(very much NOT a) Wordless Wednesday....

(sigh) I have WAY too much to say today.

my apologies in advance to those of you who are getting tired of my rather *ahem* lengthy posts. i sometimes, ummmm, usually have alot to say. btw--if anyone out there can tell me how in the heck to cross something out after you've written it i would be eternally grateful. well, at least grateful for a heck of a long time.

So. Today was T-minus TWO days until Spring Break. Are the students ready? That would be a yes. Are the teachers ready? That would be a YES. Am I ready? Seriously? Do you even have to ask that question??

I am beyond tired of dealing with nonsense. Would you like your dailydoseofnonsensethatmelicityhastodealwith? (hehehe...how much do you hate when i do that?) anywho.

Nonsense number 1:

Meeting with the parentwhothinksherchildisperfectalthoughshewillsayshedoesn'tthinkso. The meeting didn't go that badly. I actually had to bite the inside of my mouth to keep from laughing out loud at one point because the teacher did such a wonderful job of politely putting the mother in her place. I really didn't even need to be there. The other best part was that she brought her husband....who, um, proceeded to side with US the whole time. Karma, you know. ;)

In the middle of that meeting happens Nonsense number 2:

one of my 8th grade teachers comes to my office. She has a boy from her homeroom in tow. Now, this particular young man has anger issues and issues with keeping his hands to himself. I thought that, perhaps, he had been in a fight. Nope. That would have been too easy. Instead, he walked up to another girl from his class, grabbed her ta-tas and SQUEEZED. Hmmmm....my first thought was "And she didn't knock you out because why?" Really? Are you kidding me? What the heck were you thinking? Answer "I wasn't." DUHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

Don't you wish you were me??

I have officially given up trying to figure people out. Just when I think I have them figured out, someone goes and screws it up for me.

T-Minus one day until Spring Break.

I'm feeling the need....

to blog tonight. No Not Me! Monday, though. If that is what you are looking for please head over to MckMama's blog. She posted a Not Me! today. :)

I'm not quite sure what to blog about today. I mean, there are things that I would like to say but because my blog is read by people who actually kmnow me for real, I should probably keep those things to myself. Well, miss raven knows, but she won't tell. Not even if you give her a boney with double meat in the middle. Ok. Maybe that might do it but please don't try.

I thought spring had sprung but it is dreary and damp and gloomy outside today. It was like this yesterday and will be like this again tomorrow. The bright side is that it is supposed to be almost 80 by Friday! Whoo-hoo! Spring Break starts Friday...I'll take 80! Do I hear 85? Anyone, anyone??

brief interruption: i hate hockey. i'm watching the news right now and they are doing a story about hockey. i see no point in hockey. my apologies to all you hockey people out there.

I'm back.

Also on the bright side....remember my *ahem* battle with the bulge? You know, the whining I have been doing about the weight I have gained since Thanksgiving? Well, I am happy/thrilled/ecstatic to report that, over the course of the last two weeks, I have lost EIGHT pounds. Yea melicity! Adding to that, these two lovely, and true, stories:

Story 1:

we find melicity still reeling from her encounter with her supervisor. it is the end of the parent/teacher conference night and melicity walks over to a parent and a teacher who are deep in conversation. melicity has a vocabulary book in her hand that she is returning to the parent so the parent can take it home to their child. (names of students have been changed to protect the guilty.)

melicity: I found Suzi's vocabulary book over on the piano and wanted to make sure that you got it.

Parent: Oh, thank you so much! When I am finished talking with Mrs. Soandso, I would like to speak with you concerning Suzi's grades. Where will you be? Will you be in your classroom?

melicity (with a slightly puzzled look): I'm not one of Suzi's teachers. (at this point it would be helpful to you, the reader, to know that I had previously taught this woman's stepson and have been her daughter's principal for two years.)

Parent: Oh. (with a slightly even more puzzled look) I'm sorry then. Um. Who are you?

Teacher: That's Suzi's principal.

Parent: (with an REALLY embarrased look) Oh my goodness! You look A-mazing! You have lost so much weight and your hair is different. I am so sorry I just didn't recognize you!

Blah, blah, blah. More to the conversation, but, you get the point. :)

Story number 2:

melicity is coming down the stairs from the balcony at the performance she attended on saturday night. she must say that she was looking pretty darn hot that night. she sees one of her favorite teachers standing in the lobby speaking with her husband (the teacher's husband OBVIOUSLY not melicity's.) melicity walks up to say hello before heading to her truck.

melicity: Hi! :) (no, in case you were wondering, i did not turn my head sideways and smile.)

teacher and husband: Hi!

husband: Wow! You've really lost a lot of weight. You look great!

melicity: Thanks!

Blah, blah, blah. More to the conversation, but, you get the point. Again.

That made me feel good. About as good as 80 on Friday will make me feel. :)

I apologize....

for my absence oh you 9 that follow me. I just haven't felt it when it comes to blogging this week.

Remember my last post? You know, the one where I whined alot about the blowup between me and my supervisor? Weeeeellllllll....we had the meeting on Monday afternoon with the mediator. How can I sum that meeting up.....hmmmmmm......would the word "sucky" suffice? It is the nicest word I can think of right now. I ended up coming home crying and having to use "for real" make up to cover up all the blotches on my face. That irritated me. I hate crying and I am a freaking crying machine when I am upset.

You know what set me off the worst? I was almost written up for "continued insubordination/disrespect". Now, I would like to think that my faithful followers are intelligent beings. You know as well as I know that if something "continues" it should have been dealt with earlier in the year, right? March 22 was THE FIRST DAY I HEARD ABOUT THIS. Really? Are you freaking kidding me? Thankfully, the mediator kind of talked him out of writing me up and it is a good thing because I am telling you, as sure as I love summer, the Cowboys, and miss raven, I would NOT have signed that paper. I don't know what would have happened after that, but I wasn't going to sign it.

You know what made me almost want to laugh out loud? When he accused me of siding with the previous administrator against him. Ok. I know you must be thinking what I was thinking, right? As far as I know he has not lost his mind, has not been hit in the head, and is not an evil clone of himself. I literally did a double take when he said that. After everything that we went through with that guy and now he is accusing me of siding with him? I should have looked around to see if I was on Candid Camera.

The rest of the week hasn't been great, either. I had to go back to school on Monday night because we had a Parent/Teacher meeting. That wasn't bad, but it was long. Tuesday was eh and Wednesday I had a meeting with two parents who can't figure out why their child won't do what he is supposed to do. I feel that I should pencil them in for this time next year because it seems like it is about this time every year I have to have to same conversation with them.

Today wasn't too bad, although one of my teachers is going through some nonsense because of two other teachers in the school. The most ridiculous part of it, though, is that one of the two other teachers is being unbelievably childish and immature and refuses to meet with her to work things out. She is actually acting worse that the young children that she teaches. I don't get people sometimes.

Tomorrow I am going on a field trip. I wasn't planning on going on this field trip but the person in charge needs another chaperone. Guess what? It will get me out of a meeting with my supervisor (hehehehe) and I like the group of kids that is going so it will be a nice trip. Tomorrow is Friday and I am looking forward to this weekend and then SPRING BREAK!!!! Whoo-hoo!!! :)

Have a Happy Friday and I promise to not stay away so long. Oh, miss raven wishes you a happy friday, too. She's nice like that. ;)

The post that wasn't supposed to be....

I wasn't going to blog tonight. I even told my BFF that she shouldn't look for a post in the morning because I wasn't going to blog tonight. I had a CRAP-tastic end to my work day and I wasn't going to blog tonight. And yet...

here I am. I'm not sure what is going to end up on here tonight but, as I said before, writing on my blog is cathartic for me. I am hoping that, if I get this all out tonight, I will be able to sleep and enjoy my weekend.

The day didn't start off badly. The weather has been positively gorgeous and I am so thankful for that! I have been able to take miss raven out for a walk almost every night this week. She LOVES that! :) Anyway. This week has had it's ups and downs, but that is typical for my job. I feel like lately all I have been doing is putting out fires because of this student or that teacher. It is stressful and frustrating but it is my job.

Today, I was dealing with two eighth graders that skipped two classes and tried to blame it on the teacher they were with, two tenth graders who can't stand each other and who talk about each other all the time. One of the girls is uber-tough because of the school(s) she came from and the other girl's mom works at our school. The mom came to me, I spoke with both girls, I thought it was over. I was so wrong.

Almost immediately after I finished speaking with the second girl, my supervisor came to my office. (Yes, the supervisor that I had to apologize to earlier this week. That supervisor.) The mother had gone to him to tell him what was going on. (I knew she had done this because she told me she had.) He asked me how I handled it. I told him what I had done. Now this is where the problem arises. The tough girl has had several "issues" with one of her teachers. That teacher happens to be the wife of my supervisor. Truth be told, the girl should have been asked to leave our school before Christmas, however the admin. at the time wouldn't let me do that. She hasn't really had any major issues since then. My supervisor didn't agree with her being allowed to stay (I didn't either and he knew that.) but there wasn't anything either of us could do about it. Since Christmas the girl has kept a pretty low profile. She hasn't gotten into any major trouble. She may run her mouth, but most of my tenth grade girls do at some point or other.

As I was trying to explain to my supervisor that I can't just kick her out for no reason I apparently blundered and said something that offended him. I tried to apologize but then the conversation turned into.....well, I'm not quite sure what the conversation turned in to. It seems like I can never say anything to him without being wrong unless I am always agreeing with him. If I have my own opinion or if I disagree with him than I am wrong. He completely shuts down and won't listen to any other point of view. I tried super hard to be unquestionably respectful when I was speaking with him today to the point of not starting sentences with "You do this" or "You do that." I was careful to say "I feel like..." but then I was told that I don't feel that way and he doesn't make me feel that way. Um. How do you know what I am feeling when you won't even LISTEN to me?!?!?! I told him that sometimes I get really frustrated because he won't listen to any other viewpoint or opinion. Then he told me that I questioned his integrity and I insulted him. I told him I was sorry if it came across that way and I in no way intended for that to happen. I told him that, just because I don't agree with him sometimes, doesn't mean that I don't respect him. He told me that I can't say "if it came across that way" because it WAS that way. Ok. So he can tell me that I offend/insult him and I can't tell him I wasn't trying to, but he can tell me that I don't feel the same way when he says the things he says to me. I can't win!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Is it just me or does that make no sense at all to anyone out there? Maybe I am just crazy but it seems to me that his thinking is circular. I am beyond frustrated.

OH!! I almost forgot! At one point in the conversation he asked me how many times this year I have gone over his head or not gotten his approval on something. I told him none as far as I knew. He LAUGHED at me and told me "Oh, no. MANY TIMES." I asked him when and the only answer he could give me was something that he thought happened at the beginning of the year with the admin. I thought we had cleared that up. I went over again with him what had happened but I could tell he didn't believe me. I asked him what other time but he couldn't tell me.

One small victory, though. Although I sobbed, of course, because I am emotionally retarded and I don't handle confrontation well (although I did wait until he had almost left my office before I broke down. I just felt SO defeated!), I did NOT come home and eat everything in sight so I don't have to feel guilty. I have done very well staying on the diet bandwagon this week and hope so much that it pays off when I get on the scale in the morning.

miss raven knew something was wrong when I came home. She has been so clingy all night with me and keeps trying to snuggle with me and give me kisses. I know she is trying to make me feel better and I love her so much for it.

I am so thankful that tomorrow is the weekend. It is supposed to be beautiful here this weekend and I am going to do my darnedest to put all this nonsense out of my head for at least the next two days and just relax. I am having a meeting with him and a mediator on Monday afternoon and am hoping that something good comes out of it.

Sigh. and TGIF.

I do believe...

that Spring has sprung!!!! At least, I hope so.

When I got home today it was so nice outside that I immediately took care of some urgent personal business, changed my clothes, and took miss raven for a walk. I wore FLIP-FLOPS!!!!! The rest of the week it is supposed to be in the SIXTIES!!! By the end of the week it is supposed to be in the HIGH SIXTIES!!! I LOVE warm weather!!! :)

please excuse the overuse of the "!" If you can't tell already, I am thrilled about getting rid of winter!

Today was better than yesterday. I paid bills (whoa! How can that be considered good? I had the $$ to pay them.), ran to the bank to deposit my paycheck, stopped at Safeway for a FREE tall extra-hot, skinny, peppermint latte, finished my taxes (cha-ching!), and told off my supervisor.

Oh. The last part? (sigh). I got mouthy. Very, very mouthy. I am not proud. I was so frustrated because I was trying to make a point but I wasn't allowed to talk. It isn't that I don't like my supervisor because I do. I also respect him. however, sometimes he can be SO stubborn. And so can I. I know your surprised to learn that about me. (BFF--stop rolling your eyes and shaking your head right this instant. It isn't nice.) Anyway. I got a little, um, carried away. I had to apologize. I need to learn to handle conflict better when it comes to my supervisor. Actually, what I need to learn how to do is argue my point better without (a) getting frustrated and (b) getting mouthy. Any suggestions?

hang on. i need to visit my happy place. mmmmmmmmm..........peppermint latte...................... mmmmmmmmmm....................peppermint latte....................mmmmmmm ..................................... venti java chip light frap........................

Ok. I'm back. Thanks for waiting.

The Biggest Loser is on tonight. I really like that show. I don't know if it is the inspiring stories, or the fact that there is as much drama on that show as there is at school. Maybe both.

Funny story: I took last Friday off. (that isn't the funny part. wait for it.) Our middle and high schoolers that have detention serve it on Thursday after school for an hour. Apparently there was some drama during detention. (Did the teacher call me? Nooooooo. Of course not!) I come back to school yesterday and, while I was sitting in my office trying to get some catch-up work done I hear a knock on the door. It was the student most responsible for the drama. She was sweet and humble while talking to me. She goes on and on and on telling me how rude the teacher was and how much she didn't deserve to be treated like that. How dare he disrespect her?!? She was politely outraged that anyone would DARE to treat her so horribly, her being completely innocent and all. (How I managed to type that without choking, I do not know.) After further investigation I found out that not only was the teacher NOT rude to her but that she was, in several students' words, "off the chain!"

One more funny story:

Me: What are you chewing? (note--I already knew the answer to the question.)

8th grade boy: (quickly and with much guilt) Nothing!

Me: (incredulous, I-can't-believe-you-just-lied-to-me look plastered all over my face) WHAT ARE YOU CHEWING? (note--all caps does not mean I was shouting in this instance. Actually, I never shout at them. It doesn't work. I talk softer. THAT works. All caps is for emphasis only.)

8th grade boy: um. gum. (DUH!!!!!!!)

Me: Go spit it out and come get your detention.

8th grade boy: Can I appeal it?

Me: Seriously? No. If you had just, I don't know, TOLD ME THE TRUTH, all you would have had to do was spit out the gum. Dude! You lied to me! You keep the detention.

8th grade boy: Ok.

Really? Do they think that I ask questions I don't already mostly know the answer to?

Where is my happy place again???

Oh, Monday, how I loathe you...

Is it just me or does Monday seem to be the worst day of the week? Perhaps, you may be thinking, Monday just gets a bad rap because it is the first day after a weekend. No, I tell you. Monday is just plain evil. It likes laughing at you from the time you dare to get up and face it until the time you go to bed to get away from it. The worst part of it all, though, is that even at the end of a Monday you know it will be waiting for you again in six short days.

I loathe Monday.

I do not loathe my BFF. I had a wonderful weekend with her and she brought me an awesome birthday present that if I wasn't so lazy to turn on the light so that I could get a good picture you could see. You'll just have to trust me when I tell you that it is awesome. Someday I will take a picture for you. I'll give you hint. I use it with this:That, of course, was just a shameless excuse to show you my new coffee maker again. I love it THAT much.

Note: Today is my BFF's birthday! Happy Birthday to the most wonderful, most awesome, most loyal, most compassionate, most understanding, most coolest, most every wonderful adjective you can think of and then some, BFF! I love, love, LOVE you and I hope you had an awesome, fantabulous, terrific day!!! :)

I loathe the fact that I have gained almost 20 pounds since Thanksgiving. I cried this morning when I got on the scale. I MUST get back on track. No more lazy eating. And...I must (gulp) exercise.

I do not loathe miss raven:

I do not need to explain why.

I loathe Brussel Sprouts. Random, I know.

I do not loathe my new favorite blog. You must go visit the Lumberjack's wife. Trust me, you'll be glad you did. She is HIL-LARIOUS. A word to the wise...do NOT have any liquid in your mouth when you read her blog. Especially hot liquid. It is painful if it comes back out through your nose. Trust me.

Have a Happy Tuesday. :)

(insert huge sigh here)

I dropped my BFF off at the airport this morning, came home, and can't shake the sadness that now overwhelms me. It will pass, I know, but for right now, I am just sad.

The weather is still depressing and not at all what I want to see outside my window. It is rainy, dreary, and sad. It is a total Eeyore day. I've done some laundry, done some school work, and eaten more than I care to admit. My serious, back-on-track diet starts tomorrow and I guess I kind of feel like this is my "last meal" so to speak. The only problem is, it has been one all day long meal. I'm not really even hungry but I am inhaling everything.

I have to go back to work tomorrow and right now I am dreading it. (I think that is another huge reason that I am eating. I am a total stress eater.) I am tired of children who do nothing but misbehave, parents who stick up for them, and teachers who don't do what I ask.

I need spring. I need warm weather. I need motivation to get back on track with my weight loss. I need the rain to stop. I need the sun to come out. I need to not feel so lonely. I need to quit whining, I know. I promise I will try for tomorrow.

Until then...(insert huge sigh here).

DC in the rain...(Part 2)

So, we went into the city again today. It was just as rainy as yesterday but just as fun because I was with the BEST BFF ever!

As soon as we got off the the Metro we visited Starbucks. Of course. Really, was that a surprise? Venti, non-fat, extra-hot, peppermint latte. In case you were wondering. Anywho.

We walked up to the Bed, Bath, and Beyond so that I could get hot chocolate pods for the Keurig. I know! Doesn't it seem ridiculous to go ALL THE WAY into DC to go to Bed, Bath, and Beyond for hot chocolate?!? I tried to get it at a BB&B somewhere else, but alas, they did not have it. I got Dark Chocolate and Cafe Mocha. I can tell you with confidence that the Dark Chocolate is super yummy. Especially if you add some whipped cream on the top. :)

Oh! On the way to BB&B we stopped at the Crime and Punishment Museum. Miss H, my BFF's little girl, likes that kind of stuff. A few surprises and pictures later and we were off.

We walked back down to the National Gallery and chilled in there for a while. It was so nice. We went to the East Gallery fist because the Calder exhibit is my favorite. This time they even let us take some pictures which they have never done before. Here is the proof:

We went back to the West Gallery and found some nice comfy chairs to relax in. I love sitting there and watching people. (Oh, do I have some stories about some people I saw on the Metro!) After the museum we walked all the way over to Union Station to get some lunch. By this time it was starting to rain pretty hard again. We got there before the serious rain hit, thankfully. we decided to eat at Au Bon Pain. It was good, but not as good as I was hoping it would be and not as good as Cosi the day before. The company was worth it, though. :) We walked around Union Station for a while, got a good deal at the Body Shop (Their Coconut Body Butter is so yummy! I swear if you close your eyes you will think you are at the beach. If you have a really good imagination.) We hopped the Metro there because neither of us wanted to brave the rain to walk to the Botanical Gardens.

We got back to the house and relaxed for a while. And by relaxed I mean she fell asleep and I putzed around for a bit. ;) She really wanted to go to a yummy Italian place called Topolino's for dinner so we went. My roommate went with us which was nice. :) I ate WAY, WAY, WAY too much. Oh, did I eat too much. It was SO good though. I will regret it when I have no pants to wear to school next week, but for now, it was worth it. (Major dieting starting Monday. I can't start tomorrow because I still have Chinese food to finish. Thou shalt not waste Chinese food.)

My BFF has to leave tomorrow to go home. That saddens me. I wish she would move back here but her husband, well......we've been over this, so. I will just look forward to when I will see her again! :)

DC in the rain...

I am almost dry and I am almost warm. Almost. Close.

Today, the first full day that my BFF is here, we went in to DC. She used to live here and I wish she would move back. But, nnnnnnooooooooooo (It helps if you read that sarcastically. Trust me, it really does.), her husband won't move back here. Personally I think that is pretty selfish. I mean, how rude to deprive me of my best friend. You agree with me, right? I mean, look at her. Doesn't she just exude fun??!!??
I digress.

We started out by riding the Metro. This is how we looked at the BEGINNING of the day:

We got off at the Archives-Navy Memorial Station. Why there you may be asking? (Even if you aren't asking or could care less I am going to tell you. It's my blog. I can do that.) There is a Starbucks there. Now, I know what you are thinking (and no, I am not psychic). Isn't there a Starbucks everywhere in DC?!?! Why, yes. Yes, there is. That doesn't matter. What does matter is that the one we went to is right off of the Metro. It is important to start every trip in to the city with a piping hot Venti, non-fat, extra-hot, peppeermint latte. Because I said, so, that's why.

We walked all over DC. Chinatown, downtown, past the National Theatre (twice--Fiddler on the Roof is there right now. You know, in case you were wondering.), ate at Cosi (mmmmmmm!), down to the White House, over to Lincoln, back to the WWII Memorial, around the Washington Monument (fondly known as the "Pencil"), and back to the Metro. In the rain. By the time we got back to the Metro station about 4 hours or so after we started we looked like this:

OK. That, um, wasn't really what we looked like at the end. That was at the Lincoln Memorial. You didn't really think I was going to show you THAT picture, did you??

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures from the day:I love the etching on the front of this building!Oh! How I loved this buidling. A building for coffee. Sigh...A very unique view of the Washington Monument.

Here is a picture of miss raven:I didn't want her to feel left out or anything.

Tomorrow we are headed back in to DC. I think we may need an ark. I don't have one. I'll let you know how that goes.

:)

Note: I am warm now. You know, in case you care. Also, yes those are my very own, very real wrinkles on my face. Don't hate.

I'm so happy I'm bouncing in my chair...

And it has NOTHING to do with all the coffee from this:

(please take note of how I captured the coffee mid-brew)

Which, by the way, was my birthday present from my dad. Yes, I am spoiled like that. Sue me. (Please don't actually sue me. I have no money. It wouldn't be worth it for you. I promise.)

Ok. Technically I am bouncing in my bed, however, that just sounded a wee bit risque as a title to a post so I switched it to chair.

MY BFF WILL BE HERE IN LESS THAN TWO HOURS!!!!!

And now back to my real post for the day:

A birthday recap....

Yesterday was the day of my birth, otherwise known as my birthday. It was a very, very nice day. When I woke up and went out of my bedroom so I could take miss raven outside, I saw a lovely bunch of daffodils sitting in a vase on the island in the kitchen. My roommate got them for me because she knows how much I like them. Wasn't that sweet?!? She also had propped up my card (which, I must say, was hysterical! Wii-ner dogs. I laugh just thinking about it!) and added a couple of cute post-it note pads. I have a thing for post-its. I'm a post-it-a-holic.

I got ready and left for school, after opening cards from my brother and my BFF, and at school, the student body vice president said Happy Birthday to me during the morning announcements. Wasn't that nice? Except....I don't get to hear the announcements in my office so I didn't know he had said Happy Birthday to me until he told me at lunch. He looked a little sad that I didn't hear it because he was so proud of himself for announcing it.

I had to make a run off campus in the morning to buy a MEGA amount of anythingremotelyrelatedtoanicecreamparty. Long story short, most of the middle school students earned an ice cream party. Not being one to skimp on things like that, I went all out, thanks to the generosity of many of our teachers/staff. Not only did I buy a boat-load of ice cream, but I also got just about any topping you can think of. Including Magic Shell. Oh how I love Magic Shell. It is so fudgy and chocolately and hard and yummy.

After scooping out what seemed like a MILLION bowls of ice cream, I gathered some treats together and ran down to read to the K5 class I have kind of "adopted." I ended up not reading to them because they all drew cards for me (awwwwwwww!) and then had to explain, in minute detail, EVERYTHING on the cards. They sang Happy Birthday to me and then tried to guess how old I was. Nobody got it exactly right, but one little girl said 50. Not only am I NOT 50, I don't even look like I am 50. Hmmmmm.

At the end of the day I ran home to take a quick shower because I felt all sticky from the ice cream. I then gave miss raven a quick pat and ran back out the door to meet a friend of mine for dinner. She took me to the Bonefish Grill. I am not a huge fan of seafood, but I got the crabcakes and they were delicious. Their beggie of the day was a warm garbanzo bean concotion. It had rosemary in it, which I adore. I didn't think I was going to like it but it ended up being really yummy. When the waitress found out it was my birthday, she brought out a little creme brulee just for me. It even had a birthday candle in it. :)

Today I got to take high schoolers off campus to the mall. Middle school got an ice cream party, high school got the mall. Basically, I got paid to shop today. Sweet! My best friend will be here soon and I don't have to work tomorrow!

I hope your week was at least as half as good as mine!! Have a happy Friday!! :)

*Ahem*

HappyBirthday

To
Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

My kind of math....

Those who know me know how much I despise, loathe, abhor, math. Especially the kind of math that mixes letters and numbers. That is just five million different kinds of wrong. Here, for your viewing, but alas, not for your smelling pleasure, is the kind of math that I do enjoy.

These:

+ this:
= this:

Yum.

And this concludes our math lesson from today.

Question: If you and a friend are going to cheat on a TAKE HOME TEST, don't you think you should, oh, I don't know, make sure your answers aren't EXACTLY THE SAME?!?! Duh!

Everything you wanted to know about my weekend but were afraid to ask....

Well, not everything. A girl has to have some secrets, right? ;)

LOL!! If only my life were that interesting!

Seriously, I had a lovely weekend. I left school on Friday, turned off the school cell phone, and took off for some relaxation. I love when I don't have to think about work, even if it is only for a few days.

I ended up at Longwood Gardens on Sunday. They were in the middle of their annual orchid festival and boy, did I get some good pictures! Would you like to see? Ok!

Disclaimer: Not ALL pictures are of orchids. ;)

I LOVE this picture. I think this orchid is stunningly beautiful!So, what did you think? This one is by far one of my favorites:Don't they look like little old men lined up? Cracks me the heck up every time I look at it! I guess they kind of look like Cousin It, too. I can picture them with little top hats and canes. Sometimes I have a vivid, albeit odd, imagination.

I took today off, so no work for me. I did feel it necessary to check my work e-mail, though. Not too bad but I had to laugh (so I wouldn't scream) at the person who can show up to work whenever she feels like it and then asks me to make sure that her students are doing what they are supposed to be doing while she is supposed to be watching them but, oh wait, that's right, she isn't THERE to do HER job. Really?!

I will not be checking my work e-mail on Friday. Yes, I am also taking Friday off. I see no problem with that. My BFF will be here and I am NOT even going to think about thinking about work. Not even once. Not at all.

The rest of the week will be nice. Tomorrow is a real work day for me. Wednesday is the Middle School ice cream party, and Thursday I will be off campus with the High School on a field trip. Whoo-hoo for the easy week! Makes up for the last couple of WOW OMG! weeks I have had.

Anywho...time to get the wash out of the dryer and adore her:

She deserves it. :)

Remind me again...

why I love my job? I think I forgot.

Parent: May I speak with you for a minute?
Me (out loud): Of course
My brain: A minute? You? Not likely.

Parent: blah, blah blah, my child is perfect, blah, blah, blah, the teacher needs to read the handbook, blah, blah, blah, my child is getting picked on.....
Me (out loud): Uh-huh. Really? Hmmmm. Ok. No.
My brain: I wonder what I will have for dinner. I can't wait to go home and see miss raven.

Parent: I just wanted to let you know. You know, so you can talk to the teacher.
Me (out loud): Thank you so much. I will look in to this and get back with you.
My brain: sigh

That was the nice version. It actually wasn't a hostile conversation because this parent has learned not to do that with me. It isn't wise. I'm not sure, though, why this parents thinks that I am going to side with the child over the teacher. Um. Yeah. Pretty much not going to happen. At least not with that teacher. Well, not with any teacher. I don't do that to my teachers. Had it done to me too many times when I was a teacher. I WILL NOT EVER throw my teachers under the bus. EVER.

Yesterday I came out of our mailroom. My counterpart (the kinder-5th grade principal) was just concluding a new student interview with a kid who will be going into K5. I smile at her and then stopped dead in my tracks. The kid stuck her tongue out at me. REALLY? I didn't know whether to laugh or stick my tongue out back. I figured the latter would be a wee bit childish, even though part of me REALLY wanted to, so I just kind of gave her the Principal Look of Death and walked away. But on the inside I was sticking my tongue out at her. I'll admit to that.

Today I read to my K5 class (well, they aren't mine in the sense that I am their teacher--God forbid! Just mine because I read to them once a week.). I am reading E.B. White's The Trumpet of the Swan. So far they seem to like it. I read Charlotte's Web to them before Christmas. No matter how hard I try I always cry at the end of that book. I cry because a SPIDER dies. I was meant to be a teacher. Anyway--I could not teach those kids all day as I think I would kill myself, but I do enjoy reading to them. And I also enjoy all the questions they ask me afterwards. And all the things they *have* to tell me. I hear the funniest things from them. Today I got to hear when everyone's birthday is and of course I am now invited to everyone's birthday parties. LOL!

Speaking of birthdays....because I was....today is my dad's birthday! Happy Birthday Dad!!!!! :)
March is a great month for birthdays! My BFF's birthday is also in March and is one of the reasons she is coming to see me in just SEVEN more days!!!!!!!! I can't wait! :)

And now I will say goodnight because PTI is on and I want to hear Michael Wilbon talk about Michael Vick. Ok, maybe not, but I do want to watch PTI. I like sports like that. :)

Did you miss me?

Sheesh! Take a couple of days off from blogging and be prepared for the flogging! (hehehe--I thought that was kind of funny!)

Welcome to Not Me! Monday. Are you feeling guilty for not doing anything? Are you?

Well, I'm not, but if I was, this might be some of what I wasn't feeling guilty about:

I did not laugh so hard at my brother's version of O! Canada during the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics that I almost wet my pants. First of all, I would never be that disrespectful to America Jr., um, Canada, knowing that they are such a close ally of the United States, and second, laughing at my brother like that only encourages him. I know better than that.

I was not stupidly cheerful today because it is the first day of meteorological spring. I would never get that happy about March 1 because I know that it can still get really cold in March. No way would I celebrate unless it was really warm. Which it wasn't. Yet.

I am not way more excited about my BFF's upcoming visit than I should be. After all, it is still over a week away and I have a lot of work to get done at work. There is no way I would ever catch myself sitting around daydreaming about all the fun we are going to cram into three nights and two days. I have my priorities straight. Mostly.

I am certainly not planning on starting my birthday celebration this weekend. Who celebrates a middle age birthday? Not me. And, even if I did, I would never celebrate for over a week. Nope, not me. I hate birthdays now.

I am currently not planning on watching the season finale of The Bachelor. As I said before, I hate that show and I could care less about who the guy picks. It won't work out anyway. It never does. It's a dating show on TV for goodness sake! With a bazillion people watching you "fall in love". Why are people surprised when they don't make it?

I am still not hating people who can knit because I want to knit a pair of socks. I think people who can knit are very talented, but so are people who can crochet. Yeah. Maybe even more talented than the knitters. We only need one hook. They need two sticks. (sigh. Who am I kidding? I bow to your talentedness, oh knitters, but I am NOT jealous of you. Well, maybe just a little. Ok. A lot.)

What have you not been doing this week? Inquiring minds want to know. Oh, and so does miss raven. ;)