Wondering Wednesday December 24th

I know many of you will get answer todays question late, I might too, but here it is…

 

If you had been in the stable/manger on the night Jesus was born, what would you have been?

What I Want For CHRISTmas Day 12

What I want for Christmas on this my 12th and final Christmas wish is this. I want all of my friends and family and all of you bloggers to have a safe and happy Christmas.

I want you all to revel in the greatest gift that we were all given, Christ. I want you to remember not only his birth but his death and the gift of life that is unending that he offers to us all.

I want all of you to have the gifts of:

Love: there is nothing greater in the world than love, so I will start here. I want each of you to have someone that loves you in good and bad. That makes you happy and never sad. I also want you to be able to love another. It seems a strange request but I look at the world and all of it’s woes and I see children walk in and out of my classroom everyday and I know that not only are they alone and have no one to love them but that they also are lacking someone to give their love to. I wish that you be loved and are able to give that love to another person.

Laughter: I look at all of the worries that we carry daily and I think that we must all just find a way to laugh. Heaven knows that for some of us, if we don’t laugh we might just cry. I wish you the ability to laugh at your ups and laugh in your downs. I wish today that were ever you are that you hear laughter, real laughter the kind that starts in your belly and if you aren’t careful it comes out your nose.

Joy: How can we have laughter with out joy? I wish you joy. I would wish you happiness but I think that happiness can fade, so i wish joy because I think it lasts longer. Joy is that happy feeling that you don’t just feel in your head and on your face but you feel it in your tummy and in your chest as a warmth, like you insides have just taken a contented little sigh. Joy is when you know that there are troubles and you can smile anyway because you know in your heart that some how it all works out for the best.

Peace: I think peace goes with joy. When you have true joy and it’s warmth, you’ll have peace. You know that there are tough times but that you will get through them

A pee your pants story: I hope that this Christmas something happens to you and your family that is just plain funny. I hope it is something that you try to tell others about but you laugh so hard when you remember that you almost can’t get the words out. I hope it creates an everlasting memory for you and yours so that every year someone tells the story, and I hope it is one of those stories that one person begins and another continues until someone else finishes.

Merry Christmas to all! I hope that all is well, all is right.

That Look… Maybe I Should Find A New One

I gave that look again, it seems either I am really rude or I attract stupid people.

 

A on the 12th I got an email from one of our SPED (Special Education) teachers, Ms. Spacey, asking if I had any one 6th hour that needed to have a test read to them as designated on their IEP (Indvidualized Education Plan). I emailed back and said yes I have one Mr. T, but he has opted not to have his test read to him all semester long. Well she got all shades of upset because no matter what the student say they have to follow the IEP. I always figured they are soon to be adults and should know to ask for help when they need it, well I guess I was wrong! 

Anyways so Ms. Spacey knew early on the 12th she would need to find someone to read this students test to him. I emailed her this morning asking who she had found. She then sent out a blanket email to a few people asking them to read this test, she only had 3 days prior to take care of it! So when I got no answer I got a little nervous. 

The student Mr. T showed up this afternoon and tells me that he thinks Mr. Soup is going to read it to him but he isn’t sure. I ask him to go find his case manager, Ms. Spacey and find out what is going on. He runs to her room and she isn’t there, he comes back. I send him to Mr. Soup’s room. While he is gone Ms. Spacey shows up and asks where Mr. T is. I tell her. 

Ms. Spacey then tells me she has no one to read Mr. T his test. I just gave her, you got it, that look. I had already explained to her that my room was small and that he couldn’t be read the test in my room. So she just stands there looking at me with this panicked look in her eye (which BTW isn’t unusual). So she goes to leave, Mr. T comes back. So I ask her what I am supposed to do with him. She says well he’ll just have to sit and wait for someone to come and read him his test, she isn’t sure who it will be or when they will come. I asked her if he would have enough time. I explain there are 57 questions for him to answer, he can’t just sit around and wait for someone.  

Ms. Spacey then turns to the student and asks him if she can use his cell phone (seriously?). He replies that he doesn’t have one. She tells him that she knows he does and that she needs to use it. Then, this had me rollin’, Mr. T gave HER that look. 

She then decides to use my phone (the one that has been in the classroom the whole time she argued with him about his cell phone) and calls and I guess finds someone to read the test to him. 

This lady had 3 days to ask someone to do a job, she waits until this morning to ask. Then freaks out at noon when no one has responded. There for a while I thought she was going to ask me to read it to him. Which I can read and wouldn’t mind helping a student. But my voice reading will certainly annoy a few of the other 32 students in my room and if I am reading to him I certainly can’t be making sure the others aren’t cheating, now can I?

 

That look is going to get me in trouble.

 

BTW-the whole time she was in my room I was trying to deal with her as well as seating the other 32 students in less like to cheat/talk order. As well as dealing with the rumor/truths of a fight(true) a stabbing(true) and various snow ball offenses (maybe true/maybe false).

My 100th Post

Okay for my 100th post I am going to try to be positive as I have been a little negative. So here are 100 things that are my favorite, that I love, or that make me happy. Think of Julie Andrew’s singing “these are a few of my favorite things”

1. The song, “A Few of My Favorite Things”

2. Sara Evens singing “Go Tell it On The Mountain” That song just rocks

3. Anne of Green Gables the Book

4. Anne of Green Gables the movie

5. Audio books

6. the smell of laundry soap

7. Colored Staples

8. Fuzzy Socks

9. Fleece Pajama Bottoms

10. 500 Thead Count Sheets

11. Pay day

12. 1000 Cell Phone minutes

13. the tv show House

14. The Reba Show

15. The color purple

16. The color yellow

17. Tulips

18. Daffodils

19. Spring Flowers

20. Warm Rain

21. Hot Showers

22. Reading in the Bath tub

23. Shoes

24. Sale Racks

25. Being Barefoot

26. The way my hair looks when I get the perfect curl

27. Mineral make-up

28. My Wedding Ring

29. The cozy get to stay in bed feeling on the weekend

30. Waking up to find the furry cuddled up with me

31. Finding the furry sleeping on his back (he is a cat so this is just too cute)

32. Mom calling just to chat, just at the time I am feeling chatty

33. grading the last paper

34. cookie dough

35. colored pens

36. colored markers

37. crayola crayons

38. bubbles

39. coloring books

40. jigsaw puzzles

41. autobiographies

42. historical fiction

43. Paula Dean

44. Key Lime Pie

45. Pure White Linen Perfume

46. Puppy Chow (you know the chocolate snack made with Chex)

47. Ice Skating (watching not doing)

48. Mittens

49. Kittens with Mittens

50. Inspirational Posters

51. quilting

52. Fabric Stores

53. T-Shirt Shops

54. Hand made glass

55. Home made rolls

56. Email

57. Hand Sanitizer

58. the new dawn hand renewal dish soap 

59. my brand name purse (that cost too much money)

60. post it notes

61. paper towels that match my kitchen

62. Fleece Vests

63. Christmas Penguins

64. lilacs

65. spell check

66. pin poke art

67. a sweater just out of the drier

68. clean up wipes

69. gingerbread coffee creamer

70. German Chocolate

71. Dove Chocolate

72. Hot Chocolate

73. 3: 15 pm

74. Fountain Dr. Pepper

75. Gummy Bears

76. A good laugh

77. A good cry

78. Casual Friday

79. Clic Erasers

80. A Clean Workspace

81. People Magazine

82. Tabloid Magazines

83. Books about the Amish

84. Pictures of space

85. Hot Turkey

86. Jeans that fit right

87. Sparkling Apple Cider

88. Jon & Kate Plus Eight

89. The Gilmore Girls (man I miss that show)

90. Turning the heater up as high as I want

91. tissue paper in all colors

92. colored binders

93. Sheet Protectors!!!!

94. Aspen trees in the fall

95. “Linus”

96. The sound of gravel crunching under my tires

97. Driving through fall leaves just to see them scatter in the rearview mirror

98. Farmer Games

99. Standing by the warm oven watching/smelling the cookies

100. Test generator programs

 

… and of course my friends and family but this list is about the other things in my life.

Wondering Wednesday December 17th

Today you must be very descriptive so we can all imagine you…

 

If you were CHRISTmas wrapping paper, what would you look like?

What I Want For Christmas … Day 4

Late again, are you shocked beyond belief. I’m not! I must admit all of this comes at a bad time, Finals week with many papers to grade. When I started this little wish list I thought that I would sit down, type up all of my wishes and you readers could read one each day until Christmas, HA!

 

Okay, day 4’s wish… Christmas spirit. I know I can sound all merry and bright but I gotta tell ya I am lacking in the Christmas spirit. 

 

Most years I put up the tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving, this year I waited ’til Sunday (partly due to the tree spraying incident) I would have waited but I knew if I did I wouldn’t get it set up until weeks later.

I also put up a village in my kitchen above my pantry, the little village has lights and snow, hills and trees. I didn’t put it up  this year, don’t plan on it either. Most years I have so much fun putting it up and changing the layout, this year my one concern is that I put my turkey roaster up there and I’ll have to find a place to store it, and I’ll have to go get the ladder, which is in the shed, which leads to marching trough the snow…

I also put up a ceramic village in my living room. Our entertainment center consists of 2 large shelves and an enclosed cabinet for the TV. I place my village and all of my little people on the shelves. This year I cleaned off the shelves an oiled them and the currently sit blank. I buy a new house for this village every year. I haven’t bought one this year. In fact I have looked at the new houses one time and didn’t get excited as I do every year. I just keep thinking about how if I put all of them up then I will have to take it all down. No one is coming to our house, so no one will see the lack of these things.

I place CHRISTmas table runners and doilies on everything. This year the fall one that I put out in october is still there. I again have to march to the shed to get these things, un-bury the box they are in. WASH them all as they probably smell like moth balls too.

Every year BP and I go looking at Christmas lights. I LOVE to look at lights, this year we haven’t gone. We are supposed to go this weekend, we’ll see if it is snowy I may not want to go.

 

I am not sure if it is because my parents were here last year and we had so much fun and I know that this year won’t be as fun. Or it could be that money is tight and I wasn’t able to buy as many super fun gifts. Or it could be that school seems to run longer into the holiday season this year. Or it could be that BP has been a real poop-head this year.

I don’t know why I don’t want to do these things, I want to want to do these things. I have tried to pep myself up with Christmas music. I have drank my gingerbread creamer-ed coffee.

So I wish that I could get some Christmas spirit, hopefully before the holiday season is over.

The Enemy Has Struck Again!

If you are tired of my snow complaints, move along, do not read this post.

 

This is close to where I live.

So is this.

 

I am at my desk while my students are taking finals. The pea-brains in charge had students driving in this! I had a kiddo call me here at school to let me know she was trying to get to school but a car had wrecked at the end of her driveway and she couldn’t get out. She called the attendance office and they told her she needed to try and get here! She was so worried she wouldn’t be able to take her final. I told her to do what she thought was best but if she decided to stay home that I wouldn’t blame her and would find a way for her to take her final.

I left home at 6:10 this morning. got a mile from my house before it started snowing like crazy on me. I made it to the stop sign about 3 miles from the house. The stop is on a steep turning incline. I just hope a cop tries to pull me over ’cause I tried to stop, started to slide, looked for traffic, found none, and let of the brake. There was no way my car was going to stop so rather than slide through the intersection I coasted through. Then I was on River Road (Ha Not it’s real name) and I am not sure you could even call it a road, I didn’t see any signs that it was a road, no pavement, no tire tracks in the snow. It takes me about 20 minutes to get home on a good day. It took me 45 to get to school this morning. Once I got closer to the town I live in the roads got a little better for a while but then got bad again. The snow wasn’t really sticking when I got to work at 7. It is now.

The forecast for my area: snow today, snow tomorrow, snow thursday, maybe sunshine friday, sunny for the weekend and monday then snow, snow, snow.

 

Ick…

What I Want for CHRISTmas Day 3

What I want for CHRISTmas day 3 is this…

I want my grandparents lives on video. I want to see my grannies and grampies from birth until now.

 

I never got to know my dad’s mother, she was sick long before I came along, she had Huntington’s Chorea and was placed in a home. I get to meet her once but she couldn’t speak and of course she had no idea who I was. I wish I could have known her, I wish she could have known me. I wish I could have asked her about her childhood as it was very difficult, I would have like to have known how she handled all of the awfulness that life had thrown her way. I wish I could see how she and my grandfather met, the look on her face as she wed. I wish I could see how she dealt with raising so many children, most times while my grandfather worked far away. I wish I could asked her how she dealt with her health, things I should know if I ever find myself in her place. I would like to be able to see her thoughts when she couldn’t express them herself. I wish I could have that knowledge to share with my father, to comfort him.

My dad’s father, grandpa, I do know. We visited him often while I was growing up. I remember going to the store with him to get a gallon of ice cream. He worked road construction most of his life and built some of the roads that are the west’s most beautiful drives. I have heard him tell stories of what is was like. I would love to be able to see those things through his eyes and replay some of them over and over. I would love to see him as a boy, a young man, and as a father. I would like to see what he was like as a father, I think it would help me to understand my own father better.

My mom’s father, grampy (or grumpy as we used to call him) was full of life and a few other things I won’t mention. I spent much time with my grampy, he and granny lived across the street for a few years of my life. I remember crawling up in the chair with he or granny to watch Mr Ed.  I remember going to town with him and stopping at a special drive up store and getting a sucker if I promised not to tell granny. I don’t ever remember him working a steady job as he had basically retired by the time I came along. He came from a large family and I would like to see how he dealt with all of those brothers and sisters. I would like to see if he was quite and shy or out going and a bit of a trouble maker. He once went with me to buy shoes and couldn’t believe the cost, he said he remembered buying shoes for seventeen cents, I wish I could have seen that. I have seen pictures of he and granny when they were young and dating. I would like to see how he asked granny to marry him, was he scared, did he pace the floor, was he sweet and kind, or plain and simple in his request?  I’d like to see how he worked the farm, to see his determination. I would have liked to seen how he sold off most of what he had to move to a new place.

Then there is granny. I have listened to her tell many stories of her youth and the fun times she had “in her day”.  I have heard her tell story after story but I would like to see them and be able to hear them again and again. I want to see her on her wedding day, I know she was a beautiful bride. I want to see how she interacted with her own mother, was that relationship the same as what she and my mother have, or my mother and myself as she was an only daughter as well. I would have liked to have seen how many young men knocked on her door and how it was that she came to chose grampy as the one she would spend so many years with. I have heard that she used to play guitar and sing, I would love to see that. Someone also said that she used to yodel and that is was heaven sent. I would also love to see the times I spent with her on video, then the memories would never fade or grow dim. I would love to see her making CHRISTmas cookies again while the 8-track played the same CHRISTmas songs over and over, Silver Bells time and time again. I remember one year BP and I took her home from Thanksgiving and Willie Nelson came on the radio, I expressed my distaste and asked her if she like Willie Nelson, I wish I could replay  her reply “He’s okay if you don’t have to look at him.” I also remember riding in the car with her and my aunt asked her if she had ever taken “a roll in the hay”. Granny replied that she had, you just had to be careful to and make sure you got all of the hay out of your hair so no one knew. 

I wish I had all of those things and more on video so I could replay everyone. I know I would never grow tired of watching them. As a teacher I watch my students and think about all of the people in my life, I wonder what they acted like in school. Thank goodness that these are my CHRISTmas wishes and no one has to pay for these things as each little piece is a priceless memory.

Opps! forgot today’s caption!

Okay caption this one…

 

 

 

 

For Christmas this year get the only barn certified to be 100% mouse free!

 

Just a side note this little guy looks a whole lot like my baby Fezzywig.

Praise Him, Praise Him…

… all you little children, God is good! God is Good!

 

Okay, by the end of winter you all will be tired of my snow complaints but I really dislike driving in snow.

This week is finals week at the high school and the college. Today we had a 80% chance of snow.

This led me to leave the house early (no snow yet) and head to the store to get something for lunch ’cause I wasn’t leaving my classroom if it started snowing. I then went and got gas in my car so I wouldn’t have an empty tank if I got stuck (still no snow). I taught 2 classes (no snow). I had my prep (no snow). I ate my lunch (no snow). I have now taught 3 more classes and still no snow. My final at the college is tonight and the forecast has changed from snow starting at noon, to starting at 2, then starting at 6 and now starting around 8. My final starts at 6 and I hope they are all done by 8 but if not I think I will be okay. i have been worried all day about having to drive in the snow the 15 miles to the small branch of the college where I teach, I am okay with my driving but I live in the southwest and very few people around here know how to drive in snow. I should be home in bed before the roads get bad.

every hour that has gone by with out snow causes me to sing praises. we are forecast for snow for much of the next week and that will mess up finals at the high school but maybe they will cancel school altogether tomorrow. That means the kids will have to come to school Friday but I think I can handle that. I can’t complain. i have felt blessed today.