollar pocket chart I bought is like gigantic, so I don't think I can even use it...at least not yet. And where the h-e-double K could I put it anyway in that teeny tiny classroom that is covered in windows?
TOMORROW interims go home and THEN we have Open House. How appropriate, right? Not so much. I'll just have a bunch of p-o'd parents wanting to chat in Spanish. No way Joses! Me no hable.
The first person who tells me how to say "YOUR SON IS SLOW!" in Spanish wins a prize :)
Oh come on. I was just kidding :)
TOMORROW interims go home and THEN we have Open House. How appropriate, right? Not so much. I'll just have a bunch of p-o'd parents wanting to chat in Spanish. No way Joses! Me no hable.
The first person who tells me how to say "YOUR SON IS SLOW!" in Spanish wins a prize :)
Oh come on. I was just kidding :)
Sunday, September 19, 2004
PA-Rrrrraze the Loooowd!
We found a good church! I think it's just about perfect for us. I love it. I am so happy. Happy, I tell you. I want to go live there, where people are happy and where people love God. Do you know, do you have ANY idea how refreshing that is after practically a year of spiritual deadness around me, after being surrounded by nothing but spiritual alive-ness for 6 years? Oh God, it's so good. We went to service, Sunday school, and then I went out to eat with some of the people while John went off to work because honestly, I never wanted to leave.
Is it possible that I could soon have FRIENDS?! Friends who actually love Jesus that I can SEE face to face? Ah! It seems too good to be true. I guess I shouldn't get TOO excited or my new "friends" will be like, "Whoa, this girl is psychotic!" But hello! I was starting to die down here!
The bad news? I think I've lost my Bible! This is an absolutely terrible, horrific, unimaginable thing. It has every verse that has been important to me for the past 5 years highlighted. It has notes in it, memory verses, commitments, prayers, and it's the Bible I read cover to cover my Junior year...so it's important to me. Has anyone seen it?
Is it possible that I could soon have FRIENDS?! Friends who actually love Jesus that I can SEE face to face? Ah! It seems too good to be true. I guess I shouldn't get TOO excited or my new "friends" will be like, "Whoa, this girl is psychotic!" But hello! I was starting to die down here!
The bad news? I think I've lost my Bible! This is an absolutely terrible, horrific, unimaginable thing. It has every verse that has been important to me for the past 5 years highlighted. It has notes in it, memory verses, commitments, prayers, and it's the Bible I read cover to cover my Junior year...so it's important to me. Has anyone seen it?
Friday, September 17, 2004
I Am No Longer...
...an audio book virgin! I am on my final chapters of the book, "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles. It is an interesting experience, listening to audio books. I decided to do it because I was tired of "wasting time" driving for an hour and 20 minutes everyday. I can't believe I'm almost done with the book already. I had no idea it would go so fast.
But the thing is, I'm not sure if I like "A Separate Peace" or not. The guy who reads it on the CD is a quack. I mean, he reads the voices all wrong. I can't picture Phineas the way I want to picture Phineas because the reader man makes his voice sound like a dazed and confused Kurt Kobain. The flowery language is soooo boring when it's spoken but I think it'd be better if it was read--I sort of feel like I'm cheating myself, robbing myself of the book's best qualities, which must be underlying humor as well as sadness and betrayal along with outstanding language. Well anyway, I don't really recommend the book--especially not to you, Mom.
MY JOB
My job is hell on earth. I am not kidding you. It is so hard. Not the teaching part, not the kids part, not the discipline, not the classroom management, no none of that. I'm not sure even what to say IS hard about it...oh wait, maybe it's because NO ONE TELLS ME ANYTHING! I found out today that interims were due today. I thought they were due on Tuesday because that's what I was told previously. Whatever. They'll get them on Tuesday.
So today I was at work until 6:30 and tomorrow (Saturday, right?) I get to wake up at the buttcrack of dawn and go to a CLASS for eight hours.
But the worst part is my mommy isn't here to make me feel better, and my mommy isn't here to say "Just sit down and relax." And she would get me what I wanted without even realizing she was doing anything for me, and if I did something stupid like accidentally leave a light on, she wouldn't care at all. AND MAYBE if life was like that here I wouldn't be so stressed out. Maybe.
To add to my problems, two hurricanes are on the way. Ha!
But the thing is, I'm not sure if I like "A Separate Peace" or not. The guy who reads it on the CD is a quack. I mean, he reads the voices all wrong. I can't picture Phineas the way I want to picture Phineas because the reader man makes his voice sound like a dazed and confused Kurt Kobain. The flowery language is soooo boring when it's spoken but I think it'd be better if it was read--I sort of feel like I'm cheating myself, robbing myself of the book's best qualities, which must be underlying humor as well as sadness and betrayal along with outstanding language. Well anyway, I don't really recommend the book--especially not to you, Mom.
MY JOB
My job is hell on earth. I am not kidding you. It is so hard. Not the teaching part, not the kids part, not the discipline, not the classroom management, no none of that. I'm not sure even what to say IS hard about it...oh wait, maybe it's because NO ONE TELLS ME ANYTHING! I found out today that interims were due today. I thought they were due on Tuesday because that's what I was told previously. Whatever. They'll get them on Tuesday.
So today I was at work until 6:30 and tomorrow (Saturday, right?) I get to wake up at the buttcrack of dawn and go to a CLASS for eight hours.
But the worst part is my mommy isn't here to make me feel better, and my mommy isn't here to say "Just sit down and relax." And she would get me what I wanted without even realizing she was doing anything for me, and if I did something stupid like accidentally leave a light on, she wouldn't care at all. AND MAYBE if life was like that here I wouldn't be so stressed out. Maybe.
To add to my problems, two hurricanes are on the way. Ha!
Sunday, September 12, 2004
I Love Disney World!
We decided to stay in Orlando because the hurricane is now headed straight for Georgia. We are right next to Disney World, so wouldn't it be great to go to Epcot while I am here, buy my "season's tickets" for the whole year? But John was too tired so we didn't. :-( Now I get to sit around and take cat naps.
Well, I am going to go back to pouting now.
Well, I am going to go back to pouting now.
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Down in Georgia, Pickin' Them Peaches...
Do any of you know that song?
Well, that's where we're going--Georgia. Augusta to be exact. We tried to get a more exciting place but the hotels were booked. Florida residents are flying north. We don't know for sure (of course) if it's coming for us now because it looks like it's definitely going towards the panhandle.
We're leaving in a few hours. You can reach me on my cell phone if you need me (330) 343-3877. Our windows are all boarded up and I have almost all my clothes packed and my valuables and my important documents. What a pain...now I'll have to unpack it all eventually. Sigh :) We took pictures of other valuables that we can't take and recorded their serial numbers (John's bike, tvs, dvd players, stereos, etc.) and took a video of the house.
We're going to Orlando tonight to stay over with John's aunt and uncle and cousins...they are awesome, awesome people and I'm really excited.
So I guess we could use a lot of prayer--mostly that people stay sane and don't do stupid things, because that seems to kill more people than does a hurricane.
Peeing Pants Reply to Alison: Hehehe. This little girl was hilarious when she peed her pants. She wasn't embarassed at all. She just smiled and announced to the class, "I just couldn't hold it! So I had a little accident!" And some of the other kids just smiled and said, "That's okay!" And then the little class clown chimes in, "Yeah, we don't care if you peed your pants!" And all the kids laughed, including Beth (the peed pants girl) as she walked out the door. I sent her to the clinic with another student. The clinic gave her another set of clothes. Problem solved :) No biggie.
I have another girl in my class that pees her pants nearly every day, but her adoptive mom works there so she always has another set of clothes at school.
Well, that's where we're going--Georgia. Augusta to be exact. We tried to get a more exciting place but the hotels were booked. Florida residents are flying north. We don't know for sure (of course) if it's coming for us now because it looks like it's definitely going towards the panhandle.
We're leaving in a few hours. You can reach me on my cell phone if you need me (330) 343-3877. Our windows are all boarded up and I have almost all my clothes packed and my valuables and my important documents. What a pain...now I'll have to unpack it all eventually. Sigh :) We took pictures of other valuables that we can't take and recorded their serial numbers (John's bike, tvs, dvd players, stereos, etc.) and took a video of the house.
We're going to Orlando tonight to stay over with John's aunt and uncle and cousins...they are awesome, awesome people and I'm really excited.
So I guess we could use a lot of prayer--mostly that people stay sane and don't do stupid things, because that seems to kill more people than does a hurricane.
Peeing Pants Reply to Alison: Hehehe. This little girl was hilarious when she peed her pants. She wasn't embarassed at all. She just smiled and announced to the class, "I just couldn't hold it! So I had a little accident!" And some of the other kids just smiled and said, "That's okay!" And then the little class clown chimes in, "Yeah, we don't care if you peed your pants!" And all the kids laughed, including Beth (the peed pants girl) as she walked out the door. I sent her to the clinic with another student. The clinic gave her another set of clothes. Problem solved :) No biggie.
I have another girl in my class that pees her pants nearly every day, but her adoptive mom works there so she always has another set of clothes at school.
Down in Georgia, Pickin' Them Peaches...
Do any of you know that song?
Well, that's where we're going--Georgia. Augusta to be exact. We tried to get a more exciting place but the hotels were booked. Florida residents are flying north. We don't know for sure (of course) if it's coming for us now because it looks like it's definitely going towards the panhandle.
We're leaving in a few hours. You can reach me on my cell phone if you need me (330) 343-3877. Our windows are all boarded up and I have almost all my clothes packed and my valuables and my important documents. What a pain...now I'll have to unpack it all eventually. Sigh :) We took pictures of other valuables that we can't take and recorded their serial numbers (John's bike, tvs, dvd players, stereos, etc.) and took a video of the house.
We're going to Orlando tonight to stay over with John's aunt and uncle and cousins...they are awesome, awesome people and I'm really excited.
So I guess we could use a lot of prayer--mostly that people stay sane and don't do stupid things, because that seems to kill more people than does a hurricane.
Peeing Pants Reply to Alison: Hehehe. This little girl was hilarious when she peed her pants. She wasn't embarassed at all. She just smiled and announced to the class, "I just couldn't hold it! So I had a little accident!" And some of the other kids just smiled and said, "That's okay!" And then the little class clown chimes in, "Yeah, we don't care if you peed your pants!" And all the kids laughed, including Beth (the peed pants girl) as she walked out the door. I sent her to the clinic with another student. The clinic gave her another set of clothes. Problem solved :) No biggie.
I have another girl in my class that pees her pants nearly every day, but her adoptive mom works there so she always has another set of clothes at school.
Well, that's where we're going--Georgia. Augusta to be exact. We tried to get a more exciting place but the hotels were booked. Florida residents are flying north. We don't know for sure (of course) if it's coming for us now because it looks like it's definitely going towards the panhandle.
We're leaving in a few hours. You can reach me on my cell phone if you need me (330) 343-3877. Our windows are all boarded up and I have almost all my clothes packed and my valuables and my important documents. What a pain...now I'll have to unpack it all eventually. Sigh :) We took pictures of other valuables that we can't take and recorded their serial numbers (John's bike, tvs, dvd players, stereos, etc.) and took a video of the house.
We're going to Orlando tonight to stay over with John's aunt and uncle and cousins...they are awesome, awesome people and I'm really excited.
So I guess we could use a lot of prayer--mostly that people stay sane and don't do stupid things, because that seems to kill more people than does a hurricane.
Peeing Pants Reply to Alison: Hehehe. This little girl was hilarious when she peed her pants. She wasn't embarassed at all. She just smiled and announced to the class, "I just couldn't hold it! So I had a little accident!" And some of the other kids just smiled and said, "That's okay!" And then the little class clown chimes in, "Yeah, we don't care if you peed your pants!" And all the kids laughed, including Beth (the peed pants girl) as she walked out the door. I sent her to the clinic with another student. The clinic gave her another set of clothes. Problem solved :) No biggie.
I have another girl in my class that pees her pants nearly every day, but her adoptive mom works there so she always has another set of clothes at school.
Friday, September 10, 2004
Not AGAIN!
All right, all right, so Charley was terrible and Frances was worse than just bad...but Ivan could totally be the killer of us all. Everyone here seems to be taking it VERY seriously since those who didn't take Charley seriously learned their lesson...
Even Dave, John's stepdad, was talking about us escaping to North Carolina...and he would even come with us...(he's a water geologist of some sort and so he usually stays for these things) so if he's planning on leaving too, that means he is pee-in-his-pants-skeered which is of course, not very settling to me.
In case you don't know, Naples is the second-most southern county in FL and we are about 20-30 minutes from the coast. Sanibel isn't far at all from us, and it got ransacked by Charley. Right now, Ivan is a category 4 storm...but it could go up or down at the last minute or totally change direction.
And we're not having school Monday.
I'm thankful for the vacation, of course...but come on people, I can't get much at all done in four day weeks! It totally cancels out spelling tests, that's for sure.
I sent a boy to the principal's office today and a little girl peed her pants...how eventful!
AND my principal and these two very important looking people came in my classroom today just as one of my reading groups grabbed "Connect Four" to play during our literacy block. I didn't say anything because they had already started playing and their normal workstation (the classroom library), they had just packed into boxes (because of the hurricane). This is a BIG NO NO. Our literacy block is supposed to be totally uninterrupted literacy time, which as far as I know does not involve Connect Four. I'm waiting to get reamed for that one. Crap crap crap.
It was a HORRIBLE day to visit my classroom because I was sick lastnight and this morning so everything was a mess and just....oh dear....and it wasn't just my principal, it was these two other people that she was probably trying to impress and...
Okay, I'll stop.
:-(
Even Dave, John's stepdad, was talking about us escaping to North Carolina...and he would even come with us...(he's a water geologist of some sort and so he usually stays for these things) so if he's planning on leaving too, that means he is pee-in-his-pants-skeered which is of course, not very settling to me.
In case you don't know, Naples is the second-most southern county in FL and we are about 20-30 minutes from the coast. Sanibel isn't far at all from us, and it got ransacked by Charley. Right now, Ivan is a category 4 storm...but it could go up or down at the last minute or totally change direction.
And we're not having school Monday.
I'm thankful for the vacation, of course...but come on people, I can't get much at all done in four day weeks! It totally cancels out spelling tests, that's for sure.
I sent a boy to the principal's office today and a little girl peed her pants...how eventful!
AND my principal and these two very important looking people came in my classroom today just as one of my reading groups grabbed "Connect Four" to play during our literacy block. I didn't say anything because they had already started playing and their normal workstation (the classroom library), they had just packed into boxes (because of the hurricane). This is a BIG NO NO. Our literacy block is supposed to be totally uninterrupted literacy time, which as far as I know does not involve Connect Four. I'm waiting to get reamed for that one. Crap crap crap.
It was a HORRIBLE day to visit my classroom because I was sick lastnight and this morning so everything was a mess and just....oh dear....and it wasn't just my principal, it was these two other people that she was probably trying to impress and...
Okay, I'll stop.
:-(
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Songs That Take Me Back...
(I stole this idea from Chrystal who got it from Veronica)
Brown Eyed Girl (any version): This makes me think of, what else? ME!
Walkin' on Broken Glass by Annie Lennox: This is the worst song in the entire world. It takes me back to watching VH1 (sometimes even taping it), waiting and waiting for Wilson Phillips and some other sucky artists' videos...and then THIS song would come on and I would SCREAM and turn it. Then I roomed with Lindsay...and she loved this song! ECK!!!!
I'm Pressin' On by Relient K: I rewrote some lyrics to this song and entitled it "I Hope You Die" my junior year of college. :) What a great thing to do to a Christian song................?
Should I Stay or Should I Go? by The Clash?: I remember doing some sort of break dancing to this song when I was about seven... I don't know.
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen: Who doesn't get taken back by this song?
Kokomo by the Beach Boys: This takes me back to the days when my cousin and I would play this song over and over on his Little Tikes tape player and try to memorize the words...and I'd dream of white dresses and honeymoons :)
Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys: This reminds me of my cousin (the same cousin) because I'm pretty sure two of the first words he said were "Ba-ba-ba-ba-barbara ann..."and he and my other cousin and I would jump on the bed as we listened to this Beach Boys record, singing it at the top of our lungs.
Grandma's Feather Bed by John Denver: My weirdo kindergarten teacher made us memorize this song. Can you imagine?
Livin' on a Prayer by Bon Jovi: My aunt loved Bon Jovi and Bruce Springstein. Anyway, she would always listen to this song and I thought it was about Laura Ingalls (I thought it was called "Living on a Prairie").
Barbie Girl by Aqua: I think this song was playing one of the very last times JR had to ever take me to school...when it was uncool to be dropped off by your parents but I couldn't drive yet. It was the first time I'd heard it and I was like, "what...?!"
Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough by Patti Smyth: This is what I cried to over my first heartbreak...in sixth grade...when little Benny broke up with me to go out with the other Amanda in my class. Tear*
The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra: When usually Winey and Jeff would listen to psycho stuff, they bring out this sort of thing. We listened to Frank Sinatra all the way back from Chicago...and I thought about dancing on top of skyscrapers in a red dress as I sat in the back of the car around midnight. *Sigh.*
I'm A Big Girl by Emilia: This was my big time theme song for my dreadful junior/senior year when I was your typical heartbroken, downtrodden mono-ridden, stressed-out 17 year old.
I'm Here Without You...by 3 Doors Down: John gave me this CD and the words to this song really stuck with me when I was thousands of miles away for almost 100 days. "A hundred days have made me older since the last time that I saw your pretty face..."
Cecilia: For some reason me and some of the other Lighthouse girls danced to this song, in a circle, in me and Lindsay's tiny room, for like an hour.
Sex on the Beach: For some other odd reason, Sarah loved this song our freshman year at Muskingum. We were still in awe of fraternities back then :) We grew out of that real fast...because the only "Sex on the Beach" in Muskieland is a drink--and they're too poor to make it...and too ugly/drunk/smelly to do it (apologies to all of you who are over 40 that I just offended). :)
Brown Eyed Girl (any version): This makes me think of, what else? ME!
Walkin' on Broken Glass by Annie Lennox: This is the worst song in the entire world. It takes me back to watching VH1 (sometimes even taping it), waiting and waiting for Wilson Phillips and some other sucky artists' videos...and then THIS song would come on and I would SCREAM and turn it. Then I roomed with Lindsay...and she loved this song! ECK!!!!
I'm Pressin' On by Relient K: I rewrote some lyrics to this song and entitled it "I Hope You Die" my junior year of college. :) What a great thing to do to a Christian song................?
Should I Stay or Should I Go? by The Clash?: I remember doing some sort of break dancing to this song when I was about seven... I don't know.
Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen: Who doesn't get taken back by this song?
Kokomo by the Beach Boys: This takes me back to the days when my cousin and I would play this song over and over on his Little Tikes tape player and try to memorize the words...and I'd dream of white dresses and honeymoons :)
Barbara Ann by the Beach Boys: This reminds me of my cousin (the same cousin) because I'm pretty sure two of the first words he said were "Ba-ba-ba-ba-barbara ann..."and he and my other cousin and I would jump on the bed as we listened to this Beach Boys record, singing it at the top of our lungs.
Grandma's Feather Bed by John Denver: My weirdo kindergarten teacher made us memorize this song. Can you imagine?
Livin' on a Prayer by Bon Jovi: My aunt loved Bon Jovi and Bruce Springstein. Anyway, she would always listen to this song and I thought it was about Laura Ingalls (I thought it was called "Living on a Prairie").
Barbie Girl by Aqua: I think this song was playing one of the very last times JR had to ever take me to school...when it was uncool to be dropped off by your parents but I couldn't drive yet. It was the first time I'd heard it and I was like, "what...?!"
Sometimes Love Just Ain't Enough by Patti Smyth: This is what I cried to over my first heartbreak...in sixth grade...when little Benny broke up with me to go out with the other Amanda in my class. Tear*
The Way You Look Tonight by Frank Sinatra: When usually Winey and Jeff would listen to psycho stuff, they bring out this sort of thing. We listened to Frank Sinatra all the way back from Chicago...and I thought about dancing on top of skyscrapers in a red dress as I sat in the back of the car around midnight. *Sigh.*
I'm A Big Girl by Emilia: This was my big time theme song for my dreadful junior/senior year when I was your typical heartbroken, downtrodden mono-ridden, stressed-out 17 year old.
I'm Here Without You...by 3 Doors Down: John gave me this CD and the words to this song really stuck with me when I was thousands of miles away for almost 100 days. "A hundred days have made me older since the last time that I saw your pretty face..."
Cecilia: For some reason me and some of the other Lighthouse girls danced to this song, in a circle, in me and Lindsay's tiny room, for like an hour.
Sex on the Beach: For some other odd reason, Sarah loved this song our freshman year at Muskingum. We were still in awe of fraternities back then :) We grew out of that real fast...because the only "Sex on the Beach" in Muskieland is a drink--and they're too poor to make it...and too ugly/drunk/smelly to do it (apologies to all of you who are over 40 that I just offended). :)
Monday, September 06, 2004
Yummmmmmmy!
I wrote this REALLY long blog yesterday and the power went out and I completely lost it! Arrrgghh. I guess I shouldn't try to post things in the middle of a hurricane.
Oh by the way, Hurricane Ivan is on his way. Joy! He's headed straight for us, I hear. Of course, that was yesterday. Who knows what it's doing now.
My four day weekend is almost over :-( John and I were going to go to the beach but...it's raining. Big surprise. We've been spending more money than we probably should. But after being stuck in the house with 12 people for two days, who can blame us? I took John out to Applebee's (I LOVE Applebee's!!!!!) and then he took me out to Noodles, this Italian restaurant near us. We went with John's brother Mark and his girlfriend, Jen. It was a great time. Then we played two rounds of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus." Fun game! Then we played 12 rounds of Scattergories! It was nice to hang out with people that don't need help tying their shoes :)
The Italian restuarant was a lot more expensive than we expected but luckily we got there before 6:30, so we got the "Early Bird Specials." I had rack of lamb with grilled veggies over fettucine noodles. Sounds very sophisticated doesn't it? The lamb didn't taste fresh...it had that funny taste to it. Go figure--I guess they don't butcher lambs in the kitchen. What did I expect? New Zealand DID have better quality meat, I'll give them that. But they DID practically butcher their meat out back.
I miss the American restaurant in New Zealand. Isn't that funny? They really did have great nachos. Holly would always get a Corona and I'd get Coke or water (because they don't know what iced tea is in NZ). I also miss the wood oven baked pizzas at this pub in NZ. I am so food oriented! It's crazy. In fact, one of the questions I had to answer lastnight was,
"The perfect first date for me involves..."
a.) great conversation
b.) great food
c.) great sex
Well, I of course chose b, great food. :) On our first date, I had McDonald's at the zoo with John...a grilled chicken sandwich value meal. On our second date, I had lamb kababs at Cafe Istanbul in Easton, and on our third date, I had chicken pot pie at Applebee's. What a strange thing to order. It wasn't very good.
Oh by the way, Hurricane Ivan is on his way. Joy! He's headed straight for us, I hear. Of course, that was yesterday. Who knows what it's doing now.
My four day weekend is almost over :-( John and I were going to go to the beach but...it's raining. Big surprise. We've been spending more money than we probably should. But after being stuck in the house with 12 people for two days, who can blame us? I took John out to Applebee's (I LOVE Applebee's!!!!!) and then he took me out to Noodles, this Italian restaurant near us. We went with John's brother Mark and his girlfriend, Jen. It was a great time. Then we played two rounds of "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus." Fun game! Then we played 12 rounds of Scattergories! It was nice to hang out with people that don't need help tying their shoes :)
The Italian restuarant was a lot more expensive than we expected but luckily we got there before 6:30, so we got the "Early Bird Specials." I had rack of lamb with grilled veggies over fettucine noodles. Sounds very sophisticated doesn't it? The lamb didn't taste fresh...it had that funny taste to it. Go figure--I guess they don't butcher lambs in the kitchen. What did I expect? New Zealand DID have better quality meat, I'll give them that. But they DID practically butcher their meat out back.
I miss the American restaurant in New Zealand. Isn't that funny? They really did have great nachos. Holly would always get a Corona and I'd get Coke or water (because they don't know what iced tea is in NZ). I also miss the wood oven baked pizzas at this pub in NZ. I am so food oriented! It's crazy. In fact, one of the questions I had to answer lastnight was,
"The perfect first date for me involves..."
a.) great conversation
b.) great food
c.) great sex
Well, I of course chose b, great food. :) On our first date, I had McDonald's at the zoo with John...a grilled chicken sandwich value meal. On our second date, I had lamb kababs at Cafe Istanbul in Easton, and on our third date, I had chicken pot pie at Applebee's. What a strange thing to order. It wasn't very good.
Friday, September 03, 2004
I Love Florida
This is a complainblog again. Sorry :)
WHY DO PEOPLE LIVE HERE?
I have no idea. I am wondering the same thing myself. This place totally sucks! What is up with all the stupid hurricanes every flippin other week? Now we have hurricane Frances. So far "HE" (it is a he Frances) has changed direction away from us, but who knows what he will decide to do. Another hurricane has stirred up though, I hear, in the same place Charley came from and should be here by next week. The GOOD part is that I got a day and a half off of school and would have flown straight home to Ohio for my four-day weekend (Labor Day is Monday) if there had been any seats left on the airplanes. Yes, there are thousands of people that live here that are from or have family in Ohio. It's weird. It's like Ohio Part II down here.
I had to put all my books in storage containers in my classroom just in case the windows get blown in. The storage containers are now stored in my classroom's bathroom, so I hope they are safe. I thought about bringing "Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance" home just in case since it IS my most prized possession, but I left it.
Speaking of Frank, I acted out the book for my kids and they really think I am the best teacher in the world now. I did the voices and the dancing and everything. It was great fun.
Teaching is really hard. The planning part anyway. I have to have an hour and a half of uninterrupted language arts time, which has to be before lunch, and I have to try to squeeze math in before lunch too for it to be profitable. I have to do an hour of reading groups and a half hour of our core (basal) program and let me tell you how much our core program sucks. Basals are the worst thing in the world. Thank you Houghton-Mifflin. I left THOSE books out so if Frances floods them away I don't care!
I wish I had time to do a unit on books by Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, and all those other great authors but guess what? I don't because I have to read books like "Nan and Fan" and "Cat Sat on a Mat." How are my kids supposed to learn ANYTHING about comprehension and vocabulary from that moronic crap? Your guess is as good as mine.
Well that's all I have to say for now.
WHY DO PEOPLE LIVE HERE?
I have no idea. I am wondering the same thing myself. This place totally sucks! What is up with all the stupid hurricanes every flippin other week? Now we have hurricane Frances. So far "HE" (it is a he Frances) has changed direction away from us, but who knows what he will decide to do. Another hurricane has stirred up though, I hear, in the same place Charley came from and should be here by next week. The GOOD part is that I got a day and a half off of school and would have flown straight home to Ohio for my four-day weekend (Labor Day is Monday) if there had been any seats left on the airplanes. Yes, there are thousands of people that live here that are from or have family in Ohio. It's weird. It's like Ohio Part II down here.
I had to put all my books in storage containers in my classroom just in case the windows get blown in. The storage containers are now stored in my classroom's bathroom, so I hope they are safe. I thought about bringing "Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance" home just in case since it IS my most prized possession, but I left it.
Speaking of Frank, I acted out the book for my kids and they really think I am the best teacher in the world now. I did the voices and the dancing and everything. It was great fun.
Teaching is really hard. The planning part anyway. I have to have an hour and a half of uninterrupted language arts time, which has to be before lunch, and I have to try to squeeze math in before lunch too for it to be profitable. I have to do an hour of reading groups and a half hour of our core (basal) program and let me tell you how much our core program sucks. Basals are the worst thing in the world. Thank you Houghton-Mifflin. I left THOSE books out so if Frances floods them away I don't care!
I wish I had time to do a unit on books by Eric Carle, Dr. Seuss, and all those other great authors but guess what? I don't because I have to read books like "Nan and Fan" and "Cat Sat on a Mat." How are my kids supposed to learn ANYTHING about comprehension and vocabulary from that moronic crap? Your guess is as good as mine.
Well that's all I have to say for now.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Bragger Blog
I successfully made it to school BEFORE 7 am and I didn't wake up until 5:30.
I got home BEFORE 5:00 and then went and WORKED OUT for an hour!
While I was working out, I read a research article about vocabulary and comprehension.
I cleaned the litter boxes really quickly too. All of that was DONE by 5:45. AND I wrote on my blog! Ha!
What should I make for dinner tomorrow?
I got home BEFORE 5:00 and then went and WORKED OUT for an hour!
While I was working out, I read a research article about vocabulary and comprehension.
I cleaned the litter boxes really quickly too. All of that was DONE by 5:45. AND I wrote on my blog! Ha!
What should I make for dinner tomorrow?
Monday, August 30, 2004
Did any of you see my pictures? If not, stop being lazy and look at them! :)
Good News: Susan is probably going to come visit me in October! I have our whole weekend planned out already.
Bad Day: My classroom's a/c stopped working today. It was 95 degrees in my room, so we all had to move to another portable to have class there. It was just fabulous. All my kids had headaches and of course, i had one too. All my kids were coughing all day and now guess what I have? A cold. Go figure!
Blogger's New Name: Complainlog? Hmm...sorry :) Gotta vent somewhere!
Bad Day Part 2: Fire ants are still biting my toes at school. Arrrghh.
Good Part: I love my kids!!! They are angels. And they are much smarter than the other first grade classes for sure :)
Good Part 2: I forgot my lunch AGAIN today, but this one little girl DID remember her lunch, and she forgot that she remembered it and went through the lunchline anyway and therefore had an extra lunch so guess what? I got lunch! It was YUMMY! Thanks Cristen!
Good News: Susan is probably going to come visit me in October! I have our whole weekend planned out already.
Bad Day: My classroom's a/c stopped working today. It was 95 degrees in my room, so we all had to move to another portable to have class there. It was just fabulous. All my kids had headaches and of course, i had one too. All my kids were coughing all day and now guess what I have? A cold. Go figure!
Blogger's New Name: Complainlog? Hmm...sorry :) Gotta vent somewhere!
Bad Day Part 2: Fire ants are still biting my toes at school. Arrrghh.
Good Part: I love my kids!!! They are angels. And they are much smarter than the other first grade classes for sure :)
Good Part 2: I forgot my lunch AGAIN today, but this one little girl DID remember her lunch, and she forgot that she remembered it and went through the lunchline anyway and therefore had an extra lunch so guess what? I got lunch! It was YUMMY! Thanks Cristen!
Saturday, August 28, 2004
Let's Make This Easy
If you want to see any of my pictures, just go onto Ofoto.com, type in email address amandah@muskingum.edu and password toulouse. Just don't delete anything! :)
Does This Sound Like a Teachers' Lounge?
Hahaha. Your guys' comments were funny last time. Well, lastnight I stayed at school until 8:30 and I got in trouble with Mr. Bossy Man John. :-p I mean, I would have called but the minutes are out on my phone and when is there time to get online or go to Best Buy to buy more? Never! And how was I supposed to know that the other teachers were going to hand me a lesson plan format that I had to have done by Monday for all my plans for the next week? Yeah! They do things like that. I had to grade spelling tests, math papers, tear out all these math pages, homework pages, and find stuff to give to my gifted kids who sit there in class all bored, AND find stuff for my low kids who sit there in class clueless.
NOT to mention that my room gets up to 81 degrees in the afternoon, there are FIRE ANTS crawling all over now (I got bitten a bunch of times and it hurts like crrrrazy!!!), and yada yada yada. Sigh.
But teaching is fun. I like that part. I LOVE being at school until 3:00....and after that I'm like, okay, I want to go home...home meaning MY home in Orrville to see my mommy. But I can't do that really so I don't mind so much staying a little late. John usually isn't home until late anyway and it's not like I have any friends. But I'm not trying to get pity here, trust me. I am SO GLAD I don't have any friends here because shwew, they would be totally getting ignored right now. Sorry non existent Floridian friends!!!
We do weather and calendar every morning you know, and really the weather is VERY pointless. We are in the sunshine state afterall. The little arrow hasn't been moved off of "Sunny" in all ten days of school. I didn't bother with a seasons chart that had winter with all that snow and crap. They need to make a Florida version!
As an Ohioan I had never thought of this, but the winter/fall lines here in Florida at the mall and other stores are still...winter/fall. Like sweaters and stuff. I need sleeveless shirts for work and all I can find is long sleeve sweaters and pants. Yikes! They need to do something about that.
Mom, Miss Bishop is evil. I tie my students' shoes but when I do it, I tell them they need to practice at home. I don't write notes home that say "YOU need to teach your kid how to tie their shoes!" That's kind of rude. I did write a note home concerning a little girl's shoes because she couldn't walk in them, though, and they were cutting into her skin and making her bleed. I don't think that's crossing the line. I can tell you right now though that I think that little girl will get held back into first grade again because she has a 3 minute attention span, and her birthday is in July so she's younger anyway--just turned siz, when practically all my other kids are almost 8 because they've all been held back once already.
Some of these kids are so S L O W. They hold us up every where we go. I swear it takes this one kid 5 minutes to walk to the carpet, and he will sit way back in the back and EVERY DAY at least 4 times I tell him to move up. You'd think he would get a clue. And then half the kids feel the urge to lay down right there in the middle of class. Hello. "We are not preschoolers," I say. Hahaha. It's kind of fun to make fun of my kids...but you know I love them :) I do want to say sometimes though, "STOP ACTING STUPID!" Because honestly, they do act stupid and I KNOW they are not. One kid really acts like he doesn't get anything and I know he does, he just wants attention, and I have another kid that just stares into space ALL DAY LONG and doesn't do a daggone thing. Arrggh. It's so frustrating, because as a student teacher I could have taken the time to figure out the problem and talk to the kid one on one for half the day, but now I just can't, you know? I just have to move on with the other fifteen kids who are ready to move on. It's aggravating because school just isn't fair to anyone.
Although I am tired and working a lot...I'm not stressed. It's weird, but I'm just not. And I'm never worried really about anything (except my checking account). And I really like what I do :)
NOT to mention that my room gets up to 81 degrees in the afternoon, there are FIRE ANTS crawling all over now (I got bitten a bunch of times and it hurts like crrrrazy!!!), and yada yada yada. Sigh.
But teaching is fun. I like that part. I LOVE being at school until 3:00....and after that I'm like, okay, I want to go home...home meaning MY home in Orrville to see my mommy. But I can't do that really so I don't mind so much staying a little late. John usually isn't home until late anyway and it's not like I have any friends. But I'm not trying to get pity here, trust me. I am SO GLAD I don't have any friends here because shwew, they would be totally getting ignored right now. Sorry non existent Floridian friends!!!
We do weather and calendar every morning you know, and really the weather is VERY pointless. We are in the sunshine state afterall. The little arrow hasn't been moved off of "Sunny" in all ten days of school. I didn't bother with a seasons chart that had winter with all that snow and crap. They need to make a Florida version!
As an Ohioan I had never thought of this, but the winter/fall lines here in Florida at the mall and other stores are still...winter/fall. Like sweaters and stuff. I need sleeveless shirts for work and all I can find is long sleeve sweaters and pants. Yikes! They need to do something about that.
Mom, Miss Bishop is evil. I tie my students' shoes but when I do it, I tell them they need to practice at home. I don't write notes home that say "YOU need to teach your kid how to tie their shoes!" That's kind of rude. I did write a note home concerning a little girl's shoes because she couldn't walk in them, though, and they were cutting into her skin and making her bleed. I don't think that's crossing the line. I can tell you right now though that I think that little girl will get held back into first grade again because she has a 3 minute attention span, and her birthday is in July so she's younger anyway--just turned siz, when practically all my other kids are almost 8 because they've all been held back once already.
Some of these kids are so S L O W. They hold us up every where we go. I swear it takes this one kid 5 minutes to walk to the carpet, and he will sit way back in the back and EVERY DAY at least 4 times I tell him to move up. You'd think he would get a clue. And then half the kids feel the urge to lay down right there in the middle of class. Hello. "We are not preschoolers," I say. Hahaha. It's kind of fun to make fun of my kids...but you know I love them :) I do want to say sometimes though, "STOP ACTING STUPID!" Because honestly, they do act stupid and I KNOW they are not. One kid really acts like he doesn't get anything and I know he does, he just wants attention, and I have another kid that just stares into space ALL DAY LONG and doesn't do a daggone thing. Arrggh. It's so frustrating, because as a student teacher I could have taken the time to figure out the problem and talk to the kid one on one for half the day, but now I just can't, you know? I just have to move on with the other fifteen kids who are ready to move on. It's aggravating because school just isn't fair to anyone.
Although I am tired and working a lot...I'm not stressed. It's weird, but I'm just not. And I'm never worried really about anything (except my checking account). And I really like what I do :)
Monday, August 23, 2004
I'm Tired
If you're wondering why I haven't posted, it's because I wake up every day at 5 am and work until about 7 or 8, which means I get home at 8 or 9, and then I eat, pack my lunch for the next day, and go to sleep. So yes, I'm tired.
Teaching is a lot of work. I don't think I could be a mom at the same time. I am not kidding, it is like having 17 kids of my own. I do everything for them. I tie their shoes, fill their waters, get their folders ready, etc. etc. I love them all...they're such cuties. But good heavens, it's so much work!!!!!
Teaching is a lot of work. I don't think I could be a mom at the same time. I am not kidding, it is like having 17 kids of my own. I do everything for them. I tie their shoes, fill their waters, get their folders ready, etc. etc. I love them all...they're such cuties. But good heavens, it's so much work!!!!!
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
My First Two Days
My first two days have been great! The kids are adorable, of course, and I am getting along just fine! I will write more later when I'm not so busy!!!
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Church Search Fun
Well, each Sunday that I have been here (except the first one I think), I have visited a new church with John. But last Sunday I went by myself. I couldn't find the church I was looking for though, so I just stopped by this other one that had an 11:00 service, called New Hope Ministries, which sounds non-denominational to me. Usually when you go to a non-denominational church you sort of know what to expect. Well, it turns out that this one was Pentacostal. So I got really freaked out. I sat there for a while trying to convince myself to stay. I mean, afterall, they DO believe in God and probably love God just as much as anyone in such and such church. Well I just got so unbelievably uncomfortable that after five minutes of the sermon I got up and left. Isn't that rude? Well, I was angry! Why didn't they say they were pentacostal? Why didn't they have a sign that said, "Hello! We speak in tongues!" Dude.
I haven't been to one church that has been just right. I've liked a couple that weren't really to John's liking, though, and he could probably say the same. I liked the church we went to today (they support the missionaries I know in Haiti) but the sermon was a little different. I mean it was like, very, very, very Biblish. Which is a good thing, don't get me wrong, but we read this whole chapter and a half and talked about Jews and Gentiles and Simon called Peter and Simon and Cornelius and...well, you know, stuff that you might talk about in a small group Bible Study, not a sermon. Needless to say, my attention span was less than the normal 15 minutes. But the worship was good and the people were nice. The other church I liked a lot the worship was bad and the sermon was good. Sigh. And the Baptist church was a little too close to Waco for my liking...and Baptists are a little bit crazy to begin with. SO WHAT TO DO. I just want to find a church.
First Day of School is tomorrow! I am excited. The only thing I am nervous about is the copies I need DONE by 7:20. We start school at 7:40 every morning. Isn't that just great. Teachers must be there by 7:30, and I live about 40 minutes away. So I am getting up at 5 am tomorrow morning. But the good thing is that we let out at 2:10 and have teacher meetings till 3:10. So there's lots of communication happening and if I do need to be home by 4:00, I can be. But you can bet I will be there till at least 5 every day. :)
TEACHING is COMPLICATED. I won't go into detail, but seriously, take my word for it. I am so confused--my teacher's editions are weird, some are missing, there's too much stuff here!!!! Where to start? What to do?
I haven't been to one church that has been just right. I've liked a couple that weren't really to John's liking, though, and he could probably say the same. I liked the church we went to today (they support the missionaries I know in Haiti) but the sermon was a little different. I mean it was like, very, very, very Biblish. Which is a good thing, don't get me wrong, but we read this whole chapter and a half and talked about Jews and Gentiles and Simon called Peter and Simon and Cornelius and...well, you know, stuff that you might talk about in a small group Bible Study, not a sermon. Needless to say, my attention span was less than the normal 15 minutes. But the worship was good and the people were nice. The other church I liked a lot the worship was bad and the sermon was good. Sigh. And the Baptist church was a little too close to Waco for my liking...and Baptists are a little bit crazy to begin with. SO WHAT TO DO. I just want to find a church.
First Day of School is tomorrow! I am excited. The only thing I am nervous about is the copies I need DONE by 7:20. We start school at 7:40 every morning. Isn't that just great. Teachers must be there by 7:30, and I live about 40 minutes away. So I am getting up at 5 am tomorrow morning. But the good thing is that we let out at 2:10 and have teacher meetings till 3:10. So there's lots of communication happening and if I do need to be home by 4:00, I can be. But you can bet I will be there till at least 5 every day. :)
TEACHING is COMPLICATED. I won't go into detail, but seriously, take my word for it. I am so confused--my teacher's editions are weird, some are missing, there's too much stuff here!!!! Where to start? What to do?
Don't Hold Your Breath!
Hurricane Earl is on its way and it has so far taken the same path as Charley!
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