Hi everyone... I'm blogging at wordpress now. Check it out at http://damselandfamily.com/ . See you there!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Today was a GREAT day
Ever have one of those days where things just go your way?? I had one today. Lots of things went right, and lots of those things were due to some hard work I've put in. That feeling of accomplishment is just so awesome. I thought I'd celebrate them with you! First, I finished my lesson plans for next week. My goal every week is to complete the plans on Thursday so that I can use my time on Friday to go over them and make sure I have what I need. Sometimes it happens, and sometimes it doesn't. Today it actually happened, and it happened very smoothly! It's such a good feeling to go into a Friday knowing that my lessons are planned for the following week. I'm the junior homeroom teacher, which means that the planning for prom and the junior/senior banquet falls mostly on me. I gathered the other teachers who are on the faculty committee and we had a fantastic meeting. We hammered out a bunch of the big items, so now we can hand a lot of it over to the student committee and let them make decisions on most of the details (with guidance, of course). It felt really good to get those things down on paper, so they can stop swirling around in my head! This is the biggest thing that happened today... I received the nicest, sweetest card ever from my sister Beezneez (the one who's getting married) in the mail today. She's so good to send random cards that are just hilarious. She writes little notes of encouragement to me, and they always seem to arrive exactly when I need them most. Well, this one was just like her others, just explaining some of the things that she appreciated about me. I got all teary-eyed, and then actually bawled out loud when I got to the end because she asked me to be her matron of honor! It was just so incredibly sweet. I totally have the fierce love-loyalty-pride-protection thing going because she's my little sister, and I'm just so honored that she would ask me to stand next to her. I'm going to be the BEST matron of honor, EVER, just for HER because she totally deserves it. (Love you, Beez!) Last, but definitely not least, I had my Weight Watchers meeting tonight. After last week's gain (that I still believe was mostly due to the jeans and sweatshirt combo), I worked really hard all week, cooking well, riding my stationary bike, and paying attention to what I was eating. I made sure to wear the clothes I usually wear (jogging pants and a t-shirt), and... drum roll, please... I lost 5.2 pounds!!! I know that 5.2 pounds is totally unrealistic for a one-week loss, but that just confirms my thoughts that the clothes last week were definitely a part of the gain. Still, I know I lost some actual weight this week! Yay! Now, it's to bed and (hopefully) to an early sleep. This first full week back is wearing me out... :)
Thursday Thirteen #1
I'm trying something new this week. I saw this on TeacherBee's blog, and decided that I might write more often if only I had a little direction. It would be nice to have one day a week that has a little more structure to it. So, here is my first Thursday Thirteen!
1... Like TeacherBee mentioned in one of her posts, I prefer my own homebrewed coffee to Starbucks'. I think that Starbucks' coffee is ridiculously bitter, totally unpleasant, and insanely overpriced.
2. When I do go to Starbucks, I usually get a passion tea (sweetened) or an iced chai tea latte. It depends on how many of my Weight Watchers points I want to spend on a drink!
3. When I make my coffee at home, I make it a tad stronger than I would normally like. That's because I don't like drinking hot coffee. In a normal cup, I add two pieces of ice. In my travel mug that I take every morning, I add four. This is so that I don't have to wait for it to cool to drink it.
4. I've used the same travel mug every single school day and most Sundays since last Valentine's Day. It's pink and pretty with hearts on it. After nearly a year of use and abuse, it's showing it's age with a crack in the plastic that's only getting worse. I've been on the lookout for a new one, but am too picky. There are features I really like about mine (the shape, the height, the way the top opens and closes, that it seals well, etc.) that are really only on the ones at Starbucks. That's where I splurged and got this pink one, by the way. I just have a hard time spending $20 on a CUP, even though I know that, judging by this past year, I'll get way more than $20 of use out of it. So, I've found one at Starbucks that I'll be using Christmas gift cards to get.
5. My very favorite days of the week (month?) are the days that the housekeeper comes AND I have dinner in the slow-cooker. Walking into a clean house with dinner almost ready is heaven. I've finally figured out that those days can be planned to happen every single day that the housekeeper comes. Who knew?
6. I really, really love getting up before anyone else in my house. That is my only time to myself, and I *need* it for my sanity's sake. I don't do anything particuluarly special during that time, but I can go through my routine to get ready for the day without worrying that Knight or Jet will need me for something else.
7. I put on my makeup and style my hair everyday. I don't really consider myself high maintenance. It's just that, if I'm out and about, Murphy's Law states that I will always run into a student or parent when I'm scruffy. Since my superintendent really thinks of the teachers as the best PR the school has, I try to look presentable when I'm in public. If I do my hair and makeup, I feel like I look okay, even if I just have on jogging pants and a T-shirt. Plus, since I chopped off my hair, I can't just put it up in a ponytail anymore.
8. I'm a realist, almost to the point of being a non-dreamer. I don't have huge dreams. I don't spend time playing the "someday" game. It's sort of a method of self-defense. If I can't plan it all the way through to see the end results before I get started, I often just don't bother. That way I'm not disappointed if it turns out badly. I'm working on this, and Knight is helping. He IS a dreamer, big-time! :)
9. I always double-knot my shoes. *shrug*
10. I hate crowds. I'd much rather stay home and read a good book than go somewhere with a ton of people. Mostly, I'm scared of the "mob mentality".
11. I'm NOT trendy. I don't get caught up in the latest fads, fashion or otherwise. I'm a traditionalist, but it's mostly because I'm too lazy to keep up. I hate the thought of buying or doing something that I'll have to change next year (or month) because it's not "in style". I see it as a waste of time and money.
12. I'm a perfectionist at heart. It wasn't until my first year at my current school, when I had five science preps, a one-year-old son, and a 30+ minute commute, that I learned how to really prioritize and say "that's good enough". I probably worked 60+ hours a week during my first semester, and I could have done more. I learned that the perfectionistic tendencies I have are self-defeating. It will NEVER be good enough unless I learn to say so to myself.
13. My very favorite smell in the whole world is coming home from church to a pot roast that's been cooking in the oven all morning. THAT'S what home is.
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others' comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Parent-ese
After putting together Jet's dictionary entry the other day, it occurred to me that I, as a parent, probably say some extremely ridiculous things, too. I thought I'd start a new blogging category and document those for posterity as well. Of course, with most of them, you have to read the situation to understand where I'm coming from. At least, I hope you'll understand.
Tonight, we decided to spend our Denny's gift cards and go out to dinner. On the way into the Denny's, Knight was opening the door, but didn't see Jet right under his arm. The man opened the door right into Jet's face. At that instant, it wasn't funny in the least, but as I replay it in my mind to describe ... well, let's just say that I might have $10,000 if I'd had a video camera. To top it off, though, the door was glass, and I saw his iddy-widdy face all smushed up against it for just a split-second. I might not be the meanest mom in the world (though I might be when he gets a car!), but I'll be laughing at that image for awhile, especially since he wasn't really hurt. Inside the kids' menu at Denny's, they offer rocket cups. I normally would scoff at paying two bucks for something like this, but Knight ordered one for Jet. I suppose it helped to assuage his guilt at smacking his son in the face with a door. (Still chuckling.) We brought the cup home, Jet sucking down Sprite the whole way. After playing for awhile, I announced that it was bath time. Jet tried to convince me that the rocket cup should be taken into the bath because the fifty-eleven plastic doo-dads that he already has aren't enough to get him clean. Or some such nonsense. My reply was utterly brilliant: "Your rocket is for drinking, not for playing in the bath!" Maybe I should send that one to Hallmark.
Either Blogger freaked out on me, or...
today really is Thursday the 10th. Maybe I've just been writing the wrong date on everything and tomorrow really IS Friday? How cool would that be?!?! Seriously, though, I wrote that Thursday Thirteen post last weekend and gave it a publish date of tomorrow. (Thursday! Wacky, I know!) I went to change something in it this morning, and I couldn't remember if I should click "Draft" or "Publish". I checked the publish date, and it still said Thursday. I decided that if I hit publish, it probably wouldn't publish it until Thursday.
Now I'm wondering if this post will appear BELOW the Thursday Thirteen one... here goes!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
I hope I don't jinx it
Jet has been staying in his bed all night long for several nights out of the last week or so.
We bought him a new "big boy bed" with some of our Christmas money, and then let him pick out sheets at Target. He repeatedly stated that he wanted "Transfarmers" sheets. I was a little leery, since he'd really only seen the movie once at that point. I showed him Elmo, Thomas the Tank Engine, and a couple of other options. He was resolute that the Transfarmers sheets were the only ones for him.
I picked up a red, tubular metal headboard, footboard and rails for a song on Craigslist (I pink puffy heart Craigslist, most of the time). My Granny made him this ultra-soft fleece blanket using this fabric that has HUGE blocks with the faces of the Sesame Street characters.
So, Jet has a red bed, Transfarmers sheets, and a Sesame Street blanket. It's a bit tough on the eyes. BUT, if it's not too loud to wake him up in the night, I'm ALL FOR IT! :)
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Tagged!
TeacherBee tagged me for a meme. I agree with her description of the guilty pleasure in being tagged, because I, too, harbor a deep-seated, secret love of talking about myself. Uno: I actually majored in Spanish. By the time I figured out that I was really passionate about teaching science instead, I only needed six hours or something to finish my Spanish major. I added about a year to my collegiate experiences in order to get a biology minor. (Dad was thrilled to get that call.) Dos: My feet are my temperature gauge. If they're hot, I'm hot. If they're cold, it's impossible for me to warm up. Tres: I live a very sheltered life. All of my activities are with my Christian school or through church, and I LOVE my bubble. Cuatro: I can make it from my bed to the toilet and back in the middle of the night without ever opening my eyes. Cinco: I think I make my bed about three times a year. It doesn't help that there are people (yes, people) in it when I leave for work, but I don't know that it will change when we are all awake before I leave for work. And the next awards go to...
Here are THE RULES:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jet's Dictionary, part two
He's really not a toddler anymore, but he still says some really cute things.
Cherry lime-uh-lade: noun a beverage consisting of lime juice, a sweetener, plain or carbonated water, and maraschino cherries; usually obtained from Sonic, but can now be made at home (ex: "Mommy, my throat hurts. Can I have a cherry lime-uh-lade?")
Lasterday: noun the day preceding this day, or anytime a few days in the recent past (ex: "Lasterday we went to Thanksgiving in Oklahoma!")
Squirter-gun: noun a toy gun that shoots a stream of liquid (ex: "Mommy, fill up my squirter gun so I can squirt it!")
Glubs: noun a fitted covering for the hand with a separate sheath for each finger and the thumb (ex: "MOMMY! I can't get my fingers in my glubs!")
DVD clayer: noun a machine used to translate digital images from a disc to a viewable screen (ex: "I wanna watch a movie on my DVD clayer!")
Extercisers: noun a heavy object (in this case, two pounds), such as a dumbbell, lifted for exercise (ex: "Look, Mommy! I'm pushing these extercisers over my head!")
Extercise: noun bodily exertion, esp. for the sake of training or improvement of health (ex: "I wanna extercise wif dose extercisers, too, Mommy!")
Mikerwave: noun an electrically operated oven using high-frequency electromagnetic waves that penetrate food, usually sausage biscuits, causing its molecules to vibrate and generating heat within the food to cook it in a very short time (ex: "I wanna push da but-tons on da mikerwave!")
Fiderajer: noun a box in which food, drink, etc., are kept cool by means of ice or mechanical refrigeration (ex: "Da cheese is in da fiderajer!")
Tri-nangle: noun a closed plane figure having three sides and three angles (ex: "I wanna piece of dat tri-nangle cheese!")
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Small successes
(I know I said I wouldn't turn this into a "weight loss blog", but I really feel the need to get this written down so that I can refer to it later.... I'm hoping it will be something that will inspire me the next time I have a rough day.)
My Weight Watchers meeting went well this evening. It was about putting together an action plan to achieve a goal. It was also about recognizing certain things, like the fact that the past cannot be changed. I can't change the choices I've made that got me where I am today. I can't even really predict the future. I CAN, however, make a good choice right now.
Furious at a weight gain of 4.4 pounds that showed up on the scale, I came home and hopped on the stationary bike. I did 20 minutes, and for the last 10 minutes, I lifted my weights for my arms. I was suprised that I was coordinated enough to do both at the same time, but it kept me from the continual "Am I done yet???" question. I had to concentrate on counting my reps on my arms! I really do think that part of the weight "gain" was the fact that I was wearing jeans and a sweatshirt tonight. I usually wear lightweight jogging pants and a t-shirt, but all of my jogging pants were either in the washer or in the process of being dried. The nice lady who wrote down my weight advised me that jeans really do weigh about two pounds. *sigh* So, my small successes today are: riding the bike, lifting the weights, NOT eating the chocolate cupcake that was placed squarely in front of me at lunch today, and not beating myself up too badly about what the scale read. I also didn't just say "to heck with it". I didn't come home and comfort myself with food. Instead, I used my irritation to drive me further toward my goal. That's what I really want to remember about tonight.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Back to the grind (almost)
Jet started back to school today. I don't go back until tomorrow, so I got him up and took him this morning. Normally, I'm out of the house by 6:00 a.m., so Knight does everything with and for Jet in the mornings. I try to remember to lay out clothes and whatever else Jet might need for the day, but sometimes I forget.
Getting back into the routine is hard for most people, but seemed especially hard for him. It doesn't help that, at three years old, one cannot be reasoned with.
Jet is generally a morning person (or so I'm told), but it just wasn't working for him today. Reminders that he had been asking every single day of the break if that day was the day he was going back to school didn't work. (Part of my mommy heart was hurt that he wasn't totally excited to be home with me, but mostly I was so glad that he loves his school so much.) Reminding him that he had new shoes to wear to school to show his friends didn't help. Coaxing, cajoling, pleading, disciplining, and pretty much everything else short of bodily picking up the child and shoe-horning him into the car didn't work either. (I'm trying to stop the picking-him-up thing, since he's actually big enough to hurt me if he decides to flail appendages.)
Somehow we made it to the car, and got both of us buckled. It was cold this morning; the thermometer in my car read 20 (that's twenty - and can we please remember that I am a Texan through and through?) degrees. Naturally, upon turning the still new key, my car said to me, "No thanks. It's cold, and I'd prefer to stay here. You can walk today."
*sigh*
Knight came out and poked at some things under the hood, poured warm water on the starter, waved his magic wand, and sacrificed a chicken to the god of good car engine karma. The car started, but then shuddered and died. We tried a bit more, but to no avail.
The main problem in all of this is that we have a one-lane driveway, and had parked my car behind Knight's upon returning from the New Year's festivities yesterday. Otherwise, I would have hopped in his car long enough to take Jet. Knight finally decided that he would push my car out of the way so I could take his. Jet and I went back into the house to warm up a bit, and then headed out the back door to get in Knight's car. Just as I came off the deck, I heard my car vrrooom to life for Knight.
Nice.
I finally got Jet to his school, whereupon he clung to the backside of my coat and buried his face in my rear. His teacher picked him up and began talking to him about what they would be doing that day, and he brightened considerably. (I think I want to put her in my pocket and bring her home. I think she's about 19, but has an obvious gift for working with little ones.) I even got a half-hearted "'Bye, Mommy" as I walked out the door.
My other main goal today is to go through the mountain of toys in Jet's room. Some will be donated, and the rest will be organized in some fashion or another. Proactively, I bought storage containers that fit under his new big-boy bed. I'm hoping most of the toys will fit in there. Hey, I did say "hoping". Wish me luck!
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
What is this "resolution" of which you speak?
I'm still on Weight Watchers, and am down a total of 16.4 pounds since August. That includes a few slip-ups (namely, the hedonistic Thanksgiving Week that shall no longer be mentioned), as well as some half-hearted attempts at exercising.
I don't really believe in New Year's Resolutions. However, my sister's boyfriend, Dr. Soon-To-Be, FINALLY popped the question a few weeks ago. Yay!!! We're really excited for them. He's a wonderful, Christian young man who has an amazing talent for putting up with Beezneez's antics. They're a fantastic couple, and I pray for a very fulfilling marriage for them. Back to the point... I have until May 17th to do my very best to look good in this bridesmaid's dress (the chocolate brown one on the right). I think it's a gorgeous choice, and not at all the taffeta nightmare that it could have been. I also have a complete and total understanding that I will never look like that heroin-addicted waif that has been so artfully airbrushed into that impossible shape. Therefore, my goal is very simple -- I will do my dead-level best to lose forty pounds over the next five months. We brought home an exercise bike from my grandparents' place after Thanksgiving, and one of the steps to my goal is to ride it for twenty minutes, three times a week, for the next two weeks. I'll step it up a little after that. I've also purchased two-pound hand weights because, in case you missed it, that dress is sleeveless. Beezneez has graciously offered to choose some wraps for us to wear, so my arms won't be completely exposed. I've already started with the arm workouts. I missed today, though. Oops. I don't plan to turn this into a weight-loss blog, but it is something that is important to me. I'm feeling good from my one-pound weight loss over the week of Christmas (can you believe THAT?!? Luck, I tell you.). All of that to say that I don't really have a New Year's Resolution, except to keep doing what I've been doing, and do it a little better.
I'm a big girl now!
I just fixed my "Read More" thingy (and found out that it's called a "peekaboo") ALL BY MYSELF.
I'm feeling pretty special about it, too... but I also know that pride goeth before smacking one's HUGE HEAD on the doorframe, so I'll keep the bragging to a minimum. :)
Edited to add: Somehow I broke it again, and Knight fixed it again, and maybe, just maybe, I'll not break it again. (We can hope, anyway.)
Happy New Year!
Last night was soooooo fun! It was exactly like the last three or five New Year's Eves that Knight and I have spent together. My last thought was something like this: I looked at the clock and thought, "If I could just stay awake for another hour and a half, we could ring in the zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...."
Yes, the Knight and Damsel family KNOWS how to par-tay. The sad part is that a horrible headache drove me from the bed at 7:30 this morning, and refused to leave me alone until about 11:00. Yay for cedar fever and allergies! I was pretty frustrated by the whole thing because I really did feel hungover, but didn't have even a single sip of alcohol the night before. I felt like I was doing the time without doing the crime.... er... not that I actually KNOW what a hangover feels like (hi, Dad!).
We spent the day with Knight's sister and family in South Austin today. Knight and I actually had something of a mini-date! Yes, it's true! They volunteered to watch Jet while we went to a matinee of the second National Treasure movie. I can't really remember the last movie we went to see in the theater together. It must have been last summer, though, because I remember Knight getting several free tickets for doing some electrical work in the new theater in town. I just can't STAND paying $8 or $10 or whatever to sit and watch a movie that I can't even PAUSE when I need to go potty. Sheesh. At any rate, Knight and I enjoyed the movie. It WAS nice to not have to pause it to answer eleventy thousand questions from a three-year-old. :)
Happy New Year, ya'll!
Oh, one other little piece of advice that I've stumbled on in the last day or two... never, EVER try to read the same book that your spouse is reading. It will only end in tears. One of you will inevitably want to read it before going to sleep at night and then will look around to discover that the OTHER one is already reading it. Just sayin'.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Thanksgiving
Every year we go to my grandparents' farm for Thanksgiving. It snowed on us on Friday! We had about two inches that stuck through the night and into Saturday. We've done Thanksgiving there my whole life, and I don't remember it EVER showing.
Being a born-and-bred Texas girl, this was me.
My favorite part of the weekend, besides the snow, was the FOOD. Oh, heavens. You see, the farm is 8 miles from the nearest town and forty miles from the nearest fast-food joint. SO, that means that literally every meal is home-cooked, and nary a salad in sight. I'm terrified of weighing in at Weight Watchers this Thursday. I might have been okay, but my grandmother made the best chocolate cake in the world. Actually, she made TWO of them. *sigh* It's like heaven on a fork.
Jet's favorite part was playing with my aunt and uncle's labrador retriever, Zach. Being a good retriever, Zach LOVES to chase after things that have been thrown specifically for that purpose. Being a good three-year-old boy, Jet loves to throw things. They're a match made in heaven!
All in all, it was a great weekend. However, my (22-year-old) baby brother gave me his head cold. Since he's bigger than I am now, I can't exactly beat him up for doing it. I can't even hold him down and tickle him anymore. I was telling one of my students about this, and she told me that this is his way of getting back at me.
She's probably right. :)
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Sunday, November 11, 2007
It's the little things in life
Last Christmas, my three-year-old, still-making-monthly-payments-on-it, out-of-warranty car decided not to start. Knight is experienced in car maintenance and parts and stuff, and he decided it needed a new starter. He found one and installed it himself.
A few months ago, it pulled the same stunt. The remedy this time? New battery.
A couple of weeks ago, it did it again -- twice in one week. My parents have an extra car, so I borrowed it to get back and forth to work. My dad and Knight took my car to a trusted mechanic. He kept it for a week, but couldn't figure it out. He couldn't get it NOT to start. Figures.
Finally, we decided to call the dealership. I detest dealerships. We bought our car from a GREAT dealership when we were living in Dallas. Then, we moved here, and I can't stand the local one. Fortunately, the next town over has one, too.
I called the service department and described the problem, keeping my fingers crossed that it wasn't something ridiculously expensive. The guy on the phone said he thought it was the ignition, that they've seen this problem before. He said that the part is $30, and the installation is one hour of labor at $100. I asked if it was something that Knight could install, but he said that it has to be programmed due to the security features on the car. Truthfully, I was dancing on the inside because $130??? Is nothing in the world of car repair. They were able to work me in for yesterday a.m.
I didn't really like the idea of spending my Saturday morning at the dealership, but... on the other hand, it was an hour of uninterrupted reading. :) So I drove the 45 minutes to the dealership, checked the car in, and headed to the waiting room. There was only one other man there, reading the newspaper, and the TV blaring Saturday morning cartoons.
I sat on the couch and cracked open my book, which, unfortunately, wasn't something I was looking forward to all that much. I also turned down the TV.
About 30 minutes later, the receptionist for the service department came over to me. "You'll never guess what it is," she says to me. She had a smile on her face, so my heart didn't drop into my stomach like it normally would have, had a mechanic fed me that same line.
"Your key."
Whaaa??? My key had somehow gotten twisted a bit, so it wasn't making contact every single time. This explains the randomness of the starting issues, as well as why Knight was able to start it every single time. Also, the mechanic that had been looking at my car had Knight's key the whole week.
The damage? $7.21. That dealership has a customer for life, because they could easily have ripped me off for $130.
No teacher is an island
There's an adage among teachers that says that we will beg, borrow, or steal to get good lessons that work for our students. Of course, there are a few old battle-axes out there who don't share, but those are the ones who get stolen from. I really don't understand the attitude that says that they are the ones who developed that lesson, so it's only theirs to use. I mean, aren't we all playing for the same team? In the end, it's not about us as teachers. It's about our students, learning to be successful young adults who can think on their own two feet, so to speak.
There are two sides to the coin that is my job. I am THE high school science teacher at my school. I teach five courses -- 8th grade standard physical science, 8th grade honors physical science, 9th grade biology, 10th grade environmental science, and 11th grade chemistry. There is a senior physics class that is taught by one of our math teachers. He loves it, and, honey, he can HAVE it. I've never been a phan of physics. (Couldn't resist.)
On the one hand, I have a certain autonomy. I can pretty much do whatever I please in the way of teaching the lessons, providing, of course, that it's ethical and blah, blah, blah. There isn't really anyone standing over my shoulder, telling me that this lesson should be used for that topic because it's just better.
On the other side of the coin (sorry for the mixed metaphors) is the isolation. I'm in my third year at my school, and this is my third year to teach four of the courses. My method of operation is one of continual self-improvement. I want each year to be better than the year before, both in my classroom procedures and course content. I feel like this is the first year that I've really had my feet under me, with regards to the curriculum, and can begin making it better, instead of just using whatever comes with the curriculum. I should be able to add my own special flair to it... great activities, better labs, etc.
So, along with not having anyone telling me how NOT to do things, I don't have anyone to bounce ideas off of. There isn't anyone with more experience, whom I can consult about a lesson. I'd love to have someone available all the time -- someone whose brain I can pick on a regular basis about each lesson in all five of my courses. Someone who can advise me on how to make it BETTER this year. Someone to waaaaatch overrrrr meeeeee.... Oh, wait. My apologies to Gershwin. (Life should break into song more, though, don't you think?)
Next week, though, I'm going to the CAST conference (Conference for the Advancement of Science Teaching). There will be over 400 vendors, each with freebies to hand out. I'm taking about eight 1.5 hour workshops over various topics that I should be able to use in my classroom almost immediately. I'm also taking one four-hour course on hazardous materials issues. I think this one will be the most valuable, since there weren't ANY classes offered for my science education degree on how to handle, store, BE RESPONSIBLE FOR all of the chemicals that we science teachers use on a regular basis. I really don't understand how we're supposed to learn all of that sort of thing. Talk about on-the-job training.
(Side note: When I got the job at my school, the chemical storage was in a metal cabinet that had been EATEN THROUGH on one side by the fumes from the improperly-stored acids. There were mercuric compounds that someone had ordered years ago. There were about 20 bottles of unmarked solutions. Did I have any training on what to do with all of this? NO. I'm still not really sure how to handle all of this stuff. I mean, I know the basics, so I just use the chemicals that I'm comfortable with. I think my chemistry students are missing out on some great stuff, though. Again, it would be nice if there were someone available for consult about this stuff.)
Anyway, the conference is right here in Austin, which means I'll be able to sleep in my own bed every night. It also means I can afford to go to it. What with my school being a private school, they don't have much money to go toward stuff like this. My principal is paying for my substitute for the two days I'll be out, so I don't have to use my personal days, but I have to pay for the actual conference myself. (She did say, however, that she's lobbying the board to provide $500 per teacher next year to take care of things like this.) Fortunately, this one's rather cheap -- $120, which includes a year-long membership in the association that puts on the conference, as well as three smaller ones.
The conference is Thursday, Friday and Saturday next week. One other cool thing -- we have the entire week of Thanksgiving off, so it sort of extends my holiday. ;)
The BEST part is that I don't have to steal anything. They're giving it all away!
Stuck
There are about eleventy things I could write about... Jet's fever this weekend, my upcoming science conference, Thanksgiving plans, Knight's new job, my car finally getting fixed, our plans to move next summer, things going on at school. I want to write about each one in witty, Mir-esque style, and I know that I could make an entire post out of each one.
I'm just stuck. Blogger's block, if you will. Or maybe it's pencil envy (Mir just writes so well) that keeps my fingers still.
What is this lack of self-confidence??? I'm really not used to it... in fact, I'm afraid I might come across in real life as exactly the opposite. Arrogant, sometimes, about my teaching especially, my parenting, sometimes even my wife-ing (is too a word. Yes, it is. Is, too. Is too. ISTOO!)
*sigh* Well, now that I have that off my chest, let's get on with it, shall we?
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Why?
They're finally here. The Never-Ending Whys of the Three Year Old.
Jet and I had our first exchange of the whys-and-becauses a few days ago. We were in my room. I can't remember what started it, but I do remember what ended it.
"Because I said so."
Hey, at least I never lied to myself and said, "I'll never say that!".
Saturday, November 3, 2007
The pressure's getting to me
Sinus pressure drove me from the bed at 6:00 this morning. My allergies are killing me this week. I've heard tell, and I think it's true, that if you don't suffer from allergies before you move to the Austin area, then you will within five years or something. So! If you've been seeing the ads on TV for allergy meds, and are feeling left out because you don't need them, then I've got a bridge to sell you! It's in Austin, and you won't even have to share it with the bats.
Heather has been posting about National Blog Posting Month, where all of these people decide that they'll post everyday for a month. For me, that's a bit much, and I think it shows my self-awareness that I cannot actually commit to this. It would turn into more pressure that I just can't handle, and then I'd feel guilty for not posting, blah, blah, blah. Yes, it's silly. Hushup. But at least I recognize this about myself. Instead, I'll use it as a new starting point.
Today we are going to my sister-in-law's house to celebrate my niece's 11th birthday. I just love the thought that Big Daisy doesn't know a time when Aunt Damsel wasn't around. Knight and I met just after her first birthday.
One quick story about Big Daisy, in celebration of her birthday... A month or so after our wedding, Knight and I stayed with Big Daisy and family for a week while Knight was working on a car (we were living in an apartment in Dallas at the time, so he couldn't do it there). Big Daisy was about five at the time, and had been a flower girl in our wedding. It was a HUGE deal to her, that wedding.
I had a summer cold that week that we stayed with them, and wasn't feeling well. My sis-in-law was boiling a chicken to make dinner, and I just asked for some of the boiled chicken to eat. I put some in a bowl, and took it to the living room to eat.
Big Daisy climbed up beside me to investigate the contents of the bowl. As kids do, she asked for a bite. I told her that I didn't want her to eat after me because I was sick. I explained that she could get sick, too, if she shared my food. She asked why I was sick. I said that I didn't really know... I just was.
A silent moment passed before she looked up at me with huge eyes and asked, "Is it because you got married???"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
