Random Emails

You have to wonder about a random, nonsensical email received at 8:01 PM from a fellow colleague.  Here's what I'm talking about: "When the Ogt asks for a missing length or perimeter you can use the formula sheet to mark off measures. They draw them to scale within the problem. or at least I haven’t found any that don't."  This was in my inbox and it wasn't in answer to any question I had asked and there isn't another email in my inbox to explain why she suddenly felt the need to let me know this information.  I don't teach math. It's a puzzle.  I think the only explanation is:  Glug, glug, glug...someone may have been in their cups last night.  Weird.

In other news:  I'm not sure why the tri-state has issued a Winter Storm Watch starting at 4AM this morning.  It's going to get up to about 45 tomorrow.  What the heck.  I mean, I understand starting the watch at, say, midnight on Saturday but 4AM today?  When it's going to be clear and nice all day?  Is that just the meteorological way of saying, "We have no idea what's coming our way so we're going to look at the models, closely for the next 36 hours."  Shouldn't they be doing that anyway?  This is all a conspiracy with the grocery stores!  I know it is. Kroger and Mother Nature are in cahoots together! This way, everyone FREAKS out and runs to Kroger and buys all the milk, salt and toilet paper. Kroger has time to re-stock before the ACTUAL storm hits so that people like me who DON'T freak out can get their goods.  You know I'm right!

Jim thinks I've finally got it right.  I've finally joined him in crazyland...wild idealand...big idealand.  Scary that Jim and I are on the same page.  I may need to get some professional help...I may need to check into the psyche ward...Jim in tow. 

Poor Jimmy!

Okay well, now that I've figured EVERYTHING out...I guess it's time to go teach the kids!  Scary that I'm out there educating our "future".  (Yeah, I'm not educating anyone's future...I mean, lets be real!)

Later!

Not Sure

First - let me just tell you, my sister (and Eva) are trying to kill me. I get a text from Maggie yesterday that Eva was talking about how I left my slippers at their house (I didn't).  I texted back and said, "No...I took them with me...just washed them." Maggie responded by saying, "I know...that's what I told her...she said it made her cry...I think Eva is missing her Muwee."  I almost cried when I read that!  And then Maggie tells me that at dinner the other night, out of nowhere, Eva says, "I miss my Muwee."  What the hell!!!  I guess I'm just going to have to quit my job, leave my husband and move to Columbus.

In the princess picture, Eva told Maggie she's turning her into a rabbit.  I'd like to see that!

So, apparently Michelle Duggar (mother to 19) suffer/ed from bulimia.  How would you know? It's probably just morning sickness.

Dreamt that it was my male, next-door-neighbor-at-school's birthday and the Health teacher went up to him and kissed him on the lips...in front of the whole school.  Funny.

WARNING:  The next bit of post will discuss dog butts!!! You've been warned!
So, I asked Jim on Sunday to call the vet when Bubba was having tiger-striping issues.  I thought maybe it was the new pills and he had clogged anal glands.  So, Jim called me the other day on his way home to say, "I called the vet and need you to tell me something."  Me: "Okay." Jim: "What does Bubba's rectum look like?"  Me: "Well, it's round, brown and I guess pretty normal." Jim: "Is there anything coming out of it?"  Me: "Well JEEZ!!!  You think I'd be calmly looking at Bubba's rectum, talking to you if something were hanging out of it?!  Don't you think that might have been the first thing I said!?" Anyway - in case you're concerned, the ass dragging was a one-day thing and hasn't actually happened since Sunday/Monday.  The vet was worried that they may be so clogged that they could burst.  YOWZA...I'd hate if my ass burst. 

And on that lovely, early morning note, I best finish getting ready.  Today is the last chapter of Catching Fire.  I look forward to finishing and watching the movie.  Kids are excited too. 

K - happy Thursday...one more day!  Later!

Maggie Recommended...

...I have yet to approve.  However, I love most things Brussels Sprouts so this is bound to be delicious. 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Panko Herbs de Provence

Ingredients

1 pound Brussels sprouts, ends removed and sliced in half lengthwise
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoons Herbs de Provence
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ cup Panko bread crumbs
1 lemon, zested and juiced
Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste

 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 ºF.
2. Lay the trimmed Brussels sprouts on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Toss to combine, making sure the Brussels sprouts are evenly coated with the olive oil. Sprinkle the Herbs de Provence on top, along with a pinch of salt and cracked black pepper, and place into the oven. Roast for about 25 minutes, until tender and golden brown.
3. While the Brussels sprouts are roasting, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the Panko and stir for 3-4 minutes, until the Panko is golden brown. Remove the saucepan from the heat and add the lemon zest and stir. Transfer the Panko to a paper-towel-lined plate and let cool.
4. Once the Brussels sprouts are done, remove the baking sheet from the oven and drizzle with the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
5. Transfer them to a serving platter and sprinkle with the Panko mixture.
6. Serve immediately

Sounds yummy, looks yummy.  I will certainly pin this as well.

In other news - I got my ring back and it fits perfectly...a little wiggle, I can slide it easily on and off but it won't fall off and it doesn't "mark" my sausage fingers.  YAY!  I missed wearing it really.  And because they cleaned it, my GOD does it catch the light.  Love my ring. 

It isn't snowing this morning - thank God.  I had no problems getting to work yesterday but there were apparently TONS of accidents throughout the city.  Stupid weather people didn't say a word about this so of course the salt trucks didn't get out.  One of our teacher's husband works for the county and has to salt and one of his friends, another teacher, called him when this hit yesterday morning and guess where the salter was?  Yup...in bed...sleeping. 

Okay well, I best mosey...I think I'll blow my hair dry today since it is 19 degrees.  Yowza.  K - later!

Getting Annoyed

And not at Jim this time...go figure.  No, what I'm getting annoyed at is the number of kids that keep getting stuck into study halls who A) aren't on my caseload or B) taking "credit recovery".  It amps up the number of kids I'm responsible for and I've just about had it.  If there's a "cap" on regular ed classes, why can't there be a "cap" on special ed study halls?  Just stupid.  I'll have to bring this up with FW.  Especially since I'm supposed to only have two study halls next year...I'm not going to take kindly to kids I am not responsible for being under my watch.  And you can't tell me there isn't a better, smaller study hall this kid who was stuck into my 1st bell could go in to.  Annoying.

In weather news:  It's snowing. I don't know if it's sticking to the roads but it's sticking to my deck and that means Bubba's happy.

In star news:  I'm sad Harold Ramis died.  I really liked him and he was so young.  Surprised that Paula Patton and Robin Thicke are calling it quits?  I always find it suspicious when people talk publicly about how in love they are and how much sex they have.  That being said:  Bummer for them and their kid.

And that's all I have.  Guess I better get up and finish getting ready and see how the roads are.  Later!

How Will I Muddle Through?

A full work week!?  UGH!  How am I going to get through it? Do you feel sorry for me?  I may be "coming down" with something by the end of the week.  Actually - I believe I really will be "coming down" with something next Friday...we'll see how that shakes out.  I need to get some things done that can't really be done after school and so will probably call in for the 7th...we'll see.

In other news - I haven't watched anything from last night, except 60 Minutes (love Liam Neeson and feel such sympathy for him). I was going to watch Walking Dead but Jimmy fell asleep and he'll want to watch.  Downton Abbey was the 2-hour finale and I knew I wouldn't be watching that so instead I just read.  My book is just at the end and is about to be "solved" but even still, I fell asleep within about 15 minutes of reading.

In school news:  Aside for it actually being a full week - I've got nothing too exciting going on.  We should finish reading Catching Fire this week and then we'll do some review next week, have the test and by then, the movie will be released (March 7th - I've pre-ordered and should get it same day) and we can watch during OGT week.  That will be a nice relaxer for the kids who are having to test.  It's all about the kids.

And that's about all I've got.  Should be a nice day today though cold.  Sami will get a walk in for sure.  I ended up walking her after dinner last night and it was a nice change.  Not too many dogs out and we got to watch the sunset. 

Oh and HEY!  It's Abe Vigoda's birthday today.  If you see him - wish him a Happy 93rd! 

K - well, I'm out.  Happy Monday.  Later!

Spending Money

So Jim broke the vacuum.  Well, it probably would have broken if I had been using it so I guess I can't really blame him.  Which means that in addition to going down to Richter and Phillips yesterday to get my ring re-sized, grocery shopping and enjoying a delicious dinner at Eddie Merlots, we also had to go to Target to purchase a new Bissel.  Lots of money headed out of the Hanke bank account. Oh well.  Anyway - we bought the product you see at left and it works like a dream.  I broke it out this morning after breakfast to give it a test run and HOLY SHIT!  You can't imagine the amount of crap it sucked up.  Watching all that hair and dust swirl around in the canister is kind of disgusting.  While I did that, Jim did a bit of carpet cleaning using his shop-vac...he has a technique that beats a steam cleaner but take longer so he does a bit here and there.  He did the stairs this morning and the area next to his side of the bed where Bubba likes to sleep.  Smells very clean in here right now.  Not that it smells "dirty" normally but you know what I mean.

 

So the plans today:  I'll do my ab workout here in a bit and then shower and get ready for Shooters.  It's been a couple weeks since we've gone and we're due for a treat.  I need to get the cubed steaks in the slow cooker as well (trying a new recipe).  I don't know that Sami will get her walk in today because it keeps raining here and there. Maybe when I get back from the bar we'll try and go. 

 

And that's about all I've got.  Have I mentioned how excited I am to get my ring back?  I miss wearing it and it's so pretty.  When we dropped it off at the jeweler, Artie, one of the owners and the guy who actually sold us the ring said, "This really is a beautiful ring...I remember when you picked this out...a really good choice."  Not to toot my own horn but it is gorgeous and so unique.  Hopefully by Tuesday I'll have it back. 

 

K - well...guess I better quit procrastinating and get my workout on. Happy Sunday.  Ugh - I can't believe I have to work a full week this week.  YUCK!  Later!

Lots Of Plans

I'm up and ready to start my day.  When I finish this post, I'll pop in the shower and then Jim and I will go to First Watch for breakfast.  From there we'll head to Richter and Phillips to drop my engagement ring off for re-sizing.  My fat sausage fingers don't allow me to wear it comfortably anymore.  After that, we'll go to the grocery, come home, I'll bathe Bubba while Jim starts cleaning.  I'll walk Sami and then hang until it's time to get ready for dinner.  I think tonight we'll  go to Eddie Merlots.  We have a $25 coupon...we'll eat at the bar and just enjoy each others company. 

And that's about all I've got.  We're in for another Arctic freeze this week but it looks like it will only last a couple days...next weekend should be back in the 50s.  No we all know that I LOVE winter and snow but I have to say, I'm ready for spring.  Now the storms that come with it but warm weather for sure.

Oh, and by the way - if you didn't read my comment yesterday in my post - J. Geils is NOT dead.  I guess this is how rumors get started.  You see, when Jim got home Thursday I thought he said, "J. Geils died!  He was 61!"  What he really said was, "It's J. Geils birthday.  He's 68."  You can see how I could have been mistaken, right?  Yeah, me either.  I wasn't even drunk!  Although Maggie disputes that.  I think this could be one of three things: A) I'm losing my hearing; B) I'm suffering from dementia; or C) I don't listen when people talk to me. 

Okay - best get a move on.  Later!

Is It Me...

...or do these kids just keep getting more cognitively challenged? Here's a sample of things said/comments made by kids yesterday:

That's what friends do: They touch each other.

Carnivores eat their own meat.

Asking about the three groups that Social Security was formed to help, one student said, "the unstable" instead of disabled.

Oh, and of course I forgot to mention:  Wednesday - I was teaching US History...and I decided to give the kids a little quiz...you know...to test their knowledge.  A little "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?"  (No!  I wasn't testing their stupidity...although that is what the results showed...their stupidity./)  Anyway...one of the questions asked who is on the $2 bill.  Obviously the answer is Thomas Jefferson so then I asked, aloud, "What is Jefferson also known to have done?" One of my girls (Let's call her LuLu) said, "Inventing the light bulb!" Me: "Um, no.  He wrote something."  LuLu answered, "THE BIBLE!"  Oh boy.  I dropped my pen and walked out of the room.  (Not really but I wanted to.)

Forgot to post this pic of a girl enjoying a sunny day out and about.  Love the sunglasses!!!

So Jim came home and said, "J. Geils died!  He was 61!"  Wow.  So of course I started singing, "Freeze Frame!" And then!  This morning my alarm went off and guess what was playing?  Nope, not "Freeze Frame" but "Centerfold!"  Isn't that just weird. I mean, not too weird but still weird. 

Dreamt of Matthew McConaughey last night.  He was on Inside Actors Studio which was on just before I went to sleep.  In my dream he was wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers coaching uniform...and I kept saying, "Matt!  What the eff!  You know I HATE the Steelers!"  Jim says it's because I don't really like Matthew McCononaughey.  And I do like him as an actor but sometimes he bothers me in an interview.  He seems to try so hard to always be "on".  Like he's always trying to prove something.

Okay well, I think that's enough for today.  It didn't do much in terms of weather here last night that I'm aware of.  I heard no storms and I guess it rained since the deck is wet but I didn't hear anything.  That's a good thing.  And now we need to start drying out. 

K - I'm out.  TGIF!  Thank God It's FIBBAY!

Still Poor

Jim and I didn't win the lottery last night which really chafes my ass because I had PLANS for that money!  I had already spent about 10 million of it!  What the heck!  I play and I play and have NOTHING to show for it!  Jim says: "We're rich at heart" (I typed this with a mocking tone).  My answer to that? "F%&k my heart!" 

In school news, Lisa isn't getting very far with one of her kids in the spelling department. Here's a listing of the days of the week (which are supposed to be in order):

Satday
Manday
Tuesday
Whisday
theresday
Fidday
satday

First of all...we lost Sunday.  I mean, I'm all for a week with two Saturdays but I don't think the LORD would appreciate this!  It's a travesty.  Blasphemous really!  This kid is lucky that he didn't get struck down when he turned that in!  Better not stand too close to him...and not because he picks his nose all the time and his ear (which he did so much yesterday he caused it bleed!  UGH!).

Here's the headline from WCPO today:  "Texas Hooker May Lead to Severe Weather".  Um...how does a prostitute way down in Texas have anything to do with weather way up here in Cincinnati?  It's a conundrum!  That must be one big slut!  Jim says that's how they like them in Texas.  Everything's bigger in Texas and I guess that includes the hookers.

Well, I best get a move on.  My day did not start well since Jimmy didn't make coffee!  First time all school year this has happened!  Better not happen again!  Bad Jimmy!

K - I'm out.  Later!

A New Batch Of Kids

Oh, how time flies!  Today is the early release Wednesday where we meet with the junior high teachers to talk about the upcoming freshmen.  Who can believe this?  Last year I didn't make the meeting and I'm not sure if it was because of Zeke or not.  A year ago today we had to let him go.  

And now I'm crying.  Dammit!

Okay...I've pulled it together.  Wait...

Okay - now I've pulled it together.  I sure did love that boy! I still think about him everyday.  He was such a good baby boy!

Anyway - today we'll talk about the kids coming up and we'll get an idea of numbers.  I'll find out, for the most part, who will be in pull-out classes etc.  This is always the beginning of the major hassle that is scheduling.  I'm hoping that scheduling for next year isn't the major f&%k up that it was for this year but knowing HH, he won't take any of our advice and suggestions and he'll do whatever the f%&k he wants.  Which means he'll screw everything up.

In other news, I was woken up by thunder and lightening last night.  Nothing major, just little rumbles.  We have a "slight" chance for severe weather tomorrow which doesn't make me happy but we'll just take it as it comes. 

The snow is melting and is an ugly mess.  After the warm weather this week, we head back into the 20s and 30s next week.  Not unexpected...I mean it is only February. 

Okay well, I need to figure out what I'm wearing.  I had a sweater picked out but it had a small tear at the neck and needs sewing and I don't have time for that right now. 
K - later.  Happy hump day!

Round 1

So Bubba has had his first round of cyclosporine.  We were told that it could cause vomiting and diarrhea and so I decided to give him the pills in the evening so that we would be home if there was "trouble".  All went well...last night.  This morning however, we had a bit of an issue.  Not much of one but an issue nonetheless.  I got up and did my normal routine: climbed out of bed, wandered/stumbled downstairs; grabbed a carrot from the fridge gave half to Sami; roused Bubba from his sleep next to the piano and then got both pups outside; 5 minutes later, I let both dogs in, gave each a biscuit, poured coffee and headed upstairs to take a shower.  About 15 minutes later, as I was getting beautiful (less ugly) I heard Bubba coming up (he is rather loud and slow in climbing the stairs).  Then about 10 minutes after that I heard Jim moving about.  Huh...that's unusual.  So I opened up my bathroom door and saw Jim had turned on all the lights in the bedroom and was kneeling on the floor...cleaning up throw up.  Better him than me considering all the throw up I cleaned this past weekend. (Love you Eva!).  Anyway - not sure if 12 hours later, him getting sick could be because of the pills but we'll see how tonight goes.  He seems fine now.

In other news:  Dr. Phil yesterday was so crazy.  Part II will be on today and I can't WAIT!  Talk about a hot mess.  Me loves me some Dr. Phil!

School news: I'm excited that it's a 4-day week.  What am I going to do when I have to actually work a full week?!  I might go into anaphylactic shock!

And that's about all I've got.  Oh, my roast chicken was okay...sometimes you just have to make something to realize, "Oh!  That's why I never make this!"  More a pain in the ass than it's worth.  I'll shred the leftover chicken when I get home today and make chicken salad.  My risotto was terrific, however, and I will certainly make that again!  I could even add chicken to that and call it a meal.  Paired with a salad?  Terrific.

Okay well I better finish getting ready.  Later!

President's Day Plans

I'm up, fed and Jim's just left.  I'll do a workout here in a bit and then shower.  I need to get to Costco to get Bubba's meds and a quick run to Kroger.  Other than that I don't have much planned.  I need to watch Downton...that's about it. I'm roasting a chicken tonight for dinner and making a risotto to go with...yum! 

I think my pups are definitely happy I'm home today...get in some much missed cuddle time from the weekend.  Speaking of pups, Bubba's skin is looking better.  The prednisone and antibiotics are doing their job.  I hope the cyclosporine works well too and that Bubba doesn't have any side affects (vomiting and diarrhea...ugh). 

There's going to be a warm up this week and the rain starts today.  I'm not looking forward to this as the amount of snow that needs to melt is going to cause a massive mess.  When I got home yesterday, Jim and I loaded the wood box up and fenced off the side yard.  I don't want the dogs going into that mud pit.  We need to figure out something to do with that eyesore.  We've tried to grow grass there but it just isn't possible with the trees and the soil SUCKS!  I need a "yard crashers" to come over an figure out the best way to deal with that area. OR!!! I'll win the lottery on Wednesday and hire someone.  That's what I'll do...problem solved.

Okay well, I best get my workout on while I'm motivated.  Happy Prez Day...Later!

Oh - I forgot to tell this story.  So Saturday, when I was in Columbus, Jimmy went to Greenies to play indoor golf with Trip and J.J.  I talked to him later and asked him how everything was.  (Greenies was a place that we used to go A LOT and we actually because friendly/friends with the owners.) Anyway - Jim started tell me about this guy, "Smith" that died suddenly. He's going on about it and I said, "I don't know who Smith is." And Jim says, "Yeah, me either." Me: "So...you're telling me a story about a guy that died who I didn't know and you didn't know?" Jim: "Yeah, I guess I am."  Me: "Good story Jim." 

Typical.  K - I'm out.

Poor Eva

This will definitely be a Valentine's Day that I won't forget.

So Maggie was getting dinner ready last night and I was doing what I could to help her.  Eva kept coming in to the kitchen wanting to "hold" Maggie so asked her if she wanted to go into her room and play. She seemed into that so we pulled out her dress up clothes and started getting decked out.  While I was pulling out jewelry, Eva started saying her stomach hurt. I thought maybe there was something poking into her belly since Maggie had just changed her diaper.  I didn't find anything so we continued getting her dressed as Sleeping Beauty.  We went out into the kitchen to show Maggie her outfit and she asked if she could hold her.  Charlie came in and tried but she only wanted her Mommy and then she said her stomach hurt.  And THEN she started making the motions of getting sick.  Maggie immediately ran with Eva into the bathroom but didn't quite make it.  Poor sweet girl.

Once everything was cleaned up, we sat down to dinner, Eva in Maggie's arms. (I had to cut Maggie's meat since her arms and hands were occupied and BTW - dinner was DELICIOUS!)  We were hoping that Eva's episode was just a one time up-chuck but that didn't turn out to be the case.  She threw up again during dinner and while she was taking bath number two, Charlie went to the store to get some Pedialyte. (On his way out, he broke a wine glass so I was on my hands and knees cleaning throw up, broken glass and wine.) She couldn't keep that down either though.  In the end, I went to bed around 11:00.  Maggie took Eva to bed with her and she finally stopped throwing up around midnight.  Maggie was able to get Eva into her own bed around 4:00 where she is still sleeping.

You can't imagine how pitiful my baby girl was last night.  Every time she started to get sick and Maggie would run her to the sink she would say, "I don't want to go to the sink!" And then she kept apologizing for throwing up on the floor.  Sweet little thing.

Not sure what the day will bring...if Eva is going to feel up to anything.  We did get about an inch here and were thinking about going sled riding (Eva got a bunch of new clothes yesterday including two snowsuits that need some breaking in) but who knows.  I'm hoping that whatever made her sick isn't catching...that would suck.

Hope everyone's Valentine's was less eventful than mine although I have to say, I'm glad I was here to help Maggie and Charlie out...three sets of hands are definitely better than two.

I think I deserve a mimosa so I'm off to go make myself one...and Maggie and Charlie.  Later!  Happy Saturday!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Whoopsie Daisies!  Forgot to post this morning.  We'll blame it on Maggie since I  had to be momma to her baby.  Hee hee.

Not much is up here.  We had a pretty relaxed day:  Went to Yankee Candle, Michael's and then lunch at Ted's.  I'm currently on the couch watching the hot mess on Dr. Phil.  Eva's sleeping...she wore out very quickly today...not sure why.  Maybe because she didn't get a great nap yesterday.  Bussie's finally sleeping.  He's been a douche bag today.  Maggie says he never acts like this when it's just the two of them but I'm not sure if I believe her.

I'm excited for dinner tonight.  We're having filets and king crab legs with baked potatoes and broccoli.  I made dessert - Healthy dark chocolate oatmeal skinny bars - and I'm about to go sink my face in the pan they smell and look so good.

Not much else planned.  The snow just started here and I hear that several inches are coming down in Cincy.  I sure hope my hubby makes it home safely.

Well I hope everyone has a lovely, romantic and safe Valentine's Day!  Later

Bubble Pizza

So I made Bubble Pizza last night...made a few changes to the recipe I found and Jimmy really liked it.  So if you're interested, here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 containers of Pillsbury Grand Biscuits
1/2 - 1 c. pizza sauce
1-2 c. mozzarella cheese
Favorite toppings

Directions: (I think the key here is a cast iron skillet.)

Preheat oven to 400° with cast iron skillet in the oven. While preheating, cut biscuits into fourths.  Once oven is preheated, put biscuits into skillet.  Bake for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes, put toppings on (in any order you prefer, I did sauce, pepperoni, green peppers and mushrooms). Bake  10 minutes more.  Add cheese and bake until golden (about 10 or 15 minutes).  I also served with a side of sauce because I didn't put a ton of sauce on the pizza itself, fearing sogginess.  It was delicious and Jimmy said it YUMMY!  I've heard that some people coat their biscuits in sauce before adding to the skillet but I fear the sauce would dry out.  Definitely a "make-again meal"!

In other news - I'm heading to Columbus today to see Eva (and Maggie and Charlie).  Can't wait for 2:30 to hit the road.  It should be clear driving the whole way up...no more snow until Friday.  Our plans for the weekend?  Not sure.  We may go out and do some candle shopping on Friday, but it depends on the weather.  Maggie's making a special meal for Valentine's Day (yup, I'm cramping their style on this romantic weekend - and ditching my own husband - but what can I say?  I miss my Eva. 

K - well, that's about all I've got.  I need to get to work and send a letter out to parents about "blizzard bags"...long story if you don't know but basically it's a way for us to get 3 days back of the snow days we've used.  They're at-home assignments the kids have to do for this 4-day weekend and I've already received emails from parents who are concerned.  I just wish people would chill out.

K - I'm out.  Diane - so happy you're home and safe!  I can't believe you drove from NC through that snow storm!  I may have to shake my finger at you next time I see you.  Happy Thursday (though it's my Friday).  Later!

Nothing or Something?

I'm trying to find something exciting to talk about but I really don't have anything.  I missed the Westminster Dog Show so I can't report on that, although I do know that the wire fox terrier won.  Nothing exciting is happening at work.  Jim's not done anything too stupid.  I am going to Columbus on Thursday after work...that's VERY exciting for me but not for my readers, I'm sure.  I'm reading a GREAT book but you all don't care about that.  I haven't seen any good movies, unless you count Dirty Dancing which was on night before last (Jim definitely would find that exciting but he doesn't read this).

Oh, I have something to bitch about!  My street.  It's STILL snow covered.  Sami is PISSED!!!  See, on Monday I walked Sami up the road and nearly killed myself twice on the slippery snow.  I even had my snow boots on.  So yesterday, coming home from work I saw that the sun hadn't done much in the way of melting so Sami got screwed, again.  And really I got screwed too because I haven't gotten my 2 miles in, routinely, for about a month or more.  I have my treadmill, yes, but it's so hard to motivate when I get home, take care of the dogs, do prep work for dinner, change, maybe get a small walk for Sami in and then change again to walk on my treadmill in a freezing room.  And by the time I get off the treadmill, it's 4:30 and nearly time to actually MAKE dinner and I haven't even sat down yet.  My GOD!  It's tough being me!

In school news, I got a kid put in my 7th period study hall.  He's not on an IEP but being evaluated.  Now, if you know anything about special ed, you should know this:  It's RIDICULOUS that a student is getting an INITIAL evaluation for sped services when they are a third of the way through their sophomore year.  Oh, and did I mention this kid is taking honors US History, Chemistry (a junior/senior class), Algebra II (a junior class) and a few other thing.  He has all A's and B's with the exception of math where he has a D and only because out of four homeworks, he's only turned in 2.  They're thinking he has a math disability but, um, how do you figure that?  Because a 10th grader isn't performing in an 11th grade class?  That makes no sense!  Put him in a 10th grade math class and lets see how he performs then!  Oh, and by the way - my kids, 7th period, take precedence over new kid.  I have a responsibility to them not him.  Sorry.  People are so stupid!

I knew if I started talking about nothing, surface! (I accidentally typed "smurface" first.  That's a good new word I just invented.  Smurface - meaning of which I'm not sure. 

K - I'm out.  Later!

Twinkletoes

I was dancing in the kitchen last night and turned around to see Jim laughing...I mean, I've got some MOOVES...I don't understand what was so funny.  Sami loves it when I dance.  She'll stand right by me and sort of bounce around smiling.  Sometimes she'll give a bark or two.  I'm assuming all that means she loves to dance...not that she wants me to stop.

Last night my fan stopped working.  Happened at around 10:57 PM.  I smacked Jim a few times and said, "Jim...the fan!" So being the sweet husband he is, he went down to the basement and got me another one.  I cannot sleep without a fan.

In school news - here are a couple samples of student answers:

Supposed to be: to get fresh water from trees
Wrote: to get frish what from trees
Supposed to be: a noise
Wrote: a nosus

The saddest part of this - and I've said it before - is that I no problem interpreting these things and so I've become a bit complacent.  Oh well.  I'll start a bit of work on this next week.

The weather in the next week is going to be a mess.  We'll be getting streak of warm weather but with it will be rain.  Which means, all the snow will melt and we'll have flooding issues. My backyard is going to be a MESS!  Well, at least my kitchen floor won't show every speck of dirt.  Although, this probably isn't a good thing. 

And that's all I've got. Best finish my smoothie and get my arse in gear.  Later!

Bubba Update

With all the birthday hoopla - I forgot to give an update on Bubba.  As you may or may not know, we've been doing the vet thing with him again because his skin is out of control.   He, of course, has another staff infection that came out of nowhere and got out of control FAST!  His hair is coming out in clumps and he's bald in many places on his hind quarters.  Jim says he's starting to look like Shirley McClain's dog in Steel Magnolias.  He's not that bad but I feel bad for him. Anyway - first we need to get that taken care of and then he's starting on a new medication. We had to switch his antibiotic because as I suspected, he was immune to the one we had been giving him.  He's also on a week long prednisone regimen and still on his thyrosyn (thyroid med).  Once the prednisone is done, he starts on cyclosporine and some keto med that boosts they cyclosporine's effectiveness.  Guess what the downside is?  Yup...the two meds together will cost about $200 a month.  However, we're hoping that once he's on the meds for a month, daily - we can move his dosage down to every other day.  It is never ending with this boy.  And don't get me wrong I love him SO much but my pocket book doesn't. 

BTW - Bubba's currently out on the step, just outside the sliding glass door, scraping his teeth against the snow and ice.  God - maybe he's allergic to snow!  Oh jeez...we'd be in big trouble.  If that were the case, I think Bubba would choose to suffer through his pain...he loves snow that much!

Okay - so I had good intentions of staying up to watch Downton Abbey last night but since Sami decided it was time for me to get up at 6 AM yesterday - my eyes couldn't stay open that late.  I'll watch it tonight...along with Walking Dead.

Speaking of Sami - lately, she's been getting Jim up at 2 or 3 AM and she never does that.  But I figured it out.  She's responding to Bubba.  He's the one that has to go out and she hears him either coming upstairs or whining and then she jumps on Jim so he'll let them out. (How good a girl is she for not waking her Mommy up!?)  Jim kept wondering what the heck was going on because she'd jump on him, he'd let her out and then she'd just stay on the deck and eat snow.  Whereas Bubba would run out and head down to the yard.

Okay - so another short week...Friday off.  YAY! And next Monday!  Double YAY!!!  K - best head to work...figure out what I'm doing.  Later!

So Delicious

Dinner last night at the Moerlein Lager House was YUMMY!  And I tried everyone's dish. 

So first - Jimmy and I got there and sat at the bar to sip a beer.  I got the Barbarossa and it's my new favorite.  Rather dark with a stout feel but lots more carbonation and chocolate undertones.  Wish they sold it in 6-packs.  Jimmy tried a few different beers but he's a pale ale guy and though I don't mind them, they're too bitter for me.  When Chris and Martha arrived, our table was ready so up we went.  We had a beautiful view of the city from our table on three sides.  Jim and I are going to get an apartment down there by the way...when we win the lottery...a second home of sorts...there are so many good places to go. 

Anyway - back to dinner.  We decided to go to town so Chris and Martha got an app to share (spicy garlic shrimp) and Jim and I got one to share.  Martha had pointed out the meat and cheese board and so that was the route we went.  It was the best!  I never would have gotten that if Martha hadn't pointed it out and I'm not sure why...it's right up Jimmy's alley.  We chose two meats (summer sausage and a Genoa salami) and two cheeses (jalapeno Havarti and smoked cheddar) and then it came with bread, spicy mustard, sauerkraut and baby dill pickles.  So yummy.

For dinner, here's what we got:  I got meatloaf which came with cheddar mashed potatoes and I got a shredded Brussel sprout veggie with it.  Jim got fish and chips (I would have gotten that but I always like to try a meatloaf it it's available).  Martha got the short ribs and Chris got the bone in pork chops with apricot/onion topping.  Chris's meal was my favorite but they were all so yummy.  The fish and chips superb (beer battered obviously) and I can't WAIT to go back and try something else.  Recommend to all! 

So how about a pic of a superstar!?  This is my girl on vacation, ready for the beach.  Love her!  I can just hear her, "How do my look?"

Plans for the day:  Nothing.  Hanging out.  We'll have breakfast in a bit (mimosas too) and chill.  Jim chose his birthday dinner to be beef stroganoff and I got him an ice cream cake for dessert.  Other than that - nothing. May have to do some treadmilling.

K - well, I'm out.  Time for mimosas.  Later!

Happy Birthday Jimmy!!!

This picture cracks me up.  Look how his earlobes stick out. I like to play with them (I know...more than you want to know and a picture you probably don't want in your head).  I thought about getting Jim a lobe-ectomy for his birthday but he really wanted floor mats for his car. Better to get him what he wants rather than what I want.  Hee hee.  I kid.  

So today we don't have major plans.  We have to take Bubba to the vet - again.  His skin is out of control - again.  We'll go to dinner tonight at the Moerlein Lager House.  We were going to go at 6:30 but of course Jim forgot to call and make the reservation (I tried to do it at school online but the site was down and Jim said he'd take care of it...I should know better!) and by the time I found that out - we couldn't get a table at 6:30.  So!  We'll have dinner at 5:00...ridiculous.  Feel like I'm 80.  I'll grocery shop and other than that - no plans. 

And that's about all I've got.  Pretty boring, huh?  Time for breakfast and menu making.  Later!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY JIMMY!