Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Wordless Wednesday
Friday, September 24, 2010
Friday Facts - Home Edition
1. I have never cleaned the bath tub in my house. I moved into this house in October of 2008.
2. I can count the number of times I've used the oven in this house on one hand.
3. The spiders can live in the basement, but they face extermination if they come upstairs.
4. I keep my bike in my living room, right behind my dining room table. It doesn't like the basement spiders.
5. There is only one closet in my entire house. It's a small one in my bedroom.
6. Because of the closet situation, my second bedroom has been converted into a huge closet. I have a 3-section IKEA closet that I love.
7. I would love to buy my house and build an addition to expand the bathroom and kitchen out into the side yard.
8. I am getting my front steps fixed on Saturday! They are currently a crumbling mess.
9. The woman who owns my house lives in California. She was an avid landscaper. She came back this summer to check out the house and I can only assume she had a heart attack when she saw how much I am NOT a landscaper.
10. I completely love my house! It's tiny and cute and it's got character. All of the woodwork is original to the house, which was built in 1890. It creaks and the floors slant and none of the doors really close, aside from the front door. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
2. I can count the number of times I've used the oven in this house on one hand.
3. The spiders can live in the basement, but they face extermination if they come upstairs.
4. I keep my bike in my living room, right behind my dining room table. It doesn't like the basement spiders.
5. There is only one closet in my entire house. It's a small one in my bedroom.
6. Because of the closet situation, my second bedroom has been converted into a huge closet. I have a 3-section IKEA closet that I love.
7. I would love to buy my house and build an addition to expand the bathroom and kitchen out into the side yard.
8. I am getting my front steps fixed on Saturday! They are currently a crumbling mess.
9. The woman who owns my house lives in California. She was an avid landscaper. She came back this summer to check out the house and I can only assume she had a heart attack when she saw how much I am NOT a landscaper.
10. I completely love my house! It's tiny and cute and it's got character. All of the woodwork is original to the house, which was built in 1890. It creaks and the floors slant and none of the doors really close, aside from the front door. And I wouldn't have it any other way.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
"3" Things Thursday
1. I gave out 3 lunch detentions in my 8th grade fitness fun class this morning. The boys received the lunch detentions for failing to turn in their signed syllabus. Not one of them showed up for the lunch detention, which means they now all have an email sitting in their parents' in box and two lunch detentions to serve. Don't mess with the best cause the best don't mess.
2. I confiscated 3 cell phones today in health class. The first boy was texting during a presentation on blueberries. He was so obvious. The second boy was texting under a table with his friends while he was supposed to be doing his nutrition packet. The third boy was playing a game on his iPhone behind his binder. He didn't even see me approaching him. 9th graders are so stealthy...
3. I played 3 games of big base today - one game in 8th grade fitness fun and a game in each of my two 7th grade classes. By the way, Byron's class beat Finanger's class during 3rd hour and Finanger beat Byron during 4th hr. We really killed him 3rd hour though...
2. I confiscated 3 cell phones today in health class. The first boy was texting during a presentation on blueberries. He was so obvious. The second boy was texting under a table with his friends while he was supposed to be doing his nutrition packet. The third boy was playing a game on his iPhone behind his binder. He didn't even see me approaching him. 9th graders are so stealthy...
3. I played 3 games of big base today - one game in 8th grade fitness fun and a game in each of my two 7th grade classes. By the way, Byron's class beat Finanger's class during 3rd hour and Finanger beat Byron during 4th hr. We really killed him 3rd hour though...
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Movie Monday, 1 day late...
Towards the end of the summer I was running out of money. This meant that I couldn't do a lot of the things that I like to do, such as go to weekend morning movies. I've missed a lot in the last month or so. But last Wednesday was pay day and I made sure that I saw a movie on Saturday morning.I hate to disappoint some of you, but I saw Easy A. It is a high school twist on The Scarlett Letter, starring Emma Stone. Amanda Bynes, another one of my favorite now post-teen actresses, also stars in the movie.
Emma Stone plays Olive, a girl who is mistakenly accused of having sex over the weekend in the beginning of her senior year. What she actually does during this weekend is set in a hilarious few scenes spliced together. A gay friend of hers asks her if she'll pretend to have sex with him so that he doesn't get picked on in school. After initially saying no, she acquiesces. Word gets around and some dorky boys start asking Olive to help them out too. She decides to embrace this new reputation, inspired by the book they are reading in English class, The Scarlett Letter. Of course things start getting out of control and she begins to regret her decision.
Stone plays a great nerdy harlott while her parents, Stanley Tucci and Patricia Clarkson, steal every scene they are in. They are the best movie parents ever! They are quick-witted and accepting of other's differences.
I absolutely loved this movie and I'll buy it when it comes out on DVD. "Two thumbs up!"
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Back At It, Or... My Gym Pet Peeves
I finally got my butt to the gym this morning. It's the first time I've been to the gym since I started the school year. I haven't had any energy or motivation...and I have 12 more days until the end of the month so that has forced me to get my butt in gear.
I was having exercise ADD (note, there was no "H" in there...) and decided to do 15 min on the bike and 15 min on the elliptical. Also, I probably shouldn't do ANY time on the elliptical bc of my back, but I just love and miss it so much. First off, the gym parking lot was packed. I had to go nearly to the top level of the parking ramp. I like to use locker #11 (hello OCD). Locker #11 was taken, as were practically all the lockers in the first section. I had to go all the way down to the 3rd and last section. I put my stuff in locker #139 after I changed, but it wouldn't lock. So then I moved all of my stuff down to locker #140. This is nowhere near locker #11!
Biking was fine. I was checking out the ellipticals while biking and there was one left right around my 15 min mark. I quickly put all of my stuff on it and cleaned off my bike. I always wipe down the machines before and after I'm there bc I've seen way too many people not wipe it off at all bc they are just "warming up." Hello, you still left your cooties! The two wipe dispensers closest to the ellipticals were out so I had to go all the way back to the one I used for my bike. I love the dispensers, but I hate that on any given day, at least 1 out of 3 in the first row are out of wipes. It's another pet peeve of mine when the person before has pulled two wipes out, but only uses one (they are connected). The other one inevitably dries up before it's used. Such a waste.
I ellipticalled next to a very tall/large man. He was actually kind of cute, but he smelled like Brian smelled and that was such a turn off. He was going great guns though, and not in a totally weird way like some guys. I like this bc it keeps me going faster as well.
I was able to stretch out and my back didn't hurt so I gave today's workout two thumbs up. When I got back to the locker room some lady was leaving and not only did she leave her locker door open (another pet peeve of mine, and yes, I do close them when I see them open), but she also left two towels - one on the floor and one on the locker door. Dude! The towel drop is on your way out, actually there are TWO on your way out. Don't be a slob - these people aren't your maids. So the workout was two thumbs up. The things I had to deal with were not.
Afterward I drove across the street to Brueggers and indulged in a pumpkin bagel with pumpkin cream cheese for breakfast. I love the fall!
I was having exercise ADD (note, there was no "H" in there...) and decided to do 15 min on the bike and 15 min on the elliptical. Also, I probably shouldn't do ANY time on the elliptical bc of my back, but I just love and miss it so much. First off, the gym parking lot was packed. I had to go nearly to the top level of the parking ramp. I like to use locker #11 (hello OCD). Locker #11 was taken, as were practically all the lockers in the first section. I had to go all the way down to the 3rd and last section. I put my stuff in locker #139 after I changed, but it wouldn't lock. So then I moved all of my stuff down to locker #140. This is nowhere near locker #11!
Biking was fine. I was checking out the ellipticals while biking and there was one left right around my 15 min mark. I quickly put all of my stuff on it and cleaned off my bike. I always wipe down the machines before and after I'm there bc I've seen way too many people not wipe it off at all bc they are just "warming up." Hello, you still left your cooties! The two wipe dispensers closest to the ellipticals were out so I had to go all the way back to the one I used for my bike. I love the dispensers, but I hate that on any given day, at least 1 out of 3 in the first row are out of wipes. It's another pet peeve of mine when the person before has pulled two wipes out, but only uses one (they are connected). The other one inevitably dries up before it's used. Such a waste.
I ellipticalled next to a very tall/large man. He was actually kind of cute, but he smelled like Brian smelled and that was such a turn off. He was going great guns though, and not in a totally weird way like some guys. I like this bc it keeps me going faster as well.
I was able to stretch out and my back didn't hurt so I gave today's workout two thumbs up. When I got back to the locker room some lady was leaving and not only did she leave her locker door open (another pet peeve of mine, and yes, I do close them when I see them open), but she also left two towels - one on the floor and one on the locker door. Dude! The towel drop is on your way out, actually there are TWO on your way out. Don't be a slob - these people aren't your maids. So the workout was two thumbs up. The things I had to deal with were not.
Afterward I drove across the street to Brueggers and indulged in a pumpkin bagel with pumpkin cream cheese for breakfast. I love the fall!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Three Things Thursday
(1) I didn't have 7th graders today. They were at an all 7th grade "retreat" in the large gym. I got a lot done and am even up to date with my grade book! Now all I need to do is grade those pesky food diaries from health...
(2) Today was chilly and dreary. I decided to pull a pair of black fleece pants out of the dirty clothes and don them for the first time this season. Tomorrow is picture day so I may have to dress up a little more....or just wear a black zip-down hoodie.
(3) I heard a great new-to-me song today on the radio on the drive in to school. It was "Windfall" by Son Volt. They are an alt country band from Minneapolis. Apparently they started when Uncle Tupelo ended. I checked out the cd, Trace (from 1996), and downloaded it on iTunes. The singer, Jay Farrar, will be in St. Paul at the Turf Club on Nov. 5th and I just might check him out. I dig the Turf Club, but haven't been there since Duplomacy played (circa 2005-2006). A few lines from the song:
May the wind take your troubles away
May the wind take your troubles away
Both feet on the floor, two hands on the wheel
May the wind take your troubles away
(2) Today was chilly and dreary. I decided to pull a pair of black fleece pants out of the dirty clothes and don them for the first time this season. Tomorrow is picture day so I may have to dress up a little more....or just wear a black zip-down hoodie.
(3) I heard a great new-to-me song today on the radio on the drive in to school. It was "Windfall" by Son Volt. They are an alt country band from Minneapolis. Apparently they started when Uncle Tupelo ended. I checked out the cd, Trace (from 1996), and downloaded it on iTunes. The singer, Jay Farrar, will be in St. Paul at the Turf Club on Nov. 5th and I just might check him out. I dig the Turf Club, but haven't been there since Duplomacy played (circa 2005-2006). A few lines from the song:
May the wind take your troubles away
May the wind take your troubles away
Both feet on the floor, two hands on the wheel
May the wind take your troubles away
Monday, September 13, 2010
First Impressions of the 2010-2011 School Year
Today was the first day of the second week of school, the first full week of school. Last week was really, really tough. On the first day of school I was in bed before 8 pm! The rest of the week wasn't much better, but I was able to stay up until 10 or so on Thursday night.
This year I am an official full-time teacher. Here's my schedule:
7:45-8:07... 8th grade homeroom
8:11-9:38... 8th grade Fitness Fun
9:43-10:25... 7th grade PE
10:30-11:11... 7th grade PE
11:15-12:42... 9th grade health
Fitness Fun is a class that my co-worker Lori created a few years ago. The class is really neat - a lot of activities and field trips that other PE classes don't get to do. I'm starting off with disc golf, which will culminate with a few field trips to the nearest disc golf course. Other activities include: karate, tai chi, spinning at the YMCA, bowling, xcountry skiing, snowshoeing, yoga. I'm also going to attempt to do rock climbing and curling. There's so much that I can do and if the kids would ever shut up, I'd be able to do it all! This year's 8th graders are last year's 7th graders and they are super chatty. In one class I have all but 2 girls; in the other class, all but 3. It's a tough crowd.
7th grade PE is pretty easy. This year's 7th graders are super nice, good listeners, and they wear their sneakers every day! I can only hope that they'll be good fitness fun students next year.
This year's 9th graders are kind of a rough crowd. So far it's not too bad, but they like to make comments all the time. I'm going to have to start kicking some kids out to make a point. We are starting with nutrition and we just started SuperSize Me today. They're more or less attentive, but the sound is so low that if anyone talks, you miss things.
I'm frustrated with the fact that I don't have a computer in my health classroom. The math teacher leaves her laptop and the sound just isn't the best. I have four whole days' worth of a video on AIDS and it's going to be a long four days if the kids can't hear it. The computer is hooked up to the projector on the ceiling. I never had a problem last year with the desktop computer.
Tomorrow night is open house and I think I'm going to dig it. Last year everyone followed their child's schedule, but this year each grade is doing something different. Why do they have to do that when it completely leaves out the specialists? So Jodi, Lori, and I are going to hang out in our office and if someone wants to visit us, they can. Otherwise, we can get some work done. I'm going to see how many discs I need to order for disc golf and then correct some health homework.
Our first long weekend is Oct 21-24, which is Education Minnesota's professional conference. (Formerly MEA weekend, so we still call it that.) I can't wait!
This year I am an official full-time teacher. Here's my schedule:
7:45-8:07... 8th grade homeroom
8:11-9:38... 8th grade Fitness Fun
9:43-10:25... 7th grade PE
10:30-11:11... 7th grade PE
11:15-12:42... 9th grade health
Fitness Fun is a class that my co-worker Lori created a few years ago. The class is really neat - a lot of activities and field trips that other PE classes don't get to do. I'm starting off with disc golf, which will culminate with a few field trips to the nearest disc golf course. Other activities include: karate, tai chi, spinning at the YMCA, bowling, xcountry skiing, snowshoeing, yoga. I'm also going to attempt to do rock climbing and curling. There's so much that I can do and if the kids would ever shut up, I'd be able to do it all! This year's 8th graders are last year's 7th graders and they are super chatty. In one class I have all but 2 girls; in the other class, all but 3. It's a tough crowd.
7th grade PE is pretty easy. This year's 7th graders are super nice, good listeners, and they wear their sneakers every day! I can only hope that they'll be good fitness fun students next year.
This year's 9th graders are kind of a rough crowd. So far it's not too bad, but they like to make comments all the time. I'm going to have to start kicking some kids out to make a point. We are starting with nutrition and we just started SuperSize Me today. They're more or less attentive, but the sound is so low that if anyone talks, you miss things.
I'm frustrated with the fact that I don't have a computer in my health classroom. The math teacher leaves her laptop and the sound just isn't the best. I have four whole days' worth of a video on AIDS and it's going to be a long four days if the kids can't hear it. The computer is hooked up to the projector on the ceiling. I never had a problem last year with the desktop computer.
Tomorrow night is open house and I think I'm going to dig it. Last year everyone followed their child's schedule, but this year each grade is doing something different. Why do they have to do that when it completely leaves out the specialists? So Jodi, Lori, and I are going to hang out in our office and if someone wants to visit us, they can. Otherwise, we can get some work done. I'm going to see how many discs I need to order for disc golf and then correct some health homework.
Our first long weekend is Oct 21-24, which is Education Minnesota's professional conference. (Formerly MEA weekend, so we still call it that.) I can't wait!
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