Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Yarn Along...

Thanks to Irene...
Remember Irene?

Anywho.

Thanks to Irene wreaking havoc with the power company, I spent the weekend preparing for this Yarn Along.  

Um.

Ok.  I spent this weekend moaning and complaining about how I didn't have power.

Anywho.

I had thought ahead (for once) and had made sure that the Kindle was fully charged before the power went out.  Over the weekend I read two and a half books.  Here they are in the order that I read them:



The first one was the most recent crochet mystery from the series I had started over the summer.  They continue to be fairly easy reads which include one or two patterns at the end as well as one or two recipes.

The second one was a semi-cheesy Christian romance type book.  It wasn't too bad but left some loose ends.  It is kind of obvious that there isn't going to be a sequel so you are left to kind of wonder what happened to some of the "major" characters.

The last one piqued my interest when I saw a trailer for a movie about the book.  I'm not really a Sarah Jessica Parker fan at all, but the plot of the movie looked good and the reviews of the book were very good.  It wasn't a bad book, per say, but is set in England so many of the terms that are used are British and could be confusing to some.  I really, really loved the ending, though, and would recommend the book.  :)

I am working on finishing up the "Scrap-Log Cabin-gan" and hope to have it finished by this weekend.

I am working the border right now and am doing about three rows of the variegated topped by two or three rows of the dark blue.  I'll take a picture of it when I am finished.

Remember...if you'd like to see what some other people are reading and crocheting/knitting, hop on over to Ginny's blog!

I hope your week is going well!  The countdown to the weekend is beginning and I am looking forward to it!

PS:  Dear BFF,
            You are AWESOME and I miss you like crazy!  Please, please, please come visit soon!!!! :)

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Let's start off...

by saying that God was wise when deciding when I should be born.  I am not, nor will I ever be, Laura Ingalls.  I am happy and content with that.

Good night's sleep in a cool house...check

Hot coffee this morning...check

Hot shower this morning...check

Still freaked out, overly clingy Chihuahua...check

sigh.  Some things never change.

Anyway.

I am home again today.  There is still no power at the school, although we have been told that we are moved up to the top of the priority list for the power company.  I had to laugh at some of the Seniors on Facebook last night.  They were all hoping to have no school today and reminded them that, in order to graduate, they actually had to go to school at some point during their senior year.  I am sure that we will be back tomorrow.  At least, I hope so.  It is so nice to want to go to work again...

Because of the extra free time I was able to run some errands this morning.  I hadn't gone to the grocery store before the storm because I didn't want to run the risk of losing every thing I bought because the power went out.  I also (against my better judgement) went to Wal-Mart.  Without getting too much in to it, I will say that my experience wasn't pleasant.  On the way out I told the receipt checking person that the cashier needed to learn some manners.  She seemed pretty upset and asked me which line I had gone through.  After I told her and started to walk out, I could see her talking to the manager.  I'm not sure it will make any difference, but I can't stand it when people who are in the customer service business are rude to the customers.

I discovered last night that I had a problem with water getting in during the storm.  There is a wet spot on the ceiling in my bedroom.  I checked my insurance policy only to discover that my $500 deductible jumps to $1,000 if the damage is caused by a hurricane or windstorm.  sigh.  Since this is apparently going to be an out-of-pocket expense, I am hoping that it isn't too costly.  And, it could be worse.  Besides, this still beats renting.

:)

Happy Tuesday!

Monday, August 29, 2011

And this...

is what my weekend looked like:

Saturday morning:

get up early.

cram everything from the deck into the shed.  bungee cord grill to the deck.  pray that the four baby cucumbers will survive.  give up on the tomatoes.

Saturday afternoon:

hunker down as the rain begins.  it isn't too bad.

crap.  power goes out at 4:30.  should have known this was only the beginning.

Saturday evening:

power comes back on at 6:20.  YEA!!!!  cook dinner.

happiness is premature as power goes out again at 8:40.

wind begins to howl.  miss raven is terrified and decides she must live inside of me for the next several years.

we huddle in bed and pray that the roof holds.

Sunday morning:

power is still out.  can't get a restoration time.

dry cheerios for breakfast.  drink emergency cup of cold coffee.

lunch time.  wind and rain are finally dying down.  not sure what is going on in the world because smart phone isn't quite smart enough to survive a hurricane.

Sunday afternoon:

a few pretzels for lunch.  am getting restless and still have no idea when power will be back on.  start to worry about all the food in the freezer.

read two and a half books on my kindle.

finish lesson plans.

Sunday night:

still no power and no idea when it will return.  it has now been out for 24 hours.

peanut butter and ritz crackers for dinner.

NEED COFFEE NOW.

hot in the house, sun going down, can't read any more.  battery on smart phone almost dead.

put miss raven in the truck, put the cell phone on the charger, head to Dunkin Donuts.

call BFF and have a meltdown on the way.  pretty sure she now thinks i am a raving maniac.

she is right.

thankfully, DD has coffee so no one gets hurt.

arrive at home.  don't want to get out of truck because i am FINALLY cooled off.  miss raven still scared and takes up residence under my shirt, barking only when necessary and shaking A LOT.

go in.  get into bed.  read kindle by flashlight.

fall into a fitful sleep thanks to neighbor's rather loud generator.

still no idea when power will be restored.

Monday morning:

still no power.

found out last night that there will be no school today.  interesting start to this school year.  have decided that it must be "hurriquake" season.

MUST HAVE COFFEE.

take cold shower and am thankful it isn't winter.

make Starbucks run.  so thankful for HOT coffee.

go to target, just to stay out for a bit.

still no idea when power will be restored.

come home.  have lunch:  cold bean burrito.  resisting opening either freezer or refridgerator.

finally get a hold of someone at PEPCO.  am told that my power will not be restored until (maybe) tomorrow at 7:00 PM. 

feel the need to be destructive with my bare hands.  feel blood pressure go through the roof.  manage to not curse out the pepco guy by reminding myself that it isn't his fault.

repeat that like a mantra for close to an hour.

read more on the kindle.

try to comfort miss raven who, i don't think, will ever leave the relative saftey that comes from being under my shirt.  no matter that she gives off enough heat to bake a cake.

decide to text a friend to find a pet-friendly hotel nearby when POWER COMES ON!!!!!!

do the following, in order of priority:

--DRINK TWO CUPS OF COFFEE
--turn on tv for noise
--take hot shower
--blog

the end

ps:  i really, really, REALLY, hate you, Irene.

on a more serious note:  my prayers and sympathy to all that are still suffering from the effects of this beastly storm.  it was no joke and the death toll is sadly rising.  if you are in a position to help someone affected, please do...

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Dear Irene,

(photo courtesy of  NOAA)
GO AWAY!

You have done nothing but ruin my plans for the weekend with your destructive ways.  No one likes you, no one wants you.  Just leave now, Irene. 

Why do you have to show up at night?  Night time is the scariest time.  You are just plain rude, Irene.

And, while I am at it...you are totally freaking miss raven out and you aren't even here yet.  I still have a couple more hours before your rain hits me and about eight hours until your angry winds hit me.  miss raven knows you are coming, though, and she is scared.  You are a big bully, Irene.  Picking on poor little puppies like this.  Shame on you.

You have ruined people's beach vacations.  You are a party pooper, Irene.

Because of you, Irene, I am going to lose power.  Pepco has already called me to tell me that I WILL lose power and they will get it back on as soon as possible but to be patient (read:  don't call us).  They have told me it will be DAYS before I get power back.  That means no coffee.  No coffee=I am a person you don't want to be around.  You think you're angry, Irene?  Wait until you get a load of me after you have caused me to not have coffee for DAYS.  You got nothing on me there, baby.  Nothing.

I don't like you, Irene.

:op

Sincerely,
melicity (and miss raven)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

earthquakes and hurricanes and yarn alongs...

oh my!

EARTHQUAKE UPDATE:

No school today!  Apparently they needed to do an inspection of the building to make sure there was no structural damage.  I got the phone call after I posted last night.  It was nice to sleep in a little this morning.  :)

The Washington Monument is now closed indefinetly because they found a crack near the top.  There are some people that have been displaced from their apartment building because of damage to load-bearing walls.  I feel so badly for those people.  They aren't even allowed to go back into their homes to get things they need right now.  I know it is for their safety, but it must be so frustrating.

HURRICANE UPDATE:

It seems like Irene may be paying us a visit shortly.  It has been kind of windy today.  I don't know if that has anything to do with the hurricane or not.  Right now they are saying that it is supposed to make landfall sometime Sunday morning around Long Island.  That means major wind and rain for us here as well as potential power outages and downed trees.  Annnnnddddd...potentially no school on Monday.  We'll see what happens there.  I don't want to be using up all our "snow" days before Christmas!

YARN ALONG:
As you can see, I have a couple of children's books I am reading right now.  I love to read to my class and we are going to start out the year with A Cricket in Times Square.  On the hook is a "scrap-gan".  I am pairing a giant granny square with a log cabinish pattern.  I plan on throwing it on one of the comfy chairs in the back of my room so the kids can snuggle with it when they read.  Since this one has "girlie" colors, I got some additional yarn to make one more suited for the boys, too. :)

Please visit Ginny's blog to read about what others are crocheting/knitting and reading.

BONUS miss raven UPDATE:
Just because she is sweet, adorable, and I love her!

:)

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

I felt the EARTH. MOVE. under my feet....

Hmmmmm......let's see.  What could make the second day of school just as exciting as the first?

I know!

I know!

Pick me!

Pick me!

AN EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep.  We had a 5.8/5.9 earthquake.  It is considered a "moderated" earthquake.  The difference between a 5.8 and a "serious" 6.0 earthquake is considerable.  A 6.0 is TWICE as strong as the one we experienced today.  I am so thankful it wasn't any stronger than it was.

I have to tell you, it was a surreal experience.  I had just dropped my class off with the music teacher and was sitting at my computer with a lovely cup of HOT coffee (as an aside, my room is as cold as the North freaking Pole!) when all of the sudden the earth moved.  LITERALLY.  The pictures on my walls started shaking and one of the pictures on my desk fell over.  At first I wasn't sure what was going on.  I thought that the class next store was getting a little rowdy.  Then I realized that the ground was moving.  So many thoughts go through your head at that moment.  I was scared but I wasn't.  It is hard to explain.

The music teacher brought my kids back and the boys thought the whole thing was super-cool.  They said it felt like being on a roller coaster at an amusement park.  Most of the girls were ok but I did have one little one that was pretty shaken up (no pun intended).  I did my best to comfort her and, by the time her dad picked her up, she seemed much better.  We had extended study hall and quiet reading time the rest of the day.

Hopefully tomorrow will be "normal" and quiet.  No earthquakes, no fire drills, no tornadoes, no hurricanes.  Well, the hurricane may come later in the week, but it looks like it will be over the weekend.  School is supposed to start on time tomorrow and I am hoping all my little loves will be there.

I read them  a story yesterday called The Teacher from the Black Lagoon.  It's a cute little story about a boy who has heard only bad things about the teacher he is supposed to have.  She is a dragon, she breathes fire, she bites kids in half in order to teach fractions...you know, just like me.  ;)  Anyway.  Her name is Mrs. Green.  Well, at the end of the day yesterday, one of my more, um, shall we say, "active" little boys looks at me and says sweetly, "Miss Olsen?  You wasn't anything like Mrs. Green today."  I laughed out loud!  I thought that was so funny.

Wait til he sees me in September.....

;)

Monday, August 22, 2011

It's been a long time...

No, BFF, not since I've blogged, although I am sure that's what you were thinking...  ;)

No...it's been a long time since I have loved my job.

I haven't really loved it for several years now.  I have tolerated it, put up with it, been thankful I still had it, endured it, dreaded it, and loathed it, BUT, I haven't loved it.

Today, I loved it.  Today I remembered why I loved it.  Today I wondered why on earth I ever gave it up to be in administration.  Today, I loved my job.

Now I am not naive enough to think that every day for the rest of this year is going to be this wonderful.  Truth be told, this day wasn't even perfect.  It was closer to perfect than not, but there were still issues.  Issues with a few kids, issues with some helicopter parents, issues with the schedule.  All in all, though, it was a GREAT day and it made me remember why I do what I do.

I am tired.  Very, very tired.  I haven't been on my feet all day in a long time.  I got a wee little break at lunch time but I was with them the whole day long.  And, because it was the first day, I found myself saying the same thing ALL DAY LONG.  And I am telling you right now...if it is the LAST thing I do this year, my class WILL walk in a STRAIGHT and QUIET line.  A straight line seems to mean nothing to them.  Yet.  Give me a few more days, though.....

Here are the pictures I promised last week:

Front of the room

Whoo-hoo!

Front corner

Back of room

Back corner with the comfy chairs that the whole school is jealous of! :)  I rock!

A close-up view of the comfy chairs.  I am currently crocheting throws to add to them. :)

Other bulletin board. (Science and History)

Student mailboxes and homework board.

So there you have it.  A nice little tour of my classroom.  :)

I will try to blog again this week but I can't promise.  Once I am back in a routine and not quite so tired, I will start blogging a little more regularly.  :)

Have a Terrific Tuesday!!!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

I am so tired tonight.

How tired am I?

I had to type the first sentence three times because I kept spelling "tonight" wrong.

Sigh.

My classroom is done and it looks good, if I do say so myself.  I am hoping to remember to take my camera tomorrow so that I can take pictures and show you.  I am very happy with the way everything turned out.  I still need a few more things and will be hitting Office Depot (I have to shop there because they are a Tony Stewart sponsor!) and Ikea this weekend.  I almost went to Office Depot tonight but I just couldn't make myself sit in traffic.  I didn't leave work until twenty after five tonight because I wanted to get everything done before the parents come tomorrow.

This is a short one tonight for two reasons:
     1.  I am so tired I can't type coherently.
     2.  There is football to be watched.

Goodnight! :)

Monday, August 15, 2011

The post that keeps on giving...

Oh boy do I have much to say tonight...let's list this, shall we?

1.  My weekend turned out better than I thought it would, given the fact that Friday was a crap-tastic day for me.  I went to the Phillips Gallery of Art and then to the National Gallery.  On Saturday I went shopping for decorations for my classroom.  That felt good.  :)  I am going with a "frog" theme at the beginning of the year.  We will be "Hopping In To Fourth Grade."  Witty, no?

2.  After weeks of little to no rain, the heavens have opened up upon us.  Seriously.  In the last two days I think I have gotten close to 7 inches of rain.  This is good for the grass and for my cucumber vines who have apparently decided to give me another chance.  This is not so good for my lawnmower.

3.  I had to go back to realwork today.  In my mind, one of the worst things that can ever happen is for me to be late.  I loathe being late.  I am the person who would rather be 30 minutes early than 5 minutes late.  So imagine my horror at discovering that I was TWENTY minutes late to work today.  Did I oversleep?  NO!  I have been up since 5:15 this morning (thank you, miss raven).  I READ THE PAPER WRONG!  I thought it said that we were supposed to be there at 8:30.  Nope.  That would be TOMORROW!  I was so, so, so embarassed.  And mortified.  And mad at myself.

I will be there at 8:00 tomorrow.

4.  I walked approx. two and a half miles this morning.  And ate ice cream tonight.  At least it was low-calorie ice cream.  That should count for something.

5.  My swap package came today!!!!  Feast your eyes upon this:
Did I make out like a bandit, or what?!?!  Here is a list of the bountiful goodness that my terrific swap partner, Jen (From Wife, "Mom", Knitter), sent me:
  • YARN:  Plymouth Earth--hillside linen and Plymouth Yarn--baby alpaca lace.  I cannot even begin to describe the squishy goodness that is the blue yarn!  The linen is going to make an amazing scarf or perhaps a hat.....
  • COFFEE:  Sun Coffee Roasters--Cafe' Blend (a smooth, smoky, sweet blend with hints of dark chocolate) and two packets of iced coffee mix
  • CHOCOLATE:  Two bars of Dove, one dark chocolate, one raspberry and dark chocolate swirl
  • Peanut butter dog treats made ESPECIALLY for miss raven!  (She says thank you very much!)
  • A reusable travel coffee cup (true story--I almost bought the SAME cup this weekend.  Glad I didn't!)
  • a cute little project bag (oh how I love a good bag!)
  • Garment knit labels that say "crocheted by" and "crocheted with love by"
  • photo bookmarks
  • a magnetic notepad and a little notebook
  • a handmade sheep card (I love the expression on the face of that sheep!)
  • a bar of hand-crafted lemon poppy seed soap
  • A PAIR OF PINK HAND-KNIT MITTENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I LOVE THESE!!!!
Thank you so much, Jen!  You did an amazing job, and, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  :)

6.  I will be quite the social butterfly this week.  I am having dinner with a friend tomorrow night and dinner with a friend and her mother on Wednesday night. Ok.  Maybe "social butterfly" is stretching it a bit.  Let me run with it, though, ok?

7.  My favorite 12 year old started 6th grade today.  I am so not ready for her to be in 6th grade! 

8.  miss raven is begging asking politely for another treat and I am in need of some coffee.  And I have bills to pay so...goodnight!

Friday, August 12, 2011

Dear Mom,

It's been six years now and the pain I feel is still as strong as the night I found out you'd left us.  There are days when I hurt so much it is hard to breathe.  I still have to go to work though, and be around people so I smile and act like everything is ok.

I find it difficult still to even talk about you.  When I do, I have to fight back the tears because I don't want people to think I'm that person.  The one who can't deal with things or control her emotions.

Lately I have been waking up in the middle of the night and I can't go back to sleep.  I lay in bed and I think about you and how much you have missed.  And how much you are missed.

They told me that time would make me feel better.  They lied.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

This is the post title that you are stuck with because I couldn't think of anything more witty...

Last night I was sitting here on the couch thinking to myself and talking to miss raven.  I talk to her a lot but she never says anything back.  That's probably a good thing most days...

Anyway.

I was thinking that it had been forever since I blogged and I know how that drives the BFF crazy but, try as I might, I couldn't get the bloggy mojo flowing.  Then I looked at my blog.  Low and behold I had just blogged on Sunday night.  I decided that I could wait one more day to blog again.

You are welcome, BFF.

;)

So.  I went back to work on Monday.  This week is the last of the "summer hours" weeks.  That's ok with me because next summer I won't have to work AT ALL, unless I can find a super-cool job in a LYS...which would, in fact, be super-cool.

You may be asking yourself, "Why doesn't she have to work next summer?"  I am happy to tell you that I am no longer in Administration at school!!!!!!!!!!!  Yes, by my choice.  I did it, I experienced it, and I survived it.  And I am done with it.  D.O.N.E.

I am moving back in to the classroom and will go back to teaching 4th grade.  I can't tell you how happy I am about it.  I have zero regrets about leaving my job as the principal and becoming a teacher again.  I am a good teacher and I know what I am doing in the classroom.  I always kind of felt like a fish out of water as the principal.  I know that it isn't going to be perfect in the classroom and I am warning you know that there will be days that I will whine and complain, but overall, I know I made the right decision.

SWAP UPDATE:

My swap partner, Jen at Wife, "Mom", Knitter, received her package today.  I made good choices!!!!  :)  I'm so glad that she liked what I sent.  Head on over to her blog to see a picture of the package as well as to give her blog a read.  She puts some good book reviews on her blog as well as pictures of what she is knitting.  Her "funky chicken" is adorable!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Dear Vacation,

We had so much fun together this year.  We did this:
and this:
and this:
and this:
We didn't do this:
this year and that made me really sad.

It is so hard to believe that you are leaving already.  It seems like you just got here and now you are gone.  I won't see you again until Christmas and that seems like so far away.  Work is waiting for me and, between you and me, is kind of giving me an evil grin.  Work is like that, you know.

Come back soon, vacation.  Bring the beach with you.

Love,
me

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

An observation and an update...

Observation:

When I am not at work and school is not in session I never know what day it is. 

Case in point:  I was all ready to post a "woe-is-me" I don't have anything to say about Yarn Along today so, sorry everyone who was hoping for a Yarn Along post.

And then it hit me....

Um.

It's Tuesday you moron, not Wednesday.

The good thing about that is that my vacation isn't one day closer to ending.  The bad thing is, well, I'm a moron who doesn't know what day it is, apparently.

Update:

Since my last post I have had four meetings at school.  Yes, I am supposed to be on VACATION. 

Anywho.

Here is the good:
  • Dear BFF,  my job is safe.  You may quit worrying now.
  • No cut to my salary (WHOO-HOO!!!)
  • I was told that I am indespensable.  No fear, I will not let that go to my head.
  • I was also told that many people like me there.  That is kind of news to me, but, ok, I'll go with it.
The "eh":
  • Because my salary isn't being touched (this year) they are going to work the bejeezus and then some out of me.  My class may have close to 40 students.  Please pray that it doesn't!
  • I still have to go to "Important People" meetings.  Have I mentioned my particular loathing for meetings?
So the good outweighs the "eh".  We will have to see what happens after this year.  I am hoping that, if this new guy does what he says I won't have to worry about my salary next year because they will be able to afford to give teachers raises.  Hey, I can hope, can't I?

I promise to try to have something ready for Yarn Along tomorrow.  I haven't posted much because my dad is here visiting me and spending time with him is more important that updating my blog.  I know you all understand. :)