Just Desserts

One of my jobs as Relay For Life captain is to help come up with ideas for fundraisers. Our latest idea...a silent dessert auction. After wrangling most of the team members into baking two desserts a piece, I really think this will be a success! Now, as a team member you know that I had to make two desserts too. Y'all remember my fine cooking skills right?!

I've been told I shouldn't be so hard on myself (okay she actually said I shouldn't be misleading the public) when it comes to my skills in the kitchen. I can cook. I have a handful of things that I cook/bake/throw together really well. My cooking skills just aren't exactly where I wish they were...I make huge messes in the kitchen, I set off the smoke detectors on a regular basis, and I've had some total flops. But, no one would starve if I was in charge of all the cookin'.

So, back to today's kitchen activities. I volunteered to bring a lemon cake and a chocolate cherry trifle. Sounds yummy right?! I'm hoping that they are (well actually I know that the lemon cake is wonderful!) good and look great too. Not that I'm going to be crushed, but I don't want them to bring the least amount of money. Hmm...is that wrong to say?!

Also, in addition to mixing batters and putting together the trifle, I also need to clean some berries. Tomorrow the kids are making fruit and yogurt parfaits in class. We've been talking about making healthy snack choices and they love to play with food. I really think this is the most action my kitchen has seen in a long time! At least the oven is playing nice and not smoking every time I open the door.

Now, if you'll excuse me...despite the encouragement I've given the dishes...they aren't getting busy and washing themselves. Darn dishes. They must be good friends with the laundry that doesn't wash itself either...

Crazy Eights

Okay, y'all know how much I love a good questionnaire thingy and my friend Lindsey tagged me! This might have made the rounds while I was out taking a breath so I probably won't tag anyone. If you haven't been tagged then give it a shot!

8 Things I'm Passionate About:
1. Family!
2. Friends...the real ones and the blogger variety!
3. Teaching
4. My faith
5. Scrapbooking
6. Writing
7. Sending mail happiness
8. Shopping!

8 Things I Want to do Before I die:
1. Get married
2. Have a baby...or maybe two or three babies
3. Go to Alaska and see the Northern Lights
4. Teach Social Studies
5. Be a single digit...probably won't happen, but a girl can dream right?!
6. Be debt free!
7. Be published in a scrapbooking magazine
8. Retire and love it! (stealing this answer but at the moment it sounds so wonderful!)

8 Things I Say Often:
1. "NO!" (to my students...haha)
2. "Anyways"
3. "I hate....H.A.T.E. laundry."
4. "That is my favorite commercial!"
5. "Let's shop!"
6. "I forgot..."
7. "Love you!"
8. "Seriously"

8 Books I've Read Recently:
1. Too Much Temptation by Lori Foster
2. Your Bed or Mine? by Kate Hoffmann
3. Mrs. Watson Wants Your Teeth by Allison McGhee
4. Venus Envy by Shannon McKelden
5. Figure Magazine
6. Scrapbook Etc.
7. Winter Roses by Diana Palmer
8. Tooth Trouble (it is dental health month!)

8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over:
1. Sweet Victory by Twilia Paris
2. One Life by Kenny Rogers
3. God Speaking by Mandisa
4. If Walls Could Talk by Celine Dion
5. I Remember by Kenny Chesney
6. Just Like Jesse James by Cher
7. Beauty and The Beast by Celine Dion
8. I Want To Be The One by Lonestar

8 Things That Attract Me to My Best Friends:
1. Funny...gotta have a sense of humor. Helps if that humor is a little off because frankly I'm a little off sometimes!
2. Say what you mean...mean what you say
3. Make time for me
4. Honesty
5. They just "get" me
6. Love to shop!
7. They know how to laugh!
8. They are the people who know all my stories and I have been there for all of theirs

If you want it....take it!

Breathing No Longer

My friend Nina isn't just a fellow blogger, but a friend and co-worker. The other day as I was cutting through her room she said, "Are you done breathing yet?" Well, yeah...I'm done breathing.

I've missed my blog and I've missed all my readers! Thank you so much for the encouraging emails and everyone who still stopped by to check in on me. Y'all are the best! Now, how to catch everyone up on what has been happening in my life in the most concise way possible? Several of you know that I can just go on and on about practically nothing... There were several reasons as to why I needed a little down time so I'm just going to give you a brief run down. I promise...brief!

Work...lots of things fall under this heading. Isn't if funny how if you aren't careful work can completely take over your life? This is sort of what happened to me.

Professional Learning Communities...Of The Devil
Okay, some of my fellow teachers may have heard of PLCs. Under it all, PLCs are a wonderful thing. I really do believe in them. PLC means working together as a school and group of professionals to see those kids as "ours" rather than just "mine". It is a very student-centered approach to teaching. The only down side...it is so much data and paperwork! Our district decided that everyone would do this and like it (seriously...a couple of complainers have gotten professional letters of reprimand put in their personnel folders...wtf?) and get it the first time around. Well, let me tell you...doing it takes a lot of time, no one really likes it, and getting it the first time is incredibly hard. It might have been easier if this was the only new thing out district was trying...but it wasn't. Picture me in a batting cage with one very small mitt. Now picture the ball thingy going crazy and firing hard balls every second. Yeah, that is me. Most days when someone comes to my door, I just want to hide under my desk! Believe me, even if I close my eyes they can still see me.

My Bleepty Bleep Principal
The woman hates me! I don't know why and I've stopped trying to figure it out. I had my annual evaluation and well...I'm jumping through a lot of hoops right now. She waited until the very last minute (seriously...Thursday 3:15 was the deadline and she came at 2:10-3:00 on Thursday) and showed up during end of the nine weeks testing. It was in my lesson plans that I would be working one-on-one with testing students and the others would be doing worksheets to keep busy and quiet. Well is it any wonder that she didn't see me teaching? Also, if you're a teacher you know that during reading testing it needs to be quiet. I made one student move closer to me because of behavior (he wasn't working) and I told two others to sit and read. Yes, I didn't hold their hands and plead with them to be quiet and work, but rather quickly and efficiently told them to sit down and get busy reading. Well, apparently my principal doesn't like how I use rules and consequences to manage my classroom. I feel you sighing and rolling your eyes. Anyway, I'm jumping through some hoops for her at the moment. Several people have told me to appeal the evaluation, but it just doesn't seem worth it at the moment. Sometimes it is just not worth the fight.

Updating My Resume and Job Hunting
With the above, is it any stretch to see how I'm looking to leave this district? Now, I'm not expecting perfection somewhere else and I'm not afraid of hard work, but geez I can't take working in this environment any longer. I've been told that not all districts are like this and I shouldn't give up teaching until I've been where it is good. I love teaching and it was a pretty sharp slap in the face when I questioned whether I wanted to continue doing it. So, I've updated the resume and I'm applying all over the place and now I wait to see if I get a nibble. I hate the waiting part!

Relay For Life Captain
Against my will (sorta) and against my better judgement (seriously) I took on the job of co-captaining our school's Relay For Life team. This is a wonderful event for a really good cause, but what was I thinking?! If you've ever headed up a group or team you know that it is almost like pulling teeth to get people to give of their valuable time to join the team, fund raise, and then participate in the actual event. I just felt overwhelmed. I still feel overwhelmed. But I've got a team (a wonderful team!) who help plan fundraisers and are in the trenches with me. And thank goodness it is all over in April!

Biggest Loser Club
At school, a group of us decided to do a little Biggest Loser at school. We donate $8 a month and the person who loses the most by the end of May gets the kitty...the over $500 kitty! I don't know exactly how it happened, but I'm the secretary. It isn't a hard job at all (just send out the weigh-in reminders) but it is one more thing to remember. I even forgot last week...shame shame. Anyway, I'm having fun with the club. We encourage each other and we've started walking one mile each day. Once you push past the initial pain...it's all gravy. Or so we tell ourselves!

Personal...or basically everything else.

Moving
Well, if I'm applying all over the place and assuming that I will get a nibble somewhere else means that a move is in my near future. I hate moving! I've only done it once but that was enough. I have a lot of stuff for a 26 year old. The thought of packing it up and finding another place to put it is very daunting. Yeah, just daunting.

Money
Ugh, how come bills come with being a grown up? I've been trying really hard to stick with my monthly budget (I haven't bought a new purse or shoes in many moons...) and save has become my mantra. That whole moving process...not cheap! Also, I have some big trips that I want to take (visit a friend in Jordan next year and maybe take another cruise). I also want (won't say need because mine is still working and running smoothly) to get a new car. For some reason, most people don't accept smiles and words of kindness. Also, for the last few months I've had outrageous energy bills. I couldn't figure out why since I was leaving the thermostat alone and either taking clothes off or putting more clothes on to be comfortable, but the bills were still over $200! Well, I called and the first thing they asked me was, "Have you changed your air filters lately?" I didn't know what the air filter was let alone where it was located in my house...seriously I thought it was the thing outside. Anyway, can you guess how long it had been since they'd been changed considering I didn't even know where it was located?! Let's see...I've lived here for almost two years. Yep, it was pretty darn gross. So, here is to hoping that my bill goes back down ASAP!

Social Calendar
I like hanging out with my friends, but I love alone time too. Well, I'd gotten a little bit out of whack. I wasn't spending enough time alone. It is great that I can go out and hang with friends, but I wasn't getting enough time to just recharge and rest. My battery was on E. I'm a people person so it was hard at first to say no, but now I'm pretty good at it. I've found the balance between enjoying being a homebody and the social butterfly. Thank goodness!

Missing My Parents
It was great being with my family over the holidays. I've been completely blessed to have such a great relationship with parents. Once I came home after the holidays and my life seemed to just implode, I really hated that they were over 5 hours away. Coming for a little pick me up visit was out of the question and getting home wasn't an option either. Being only a phone call away isn't much comfort and is a poor substitute for warm hugs. Thankfully, I'm seeing them this coming weekend and in two weeks it is Spring Break, and before I know it summer will be here. This has just been a long stretch.

Dental Surgery
Last August, my dentist told me that I'd need to have my four wisdom teeth removed or I'd risk ruining my smile. Of course it couldn't be routine...my wisdom teeth lay sideways instead of sitting up normally. So, that means some dental surgery this summer. Luckily, I discovered that I signed up for dental insurance (a total mistake by the way!) so 80% is covered. That is sort of a relief, but the thought of being put to sleep...I'm not comfortable with it.

There you go. Aren't you glad you just read about it and weren't living it?!

Puffs This!

Thank you for all the get well thoughts! They are helping. Yesterday was really rough, but today I feel slightly better. I'm still running a fever but at least food is staying put and my body isn't trying to destroy itself from the inside out. Now, please allow a sick gal some ranting rights...

Is it too much to ask that the Kleenex people NOT stuff the box so full of kleenex so that when I've got a noseful of gunk coming out I reach for a tissue and can only pull out that half that tears? Seriously, I've wanted to cut the darn box apart and just lay the stack on the nightstand.

Grrrr kleenex. If I wasn't as weak as a newborn kitten I'd totally kick your square butt.

Well Crap...

I was fully planning on getting caught up on this blog this weekend. That will be put on hold again. Oh come on...y'all are sort of over the worst of the withdrawls right?! Anyway, today I felt like crap. No, crap that has been run over by a truck. Well, 101.8 fever, a nose swab that I swear touched my brain, and $25 later...diagnosis...the flu. This little cartoon pretty much sums up my day and probably my next few days.