Wednesday, February 20, 2008

A Real Live Teacher

Looks like I can finally claim that title. I found out today that I got the teaching position at the school where I've been subbing for the past few weeks. I'm excited, but I gotta say it was a bit anti-climactic to be told in FRONT of the other person who interviewed for the SAME JOB. That, plus the fact that a parent has scheduled a conference with myself and the principal tomorrow because she's worried about this transition for her daughter, made me a little less than giddy today.

Still, I'm a teacher!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

From Frumpy to Fabulous (for a day anyway)

Perhaps last night I was still trying to catch up on the lack of sleep we got over the weekend...getting up at 5:45 on Saturday for volleyball, waking up at 5:30 (voluntarily) on Sunday to do some grading in the hotel lobby, and then not getting back to Midland until 1:00 a.m. Sunday night. This, followed by having to get up at 5:30 Monday morning for another workday, had left me a bit sleepy.

So I get going a little later this morning than usual, and was thus changing into work clothes with just minutes to spare before needing to leave the house. As luck would have it, the zipper on my favorite denim skirt broke, and I was left standing in confusion at my closet waiting for some decent outfit to materialize. It never did, and 10 minutes later I was leaving the house in a rush in a poorly thrown-together mixture of pink and browns. Not pretty. My hair looked bad, I had to wear glasses thanks to this pinkeye condition, my socks were too dark for my shoes, and I felt fat all day.

Hmmm, how do we resolve this so that it doesn't happen anymore this week? Why, a trip to Target of course! Thank you, Target, for $12.99 shirts that me feel like a hundred bucks. At least for a while. All the women out there know the "lift" you feel when you wear something you feel pretty in, so go spend that minimal amount when you need it. It's worth it.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

My Valentines

There are 17 little third-graders that I spend the majority of my time and attention on lately. That needs to change soon, but they sure are cute.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Bit of this and that

After two 13-hour days in a row, I'm so glad to be home by 5:00 today. I left so quickly after school, that I didn't even stop to see if there was a staff meeting. Oops.

Even though I'll sort of be working tonight (inputting grades), I'll be wearing jeans, followed quickly by pajamas, hanging out all cozy in my own living room, and will hopefully be catching something good on TV. Speaking of which, I have become such a junkie of "The First 48!" Where has this show been all my life? It's so addicting.

Today I interviewed for the teaching position that I've been subbing in for the past 5 weeks. It went okay, and I'm hopeful but not overly-confident. Oh hey, I only made two kids cry today. Yes, they should definitely hire me.

Alan and I have mutually agreed to sort of ignore Valentine's Day this year. It's kind of a goofy holiday if you ask me, and better suited to all the cutesy elementary school activities. It may sound unromantic, but at least we're trying to plan a weekend away as soon as we can work it around the volleyball weekends.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Saturday Morning Grading

This is how Junior helps with my Saturday routine.




I'm pretty sure this is not what I taught about fractions this week. I see a Reteaching session in the very near future.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Divine health

I'm setting myself up for certain illness by writing this, but I'm just so surprised I haven't gotten sick yet. Every day for the past 2-3 weeks I've been around sick kids with sore throats, fever, and the flu, and yet I haven't had as much as a sniffle. But If I don't come down with something after today, then my immune system has surely been touched by God himself!

A boy who was not feeling well used my cell phone to call his parents, and then clearly stricken with nausea, rushed towards the restroom where he promptly vomited in the hallway. Back inside the classroom, I sat there looking at my lovely gold Razr, wondering how to avoid all those active germs. All I could come up with was to squirt sanitizer on my hands (which I've been applying about 10 times every day) and when it was almost dry, rub it all over my phone.

I then came home to Bailey who is now running a 100+ temperature.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Glad I didn't wash my car

Couple things I despise about this area - wind and sand. We had the pleasure of driving through both on the way home from Amarillo today.



Saturday, February 02, 2008

Amarillo by morning, Amarillo's where I'll be...

Sitting here in the hotel room in Amarillo while Bailey gets a much deserved nap, and Alan channel surfs between The Fantastic Four and Star Wars. We just got through watching the really horrible Charlie's Angels II. The whole reason for my tuning in was so that I would be so bored and annoyed that surely I would be lured to sleep. No such luck.

No wins today in volleyball, but Bailey's 15 year-old team was forced to play up to 16s and 17s. Not exactly a fair tournament, but it was good to have that kind of competition. I think most of the players and parents are going out to eat tonight, and then we'll be back at the facility bright and early at 7:15 tomorrow. I'm hearing that we'll be done by noon and home in time to watch the Superbowl! I don't think I'll have time to throw any cool finger foods together like DeeBee, but at least we won't miss the commercials.

Many hotel chains these days are trying to impress guests with the trendy, clean, white, spa-type of bed linens. Problem is, there are no real blankets on the beds. So I called the front desk asking for blankets, and both Bailey and Alan thought I was being demanding. Alan went so far as to say that given a few more years I would be much like my mother, who is known for requesting and demanding service that most of us would be too embarrassed to request. Uh, no. When you're paying $95 a night for a nice but not outstanding hotel room, I think they can give me a blanket for the damn bed. And guess who is all curled up in the very warm, soft and cozy blanket right now? ALAN.