Happy Opening Day!!!

I've got my Reds gear on and I'm excited! Jim worked a little later than usual yesterday so he can get out early today so he'll be home for first pitch. Woot! GO REDS!!! 

Have I mentioned lately how badly these kids are driving me crazy!? FUCK! The drama is off the charts! So yesterday, 2nd bell Greg was supposed to come to my GI to take a Geometry test. He doesn't show up after about 20 minutes so I email around (waste my time) trying to riddle out where he went. He walks in at 8:38 and I say, "WTH!?" He says he was with one of the principals. I let that go because I just don't want to know. 

Fast forward to about 9:02, 2nd bell ends and my phone rings. It's the first bell teacher of Greg and co. (company being all those shit asses who push each other's buttons). She tells me that one of my trouble making girls (I think I called her Patty in a previous post) wants to talk to me about Greg. Fuck. I have all these yahoos for 4th bell. Of course I'll talk to her but before I can, another of the yahoos comes to me between 3rd and 4th to say, "Mrs. Hanke...is there somewhere me and Patty can go for 4th period so we don't have to sit in class with Greg?" JAYSUS! In the end, I had Greg go work in the office with the caveat to all the kids that they need to get their shit together. I'm so sick of dealing with their shit. Seriously! I didn't sign up to teach 3rd graders and all this name-calling and button pushing they partake in is getting on my last nerve. I think I'm going to have to have a little discussion with these kids today. It's a good day to do it too because the kids who are good aren't in history on Thursdays so they won't have to deal with my wrath. 

I'm pretty sure I've seen the last of Jim in bed. He's loving the recliner and seems to prefer it. (I'm not mad about it.) It really is comfy...best purchase I've made in a while. 

I got my car back. It's nice to have it back but it reminded me how nice it is to have a brand spanking new car. That little Cross Trek was so peppy. But, I love my car still and have no plans of replacing it. Especially after spending what I just spent for new brakes, a new tire, oil change and alignment. Now I just need to get it cleaned. I might have to do that myself. It's so dusty inside. 

Jim just said to me about the chair, "It still has that new chair smell!" It better...it's two days old. 

Dinner tonight: Thai Curry Grilled Pork Chops. I'll have to go to the store for them because I don't have any red curry paste. Dammit! I'll make it with rice and broccoli. 

Okay, time to get a move on. Happy Thursday! Go Reds!!! Later! 

Only Two Months Later

We finally got our recliner yesterday and I must say, it was worth the wait. Jim worked late last night so I was able to get some quality time with her. She's so flexible; she literally reclines so you can lay flat. The head portion can raise and lower, it has a lumbar button, a massager, you can charge your phone with it and it takes up a lot less room than the other chair. (Not to diss the other chair. She was fabulous while we had her and was a life saver for Jim after his heart and hernia surgeries.)

I'm hoping my car will be ready today but I am enjoying the loaner. She's a peppy little thing. I finally managed to figure out how to get CarPlay to work with my phone so that will make driving to work today a little better than yesterday. How did I ever manage before when I didn't have the technology I've gotten so used to? It's sort of scary. 

I didn't end up making the dinner I had planned yesterday (chili cornbread bake) since Jim worked late so I'll make that tonight. 

No new info on Aunt Muir. I'm hoping she's improving every day. 

Baseball officially kicks off tonight although the Reds Opening Day isn't until tomorrow. Crazy our opening series is with the Red Sox. 

Not much is happening with me. I feel like I had something to talk about but of course my brain lost it. 

Scout has licked his paw raw again. ARG!!! I'm so frustrated with this behavior. I don't like to get on my baby's case but he's relentless. He gets so sad when I have to reprimand him too. I feel like yesterday it was a little better but not being around him all day, who knows what I'll come home to. 

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

Jackhole

This time my post title does in fact refer to Jim. 

So there I am, in the middle of Pilates when suddenly I hear Jim's voice. (Understand, he's still in bed with the bedroom door closed so I don't disrupt him while exercising.) I think, Hmm...I guess he's getting up early. Then, I hear him again and then a thump and bang. So I pop up and throw open the door where I find Jim standing at the window, banging on the glass. The room is flooded with light because an Amazon delivery person is delivering Jim's straw cleaners! "Jesus Jim!!! What the fuck!? You scared the hell out of me." Sure it was a rude way for Jim to have to wake up but why does he always sweat the small stuff. 

In other news, you'll be happy to read that Greg immediately came in yesterday before school started, delivered his phone and made a very sincere apology. I told him I appreciated his apology and hopefully this was a lesson learned. I told him that I'd always be there for him, we just need to talk things through. I finished with, "And now we move on." 

I don't think I mentioned that with everything that happened Friday I also got really good news. Lisa sent me a text to say, "Giiiirl!!! STRS just extended 32 years for retirement. It's looking like we'll be out in 6 years instead of 8!!!" Is that not the best news you've ever heard!? Additionally, Lisa added that this means we only have 1.5 years left in our current building and 4.5 in the new one. I think I can swing that! Fingers crossed and knock on wood! 

Aunt Muir news: Allen sent me a text last night saying, "My mom has been off the ventilator since 1 PM and is breathing on her own. The next 12-24 hours are critical. I'm concerned because she is unable to speak even though she is trying. Staying hopeful this is temporary." Hopefully all up this upward movement continues. 

I have a loaner car for the next couple days. Jim was all concerned about one of my tires so took it in yesterday. I'm getting a new tire, new brakes an oil change and an alignment. Yay! I love it when I don't have to deal with car shit. I've got a brand spanking new Crosstrek to drive. It's a really pretty deep blue color. I took it for a little spin last night. It's a cozy little car. 

Dinner: Cornbread chili bake. 

I've got a half day today, well, I'm leaving about 2 1/2 hours early. I have an 11:00 phone meeting for an ETR planning. The window for the recliner is 12:30 - 4:30. Hopefully they'll be here sooner rather than later but it never seems to work out that way. 

K - Happy Tuesday. Later!

Disgusting, Immature & Disrespectful

You'll be happy to know I'm NOT talking about Jimmy! Nope, these labels belong to Greg. Friday was a doozie of a day and it started 1st bell. I won't go into all the nuts (no pun) and bolts but Greg pissed me off something fierce and I'm going to have a hard time dealing with him for another 2 years. Of course I'll get over it and hopefully this will be a lesson to him. 

So, the short story: A decision was made last Wednesday that Greg would turn his phone into me 1st bell. He would get it back for 5th and have it the rest of the day. He managed to turn it in Thursday without much of an issue but Friday, he never showed up. I called his first bell teacher and told her to send him down with it. Apparently, he refused and on his way out the door he said, "I'm not giving my phone to Mrs. Hanke...she can suck my black balls." Needless to say this pissed me off. First, GROSS! I don't want to have your balls and me sucking them in my head. That's fucking disgusting. Second, grow the fuck up. Third, you disrespectful little ass. I drop everything for you when you're having a hard day to ensure you regulate and can move on without a total meltdown. And you treat me like that!? Nope.

Obviously, I had to calm down before I could deal with him and thankfully, I had until he showed up for 4th bell to do so. He tried to apologize for not bringing me his phone (he thought that was the only reason he was in trouble) but told him I didn't want to hear his voice much less look at him. As I walked him down to the office (because I didn't want him in my classes) I explained that he'd been heard when he made his disgusting remark and I calmly told him how I took it. I don't know what his punishment will be from the office but he'd better believe that from this point on, he'll be losing his phone for the whole day. He doesn't deserve to get his phone for even a minute and he can suck it. Jerk. I'll be interested to see how he handles today. 

The weekend was pretty good. We didn't do anything Friday. Jim ended up having to work Saturday so i shopped, cleaned and walked Scoutie. Jim got home earlier than he'd planned (WHAT!?) so he was able to nap before we went out with Doug and Lauren. We ended up going to Jungle Jim's for some shopping and a beer (you can drink and shop there) and from there we went to Mt. Carmel Brewing. It was packed but we managed to find 4 seats at the bar. Good food and Jim said good beer...I didn't drink since I was driving. Once home, Doug and Lauren came over for some cards.

Yesterday was just lovely. After walking Scout I got some of my outdoor furniture out and then sat outside drinking a mimosa, doing a crossword puzzle, and reading. Once the sun got high enough in the sky, I did a little sunbathing and it was so nice. Dinner was a sort of lemon chicken with brussels and rice. 

Tonight we'll have fish and chips with cole slaw for dinner.

Should be an easy week. Although I have to take off a 1/2 day tomorrow for an appointment (we're finally getting our recliner delivered). I have a couple phone meetings to do the planning for upcoming evaluations but that's it. And then after Friday, I'm on spring break! Woot. 

Aunt Muir update: Seems she had a bunch of little strokes during the pacemaker procedure. They believe she had an underlying afib issue. This is "good news" in a sense as it wasn't a massive stroke and they believe she'll be able to rehab in 3-6 months. 

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

Third Times A Charm?

Typically on a Friday, I cook something simple like grilled cheese and soup or a cobb salad. Tonight however, because Jim ended up working late AGAIN (I wasn't mad) I'm finally (?) going to make the hibachi chicken I'd planned over the last couple days. And hey, it's going to be really nice today so maybe I'll break out the Blackstone! Hmm...I'll have to prep it when I get home though because I haven't used it all winter and I'll probably need to re-season it. That's okay...what else do I have to do?

Actually, when I get home, I might have to exercise after walking Scout. You see, I just wasn't feeling it this morning and didn't ellipticize. Plus, Jim had to be out the door at 5:30 so he got up with me and since I haven't really seen him this week (he's worked late 3 of the last 4 days) I figured we could chat. But who knows? Maybe I'll just forego exercising and just give Scoutie a really long walk. Although, that little bugger doesn't keep up like he used to and since it's going to be a bit warm today, I'd expect he'll putter out after 2 miles. We'll see. 

BTW - I haven't heard anything from Allen about Aunt Muir. I want to text but don't want to bother. I'd assume he'd let me know when there's a change. Fingers crossed no news is good news. 

So yesterday I had 2 meetings with that chick from the WCCC that rubbed me the wrong way last week. I was not looking forward to sitting across the table from her. However, when I walked into the room for my first meeting, she was all light and love and how-do-you-do! Threw me a little. Someone obviously said something to her or maybe she had some self-reflection (doubtful). Anyway, the meeting went well and I thought, Okay, maybe she just had an off day last week.

And then I showed up for my next meeting and I guess her other personality decided to show up. Fucking bitch. So I was talking to the parent (on Zoom), making introductions, talking about what we were there to discuss, touching on the IEP amendments etc., and FB (fucking bitch) completely cuts me off and says, "No, we're not going to go over the amendments yet." It was so rude. I looked at her, rather glared at her and said, "Oh...okay. You go then." From that point on, I wasn't going to engage in her shenanigans. The rep for my school had her laptop open with a Google doc open and typed to me, "I'm sorry. At least you only have a couple meetings with her. I have to sit in a meetings with her for hours." Obviously, it wasn't just me. 

After the meeting, she tried to "apologize" by saying, "I'm sorry for cutting you off..." and then of course she said, "BUT..." and added some lame excuse. You can't say "sorry" and then "but". My response to her was, "Whatever." I then took some pleasure in correcting some wrong information she had which pissed her off and she said, "Well, that's not what so-and-so said." And I replied with, "So-and-so is wrong." I then got up and left. Fuck you. I hope I don't ever have to see you again. Seriously, every interaction I've ever had with this woman has gone this way, even emails. Ridiculous. 

Weekend plans: Nothing tonight except I plan on soaking in the hot tub. Saturday we're going to go out with Doug and Lauren. I don't know where though because I told Lauren to pick. I just said, "Make it early and I'll drive." Hopefully she'll pick something good. I'm going to put money on Asian though. That's always Lauren's go-to. Which is fine. I'm sure after dinner we'll probably come home for cards. Other than that, nothing. 

School today should be easy since it's a video day. Yesterday was hard because I had to read the chapter in Harry Potter 2 1/2 times and it was a really long chapter. We're watching The Truman Show in ELA and Sound of Music in history. The kids are loving the Sound of Music, if you were wondering. Why wouldn't they? It's always funny to me that the movies they're enthralled by are musicals. 

K - I guess I'm ready to get this day started so I can get this day over with. Happy Friday!!! Later! Ooh! Tomorrow's the first day of Spring! Oh, and safe travels to the Egberts who come home today. Later!

A Bit Concerning

I'm putting this on here so the family is aware: I was texting with Allen yesterday and he mentioned that at that moment, Aunt Muir was getting a pacemaker put in. That was at 4:30. At midnight he sent this: "There is some concern over the initial cat scan, prompting them to do a second cat scan. She is simply not waking up, but breathing on her own, no intubation. Doc simply said to sit tight." He said he'd message when he knew anything but that was the last I heard. I'll keep everyone in the loop when I hear anything. 

Yesterday was a doozie at school because of all the drama I had to deal with. First, Greg came to me at the end of 1st bell to say that so-and-so (lets call her Patty) had hurt his feelings and he needed a break before heading off to 2nd bell. It's my policy to let kids tell their story without me probing, so I didn't ask what was up. Plus, I'm well aware that Greg is usually not an innocent party when problems arise with other students. Turns out Patty made a derogatory comment about Greg being adopted. When I saw her, I pulled her aside to find out what was up. (These two are constantly at each other's throats.) She said that Greg started with her in 1st bell making fun of her weight (she's somewhat short and round) and telling her things like "Go eat another cheeseburger,". (What an asshole. And we've had conversations about commenting on people's physical appearance before. I say all the time to the kids, "People in glass houses...") I then pulled one of the paras who is in 1st bell and she confirmed that these two are constantly baiting each other and it's equal in terms of who starts it from one day to the next. She did say that Greg was the instigator yesterday. 

In the end, I was forced to email the admins then email Greg's mom then have a talk with Greg which pissed him off then I had to call his mom later in the day. CALGON TAKE ME AWAY!!! I hate having to deal with this shit. It was literally a part of my day ALL DAY LONG! I mean, KIDS! GROW THE FUCK UP!!!

YAY for Miami! I know Trip must be thrilled. They now play Tennessee. Definitely rooting for them! 

Dinner tonight, since Jim will be home, is going to be the hibachi chicken and veggies that I've been threatening to cook. 

I have two meetings today with the chick I'm not a fan of from the career center. That stupid ass better not piss me off today. Not sure why she thinks she has to be such a fuck. 

Okay, I'm done here and out of time. Happy, ooh, Thursday! Tomorrow's Friday. 

Here We Go

Did I mention that my union's contract is up for negotiation? Well, it is. This last contract was a 3 year contract (I think) and gave us the bare minimum in terms of base pay. Basically what they gave us wasn't even enough to cover the rising cost of living. In comparison to neighboring districts, we are one of the lower paying districts. It's a crock especially when we have employees who have not real job description and when asked what they do, the answer is always something along the lines of, We're figuring that out. 

A couple months ago, a survey went out to the union asking what the most important negotiating items would be and of course, the majority of members stated salary. We were then asked what the minimum base percentage would be accepted. Fast forward to a two days ago and we get an email from the union president saying that the following: After 3 meetings the board has, "unfortunately...given us the indication that they are not willing to competitively compensate the educators in our district compared to other local districts". Fuck me! Of course the union prez's solution for this was for members to show up at last nights board meeting in hoards to show solidarity. I'm not kidding you I'm more than happy to strike if it comes down to it. 

I mean, we just passed a 1% income tax and I know, I see, how idiotically these mo fos spend money. It's ridiculous that they aren't willing to give us a fair fucking wage but they'll hire admins who don't do anything. Seriously, I have one VP this year that I've probably seen 5 times and our "principal"? He spends all his time in the junior high and the extent of what he does is to call weekly meetings that are a waste of time and could be better dealt with in an email.  Fuck you! It's so frustrating. 

K - I'm done bitching. 

Jim's working late tonight at his friends house which means I'll be having leftovers. Fine with me. 

And I've got nothing else. Guess I'd best get going. Later!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I actually planned on wearing green today even before I remembered what day it was. Bam! 

My meeting yesterday (did I mention I had a meeting?) went fine. This was a three-year evaluation meeting for Greg, my behaviorally challenged student. I didn't expect anything major to happen and it didn't. However, when I walked in, I was interested to see that the admin there wasn't the admin in charge of sophomores. I knew he wasn't otherwise occupied because he was covering for me since I didn't have a sub. Regardless, I let it go and think too much about it. Fast forward to post-meeting as I'm getting ready to eat lunch. My admin came up to me and said, "Did you know Greg's parents booted me from having contact with Greg?" I did not know that. I said to him, "Lucky you! I always love it when that happens!" Seriously. I think parents (and you know they're always parents of the pain in the ass kids) believe they're hurting us when they "demand" that certain educators have nothing more to do with their child's discipline (or IEP or what have you). Do they not realize that this is a gift to us? Seriously, it doesn't hurt feelings in fact it's a celebration to me. Anyway, I said, "How do I get them to do the same for me?" Unfortunately, they like me so there you have it. 

Jim worked late last night painting his friends house. I wasn't mad about it but I did have to eat alone. It was fine though. Speaking of dinner, I'll be making hibachi chicken and veggies with some yum yum sauce. I won't make it on the Blackstone like I normally would (too cold) but it'll still be delicious. 

So annoying!!! Jim's watching Morning Joe and someone on set has an alarm that keeps beeping! It's driving me nuts. How are they allowing that to continue to go off!? TURN THAT SHIT OFF!!!

I've got nothing else to discuss. I'll start reading Harry Potter today. Fingers crossed I have enough time to finish it by the end of the year and have time to watch the movie. 

K - I'll close here. Happy Tuesday! Good luck Lisa who's having surgery today! Later!

Sassy

Yesterday Jim was watching M*A*S*H and was curious about who Mike Farrell's wife was. I knew but Jim doesn't listen to me so he asked Alexa, "ALEXA!!! Who is Mike Farrell married to?" Before he (because my Alexa is a male's voice) I said, "He's married to Shelley Fabares," which Alexa then repeated. I added, "She played Coach's girlfriend/wife, Christine, on Coach." Alexa then said, "That's right! She did!" Jim then said to Alexa, "ALEXA! Quit butting into our conversation!" to which Alexa then blew Jim a raspberry! You know, stuck his tongue out and blew. That's never happened before and it was hilarious! Alexa is getting sassy! 

Surprisingly, I slept pretty well last night. I was anticipating a night of tossing and turning first because of the wind and then because we were getting storms after midnight. In the end, I put my head on my pillow around 8:30 and slept until about 1:00 as the storm rolled in. I watched the trees sway for a bit but it wasn't bad. As the sky lit up and a bit of thunder rumbled, I was lulled back to sleep. I awoke again when the downpour hit (it was crazy) but other than that, it was a pretty tame storm. I ended up falling back to sleep and staying that way until 4:00 and then with a half hour left, I dozed until my alarm finally went off. 

The wind yesterday seemed worse than it was on Friday. My neighbor next door had a large piece of tree go through her back fence. Thankfully, we were spared. I just need to take all the trees around my house down. I think then, I'd be less of a maniac. 

As I started getting dinner ready last night around 5:00 the electricity went out. Apparently there was a tree that fell across some powerlines up the street (across from Shooter). Originally, Duke said it would take until about 11:15 for power to be restored so Jim and I ended up ordering Chinese. Just after dinner, around 6:30 the power miraculously came back on. Phew. 

Since I didn't make last night's meal I'll do that tonight. We'll be having air fryer French bread pizza. Yummy and bonus, most of my prep work is done. 

I haven't been able to eat at all this weekend. I made a big breakfast yesterday and could only eat 1 piece of turkey bacon, one bite of egg and only 1/2 my piece of French toast. I didn't have lunch. For dinner, I could only eat 1/2 my egg roll and about 3 bites of my schezwan wrinkle beans. I'm not complaining...I'm happy to continue losing weight but what my brain thinks I can eat never ends being anything near that. I even lowered my dosage this past week. Anyway, Monday is usually the day where my appetite slightly reappears and I can eat somewhat normally. 

I made a mistake last week saying I had one more week until Spring Break. I was wrong and not happy about it. I have two more week. The first day of my Spring Break isn't until the 30th. Ugh! I'm going to do my best to get through without taking a day off but I can't guarantee I'll be able to do that. I'm weak and these kids are idiots. 

All that said, the week should be pretty tame. I'm starting Harry Potter tomorrow with the kids (book 3) and I have a meeting today but I'm not running it so won't have to say or do too much. Other than that, nothing...that I can remember. 

K - best get a move on. Happy Monday. Later!

Longest Week Ever?

It wasn't a hard week but it was a long week. I managed to get a good amount of work done but it dragged horribly and left me exhausted. On a positive note, I slept well this week. Due possibly to being exhausted. I'm just glad I made it to Friday and now have only a week left until Spring Break! Woot! 

We're getting high winds today which makes me nervous. On the one hand I'm glad I'll be at school during the height of them but I worry about my babies. Thankfully there isn't foliage on the trees yet so hopefully we'll be spared any downed trees (knock on wood). And maybe the high winds will knock those stupid red buds off the trees. The peak winds should be between 10 and 3 so by the time I get home things should be dying down. I'm sure my walk with Scoutie will be a doozie though. 

Weekend plans: None. I'm excited to do nothing. Truthfully with the prices of everything these days, aside from going out to lunch on Saturday, I'm happy to try and save and hang at home. 

Dinner tonight: Bratts and metts. I'll probably cook up some green beans and air fry some tots. 

I'm so pissed! I didn't get the Wordle today. It wasn't that hard and I should have gotten it but I was being stupid. I blame it on the early morning hour and my exhaustion. (Of course I do the Wordle at the same time everyday so...).

Okay well, I guess I'll get a move on. I have lots of last minute paperwork to finish up for the quarter. Plus I need to crack some Stupid Baby skull. He was on my last nerve yesterday and I let him have it. On Wednesday he only had 2 Fs but by yesterday he was up to 4! FUCK!!!  It's so hard to reprimand him though because he really is so sweet. After I tore into him for his lack of work and grades, when the bell rang, he stood up and said, "Bye Mrs. Hanke...have a good day!" And he meant it. Fucking kid!

K - happy Friday. Later!

I Knew It!

This pic has nothing to do
with my post but isn't 
Scout just the cutest boy!?

Got my taxes done and like I figured, we owed federal but not much. We got a refund from the state but again, not much. 'Tis what 'tis I guess but how am I in a tax bracket where I owe?! Such horseshit! But at least that's done. Now I just have to pay all Jim's medical bills and we should be good to go for the year. (KNOCK REALLY HARD ON WOOD!)

Why is this week creeping by so slowly!? It's so annoying. I'm just excited that tomorrow is the end of the quarter and from here on out it should be all downhill. I don't want to jinx myself though. 

We had a meeting after school yesterday to discuss mixing up our schedules. I wouldn't be much affected by this move except that I did say if we do, I'd prefer to only teach my ELA classes. We have three sped teachers who have never taught a sped class and I think it's due. They wouldn't have to do much if they use my material. We'll see. Like everything, this too shall probably never happen. 

BTW, last night Jim suggested we have tuna salad and because I aim to please, that's what we had. I served it with some tots. Bonus there was leftovers so now I have a good lunch. Tonight I'll be making chicken Spiedini. If you're wondering what the heck that is, like I did, it’s an Italian-inspired dish made with marinated chicken that’s breaded, skewered, and baked. I think Maggie turned me on to this. It better be good. I'll serve it with broccoli and rice. 

What a fucking tool that dumb mother fucker is. Excursion? Really? Excursion is defined as a short journey or trip, especially one engaged in as a leisure activity. Hmm...does that sound like what's happening in Iran? Do you think those who have already lost their lives see it as an "excursion"? Ass hat! And he can't seem to get it straight. He's trying to get away from using the word "war" but then he follows his excursion shit up with "we're going to win this war so fast. Faster than you've ever seen.

Anyway, that's all I've got. Time to get going and stop thinking about all that is bad in this fucked up country. Happy Thursday! Later! 

Clueless

I have no idea what to make for dinner tonight. I'm at that stage in my cooking life where I'm sick of everything. I want to grill but of course the weather is going to be iffy around dinner time with possible storms. Ugh. I'll figure out what I want at school and possibly go to Kroger during my plan. (I didn't end up doing that yesterday.) 

Testing went well yesterday. The girl I proctored was no problem at all and thankfully I didn't annoy her with any weird sounds or movements. She even told me at the end when I asked her if I annoyed her too much that I was better than most. A high compliment! 

I managed to get a lot done in the 3 1/2 hours of sitting on my duff. Mostly I completed some paperwork, got a really good start on my progress reports and worked on a report for an upcoming evaluation. 

That dumb mother fucker is coming to Cincinnati today. Thankfully he'll be far away from my house but I did hear he'll be in Hebron which is near Trip and Susan. I'm sure traffic will be all messed up in that area. He's also going to Reading and I was afraid that Jim would have to be near there but he's in Blue Ash instead. 

We had a meeting after school yesterday so they could introduce our new principal. It's the dude I figured it would be. He's 34 and clearly a young whipper snapper with a lot of big ideas and hopes for finding his "family" at our school. Poor guy is still so shiny and new and hasn't been jaded by the bullshit that is our district. He was very nervous as he spoke to the staff which made me have a bit of sympathy for him. Dude has his work cut out for him but I'll try to give him grace without being too cynical. My main hope is he just leaves me the fuck alone and lets me do my job. I'm old enough to be his mother and I don't need someone telling me what I should be doing. I need to change my attitude, I know but it's hard in a district that keeps disappointing. 

We're getting storms today...maybe. The first round will be while I'm at work in the mid-morning. The second round will be after I get home. One weather app has the storms this morning skirting north of us and I'm not sure about he later afternoon ones. Fingers crossed we get lucky. It's only a "slight" risk (2 out of 5) which keeps me hopeful. 

Ooh, the house behind us yesterday had a shit ton of cops there. I have no idea what was going on but there were about 4 SUV marked cars and another 4 unmarked. I saw the cops buzzing around the backyard but could see clearly through the trees what they were doing. It's historically a weird house with a lot of strange things going on there. The dude who originally lived there was supposedly a meth maker but who knows. He died a couple years ago and now the house is up for sale by owner. My neighbor who's a firefighter in our township is trying to get the scoop. 

Okay I've rambled enough. Happy Wednesday! Later!

This Should Be Interesting

I mentioned yesterday that today is ACT testing and that I'm proctoring 1 student who needs individual testing. So, I'm in a small conference room with her. Just her and me in a tiny little room. I did this last year and I was supposed to have  two kids but one didn't show up. Anyway, yesterday I decided to see what this chicks deal is (she's on a 504). Apparently, she's got misophonia and misokinesia. What the fuck is that you ask? Well, let me tell you. Misophonia is when an individual is triggered by sounds like chewing, sniffing, or clicking. Misokinesia is when a person is triggered by sights like leg shaking, hair twirling, or pen clicking. Apparently, when these two issues occur at the same time it can cause extreme emotional/physiological distress—anger, anxiety, or disgust leading to heightened, involuntary "fight-flight-freeze" response to sensory input. Awesome! I'm pretty sure this girl will have noise-cancelling headphones I just hope she isn't annoyed by anything else I might unconsciously do. Did I mention I'm in a tiny little conference room with her. This should be fun. 

Once testing is done, around 11:00, I'll be done for the day. I need to go to Kroger so maybe I'll waste some time doing that. I also need to get my progress reports done since - holy shit!!! - the 3rd quarter ends on Friday! Isn't that shit crazy!? I only have 1 more quarter left!

Oh, I had a transition meeting yesterday for a student of mine going full time to the career center next year. At the meeting a career center rep was there to go over the program as well as any changes that needed to be made on the IEP. This woman? I mean what a fuck! She was the most condescending bitch I've ever met. The way she talked to the student was ridiculous. Hopefully he won't have to deal with her too much. At one point, after the meeting, we were talking about another student of mine who is going and she was questioning her decision to take the cosmetology lab. She said to me at one point, "Will she be okay not performing on par with the rest of her class?" I said, "I'm not sure what you mean?" (She's never met this girl, doesn't know a shit thing about her.) She answered with, "Will she be okay failing?" I said, "What?! Failing? I don't think anyone would be okay with her failing. Why would she fail?" I looked at her like she was the asshole she was. Eventually she said, "Maybe I shouldn't have used the word 'fail'." Me, "Yeah, maybe not." I can't wait for the 19th when I have another meeting with this ass. 

Dinner tonight will be a pasta Maggie and I were going to make this past weekend but didn't. It's a Stanley Tucci 6 ingredient pasta. Should be easy and good. 

BTW - slept like a baby last night thanks to a couple Tylenol PM. 

Okay, I'm out of time. Best mosey. Happy Tuesday. Later!

Couple Of Lazy Bitches

It was a very lazy weekend for me and Maggie and I'm not mad about it. I got up to Columbus around 11:00 and Maggie and Eva got home soon after. Eva hunkered down in the basement to sleep (the cleaning people were coming) and Maggie and I headed out to Stone for lunch. From there, we went to the grocery and then to hang with Mom for a bit. Once back at the Egberts, we just watched TV and chilled out until Charlie got home. We were going to cook but neither Maggie nor I were hungry so Charlie went out to get Roosters. 

Saturday, beyond showering and moving from one couch to another, I remained pretty immobile. Charlie went out to the Ohio State basketball game and Eva had a party to go to. Maggie and I lazed around and did nothing. It was lovely. We were both exhausted but obviously for no real reason. 

Sunday I got up purposefully early since I didn't want the time change to ruin my sleep (didn't work) and I was out the door headed south around 9:15. Once home and after a lot of cuddles with the pups, I took Scout on a long walk. I got home and took a bath. Eventually Jim and I decided to hang in the driveway with a beer and lo and behold, the neighbors joined. Doug, Lauren, Jim and I ended up playing some cards. I made a coconut cream and basil chicken dish and was in bed reading around 8:00. 

Of course I slept like shit and saw every hour from 10:30 until 4:11. Beyond 12:30, I don't think I slept much which doesn't bode well for my day. Although, it should be an easy one because the kids are watching The Giver in ELA and I'm introducing a new unit in history which means the kids are doing independent work. It's better that I'm tired today rather than tomorrow because I have to administer the ACT tomorrow. 

Oh, and I have a quick meeting today but I can't remember when. Probably around 9:00 or so. Whatever...no big deal. It's just for a kid going to the career center next year. I'm hoping it won't take more than a 15 minutes. 

Dinner tonight will be Cobb salad. 

And that's the extent of my exciting life. I need to get to school because I need to grade a lot of tests which I had the kids do on paper because there are some cheaters in my classes and I didn't trust them to NOT cheat when I wasn't there. 

Happy Monday. Later!

I've Said Before

You know why else I hate this time of year? It's so hard to plan what to pack because the temps are all over the place. Plus I'm pale and no one wants to see these legs. Do I wear jeans and a t-shirt with a sweater? Will I get hot? Will I be cold? Do I wear sandals? It's a conundrum and annoying. Not to mention the rain and storms. At least I won't be here tomorrow when the storms hit. 

So I've been up since 5:30. Boo actually tried to get me up at 5:00 but I said, "UH-UH!!!" I watched a bit of the news, did my NYT puzzles (took me to the last one on Wordle), drank some coffee and then got on the elliptical. When I get done here, I'll take the boys for a small walk up the street just so they can get out and hopefully poop. I'll then shower and be out the door by 8:30. My doc appointment is at 9:00. 

I should be on the road by 9:30 and in Columbus around 11:00. Not sure what we'll do but most likely just hang. Although the cleaners are coming today at Maggie's and I don't know if that means we need to be out of the house or not. I guess we'll see. I don't think we have any real plans for the weekend except to hang and enjoy each other's company. Eva had plans to have a couple friends over tonight. 

I woke up this morning to an ambulance up the street at one of my neighbors. I happens periodically with them. It's an old couple, probably in their late 70s or so. I know he's had a stroke and I'm pretty sure he's mostly homebound. As is she. I haven't seen him for years and I've only seen her when she's shuffled out to get the mail. They have someone (I've heard it's a nephew) that comes every Saturday and helps out. Other than that though, they're alone. On the positive side of all this, the ambulance left without having to take anyone away so that's good. 

And that's all I've got. I'd best get a move on so I stay on schedule. Safe travels for me...I think the rain has moved out thank the baby Jesus. Happy Friday...happy weekend. Later!

My Friday

Heads up: I'll be a little later in my post tomorrow since I've taken a day off. I have a doctor's appointment and then will head north to see the Egberts. My plan is to sleep in until 5:30 which puts me about an hour later than usual. 

You'll be happy to know that my Gordan Ramsay recipe from last night was delicious. And it was so easy. I'll definitely make that again. 

Last night when I went up to read, it was thundering. Just lightly, nothing major. When I woke up around 4:00 this morning, it was thundering again. Just rumbles and pretty far away. I think it was lightening that woke me up too early. Spring is a bitch and this rain is awful but it's another day closer to summer.

Kristi Noem is a cunt. That's all. I know many of you probably hate that word but it's a perfect one for her if ever there was one. Ha! I was just watching Morning Joe (well, Jim's watching it and I overheard) and I heard that there are rumors that trump is calling around capitol hill asking if he should get rid of that fucking cunt. Yes dumb fuck. You inept shit ass! 

Dinner tonight will be BLTs. Yummy! 

Nothing else is happening other than the usual. Kids are annoying. School is annoying. Everything is broken at school. It's still raining. My dogs are lazy. Jim's feeling good. I need to win the lottery. Same old same old. 

Speaking of my puppies, this morning, I was abandoned by both of them which caused me to run a little late. Normally it's Scout that leaves me to go back to bed and Boo hangs with me on the couch. His internal clock always tells him when it's 4:45 and at that point he'll jump in my lap to lick me silly until I get up and give him an after-breakfast biscuit. It's Boo's job to get me off my ass and keep me on my routine. Well, this morning, he left me to do who-knows-what (I found him with his brother on the bed looking out the window) and now, I'm running about 5 minutes late. He's fired! 

K - best mosey. Happy Thursday! Later!

Benson Boone, Lucky Cat & Jim's A Dummy!

I don't know if I've mentioned before how much I love Benson Boone. His voice is just amazing and I haven't found a song I haven't liked. Not to mention he's a right handsome kid who obviously works out. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not lusting after him. I mean he could be my son and that would be disgusting. (Jaysus, I just looked it up and he's 23! Definitely disgusting!). I bring this up because I woke up from my alarm having a really funny dream with him in it. There was nothing untoward happening with him but he was shirtless. Again, not lusting, just appreciative. Not a bad way to start the day. 

By the way, Jim shouldn't be allowed to handle the remote. He presses buttons willy nilly and then fucks everything up and wants me to fix it. I don't have time for that in the morning dude! I've got people waiting for my post! I'll have to put it on my to-do list for later. 

Man, this rain is relentless. I wanted to swim yesterday but it just never let up. I did take Scout up the street for a small walk by once he pooped, about 6 houses up, he turned right around and wanted to come home. Can't blame him. And today is even rainier than yesterday and isn't going to let up. Again, I hate spring. 

I just finished watching the Netflix docuseries on Gordan Ramsey. It follows him for about 6 months as he opens his most ambitious project in London, 22 Bishopsgate, which will eventually house 5 different businesses. I now need to make a trip and eat there, specifically at the Lucky Cat. It looks amazing. He would definitely be a hard person to work for and he knows it but knowing where he came from, how hard he's worked and seeing him with his family, you can't, well I can't help like the guy. 

Dinner tonight: I'm actually going to make a Gordan Ramsey recipe - Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes. It looks really yummy and I'm sure it will be. 

And that's all I've got. Since it's raining like an asshole, I'm going to go the back way I think...avoid the highway so I'd best get a move on. Happy Wednesday. Later! 

On The Other Side

Yesterday's headache and overall feeling of blah lasted, pretty much, all day. I did try to rally and I managed to clean the house and ellipticize but I couldn't bring myself to do any school work. By the time dinner rolled around, my headache finally abated thank the baby Jesus. I also managed to get pretty good sleep. Although I did wake up around 1:00 tossed and turned for a bit while Jim snored I eventually fell asleep and feel pretty good. 

Of course I got an email from my little tattletale yesterday. I have this kid, who's a senior, in both my 3rd bell (ELA) and 4th (history). It never fails that he emails me when I'm sick to let me know that the fools are acting the fool. I was expecting to get an email during 3rd but unexpectedly the trouble spot was history. I almost want to call that a win. I forwarded the email to my admin and will tell TT that in the future, it would be a better idea to email the admin and/or security since I'm not there to deal with it. This kid also tattles on my probably child/thief/liar. He'll email me during class to say that he is playing games on his Chromebook instead of doing his work. It's pretty funny and just a little annoying. Sometimes I just have to ignore him. He means well though. 

My day will hopefully be an easy one. However, I'll have a lot of grading to do and I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to crack some skulls of the fools in history who quite possibly didn't do the work assigned. If they didn't, it'll come back to haunt them today when they don't have a way to complete their review. Sorry you're an idiot. Sorry you have an F now. Dummies.

Jim's doctor's appointment yesterday went well and she gave him clearance for work. Of course he's still supposed to take it a bit easy these next two weeks. He said if felt good to get back to it which I'm happy about. It drives me nuts when Jim's just sitting at home. I know he was recovering but even the littlest jobs are like pulling teeth. He's just a naturally lazy dude and it rattles my good nature. (HAHA!!! Good nature! I know you're all laughing with me there.)

Dinner tonight: I'll probably just grill up some chicken (teriyaki) and serve it with some veggies and rice. Easy. 

I finished watching Bridgerton yesterday which makes me sad because now I'm going to have to wait forever for the next season. At least I have lots of other stuff to watch. 

K - I'm out of time. Happy Tuesday. Later!

Little Sleep, Pounding Brain = Sick Day

I think it's a combination of Sunday-Monday fueled insomnia which led to tossing and turning and resulting in a pounding headache. My brain just hurts. I tried to power through by doing some restorative morning yoga but it didn't help. So I said, fuck it. I have dozens of sick days and what better time to take a day than when I don't feel well? 

Hopefully as I sip some coffee and rest my eyes, my head will reset itself. If that happens, I'll try to get some stuff done around here like cleaning the house. I'll also try to get some work done since I have three meetings coming up for my students headed to the career center next year. Maybe I can even get some chapter questions done for Prisoner of Azkaban. 

The weekend was pretty good. Jim and I ended up going to Arthur's for lunch Saturday instead of Dead Low. Jim wanted a burger and Arthurs burgers are awesome. They also have a smaller burger, the Sally burger, which is 1/2 the size of their normal and perfect for me. I still didn't eat it all but at least I wasted less. After lunch we went to a nearby market. I wanted to get some Rum Chata Peppermint Bark but it must be seasonal because the two places we went didn't have it. Bummer. Arthurs advertised a peppermint bark espresso martini which looked delicious. I wanted to replicate it but I guess I'll have to wait...until next winter?! Ugh! After that, we came home and napped. I made baked buffalo chicken for dinner and we watched some Netflix. 

Sunday was chill. After breakfast and walking the dog, Jim went out to wash my car and go to the grocery. He then did some side yard work, straightening it up and getting it ready for spring. Dinner was Salisbury steak with mashers and broccoli. I was in bed by 7:00 to read my book and turned out my light around 8:00. 

Speaking of Jim, he's headed back to work today. I think he'll be okay as he's working with someone else who can at least lift anything over 10 pounds (paint buckets). He does have an appointment with his surgeon today and I'm sure she'll be on board with him easing back in but who knows? He's had very little pain and knowing Jim, if he gets too fatigued, he'll cut his day short. 

Dinner tonight: Leftovers...too much in the fridge to add to it. 

Holy shit, we spring forward on Sunday! That's crazy. 

Okay, I'm going to go upstairs and lay in bed and watch TV...rest my brain. Happy Monday. Later! 

Bad Way To Start Off

I have a niggling headache and it hurts and is bugging the shit out of me. Ugh! And I can't take any ibuprofen or anything because I already took a Tylenol arthritis pill when I woke up. Actually, I could take one more. Just did. I think it has everything to do with my shot, which I took last night. That's one of the few side effects I get.

So happy to say I made it through a full week at school. I'm not sure that's happened yet since we've been back from winter break. Or maybe there was one week that was complete. I don't know. Good thing though, next week will be a short week for me. I'm taking Friday off for a doctor's appointment and then I plan on heading to Columbus. Something to look forward to. 

Weekend plans: I have no idea. It's supposed to be nice. We might head down to Dead Low Brewery (on Kellogg Ave) for lunch Saturday. I really like that place and they have a huge menu, of which there are many things I want to try. We'll see if Doug and Lauren want to join but if not, no worries; I don't mind hanging with my husband. Beyond that who knows. 

I'm afraid my spa might have another leak. Isn't that a bunch of horseshite!? Periodically I add water to it because you know, it just naturally loses some as time goes by. However, I think I added some about 2 weeks ago, and yesterday it just seemed too low for only two weeks. I'll keep an eye on it the next couple days. I still need them to replace the pads that came unglued so two birds I guess. Thankfully spring is near and so that can happen soon. 

Easy day at school with no meetings. I'm showing a video in my history class and one of my ELA classes (the other ELA we'll read a chapter) so I should get some work done at my desk. 

Dinner tonight will be cheese coneys and I have a feeling Jim will want a 3-way as well. I'm fine with that. 

Okay well, that's all I've got. Happy Friday! Later!

4:28

I know there are non-believers out there but once again, I'm proving to be psychic. 

So I'm dreaming (not really sure about what but that's not the story) and in my dream, it's 4:28. And then I woke up and I laid there for about 5 minutes wondering what time it was. I finally roll over to look at the clock and, I'm sure you can guess at this point, IT WAS 4:28!!! Tell me I'm not telepathic or whatever! I'll be taking reservations for my psychic services. DM me. 

Did I mention my recent Duke bill!? It's a bunch of hooey! Now, I'm on even billing and the last quarter my bill was $318. I just got notice that they had to adjust. My new bill? $475! That's an increase of 49.3%. It's crazy. Then I woke up this morning and channel 5 had a story about the reasons. First, temperatures this year have been unseasonably cold. As a result "supply has increased. Then, the rates have increased substantially which Duke then has to pass on to us. Nothing they can control. The top 5 reasons why there's such a rise in energy costs are: 

1. Inflation 
2. Aging Infrastructure
3. Tariffs (tariffs on steel and aluminum put in place by trump's first term)
4. Climate Change 
5. Data Centers (areas where new data centers have been built account for as much as 267% increase in electricity)

You know who I blame. Best case scenario? Well, I won't put that in writing in case someone's reading. 

In other news, kind of good: We got the incoming sped freshmen numbers for next year. We're getting 38 9th graders, which is a lot but we have 34 students graduating plus a good number of kids going to the career center (I have three going from my caseload alone). That number (38) always changes because there are two or three who end up headed to private schools. There are some kids that have been outplaced, however, that may be coming back but best of all, we've been told that the incoming kids are good kids with a lot fewer issues that what we got this year and fewer helicopter parents. 

Dinner tonight: Chicken Marsala with mashers and broccoli. 

Okay, I've run out of time (originally because my mind was elsewhere I typed, "Okay, I've fallen asleep") so I'd best get a move on. Happy Thursday (HOT DOG tomorrow is Friday!!!). Later!

Paradise

Paradise is back for season 2 for those who watch. So far, so good. It drew me right in and I really like Shailene Woodley. They've released 3 episodes so far and I've watched one. 

Speaking of shows, season 50 of Survivor starts tonight. I'm pretty excited about that. Season 4 part 2 of  Bridgerton will be released tomorrow. Then, Top Chef comes out March 9th, the new series Scarpetta comes out on Prime March 11th (I've read most of those books). I've got so much stuff to watch and this doesn't include the Real Housewives I enjoy or the Home Town and Fixer to Fabulous! I might have to quit my job so I can become a couch potato. '

In other news, my meeting yesterday went well and it was pretty quick. Under the time allotted which is always a bonus. 

Jim's jobs for today: Costco and I'm going to have him take a sample of water from the hot tub to get tested. Every time I test the water, the levels seem pretty on (pH and chlorine) but it's slightly cloudy. Maybe I need clarifier? I don't' know. I'll have him get a print out or at least write down the directions for what I need to add. 

Dinner tonight: I think I'll make the brussel sprout/chicken sweet and spicy stir fry in the air fryer. It's a goody. I might have to make some sweet chili sauce though...can't remember if I have any. It's easy to make from scratch. 

I'm listening to a podcast that's quite upsetting. It's from In the Dark (season 3) about the Haditha massacre. This was a series of killings on November 19, 2005, in which a group of United States Marines killed 25 unarmed Iraqi civilians It's pretty awful what went down and the unaccountability that resulted. It's one of those things that you don't want to listen to but should because these events shouldn't be allowed to happen with no one paying for their war crimes. Ugh. 

And that's all I've got. I'd best get a move on. Happy Wednesday. Later!

If Only

If only every day could run on a two-hour delay. I could probably make it another 8 years to full retirement. I'm probably kidding myself saying that but it might make it easier. Oh well. I just need to win the lottery. 

So yeah, yesterday was fine. Bells were 29 minutes long I think. I was able to still get through my plans for my classes so there was no adjustment needed. And bonus, Stupid Baby was absent. Don't know why and that's unusual. Plus, when I sent grades to my parents yesterday, SB's mom's email sent an auto reply saying she'd be "out of the office" until 2/26. Could I get that lucky? Don't get me wrong, I really like SB but he wears me out sometimes. To call him a chatterbox is a total understatement. Every time he walks into my room he announces himself in some obnoxious way and it doesn't matter if I'm sitting there on the phone or talking to a colleague. I have to jump his ass every time and like I said, it's exhausting because he doesn't seem to learn. Etiquette is a foreign word to him. Oh, and anytime anyone walks into my room, he'll say, "Are you here for me?" It's become my automatic response anytime he opens his mouth to say, "Not everything is about you SB!" 

Jim's jobs today: Laundry. He didn't do it yesterday (surprise) so that's his task for today. I'll probably also put him to work doing a little straightening and cleaning. He did go to Aldi and said he felt good. Tomorrow I think I'll be sending him to Costco, my most dreaded errand. 

Last night I just wasn't feeling great - still - so I didn't do my planned meal (cod). Instead we had meatball hoagies. Although I just had a little slider sandwich. My point, I'll do the cod today. I got lots of sleep last night and am feeling better. 

The boys got in a big to-do last night, which was my fault. I went in to the guest bedroom where they like to sleep to tuck them in and I startled Boo. Usually I just let them go at it because eventually they'll cut the shit but they went on for longer than I liked so I had to throw a pillow at them. (I'd get torn apart if I stuck my hand in there.) No blood was drawn but they were both licking their legs and I think they either bit their tongues or bit each other's tongues. Afterward, Scout wouldn't sleep in the guest bedroom where he usually sleeps and where Boo was. Boo kept trying to go up to Scout, I think to say sorry, but Scout ignored him. They've made up now and all is well. 

I just hate that Boo has that quality about him. I hate that I caused the ruckus as well. Poor baby. Thankfully Scout usually manages to take control and end the situation quickly. Last night was not the norm. Usually if Boo even growls at Scout, Scout will stand over Boo and lay his paw over his head in a dominant way. Scout really is the boss. But Boo has some really big teeth. Ugh. 

I have a meeting today which is a combo ETR/IEP. I hate these because although I'm quick as a cat at my meetings and can usually get through them in 15-20 minutes, not everyone is like that. Evaluations can take FOREVER. However, this is a parent who I really don't think gives a shit. Just as long as her son is getting services and doing well. 

K - best mosey. Happy Tuesday. Later!

What Fresh Hell Is This!?

WTF!? I woke up to an inch of snow on the ground and apparently the roads are shit. Mother (fucker) Nature needs to get her shit together. I get that it's still February but JAYSUS! I'm done with snow and ready for spring! 

As I sat down to type this, I was perusing the news and saw that a shit ton of schools were suddenly calling for a 2-hour delay. Except Kings, of course. Even Loveland was delayed. Muwee don't play those slick road games. I had just put in for a 2 hour absence when my school finally called for a delay. Better late than never and I was able to cancel my absence. I'm showered, dressed and ready to go but now I can hunker down on the couch for a while, crush some candy, sip my smoothie and ease into this week. 

The weekend was fine...a bit boring. Jim and I did get out on Saturday. We went to Menard's to get a new fireplace grate but alas, they're out and not reordering. We'll make do with the busted up one we've got until next season. From there we went to Condado's for lunch. We got some nachos and a sampling of three of their dips and I should have just stuck with that. However, I ordered a taco and then couldn't eat more than one bite. Oh well. Saturday night we just hung out. I was going to cook but again, I wasn't hungry so pushed my planned meal for last night (hamburgers). And then I couldn't eat more than a bite or two at dinner. I think this batch of GLP is just kind of strong. I'm not complaining but I need to adjust my prep work so I'm not wasting food. 

Sunday Jim and I got up and watched USA take the gold in men's hockey. It was so exciting and such a great way to end the Olympics. After that I walked Scoutie (Jim walked Boo...yes, he's back at it) and then enjoyed a nice soak in the hot tub. Jim went out to run errands and then we just watched some TV and enjoyed a fire. I kind of had the Sunday blues but all is well now. 

This week should be pretty easy. I do have an IEP/ETR meeting tomorrow but it should be routine. 

Jim's doing well, off his pain meds, and ready to be my bitch while I'm working. Today his job is to go to Aldi for me. He's not quite ready to clean but he can at least do his laundry though he shouldn't haul it upstairs...I'll do that for him. 

Dinner tonight: I'm going to make something light - cod in a lemon butter sauce with couscous and broccoli. 

Okay well, I'm going to go grab my iPad and hunker down on the couch for a bit. I won't leave here until about 8:15 and hopefully by then, the roads will just be wet. Happy Monday! Later!

Better Late Than Never

Remember the other post when I had something I wanted to talk about but of course it slipped my mind? Guess what!? I remembered. Only took me two days. Maybe I don't have dementia. 

Working on a public computer (school) I'm required to occasionally change my password. I feel like it's once a year but recently, with the amount of phishing emails and compromises that have occurred, they're upping it to twice a year. So a week or so ago, an email came that this would be happening. Here's the sucky thing: It can't be a previous password which is a real pain in my ass. Added to that, the requirements for said password are getting more and more ridiculous. This last time it had to be: at least 14 characters with at least 2 capital letters, 2 numbers and 2 symbols. WTF! And it isn't that I can't remember it (although every morning when I go to work, I forget at first, enter my last password and then have to reenter it) but it's so long that and all over the keyboard that at some point in my 18 character password, a finger slips, hits a random nearby letter or number and I have to start all over again. It takes me 10 minutes just to sign on to my computer. (Of course that's an exaggeration but fuck!) Guess this is the world we live in now. 

Aren't you glad I remembered that little story? I know you've been hoping I'd remember. 

In other news, Jim is continuing to progress. I asked him last night when he'd think he'd be ready to walk Boo again and he said he'd try today. I did caution him and tell him that maybe just a few times around the circle. That way he's close to home if another dog comes into view and Boo loses his mind. We'll see if it works out. If not, I'll walk him no problem. It's been kind of good because I can definitely get 3 miles in when I have to walk both boys. Sometimes Scout just gets 2 or 2 1/2 on the weekdays. I'm just so tired. Getting old sucks.

Weekend plans: With Jim still recovering we'll be taking it easy. I would expect, however, that he might want to get out of the house at some point so maybe a quick lunch on Saturday or a little Megatouch at Shooters? It's been awhile. It's going to get colder again so we'll probably just sack out in front of the fireplace most of the weekend. 

Dinner tonight: I pulled some soup from the freezer (beef barley) and I'll heat that up with some grilled cheeses. 

And I guess that's about all that's happening here. Time to finish getting ready, tuck in the boys and head off to work. Happy Friday! Later!

Slow & Steady

Jimmy update: He's feeling good though he still has a bit of pain. I would imagine that today will be the last day he takes his pain killer. Yesterday he slept most of the day but he did get a shower in and he unloaded the dishwasher. I'll take it. My goal for him is that by Monday (or sooner?) he'll be able to get out with Boo to give him a little walk around the circle at least. The doc said walking as fine but no cardio. I said, "Does it look like my husband does cardio?" Just kidding, I didn't say that. 

The slow and steady also references to my weight loss. I've now lost 13 pounds and I'll take it. I'd still like to lose a bit more but I'm happy with where I am right now. I just want to be able to get into all my pants. I can get into a few of the smaller sizes but not all of them. I'll keep at it and probably be where I want to be in about 6 weeks. We'll see. From there, I'm not sure what I'll do. Do I stay on the GLP and just take a maintenance dose? We'll see. 

The ICE protest at school happened but it was pretty tame. Originally, when the walk out was occurring there were about 50 or 60 kids headed out. However, I think many of them got nervous seeing the police presence there (we had sheriffs on campus because of a threat some dipshit made) and turned around. It ended up being about 25 kids on the corner by school waving signs and protesting. From all I heard, they were respectful but of course haters and pot stirrers made false claims about them flipping off cars and yelling profanities. Neighbors who live there said that didn't happen though and the daughter of one of my lunch ladies was out and concurred. Oh, and the consequence for walking out is an hour Friday night school. I think that's worth it. And by the way, the kids who I know were a part of this weren't doing it to get out of class as many people claimed. These were "good" kids who get good grades and are not the stupes that so many "adults" say they are. Good for them. 

Dinner: I'm going to do a prepared meal from Aldi tonight. Beef tips with mushrooms, mashers and probably broccoli.

And that's all I've got. I best head up and out. Happy Thursday! Later!

Progress & Protests

Jimmy is home! All went as planned at the hospital and we were home by noon. His pain was tolerable and under control yesterday with pain meds and hopefully things will keep getting better. They did say that day 2 is the worst so once he gets through today, he should be feeling a bit better every day. 

Last night I went up before Jim and didn't hear him come bed. However, I did hear him snoring away around 1:00. He can't sleep on his side and has to be propped and it isn't conducive for me at all. In the end, he went to the spare bedroom around 2:30 because every time I would fall asleep, he would snort really loudly and scare the shit out of me. I feel bad but I need my sleep. He understood. 

School is already a shit show. Apparently the ICE protest that the kids had planned for the 27th (they're planning on walking out during 3rd bell) got rescheduled for today. Guess why? Because everyone heard about it. Hmm...seems these kids who are supposed to be keeping their mouths shut can't keep their mouths shut. Oh, and one of my former students (we wrote him off an IEP in October) posted on social media that he was going to "shoot up" all the kids who walked out. When that was brought to the attention of our 3 assistant principals not one of them knew how to handle the situation. Our union president had to take things into his own hands to go to central office and inform them of the situation. So now the police are involved. We have an emergency meeting at 7:10 apparently to tell us how to deal with the kids who are walking out. I'm not stopping them. You do you kids...it's a scary situation with everything happening surrounding ICE right now. Ugh. 

In other news, I got a series of emails yesterday from our study hall monitor. Apparently kids were using my absence to act the fool. Love that I have to deal with this and people don't know how to act and/or do their job. I'll be laying into the little fuckers that can't behave and grow up and schooling the SH monitor on how to do her job. Ugh again. 

Dinner tonight: I'm going to make a crispy lemon chicken dish in the air fryer with rice and broccoli. I made taco pie last night and it was so good. 

Holy shit it's going to be near 70 today! I hate this in between weather because I don't know how to dress. 

And I guess that's all I've got. I did have something else to talk about but of course it fell out of my brain. I'm sure when I head upstairs to finish getting ready I'll remember. Annoying. 

Well, I'd best get going since I need to get to work and brew a cup of joe before the meeting. Later!

All Is Well

At least it was when I left Jimmy yesterday evening. It was a long day of waiting but it went smoothly from what the doc said. We got there around 10:00 and they did all their pre-op stuff (IV, a million questions, vitals, more questions, quick checks with a million nurses, the anesthesiologist, OR nurse and finally Dr. Ertel). They took Jim back to the OR around noon, thus began what seemed like the longest wait of my life. (Of course his heart surgery was 5 times as long but it sure didn't feel that way yesterday.) 

The doc said it would take about 2 hours for the whole procedure but that it could take longer if there was a lot of scar tissue. Around 3:30, the recovery nurse called to say he was with her, awake, drinking Powerade and talking and that the doc would be out to talk to me. Dr. Ertel said everything went as planned and his hernias were in better shape than she expected with hardly any scar tissues. I got another call from the PACU nurse to say she'd eventually let me know what room he'd be in when he was ready. I waited, and waited and waited and FINALLY around 5:00 I got the call that he was headed up. 

I stayed with Jimmy as he got settled and was able to get up and walk to the bathroom. He was certainly in pain but tolerating it pretty well. I left around 6:00 with promises to talk to him later. We spoke around 7:30 and he said he was sitting in his chair and his dinner had just been delivered. However, he was very frustrated because he couldn't eat. I guess he was having a lot of pressure in his chest and he was concerned. I think (and he said this first) he was freaking out because his blood pressure was elevated and had been all day. He kept saying he felt like he should be on a monitor. I told him that when I was there, though his BP was elevated, his heartrate was normal and steady. I read his chart and saw they gave him some meds for gas, which they believed was the culprit. 

I just talked to Jim and he said he didn't sleep great last night. Typical. He's waiting now for the kitchen to open so he can order breakfast. I don't think he'll see the doc on rounds until around 9:00 so won't leave here until then. 

Plans for the day: When I finish here, I need to go get on the elliptical. I wanted to do that yesterday but ran out of time and then it was too late and I was too tire when I got home last night. I'll walk the dogs once it gets light and then shower. Fingers crossed that Jim is sprung by noon. Then I can get him home, settled and make a quick trip to Aldi (I'm in dire need of supplies).

Dinner tonight: Taco pie with all the fixins. Yummy. 

BTW - I slept really well last night. When Jim's not there, I get to sleep smack dab in the middle of the bed and I think this is a relief on my back. It didn't hurt at all when I woke up but of course, now it does. I think I've just got arthristis and a wonky right hip. Getting old sucks. 

K - best get a move on. I'm going to finally watch The Pitt while I ellipticize. Happy Tuesday! (So happy that I'll get a short week at work...again.) Later!

Surgery Day!

Today is Jim's hernia surgery and thank the baby Jesus he doesn't have to be in until 10:15. That's when prep starts and then the actual procedure is at noon. It's a robotics surgery (at least that's the plan) and should take under 2 hours. He'll stay overnight, which is why I had to take tomorrow off in order to spring him Tuesday. I'm not exactly sure how long Jim will be out of work. Because it's a robotic surgery, the recovery time should be shorter but considering the work Jim does, I'm guessing he'll be out at least 4 weeks. We'll see though. I'll certainly be putting him to work at home. 

The weekend was good. We did go to Northside Yacht Club and it was delicious but I couldn't even eat half my meal. Afterward we went to Brink brewery in College Hill then home to play cards. Yesterday I made breakfast then Jim went and painted his friends house. I laid around and finished watching a show (Run Away on Netflix. It was okay). Dinner was just a cobb salad and I could barely eat it. I don't know why but I just wasn't hungry. 

I'm so happy that the snow is nearly gone but my backyard is one giant puddle and we're supposed to get a good amount of rain later in the week. Ugh. It's that time of year and I just need to be patient. 

So yeah, since I don't need to leave here until about 9:35, my plan is to go do some yoga after I finish this (my right hip and back are giving me fits) then I'll get on the elliptical and hopefully by then the sun will have risen enough to walk the boys. It's crazy foggy though and visibility is nil. I'll probably make myself a smoothie before we go since I don't know when I'll be able to eat. Maybe I'll go get something when Jim goes into surgery. Or maybe I'll pack a lunch and just eat it at the hospital. 

Okay I'm rambling now. Time to get a move on. Happy Monday. Again, I'll be posting a little later than usual tomorrow since I'm not working. Later! 

Out Of Sorts

I'm all out of sorts because my alarm didn't go off. I'd set it a half hour later than my normal wake up time and I swear I set it and even checked that it was set but alas, it failed me. Thankfully I have a couple persistent puppies who were hungry and ready to go out and eat. In the end, I only overslept 18 minutes. Truthfully, I had/have plenty of time, I just had to cut my elliptical session short. I still did 20 minutes and that's fine. I don't need to be at school, well, central office, until 8:00. I'll leave at 7:15 so I can get a parking spot. 

Speaking of which, todays in-service should be another huge waste of time, at least during the morning. We're apparently going to be "trained" on Magic School (I like to call it Magic School Bus) which is an AI site for schools. I've used it before. It's fine but realistically, as is most school sites, it's more effective for elementary schools. Whatever, I'll bite my tongue and try to control my eye roll today. 

In the afternoon, we're on our own to work in our rooms. I'm planning on working through lunch because I'm not staying until 3:00. I have plenty to do which includes finishing up an IEP for March, creating some chapter questions for Prisoner of Azkaban (the 3rd HP book and the last book I'll read this year), putting together some writing goal work for next year and probably crushing some candy when I get sleepy and start nodding off at my desk. 

Weekend plans: Tonight I plan on doing nothing except ordering pizza, catching up on some shows, soaking in the hot tub and chilling in front of the fire. Saturday, Jim, Doug, Lauren and I are heading down to the Northside Yacht Club to partake in their February special: Deep fried cheese coneys. They are to die for and though I'm sure I won't be able to eat even half of mine, I can't wait to gorge myself. I'll probably get the vegan option...you can't taste a difference. 

Saturday night: No plans. I would make a special dinner for V Day but A) I don't care about V Day and B) I'm guessing we're going to be pretty stuffed from lunch. Sunday - no plans. Monday, Jim has his surgery. He has to be there at 10:30 and his surgery starts at noon. I'm hoping I'll be home by 4ish. He'll come home Tuesday at some point, assuming everything goes as planned. 

Oh, you'll be interested to know that my treasurer in fact sent an update to the staff regarding the transfer of money from our HSAs. He didn't give anything new except to say that he's "looking at options" for the $4 charge that it seems everyone has been charged. Apparently even those who originally weren't charged, have now been charged and it's been backdated. Isn't that fucking interesting?

All went well with Maggie's clean out. No polyps! Woot! 

Okay, I guess I'd better get a move on. I need to make a coffee here before I go so I'll have it at KEC during my "training". Happy FRIDAY!!! I will post on Monday but it'll probably be later. Later!