30 Rock

Watching the first episode of the new season of 30 Rock. I love this show.

New Student

I'm supposed to meet with a new student at GED tutoring tonight. I hope it goes well!

Sick Leave

On my pay stub today, I noticed that I have 40.75 days (or 8 weeks) of paid sick leave accumulated.  That's going to be a nice chuck of paid maternity leave in a few years!

Morning Cold

I woke up feeling sick- stuffy, sneezy, throat hurty.  I wanted to stay home, but I figured it'll get better as the day goes on.  It's only been an hour and I already feel better- which makes me wish even more I had chosen to stay at home!

Good Laugh

Today at lunch, not only did I get the "fertility fork" shaken at me (again), but we also had a hilarious converstation about birth control and slang words for genitals.  Thanks goodness the kids were so loud as this whole converstation took place in the cafeteria.

I Hate It

I hate teaching math in the morning.  Not because I dislike math or the kids, but because it means I have to close the libary up for an hour.  I have to lock the door in the faces of the adorable third graders who are so excited to get a new Black Lagoon picture book.  I hate that.

The Help

I stayed up too late, but I finished it. Gail was right, I loved it.

Purpose

Apparently 12 year old boys were made for the sole purpose of arguing.

Life Partner

Even though it doesn't sound as heterosexual, I think that life partner is a much better term than husband and wife.  It's so much more descriptive- it says, "we work together, we help each other, we are partners in the life we're creating together."  Anyway, I'm feeling extra thankful for such a wonderful life partner today.

Can't Shake It

Does this ever happen to you?  You hear something, read something, or think of something that makes you upset.  Then you get distracted or busy and you forget what that things was but you're left with the nagging upset feeling in the pit of your stomach.  I've had that all morning and I hate it.

Dexter

Tonight we're going to watch the new episode of Dexter. Part of me can't wait and part of me is dreading it. I always feel so emotionally drained after watching that show.

Snack (on sale)

Dreaming of a Super Pretzel ($0.50 per box after coupon and sale at Publix) and a Swiss Cake Roll ($1 per box, on sale at Kroger) for my afternoon snack.

Too Much

I think I've been playing too much Plants Vs. Zombies and reading too much of my book, The Help, because last night, I dreamed about trying to defend a southern plantation from zombies with the help of animated plants and a bunch of black maids in white uniforms.

Rubbing it in

Nate keeps saying, "Can I have some apple crisp? I really wanted some apple crisp."

Baking Fail

You know when you've made a recipe dozens of times and then you think to yourself, I can make this without looking at the recipe. And then the house is filled with the smell of warm apple crisp and you can't wait to eat it and then you do and something is horribly wrong (too much baking soda?). And then you are so mad at yourself- not only have you wasted ingredients and time, but now your desire for apple crisp is all the stronger.

Dinner Tonight

I didn't get around to making the pesto today, but I did make this yummy looking squash bake and biscuits (they're Pillsbury- Nate likes them better than my homemade). Not pictured is the apple crisp that's in the oven for dessert!

Simpy In Season

I love this cookbook. We have a BUNCH of fresh basil from our CSA share so we're going to make pesto with a recipe from this book. If you're trying to eat more seasonal fruits and veggies, this cookbook is a must!

Shuffle

Our new car has a feature that Nate loves- an auxiliary jack where he can plug in his MP3 player. Nate's version of listening to his MP3 player on shuffle is a little different than most. Today on the 25 minute drive back from church, we listened to the first 10 seconds of song after song, with only one song being deemed worthy to listen to all the way through.

For Ms. Becky

Here's a shout out to Ms. Becky (a friend's mom) who told me she reads my blog every day. Writing about the minutia of my life wouldn't be as fun if I didn't have cool people like her reading it.

New Favorite

My new favorite blog... Missed Connections. I love the art. I love the romance. I can't get enough.

Princess and the Frog

I'm finally getting around to watching the newest Disney Princess movie. So far, it's really cute.

Latino Festival

We just got back from the Latino festival that's going on down the street. We helped the kids make pinatas, ate really good food, hung out with friends and neighbors, and listened to the mariachi band.

Cross Country

Headed out to watch my brother's cross country race and then enjoy a picnic lunch!

Reasons Not To Mow

Here are the top 3 reasons why I should not have to mow my lawn:

1)  Medical- Nate and I are both allergic to grass.

2)  Religious- If God wanted the grass 4 inches tall, it would stop growing at that height.

3)  Social- In a neighborhood where we are a different ethnicity and in a different economic class as our neighbors, it is important to have some common ground.  Our yard looks exactly like everyone else's and we like it that way.

Sleep Dialing

To my knowledge, I have not walked in my sleep in a number of years.  But this morning I woke up with the vague memory of calling Nate on his cell phone last night, even though he was only in the living room.  Checked the cell phone to confirm that yes, I did call my husband in my sleep.  I'm very thankful I didn't embarrass myself by calling anyone else.

Missing Magazines

I am missing 32 issues of the magazines we order for the media center.  I've called the publishers, I've claimed the missing issues, I've even called the post office and I can't figure out where all these magazines are going, because it sure isn't here.

Mommy!

My mommy's coming to visit today!

Tent Revival

I went to my first tent revival tonight.

Violation

I came home to a yellow piece of paper on my front door notifying me that we have a lawn maintenance violation- it states that our grass is more than 1 foot tall. I know it's been much taller than a foot before, but it's not now. Some other neighbors have been getting these notices too, which you only get if someone calls the police on you. Then the next day, this guy shows up and asks if you want your lawn cut. I bet that jerk is calling in violations just to drum up business.

Deep Thinking

I've been thinking a lot lately about the difference between standards and standardization. 

For the most part, I'm fine with there being standards in public education (something set up by an authority to measure quality).  To me, this is really about the end product- what students should know or be able to do.

What I'm not ok with is the standardization (bringing things into conformity with a standard) of the process.  I don't think there's just one right way for a teacher to teach, for a classroom to look, or for a lesson plan to be written.  If we preach that students need differentiation, why do we not carry that over to the adults who teach?  Do we somehow lose our individuality once we pass high school?

I'm in Love

I love that Nate and I are totally in synch when it comes to parenting.  Here's an example:

Last night we were in the car with some friends.  Someone said the word "sexuality" and NA said, "You said a bad word."  Nate and I both said, "sexuality and sex aren't bad words" which caused NA to cover his ears and say, "Ewww!"  So Nate and I proceeded to say, "sex" over and over again.  Clearly, we are the best parents ever.

First Date

Can you tell I found my old planner? The one from my freshman year of college where I scribbled every meeting, homework assignment, and plan (just as I still do today). Well, 8 years ago today, Nate took me on our first date. He threw pebbles at my dorm room window, brought me a bouquet of dandelions, and then took me to the public library. Yes, I realize we are total nerds. But it was so romantic, too. He read me my favorite children's book.

4:15 Guilt

I feel extremely guilty every day at 4:15.  It's offically quitting time, but I'm the only one who actually leaves due to all hoops the teacher's have to jump through these days.  I know there's nothing I can do to help, but I still horrible as I walk out the door every afternoon.

Glee

Only a few more hours and I'll be home watching the new episode of Glee!

Old Track Injury

I pulled a muscle in yoga last night- in the same hip that I hurt during high school track.  So today I am walking with a limp, grimcing often, and saying things like, "old track injury" because it sounds so much cooler than, "I hurt myself during standing balance pose."

Rain and Yoga

We had the doors and windows open in the yoga studio tonight. By the end of the session the whole room was filled with the sent of fresh rain.

Plants vs Zombies

I just beat my first video game!

Paper Gown

Every time I go to the doctor's and put on one of those paper gowns (as I did today), I remember all those times my mom would go to the doctor's with me. While we waited, we'd fray the edges of the gown, gather it, stick on Kleenex corsages, and generally turn that piece of tissue paper into a beautiful ball gown. For some reason, we always found it much funnier than the doctor did.

Soup Time

I need it to be colder because I want to eat soup and chili and stew for dinner every night.  For some reason, Nate doesn't want scalding hot liquid for dinner when it's 90 degrees outside.  I need some fall weather now!

What the Heck?

I take it back. Real tv is dumb. I can't believe we ever sat through so many commercials!

Real TV!

We just plugged in our cable and found out we have 6 channels- Peachtree TV, Fox, CW, CBS, NBC, and a home shopping channel! We'll be able to watch Chuck live tonight. It's a momentous day.

Be The Adult

I just threw a mini hissy-fit (in front of students) when I realized I have to protor the ITBS today.  Then I turned away from them and put my "adult face" back on.

It's Still Here

Over the weekend, brief as it was, I managed to forget all about school work.  Low and behold, when I came in this morning it's still here- waiting for me.

Purring Cat

It is extremely rare, but Mrs. Reynolds jumped up in my lap and she is now nuzzling me and purring. She must be possessed.

Adidas Wookiee Jacket

Nate frequently sends me links to things he wants. I keep a bookmark folder called "Things Nate Wants." Some he may get for his birthday, but this one he sent me yesterday... probably not.

Neighbors

Dinner was amazing and the company was even better. I love our neighbors!

5 K

After a quick breakfast of pancakes with Noelle and Megs, we headed up to the NAMI walk in Lawrenceville. The park was beautiful and there were quite a lot of people there to participate! We completed the 5K walk in less than an hour and then enjoyed lunch before tackling the 2 hour drive back. I just got up from my nap and now I'm ready for dinner with our neighbors the Wheelers!

All-Nighter

The only all-nighter I ever pulled in college was in the first few weeks of my freshman year- and it wasn't for studying. 8 years ago today, I spent the entire night talking with Nate about everything and anything. That night of first getting to know the man I'd spend the rest of my life with was one of the best nights of my life.

NA says

NA just said, "My rooms smells like trumpet." What does that even mean?

Garlic

I may have used too much garlic in the roasted vegetables we're having for dinner. It's roasting now and I think if there were any vampires in a 1 mile radius of the house, they'd be hurting.

PICTURE day

Not only was it our official picture day, but I've been taking pictures of classroom activities ALL DAY.  8th grade is making butter, 7th grade had a Marine come speak to their class, 3rd grade is studying soil and rock samples with magnifying glasses, and 4th grade was doing a really cute writer's workshop.

Walk Tomorrow!

I can hardly believe it, but the NAMI walk is tomorrow morning!  If you wanted to donate, but have not yet, please click here and support this wonderful cause!

Picture Day

Not only did I forget to dress myself appropriately for picture day, but NA is wearing some junky t-shirt and has horrible bed-head.  Blah.

Fall Sounds

One of the things I love about my neighborhood is that when we have the windows open in the fall we can hear the high school football games from the stadium on Thursday and Friday nights.

Crock-Pot Disaster

I was under the impression that you couldn't overcook or burn things in your crock pot. Turns out I was WRONG. I left orange chicken to cook on low for the last 8 hours and came home to a smoking black mess. Ugh.

I love NPR

A few days ago NPR interviewed Danny DeVito about Always Sunny in Philidelphia and today, they have Jon Hamm on to talk about Mad Men.  I really love NPR.

"Going Out"

I found out through the grape vine that is middle school today that NA is "going out" with someone. I was concerned about what I should do or say, but by the time I got home, they'd broken up.

Honing My Skill

I've been honing my gum-catching skills.  I can spot a gum chewer from all the way down the hall.  I also pride myself at spotting the spit-out fake-out (you know, when they pretend to spit it out) even when accompanied by the open-mouth "proof" (it's always on the roof of their mouth).

Nerdy Joy

I just tried out some new software that makes cataloging SO easy!  It used to take me about 15-20 minutes to catalog a book.  With this new program, I just cataloged 9 books in less than 10 minutes!  I am filled with nerdy librarian love for a computer program that just made my job much easier.

Drop Out

More and more often I think about leaving this school system, about leaving ALL school systems.  It's so flawed.  It's so wrong at times that I don't want to be a part of it.  It's too big.  I can't fix it.  So I day dream about dropping out.  Letting it be someone else's problem.  Having some babies and homeschooling them while I bake my own bread and grow my own vegetables.  I have 2 more years to think about it.  Then Nate's out of seminary and I have to decide... should I drop out or stay and try to make the best of it?

Unseasonable

The high today is 93. The average temperature for today is 80. Why is it so unseasonably warm? I'm ready for fall!

Edna

NA and I watched The Incredibles tonight. I love that movie and I especially love Edna Mode.

Bottomless Pit

Since we got home from school today at 5:30 this is what NA has eaten: piece of pizza, a big bowl of chicken noodle soup, a glass of orange juice, a big slice of lasagna, a glass of milk, a bowl of ice cream, and now, half a bag of popcorn.

Movie-and-Popcorn

I decided to be a good mom (yep, I used the "m" word) and have a movie-and-popcorn night with NA. Since it's Nate's late night at school, he would have had to sit through yoga and since he already sat through a long faculty meeting that seemed cruel.

Difficult Decisions

Do I go to yoga with Noelle or stay at home with NA and watch a movie?

Quality Vs. Quantity

Which is better: less frequent posts on more interesting topics or a constant updates on all the boring minutia of my life?

Forgotten

I was forgotten about TWICE today at the doctor's office. First, I waited for an hour in the waiting room and then for another 30 minutes in the exam room. The nurses and doctors even admitted to forgetting about me both times. 90 minutes of waiting to get a 5 second injection.

Oh No

So, I accidentally deleted all the library transactions we've done today.  Huge mess.  All my fault.

Vaccination

I'm going to get my tetanus/pertussis vaccination this afternoon.  Already dreading the sore arm.

Hoops Explained

This is the list of the things a teacher in my school system is REQUIRED to do at the beginning of EVERY lesson:

• Sponge Activity
• Review of Behaviors
• Review of Classroom Rules
• Review of Consequences
• Review of Previous Day's Lesson
• Introduction of Current Day's Lesson
• Explanation of the Standard
• Discuss the Essential Question
• Activity

And all of that before you actually teach.

Calling

I think my life's calling is to be a baker. I just baked a batch of pita bread which we plan to eat topped with sauteed eggplant and peppers.

New Crocheting Project

Crocheting a baby blanket and watching Back to the Future.

Aloe

My singed knuckles are thankful for the aloe plant my mom gave me.

Embarrassed

Nate says, "Are you posting about how you burned your knuckles on the oven?"
I say, "No, I'm embarrassed."
Nate says, "Good, you should be."
So I post to prove that I shouldn't be.

I love baking

So we baked the calzones, the loaf of bread, and the pan of cinnamon rolls AND THEN I baked a pan of brownies (to fulfill my craving for brownies and mint chocolate chip ice cream). All that in addition to the blueberry muffins I baked this morning. I am a baking fiend.

Menu Planning

Between Friday night and Saturday morning, I plan out our dinners for the week. I check the ads and my coupon stash, see what's on sale, flip through my cook books, then make my grocery list. Like this week, I want to make calzones (cheese and pepperoni are on sale at Kroger). If I'm going to make bread dough, then I might as well make a double batch and then we'll have bread to go with the squash casserole I'm making AND enough dough left over to make a small batch of cinnamon rolls. My grocery shopping/menu making fulfills my 2 favorite past-times: cooking and list making.

Blueberry Muffins

Celebrating sleeping solidly for 8.5 hours with fresh baked blueberry muffins and a big cup of coffee.

Tricky

I figured out the trick to getting NA to eat beans without complaining. Invite my brother over for dinner. In an effort to impress Todd, NA eats whatever we put in front of him without complaining. Guess Todd's coming over for dinner more often!

Plants vs. Zombies

I found myself humming the music to Plants vs. Zombies.  This might be the first video game I want to play on my own since we first got PacMan on our home computer... in 1993.

Sleepy

I have not been sleeping well. I got up at least 4 times last night. I was too warm, too cold, had to pee, or had a horrible cramp in my calf. I need a good night's sleep pronto or they're going to find me passed out at the circulation desk.

Reaction

My tattoo, which I've had for more than a year, is suddenly puffy and itchy.  I thought the allergic reaction was done 6 months ago, but apparently my body will continue to reject my attempt to be cool for the rest of my life.

Hoops

I am extra thankful to be a librarian today. The hoops that our state and school system make teachers jump though leave no room for flexibility, creativity, teacher-choice. The expectation to fit into their box is suffocating. At least I have room to breathe in the media center.

8 years

I met my husband eight years ago today. My RA, on the spur of the moment, brought me along to the little house in the country where he lived/worked as a youth pastor. Within 3 weeks, I knew he was the one.

March

March is apparently a very popular time to give birth. We just found out about another pregnancy- this makes 4 couples we know- who are having babies in March!

Craving

I want a big warm brownie smothered by multiple scoops of mint chocolate chip ice cream

Morning News

Since the theater teacher moved to another school, I've taken over as lead director of the morning news broadcast.  We have 25 auditions over the next 5 weeks.  I miss her terribly.

New Recipes

Last night we had End of Summer Harvest Soup.

Tonight we're having Pork Chops and Scalloped Potatoes and Pear Crisp for dessert!

Better

Sitting at home on my couch reading a good book with a cup of coffee in my hand and the windows open is better than being at work working.

Poison Ivy

NA has poison ivy on his neck, side, arm, and on the bottom of his feet.

Speedometer

We took the '84 Cressida up to Atlanta and I noticed the speedometer, which has always been a little off, has gotten worse since the last time I drove it at interstate speed. Though it read that I was going 90 mph (in a 70), grandmas in Buicks were whizzing by.

Lunch Date

We're headed up to Dragon-Con today to meet my wonderful friend Bisa for lunch!

Cake Snob

Maybe I'm just a chocolate cake snob, but I think that microwave-cake was a bust.

Twice in 2 Days

NA is at a birthday party and I, for the second time in 2 days, find myself at home alone. This time, I'm making chocolate cake in a coffee mug and watching Better Off Ted.

66 degrees

With the windows open and the fans on last night, the house got down to 66 degrees! I want to believe fall is really here, but the weather forecast has highs in the mid 90s every day this week.

Birthday Party

NA and I spent the last 5 hours at a neighbor's birthday party. Grilling, roasting marshmallows, great conversation, making new friends, and a pinata added up for a great evening.

Fall!!!!

I love this weather. I feel the beginning of fall in the air. It's 80 degrees, sunny, with a light breeze. Perfect jeans, tank top, and flip-flops weather.

Home Alone

I am in my house, alone, for the first time in 2 months. I'm doing laundry, listening to This American Life, and playing Plants vs. Zombies.

Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Nate doesn't like pancakes, so NA and I are enjoying them together this morning while he's at Dragon-Con.

Celebrities

The Grammy award nominated band After Edmund was playing on the square tonight. The guys from the band came into the ice cream shop and graciously said hello to me. After all, we were friends in college. You know, before they became celebrities.

Ice Cream

NA and I are biking down to the local ice cream shop tonight.

Dragon-Con

Nate's off to Dragon Con for the next 4 days.  Not necessarily jealous about going to the convention, but definitely jealous he gets to spend time with some of our friends I rarely get to see.

NAMI Fundraiser

September 18th is only a few weeks away!  I'm really looking forward to joining a few friends and whole lot of other people on the walk to support the National Alliance on Mental Illness.  I am proud to walk to reduce stigma and raise awareness of mental illness. If you would like to help me raise money for this great cause, please click here.

Kaaaaaaatieeeeee

Every time NA says my name, he says it in a whine.  I asked him today why he doesn't do that to Nate.  He said it's because Nate is cool and he likes Nate.  Ouch.

Book Talks

Enjoyed spending the last 15 minutes discussing The Hunger Games (particularly Mockingjay, which we all just finished) with a couple of 8th graders.  Being a librarian is so much fun sometimes.

Encyclopedia

After spending the last 2 hours processing and cataloging the new set of World Book Encyclopedias, I keep wondering... what could I do to get my own entry?  Right between Baudelair, Charles (French poet) and Bauhas (German school of design)...

Relapse

Woke up to cat vomit and ants in our entry way. Will this morning cleaning ritual ever end?