Classroom Move!

This week my classroom was moved from the 6th grade hallway to the 8th grade hallway. The good news is that the janitors moved all of my boxes and furniture for me over the weekend. The bad news is that they left all of my boxes and furniture in a big pile in the middle of my room. If you have ever played the Rush Hour game pictured above you can start to imagine my frustration with getting my room arranged. Usually, teachers have plenty of time before school starts to get everything arranged and decorated. On Monday morning I had about thirty minutes!

I was sweating like crazy all day on Monday from pushing furniture around. If you haven't seen school furniture you should know it is usually pretty big and heavy. I scooted it all around the room for hours trying to figure out how everything would best fit in the room and I kept changing my mind. The Rush Hour game comes in because I was working in such a small space. To move my desk I had to push the file cabinet (completely full) a few feet in one direction, the bookshelf (with books) a few feet another direction, and my big blue cabinet (totally stuffed full) a few feet another direction. I had to constantly reshuffle the furniture just to move each piece a few feet. If I wasn't so impatient about getting everything organized I would have called in the Starting Point Moving Crew. Luckily, I  only ended up with a few broken fingernails and sore legs and arms.

I'm having to get use to sharing my new room with another teacher.  We have classes in there at different times so it isn't too bad.  She and I have very different teaching and discipline styles.  I haven't had to write up any of the students in my classes but I did have to write up one of her students today.  Things aren't perfect but they aren't too bad either.  I was really disappointed about having to move classrooms in the middle of the year but there are definitely many advantages.  I know I've got to stay positive and make things work!  If they move me again I'm going to campaign for an ESL tree house behind the school for my classes!

Birthday Earthquakes!

Happy Birthday Dad!  I guess those couple of earthquakes will make this birthday unforgettable!  I never would have thought there would be earthquakes in Irving.

Seasonal Ick...

Everyone around me is really excited about the weather getting cooler but I have not found joy in the lower temperatures yet.  Every year I get sick the first time the temperature starts to drop significantly.  I'm not sure if it is allergies or something else.  Other than this time of year, I am typically fairly healthy.  Even when I do get sick it usually isn't bad enough to miss work.  That is pretty amazing for a teacher!  I'm also very gifted about putting off being sick until weekends or holidays.  I start feeling bad on a Thursday or Friday and am over it Monday morning.  (Note to the people I saw at the Halloween party on Saturday: I checked my temperature and it was 97.5 so I didn't endanger anyone...not with my germs at least.)  As I continue watching Mike do all the chores, I would like to give a shout out to all my favorite remedies.
This is our favorite soup!  It is the kind my parents made when I was sick.  They also gave me lemon-lime Gatorade.  Isn't funny how the soup makes me happy but the Gatorade makes me want to throw up?  One of the ways Mike and I knew we were meant to be together was when we discovered I like the broth the best and he prefers the noodles.  A few weeks ago we tried a new recipe for a modern spicy Asian chicken soup and it was so good.  I don't think it is a good idea to eat it when you don't feel well because it has some serious flavor that could be upsetting to a sick stomach.  It would definitely clear out your sinuses though.  We have a bunch of really great soup recipes...that could be an entirely different blog post on its own...hmmm....Even though we don't have kids, Goldfish crackers are still a staple.  I introduced Mike to the idea of floating the crackers in the hot soup.  You have to catch and eat them before they get to soft.  This is probably the point when I usually start feeling better since I'm playing with my food.
I am definitely willing to admit that I am typically a brand conscious girl.  I don't take it to a ridiculous level but there are just some that I gravitate to.  Typically we buy Kleenex brand facial tissues but my raw nose needed a little relief.  My choice was to purchase the Puffs brand tissues with lotion in front of me or continue searching for other options.  My nose is currently soft and smooth.
Even though I don't drink sodas I should drink more water everyday.  Usually when I am sick I hibernate and end up dehydrated which makes me worse.  This time I was able to drink plenty of water and I think it definitely helped me get better faster.
My family always had really awful tasting cough drops so I was amazed when my college roommate introduced me to Fruit Breezers.  They don't taste bad at all.  In fact, they taste like candy.  Better than that, I can feel them working right away.  They soothe my throat and even help clear out my nose a little.
Mike and I try not to take medication very often.  When I have to take something to make it through the day I take Tylenol.  The Rapid Release Gels are amazing when you have a headache because they work so fast.  Sometimes it seems almost instantaneous.  The Tylenol cold products are pretty amazing too.  They manage to make a sick day at school very tolerable.  I'm so busy I forget that I am sick...until it is time for another dose.

If I have time to be sick you'll find me on the coach with my pillow and favorite penguin blanket.  I am blessed to have a very comfy sofa.  (Picture Note: this isn't my sofa or my living room...I'm sick and there are dirty tissues all over the place.)

Though I love napping on my couch I do relocate to my real bed at night.  It is also really comfortable.  When Mike and I bought our mattress we made sure to get a good one!  (Picture Note: you are correct...this isn't my bed or my bedroom.)
Finally, the only good thing about being sick is having my dear sweet husband take care of me!  Most of the time he makes me homemade chicken soup.  I can usually even convince him to give me a massage, put my socks on my feet, and tuck me in.  I think he ends up getting less sleep than I do when I am sick and restless.  I do my best to take care of him when he isn't feeling well.  Luckily, we aren't sick very often and it is even more rare that we are sick at the same time.

Family Vacation!

I've been having trouble coming up with something to blog about.  I don't really want to talk about work and right now there isn't much else going on.  As I searched for inspiration I came across some family vacation pictures from summer 2006.  It was our last four person household family vacation before college graduations and weddings.  We went to Arizona and had a great time!  Most of the picture are quite random so I'll do my best to dazzle you with commentary.

My family does enjoying eating out, but we also enjoying being able to cook in every now and then even while on vacation.  Don't get the wrong impression, our plates almost never look this healthy.  I guess pretty scenery makes you want to live life to the fullest...that or all the walking around reminds you that you should really shed those last few holiday pounds so they don't follow you to the pool.

Beautiful!  I can't remember the name of the hotel.  I would love to go back...and actually swim in the pool this time.  Our family spends our vacations doing a bunch of stuff instead of relaxing.

One of the things I remember most was talking to my sister as we went to sleep about the future.  We were very excited that this would be the last time sleeping on the pull out sofa bed together.  We were both planning weddings and looking forward to the days of not sharing a hotel room with our parents and therefore having the nice bed.  (Sorry Mom and Dad!)  We laughed and gave each other a swift kick for old times sake.

I think I took of picture of these ducks because I couldn't take a picture of the quail that were everywhere.  Ducks I can keep up with and take a picture of...quail not so much.  The quail were really cute though.

I'm starting to notice I have lots of pictures of random things and almost no pictures with people.  I know what they look like though.  If I hadn't taken a picture of this frog statue, I would not have remembered it at all.  The frog looks really grouchy.  I think I would be grouchy if I was in the sun all day too!

Have you ever had that moment when you wish you took a picture of something before devouring it?  I attempted to artistically arrange the forks as a short-term monument to a really good piece of chocolate cake.  The more amazing aspect of this is the fact the four of us shared one plate...and germs!  

Have I mentioned my family is from Wisconsin?  We were really excited to see this Wisconsin theme restaurant!

Only a Wisconsin theme restaurant would have an entire section of the menu dedicated to cheese.  Take that you California cows!  They didn't serve California cheese because they knew they could do better!

If you are in Arizona during the summer you should definitely drink lots of water because dehydration sneaks up faster there than it does in Texas!  The murky glass of water is actually lemonade....Dad always has to be "special".  I did appreciate the really big glasses of water...until I had to go to the bathroom every ten minutes.

As a trained history teacher I appreciate historical things...most of the time.  I was pretty lost as to what all of this was about.  It was one of those "let's stop there" kind of moments that didn't turn out to be very rewarding.

Why look at old stuff when you can take pictures of random lizards?  This reminds me of the lizard that is currently inhabiting my classroom at school.  He is more like a gecko though.  He spends most of the day behind my file cabinet but does enjoy greeting me when I walk in every morning.  Hopefully he fares better than my pet ladybug last year...he fried on my windowsill.  We he hadn't moved in a few weeks I knew something was wrong.

This is the kind of old stuff I find interesting.  You can't tell from the picture but this dwelling was unbelievably far up the side of this cliff.  I would need an insanely tall ladder.  The natives living in this area carved all sorts of cool  buildings into canyon walls.

We also visited a little place called the Grand Canyon.  Mike always talks about going to visit and taking the tour where you ride a mule all the way down to the bottom and camp there for the night.  No thanks!  I would be interested in going rafting on the part of the Colorado River than runs through there though.

Unfortunately, our vacation ended abruptly when we realized that everything really is bigger in Texas.  I couldn't live with ketchup bottles this small!  No wonder they give you so many at one time!  The novelty of these did eventually wear off though when I realized there are a lot of places where you can buy both mini ketchup bottles and their tiny Tabasco sidekicks.

I forgot to mention we saw lots of cactus while we were there.  Though they are potentially violent, I do think they have a fairly friendly appearance since they always seem to be waving at you.  The blurry guy in the back ground is my dad doing his best cactus impersonation.  For those of you who think he is doing a good job...my dad is the one on the left.  See him now?

Overall, it was a great family vacation!

Hurricane Top Ten!

Top Ten Reasons Hurricane Season Is Like Christmas 

Number Ten:

- Decorating the house (with plywood).

Number Nine:

- Dragging out boxes that haven't been used since last season.

Number Eight:

- Last minute shopping in crowded stores.

Number Seven:

- Regular TV shows pre-empted for 'Specials'.

Number Six:

- Family coming to stay with you.

Number Five:

- Family and friends from out of state calling you.

Number Four:

- Buying food you don't normally buy . . . and in large quantities.

Number Three:

- Days off from work.

Number Two:

- Candles.

And the Number One reason Hurricane Season is like Christmas:

- At some point you're probably going to have a tree in your house! 

*This was sent to me by my super serious principal...couldn't believe he stooped to sending junk mail like common teachers!

**If you know me well...you know that I can't stand the song they are singing in the picture above.  Luckily, this picture is mute!

What is normal?

The past few weeks have been crazy!  I am a big fan of having routines.  Even the smallest changes can make me nervous and uptight.  As we started the school year I was already a little out of sorts because there were so many changes.  I knew everything would be fine as soon as I had a routine.

As school started, Sadie started acting really strange.  She was really lethargic (even for her), wouldn't eat, and would yelp in pain when we touched her or even when we didn't touch her.  We took her to the vet and found out she had a neck injury.  We have no idea how she got the neck injury!  Mike was given a list of instructions, three medications, and told to get her to eat as soon as possible.  Since a hot dog was recommended, he stopped by Sonic and bought Sadie lunch.  A few days later I was rushing home because we had friends who were suppose to arrive any minute to spend labor day weekend with us.  The combination of medication and wet dog food over the past few days caused an explosive situation all over our carpet.  When I took Sadie outside I realized she was also bleeding.  Vet visit number two brought the dog's medication count to seven!  I am so glad Mike took most of the responsibility for that because I there was a lot to keep track of.  Over the weekend we managed a fun trip to Galveston but were still somewhat concerned about Sadie.  We put in a call to Bethany who sweetly listened and made us feel better.  Vet visit number three got Sadie back on track and she has been doing better and better.  We knew she was back to normal when she became mischievous again!

Just as the dog was getting better Hurricane Ike came through the area.  Having never experienced a hurricane we figured things would be back to normal in a few days.  Fourteen days later we are happy to report we have power!  We learned a lot in this experience.  We did well and definitely have a few ideas for how we would do things different if this happens again.  Our apartment had very little damage and we only suffered from boredom and hot weather.  We spent the first week visiting friends during the day and sleeping with our windows open at night.  After a sleepless hot Saturday night we moved to Camp Curry.

Sometimes it is tough not living near our families.  One of my prayers before the hurricane arrived was that we would do what we could to help others and that we would have friends who would be willing to help us if we needed it.  It was such a blessing for Sean and Katie to let us crash at their house.  It is so easy to offer help but it is so tough accepting help!  We were there for six nights and Katie reassured us almost daily that they weren't tired of us yet.  Katie put me to work as her secretary and then as her kindergarten book fair helper.  

School started again while we were still living at the Curry house.  My beloved twenty minute drive to work from our apartment topped out at almost two hours from Camp Curry partially because of distance but mostly because of hurricane related traffic issues.  I didn't like getting up an hour earlier than usual, but it was nice to see Mike in the mornings.  He usually leaves for work while I'm catching my last few Zs.  I might start getting up a little earlier for a more relaxed morning routine unlike my traditional fireman on the way to a fire type of morning routine.  

Today was our first day back at home and we managed to get some things done.  We put the furniture back where it belongs (it had been moved to avoid a small leak), bought some basic groceries, did some laundry, and took some time to relax.  I'm so glad we were somewhat able to maintain our sense of humor and a basic level of mental health.  We can't wait to sleep in our own bed again...with the covers on!

Sing Along with Sadie!

Sadie is a little nervous about this hurricane business.  How do you soothe a nervous beagle...you have her act out Winnie the Pooh weather theme songs!

Little Black Rain Cloud

I'm just a little black rain cloud
Hovering under the honey tree
I'm only a little black rain cloud
Pay no attention to little me
Ev'ryone knows that a rain cloud
Never eats honey, no, not a nip
I'm just floating around over the ground
Wondering where I will drip

Oh, ev'ryone knows that a rain cloud
Never eats honey, no, not a nip
I'm just floating around over the ground
Wondering where I will drip

The Rain, Rain, Rain,
Came Down, Down, Down

The rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down
In rushing, rising, rivlets
'Til the river crept out of it's bed
And crept right into Piglet's

Poor Piglet he was frightened
With quite a rightful fright
And so in desperation
A message he did write

He placed it in a bottle
And it floated out of sight

And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down
So Piglet started bailing

He was unaware atop his chair
While bailing he was sailing

And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down
And the flood rose up, up, upper

Pooh too was caught and so he thought
I must rescue my supper

Ten honey pots he rescued
Enough to see him through
But as he supped up his supper
The river supped up Pooh

And the water twirled and tossed him
In a honey pot

And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down
So Piglet started bailing

He was unaware atop his chair
While bailing he was sailing

And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down
And the flood rose up, up, upper

Pooh too was caught and so he thought
I must rescue my supper

Ten honey pots he rescued
Enough to see him through
But as he supped up his supper
The river supped up Pooh

And the water twirled and tossed him
In a honey pot.......

A Rather Blustery Day

Hum, dum, dum, dee, dee, dum
Hum, dum, dum
Oh the wind is lashing lusterly
And the trees are thrashing thrusterly
And the leaves are rustling gusterly
So it's rather safe to say
That it seems that it may turn out to be
It feels that it will undoubteadly
Looks like a rather blustery day today
It seems that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubteadly
Looks like a rather blustery day today

A good sing along makes everyone smile!  :)