After three years of teaching, I've managed another personal best for length of time to first cold. Nov 9th isn't too bad considering since Aug 20th I've been surrounded by 18 little germ carriers who repeatedly projectile sneeze snot into their hands.
Is projectile sneezing a talent that is lost to us as adults? I don't often see adults running with ooze dripping from their nose to their hand. Kids, on the other hand, seem fascinated by obtaining the maximum in stretch distance. (Again, thank goodness for my high tolerance gag reflex.)
This time of year, you could just put my voice on a continuous background loop like at the airport: "Get a tissue, wash your hands." Maybe I could also add one that would be automated to when the bathroom door opens and would say: "Did you flush the toilet? I didn't hear it flush." I teach so much more than their ABCs and 123s!
I'm a little bummed that my 3 day weekend is being tainted by their sickness, but at least this should mean I'll be healthy for the long Thanksgiving weekend. And I can use my stuffy head and sore throat as a get-out-of-chores-free card. I plan to do a lot of flat-backing, I mean recuperating, this weekend. :)
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Must See TV
Today, although long and busy, has been relatively crazy-free. And now that my work is behind me, I'm ready to relax.
Here's my plan: sweatpants... couch... My Name is Earl... bed... read... The Office... sleep. Ahhh... :)
Here's my plan: sweatpants... couch... My Name is Earl... bed... read... The Office... sleep. Ahhh... :)
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Bizarro Week
I'm not sure where to begin... it's been such an exhausting and bizarre week so far - and it's only Wednesday! I guess I'll start back at Monday.
Monday
I had a truly relaxing weekend (the hubby had been out of town since Thursday for deer hunting in MN - he shot a 200 lb doe in case you were curious) that consisted of: watching all 3 of my Netflix rentals, reading 2 books, and watching a truly exciting and win producing Vikings game (I know, shocker!, I'd forgotten what it felt like to be happy after a game). Monday night was to be my last night of singledom. I was going to make myself a delicious breakfast-for-dinner (something my husband opposes, one of his few annoying traits) and settle in for a night of couch-potatoing and Dancing With The Stars. Oh, the best laid plans...
By sheer luck, I checked my email at 5:45 and realized I had a Girl Scout event that evening. Usually we meet the 2nd Monday of the month, but I had forgotten that we moved it up due to Veteran's Day and the school holiday next week. I have to be out the door a little after 6:00 in order to make it all the way east to their offices, so that shot my breakfast-for-dinner idea. A few minutes and one scarfed-down Lean Cuisine later, I was rushing out the door. Of course, it wasn't until I was halfway there that I realized I forgot my Girl Scout bag with the keys and alarm code etc. Crap! I turned around and raced back to my house only to get stuck in the event traffic that surrounds my community (the drawback of living next door to a stadium - stupid hockey game!). Get on the express way, go the other way, construction, it was a comedy of errors. Father Time must have done something to freeze the minutes, because I was still able to get there on time (technically two minutes late, but after all that I'm calling it on time!). Kickball was fun, but I've been limping on my kicking leg ever since. That rubber ball smarts if you kick it wrong! (I was a little happy when someone kicked it and got the ball stuck in a palm tree thereby ending the game.) I came home late, bruised, exhausted, and disappointed that my Monday plans had been changed.
Tuesday
Last night was another busy night. After Grade Chair meetings all day, I had to rush home to spend a few minutes with the returning hunter before heading off to my monthly Bunko game. Bunko was fun and I won back my money for once, but it meant another long night. And things only got weirder from there...
At 2:30 in the morning, Jon, Rio & I jumped awake to the sound of a crash. It couldn't be another car accident?? We've lived here for 5 years with no incident, now 2 crashes within 2 weeks! After pulling on shorts and t-shirts, we headed outside to investigate. Thankfully it was not our driveway, but our neighbors. These are our "rental neighbors", I don't think I've blogged about them before. They've only been here a couple of months and don't speak much English, so they extent of our relationship is casual waves from the driveway.
A white hummer had smashed into one of their cars (they have four, don't get me started!) they keep parked on the swale. This sent that car flying into one of their cars parked in their driveway, and then somehow back out into the street narrowly missing their other cars. The lady driving the hummer left (she later returned claiming she was not drunk and had just spilled her coffee and then left to get her cell phone which she still didn't have with her) so the neighbors on the other side were already calling the police when we got out. The rental neighbors are heavy sleepers apparently and still hadn't come out to investigate. After banging on the door, they finally came out. There was some humor as we watched the guy calling 911 try to explain that he wasn't responsible for the crash. He just kept repeating "I'm your neighbor" louder and louder as if that would help in the translation. When the white H2 returned whining and grinding like a swarm of bees with its wheel bent at an unnatural angle, I think he finally understood. After a few more minutes, we were just wanting to get back to bed. Jon looked around and casually said, "I think I'll grab the paper." He scooped up the newspaper and headed back inside as if that was the real reason we had come outside. I'm sure it was the combination of exhaustion and circumstances, but this struck me as the funniest thing ever... and I laughed about it for at least 30 minutes before I could get back to sleep.
Wednesday
I know this is the longest post ever, so I will make today's short. At about 10:00 am this morning, they came over the loud speaker and announced a Code Yellow lockdown with the words "this is not a drill." Not knowing what is transpiring on campus, I rush to lock my doors and email that all my students are accounted for. Later, I found out that a convict shot and killed a man while on transport and escaped. As a result, they put all the schools on lockdown as a precaution. This meant we were trapped in our rooms until 1:00 pm when he was apprehended... no leaving the classroom for lunch, recess, anything. Some teachers lucked out and were actually locked out from their kids (if there kids were in Specials classes) so they got a free planning day! Me, not so lucky!
Craziness! I need to check out my horoscope, my stars must not be properly aligned this week.
Monday
I had a truly relaxing weekend (the hubby had been out of town since Thursday for deer hunting in MN - he shot a 200 lb doe in case you were curious) that consisted of: watching all 3 of my Netflix rentals, reading 2 books, and watching a truly exciting and win producing Vikings game (I know, shocker!, I'd forgotten what it felt like to be happy after a game). Monday night was to be my last night of singledom. I was going to make myself a delicious breakfast-for-dinner (something my husband opposes, one of his few annoying traits) and settle in for a night of couch-potatoing and Dancing With The Stars. Oh, the best laid plans...
By sheer luck, I checked my email at 5:45 and realized I had a Girl Scout event that evening. Usually we meet the 2nd Monday of the month, but I had forgotten that we moved it up due to Veteran's Day and the school holiday next week. I have to be out the door a little after 6:00 in order to make it all the way east to their offices, so that shot my breakfast-for-dinner idea. A few minutes and one scarfed-down Lean Cuisine later, I was rushing out the door. Of course, it wasn't until I was halfway there that I realized I forgot my Girl Scout bag with the keys and alarm code etc. Crap! I turned around and raced back to my house only to get stuck in the event traffic that surrounds my community (the drawback of living next door to a stadium - stupid hockey game!). Get on the express way, go the other way, construction, it was a comedy of errors. Father Time must have done something to freeze the minutes, because I was still able to get there on time (technically two minutes late, but after all that I'm calling it on time!). Kickball was fun, but I've been limping on my kicking leg ever since. That rubber ball smarts if you kick it wrong! (I was a little happy when someone kicked it and got the ball stuck in a palm tree thereby ending the game.) I came home late, bruised, exhausted, and disappointed that my Monday plans had been changed.
Tuesday
Last night was another busy night. After Grade Chair meetings all day, I had to rush home to spend a few minutes with the returning hunter before heading off to my monthly Bunko game. Bunko was fun and I won back my money for once, but it meant another long night. And things only got weirder from there...
At 2:30 in the morning, Jon, Rio & I jumped awake to the sound of a crash. It couldn't be another car accident?? We've lived here for 5 years with no incident, now 2 crashes within 2 weeks! After pulling on shorts and t-shirts, we headed outside to investigate. Thankfully it was not our driveway, but our neighbors. These are our "rental neighbors", I don't think I've blogged about them before. They've only been here a couple of months and don't speak much English, so they extent of our relationship is casual waves from the driveway.
A white hummer had smashed into one of their cars (they have four, don't get me started!) they keep parked on the swale. This sent that car flying into one of their cars parked in their driveway, and then somehow back out into the street narrowly missing their other cars. The lady driving the hummer left (she later returned claiming she was not drunk and had just spilled her coffee and then left to get her cell phone which she still didn't have with her) so the neighbors on the other side were already calling the police when we got out. The rental neighbors are heavy sleepers apparently and still hadn't come out to investigate. After banging on the door, they finally came out. There was some humor as we watched the guy calling 911 try to explain that he wasn't responsible for the crash. He just kept repeating "I'm your neighbor" louder and louder as if that would help in the translation. When the white H2 returned whining and grinding like a swarm of bees with its wheel bent at an unnatural angle, I think he finally understood. After a few more minutes, we were just wanting to get back to bed. Jon looked around and casually said, "I think I'll grab the paper." He scooped up the newspaper and headed back inside as if that was the real reason we had come outside. I'm sure it was the combination of exhaustion and circumstances, but this struck me as the funniest thing ever... and I laughed about it for at least 30 minutes before I could get back to sleep.
Wednesday
I know this is the longest post ever, so I will make today's short. At about 10:00 am this morning, they came over the loud speaker and announced a Code Yellow lockdown with the words "this is not a drill." Not knowing what is transpiring on campus, I rush to lock my doors and email that all my students are accounted for. Later, I found out that a convict shot and killed a man while on transport and escaped. As a result, they put all the schools on lockdown as a precaution. This meant we were trapped in our rooms until 1:00 pm when he was apprehended... no leaving the classroom for lunch, recess, anything. Some teachers lucked out and were actually locked out from their kids (if there kids were in Specials classes) so they got a free planning day! Me, not so lucky!
Craziness! I need to check out my horoscope, my stars must not be properly aligned this week.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Beat!
Sorry no posts the last couple of days. I was out last night until 10:00 pm and tonight until about two minutes ago. I'm a very busy girl this week! I'll check in with you all tomorrow when I'm awake. :)
Sunday, November 4, 2007
So Delicious
I have to confess: I'm one of those people who doesn't do well with scents. I have a fairly sensitive sniffer, apparently I'm more like Scooby in that respect. (Sorry! I couldn't help it. I think I made a little challenge with myself as to how many blogs I could write with a Scooby Doo tie in.) Anyway, perfume of any kind makes me feel nauseous. This mostly occurs when I wear it myself - I don't want any of my friends to think they can't wear perfume around me - which is why I never wear the stuff. I also tend to avoid strolling through the makeup counters at the department store. That is like scentsensation overload! I come out feeling light headed and shaky.
Even scented lotions pose a problem. Bath and Body Works you tempt me with all your pretty labels and fanciful names, but I can't wear anything fruity or too sweet. (It's best if I don't inhale too deeply when I'm visiting their store either.) Luckily, I was able to find one B&BW lotion that doesn't make me want to crawl out of my skin, so I've been wearing Creamy Coconut lotion daily for the better part of a decade.
I'm sure most women hope their signature scent will be tantalizing and that every man/woman in the room will wish to devour them. My Creamy Coconut lotion takes this to a whole new level. Everyone who comes near me only smells vanilla and baked goods. Disappointing your co-workers after they come sniffing around the cubical looking for a Crispy Creme or Oreo cookie induced sugar-rush makes one surprisingly unpopular, but this is a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
Recently, I discovered that I can also wear Spicy Pumpkin. You can imagine my excitement. With Halloween and Thanksgiving in the air, I lathered up and headed out to work. As I strolled past some co-workers that morning I heard one of them comment, "I think someone is baking gingerbread cookies." I just smiled to myself and kept on walking.
Even scented lotions pose a problem. Bath and Body Works you tempt me with all your pretty labels and fanciful names, but I can't wear anything fruity or too sweet. (It's best if I don't inhale too deeply when I'm visiting their store either.) Luckily, I was able to find one B&BW lotion that doesn't make me want to crawl out of my skin, so I've been wearing Creamy Coconut lotion daily for the better part of a decade.
I'm sure most women hope their signature scent will be tantalizing and that every man/woman in the room will wish to devour them. My Creamy Coconut lotion takes this to a whole new level. Everyone who comes near me only smells vanilla and baked goods. Disappointing your co-workers after they come sniffing around the cubical looking for a Crispy Creme or Oreo cookie induced sugar-rush makes one surprisingly unpopular, but this is a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
Recently, I discovered that I can also wear Spicy Pumpkin. You can imagine my excitement. With Halloween and Thanksgiving in the air, I lathered up and headed out to work. As I strolled past some co-workers that morning I heard one of them comment, "I think someone is baking gingerbread cookies." I just smiled to myself and kept on walking.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Damsel in Distress
With Scooby Doo on the brain lately, I was thinking last night why Daphne was my favorite character and specifically what does that say about me? We all know Velma was the brains behind the operation, Shaggy and Scooby the comic relief, Fred the unnecessary male figurehead, and Daphne the damsel in distress. I know they tried to "Buffy-fy" her in the movies, but in truth, it's the original two-dimensional Daphne that I always identified with.
Why? I think it was her fashion sense that drew me in. I mean purple is still one of my favorite colors. I bought the most beautiful purple blouse the other day from Target. I also have a penchant for purple ink, it was kind of my signature when I worked in corporate (that way there was no mistaking my notes for anyone else's and I didn't even mind being labeled the "purple pen lady"). The Vikings wear purple jerseys... maybe that's why I've never been able to sever our destructive relationship (they break my heart every Fall and yet I keep coming back for more). Forget "puppy power," it's purple power for me!
And I guess I'm comfortable being a little bit of a damsel in distress. I'm a wimp and I know it. I don't do yard work, bugs or anything gross. I can't open a jar without gadgets, gizmos, divine intervention or human assistance. I once cried in frustration because I couldn't scoop particularly hard ice cream. (Ice cream is my drug of choice. When I gotta have it, I gotta have it now!) Thank God I married young, apparently I'm completely incapable to taking care of myself.
Well, Daphne mystery solved.
I don't even want to begin to analyze my affection for Smurfette, the only female in a population of 100 willing man-slaves with names like Papa, Handy and Hefty....
Why? I think it was her fashion sense that drew me in. I mean purple is still one of my favorite colors. I bought the most beautiful purple blouse the other day from Target. I also have a penchant for purple ink, it was kind of my signature when I worked in corporate (that way there was no mistaking my notes for anyone else's and I didn't even mind being labeled the "purple pen lady"). The Vikings wear purple jerseys... maybe that's why I've never been able to sever our destructive relationship (they break my heart every Fall and yet I keep coming back for more). Forget "puppy power," it's purple power for me!
And I guess I'm comfortable being a little bit of a damsel in distress. I'm a wimp and I know it. I don't do yard work, bugs or anything gross. I can't open a jar without gadgets, gizmos, divine intervention or human assistance. I once cried in frustration because I couldn't scoop particularly hard ice cream. (Ice cream is my drug of choice. When I gotta have it, I gotta have it now!) Thank God I married young, apparently I'm completely incapable to taking care of myself.
Well, Daphne mystery solved.
I don't even want to begin to analyze my affection for Smurfette, the only female in a population of 100 willing man-slaves with names like Papa, Handy and Hefty....
Friday, November 2, 2007
The Birds & The Bees
A few days ago, I seemed to be plagued by bird issues: the dead bird on the playground; the splat attack on my car; and I didn't even tell you about the mess I discovered on the pool deck, or poop deck rather. (Poor Rio doesn't know where to walk, it's like navigating a mine field back there). So today when I was walking my kids back to the classroom from the cafeteria and I felt something plop on my head, my first thought was great, a bird pooped on my head. After fingering through my hair and finding no goopy liquid, I was relieved and simply assumed I had imagined it.
I didn't give it much thought until about twenty minutes later when I felt a sharp pain in my upper arm. I miraculously refrained from cussing in surprise, but my kids still knew something was wrong since I was standing in front of them with my mouth hanging open like a guppy and my hand clutching my arm. One of my girls thoughtfully inspected the wound and confirmed my suspicions - I was stung by a bee!
Since I am an asthmatic with allergies, I have fearfully and successfully avoided bee stings my whole life. I was actually a bit concerned when the area around the sting site immediately got puffy and white, but my heart rate felt normalish (only slightly elevated due to my panic) and I was breathing so I determined the injury was not likely to be fatal. Still, it hurt like heck! I actually had to send two messengers to our clinic to fetch me an ice pack. My kiddos were very sweet and one even gave me her Super Job sticker since I was being "so brave and didn't cry."
Later when I sent the kids to their play centers, we found my attacker hiding out in the doll house where I assume he was looking for potential hostages. He was barely clinging to life, however, so he didn't put up much of a struggle when I scooped him up and tossed him outside. I don't know my bees, but he wasn't of the cute yellow and black striped bumble variety. I'm guessing he was a wasp. One of my students told me a wasp's sting hurts much worse than a bee sting so that must have been it!
I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy this new phase of nature's assault against me but at least I can say that I've confronted one of my worst fears and survived to tell the tale.
I didn't give it much thought until about twenty minutes later when I felt a sharp pain in my upper arm. I miraculously refrained from cussing in surprise, but my kids still knew something was wrong since I was standing in front of them with my mouth hanging open like a guppy and my hand clutching my arm. One of my girls thoughtfully inspected the wound and confirmed my suspicions - I was stung by a bee!
Since I am an asthmatic with allergies, I have fearfully and successfully avoided bee stings my whole life. I was actually a bit concerned when the area around the sting site immediately got puffy and white, but my heart rate felt normalish (only slightly elevated due to my panic) and I was breathing so I determined the injury was not likely to be fatal. Still, it hurt like heck! I actually had to send two messengers to our clinic to fetch me an ice pack. My kiddos were very sweet and one even gave me her Super Job sticker since I was being "so brave and didn't cry."
Later when I sent the kids to their play centers, we found my attacker hiding out in the doll house where I assume he was looking for potential hostages. He was barely clinging to life, however, so he didn't put up much of a struggle when I scooped him up and tossed him outside. I don't know my bees, but he wasn't of the cute yellow and black striped bumble variety. I'm guessing he was a wasp. One of my students told me a wasp's sting hurts much worse than a bee sting so that must have been it!
I'm not sure I'm going to enjoy this new phase of nature's assault against me but at least I can say that I've confronted one of my worst fears and survived to tell the tale.
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