Thursday, December 25, 2008
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Brave, huh?!?
Yesterday, Jesse and I ventured to the mall. We hadn't been there for a while, and we still had a couple of presents to shop for, so we made the courageous trip! Fortunately, we were smart enough to go EARLY, and the crowds weren't too bad.
Any trip to the mall wouldn't be complete without a visit to the food court. Jesse didn't eat breakfast, so it wasn't long before he was looking for something to eat. Did you know Panda Express isn't open at 9:30 AM... Weird, huh! However, Cinnabon is!!! I didn't get one, but man, that cinnamon roll looked GOOD!
While tooling through the mall we saw the "big guy," himself. Keep in mind this was before noon, and the line was already enormous... Seriously, it was comparable to the line for Space Mountain at Disney Land! We saw one little family of 3 getting their picture taken, and the smallest one did NOT want to be there, and he was giving the photographer quite a workout!
The most exciting purchase of the day was a totally unexpected one. A couple of months ago we went to the Arts in the Park fair, and while there I had my eye on a carmel apple; it looked so good! But, they also had chocolate covered strawberries that grabbed and kept my attention. I vowed, right then and there, that the next time I saw one of those apples, I was going to buy one! Now, I bet you can already guess what I found... A white chocolate, carmel covered, coconut and macadamia nut apple... Mmmmmmm! We shared it, and it was so yummy!
We walked the whole length of the mall, and then headed back; that meant another stroll past the food court, but this time I was ready for lunch. I went to Bourbon Street BBQ, thinking I could get some BBQ chicken... I was waaaaaaaaaaay off. The food was more like Panda Express. I ended up getting the BBQ chicken (not like you'd expect, with BBQ sauce), and mandarin orange chicken, with noodles. It was okay, but the price was great... I got a lot of food for less than the price of the apple.
We decided to exit the mall by going through Mervyn's, which if you didn't know, is going out of business. That place was a mad house. Seriously, there were some "deal-hunting" people in there. The place was pretty picked over, too; kinda reminded me of a turkey bone, after all the meat has been pulled off. We did get a good deal on a dress, though; it was originally marked $40, but we got it for $11, and it's CUTE!
On the way home we were watching the traffic on the other side of the freeway. The exit to the mall was backed up at least a mile (we were pretty glad we went when we did). We also saw an accident happening. Don't really know what happened, but a car was going down the freeway SIDEWAYS, and there was a lot of smoke! That's just too scary!
We also stopped by Wal Mart. Seriously, I don't know why they just don't make my pay check out to this place, since it seems like this is where most of my money goes. Any way, I found some cute shoes. I found out this week, while it was raining, that my other slide-on black shoes are cracked on the bottom, which makes for cold, wet feet. Obviously, I had a perfectly good reason to buy more!
The big goal now is to stay out of the stores until after Christmas, and avoid all the last minute, crazy shoppers.
Any trip to the mall wouldn't be complete without a visit to the food court. Jesse didn't eat breakfast, so it wasn't long before he was looking for something to eat. Did you know Panda Express isn't open at 9:30 AM... Weird, huh! However, Cinnabon is!!! I didn't get one, but man, that cinnamon roll looked GOOD!
While tooling through the mall we saw the "big guy," himself. Keep in mind this was before noon, and the line was already enormous... Seriously, it was comparable to the line for Space Mountain at Disney Land! We saw one little family of 3 getting their picture taken, and the smallest one did NOT want to be there, and he was giving the photographer quite a workout!
The most exciting purchase of the day was a totally unexpected one. A couple of months ago we went to the Arts in the Park fair, and while there I had my eye on a carmel apple; it looked so good! But, they also had chocolate covered strawberries that grabbed and kept my attention. I vowed, right then and there, that the next time I saw one of those apples, I was going to buy one! Now, I bet you can already guess what I found... A white chocolate, carmel covered, coconut and macadamia nut apple... Mmmmmmm! We shared it, and it was so yummy!
We walked the whole length of the mall, and then headed back; that meant another stroll past the food court, but this time I was ready for lunch. I went to Bourbon Street BBQ, thinking I could get some BBQ chicken... I was waaaaaaaaaaay off. The food was more like Panda Express. I ended up getting the BBQ chicken (not like you'd expect, with BBQ sauce), and mandarin orange chicken, with noodles. It was okay, but the price was great... I got a lot of food for less than the price of the apple.
We decided to exit the mall by going through Mervyn's, which if you didn't know, is going out of business. That place was a mad house. Seriously, there were some "deal-hunting" people in there. The place was pretty picked over, too; kinda reminded me of a turkey bone, after all the meat has been pulled off. We did get a good deal on a dress, though; it was originally marked $40, but we got it for $11, and it's CUTE!
On the way home we were watching the traffic on the other side of the freeway. The exit to the mall was backed up at least a mile (we were pretty glad we went when we did). We also saw an accident happening. Don't really know what happened, but a car was going down the freeway SIDEWAYS, and there was a lot of smoke! That's just too scary!
We also stopped by Wal Mart. Seriously, I don't know why they just don't make my pay check out to this place, since it seems like this is where most of my money goes. Any way, I found some cute shoes. I found out this week, while it was raining, that my other slide-on black shoes are cracked on the bottom, which makes for cold, wet feet. Obviously, I had a perfectly good reason to buy more!
The big goal now is to stay out of the stores until after Christmas, and avoid all the last minute, crazy shoppers.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Work... UUGGHHH!
I "hate, hate, hate, double hate, loathe" (The Grinch Who Stole Christmas) my job!!! I just don't seem to be able to please any one. All I'm trying to do is teach, but instead I have to play police officer in my classroom. Why? Becuz the same old students continue to make distractions which take away from the learning process. That means I have to take teaching time to write behavior reports, or recovery room tickets, or office referrals. What makes things worse is that the administration is aware of the students causing the problems, but nothing (and I mean NOTHING) seems to ever get done about it. That means the problem students remain in my room, disrupting everything and everyone, and the vicious cycle of writing them up continues, over and over again. And, frankly, I hate that! I have never had such an awful bunch of students, along with an odd combination of parents. On one hand I have apathetic parents that don't do anything at home to change their child's behavior. On the other hand, I have parents that don't think I'm doing enough for their child (which may be true, but then again, I'm spending my time writing behavior tickets). Seems I'm caught in a catch-22 that I can't get out of, especially with NO support from the administration.
So, what's the solution? I would be VERY surprised if I continue to teach at this school next year. I really didn't want to return this year, but a couple of people talked me into it, and now I'm truly regretting it! Actually, come to think of it, I'm pretty tired of teaching altogether. I don't know what else I can do, but surely there is something else out there that will be less demanding, and provide for evenings free and weekends without taking a ton of work to do at home, unpaid. And, the behavior control, well, that can be left for someone else to do. Seriously, stocking shelves at Wal Mart has got to be better than what I put up with now!
I guess that's enough ranting and raving. Hopefully things will improve.
So, what's the solution? I would be VERY surprised if I continue to teach at this school next year. I really didn't want to return this year, but a couple of people talked me into it, and now I'm truly regretting it! Actually, come to think of it, I'm pretty tired of teaching altogether. I don't know what else I can do, but surely there is something else out there that will be less demanding, and provide for evenings free and weekends without taking a ton of work to do at home, unpaid. And, the behavior control, well, that can be left for someone else to do. Seriously, stocking shelves at Wal Mart has got to be better than what I put up with now!
I guess that's enough ranting and raving. Hopefully things will improve.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Best Laid Plans
Since I have so many critters, I thought it would be nice to get a few "holiday pictures" of them, and possibly a picture for this year's Christmas card. Suffice it to say, that idea did NOT work. I think the following pictures say it all...
I tried the Santa hat on a couple others, and the results were weren't much better.
I tried the Santa hat on a couple others, and the results were weren't much better.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
I've been tagged, again... 8 things
Eight things I am passionate about:
Jesse
my critters
my religion
helping children learn
music
civil rights
the internet (I think I'm addicted)
?
Eight words or phrases I use the most:
Listen up!
Josh, sit down.
Take out your agenda.
Fill in your agenda
Seriously, dude!
Kittens...
Rudy, be quiet!
Mah-velous
Eight things I want to do before I die:
work another 15 years before I retire
be healthy
be successful
go for a limo ride
go on a cruise, anywhere
become filthy rich
enjoy life
publish a book
Eight things I need right now:
MONEY
a nap
a few days off
well behaved students
attentive students
Did I mention money?
some chocolate
financial security
Eight Favorite Restaurants:
Olive Garden
Chipotle
Applebees
Weinerschnitzel
Golden Corral (they have great mashed potatoes!)
Mayacos
Panda Express
?
Eight places I want to visit:
Hawaii
Arizona Memorial
Vermont
New Hampshire
Maine
Massachusetts
Alabama
Louisiana
Eight TV Shows I watch:
Big Brother
Survivor
Big Bang Theory
2-1/2 Men
Designed to Sell
My House is Worth What?
the news
Deal or No Deal
People I tag: ?
Jesse
my critters
my religion
helping children learn
music
civil rights
the internet (I think I'm addicted)
?
Eight words or phrases I use the most:
Listen up!
Josh, sit down.
Take out your agenda.
Fill in your agenda
Seriously, dude!
Kittens...
Rudy, be quiet!
Mah-velous
Eight things I want to do before I die:
work another 15 years before I retire
be healthy
be successful
go for a limo ride
go on a cruise, anywhere
become filthy rich
enjoy life
publish a book
Eight things I need right now:
MONEY
a nap
a few days off
well behaved students
attentive students
Did I mention money?
some chocolate
financial security
Eight Favorite Restaurants:
Olive Garden
Chipotle
Applebees
Weinerschnitzel
Golden Corral (they have great mashed potatoes!)
Mayacos
Panda Express
?
Eight places I want to visit:
Hawaii
Arizona Memorial
Vermont
New Hampshire
Maine
Massachusetts
Alabama
Louisiana
Eight TV Shows I watch:
Big Brother
Survivor
Big Bang Theory
2-1/2 Men
Designed to Sell
My House is Worth What?
the news
Deal or No Deal
People I tag: ?
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