Bad Habits

According to my family, I have taught my niece Mikayla another one of my bad habits today. Who knew that dunking your Oreo cookies in milk was a bad habit. I always thought that it was the true way to eat them!! This got me thinking about bad habits and what people think are bad habits. I guess I have a few, but calling them "bad" seems a little over the top. You be the judge.

*Dunking my Oreo cookies (again, not understanding the bad part here)

* Biting my fingernails (okay, this is bad but it's a nervous habit I just can't break)

* When I am mad or hurt I shut down and go inside myself instead of talking to someone about it. (I could see were this could be considered bad.)

*Not filling my gas take until the low fuel light comes on (according to my dad, this is bad. I just am too lazy to do it any sooner than I have to)

* Going to Meijer's at least once a week (Again, not really bad so much as expensive)

*Staying up too late on a school night and being very tired the next day (yeah, this one I need to stop doing, but it's my blogging time!)

*Forgetting to return Library books on time (yes this is bad, but I have an excuse. Since I worked there for 3 years I didn't have to pay fines then and I got myself into the habit of not paying attention to when things are due. 2 or 4 weeks flies by faster than you think)

*Quoting too much Jane Austen (see, I don't see this as bad either - more brilliant!)

*Always following up the word "possible" with the word "pig" (The fault of the Princess Bride)

*Avoiding doing unpleasant tasks as long as possible (cause in point, I should be washing dishes or grading papers right now. Instead here I am).

*Always going on the computer in the morning before work - usually before I have ate breakfast or dressed (not sure why I do this).

*Not answering the phone when it is someone I don't want to talk to on the caller id (admit it, everyone does this one)

*Throwing the clothes I have worn today on the floor instead of hanging them up (I have a legitimate reason for this - I can't remember what I wear from day to day and at least if they are on the floor, I won't wear them two days in a row).

*Daydreaming when I shouldn't (yeah, my imagination goes a little overboard sometimes, especially during long, boring staff meetings)

I am sure my family could list many more. These are just the ones that popped into my head on this cool Thursday night. It's a good thing we have "bad habits" though. I think it makes life a little more interesting.

You know it's going to be a longgggggg day when...

1. You roll over and look at your alarm clock and it reads 7:02 am and you usually leave the house at 7:00am. Ever try to do you hair, dress, and eat within 10 minutes (guys don't count here, doing your hair for them can be as much as a nanosecond!)

2. You are barely at school for 5 minutes when you get a parent telling you who and who can't pick up there child due to weekend family events.

3. The secretary brings you a new student about 10 minutes before school starts. (actually an improvement over smack dab in the middle of a lesson)

4. You forgot you lunch at home so you need to go beg one off the cook in the cafeteria who happens to be in a really bad mood.

5. The copy machine is broken (AGAIN) and you are one page short for putting together homework.

6. Even your "good kids" are having an "off day."

7. Your washer machine mysteriously stops working in the middle of a load of towels (luckily it mysteriously started working later on).

8. You have used so much water in your house doing laundry that there is no water left for your shower (trust me, this is an issue for my house).

Yeah, that about sums up my Friday/Monday combined. Whew, things can only get better.

Can't they?

PRAYER REQUEST

I am asking each of you to please keep my cousin Keith R. in your prayers. He is in the 101st airborne division of the army and has just been sent back for his second tour of duty in Iraq. He said that it is over 128 degrees there currently. We also found out that he is being stationed in Baghdad. I don't know where he stands personally with God so I am just asking everyone to keep him in your prayers that he will come safely home. Thanks. :)

Another bites the dust..

Yes I have returned from yet another weekend wedding where I sadly sing "another bites the dust." Seriously I am happy for all my friends getting married, but when is it going to end! Every time my young group friends get married, I make an effort to make new friends and then they go and get married! I have lost track of how many weddings I have been to in the past 5 years.

Here is my dilemma - I am horrible at saying something sweet and not redundant when going through the reception line. This is the reason why I hate going to weddings. I feel that I sound stupid. My only hope is that the bride and groom greet some many people that they quickly forget whatever I said. What do you say when going thru a reception line? Something trite like "Congratulations, I pray that the Lord will bless you in your new life together." I find myself saying something very similar to new members after their baptism. I just don't have any profound words of wisdom to share with a new couple. If anyone has any for me, I would deeply appreciate them.


"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Opening line of Pride and Prejudice.

Things that I am sick of hearing or hearing about...

Some topics of conversation should just stop! Enough is enough. This list could be added to, but here were the top 12 that have been driving me crazy lately.


1. Brittney Spears life/pregnancy/birth of her child/what she ate today -ARGH!!!
2. Celebrity marriages that don't even last a year (or even 1/2 a year) and right away the solution is to annual it or divorce.
3. Peoples recount of their nights at the casino
4. Our Demorcratic media constantly slamming the president for everything (including breathing sometimes) while calling themselves neutral journalists - most people aren't fooled.
5. The famous line "it can only get better."
6. Along with the famous line "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger"
7. Peoples martial problems during lunch time at work - see a counselor
8. Anything that comes out of the mouth of our administration in our school district
9. The 5 zillion excuses kids have for not bringing their homework back on time
10. Our school social worker saying she'll get right on it because that always means I have to chase her around for weeks and hound her until she actually does it.
11. Kids lying to your face when you catch them in the act of doing something.
12. Anything that associates with the name Paris Hilton.

Please forgive me as I take a moment to VENT....

I think the title explains it all, but seriously, sometimes you just need to explode and since my mom is in Detroit tonight and Maryann is in meetings all night, here it goes.

As a side note, we had open house tonight and after 2 hours of waiting I had one parent show up. Our principal released us one hour early (in pretense to go the funeral home for one of our colleagues who's father passed away - in reality because he wanted to leave) and then I spent 1/2 hour in the driveway of my colleague whom I ride with talking about our stupid school system among other things.

I digress...

It all started last night apparently when all the district principals were in a meeting where they were reamed out by the superintendent and his posse due to the fact that we lost 500+ kids from the district which puts us $3 million or so in debt. The principals were instructed to ream out the staff and then come up with ways of how we can get students back. Several problems with this.

The main three reasons our kids leave the district 1 - No jobs, so their parents move out of the area. 2- No busing, and they don't have another way to get to school. 3- No after school programs in the district (cause that would of course cost money).

Anyone know of a way we can solve those problems. Of course we know that teachers must control the job market within the city and therefore can magically come up with jobs for people. The district won't pay for busing, sure teachers can pick up kids for school. No after school program - why don't we just all volunteer our free time after school and start one free of charge.

To top it all off, they have spent lots of time the past two years letting all of our parents know that our school was going "off-line" (AKA closing) but ZERO time telling them that they changed their minds. What parent wants to bring a kid to a school that they think will be closing the next year?

To top it off, our morning time that we have to report before school now has to be known as "common planning time" which means we should be in discussions and grade level meetings and not getting our rooms ready for the day. And to make sure we are in compliance, we have to keep track of what we do during our "common planning time" and turn in information sheets on it every week which the district in turn collects ( and then probably drops in a black hole somewhere - cause who has time to check up on 300+ teachers sheets). I digress again....

Anyone seeing the problem here?

Our district makes a mess of something then throws it back at us screaming for us to fix it, threatens us with loss of teacher jobs if we don't. Then they go back sitting on their duffs in their lovely air conditioned offices down town where they never see the children we teach and find something us to blame us for. Meanwhile, our students are roasting in 90+ degree heat in our classrooms and are expected to be learning and be ready to take the MEAP tests in 3 weeks.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Okay, feeling better now that I got that off my chest. This is the kind of stuff that makes my hair go white. Not the kids, the stupid people in charge of our school system. My next blog will be entitled "Why teachers should rule the educational world instead of the rambling idiots in administration."



I am putting this in purple font so maybe I feel better about it when I look at it later.

How you live your dash

Someone sent this to me and I thought it was worth sharing...

HOW DO YOU LIVE YOUR DASH?

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning...to the end.
He noted that first came her date of birth and spoke the following date with tears,
But he said what mattered most of all was the dash between those years. (1934 -1998)
For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth...
And now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own; The cars...the house...the cash,
What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard are there things you'd like to change?
For you never know how much time is left, that can still be rearranged.
If we could just slow down enough to consider what's true and real,
And always try to understand the way other people feel.
And be less quick to anger, and show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives like we've never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile..
Remembering that this special dash might only last a little while.
So, when your eulogy's being read with your life's actions to rehash...
Would you be proud of the things they say about how you spent your dash?

Why I love/hate Fridays

I am in a time crunch this morning, so no Jane quote. Sorry for those of you who always look forward to that.

Why I love Fridays
1. No school for two days!
2. Looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday
3. Usually the young group gets together
4. Stay up late and enjoy a good movie without paying for it the next day
5. Finally, I chance to relax!!!


Why I hate Fridays
1. So hard to get up (ie. This morning)
2. Gas has usually sky rocketed by now
3. It takes forever for it to go by, slowest day of the week (at least from 6am to 4pm)
4. I have no motivation to get through the day, I just want it to end.

and the worst of all...

5. All my friends seem to have a mysteriously anti- weekend blogging rule! It drives me batty!

Jane speak

Since I am always quoting Pride and Prejudice, I thought this would be a fun thing to share with all you un educated Jane Austen people in the world (that and I am back logged with work to do since I spent the weekend enjoying Oregon). I am determined to incorporate these into my every day vocabulary. Enjoy!!

The official Jane speak dictionary

Agreeable - Pleasing to the mind or senses; Ready or willing to agree or consent; Being in harmony. E.g., "Your entire person is entirely agreeable." - Edmund Bertram

Ardent - Characterized by warmth of feeling typically expressed in eager zealous support or activity; fiery, hot; shining, glowing. E.g., "In vain have I struggled, it will not do. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you." - Mr. Darcy

Astonishment - The state of being amazed or in wonder. E.g., "Miss Elizabeth Bennet! I am all astonishment!" - Caroline Bingley

Bleak - Lacking in warmth, life, or kindliness; Grim; Not hopeful or encouraging; Depressing. E.g. "How could I not be concerned? The whole situation is most alarming! There is nothing worse than a sore throat. Its effects are exceedingly bleak. " - Mr. Elton

Contemptible - Worthy of scorn. E.g., "A woman's poverty is even more contemptible than a man's." - Fanny Price

Disagreeable - Causing discomfort; Unpleasant, offensive; Marked by ill temper. E.g., "Did you ever meet such a proud, disagreeable man?" - Mrs. Bennet

Discordancy - The state of being at variance or in disagreement. E.g. "How fascinating that any discordancy between us must always arise from my being wrong." - Emma Woodhouse

Displease - To incur the disapproval or dislike of especially by annoying; to be offensive to intransitive senses; to give displeasure. E.g., "Darcy, I shall never understand why you go through the world determined to be displeased with everything and everyone in it." - Mr. Bingley

Divert - To give pleasure to especially by distracting the attention from what burdens or distresses; To amuse. E.g., "Indeed, I am excessively diverted." - Elizabeth Bennet

Fastidious - Having high and often capricious standards; Difficult to please; Showing or demanding excessive delicacy or care; Reflecting a meticulous, sensitive, or demanding attitude. E.g., "I wouldn't be as fastidious as you are for a kingdom!" - Mr. Bingley

Handsome - Marked by graciousness or generosity; Having a pleasing and usually impressive or dignified appearance. This term was frequently used to describe women, as well as men. E.g., "It has been many months now since I have considered her one of the handsomest women of my acquaintance." - Mr. Darcy

Importune - To press or urge with troublesome persistence; To request or beg for urgently. E.g., "I shall make no promise of the kind and I must beg you not to importune me any further on this subject." - Elizabeth Bennet

Ill-Favored - Objectionable; Unacceptable; Undesirable; Unwanted; Unwelcome. "Indeed not! Quite ill-favored!" - Mrs. Bennet

Incomprehensible - Impossible to understand. E.g., "The most incomprehensible thing in the world to a man is a woman who rejects his offer of marriage." - Emma Woodhouse

Indeed - Without any question; Truly, undeniably. This word is often used interjectionally to express irony or disbelief or surprise. E.g., "Shelves in the closet? Happy thought indeed." - Elizabeth Bennet

Insupportable - More than can be endured; Impossible to justify. E.g., "You are thinking how insupportable it would be to spend many evenings in such tedious company!" - Caroline Bingley

Invention - Product of the imagination; especially a false conception. E.g., "I often wonder that history should be so dull, for a great deal of it must be invention." - Fanny Price

Libertine - A freethinker especially in religious matters; A person who is unrestrained by convention or morality; One leading a dissolute life. E.g., "I have described Mr. Willoughby as the worst of libertines." - Colonel Brandon

Pitiable - Deserving or exciting pity; Lamentable; Of a kind to evoke mingled pity and contempt especially because of inadequacy. E.g., "That will make your ladyship's situation at present more pitiable but it will have no effect on me!" - Elizabeth Bennet

Sense - Judgment, wisdom; Ability to reach intelligent conclusions; Reliable ability to judge and decide with soundness, prudence, and intelligence. E.g., "Better be without sense than misapply it as you do." - Mr. Knightley

Situation - Position in life. Often used to refer to one's financial status. E.g., "Were she prosperous, or a woman equal to you in situation I would not quarrel about any liberties of manner. But she is poor! Even more so than when she was born. And should she live to be an old lady, she will sink further still. Her situation being in every way below you should secure your compassion!" - Mr. Knightley

Tolerable - Capable of being borne or endured; Moderately good or agreeable; Passable. E.g., "She is tolerable, I suppose, but not handsome enough to tempt me." - Mr. Darcy
Troublesome - Difficult, burdensome; Giving trouble or anxiety. E.g. ""Especially when one of us is such a troublesome creature." - Emma Woodhouse

Vanity - Inflated pride in oneself or one's appearance; Conceit. E.g., "Vanity working on a weak mind produces every kind of mischief." - Mr. Knightley

Vex - To bring trouble, distress, or agitation to; To bring physical distress to; To irritate or annoy by petty provocations. E.g., "It's extremely vexing!" - Lady Catherine De Bourgh

The story of three mice...

This is a story of three little mice
Who once thought the world was awfully nice
They lived happily every day without fret
For they were part of a miniature tea set.

They were given to a little girl for her birthday
and she would often take them out to play
As she grew older they were left more alone
They didn't mind, they were just happy to be shown

One day while the little girl was away
A "stranger" came into the room to play
The "stranger", however, was not very nice
And scared senseless the poor little mice

This "stranger" took their removable heads
and placed them inside the tea cups instead
So there they were head inside cups, how bad!
It really did make the three mice so sad

The little girl was surprised to find them this way
and fixed them first thing before she went to play
Alas, it happened again to their dismay
The mice did not like to be alone in the day

One day, sick of what the "stranger" was doing
The little girl came up with a solution that was thrilling
She packed up the tea set and put it away
Hoping that it may come out again some day

Now that little girl grew up and much later
She found the tea set packed in a container
So she put it in her new house on display
Hoping that when the "stranger" comes to play
That the little mice will be left okay.



The mice...