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Sorry I didn't blog more while in Columbus but the videos I had wouldn't upload at Maggie's and we were busy, busy, busy making cookies. I'm being facetious here...Maggie was LAZY as all get out and didn't seem to want to make anything exciting (hee hee).  We did make French Cakes, peanut blossoms, chocolate chips and sugar cookies with some crazy ass icing (Maggie's brainchild).  Anyway - I had a bit of difficulty betting my videos to load and in fact, they won't upload using Blogger here either so I had to put them on my YouTube account and embed through there.  Annoying.

So this morning I got up and left around 9:00.  Maggie left around 8:00 to drive to Cincy for a shower.  She left before Eva woke up and I figured I better wait until she arose so that A) she wouldn't feel abandoned by her Muwee and B) so I could get some hugs, kissin' and lovin in...to get me through until Christmas.  The drive back wasn't too bad.  Leaving Columbus was the diciest...some snowy roads and a bit of ice on the sides but I took my time and didn't rush.  Managed to get home by 11:00 after stopping at Kroger. From there - I unpacked, walked Sami, did a bit of exercise (more on that in a minute), made my French onion soup and am currently sitting in front of the fire watching Chicago and Cleveland (go Browns...I don't like Jay Cutler). 

So last week I bought a weighted hula hoop and while I was in Columbus it came.  SO!!!  After walking Sami, I gave it a whirl.  They said that the first week you should only do it for 1-3 minutes and then the next week 5 minutes and finally you should do it for about 10 minutes a day.  Reason being:  It can cause bruising and your body needs to get used to it.  I just want a low impact something that works on my waist.  And you can do it while watching TV...nothing wrong with that. 

In Christmas shopping news:  I've got my pick between the sibs done and Jim has his done as well.  I've got most of Jim done but want to get him one more thing and then his stocking stuffers.  Dad is done.  I know what I'm doing for Becky, Mom and Richard.  J. Bird's done.  Eva's done.  I know what I'm getting Max and I'm pretty sure what I'll get Madison.  Not bad. 

In school news: I look forward to Tuesday which is the start of exams  I'll have lots of down time with 2 hours in the morning to basically work and get stuff done.  Tomorrow will just be a normal day for the most part, reviewing with the kids and getting my grades updated.

And that's all I've got.  Best mosey so I can continue sitting on the couch.  Later!

I'm Here

So I'm here...I made it yesterday by 3:30.  I had the picture on the left sent to me during school so I put the pedal to the metal because I needed to cuddle with that sweet girl. 

Today's plans: Maggie, Eva, Shagoo (Cullen) and I will head out here in a bit to run some errands and then have lunch.  When we come back, Eva will most likely go down and then the cookie making begins.  Maggie has a good sugar cookie recipe with icing she wants to do.  Eva will be able to help decorate these.  We'll also do French cakes as well and peanut butter blossoms but I'm not sure what else.  Maggie has yet to decide.  Other than that - who knows what the day will hold.

We are supposed to get some snow tonight into tomorrow (1-2 inches) and then more tomorrow (another 1-3).  Everything should be cleared up (I hope) for my drive back on Sunday.  I'd like to be back by 1:00 for the Bengals game.  Kill the Steelers!

And that's all I've got going right now.  I'll post more later...later!

I Love It When...

...I have a four-day week because of a personal day on Friday and then to top it all off, we get a snow day to make it a 3-day week!  Woot Woot!

I also love it when (insert sarcasm here) a parent leaves me an email at midnight for me to call them when I get to work, before school starts.  Yeah, we'll see if I can find the time since I have an early IEP.

I love it when an IEP has been scheduled for a month and the regular ed teacher, well aware of their part in it, emails the day of saying, "I promised a student I'd tutor her during that time." Sorry about your luck.  Guess you should have told the student to come in to school early...especially after I even sent a reminder the day before.  (This is probably the ditsiest teacher in the school and possibly district.)

I love it when I have a whole weekend of Eva in front of me as well as cookies.  Yippee!!!

I love it when I know that on Friday I'm going to Ted's for lunch.  Bison meatloaf sandwich...here I come! 

And that's about it.  I need to get moving because I have a couple of things I need to stash in my car before finishing my beauty regime and heading out.  I'll go straight from work and hopefully get up there by 4:00.  Just in time for wine o'clock.  And!!! Bonus - Cullen will be joining us for our cookie extravaganza!  Woot woot! 

Last IEP this morning until February...can I get another woot woot! 

K - I'm out.  Safe travels to me (and Cullen...don't know when he's heading up) and hopefully the weather that's supposed to hit this weekend will be out of here by Sunday.  Later!

Another Day...

...another damn IEP.  This is my second to last one before the holidays at 7:30 this morning.  Tomorrow at 8:30 (once my last is complete) I will rejoice.  From that point on, I will have only 4 left for the year.  Not counting those sophomores going to the career center next year. Can't believe that of my 17 kids, I've done 13 already.  Pretty awesome!  Now I can focus on teaching! (That was a joke - I'm a multi-tasker...not a slacker.)

In other news - got an invite from my bro-in-law to join him (and Maggie and Eva) at Hofbrauhaus on Christmas Eve for a little cheer.  Can't wait.  We did this last year and had a marvelous time.  Woot woot. 

In day off news - yesterday was so nice.  I got my IEP complete for today, had a phone conference with a parent for yesterday's IEP so as not to be out of compliance, started working on my US History exam and watch a bit o' TV.  Made firecracker chicken for dinner - YUMMY! 

Um...lets see, anything else?  Nope I posted a hilarious video on Facebook if you haven't seen it, and you have ever had contact with a cat, watch it...highlarious! 

K - well, I best mosey so I have time to make copies and get my shit together for my meeting.  Later!

Unexpected Day Off

Woot woot!  I was hoping for a 2-hour delay and am thrilled to have a day off instead.  However - and this isn't a complaint - I did have an IEP meeting scheduled for 7:30 this morning and because the due date is today - I'll have to do a bit of work from home.  I'll have a phone conference with the parents around lunch time so that my paperwork is in compliance.  I pride myself in NOT being out of compliance (unlike others in my school) so I'm happy to do it. 

In Jimmy news: I have a feeling he may be getting sick.  Ugh!  He got sick last night - he had a massive headache that caused him to barf and this morning he's got the chills.  He's out now snow blowing...we'll see how he feels when he comes in.  Poor fellow.

In Christmas news: The lights on my tree keep blinking which pisses me off because they are brand new.  I keep trying to fiddle with them to fix them but in my peripheral, I keep seeing them blink.  Arg!

Also in Christmas news - I haven't even thought about what to get Jimmy for Christmas.  I think I've mentioned that we have a dollar limit ($100) since we've spent thousands this year on home improvements.  I should probably start shopping because the 24th is going to creep up on me pretty dern quickly.

And that's about all I've got.  Sami keeps looking at me and I can see the hope in her eyes.  She's gotten very few quality walks recently so I'll try and get her out and about for more than just a quick jaunt up the street.  Right now, however, she's zonked and I'm waiting for all the snow to move out.

Well, that's all I've got.  Later!

The Countdown

So this week will be a 4-day week for me (going to Maggie's Thursday) and then next week begins exams and then I'm OFF!!!  For two weeks.  And I can't tell you how happy I am about that.  I really am ready and need a break.  These unexpected days off really give you a taste.  Really I just need to get through this week and the three IEPs I've got. 

I really need to get rid of this cold thing. I still have a bit of a throat and cough issue and when I wake up...well I won't go into detail about what comes out of my head but it isn't normal and it needs to stop. I thought my difficulties might have to do with the dryness of my bedroom so last night I slept with a humidifier but alas, that didn't seem to help. UGH!

In Bengal news: Who Dey!  Nice win. 

In Brown news:  I'm glad I'm not from Cleveland.  I like the Browns and was rooting for them but that loss was ridiculous.  And I'm especially bummed because I HATE New England.

And that's about all I've got.  Hope my ride to work isn't dicey.  They were saying a possibility for freezing fog but I don't think the temp is at freezing (about 34 right now). Freezing fog SUCKS!  We've dealt with that before and it's a mess.

K - I'm out.  Best head to work and get that damn IEP finished that I keep saying I need to get finished.  (I'm such a slacker).  K - later!

Up Too Early

Definitely up too early for the amount of  beer and wine I drank last night. Six hours just doesn't cut it. However, I was very good in that I didn't get too deep into my cups and I only drank beer and white wine which is key in avoiding a hangover.

We had a really good time last night.  We first went out to Bonefish (thank you Maggie and Charlie) before heading over to Terri's.  It was a low key night with people I don't get to see nearly enough. It makes me miss living in the city...but not enough to think about moving...I love where I live too much.

So the weather is going to be a bit dicey today...snow, sleet, ice...ugh.  But!  Other than heading to Lowes for our tree, we don't need to go out so that's good.  I'd like to get the tree up and decorated by the time the Bengals play but we'll see. Who Dey!!!

The coming week should be pretty easy at school although I have three IEPs and actually still need to finish writing Horshack's.  I may try and do that this morning.  I have most of it complete but need to tweak his math goal and do his profile.  It'll be a 4-day week for me as I took a personal day Friday to go to Maggie's for our cookie extravaganza...I'll leave Thursday after school...weather looks to be cold but fine.

Speaking of Maggie (and Charlie) WAR EAGLE! Hope your party was a success. 

And that's about all I've got.  Jimmy's still sleeping...he's lazy!  I'll make breakfast when he gets up and then we'll head out to get our tree.  Happy Sunday.  Later!

Snow Day

I guess we did get a snow day last year...I didn't remember that.  I must have been the year before that we didn't have any.  Oh well, it's still nice to have one so early this year.  AND!!!  They called it before I ever got in the shower.  Most of the schools are closed and BONUS!!! Jim called in too.  We are currently sitting, watching Rainman in front of a lovely fire with our pups surrounding us. The snow hasn't started yet but the ice came down. I had to shovel off the deck so that my babies wouldn't slip and fall. I'm actually thinking about taking Sami out for her walk here in a bit.  I'll test out the sidewalk first. 

In party news - Anne's party is tonight and I must say that if the snow comes down like it's supposed to - I won't be heading to West Chester.  I feel really bad but I don't want to be out there on the roads and especially the highway with treacherous weather. 

I've already talked to Maggie 4 times today (and it's not yet 10 AM) - hee hee.  She's getting ready for her party and cooking up a storm.  Charlie took Bussie to Puptown early this morning - before Eva got up - and she was NOT a happy girl when she awoke to her puppy brother gone.  Maggie said she was very pouty.  Additionally she said she keeps trying to blame him for things even though he isn't there.  I guess Bussie is to Eva what Kristyn always was to me...hee hee.

And that's about all I've got. My plans for today are to walk Sami, play Wii with Jimmy, hug my babies, and that's about it. I'll keep an eye on the weather and decide, for sure, about Anne's party later.  If we have to skip that, I'll have to decide on something for dinner.  Hmm...

K - well, I think I'll go bundle up and see if Sami and I can get our walk complete.  Happy Friday to all and if you go out and about today - be safe!  Later!

Arseholes!

The grits behind us are total arseholes. (BTW - I probably haven't used the word "grits" since 1987...hee hee). They usually work on their cars, mow their lawn, blow leaves around midnight.  Seriously.  They have a huge spotlight in their backyard that they shine.  It's great when they work on their truck too because it's a monster one without a muffler, I'm pretty sure.  This morning (and it's raining buckets out there) they've left their dog out and of course at every rain drop, he's barking like a, well, a wet, pissed-off German shepherd who was left out in the rain all night.  And you know the owners aren't bothered but I'm sure their neighbors are.  Obnoxious.  Oh, and they have a police scanner so when anyone has tried to call the PO-lice on them, they cut the shit. Again - ARSEHOLES!

And now I need the rain to let up so I can drive to school.  I mean it sounds like I might need to hail Noah for a ride to work today!  JEEZ!  Definitely need to Rain-x my windshield before leaving today.

Speaking of weather (I typed "spanking" at first) we are gearing up here in the tri-state area for the GREAT WHITE DEATH!!!  So ridiculous!  The weather woman on one of the local channels told viewers they should just stay home until Monday.  Are you kidding me lady!  You should be fired for putting that kind of fear and panic into people!  Good lord.  Anyway - today will be all rain and then overnight it will turn and we're expected to get 3-5 inches, mostly in the evening/night hours of Friday.  Oh, and this sucks because Anne is having her party on Friday.  UGH!  Oh, and Friday we have a professional meeting all day with our Sped department at school and I tell you what - if it starts getting crappy out - Muir's hittin' the road.

So I'm done with my IEPs for this week.  I have three next week and all are written except Horshack's.  I'm slowly getting his done.  I have most of his reading comprehension goal done (which is easy since that's what I teach him) but I still need to do his math goal (which is harder because dumb ass/incompetent sped teacher has him for this and doesn't give quality/true feedback).  I'll finish him up today probably. 

K - well now that I've gotten all that off my chest, I guess I better go Rain-x my windshield and finish my toilette.  Later!  Happy...what day is it?  Oh, right, Happy Thursday...one more day 'til the weekend!  YIPPEE!!!

My Immunities Must Be Shot

I mean, what the hell!?  I don't think I've ever been sick, gotten better and then two weeks later got sick again.  Definitely not the same sickness both times but feeling rotten all the same.  It was so weird too because I felt fine on Monday.  At one point, I did feel a little twinge in my throat - I think I even said something to the ladies at work - but I went on with my day.  I even drove to Tri-County after work to exchange our cable box (again).  Got home, still felt fine but while I was walking Sami I noticed I felt achy...like work out achy and my next was hurting.  After coming home from that I did my usual stuff to get dinner going etc. When I sat down I realized my hands were ice cold, I was shivering but my head was burning up.  I took my temperature and lo and behold: Fever.  UGH!  I really did attempt to just rest and get through the night, hoping I could go to school but at 3 AM when I woke up, I was still achy and had a fever.  That's when I called in. 

Today I still have a sore throat but I'm not achy and my fever broke yesterday morning.  I have an 8 AM IEP meeting (the last one this week I think) so that's a relief...to be feeling better.  Nothing worse than having to go to work when you're feeling like poop.

Tomorrow at school will be good because most of the sophomores will be gone...to the career center for a visit.  I should be able to get some stuff done then. 

In other news: there's a chance for snow on Friday which sucks because Anne's party is Friday night and I HATE having to drive in that stuff.  Hopefully it won't stick to the roads and won't be bad. 

Okay well, I'm sure there's lots of stuff waiting for me at school so I better get a move on.  Later!

I Don't Want To Go To Work!

Mainly because it was so nice having 5 days in a row off!  But I also don't want to go to school because today starts a whirlwind of 7 IEPs over the next 2 weeks and I'm not in school Friday for a professional meeting with the department.  That will be nice but it makes for more work since I'll need to plan for that day.  I have all my IEPs but one complete and I feel like that will take some work at home.  It's Horshack's and he needs a little extra attention.  Especially since the IEP that came to me from the JH was not great.

So the weekend (starting last Wednesday) was SO much fun.  I know for me it felt like we never stopped until Sunday so I know for Maggie, Charlie and Eva it was even more jam packed.  To me there's nothing better than hanging with family and I can't wait for Christmas to do it all over again. 

Speaking of Christmas - didn't Jimmy do a nice job on the lights?  Sorry they're so blurry - that's what I get for only having my Blackberry as a camera. He also did the railing in the back which I love (we usually keep those up until about March).  Most of our lights worked too...only two strands had to be tossed.  We'll get the tree up next weekend...on Sunday.  This weekend will be jam-packed as well with two parties.

Speaking of packed weekends - my time really is going to be crazy over the next three weeks.  First - school (pfft!).  Then, like I mentioned we have Anne's party next Friday and Terri's next Saturday.  Then I'll take the following Friday off (as long as I didn't schedule an IEP...I have to check that) and head to Maggie's after school Thursday for our Christmas Cookie Extravaganza.  I'll come back early Sunday and then it's exam week.  And then TWO WEEKS OFF!  I think I can make it!

And that's all I've got.  I need to head up and out since I have a 7:30 meeting.  It's for my student who does absolutely nothing...the one I'm slightly scared of whose mother passed in September.  Should be interesting but I don't anticipate any issues.  Seriously though, this kid should do online school...if only there were someone who were home to monitor.  Oh well...best mosey...LATER!

Football, Family, Wings & Pizza!

I need to get a move on here because we have lots to do before heading over to Raeburn to watch the Ohio State/Michigan game and then the Auburn/Alabama game.  WAR EAGLE!  I need to get to the grocery, clean house, walk Sami, shower, cut celery and then get the wings ordered.  We'll pick up wings from Shooters before heading over - yummy! 

Watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving this morning - Peppermint Patty is so kooky.  She says to Charlie, "Save me a leg and the neck."  Who eats the neck?  When I asked that out loud, Jim said, "A dude named Peppermint Patty." Hee hee.

And that's all I've got.  I need to get going.  Sorry so short.  Later!

Let The Celebrations Continue

Yesterday was great.  Great birthday. Great turkey. Great stuffing and mashed potatoes. Great succotash (if I do say so myself). Great desserts...I had a little of each (Texas sheet cake, pumpkin pie and apple pie). Great company. Love Thanksgiving!  We were home by about 9:00 and exhausted. I didn't even have the energy to watch Snoopy and the gang.  Oh well, I'll watch it later.

Eva and J.J. were hilarious last night. We were all down in the theater and those two ran around the room chasing each other forever: J.J. in front with Eva running after him and Bussie running after her.  It amazes me the amount of energy kids have.  I'm sure Eva crashed hard last night. I know J.J. was ready.  So much fun.

Today will hopefully be a continuation of the family fun. Jim's headed off to work and will meet Maggie, Charlie, Eva, Cullen, Trip, J.J. and I for lunch at Zip's later (don't know if Dad and Becky are joining us).  After that, I'll probably come home and hang with my pups until it's time to meet everyone at Silver Spring House.  I think I'll probably have to do a little extra work on the treadmill today.  It'll be worth it.

And that's about all I've got.  I best have breakfast (a smoothie and toast...yum...I need something light) and get Sami and Bubba walked.  10:30 will be here before I know it. Later!

Happy Birthday To ME!

Best gift so far:  Jim got me a box of Holtman's donuts!  I didn't even care about the Macy's bag sitting behind the donuts. YUM! Can't wait to dig in. He also got me a sweet little dog ornament, some cushy slippers, socks and a talking dog keychain (Bubba love that but Sami doesn't). More than I expected as we are going cheap on gifts this year with all we've purchased lately. 

So last night we had a change of plans.  Instead of going to the Silver Spring House, we went to Raeburn and had dinner. (We'll go to SSH on Friday). Becky made a delicious dinner of pan-seared cod with a tarragon/mustard/caper sauce, broccoli/asparagus and red-skinned potatoes.  We then sat around and talked and played with Eva.  She loves the telephone right now.  She'll go to the phone, pick it up say, "Hello Mommy" and then "Goodbye". She made calls last night to Mommy, Muwee and Daddy (even though we were all right there).  She's VERY excited to see "her Madison" today.  I think the rest of us will be second fiddle today.

By the way - that picture of Eva in front of her tree in Columbus?  She's on the phone with me.  She's amazingly good on the phone...I guess it's from seeing her mommy on the phone with her Muwee all the time.

And that's about all I've got.  My donuts are calling my name.  Happy Thanksgiving to all...I hope everyone has a lovely, delicious and safe day.  Gabble Gabble (as J. Bird used to say). 

Thanksgiving Eve!

I can't tell you how nice it was to wake up on a Wednesday, warm in my bed with nothing pressing to do and no real plans for the day. I got up, said hello to my sweeties (and Jim...hee hee), crushed some candy, made breakfast, watched some news, talked to Maggie and here I am. 

So what are my plans today?  Well, I think I'll get my appetizers ready for tomorrow - they can be made ahead of time, obviously and that will be one less thing I have to do tomorrow.  I'll do some laundry, walk Sami, relax, take a bath, read my book.  Maggie and Charlie will be driving down around noon and Maggie mentioned going out to dinner...possibly to Silver Spring House.  I would imagine it's going to be busy, busy, busy there tonight.  Thanksgiving Eve is one of the biggest bar nights of the year and the Chicken Joint has quite a bar crowd. We should probably get there relatively early.  Other than that - I've got nothing.

Oh, so here's a funny:  So I'm getting ready to write the IEP for my freshman autistic boy - Horshack - and I'm trying to figure out what his likes and dislikes are...things he thinks about for a job etc.  So I'm asking him "What three jobs would you want to have after high school?" His answer:

1. Ice cream parlor worker
2. Stop motion animator
3. Factory owner

Now, interestingly, numbers 1 and 3 are consistent.  He's said number one before to me and number 3 has been mentioned several times, including in his last IEP.  So I said, "What kind of factory would you own?" Horshack answers that he would like to have a factory for chicken, ducks, geese and turkeys.  Me: Huh!  "Well, what would you do with these animals?" Horshack: "Well, first we would have a tube that would run along the ceiling and feed them so they could fatten up.  Then, once they're nice and fat, there would be another machine with an axe attached that would chop off their head."  AH!  Now it's clear...well, not really.  I mean, yes, now I understood the type of factory he wants to own but not WHY! 

So after getting over the initial shock of my sweet little Horshack wanting to slaughter poultry I say, "Um, can you tell me why you want to own that type of factory?" Horshack: "Because I love chicken. I especially love fried chicken.  And I want to give people all over delicious turkeys for their Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners!"  Huh! 

So in the section of "Future Planning" on the IEP I wrote: "Speaking with Horshack about his future, he stated he would like to either work at an ice cream parlor, be a stop motion animator or own a poultry processing factory." 

Oh, so then I asked Horshack what he likes to do in his free time.  He said he likes to surf the net about British culture and the British lifestyle. (Huh, again.) And later when I was asking him the following questions he answered as listed below:

• If you had to make your family breakfast, what would you make them?
• Answer:  Bangers and mash or toad in the hole
• If you had to make your family lunch, what would you make them?
• Answer: Mince pies
• If you had to make your family dinner, what would you make them?
• Answer: Fish and chips...I then told him about Shepherd's Pie and he said that sounded delicious and he would make that too.

I have to say, I love this kid.  He is so interesting and funny.  We have quite interesting conversations.

Happy birthday to Aunt Kathleen, by the way!  She is 66...hope you have a wonderful day!

It also would have been my Aunt Sister's birthday as well...she would have been either 80 or 81 I think.  Wow!  I miss her.

K - well, I'd best head upstairs to get ready and walk Sami.

Laughing So Hard...

...I have tears literally rolling down my face.  You have to check this site out: Funny Autocorrect.  I'm not kidding you - I've been sitting here laughing so hard that Sami ran upstairs - I think to get Jim so he can check to see if I'm okay.  The second to last one nearly made me pee myself. 

In other news - this time tomorrow I'll be in bed.  Isn't that a nice thought? Additionally, I got paid today.  I wasn't expecting that.  Normally get paid on Thursdays but guess since it's Thanksgiving we got paid 2 days early.  Not complaining - that's for sure. 

Mom and Richard - safe travels today...hope your flight is smooth and on time.  Happy Thanksgiving as well!

I'm a rebel today...Lisa and I made the decision to wear jeans today. (Kim - forgot to mention). 

K - well, I've run out of time reading the auto correct fails to Jim.  Holy shit - now my face is a mess because I've been crying I laughed so hard.  Best go fix myself.  Later!

Glitches

I have very little time to post today because the internet was down and took forever to reconnect.  Sorry.

In weekend news - I had the best weekend.  It was so relaxing and exactly what I needed.  Jim and I managed to get the backyard free and clear of leaves yesterday.  We worked well together with me mowing, mulching and canning the leaves and Jim raking and dumping the cans behind the fence. Took us about 5 hours to do and though it was cold as hell it was nice to get outside and get the yard work done.  I love my house.

After completing the leaves, I took a much needed and deserved bath, Jim made a fire, I cooked dinner and then we hung out and watched Carol Burnett get the Mark Twain award.  That was good. 

And that's about all I've got.  Should be an easy "week" if you can call a two-day work week a week.  I look forward to a nice break and even more to seeing the family. 

Happy Monday...later!

I Might Be Psychic!

So there I am, sitting in my recliner, crushing some candy.  CBS Sunday Morning had just ended and I picked up the channel changer to see what else was on before heading out to do leaves.  And then I had a passing thought - I swear to God - of Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase.  First I thought of Seems Like Old Times and then Foul Play...this all happened in a split second.  Then I looked at the guide on the TV, and HOLY SHIT!  The Sundance channel was just starting Foul Play!  So weird.  I love this movie too and not just because Barry Manilow does the music and its got the Mikado in it.  And Dudley Moore. I remember going to see this movie in the theater...AND!  We had just seen the Mikado the night before (right?).  Weird, huh?

Okay well as much as I want to watch this, I need to start on the backyard.  I've got my work cut out for me too because it is FREEZING!  I walked Sami already and my face was frozen by the time I returned.  Oh well - I'm sure I'll warm up as I work.

K - later!  Oh, and how cute is a sweet girl in her pajamas?!

One Step Ahead

Yesterday was quite productive at school.  Well, maybe not with school work (although I did manage to get another IEP mostly written) but really it was productive because I managed to make my menu for the week and my grocery list so that I could stop at Kroger on my way home and do my weekly shop.  Unfortunately, half the population of Loveland had the same idea and it was like shopping on a Sunday.  However, I still managed to get in and out in a half hour and it's so nice to be sitting here with really nothing on my plate save walking my girl and doing a bit of a clean. 

Other Saturday plans - depending on the wetness of the backyard, I may try and get started on the leaves back there.  If it's too wet, I'll wait until tomorrow.  We need to fill the log holder that we keep in the Florida room because I plan on a fire today...the first of the year...YIPPEE!!!  Other than that - my day is free and clear. Jim, however, needs to get the base boards in as well as sand a section of the cabinets so that it can be repainted (he did a shitty job the first time and my paint job came out crappy).

Ooh, CONGRATULATIONS to Madison who was accepted to one of her top college choices yesterday!  AUBURN!  WAR EAGLE!  Her other top choice is Clemson.  YAY! 

Our neighbors, who put their house on the market last week, have a sale pending.  I sure hope they didn't accept a bid from another group of "dirtsters".  I knew the house would go quickly...hate to see a good family go though.

And that's about all I've got. Guess I better bundle up and get Sami walked...she's giving me the eye.  She's so sweet...I love her!  K - later...happy Saturday.

Damn Tom Cruise!

I got sucked into watching War of the Worlds last night as I was climbing into bed (it had just started) and damn it if I didn't end up watching the whole dern thing!  Stayed up too late (10 PM is too late for little old lame me) but alas - IT'S FRIDAY!!!  So happy.

And next week is a 2-day week!  BONUS!!! 

And I get to see the family!!! 

And eat turkey!!!

On my birthday!!! 

My God there's so much to look forward to! (Especially that little girl at left)

Here's something that's bummin' me out:  I can't find any channel that's going to be showing Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving special!  It's my favorite one.  When Snoopy sets the Ping-Pong table and gets attacked by the chairs?  When Woodstock and Snoops are making "dinner" and buttering the toast?  The best!  And I'm afraid I won't get to see it!  Sad!

In yard news: I managed to get most of the front yard free and clear of leaves yesterday after school.  There's one small section that I couldn't get to because it got dark.  Oh well - at least that's done.  We'll need to get to the backyard this weekend but with the rain today, it may need to wait.  We also need to get wood hauled inside because this weekend is going to be COLD!  My birthday!?  29 degrees will be the HIGH!  I love that!  That's how Thanksgiving should be.  I hate it when it's like 60 on Thanksgiving. 

K - well - I best mosey.  Today will be an easy day at school - reading chapter 2 in Catching Fire for LA and watching Colonial House in US.  Happy Friday!  Later!

Consequences

First of all - I keep forgetting to post this sweet picture of Eva feeding her baby leopard.  MMM!!!  I love her and can't wait to see her next week!

Regarding yesterday's post - I know that IMC (Inept male colleague) was called to our sped coordinator's office yesterday, however, I don't know what was said.  It can't have been much more than a slap on the wrist though because she has no real authority over us.  I guess she could call in the assistant superintendent or superintendent but other than that, she can really only rant and rave.  The punishment and/or real consequences would have to come from HH or main office.  I did get this email from IMC though:

Hi Muir,

By chance, do you have any reading materials I can borrow for present-level data?

I’m trying to expand my horizons.  J

Thanks!

 

I love that he doesn't ask me specifically for student present levels even though he knows I track this on a weekly basis with ALL kids in my LA class. Whatever though. Nothing will ever happen to him and he'll get to keep his job and continue to get away with essentially doing NOTHING while the rest of us work our asses off. 

 

In other news, I managed to get 8 bags of leaves stuffed to the hilt yesterday.  I would have done more but it was 5:00 and I needed to get dinner started. I was hoping to do more this afternoon but alas, I awoke to rain this morning.  I don't think we're ever going to get these leaves up.  Our yard looks pretty funny with 1/2 completely clear of leaves and the other 1/2 a mess but what are you going to do?  Hey - at least my kitchen looks nice, right?

 

Have I mentioned lately how much I love toast?  I could eat it for every meal of the day.  And guess who takes after her Mama?  Sami.  She sits at my side while I eat it and every now and then stands on her hind legs to paw at my elbow...I guess to remind me she's there, she's cute and she loves toast too.  Of course she might do this because she knows I share with her and Bubba but they deserve it! 

 

K - well, I have an IEP this morning so I better get a move on.  After today - 1 down and 6 to go (before winter break).  Woot Woot!  Later!

Ineptness

Let me preface by saying that when I write an IEP, it takes me hours.  And that is not an exaggeration.  I contact all teachers of a student, ask for their input, I send the parents a survey for their input, I include the student's vision and goal for the future, I track information and progress throughout the school year and include that in my IEPs.  None of this is beyond what is supposed to be done.  This is all information that SHOULD be in EVERY IEP. 

So yesterday - I get an IEP from my male colleague and basically it's blank.  There isn't one shred of information in the "Present levels of performance" (this is on the page where actual goals are written where a student is deficient and usually this area for me is several paragraphs long).  Nothing. Nil. Usually he writes a sentence but I guess he decided that even that was too much for him.  This pissed me off something fierce.  I mean, I literally spend HOURS on IEPs and I see this guy go year to year getting more and more lazy; more and more inept and he gets to keep his job!?  This is where the system has failed!  And let me tell you, the "powers that be" have been aware of this situation for years but NOTHING is ever done.  I don't understand.

My plan today is to either email or leave the IEP on said teachers desk with a note that basically says, "I think you gave me the wrong printed IEP because there's NOTHING on the PLOP.  Didn't figure you MEANT to leave that blank." Smiley face.  I'm sure he'll then say nothing, do nothing in response and pretend that nothing was the matter.  OF course if I see him later today in a meeting for early release I'll say, "Hey, did you get my note?"

Oh, and after receiving that IEP yesterday I immediately called FW and told her of my disgust.  She came down, got the IEP, highlighted all the areas where he was out of compliance, basically, and took it to HH who then scanned it and was going to send it to our supervisor.  Of course nothing will get done - AGAIN - but you can't say I/we at least tried.  I just don't want our school to get dinged when the state comes in and audits us. 

K - guess I better motor...running very late.  Later!

TA DA!!!

Here she is!  I love it!  It's ginormous and probably too big for my space but I don't care.  And it only took 2 hours for them to bring it in and install. That was a saga in itself. 

So first of all, they called at 7:30 AM to give me my delivery window (2-4).  Then they called back and asked if there would be clearance for delivery.  I measured and the smallest space they had was 29 inches.  I knew that wasn't going to be enough so when I got off the phone, I removed a small strip of wood that was on the door frame.  They called BACK and said 29 inches wouldn't be enough.  I told them what I did and that we now had 30 inches.  They said that would work (the fridge measured 29 1/2). 

At 3:00 they called and said they were on their way.  Then they called back to say that they had to go a different route because a road was closed.  Then they called back and asked directions.  They arrived at 3:30.  They then proceeded to measure, measure, measure and hem and haw.  I told them there was an alternate route in (through the gate at the fence, up the deck stairs, into the Florida room and through the family room into the kitchen).  They were all, "Oh, no, the front door will work - we don't want to have to make that long trip through the back."  So then they start taking apart the fridge (the doors had to come off to get it in) and they realized that there was a drawer track that stuck out an inch or so and made the depth now 31 inches.  I said, "Well, that sucks. I guess you'll have to go through backyard."  They then hemmed and hawed for another half hour and finally brought the damn thing in.

Installation was another marathon for them.  And by the way, the fridge fit like a damn GLOVE.  I'm telling you, one millimeter more and we would have been doing some cabinet reno.  All in all, they left at 5:30...the ice dispenser/water line didn't get hooked up because the nut and something else on the copper tubing had to be replaced.  Jim picked those pieces up on the way home...we hooked up the water line after dinner and bing bang boom - all is complete! 

 By the way - I got up at midnight and snuck downstairs to look at her (and check the water line to ensure it wasn't leaking). She's awesome.

K - and now the last part of the kitchen - base boards - will go in tonight and all parts kitchen will be complete.  I'm sure my readers will be as happy as I...I know I'm sick of talking about it.

K - I have massive amounts of shit to do at school today...best motor.  Later!

Guess What!?

I GET MY NEW FRIDGE TODAY!!!  I'm so excited!  I'm supposed to get a call from Lowes between 7 and 8 this morning (they have 38 minutes) with a window for delivery and I'm telling you, if I don't hear from them by - latest - 9, I'm going to start calling.  I'll be spending most of my day painting.  Jim sanded some areas in preparation for base boards so that needs a new coat.  I'll do that until, of course, my fridge comes and then I'll be putting things away and opening and closing the doors and reading all about MY NEW FRIDGE!!!

Ooh, they just called and I have delivery between 2 and 4!  YIPPEE!!!  YAHOO!!!

In weather news - things were okay here at the Hanke household.  We didn't really get much wind nor did we get storms.  The sirens went off around 6:30 and we headed to the basement but it passed quickly and there were no issues.  Sami and Bubba seemed to enjoy the excursion to the basement and sniffed around the area and checked out the new water heater.

Speaking of the water heater - it's working like a charm.  I took a nice long bath last night after the storms passed.  We should be all good for the next 12 years in that area.

Had a dream last night that I went back to Boston for college.  I have this dream a lot and I'm always the age I am currently when I go.  And I'm always living in the dorms.  Last night I had to share a dorm room with 4 other girls and I mean GIRLS!  18 year olds.

And that's all I've got.  Best mosey.  Maggie's currently calling me a liar.  She's so mean.  K - later.

The Shit Hits The Fan UPDATED

Not to bitch, complain and pout but could things go smoothly just once?! I feel like the events over the last 72 hours have been a bit of a parody of the saying "When God closes a door, He opens a window". More like "When God closes a door, He opens a window and then as Muir climbs through it, He slams it down on her back!" Things had gone so well with the tiling - even though the timeline I had for the floor got a bit whacked.  And then I got sick.  Okay - no biggie - I can deal...most of the stuff that needed to be done got done.  And then the water heater goes out.  No hot water in the Hanke household presently.  And I was so looking forward to a bath last night after slaving away moving the fridge, painting base boards and working to remove leaves.  And then it starts raining and the leaf removal is put on hold.  And then I look at the weather and I hear "moderate risk" for severe weather and "sheer winds" of up to 70 or 80 mph.  Is this a joke.  I can't tell how horribly nervous I am. The next 24 hours are going to SUCK!  I've already told Jim to get the basement ready.  I just don't want a tree through my roof.  UGH!  I hate this bullshit!

Can I start drinking now?  Would that be bad?

And truly I'm trying not to freak out but watching TV isn't helping because everyone on every channel is talking about the weather and all the shit that's about to hit the fan in the tri state area. ARG!

Okay - so I guess I'll go make breakfast.  Doing the dishes should be fun without hot water. 

Later!

UPDATE:  Hot water heater is purchased and Big Al of Big Al's Plumbing will be here after noon to install (about $800 later).  Someone is looking out for Muir.  God probably figures he might as well throw me a bone since he's going to wreak havoc on me later with the weather. 

Turning A Corner

I hope I've turned a corner to wellness.  My fever is gone and that's good.  I'm not as achy.  My nose is still a snotty mess and I've still got a cough but I think things are getting better.  Unfortunately, my plans for tonight are going to have to be changed.  Jim and I were supposed to go to a party that our friend Bev was having but I don't think it's a good idea.  I think I need another day on the couch.

That being said, my plans for the day are:  I have to get this house cleaned.  I won't do too much but with the tiling going on these last two weeks, my house has been neglected and there's a layer of dust that needs to be taken care of .  I'll have Jim do that while I go grocery shopping.  We also need to switch our the refrigerators.  We'll move the one that's in the foyer, into the garage and move the garage one outside so it can defrost and be ready for pick up on Monday...so excited.  Other than that, we'll get base boards today and paint those so we can install tomorrow.  Jim also needs to get to the leaves.  Our front yard is ridiculous and an embarrassment and our neighbors are bitching.  Every time the wind blows, our leaves go into the neighbors' yards who have already done their leaves.  I think after that, it will be nap time!

And I better get a move on now since I seem to have the energy.  Get while the gettin's good.  Later - happy Saturday!

Flu?

Not sure what this is that plagues me.  Severe cold?  Flu? Not sure.  I had to leave school yesterday because I was just too illin'.  I came home, made lunch and managed to sleep for a couple hours.  I didn't have a fever yesterday (I do now...just 100 degrees) but my body ached.  I slept fitfully last night because my throat thing has turned into a cough. Obviously I'm not going to school - I called in yesterday but apparently there are 16 teachers out and my absence is unfilled.  Not much I can do and they'll figure it out.  It's an easy day in my class regardless. 

And that's about all I have the energy for.  I think I'll go make some toast (can't taste anything which bums me out...Graeters last night was not exciting) and lay on the couch to watch the Today show.  Later!

Cold

And I don't mean the weather or the temperature.  I have a stupid cold and it's making me feel miserable.  I was FINE yesterday and by fine I mean there was NOTHING wrong with me.  And then there I am, working alongside my husband, grouting and I felt a little something in my throat.  I said, "Hmm...Jim? I think I'm getting a sore throat." Sure enough, within an hour, it was full-blown sore, hurt to swallow and now I've got all kinds of crap draining from my head.  I just took some medicine and it's making me nauseous.  I'm hoping my English muffin will help with that.  There's no way I can call in sick because I have NO plans ready.  I'll muddle through though and hope this thing is just a 24 hour thing. 

And that's all I've got.  I don't feel like writing anymore.  Happy Thursday...later!

Cupcakes & More Tiling

How cute is she with her "Eva" apron?  Eva and Maggie made cupcakes for Charlie's birthday yesterday...Eva didn't want to lick just one and I don't blame her!  I can't wait to be up there to make Christmas cookies!  We are going to have so much fun!  (When are we doing that Maggie?  The weekend of the 13th?)

In tiling news, Jim finished ALL the tiling last night when he completed the pantry. While he did that, I painted the area behind the fridge and some touch ups here and there. The next project will be the grouting.  I'm not sure we'll do it all tonight...just depends how fast it goes.  Plus, Jim sort of committed to getting the neighbors kitchen painted (they are moving and need it done lickity split so they can put it on the market). I went to Home Depot yesterday and got rubber base boards for under the cabinets.  They had a fawn color and it blends spectacularly.  Only cost me about $25.  Additionally we need to do baseboards around the breakfast area, sand some places and re-paint/paint around cabinets.  I'm thinking all will be complete complete on Sunday.


And that's all I've got.  I'm running late and still need to finish my toilette and whatnot.  Happy it's Wednesday...early release...short bells.  K - later!

The Saga Continues

For those of you sick of hearing me drone on and on about my kitchen, just think, this time next week will probably be the LAST post about it (I will have gotten my fridge on Monday and will certainly want to talk about it).

The update:  Well, it's not done yet.  Jim got the whole thing complete EXCEPT for the pantry and tiles just outside of it.  He was working until 11:00 last night (that's about 14 hours...thank God he called in sick yesterday) and ran out of tiles.  So - I will head to my new second home, Home Depot, after school and pick up another box.  He can crank out those tiles tonight and then Wednesday we will grout.  That shouldn't take too terribly long.  After that, it's just a matter of doing the finishing touches - base boards and strips at the top of the threshold down to the FM and into the DR.  Jim also wants to paint the area behind the fridge because he doesn't want to put in baseboards there (really what's the point - no one will see them).

I will say this - I know this will all be worth it in the end but the disaster that is my house right now is making me CRAZY!  Sami's under foot all the time because it makes her nervous so I've tripped on her and caused her to yelp about 37 times.  Bubba's not affected, really.  He's jonsin to hang in the kitchen and nap in the middle of the nice new cool ceramic tile so every chance he gets he sneaks in there but other than that...no worries. Unbelievably, Jim's been a champ.  He hasn't been irritable or short with me and he didn't bitch once that he worked yesterday for 14 hours.  He's a good boy.  I owe him BIG!  Hmm...wonder how I should repay?  Anyway - I guess I'm the only one bitching about this whole thing...but not really.

In weather news - it snowed.  Just a dusting and nothing really on the road that I can see but the news say the roadways are slippery.  Awesome.  I hope they're wrong.

In other news HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!!!  Hope you have a great day (although you don't read this). 

And that's about it.  Today I start showing Hunger Games in my LA classes in preparation for reading Catching Fire.  Look forward to...I can certainly use some down time from teaching to get some IEP shit DONE!

K - I'm out...later.

Not To Complain...

...but I'm sick of having my house in disrepair.  I've put my microwave, toaster oven, and blender in the dining room just so I can make breakfast and some sort of meal for dinner (we reheated pasta fagioli and had sandwiches last night) but it is now officially OLD! I'm ready to at least have access to my kitchen sink! 

That being said, Jim thinks we'll finish tonight.  With laying tile, that is.  Grouting will come Tuesday. I'm not so sure this is realistic but then I didn't think we'd get to laying tile this weekend after seeing what we had to remove. And Jim has incentive because he just committed to painting the kitchen of a neighbor across the way on Wednesday.  I guess if I have to do grouting by myself, that's okay. 

So the progress made:  We've gotten all the whole tiles laid except for the small path up from the family room.  I blocked the kitchen off so that we still had that access so we could get in an out of the family room and let the dogs out through the Florida room.  By the time I get home, the tile should be set for light traffic.  I actually can step in on  untiled areas and climb on the counter to get to the dishwasher so that's good. Tonight, we'll do all the cut stuff...we shouldn't have to use the wet saw too much because tile this large is best cut using a scorer.  I just keep thinking, "This time next week I'll be sleeping, this will all be done and my new fridge will be coming." That keeps me going.

In school news and I know I've said this before but I have absolutely NO idea what I'm doing today in LA.  I really don't! I just finished a project with the kids but I'm not quite ready to start our next book (Catching Fire) and I forgot to go get Hunger Games (the movie) to show prior to reading Catching Fire (for those who haven't read HG).  UGH!  I may just have the kids do their Wednesday work today and go get the movie today after school and start the movie tomorrow.  Ugh! 

K - well, I better go and figure all this out.  Later!  Happy Monday.  Can you believe Thanksgiving is two weeks from Thursday (as is my birthday!)?  K - Later!

My New Fridge

 

Isn't she pretty!?  I can't tell you how excited I am to have this fridge!  It will be delivered next Monday.  This fridge is normally $3100 and I got it for $1800 (Black Friday Prices sale).  The middle drawer?  It has it's own temperature setting: Deli, wine, veggies etc.  It makes me so happy.   



Slowly Coming Together

Notice Bubba sitting outside?

Is everyone sick of hearing about my kitchen?  Well, sorry about that but it's all I have going on right now. 

So - progress:  Yesterday Jim and I removed about 3,000 staples from the original linoleum.  That was time consuming and tough on my hands.  Why my hands?  Well, I have several cuts from Friday when we were ripping up the floor and I wasn't wearing gloves.  Then, while removing staples, I kept slamming my knuckles into the floor, often on top of a staple not yet removed.  Beyond that, all the gripping, pulling and twisting has left my hands raw and nearly blistered (you know when your skin is just on the verge of developing a blister?)

After the staples were removed, we were able to easily pull of the linoleum.  From there we discovered some rotten sub floor near the slider so Jim had to rip that up and replace it (took another couple hours).  Following that, we were able to start the cement board and we're nearly done with the that.  First we put down all whole sheets before having to cut pieces.  I drilled, Jim screwed (sounds dirty...wish my life were that exciting right now). Jim started some of the cutting last night but we ran out of light and I was just about to fall over. 

Seriously - I don't even remember eating dinner last night (and not because I had had too much to drink). I know I ate Indian but it's fuzzy because my mind was dead. I also know I took a bath, telling Jim to check on me, but that's fuzzy too.

Today will be more of the same.  I plan on making a quick stop at the store here in a minute (before the damn church crowd hits)  and then come home to finish with the cement board. We'll be able to get all the whole tiles set today but we won't be able to do the cut pieces because the whole tiles need to set for at least 24 hours.  Tomorrow, after Jim gets home, we'll work on the tiles that need cut.  We'll then have to wait another 24 hours, at least, and hopefully by Tuesday or Wednesday we can grout but who knows.  We'll also need to do baseboards...man oh man I can't WAIT for this to be done.  It better look good.

Oh, and I still plan on going to get the fridge today.  I'll shoot for a 11/18 delivery and just call in next Monday.  I'd like to get this done before the Bengals game...who knows.  I'll probably leave Jim here to get shit done.  Actually, Lowes opens at 8 AM so I'm going to get up here and head out. 

K - well, that's all I've got...wish me luck today.  Oh, and so far, there's been no fighting here at home...just gotta keep Jim fed so he doesn't get grumpy.  K - later!

Plans Thwarted

Man oh man oh man.  This floor might just kill me.  So, as you can see, my well-laid plans have not quite panned out. Things last night were going swimmingly.  After we ate dinner, we got the table and rug out and then hauled the fridge out of the kitchen - set it up in the foyer - and started removing baseboards.  As I did this, Jim tested out the linoleum and realized that there were two layers on TOP of a sub floor on TOP of the original flooring.  Prying up all that was back breaking and took about 2 hours. Once that was complete, we started the process of removing about 301,000 staples.  All this before we can even THINK about somehow scraping up the glued-down heinous shit at left. It is going to be a LONG and tough weekend.  I'll just be happy if we can get the cement board down by Sunday.  From there, tiling will just have to happen during the week. 

Unbelievably, I'm not that irritated, annoyed, disappointed or freaked out that my plans have been waylaid.  I know that the end result will be worth it and we just have to muddle through.  I'll probably be singing a different tune by the end of the day today...I'll just have to keep popping the naproxen and drink plenty of fluids (beer and wine). 

K - well, it's nearly 8:00 AM and I best walk Sami and then start pulling staples.  My hands are so sore already and with all the cuts I've gotten already, I'll probably end up with lockjaw by the end of this debacle.  K - later!

Indecision

So first of all - so excited for my new cabinet pulls.  And we got a new pantry doorknob.  The pulls came yesterday just as I got home from walking Sami.  I ripped open the box, pulled out my screwdriver and realized the two different size screws that came with the pulls didn't work for my cabinets.  I figured this would happen.  Since we were going to Home Depot anyway, I added that to our list.  Of course HD didn't have the number of packets of screws needed in stainless steel so we had to buy some brass ones.  I tried to do the brass ones in places you wouldn't see the but alas, some of the cabinet doors had to get them.  No biggie though...I mean, who sees the inside of your cabinets?  Not like we leave them hanging open. 

So like I said, we went to Home Depot when Jim got home last night to purchase the tile.  Getting there and looking at the tile we switched to, I wasn't as thrilled with it.  It was really, really dark and didn't match the back splash as well as I thought.  Plus it was a bit too busy for my taste AND they only had about half the boxes we would have needed.  SO!!!  We went back to our original plan and got the Pacific Sand 12x12 tiles.  I have to go to the HD near school today and get a few more boxes too. I hope I made the right decision.  I think I did.  I mean, I know it will match the wall tiles (they are from the same line) and it can't look any worse than what's there now, right? 

The plans for the weekend (I'm not sure we'll get it all done but I'm sure going to push): Tonight we'll eat and then clear out the kitchen - including the fridge which we will move into the garage.  We will then (hopefully) pull up the flooring.  I'd really like to put the cement board down as well but I don't know that Jim will be up for that.  If not that will happen in the morning.  We can then lay tile.  The tile needs to sit for at least 24 hours so the grouting might have to wait until Sunday evening.  Not sure.  If that is the case, I was thinking of going fridge shopping on Sunday morning/afternoon for a Mondayish delivery.  If that is the case, I may just call in "sick" Monday to have it delivered.  Plus I can then finish up any last minute crap with the flooring.  This is all with the hope that things go as planned.  There's always a monkey out there (named Jim?) who likes to throw wrenches at me.  Anyway - I'll have Monday plans ready before leaving school today, just in case.

And that's all I've got.  I best head up and out.  Can't wait for the school day to be over.  Later!

Let The Floor Tiling Begin

So tonight, when Jim gets home from work, we'll head out to Home Depot to do the purchasing for our floor.  We'll need to buy the flooring as well as grout, thin-set and cement board (they recommend this when doing flooring).  Not sure of the cost but I'm estimating about $500.  That's not too bad.  I'll go this weekend or next week to purchase the fridge.  Most places do next day and even same day delivery so we shouldn't have to wait too long.  Can't wait for this time next week when all things kitchen rehab should be complete. 

In other news - Safe travels to Maggie, Charlie and Eva who are heading south this weekend to see Nana and Grandpap in Tennessee.  Wish I could be there as well...have a ton of fun!

School news:  After the shooter training on Tuesday, I decided to send one last email to the administration regarding the student that scares me.  I just reiterated my worries about him as well as the fact that he shares about 7 of 8 shooter characteristics. I then got an email back itemizing all the things they have done and are continuing to do with this student.  Here's a question: Why didn't you let me know all that after my 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th etc. email? This kid is on MY caseload...did they not think it reasonable and their responsibility to let ME know about this.  Especially after I (and another teacher) sent email after email after email.  Kinda ridiculous.  I will continue to monitor and be ever vigilant. 

And that's about all I've got.  Happy it's Thursday...wish it were NEXT Thursday.  UGH!  K - well I'm out. Later!

Worried

Ugh...so it was election day yesterday and the voters in my school district elected a cuckoo bird to the school board.  This is a woman who has stated on her website that she wants to bring accountability and transparency "back" to Kings and yet when given the chance to participate in last Wednesday's forum to meet the candidates, she declined to come.  She was apparently advised not to because she was going to have to answer questions she didn't want to answer. This is a woman who supposedly wants to "save taxpayers money" (and keep teachers from being paid fairly) and yet she brings lawsuit after lawsuit against the district she now is sitting on the school board for.  (Sorry for ending that with a preposition). She recently, supposedly subpoenaed all kings emails for any one sending a message with her name in it. I'm not sure that an upstanding citizen who is transparent herself, would be so paranoid.  This does not bode well for my district and I think the voters are going to rue the day they made this mistake. Idiots.

In other news - my meetings yesterday were good and bad.  The morning session was very good, interesting and disturbing.  It was an Active Shooter Training...helping to prepare us for a possible shooter in our building.  There was a lot of information from the Columbine and VT shooting...scary stuff but stuff that we should know to try and prevent these things.  I have a student currently that scares the shit out of me and meets all the characteristics of a shooter.  UGH.

The other meetings, in the afternoon, well, two of the three were a complete waste of my time.  I will be telling the admins this but of course they won't listen and we'll deal with the same thing next year.  What made my meetings yesterday worse, however, was being in the meetings with one particular English teacher who is just rude, stupid, and LOUD!  I don't know how people deal with her.  She acts like a 5-year old most of the time and the rest of the time she's condescending...though she has no right to be.  I'm just glad she is retiring after this year. 

K - well, that's all I've got.  I'm going to hit Costco after school today and maybe Home Depot as well to get the floor tile...depends what the weathers doing.  K - Later! (Spell check isn't working...sorry if I've effed something up.)

Election Day/In-Service

So a nice day off for the kids and aides (butt heads!).  No jealousy here...none at all.  I love having to work on a MONDAY until 7:30...don't get home until 8:00 and then have to get up and sit in meetings all freaking day long.  UGH!  Whose idea was it to do parent/teacher conferences on a Monday!?  I call them douche bags.

Actually - last night wasn't too bad and I managed to get one whole IEP pretty much written.  I just have to add a thing or two about what the kid wants to do after high school.  I also managed to get a test modified and a study guide complete.  I met with two parents, I bitched here and there to Lisa about random things and that's about it.  Seems like I used to get more done on these nights.  Oh well, at least I didn't waste my time.

Lets see...what else...um...I got nothing.  Bubba woke up at 4:30 whining.  I smacked Jim in the head and told him to get up and let him out.  It's the least he can do since I make him breakfast every morning, don't you think? 

Speaking of Bubba (I accidentally typed "spanking Bubba"...I didn't spank him!). Speaking of Bubba, have I mentioned that he's deaf as a post?  He was sitting right next to me just now as I ate my toast (I LOVE toast)...I always give him and Sami a nibble...and he was gnawing on his paws so I called out, "Bubba!"  Nothing.  Louder: "BuBBA!"  Nothing.  "BUBBA!!! (as I stomped my foot) and he jumped about a mile and then was like, "Oh, yum" CHOMP!  Bubba loves toast too.  I love Bubba.

Okay and I think that meets my quota of rambling for the day.  Oh, and shit I need gas.  I better motor.  Gotta get to school so I can sit in meetings that have no bearing on my life with people I, for the most part, don't like (and lets face it, they don't like me a whole lot either).  POSITIVE ATTITUDE (no one likes someone who bitches all the time).  Later!

Tile - Complete

Before

After

 I can't tell you how happy I am with the finished product.  It just warms the place up, don't you think? I never really realized how stark the kitchen was.  Of course my "before" picture is minus any décor but still...very cold. Can't wait for the cabinet pulls to come...should be today (of course they'll come on the day I don't get home until 8 PM). When the floor is complete it's going to be even nicer and all the hard work Jim and I put in is going to be more than worth it.  I'm just so proud that we didn't fight during the process. 

One outcome from the tiling that I didn't expect:  Jim now knows all the words to Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball.  I think we heard that song 15 times...not that I mind...I really like it. Here's a funny, having to do with that: I always poke Jim in the bum when I pass him (I know, more than you wanted to know) and last night as I was going to I, inadvertently was singing, "You came in like a WRECKING BALL..." and Jim says, "Please don't sing that song while your violating me...scares me."  Hee hee.

Here's another funny (having nothing to do with our kitchen except that it occurred during dinner while we were EATING is said beautiful kitchen): I made spaghetti last night and found out something disturbing about my husband.  He twirls his spaghetti with his fork COUNTER clockwise.  It's like I don't even KNOW him!  We proceeded to have a long discussion about the WORK the hand must do in order to twirl counter clockwise.  Jim did not see the logic.  I think he must be living (in his mind) south of the equator.  (You know cause they say the toilets flush counter clockwise.)

Okay - well, I'm sure I have a ton of shit to do at school since I was "sick" on Friday.  AND!!!  I have no clue whatsoever what I'm teaching in LA today.  Huh...I probably should have taken some time to think about that.  UGH!  Better motor...later!

Slow & Steady

Jim and I made good progress yesterday but of course, the tiling took a lot longer than I thought it would take.  I thought we'd get the tiling and grouting done yesterday but alas, tiling is a pain in the ass!  As you can see, we didn't quite finish the tiling above the cabinets.  We worked until about 8:00 but by then it was dark outside and hard to see the saw while cutting. The line of tiles needed at the ceiling are all tiles that need cut so we saved that for today. Additionally, Jim needs a pair of tile nippers to cut the tiles around the outlets (they need 3 cuts rather than two and the saw can't do those). After that, we will grout.  I'm hoping that doesn't take too long because I'd REALLY like to relax today and actually cook a meal. (Had to get take out Friday and Saturday).

Sami and Bubba are a bit sick of us NOT lying on the couch and cuddling with them.  Seriously - I don't think Sami slept yesterday because she was keeping a constant eye on what the hell we were doing.  Poor girl.  She's going to HATE when the floor gets done.  I'm not - look at that heinous mess of a floor!  Can't wait to replace that mess.

In injury updates: I cut my thumb - don't know how. A small sliver of ceramic tile must have slip my thumb knuckle open and it bled like a sieve. Barely a mark there but man did it bleed.  I also got many fiberglass splinters in my fingers.  Those hurt like a motha! To get rid of I had to soak my hands in ice water and though that works like a charm, it hurt like hell. Pretty sure I also got fiberglass in my eye and of course it then pinked up prettily and I woke up this morning with it sealed shut.  I'll have to use drops for the next few days to ensure I don't get my typical infections. UGH!  Other than that - I have no complaints because I LOVE my tile.  I just can't wait until this is all DONE!

So how cute is my girl Eva!?  She is now obsessed with makeup, thanks to Lynne.  Hee hee.  I don't know if you can tell but she did her own makeup in the picture.  I keep telling her she doesn't need makeup because she so pretty naturally but the girl likes her eyeliner (just like her mamma!).  Man oh man do I miss her.  When am I going to get to see her!? 

K - well, I woke up at 5:30 this morning (thanks to Sami) but I thought it was 6:30 because I forgot to change the clocks...so I'm ready for a nap already.  But I need to get crack-a-lackin' on the tile.  Happy Sunday.  This week will be a doozie at school.  I have P/T conferences Monday and in-service on Tuesday.  Monday will certainly suck but I can actually use about 3 hours of uninterrupted work time so that I can write the 6 IEPs I've got coming up in the next month or so. 

And that's all I've got...I'll post completed pics later.  Later!

Making Headway

So we've finished the paint and went to Home Depot to get the grout and new face plates for the outlets.  While there - we found a floor tile that we liked better than the one we had originally picked out. This one is actually a 16x16 instead of 12x12.  I wanted a larger tile and I'm so happy Jim spotted this one.  It's a bit more intricate and a little darker than the one we originally chose. Anyway - we'll start the tiling once I go to the grocery.  We'll be able to do the grouting today as well since the tile will go on with an adhesive you roll out and stick on the wall.  I'll take pictures when it's all complete. 

Got this pic from Maggie.  Her friend Lynne is visiting and it looks like Eva got a hold of her makeup bag. She may want to tone down the eyeliner a bit.  She's so cute! 

And that's about all I've got.  I need to get a move on so that I can get this tiling DONE!  I'll be so happy if tomorrow we don't have to do anything except sit around and gaze at our hard work. 

K - Happy Saturday...oooh, and we gain an hour tonight!  Later!

Getting Ready

Jim just went to get a can of paint so I can finish painting the cabinets.  We've got the paint for the walls and Jim will do that when he gets back.  Hopefully we'll be finished with the painting by this afternoon and we'll head to Home Depot to get the final materials for the tiling.  That will happen tomorrow.  I can't wait, wait, wait!!!  I pulled a couple of the tile sheets out and held them up on the wall and I got a little flutter in my belly.  Isn't that funny!?  Doesn't take much to get me all hyped up!

Here's a "before" picture.  Sorry for the mess but we have a ton of shit that had to come off the walls and off the top of the cabinets to prepare...we threw stuff where we had space.  As you can see the floor is in dire need as well but that will wait for next week.  I think we'll also order the fridge next week too so that it can just go in when the tiling is complete.  I hope my timeline doesn't get all effed up...it isn't the kind of thing where you can be flexible because it just needs to get DONE! I'll be so happy when this is complete!  Hopefully Jimmy and I won't kill each other in the process.

K - well, I'd best crack-a-lack.  Need to get my painting complete.  Later!