The New Me...In The Making

I've been doing Weight Watchers since the first of the year and I'm loving it! So far I've lost just over 30 pounds. Last night I hit 10% (I've lost 10% of my beginning weight). Yes...I'm admitting here that I weighed 300 pounds (306 to be exact). OUCH!

I have struggled with weight issues my entire life, but at 6 foot tall, I have been able to "hide" my weight gain easier than most women. In fact, many of my friends and family would be surprised to find that I weighed that much. I have been slowly gaining weight since college. I've probably gained a dress size every year. I have been too embarrassed to admit to any number for so long, but no more, because now I want to brag about how much I have lost!

I had gotten to the point where I was twice as heavy as I was in high school. I still have a very long way to go, but I am committed to this and I actually feel like I can do it. This is a lifestyle change, not a diet for me. It's not been too hard for me so far, and I've been losing pretty fast, but I know that the weight loss will slow down soon. Still, I have no plans to stop. I keep thinking about what I looked like in high school. I'm not sure I will ever be that skinny again, but if I could get within 30 pounds of that, I would be happy.

By the way, I did weight watchers around 6th grade, then there was my skinny period from about 7th grade to senior year of high school. And I thought I was fat the whole time. My friends were all short and tiny, so I compared my dress size to theirs. Not really fair to me. I wish I would have known how skinny and good I looked back then so I could have enjoyed it (and maybe kept that weight!).


So this is prom my junior year. I'm the hot number in the super short black dress. I'm guessing none of my friends will be too upset about me posting this pic because we all looked pretty good (albeit in circa 1993 prom dresses). Yeah...I thought I was overweight and had no self-esteem back then.

So that is the goal. Well, maybe not the real goal, but the dream goal. I still have that dress! And wouldn't I just love to get back into that one day! I'm not really thinking that far ahead yet. Right now I'm hoping to have lost 50 pounds total by June. If I were to keep up my current rate of weight loss, I would be close to 60 pounds by then. Another 30 pounds by the time I'm wearing shorts exclusively would be great. I know I haven't been under 250 for several years.

Keep me in your thoughts and prayers! I'm sure there will come some pretty down moments for me before I reach my goal. Luckily, I'm not doing this to be skinny, I'm doing it for my health. Being thinner is just a bonus!

What a Relaxing Week

I had a wonderfully relaxing week. It feels good to not be going 90 to nothing the whole week long with papers to grade (and by papers, I mean essays, etc., not worksheets) and a million other things to get done.

A shot of my parents' house. Mom, the Sil and I spent some time sitting in the yard on Saturday, just enjoying the day and watching the kids play.

Here was my week:

Monday (Memorial Day)

• Really didn't do much that I can remember. This may sound boring, but I love to sit around and do nothing. By 'nothing', I mean: watch TV/Movies, surf the interweb, read and take naps.
  
• The power went off for awhile and that sucked, but came back in an hour.
• Took a nap at some point.
  

Tuesday

• Went to work for a teachers' meeting that only lasted until noon.
• Went out to church camp to take pictures, and got to visit with people I haven't seen since camp last year (I love going out to church camp).
• Can't remember if there was a nap or not...
  

Wednesday

• Went to work for another teachers' meeting...this one lasted less than an hour. We were contracted to work that day, so we had to come in, even though we could have gotten that done Tuesday afternoon instead of going home after lunch. Really it was a waste.
  
• Made a few copies in preparation for Summer School.
• Went to town to get camp pictures printed.
• Took a Nap.
• Sorted through yard sale stuff and priced clothes for the yard sale.

Thursday

• Helped Mom tile the kitchen most of the day. It was actually fun. See pictures here and here.
• Took a break around noon to go out to camp to deliver pictures and check kids out.
• No nap.

Friday

• Went to discount grocery store mid morning, and got some good buys. I love that place, although they were out of the jalapeno poppers I like (stuffed with cheese! mmm...).
• Did some weed eating...broke weed eater.
• Did some spraying of weeds...ran out of spray.
• Went to Mom's to hang out with the kids. This included going with Mom to do chores because both boys went to go and someone had to hold NJ during the two-hour adventure that included moving cattle.
• It was a really fun and relaxing day just hanging out on the farm.
  
• No nap.

Saturday

• Played on the internet most of the morning before going to Mom's to hang out with the family again.
• Got the air-conditioner in my car fixed.
  
• Took a nap.
  
• Taught my niece how to suck on honeysuckles.
• Picked a tick out of NJ's ear.
• Played on the internet some more.
• Finished watching season one of 24. Didn't see it coming...

Sunday

• Went to church no.1, where I run the sound booth. Was, unfortunately, unimpressed with today's service...
• Went to church no. 2. This is my brother's church. Enjoyed the sermon, even though I had to spend a lot of time keeping my niece from getting too wound up (her mom had to stay home with NL because he was sick).
• Took nap.
• Spent some time discussing (arguing?) the finer points of stuff like women wearing head coverings and eating "Kosher" with my friend Ben...through texting! Go to his blog for some great religious discussions.
• Now I'm doing this...
  

Overall, I woke up at a decent hour every morning. No sleeping in until late in the morning (except on Saturday, when I woke up after 8am). This meant I had plenty of time to do what I wanted, but at the same time, I was able to wake up on my own without that pesky alarm clock.

I hope I get some more weeks like this before summer is over. For the next 2 1/2 weeks, I'll be teaching summer school (much lower stress levels than regular school days). One of those weeks I will spend every day from the time I leave work until after 10pm at church camp for high school week (my favorite...wish it wasn't during summer school). I should have a few weeks without having to be at camp every day (not that I HAVE to be there, but I like to lend a hand), or having to work every day on one thing or another. I'm looking forward to those. Then my bff comes home sometime in July. I'm really looking forward to getting to spend time with her. She hasn't been home since January.

All-in-all it should be a good summer.

Chipmunks, Rabbits and Groundhogs! Oh, my!

As you know, I live in the country. All manner of animals make the woods and fields around my house their home. Some even make my yard (and on occasion, my house) their home.

Animals I've encountered:

In my field

• deer
• turkey
• field mice
  
• cattle (but my dad put them there, so I don't think they count)

In the woods

• deer
• turkey
• coyote
• squirrels
• chipmunks
• birds

In my yard

• cattle (sometimes they escape, and when the ground is soft after a rain, their hooves make a terrible mess)
• opossum
• moles
• shrews
• armadillos
  
• birds

And today: A groundhog!

I've never seen a groundhog around here before. I've actually only seen a very few groundhogs in our part of the Ozarks. I just couldn't believe there was one in my yard! To be quite precise, it is living under my house! I opened my curtains this morning only to see him walking on my sidewalk. I quickly grabbed my camera and got this picture (through the window, so it's not of a very high quality).

What next!?!?!

Indoor Chipmunks

I like telling you all about my wonderful adventures as an owner of indoor/outdoor cats while living in the country. There have been many a morning when I have walked into the bathroom half asleep only to come wide awake when I stepped on the remains of some animal one of the cats had as a midnight snack. Then there are the nights I've been woken up by the death throws of a small mammal or a bird flying around my house. Yes, it's all very exciting.

This morning, as I was grabbing my shoes in preparation for leaving for church, I noticed my cats all focusing on my bedroom window. Then I heard it...the sound of a small animal on my windowsill. I pulled back the curtain to see a chipmunk racing back and forth on the sill. I grabbed my leather animal catching gloves (I was bit by a shrew before) and went to catch the intruder.

With the "help" of Cullen, the shrew ran around the bedroom, through the laundry room and into the kitchen. Then it ran back into the laundry room and through the cat door.

Just another exciting and adventurous morning.

Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

New Blog: Small Town Snapshots

I have created a new blog called Small Town Snapshots. Small Town Snapshots is a blog of snapshots taken daily with my Blackberry. They are just everyday photos of the everyday occurrences in my life. Every day something happens that makes me think, "I should tell somebody about that." Maybe you'll care, maybe you won't. Maybe you'll find something amusing, and maybe you will see something in my life, that reminds you of yours. Please drop by and check it out.

What One Student Thinks About Me

Apparently, I am "a jerk" and I "have the worst attitude in the school" according to one of my students.

How do I know this? Because the student wrote it down in his literary analysis (which, incidentally, was not a literary analysis, but a hate letter). And turned it in! I am also, "cool outside of school", but "stuck up in school."

The student goes on to say that I "never helped [them] with an assignment [they] always had to come in for tutoring which is bullcrap [they] all have jobs and lives to live." (note: the grammar mistakes are the students)

Here is my response:

Thank you for your impute. I highly value your opinion as a hard working student. Next year, I will definitely take into account everything you so eloquently said when students who chose not to pay attention in my class decide (at the last minute) that they do not understand an assignment. You are right of course, I should drop everything, change the entire class syllabus and re-teach lessons that I've already taught, and have passed out handouts for, when students don't pay attention in class the first time (or second or third time)...instead of asking them to come to tutoring for individual instruction. You have changed my entire teaching philosophy.

Of course, I have not (and will not) give this response to the student, but it sure felt good writing that out. The student in question is a major burn-out. He is probably high most of the days he is in school. He hardly ever pays attention in class, but the main reason I think he was so mad at me was because I caught him plagiarizing his last literary analysis. I warned him that I didn't believe it was his words when I read the rough draft... sure enough, when I ran it through plagiarism software, it found multiple web sites that he took the information from word-for word. Sadly, the assignment was make-up work for an analysis that he chose not to do earlier in the year. I was trying to help him raise his grade so he could get off of probation. Silly me. Bending over backwards to help a student...

I am constantly amazed by how some students are able to make everything the teacher's fault. I have heard multiple kids say the reason they are in trouble is the teacher's fault. I asked one student why he was in ISS (in school suspension), and he said it was the teacher's fault. Apparently the teacher caught him chewing tobacco in class. I asked how that was the teacher's fault, and he said the teacher shouldn't have been looking. Seriously?

What is happening to the youth of today?

Doing Chores

I decided to go out with mom while she feeds the calves. Mom and Dad just bought a 'new to them' Polaris Ranger for mom to use to feed cattle. Before we've used a Mule. The Ranger is about two feed wider and a lot more roomy for the trips with the kids. They like to go on trips around the farm or go with 'Gran' when she does chores.

I also helped hook up Mom's new HDTV and surround sound today. I'm super jealous. She got a really good deal at Best Buy on the TV. It's priced low because it's a BB exclusive. Anyway... I really want the same set up but I'm going to wait until my current TV dies.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.
Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

Unecessary Meetings

So here I sit...in a useless meeting. It's one of those 'Cafeteria Plan' meetings. I have no intention of signing up for this plan, but we were told we had to come to the meeting. Don't think I didn't ask!



Here's the rub...I'm looking around the room and not all the teachers are even here. How come I have to show up? I shouldn't have asked. I should have just left and went grocery shopping like I planned on doing. I could have been home by now and on my way to the store!



I can't decide how many of these people have glazed looks on their faces and how many are actually paying attention. I DO know that I'm not the only one on my Blackberry!



I wish this guy would stop telling side stories. I don't care how he took his whole family to the chiropractor or how his kids have braces and that's how he uses his flex plan.



There is an interesting graphic on the screen of a piggy bank with dollars coming out the top because people have saved sooooo much money. Oddly enough...only pennies are dropping from the sky and going into the bank.



Sent from my BlackBerry Smartphone provided by Alltel

"My Drink Tastes Funny"

We all have those time when we are just going through the motions. I really hate it when it happens while I'm driving, however, that's pretty common. They actually have a name for it, "highway hypnosis". It's kind of freaky because you don't even remember the drive. I wonder how many accidents happen while people are in this auto-pilot mode?

Anyway, I was getting myself some tea this afternoon out of my mom's fridge. I'd spent most of the day hanging out with the kids and didn't really pay much attention to my 3 year-old nephew when he asked for his red cup out of the fridge. I just handed it to him and went on pouring my tea.

This red cup is actually one of those large coffee thermal cups with a lid that you get at a convenience store. He loves to drink out of it, and it is like a big sippy-cup to him.

Nephew L takes the cup and happily walks away. I finish pouring my tea and happily walk away.

Fast forward to about 3 or 4 minutes later.

"My drink tastes funny" says Nephew L, tugging at my shirt and looking up at me. I immediately begin to dismiss this and decide to ignore him. In my defense, he had been exceptionally whiny today as well as asking each question at least four times.

As Nephew L begins to turn to walk away, my brain clicks in. You know the moment. The one where everything clicks and your brain starts really working again?

I began to think to myself:
"I don't remember him drinking out of that cup all day today"
"Wasn't he drinking out of a blue cup?"
"Mom and dad often leave cups of wine in the fridge."

Yep... I quickly grabbed the red cup out of Nephew L's hands. I yanked off the lid and took a big sniff. WINE!!! I turned to my SiL and started laughing. I told her what had happened, and she started laughing. Really, it was pretty hilarious. My SiL said she'd have to add that to the baby book: First Taste of Wine.

I'm guessing my dad had been drinking it and didn't finish, so put the cup back in the fridge. (at this point you may be asking why my dad would be drinking wine out of a red coffee mug. It's better that you don't ask, but if you must know, he tends to have a big glass of wine several nights a week, and sometimes he likes to carry it around with him. The red cup is spill-proof. There's no looking sophisticated with wine glasses around that house.)

I am not sure how much wine Nephew L had drank; enough that he had a big purple mustache. Is this how alcoholism begins? Will it be my fault if he turns out that he has a drinking problem at the age of 22? He's already pretty addicted to sweat tea. Where does it end?

Of course, this is nothing compared to my brother drinking out of my dad's spit cut when he was little (a story which my mother had to recount when I told her what had happened with the wine). Luckily, no one around the house chews anymore. Luckily.

Work-Free Weekend

I'm feeling so good right now. I spend much of my time being behind at work. I teach high school English and there is a lot of grading involved in that job. I'm always behind in my grading because there is so much of it. The minute I get one assignment graded, there is another one waiting for me...sometimes two. And none of it is easy grading. I'm not really into multiple choice/multiple guess, which means a lot of reading/interpreting student answers.

But now...

I am completely caught up! Usually I am in front of the class the whole hour, so all my grading has to be done after school, however, my students are reading a novel right now and that gives me around an hour and a half of extra class time (while they are reading) where I can grade papers. We discuss the previous day's reading for about 20 minutes, then I have the rest of the hour to work. It's beautiful. I really need to work on my curriculum so that I can do this more often.

Because I have the weekend off for once, I am going to enjoy it. I'm thinking of getting up and going grocery shopping early in the morning (before everyone gets out to the stores), and then I'll hang with the Niece and Nephews. Plus, I'm going to enjoy a movie tonight. I have several Netflix movies just sitting waiting to be watched. But mostly, I just don't have to worry about anything over the weekend...and I love that!

I hope that the rest of you have a great weekend as well!

Life Altering ChapStick Issues

Life as I know it may be coming to an end... I think I might be allergic to Strawberry ChapStick!

This may sound like no big deal to you, but this is a serious problem for me. I love my Strawberry ChapStick. Not Cherry, not the original "Old Man" ChapStick with the black label, but Wonderful, Wonderful, Strawberry ChapStick.

At any time, I own no less than four tubes of SCS: one in my purse, one at work, one by my chair in the living room and one by my night stand. I usually also have a back up in my gum and ChapStick drawer (yes, I have a drawer devoted to ChapStick and gum), just in case one of my other tubes runs out. My drawer has lots of gum for The Niece and Nephews and asorted flavors of CS, even though I really only like strawberry.

So here's what happened:

Several months ago (maybe 3 or 4), I started noticing that the skin under my bottom lip itched all the time and I had developed a rash. It was while complaining about the rash that my aunt suggested that I might be allergic to my CS. I immediately dismissed this as ridiculous. First of all, I have been using SCS daily for about three years now. Second, I just couldn't stand the thought of being allergic to my wonderful Strawberry ChapStick.

The reason my aunt would even suggest that I could be allergic to my SCS probably has something to do with how frequently I apply my SCS, and how liberally I apply it. It's a little ridiculous actually. I usually roll that tube around my lips at least five times when I apply it...as if I could actually get anymore CS on my lips after about the second time around.

Anyway, shortly after the rash, came the split in the corner of my lips. I had a terrible crack on the left (my left, right as you look at me) side of my mouth. It just wouldn't go away. I couldn't understand how it would have even been able to get cracked considering how often I put CS on.

Then about a month ago, I got a crack on the other side of my mouth. What!?! Not only was this painful, but embarrasing. I just kept putting more SCS on my lips.

And when I thought it couldn't get any worse... I then developed a red ring around my entire mouth. I looked like a 3-year-old with a Kool-Aid mustache! And it was painful.

Last week I had finally had enough. I decided that maybe my aunt was right; maybe I had developed an allergy. *gasp* I decided to switch to Carmex. I chose Carmex because it has a completely different make-up and it has healing properties (it's medicated you know). My hope was that the Carmex (Cherry by the way, they don't make strawberry) would help heal my poor, damaged, looks-like-a-3-year-old, lips.

One week later and my lips have almost returned to normal. Yay! This could mean that I am allergic to Strawberry ChapStick. Boo! As soon as I am thoroughly healed, I am going back to the SCS as an experiment. I am really hoping that I'm not allergic to SCS and that I just needed a medicated lip balm to alieve the cracks and redness and I can now safely go back to SCS. We'll see soon enough.

Am I going crazy here? Could I possibly be allergic to ChapStick after all these years?

Small Town Living

I truly love living in a small town. Actually, I live out in the country between two small towns: one is my hometown (school, church, etc.) and the other is the town where I work. I'm only about 4 miles closer to my hometown than to the town where I work, and both towns are between 2,000 and 3,000 people. Of course, as all small towns go, the population is based on those that live within the city limits and doesn't include all of us rural people.

Here is a list of some of the reasons why I love living in a small town:

1. If you don't know a person, you can bet that you both have at least one acquaintance in common. This usually forges a common bond, even among strangers. "Oh, you know Pete?"..."Yeah, Pete's my mom's neighbor" (you get the picture)

2. People help each other out. When you know the majority of people in town, you tend to feel more compelled to help someone out. No one is going to let little Suzie Smith sit by the side of the road with a flat tire for very long.

3. When you go to the local shops, they already know who you are, and might even know what you want. Take for instance the tire shop that I frequent. I walk in and end up spending my waiting time discussing my family with the owner. His daughter is one of my aunt's best friends, my uncle worked for him, my grandfather used to keep his semi truck parked behind the shop... This happens all the time to people in a small town. Also, when I go to the local medical clinic, I don't even have to give my name to the receptionist...we go to church together.

4. Since I actually live out in the country, I can walk out to get my mail with a towel wrapped around my head or still in my PJs if I want to. I have two neighbors and they're my aunt and uncle. Now, I don't believe I've ever gone out to the mailbox in my PJs, but I'm pretty sure I've gone outside in my PJs for one reason or another at some point in time. And I know I've gone to the mailbox with my wet hair still wrapped in a towel.

5. If people don't know me, they are likely to know someone from one side of my family. My mom worked at the local bank for over 20 years and gave many people in town a loan for one thing or another. My dad's family is fairly well known because of the large hog farm they had in the 60's-80's. My mom's parents are pretty big in the local Baptist church (G'ma plays the organ and G'pa leads the singing), and my brother is the preacher there. Also, my G'ma used to own a local business. One of my aunts taught in the high school for over 20 years. I'm sure I could go on, but I think I've made my point. Of course, all this can be a negative if someone doesn't like one of your family members...which sometimes happens when it comes to the CG'parents.

6. Traffic jams? What are those?

7. You need a job? My uncle's cousin Jim is looking for someone to work with him at his construction business...or something like that.

8. There is so much beauty in and around a small town. I live in the Ozarks and I believe it is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We have hills and valleys with lots of creaks and rivers (yes there is a difference) running through. In fact, I believe Missouri has more bridges than any other state in the US. You don't have to drive very far from where I live to be in a State Park. There is so much to enjoy and see.

These are only a few of the reasons why I love living in a small town.

For more about small town life, visit Wendy at On the Front Porch for her Small Town Snapshop Sunday.

If you live in a small town, let me know your favorite part of small town life!

Spring Is In The Air

Spring is in the air!

I'm so excited for spring. Every day something new is popping up around the house. Jonquils are blooming. The pear tree is blossoming. In another day or two my weeping cherry tree will be white with blossoms.



There is so much to do around the yard to prepare for spring. I've considered hiring some of the kids to come over one day soon and help me clean up the corner garden. It was supposed to be a cottage garden with a fish pond in the center, but it has become really over grown and out of control. The pump went out in the pond and the whole thing needs to be cleaned out, the pump replaced and the filter system rebuilt. It's a big job and I'm just too lazy to do it by myself (plus it would take days to do on my own and I don't have that kind of time). It would be worth paying $150 and a nice lunch to get that cleaned up so I can enjoy it.

Happy Spring Everyone!

Busy Week

Last week was one of the busiest weeks I've had this year.

On the work front (which was at least 75% of the problem), it was the last week of 3rd quarter, and I had a lot of grading still left to do. All grades had to be entered by 3:00pm today. I barely made it. I'm usually better prepared than this. I like to have all the grades entered in time to be able to print out individual grades for each kid and let them go over them. This helps will typos and errors due to how many grades I have to enter. I just didn't have time this quarter. Hope no grades were majorly affected.

Some assignments I was just not able to grade in time to get them into 3rd quarter grades. I often try to do too much in my quest to be a great literature teacher. I want to push my kids and make sure that the only ones that pass my class are the ones who are going to read the assigned literature. I just don't think a student should be able to pass an English class without reading a single story a book all year, and there are many English classes where that is entirely possible...mine is not one of them. You wouldn't expect a kid to be able to pass an algebra class without being able to actually do algebra...would you? I have a whole theory about this, but it basically boils down to the fact that English teachers love to explain the literature to kids...which means students don't actually have to read the story to understand it or even pass the test. It's a lot more work for a teacher to give the kids extra assignments designed to check up on whether they are actually doing their reading or not. That's how I create a lot of work for myself. Currently, I should be finishing a short story and reading another short short...and creating notes for both of those in order for them to be passed out tomorrow. All this has to be done before my first class in the morning. I'll probably do it last minute.

Another part of my busy week comes from the upcoming school play. We are putting on "The Odd Couple" this year, and there's still a lot of work (actually, most of the work) to be done before the play. This means 2 hours of practice every day after school. That is taking up a lot of the time that I would usually devote to grading papers.

I can only force myself to stay in an empty school building for so long, so it is hard to go back to my room after practice is over and do another two hours of grading! This is only my second year teaching this subject, and I am still working on my curriculum. I am hoping by next year to have much of the lessons created so I will be spending most of my time grading. Also, I have realized that I need to cut back on the amount and length of assignments next year so that I can actually get them graded! I have to find that happy medium between enough assignments that I know the kids are learning and reading, and not so much work that I can't get them all graded!

I did have Friday off. It was the only day left out of our Spring Break that didn't get taken away in order to make up snow days. The only thing I did all day was go grocery shopping. I could have/should have done a lot of things, but I needed one day to myself.

I then spent all of Saturday over at my Mom's with my brother's family. I usually come home for awhile during the day (often to take a nap), but I didn't have time to this Saturday. I was kept busy most of the day. I watched the boys in the morning while Mom, the SiL and The Niece were shopping for beds for the kids. Then I went with the SiL after lunch to put the beds together at her house. As soon as we got back, I had to go out and take pictures of cattle (even though it was sprinkling! And I just had to do it again today) for my Dad for a brochure he's having made up for our beef. It was all very hectic.

Sunday was full of church services, praise team practice and youth team meetings. Not to mention that last minute grading that I had put off...just like a kid and their homework!

Now that I have bored you with how much I had to do this week, I will just say one more thing: I hope that I am back to being able to keep up with daily posts, both here and on my photoblog. That's the goal anyway.

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you felt like a chicken with your head chopped off?

Becoming a Grown-Up

I can't believe how busy I was yesterday. So busy... that it was my first day to not post anything is a very long time.

I have a new weekly post planned, Savings Sunday...or maybe Super-Savings Sunday. Anyway, I had part of a post finished, but didn't have time to finish it or post it.

Part of my new quest to being a grown-up is to get my finances in order. I'm keeping track of what I spend my money on. One of my other new things toward this whole grown-up-thing, is coupons. I'm actually getting quite addicted.

My friend Phoebe over at Cents to Get Debt-Free has been my inspiration. Check out her site. I'll post my first Super-Savings Sunday next week.

Nothing To Say

I actually have nothing to talk about tonight. I think that's a first for me.

I guess I could talk about how I have decided to take a stand against the kids in my class who refuse to do any work. You know...those kids who are mearly taking up space in an already overloaded classroom and do nothing but cause trouble? Yeah...those kids. I wrote up discipline notices on 5 kids in one class yesterday for not doing anything in my class, then wrote two of those same kids up again today (plus one more) for truancy. I could tell you all about that...but I won't.

I could tell you about how I had a discussion with one of my female students (while I had to 'babysit' her while she made up missed hours at school) about how her parents should be punishing her more, and exactly what I would do if I was her mom. If I told you this story, I might tell you about how I got up on my soap box right after she told me that her mom couldn't take away her phone, computer or car because she (the student) paid for them. I might then tell you how I informed her if she was my kid she would not only have her phone, computer and car taken away, but also the electricity to her room and the door to her room (as well as having her windows nailed shut for sneeking out of the house) if she continued to fight back when I told her no. I could go into this long drawn out story...but I won't.

Instead I'll just say:

It was a great day with the temperature hovering around 85 degrees. Spring was definitely in the air. I had a half day at work, then a short teacher's meeting (without fights! yay!). I stopped by a nearby lake I've been wanting to stop by for awhile so I could take pictures for my photoblog. I got a few good pictures. I also spent some time with my niece and nephews. I hadn't seen them in two weeks because I had been too sick last weekend to go to my Mom's where we all convene on Saturdays. I just didn't want to get them sick. I'm looking forward to tomorrow (Saturday) because it should be another fun and beautiful day with the kids.

Shopping While Sick and Annoying Parents

I went to the grocery store today because I stayed home sick with bronchitis and thought I'd take advantage of the ability to shop at a time other than the weekend. I really shouldn't have gone because I ended up feeling much worse after the outing, but I had planned on making it a short trip for a few much needed items (like milk and cat food).

I found the store to be pretty busy for a Tuesday morning, but as I neared the end of my shopping, the store seamed to clear out. I figured out why when I made it up to the checkouts. The store had cleared out because everyone was at the checkouts. It was terrible. I've spent less time in line on a Saturday afternoon!

But to the real reason I'm writing this...

I was in line in front of one of those parents that pretend to punish their kids but really don't. This lady had an infant and a toddler with her. Her boy was around the age of three. He kept standing up in the cart and touching things. Part of the time he was touching the stuff I was buying. She kept telling him to Stop, Sit Down, Stop That, Don't Touch Things, etc., etc. It was all very annoying. You could tell that she was one of those parents that barks orders at her kid, but never follows through with any real punishments. The kid sure wasn't afraid of any retribution from disobeying his mother.

I found this all very frustrating. If people are not going to follow through with an actual punishment, then don't bother chastising your child. What's the point? The kids figure out real fast that they don't actually have to do what their parent says.

Do you ever find yourself annoyed by things like this?

Raccoon Invasion!

Last night I discovered I had a raccoon coming into the house through the cat door...again!

Wednesday night I heard a crash and the tinkling of something falling across the kitchen floor and when I woke up the next morning and walked into the kitchen to check it out, I found out that the cat food dish had been knocked over. I just thought the cats had fought over the food or something.

Last night as I was sitting in the living room, hanging out on the interweb, I heard one of the cats eating some food...then they knocked over the trashcan that I use to store cat food. I got up and started yelling. The "cat" backed out of the trashcan (luckily it was almost empty) and ran toward the cat door and freedom. It wasn't until the "cat" was halfway out the door that I realized it wasn't Bella (she's all fluffy and a grey/brown, so I thought it was her), but that it was a raccoon!



I spent the rest of the night trying to keep that thing out of the house. It would start to come in and I would chase it out. It kept going under the back porch. I ended up putting some old food mixed with cat food out on the porch so it wouldn't come back in the house. I have to go by my Dad's and get the live trap after work so that I can trap it. I'll leave it to your imagination to decide what I might do with it...

I'll keep you posted and write more about this later; I just wanted to put in a quick note about the new drama in my life. Hopefully I will get pictures to verify my story.

My Housekeeper Is Back!

I've been tidying up the house a little tonight in preparation for my mother to come and clean it.

So you may be wondering how I managed to get such a sweet deal. I used to pay Mom to come every other week to clean the house. She's retired and has a sterile house; I work and am too lazy to clean. I pick up; I don't clean. A little over a year ago, my mom quit. It wasn't anything formal, just my brother and his family moving back to our hometown. They had to stay with Mom and Dad for a few weeks until their house was ready and so Mom was too busy to clean my house. She just never started back up again.

This is her first week back at "work". The deal has gotten even sweeter. I no longer have to pay her to clean. Nope, we're doing it in trade. She cleans my house, I color her hair. Now some people think that she's getting the bad end of the deal, but I buy a lot of the supplies for the hair coloring (everything but the actual color) and then you have to remember that she's not paying $80 when I do the coloring. I know how to foil (in fact, I foil my own hair), and so her hair looks just as good as the local small town beautician. I also cut hair, but she's not been brave enough to try that.

I think in another life I could have been a beautician. I enjoy it. There is one major drawback that keeps me from ever seriously taking up the profession...I'm too lazy to stand on my feet everyday. That and I don't like to touch strangers. I guess I'll just stick to doing my friends' and family's hair.

Would you trust a family member to cut your hair?

Gran Day

Today was a "Gran Day". That's what we call Saturdays in my family because my brother and his family, along with myself, spend the day at my Mom's (aka: Gran).

We started out the day going to a local discount grocery store. I love going there because you never know what you will find there. It's like an adventure to find great buys. Today, I bought more Tide and also found some Pantene shampoo in bulk. I'm not sure where they get this stuff, but they put it in their own generic jugs and then put a tag next to the jugs telling you what brand the product is. I also buy Downy there in large quantities, but didn't need any today. I have regular detergent and softener containers that I then fill up with what I buy at the discount store. I plan on doing the same with the Pantene. Here's a picture of what I am talking about.

Good Buys

I also got some good buys on Kashi cereal and TGIFriday eggrolls. I usually buy my Starbucks coffee beans there (less than $4 a bag!). They are usually just going out of date, but I put them in the freezer and all is good! You really have to check dates (I never by mayo or salad dressing there), but on some things you can push the use by date (the Kashi cereal was a month out of date, but will be fine) and lots of things are just getting close to the date. Some products have slight damage, and that is why they're there.

I spent the rest of the morning hanging out with the kids and relaxing. The kids were especially relaxed today (no running around screaming), and spent some time just sitting on the couch watching "kids shows" as the Niece calls them. They don't have TV at their house (only videos), so they enjoy getting to watch TV at Gran's.

Nephew J is really starting to chatter a lot, but it is funny because he only has a few real words, but you can tell that he really thinks he's saying something. He was needing to be entertained a lot today, but it was cute.

We still have some sleet that hasn't melted, but it sure is doing so fast. Today was another 60 degree day, and the ground was turning to mud pretty fast. My road is practically a quagmire. There's not that much gravel left on it, and there are a lot of low spots that collect all the run-off from the sleet melting.

Muddy Roads

Hope that everyone had a great weekend. Let me know what fun things you did this weekend.