The Great Christmas Tree Debate

I want to get a tree.  Nate does not.  He says I can go get (and decorate) one by myself, but that kind of defeats the "cheerful family Christmas activity" purpose. 

Research, Research

Teaching 5th grade about research today and tomorrow (their project: choose a famous work art and then tell why your piece should be purchased for our school).  Teaching 6th grade about research Friday (their project: National History Day).  Key words for these days: Efficient, Reliable, Plagiarism.

Forgot It Was Tuesday

As soon as I got home, I completely forgot what day of the week it was until 7:30, when I had already missed half of yoga. Dang it.

Appointments

Making dental and medical appointments for an almost 18 year old foster child (who has not seen any doctor or dentist in this town before) has been both time consuming and extremely frustrating.

Narnia

Teachers at my school are so cool.  A 5th grade teacher is starting The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with her classes today.  She transformed her door into a wardrobe door, turned the AC on high, has fur coats for a few students to wear, Christmas lights hanging everywhere, an evergreen candle burning, and next week she's making Turkish Delight.

Anya's Ghost

I read this really great little graphic novel yesterday afternoon- Anya's Ghost. Teen angst and a ghost story all in one! If you've never read a graphic novel, this is a good one to cut your teeth on.

Leftovers

Found out today that AL has been taking leftovers of any meals she likes to school for lunch and sharing these "weird but good" dishes with her classmates.  Is that a compliment?

Mongolian Beef

Tried another new (and someone involved) recipe tonight and it was another success. I tweaked it a bit by skipping the mushrooms and adding zucchini. AL has before sworn she doesn't like squash, but, though she was skeptical, she ate it and enjoyed it (as I hoped she would)! If a picky teen, Nate, and I all enjoyed Barefoot Foodie's Mongolian Beef, I bet you will too!

Fashion Flashback

The year was 1993.  I was in the 4th grade and I wore ripped jeans with my hot pink leggings underneath.

Flash forward to 2011.  I just saw a 7th grader wearing the same outfit.

Vacation Time

My internal clock switched to vacation time and I can't get it to go back. It's after 10:00- I need to be in bed!

Turkey Tetrazzini and Rolls

Tried two new recipes tonight- Pioneer Woman's Turkey Tetrazzini and dinner rolls that claim to be "World's Best." Both were really yummy, were rather involved recipes, and both made SO MUCH food! The turkey tetrazzini made a 9x13 AND a 9x9 pan. The roll recipe made 24 large rolls (thankfully, I froze half the dough- maybe for cinnamon rolls in the near future). Still haven't made the ellusive perfect fluffy rolls Nate's been longing for, but there's always next time.

Teenager Stereotypes

Another stereotype confirmed (thanks to AL): teenagers really do stay in their room all day either sleeping or talking on the phone.

MUPPETS!

Nate and I just got back from the Muppets movie and it was AMAZING! I can't stop smiling, I enjoyed it so much. The cameos alone would have been enough but the icing on the cake was that no one else was in our theater so we got to sing along to all the songs. Everyone should go see it!

Norma and Cherilyn

Enjoyed a really great chat with my neighbor Norma and my former neighbor Cherilyn. Totally took my mind off all the stuff I need to get done!

I'm Thankful

I'm thankful for the cabin and for the time we get to spend there with all my in-laws. I'm thankful AL got to go with us. I'm thankful for safe travel and for being home again.

Peace Out

Don't get too sad, but there won't be any blog posts for a few days as I will be at the cabin with Nate's family enjoying our usual Thanksgiving traditions of shouting over Scattergories, hiking, eating good food, and teasing each other relentlessly

I'm Looking Forward To...

Nate and I are excited because we're going to the cabin today.  AL is excited because we said she could pick where we eat dinner on the road.  In her words, "I'd break up with my boyfriend for some Popeye's!"

Raspy

My night-time coughing has lead to a voice not unlike that of a 20-year chain smoker.

Google is a Search Engine

Today I'm teaching the 8th graders how to effectively use Google... and why you can't cite it as a source on your research paper.

Ms. Beth's!

I'm really looking forward to our annual dinner and Christmas decorating at Ms. Beth's tonight (this makes the 10th year!) but I'm also a bit sad that this is the first year I'll be going without Nate (who had already made trivia plans).

Bad Eyesight

Nate wakes me up in the middle of the night.  He's gasping and saying "It scared me."  I look between us to where he's pointing and all I can make out (without my glasses in the dark) is a huge dark spot between us.  Immediately I think blood.  A huge pool of blood on the blankets between us.  Oh my god, which one of us is bleeding?  And then I reach out and... it's Nobby.  I am so blind, I thought my cat- 2 feet from my face- was a pool of blood.  In my defense, it makes a lot more sense to say "it scared me" about blood than about our cat.

Foster Care Rules

AL can't get her driver's license, she can't go to friends' houses without us, she can't ride in a friend's car. While I totally understand why the rules are in place, sometimes explaining them to a teenager sucks.

Slang

AL laughs at me a lot. Sometimes it is almost stereotypical, the miscommunication that occurs between me, a not so cool white lady, and her, a hip black teen. Every day I learn some new slang. Allow me to share...

Fie: cool; not to be confused with "fly" which apparently isn't used anymore
Hit Up: to touch up one's hair
Straight: ok; not awesome or bad, but acceptable

More to come, I'm sure.

I Almost Forgot

So Friday night, AL was very wary of the 20+ people in the house. I only managed to coax her out of her room with the promise of hamburgers (beef!). The look of sheer joy on her face when she realized there were also hot wings to be had was priceless.

Home Alone

We left AL home alone for the afternoon and went out with some friends. I was a bit nervous about leaving her, but of course, everything was fine. Thankful we are able to trust AL.

What Did You Do?

Here's what I've done this Friday: took pictures of a teacher's head getting shaved, packed up the book fair, and then hosted 21 friends at our house.

The Muppets Movie!

I am more excited about this movie than I have been about any other movie in a long time.  Add to your anticipation and read/watch this!

Burgers and Bonfires

Looking forward to a (rather large) neighborhood gathering in my back yard tonight.  Just need to get through these last few hours of school (and book fair clean up).

For The Rest of November

Take a minute each day to vote for our neighborhood's after school program to win $10,000. Thanks for supporting us!

Coffee Date

My plan is to be well rested enough to enjoy a coffee date with a couple of my neighbor lady friends.  That peppermint mocha is calling my name!

Weak

Back at school today.  Feeling much less snotty, but still pretty weak.  Afternoon nap is a must.

Pizza is a Vegetable?

Congress just passed a bill that states that PIZZA counts as a VEGETABLE for our school lunches. I love pizza as much as the next person, but calling it a vegetable? Super disappointed and disgusted with our government.

My Favorite Things

These are a few of my favorite things...

My Sick Day So Far

Drank 2 glasses of OJ, watched 4 episodes of The New Girl, took a 2 hour nap, crocheted 7 more rows in my granny stripe blanket.

Warning: This is Gross

Nate says if you throw up snot you have to stay home from school. Apparently it's a matter of public health.

Sick Day

Going in to work for 10 minutes to set everything up and then coming home again. Hopefully I won't infect anyone in that time.

Click, Click, Click

I don't like wearing nice shoes but not for the reasons you'd think.  It's because when I walk down the halls, I click really loudly and that reminds me that I both walk too heavy and too fast.  Maybe I need the reminder to slow down.

Very Unlikely

The last 2 faculty meetings have been canceled.  What are the chances today's will be canceled too?

Tempting

My throat is sore, but the fact that Nate only has one class today (and thus will be sitting at home soon) is making the temptation to go home sick much stronger.

Black Beans and Rice for the Win!

I had pretty low expectations for tonight's dinner menu (NA would have HATED it) but AL had THREE helpings and asked if she could take the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Who cares if she said it would have been even better with chicken?

Hunger Games Trailer

Good or bad, this trailer has got me even more excited about the movie.

Teenage Drama

Heard half of AL's phone conversation with a friend about a Facebook message. I forgot the drama of being 17.

Sore Throat Tea

Woke up with a horrible sore throat, but my Lemon Zinger tea (with honey) is helping quite a bit.  Good thing, too, because I can't be sick during Book Fair week.

Walmart, ALL DAY

Called Walmart last night. They said the salon opened at 10 AM. Went at 10 AM and they don't open until noon. Went back at noon. Waited for an hour and a half. THEN, still had to wait another 2 hours for AL to get her hair done. 10AM to 3:30 PM. Waiting at Walmart is pretty much the worst way I can think to spend the majority of my day.

At Least We're Going Early

Heading to Walmart this morning so AL can get her hair done in their salon and then spend her allowance.

Asian Turkey Burgers

AL seemed pretty happy we were having burgers for dinner... until she discovered they were Asian Turkey Burgers. This was a new recipe and Nate and I both thought they were really good. AL's opinion: These aren't that bad.

Crafty Mommy Time

Mom and I had a good time working on a quilt, cutting up t-shirts for yarn, shopping at some salvage shops, and of course, talking.

My Mommy's Coming!

My mom will be here this afternoon to spend the weekend crafting and baking with me!  Yay!

Grocery Bags

My friend Lindsay made me some awesome reusable produce bags. Today at the grocery store the lady was really suspicious of them.

What's this? (picks up bag and tries to take it)
It's a produce bag.
Are you going to pay for it?
Um, no, it's mine.
Are you sure?
Yes. I brought it from home.
(suspicious look but returns bag to me)

At least in the last year they've stopped bagging all my groceries in plastic before putting those bags into my cloth ones.

Skyrim

Got some nerdy middle school boy street cred today for knowing that Skyrim is a video game and is coming out this weekend. Thanks, Nate.

Missing Money

Just found out one of my library accounts has $224.09 less in it than I thought.  Thankful it's not my fault but bummed there's nothing we can do about it.

Bribery

Tonight I'll be baking the cookies I offered as a bribe to get the teachers to come preview the Book Fair tomorrow.  I know that's the only way to get them to stay after school on a Friday.

Potato Soup

Dinner Tonight: Crockpot Potato Soup and Cheddar Biscuits.

The Verdict: Everyone liked it! And I even put some very finely chopped broccoli in the soup that AL said she couldn't taste. I need a win like this.

View From My Window

Isn't this gorgeous?

Inspired

Read this and be inspired.

Food Issues

Is it going to be like this with every foster child? Why is food such a big stinking deal? Are the things I cook really that weird? Why are kids (even 17 year olds!) so adverse to trying new things?!

Voting

I love that I can walk to our local polling place. It's a pretty day to vote for SPLOST.

Engraved Engraver

I've run out of things to engrave.  Too bad I can't engrave my name on the engraver...

Dremel Engraver

My new Dremel engraver is here!  EVERYTHING in my office is getting engraved today!

Pizza Puffs

Tonight we tried another new recipe (yep, from Pintrest): Pepperoni Pizza Puffs. All 3 of us really enjoyed them so it's a definite make-again recipe.

Coziest Room

The superintendent is having some meeting here in my media center tonight.  I'm going to go ahead and assume it's because it's the prettiest, coziest, most welcoming room in the county.

Down, Down Baby

Woke up with this in my head:

 

Down down baby, down by the roller coaster
Sweet sweet baby, I'll never let you go
Shimmy shimmy coca pop shimmy shimmy pow
Shimmy shimmy coco puff shimmy shimmy pow
Grandma grandma sick in bed, she called the doctor and the doctor said:
Let's get the rhythm of the head, Ding Dong, Let's get the rhythm of the head
Ding Dong (move your head from left to right)
Let's get the rhythm of the hands, Let's get the rhythm of the hands (clap twice)
Let's get the rhythm of the feet, Let's get the rhythm of the feet (stomp twice)
Let's get the rhythm of the hot dog, Let's get the rhythm of the hot dog (wiggle)
Put it all together and what do you get? (repeat the rhythms)
Put it all backwards and what do you get? (then do it all the rhythms backwards)

 

Someone want to do the hand clap game with me?

Chain of Command

Did I already blog about this?  I can't remember.  Anyway, I'm 4th in line to act as principal and today the stars aligned that #1-3 are out of the building so I'm in charge.  I have a radio and responsibility I don't really want.  Here's hoping for an uneventful morning.

Disturbing Movies

Yesterday I watched Saving Private Ryan with Nate and then I watched For Colored Girls and Precious with AL.  I need to watch a Disney movie tonight to clear my mind.

Asparagus

I made roasted chicken, potatoes, and asparagus for dinner with apple crisp for dessert. It would have been perfect except when AL pretty much refused to try the asparagus and then spit it out. Great. Just like NA all over again.

Computer Time

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. AL is once again living up to her teenager-ness and spends all free time on the computer (music videos on YouTube, studying for SAT, and of course, Facebook) which of course limits the time I can spend online (blogging and surfing Pintrest).

2 New Recipes

In the past 2 days I've tried 2 new recipes from the same blog- Chef In Training.
Yesterday I made crockpot Santa Fe Chicken. Not only was it easy and healthy, it was really yummy.
Today I made these breadsticks and they were the AMAZING. I highly recommend both recipes.

Calculator

AL is taking the SAT this morning. Right as we are leaving she tells me she needs a calculator. We don't have one at home, so I race to school to grab a little one I have on my desk thinking it'll have to do. As I'm leaving, my principal walks in the library- on Saturday, at 7:30 AM, holding a graphing calculator. What are the chances? God is really awesome.

Deaf

You know that stereotype about teenagers listening to their music so loud they go deaf? AL lives up to it. Called her name (loudly) 4 or 5 times from less than 6 feet away before she finally looked up and pulled out an earbud. Not sure if I'm enough of a "parent" yet to tell her to turn it down.

TOTY Cake!

Yay!  It's time to announce our annual Teacher of the Year and that means this faculty meeting will have cake!

Repo Man

Today I am repossessing the books of students who owe large fines.  I made this threat hoping I wouldn't have to go through with it because while I want the kids to read, I also want them to learn to be responsible.  I hate being the bad guy.

VOTE PLEASE!

Our neighborhood after school program is currently ranked #55. We need to be in the top 15 to receive the $10,000, so please vote daily (HERE) for the rest of the month! And if you have multiple email accounts, you can vote from each of them! Thanks for supporting the great things that are going on our neighborhood!

Connecting

Just spent the last half hour really connecting with AL. Here's what we talked (and laughed) about: how black people don't get lice, her boyfriend, getting married, and her amazing ability to draw. This is good.

Piles of Books

I'm in the process of weeding so I have several piles of books in my office on the floor, in chairs, and in boxes.  Then today, a new book order comes in, so I add another pile.  One more pile and I won't be able to get to the door.

Little Girl

I wish that the custodian at our school understood that saying I look like a "cute little girl" is not a comliment.

Fashion Advice

So thankful for my neighbor Laura who came over to give me some fashion advice! Now I just need some cute accessories!

Covering Classes

Today I'm being a real "team player" and covering classes for 3 different teachers in the 8th grade.  That's 3 hours of my day I will spend remembering why I am no longer an 8th grade teacher.

Pepsi Refresh Project

Our neighborhood is trying to win a grant from Pepsi! Click here, make an account, and please vote daily to help DASH establish an after-school program in our neighborhood. If you know me at all, you know how much time and energy we put into making our neighborhood a great place to live. Please help us do that. Thanks!

Laundry Powder

I made my own laundry detergent today using this recipe. Guess we'll find out on Saturday how well it works!

Fashion Impaired

I need someone to go through my closet to tell me what pieces of clothing I need to turn my clothes into outfits.  Every morning, it's a struggle to figure out what I can wear together and I end up looking less than professional.

Roommate

So far it feels more like we have a new roommate than a new foster child.  AL is very independent and is not particularily interested in what Nate and I do- she is 17 after all.  Everything is good, we just need to figure out what this relationship will look like and that'll take time.