Picture Tag

Kelly tagged me.

The object of this picture tag is:

1. Go to the 4th folder in your computer where you store your pictures.
2. Pick the 4th picture in that folder.
3. Explain the picture.
4. Tag 4 people to do the same!


Here is my 4th picture in my 4th folder:





This is Alison and I at the New Year's Eve party last year! We had a blast!

I tag Arshunda, the Hoppers, Julie and Marc and Jen.

Inside or Outside?

I've been slightly philosophical lately. I'm just giving you a warning, right off the bat, that this post is a little deeper than my usual. :)

The Escape was red and the Accord is burgundy...same color family, but the burgundy sure shows the dirt a lot more! Of course, with the car being new, I'm trying to keep it cleaner than I kept the Escape. The day after I went through the car wash, it rained and I was back to a dirty car. I was looking at the dried dirty rain on the trunk and began to think about my life, more specifically the sin in my life. Sometimes I focus on what others think about me or my actions. I make sure to be "clean" on the outside without focusing on the blackness of my heart. Lord, use this illustration to help me focus on You instead of my actions in the site of others.

I'm over it

I'm ready for this school year to be over. I'm trying really hard to have a good attitude, but it seems like each day throws several new curves. I'm over it. I'm ready to be done with this school year.

Can we make that happen, please?

I'm Procrastinating

I took today off of work because I was planning to be out of town. I ended up not going, so scheduled a doctor's appointment and planned to do some last minute Christmas shopping. Now, I'm doing laundry and putting off grading papers/counting Box Tops. I stole this survey from Erin's blog as a part of my procrastination.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? I think it would be a much cooler story if I was, especially since my name is a little unusual, but nope. My mom isn't even sure where she had heard my name before.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? I'm not sure I remember. I don't cry very often. I think it was towards the end of summer when I had a breakdown sobbing session because I was overwhelmed...so like late July???

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Oddly enough, I like it as I'm writing. I think it looks neat (as in clean, not as in cool) but usually look at it later and think it looks messy.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? I like thick slices of ham or roast beef. Like cooked at home and using leftovers for sandwiches... I'm not a fan of store bought lunch meat.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? No

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? I think so. I try to be a good listener and I appreciate that in a friend.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? More often than I should, not as often as I used to

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Nope, I would skydive though!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I'm not really a big cereal eater, though I'd say Raisin Bran if I had to choose.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Not unless I can't get them off without untying them.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? I can usually do what I'm asked...

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Hmmm, chocolate chip!

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their smile and if they are welcoming or standoffish

15. RED OR PINK? Definitely red!

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My insecurities

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Not really, I'm just trying to kill time (but feel free to do the same if you are procrastinating today, too).

19. WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Barefoot

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Chic-fil-A grilled chicken sandwich and my favorite waffle fries!

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The maintenance man's radio as he walks by my bedroom window.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Bright blue

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Dad's chili

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Amy A

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Well, Erin didn't actually 'send' it, I kinda stole it...but yeah I like Erin! :)

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Go 'Stros!

27. Hair Color? Do you mean the real or the fake? I'm really a pretty dark brunette, but right now it's more of a lighter brown with some hi/low lights.

28. EYE COLOR? Blue

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Nope.

30. FAVORITE FOOD? Tex-Mex and Chic fil A

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings. I like action movies, but not the horror ones, please!

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Netflix...that's how I keep up with my tv shows. The Unit Season 3 was the last one!

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black and white

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Fall?

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Yes, please.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? blackberry cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? N/A

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? I don't allow myself to start a 'new' book during the school year. I just reread old favorites. Right now, I'm not reading one at all, sadness!

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I'm using a laptop, so N/A

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? nothing

42. FAVORITE SOUND? running water

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Neither is among my favorite...I'm not sure I could name a song either one sang...

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Cannes, Australia

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Not really, I'm pretty ordinary.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Dallas, TX

Help!

My extended family is playing Dirty Santa this year. We're all supposed to bring a gift that is about $20 and gift cards are a last resort. The gift is supposed to be for a man or woman.

Any ideas!?

Something I never thought I would say

"We don't need to be chest bumping."

Productivity can be a huge blessing!

I know we're not supposed to be like Martha. From that particular story, we're supposed to model Mary. However, there are times when productivity is a huge blessing! I had dinner with a friend of mine tonight. Then, instead of going to Bible study, I went home and cleaned! It was absolutely wonderful! I had not been home in the evenings at all this week and still had not unpacked from my Thanksgiving travels. I had shopping bags, an open suitcase with clothes spilling out of it, happy birthday cards from my students, mail, towels, Bible study books, new car paperwork, updated car insurance paperwork, dishes, plants and more all over my living/dining room. Now it is all in its proper place and I can actually sit on my couch without seeing gobs of things that need my attention!

Thank you for time to be productive, Lord!

May, please?

I'm ready for May. I have a couple of students, whom I love, but their parents are a pain. I have a couple of students who drive me nuts. Its sad when a handful of people can ruin a perspective on an entire group.

Can you tell I had a frustrating parent meething this morning?

Our next generation of technology

Funny kid story

It's a little chilly today. We're coming in from track and my students can tell I am cold. One says, "I thought you would be used to the cold." Another one replies, "Why would she be used to the cold? She was born in the summer."

Thankful #10 and #11

A couple of different things today...

One: I'm glad to have a car I can be messy in again. I don't mean I'm going to trash my car. Don't get me wrong. But I've been driving a car that was not my own for two weeks now. Therefore my apartment was filling up with my sparkplugs, fluids, funnels, Bed, Bath and Beyond Coupons and all car paperwork that is usually kept in my glove box. Now my sunshade is in the seat pocket of the driver's seat. The BB&B coupons are in the seat pocket of the passenger seat. The trunk has all my "side of the road" necessary tools and my console is already holding an item or two. It's nice to have my apartment a little more spacious again!

Two: I'm thankful for my job. I've been a little complainer about the scheduling lately and God got my attention. There are a lot of people without jobs or a way to support themselves. I'm thankful I have a steady income and don't have to question where my next meal is coming from or how I will pay rent this month.

Thankful #9

I am thankful for Sundays. The Lord knew what He was doing when he created a day of rest! The past few weeks have been busy and exhausting. My allergies are acting up this morning and that is draining. I'm thankful for a day to sleep late, take a hot bath and be relaxed as well as slightly productive around my apartment.

Thank you Lord!

Thankful #8

I'm thankful for Darrick. He is supportive during the research of large purchases. I've thought seriously about buying a home this year. He has driven to look at homes with me. He has given me his honest, well thought out, opinion of each home. He was always right. :) I trusted him, and trust him now. The timing wasn't always convenient, but he went along and was actually excited to do so! I finally decided to table the decision of purchasing a home, and am thankful for his part in the entire process.
Two weeks ago I took my car into my mechanic because of a shimmy, shudder thing it was doing at the first idle of each morning. It needed a new gadget, a replaced thingy and another new something or other...to the tune of 1200. I had spent 1800 in several new thingys just a few months before. It didn't make financial sense to spend that kind of money again and decided to buy a new vehicle.
Darrick helped me research cars. He very much respected my thoughts and decisions, but gave me input when I asked for it. I would email him options of make/model and he would send me an article from consumer report along with what he had personally experienced or a friend of his had gone through. He could talk, intelligently, about any model I would ask about.
I finally made my decision and was driving to the dealership while talking with him on the phone. I knew I could handle this on my own, but at the same time would rather have had a friend there for support. He knew that and changed his evening plans to drive over to the dealership and join me. He asked me questions to get me thinking. He asked the salesman questions to confirm information. Throughout the whole process, he was supportive and, with just a slight shake or nod of his head, we could communicate on the best way to do business. I bought a 2009 Honda Accord EX last night and feel very confidant in my purchase.

Thanks Darrick!

Thankful #7

I'm thankful gas prices are going down. I'm buying a new car in the next day or two. While I've been looking closely at mpgs, I'm also glad gas prices are dropping!

Thankful #6

I love this cold weather. I have enjoyed wearing slightly warmer clothing. There is just omething about Autumn. I like taking a deep breath of cool air...not the cold air that hurts my lungs, but the cool air that is refreshing. I like watching the clear sky with a bright sun shining through and feeling its warmth on my face. The anticipation of a fun season of family, shopping, food, and laughter is in full bloom. I enjoy watching my students' personalities show through a little more as they walk in with their mittens, scarves and knee high patterned socks. I enjoy this season!

Thankful #5

I'm thankful for Lupe's beef fajitas.


Mmmmm!

Thankful #4

I am thankful for Laurie.

She listens when I cry.
She asks questions that make me think.
Sometimes she shares her opinion. Sometimes she doesn't.
Sometimes she is directly honest. Sometimes she is compassionately honest.
She loves me for me, but wants to stretch my comfort zone, too.
She can articulate my thoughts when I'm having trouble with the mess.
She buys me fun clothes.
She prays for me.

Thankful #3

I am thankful for rainy days that make me laugh. We were out at track today and it started sprinkling. No big deal. We're not made of sugar. Then it begins to POUR down. Most of the students are as far away from the building as they could possibly be and are trying to safely run back to cover. We were all laughing and making remarks about getting wet and being a bit chilly. It was an all-around fun time!

Thankful #2

I am thankful today for God's blessings. He blesses me in unexpected ways. Today I am driving a car that is not mine. An acquaintance loaned it to me while mine is in the shop. How often do you borrow a car from an acquaintance? Yeah, me neither! I found out today my car repair is going to be quite costly, enough that it isn't financially smart to do it. This means I'm going car shopping. God has blessed me with a community of believers that helps to provide for each other and pray for each other. One friend is helping me with car research. Another is answering questions about the kind of car she drives, as it is a make/model I'm looking into. I know God blesses me daily, but today He is really saying "Hey, this is ME providing for you!"

Beginning of a Series of Posts

In view of Thanksgiving later this month, each day I am going to post something I am thankful for. Sometimes it may be a little thing...other times quite monumental, but all are people, situations or events worthy of praising the Lord.

1. My family.

My dad is great at encouragement. He has this wonderful way of wrapping me in a bear hug that makes me feel safe, loved, and protected. Dad provides for us our needs and, most of the time, our wants too. :)

My mom loves me enough to poke me out of my comfort zone. She knows my strengths, my struggles, my successes and my failures and she loves me through all of them. She knows when to back off and when to prod a little. She's great at listening, too.

Angela makes me smile. She wants to know anything and everything I want to talk about. She loves her sports and her passion for them is a family joke, one she can laugh at, too.

A little down

I'm sad today. I don't have any major reason for it.

But I want to cry.


Why does that feel wrong?

having fun

I'm having fun with cute backgrounds! I might start changing mine weekly.

I know I've been silent lately. It's not that I don't have something to say. I guess I just haven't been choosing the blog venue to say it.

I'll try to become a little more verbose.

Trip Advisor: Donations for Causes

Go here and vote. It's for a good cause to receive an awesome donation. And it will be less painful than the coming Tuesday election! :)

Two posts in one day...what will we do!

I'm teaching different types of verbs to my students. We're working on past, present and future tense verbs right now. I wrote a few sentences on the board and various students came up to underline the verb and identify the tense. It's hard to come up with random sentences on the spot, so I try to use names and actions that I can easily think of. These were a few of my sentences today.

Sheri will be in charge of the cakes.

Mark twirled Laurie around the dance floor.

Meredith is chatting with Tricia.

As you can see, I used past, present and future tenses in my examples! :)

I'm tired.

I'm cold.

My bed is too far away.

I'm on a mission...

...for voter's information!

I know who I'm voting for in the presidential election. It's the others I'm not certain about. So I typed in "Texas Voter's guide" into my handy search engine and came across quite a bit of info. I think I'm set! I plan to stop tomorrow on the way home from work.

I've heard lines have been pretty long, so I want to have plenty of time and tomorrow is my opportunity!

Are you ready to vote?

Red-Neck Fire Alarm

For those of you that can't see, this is a package of Jiffy Pop hanging on the wall.

Favorite Scent?

What's your favorite scent? If you could walk into your home or office and smell any scent, what would it be?

Yes, I'm asking you. I want comments, please!

Mystery to Men

Mindy has challenged me to reveal the contents of my purse. I have always found it amusing that this female accessory confounds men a bit, so I find this activity amusing as well. I'm up for it!

I carry different purses, depending on color of outfit or classy level of evening. The one for today is pretty straightforward. One large opening and one tiny zipper pocket.

Large opening:
Phone: never go anywhere without

billfold: a little larger than i'd like, but i haven't made it a priority to shop for a smaller one...this is one of those checkbook, credit card, cash, etc combinations

$10 starbucks gift card from student: well earned...believe me

orbit lemon lime gum: sweet mint is my favorite, but this purse has lemon lime for now

green pen: works well for grading (never know when i'm going to have a few extra minutes!)

$5 starbucks gift card: randomly received in mail

car keys: no explanation necessary

other keys with discount cards attached

hair clip, 2 pony tail holders and barrette

tavist-D: allergies have been bad lately


small zipper pocket:

lip liner
lip gloss
feminie hygiene product
pain killer (Laurie's experience of falling down the stairs taught me this is another item to never leave home without!)

As I've put everything back into my purse, I've slightly reorganized and moved the hair accessories and tavist-D to the small zipper pocket as well: gives me more room in the large pocket!

Funk

I'm in a funk. I don't totally understand it myself and am trying, desperately, to rely on the Lord for truth instead of my feelings, which are deceptive. Over the past week, I've been angry, tearful, hurt, ticked off, and just down in the dumps. Most of these emotions have been over things that would normally be slightly frustrating, but not preemptive of the extreme feelings that have been occurring. It's frustrating, because I think I'm usually a fairly even-keeled person. I mean, I don't usually have major mood swings.

I'm rambling, so I'm going to try to streamline some of my consciousness. :)

I have two friends at work whom I'm praying salvation. The Lord has laid their lostness on my heart and I'm saddened for them. I pray the Lord keeps my heart sensitive to their eternity.

I have yet another sinus infection. I'm hopeful a new medicine will help this to happen less and less. Due to the sinus infection, I have no energy and am thus tired and slightly cranky.

My car is having some issues. My battery light comes on first thing of a morning, but goes off after about a minute. I've taken it in and they've test the (BRAND NEW) battery and can't find anything wrong with it. The alternator is also brand new. Everyone says "As long as it's going off, there isn't a problem." but my car is shuddering as we back out and I always feel like it's going to die on me. I hate having car issues and, honestly, during them is when I feel my singleness in a very acute way.

I'm still rambling. Even though I'm trying to streamline. So I'm going to stop now.

No comprende

I don't speak the language of "man." I just don't get it. I say one thing. He hears something else. And vice versa.

Praise to an Unasked Prayer

God is so good! I don't ever give Him enough credit and that saddens me. But today I'm praising Him for a blessing. Something I didn't even ask Him for!

A year ago I moved into a different apartment after a leak in my former apartment ruined my laptop. Due to this move, the apartment complex had given me a VERY good rate for the new apartment. About six weeks ago, I received a letter telling me it was time to sign a new lease and the amount for rent each month was included. It was a drastic increase from my current rent, but I was expecting that because it was the going rate for the apartment.

Today, I went in to sign paperwork and was told the amount on the letter was a mistake. There was no way they were going to raise my rent that much and would _____ be agreeable. "YES!" My rent is still going up, but only a fraction of what I thought it was going up. And I didn't even ask!

Thank you Lord!

Too many shows!

Season premieres have happened, and I missed most of them. I arrived home about 4:00 today and decided to play catch up. I enjoy my shows and they seem to get better and better each season. However, there are just too many of them! I don't have DVR or TeVo and don't have any plans to get either. I like Netflix, because I can watch my favorite dramas in spurts, but then I'm missing out on the ones out now!

Too many shows, too much life to live! Isn't that just the problem? I know some people that fill up a DVR with so many recordings that it takes days to watch them all. Are we so obsessed with television, we're forgetting to live life? Don't get me wrong. I like a good laugh or heart stopping crime scene just as much as the next CSI-loving gal. But I admit there are times, I've chosen not to answer the phone because I was watching "one of my shows." Is that completely wrong? No, I don't think it is. But it can be.

Gourds

It's officially Fall! I love Autumn for so many reasons. I'm not usually a big holiday decorator, but with fall I have patio decorations and even a few things to spread around my apartment and classroom. I just enjoy the feeling of festivity. I bought two gourds and a mini pumpkin at Kroger yesterday. I'm not totally please with the arrangement right now and plan to work with it some more today. I'll post pictures when I'm finished.

I want to bake something in accordance with the season, but am ambivalent as to what that will be. I may post pictures if I actually make a decision. :)

Moving?

According to this article, I need to move to San Jose or Santa Ana, California.

Tidbits

I haven't blogged in awhile.

Yesterday was a pretty rough day at work. My friends are wonderful and the Lord is good at all times!

Campho-Phenique leaks no matter how tightly it's closed. I flew over the weekend and came home with all my bottles of liquid covered in campho. I placed them on a towel on the side of my tub so they could dry out until I had a chance to clean them all up. When I got up to pee in the middle of the night, I accidentally bumped them all into the tub. 2:30 in the morning is not really an appropriate time to be wide awake, but a loud crash usually does that.

I had 65 blogs to read according to Google Reader since I was gone for a few days. Angie Smith (see sidebar) makes me laugh in just about every post. Sometimes I cry too.

Due to the Hurricane and then being out of town, I have several piles of papers to grade and plan to work late to get caught up. The problem is my students create more work to grade each day! I'm feeling pretty behind!

I left my driver's license in the bank teller tube yesterday.

Yesterday was payday. After totalling my paycheck to my bank balance, I have $79. That's not a good number on the day of payday!

Turkey wraps from Jason's Deli are really good!

headache

I have a headache. I'm not finished with sub plans and our school closed at 3:30 today, not allowing me to stay late to work. It is much easier to work when I'm actually at work, than when I'm sitting on my bed with my computer on my lap. Why didn't I finish my sub plans while I was out for the hurricane? Good question. I could have. I would have had to make some adjustments, probably even completely overhaul, but I could have. I didn't. I didn't grade papers either. I was out of town some days and in the middle of clean up others, but I still could have gotten some papers graded. But I didn't. However, right now I just want a hug and a nap. Not necessarily in that order. I don't think I'm going to get either one. :(

lots of little

I need new profile pictures, here and on facebook. My camera is here, but the connector cord is at work and HISD doesn't allow me facebook access anyway. I'll get it done eventually.

I like blowing bubbles with my gum. I don't mean little bubbles. I mean really big bubbles that sometimes pop all over the bottom half of my face. I realize this makes me appear childish in public, but I don't care.

I went to DC for a few days with some co-workers. The conference was phenomenal! (Something that is very rare in the field of education.) We also had a great time touring. I came home tired, but that's okay.

I go back to work tomorrow. Students come back Tuesday. I leave Tuesday evening for family vacation. Not great timing, but I'm REALLY looking forward to the relaxing time away. This is the one time of year when the outside world just stops, communication is nil, and our family gets an extended period of time of conversation, relaxtion and plain ole fun. Thank you Lord for vacation!

I currently have a sinus headache and trying to sleep it away didn't work.

My principal tried to find guys for me to date as we walked the streets of DC this week. I was the only single in the group, so this kind of became their project. Fun times!

It's kinda scary how much we rely on electricity for everything. My apartment complex didn't lose power and got water back Sunday afternoon, so I didn't go without very long.

Driving down Westheimer is amazing. There are VERY FEW stores open between 610 and the Beltway. I mean almost none. Very few stoplights work. I was out this evening about 7:30, picking up some dinner from fairly far away, and it became crystal clear as to why we have a curfew. Without daylight, it's very difficult to see other cars because there are no building lights, streetlights, stoplights, etc.

HISD has cancelled school through Friday with an update to be given Friday about when classes will start up again. I leave Wednesday for a conference for work, so classes being cancelled help me since I won't have to do substitute lesson plans, which would have been even more difficult since I couldn't be at school to make them. Those of you out there who are teachers understand what I'm talking about! My students walking in to a substitute after returning from a hurricane would not have been great either, for countless reasons. Wonder if we'll have to make these days up? The state forgave the days missed during Hurricane Rita, but Saavedra made us make them up anyway. (most of them? all of them? I can't remember.)

I was up at church today helping with cleanup. We filled many (100?) garbage bags with leaves and twigs. Raked up many more and filled the back of a pickup with them so they could be hauled off. We also moved branches into piles to make easy access for being carried off. There are two downed trees in the courtyard. Several guys were using saws and tree-cutters to make the branches and trunk pieces easier to carry, then other guys carrying them out to the street. There was at least one chainsaw being used. I'm pretty sure there will be a professional brought in for the massive trunk of one tree. There is another cleanup day tomorrow 1p-5p if anyone wants to help!

I admit to being a little bored. I'm sleeping in, watching the news, reading... There are papers to grade, but meh.

I need to do laundry. That's my plan for tomorrow.

Dear Mr. Obama

Ha! This will definitely last all year!

Adrian* pointed to the Crunch and asked me if he could have it. We're on the way out the door to lunch, so I laughed in kind of a "ha, ha, you're kidding" way and motioned for him to keep moving. He looked a little letdown, but kept walking. On the way back in to class, he again pointed at the pillow and said, "Ms. Ross, please can I have it? I LOVE chocolate." "Adrian," I responded, "that's a pillow! It's not a chocolate bar!" "Oh, really?" looking slightly embarrassed/miffed.

My teaching partner and I have decided that will be our phrase to each other when we're having a bad day. "I REALLY need a Crunch bar!"

Cowboy's Ten Commandments

(1) Just one God.

(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa.

(3) No telling tales or gossipin'.

(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.

(5) Put nothin' before God.

(6) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal.

(7) No killin'.

(8) Watch yer mouth.

(9) Don't take what ain't yers.

(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff

More Stories

Maybe I just haven't been in tune with my funny bone in the past, but I don't remember ever having this many funny stories from students! I'm looking forward to this year if this keeps up!

Zane* comes up to me at track time today asking if I was going to have a Teacher Talent (talent show) Day this year. I asked if he meant the event that usually happens the last week of school. ?? He went into a little more detail before I stopped him and said, "Zane, you're asking me about something that always occurs the last week of school, when we're still on the first week of school. I find that amusing. :) How about you ask me sometime in May?" I say this teasingly and am smiling. He didn't get it! He wanted to tell me exactly what he was planning to do!

George* did something hilarious today, too, but right now I cannot remember! Boo! If I remember later, I'll post it!

Cute Movie

I watched this Netflix jewel last night and thought it was cute!

First Days

Yesterday went very well! My feet were KILLING me by the end of the day, but that's pretty typical. I was wearing heels (a little tiny one!), since I always dress a little nicer on the first day. Being on my feet ALL day long didn't help, of course. :) My students seem responsible and sweet.

One funny story:
George* is a student that is sure to make me laugh...and scream...some this year. Last week, at our Ice Cream Social (aka Meet the Teacher) he asked me when he was allowed to use his cell phone during school.

Monday he asked questions (LOTS of them), usually not remembering to wait for me to call on him and sometimes not even remembering to raise his hand. Then at lunch, we have this conversation. "Ms. Ross, do you want to know why I've been so quiet today?" "Well, George, I didn't think you had been quiet." With a perplexed look on his face, "Oh, I have been. It's because I'm new to this school and haven't had a chance to make friends yet."

A few minutes later: "You know how some schools have food fights? When are we going to have a food fight? And throw the food ALL the way to the other side of the cafeteria?" "We don't throw food in school, George."

Ah, we're definitely back at school!

Face to Face time

I had dinner with a friend last night. We hadn't had face time in a long time and it was wonderful to catch up. Part of our conversation centered on relationships. Both of us feel face time is pretty important. It's hard for us to feel close with someone if we're not sharing our daily lives. We still love the friends we talk to every few months. But conversations in which you're trying to catch someone up on the "big things" in life do not encourage a closeness or a depth in friendship. I realize not everyone may feel this way. But we do, and it was nice to have our face time to revitalize the connection our friendship has always had.

Sad

Last night, I observed from a short distance away as a young man fell from the 4th floor of a parking garage. A few friends and I ran to give aid. Chaos was going on for a few moments, but I watched as two men of God ignored the chaos and did everything they could (which was quite a bit) to assess the situation and give assistance. One fed me his assessment of the injuries so I could give accurate information to the 911 operator I was speaking to while the other kept the prone man calm. His wallet and phone were retrieved and a young woman in the crowd found "mom" and called. What hard news to give! Please be in prayer for his mother.
Emergency crews were on hand shortly thereafter and the crowd began to clear...or at least move to observe from further away.


Please be in prayer for this young man and his family. I think he was probably 20ish. He has multiple broken bones and will be in pain for sometime. Please pray for the emotions of all involved, too.

Need for Sleep

I went to bed at 7pm last night. For the most part, I slept through the night. I even struggled to get up this morning. And yesterday was only Monday.

Stress

I have a genetic disease that I've had pretty much my entire life. It's not debilitating or life-threatening. It IS incredibly annoying. There is not medicine to cure it, only treat it and it doesn't really get any better after treatment anyway.

Why am I telling you this you ask?
Good question.

Because outside life situations affect this issue, stress being a main one. So even if I didn't already know, I can tell this first week back to work has been stressful, just because of major flare ups that are annoying and, at times, painful.

We're Back!

All the teachers were back to work today! I never sleep soundly the night before we go back (b/c I'm scared of waking up late!) so I was at school at 6:00am! Lots of catching up! It was great to see everyone AND I feel like I accomplished a lot in my classroom, too. I'm not sure I'm ready for a new year, but I guess it's here!

I've tried to enter this year with a slightly different mindset on somethings. One being I'm not going to stay late all the time. There is always work to do and there will always be work to do. Staying late will not get it all done. So, I'm not going to do it anymore! I left at 3:15 today (right on time) and am pleased with the start of breaking the habit!

Reasons 501 and 502 to stay away from Wal-Mart

I'm not a fan of Wal-Mart and really haven't ever been. When I was young, I didn't know why my parents didn't like it (therefore I didn't like it), but now I completely understand.

Reason #501 to NOT shop at Wal-Mart
In all my car repair last weekend, I was told I needed a new car battery. Some friends told me they could put it in for me, so I declined the installation fees and headed to Wal-Mart. As I check out with my really heavy battery, the cashier tells me he has to charge me an extra $9 fee which will be refunded when I bring the old battery back in. I think that's stupid, but he states its a state law so I go along with it. (For those of you getting ready to explain to me the reasoning here, I already get it. I was planning on taking my battery to a recycling plant. I didn't really want to go back to Wal-Mart!)

The battery is replaced and the old one wrapped in a black trash bag until I can lug it back to Wal-Mart. Well, I didn't realize this needed to happen pronto! When I drove up a few days later and tried to carry in the old battery, acid had leaked out, shredded the garbage bag and dripped all over me in the process. Not so much fun.

It takes awhile to find a Wal-Mart employee that is willing to carry the battery for me, but finally I do and stand in line for my $9. At the tire lube check-out, she initials my receipt and sends me to Customer Service.
Seriously? You can't just give me the 9 bucks here!? Keep in mind I haven't been able to find a bathroom yet and my hands and shins are red, raw and irritated from battery acid. I realize this part is my own doing, but since I thought that $9 fee was stupid and am already slightly aggravated with Wal-Mart anyway, I blame this on them too just because I can. There is no line at Customer Service (miracle of miracles!) and my $9.74 was credited to my credit card (yes, I said $9.74. They charged TAX on the fee. How dumb is that!?)


Reason #502 to NOT shop at Wal-Mart
As I was walking up to the Tire Lube Express, I noticed another person walking in about the same time. Not a big deal, just realized I wasn't walking in by myself. This man also stood in line to speak with the cashier. Again, I knew he was there, but kind of like I knew my car was in the parking lot. Something I was aware of, but not paying much attention to.

After I handled my $9.74 credit and scrubbed my hands with soap and water to clean off the acid, I headed back to the Tire Lube Express since my car was parked there. I soon realized this same man is walking in front of me in the same direction. I begin to pay much more attention when he turns around and says,

"I noticed you earlier and find you attractive. Are you married?"

"No, I'm not married." I almost stutter.

"Where is your boyfriend?"

"I don't have one."

"How does that happen?"

"That's just how life works sometimes." as I walk away.

What can I say big, black men like my ghetto booty. ;)
Some of you will understand this comment and some will be confused. Let's just suffice it to say I've had some experience with random men trying very odd (and lame!) pick up lines.

Feeling Old, Anyone?

I've decided I might need to cut back on my caffeine. That makes me feel very old. I mean, seriously. Who does that? Only old people. But lately, I've had trouble sleeping, even when I'm exhausted. I'm a diet coke drinker and have never paid attention to the time while partaking of my favorite beverage. It might by 5pm or 10pm. It just never mattered. I'm thinking now it does. And I don't like it at all.

A Conundrum

I know the word "conundrum" is a part of the title of my blog, but I don't think I've ever actually used it in a blog post.

This past Spring, several teachers were in the news for their myspace pages and facebook accounts. A teacher friend of mine, and fellow blogger, made her blog private due to this very reason. I'm thinking about it and may do the same thing, so be prepared if you come one day and are denied access. In that instance, email me and I'll invite you to read it. I'll probably go through the process some time this week, before returning to work.

Being without a car has its perks. One being that I can't drive anywhere and thus when it is necessary for me to go somewhere, others come and get me. Hey, this saves me gas money. Amusing since the fixing of my car is costing me money, but hey I'm looking for the perks! ;)

I've done quite a bit of cleaning. I pulled out my refrigerator and scrubbed the floor. I learned part of my kitchen cabinet (usually hidden by the fridge) is rotting and called maintenance to come fix it. I took all the pictures and magnets off the fridge and cleaned it thoroughly. I was amused at the Christmas picture duplicates (2006 and 2007) and wedding invitations that were long passed (Kelly and Eric's), but still taking up space. I did some sorting! :)

Laundry is washed, dried AND put away. (This is HUGE for me!)

All furniture but my desk is organized, dusted and cleaned. I'll do my desk tomorrow.

There are some stains on the carpet that need washed. I'm trying to figure out the best way to accomplish this. Maintenance made the spots, so should I have them wash the carpet or just spot the stains myself? Washing the entire apartment's carpet could be annoying and I'm not sure I want to add that to my list of things to do right now.

I've also TOTALLY cleaned my kitchen. Something that doesn't happen often. My kitchen is not large, and the counter space is taken up with the toaster and coffee maker as well as any little odds and ends paperwork that seems to collect. All that is put away now, making my counter seem empty (because it is, but WEIRD!)

Not quite what I had in mind

My car is in the shop. I took it in yesterday for a tune-up and asked them to also run a "courtesy check" (where they check all the fluids, belts, hoses, blah, car-lingo, blah, blah.) A few things popped up, not unexpectedly, and the total bill was just under $1200. I wasn't taken completely unawares, so that wasn't as painful as it could have been.

It was a huge relief to get the car work done, because it had been weighing on my mind as something I wanted to do before I start back to work August 11. I had a breakdown moment Thursday night, in which I literally began balling for practically no reason other than exhaustion and feeling overwhelmed with my "to-do" list of items needing accomplished before August 11. Car work being one of the major items.

Today, my radio went off and my ABS light came on. Huh? What does this mean? I was out and about town and began heading home, while calling a friend of mine asking questions. I then called the shop and they said to bring it in. I stop by my apartment to pick up a book since I was only a block away and sitting in a mechanic's lobby with nothing to do for long periods of time isn't a bowl of cherries. I go back out to my car and...nothing. The engine wouldn't turn over, it wouldn't even click. My brakes locked up, all the lights on the dash would come on, but I practically had zero power. I again call the shop and they sent a tow truck to haul it in. I start cleaning my apartment since the other errands on my list are now not possible.

He just called. The alternator is "gone," the battery is completely dead, but the fuses are good. I asked what this all meant with responsibility of cost and he said he was still looking into it, but wanted to let me know what was going on.

It's 4:04. They close at 5:00. This could get interesting.

** Update as of 5:06. It's my responsibility and it's going to cost me $550. Probably more than that since the battery may not take a charge and will therefore need replaced, too. Here goes my house downpayment.

I want to share

I came across a blog today that touched my life. Angie and Todd Smith are the parents of five daughters, though only three are living with them. The story Angie writes on her blog is beautifully written, though painful to read. She blogged through her most recent pregnancy and has opened her heart to many readers. The Lord has used her in many amazing ways to touch lives.

I encourage you to read the blog, though reading it all in one day as I did, may not be wise.

You'll need a kleenex.

Yay for Vacations!

I just got back from a wonderful girl trip. We had plans but nothing was in concrete, and we all had similar views for how we wanted the trip to look. We wanted to have fun and relax. We had a plan, but were flexible. It was wonderful! It rained almost all day Thursday so we converged onto the San Marcos Outlet Mall instead of our original plan of Schlitterbahn. My goal was "school clothes" for the upcoming school year. I bought 5 dresses and they were ALL 50% off. I was so excited! They're very appropriate for work, but are fun, too. I also was able to purchase several other fun and needed items which made the trip an unqualified success! Becca and Laura made several purchases, too. None of us had been to the Outlet in awhile, so it was fun to reacquaint ourselves.

Friday was forecast as cloudy skies, but not as much rain. We were able to land a close parking spot and with our complimentary Schlitterbahn tickets from a friend, didn't even have to wait in ticket lines! The rides were fun and Laura, of course, came up with many games for us to play while waiting in the lines that got longer throughout the day.

We ate dinner at the Gristmill and leisurely walked through several fun antique shops in Gruene. We watched the Dark Knight and all enjoyed Christian Bale, I mean the movie.

Oh, and I got a tattoo.

Yay for Vacations!

I'm leaving this evening for some waterpark fun and a shopping extravaganza! I'll be back Saturday morning, so the trip is not a lengthy one. However, I'm very excited!

Here's to vacation!

The Boring Life of a Rule Follower

I'm pretty much a rule follower. On Friday, I decided to stretch my wings a little bit. I was on a flight to Dallas. The airline I was flying does not have assigned seats, so passengers board according to when they checked in. I was a "B" boarder, but my flying companion was an "A" boarder. I boarded with the "As!" Gasp!

Once on the plane, I decided I didn't want to turn off my phone, even though it is not an approved device. Gasp, gasp!!

See the exciting life of a rule follower breaking the rules?

Laughter amongst friends

I so enjoy having people over to my home. This morning several ladies came over for brunch. It was a great time of laughter, stories, food, and fellowship. And because people were coming over, I cleaned! So now I get to enjoy a clean apartment, too!

Several Blogging Topics

I've been a little busy lately and have had some excellent blogging material that, for the moment, I'm forgetting. Dang it!

A couple that come to mind:

I need to recyle more.

I don't like cars that pull in front of me causing me to almost rearend them. (I know what you're all thinking and I was not going THAT fast!)

Summer is here, so life is supposed to slow down some, right?

Turning a certain age has never bothered me, but I have "mack truck" adult moments. One of them hit me when I realized I was adult enough to have connections.

I like learning new things, even when I feel like I'm behind the curve almost the entire time.

Minds are Interesting Creations

I had a very random dream last night. I don't remember all of it. Just pieces. And I woke up going, "huh, that was interesting."

The few parts I remember:
A rat climbed on the raft I was using to relax.
He was trying to tell me something, so he bit my hand numerous times.
My favorite student from summer school was on the dock wrapped in a very 70s orange robe.
Several more random people from my acquaintance circles appeared and we were all trapped on top of a castle on the dock. ("Trapped from what or by what?" you ask. I have no clue.)
Some guy friends of mine were our rescuers.
I was rescued last.

Where did all of this come from?

No more stripes?

My vacuum cleaner hasn't been working entirely properly. I'm not real good about vacuuming regularly anyway and would forget in the long stretches of time between cleaning sessions that something was slightly off. My vacuum was spitting out huge balls of carpet. I finally replaced the bag, thinking that would solve all my problems. I vacuumed last night, but it was still spitting carpet balls out at me!

Billboard sign reads

"Slow down. We can wait." -- Rosewood Funeral Home

Tears Rolling

I'm laughing so hard!

Yet another first...and a minor correction

Three friends and I ate at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse last night. I had never been and truly enjoyed it! It was fun to chat and enjoy scrumptious food, too! I highly recommend the warm apple crumb tart!


I realized last night on the phone that this was not really a first. Oops!

Inhale through mouth, exhale through nose

One of my kid's stinks!

Poor baby, but man! Pew!

Gotta love...

Taxes!

I love that in teaching summer school, I earn more money. Which in turn puts me in a slightly higher tax bracket because HISD lumps the summer school income with my regular school year income. This means that 1/3 of my income was taken in taxes and other deductions.

Love it!

Blessings

"But friendship is precious, not only in the shade, but in the sunshine of life; and thanks to a benevolent arrangement of things, the greater part of life is sunshine."
-Thomas Jefferson

Thanks precious Friends! :)

Counting Down

We're halfway through summer school!

Following a Stereotype

Because I didn't have a spoon, I used animal crackers to eat my breakfast of applesauce today.

I'm such a teacher!

I'm blessed

I'm blessed in friendship. A friend and I were talking on the phone yesterday. She forgave me for not getting back to her over a concern that had been raised several days before. She then promised to pray with me through a particular issue in my life. She also loves me enough to ask the tough questions. The ones I don't always know the answer too...and sometimes I do. She doesn't demand an answer. She understands the need for time, but she voices the questions because she wants what is best for me.

I'm blessed!

Events to Remember

- On Monday, I hit a bird and it lodged in the luggage rack of my car.

- On Tuesday, my computer spontaneously shut itself down and rebooted at 5:30 am.

- On Wednesday, I heard a scampering of little feet on metal and woke up to a roach on my bedroom windowsill at 3:15 in the morning.

- On Thursday, a parent, that looks like my former (and very intimidating) boss, acted very confused when I showed up for a scheduled tutoring.

- On Friday, money flew out of my bra.

- On Saturday, I reversed into a tree.

My to do list

This week was busy in the sense that I've added workouts to my daily routine, committed to tutoring several children three days each week and said yes to quite a few evening committments. I hadn't done laundry since... well, I'm not sure when really, and was becoming perilously low in all areas of my wardrobe. Getting dressed each morning this week became a comedy routine, let me tell you!

Last night, I left work right on time, made a couple stops on the way home and immediately gathered all my laundry together. My basket has never been filled so high! I had to swing back to get some momentum and heave, ho! to get it up on the table in the laundry room! Of course, I started giggling. This whole thing was just too funny. :)

I did ten loads of laundry. Yep, I said ten. My dinner companions last night stopped me in the telling of another funny story (which is absolutely hysterical, but I'm not sure is blog material) because they were dumbfounded over the fact I had ten loads. What can I say?

There are only eight washers, and one wasn't working. I felt badly for monopolizing all of them, but at least it wasn't on a Saturday morning.

Whew, clean clothes again!

Who's on first?

Towards the end of each school year, I send an email out to my students' parents offering my tutoring services during the summer time. This year was no exception. One parent responded that she was indeed interested and asked my rate and available days and times. I gave her a list of days and open time slots and she responded choosing one of them. I then sent another email telling her I would add her son to my calendar and informed her of the day I would begin coming. All of this happened in late May.

Last night was the first day of our scheduled tutoring. A man answered the door and I could tell he thought I was a salesman. I knew right away this was going to be an interesting experience! When I explained who I was, he said this was the first he'd heard about this, but I was welcome to come inside. He got me a glass of water and attempted to reach his significant other on the phone to no avail. Mom and son arrived about fifteen minutes later. Her first words to me, "What brought you to this side of town?"

??

After this confusing initial sentence, she said we had never confirmed, though she acknowledged choosing a day of the week and time. I told her I didn't have to stay, but the man of the house spoke up stating I was wanted and promptly set the child and I up at the dining room table.

As I was leaving, the boy's mom apologized and said next week would work well. I wondered if that was confirmation enough, or if I should email a day or two ahead of time. ;)

Another first

I had my first shot the other day. It started off sharp and then a warmth flowed through. The doctor smiled at me when he was finished.

Children make me smile

One of my little girls was wearing one earring yesterday. She's a little sensitive, so I waited until we were able to have a private moment before I brought it to her attention. She didn't act surprised and simply said, "I lost the other one at the waterpark." When I asked her why she was only wearing one earring, her reponse was priceless. "I didn't lose this one."

I'm living in an illusion

I feel like I'm on summer vacation. This feeling makes me stay up late reading, leave work even though there are papers to grade, work out and lay by the pool as if I have all day to do so and agree to late nights out.

Reality is I'm teaching summer school. I am allowed to arrive at work a little later, but I still have to set an alarm. There are papers to grade, lessons to plan, copies to make and no time without children to do any of these things. So, really I need to arrive at work a little early or stay a little later to accomplish the things that need done. There aren't as many things on a 'to-do' list as during the regular school year, but there are still a few things. Working out and laying by the pool is great (and definitely do-able), but I still need to clean my apartment, wash the dishes and do laundry.

July will come and I will get to be a little more lazy, until then I need to realize, I'm still at work!

a first encounter

I had an experience this evening I wasn't quite sure how to handle. While driving down the feeder of the beltway, I hit a bird. That's not the experience. I mean, I might not have hit a bird before. I don't really remember. But it was what happened after I hit the bird that was weird. It flipped from the front of my car, where it did not narrowly miss the contact with steel as most birds usually do, and flopped onto the roof. I heard it hit, but I didn't hear it bounce off. Bad sign.

I arrived at my destination and wasn't sure what to do. What if it was right on top of the roof by the driver's door and when I opened my door it fell down? On me! What if it was still alive or at least partly alive and tried to fly at me? I gently opened the door and waited a heartbeat, but when nothing happened, I pushed open the door and jumped! away from the car. I looked up at the roof and didn't see anything. Small sigh of relief. Maybe it really did fly off. Uh, bad choice of words. Fall off. I took a step further away from the car so I could see the entire roof and sure enough, there! At the back of the roof, caught in the luggage rack, was the bird. Ewww! There wasn't anything I could do about it in the Cheddar's parking lot though, so I walked in to meet Jill for dinner.

I walked out later, hoping it would have somehow disappeared, but nope. It was still there. I sent a text to a friend, "I hit a bird and it flopped onto my roof and got stuck. Help" I didn't hear anything back from him though and I didn't want to just drive over to his house. But I knew I was going to be girly about this. I COULDN'T take the bird off my roof. I just COULDN'T.

I had to run an errand on the way home and sure enough the bird was still up there when I walked into the store, and back out again. I called another friend of mine, and Bingo! He answered the phone. He laughed hysterically at my predicament, but said he would help. I drove over to his house and when I got out of the car...no bird! That's right, the dumb thing finally fell out. I was planning to borrow his camera to take a picture to post, but now I have no proof. Man! Ain't that always the way!?

But, it was a good laugh. :)

Student Drawing

A young girl just brought me a picture she had drawn for me. It's done in girly pinks and purples and says:

"Princess or Qeen Ms. Ross rocks!"

Gotta love our next generation!

Huh? ... Ohhhh!

I'm teaching summer school at a school I do not teach at during the school year. I know almost all of the teachers here, but there is one I just met. This one is a PE teacher during the school year, but is teaching 1st graders in summer school. He is feeling a little overwhelmed due to the change in content and the extreme lack of supplies. (We were provided with nothing but a classroom with desks and chairs!!!)

On our in-service day, I was almost finished and about to leave. We were chatting briefly about the letter our administrator had asked us to send home with the children on the first day introducing ourselves to the parents and blah, blah, blah. Anyway, he said he didn't know where to type it. I was a little confused by this. I tried to play it off a little. "Well, I typed mine in Microsoft Word on the computer." He then said he had opened the Internet and didn't know where to go from there. Up until this point, my mind had been racing to figure out what he was talking about...but when he said this it all clicked. I had an aha! moment. I walked over to my computer and showed the poor computer illiterate man exactly where to go to type his letter.

I'm a little worried about him!

10 Reasons why I love summertime

#1. Sleeping late.

#2. No stress of children passing.

#3. Reading an entire book in one day.

#4. Dinners with friends more often.

#5. A feeling of spontaneity for gathering people together.

#6. An opportunity to earn extra money for doing extra things.

#7. Time to travel and see interesting people and places.

#8. Hanging out by the pool!

#9. I can meet friends for lunch! (Gasp!)

#10. Things get done around my apartment that I've been putting off.

Wedding Season

My cousin's wedding was Saturday. It was a great time of fun! I love that weddings bring family together more often than just seeing each other on major holidays!

Who am I?

Who am I?

I received this as an email forward and decided to blog it instead of forwarding it.

These were my instructions:
Place an X by all the things you've done and remove the X from the ones you have not. Answer the 30 questions at the end and send it to your friends (including me). This is for your entire life!

( ) Gone on a blind date
(x) Skipped school
(x) Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
(x) Been to Mexico
(x) Been to Florida
( ) Been to the Caribbean
(x) Been overseas

(x) Been on a plane
( ) Jumped out of a plane
( ) Been on a helicopter
( ) Been on a train
(x) Been lost
(x) Been on the opposite side of the country
(x) Gone to Washington , D.C.
(x) Swam in the ocean

( ) Cried yourself to sleep
( ) Played cops and robbers
( ) Recently colored with crayons
(x) Sang Karaoke
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(x) Made prank phone calls
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue


(x ) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
( ) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone you care about or love
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x) Gone snow or water Skiing
(x) Gone to the movies

1. Any nickname? ..............lyss, aly
2. Mother's name? ..............Judy
3. Favorite drink? .............diet coke
4. Tattoo? ....................no
5. Body Piercing's? ............ears
6. How much do you love your job?..........a lot, except when I don't
7. Favorite vacation. ....................London, definitely
8. Favorite TV Program?....................The Unit, CSI
9. Ever been to Africa ? ..................Nope
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? ........yes
11. Ever been on TV? ......................no
12. Ever steal any traffic sign? ..........no
13. Ever been in a car accident? ..........yes
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? .....4-door
15. Favorite salad dressing? ..............ranch or caesar
16. Favorite pie? ......................... blackberry (cobbler)

17. Favorite number....................20
18. All Time Favorite Movie? ..........Sound of Music
19. Favorite holiday? .................Christmas
20. Favorite dessert? .................Warm Blackberry Cobbler with vanilla ice cream
21. Favorite food? ....................chips and queso
22. Favorite day of the week? .........Saturday
23. Favorite Brand of Body Wash ?......
24. Favorite toothpaste? ..............Colgate

25. Favorite smell? ...................baked goods in the oven, chili on the stove, a man wearing cologne
26. What do you do to relax? ..........read and/ or watch a movie
27. Favorite Sport? ...................go Astros!!!!
28. How do you see yourself in 10 years? .....................i never know how to answer this question...

29. Furthest Place you will send this message? ...............I'm not sending it, though I guess my stattracker can tell me the furthest person that viewed it!
30. Who will respond to this the fastest? .................... I'm not tagging anyone or anything like that, though anyone is welcome to do it on their blog too!

Random Musings

Only one more day of school!

I think I've found a house I like. But I might like another one, too.

I'm leaving town this weekend for my cousin's wedding and another cousin's 25th anniversary party. It will be my second wedding weekend in a row,and I have another one the next weekend. What can I say? I have amazing friends!

Finishing up end-of-year paperwork and trying to figure out what I need/pack for summer school since it's not at my school is kinda hectic.

My fingers feel like icicles.

I've already got my gradebook set up for next year, all of next year's conduct charts are run off as well as morning work for the year. I'm thinking about having homework run off, too.

We watched most of Sound of Music today in class, but couldn't figure out how to make the second disc play without a remote.

When I went into Blockbuster last night and asked if they had any VHS, the guy laughed at me.

I'm blogging instead of cleaning up my classroom.

I think that might be all of my currently random musings.

Prince Caspian: Another Blockbuster

I went to see Prince Caspian last night and thought it was absolutely amazing! The costumes, the actors, the cinematography, all of it was extremely well done. It had been a little while since I had seen the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and I've not read any of the books, so I started off a little confused. However, the story is superb! I highly recommend it!

Who says there aren't miracles any more?

Amazing story.

there are 4 days of school left
kids are going wild
grades are due today (but i'm not finished grading)
kids are going wild
my partner teacher is out
kids are asking a thousand questions
the copier isn't working
kids won't stop talking
my partner teacher is going to be out tomorrow too
kids are sooo ready for summer, they won't stop talking
another teacher on my team just told me she won't be here tomorrow either
we had an ice cream party today (Awesome TAKS scores!)
we're going to have a pizza party tomorrow (TAKS is over!)

Did I mention my partner teacher is out today?

It-Say Own-Day

My class was talking as we lined up for lunch, so I instructed them to sit back down.

I notice one student is writing, and I ask him what he is doing. "I'm writing??" he says hesitantly. "What are you writing?" "I'm writing words in pig latin."

Only 4 more days.

(not soon enough!)

To be told: "You were right"

Ahhhh, the satisfaction!

Yes, I do know where a comma is needed...even though some may disagree with me.

;)

Dancing on Tables

One of the teachers on our grade level told her class that ALL (yes, she said, "all") the 4th grade teachers would dance on the tables if the students scored at least 50% Commended Performance. Well, you can see from yesterday's post that they went above and beyond our request. Even though Marie spoke for all of us, we were good sports about it.







Only 6 days left!

Drum Roll, please!

TAKS Scores are in!

4th grade results:
Reading: 99% passed, 63% Commended Performance
Math: 98% passed, 62% Commended Performance
Writing: 98% passed, 73% Commended Performance


4TH GRADE IS HOT, HOT, HOT!!!!!!

Annoying Naymz

A group of friends and I were walking out to my car tonight when one of them says, "I just got an email from Alyssa."

??

She looks at it to see what it says, since I obviously wasn't sitting at a computer and don't have internet access on my phone. It's from Naymz. I'm a member of Naymz, but don't like the annoying emails I'm receiving and didn't realize they were sending emails to MY FRIENDS! (said in slightly higher octave voice)

Several others of the group claim to be getting similar emails fairly often from "me" about this site as well. I'm already slightly miffed at the webservice and now I'm even more so!

I come home and immediately go to their website. I click on help and see the Frequently Asked Questions are all about how to get things to stop happening. How do I unsubscribe? How do I stop receiving emails? How do I stop emails from being sent to my friends? Yuck. I followed all the directions. If you're a friend of mine and have been receiving emails from Naymz, hopefully they won't be coming any more.

I'm sorry!

Too Big!

I was sick the week after Easter with a nasty-I-don't-know-exactly-what. In the week of illness, I lost almost ten pounds. I have kept that weight off and worked hard to lose a little more. I now have almost no work clothes that fit! This is a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless. It provides a dilemma as I have only another week and a half of school. After May 30, I won't need work clothes again until August 25. I don't really want to go spend money on clothes that also won't fit by the time school starts again. (Yes, I'm being optimistic, but that is the plan, so I'm sticking to it.) So, I'm left with wearing REALLY loose fitting clothing!

Plenty then scarce

I usually have an abundance of Bed, Bath and Beyond coupons. You know the ones that come in the mail every other Wednesday and offer you 20% off or $5 off a purchase of a certain amount? I keep them stashed in my car at all times for when I need to go shopping for a wedding gift. As a single in a large group of singles, I attend many weddings each year (as I'm sure most of my readers do too!)

I have four weddings in the next month, and I need to purchase a gift for three of them. But, I'm out of coupons!

What's a girl to do?

Buying or Building a Home?

I am in the house-hunting process. Over the last two months I have looked at www.har.com, spoken with my realtor and looked at hundreds of homes online. I've personally walked through at least a dozen. Some are marked off the "possibilities" list right away, while others might be marked off after some research or discussion with one person or another. I've currently narrowed it down to about two. I say about, because one is out of my price range, but I think the owner is asking too much, so if they lower the price, it would be a possibility. The other is a new build.

Now there are many nice perks to building my own home. I get to choose what type of flooring is laid and the color of that flooring. I get to choose from several different floor plans and make adjustments to make me happier. Because I may be one of the first to buy in this neighbor, the builder is throwing in all appliances and free crown molding as well as a few other perks. It is a single family home, so I am not sharing a common wall, but there is a common area with picnic tables, a walking path and a pond with a fountain. I like the location of the neighborhood and have friends close by. The builder is throwing in 10k towards a down payment and closing costs, making my monthly mortgage payment very affordable.

However, there are some headaches to building my own home. It won't be ready until October-ish, so I'll be moving while teaching and taking school. This was pretty stressful last fall as I moved out of a leaking apartment. I was hoping to not repeat that process. Building a house means being involved in a process I'm not at all familiar with and learning what questions to even ask.

It's exciting, yet overwhelming.

I'm still not sure of my final decision...

I'm sorry, Wha?

Two guy friends of mine and I were walking through a few houses on Sunday afternoon. We're discussing a good material for doors, the aesthetic benefits of an art niche, appropriate sizes for bedrooms and various other home-buyer topics. In the middle of these discussions, one of them turns to me and asks, "Have you ever waxed your legs?"

WHAT?!?

Lizard vs. Gecko

I can handle lizards. They are green, brown, tan, and sometimes red. I won't go pick one up on my own or anything, but if someone is holding one, it's not a big deal. I don't scream or run another way or try to get away from them. Geckos, on the other hand, are a completely different story. They're see through. As in translucent. And that's enough to explain why they freak me out.

Grr

I just finished a post about how much I loved the weekend. When I clicked, 'publish post' the computer screen said there was an error. I tried to go back to publish it again, but my post was all gone.

Yep, it's Monday. :)

My alarm went off at 5am this morning

...and I went to bed at 1am.

Fun thing to do

I found my name in someone’s else blog a few days ago and then completely forgot about the instructions I was supposed to follow...sorry Beth! With no further ado:

Rules for the game:
1. Put these rules at the beginning of your post.
2. Answer each question (see below) in your post.
3. Tag five people at the end.

What was I doing 10 years ago?
April 1998: I was about to graduate high school! I was working at Cinemark and my church's day care, hanging out with friends and having major Senioritis. :)

Five things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Tithe
2. Buy a house with cash
3. Help my parents redo their house
4. Pay for masters and doctorate
5. Stick the rest in retirement funds

Five jobs that I have had:
1. assistant at a day care
2. concessions/usher/box office cashier for Cinemark
3. TCBY
4. RA
5. Teacher

Three of my habits:
1. driving fast
2. biting my nails
3. getting on the phone as soon as i get in the car

Five places I have lived:
1. Plano, TX
2. Arkadelphia, AR
3. Houston, TX
4.
5.

Five people I want to get to know better: I'm going with all married people, because it's twice as likely someone will do it! :)
Todd and Jenny
Marc and Julie
Dan and Jen
Laura and Marc
Beth and Austin

Something hard

Have you ever had to do something you didn't agree with, or even think was right, but it needed to be done?

My family had to finalize something yesterday that falls in line with that description. We don't actually like it and wish it didn't have to happen. But it did. We set the wheels in motion a few months back and completed it yesterday, but it was hard. We're glad it's over with.

Unique situation

I found myself in a fairly humorous situation on Friday evening. I was in the shower washing my hair when the water disappeared. That's right...the water pressure literally went to nothing. I'm standing in the shower with shampoo in my hair, a place to be in an hour and no water. Hmmm, what to do?

I call a friend to see if I can come shower at her place, but she's not at home. No one else lives very close by, so I start to troubleshoot. I don't have any bottled water in my apartment. I had just filled my iron with water, so I pour it all out, but it wasn't enough to rinse all the shampoo out of my hair. I start thinking about running to Walgreens with wet, shampoo-filled hair to buy bottled water, keeping in mind I also need a gift bag and tissue paper and now need to be at the restaurant in about 40 minutes. Yeah, not gonna happen.

Eureka! I literally had an epiphany while standing in my bathroom in a quandry. I have ice! I go to the freezer and dump the entire ice bucket into a big pot and turn the stove on high. I don't have time for it to get warm, just melt. I bend over the kitchen sink and pour melted, but freezing, water onto my hair. But it worked! No more shampoo!

I was only thirty minutes late to dinner and had a very amusing story to tell them!

Text Message Conversation

Me: "I NEED WINE and I don't have any."

Him: "That doesn't compute. That's like saying there is no O2."

House buying process

I'm learning all sorts of things while house hunting.

1. www.har.com is an excellent tool, though i might have some suggestions for making it a superb tool

2. the bank thinks i can afford a larger mortgage than i think i can

3. houston has some REALLY old homes

4. "investor's special" is a secret code for 'crappy house'

5. every sellers' initial expectation of price is a little unrealistic. some sellers' initial expectation of price is completely unrealistic

6. pictures do NOT always match with the real thing

7. going to look is a lot of fun

8. i have great friends to use for sounding boards and another pair of eyes, too

9. there are always more questions to ask a realtor or lender than i would have ever thought of on my own

10. asking questions is an excellent way to realize how oh so very little i actually know...but i'm learning!

Does not play well with others???

I don't remember ever feeling this way before, but I feel like this post's title applied to me today. I had several separate conversations today in which I felt my response, perspective or input had value, or at least logic, yet was completely shut down, unwanted and given a "talk to the hand" reaction. I began to feel as if I should be wearing a sign: "Does not play well with others."

Way to go 5th graders!

100% of our 5th grade students passed the Math TAKS test this year! 76% earned Commended Performance!

Way to go 5th graders!

(no pressure for the 4th graders to perform of course...)

Countdown

29 days left of school...will I keep my sanity until then?

8 more school days until the Reading TAKS test...will I get all the necessary work done?

5 more school days until this semester is over for grad school...study for finals?

Random

I saw a man using an electric razor while driving this morning. Does that equate with women putting on mascara in the car?

I think this might be the longest week ever. I really thought yesterday should have definitely been Thursday, though Friday was also acceptable. I woke up this morning thinking, "Friday?" and was hugely disappointed to realize it was only Wednesday.

Barbara Bush visited us yesterday. I think it might have been my favorite visit so far. About twelve students greeted her in their native tongue and then students asked her pre-planned questions about her travels. As these questions were asked and answered, other students placed the appropriate continent on a map on the wall. After the rehearsed questions, she asked if any other students had questions, thus enabling anyone to raise their hand and voice their curiosity. Whether you're a republican or a democrat, a fan or foe of the Bush family, she's an amazing women with a great sense of humor!

Seeing God Move

Through this weekend and again this morning, I have had amazing opportunities to see the Lord move. It is absolutely inspiring to realize God is using me and others around me in subtle and drastic ways on a regular basis. It is also motivating to go to Him more often.

I love when God puts us in a place to hear a lesson and then immediately provides us with an opportunity to act out what we have learned.

Sleepiness oops

This post requires a little bit of background. (I won't ramble though, LJ!) :)

Wed morning I woke up a little late and thought I'd slept through my alarm. I use my cell phone and the picture was on the screen saying "alarm," but no noise. I thought I'd just never turned it off, and it eventually quit beeping. Thur morning the same thing happened, but I was vaguely aware that I'd hit the "silent" button instead of the "snooze" button. Mystery solved!

So last night I go to bed pretty early, about 8:45. I was tired! At 9:30 my phone rings, but I think it's my alarm. Once again, I hit the "silent" button, but then realize what I've done and open the flip phone to hit the snooze button instead. Since it wasn't my alarm, but was a ringing phone, opening the phone answered the call and hitting the snooze button hung up on the caller! In my state of fuzzy awareness, I still hadn't realized quite what I was doing. Then my friend called right back. This time I hit the silent button, intentionally, and went back to sleep!
And had some odd dreams, but I'm not posting about those.

Spring Blahs

I know this is a slightly contradictory post. I mean Spring is when everything grows and appears new, right? Yet, in teaching, it is when we are the most tired and begin to feel burned out. However, this is not a post enitrely about my profession. :)

I don't want my lunch. I want to go to McDonald's or Subway. Anything but the frozen dinner that is currently growing bits of ice crystals in my refrigerator. I know an occasional lunch out is not detrimental to health or pocketbook. However, I am trying to buy a house this summer. The more money I save, the more I have to put down or use for closing costs, moving expenses, etc.

But I don't want my SmartOne.

Blah.

First Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

I just enjoyed my first fruit and yogurt parfait. I'd heard of others liking them. I admit, I'd turned my nose up a little bit. I didn't think the yogurt part looked any good. Just plain ole yogurt? Yeck. Okay, a little granola. That could possibly taste like whole-grain healthiness. The fruit part, sure I like fruit. But the other two, not so sure about that. So, during the rage of McDonald's fruit and yogurt parfaits and whoever else copied them, I've never had one...until today.

I stopped at Starbucks for a gift card and saw them in the cooler. Something clicked. It looked wonderful! I don't know if it was because it was blueberries and strawberries or what, but I wanted to buy one! Once I picked it up, a flicker of doubt set in. The look of the yogurt caused me to question it's sweetness. Is it going to be gross and healthy tasting? I decided to overcome my doubts and plunge for the purchase. I chuckled at myself to realize I was going to pay $3.45 for something I wasn't sure about, when something similar was on the dollar menu at McDonald's. Oh, well, that is classic me anyway.

This breakfast concoction is absolutely delicious! The granola gives it the perfect crunch. There is some juice/syrup from the berries for the one last drop of sweetness being scraped away with my long handled spoon. The yogurt and fruit mixture tasted like any other off-the-shelf yogurt.

In other words, yummy!

A 'skinny' day

A co-worker told me this morning, "You look good. You're having a skinny day today."

I went up and gave her a hug.

Exciting News

I have two bits of exciting news. They don't necessarily go hand in hand, but I'm celebrating them together nonetheless.

1. Due to paying tuition for a master's degree, I will be getting back more on my taxes than ever before!

2. I'm going to be able to pay off my car loan this month...more than a year early!

Funny Incident

Disclaimer: Laurie, you may not want to read this.

I am putting my leftover homemade chicken noodle soup in a tupperware bowl and loading the dishwasher when I catch a slight movement on the wall of my kitchen. I glance over my shoulder and realize a baby roach is scurrying up the wall. I grab a papertowel and swat at him. I hit him, but not hard enough to squash him, and he falls...on my shirt!

I flip my shirt a little to get him off and he lands near my foot, causing me to stumble backwards, kicking the dishwasher with my heel. The roach is momentarily lost, but I realized a "bug on the wall" would have had great footage of the event!

Being sick does have benefits

I've been ill since I woke up this morning. I had Monday off and am having to take Tuesday off. So a 3 day work week is nice. I've also lost 6 pounds in the last 24 hours.

Being sick does have benefits.

What the World Eats

Time has done a photo essay on families from around the world. It makes me think.

Reflection

The Broken for You service at church last night was amazing in its simplicity. I would love to know what media she used to write with and on...I was mesmerized to watch the face of my Savior appear out of orange and yellow and white.

We were handed a nail on the way in...it was rough on the edges and sharp all the way around. Where am I going to put this? I thought to myself. My thoughts immediately stopped. Yes, it's sharp and rough. But ones much more rough-hewn were pounded into Christ's wrists and feet.

As we're singing:

As morning dawns and evening fades
You inspire songs of praise
That rise from earth to touch Your heart and glorify Your Name

[Chorus:]
Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
‘Cause nothing has the power to save
But Your Name

Jesus, in Your Name we pray
Come and fill our hearts today
Lord, give us strength to live for You and glorify Your Name

[Chorus:]
Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
‘Cause nothing has the power to save but Your Name

[Chorus:]
Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
‘Cause nothing has the power to save but

[Chorus:]
Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
‘Cause nothing has the power to save but Your Name
‘Cause nothing has the power to save but Your Name


she is writing Christ's names on...a board...of some sort with a white pen, like a glow pen maybe. Then our voices fade away and the band plays and she picks up a gallon of paint...and with her hand begins to smear. It took a few seconds to realize what was going to appear... Is she just smearing over the names of the Lord or is something beautiful going to come through this? Orange and yellow and white...with red at the very end. I am amazed at what an artist can create in such a short period of time.

God is like that. Creating something so beautiful out of something so simple. He takes his time. He does not rush. We may feel as if a moment has gone by ... or maybe a year. Either way, He is creating a masterpiece. I want to be watching it. I want to experience it. I don't want to sit back and complain that what He is doing is messing up something I feel is beautiful by itself. The list of the Lord's names was beautiful...but to see his face come alive in front of my own eyes is beyond measure.

What is the Lord doing in my life today? Am I complaining because he is covering up something beautiful? Am I sitting back and watching? Am I experiencing it?

Odd Request

Does anyone have one or more of the following?

Stinky Stern Forever by Michelle Edwards

The Bee Tree by Patricia Polacco

Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls

Black Beauty: Puffin Graphic Novel by Anna Sewell

I'm supposed to read them for my Children's Literature course, and I haven't been able to find them so far. I'd rather not purchase them, but will try that next.

Restaurant Matching and Confirmation on Ghetto

A friend recently told me she always thinks of me when thinking of a certain restaurant. She wasn't sure why except she knew I liked it a lot. Our conversation made me smile. Does anyone else think of me in relation to a restaurant?

My heater can only be used when the outside temperature drops below 50. In November we had some cool nights, but I couldn't use my heater because we hadn't reached 49 degrees. I'm not sure what the ceiling is, but apparently we've reached it. I can't use my heater any longer. We're still having some cool nights, but no heater for me.

Good Math

I've been looking at numbers for awhile now. I have a 5 year car note that is finished next May. Since last year, when I began to have a few problems that ended up being a lot less major than I originally thought, I have been wanting to be done with the whole car payment thing. I started paying more monthly than required and threw in a couple extra payments, too. I just called the Credit Union to get my balance and did the math. I'll be able to pay it off in June at the latest! Almost an entire year early! Perfect timing since I'm trying to buy a house in June or July and a little extra cash will come in handy! Isn't God good?

Today's Schedule

Wake up at 7:30am for no apparent reason.
-Check email and look through the listings my realtor has sent me, mark out 13 of the 14.

9:00, wake up Angela
- Angela finishes her packing and we load up the car

10:00, go to bank, then breakfast at La Madeline

11:00, go back home and chill for a little while

11:30, go to church parking lot and let Angela drive around

12:00, go by a townhouse I'm interested in and take pics of outside

12:15, call Southwest Airlines and realize storms are in Dallas, know will probably have flight delays

12:45, arrive at airport for Angela's 2:00pm flight

1:45, gate attendant announces we're on a gate hold until 3:00pm, when we will receive an update...whatever that means

1:45, call Southwest Airlines from airport; found out all flights in and out of Dallas have been stopped for today, reschedule Angela for flight tomorrow

2:00, told no luggage would be retrieved, it will go to original destination...good luck!

2:15, leave airport and pay $2 for parking...for nothing

3:00, go by library to check out children's books for several grad school projects

4:30, blogging and sleepy...I want a nap

I'm giving in

I've skirted around the issue for awhile, not letting it linger in my mind, occasionally having the thought, but refusing to give in.

I'll admit it now. I think I live in the ghetto. There is a condom on the sidewalk outside my door...it's not in the package anymore.

I'm so ready to buy a house!

Unsettling

I've had a dream a couple of times in which my family has hired a handyman who lives with us and he turns violent. The dream is almost the exact same, but not quite. Last night is the second time I've had it. I remember thinking at one point, "Last time I took the phone away from him and he was okay with it, so I'm going to do it again." This time the dream went a little farther though in that he and my dad get into a car chase with guns, and I break a window to get back in my parents' house and call 911. The creepy part is that 'he' beeps in and knows what I've done! I realize it is all just a dream, but it felt oh so real. And of course the fact I've now had the dream twice is unsettling as well.

To top it all off, I'm on Spring Break and away before 7:30. Grrrr

Choices, choices

If, for whatever reason, homebaked is not an option and you're REALLY wanting some chocolate chip cookies, which one would you choose?

Chewy?



or


Chunky?

Work Conference: in Washington DC!

At our last faculty meeting, my principal announced the possibility of going to Washington D.C. for a conference on Professional Learning Communities. This is something our district is adopting...and it's actually really interesting. :) She said she and 4 teachers would be able to go. All those that are interested met this morning, threw our names in a hat, and drew the lucky winners. I won!!!

The conference is September 17-20. Which means: I'll miss 3 days of school (whoo-hoo), spend several days with colleagues I enjoy, and (best part) a trip to D.C. at no cost to me!

I'm so excited!

"Good job!"

This is my 4th year at this school. I love working here. My assistant principal is wonderful. Her mindset is very black and white. She's extremely straight-lined, with no gray areas, no hesitation. At times, that drives me crazy.

We had some major drama in my classroom today. Several of my students had been bullying a 3rd grader. It required multiple emails between my AP and I, which initiated parent emails and responses. One parent came up to speak with his son at lunch time. It made for a hectic morning. Add on top of that, my principal came to observe my teaching today!

When I popped in my AP's office at lunch time, she said, "Good job with all of this!"

It was my first compliment from her...I admit it felt very good!

Countdown has begun

Only two days until Spring Break!

I HATE it when that happens!

I was so desperately tired when I arrived home from work, I decided to take a short nap. I set my alarm for one hour and dozed off. I woke up two and a half hours later when a friend of mine called. Doh!

I am now starting my take-home midterm...much later than I originally intended.

Mmm, tasty

I don't ever just bounce out of bed in the morning, but this morning was especially difficult. Time change weekend...all I got to say about that. As I was getting ready, I had a heart attack moment. I have a take home midterm due Wednesday night in class...and I haven't even STARTED! Two other problems with this: 1. I have Rascall Flatts tickets for tomorrow night, so I have to complete it tonight. 2. I gave a couple of guy friends a REALLY hard time about forgetting things over the weekend, specifically referencing the male gender being forgetful. Now I have to eat a bit of crow.

50% Chance

Snow!? In Houston? When it's not Christmas?

I heard on the radio this morning that we have a 50% chance of snow, sleet and rain this morning.

Snow!!! Sleet!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm bumfuzzled.