Bluebonnet Book List

I am working on reading the books on the Bluebonnet list for the next year. I read one, Piper Reed Navy Brat, before school was out. My class last year really enjoyed it. Piper is a very precarious child who is always into something. She is the middle child in the family and is disappointed when her dad is re-stationed to Florida. She does find some good in the move but life is not always easy for a Navy Brat.

Last night I read Where I Live. This very cute story is written in poetry form about a girl and her life. She gives the highs and lows of her life. Like Piper, Diana is faced with an unexpected move. With this book Diana gets to spend most of it saying good-bye to those who she has to leave behind.

I highly recommend both books for anyone looking for a good children's book.

It's Official

As of Thursday night it is official, I have the librarian job. I called and talked to my principal on Friday morning to let her know. She was happy for me because she knew this is what I was working toward. She explained what I need to do to officially resign from my position and I will take care of that on Monday. Tuesday will be spent packing up everything and getting it moved out of the building. I am trying to purge as much as possible since many of the things will not be helpful as a librarian. One of my friends did volunteer to help me pack up. At least most of the stuff is somewhat ready to go since I just moved my classroom at the end of the school year. I did get a lot of the books packed when I went up there on Thursday. I was optimistic that everything would be fine with the job. Now I just wait for my new principal to call so we can get together and go over everything else and for central services to call so I can fill out all of the other paperwork.

Shhhh! Don't tell yet!

Okay to all my friends who also follow my news on facebook you can't say anything over there yet. I have great news!! I got a job as a librarian today!!! Can you tell I'm excited?!!! (overuse of exclamation marks!!!). Okay I'll stop now. Anyway, I'm going to be an elementary school librarian next year. It is nerve wracking because this will be the first time this district has even had librarians. I really want to meet the other 2 that were hired so we can get to know each other. (p.s. The reason I don't want this on Facebook is some of the teachers I teach with are friends with me on there and they can't know yet.) I signed the contract today, but the school board won't approve it until Thursday night. The assistant superintendent says he will call me after the approval so I can officially resign from Springtown. I may have a breakdown before the summer is over. Now the fun begins, I get to pack my classroom (again) and move it all out. I think I'm going to get a storage unit b/c there is no more room at the inn (mom and dad's) and they really don't want more of my junk here. I guess Wal-Mart and Target are going to make a fortune on me b/c I'm planning to buy plastic storage boxes to keep everything in just in case I need it again anytime soon. If nothing is used or needed after 1 year I will have a huge yard/classroom sale and get rid of a bunch of the stuff. Ahhh, the classwork is calling yet again. Trying to get started on my mid-term even if it's not due until the end of the month (don't want to be a procrastinator anymore).

BIG NEWS

Later today I may have big news to announce. Stay tuned!!!

Video from Concert

Here is a short bit of the video I promised.
This was Reba's encore performance.

Happy 4th!

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July. I spent the day celebrating my cousin's daughters 5th birthday. We had a good lunch at Chili's and then got to spend some time visiting with everyone. It was so strange to hear comments about my hair. Most of the family hadn't seen me since I got it cut at the end of May so they were all surprised at how short it was.

Still no word on the job. Hopefully they will give me a call on Monday or Tuesday to let me know if I need to come back for another round of interviews or if I maybe (hopefully) have the job. I'm a little scared that I will get it but really would love to get my foot in the door before I finish my degree.

I love my dogs?

Yes of course I love my dogs, but I think they are trying to drive me crazy. Goldie has been going outside to "take care of business" just about every hour. This includes in the middle of the night. Monday night she got me up at 1, 2, and 3 a.m. This was the first night I had gone to sleep early and thought I might get a full nights sleep. Of course I was wrong. I had a hard time staying awake all day and now I can't sleep tonight. Hence the post at about 3:30 in the morning!! Tonight has been better but she still needs to go out about every 2-3 hours. I think maybe her age is starting to catch up with her. She turned 13 just a couple of weeks ago so we know she isn't as young as she use to be (even though she thinks she is still a puppy at times).

I should be using this time to do something productive (classwork that's due on Sunday) but of course I've spent the evening catching up on reading everyone's Facebook pages and finding websites that I like. I did update my computer because Internet Explorer was keeping me from logging in to my classes so I downloaded Firefox. So far it has worked really well, but I'm sure time will be the true test as always. I guess I'll get off of here and type up my observation paper from the 2 hours I spent observing at the local public library this afternoon.

Interview Success?

I went on a job interview this morning for a librarian position. I was extremely nervous because this was my first interview for this kind of job. It was very much like a teacher interview. I found it interesting that the district I went to has NO librarians!!! This is hard to believe because they aren't that small of a district. They are planning on hiring 3 librarians. There will be one at each elementary and the intermediate school. The assistant principal from the intermediate was who interview me and he was unsure of what all would become the responsibilities of the librarians but did emphasis that it would be a combined librarian/media specialist position. One of the things they want is someone who can train others on the latest technology. They are also trying to find ways to get reluctant readers more interested in reading. I gave the standard answers with my own experiences to back them up for many of the questions he had. He told me he is very interested in placing me in one of the positions but isn't sure if not having my degree yet will make any difference to the school board. He did say that there are more interviews to conduct next week. After they finish interviews all the principals will sit down and look over the candidates to decide on call backs (possibly phone interviews). All decisions will happen in the next few weeks. As he said whoever is hired will be responsible for developing a lot of the policies that the district will have in place for years to come. All of this is a little nerve wracking but exciting at the same time. I really thought I was just going on this interview as practice but who knows now that the interview has happened. Only time will tell. I will keep everyone updated on what happens next.

I caved to peer pressure!

I joined Facebook. I was already on Myspace so I always thought why bother with the other. I figured one was just like the other until I found out that many of my friends that aren't on Myspace are on Facebook. So of course I caved in and opened an account. I figure with all the reading I've been doing on social networking and their relationship to libraries it's only fitting that I join in. I have even uploaded some of my George Strait pictures there. I know I said I would upload them here but I want to tweek a few things first and then they will be up. I'll try to pick one of the videos and upload it tomorrow.

I also remember my promise not to procrastinate and yet have let that go once again. I had a 1500 word paper due tonight and waited to finish it until about 2 hours before the actual due time. I guess if I had started a little earlier I wouldn't have been in such a rush. I've had 3 weeks to work on this and waited until Friday to even start on it. Now I'll have 2 of the same type of paper due next Sunday (once again I haven't started). I have decided for at least the next week that I am going to dedicate 4 hours each day to concentrating on school work. That means I'll really have to watch my online time and make sure I'm really working and not just surfing the net. I tend to get sidetracked very easily lately. I guess I figure it's summer and I'm free from work. I'll just have to set a timer and make myself work. Maybe once I get in the habit it won't be so bad. The one good thing I can say is that I'm home by myself (well except for the dogs) most of the day. This week will be the true test of how I do.

Day 2 of class

Day 2 is going okay. The professor gets wayyyyyyyy off track about some things so I wound up here making another post. I couldn't believe it last night that it took me forever to get to sleep. Even though I only had 3 hours the night before it was 11:30 last night before I fell asleep. The alarm went off at 5:30 and the wake up call came at 5:45 but I still didn't get up until about 6:20 to hit the shower. I quickly got dressed and ready so I could make it to the parking office on campus. They offer parking passes online and I thought that would be a great idea to purchase one (same price as a temporary tag for the 3 days). The only problem was when I went to purchase the tag on Saturday (when the parking office is closed) I made it through the whole process to receive a very long error message at the very end. I then checked my email to find I had been charged for the parking permit but had nothing to show for it. So this morning I had to head to the parking office to avoid getting a ticket that would cost more than the parking permit. Now I know why I am doing the online thing!! I forgot about all the little pains of being on campus with the rules you have to follow.

Woo Hoo! Lunch time!

Awesome Concert!!!!!!

The George Strait concert was awesome!!!!! We got to the stadium at about 3:30 and walked around outside took a few pictures and visited with our favorite radio station 96.3 KSCS. We went inside the building right at 4 and decided to stand in line for tee-shirts. The line barely moved in the 40 minutes we stood there. So we decided to bail, get a drink, and find our seats. After being told by 3 different workers wrong directions to our seat we finally found them (we even got to cut through one of the bars that is for suits only). We sat in our seats for about 15 minutes and LeeAnn Womak came out and performed for about 30 minutes. They then broke down her set and got Blake Shelton's ready. He came out with his typical beer (same as when I saw him at Billy Bob's). He was great and performed for about 45 minutes. Next was Reba!!!!!! She performed for about an hour (maybe longer) and then did her encore with Fancy. She did an awesome quick change into her red dress. There was about a 20 minute break and George came on stage. He was great (trying to use the word awesome less). He performed for about 1 1/2 hours and even got the roof opened. I will try to post some pictures (maybe even a slide show) later. After only 3 hours of sleep I got up this morning finished packing and drove to campus for my 4 days of class. I am staying in a hotel tonight and plan to crash early. Okay the professor actually wants to lecture now so I best get to work.

Summer break is here!

As of yesterday at 5 p.m. my summer break started. Kind of. I still have to go back up to the school on Monday to finish moving the last of my belongings to my new classroom. They are cleaning our building first so we have to be out of the building on Tuesday afternoon and stay out until next week. Of course next week I will be in class so I won't be able to go back for 2 weeks. I want to wait a little while before I unpack all of my belongings in case I get a job as a librarian. I have put out several applications and am hoping to hear something soon.

Mom was supper excited about her birthday present and can't wait to go to the George Strait concert next Saturday. I just hope I'm not so tired the next day that I fall asleep in my class.

Good-bye 4th Grade, Hello 2nd

Yesterday I found out I will not remain a 4th grade teacher next year. My principal has decided to switch 12 of the teachers around for next year and I was reassigned to 2nd grade. In a way I am very excited because I will be able to leave the actual TAKS test behind!! But I know I will have plenty of responsibilities. I have been putting my applications in like crazy trying to get a school to emergency certify me for next school year since I will be more than half way through the program. I don't know if it will happen but I can try and hope for the best. I know that no matter what God will guide me to make the right decision. I just hope that if I do go to 2nd grade that the teachers she has placed with me will pull their own weight. Only time will tell.

End of school

The end is near!!! Hallelujah we will make it to the end. Today was our field trip/baseball day. We spent the day at the park playing baseball. My class was the bad news bears when we started but they started to pick up the game and improved. I think it is more fun to just let the kids play but Mary (one of the other teachers) insisted on keeping score when our classes were playing. I think we did well considering her class is full of kids who play on baseball and softball teams. The final score was 9-8. Her class won by just one run. I still think that it was pretty good since I was teaching most of my class how to even hold the bat, not run away from the ball, and where to stand when batting. Only 2 1/2 more days of school. I think I can. I think I can. This will be my mantra as I wake up each morning.

Tomorrow should be interesting. Our principal has called a meeting to announce grade assingnments for next year. She has talked about shaking things up and mixing up the grade levels. Only time will tell as to what she has up her sleeve.

Hair today gone tomorrow!

That's how I felt on Friday. Saturday morning I went in and had my hair cut off. We cut off about 10 inches of hair again. I am sending it in to Locks of Love just like last time (2001). I guess this will become my tradition to cut off my hair about every 10 years to make a donation. I mostly did it because I was so frustrated with my straight, flat, boring hair. After cutting it off I am actually able to style it. This does require that I actually get up in the morning to have time to do my hair but this is a sacrifice I will take to not look like I have a mop attached to my head. I will post a picture this weekend or next week when I have my camera back and things are less hectic.

Coming up for air!

It is sooo nice to actually be able to sit back and relax in the evenings again!!! My class officially ended last Wednesday when I submitted my last draft of the paper. I logged in today and found my grade was a 95! Thank God for the Swine flu day off of school. That is the only reason I was able to do so well on the last draft. If I figured my average correctly, I should have an A for my final grade. I was sure that this would be the class that killed my 4.0 but somehow I pulled it off. Maybe I will be able to get a few things done in the few weeks before my next classes start.

The end of the school year is in sight. Only 11 more days of school left for this year!!!!!!!! I know we are all ready for the summer vacation but not ready for the changes next year. One of the teachers in 4th grade is definitely leaving at the end of the year and we are going to add a 5th section of 4th grade. So no matter what we will have 2 new teachers to bring into the group. We have all been so close for the last few years it will be hard to change. The next few weeks are so busy for us. We have 4th graders testing for advanced math and science classes next week. Our 4th grade play "Tall Tales and Heroes" is on next Thursday night for Rocket Celebration night. The book fair is next week and I promised Linda (the librarian) I would help with it to get some experience at what it takes. We visit the Intermediate school for a tour next week. Then the next week we have our field trip "Baseball day" which is always a blast to celebrate the fact that we have made it to the end of the year. The only negative of the next few weeks is the TAKS results should be in soon and I know my students may not have all done well (especially in math).

Hopefully I will be able to update this more often during the summer and keep up with my friends more than I have for the last couple of months!

School Closed

Our school has followed so many of the others around us and closed due to N1H1 (Swine flu). We have one suspected case so CDC suggested we close until Monday. This is actually a little helpful to me since I have my last draft of the paper due tomorrow (Wednesday) and am still working on corrections from the last draft. Then I will go back and add more to this draft of the paper and finish with section 7 of the paper (our feelings on how the class went).

I had been feeling a little stressed and guilty. Friday several of the teachers took off and went to Canton for First Monday. We got to relax after TAKS and enjoy ourselves. My sub on Friday was awesome and we got a lot done on Monday but who knows how we are going to get everything done in order to finish our projects in class by the end of the year. We are currently working on Science Fair and a play with the 4th grade. The only problem is the performance is the 21st and we haven't even picked roles yet. Hopefully the kids can learn it fast so we can do it.

Okay, back to work on the paper. More to come later.

Race for the Cure

Yesterday was Race for the Cure. Mom and I both walked the 3.2 miles (5K) in right at 1 hour. This is good time for me considering this is the first major workout I've had since the pneumonia. I plan to really get back on track of working out at least 3 times a week so I don't feel like death warmed over the next day.

Everything went well yesterday. I raised $110 so far. I think there are several more people that wanted to make donations but forgot to before we left school on Thursday. I'll try to post the pics of mom at the race later this week. I wouldn't let her take pictures of me after the race because I looked horrible!!

Return to normal

Spring break has ended. :( I got about half of the things done that needed to be done (but of course several things were added to the list as I went through the week). Today was the first day back with the kiddos. As normal, the morning went pretty well (only a few issues to deal with) but the afternoon they are just NUTS!! They just want to talk, play, and avoid doing any work. It's a good thing that I have moved my math time to the A.M. and language arts to afternoon. The only other thing I can think of doing is to eliminate group work except maybe once a week. I know the kids will gripe but maybe it will prove a point and the behavior will improve. I think it's also time to rearrange a few of the desks so that friends are further away from each other. Maybe this will take care of a few more of the problems that have started up in the class. Well, I've put off my classwork long enough. Time to get crackin' and get this thing done.

Spring Break!!!!!!

Waaaa Hooo! It has finally arrived the break we all need as teachers!! Now to start the to do list that just keeps growing. Saturday was spent relaxing and going out to eat with the family. I am spending my Sunday doing the normal- grading papers. I feel like if I get this done today I can worry about the other things on my list this week and relax next weekend.

I guess I'll have to call the vet on Monday and try to get Aja in. She has been really shaking her head and rubbing her right ear. I cleaned it as much as she would let me and put her drops in but she still seems upset about it. She needs her shots anyway so I'll try to get an appointment this week.

This weeks my plans include cleaning and organizing my room, cleaning out all of the junk that is still in the Buick so it can be sold, inventorying my Mary Kay, cleaning the bathroom, getting all laundry done, getting my taxes done, FAFSA completed, donating items to Goodwill or Salvation Army, and working on my class work. We'll see how much of the list I can get done. Hopefully it will ALL be done when I go back next week so nothing is hanging over my head to still get done.

Spring Break is near!!

Only 4 more school days and Spring Break will be here!!!! Yahooooooooooo! I can hardly wait this year. I know all I'm planning to do is work on school work, clean, and get some of my to do list accomplished, but I am so ready for this break from the kids. It seems like they have been ready for the break for weeks.

Last week we reached a milestone. We completed the TAKS writing test for this year. Yea!! I can cut back on the amount of writing we do each week in class and not feel like I am beating a dead horse with some of the students. Now only 2 tests remain- reading and math. At least this means I will only be tutoring before and after school one day a week for math. It is killing me to be there from before 7 a.m. until after 4:30 more than once a week so I decided to cut back and only tutor math once a week. Hopefully my kids will do well. If not I'm sure I'll hear about it at the end of the year.

In my school news, my professor says we are over half finished with the class by turning in draft 2 of our paper. I don't know how he can feel that way unless I truely screwed the paper up when I turned it in. I should get my feedback and grade Wednesday or Thursday. I shall just have to wait and see the results. Next draft is due at the end of the month so I guess it's time to start planning and get my rear in gear.

Our campus biggest loser contest ends tomorrow. I don't think I have a chance at the $230 but who can tell. Maybe everyone will gain 5 pounds this week. :) No, I doubt it will happen but I know I could have done better. I have to stop stress eating. Gee I can't imagine what stress I have had this year!!

In other news I got George Strait tickets to give to my mom for her birthday but I can't tell her yet (birthday is at the end of May and concert is June 6th). She really wanted this for her birthday and I wouldn't mind seeing this concert for myself. I hope it is worth the almost $250 it cost for the two tickets (that doesn't include parking). Ticketmaster said they were out of parking passes that cost $38 a piece so we will either have someone drop us off and pick us up or park way out in the boonies and hike in to the concert. I tried winning Kenny Chesney tickets today and was sooo close. I think I was caller 11 or 12 and they wanted caller 10. Oh well, I'll just have to keep trying.

Sorry if I seem to be rambling a little (or a lot) but it has been a while since I updated my blog so there was a lot of information to fill in.

Sucky Sunday

This has not been a good couple of weeks for me. I have been sick and had to miss another day of school. I also woke up this morning to find out that someone had egged my car. I have been parking it in a neighbors driveway since they moved out and want it to look like the house is still lived in. So far everything had gone smoothly until some pucks last night thought it would be funny to go out egging and toilet papering. I have never understood the thrill of throwing toilet paper in a tree especially when it is a complete strangers home. The egging just goes into plain destruction of property. Luckily we found it soon enough and I was able to get it all washed off. Earlier this week I had taken my car and washed it to get all of the road grime off after the ice storms. That cost me $7 along with the two washes I did today which were $31.99. So just this week I have spent almost $40 washing my car. Now don't get me wrong I want my car to look nice and stay looking new for awhile, but $40 is just a little too steep for me. I am starting to finally feel better but I just want to quit feeling bad every time the weather changes.

Jury Duty

I did my civic duty and went downtown for jury duty today. The day started off bad!! As I was leaving the house I noticed that one of my neighbors had a window knocked out of their vehicle. I went to let them know and found out the nurse that helps the child at their house had left her purse in the car when she got there this morning and it was gone. I felt bad for her but you should know not to leave valuables in plain sight. After talking to her for a few minutes and thawing out my car, I hit the road to head downtown. One quick stop at Starbucks for my favorite Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate and I was officially on my way. The minute I got on the highway the traffic stopped. People were still freaked out that their were tiny patches of ice (mostly on the shoulder or under bridges) and were crawling all the way!!! I left at 7:30 from Starbucks and needed to be in the courthouse at 8:30. That means one hour!!!! At 8:20 I was finally at the exit and still needed to park. So much for the free parking and shuttle. I found a parking garage and ended up paying $10 just for parking. I went in sat down and started grading papers until the Bailiff came in to swear us in and explain our duties for the day. Then they called the first group to go up to a courtroom and of course I was called in the group. We get upstairs and spend one hour waiting in the hall outside of the courtroom only to be told we are being moved down the hall to another room. They then bring us in and have us go through voire dair. This takes another hour then they send us out in the hall to make the jury selection. Once again more standing around and waiting. They call us in and dismiss all but 6. I am not one that was picked and am relieved since I haven't been at school in a week due to class, the ice storm, and jury duty. I go down pick up my check of $6!! Woo Hoo I can party it up with that money!! and head for the house. At least it gave me time this afternoon to get my first assignment done for class and turned in more than 24 hours ahead of schedule. Tomorrow I return to school and all of the fun that entails.

No School

Wooo Hoooo! We had no school today due to the weather. It sucks that it was ice and not snow, but I was able to catch up on some much needed rest. This last weekend really wiped me out. After finding out we would not have school, I went to breakfast with my sister. We headed to IHOP (so not on the diet) and enjoyed getting out. Then we ran by her work to see if she needed to come to her meeting. She didn't need to show up so we headed home after a quick trip to Sonic for a Diet DP with vanilla (another addiction of mine). After we got home I thought I would read for just a few minutes then get to work on grading papers and working on my classwork. Oh was I wrong, the minute I laid down I was out. I slept for another 4 hours!!! I could not believe it when I woke up and it was after 2 in the afternoon. I had waisted yet another day. I did get a little done after waking up but I just wish I hadn't waisted the day. It looks like we will have a delay of start tomorrow (not official yet) but with the bad weather still hitting our area it should happen. So maybe tomorrow I will get more done.

Long Weekend

This weekend was long in a bad way. Sitting in class for 4 days and listening to lectures is not my idea of a lot of fun. There were moments that were enjoyable and I did meet new people that are in the class. Today is the last day and we have agreed to work through lunch so that we can leave today at 2 instead of 3. Tomorrow I return to school and my lovely students. Then I need to get everything ready since I have jury duty on Thursday. I plan to get everything ready just in case I have to return on Friday for another day of jury duty.

Last night was fun. I went to my cousins house and spent time with her and her family. The dogs were what made the night the most interesting. First Spike wanted to jump all over me. Then the outside dogs broke a hole in the fence and escaped. After we rounded up Stitch and Sugar and locked them in the garage we let my cousins son drive us to pick up the pizzas for dinner. That was a scary experience. Letting a kid in drivers ed drive at night is definitely not my idea of fun. We had a few scary moments like when he almost hit my new car pulling out from in front of the house. But overall, he did an okay job of getting us there and back. After eating I went back to the hotel and crashed yet again. Falling asleep with the TV and lights on seems to be the new thing for me. Hopefully my sleep schedule will return to normal since I am returning to my own bed tonight.

Webinstitute

Well, we are half way through day 2 of the 4 days of class. My professor has moments that he is very funny and interesting and then there are moments when he is sooooo boring. Like now (he is lecturing while I type this).

I did get good news from my substitute that my class was good yesterday and all went home with smiles in their folders (YEA!!!). Hopefully Monday will go as well.

I have definitely enjoyed staying at the hotel (other than smelling cigarette smoke last night and this morning in a 100% smoke free hotel). Thursday night I got in and crashed! I didn't realize how tired I was. Last night, I got in read my homework, went to dinner, watched some TV, and then fell asleep reading a book (yes it was a nice change to read something of my choosing). Either tonight or tomorrow night the family is getting together to celebrate my cousins birthday. It has become a tradition over the last few years for our families to get together for almost everyone's birthdays. I am so glad to get this little bit of peace and quiet while trying to get so much work done each night. I just wish it could stay this way.

Family Frustration

Before I start let me say I do love my family. With that said they are driving me insane!!! I really do want to move out and be on my own, but with paying tuition for grad school my only choice is to stay at home for a little more than one more year. Hopefully I will make it without loosing my mind. This weekend has really proven the point with me. It seems that we are all biting each others heads off at every turn. I also have heard more comments about living at home at my age than I ever care to hear in my whole life. Yes, I know most 29 year old people don't live at home (or even want to), but in order to purchase a home like I want I need to be here to save up the money while paying off debts. I have done a pretty good job I think. In the last 2 1/2 years I have paid off over half of my credit card debt (it was over $15,000). It has taken a lot of diligence and sacrificing some of the things I use to love to do (shopping for clothes/shoes, dining out, just being able to purchase things when I want them).

The one good thing that is happening for me is I am keeping up with grading papers. If only I can get everything else done that needs to be done I will have it made. My classes start again on the 20th so I will be working hard this next week to get everything I need done.