I am home sick today. The children's germs finally got to me, despite the obsessive handwashing, lysol and hand sanitizing. I probably would've went to work if I'd had a normal office job, but teaching requires so much energy, that I just can't do it if I'm feeling under the weather. Plus I don't want to spread my germs to others.
I'm a little concerned that I may have contracted H1N1 as I have all the symptoms and I've had my seasonal flu shot. I'm not willing to shell out the $400 necessary to find out for certain as this is relatively mild. My fever broke early this morning and now I'm freezing. I checked and I actually was able to obtain a substitute teacher. Subs are in high demand right now. We had three classes not covered the other day and had to pull librarians and computer lab teachers to cover. I showed one of my students yesterday where my emergency sub plans were, so hopefully the substitute won't have any problems.
I'm trying to decide what to do today. I might beg my brother to go pick up some food for me from the local cafe. They have such weird hours that I can't get there during the school year, but their food rocks. I requested a new vampire book from the library, which hopefully will be in today. I might beg him to pick it up for me. Aside from Twilight, I'm also reading the Sookie Stackhouse series, which the True Blood tv show is based off. I'm also reading the Undead series, which is a funny chick lit vampire series. I finished the Vampire Diaries last week. Love, love, love the tv show.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Good School Year so far
I didn't realize it had been more than a month since I've posted. Sorry about that. I don't really have an excuse except pure complacency. Nothing much going on, financially wise.
I make slightly less money at my current job, but have so much less stress. I'll take a $100 a month paycut to not be hit, kicked or bitten. I rarely deal with angry parents, unlike last year when they would call a half dozen times a day. It's just night and day. I'm much happier. It's also a good week because two of my kids got their meds adjusted. I have two students out of eight who are bi-polar. I love them both to death, but they are frequently difficult to deal with. Not necessarily the students, but the frequent mood swings. Our school psychologist specializes in bi-polar disorder and is giving me a lot of strategies, especially since my two students fight and argue with each other constantly. She also thinks one of my students is starting to show signs of schizophrenia. Fun, fun. My nightly prayer is for an endless supply of patience. We're almost finished with the first quarter of school. I think my entire class is settling into a nice routine. Nothing makes me happier than when someone grasps what I've taught. I love to watch that light bulb go off when they get it, especially since school is so much harder for my guys.
The entire third and fourth grades took a field trip last week to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." I'm not usually one for animated films, but this one rocked. It was in 3-D and I sat up in the front. At one point the hamburgers appear to be flying at the audience. The little guy next to me actually gasped and ducked. I laughed at him. I highly recommend seeing the movie on the big screen. I'm not sure how well 3-D translates to a tv at home. It was awesome to go on a field trip and not have to drag several vials of diazepam in case of a seizure with me or a pack of diapers and several sets of close in case of an accident. I don't miss that.
Last weekend was homecoming at my college alma mater. It was icky and miserable. I hate football anyway, but having to pay a ridiculous price for a mediocre college football game in the pouring rain is doubly miserable. It was good to see old friends though. I just wish the weather was more cooperative.
This weekend is my 10-year class reunion. I'm still up in the air about going. My class was kind of weird. We weren't really close. We lost a few classmates in a very short period of time and I think everyone just started keeping to themselves because it seemed like if you were friends with someone, they died. We didn't have a 5-year-reunion because our class president was battling lymphoma, which I'm glad to say she beat. Most of my friends, including my high school boyfriend were a year ahead of me. I wish I could've graduated with that class. I keep in touch with the people I want to, but honestly I have no interest in seeing anyone else.
I have also developed a nasty case of what I think is poison ivy. During early September, one of my students had an open oozing poison ivy rash and rubbed it on me. I should've wrote him up, but I'd never had poison ivy before. Man, I got it bad. It lasted for weeks all over my legs. It actually left some skin on my ankle discolored. It finally went away about two weeks ago. A week ago, bam, I woke up with a small, itching, oozing rash in the crook of my elbow. I've used every product under the sun and it won't go away and has now spread horribly to my stomach and up and down my arms. The orignal rash is now about 10 times in size. I've decided to just bite the bullet and go to the doctor. I can't get it cleared up with OTC products. I'm also a little concerned that maybe it's MRSA or impetigo, because both are running rampant in my school right now, along with H1N1.
My co-teacher today was missing 8 students out of 21 because of flu-like symptoms. That's just one 4th grade class. Overall we were missing 108 students out of 400. The doctors around here aren't even testing for H1N1 anymore because it takes so long to get the results back from the CDC and costs $400. They are testing for Influenze A&B. If those come back negative, they are just assuming it's H1N1 and making you stay out of school for a week or more. My doctor's appoinment is for 9:20 tonight. I don't know when our lone doctor in town sleeps. He's always working it seems.
I make slightly less money at my current job, but have so much less stress. I'll take a $100 a month paycut to not be hit, kicked or bitten. I rarely deal with angry parents, unlike last year when they would call a half dozen times a day. It's just night and day. I'm much happier. It's also a good week because two of my kids got their meds adjusted. I have two students out of eight who are bi-polar. I love them both to death, but they are frequently difficult to deal with. Not necessarily the students, but the frequent mood swings. Our school psychologist specializes in bi-polar disorder and is giving me a lot of strategies, especially since my two students fight and argue with each other constantly. She also thinks one of my students is starting to show signs of schizophrenia. Fun, fun. My nightly prayer is for an endless supply of patience. We're almost finished with the first quarter of school. I think my entire class is settling into a nice routine. Nothing makes me happier than when someone grasps what I've taught. I love to watch that light bulb go off when they get it, especially since school is so much harder for my guys.
The entire third and fourth grades took a field trip last week to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs." I'm not usually one for animated films, but this one rocked. It was in 3-D and I sat up in the front. At one point the hamburgers appear to be flying at the audience. The little guy next to me actually gasped and ducked. I laughed at him. I highly recommend seeing the movie on the big screen. I'm not sure how well 3-D translates to a tv at home. It was awesome to go on a field trip and not have to drag several vials of diazepam in case of a seizure with me or a pack of diapers and several sets of close in case of an accident. I don't miss that.
Last weekend was homecoming at my college alma mater. It was icky and miserable. I hate football anyway, but having to pay a ridiculous price for a mediocre college football game in the pouring rain is doubly miserable. It was good to see old friends though. I just wish the weather was more cooperative.
This weekend is my 10-year class reunion. I'm still up in the air about going. My class was kind of weird. We weren't really close. We lost a few classmates in a very short period of time and I think everyone just started keeping to themselves because it seemed like if you were friends with someone, they died. We didn't have a 5-year-reunion because our class president was battling lymphoma, which I'm glad to say she beat. Most of my friends, including my high school boyfriend were a year ahead of me. I wish I could've graduated with that class. I keep in touch with the people I want to, but honestly I have no interest in seeing anyone else.
I have also developed a nasty case of what I think is poison ivy. During early September, one of my students had an open oozing poison ivy rash and rubbed it on me. I should've wrote him up, but I'd never had poison ivy before. Man, I got it bad. It lasted for weeks all over my legs. It actually left some skin on my ankle discolored. It finally went away about two weeks ago. A week ago, bam, I woke up with a small, itching, oozing rash in the crook of my elbow. I've used every product under the sun and it won't go away and has now spread horribly to my stomach and up and down my arms. The orignal rash is now about 10 times in size. I've decided to just bite the bullet and go to the doctor. I can't get it cleared up with OTC products. I'm also a little concerned that maybe it's MRSA or impetigo, because both are running rampant in my school right now, along with H1N1.
My co-teacher today was missing 8 students out of 21 because of flu-like symptoms. That's just one 4th grade class. Overall we were missing 108 students out of 400. The doctors around here aren't even testing for H1N1 anymore because it takes so long to get the results back from the CDC and costs $400. They are testing for Influenze A&B. If those come back negative, they are just assuming it's H1N1 and making you stay out of school for a week or more. My doctor's appoinment is for 9:20 tonight. I don't know when our lone doctor in town sleeps. He's always working it seems.
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Suddenly, I like to shop
Somewhere in the last few months, I've turned into a major girl. I've always been a girl, but now I feel like a stereotypical girl. I've developed an interest in shopping. I've hated shopping my entire life. I'd go into the store and get exactly what I needed, much like my guy friends do. I had no interest in fashion. I never looked bad, just not stylish. I have always been more of a person who dresses in classic styles or jeans and a t-shirt.
I'm not sure what flipped my attitude toward shopping. Perhaps it is the fact that after saving 1/3 of my salary and paying all my bills, I still have income left over. For the first time in my life, I have disposable income. Or maybe it is the fact that clothes and fashion is much more fun when you are thinner. To date, I've lost 38 pounds,and am down to a size 10 from a size 16. I find that clothes fit better, look chicer and I generally feel more confident. Maybe that's the difference.
I have some things I need to be saving for, such as new pillows and sheets, but instead I made a list of clothing items I really want.
-Brown and black leggings
-Flat, slouchy boots
-Ballet flats in a variety of colors
-A really cute dress I saw at Target
-New running shoes
I'm not sure what flipped my attitude toward shopping. Perhaps it is the fact that after saving 1/3 of my salary and paying all my bills, I still have income left over. For the first time in my life, I have disposable income. Or maybe it is the fact that clothes and fashion is much more fun when you are thinner. To date, I've lost 38 pounds,and am down to a size 10 from a size 16. I find that clothes fit better, look chicer and I generally feel more confident. Maybe that's the difference.
I have some things I need to be saving for, such as new pillows and sheets, but instead I made a list of clothing items I really want.
-Brown and black leggings
-Flat, slouchy boots
-Ballet flats in a variety of colors
-A really cute dress I saw at Target
-New running shoes
Thursday, September 3, 2009
I just realized I don't have to make a car payment anymore
I just realized that I don't have a car payment to make this month. Weird. I've had some sort of a car payment since I was 20 years old. I paid off my Saturn Ion in July, but I snowflaked the payment to pay off my laptop in August. I kind of don't know what to do with an extra $335. Well, I do too, because I took my dogs in to the vet for their annual checkups, shots and medications to the tune of nearly $200. On the good side, all of my dogs had lost weight! Yay! I've lost 34, Gracie (Cocker Spaniel/Corgi mix) lost 1, Jasper (Rat Terrier) lost 1 and Scooter (Cocker Spaniel) lost 3. Excercise is good for everyone, canines and humans alike.
I spend more keeping my pets healthy that I do myself. I'm also expecting some doctor bills for some annual checkups I had for myself over the summer. I rarely go to the doctor and never meet the deductible, so I'm usually always out of pocket. Fun, fun. Maybe I'll get to snowflake the extra money to savings in October, since I'm dealing with some annual bills right now.
I spend more keeping my pets healthy that I do myself. I'm also expecting some doctor bills for some annual checkups I had for myself over the summer. I rarely go to the doctor and never meet the deductible, so I'm usually always out of pocket. Fun, fun. Maybe I'll get to snowflake the extra money to savings in October, since I'm dealing with some annual bills right now.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
If you're happy and you know it
I feel happy. I love my job. It feels wonderful to say that after the horribleness that was last year. I missed teaching sooo much. Changing diapers and monitoring seizures wasn't teaching. That was nursing.
I know I'm doing what I'm meant to do and that is teach children who have learning disabilities. I'm meant to be at the school where I am. The staff welcomed me back like I was the prodigal. It feels like I never left. Although since I'm 4th grade and not 2nd, I'm in a different wing of the building. I keep catching myself walking down the wrong hallway. Old habits die hard, I suppose.
It's been a whole entire week and no one has hit or bitten me. I haven't been screamed at one single time by a parent. It's been divine. It's a tremendous load off my shoulders. My homelife is stressful enough with a seriously ill parent.
My principal will randomly do walk-throughs where she will drop in on your classroom unannounced and will watch your lesson. Today she walked in while I was teaching a geometry lesson. Today's goal was to understand the differences between the equilateral, isosceles and scalene triangles. I had the students create the different types of triangles using Twizzler Pull-N-Peels. I later found a note in my mailbox that said "S. Excellent 'hands on' math lesson. Good job. Mrs. W." I was thoroughly excited and pleased.
My students are wonderful. I had all of them except two when I taught 2nd grade. The two I didn't have are new and are both in foster care. The things both these children have experienced are the stuff of nightmares. I got a new student today who is in foster care because his mother claimed that instead of being the victim of sexual abuse, he was now the perpetrator and abused his younger siblings. This child is 9 years old. He seemed fine to me today, but today was day 1 and he is also on a heavy regiment of medications.
It probably seems weird to most people that I have no desire for my own biological children. I don't understand why people are so crazy about getting pregnant and raising them. I've always wanted to be a foster parent or adopt. That's where I feel I'm called. I'm of the mindset that why should I bring more children into the world when there are so many out there who need a loving home and family. Of course, if I should have a biological child, I would be thrilled and happy, but I don't feel that it is what I am set out to do. I'm not exactly in the place in my life to become a foster parent. I have other priorities at the moment, but I would love to in the next 10 years.
I know I'm doing what I'm meant to do and that is teach children who have learning disabilities. I'm meant to be at the school where I am. The staff welcomed me back like I was the prodigal. It feels like I never left. Although since I'm 4th grade and not 2nd, I'm in a different wing of the building. I keep catching myself walking down the wrong hallway. Old habits die hard, I suppose.
It's been a whole entire week and no one has hit or bitten me. I haven't been screamed at one single time by a parent. It's been divine. It's a tremendous load off my shoulders. My homelife is stressful enough with a seriously ill parent.
My principal will randomly do walk-throughs where she will drop in on your classroom unannounced and will watch your lesson. Today she walked in while I was teaching a geometry lesson. Today's goal was to understand the differences between the equilateral, isosceles and scalene triangles. I had the students create the different types of triangles using Twizzler Pull-N-Peels. I later found a note in my mailbox that said "S. Excellent 'hands on' math lesson. Good job. Mrs. W." I was thoroughly excited and pleased.
My students are wonderful. I had all of them except two when I taught 2nd grade. The two I didn't have are new and are both in foster care. The things both these children have experienced are the stuff of nightmares. I got a new student today who is in foster care because his mother claimed that instead of being the victim of sexual abuse, he was now the perpetrator and abused his younger siblings. This child is 9 years old. He seemed fine to me today, but today was day 1 and he is also on a heavy regiment of medications.
It probably seems weird to most people that I have no desire for my own biological children. I don't understand why people are so crazy about getting pregnant and raising them. I've always wanted to be a foster parent or adopt. That's where I feel I'm called. I'm of the mindset that why should I bring more children into the world when there are so many out there who need a loving home and family. Of course, if I should have a biological child, I would be thrilled and happy, but I don't feel that it is what I am set out to do. I'm not exactly in the place in my life to become a foster parent. I have other priorities at the moment, but I would love to in the next 10 years.
Monday, August 31, 2009
My big purchase
In the hustle and bustle of back to school, I forgot to write about my major purchase! I bought a mattress! It is so wonderful. It was well worth the $850 I paid for it. Yes, I know I could've gotten a much cheaper mattress, but after spending 10 years on my old craptastic one, I decided to go for quality. It is a Sealy Posturepedic. It's incredibly plush with a pillowtop. I used my last paycheck from my old school to pay for it as I already received my first paycheck from my new school.
I sleep so wonderfully. It is amazing. The only problem I have is that the new boxsprings and mattress are almost twice as tall as my old one. I can barely reach my alarm clock on my nightstand from my bed. I also sort of have to take a running leap to get in the bed as I'm a 5'2" shortie. I also can no longer see the tv from my bed.
It really catches me off guard that it doesn't squeak when I move. My old one would squeak when I tossed and turned or even took a deep breath. I love the silence. Well worth the money.
I now need some new pillows to replace my broken-down ones and some new sheets. I only own one set of sheets and it has snowflakes on them. It's August and I have snowflake sheets on my bed. I need to get some deep pocket sheets for this new mattress.
I sleep so wonderfully. It is amazing. The only problem I have is that the new boxsprings and mattress are almost twice as tall as my old one. I can barely reach my alarm clock on my nightstand from my bed. I also sort of have to take a running leap to get in the bed as I'm a 5'2" shortie. I also can no longer see the tv from my bed.
It really catches me off guard that it doesn't squeak when I move. My old one would squeak when I tossed and turned or even took a deep breath. I love the silence. Well worth the money.
I now need some new pillows to replace my broken-down ones and some new sheets. I only own one set of sheets and it has snowflakes on them. It's August and I have snowflake sheets on my bed. I need to get some deep pocket sheets for this new mattress.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
A Good Weekend
As my school year has not gotten off to the most wonderful of starts, I was really looking forward to this weekend. Friday night, I decided to spend the evening watching movies and eating pizza. The pizza alone would've been fine, but I went to the grocery store hungry and ended up buying breadsticks, chocolate milk and chips. Needless to say, I did not stick with my sensible eating plan that night, which is fine, if you do it once in awhile. I seem to be on a non-healthy eating kick this week. I am a stress eater. I have been stressed this week with the situation with my colleague's child, but I need to find another way to deal with it besides food.
I rented Twilight (which I've seen about a trillion times) and 17 Again. I really liked 17 Again. It was nice to see Zac Efron in another role besides the High School Musical franchise. I have two pounds to go until I'm allowed to buy my own copy of Twilight. It is my 35-pound reward. I'm struggling to reach it though. Friday night was also my brother's 21st birthday party, which I begrudgingly went to. I was so tired, I didn't want to leave my house. I drug myself there, but I wasn't the world's best company.
Saturday, I went shopping. Not for clothes this time. I bought school stuff. I needed supplies for my classroom and will not receive any school money until the spring to purchase supplies, so it is out of my own pocket. The most important thing I bought was a mini-fridge for my classroom. As much as I hated working in an MD unit last year, I got spoiled by having a full-size kitchen in my classroom. I miss my refrigerator. My best friend gave me a Brita filter last year that I used instead of buying plastic water bottles as our school's water was nasty. The school I'm at now has even nastier water. The teacher's lounge fridge is overflowing, so I decided to buy my own. It was only $79. I also picked up pens, letter trays, a trashcan and a whistle, among other items.
I also ate at Panera. I'm obsessed with Panera. The nearest one to me used to be in Columbus, but one opened in the largest town nearby me. My best friend and her husband closed on their new house this past week and got the keys yesterday. I went and took a tour while they painted.
Random thought-I'm listening to my I-Pod right now and I had no idea I had any Doors on here. Odd.
Today, I went to church and I decided I need to move past the situation at my school. Anger does nothing except make my ulcer bigger. I need to forgive those who trespass against me and pray for them. I pray that he gets the help he is so desperately crying out for. I spent my afternoon working on lesson plans. I love teaching. I hate lesson planning. It seems though that every teacher I know spends Sunday afternoons lesson planning. I made green peppers stuffed with couscous for dinner. They were very yum. I made extras to take for my lunch tomorrow. I then walked to a friend's house and hung out on her deck for a bit. We do that on Sundays.
Now I'm settling in to watch Army Wives. A very good weekend.
I rented Twilight (which I've seen about a trillion times) and 17 Again. I really liked 17 Again. It was nice to see Zac Efron in another role besides the High School Musical franchise. I have two pounds to go until I'm allowed to buy my own copy of Twilight. It is my 35-pound reward. I'm struggling to reach it though. Friday night was also my brother's 21st birthday party, which I begrudgingly went to. I was so tired, I didn't want to leave my house. I drug myself there, but I wasn't the world's best company.
Saturday, I went shopping. Not for clothes this time. I bought school stuff. I needed supplies for my classroom and will not receive any school money until the spring to purchase supplies, so it is out of my own pocket. The most important thing I bought was a mini-fridge for my classroom. As much as I hated working in an MD unit last year, I got spoiled by having a full-size kitchen in my classroom. I miss my refrigerator. My best friend gave me a Brita filter last year that I used instead of buying plastic water bottles as our school's water was nasty. The school I'm at now has even nastier water. The teacher's lounge fridge is overflowing, so I decided to buy my own. It was only $79. I also picked up pens, letter trays, a trashcan and a whistle, among other items.
I also ate at Panera. I'm obsessed with Panera. The nearest one to me used to be in Columbus, but one opened in the largest town nearby me. My best friend and her husband closed on their new house this past week and got the keys yesterday. I went and took a tour while they painted.
Random thought-I'm listening to my I-Pod right now and I had no idea I had any Doors on here. Odd.
Today, I went to church and I decided I need to move past the situation at my school. Anger does nothing except make my ulcer bigger. I need to forgive those who trespass against me and pray for them. I pray that he gets the help he is so desperately crying out for. I spent my afternoon working on lesson plans. I love teaching. I hate lesson planning. It seems though that every teacher I know spends Sunday afternoons lesson planning. I made green peppers stuffed with couscous for dinner. They were very yum. I made extras to take for my lunch tomorrow. I then walked to a friend's house and hung out on her deck for a bit. We do that on Sundays.
Now I'm settling in to watch Army Wives. A very good weekend.
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