Go 'Way!!!

First of all, this hot weather needs to go away! It's going to get into the 90s (possibly) this week and that's not okay with me. The boys aren't really happy about it either. It's way too hot to walk when I get home which means I have to wait until after dinner and by then, I'm wiped. Yesterday Scout only got 1 1/2 miles. That's not bad but he's used to more and when we start toward home he looks up at me and I swear he's saying, "Why are you a bad mom?" It's not me sweet boy. It's that bitch Mother Nature. 

I'm also sick of the mosquitoes. Usually I don't get bit much but lately I've had bites on bites on bites. It's terrible. I even have one on my butt cheek! 

Finally, I'm sick of no rain. My grass is so crunchy and I'm not the kind of asshole to water their lawn and waste water like that. Sure, it looks like shit but what're you going to do? There's the possibility of rain this weekend so my fingers are crossed. 

School was fine yesterday and Stupid Baby actually got praised by his English teacher, which was a first. He's typically dinged for "noncompliance" (not doing his work) but yesterday she emailed to say how hard he worked! Hopefully the new dosage on his medication is working and things will get a bit better in his academic classes. He usually is good for me and even when he's squirrely I'm not typically asking him to do things for grades so it isn't the same. Plus, he doesn't have a large classroom full of kids he's performing for with me. I think that's half the problem - he likes the attention and laughs he gets when he acts the fool. 

Dinner tonight: Coconut curry chicken with rice and...hmm...maybe broccoli. Of course I don't have broccoli so I'll have to go to the store. I have a meeting during my plan, however, so I might have to go after school. Hate that. It's fine though. 

I've got a lot of shows whose seasons are dropping soon (or in the next few months) and I'm pretty excited about it. Here are the top ones that have me really eager: 

• The Morning Show (tomorrow!!!) 
• Nobody Wants This (October 23rd)
• Stranger Things (but not until December) 
• Doc (but not until January) 
• The Pitt (January) 
• Paradise (January)

I've also read that Traitors is good so maybe I'll go back and watch that. Plus the new season is dropping in January and I read that Kristen Kish is going to be on it. I really have no idea the premise of the show but I love her so there you go. 

Okay, I've wasted enough time and now it's time to get a move on. Happy Tuesday! Later!

New Setup

I think I mentioned in Friday's post that the original plan for Saturday was to shop around for a new recliner and lunch. Well, Friday evening Jim said, "I want to get a TV for the back deck." As we know, I can be talked into just about anything so I pivoted and instead of a trip to Big Sandy's and Agave and Rye, we headed to Costco, Walmart and lunch at Condado's. We got a 55" and mounted it under the eave between the kitchen and dining room. Additionally, we moved the four glider chairs and fire table up on the deck. It's perfect. Saturday night while I relaxed in the spa, I had my music going with Harry Potter on in the background. I mean, why would I ever need to leave my house? 

Holy moly, the Bengals. First, fingers crossed that Joe Burrow's toe isn't as bad as they're saying it could be. However, so proud that Browning eked out a win! It might not have been pretty (3 interceptions) but he did well and I have confidence that he can keep us in wins! 

Other than the outing on Saturday, our weekend was pretty chill. Although the most unchilled part was having to go to Costco smack dab in probably the busiest time but they really get you through the checkout in record time. Aside from the TV, Jim's day was made when he found spaetzle and pork schnitzel. We had it last night and I have to say, it was pretty delicious. The pork was a little bland (needed salt and pepper) but still really yummy. I'd definitely buy it again. 

Dinner tonight: I'm going to make meatloaf with mashers and peas. 

The week at school should be pretty easy. I have one meeting on Tuesday but it's not my meeting, just a planning meeting for an evaluation, over the telephone and should be short and sweet. However, it's for my crazy kid - Stupid baby - but it shouldn't prove a problem. 

And that's all I've got. Time to finish getting ready. Later!

Ah...Friday

I so hope that today goes as smoothly as the rest of the week was. Well, the last two days. Greg is coming back to class from in-school suspension and I'm hoping he can keep his shit together. His issues stem from being around others. Which is a problem when you're...living. No, it's a problem when you have behavioral issues and can't navigate through the many assholes that we're all surrounded by all the time. He doesn't have the ability or the "tools" to walk away from stupid shit that means nothing. He wants to climb every mountain and make an issue over every perceived slight. How do you teach a kid to chill and not react? I guess with patience and appropriate consequences which also allow growth and self-reflection. 

Okay...sorry about that. Didn't mean to preach. 

We got our driveway sealed yesterday and it looks terrific. We've been getting it done, just about every other year, since we replaced our previous driveway and the cost has gone up by at least 100%. We did get a discount though since we got Doug and Lauren to do theirs as well. Every little bit helps. 

Weekend plans: We don't have many plans except I think we're going to go to Big Sandy's see if they have any recliners to replace - sadly - the one that Dad and Becky gave us when Jim had his heart surgery. Unfortunately it's starting to show its age. It's not falling apart...yet...but it's not far from being on its last leg and I want to be ahead of the game. After we see what Big Sandy has, we'll go to lunch, possibly to Agave and Rye. 

Beyond Saturdays plans, I'm sure we'll chill tonight - hopefully with a neighbor or two - and watch the Bengals Sunday. I need to make my menu for next week and go to the grocery. 

Dinner tonight: I pulled some Brunswick stew and I'll heat that up and make some grilled cheeses. 

GBBO: It's biscuit week and I've watched the signature bake so far. (IYKYK) I'll watch the rest tonight. 

And that's all I've got. Time to get this day going. Later!

Kiss My Grits!

R.I.P. Florence Jean Castleberry a.k.a. Polly Holiday. I'm sure she and Linda Lavin (Alice) are having a high time wherever they are. Alice sure has taken a hit this year with their deaths and at this point, all the originals are dead. But we still have Belle (Diane Ladd) and Jolene (Celia Weston). Phew. BTW - I still know all the words to the theme song. 

In other news, as per usual, the week started out flying by but now, I can't believe it's not Friday yet. But, at least it's Thursday and I have another day without a couple of trouble makers. AND!!! It's senior day of service which means there won't be seniors in the building after 8:30. Woot! 

I can't believe today marks the 24th anniversary of 9/11. On the one hand how is it that almost a quarter century has passed? On the other, it seems like just yesterday. 

I went for a lovely bike ride after work yesterday. It had been a while and I need to make that more of a priority...to get on my bike. Of course today is a swim day so I'll be in the spa after work, swimming my little heart out. When I swam on Tuesday, the water was a bit too hot (100) and I wore myself out. I did turn it down so hopefully I won't do the same this afternoon. 

Dinner tonight: I'm going to make the dish I was going to make Monday - Penne a la Betsy. (Betsy is the Pioneer Woman's sister). It's a good one and easy. 

You'll be happy to know that all of my kids in history class did well on their test yesterday. However, as I predicted, no one got a 100% which is crazy considering they were allowed to use their study guides which had every question, in order, on it and I'd gone over it prior to make sure everyone had the correct answers. I mean, I really can't make it any easier. Oh well. 

I started listening to Kristin Kish's memoir. She's a chef who once won Top Chef and is now the host. I love her and her book is very good. 

I finished reading a really good book last night which I highly recommend: P.S. I Hate You by Lauren Connolly. It's a really easy read but I warn you, a tear jerker. 

And that's all I've got. Time to finish getting ready and hit the road. Happy Thursday. Later!

Bahamas Here I Come!!!

Picture me at the resort on left December 26th for 5 days of rest, relaxation and hopefully sun! Picture me swimming up to the pool bar, ordering a mimosa; walking on the white sand beach. I booked yesterday, first class all the way and am so excited! This will be the 25th anniversary present/celebration for Jim and me. I think that's a pretty good present to us both. One bad thing? I'm stupid and thought ORD was the code for Orlando. I booked our layover there to and from. Turns out it's O'Hare. Ugh! I do NOT want to risk flying into Chicago in December but what am I going to do? I'm going to see if I can change it but truthfully, I might just have to keep it. It's a conundrum. 

In the meantime, as I prepare for our trip I need to by some "resort" outfits and get a really good couple of carry-on bags because I don't want to check our bags. I've done it before and didn't have an issue but it's only a matter of time before they lose our bag (or my bag) and I have nothing to wear at the pool. This is what I'll be doing today while my kids work independently in both ELA (reading comps and writing activities) and history (unit 1 test). 

My kids are starting (continuing, increasing) their stupid behavior. Greg, my whacky student got 2 days of in-school suspension for telling another girl to go kill/hang herself. Actually, he sent her a text. Why are these kids so stupid to put shit in writing? And beyond that, why do they say stupid stuff? Another kid, not on my caseload but in 2 of my classes got caught vaping pot in the bathroom. He's a little twerp and grit with a dad and uncle who will whoop his ass for this shit. He might deserve it. He got 5 days out with mandatory drug program. On a positive note, this will make the next couple of days much easier. 

Dinner tonight: I'm going to grill some chicken probably in a teriyaki sauce. I'll pair it with some couscous (goose goose) and Brussel sprouts. Yummy. 

What else, what else? Nothing. So I'll go finish getting ready. Happy Wednesday! Half way there! Later!

Well Rested

Thank God I was able to sleep last night. Yesterday was tough. I nearly fell asleep at lunch and even crazier than that, I had to take a 10 minute nap when I got home. I NEVER nap on a school day. I almost didn't do my exercise routine but I powered through and did it. Needless to say, I was in bed before 7:00 although I didn't shut down until around 8:00. Even though I got up twice to pee and woke up three other times, I was able to get back to sleep without too much trouble each time. I did have to do some breathing exercises a couple times (4-7-8 breathing) because I started getting nervous I was up but it worked and I feel pretty good. 

Feeling so tired yesterday I didn't do the meal I'd planned and instead did a prepared meal from Aldi. This one was really good (Rana is the brand) and Jim was so happy. I served it with broccoli. I highly recommend. Tonight I'm going to make some cod with cauliflower and probably rice. Simple and light. 

My first IEP of the year went off without a hitch. This was for one of my seniors and on Zoom. At one point before the meeting started, I was sitting with my student and he said, "Mrs. Hanke, in my grandparents eyes, you can do no wrong." That's so nice to hear. My next IEP is with another senior tomorrow and she's 18 so her dad is leaving it up to her. 

And that's about all I've got. I need to get going early today because I need to get gas (I was too tired to do it yesterday after school). Happy Tuesday. Later!

Not Pretty

It wasn't a pretty win but it was a win. I was hoping we'd look a little better but this is typical for the Bengals at the start of the season. The refs really seemed to have it out for us and the number of penalties...yowza; Bengals need to get their shit together. Here's hoping Jacksonville crumbles when they get here next week. 

The weekend was chill but Jim and I did manage to get out of the house for dinner Saturday at Tony's and it was awesome. I'm excited for my leftovers which I will be enjoying for lunch today. We also cleaned the house and that was the extent of our weekend. We did NOT win the lottery which bums me out but I haven't checked my tickets yet so maybe I won a million dollars! Yesterday we ended up watching the game on our front deck (Doug brought over a TV) and the weather was perfect for it. Usually I'm not ready for football season to start but this year, I'm psyched. 

In other news...shit, I have an IEP meeting this morning, at 7:30. Totally forgot...oops. It's for a senior so no big deal, and I'll be Zooming. However, I need to make sure the student gets there and I'm not running around looking for him. Guess I should get going.

Dinner: Penne a la Betsey (it's similar to vodka pasta but with wine and shrimp). 

Scout is feeling puny this morning. He's been outside for the last 1/2 hour...I'm guessing, eating grass. Poor buddy. 

K - best mosey so I can figure out what's what this morning. Later!

Whoo Hoo!

I was so excited to get up this morning to watch the first episode of GBBO! So far, it has met all my expectations. I managed to get through the first baking competition and can't wait to get home from work and watch the rest. It certainly made getting on the elliptical a little easier this morning but I was definitely low energy. I'm guessing it's just remnants from my cold. Speaking of which, I'm mostly all better, just a little cough here and there. Hopefully that will be the last time I get sick this season. 

How excited am I for the weekend. Granted my week was extra short but still. I'm mostly excited for a low-key couple of days. We don't really have plans except to clean the house and possibly go out to eat at Tony's tomorrow night. Can't wait for that. There are so many dishes I want to try there and I need to get a move on since it's a pretty large menu. 

Yesterday we had a staff meeting after school which ended up being about the levy that's going on the ballot November 4th. They're asking voters to accept a 1% earned income tax in lieu of raising property taxes. Part of this deal would be that residents will get a reimbursement from previously paid property taxes. (I don't know how all that works but apparently there are other districts in Ohio doing it.) First of all, I don't think the levy has a chance in hell of passing especially since we just passed a bond. With the way the economy is, with how high grocery bills are and gas prices, there's no way these people are going to accept a tax on their income. Now, the one good thing: It will appeal to those who are retired (no income to tax). Those who don't own property, however, are not going to be happy. I'm not sure our district is going to be ready to answer the questions the voters have especially when they haven't been able to answer when we, as a district, would even see the money if the levy passed. 

The other awful thing that they said in the meeting was that if the levy passed, it would only mean we'd be able to "maintain" where we are now. Well, where we are now is understaffed and overworked. Our class sizes are around 30-35. We don't have the maintenance people to keep our buildings clean and properly running as it is. Fast forward 2 years when we move into a newer and bigger building, how is that going go? Meanwhile, we have several unneeded admin positions that are draining our coffers and people hired into jobs and no one really knows what they do. It's so fucking stupid. 

Anyway...

Fingers crossed that school goes well today. I feel like I've gotten lucky these last two days and I'm just waiting for a shoe to drop. Or rather a bomb. In my worst class (history) I'm showing a video which will hopefully keep the yahoos in line or at least quiet. 

Dinner tonight: Skyline - not from the restaurant. I'll heat up some chili and cook up some spaghetti and dogs. Ooh, I need to stop and get oyster crackers on the way home. Can't have Skyline without oyster crackers. 

Well, that's enough ranting. Happy Friday! Happy weekend! Later!

Lots Of Little Things

I was prepared for a shit show when I got to work yesterday and though there was stuff to deal with, it wasn't as awful as I'd expected. My 4th bell class experienced the wrath of Hanke but beyond that, all seemed well. I'll take it. 

Can't believe football season kicks off tonight. Of course I won't watch (too late for this loser) but I'll be rooting for Philly in my sleep. (Hate the Cowboys...although I do like the Cowboy cheerleaders after watching America's Sweethearts series on Netflix.) 

I'm happy to report that it finally rained here. It's already moved out, though there may be a few pop up showers here and there. This cold front has left us with cooler temps as well which makes me happy. I'm sure it won't last but it's getting me very excited for Fall, my favorite. 

You'll be happy to hear that for the most part, I slept like a baby last night. I did wake up around midnight with a coughing fit but once that was over, I only woke up, maybe 2 more times, had to pee once but each time I fell right back to sleep. Oh, and thunder around 3:00 woke me up but then must've lulled me back to sleep because I woke up by my alarm. 

I started a 30-day yogalates challenge the other day (a mix between yoga and Pilates) and am liking it. Of course I started it after the 1st so I'm doing some catch up but it's a good workout in the morning. 

OMG!!! I'm so excited! Tomorrow, the first episode of GBBO is released on Netflix. Knowing I have this to look forward to will make getting out of bed at 4:20 tomorrow morning and getting on the elliptical easy. I'm so excited!!! 

I'm bummed that I don't have a Peacock subscription because the new show The Paper with Domhnall Gleeson looks really good. (He played Bill Weasley in HP. And a lot of other roles too but that one's the most important.) There are also new shows coming up on Prime and HBO (Task) that look really good too. I feel like I'm going to be very TV busy in the days, weeks and months to come. I ain't mad about it.

Dinner tonight: I'm going to do a "Marry Me Chicken Tortellini". I've made it before and it's delicious. I'll need to go to the grocery during my plan period today because I don't have sun-dried tomatoes. 

And that's about all I've got. I guess I should get a move on and head to work. Can't believe it's already Thursday. Can't wait for tomorrow. Later!

Preparing Myself

I'm preparing myself this morning for the shit show I'm going to be faced with when I get to school today. I'm sure I'll have lots of notes from the sub about how awful my kids were. And really it's these freshmen. They're just a bunch of immature, nasty, racists. Before I went to bed last night I checked my email (mistake #1) and saw I had one from a senior who's in my 3rd and 4th periods. He sent the email to me, the principal and VP in charge of freshmen. Basically, he just voiced his concern about the behaviors in the class and lack of discipline while I was out. Most concerning of all, however, was that he mentioned one student using racial slurs, including the n-word. It's so disheartening. What I'd like to happen is that the principal and VP come into my room and crack some skulls (with words). I'd like them to come in and put the fear of God in them. Fuck I hate these mother fucking freshmen. 

What I'd really like to do is ask these ignorant freshman, "What makes one person better than another?" Because I guarantee anything they say, they aren't. Unless they say that skin color matters, which I'm sure they wouldn't have the balls to say but certainly think. Assholes. There's something about this class of kids; I'd heard how awful they are, how mean. Now I'm seeing it for myself. Not to generalize but the stories are proving true. 

Here's the thing that I'm confused about: The kid who wrote the email? His finger pointing was to a student who is not white. I don't know what his background is but he has the coloring of someone from Samoa (and he's about 6' 4"). Interestingly, the kid who sits behind the kid who wrote the email is the know racist. He got suspended a couple times last year for spouting off the n-word. I don't know. I hate that I have to continually deal with this type of person/people. It should be, no more than 3 strikes you're out. Ugh! 

In other news, I feel pretty good. I still have a constant headache and a slight cough but my throat doesn't hurt and my sinuses are pretty clear. I slept well last night too. I'll take some medicine on my way to work while I sip my smoothie. I don't like taking cold medicine on an empty stomach. It makes me jittery. 

BTW - aside from walking the boys and taking a bath yesterday, I literally laid in bed all day. I watched "Unknown Number: The High School Catfish", and I'm almost finished with Click Bait. The catfish doc was fucked up. People be whacked! Click Bait is good but a little contrived and some of the acting isn't great...but it's good, mindless telly. 

Dinner tonight: I'm going to make a lemon chicken with gnocchi and broccoli. 

I got a call from my dentist to reschedule my tooth implant. It was supposed to be on the 15th but I had to change it to the 22nd. No big deal except that I had to fix that in the sub app for school. And now I have another full 2 weeks where I have to go to work. 

And that's it. I guess I should get a move on so I can see what kind of crap I've got to sift through today. Thank the baby Jesus it's already Wednesday. 

1 Year

It was a lovely weekend of celebrating Dad with those in town. He would have been so happy to see us together and enjoying Trip and Susan's new pool. It's hard to believe that a year has gone by so quickly without him but I'm glad that he's at peace and hopefully somewhere watching over us all.

So yeah, Friday ended up being my normal Friday: drinks with the neighbors and cards. Saturday Jim and I went to Trip and Susan's around noon. We stayed for a few hours to eat lunch, play in the pool and watch/listen to the football game. Jim and I left around 3:00 to get home to feed the boys. After getting ready, we headed out to Walt's for dinner. It was, as usual, delicious. 

Sunday Jim and I had a big breakfast and then headed back down to Kentucky for a day of fun. Unfortunately, Trippy was sick. Apparently he'd been suffering from what he thought was allergies (I didn't realize he'd been struggling on Saturday) but in fact, it was a cold. We convinced him to lay down and rest which I know was so hard for him with all of us there but we still had fun. For dinner Maggie and I stepped in and helped Susan with the smash burgers, couscous and potatoes. It was delicious. 

Around mid day, I realized I was getting a tickle in my throat. I said to Maggie, "Uh oh." By about 4:00 when I got out of the pool, my sinuses were rearing their ugly head. I went home and took some medicine but I didn't sleep at all Sunday night. It wasn't because I was coughing or anything, it was just that beginning of a cold you get and makes it hard to get comfortable. 

I was on the fence yesterday about calling in today but in the end decided to do it. I didn't want to have another bad night and then have to struggle in the early morning hours to figure out my sub plans. Thankfully I did because I needed the sleep. I managed to get pretty good sleep although I woke up about every couple hours to cough and blow my nose. I have a headache but haven't taken anything yet. My body hurts a bit and my the cold has settled in my chest but I feel like I'm on the other side of this. Today I just plan on resting and drinking lots of fluids. 

Trip - don't feel bad. I haven't been sick in forever and it was bound to happen soon and there have been so many kids sick at school it's probably one of those rug rats fault. 

Oh, and happy surprise, I was getting dinner ready last night and who should show up at my house but Diane! She's dog sitting nearby. It was so good to see her. I miss her face!

Okay well, I think I'll make a smoothie, take some meds and lay on the couch. Dinner tonight: Probably a pre-made meal from Aldi, mashers and a veggie. Something easy. K - I'm out. Later!

I Made It!

I made it to Friday which is saying something. I had a dream yesterday (Wednesday into Thursday) that I was sick and had to call in. When I woke up, I thought for a moment I was actually sick and it crossed my mind that I could/should? call in for real. Obviously I didn't but it's only a matter of time. Actually, I already have a sick day in for the 15th so that I can finally get my implant. I'm excited to have a tooth again. 

I had a dream last night that Maggie was being a total bitch. She was supposed to pick me up (from somewhere) and never made it. She was a no show, no call and I had to walk home (wherever that was) in the rain through the mud while I was barefoot. When I got home, she didn't even say sorry. Fucker. When my alarm went off and I got out of bed, I said to Jim, "Maggie's an asshole." He knew I'd had a dream. She has some 'splainin to do though. 

Kristyn was also in my dream. We were all going out to dinner to celebrate her arrival from Australia. Oh, and my hair was CRAZY long...like down to my ankles. It was off the rails. Which reminds me, I need a haircut. It truly is getting way too long. It gets so knotty and unmanageable. 

Today, (knock on wood, fingers crossed, prayers, begging to the baby Jesus) should be an easy day. I'm showing a video in ELA and then we're finishing up a section in history. God I hope today isn't a repeat of last Friday. I don't think I can take it. 

Weekend plans: Well, Monday is the anniversary of Dad's passing. For those of us around (myself and Jim, the Egberts and the Arbaughs) we will be gathering together. (BTW - Becky is in Iceland, Cullen is in LA and Anne and co. are headed to the Bay.) Saturday Maggie et al will be driving down. We'll hang at Trip's for swimming and football. Jim and I will head home after to get ready for dinner out at Walt's Hitching Post (a family fave from our childhood). Sunday it'll be a pool day again at Trip's. I'm expecting lots of volleyball games, of which, I hope to dominate. Monday Jim and I will just hang at home and enjoy a day off with nothing to do. 

Dinner tonight will be a Friday favorite: grilled cheese and soup. I pulled a sausage/potato soup from the freezer (I think it's the Olive Garden copycat soup, 'Zuppa.) 

Tonight will most likely entail hanging on the front deck with the neighbors or at least Doug and Lauren. I think they have nothing tonight. My other neighbor, Katie had surgery last week so probably isn't able to hobble outside the house (knee surgery with no weight on it for 6 weeks...ugh). 

And that's all I've got. I guess I'll get my shit together and head out. I need to catch up with Lisa at work about the kid who went off the rails a couple weeks ago, punched a kid, threw chairs, and then took off. His manifestation determination and expulsion hearing was yesterday. I'm interested to hear what happened. I'm sure he won't be back at Kings but crazier things have happened. 

Later! Happy long weekend!

P.S. Scout just came in from outside and was about to go upstairs. Before he did, he glanced at Jim in his chair and saw he was sleeping. Scout then snuck over to the end table where Jim's stupid used tissue was laying and ever so slyly, tried to steal it. He's so funny and smart. (BTW - when I started typing this, I first typed Zeke. I don't know why he's on my mind so much lately.)

Progress?

So Greg came to me during 1st period yesterday but thank the baby Jesus, it wasn't because he'd done something stupid or went off. Instead, another student went berserk and apparently "attacked" him. The other kids backed his story up (the teacher hadn't yet come into the classroom), which was that the attacker came into the classroom out of sorts and ranting about her bus driver. When Greg told her to take a breath and calm down, she lost her shit and went after him, kicking and punching. (These kids need to get their crazy shit together. That's a bit of an oxymoron.) Anyway, he came down because he was irritated that all that happened to her was she got to go to the counseling office and had no consequences. I explained to him that he was speculating and maybe she has a plan in place (like he does to come to me) when things go off the rails for her. I told him that like he wouldn't want others in his business when he acted the fool he needs to respect that in others. He chilled out and managed to get back to class pretty quickly. I'd say that's progress. Of course I'm sure I've jinxed myself and today will pose some other fucking obstacle in my/his day. 

Oh, and the girl? She apparently never made it to the counseling office and a referral was done. I know this girl is autistic but she's been caught in these little lies before (skipping out of where she's supposed to be) so I think there needs to be a consequence, otherwise she'll do it again. 

Huh...so I was just checking Jim's medical chart because he had an appointment with his oncologist yesterday. Actually, he met with the nurse practitioner. All his labs came back looking good but when I looked at the summary of his appointment I saw that it said, "Stop taking Braftovi and Mektovi". (These are his cancer meds.) I asked him and he said, "Yeah, I haven't been taking them since October." WHAT!?!?! That seems fucking crazy to me! I know I'm not the doctor but this is melanoma?! What happens when all of a sudden his lesions return with a vengeance!? Fuck! Why didn't I know this? I guess I need to trust his doc but I don't like this at all! 

Dinner: I think I'll do fish and chips with slaw. I was going to make something more difficult but I'm not feeling it. 

And that's all I've got. Happy Thursday! Can't wait until tomorrow. Later!

Stupid Skunks!

At about 1:00 last night, I was awoken by the offensive odor of a skunk. At first I thought someone was smoking some weed outside, but alas, I realized our little friend was out and about. It was pretty awful. I feel like he/she was out there just spraying every 15 minutes or so. I'd bury my head under the covers and then come out once it started to abate but then a wave of overwhelming stink, so thick I could almost taste it, would send my head back under the covers. This went on until about 3:00 which means my sleep last night was very sporadic. I do love this weather but having the windows open has its drawbacks. 

You'll be happy to hear that Greg did not seek refuge in my room yesterday. Fingers crossed nothing happens today. I did see that the freshman VP took him aside to talk about Monday's little incident but I walked by and figured if I needed to know anything said VP would clue me in. 

Happy and safe travels to Becky today!!! She's headed out for 9 days on an adventure in Iceland. Her itinerary looks amazing and I'm sure she's going to have a great time! Take lots of pics, have fun and be safe! 

Today should be an easy day. No meetings and my LA kids are doing independent seat work. I've been pretty impressed with my freshmen reading abilities. It's always nice when you read aloud and you've got plenty of good readers to keep things moving. 

Dinner tonight will be ranch pork chops with mashers and broccoli. It's a dish I meant to make a couple weeks ago but accidentally made something else. I've had it before and it's really yummy.

And that's about all I've got. I'm running a little later than usual today because my breakfast smoothie needed extra smoothing. Happy, ooh, HUMPDAY! Later!

Becoming A Regular Thing

So I don't know if you remember the student who came during the last 2 weeks of school last year and landed on my caseload. I called him Greg? He's a kid with lots of issues, but the biggest one is he has a temper and has difficulty regulating himself, especially when he feels like others aren't following the rules. Of course this then turns into him losing it, cursing, and doing stupid shit. He's supposed to work at removing himself BEFORE he loses control and coming to talk it out with me but so far, that hasn't been successful. He comes to me but it's always after the fact. And of course I only get half the story which is then skewed to make it seem as though he did nothing wrong. For instance, yesterday, during his GI, he was apparently trying to do work. He was having trouble concentrating, however, because there was a girl in there who, according to him, wouldn't shut up. He asked her "nicely" if she could stop talking (sure) and when she said no, he went off on her. When he was telling me the story, he explained how pissed he got when she called him "Doritos Boy" (he was wearing a Doritos shirt) when she "knew his name". I said to him, "Are you really upset about that?" He answered with, "How would she like if I called her Lesbo Girl!?" I calmly said, "Well that would be inappropriate. And rude? Did she have a "lesbo" shirt on? Because if not, that's not the same." Shit ass. I wanted to say to him, "Don't be a shit ass!" Why can't I say that? 

Anyway, the moral of this story is that this kid needs to get it together. I can't have him coming down to me several times a day (it was twice Friday and once yesterday). I'm hoping that as we talk through these things he'll be able to make better decisions and maybe start seeing that he's part of the problem. One big issue yesterday was that in the class where this happened, his teacher was out and there was a sub. There should have been a note on her plans to explain his stuff but there wasn't. I've remedied that and hopefully as time goes on, he'll start behaving like a normal human being. And stop being a shit ass.

In other news, the weather is still glorious. It's so nice to be able to turn off the AC. It seems like I wasn't able to do that all summer. Can't wait to come home and swim today! 

We started reading Othello yesterday and in both my classes, there's one kid (autistic) who really put a LOT of inflection into their part. I love it. In 6th period, one girl asked, "Can we act it out?" I said, "You mean with your reading? Absolutely! It's much better when you don't sound like a robot." And believe you me, she gave it her all. It induced a few giggles at first but in the end, it seemed to cause others to produce more lively reading.

Dinner tonight: I'll probably do sausage patties with corn and tots. I need to make the corn on the cob I have and the hamburger thins. I loves me some sausage patties. 

Oh, I just remembered I dreamt of Zeke last night. He was sleeping in my lap. What a nice dream. I miss that sweet boy! 

K - time to get a move on. Happy Tuesday. Later!

What A Tease

This weather! I'm so happy with these cool temps although I know it won't last. However, I'm not complaining. It gets me overly excited though and I know there will be crazy hot temps in September and even October. For now though, I'll enjoy it while it lasts. (BTW, the weather app I use said tomorrow night will be "unseasonably" cool with temps around 50 or upper 40s!)

Along with this cool weather comes clear skies and absolutely no rain. There isn't rain in the forecast until Friday September 5th. That's crazy. My lawn is in serious need but what're you going to do? 

The weekend was good and relaxing, just like I'd hoped it would be. Friday it was just Jim and me and I was thrilled not to A) stay up too late and B) drink too much. Saturday we got up, walked the boys and then headed out to DSW. I needed a new pair of tennis shoes, or rather walking shoes. Specifically, I was looking for a pair of Asics. Unfortunately, DSW failed me. They had Asics but I hated all the colors and styles. Instead, they suckered me into a pair of sneakers. Specifically a pair of Adidas. I'm going to wear them today. They're really cute.  Oh, and you'll be happy to know that I found a pair of Asics on Amazon. Hopefully they'll feel good and I won't have to return them. 

After shoe shopping we headed to Kirby's for lunch and then home. Jim ended up going out with Fritz on Saturday night for dinner and I stayed home, ate leftovers, chilled, watched a documentary (Stalking Samantha: 13 Years of Terror...people are sick fucks) and laid in bed. It was blissful. 

Sunday was another restful day. I did manage to mow the lawn, front and back, grocery shop and then hang in my spa. Jim cleaned out the garage. Dinner was brats and metts. 

I'm hoping this week is chill. Friday was awful. The kids were awful. I had administrators in my room 4 times because kids suck. I felt like it was a full moon or something they way they were all acting like crazy bozos. Finger crossed they're tired from the weekend today and don't annoy the shit out of me. 

Dinner tonight: Pulled pork, corn, slaw. 

K - I'm out. Happy Monday! Fingers crossed for a fast week. (This time next week, I hope I'm still asleep.) Later!

It's Starting

Well, it looks like the honeymoon with Stupid Baby has ended. Not for me, so to speak, but I woke up to an email from his English teacher telling me that they're constantly having issues with him, namely refusing to do work and being a general ass. Not surprised. He hasn't demonstrated jackass behavior for me (well, no more than an ADHD freshman peon would demonstrate) but I see him 1st thing in the morning and it's a pretty relaxed atmosphere. I've asked him to do things that he's actually done but who knows...it's not "school work". I'm sure he's just putting on a performance in class for the audience he has but that shit needs to stop. I'll have a talk with him today and see if he's acting the fool in other classes. 

Thankfully I'll have time to investigate all the above today because I'm giving myself and the kids a break and making it a video day. I tried to find a good movie about Shakespeare but couldn't fine one so I'm not sure what I'll show in ELA. In history, however, we're going to watch The Conspirator which is about the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln. That's where I've started my history class so it's fitting. 

Here's something I don't understand: Scout. Now, of course he loves Jim, I mean, that's his daddy but we all know his true love is his momma. I walk him, I'm almost always the one to feed him, I brush him, kiss and love on him (Jim does too). I'm his person. When I go upstairs for bed, he follows even though Jim is still up. So why is it when Scout comes to our bed, when both of us are there, he'll cozy up to me and let me love on him but when he's ready to close his eyes he won't spoon with me? He always gets up and settles down on Jim's feet. It's so insulting! 

So no real plans this weekend except to relax and maybe go out to lunch on Saturday. It looks to be nice Saturday so I might want to just chill and lay around in my spa. We'll see. I really just want to hang and do nothing. 

Dinner tonight: Chicken parm pie and a salad. Easy.

I'm excited to have a drink today after school. Although I did cheat a little this week. On Wednesday, I had a glass of wine but that was it. And it was red so it doesn't really count. Hmm...it might be these types of concessions which have landed me where I am. Oh well, I was good and I'm proud of myself. 

K - time to get a move on. Happy Friday!!! Later!

Up In The Air

Hold on...Jim's telling me a thrilling story...I don't think it's about paint thank God.

Well, that was more interesting than I'd anticipated. It was about how dense his brother is. I already knew it but as most stories about Fritz do, it just provided more evidence to the fact. I won't bore you with the story. Let's just say that the dude has zero awareness of his surroundings or more likely he just doesn't care.

Jim ended up getting home before I went to sleep. I guess he opted for NOT hanging with Fritz last night (who can blame him?) so was home by 8:00. And of course he hadn't eaten. He might do something tonight with Fritz but it's all dependent on his sister. Emily is in the hospital for a bowel obstruction. When Jim talked to her the other day she said they thought things were starting to look up and that she would be released. I guess that is not the case, however, because they're going to do surgery today. 

So glad today is Thursday and that tomorrow is Friday. It's actually been a pretty fast week. Although I say that now and probably jinxed myself. School hasn't been too terrible either. As usual, the horror stories we heard about certain kids coming up from the JH have not proven to be accurate. I guess it's always good to anticipate the worst and be relieved when it doesn't pan out. And again, we are still in a honeymoon stage with these kids. 

I'm thinking I might take a bike ride after school today. It's finally cool enough. We'll see. It's really all dependent on what Jim's plans are. Dinner is also up in the air. I'm thinking I might just grill some chicken because even if he doesn't eat with me, I'll have leftovers for lunch tomorrow. 

 I've been watching a Netflix doc called What Happened to Amy Bradley and it's proving to be quite interesting and unbelievable. It's about a woman who disappeared from a cruise ship in the late 1990s just before it docked in Curacao. The questions they haven't been able to answer are: Did she fall overboard? Did she commit suicide? Did she get kidnapped or killed or forced into a sex-trafficking situation? The latter has proven to have pretty solid evidence but so far in my watching they haven't been able to find her. It's pretty interesting. 

And that's all I've got. Time to get a move on. Later!

Ready To Fight!

So last evening, after dinner, I took Scout for a walk. We went on one of our normal routes in the neighborhood. On this route there's a dog on an invisible fence who is a menace. Twice - when Scout and I weren't even in front of her house and in fact about two houses down and on a different street - this dog has broken fence and come after Scout. Twice she's broken fence when I rode by on my bike and once, when the owner was walking her and I was walking Scout (probably 3 house lengths away from each other) this dog broke out from her harness (yes her HARNESS) and came after Scout. When it happened that time (probably about a year or so ago), I told the owner what a shit her dog was. I told her about the 4 other instances and that she either needed to turn her electric fence up or not let her dog out without supervision. 

Well, last night, I saw this woman walking her dog. I decided to change my route so I didn't have to go by her. I'd managed to avoid her and little Lucifer and was walking home, around the bend from her house, when I heard an approaching scamper and increasing growl/bark. Out of nowhere, this dog came tearing after Scout. I managed to pick him up but that little fucker got hold of his leg. I was so fucking pissed. I stalked over to the owner who had been standing in her driveway watching this and went off. When I told her that her dog repeatedly did this she said, "I had no idea." I said, "Lady, I've told you this before. You were walking your dog when she broke out of her harness and came after us. You are well aware that this has been an issue." She then said, "Oh, I do remember that." I said, "This can't be the only time this has happened. You're dog can't handle an invisible fence." She then had the audacity to say, "I'm not blaming you but my dog only has a problem with your dog." Fuck you lady. I replied with, "I don't care. You're dog is a problem.  You're a problem. What happens when your dog decides to have a problem with another dog that isn't as sweet as my dog and your dog then gets attacked and/or killed. I guess you'll do something then, huh?" I stalked off with a, "Fucking irresponsible, asshole dog owners." I hate people. 

BTW - Scout was okay. The mother fucker didn't draw blood, I checked him out thoroughly and Scout rallied. When he came home and saw Boo, he kissed him and then they chased each other around the house. Scout was hopped up with energy, I think, after the shock of what happened wore off. Poor little baby. 

Jim will be out and about with his brother today first for a memorial service (at 3:00) then I guess for dinner or whatnot. Which means I'll be having leftovers tonight. I'm excited to have the house to myself for a few hours. 

So apparently there was heavy rain and storms last evening. We didn't get more than a sprinkle which pisses me off. We need rain so much and I didn't water my flowers thinking we were going to get hit. Ugh! However, the temps are lovely and the humidity is heading out. Thank the baby Jesus. 

And that's all I've got. I actually had something else but in the space of typing a word or two, I forgot. Stupid 54-year-old brain. 

K - I'm out. Later!

Ask And You Shall Receive!

Yesterday I mentioned that I was excited because I knew, based on a teaser, that the GBBO season premier was about to be released. Well, guess what!? They announced yesterday that it will premier September 2nd (in the UK), which is a Tuesday and the US will get each new episode on the following Friday (the first being September 5th). I can't tell you how happy I am. And this is about 3 weeks earlier than usual. Normally it premiers in late September. 

Here's one thing I was confused about: After last season Prue Leith (one of the two judges, the other being Paul Hollywood) announced that she would be stepping down. I thought she wasn't coming back but alas, she is (which I'm happy about). Apparently I misunderstood. She only stepped down from the celebrity baking competitions. Phew. I've always liked the new people they've brought in but change can be scary. 

In other news, school was fine yesterday. I felt like I was running around with my head cut off because I'm still trying to get myself organized. I mean, I'm organized but I haven't yet reached "Muir organized". And the sucky thing was I spent about 30 minutes yesterday looking for a tracking spreadsheet that I used last year for my students' IEP goals and couldn't find it anywhere. Then I woke up in the middle of the night and thought I bet it's in my "template" folder. Ugh, I hate that. That's what happens when you teach for so long...and you get old...you start forgetting where you put all your important files. 

Did I mention that Fritz (Jim's brother) is coming to town sometime today and staying for a week? He's coming in for a funeral, which will be tomorrow. I believe Jim will be spending much of tomorrow with him (going to the memorial and then probably something after) and probably going out to dinner with him at some point over the next week. Jim said to me in the car the other day, "You know, Fritz is probably going to want to go out to dinner while he's here." And I replied with, "Have fun...I'm out." It isn't that I don't want to spend time with him but he's just so exhausting...and I don't want to spend time with him. Every single time I see him, he doesn't ask one question about me. Not that I want to talk about myself but every single conversation we have revolves about something inane in his life. He has no concept of how to have a normal conversation. I don't think he's ever said to me, "How's teaching?" or "How're your kids?" or "How's life?" He doesn't care. He's very self-involved and oblivious to others which is really frustrating and narcissistic and I don't want to be around those types of people if I have a choice. Jim gets it and thankfully doesn't fault me. 

The day has finally come where a cool front should be arriving. We're expecting storms ahead of it (hopefully not bad) and then...relief. I can't wait. I want my windows open!

Dinner: Burritos...or taco bowls. Jim can choose how he wants to build his dinner but I'll do all the fixins' and probably have a taco bowl myself. 

It's picture day and I will NOT be getting my picture taken. It's stupid and I hate it. I don't need my photo displayed on the wall. They can use the same pic they've had for 10 years. I haven't changed that much. 

Okay, time to get going. Happy Tuesday! Later!

Good & Bad

It was a good weekend but we got some sad news. On Saturday, my cousin called to let me know that my Aunt Kathleen is in the ICU and after the weekend, she's decided to remove any life-saving supports and then go into palliative care. (Apparently she's gone back on that decision and now wants to try to live...not sure what's going to happen.) About an hour after that call, Allen called again to say that our neighbor at PIB, Mike Mans, passed away. He's been quite ill for awhile so it was expected and I'm glad he's finally out of pain but it's so sad. Weirdly yesterday when I was looking at my FB memories the picture shown popped up from 16 years ago. Crazy! 

The good parts of the weekend were going to Trip and Susan's to swim and play volleyball, enjoying some neighbor time, getting the grass cut and not having a heart attack while doing it, a delicious dinner Saturday, sleeping in, some spa time and relaxing. I'm looking forward to next weekend when the weather will finally be comfortable. This heat is out of control. Today it's once again going to be in the 90s with a heat index over 100. I'm so done with this. I can't remember a summer this hot, ever. 

My week at school should be pretty chill. I'm still getting my shit together but real teaching will start tomorrow. Just trying to ease into things and getting to know my newbies. 

Dinner: Pork chops, probably ranch style, broccoli and rice. Something easy. 

BTW - I think the announcement for GBBO premier should be coming soon. Paul Hollywood put out a teaser on his IG account. It makes me so happy...can't wait. 

And that's all I've got. Happy Monday! Later!

Ready For A Cocktail!!!

I'm running a little late this morning and I'm not sure why. I didn't linger on the couch drinking coffee. I only did 30 minutes on my elliptical. I took a quick shower and yet I'm running about 5 minutes behind my normal time. Oh well. I get to school at least 10 minutes early every day so as long as I'm there by 7:00, who really cares. I mean, 1/2 the staff probably walks in at 7:10 every morning so I ahead of the pack. 

Yesterday was a surprisingly good day. I'm gauging this mainly on the one student who I was dreading. That would be the kid we call "Stupid Baby". Now, if I haven't before, I'll explain. This is a kid who's mother is living with one of my lunch ladies ex-husband. Her kids have known this kid since he was young and they always called him "Stupid baby". Unfortunately, the name stuck. Anyway, Stupid Baby was unexpectedly charming in an ADHD, spazzy, conversation whiplash sort of way. He talked a mile-a-minute but was funny. I had to tell him a couple times to zip it and in fact challenged him that he couldn't keep his mouth shut for 4 minutes. It was all in good fun and he in fact set a timer. In the end, he didn't meet the challenge but alas, our 30 minutes together gave me hope that we could get along and build a rapport. I understand this is a honeymoon stage but I'm hopeful. We'll see how it goes today when there are other kids in the class. 

Beyond that, all was well. I think it will be a challenging year but I'm not afraid of that as long as it's not my administration that are the pain in the ass. 

I can't tell you how happy I am that it's Friday and not just because I get to have a drink. It wasn't too terribly hard to stay on the wagon this week (maybe Monday was tough) because I was so busy. Hopefully when things calm down a bit (mostly the temps) I'll still remain strong in my weekday sobriety. 

Weekend plans: I think we'll go swim at Trip and Susan's, possibly Saturday, if they're cool with that. Beyond that, we'll just be doing things around here. Dinner tonight will be burgers, corn and fries. Something easy.

We had the tree guy come out last night to give us an estimate for cutting the tree trunk beyond the fence for us to split. In the end, he said it would be much cheaper for us to get already split wood from him. He said he'd only charge us $100 a truck bed. That's pretty good and he'll even deliver (he doesn't usually) because we're good customers, we've gotten him a lot of work in the circle and we live close. He'll deliver in a couple weeks and that should serve us for the winter with what we've already got. And if it isn't, we can get more from him. I think my splitting days are done. Although the guy did say that if I like splitting so much, I can come work for him and he'd pay me well. He has 2 splitters...might be side work. 

Jim just told me his toilet seat broke. Hmm...how does that happen? 

Okay, time to get a move on. TGIF!!! Later!

Here We GO!

Actually, tomorrow is really "Go" day because that's when the whole school will be there but truthfully, Monday is the real "Go" if we're talking teaching. Today I'll only see freshman, though seniors will be in attendance. Freshmen have a full day and will walk their schedule though it will be abbreviated. By 10:42, I believe, I will be finished with kids. Beyond that, they have lunch which is my plan period and then the rest of their day is meetings and CPR training. Seniors come in at 8:15, only going to meetings and are out by about 10:45. Tomorrow will be a regular schedule but it won't entail much. Sophomores and juniors should have their class meetings which will pretty much disrupt anything I'd do since I have a mix of every grade. That's why Monday is the real day, though I probably won't start "teaching" until Tuesday or Wednesday. 

I made a really yummy meal last night: Orzo chicken bake. It's a one pan meal and a mix of stovetop and oven. It isn't a lite meal but I did some substitutions to help the calorie count. Namely I subbed the heavy cream with coconut milk. It's pinned on my chicken board on Pinterest if you're interested. 

Tonight I'll make a lemon chicken dish (ooh, I need to go get lemons...they didn't have any at Aldi last time I went, which was weird) and pair it with broccoli and probably yellow rice. 

Oh, you'll be happy to hear that my schedule fiasco got fixed. When I got to school yesterday, I took matters in my own hands and called the Guidance department head. She was completely sympathetic to my plight and understood that there's no way A) my class could remain as is and B) the deal with the inflated history classes isn't avoidable. They are inflated. They're going to remain inflated and the only thing they can do is try to spread the wealth to all history classes. 

So two minutes before my alarm went off this morning, the boys got up for some reason. Scout's routine when he wakes up is to first jump on the bed and look out the window. Often times he's rewarded with a deer in our yard, usually chomping on the birdseed. In the past he's also gotten to see a raccoon hanging off a feeder which is quite the prize. Of course these prizes for him are torture for us because he loses his ever loving mind. This morning was something special. I'm sure Scout thought he'd hit the jackpot. In our front yard, waddling around was a skunk. Ugh! I had no idea what was keeping Scout screaming, figuring it was a deer but Jim got up and looked and saw the black and white menace. Apparently skunks give zero fucks about dogs having a mental breakdown, screaming and barking because that smelly little fellow continued his breakfast of grubs and insects (Jim also says they eat small rodents like rabbits.) I will say that he didn't smell, so that's one positive. I just hope he isn't living anywhere nearby, like under my front deck. 

Okay well, I've wasted enough time here and guess I'll get a move on though I'm way ahead of schedule in my routine. Oh well...doesn't hurt to get to work early...I'm sure I have a ton of shit still to be done. Thank God this is routine for me after 25 years. The poor guy who they hired as the French teacher has been at school the past week until late at night apparently. Sucks!

K - happy Thursday! Wish me luck. Oh, and YAY REDS!!! My friend at work that's a Phillies fan was posturing on Tuesday (after our Monday night loss) that the Phillies might be the first team to sweep the Reds this year! Dumb ass jinxed his team and we won the series! Woot! 

Up To Their Old Tricks

Just because school has started back up doesn't mean that Boo and Scout have to start their ding dong barking outside! I guess for them that's exactly what it means! It's too early for them to be out there barking at who-knows-what! But again, they're their own dogs and don't listen to the likes of their momma! 

Jaysus! I just heard Randi Rico say that by Sunday it will feel like 100! Yikes. I get that it's still summer but come on, MN! (Mother Nature) It's time to chill out! Literally. 

In school news, the schedules still aren't fixed. I did manage to find (well, Lisa did) one kid who could simply swap his GI and LA so that leaves us only two kids to vamoose. Although, my ideal would be to get another three kids so I'm not at my max. Oh, and another kid's mother is pissed he's in "LA 1" again. She doesn't understand that it really isn't LA 1. My suggestion was to have him drop my class altogether and put him in semester ELA classes to fulfill his credits. (He's a senior.) If that happens then really, we only need to move one kid and thus "inflating" only one World Studies class. So stupid. I'll try to deal with this today. When I went to my admin yesterday (for the 3rd time) he saw me coming and said, "It's not looking good." I told him that's not an option. He said they're working on it. By end of day (really by end of morning) this better be fixed. If it's not, this is my last year teaching resource LA, guaranteed. 

In other news, Open House was fine. I like the new change. I actually had a lot of kids show up, many without parents which is interesting. I also had a family show for a senior of mine and apparently she will not be attending Kings this year. They were homeless last year and were finally able to find a place to live. Unfortunately it's in Middletown. It's too bad this didn't happen a little further into the school year because our policy for seniors is that if they start their senior year at Kings and then move, they have the option of finishing with us. I felt bad for the girl because she was upset and did everything she could not to cry. 

Today will be spent mostly at my desk as I finish getting ready for kids. I don't have that much to do and I'm really in a holding pattern until I get the final names for students in my LA classes. Fucking annoying. 

Dinner: I'm going to do either a creamy mushroom/bacon pasta and a salad or lemon chicken with rice and broccoli. Or an orzo chicken bake. I'll look at the recipes at work and see which one I want to tackle. 

I need to change and put on a Reds shirt to rub it in the face of a friend at work who's a Phillies fan. He had on his Phillies shirt yesterday so I think a little payback is in order. 

And that's about all I've got. Time to finish getting ready. Happy...what the fuck day is it? It's the longest week of my life I think! Wednesday! Happy Wednesday. Jaysus! Later

You'll Be Happy To Know...

..it wasn't completely awful yesterday. Here were the high points: 

• I got to see the people I like and commiserate with them. 
• I did NOT have to hear my former principal prattle on and on about nothing simply so he could get his word quota in for the day. 
• My new "principal" seems like he's going to pretty much leave us alone. He'll still be based out of the JH and emphasized that he tends to be a "hands off" administrator who believes the staff are professionals and can handle themselves. 
• The VP I like the most is in charge of special ed. 
• Found out today is only a 1/2 day of PD which means we'll have the afternoon to ourselves. 
• The science issue wasn't really an issue. My department head is stupid and misremembered. All you really need to know is my department head is stupid. 

Some of the low points were: 

• Being back at work but like one of my lunch ladies said, "You gotta start the year to end the year."
• The schedules for my LA class still aren't fixed. I did get my admin and department head on board for getting shit straightened out so hopefully they'll crack some skulls.
• My computer is being an asshole and my tech buddy was nowhere to be found yesterday. I hate not having two monitors. 
• My new principal put some sort of weekly schedule up for meetings, like every Thursday. Looks like I'm going to be absent every Thursday. And by the way! I'm not going to a meeting every fucking week! For what purpose? Strike one new guy! 
• We have Open House tonight. It's better than in the past, however (high point...well middle point) because it's only between 4 and 6 and at least it isn't a week after school starts and after a full day of stupid teaching. 

So, because of Open House, I won't be cooking tonight. I'll race home around 2:00 so I can let the pups out, change and then race back so I'm there by 4:00. I'll then skate out exactly at 6:00 and meet Jim at Desha's. Yummy.

Since I can't exercise after school, I decided to do my elliptical this morning which means I didn't do any yoga. Although I did do some ab work. I need to lose some of this flab. We'll walk the boys after we get home from dinner. It'd be too hot after school anyway. We walked them after dinner last night and it was miserable. Scout only made it about a mile and a half and that was with two stops for water. 

And that's all I've got. I need to get to school early so I can leave a little early to come home for the dogs. They're feeding us breakfast this morning but I won't partake, which will be tough because they're getting Panera and their cinnamon sugar bagels are SOOOOOO good. I'll just have some coffee. 

K - later!

Year 26

Today starts year 26 for me and I'm hoping I can make it through. I don't know how I'm going to go beyond 30 much less 34 years. No fucking way. Especially when stupid shit just keeps happening and happening. The latest? I got an email from one of my sped colleagues who is teaching the resource science class this year. Science and social studies should be on a three year rotation. This year should have been Physical Science but instead, someone dropped the ball and it's Biology. Which means any student who is a junior in resource science already took Bio and not won't have a science this year. Ugh! Dummies. 

The weekend was good. I did a good job of NOT letting thoughts of my summer ending bum me out. Jim got home around 6:00 on Friday and we just hung out with a couple neighbors for a bit. Saturday Jim and I did yard work. I got the back yard seeded in the bare spots, weeded, rounded up spots that are problem areas and deer scrammed (holy shit is that stuff foul). Jim cleaned out the side yard. It looks amazing and he actually got rid of a ton of stuff. It looks great and I'm hoping it stays that way. Having it nice and tidy with the wood stacked properly (it had been moved for the new fence and not moved back) I realize we need to split some wood. Jim's going to call someone to go behind the fence and cut the tree we dropped into pieces we can split. 

Sunday I made breakfast, walked Scout and just chilled out, mostly in the spa. Jim ran errands and then came back to get some little stuff complete in the side yard. Around dinner time, well, when I was supposed to start dinner, Doug and Lauren came over and strong-armed me into playing cards. I wanted to make it an early night but alas, who the fuck cares. We ended up playing until about 6:30, I made dinner and was still in bed by 8:30. 

Of course I slept like shit. First of all, at 11:30 I started getting facetime calls from weird numbers. It happened about 4 times until I was finally able to wake up enough to block the numbers. I don't know what the fuck that was. I managed to get back to sleep but didn't sleep great and woke up at 3:00 and never really went back to sleep. 

So today is a day of meetings. Tomorrow is a PD day and Wednesday is my work day. I'm hoping we'll get more time in our rooms today and tomorrow. We'll see. I'm going to try to have a good attitude but it's really hard. 

Dinner: Keilbasa with saurkraut and mashers. This was a request by Jimmy and I aim to please. It's not something I've made before so hopefully it won't suck. 

K - best mosey. Get my ass to - FUCK! - work. Happy Monday! Later!

Last Hurrah

Well, we've come to my last weekend of my summer break. I can't believe I'm here. One good thing about next week is that I thought we had two work days (Monday and Tuesday) before kids started but in fact, the staggered start doesn't begin until the 14th. Woot! Although we all know how much I hate meetings and in-service I can't be mad if it means one less days dealing with kids. 

I haven't checked the schedules to see if anything changed but I'm sure it didn't. I'm telling you, with the number of difficult and needy kids in that 3rd bell LA it's already going to be a shit show but having it jam packed is not conducive to learning. Ugh. 

Jim should be home later today but he might have to go back on Monday which sucks. It shouldn't be overnight, however but that's just too much driving. 

Weekend plans: No real plans. We'll see what comes up. I'm going to try to have a good weekend and not let thoughts of Monday ruin it. 

Today I'm going tackle the lawn. It's getting long and I'd prefer to do it now rather than wait until tomorrow or Sunday. Hopefully I can muster the energy to do both the front and back. Wish me luck that I don't have a heart attack. 

Beyond that, if it's nice, I'll lay out. I mean, why not, right? 

Dinner: I think I'll do the Pad Thai prepared meal that I got from Aldi. Hopefully it doesn't suck. 

And that's all I've got. Time to get some ab work done so and then start on the yard. Later! Happy Friday! 

Every Year

You'd think that after years and years of scheduling students into class, our counselors would know what they're doing. Every year, things get fucked up and this year is a real doozie. 

To preface, I'm teaching 2 language arts classes (LA), which is the case every year. For some reason, they've named them LA 1 and LA 2. I've told the powers that be that my classes are the same class. I teach the same thing in each but differentiate for each student. This means that there's no need to put specific grade levels into the classes; it can be a mish mash. Unfortunately no one ever listens. Oh, and like the dumb fucks they are (and I'm thinking it was the fault of my previous principal who was a total buffoon and our department head) they scheduled one of my LA classes at the same time they scheduled one of the resource math classes. (Resource LA and math classes should NEVER be during the same bell.) 

So yesterday I went into my gradebook to set it up and saw that once again, schedules were fucked. My one LA class had 15 kids in it (I only have 12 that can fit in my room) and the other had 6. I emailed the counselors and told them this needed to be fixed. I then went into specific students' schedules and found 4 students that would be a fairly easy switch. This would then make it 11 and 10  which is pretty good in terms of balance. Of course I get an email back that says these "fixes" wouldn't be possible because the World Studies classes (the freshman social studies requirement) were too full. 

I'm going to backtrack here. Over the last two years, we've had 2 social studies teachers leave. For both, they did not replace them. Why? Because they're stupid. This is why the class sizes are so inflated. I emailed the counselors back and essentially said, "Well, I can't have 15 in my room so you'll have to figure something out. I was just looking for easy fixes and trying to help." 

It's all so frustrating. We say every year that they need to first schedule the students in resource, lock them in (balanced) and then complete the rest of the gen ed population. I'd even be willing to do this for them but of course that never happens. It doesn't help that my former buffoon couldn't formulate a master schedule to save his life and it wasn't completed until well into the summer. I work with a bunch of fucking imbeciles. I hate that the school year hasn't even started and I'm already dreading it. 

In other news, Jim's off to Dublin. He'll be home tomorrow evening. Hopefully this will be the last time he'll need to go up there. Not that I mind having the house to myself for a night but I know it's a bummer for him. As a result, I'll probably have a leftover meatball sub for dinner. I did buy a pre-made pad Thai meal from Aldi that looks good but maybe I'll save that for tomorrow when Jim gets home. 

I've walked the dogs already (did 4 miles because I couldn't go the way I'd planned due to slow stupid walkers) and after I finish this I'll go do some ab and arm work. I was going to take a bike ride and maybe I still will but I'm kind of not feeling it. Maybe just a short one. I was going to mow the lawn but we had a massive downpour yesterday evening (much needed) and it's just too wet out there. I may re-Round Up the weeds beyond the fence again just to make sure they really die. I can see they're wilting but I want no lingering weeds. 

Okay well, I've prattled on enough. Happy Thursday! Later!

Nice While It Lasted

Annnnddddd...the humidity is back up to 98%. The temps aren't terrible yet but walking this morning left me soaked. Oh well, it is summer. 

Not much to talk about. I did get the schoolwork done that I had on my list. Namely, looked up the schedules for my caseload, fixed one or two, and responded to the parent who'd emailed me. I also made up the list of teachers who will need IEPs (that's always a pain in the ass but I figured out a new spreadsheet to make it easier). Today I need to look at 2 students whose schedules are effed up and see if I can fix them. I then need to look at my classes to see who's where and finally set up my gradebook. 

Beyond the above my plans for the day are pretty chill. I'm going to mix up a few pints of ice cream for my Creami but they have to freeze for 24 hours so won't be ready until tomorrow. I'm thinking I'll do a strawberry, vanilla and probably another peach. After I finish here I'll go do some yoga and ab work. Yesterday I added an arm workout but will skip that today since I plan on swimming and that's works my arms well. Plus I'm pretty sore from yesterday and don't want to overdo it. I'm hoping the clouds will clear out and I can lay out a bit too. 

Dinner: Burnt ends with mashers and broccoli. I really like the burnt end meal from Aldi and it's so easy. 

Did I mention that Jim's going to Dublin? I think I did but I wasn't sure when. He'll leave tomorrow and be back Friday after work. His boss tried to tell him that he wanted him to drive up and back Thursday and Friday instead of getting a hotel room. I told him, "HELL NO!" I said, "You can tell Andrew that your wife put the kibosh on that." I mean, that would be 6 hours of driving in two days which probably would be more money they'd have to pay Jim in "trips" but, no. They can shell out $130 for a hotel room give me a fucking break. BTW - his boss caved pretty quickly. 

Trip sent a pic yesterday of the retaining walls the pool guy put in which look really good. 

No word from Nick. Ridiculous. Not sure what I'm going to do about it but it needs to be me that handles this. Jim tends to piss people off too much and I want this work done. I need to figure out a way to be firm but reasonable. 

Okay - time for yoga. Happy Wednesday. Later!

Good Intentions

I had the intention of posting earlier but alas, Jim didn't do his job before going to work and I had to. BTW - his job was to feed the squirrels and birds. Their feeders were bone dry and they make quite the racket (especially the squirrels) when they have no food to stuff themselves with. This meant that after I walked both boys (separately) I needed to serve breakfast to the wildlife and THAT'S why I'm later than I wanted to be this morning. 

First things first: Good luck to Maggie today. I'm sure everyone who reads this knows that she's having a biopsy on the lump in her throat (thyroid). I'm sure it's benign but good luck that the procedure goes well with no complications and you're back home quickly. I'm sure the results won't be immediate but hopefully they'll come back quickly so that can be a load off your mind. 

Yesterday was very productive for me. Aside from my usual work out stuff, I got a shit ton of laundry done and I put the two end tables together without much of a fuss. The second one went much faster than the first mostly because I used my noodle and grabbed Jim's drill to speed things along. They look good and I finally got rid of the hideous end table that was next to the love seat and replaced Jim's bedside table (which was a TV tray) with the library stool that had been in the FR. 

Guess who was a no-show yesterday? Yup...didn't hear hide nor hair from Nick. We'll see if he sends me a text or not. It's getting ridiculous. 

My plans today: After I finish this I'll go do some yoga and ab work. I think after I'll take a bike ride...before the rain sets in. Actually, the rain might be hit or miss...we'll see. If it's a hit, I'll probably try to get some work done for work. I had a parent email me yesterday about her son's schedule and I like her so I won't ignore her. 

Dinner: Maggie sent me a text yesterday with a pic of the Rusty Bucket menu where they must have gone to dinner last night. On it, was the "Tuesday Special" listed as their taco salad. A little backstory: I LOVE (L-O-V-E) Rusty Bucket's taco salad and it used to be a staple on their menu. Then they got rid of it. Now, Maggie's RB has it kept it as their Tuesday special but unfortunately the one by me did not. However, Maggie said with last night's pic, it was the first time she'd seen it actually listed on their menu. So, I thought I'll check to see if it's on Mason's menu. It's not. Maybe I'll call later to see if they have it as a special and if so, maybe I can talk Jim into going there for dinner tonight! IF all that doesn't work out the way I'd hoped, I'll make grilled Thai pork chops probably with some rice and broccoli.

Okay - that's all I've got. Time to get some yoga and get my shit done so I can relax and get some work done so that it doesn't take up my whole day. Later!